The meeting was called to order by the President.¹—The Constitution was read, and approved of by the members, who affixed their signatures.² The President arose and intimated to the Body, that by their approval he would appoint Officers to fill the vacancies of the Society, (as it was the first meeting and the Officers would occupy the votes), which was carried without a dissenting voice. Accordingly the Officers were appointed—viz³—Messeurs S. J. Maxwell, F. H. Oliver and W. O. Weston—Committee of queries.—E. G. Beaird, Reporter;⁴ and for the occupation of Reader’s office, it was agreed upon to appoint a Reader protem⁵ at a convenient season, and when necessary.

After the necessary business of the Society was finished—the President, Secretary and Vice President, expostulated in glowing terms their exemplary design, the honor confer[r]ed on them, and with much vehemence the perseverance, order and fortitude necessary for the promotion of their connection and the improvement of their intellect,—which was received by the members with repeated applause, and considered by the Body at large, as summum bonum⁶ to their efforts. No further business appearing before the Society, the meeting was adjour[n]ed.

November 9th 1847. Signed—G. C. Greene—Secretary.

The meeting was called to order by the President—The roll first ^roll^ [sic] was called. The minutes read and approved. The debate opened by the regular debatants, and kept up with much animation. The question was then decided in the affirmative.⁷ The question for the next evening’s debate was chosen, which reads as follows—‘Whether the present War with Mexico, will be of any advantage to the United States of America. or not,’⁸ The Secretary read the debatants for the next evening as follows—On the affirmative Master J. J. Greene Jr.,⁹ on the negative Master Stephen J. Maxwell. No further business appearing before the Society—the Reporter made his report. The last Roll called, and the Society adjourned.

Novr 16. 1847. Signed—G. C. Greene, Secretary

The meeting was called to order by the President. The first Roll called. The minutes read and approved. Mr. J. J. Greene Jr. proposed Mr. W. E. Marshall for admittance into the Society, which was unanimously received. Mr. S. W. Weston was appointed the regular quarterly orator. Mr. S. W. Weston motioned that the Society meet hereafter on Wednesdays, unanimously received. The debate opened by the regular debatants, and kept up with considerable annimation [sic]. The question was decided in the negative. The question for the next evening’s debate was chosen,—which reads as follows—‘Whether the (United States) was right in declaring her Independence.’ The Secretary read the debatants for the next evening—as follows—Master F. H. Oliver on the affirmative, on the negative Master S. W. Weston. No further business appearing before the Society, the Reporter made his report. The last Roll called, and the Society adjourned.

Novr 23. 1847. Signed—G. C. Greene, Sec.

The meeting was called to order by the President. The first Roll called. The minutes read and approved. Mr. J. J. Green proposed Mr. J. M. F. Dereef ^lapsus pennae^¹⁰ into the Society for admission,—unanimously received. The debate opened by the regular debatants, and was sustained principally on the negative. It was then decided in the negative. The question for the next evening’s debate was chosen;—which reads as follows—“Which is the most desirable Literary or Military glory.” The Secretary read the debatants for the next evening as follows—On the Literary Master W. O. Weston; On the Military Master E. G. Beaird. No further business appearing before the Society, The Reporter made his report. The last Roll called, and the Society adjourned.

Decr 1. 1847. Signed—G. C. Greene, Secry.

The meeting was called to order by the President. The first roll called. The minutes read and approved. Mr. S. W. Weston proposed Mr. G. Barrow for admission into the Society, unanimously received. The debate opened by the regular debatants but the subject was refer[r]ed for conclusion on the next meeting, which was also notified by the President, to be appropriated for the transaction of business. No further business appearing before the Society. The Reporter made his report. The last roll called, and the Society adjourned.

Decr 8. 1847. Signed—G. C. Greene, Sec.

