AN EPITOME OF FACTS AND EVENT RELATIVE TO THE Founding of the Order , Native Daughters of th( Golden West COMPILED BY THE CHARTER MEMBERS OF URSULA PARLOR No. 1, N. D. G. W. '^OuuA. Copyrieht 1917 by LILLY O. REICHLING DYER Washington, D. C. it @@©©@©©@®©@©@^@@€-@@#@@@®@@@@@@ n$i^ /v , / / ©CI.A458^>U9 To the little city of Jackson belongs the honor of being the birth-place of the noble. Order of Native Daughters of the Golden West, the great sisterhood of native-born California women which has grown from its humble beginning in the foothills of Amador County to a mighty army of earnest workers for the civic and social development of our wonderful Western Empire on the shores of the Pacific. This distinctively Californian organization was founded in Jackson on Saturday, September 11, 1886, as the result of a call issued to native-born California women by Miss Lilly O. Reich- Img, to whom the Grand Parlor has accorded special honor as the Founder of the Order. At the first meeting, held in Pioneer Hall, Jackson, on the above date, thirteen names were signed to the list of women enrolling themselves as members of the Order. These names, in the order of their enrollment, are as follows: Ellen Boarman, Maggie Stasal, Rose Stasal, Nellie Fonten- rose, Emma Boarman, Amy Badere, Kittie Murray, Agnes Leonard, Celia Murray, Lilly 0. Reichling, Hettie Greenhalgh, Flora Dunning and Rose Genaro. Of these, the first two no longer retain their membership in the Order ; the third. Miss Rose Stasal, is now a member of Buena Vista Parlor, San Francisco, while Amy Badere, Kittie Murray and Celia Murray have answered the Last Call. All the others are still active members of Ursula Parlor Number One. The following is a certified copy of the original minutes of the preliminary meeting held on September 11th, 1886, as the same appear upon the official records in the possession of the Fcecording Secretary of Ursula Parlor No. 1 : MINUTES OF THE PRELIMINARY MEETING OF NATIVE DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST. Jackson, September 11, 1886. Pursuant to a call issued by Lilly 0. Reichling, reading, — "Miss is most cordially requested to be present at the N. S. G. W. Reading-Room at precisely 1 :30 P. M., Saturday, September 11, 1886," a meeting was held in Pioneer Hall, Jackson, Amador County, California, on Saturday afternoon, September 11, 1886. About twenty young ladies were present. Miss Reichling presided. She explained that her object in calling the meeting was to try to form an Order of California women to be known as "Native Daughters of the Golden West." She stated that if she could secure the names of twelve of those present she would feel assured of being able to organize. After a lengthy discussion as to the feasibility of the plan, the following thirteen names were signed in the order here set forth : Ellen Boarman Maggie Stasal Rose Stasal Nellie Fontenrose Emma Boarman Amy Badere Kittie Murray Agnes Leonard Celia Murray Lilly O. Reichling Hettie Greenhalgh Flora Dunning Rose Genaro After consultation, it was decided to permanently organize on Saturday, September 25, 1886, and the meeting adjourned until one thirty o'clock in the afternoon of that day. Lilly O. Reichling, Temporary Chairman and Secretary. STATE OF CALIFORNIA, i County of Amador. ^^' Emma Boarman Wright, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That she is the duly elected, qualified and acting Recording Secretary of the Ursula Parlor No. One, Native Daughters of the Golden West; that she is the custodian of the records of said Parlor, and that the foregoing is a true and literal copy of the INlinutes of the Preliminary Meeting of the Native Daughters of the Golden West held on September ii, 1886, as the same appear upon the Parlor Records in her possession. And Winnie Lucot, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That she is the duly elected, qualified and acting President of Ursula Parlor No. One, Native Daughters of the Golden West ; that she has read and compared the foregoing copy of