The Brotherhood was first organised on St. Andrew's Day, 30 November 1883, as a prayer and Bible study group at St. James Church in Chicago [REF].
By 1906, two years after Robert Hallowell Gardener had succeeded Houghteling as President, the BSA had grown to about 17,000 young men and boys in more than 1200 brotherhoods, with the American brotherhoods served by four (soon to be five) traveling secretaries.