USA > Colorado > Register of members of the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the state of Colorado > Part 2
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ARTICLE VI. Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall collect and keep the funds and securities of the Society. Out of these funds he shall pay such sums only as may be
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ordered by the Society or by the Board of Managers, and shall perform such other duties as the Society, or Board of Managers, or his office, may require of him. He shall keep a true account of his receipts and payments, and at each annual meeting render the same to the Society, with a full statement of the financial condition of the Society, when a committee shall be appointed to audit his accounts. For the faithful performance of his duty he shall give such security as the Society or the Board of Man- agers shall require.
ARTICLE VII.
Registrar.
The Registrar shall have possession of all documents pertaining to the descent of members of the Society. He shall also keep an accurate Reg- ister of Members of the Society. He shall be custodian of all books and other historical documents that may come into possession of the Society, and act as Historian and Necrologist of the Society, unless the Board of Managers appoint a special one.
ARTICLE VIII.
Chaplain.
The Chaplain shall be a regularly ordained minister of a Christian denomination, and shall perform such duties as ordinarily appertain to such office.
ARTICLE IX. Board of Managers.
The Board of Managers shall judge of the qualifications of every can- didate who shall make proper application for admission to the Society, and shall have power to admit him to membership therein. if found eli- gible under the Constitution of this Society. Two negative votes shall be a rejection of the applicant.
They may, through the Secretary, call special meetings of the Society at such times as they may see fit: and they may arrange for commemora- tive celebrations by the Society.
They shall recommend plans to the Society for promoting its purposes. and, when practicable. may digest and prepare business for its meetings, and shall supervise all publications issued in its name, and decide whether copies of records or other documents or papers may be furnished on request of any party in cases not pertaining directly to the business of the Society and the proper conduct of its affairs.
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They shall generally superintend the interests, and shall have the con- trol and management of the affairs and funds of the Society. They shall also perform such duties as may be prescribed by the Constitution and By-Laws or required by any standing rule or resolve of the Society; Provided, however, That they shall at no time be required to take any action or contract any debt for which they shall be jointly or severally liable. They shall be competent to consent to and accept the resignation or voluntarily withdrawal from membership of any enrolled member of the Society.
They may require the attendance of any member of the Society, or any official or committee thereof, at any meeting, for consultation and advice.
The Board of Managers shall meet as often as they desire, or at the call of the President, or upon the written request of any three members of the same addressed to the Secretary.
Five of the Board of Managers shall be a quorum for the transaction of business.
At every annual meeting they shall submit to the Society a general report of their proceedings during the year then closing, and at such other time as may be required by the Society.
ARTICLE X. Expulsion or Suspension.
The Board of Managers shall have power to expel any enrolled mem- ber of this Society who, by conduct inconsistent with a gentleman and a man of honor, or by an opposition to the interests of the community in general or of this Society in particular, may render himself unworthy to continue a member, or who shall persistently transgress, or, without good excuse, wilfully neglect or fail in the performance of any obligation enjoined by the Constitution or By-Laws or any standing rule of this Society; Provided, That such member shall have received at least ten days' notice of the complaint preferred against him, and of the time and place for hearing the same, and has been thereby afforded an opportunity to be heard in person.
Whenever the cause of expulsion shall not have involved turpitude nor moral unworthiness, any member thus expelled may, upon the unani- mous recommendation of the Board of Managers, but not otherwise, be restored to membership by the Society at any meeting.
The Board of Managers shall also have power to drop from the roll the name of any enrolled member of the Society who shall be at least two years in arrears in the payment of dues, and who, on notice to pay
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the same, shall fail and neglect to do so within ten days thereafter, and upon being thus dropped his membership shall cease and determine; but he may be restored to membership at any time by the Board of Man- agers on his application therefor, and upon his payment of all such arrears, and of the annual dues from the date when he was dropped to the date of his restoration. The Board of Managers may also suspend any officer from the performance of his duties for cause, which proceeding must be reported to the Society and acted upon by it within thirty days, either by rescission or removal of the suspended officer from office, or otherwise the suspension shall cease.
ARTICLE XI. Vacancies and Terms of Office.
