Historical News

Historical News Friends Historical Association The Annual Meeting of the Association was held on Eleventh Month 25, 1957. Since the date of the meeting fell within a few weeks of the 150th anniversary of John Greenleaf Whittier's birth, it seemed appropriate to use this occasion to commemorate the Quaker poet. The meeting was held in the Twelfth Street Meetinghouse , Philadelphia, where Whittier was accustomed to worship when he was in Philadelphia. Vice-President Richmond P. Miller, who was in the chair, read a cable of greetings from the President, Thomas E. Drake, who was in Europe. After a brief business meeting, E. Sculley Bradley, Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke on "Whittier—Poet of Purpose," and J. Welfred Holmes, Professor of English, Morgan State College , Baltimore, spoke on "Whittier as a Social Reformer." The third speaker was to have been C. Marshall Taylor of New York. The meeting, informed of his untimely death on Eleventh Month 11, adopted the following memorial minute: Seven years ago at our Annual Meeting, C. Marshall Taylor appeared before us in the role of "Mr. Whittier." For many Friends here and abroad who did not have the privilege of knowing him personally, Marshall Taylor was "Mr. Whittier." His unrivaled collection of Whittierana , his many articles in our Bulletin and elsewhere, his unfailing generosity and helpfulness to Whittier scholars, and above all his irrepressible enthusiasm for the Quaker poet make it almost inevitable that we so remember him. But it is right that we should also recall his other contributions to the life of the Association. He became a member in 1941. In 1945 he was elected to the Board of Directors and from 1953 to 1957 he served as one of our Vice-Presidents. Though he lived at a distance from Philadelphia, he seldom missed a meeting either of the Association or of its Board, and he reminded us often that we are a national and not merely a local historical association of Friends. In his service on the Membership Committee he set an example to all of us by his diligence in recruiting new members. Yet his own interest in the Society of Friends was never merely antiquarian: he was concerned throughout his life for the advancement of vital Quakerism as a liberal, non-creedal religious faith. With sorrow we record his passing on Eleventh Month 11, 1957, but we 50 Historical News51 remember with gratitude his contributions to this Association, especially as we honor tonight the memory of John Greenleaf Whittier, who represented to him the noblest and best in the Quaker tradition. * * * The following members were elected at the Annual Meeting to serve on the Board of Directors until Eleventh Month I960: Richmond P. Miller, Frederick B. Tolles, John F. Rich, Katharine W. Elkinton. The Index to Volumes XLI-XLV (1952-1956) of the Bulletin, prepared by Lyman W. Riley, is now ready, and copies may be obtained free of charge by writing to the Assistant Editor, Haverford College Library, Haverford, Pennsylvania. From Quaker Libraries The late C. Marshall Taylor left to the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College the balance of his Whittier Collection, portions of which he had already transferred to the Library before his death. This collection, which incorporates the great collection formed by Carroll A. Wilson (see Wilson, Thirteen Author Collections of the Nineteenth Century, ed. Jean S. C. Wilson and David A. Randall [New York, 1950], II, 707-889), comprises approximately a thousand volumes and nearly six hundred manuscripts. Virtually every edition of Whittier is present, together with many variants and periodical appearances. REPORT OF THE TREASURER For the fiscal year ended October 31, 1957 Income Dues from members ............................... $2,058.00 Dues from libraries and institutions .................. 93.00 Sales of Bulletin and royalties ...................... 288.06 Sale of advertising space in Bulletin .................. 30.00 Investment income ................................ 376.13 Gifts ........................................... 164.50 Total income ................................ $3,009.69 Balance, November 1, 1956 ........................ 3,425.80 6,435.49 Expenditures Bulletin Printing, Spring and Fall..................... $1,387.00 Bulletin Editor's Fee ............................... 300.00 Meetings, Annual 1956 (special), Spring 1957 .......... 471.48 Indexing of Bulletin ............................... 40.00 Miscellaneous, postage, secretarial, clerical, billing and office expense........................ 297...