2. Sketches of the history, civil and ecclesiastical, of such towns 

 and parishes, and as far as may be with minute references to dates, 

 and biographical notices of the ministers, lawyers, physicians, and 

 othe'r most distinguished men, who were born or have resided therein. 



3. Original letters, documents and papers illustrating any of these 

 subjects, particularly such as were Avritten by distinguished men at 

 home or abroad, which show the private habits, manners or pursuits 

 of our ancestors, or are connected with the public history of this 

 county, or of this commonwealth. 



4. Portraits of distinguished persons who were born or have re- 

 sided in this county, or were connected with the history of the com- 

 monwealth, particularly the portraits of our ancestors, and of dis- 

 tinguished persons in England, of the same age. 



5. Sermons, orations, occasional discourses and addresses, books 

 and pamphlets, printed in the commonwealth, and especially such 

 as have been written by persons born or residing within the com- 

 monwealth. 



6. Besides these the society will receive donations of any other 

 books, pamphlets, portraits, manuscripts and printed documents, 

 with which any gentleman may please to favour them ; and in all 

 cases, unless otherwise requested, the donor's name will be entered in 

 the records of the donations of the society. 



Salem, June 27, 1821. 



Notwithstanding the disappointment in not obtaining the Bentley 

 papers, which were otherwise distributed, the zeal and ability of the 

 members and their friends, in a short time gathered together a good 

 collection of portraits and curiosities, illustrative of the early history 

 of the county, and a nucleus of a library containing files of several 

 newspapers, pamphlets, public documents, &c. These were first de- 

 posited in Essex Place, then in the room over the Salem Bank, and 

 afterwards in Lawrence Place, until the union. 



On the 6th of September, 1825, the day of the annual meeting, 

 Hon. Leverett Saltonstall delivered a public address before the 

 Society, in the first Church, which was well received. This dis- 

 course was never printed. 



On Thursday, the 18th of September, ] 828, the society celebrated 

 in a public manner, the 200th anniversary of the landing of Governor 

 Endicott and his band of Pilgrims at Naumkeag. The day was un- 

 commonly fine ; a vast concourse of strangers, many of the first dis- 

 tinction, were present ; the venerable Dr. Holyoke, who had seen his 

 100th birth day, presided. The military escort, the eloquent address 

 by Hon. Joseph Story at the North Church, the rich intellectual 

 and social banquet at Hamilton hall ; these and other interesting in- 

 cidents connected therewith render the occasion one to be long re- 

 membered in the annals of the society. 



