I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

The Central Maine Medical Center, on its brochure entitled “Giving,” says this was Hale’s pledge to The Lend-A-Hand Society.

According to the Massachusetts Historical Society, The Lend a Hand Society, a private charity in Boston, grew out of the response to a short story called Ten Times One Is Ten, written in 1870 by Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909).  The story tells of ten people who meet at the funeral of a mutual friend named Harry Wadsworth and discover that he had helped each one of them.  They resolve to follow the example of their late friend and to help their fellow man.  If each person they aided would in turn lend someone else a hand (10 x 1 = 10, 10 x 10 = 100, etc.), the spirit of helpfulness could circle the globe.

Hale was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the son of Nathan Hale, proprietor and editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser and the nephew of the Nathan Hale who was executed by the British for espionage during the Revolutionary War. Edward became a Unitarian minister following his graduation from Harvard in 1839. His first position was as pastor of the Church of the Unity, in Worcester, Massachusetts, where his closest friend was Frederic William Greenleaf (1820-1850).  It was Greenleaf who inspired the character of "Harry Wadsworth" in Ten Times One Is Ten.

Edward Everett Hale became the minister of the South Congregational Church in Boston in 1856, a position he held until the end of his life. In 1903 he became chaplain of the United States Senate.

Believing that his calling as a minister compelled him to work outside the church as well as in the pulpit, Hale became involved in the social issues of the day.  He was active in charitable and reform efforts, including the temperance movement, the Industrial Aid Society, and the formation of the Associated Charities.  His best-known work as an author, the short story The Man Without A Country, appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in December 1863.

Hale did not intend to start a movement when he wrote Ten Times One Is Ten.He simply needed a story to put in Old and New, the magazine he edited, and wrote the story of "Harry Wadsworth" that he had been mulling over for years. Following the publication of the story, groups sprang up to follow its example, setting as their ideal (and taking their name from) this verse of Hale's:

Look up and not down,
Look forward and not back,
Look out and not in,
Lend a hand.

At first Hale's publishing office served as the Lend a Hand Society headquarters, becoming a clearinghouse for letters from individuals responding to Edward Everett Hale's writings.By 1891 the volume of correspondence and publishing work had grown so large that the Ten Times One Corporation was formed in that year to function as a central headquarters for the individual clubs.  The name was changed to the Lend a Hand Society in 1898.  Hale became the first president, serving until his death in 1909.  Although Hale was a Unitarian minister, The Lend a Hand Society was nonsectarian.

In addition to "Ten Times One Clubs," other names chosen by clubs included "Harry Wadsworth Clubs," "Look-Up Legions," and "King's Daughters."  This last group, formed in New York City in 1886, was more evangelical in nature than the others and did not align itself with the less strictly religious groups that formed the majority of clubs.  Hale was very active in promoting and encouraging the establishment of clubs.

This “King’s Daughters” (now known as the International Order of the King’s Daughters and Sons) is not the same as the Order of the Daughters of the King.  According to its website, it began on January 13th, 1886, in the New York City home of Margaret Bottome, a Methodist minister's wife.  Margaret was well known for her drawing room talks, Bible studies, and prayer meetings.  Dr. Edward Everett Hale, originator of the Lend-A-Hand movement, had planted the idea for a "sisterhood of service" before Mrs. Bottome invited several of her friends to an organizational meeting.

At the January meeting were Mrs. Margaret Bottome, Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson, Miss Georgia Libby, Mrs. Theodore Irving, Mrs. Mary F. Payson, Mrs. C. DePeyster Field, Mrs. J. F. Ruggles, Miss Susan B. Schenck and Miss Helen Hammersley.  Along with Isabella Charles Davis, these women made up the original Ten.  Their church affiliations were Episcopal, Methodist, and Presbyterian.

Mrs. Bottome was chosen president and served in that capacity until her death in 1906.  Mary Lowe Dickinson was the General Secretary of the Order from its beginning until she died in 1914.  She served as editor of the Order's magazine, The Silver Cross, from its beginning in 1888 until her death.  The Hymn of the Order, "Lead Now As Forth We Go," sung to the tune of "Nearer My God to Thee," was written by Mrs. Dickinson in 1887.

Mrs. Irving, an educator in New York City, suggested the name, The King's Daughters.  The watchword chosen was “In His Name” and the text, “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”  For the badge, a little silver Maltese cross was chosen.  It has the initials IHN on the top and side arms of the cross, I on the top, H on its own right, N on the left.  In the early days, those who could not procure a cross wore a purple ribbon as an emblem of membership.

The motto

Look up and not down,
Look forward and not back,
Look out and not in,
And lend a hand

represents faith, hope, and service to others.

The object of the Order is the "development of spiritual life and the stimulation of Christian activities."

The Order unit was originally called a "Ten" but was soon changed to "Circle" to accommodate the numbers of women wanting to join.

In 1887, men and boys began seeking admission to the Order, and the name of the organization changed to The King's Daughters and Sons in 1891.  The Order still exists, with its headquarters in Chautauqua, New York.  It is also known by its initials, KDS, much as our order is abbreviated DOK.

From these details, we can see that our order and the King’s Daughters developed along parallel lines and at about the same time and place, but without further research we can only speculate about whether there was any overlap in its leadership or membership.