Society of the Friends of St. Patrick- Seattle

Originally named The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Society was founded in Philadelphia on March 17, 1771. At its first meeting were George Washington’s Irish-born aide-de-camp General Stephen Moylan, along with John Dickenson and Robert Morris, both of whom signed the US Declaration of Independence. General George Washington in 1781 in Philadelphia accepted membership in the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, writing, “I accept with singular pleasure the Ensign of so worthy a Fraternity as that of the Sons of St. Patrick, a Society distinguished for the firm adherence of its Members to the glorious cause in which we are embarked.” Washington is also recorded as having attended a meeting of the Friendly Sons at the City Tavern on January 1, 1782 and again on March 18, 1782. The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick started in Seattle in 1941 and was a male only organization until 1989 when it welcomed women and changed its name to The Society of the Friends of St. Patrick in Seattle.