[page one] Statues of Inter-National Society Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede Organized April 21st, 1921 Incorporated December 24th, 1921 Founder Mrs. Robert G. Hogan Organizers Mrs. George T. Smallwood Mrs. Wm. H. Talbott Mrs. Robt. F. Johnston Miss Grace M. Pierce Miss Mary Hilliard Hinton [page two] The Sureties for the Observance of the Magna Carta of King John __________ Dated at Runnemede, 15 June (O.S.,) 1215. __________ 1. William d’Albini 14. William de Malet 2. Hugh le Bigod 15. Geoffrey de Mandeville, d.s.p. 3. Roger le Bigod 16. William le Marshal, d.s.p. 4. Henry de Bohun 17. Richard de Montfichet, d.s.p. 5. Gilbert de Clare 18. Roger de Mowbray, *d.s.p. 6. Richard de Clare 19. William de Mowbray 7. John Fitz Robert 20. Richard de Percy, d.s.p. 8. Robert Fitz Walter 21. Saher de Quincey 9. William de Fortibus, d.s.p. 22. Robert de Roos 10. William Hardell, d.s.p. 23. Geoffrey de Say 11. William de Huntingfield 24. Robert de Vere 12. John de Lacie 25. Eustace de Vesci 13. William de Lanvallei ______ *Substituted, in 1216, for Roger de Montbegon, d.s.p. [page three] Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede ____________ STATUTES OBJECT: The objects of the Society of the Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede, which was instituted in the City of Washington on the 21st day of April in the year 1921, are: To perpetuate the memory of those Barons who were instrumental in securing the first great charter of English rights and liberties (the foundation of American Liberty) properly called the Magna Charta, which was ratified by King John and delivered to the Barons “in the meadow which is called Runnemede” on the 15th day of June, A.D. 1215. To inspire proper admiration and respect for the principles of liberty as incorporated under constitutional government first established by the Magna Charta. To preserve the lines of descent from these Barons who signed the Magna Charta, or from those who helped in any manner to establish this celebrated charter of rights and liberties. To observe the anniversary of the date (June 15th, 1215) of the granting of this famous Charter. STATUTE I, SECTION 1 MEMBERSHIP: 1. Membership in this Society shall be composed of women who are lineal descendants of one or more of the twenty-five Barons who signed the Magna Charta, or of those Barons who were instrumental in helping to secure it. 2. Membership shall be by invitation, and the candidate must have been proposed in writing by a member of the Society and endorsed by two other members, one of whom is personally acquainted with the candidate. Descent through either the male or female line will be acceptable. 3 [page four] SECTION 2 MEMBERS’ SUCCESSORS: 1. Each member may, in writing, nominate to the Registrar, her successor, provided always the successor meets all required qualifications and is a blood relative of the member, which must be certified to by a majority of the Court of Eligibility. 2. These nominated successors shall be recorded as hereditary candidates, and upon the decease of their nominator must be notified by the Registrar, of their eligibility, and who upon payment of the necessary fee, within six months after notification, shall become regular members. 3. Failure on the part of a recorded hereditary candidate, to apply for her membership within six months after notification at her last known address, of the existence of her claim, shall be interpreted as a surrender thereof by her of such claim, and the Registar must thereupon so notify the Sureties, who may then order her name stricken from the records. SECTION 3 HONORARY MEMBERS: Honorary Membership may be conferred only by a majority of the Sureties, present at a regular meeting, and only upon those women who are eligible by descent and in every way worthy of such distinction, and who have been nominated for the honor by an active member, the member have first ascertained the willingness of the candidate to accept such honorary membership. STATUTE II, SECTION 1 GOVERNMENT OF THE SOCIETY: 1. The entire management of the affairs and interests of the Society shall be vested in a Council of twenty-five, called the Sureties, consisting of the Officers and fifteen Councillors who shall be elected as hereinafter provided. 2. The Sureties shall be nominated from the floor and elected by ballot at the Annual Meeting. 3. The term of office of the Sureties shall be five years, all officers to be elected every fifty year, the first officers having been 4 [page five] selected by the Founder, she having been elected as the first President, by the Organizers. The other Sureties are to be elected three each year beginning with the year 1923 and every year thereafter, the first fifteen having been selected by the Founder, to serve one, two, three, for and five years as the case may be, three retiring each year after the first year of organization. 4. The Founder and the Organizers shall be life members of the Council of Sureties, with full voting privileges whether or not as elected Officers or Councillors. SECTION 2 VACANCIES: 1. Vacancies among the Councillor Sureties shall be filled by election for the unexpired term, at the Annual Meeting. 2. Vacancy of the office of President may be filled for the balance of her term, only on nomination and election by the Sureties. 3. Vacancies in the other offices shall be filled by appointment of the President, who shall select from among the Sureties some one to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. SECTION 3 MEETINGS: 1. Meetings of the Sureties in council shall be called by the Secretary on order of the President, at such time and place as is deemed best and most convenient. 2. There shall be an Annual Meeting for all active members, time and place to be designated by the President. SECTION 4 QUORUMS: 1. Five Sureties present shall constitute a quorum at all properly called meetings of the Council. 2. Ten active members present shall constitute a quorum at the Annual Meeting. 