Society of Catholic Commonwealth (S.C.C.) was founded by the Rev. Frederic Hastings Smyth (1888-1960) in 1939.  The S.C.C. was a religious order based on Christian Marxism.  The Society’s main house was The Oratory of St. Mary and St. Michael in Newburyport, New York, but was international in scope having cells in Canada and Japan.  It was not long after Smythe’s death in 1960 that the SCC sold the Newburyport house.  The last service was held in August 1967.  The Society of Catholic Commonwealth soon ceased to exist after this date except for a few cells in Japan.

Fonds consists of the archival records of Frederic Hastings Smyth and the Society of Catholic Commonwealth (SCC) intermingled with the research files of Terry Brown.   The SCC records include the papers, correspondence, publications, liturgy, library, and photographs of Frederic Hastings Smyth and the Society of Catholic Commonwealth. Terry Brown’s research files include subject files, audio-cassettes, correspondence, interviews, thesis and chapter writing files.