labors. Their record, however hidden, is on high, and they have in their own hearts the joyful testimony, that in their country's peril and need they were not

found wanting.

Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are due to the ladies who have, at different times, served upon the Board, but are no longer members of it; and that we recall in this hour of parting the memory of each and all who have lent us the light of their countenance, and the help of their hands. Especially do we recognize the valuable aid rendered by the members of our Registration Committee, who, in the early days of this Association, superintended the training of a band of one hundred women nurses for our army hospitals. The successful introduction of this system is chiefly due to the zeal and capacity of these ladies.

Resolved, That in dissolving this Association, we desire to express the gratitude we owe to Divine Providence for permitting the members of this Board to work together in so great and so glorious a cause, and upon so large and successful a scale, to maintain for so long a period, relations of such affection and respect, and now to part with such deep and grateful memories of our work and of each other.

Resolved, That, the close of the war having enabled this Association to finish the work for which it was organized, the Woman's Central Association of Relief for the Army and Navy of the United States, is hereby dissolved. The meeting then adjourned sine die.

SAMUEL W. BRIDGHAM, Secretary.

For further and better knowledge of the Woman's Central, is it not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Board of the United States Sanitary Commission?

SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY OF NORTH

ERN OHIO.

MONG the branches or centres of supply and distribution of the United States Sanitary Commission, though some with a wider field and a more wealthy population in that field have raised a larger amount of money or supplies, there was none which in so small and seemingly barren a district proved so efficient or accomplished so much as the "Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio."

This extraordinary efficiency was due almost wholly to the wonderful energy and business ability of its officers. The society which at first bore the name of The Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland, was composed wholly of ladies, and was organized on the 20th day of April, 1861, five days after the President's proclamation calling for troops. Its officers were (exclusive of vicepresidents who were changed once or twice and who were not specially active) Mrs. B. Rouse, President, Miss Mary Clark Brayton, Secretary, Miss Ellen F. Terry, Treasurer. These ladies continued their devotion to their work not only through the war, but with a slight change in their organization, to enable them to do more for the crippled and disabled soldier, and to collect without fee or reward the bounties, back pay and pensions coming to the defenders of the country, has remained in existence and actively employed up to the present time.

No constitution or by-laws were ever adopted, and beyond a

verbal pledge to work for the soldiers while the war should last, and a fee of twenty-five cents monthly, no form of membership was prescribed and no written word held the society together to its latest day. Its sole cohesive power was the bond of a common and undying patriotism.

In October, 1861, it was offered to the United States Sanitary Commission, as one of its receiving and disbursing branches, and the following month its name was changed to The Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio. Its territory was very small and not remarkable for wealth. It had auxiliaries in eighteen counties of Northeastern Ohio, (Toledo and its vicinity being connected with the Cincinnati Branch, and the counties farther west with Chicago), and a few tributaries in the counties of Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania, which bordered on Ohio, of which that at Meadville, Pennsylvania, was the only considerable one.

In this region, Cleveland was the only considerable city, and the population of the territory though largely agricultural was not possessed of any considerable wealth, nor was the soil remarkably fertile.

In November, 1861, the society had one hundred and twenty auxiliaries. A year later the number of these had increased to four hundred and fifty, and subsequently an aggregate of five hundred and twenty was attained. None of these ever seceded or became disaffected, but throughout the war the utmost cordiality prevailed between them and the central office.

In the five years from its organization to April, 1866, this society had collected and disbursed one hundred and thirty thousand four hundred and five dollars and nine cents in cash, and one million and three thousand dollars in stores, making a grand total of one million one hundred and thirty-three thousand four hundred and five dollars and nine cents. This amount was received mainly from contributions, though the excess over one million dollars, was mostly received from the proceeds of exhibitions, concerts, and the Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair held in

February and March, 1864. The net proceeds of this fair were about seventy-nine thousand dollars.

The supplies thus contributed, as well as so much of the money as was not required for the other objects of the society, of which we shall say more presently, were forwarded to the Western Depôt of the Sanitary Commission at Louisville, except in a few instances where they were required for the Eastern armies. The reception, re-packing and forwarding of this vast quantity of stores, as well as all the correspondence required with the auxiliaries and with the Western office of the Sanitary Commission, and the book-keeping which was necessary in consequence, involved a great amount of labor, but was performed with the utmost cheerfulness by the ladies whom we have named as the active officers of the society.

Among the additional institutions or operations of this society connected with, yet outside of its general work of receiving and disbursing supplies, the most important was the "Soldiers' Home," established first on the 17th of April, 1861, as a lodgingroom for disabled soldiers in transit, and having connected with it a system of meal tickets, which were given to deserving soldiers of this class, entitling the holder to a meal at the depôt dining hall, the tickets being redeemed monthly by the society. In October, 1863, the "Soldiers' Home," a building two hundred and thirty-five feet long and twenty-five feet wide, erected and furnished by funds contributed by citizens of Cleveland at the personal solicitation of the ladies, was opened, and was maintained until June 1, 1866, affording special relief to fifty-six thousand five hundred and twenty registered inmates, to whom were given one hundred and eleven thousand seven hundred and seven meals, and twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and seventy-three lodgings, at an entire cost of twenty-seven thousand four hundred and eight dollars and three cents. No government support was received for this home, and no rations drawn from the commissary as in most institutions of this kind.

The officers of the society gave daily personal attention to the Home, directing its management minutely, and the superintendent, matron and other officials were employed by them.

The society also established a hospital directory for the soldiers of its territory, and recorded promptly the location and condition of the sick or wounded men from returns received from all the hospitals in which they were found; a measure which though involving great labor, was the means of relieving the anxiety of many thousands of the friends of these men.

In May, 1865, an Employment Agency was opened, and continued for six months. Two hundred and six discharged soldiers, mostly disabled, were put into business situations by the personal efforts of the officers of the society. The families of the disabled men were cared for again and again, many of them being regular pensioners of the society.

The surplus funds of the society, amounting June 1st, 1866, to about nine thousand dollars, were used in the settlement of all war claims of soldiers, bounties, back pay, pensions, etc., gratuitously to the claimant. For this purpose, an agent thoroughly familiar with the whole business of the Pension Office, and the bureaus before which claims could come, was employed, and Miss Brayton and Miss Terry were daily in attendance as clerks at the office. Up to August 1st, 1866, about four hundred claims had been adjusted.

The entire time of the officers of the society daily from eight o'clock in the morning to six and often later in the evening, was given to this work through the whole period of the war, and indeed until the close of the summer of 1866. The ladies being all in circumstances of wealth, or at least of independence, no salary was asked or received, and no traveling expenses were ever charged to the Society, though the president visited repeatedly every part of their territory, organizing and encouraging the auxiliary societies, and both secretary and treasurer went more than once to the front of the army, and to the large general hos