3. No proxies shall be allowed. 5 [page six] SECTION 5 OFFICERS: The active officers of this Society shall be a President, three Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, Registrar, Historian and Herald. SECTION 6 DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS: PRESIDENT: 1. This officer shall preside at all meeting sof the Society and of the Sureties, and exercise the usual functions and duties of a presiding officer. 2. The President shall authorize the call of the Secretary for holding meetings of the Society, and for the assembling of the Sureties in Council. 3. She shall sign the certificate of the Society. 4. She shall appoint the members of the Court of Eligibility and of the Court of the Exchequer, and all other Committees, and fill vacancies in same. 5. She shall be Chairman of the Court of Eligibility. 6. She shall contract for the purchase of the insignia, ribbon and certificate of the Society and authorize the printing of official stationery, and issue permits for same or authorize the Treasurer to do so. VICE-PRESIDENTS: In the absence or illness of the President, the Vice-Presidents in their ranking order of precedence, shall perform all the duties of the President. TREASURER: 1. This officer shall perform the usual duties of a treasurer for the Society, with or without security or bond, as the Sureties may determine. 2. She shall be custodian of all funds and collect the revenue of the Society from new members, and under the direction of the President or Council, disburse the same. 3. She shall keep as property of the Society, an account of 6 [page seven] all receipts and expenditures, which shall be subject to inspection by the President and Sureties at any time. 4. She shall keep a complete record of all members admitted to the Society. SECRETARY: 1. This officer shall perform the usual duties of a secretary for the Society and for the Sureties. 2. On order of the President, she shall notify each Surety of the date and place of all meetings of the Sureties in Council, and all members of the Society of the date and place of holding the Annual Meeting. 3. She shall make and preserve as the property of the Society, a true record of all meetings. r. She shall conduct the correspondence of the Sureties on all matters connected with the Society, upon their direction. 5. She shall seal the mandate of the Society and deliver the acts of the Sureties under the seal of the Society. 6. She shall sign the certificate of the Society, and notify the candidates of their election to membership. REGISTRAR: 1. This officer shall make and preserve as the property of the Society, an accurate list of the names and addresses of the candidates when admitted to membership, with all dates pertaining to their admission or other connection with the Society. 2. She shall receive and transmit to the President, the duplicate pedigree papers of the candidate for membership with all dates connected with same, and notify the Secretary of the acceptance of the candidates’ papers. 3. She shall notify the President of the decease or withdrawal of any members of the Society. 4. She shall notify the hereditary candidates of their eligibility to membership upon the decease of their nominator. 5. She shall be a member of the Court of Eligibility and shall countersign the certificate of membership. HISTORIAN: 1. This office shall compile an historical record of the import incidents and facts connected with the life of each 7 [page eight] member, her ancestors and descendants. 2. She shall have this compilation of incidents and facts prepared for publication from time to time. HERALD: 1. This office shall have charge and general supervision over all functions and ceremonies of the Society, under the direction of the President.’ 2. She shall p rovide, under the direction of the President, the Council Hall for all meetings, and have charge of the same during the meetings. 3. She shall guard the standard of the Society at any function where it is used and shall be its custodian. SECTION 7 MEMBERSHIP PROCEDURE: 1. The Registrar of the Society having examined the submitted pedigree of a candidate for membership in the Society, shall transmit in writing to the President, who is Chairman of the Court of Eligibility, as to whether the candidate’s pedigree papers meet with all requirements necessary for membership in the Society. 2. It shall then be the duty of the Court of Eligibility to examine and endorse said pedigree, and transmit it and the proposal for membership bearing the recommendation of the Court, to the Sureties in Council for their final action in the matter. 3. The Sureties shall by a majority vote of those present at all properly called meetings of this body, elect to receive the applicant as a member of the Society. One negative vote bars from admission. 4. Upon the elction of a candidate the President shall instruct the Secretary to notify the applicant of her election provided all fees have been paid, these requirement having been fulfilled, the Registrar and Treasurer shall be instructed to enroll the candidate as a member of the Society. 5. The same procedure applies to the election of Honorary Members. 8 [page nine] 6. Should the candidate fail to be eligible through reason of insufficiency of submitted pedigree, the Registrar will so inform the President, who will then instruct the Treasurer to refund to the candidate her initiation fee after the expense of the examination of said pedigree has been deducted therefrom. But if for any other reason the candidate should be found ineligible the full amount of her fee shall be returned. SECTION 8 INSTRUCTION REGARDING INVITATION: 1. When a member desires to extend an invitation she should first be reasonably sure that the party is eligible by descent, having satisfied herself in regard to this, she should then write to the Chairman of the Court of Eligibility (who is the President), giving full information as to the personal qualifications of the proposed candidate, with a request that a formal invitation be extended to the said party provided the request meets with the approval of the Court of Eligibility. 