Whenever an officer of this Society shall die, resign, or neglect to serve, or be suspended, or be unable properly to perform the duties of his office, by reason of absence, sickness, or other cause, and whenever an office shall be vacant, which the Society shall not have filled by an elec- tion, the Board of Managers shall have power to appoint a member to such office pro tempore, who shall act in such capacity until the Society shall elect a member to the vacant office, or until the inability due to "suspen- sion, absence, sickness, or other cause" shall cease; Provided, however, That the office of President or Secretary shall not be thus filled by the Board of Managers when there shall be a Vice President or Assistant Secretary to enter upon the duties of those offices respectively.
In like manner, the Board of Managers may supply vacancies among its members under the same conditions and limitations; and in case any member thereof, other than an officer, shall be absent from three consecu- tive meetings of the same, his place therein may be declared vacant by the Board of Managers, and filed by an appointment which shall continue in full effect until the Society shall elect a successor.
Subject to these provisions, all officers of the Society, and the mnem- bers of the Board of Managers, shall, from the time of their election or appointment, continue in their respective offices until the next Annual Meeting, and until their respective successors shall be duly chosen.
ARTICLE XII. Resignation.
No resignation or voluntary withdrawal of membership of any mem- ber enrolled in this Society shall become effective as a release from the obligations thereof, unless consented to and accepted by the Board of Man- agers.
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ARTICLE XIII. Disqualification.
No person who may be enrolled as a member of this Society shall be permitted to continue in membership where the proof of claim or qualifi- cation by descent shall be found to be defective and insufficient to sub- stantiate such claim or not properly authenticated. The Society, or the Board of Managers, may, at any time after six weeks' notice to such person to properly substantiate his claim, require the Secretary to erase his name from the list of members, and such person shall thereupon cease to be a member, provided he shall have failed to comply satisfactorily with such notice. Such person shall have a right of appeal to the next annual meeting of the Society, but he shall not be restored to membership unless by a three-fourths vote of the members present on that occasion, or at a subsequent meeting to which communication of the appeal shall have been specifically postponed.
ARTICLE XIV. Recommendation of Candidates.
No member shall approve an application for membership in this Society unless he shall know the candidate to be worthy, and shall have satisfied himself by due examination of proofs that such candidate is eligible, and will, if admitted, be a desirable member.
ARTICLE XV. Service of Notices.
It shall be the duty of every member to inform the Secretary, by written communication, of his place of residence, and any change thereof. and of his postoffice address.
Service of any notice under this Constitution or By-Laws upon any member of the Society, addressed to him at the last recorded place of residence or postoffice address, and forwarded by mail, shall be deemed sufficient service of such notice.
ARTICLE XVI. Certificate of Membership.
Every member shall be entitled to receive a certificate of membership, which shall be authenticated by the President and Secretary, and counter- signed by the Registrar of the Society, and to which the seal of the Sons of the Revolution shall be affixed. The certificate shall be in form fol- lowing:
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State No. . . ..
Insignia No. . . . .
THE SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE STATE OF COLORADO.
Be it known that. has been duly admitted a member of The Society of the Sons of the Revolution in right of the services of. .in the
cause of American Independence during the War of the Revolution. Dated at the City of Denver this. day of. in the year of our Lord. ..... . thousand. . hundred and.
and of the Independence of the United States of America the
(Seal)
President of the Society.
Secretary of the Society.
Registrar.
ARTICLE XVII. Decease of Members.
Upon decease of any member residing in the State of Colorado, notice thereof, and of the time and place of the funeral, shall be given by the Secretary, and it shall thereupon become the duty of the members, when practical, to attend the obsequies.
Any member, upon being informed of the decease of a member, shall make it his business to see that the Secretary is promptly notified of the fact.
ARTICLE XVIII. Amendments.
No amendment or alteration of these By-Laws shall be made unless notice thereof shall be duly given in writing signed by the member pro- posing the same, at a meeting of the Society, nor unless the same shall be adopted at a subsequent meeting held at least thirty days after such notice, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.
Instructions to Applicants.
All applications must be presented in duplicate, upon the forms issued by the Society.
The record of the ancestor's military service should be given fully, . but concisely. Services to be shown by proof, not tradition.
In referring to printed works, the volume and page should be given, and, if possible, a copy of the part referred to certified as a true copy by a notary.
