^Zo-^ 3 nv '•ibrafi yoF 0011 COngr^^ ss E 202 .3 .C73 1891 Copy 1 CONNECTICUT SOCIETY m OF ii[ iiiRim RmiuiioK. CONSTITUTION AND BY-liRWS. Organized April 2, 1889. Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Connecticut. CONSTITUTION CONNF-CTICUT SOCIETY OIS Of IH[ AlfBICIII ll[V0[UII9l. anopted at the annual meeting held in the clty of Hartfokd., May iith, 1891. ofkice:i>2:s. rHESlDENT. Jonathan Trumbull, Noiwicb. VICE PRESIDENT. * Hon. Ebenezer J. Uill, Norwalk. TREASURER. EuEL P. CowLES, New Haven. SECRETARY. Lucius F. lloBiNSON, Hartford. REGISTRAR. Joseph G. Woodward, Hartford. HISTORIAN. Frank F. Starr, Middletowu. CHAPLAIN. Eev. Wm. DeLoss Love, Hartford. BOARD OF MAN The following- with Ofticens ; Hon. Lucius l\ Deming, Franklin H. Hart, Dr. Rufus W. Griswold, Hon. Isaac i^. Bartram, Hob art L. Hotchkiss, John A. Porter, . KOWLAND B. LACEY, James O. May", Captain Henry E. Jones, Meigs H. Whaples, Edward D. Eobbins, Frank T. Maxwell, Jonathan F. Morris, . Dr. Leonard B. Alling, William Wallace Lee, AGERS. md Deleg^ates : ISTew Haven. New Haven. Eocky Hill. Sharon. New Haven. . Hartford. Bridgeport. Naugatnck. New Hartford. . Hartford. . Hartford. . Eockville. . Hartford. Norwich. Meriden. DELEGATES Gen. E. S. Greeley, Hon. Henry C. Eobinson, JosiAH M. Hubbard, John Henry Swartwout, Dr. W. a. M. Wain WRIGHT, Hon. Eufus S. Pickett, New Haven (at large). . Hartford. Middletowu. Stamford. . Hartford. New Haven. CONSTITUTION. ARTICLE I. NAME. The name of this Society shall be the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. ARTICLE II. national society. This Society is a part of the National Society of Sons of the American Revolution. It recognizes all State Societies of Sons of the American Revolution as co-equal and en- titled to receive from this Society such assistance and information as may best promote the objects for which these societies have been organized. ARTICLE in. OBJECTS. The objects of this Society are to perpetuate the memory and the spirit of the men who achieved American Independ- ence ; to encourage historical research in relation to the American Revolution ; to preserve documents, relics, and records of the individual services of revolutionary soldiers and patriots ; to mark, by appropriate monuments, historic places within this State ; to promote the celebration of patriotic anniversaries, and by these and similar means to impress upon the present and future generations the patriotic spirit which actuated our ancestors and established the Re- public of the United States of America. ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP. Section i. Any man resident in Connecticut, and not less than twenty-one years of age, who is descended from an ancestor who with unfailing loyalty rendered material aid to the cause of American Independence in the War of the A.merican P^evolution, either as a military or naval officer, sailor, soldier, or official in the service of any of the original thirteen Colonies or States, or Vermont, or as a recognized patriot whose services are of public record, shall be eligible for membership in this Society if found worthy ; any man, wherever resident, who is descended from a Connecticut revo- lutionary ancestor who performed like service, shall be alike eligible. HONORARY MEMBERS. Sec. 2. Women may be admitted as honorary members, subject to the conditions as to age and descent established in the case of active members. APPLICATIONS. Si:c. 3. All api)lications for membership in this Society shall be made in duplicate, upon blank forms furnished by the Society. They shall be signed with the full name and address of the applicant, and shall also be signed by at least one member of the Society nominating and recommending the ap[)licant. ARTICLE V. OFFICERS. The officers of this Society shall be a President, a Vice- President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Registrar, a Historian, and a Chaplain, who shall be elected by ballot for the term of one year, and shall continue in office until their successors are elected, and qualified. ARTICLE VI. BOARD OF MANAGERS. Section i. There shall be a Board of Managers whose duty it shall be to conduct the affairs of the Society, which board shall consist of the officers of this Society, the dele- gates to the National Society, and fifteen others. Sec. 2. The Board of Managers shall have power to fill any vacancy occurring among the officers of the Society, the members of the Board, or delegates to the National Society. ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS, Section r. A meeting- for the election of officers and the transaction of business shall be held annually, in the City of Hartford, on the loth day of May (the anniversary of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by a Connecticut expedition), or if said day lalls on Sunday then on the following day ; and a meeting for social purposes shall be held annually at such time and place as the Board of Managers may determine. At each annual meeting there shall be elected, in addition to the officers provided for in Article V., fifteen members of the ]5oard of Managers, one delegate at large and one delegate for each one hundred or fraction of one hundred exceeding fifty members ; said delegates, together with such officers as are provided for by the Constitution of that body, shall represent this Society in all meetings of the National Society. Sec. 2. Ten members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of this Society. Sec. 3. The hour for holding the annual meeting shall be 12 o'clock — noon — and the time and place for holding any special meeting, shall be designated by the Board of Managers. Sec. 4. Special meetings of the Society shall be called by the President, when directed so to do by the Board of Managers, or whenever requested in writing by fifteen or more nicmljcrs, on giving fifteen days' notice, specifying the time and place of such meeting and the business to be trans- acted. Sec. 5. Special meetings of the Board of Managers may be called by the President at any time, and shall be called upon the request of five members of the Board, made in wriling. Five members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board. Sec. 6. General business may be transacted at any special meeting of the Board of Managers, or of the Society. ARTICLE VIII. BRANCHES. LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Section i. Twenty-five members of this Society residing in any town or county of this State may send a written request to the Board of Managers asking authority to associ- ate as a Branch of this Society in such town or county ; and the Board of Managers may grant such request. NAME. Sec. 2. Local Branches shall be known as The Branch of the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American Revolution, No. officers. Sec. 3. Each Branch may have a President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and such other officers as the By-Laws of the I^ranch may determine. 8 MKMREKS. Sfx". 4. No person shall be admitted into a Branch, as a member, until after his admission into the State Society in the manner provided by the Constitution and Laws of this Society, and until he has paid the annual dues and fees as pro- vided l:)y said Laws. And any member, suspended or ex- pelled, or in any way losing his membership in the State Society, shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Branch. BY-LAWS. Six. 5. Each Branch may make by-laws, rules and regu- lations for its government so long as such by-laws, rules and regulations do not conflict, with the Constitution and Laws of this Society, nor with the Constitution and Laws of the National Society. ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS. This Constitution may be amended or repealed provided written resolutions to that effect are first presented to and approved by a majority of the Board of Managers, present at any meeting of said Board ; provided said amendments are subsequently approved by a majority of the members present at any meeting of the Society ; and, provided further, that whenever this Constitution is to be amended, repealed, or in any way changed, notice thereof, specifying said changes in full, shall be sent to each member of the Society at least ten days before such action is to be taken. BY-LAWS CONNECTICUT SOCIETY S9IS Of m miciN mvoiyiioH. BY-LAWS. FEES AND DUES. Section i. Applicants elected by the Board of Managers shall become members of this Society upon payment of tlie membership fee and dues for one year. For active members the membership fee shall be two dollars, and the annual dues two dollars. For honorary members, the membership fee shall be fifty cents and the annual dues fifty cents. The pay- ment of thirty dollars by an active member or of five dollars by an honorary member at an}^ one time, shall constitute the person paying such sum a life member, and such person shall thereafter be exempt from payment of annual dues. Annual dues shall be payable to the Secretary by enrolled members on the loth day of May in each year, but new members qualifying between the beginning of the calendar year and the date of the annual meeting, shall not be liable for the payment of dues during the next succeeding society year. A member who shall remain in arrears for dues for three months after notice of his indebtedness has been mailed to him, directed to his last known residence, may be dropped from the rolls by the Board of Managers, and may be re- instated in his membership by said Board upon the payment of his indebtedness to the Society. 