Livingston County Historical Society.

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Livingston County, in the state of New York, of the full age of twenty-one years and upwards, and citizens of the United States, do, in pursuance of the statute in such case made and provided, hereby associate ourselves together for historical purposes.

The name or title by which such society or corporation shall be known in law is the LIVINGSVON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. The particular business and object of such society and its general design is to discover, procure and to gather up and preserve whatever may relate to Western New York, and the respective towns and villages of Livingston County in particular, whether it relates to the preoccupancy of the country by the red man or to the white race, and to gather such statistics of population, education, manufacture, and business of the county as shall be of public utility and of use to the Society. The officers of such Society shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, and nine Councilors who shall constitute a board of managers of said Society as aforesaid, and their names for the first year of its existence, as follows:

D. H. BISSELL, President,
M. H. MILLS, Vice-President,
NORMAN SEYMOUR, Sec. and Treas

L. B. PROCTOR, L. J. AMES, D. H. FITZHUGH, G. W. ROOT, S. P. ALLEN. B. F. ANGEL, RICHARD PECK, J. F. BARBER, E. H. DAVIS, Councilors.

The principal office and place of business of such Society shall be located at Geneseo, the county seat of Livingston county, but nothing herein contained shall prevent the society from holding its meetings as provided and specified in its bylaws.

We, the undersigned members, officers and managers of such Society, do hereby certify the matters above stated, to the end that we, our associates and successors may, pursuant io the statute of the state aforesaid in such case made and provided, to be a body politic and corporated, by the name above stated, and in witness whereof we have severally hereunto subscribed our names, the thirteenth day of February, 1877.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MT. MORRIS, N. Y.

On this 13th day of February, 1877, personally_appeared_before_me M. H. MILLS, NORMAN SEYMOUR, LOREN J. AMES, LEVI PARSONS, D. H. BISSELL, A. O. BUNNELL, L. B. PROCTOR, severally known to me to be the persons described in and who executed the above instrument, and they severally acknowledge the execution of the same.

REUBEN WALLACE,

Dated February, 1877.

Justice of the Peace in and for Livingston County.

Filed in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of New York, and in the office of the clerk of the county of Livingston.

CONSTITUTION.

SECTION 1. This Society shall be called THE LIVINGSTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

§ 2. The general object of the Society shall be to discover, procure, and preserve whatever may relate to the history of Western New York in general and Livingston County, and its towns in particular, and to gather such statistics of education and population, growth and proserity, and business of this region, as may seem advisable or of public utility.

3. The Society shall consist of resident, corresponding and honorary members who shall be elected by a majority of ballots; and of life members as hereinafter provided. Resident members shall consist of persons residing in Livingston County, N. Y.; corresponding and honorary members of persons residing elsewhere.

84. The officers of the Society shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and Treasurer, and nine councilors of administration, who shall constitute a "Board of Managers," and shall be elected annually on the third Tuesday in January in each year by a majority of ballots.

§ 5. None but residents and life members shall be eligible to office or qualified to vote.

§ 6. Members shall pay an admission fee of one dollar, and also an annual due of one dollar which shall be paid on or before the first day of July in each year following their election. The election of a resident member shall confer no privileges of membership until his admission fee shall be paid. The payment of the annual dues shall be a condition of continued membership. In case any member neglects to pay his annual due before the first day of July next after it becomes payable, he shall thereby forfeit all his privileges of membership. Resident clergymen are exempt from annual dues.

$7. The payment of $10 at any time, for that purpose, shall conststute a life member, exempt from all annual dues.

88. The Society shall meet annually on the third Tuesday of January. The President, or in his absence, the Vice-President or Secretary and Treasurer, may direct the call of a special meeting in such manner as the By-Laws shall provide. $9. Those members who shall attend at at any regular meeting of the Society shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The same rule shall apply to any other meeting of the Society, provided its action is approved of by the Board of Council or a majority of the members thereof.

$10. All officers shall continue in office until their successors are elected or appointed. Their duties when not herein defined may be prescribed by the ByLaws. All vacancies in office may be filled for the unexpired term by the Board of Council. A majority of the members present at any regular meeting called for the purpose, by the President and Secretary and Treasurer of the Society shall constitute a quorum to do business.

11. This constitution may be amended or changed from time to time by a majority vote of the members present at any annual meeting of the Society, provided due notice of the proposed amendments be given at least four weeks previous to a final vote thereon.

BY-LAWS.

CLAUSE 1. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the third Tuesday in January, at such village in the county as the President shall designate, and at such hour as the Secretary in the notice of such meeting shall

name.

CLAUSE 2. The Secretary shall give notice of such meeting by publication in all of the county papers for two successive weeks prior to the meeting, and also enclose by mail a special notice to the postoffice address of each officer of the Society at least ten days prior to such meeting.

CLAUSE. 3. Any meeting may be adjourned to such time as a maiority of the members present shall determine.

CLAUSE 4. The President shall preside at the meeting of the Society, regulate its proceedings, preserve order and decorum and have a casting vote. He shall also be the chairman of the Board of Council.

