The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-11-26
H1srORICAn SOCIETY.

Given to the Society During the Past | Year-Election of Ofhcers-Treasurer' s
 Report-Paper Read by Professor Dexter
 on "The First Public Library in New
 Haven"
 The annual meeting of the New Ha- ven Colony Historical society was held last evening at the society building on Grove street. The treasurers report was read by D. E. Bowers and showed that the total receipts during the last year were $2,297.7S, of which there is a balance on hand of a little over $2OO.
 President Baldwin then called the at- tention of the society to the motion, made some time ago by the late Eli Whitney, to increase the number of vice presidents of the society to two instead of one, as at present The motion was carried and the president appointed the following committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year: Messrs. English, Mansfield Dewell, Morehouse and Van Name.
 
 out MT. Baldwin spoke of the society during the past year and said that since November l, 1894, All books and 440 pamphlets have been added to the so- ciety's library. He also spoke eulogis- tically of the late Dr. s. Dryden Phelps, who was a member of the society, and also of the late Eli Whitney, who lief; in his will five hundred dollars to the society.
 The nominating committee reported the following nominations: President Judge Simeon .E. Baldwin; first vice president, Thomas R. Trowbridge; sec ond vice president, Judge Lynde Har- rison; secretary, Henry T. Blake; treas- urer, D. E. Bowers; directors, Charles R. Ingersoll, James M. Hoppin, F. E. Hotchkiss, Charles H. Townshend, George Petrie, T. A. Barnes, Caleb B. Bowers, Henry L. Hotchkiss, Edward | I. Foote Charles Dickerman, Joseph B. | Sargent, Rev. F. L. Lines, Edwin H. English, Edward E. Bradley. J. M. B. | Dwight, Charles L. Baldwin, George A. Root, Henry F. English, Prof. George | B. Adams, Prof. Arthur W. Wheeler, Nathan H. Sanford, Charles H. Smith, Edward c. Beecher, J. Edward Heaton and A. E. Rowland These nominations were all accepted and the secretary was ordered to cast ballot for the gentle men nominated.
 After the election of officers D. F Bowers spoke of the necessity of hay ing the fby-laws and regulations of the society changed and amended He said that the present bylaws have been in existence during the thirty years since the society was organized and many changes are needed. MT. Bowers moved that a committee be appointed to look over the bylaws, make necessary Ichan@oe and report at their earliest con- venience.
 On motion of Benjamin R. English the motion of Mr.Bowers was so amend ed that the matter of changing the by laws was referred to the board of direc- tors, with instructions to report as soon as possible, and was unanimously passed
 At the conclusion of the election of officers and business meeting a paper was read by Prof. Dexter, secretary of Yale college, on "The First Public Li- brary in New Haven Although on account of the indictment weather the attendance was small, those who were present enjoyed exceedingly Prof. Dex- ter's interesting address.
 Prof. Dexter in his address said: When Rev. Samuel Eaton, the brother of Theophilus Eaton, returned to Eng land he left with his brother portion of his library, which he hoped would be- come the foundation of college libra ry, as both he and Rev. John Daven.. port were earnest advocates of the high CT education. It was valued at f20. Tn few years more Davenport also re- turned to England and the library ap- parently had no permanent home, no proper custodian, and, worse of all, no readers. In July, 165S, James Bishop makes a catalogue of these volumes, 106 in number, and calls them the Town s Books" This list remained undiscover- ed until called to the notice of the citi- zens of New Haven by Captain Charles H. Townshend. The list has ninety-six titles. Two-thirds are printed in Latin and nearly one-third in English. The most voluminous author, as might be expected in the library of a. non-con- formist theologian and eminent scholars of that day, was John Calvin. Other authors were John Robinson and Henry Amesbury. Among the books printed in English were Fox's Book of Martyrs and translation of Ovid in verse. Of English literature, properly speaking there were no volumes. What became of this, our first, public library is ab- solutely unknown. No mention of them is on record.