the Minutes of the Preliminary Meeting of the Native Daughters of the Golden West with the original record in the possession of the Recording Secretary, and that the same is a true and literal copy thereof. EMMA BOARMAN WRIGHT, . WINNIE LUCOT. Subscribed and 'sworn to before me this i6th day o^ ''September, 1916. by Emma Boarman Wright as Recording Secretary, and Winnie Lucot as Presi- dent, of Ursula Parlor No. One, N. D. G. W. [i.. s.] JAS. JAY WRIGHT, Notary Public in and for the County of Amador, State of California. Pursuant to the adjournment ordered at the preliminary meeting, a second meeting was held in Pioneer Hall, Jackson, at 2 :30 P. M. on Saturday, September 25, 1886, for the purpose of organization. By request Judge Curtis H. Lindley presided at this meeting, Miss Lilly O. Reichling acting as Secretary. The first business transacted was the selection of a distinc- tive name for the Parlor. The name "Ursula" was proposed by Miss Lilly O. Reichling, and the name "Minerva" by Miss Ellen Boarman. The name "Ursula" was favored by the majority, and was accordingly selected and ordered inserted in the Constitu- tion. The Constitution was then read, section by section, and with few alterations was approved. Among other provisions deter- mined at this time were the fixing of the minimum age at eigh- teen years and the decision to require five black balls to reject an applicant. Election of officers being next in Order, the following were nominated and elected by acclamation : Past President, Miss Lilly O. Reichling. President, Mrs. C. L. Kane. 1st Vice President, Mrs. Mattie L, Freeman. 2nd Vice President, Mrs. Mary Folger. 3rd Vice President, Mrs. Lizzie Lindley. Recording Secretary, Miss Maggie Stasal. Financial Secretary, Mrs. Amy Badere. Treasurer, Miss Kittie Murray. Marshal, Miss Flora Dunning. The selection of Trustees was deferred until the next meet- ing. A vote of thanks was tendered to Judge Lindley for his kind aid, after which the meeting adjourned to Saturday, October 9, 1886. At this second meeting, the following names were added to the roll : Ella Caminetti, Tina L. Kane, Olga Reichling, Mary Folger, Mattie L. Freeman and Lizzie M. Lindley. Of these, Mrs. Caminetti and Mrs. Folger are the only survivors who retain an active membership in the Mother Parlor and in the Order. On this date, therefore, — September 25, 1886, — Ursula Par- lor No. 1, N. D. G. W., was formally instituted with a membership of nineteen, as above named. The charter remained open until October 29th, 1886, at which time the charter list, bearing thirty- three names, was formally closed. Between the date of organization and the month of June, 1887, seventeen parlors were formed and instituted throughout the State by officers and special representatives of Ursula Parlor, which, as the Mother Parlor, reserved the right of institution until that right was surrendered to the Grand Parlor which con- vened in the month of July, 1887. This body met in San Francisco, pursuant to an agreement known as "The Plan," and formed a permanent organization, adopted a Constitution, and selected a full corps of Grand Offi- cers. The first Grand President was our own beloved Tina L. Kane, of bler,sed memory, honored as Senior Past Grand Presi- dent of the Order. Thereafter, the power of institution became vested in the Grand Parlor; but the first seventeen Parlors in- stituted after the birth of the Order in Jackson were chartered and formally established by Ursula Parlor. The second Parlor to be instituted, after the Mother Parlor, was Minerva Parlor No. 2, and thereafter followed Alta Parlor No. 3, both of San Francisco. Of the original Parlors chartered by Ursula, eight still remain active, — Minerva No. 2, Alta No. 3, and Oro Fino No. 9 of San Francisco; Joaquin No. 5, of Stock- ton; Laurel No. 6, Nevada City; Bonita No. 10, Redwood City; Marguerite No. 12, Placerville, and Eschol No. 16, Napa. Of the thirty-three names on the charter roll, five only have died, fourteen have severed their relations with the