From the Charter of the Society:

"The Grand Antiquity Society of Glasgow was established in the year 1756 in the City of Glasgow with the object of uniting the old Burgess families of that City and or preserving the continuity of Burgess-ship amongst them for encouraging non-Burgess Citizens to qualify for those benefits which Burgesses and Guild Brethren alone can enjoy and for affording relief to the members of the Society in old age and to their widows when in indigent circumstances."