The meeting was called to order by the President. The first roll called. The minutes read and approved. Mr. S. W. Weston motioned that the Society should return thanks to Mr. G. F. Barrow for his kindness in presenting the same with nearly a quire of paper;¹¹—unanimously received. And also thanks to Mr. ^F.^ A. Mood for his kindness in tendering to us a code of Laws, and Lectures received from him, and Mr. Wm. Mood,—received without a dissenting voice. Mr. S. W. Weston motioned that an invitation be extended to Mr. John Mood Jr. on his arrival in the City, allowing him the privilege of attending meetings of the Society:—unanimously received.¹² He laid before the House the propriety of the Treasurer making a report at the expiration of his time, stating the ^sum^ received, and payed [sic] away from the Treasury: unanimously received. He also laid before the Society a bill to be annexed to the Constitution, which reads as follows. “That all monies received into the Society should be divided equally between the Literary box, and expenditures of the Society”: unanimously received. He again motioned that the Rules be read quarterly, for the benefit of the Society: (to be annexed to the By Laws): Unanimously received. Again, that a Literary box be had at the expense of the Society,—unanimously received. That a Key be placed on the Library; which was carried. Mr. Wm. O. Weston laid for the consideration of the Society, a bill to be annexed to the Constitution; which reads as follows; “That all Officers of the Society except the President be compelled to be appointed regular debatants in their alphabetical order”:—carried by a plurality of votes; but after a spirited debate it was repealed, as it was antagonistic to the 27th article of the Constitution. After a few remarks by the President the above motions connected with the Constitution were declared null and void, as the 27th art. of the Constitution required an evening’s notice before any amendment or alteration can be made. The Society was therefore notified of the above motions, to be handed before the body at the next meeting. Mr. G. C. Green also notified the Body of a proposition to be made at the next meeting (to be annexed to the Constitution ^By Laws^); which re^a^ds as follows: ‘That it shall require 1/3 majority to alter or amend any section of the By Laws, and the Society must have an evening’s notice.” The time being occupied by business the debate ^was^ defer[r]ed for the next evening. No further business appearing the Reporter made his report; the last Roll called, and the Society adjourned.

Decr 15. 1847. Signed, G. C. Greene, Secy.

The meeting was called to order by the President. The first Roll called. The minutes read and approved. The President declared to the body that as long as the present number of of members remain (11) 8 shall be considered 2/3 of the Society.¹³ There being not 2/3 or 8 of the members present, there were no additions to the Constitution. The propositions offered, and of which the Society was Page 8 →notified by Mr. G. Greene, was unanimously carried. At the expiration of this time, a sufficient number of members being present, the propositions of which the Society ^was notified^ and offered by Mr. S. Weston were on motion unanimously carried. Mr. Weston also laid for the consideration of the House a list of Hon[or]ary Members—viz—Rev. Daniel Payne, Baltimore. Mr. B. Huger. W. W. Seymour. John Parker. John Mishaw, and (A. M. Bland of Philadelphia, Pen.)—unanimously carried. Mr. W. Gailliard¹⁴ moved that a book committee be elected. Op^p^osed by Mr. S. Weston, as the business of a Book Committee is encumbent [sic] on ^the^ Reader. Mr. E. G. Beaird offered four Gentlemen to be annexed to the list of Honorary Members—viz—J. Weston. J. Green Sr. S. Weston, and F. H. Long. Opposed ^by^ Messrs. Gailliard and J. Green, but carried by a plurality of votes.¹⁵ The subject, “Which is the most desirable Literary or Military glory,” was then resumed, and after a spirited debate, it was decided that Literary glory is the most desirable. The question for the next Eevening’s [sic] debate was chosen, which reads as follows,—“Whether a Republican or Monarchial government tends most to the happiness of a people.” The Secretary read the debatants as follows—Master W. H. Gailliard on the Republican, and Mr. F. H. Oliver on Monarchial. No further business appearing the Reporter made his report. The last Roll called, and the Society adjourned. Decr 22. 1847. Signed—G. C. Greene, Sec.

Erratum¹⁶—Mr. J. J. Green Jr. notified the Society that he would motion that the number of Honorary members be restricted.