Reference to authorities, in manuscript, must be accompanied by certi- fied copies.
When descent is claimed from more than one Revolutionary ancestor, "Supplementary" applications may be made in duplicate, in form as in original. No extra cost for filing same.
To begin to make a search for proofs, the applicant must know the State the ancestor served from, and in writing officials simply ask "for the military service of A. B., said to have been a soldier in the Revolu- tionary War," and they will inform you of any data the records show. Also, give the name of town or county he served from, if you know. Correspond with the following officials and others named, in the various States, for certificates of military service:
VERMONT-Write General T. S. Peck, Adjutant General, Montpelier. No charge for making research, but where name is found, the charge for certified record is from $1 to $3, according to amount of labor required.
NEW HAMPSHIRE-This State has published a very complete Roster, in four volumes. In Society's Library; also Public Library.
MASSACHUSETTS-Write Hon. Wm. M. Olin, Secretary of State. Boston. No charge for making research, but where name is found the charge is $1 for furnishing certificate. The records are now being printed. First 10 volumes now in Society's Library, and as printed will be placed in such Library.
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RHODE ISLAND-Write Hon. Charles P. Bennett, Secretary of State, Providence. No charge for making research, but where name is found the charge is $1.50 for furnishing certified record. Some records in State Li- brary at Capitol.
CONNECTICUT-This State has published a very complete Roster, containing 27,000 names, which volume is in the Society's Library and also in Public Library.
NEW YORK-This State has published a Roster, containing 40,000 names, which volume is in the Society's Library.
NEW JERSEY-Very complete records. Write General Wm. S. Stryker, Adjutant General, Trenton. No charge for making research or furnishing certificate.
PENNSYLVANIA-Write Dr. Wm. H. Egle, State Librarian, Harris- burg, who will cause a search to be made, the fee for which will be $2, and if the name is found and a certificate furnished. $1 more. Society's Library, through kindness of J. C. Butler, has most of Pennsylvania printed records.
DELAWARE-Write Hon. John D. Hawkins, Secretary of State, Dover. The charge for furnishing records is two cents per line, and $1 additional for certificate.
MARYLAND-Write Hon. Win. O. Mitchell. Annapolis, Commissioner of the Land Office, who will make research for 25 cents. and 75 cents ad- ditional for furnishing certificate.
VIRGINIA-The Revolutionary records of this State are meager, and consist mainly of land bounty warrants which were issued to soldiers who had served three years or more. Write Mr. W. G. Stanard, 314 West Cary street, Richmond, a gentleman who has given considerable attention to tracing Virginia genealogies. He will make research of everything available at the State capitol at a cost of $1 in advance, with an extra cost of $1.50 for furnishing certificate. The United States pension roll contains the names of many Virginia soldiers.
NORTH CAROLINA-The Revolutionary rolls of this State are meager. Mr. T. P. Jerman, Chief Clerk in the State Auditor's Department, Raleigh, N. C., will search for name, and if found will furnish a certificate for $5. No charge unless certificate is made.
SOUTH CAROLINA-Among the troops furnished by this State were ten regiments of Militia and four Continental Regiments, besides numer- our bands of partisan rangers, as those composing the commands of
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Marion and Sumpter. But the State has no rosters of these troops, and the principal records preserved are those of officers. General W. G. De Sassure has published a pamphlet containing "The names, as far as can be ascertained, of the officers who served in the South Carolina regiments" (reprinted in the Charleston Year Book, 1893).
GEORGIA-Write Wm. Harden, Secretary Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, for information of Georgia soldiers.
PENSIONS.
There were no National pension laws until the year 1818, excepting for the relief of those disabled in the service. This act granted pensions to those only who had served nine months or more in the Continental . Army or Navy (not to be confounded with the State troops, Militia or Minutemen). Under this act about eight thousand applied for pensions, which number so alarmed Congress that it passed, in 1820, what became known as the "Alarm" act, which required that before the beneficiaries of the act of 1818 could longer receive its benefits they must go before some court and make a schedule of their property, and atfirm that they were in "need of the assistance of their country for a support."
