The name of this corporation shall be Brookline Historical Society.

The objects of this Society shall be the study of the history of town of Brookline, Massachusetts, its societies, organizations, families, individuals, events; the collection and preservation of its antiquities, the establishment and maintenance of an historical library, and the publication from time to time of such information relating to the same as shall be deemed expedient.

Any person of moral character who shall be nominated and approved by the Board of Trustees may be elected to membership by ballot of two-thirds of the members present and voting thereon at any regular meeting of the Society. Each person so elected shall pay an annual assessment of two dollars; and any member who shall fail for two consecutive years to pay the annual assessment shall cease to be a member of this Society ; provided, however, that any member who shall pay twenty-five dollars in any one year may thereby become a Life member; and any member who shall pay fifty dollars in any one year may thereby become a Benefactor of the Society, and thereafter shall be free from all dues and assessments. The money received from Life members and Benefactors shall constitute a fund, of which not more than twenty per cent, together with the annual income there from, shall be spent in any one year.

The Society may elect Honorary and Corresponding members in the manner in which annual members1 are elected, but they shall have no voice in the management of the Society, and shall not be subject to fee or assessment.

Certificates signed by the President and the Clerk may be issued to all persons who become Life members, and to Benefactors.


The officers of this Society shall be seven. Trustees, a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary (who shall be Clerk of the Society and may also be elected to fill the office of Treasurer), and a Treasurer, who, together, shall constitute the Board of Trustees. The Trustees, Clerk, and Treasurer shall be chosen by ballot at the annual meeting, and shall hold office for one year, and until others are chosen and qualified in their stead. The President and Vice-President shall be chosen by the Board of Trustees from their number at their first meeting after their election, or at an adjournment thereof. The officers of the Society shall also include a President Emeritus when, the Society shall so vote.

The annual, meeting of this Society shall be held on the third Sunday of January unless postponed by vote of the Trustees. Special meetings may be called by order of the Board of Trustees. The Clerk shall notify each member by a written or printed notice sent through the mail postpaid at least three days before the time of meeting, or by publishing such notice in one or more newspapers published in Brookline.

At all meetings of the Society ten (10) members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

The meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be called by the Clerk at the request of the President, by giving each member personal or written notice, or by sending such notice by mail, postpaid at least twenty-four hours before the time of such meeting; but meetings arranged when all the Trustees are present may be held without such notice. The President shall call meetings of the Board of Trustees at the request of any three members thereof. A majority of its members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Vacancies in the offices of Trustees, Clerk, or Treasurer may be filled for the remainder of the term at any regular meeting of the Society by the vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting. In the absence of the Clerk at a meeting of the Society, a Clerk pro tempore shall be chosen.

A Nominating Committee of three members shall be appointed by the presiding officer, who shall report at the annual meeting a list of candidates for the places to be filled.

The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, shall preside at all meetings of the Society. In the absence of those officer's a President pro tempore shall be chosen.

The Clerk shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duties. He shall notify members of all meetings of the Society, and shall keep record of all proceedings of the Society at its meetings.

He shall conduct the general correspondence of the Society and place on file letters received.

He shall enter the names of members in order in books or cards kept for that purpose, and issue certificates to Life members and to Benefactors.

He shall have charge of such property in possession of the Society as may from time to time be delegated to him by the Board of Trustees.

He shall acknowledge all loans or gifts made to the Society.

The Treasurer shall collect all moneys due the Society, and pay all bills against the Society when approved by the Board of Trustees. He shall keep a full account of receipts and expenditures in a book belonging to the Society, which shall always be open to the inspection of the Trustees; and at the annual meeting he shall make a written report of all his doings for the year preceding. The Treasurer shall give bonds in such sum, with surety, as the Trustees may fix. for the faithful discharge of his duties.

The Board of Trustees shall superintend the prudential and executive business of the Society, authorize all expenditures of money, fix all salaries, provide a common seal, receive and act upon all resignations and forfeitures of membership, and see that the by-laws are duly complied with. The Board of Trustees shall have full powers to hire, lease, or arrange for a suitable home for the Society, and to make all necessary rules and regulations required in the premises. They may from time to time appoint such sub-committees from their own number as they deem expedient. In case of a vacancy in the office of Clerk or Treasurer they shall have power to choose the same pro tempore till the next meeting of the Society.

The President shall annually appoint four standing committees, as follows:-

A committee of three members, to be styled the "Committee on Rooms," to which shall be added the President and Clerk of the Society ene-officio, who shall have charge of all arrangements of the rooms (except books, manuscripts, and other objects appropriate to the library offered as gifts or loans), the hanging of pictures, and the general arrangements of the Society's collection in their department.

A committee of three members, to be styled the "Committee on Papers," who shall have charge of the subjects of papers to be read, or other exercises of a profitable nature, at the monthly meetings of the Society.

A committee of three or more members, to be styled the "Committee on Membership," whose duty it shall be to give information in regard to the purposes of the Society, and increase its membership.

A committee of three or more members, to be styled the "Committee on Library," who shall have charge of the arrangement of the Library, including acceptance and rejection of books, manuscripts, and other objects tendered to the library, and the general arrangement of the Society's collections in that department.

These four committees shall perform their duties as above set forth under the general direction and supervision of the Board of Trustees. Vacancies that occur in any of these committees during their term of service shall be tilled by the President.

The President shall annually, appoint two members, who, with the President, shall constitute the Committee on Finance, to examine from time to time the books and accounts of the Treasurer, to audit his accounts at the close of the year, and to report upon the expediency of proposed expenditures of money.

These by-laws may be altered or amended at any regular meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present, notice of the subject-matter of the proposed alterations or amendments having been given at a previous meeting.