BEFORE magnifying our prospects in this new stage of our labors, it may instruct us to dwell briefly in retrospect over the founding and early growth of our organization. For an early account of the rise of the Society we have the narrative summary furnished by Mr. Francis T. Furey in the first volume of the Society's Records (pp. 10-22). That this account is drawn up from authentic sources we may justly infer from the fact that Mr. Furey was then the Recording Secretary. The memoranda thus gathered by one of the Society's officers, at almost the birth of the Society, are peculiarly valuable; "they have never been disputed; and except for some lacunae in the description of the doings of the Society, which might need some slight further amplification, they are believed to be wholly correct." Among lacunae still within our facilities to supply, we might cite certain details and incidents of the Society's practical inception. Mr. Furey's account mentions that "A few, very few, gentlemen met in the office of Mr. Griffin's Journal”, at 711 Sansom Street. But the date of their meeting was not July 4th, as printed in the circular invitation which was issued with a view towards winning support and patronage of the proposed movement. "July 4th" was deemed a suitable date for heading an appeal in behalf of a purely historical project, but the precise day of the month when the pioneers of the the incipient Society broached their designs in Mr. Griffin's office appears to have escaped formal chronicling. At all events we have positive assurance that the day was not July 4th, although it was certainly before July 22d, the date set for the general meeting. We sincerely regret that no definite memorandum is available for fixing the exact date of the month and to say with certainty who all were present when our Society was projected in embryo, so to speak, at that informal meeting in Mr. Griffin's office. Dr. William J. Campbell sets the day “near but not on July 4th": "on an early July afternoon in 1884". The Rev. Dr. Middleton, who attended this meeting, recalls Mr. Thompson Wescott as one of those present and distinctly remembers that: "it was a dull day outside; cloudy, even gloomy, when the meeting was held in Mr. Griffin's office; with so little light therein that the writer had to get near one of the windows in order to read some memoranda bearing on the purpose of the meeting. But what day that meeting was held he does not remember." Not even the minutely detailed records of meteorology suffice, in this instance, to fix that particular day of the month when the sky was dull, "cloudy, even gloomy, when the meeting was held in Mr. Griffin's office". According to the Weather Bureau's data for July, 1884, there was continual cloudy weather during the first three weeks of the month; fair days were the exception, and we find repeated entries of either wholly or partly overcast days, "foul weather sunsets". In this respect the data might prove applicable to any one of the various dates-July 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 18th. How many previous informal and unofficial conferences occurred before this colloquium from which emanated the letter of invitation that led to the formal organization of the Society on July 22, 1884, we cannot exactly pronounce; neither when nor where, with absolute precision. In an appendix we shall subjoin the accounts of those meetings as given by two noteworthy pioneers of the movement. We have nowadays before us the living growth of the Society: "great oaks from little acorns grow", and posterity tends rather to admire the oak than to concern itself too curiously with circumstantial questions as to who first picked up the acorn, who carried it hence thither, who covered it with the first handful of earth, who first perceived the sprouting thereof above the surface. This much we can say with certainty, that the circular letter of invitation which resulted in the formation of the Society, July 22, 1884, was directly born of an equally certain, but informal and unofficial, colloquium at an unverified date of the month, although manifestly before July 22, in the office of Mr. Griffin, 711 Sansom Street. We reproduce the full text of the invitation circular which led to the organization of the Society on July 22, 1884. Dear Sir: CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY Philadelphia, July 4, 1884. You are invited to be present at a meeting to be held upon Tuesday afternoon, July 22d, 1884, at 31⁄2 o'clock, for the purpose of organizing a CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY. The necessity of such an organization is apparent to every The early history of the Catholics of this section of the one. United States is comparatively unknown, and, as time passes, many valuable records and traditions will be lost unless gathered by the industry of Catholic students and others who may take an interest in the work. To develop this interest and direct it towards a practical end, to extend historical research so as to cover American Catholic history, and to make plain the early work of the Church and its children in America, will be among the proposed objects of the Society. Nothing has yet been done towards organization. The undersigned have thought it best to call a meeting, at which all could express their views and adopt some plan of organization. Trusting that you will attend the meeting, we are, P. A. JORDAN, S.J., JOHN J. ELCOCK, Respectfully yours, THOS. MIDDLETON, O.S.A., P. Beresford, CHAS. H. A. ESLING, FRANCIS T. FUREY, W. J. CAMPBELL, M.D., JOHN H. CAMPBELL, MARTIN I. J. GRIFFIN. By the courtesy of the Cathedral T. A. B. Society the meeting will be held at their Hall, 16th street, above Vine, at the time named. Those who responded by attending the appointed meeting were Messrs. George D. Wolff, John H. Campbell, William J. Campbell, M. D., Thompson Westcott, Robert M. McWade, Edward J. Nolan, M. D., Michael O'Hara, M. D., Francis X. Reuss, Bernard L. Douredoure, Atlee Douredoure, William Gorman, Martin I. J. Griffin, and the Rev. Thomas C. Middleton, O. S. A. There was also present a member of the Paulist community of New York: the Rev. Thomas McMillan, who happened to be then in Philadelphia. Mr. John H. Campbell, who called the meeting to order, was chosen President pro tempore; Mr. Griffin, Secretary pro tempore. The Hall of the Cathedral T. A. B. Society was thankfully accepted for future meetings until such time as the Historical Society might provide for itself. In fine, the new Society became officially organized at this first meeting; and therefore we may correctly date the actual beginning of the Catholic Historical Society from July 22, 1884. All preliminary discussions had been informal and unofficial. A circular address to the public was prepared, and distributed in presumably interested quarters, under date of November 24, 1884. Membership was therewith solicited at the rates of $5 yearly for active members, $50 for life members, and $2 yearly for contributing members. The first public meeting of members was held in the Hall of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, on Thursday evening, April 30, 1885. Since this public meeting was graced by the presence of the late, venerated Archbishop Ryan, we may here appropriately quote from the personal reminiscences of Father Middleton, with reference to the once debated question: Should the roll of members include none but Catholics; or was it advisable to enroll names outside the faith? "My dear Father," answered His Grace: "of course, of course, you will surely take them; you will harm them not, and much they will learn will do them good. By all means let them join you." In this connection, besides Mr. Thompson Wescott, the historiographer of Philadelphia, we might recall two other cordial friends of the Society in its early period who were not of the Catholic Church: namely, Mr. Robert Coulton Davis and Mr. Philip Syng Physic Conner, "both warm sympathizers with our movement as well as donors of exceedingly rare and valuable Catholic curios". A word or so in review of the time and place of official meetings of the organized Society. First, at the meeting |