ARTICLE 3. Section 1. To alter or amend this Constitution, it shall be indispensably necessary that notice thereof be given at the quarterly meeting next preceding the one at which such alteration or amendment will be proposed, and the concurrence of a number, equal to two thirds of the resident members, shall be required for its adoption. Rules and Ordinances. 1. As soon as the President takes the chair, on the day of the meeting, the secretary shall read the journal of the proceedings of the preceding meeting. 2. A motion made by any member must be seconded by another, before any question is taken thereon. 3. Every member when about to speak shall rise respectfully from his seat, and address the President. 4. No member shall be allowed to speak more than once on the same subject, unless leave be first obtained from the Society. 5. If the President wishes to take part in any discussion, he shall be at liberty to call one of the Vice Presidents to the chair, to enable him to do so. 6. All questions, other than those of order, shall be decided by a majority of the members present. 7. No member shall remain standing while the President is putting the question. 8. The place of the ensuing meeting shall be settled by the Society before adjournment. 9. The Secretary shall give public notice of each meeting, that absent members may be informed thereof. Provisional Article. The several officers of this Society shall be elected at the present meeting and the first quarterly meeting to be held, agreeable to the Constitution, shall be fixed for the 22d of May, in the present year. G. DENEALE, Sec'v. A consecutive history of the Society could be gleaned only from the fragmentary items regarding it appearing at intervals in the local newspaper-generally about July 4th and February 22d of each year. No list of the membership has been found, but from these meager references a few names have been secured, in addition to the founders, which gives us a complete understanding of the caliber of the individuals who composed its membership. Very early in the history the Society lost its first member by death; the following notice, in a heavy box, was published May 1, 1800. "The members of the Washington Society are requested to meet at Gadsby's long room at 10 o'clock this forenoon for the purpose of attending the funeral of Mr. Thomas Porter, late member of this Society. It is expected that each member will appear in black, or with crape round left arm." On February 24th, 1801, the following was published: "Sunday the 22d, being the anniversary of the birth of the late General George Washington, the members of the Washington Society and a number of Military gentlemen assembled yesterday forenoon at the Court House, from whence they marched in procession to the Presbyterian Meeting House where an oration suitable to the occasion was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Maffatt. The Washington Society dined at Gadsby's and the Military at the Globe Tavern, after which a number of toasts were drunk, accompanied with a discharge of cannon. Toasts of the Washington Society at Gadsby's: 1. The memory of him whose name dignifies the title of our Society. 2. The Day we Celebrate. 3. The President of the United States. 4. The Memory of the deceased bretheren of the Washington Society. 5. The Militia. 6. The Navy and Army of the United States. 7. The Fair Daughters of America. 8. The President of the Washington Society. (After he had retired). It is unnecessary to follow the Society through its activities year by year; beside its quarterly meetings, on which occasions its members participated in the discussion of literary and academic subjects, twice yearly it appeared in public-to lead the citizens of the town and vicinity in demonstrations of loyalty to country and in veneration of the memory of their great fellow citizen. A meeting of the Society was held on February 13, 1813, at which, after arranging a program for the 22d, (Note 9), "the sum of $500 was appropriated from the funds of the Washington Society towards the support of the Washington Lancastrian Free Schools." (Note 10). On July 4th, same year, the Society led a procession to the Presbyterian Meeting House (Note 11) where, after the religious services were finished, a patriotic address was delivered by William Fitzhugh, its first President. (Note 12). The Orator of the day, on February 22d, 1814; was Francis Scott Key, a member of the Society. A pamphlet copy of this Oration is in the possession of the Library of Congress. (Note 13). On Tuesday, August 11, 1835, The Alexandria Gazette published the following notice: "WASHINGTON SOCIETY: Members are requested to meet at Newton's Hotel, on Wednesday morning, the 12th instant at 9 o'clock, to unite in paying funeral honors to the memory of one of the Vice Presidents of the Society, the late Chief Justice Marshall; by order. James Dunlap, Sec'y." A great public demonstration of sorrow, processions, Orations, &c., participated in by the entire population, marked the day. In 1836 Edgar Snowdon was elected Secretary of the Society. (Note 14). The last reference to The Washington Society of Alexandria the writer has been able to find in contemporary print is in the year 1843, when the order of the Procession on the 22d was published: 1. The Military. 2. Music. 3. Orator of the Day. (Edgar Snowdon). 4. Washington Society. 5. Committee of Arrangements. 6. Surviving members of the Washington Family, and Officers and Soldiers of the Revolution. 7. Societies, Citizens, &c. This was probably the last appearance of The Washington Society of Alexandria in public as an organization. What became of the records is not known, but it is hoped that some of them at least are still preserved and that the intention to reorganize the Society may bring them to light. Quite recently a mass of historic information connected with the Presbyterian Meeting House was found in an unexpected place and has proven of the greatest value to those who are now concerned with its restoration. It is hoped that the same may happen. in the case of the Washington Society of Alexandria; it is perhaps too much to hope that "The other Book" with which the first Secretary was furnished-in which to inscribe the "Orations annually delivered and such other compositions and instruments of writing as the Society shall please to direct," may be discoveredbut stranger things have happened. The founders and early members of the Society were, for the most part, members of the Masonic Lodge and as biographical notices of each one may be found in the History of the lodge already referred to, it was thought best not to insert them here. Names of known Organizers and Members of The Washington Society of Alexandria 1800-1846 William Fitzhugh, President, 1800 George Deneale, Secretary, 1800 Col. Charles Simms 1800 Thomas Marshall 1800 Rev James Muir 1800 Dr. Elisha C. Dick, Vice-Pres. 1800 Jonathan Swift Treasurer 1800 William Herbert 1800 John C. Herbert-Secretary Pro-Tem 1800 Roger West Vice-Pres 1800 Rev. William Maffatt Chaplain 1800 Walter Jones 1800 James Keith 1800 Rev. Thomas Davis 1800 Thomas Porter (Buried Presbyterian Meeting House yard, May 1, 1800.) David Hoffman (First Professor of Law, University of Maryland. A very distinguished man.) Francis Scott Key Orator (1814) (1813) James Dunlap (Secretary of the Society in 1835.) (He died 1840.) John Marshall, Chief Justice; (Vice President-died 1835) NOTE 1. NOTES. The first corner-stone of the District of Columbia was laid at Jones' Point, at the mouth of Great Hunting Creek, on the west bank of the Potomac, on April 15th, 1791. It marked the southeast corner. It still stands in its original position and is one of the valued historic relics of Alexandria. NOTE 2. On February 22, 1842, the following notice, signed "Many Citizens, appeared in the Alexandria Gazette: "In order to make the observance of THE DAY general, it is respectfully requested, that the Merchants, Mechanics and Shop Keepers close their doors after nine o'clock A. M.; as the flags of the shipping in the port will all be hoisted, will not, as many of our citizens as possible, also display flags and appropriate emblems from their houses? ALEXANDRIA has the honor of being THE TOWN of Washington while living, and the reverer of his memory when dead." NOTE 3. By special invitation, Washington dined with the members of his Lodge on Saturday, April 1st, 1797; the Worshipful Master in a brief address congratulated him upon the termination of his arduous duties as President; Washington arrived in Alexandria on horseback, accompanied by a single attendant, but on his return to Mt. Vernon was escorted by the mounted troops of the town. |