2. If the invitation is approved by the Court, nominating blanks will be sent to the proposer of the candidate to be signed by herself and two other endorsers as per by-law Statute I, Section 1, Paragraph 2. After this regulation has been complied with and the blanks returned to the Chairman of the Court of Eligibility to be acted upon by the Court, the formal invitation will be extended to the proposed candidate. If the invitation is accepted, lineage blanks with full instructions regarding fees, etc., will be sent to the applicant. 3. Invitation not accepted by the end of two months from the date of sending same shall be considered void. 4. The following form must be used and filled in when a candidate for membership is presented, and delivered to the Registrar: To the Sureties, Conformable with Statute I, Section 1, Paagraph 2, I have the pleasure of proposing and nominating ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 9 [page ten] for membership in the “Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede.” ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ To the Sureties, In accord with State I, Section 1, Paragraph 2, the undersigned recommend and endorse the aforesaid candidate, ____________________________________________________ for election to membership in the “Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede.” (1)_________________________________________________ (“personally acquainted with her”) (2)_________________________________________________ To the Sureties, We, the undersigned members of the Court of Eligibility, having examined the pedigree claim submitted by the aforesaid candidate, ______________________________________, to the Registrar, find it does________comply with the requirements of Statute I, Section 1, and herewith transmit the name to your honorable body, agreeable to Statute II, Section 7, Paragraph 2. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ (Chairman)__________________________________________________ 10 [page eleven] SECTION 9 COURT OF THE EXCHEQUER: 1. This body shall be composed of the Treasurer and two Sureties appointed by the President, one of whom will be designated as Chairman. It shall serve as an audit committee and shall make annual report to the Sureties. STATUTE III 1. Headquarter of the Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede” shall be in the city of Washington, D. C., and located wherever the President may deem proper. STATUTE IV REVENUE OF THE SOCIETY: 1. The initiation fee shall be twenty-five dollars (which must be remitted with the pedigree papers of the candidate), and the payment of which thenceforth shall exempt the member from payment of any subsequent dues. 2. The initiation fee for a hereditary candidate shall be ten dollars, which must be remitted when she files her claim to membership. STATUTE V INSIGNIA: 1. The designation badges or marks of membership in the Society shall be an insignia, a recognition pin and a ribbon of the colors of the Society. 2. The insignia is composed of an Urdee Cross of gold with a border line of red; between the arms of this are sunburst rays of gold, mounted upon which is the seal of the National Society, consisting or a Normal shield of gold of the period of King John, charged with a torch, representing the enlightenment created by the Magna Charta, as it was the first Declaration of 11 [page twelve] Independence, together with two sprays of laurel, which is the typical American decoration, signifying victory and success. The shield is surmounted by a Baron’s helmet with decorative manteling on either side. Surrounding this entire coat-of-arms is a garter of red enamel upon which appears in gold the wording “National Society Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede.” On the reverse is a plain disk surrounded with a laurel wreath, which space is reserved for the engraving of the name of the member, together with the National number. This insignia is suspended from a gold ribbon bordered with red, which are the official colors of the National Society, taken from the arms of Robert Fitz-walter, who was the Marshal of the Barons. 3. The recognition pin shall be on a red background, a helmet in profile surrounded by a garter, with D. of the B. of R. 4. Each member of the Society shall be entitled to own and use in the customary manner the insignia or recognition pin of the Society. STATUTE VI COLORS OF THE SOCIETY: 1. The colors of the Society for all uses shall be red and gold, these being the livery colors of the arms of the Marshal of the Army of the Barons in 1215. STATUTE VII THE STANDARD OF THE SOCIETY: 1. The Standard of the Society shall be “The Marshal’s” banner with his arms displayed thereon. STATUTE VIII CERTIFICATE OF THE SOCIETY: 1. The text of the certificate of membership of the Society shall follow the wording usually employed in such documents. 2. It shall be signed by the President and Secretary and countersigned by the Registrar. 12 [page thirteen] STATUTE IX The seal of the Society shall be of gold with a circle of red enamel or garter, on which appears the name of the Society, and within the complete coat-of-arms as described on the insignia, with the addition of, at the bottom of the shield, “Inc. 1921.” STATUTE X AMENDMENTS OF THE SOCIETY: 1. The Sureties may, whenever in their opinion necessary, alter, or amend these Statutes; but this can only be done by a vote of two-thirds of all the Sureties present; and when the desired addition, alteration, amendment, or repeal has been proposed in writing, at a previous meeting of the Sureties, and due notice of such proposed action has been sent to each member of the Council at least four weeks prior to the call of the meeting for such action. 13 ================================================== Transcription copyright © RoaneTNHistory.org 2006. All rights reserved. Archivist: Transcription and scan by G. Anne Sloan