Editor’s Note: On May 20, 1874, representatives/delegates from the State Boards of Charities of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin met in New York City at the invitation of the American Social Science Association and organized the Conference of Boards of Public Charities. Invitations to the meeting were sent jointly by the Section on Social Economy of the American Social Science Association and the Massachusetts State Board of Charities. The purpose of the meeting was to establish some sort of clearinghouse of ideas and experiences between state boards. The PREFACE below is from the first published “Proceedings” of the meeting held in 1876 and it describes the origin of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections that would evolve into the National Conference of Social Welfare.

PREFACE.

The Conference of Charities at Saratoga was the third that has been held since May, 1874. It was found that the members of the various State Boards which deal with Public Charity in the United States were desirous of a better acquaintance with each other, and that they could not meet together and discuss the questions in which they had a common interest without mutual profit and encouragement. It also appeared that a considerable number of persons, some officially connected with public or private charities, and others not, were desirous of attending such a meeting, and were both competent and willing to join in its debates or to contribute papers which should be the fruit of special research, or of long experience. Therefore the Standing Committee of the Detroit Conference of 1875 (Messrs. Hoyt, Bagley and Croswell,) being authorized to do so, and having made the necessary arrangements, called the Conference of the present year in connection with the General Meeting of the American Social Science Association at Saratoga, on the 5th, 6th and 7th of September, 1876.

The sessions of the Conference were held in the Town Hall, and were opened by an address from Governor Tilden of New York, at which the president and many of the members of the Social Science Association were present. All such members were allowed to take part in the Conference, as well as those persons officially delegated or specially invited. In printing the debates, it has not been thought necessary to report remarks made by persons not belonging to one of those classes.

The papers and reports prepared by request of the Committee of Arrangements, or, of the Chairman of Standing Committees, are here printed in full, but of the discussions, in many cases only abstracts could be given. In some instances the speakers have been kind enough to write out an abstract of their remarks, and in all cases the editors have sought to give the substance of what was said. The same observation applies to the Reports from the State Boards…

Source: “Proceedings of the Conference Of Charities,” Held In Connection With The General Meeting of the American Social Science Association At Saratoga, September, 1876. Pp. 4: — National Conference on Social Welfare Proceedings (1874-1982) http://www.hti.umich.edu/n/ncosw/