RULES FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE OLD SETTLERS'
ASSOCIATION OF ANTELOPE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
ADOPTED AT THE MEETING FOR ORGANIZATION, FEBRUARY 99, 1886

     The name of this Association shall be "THE PIONEERS."

     The objects of this society shall be to establish and maintain fraternal relations between the citizens of different parts of the county, to promote good-will, to revive and cherish old associations and recollections, to work for the general good, and to compile and preserve a correct history of the county from its first settlement to all future time.

     Any person of either sex, who is a resident of the county, and has attained the age of I8 years, may become a member of this (2) society by paying into the treasury thereof such a sum as shall be hereafter designated, to whom a certificate of membership shall be issued, which shall entitle the holder to all the rights and privileges of membership, except as in such cases as hereinafter provided.

     No person shall be required to forfeit his membership during life, except by persistent neglect or refusal to pay his annual dues, or by removal from the county. Any member removing from the county may by a vote of the society retain an honorary membership, but shall not be entitled to a vote in any meeting of the society.

     Any member neglecting or refusing to pay his annual dues for a period of three months after such shall pay become due, shall not be eligible to office, nor allowed to vote until such dues shall have been paid, but he shall not forfeit his membership until he shall have allowed his dues to remain unpaid for two consecutive years, and then only by a vote of the society.

     All members who have attained the age of 70 years, and have resided in the county at least 10 years, shall be excused from paying membership fees and dues, and shall always occupy seats of honor in all meetings of the society.

     All resident members who have paid their dues as specified above, shall be entitled to vote upon all questions that come before the society, except upon additions to these RULES OF GOVERNMENT, or amendments thereto, which shall be voted upon only by members who have resided at least ten years in the county.

      The officers shall consist of one President and three Vice-Presidents.

     One Secretary, who shall also act as Historian.

     One Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of five; all of whom shall hold office for the term of one year, except the secretary, who shall hold office for the term of three years. They shall be elected by ballot, a majority of all the votes cast being necessary to elect.

     President.-- It shall be the duty of the president to preside at all meetings of the society, and discharge all the duties usually devolving upon the presiding officer.

     Vice-Presidents.-- It shall be the duty of vice-presidents to assist the president in the discharge of his duties, and in the absence of the president the vice-president who is the senior of the others in years shall act as presiding officer.

     Secretary.-- It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep a careful and accurate record of the proceedings of the society in a book kept for that purpose, to be present at, and record the proceedings of the meetings of the executive committee, to fill out and counter (3) sign certificates of membership, and receipts for dues, and to make a full and accurate report to the society at its annual meeting of its proceedings for the past year.

     As Historian.-- As historian he shall compile a history of the county from its earliest settlement to the close of the year 1885, which shall be read at the Annual Encampment of 1886; and thereafter each year he shall make such additions to said history as will make it complete to the close of each succeeding year, and such additions shall be read to the society at each annual encampment after the year 1886.

     At the expiration of his term of office, he shall turn over to his successor all books, papers, and other property in his hands belonging to the society.

     Treasurer.-- It shall be the duty of the treasurer to take charge of all the funds belonging to the society, to sign certificates of membership and receipts for dues, and to report to the society at each annual meeting in writing a full and accurate statement of its financial condition. At the expiration of his term of office he shall turn over to his successor all funds, books, papers, and other property of the society in his possession.

     Executive Committee.-- The executive committee shall consist of five members, three of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. It shall be their duty to have the general oversight of the affairs of the society, to make the necessary arrangements for holding the annual meeting, to call special meetings when they deem it necessary, to fill vacancies caused by the death, resignation, or removal of any of the officers except the president; to audit accounts, issue warrants on the treasury for the disbursement of funds, and settle at each annual meeting with the treasurer; to make arrangements for holding the annual encampment, and to attend to such other duties as shall be assigned them from time to time by a vote of the society. In the discharge of these duties they shall have authority to appoint from among the members such committees as may be necessary, and they shall appoint the marshal and his assistants for duty on encampment days.

     The president and three vice-presidents shall always be chosen from members who have resided in the county at least ten years.

     The secretary, treasurer, and members of the executive committee shall be chosen from members who have resided in the county at least five years.

     The members of the executive committee shall be chosen from different localities as follows: One from range 5; one from range 6; one from range 7; one from range 8: and one from the county at large.

     (4) The first annual meeting shall be held on the 22d day of February, A. D. 1887, and thereafter on the 22d day of February of each succeeding year, except when the 22d falls on Sunday in which case the annual meeting shall be held on the following Sunday. At the annual meeting in 1907 the date of holding the annual meeting was changed to the first Saturday of September. Special meetings may be called at any time by the secretary on the order of the executive committee.

