Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1865-01-11
LOCAL NEWS.

MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF THE "HoaH
FOR 1NFIRM WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF Col
Or Spicy Time The annual meeting OF
the onlceTs and memb bers of the sHome for In
firm Women and Children of Color was held
yesterday morning in the cham ber of the Board
OF Common Council, (City HaiI,) and was at
tended oy about y ladies and perhaps dozen
of the sterner sex.
The Home was organized under the act of
Congress OF February 18th, 1869, under the
name of 1.-The National Association for the re-
lief OF destitute cOlOred women and children ~
and its object ie for the purpose of supporting
aged and INDECENT women and children, to i'm.
part instruction, DC. The trustees are empow-
cred TO Indenture such children as NAV be ca
pable OF learning a useful trade or occupation
The officers are president, vice president,
secretary, treasurer, and board of nine man >
ayers, who constitute an executive COMMITTEES
The first official meeting was held on March
Is, 1868, and on the 1St of June following by or
der OF Secretary of War, possession was taken
of the residence OF Mr. S E. Cox, near George
town, with go acres Of ground, which was liza.
BILE to ccnfiscatIoH, the owner having gone
South. The association soon got the house in
order, being aided by funds mostly from the
North, and the ground was leased out Dur.
ing the time the Home has been in operation
there has been number of matrons, viz:
Mrs. Hale, of Kansas; Mrs. Page, Vermont:
Mrs. Jackson, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Holt, Mas
sachusetts; Mrs. Carr, do; Mrs. Coleman. of
New York: but during the period only one
teacher, Miss NJ aria Mann, of Massachusetts
This change OF matronship involves the big
gest kind OF rev among the women concerned
In the management, (or between Miss Mann
and the matrons) and some particulars of the
difficulties Were given notlong ago in the Star.
Mrs Lucy n. Coleman (of Rochester,
N. Y.,) was appointed August Is, 1864 1t seems,
with the expectation of making things work
smoothly, but the expectations proved base
less, and in the vivid language OF one of the
parties interested, "a tempest soon rose, and
the Home soon echoed to the voice OF thunder
and glared with the lurid flames Of fury"
After three weeks thunder and lightning
with Miss Maria, Mrs. Coleman got her
back up and wrote a savage report to the
Ladies' g. Administrative Committee" in
which she pitched into Miss Maria straight
from the shoulder, showing that though some.
what advanced in years she was quite as good
q man as the teacneress.
She charged upon Miss Mann cruel treat
ment to the children, making special allega.
tions that the children We're starved, that they
were punished for wetting the bed by cutting
OF their supply OF drinking water, of orbidding
them the use OF the front part Of the house;
prohibiting them from eating fruit, i'm
posing tasks on them on Sunday OF winding
thread, DC, for some fancied wrong doing,
shaking sick boy and turning him out in the
cold storm because his bowels were not under
control, that Miss Mann wasn't congenial,
wouldn't occupy the same room with her, that
Miss Mann charged her with being spirit
ualist, woman's rights woman. free lover,
DC, dc.
Mrs. Jane S. SwissheIm, called as witness
in ihe case by Mrs. Coleman, in a written
statemen sus tanned the charges against Miss
Mann OF harshness to the children, expresses
the opinion that it "would be less cruel to the
children to drown them than to leave them
under her control" and winds up her state
menL by Indignantly charging that Miss Mann
made faces at her Mrs. Swisshelm) on the
public street, and at the same time'insulted
her with "a 1ourishlng, exaggerated bsw."
The committee OF investigation appointed to
consider Mrs. Coleman's complaint consisting
Of John Jolite, A. M. Gangewer and George
E. Baker, made q majority and minority re.
port, the two former reporting that the charges
against Miss Mann of undue severity to the
children and of disrespectful treatment to Mrs
Coleman were sustained, and advising that
Miss Mann be requested 70 resign.
Mr.. Baker reported bat in his opinion most
Of the charges by Mrs. Coleman were not sus-
tanned, and that while Miss Mann, it appeared,
was too severe disciplinarian, Mrs. Coleman
and the previous matrOns were too lak, hence
the rupture. He recommended that new
matron and teacher should be appointed TO
avoid extremes.
Mrs. Coleman afterwards resigned and Miss
Mann kept the field, bringing us down to the
time of the meeting yesterday
The meeting was called to order by Mrs A,
M Gangewer, Vice President, who briefly
stated that the object Of the meeting was the
election of officers.
Rev. Mr.. Brown, OF Gsorgetows. led in
prayer. = .5g t.GGH l. !--i p
Mrs. Gangewer called on Mr. Samuel Will
kinson, fof the New York Tribuns,) to preside
and Mr.. ID. ~. Kelsey to act as secretary.
The report-of the exeeutiye committee was