COMMUNICATION OF J. FBANCIS FISHEK. 151 



The American Society for promoting Useful Knowl- 

 edge was instituted in 1750 s Its original name was 

 the 4 Junto or Society for the promotion of Useful 

 Knowledge. The earliest of it's records which we 

 possess begin September 22 d . 1758. It seems to have 

 been an Association rather for the mutual improve- 

 ment of the Members by discussing a great variety 

 of subjects than for enlarged philosophical enquiry. 

 It is needless to recapitulate the History of this So- 

 ciety through its various declines, revivals and reor- 

 ganizations till its reunion with the Philosophical 

 Society 



Tho' somewhat similar in its plan and objects to 

 the Old Junto and consisting in 1758 of the same 

 number of Members (12), it could at most have been 

 only a copy or a Junior Society. It consisted then 

 of young men, the majority of whom were at least 

 twenty years younger than D r Franklin. The Names 

 given are Francis Eawle, Charles Thomson, S. 

 Wooley, P. Chevalier, I. Mather, Philip Syng, I. 

 Paschall, Ed: Physick, William Franklin, I. Howell, 

 W. Hopkins, P. Jackson. That these were all, is 

 proved by the Minutes in our possession where at 

 most of the meetings the absent are named as well 



3 This fact I have only ascertained within a few days tho' my 

 previous opinions had nearly fixed the year of its establishment. 



4 This name Junto which was dropped by the Society a few years 

 afterwards has been the chief source of confusion & mistake as to the 

 origin of the association. 