     Annual Encampment.-- There shall annually be a gathering of the members with their families and friends at such time and place as may be designated at the annual meeting, or by the executive committee, which Shall be called the Annual Encampment. It shall be arranged for by the executive committee and shall be conducted under their supervision.

     Notice of Meetings.-- Notice of the annual or special meetings and of the annual encampment shall be published in the different newspapers of the county for at least three successive weeks before such meetings are held.

     Every member except those exempted in Article III, shall, upon joining the society, pay to the treasurer the sum of one dollar, and shall thereafter at each annual encampment pay the sum of fifty cents, as annual dues.

     Special orders for the good of the society may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the society, or may be issued by the executive committee, provided they do not conflict with these fundamental general rules of government.

     All officers shall discharge their duties gratuitously, except the secretary and treasurer. The secretary shall receive a compensation of $50, and the treasurer $10 for the year 1886, but thereafter the compensation shall be determined by the executive committee.

     These General Rules of Government may be amended only at the regular annual meeting, by a vote of two thirds of those entitled to vote on such questions, present and voting.

     It shall be the duty of the chaplain to take charge of the religious exercises of the association on encampment days, and at other public gatherings of the association, to keep a record of deaths and (5) removals, and report the same at each annual encampment, and in such report to give as far as practicable a short obituary notice of any member who has been removed by death during the year. ---

Adopted March 16, 1889.

     By these rules it is made the duty of the secretary, who is also the historian, to "compile a history of the county from its earliest settlement to the close of the year 1885, which shall be read at the annual encampment of 1886; and thereafter, each year, he shall make such additions to said history as will make it complete to the close of each succeeding year, and such additions shall be read to the society at each annual encampment after the year 1886."

     In compliance with the foregoing rule, the historian did prepare a brief history of the county, which was read at the annual encampment held September 20, 21, 1886, and a continuation of the same was read at the annual encampment held September 20, 21, 1887. Since the last date, however, no part of the history has been prepared and read before the members of the association, but the work of collecting the material for the history has continually gone forward.

     Mr. A. J. Leach held the office of secretary and historian until 1892, and during that time he traveled over nearly all parts of the county, collecting material for the history by having conversations with the old settlers, taking notes on matters of interest, and also taking copious notes from the records of the various county offices and of the United States Land Office.

     At the annual meeting in 1892 Mr. William B. Lambert was chosen secretary and historian, and at once set out to carry on the historical work begun by Mr. Leach. Mr. Lambert held the office until the time of his death in January, 1908, when Mr. Leach was again elected.

     Mr. Lambert was a very careful, painstaking man, and a very diligent worker as historian. Without his work in this line the labor of preparing the present history would have been greatly augmented. Had he lived to complete the history himself, it is probable that a much more (6) extensive work than the present one, and one of greater value, would have been presented to the public.

     The present volume is intended to give a history of events from the first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 1883. Rev. Charles H. Frady, however, in his chapter giving the Experiences of a Sunday School Missionary, brings his work down to the close of 1886, and Mr. F. L. Putney, in the four chapters on the District and County Courts, brings his history down to a recent date. It was intended at first to treat of some subjects that have been necessarily omitted. There was to have been one chapter on the mammals of the county, another on the birds, one giving a history of Gates Academy, and one chapter each to the various religious denominations represented in the county. These all had to be given up for the reason that those persons best qualified to write upon these topics were unable to give the time and work necessary for their preparation. Much work, however, has been done along these lines and should another volume appear later these subjects will then be taken up. Several chapters have been contributed by others, and these tell the stories of the early days for themselves, and better than could be done in any other way.

     In order to make the work as nearly accurate as possible a committee of five was chosen by the executive committee to assist the historian in revising the work. This committee consisted of William Campbell, Robert Wilson, George H. McGee, Allen Hopkins, and John Hunt. They met at Neligh with the historian on October 4, 1909, and continued the work of revision until it was completed.

     It is believed by the historian, and the committee that assisted in the revision, that the History of Antelope County from 1868 to 1883, as now presented, is as nearly perfect as care and diligence can make it.

     Scores of Pioneers have assisted in this work by giving valuable information and brotherly encouragement the newspapers, besides publishing a chapter from week to week as the history was written, have also been liberal (7) in publishing friendly notices, and the county officials have been courteous and accommodating in assisting to look up old records. Without these helps the work could not have been done. To all who have spoken encouraging words, or who have in any way given valuable help, the author returns sincere thanks.

OAKDALE, NEBRASKA, October 12, 1909. A. J. LEACH.