1. 1. The first president was Simeon W. Beaird. He was reelected on March 15, 1848.
2. 2. The constitution is not extant. The minutes suggest that nine young men founded the society: Enoch G. Beaird, Simeon W. Beaird, William H. Gailliard, G. C. Greene, Jacob J. Greene Jr., Stephen J. Maxwell, F. H. Oliver, Samuel W. Weston, and William O. Weston.
3. 3. Videlicet, abbreviated viz.: “namely.”
4. 4. For a list of members, honorary members, and supporters of the society, see appendix A.
5. 5. Pro tempore: “for the time being.” The society agreed to appoint a reader as the need for one arose. More commonly, the term pro tem in the minutes indicates a member’s temporary appointment to a leadership role in the absence of an elected officer.
6. 6. Summum bonum: “the highest good.”
7. 7. This is the only debating question unidentified in the minutes. For a list of debating questions and decisions, see appendix B.
8. 8. US forces led by General Winfield Scott had captured Mexico City in September 1847, but the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, formally ending the war, would not be signed until February 1848.
9. 9. The minutes use both Greene and Green to designate this member.
10. 10. Page 9 →Lapsus pennae: “slip of the pen.” Greene may have been noting a slip in his inscription of Dereef’s initials; the capital F is rendered ambiguously.
11. 11. A quire is a measure of quantity, usually referring to twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality.
12. 12. Since the South Carolina legislature had outlawed school-keeping by free persons of color by an act of 1834, leaders of the free Black community in Charleston sought instruction for their children by hiring a series of young men of the Mood family, white Methodists, while they were students at the College of Charleston. Francis Asbury Mood, a college student between 1846 and 1850, was first an assistant to his elder brother John Amos Mood (the “John Mood Jr.” mentioned in the minutes) and then later the principal teacher with his brother William as assistant. A member of the Cliosophic Literary Society at the college, he was known by his middle name, Asbury. See Francis A. Mood, For God and Texas: Autobiography of Francis Asbury Mood, 1830–1884: Circuit Rider, Educator, and Founder of Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, ed. Mary Katherine Metcalfe Earney (Dallas, TX: Listo, 2001), 40–50; and Claude Carr Cody, The Life and Labors of Francis Asbury Mood, D.D. (Chicago: F. H. Revell, 1886), esp. 75–80, 92, 104–9.
13. 13. The minutes suggest the involvement of twelve individuals at this point: Gabriel F. Barrow, Enoch G. Beaird, Simeon W. Beaird, J. M. F. Dereef, William H. Gailliard, G. C. Greene, Jacob J. Greene Jr., William E. Marshall, Stephen J. Maxwell, F. H. Oliver, Samuel W. Weston, and William O. Weston. Possibly Simeon W. Beaird, the society president, was not counted here as a member.
14. 14. The minutes use both Gailliard and Gaillard to designate this member.
15. 15. Honorary members of nineteenth-century literary and debating societies tended to be older than regular members; regular members could appeal to them for advice or material assistance. Honorary members could attend society meetings, although they visited primarily on special occasions. The initial group of honorary Clionians, all men, included leaders of the free Black community in Charleston, such as brothers Jacob and Samuel Weston, Methodist tailors, as well as the Reverend Daniel A. Payne, then in Baltimore and soon to become the sixth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Local honorary members included fathers of regular members; for instance, Samuel Weston was the father of William O. Weston, and Jacob Weston was the father of Samuel W. Weston. Several of the local honoraries belonged to the Brown Fellowship Society and the Friendly Union Society, and several held other people in bondage. On this generation, see Bernard E. Powers Jr., Black Charlestonians: A Social History, 1882–1885 (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1994), 36–72.
16. 16. Erratum: “error.” Greene is indicating that he neglected to include this item of business when entering the minutes of the meeting in the proceedings volume. He may have noted the error upon his initial entry or after the minutes were read for members’ approval at the subsequent meeting.