SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND
1212 Cathedral Street, Room 21,
Baltimore, Maryland
CHARTER AND BY-LAWS
Adopted January 19, 1886
Revised April 18, 1893 and February 27, 1950
CHARTER
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS
That we, John G. Morris, Louis P. Hennighausen, Lewis H. Steiner, Charles F. Raddatz, Edward
F. Leyh, Frederick Ph. Hennighausen, and George Wm. Gail, being citizens of the State of
Maryland, do hereby certify that we do, under and by virtue of the general laws of this State,
authorizing the formation of corporations, hereby form a corporation under the name of: "The
Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland of Baltimore City."
2.
WE DO FURTHER CERTIFY
,
that the said corporation so formed is a corporation for the
purpose of gathering, publishing and preserving material for the History of the Germans in
Maryland, that the term of existence of the said corporation is limited to forty years, and that
the said corporation is formed upon the articles, conditions and provisions herein expressed and
subject in all particulars to the limitations relating to corporations, which are contained in the
general laws of the State.
3.
WE DO FURTHER CERTIFY
,
that the operations of the said corporation are to be carried
on in the State of Maryland and that the principal office of the said corporation will be located
in Baltimore City.
4.
WE DO FURTHER CERTIFY
,
that the said corporation has no capital stock.
5.
WE DO FURTHER CERTIFY
,
that the said corporation will be managed by a board of officers
and that John G. Morris, D. D., L. L. D., Louis P. Hennighausen, Charles Weber, Robert M.
Rother, Dr. Lewis H. Steiner, Edward F. Leyh, Charles F. Raddatz, Ernest Hoen, are the names
of the nine officers who will manage the concerns of the said corporation for the first year.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF
,
we have hereunto set our hands and seals this twenty-ninth day of
March, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine.
Witness:
WILLIAM
B. NELSON
STATE OF MARYLAND
,
Baltimore City, to wit:
Before the subscriber, a Justice of the Peace of the State of Maryland in and for the City of
Baltimore, personally appeared John G. Morris, Louis P. Hennighausen, Lewis H. Steiner, Charles
F. Raddatz, Edward F. Leyh, Frederick Ph. Hennighausen, and George William Gail and did
severally acknowledge the foregoing certificate to be their act and deed.
WILLIAM
B. NELSON, J.P.
I, HENRY D. HARLAN, one of the judges of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, do hereby
certify that the foregoing certificate has been submitted to me for examination and I do further
certify that the said certificate is in conformity with the provisions of the law, authorizing the
formation of the said corporation.
HENRY D. HARLAN
Recorded April 10, 1889, at 2:55 P.M.
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(JOHN G. MORRIS
(LOUIS P. HENNIGHAUSEN
(LEWIS H. STEINER
(CHARLES F. RADDATZ
(EDWARD F. LEYH
(FRED'K PH. HENNIGHAUSEN
(GEORGE WM. GAIL
(Seal)
(Seal)
(Seal)
(Seal)
(Seal)
(Seal)
(Seal)
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I. Name. This Society shall be known as the "SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY
OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND."
ARTICLE II. Object. The object of this Society shall be to gather, utilize, publish and
preserve material for the history of the Germans in Maryland.
ARTICLE III. Membership. This Society shall consist of active and corresponding members.
Active members are such, who having been proposed and recommended by a member of the
Society, shall have been accepted by the Executive Committee and shall have paid the stipulated
annual contribution.
Corresponding members must be admitted in the same manner as the active members. They,
however, are exempt from the regular annual contribution and have no vote.
The annual contribution of an active member shall be five dollars ($5.00), payable in advance.
ARTICLE IV. Officers. The officers of the Society shall be a president, two vice-presidents,
one secretary, a treasurer, and an Executive Committee of nine, of which the officers of the
Society, excepting the secretary, shall be members. The immediate past president shall be an
advisory member of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V. Meetings and Elections. The Annual Meeting shall be held on or near the day
celebrated in honor of Washington's Birthday, at which meeting all the officers of the Society,
with the exception of the secretary, shall be elected. The election of the secretary remains with
the Executive Committee.
In all regularly called meetings, the active members present shall constitute a quorum. All
elections of either officers or members shall be by ballot and their majority shall be considered
decisive.
The president, or in his absence the next highest officer, shall have the power to call special
meetings. Upon the request of five active members, it shall be his duty to do so. Due notice of
such a special meeting shall be mailed to the members at least ten days in advance.
ARTICLE VI. Vacancies. Vacancies occurring in the office of president, vice-presidents,
treasurer, or members of the Executive Committee may be filled by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VII. Expenditures of Funds. The proceeds of the annual subscription to the Society,
after payment of the necessary expenses, shall be set apart for the collection of books, material
appertaining to the objects of the Society, and for the purposes of publication under the
direction of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VIII. Duties of Officers
A. President. The president, or in his absence, one of the two vice-presidents, or in their
absence, the highest officer present, shall preside at all meetings of this Society. The duty of
the president or presiding officer shall be to preserve order, regulate the order of proceedings,
and cast the deciding vote when required.
B.
Secretary. The secretary shall conduct all the correspondence of the Society and main-
tain its records. He shall keep the minutes of all meetings of this Society, and at the opening of
each of them shall read those of the preceeding meeting. He shall preserve, arrange, and keep
in good order all books, manuscripts, documents, pamphlets, papers and contributions of the
Society under the direction of the Executive Committee. He shall keep a catalogue of the
property of the Society and take care that all manuscripts, objects or papers of the Society, that
may be borrowed for personal use by any of its members, be duly returned. He shall also act
as secretary of the Executive Committee, for all of which he shall receive such compensation as
shall be determined upon by the Executive Committee.
C.
Treasurer. The treasurer shall receive and keep deposited in bank, to the credit of the
Society, all sums belonging to the Society. He shall pay all such sums as may be owing by the
Society, when approved by the Chairman of the Executive Committee. He shall keep an account
of all moneys received and paid by him and once in every year render a statement of the
same to the Society.
ARTICLE IX. The Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall supervise and
direct the collection and arrangement of statistical and historical material. It shall have power to
order the printing of such matter as in its judgment should be published by this Society and to
purchase books, pamphlets, and papers pertinent to the objects of this Society. The Chairman
of the Executive Committee shall make a report of its activities to the Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE X. Amendments. These By-Laws may be amended as the Society shall see fit, at
any regularly called meeting, by a vote of two-thirds of those present.
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