Constitution of the East Wallingford Meeting House Association

Preamble

We the subscribers believing it to be for the good of society to have a house for public worship at or near the R. R. Station at East Wallingford. Therefore we do hereby associate ourselves together (in accordance with the Statute of this State made and provided in the case) for building, holding and keeping in repair said house and with the ground pertaining thereto for the use of the Baptist Church and Society under the name of the East Wallingford Baptist Meetinghouse Association and adopt the following code of By laws as the rule of our Association.

By Laws

Article 1 Every person paying five dollars towards preparing the ground or building the house shall be entitled to vote in all meetings of the Association.

Article 2 The officers of this Association shall consist of the President, Secretary, three Trustees (a majority of the Trustees shall be members in regular standing in a Baptist Church), a Treasurer and Collector.

Article 3  It shall be the duty of the president to preside at all meetings of the Association.

Article 4 The Secretary shall warn all meetings of the Association by putting up notices of said meetings in two public places within the precincts of the Association giving at least 10 days notice and the place where said meeting is to be held (which shall be at or near said house) and the business to be done. All Annual Meetings so be warned at the time hereafter stated and on the written petition of five stockholders shall warn a meeting of the Association as soon as he shall have time to give the required notice and shall keep a record of the doings of the Association, and shall grant to any member the privilege of examining them at any time.

Article 5 The Trustees together with the President and Secretary shall designate the place where the house shall be set, and the trustees shall have a a title of the land made to them and their successors in office for the Association and shall have the care and oversight of the land and house after it is erected.
             The Trustees may when the house is not occupied by the Baptists let any Christian denomination occupy the same when they see fit. When the house is completed, the Trustees shall designate what slip shall be considered the ministers slip, and also three slips for free seats, and shall set the price of the slips so as to cover the whole expenses of the house and grounds, and at a meeting notified for that purpose shall set up the slips that the proprietors may be for choice, make out all tax bills, draw orders on the Treasurer, fill all vacancies in the board of officers that may occur from one annual meeting to another excepting in their own number, in which case there may be a meeting called to fill the vacancy of this Association not inconsistent with this Constitution and not otherwise provided therein, and report their doings at each annual meeting.

Article 6  The treasurer shall receive all moneys of the Association and pay the same over the order of the trustees and report the state of the Treasury at each annual meeting, or when called upon by the Trustees.

Article 7 The Collector shall collect all subscriptions and tax bills given to him by the trustees and pay the same over to the treasurer.

Article 8 The annual meeting of this Association shall be on the first Tuesday in each year. The first meeting of this Association shall be called by the first three signers of this Constitution as soon as it can have a general circulation and notice of the meeting can be given all that shall have signed for the object of this Association five dollars or more, shall be considered voters in this meeting. The officers elected as above, shall hold their offices until the first Tuesday in January 1860 and until others are elected. The Association may at this first meeting put in a building committee to superintend the building of the house and if they wish the Trustees shall decide upon the plan of the house.

Article 9 These By Laws may be altered or amended at any meeting warned for that purpose by the majority of two thirds of the members present and not inconsistent with the objects of the society.

Article 10 This Association may at any legal warned meeting adopt such measures or appoint such officers as may be thought necessary for the well being of the Association, not inconsistent with this constitution.

Article 11 The Stockholders shall have privilege of erecting sheds on the (property) under the direction of the trustees.

Wallingford May 7th 1859

Signers of Constitution 

  1. John Jackson

  2. A. Constantine (Austin) Secretary

  3. P.  B. Lincoln

  4. A.  A. Constantine

  5. H.  W. Lincoln

  6. Loomis French

  7. John Pelsue, Jr.

  8. Hilon Johnson

  9. Perry G. Hawkins

  10.  P. R. Fuller

  11. Philander D. Hart

  12. O. L. Allen

  13. Wm. W. Foster

  14. H. Howard

  15. Reuben Clarke

  16. Francis Fuller

  17. Carlos C. Davenport

  18. Daniel Packer

  19. R. H. Welch

  20. Darius Bucklin

  21. Harrison Pasch

  22. Andrew Mahan

  23. Peleg Sherman

  24. Jacob W. Gates

  25. P. D. Hart

  26. Thomas York

  27. Emerson D. Foster

By 1862 new names began to appear in Association minutes:

  1. H. V. Howard

  2. Robert Marsh

  3. E. R Allen

  4. Albert Smead

At the first meeting of the Association, June 29, 1859 the following officers were elected:  O. L. Allen – President, A. Constantine – Secretary, Loomis French, P. B. Lincoln and Thomas York – Trustees, A. Constantine – Treasurer, P. R. Fuller – Collector, John Jackson, A. Constantine, A. York, H. B. Howard and H. W. Lincoln – Building Committee.  There was a vote to reconsider Article 7 but there is no record of every making any changes.

Check out the first sale of pews in 1861 A. D.

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