United States. A Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York Membership Badge, c.1908

In 18K gold, weighing 15.5 grams inclusive of its ribbon and hanger, marked ""18K"" (gold) on the reverse of the badge and hanger, number engraved ""636"" on the reverse of the badge, measuring 20 mm (w) x 21 mm (h), original ribbon suspended from a hanger inscribed ""ST. NICHOLAS"", engraved in running script ""Andrew C. Zabriskie"" above the date ""Nov. 30, 1908"" on the buttonhole attachment, extremely fine.

Footnote: The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York is a charitable organization in New York City of men who are descended from early inhabitants of the State of New York. The organization preserves historical and genealogical records of English ruled New York and Dutch ruled New Amsterdam. The organization was founded by author Washington Irving and others, as an ""organization to commemorate the history and heritage of New York, and to promote good fellowship among the members."" The first meeting was a dinner held on February 14, 1835 at Washington Hall, a popular dining and meeting locale in the 1830s, at the southeast corner of the intersection of Broadway and Reade Street. Washington Irving as a writer in the name of Dietrich Knickerbocker told stories of old New York. Irving, with the financial backing of John Jacob Astor and other prominent New Yorkers, organized the society for historical and social purposes. The group continues to hold regular dinners and meetings and to pay for newspaper announcements when one of their members dies. The annual dinner is usually addressed by notable speakers, with reports of speeches appearing in The New York Times. Speakers such as Mark Twain, President Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Kissinger, John D Rockefeller Jr, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor John Lindsay, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller and Governor Thomas Kean. The colors of the society are orange and symbolic of the Dutch settlement of New York. The Society has held a spring dinner every year since 1848. The Paas Ball includes a presentation of Debutantes. Andrew C. Zabriskie was born in New York City, New York County (Manhattan), on May 30, 1853 to one of the largest real estate owning families in that city. He was educated in private schools and after graduating from Columbia University in 1873, Zabriskie would help manage the family's real estate business. His ancestry is traced back to a Polish nobleman, who, to escape the political and religious oppression of his own land, emigrated to America in 1662. His ancestors have been connected in various honorable ways with the history of Bergen County, New Jersey since its earliest days. The Captain’s grandfather on the maternal side was William M. Titus, a prominent New York merchant, and an officer of the 11th Artillery in the War of 1812. Zabriskie served for seven years in the Seventh New York Regiment. In 1883, he was elected Captain of Company C in the 71st Regiment, and held that position until he was promoted to the rank of Inspector of Rifle Practice on the staff of the same regiment, finally resigning in 1898. He presented the regiment the Zabriskie trophy, a handsome bronze, to be annually competed for at rifle practice. Captain Zabriskie’s military training, added to his desire to promote the interests of those about him, led him to organize two companies of the ""Blithewood Light Infantry,"" composed of young men in the community, one at Red Hook, and one at Rhinebeck. He was a member of the New York National Guard from 1873 through 1897. Zabriskie was a trustee of St. Luke’s Hospital, New York, a Vice President of the House of Rest for Consumptives, a trustee of the Sheltering Arms (an institution for children) and was prominent in the organization and work of the Episcopal church. He was a member of the Union, Metropolitan, City, Army and Navy and Church Clubs, the Holland Society, the St. Nicholas Society, the Society of the War of 1812, the Dutchess County Society, the New York Historical Society, the American Geographical Society, the National Academy of Design, the American Museum of Natural History. Zabriskie was the Democratic candidate for Congress from the 21st District in the fall of 1908, being defeated by Hamilton Fish. 1908 is also the date that he was issued the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York Membership Badge. A member of the American Numismatic Society for forty-two years, Zabriskie first joined the ANS in 1874 and became a life member in 1894. He served initially as Third Vice-President from 1880-1883 and then as First Vice-President from 1884-1896 before finally being elected President of the ANS in 1896. He remained as President until his resignation in December 1904. In 1908, when the Society's constitution was amended to create the office of Honorary President, Zabriskie, along with Daniel Parish, Jr., was elected Honorary President for Life. Zabriskie's tenure as president was marked with a financial crisis that led Zabriskie to advocate for the merger of the ANS with the New-York Historical Society. When that proposal was rejected by the membership of the ANS, Zabriskie resigned from the presidency. He was succeeded by Archer M. Huntington. During his career, Zabriskie amassed a large collection, the most significant of which were Lincoln medals and Polish coins and medals. In 1873 he wrote A Descriptive Catalogue of the Political and Memorial Medals Struck in Honor of Abraham Lincoln that has since become the basis for those collecting Lincoln pieces. Zabriskie's wife, Frances, was the daughter of Charles F. Hunter, who was President of the Peoples Bank of New York City. Zabriskie's estate, ""Blithewood,"" north of Barrytown station, was considered to be one of the most beautiful on the banks of the Hudson River. Andrew Christian Zabriskie died in Barrytown, Dutchess County, New York, on September 16, 1916, at the age of 63. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, Bronx County, New York, Catalpa Plot, Section 15. 

This offering is a part of the "Dr. Albert Goodwin Collection", a preeminent assemblage of world Orders, Medals, and Decorations composed solely by Dr.Goodwin between 1946-1967. Dr. Goodwin had a successful career as an educator and prominent physician in New York as well as actively serving in both World Wars with the United States Medical Corps. He acted as both President and Vice-President of the Orders and Medals Society of America (OMSA) and is responsible for organizing their first convention in 1960. He maintained further membership with the American Society of Military Collectors, the International Orders Research Society, and the American Numismatic Society. His knowledge and passion for history and awards is evident in this meticulously compiled collection that is now available in its entirety for the first time exclusively on eMedals.com.