CLAUSE 5. The Vice-President shall discharge all the duties of the President in his absence.

CLAUSE 6. The Secretary shall have the custody of the Constitution, By-Laws, Records, property and effects of the Society. He shall give due notice of all its meetings, and keep in a book provided for that purpose, a record of all its business. He shall also by virtue of his office be Secretary to the Board of Council or Managers, and keep a record of its proceedings. He shall also under the direction of the Society, prepare all the communications to be addressed to others in the name of the Society, and keep true copies thereof.

CLAUSE 7. The Secretary shall also under the Board of Managers have the custody of books, minerals, manuscripts, papers, documents, coins, maps, and relics, and shall provide suitable cases for their preservation, and for convenient reference and inspection. He shall keep a record of all donations, of whatever name or kind, and report the same to the Society at the annual meeting.

CLAUSE 8. As Treasurer, the Secretary shall keep all securities and sums of money due and payable or belonging to the Society. He shall keep the funds of the Society on deposit to his credit as such Treasurer, in some banking institution of good repute; shall pay all sums which the Board of Council shall direct; shall keep a true account of all his receipts and disbursements and render a full and detailed statement thereof at the annual meeting of the Society.

CLAUSE 9. It shall be the duty of the Board of Council to control and manage the affairs and funds of the Society. They shall make annually, on the third Tuesday in January, a report to the Society of all its doings and transactions for the preceding year.

CLAUSE 10. Any member of this Society may be expelled by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a special or regular meeting of the Society, but no such action shall be taken without a notice two weeks previous to expel shall have been given by the Secretary of the Society in writing and sent through the mails to the postoffice address of the defaulting member.

CLAUSE 11. At the annual meeting there shall be an address delivered before the Society by the President or by some other person appointed by the Board of Council.

CLAUSE 12. At the meeting of the Society, and as far as applicable at the meeting of the Board of Council, the following shall be the order of business: 1. Reading of minutes of last meeting.

2. Reports and Communications from officers of the Society.

3. Reports from Committees.

4. Election of Members.

6. Reading of Papers and Delivery of Address.

CLAUSE 13. After the annual election of officers, the President shall appoint from the Board of Council the following standing committees to consist of three members each:

1. On Finance. 2. On Publication. 3. On Membership.

CLAUSE 14. The Finance Committees shall have general charge of the books, accounts, receipts, finances and expenditures of the Society. It shall examine and report upon all accounts and claims against the Society, and upon proposition, for the expenditure of its funds, as well as measures to increase the revenues of the Society, and promote economy in its expenditures.

CLAUSE 15. The Committee on Publication shall have charge and supervision of all the publications made by the direction of the Society, and shall carefully

examine all manuscripts and papers and other things directed to be published, in order to discover all errors and defects, and correct the same, also when necessary to make abstracts or abridgements of papers.

CLAUSE 16. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Membership to consider and report upon all questions relating to membership, which may be referred for that purpose, and as far as practicable, to induce all proper persons to become members of the Society.

CLAUSE 17. In the course of the future, should it become advisable, the President may in his discretion, after the annual election of officers, appoint the following committees, each to consist of three members of the Society:

1. On the increase of Books and Library.

2. On increase of Members.

3. O Donations and Subscriptions.

4. On Statistics.

5. On Portraits, Pictures and Photographs of Pioneer and early Settlers. 6. On Local History.

7. On Indian Reminiscences, Pictures, Memorials and History.

CLAUSE 18. The duties of these respective committees may be defined hereafter, in case the future requirements and interest of the Society make their appointment necessary.

CLAUSE 19. If any member of the Board of Council fail at any time to pay their dues to the Society or fail to qualify, and thus become ineligible to the office to which they have been elected, a majority of councilmen elected and qualified, shall have the power to declare such office vacant and shall proceed to fill the same from the resident members of the Society.

CLAUSE 20. A majority of the Board of Council present at any meeting of its members, special or otherwise, of which due notice shall have been given to its respective members by the Secretary of the Society, who by virtue of his office becomes Secretary of the Board of Council, shall constitute a quorum to transact business.

CLAUSE 21. All reports of committees shall be in writing, either in form of resolutions or otherwise, as they may deem expedient.

CLAUSE 22. Any of these By-Laws may be suspended in case of temporary exigency, by a two-thirds vote of all the members present at any annual meeting. They may also be amended and changed, and new matter added by a majority of all the members present at any annual meeting, provided notice of the proposed amendments be given in the call of the annual meeting at least two weeks previous to final action thereon.

CLAUSE 23. It is recommended that the members of the Society in the different towns and villages in the county form local clubs, and meet monthly, especially during the winter, in their respective localities, at private residences, by invitation of its members. The reading of an appropriate paper followed by such remarks and discussion as the subject might suggest, would disseminate much valuable information, and add increasing interest to the occasion, and make such meetings in their informal and social character a valuable acquisition to the Society, and create an interest and marked influence in promoting historical research among the members.