Bills of Mortality, 1810-1849, City of Boston. With an essay on the vital statistics of Boston from 1810 to 1841. By Lemuel Shattuck. Boston, 1893. (Introduction and Appendix by W. H. Whitmore.)

He was the inventor or "compiler" of the following:

Ancestral Tablets. A collection of diagrams for pedigrees, so arranged that Eight Generations of the Ancestors of any Person May be recorded in a connected and simple form. By William H. Whitmore, A.M. Member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society. Boston, 1868. (Several times reprinted.)

JUNE MEETING, 1901.

THE stated meeting was held on Thursday, the 13th instant, at three o'clock, P. M.; the President in the chair.

The record of the May meeting was read, and also the list of donors to the Library.

Mr. John Osborne Sumner, of Boston, was elected a Resident Member, and Mr. Frederic Bancroft, of Washington, D. C., was elected a Corresponding Member.

An informal conversation took place with regard to the election of Honorary Members, in which the PRESIDENT and Messrs. WILLIAM S. APPLETON, ALBERT B. HART, EDWARD CHANNING, CHARLES E. NORTON, and ARCHIBALD CARY COOLIDGE participated.

It was Voted, That during July, August, and September the stated meetings be omitted, the President and Recording Secretary to have power to call a special meeting, if necessary. The PRESIDENT then said:

seven as

The names of no less than eight members of the Harvard Class of 1858 appear upon the rolls of the Society, those of Resident Members, one as a Corresponding Member. Of the seven Resident Members four had died prior to the last meeting of the Society, Messrs. George Dexter, Henry W. Foote, John C. Phillips, and Edward G. Porter. During the month which has just elapsed the name of Robert Noxon Toppan has been added to the four, so that of the seven members of that class, also Resident Members of the Society, only Messrs. Walcott and Warren remain.

me.

Of Mr. Toppan there is little here and now to be said by He was elected at the meeting of May 11, 1899, only a little more than two years ago, in recognition of the appearance of the final volumes of his very valuable contribution to the publications of the Prince Society, the Randolph Papers. Before that, though of course I knew him by reputation, I had never met him personally. At the November meeting following his election, Mr. Toppan communicated to our Proceedings

a copy of the Council Records of Massachusetts under the administration of President Dudley. From Mr. Toppan as a member it was confidently hoped much valuable work might yet be looked for. A man of but little over sixty, with scholarly tastes leading him towards investigation, it seemed at one time not improbable that he might be induced to undertake on behalf of the Society editorial work in connection with some of our manuscript material, or even with the much-to-bedesired new edition of Winthrop's History. This, however, was not to be. Owing to his brief connection, he had never served upon the Council nor been a member of any special committee, though last year he served on the Committee to Nominate Officers. His turn for more serious service would unquestionably have come at an early day. Meanwhile, during his brief membership constant in his attendance at our meetings when at home, it was manifest that he appreciated his membership, feeling a lively interest in the Society, an interest which, but for his premature death, would doubtless have been productive of permanent and valuable results.

Mr. ANDREW MCF. DAVIS, having been called on, spoke in substance as follows:

It is not my purpose at the present time to furnish any details. of a biographical nature relative to our late associate Robert Noxon Toppan. In the limited space of time at my command. since I was aware that to me was to be awarded the privilege of placing upon the pages of our Proceedings some tribute to his memory, I have not had opportunity to pass outside the personal relations which bound us together as neighbors, and as I hope and believe, as friends. My acquaintance with him was of comparatively recent birth and was founded upon fellowship of tastes. It derived its origin at the meetings of the American Antiquarian Society, of which we were both members. It was fostered at the meetings of the Colonial Society, where upon one or two occasions he prompted my faltering memory with a reference upon some obscure point touching the early banks of the province, showing not only great familiarity with the subject, but a ready command of the resources stored in his mind. Our relations as fellow-members of societies engaged in historical work comprehended also the Prince Society, which I joined in order to obtain his "Edward Ran

dolph," then passing through the press. Finally, this fellowship was rounded out by the election of both of us to this Society. Mr. Toppan was a graduate of Harvard University, and showed his interest in that institution by establishing a fund for a prize for the best essay on a subject of Political Science.. It has chanced that I have twice served upon committees to whom were delegated the task of determining whether the essays submitted were worthy of the prize, and, if so, to report in cases of competition which was the best. While this service did not in either case bring me in personal contact with him through its performance, still it will be readily conceived that the perusal of a number of essays, some of which were contributions of distinct value to our local history, has added another link to the chain of appreciation which has bound me to him, and has enabled me to understand better the motives which prompted him in making this foundation.

He was deeply interested in the prosperity of the local Historical Society at Newburyport, and his mind was active in searching for devices which should stimulate the activity of the citizens of that place in historical work and thus secure for the Society something more than a mere perfunctory existence. His own work in that direction took the form of a publication termed "Biographical Sketches of Old Newbury."

I have already intimated that he was much interested in the subject of "Money." This was doubtless due to the fact that his father was interested in bank note engraving, and was one of the founders, if I am not mistaken, of the American Bank Note Company, of which company Mr. Toppan was himself a director or trustee. He served on the International Coinage Committee of the American Social Science Association, was a delegate to the International Congress, in 1878, for the unification of weights, measures, and money, and published more or less material touching upon the topic of money. Here again we were to a certain extent upon common ground, and he took great interest in the engraved notes of our provincial currency, being especially interested in the impression from the middle plate of 1702, which illustrates in our Proceedings a paper read in December, 1899. The arrangement of the bills upon the plate and with reference to the stub were new to him, and he procured a copy of this impression for the archives of the American Bank Note Company.

When a young man he had travelled extensively in Europe. He at one time hoped that he might secure some diplomatic appointment. In this he was disappointed, but he brought back with him a mind stored with interesting reminiscences, from which he could draw, upon occasion, to the great interest of his hearers. I remember very well being present at Professor Channing's house at a meeting of the History seminar, when Mr. Toppan's natural modesty was overborne and he held the attention of the class with a series of anecdotes of personal experience amounting almost to historic importance.

Mr. Toppan could not come in contact with any person, without leaving behind him a favorable impression of his personality. When his name was submitted to this Society for ballot, I was struck with the tone of personal respect and high appreciation which characterized the remarks of Dr. Slafter, who vouched for him. This was the natural and inevitable outcome of their contact in the work of the Prince Society. Dr. Slafter predicted that this Society would derive much benefit from Mr. Toppan's membership. The period of his connection with the Society was too short for the full realization of this prophecy, but after the publication of his great work on Edward Randolph, Mr. Toppan continued his labor in the same general field by publishing in the Proceedings of the Antiquarian Society the Andros Records, and in the Proceedings of this Society the Dudley Records, thus filling in an important gap in the publications of the colony and province.

Mr. Toppan's utterance was rapid and his enunciation indistinct. Hence he was not well fitted for public oratory. In addition to this he was modest, almost to a fault. Yet he never shirked a public duty, nor allowed his modesty or his indisposition for public speaking to keep him silent when he felt that he was likely to be misunderstood. He was a particularly rugged-looking man, and would have been selected by most physiologists as a sample of good health and of probable longevity. Beneath this rugged exterior there was a strong flow of human sympathy, and with opportunity for observation one saw at every turn the evidences of a gentle, affectionate disposition. He was highly cultivated in various directions, and was blessed with a retentive memory. His "Edward Randolph is a standing memorial of his industry and an adequate testimonial to his capacity.