The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-11-21
KINGS DAUGHTERS MEET
TR F FIRST ANNUAL STATE CoNYEN-
 IION HEED YESTERDAY.

bers in New Haven County-other In-
 tome, Founder of the Society-Commit-
 tees and Recording Secretary Appointed
 CoIlation Served-TO-day's Program.
 The first annual convention of the Connecticut branch of the internation- al order of Kings Daughters was open ed at 2:3O o'clock yesterday afternoon in the Second Congregational church in Fair Haven, with Mrs. D. M. James of Fair Haven presiding.
 The body of the church was well filled with ladies representing circles in vari- ous parts of the state, and there were fully three hundred present. The ush- CTS were Mrs. w. A. Hemingway, Mrs. Frederick Foote, Miss Addie Strong, Miss Susan Ives, Miss Leila Ives and Mrs. Charles Kelsey. Miss Jennie Nal lory was at the piano.
 The session began with devotional ex- ercises, which were led by Mrs. James, and prayer was offered by Mrs. Isabella lJaV1S or NGW 4OIt<, d lduy plOllAlhCAI in Kings Daughters circles.
 The first business was the election of recording secretary and appointment of committees. Miss Carrie Clapp of New Haven was elected recording sec- retary and the following committees
 were appointed: Committee on consti-
 tuition, Mrs. Ira Forbes of Hartford,
 Mrs L. M. Behrens of Ivoryton and
 Mrs. Oviatti of New Haven; committee on nominations, Mrs, H. H. Johnson of New Haven, Mrs. Kelsey of Hartford
 and Mrs. Frances Foster of New Ha- ven.
 The next in order was the reading or reports of various county societies of the state.
 Mrs. l.. M. Behrens of Ivoryton gave a report of the societies in Middlesex county. She said that there were in that county ten chapters of the society, of which eight are doing charity work, one does church work, and one has only been organized about a month and has
 not yet decided on the special line of
 work which it will do. The ten chap ters have membership of 218.
 Mrs. Ira E. Forbes of Hartford report ed for Hartford county, saying that in her county there are thirty-nine cir cles, of which twenty-nine are in the city of Hartford The average mem | bership of the circles is fifteen. Mrs. Forbes recently formed a circle in one of the factories of Hartford, which Is
 now doing excellent work. As an out come of the Kings Daughters work in
 Hartford much good is being done in
 hospitals, Leila Day nurseries and or phan asylums.
 l For New Haven county Miss Jennie Messer reported. She said that the first
 circle in New Haven was formed in 18S8 In 1890 there were fourteen circles and at present there are foEty, with a | membership of 700. Besides church | work, deserving poor are helped, and in some instances rent is paid and coal bought. Clothing is also distributed. The College street church circle, with a
 membership of thirty, has during the past year distributed 200 new garments and 200 part-worn ones, besides collect | ing S350 for other uses. The Willing Workers of Westville have collected $500 l in the past five years, and another cir cle cares for little girl, May Ruth Ha- vens The Comforting circle has col lected $150, distributed 200 garments and helped in other directions. The First M. E. church circle, with 100 members, does work in home and foreign mis- sions The Whatsoever circle of Ep- worth church has edited and sold a cook
 book, from which a good sum has been received for church work. Work In oth- CT circles were described. Tn conclusion
 Miss Messer said: "If we were to sum-
 marize the the motives of the circles
 it would be, Help twhomsoever and whenever we can, for man forever needs help from man."
 Mrs. Thompson of Housatonic then
 spoke of the Housatonic summer home for working girls. She said that the
 work was splendid one, but that it could be carried on to better purpose If the society owned the building for
 which now $50 annually was paid for
 rent The building can be purchased
 for $4,000 or $50OO The work is self supporting.
 The first state secretary, Mrs. Tracy Peck of this city, also spoke briefly and told of the great pleasure to her when
 abroad to meet members of the society. l While she was in Rome several mem bers of the society were there at the same time, and a circle was formed to
 work among the waifs of Rome.
 The roll was next called, and one re-
 markable fact was noted by the presi- dent when the Torrington delegates
 were called, namely, that the circle in that place is the only one in the state composed wholly of members of the Roman church.
 The next in the order of exercises was
 an address by Mrs. Margaret Bottome, president and founder of the order, known as Mother of the Order" on
 "The Order of Nobility" Mrs. Bot
 tome said in substance: 'T only wish I could take every member of the order here by the hand, but my time here is. limited, as I speak in Brooklyn to-
 morrow morning. There is a fascina-
 ton in titles, in the word nobility"
 in the word 'aristocracy,' notwithstand-
 ing all our talk that we are a democrat ic people. Somehow if a man was a colonel in a regiment in the war we never drop the title. Here we are so | democratic, but yet we have an aris- tocracy of wealth, of brains, and of Kings Daughters, and aristocracy of
 the heart, which is the only one worth