ANNUAL MEETING. The Annual Meeting of the Ipswich Historical Society was held December 5, 1904, at the House of the Society. The following officers were elected. President.-T. Frank Waters. Vice Presidents.-John B. Brown, Francis R. Appleton. Directors.-Charles A. Sayward, John H. Cogswell, John W. Nourse. Clerk.-John W. Goodhue. Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer.-T. Frank Waters. Librarian.-John J. Sullivan. SOCIAL COMMITTEE. Mrs. John J. Sullivan, Mrs. Chas. A. Sayward, Miss Lucy Slade Lord, It was voted that the Social Committee be authorized to fill vacancies in its membership. PRESIDENT'S REPORT, DECEMBER 5, 1904. Our Society was organized on April 14, 1890, and as its fifteenth year is well advanced, a summary of the year may have especial interest. The Reports already read indicate a healthy and vigorous life. The Register of our House bears the names of 854 visitors, recorded during the year ending December 1st, 1904. It may occasion surprise that this is the smallest registration since the Society entered its present home, the lowest number recorded previously being 1008 in 1901. This decrease is not to be taken seriously, however. It is simply the result in part of that inevitable fluctuation in the tide of summer visitors, which is always to be reckoned on, and in part, as well, of certain easily discovered causes. The total number of our Ipswich citizens registered is 41, while the number registered last year was 173. This discrepancy is due largely to the fact that in 1903, and for several years before, the Woman's Club gave a social, which was largely attended by its local members, whose names were duly recorded. This custom was not observed in 1904. A Midsummer Tea and other social functions found place in 1903, which were not attempted this year. There is evident, moreover, an increased disregard of the slight trouble of recording their names on the part of members who come to the House with friends. Naturally, too, the House has ceased to be a novelty, and the fee of twentyfive cents may debar our townsfolk, who are not members, from frequent visits. We trust, however, there may be no diminution in the number of Ipswich visitors. We hope that members will exercise to the uttermost their privilege of bringing friends to the House, and that none will be sensitive in the matter of repeated visits. As no registration is made on social occasions, which our citizens generally attend, many who are not members have an opportunity to see the House and taste its good cheer. We may well consider the desirability of increasing the number and variety of these special gatherings, which appeal to many who are not interested especially in historical pursuits. Our Society is doing good service to the community when a supper is served, and the ancient rooms are filled by young and old from the representative families of our old town. The Woman's Club affords a common rallying ground for the women of the town. It remains for the Historical Society to do like service for the men and the families of the whole community. In this way, interest in the House and the Society will naturally be increased, a new pride in the rare and beautiful old building will be kindled and gradually our townsfolk will come to feel that the Historical Society is a Town institution, wherein there are no lines of distinction, nor grades of privilege, and that its membership should include one representative at least of every Ipswich family. Our ideal of the Ipswich Historical Society will not be attained until this broad and comprehensive membership shall be reached, and our House shall be thronged with goodly numbers of Ipswich people, who will come, with their children and friends, to these ancient hearthstones, again and again. It is gratifying in this connection to note that while the number of visitors from other states fell from 402 in 1903 to 306 in 1904, the number of residents of our own Commonwealth, outside of our town, increased from 403 to 502. The courtesies of the House have been extended to the Convention of the Epworth League, April 19th; the Methuen Historical Society on July 13th; the Daughters of Rebecca on July 27th; the Art Class on August 8th; and the Hovey Family on August 24th. The Class in Architecture in the Institute of Technology with their instructor, Mr. Ross Turner, the eminent water-color artist, spent a whole day in the study of the House on October 15th. The financial condition of the Society is very satisfactory. The receipts from the House, though less than last year for reasons already noted, have been sufficient to pay all the running expense, the insurance on the property, and a small balance toward the interest account. By the purchase of the remainder of the lot in which the House stands, the mortgage indebtedness was raised to $3500, and the interest on the mortgage amounted to $111.08, in 1903. Through the payment of the legacy bequeathed by Mrs. Elizabeth M. Brown and the use of a small surplus, the mortgage has been reduced this year to $2800, but the interest has made large demands. One hundred and thirty-five dollars were required to meet this account. Fortunately another considerable reduction of the debt can be made on January 1st, and a corresponding reduction in the expense for interest in the coming year. The assured income from the constantly enlarging membership and the steady current of visitors will soon reduce our indebtedness to a comparatively small sum. The hearty thanks of the Society are due Mr. and Mrs. Washington P. Pickard for their efficient and enthusiastic services as Curators. They have had a fine regard for the interests of the Society in admitting visitors at almost any hour, and have shown a commendable desire to make their visits interesting. The high reputation of the House as a clean and inviting dwelling has been well sustained. Mr. Pickard has had full charge of the grounds, and has kept them in excellent fashion. The modest charge he has made for these extra services has been well earned. Our Publications have attained now to Number XIII. The title of the last issue was "Fine Thread, Lace and Hosiery in Ipswich by Jesse Fewkes, and Ipswich Mills and Factories by T. Frank Waters." It has been well received and a considerable number has been sold. Frequent requests for these pamphlets come from large libraries, notably from the Free Public Library of Birmingham, England, and from individuals who are interested in the Town of their forbears. Number X, "The Hotel Cluny of a New England Village," has been an exceptionally popular issue, and many copies are sold every year. By the loan of our half-tone plate of the monument which stands before the Meeting House of the South Church, the Society has contributed aid to the publication by Miss Elizabeth Porter Gould, of Boston, of her admirable book "Ezekiel Cheever, Schoolmaster. Mr. Cheever gained high renown by his ten years' work as Master of the Ipswich Grammar School. We may hope that a new era in the history of our Society has been marked by the election of two of our citizens to life membership, upon payment of fifty dollars each, and the payment of the first legacy the Society has received from the estate of a deceased member. This new form of membership, hitherto held only by a lady of an old Ipswich family, by which all the privileges |