1 1 PERMANENT FUNDS. Sec. 2. All receipts from life membership shall be set aside and invested under the direction of the Board of Man- agers as a permanent fund, of which only the income shall be used for the payment of ordinary expenses. MEMORIAL FUND. Sec. 3. There shall be a Memorial Fund to be used for the preservation of graves and monuments of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots ; the marking of historic spots ; and the purchase of historic places and buildings. This fund shall consist of all receipts from bequests, special subscriptions, and any regular funds of the Society, voted by the Board of Managers. SOCIAL MEETINGS. Sec. 4. The Society shall hold an annual meeting for the purpose of celebrating some event in revolutionary history, the time and place of holding such meeting to be determined by the Board of Managers; and said Board shall also deter- mine the manner of such celebration. MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. Sec 5. The regular meetings of the Board of Managers shall be held on the third Tuesday of April and October in each year. 12 PRESIDING OFFICER. Sec. 6. The President, or in his absence the Vice-Presi- dent, or in their absence a chairman //y^ tciii., shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Managers, and shall have a casting vote. The presiding officer shall preserve order and shall decide all questions of order, subject to appeal to the meeting. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. Sec. 7. The President shall be the official head of the Society. He shall perform such duties as usually pertain to that office and as are designated in these By-Laws. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. Sec. 8. The Secretary shall receive all money from the members, and shall pay it over to the Treasurer, taking his receipt for the same. He shall conduct the general corre- spondence of the Society; shall notify members of their election and of such other matters as the Society may direct. He shall have charge of the seal, and such records of the Society as are not herein given especially in charge of other officers of the Society ; together with the presiding officer, he shall certify all acts and orders of the Society. He shall, under direction of the President or acting President, give notice of the time and place of all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Managers, and shall give such notices of the votes, orders, and proceedings of the Society as the Society or Board of Managers may direct. 13 DUTIES OF TREASURER. Sec. 9. The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Society ; he shall receive all money from the Secretary, and give his receipt for the same, which money he shall deposit in the name of the Society, and shall pay out for the benefit of the Society only, in such sums as the Society or Board of iManagers may direct, and upon the order of the Secretary, countersigned by the President. He shall keep a true account of his receipts and disbursements, and at each annual meeting shall make a full report to the Society. The books of the Secretary and Treasurer shall be open to the inspection of the President and Board of Managers at all times. DUTIES OF THE REGISTRAR. Sec. 10. The Registrar shall receive all applications and proofs of membership. He shall examine the same, and re- port his opinion thereon to the Board of Managers. Imper- fect and incorrect applications may be returned to the appli- cant by the Registrar for correction or completion. After applications have been passed upon by the Board of Man- agers, he shall, if the applicant is accepted, forward one copy to the Registrar General of the National Society, and shall make a record of such parts of said application as he deems necessary, in a book of forms prepared for that pur- pose. The original application with the accompanying proofs shall be kept on file. He shall also have the custody of all historical, geographical and genealogical books, papers, manu- 14 scripts and relics of which the society may become possessed. He shall receive twenty-five cents for recording each ac- cepted application, and shall make a report in writing at each annual meeting. BOARD OF MANAGERS. Sec. 1 1. The Eoard of Managers shall judge of the quali- fications of applicants for membership, and sliall have control of the afiairs of the Society. They shall appoint an auditing committee and a committee on necrology. They shall have power to suspend or expel any member of the Society for sufficient cause, by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Board present at any regular or special meeting. Pro- vided, that at least two weeks notice of such proposed action shall have been given to such member by notice mailed to him at his last known address. A member so suspended or expelled shall have the right to appeal to a meeting of the Society from the action of the Board of Managers. DUTIES OF THE HISTORIAN. Sec. 12. The Historian shall keep a record of all facts in connection with the Society which he may judge to be of his- toric value, and shall make a report in writing at each annual meeting. DUTIES OF THE CHAPLAIN. Sec. 13. The Chaplain shall perform such devotional and religious duties as may be called for by the Board of Man- agers in the course of business or exercises of the Society. 15 AMKNDMKNTS. Sec. 14. These by-laws shall not be altered, amended or repealed unless such alteration or amendment shall have been proposed in writing at a previous meeting of the I^oard of Managers, and entered upon the records, with the name of the member proposing the change, and also adopted by a majority of the members present at a regular meeting of the Society, or at a special meeting called for that purpose. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 710 567 2 til