The number of pensioners having become reduced, Congress in 1832 passed an act granting pensions to all officers and soldiers, whether Con- tinental, State or Militia, who had served for any period not less than six months.
The widows of Revolutionary soldiers drew pensions, provided they were married prior to 1853, so that the military record of the soldier who did not draw a pension himself can be found through the papers filed by the widow.
The applicant can write the Honorable Commissioner of Pensions, at Washington, asking if his ancestor was pensioned, and, if so, for a copy of the ancestor's military history. There is no cost attached for obtaining this data.
A mistaken idea prevails that there is on file in the Adjutant General's office, complete Rosters of the soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and that it is only necessary to write to that department to obtain a record of the ancestor's service. There are no complete rosters of the Revolutionary soldiers in any department of the Government, nor anywhere else.
The records remaining in the different departments at Washington, con- taining the rosters of the Revolutionary soldiers, have been transferred to the charge of Colonel F. C. Ainsworth, U. S. Army, Chief Record and Pension Office, War Department, Washington, D. C., who will furnish
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free of charge the record of any soldier whose name may be found on the rolls in his office.
The applicant, in his request for information, must give the name of the State his ancestor served from, also give the relationship of the ancestor to the applicant, and the purpose for which he desires the information.
The Secretary of The Colorado Society makes no charge for an exam- ination of the volumes or documents in the library of the Society, and will cheerfully assist applicants to obtain the proofs of ancestor's service.
FLAG PRESENTATION TO FIRST COLORADO VOLUNTEERS, 14TH DAY OF MAY, 1898.
A Brief History of the Colorado Society.
BY SANFORD CHARLES HINSDALE.
On the twenty-second day of February. 1892, the following ramed Organization, gentlemen met at the office of Dr. Persifor M. Cooke. 1624 Welton street, 1892. Denver, and effected the temporary organization of The Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of Colorado: Johh Franklin Spalding. Thomas Henry Edsall. C. S. Watkins, Persifor Marsden Cooke, Hedley Vicars Cooke, Sanford Charles Hinsdale and Edward Marsden Cooke.
On April fifth, following. at a meeting of the Society held at the same place, the following named gentlemen were duly admitted to membership and declared to be charter members of the Society: John Franklin Spalding, Thomas Henry, Edsall, Persifor Marsden Cooke. Hedley Vicars, Cooke, Nathaniel Peter Hill. Allan Hyre Jackson, John Bord Vroom .. John Nicoll Vroom. Cyrus Townsend Brady. Rawson Fuller Watkins, Fred S. Watkins, William Marvin Spalding. Franklin Spencer Spalding. Edward Marsden Cooke. Clarence Edsall. Orlando Blodgett Willcox. Sanford Charles Hinsdale. Edward Lane Raymond and John Lloyd McNeil. These gentlemen. at this time, signed their names to a memorial to the General Society, requesting athinission of the Colorado Society as a constituent part of the General Society. In reply to such memorial the following letter was received:
"General Society, May 24. 1532.
"Persifor MI. Cooke, M. D .:
"I have the honor to inform you that at the meeting of the General Society, Sons of the Revolution, held in TrentoL. N. J .. on Saturday. April 23. 1802. The Society. Sons of the Revolution. in the State of Colo- rado, was. on motion. unanimously adinitted as a member of the General Society.
"Yours very faithfully. "JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY. "General Secretary."
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Annual Meet- ings.
At a meeting held June 15, 1892, the Society was permanently organized and officers elected to serve until the next regular annual meeting to be held February 22, 1893, on which date a goodly number of the members met at the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, and held their first annual meeting, elected officers for the ensuing year, and partook of a dinner. Since that time the Society has met regularly on the anniversary of Washington's birthday, elected its officers, listened to reports and pa- triotic speeches, and a dinner or luncheon served to its members. These meetings have always been social reunions of a patriotic nature, the business portion occupying a small part of the time.
Religious Ser. vices.
The Society has also held each year, on a Sunday evening occurring nearest to the 22nd of February, a commemorative religious service con- sisting of a sermon, patriotic addresses and music, on which occasion prizes are awarded to the successful contestants for prize essays.
Prize Essays.