order, one has transferred to another Parlor, and 13 are still active mem- bers of Ursula Parlor. They are : Lilly 0. Reichling Dyer, the Founder, Washington, D. C. Eliza Ellington Caminetti, Past Grand President, Washing- ton, D. C. Emma F. Boarman Wright, Past Grand Trustee, Jackson. Nellie Fontenrose, Jackson. Flora Dunning Podesta, Jackson. Mary Folger Sloan, Jackson, Henrietta Greenhalgh O'Neill, one of the first deputized in- stalling officers under "The Plan," Jackson. Rose Genaro Carley, Jackson. Agnes Leonard, Jackson. Alice Peek Jones, Jackson. Mellie Peek, Jackson. Annie Fullen Magee, Mare Island. Christina Rickert Charleston, Sumner, Washington. The undersigned, charter members of Ursula Parlor No. One, N. D. G. W., in good standing in the Order and in said Par- lor, having read the foregoing statement, hereby certify the same to be a true and correct statement of the facts therein set forth. Nellie Fontenrose Flora Dunning Podesta Emma Boarman Wright Rose Genaro Carley Agnes D. Leonard Mary W. Folger Sloan Lilly 0. Reichling Dyer Alice Peek Jones Henrietta Greenhalgh O'Neill Mellie Peek STATE OF CALIFORNIA, i County of Amador. J ' On this i6th day of September, A. D. 1916, before me, Jas. Jay Wright, a Notary Public in and for the said County, residing therein, duly commissioned and sworn, personally appeared Nellie Fontenrose, Emma Boarman Wright, Agnes Leonard, Henrietta Greenhalgh O'Neill, Flora Dunning Podesta, Rose Genaro Carley, Mary W. Folger Sloan, Alice Peek Jones and Mellie Peek, per- sonally known to me to be the same persons described in and whose names are signed to the within document, and being duly sworn, each for herself and not one for the other, deposes and says that she has read the statement preceding her signature, and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true, and that she signed the same. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my Official Seal at my office in the City of Jackson, in said County and State, the day and year in this Certificate first above written. [i<. s.] JAS. JAY WRIGHT, Notary Public in and for the County of Amador, State of California. f.. _ STATE OF CALIFORNIA, City and County of San Francisco. On this igth day of September, A. D. 1916, before me, M. A. Brusie, a Notary Public in and for the said City and County, residing therein, duly com- missioned and sworn, personally appeared Lilly O. Reichling Dyer, personally known to me to be the same person described in and whose name is signed to the within document ; and being duly sworn deposes and says that she has read the statement preceding her signature, and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true, and that she signed the same. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my Official Seal at my office in the City and County of San Francisco, State of California, the day and year in this Certificate first above written. [i<. s.] M. A. BRUSIE, Notary Public in and for the City and County of San Francisco, State of California. My Commission expires Sept. 24, 1918. STATE OF CALIFORNIA, | County of Amador. P^' Emma Boarman Wright, Recording Secretary of Ursula Parlor No. One, N. D. G. W., and Winnie Lucot, President of Ursula Parlor No. One, N. D. G. W., being duly sworn, each for herself, and not one for the other, deposes and says: That she is the duly elected, qualified and acting officer above described; that the within named Nellie Fontenrose, Emma Boarman Wright, Agnes Leonard, Lilly O. Reichling Dyer, Henrietta Greenhalgh O'Neill, Flora Dunning Podesta, Rose Genaro Carley, Mary W. Folger Sloan, Alice Peek Jones and Mellie Peek are Charter members of said Ursula Parlor No. One, N. D. G. W., in good standing in the Order and in said Parlor. EMMA BOARMAN WRIGHT, Recording Secretary Ursula Parlor No. I, N. D. G. W. WINNIE LUCOT, President of Ursula Parlor No. i, N. D. G. W. Subscribed and sworn to before me this i6th day of September, 1916. [l s.] jas. jay WRIGHT, Notary Public in and for Amador County, State of California. 017 167 148 e