At the first annual meeting was originated the plan, since so success- fully carried out, of offering prizes annually to the High Schools, Colleges and seventh and eighth grade pupils of the State for the two most meri- torious essays bearing upon the history of the American Revolution.
Prizes.
The first prize is a silver medal, the face being a fac-simile of the seal of the Society; on the reverse, an appropriate inscription, with the recipient's name. The medal is suspended by a buff and blue ribbon (the Society's colors) from a silver bar, bearing the word "Colorado." The second prize is a fac-simile of the first in bronze.
This plan has met with great favor in many other states, and has been adopted by them with most satisfactory results.
The subject of the essay for 1893-4 was "The Causes That Led Up to the War of the American Revolution." First prize, Edward L. Kraemer, High School. District No. 2, Denver. Second prize, Chester Smith, High School, District No. 1. Denver.
The subject for 1804-5 was "Alexander Hamilton-His Services in the Revolutionary War, and in the Formation of the Constitution." First prize, Florence L. Jones, Wolfe Hall, Denver. Second prize, Leota Larimer, High School. District No. 2. Denver.
The subject for 1895-6 was "The Articles of Confederation and Federal Union Adopted by the Continental Congress, July 9, 177S-Their Weakness and Defects." First prize. Andrew S. Clark, Jarvis Hall, Montclair. Second prize, Samuel HI. Crosby, Grant High School, District No. 7, South Denver.
The subject for 1896-7 was "Foreign Aid to American Patriots in the War of the Revolution." First prize, Joseph II. Gordon, High School. Fort Collins. Second prize, Millie H. Betts, High School, District No. 2. Denver.
The subject for 1897-S was "The American Navy in the War of the Revolution." First prize, Earl H. Smith, High School, District No. 2. Denver. Second prize, Euna Pearl Kelly, High School. Colorado Springs.
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The subject for 1898-9 was "The Heroes of the Revolution-Which Two Merited the Greatest Fame?" First prize, Euna Pearl Kelly, Colo- rado Springs High School. Second prize, Meade MeMechen, High School, District No. 2, Denver.
The subject for 1899-1900 was "The Aid Rendered by Privateers in the War of the Revolution."
The essays submitted have been many and have shown a high degree of scholarship, and the Society feels that the result has been satisfactory. Owing to this fact, the work of the committee in selecting the prize winners has each year been difficult. In 1898 the Society decided to print and publish the prize essays each year.
On Monday evening, December 4, 1893, the Society celebrated the Washington's 110th anniversary of Washington's farewell to his officers, this being also the tenth anniversary of the founding of the General Society. The chief feature of the evening was an historical and most interesting address by the late Thomas H. Edsall of Colorado Springs, who was one of the ยท founders of the General Society in 1883, and a member of the Colorado Society.
February 22, 1894, at the regular annual meeting of the Society at the Albany Hotel, Denver, it was resolved to celebrate the coming 14th day of June as Flag Day, and a committee, of which Mr. Ralph Voorhees was chairman, was appointed to form and carry out a program. May 22, 1894, a committee was appointed to frame a bill to be presented to the next General Assembly of the State of Colorado prohibiting the display of any foreign flag from any public buildings of the State, or from the public buildings of any corporate municipality within the State. The bill so framed became a law of the State. June 14, 1894, was the first celebration of Flag Day by the Society. In the evening, at the Central Presbyterian Church, Denver, a handsome silken flag was presented to the Society by its first president. Hon. N. P. Hill, which was received by the Society in an eloquent address by Hon. C. S. Thomas. This beautiful emblem is one of the special treasures of the Society.
November 25, 1894, was the anniversary of the evacuation by the Evacuation British from New York in 1783, and the Society celebrated this event on Day, 1894. Monday, the 26th, at the First Congregational Church, Denver. This was a joint celebration with the Daughters of the Revolution. A special feature was the presentation to the Society by Mrs. N. P. Hill of a handsome gavel made of wild cherry cut from the Mt. Vernon estate, mounted with Colorado silver and engraved "Sons of the Revolution."
February 22. 1893, on invitation of the Daughters of the Revolution, Entertainment, the Society met at the house of Hon. N. P. Hill, where they were tendered 1895. a most pleasing and elegant entertainment, consisting of music, patriotic speeches and readings, together with a social reception and refreshments.
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