You Just Never Know

.... where the next clue will show up! 

As I continue to work towards a more detailed understanding of the role of fraternal societies in our collective social history, I seem to be unable to get away from fraternal organizations at all! It seems every corner, every new activity or venture results in at least one new discovery for me. Once you open your eyes to the impact of these organizations across the United States, they're influence is obvious. 

A day trip to Georgetown, Colorado this weekend (designed to give our family a little adventure and avoid the Black Friday mess) resulted in the discovery of this fantastic building, the Masonic Temple in that town. 

©Ancestral Journeys, 2013

The Temple was constructed in 1892, one of the "oldest continuously active fraternal orders in Colorado." 

(National Historic Landmark District plaque, placed in 2007 by the Town of Georgetown and Historic Georgetown, Inc.)

©Ancestral Journeys, 2013

The front door was full of information!
©Ancestral Journeys, 2013

In 1912, the pioneer lodge and Georgetown's second lodge (No. 48) combined, and purchased this building in 1926, where they have met since. 

(National Historic Landmark District plaque, placed in 2007 by the Town of Georgetown and Historic Georgetown, Inc.)

©Ancestral Journeys, 2013

This last picture, a close up of the text on the main doors to the building, tells us quite a bit about the extensive role this organization had, and still has, in Georgetown. 

• Georgetown Lodge #12, A.F. & A.M. is the Masonic Lodge. (Chartered 1867, 146 years ago.)
• Georgetown Chapter #4 R.A.M. is the Royal Arch Masons, and they still have a very active calendar. (Chartered 1875, 138 years ago.)
• Tyrian Council #11 R. & S.M. is yet another Masonic branch, again, still very active. (Chartered 1904, 109 years ago.)
• Georgetown Commandry #4 K.T. would be the Knights Templar division. (Chartered 1880, 133 years ago.)
• Georgetown Silver Star Chapter #42; indeed, the Silver Star, and the only one I could not find an active website link for.  (Chartered 1899, 114 years ago.)

The oldest is the A.F. & A.M., which is necessary, since all the others are auxiliaries of sorts. With the Tyrian Council the youngest at 109 years, imagine the history within the walls of this grand building! 

The street scene of Georgetown. The Masonic Lodge is the brick
structure in the center, with the point on the roof.
©Ancestral Journeys, 2013.

It does beg the question, for all of you who say you had an ancestor in the Masonic Lodge... do you know which one? 

Quick Update and Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been over a week since my last post on researching fraternal societies, and I really was hoping to avoid that kind of time delay. 

My goal is to post at least once a week, and I missed the mark this time, didn't I? 

So, here is a quick update for ya'll on where I stand with my ongoing investigation into the fraternal life of Mortimer Lawrence. 

See how the box is empty? 

Yep, I was really hoping there would be some text there... but alas, there is not. 

These are the research goals I established for myself: 

1. Contact the El Jebel Shriners and the Masonic Lodge of Denver to inquire on any available information on Mortimer Lawrence. 
2. Research his Army unit from the Civil War to learn of the possibility of his involvement in the G.A.R. 
3. Contact the college, if possible, in Ohio to determine if any records still exist. There may be some background work required, in order to determine what happened to the institution. 
4. Search newspapers from Cleveland to see if I can find him listed as a member of a lodge.
5. We have contacted the Ohio Farmer in the past, but never with this intent. My inquiry here would be specifically to see if they ever published information on local lodges. 
6. Our family collection does include several letters from Mortimer, to his niece, Carrie Brown. Those are just begging to be transcribed and investigated in detail. They may or may not include specific mention of his fraternal activities, but I am sure they do include other information that will be helpful to this particular facet of his life. 

I did email the El Jebel Shriners, and got a simply reply back: we'll work on it, but its going to take some time. I took a quick dive into trying to connect the Ohio Farmer with fraternal organizations, but wasn't able to come up with anything. This was in the form of searching on Google, so I still need to actually directly contact them. 

The big time consumer was reading through all the letters that belonged to Carrie Brown. There is simply a great deal of material there, and I have now read or re-read about half of them. So far, nothing has led to any new clues about Mortimer's fraternal involvement, however, I have been able to add to his timeline a bit. I have more specific data now that indicates exactly when he was in what area of the country, and have recorded that in retirement, he traveled quite a bit. Perhaps there are records of him attending Masonic meetings in other states as a guest? It is worth pursuing as I progress through this process. 

Ultimately, I learned a little tiny bit this week, so I guess my box should not be totally empty... and all information is good information. I'll take these little nuggets and eventually make a story out of the collective. 

To all of you, Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you have a wonderful holiday. I am so thankful for those that read through this blog and for the comments you contribute. Your ideas and feedback are truly appreciated by this writer. 

This year, I am especially grateful for my Mom. 

Where to Begin?

Researching fraternal organizations is just like any other research: you need a plan. 

What is your plan?

Where do you start? How do you do it? I hear those questions a lot, and have heard them even more since I started this series on fraternal societies. Thankfully, there is no big mystery here. You need a plan, plain and simple. This plan must be organized, done in advance, and fluid. 

A quick word on your research plan being "fluid." I believe this element is incredibly important, as you just simply do not know where any of your research may take you. You need to be able to adjust with your findings, follow the ebb and flow of history, in order to achieve success in your work.

This is not a post about how to write a research plan; I'll leave that to the numerous others who have written well on the topic. This post should take you to the beginning of the process, but where is that beginning, truly? You don't start on the journey of researching a particular society or lodge without some basic information... you need the who, what, when, where and why. 

• Who is the ancestor involved? Do you have their individual timeline established? 
• When would they have likely joined the organization? 
• Where did they live at that time, and did they recently relocate there, or have they been there for some time? (And if they recently moved, where did they come from and is it possible they were involved in any other organization in their previous location?)
• What was the motivation for joining the society in the first place? Why would they have done this?  
• What was happening in the country, the world, during the period of time in question? Would the political situation at this time have an effect on which organization they joined, or why? 

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but you get the point. Let us, just for giggles, take a look at a real life situation, and lay this out on paper. 

Meet Mortimer

Mortimer J. Lawrence
Personal Collection of Author

Mortimer James Lawrence, brother to my great great grandmother, Frances Elizabeth (Lawrence) Brown. You can read more about the Lawrence family on these posts.  Using the concept outlined above, what do we already know about Mortimer? 

• Mortimer was born 8 Dec 1843, probably in Springfield, Pennsylvania. 
• He is listed in the 1860 U.S. Census as a resident of Wakeman, Ohio, with his mother and siblings. 
• In 1861, he enlisted in Co. B, 3rd Ohio Cavalry, and served nearly through the duration of the Civil War. 
• Upon returning home, he immediately turned to farming. He also attended Byrant & Stratton Commercial College in Oberlin, Ohio in 1866. 
• Clues 1 & 2: He has the ability to be in the GAR and a fraternity related to his school. 
• Later that same year, he moved to Cleveland and began working as a sales representative. 
• Mortimer Lawrence married Helen Irene Mattison in December, 1866; Ohio. 
• Early 1867, he began work in the newspaper industry. He continued to work in the publication field the remainder of his life. In December of 1872, he took over the Ohio Farmer as editor and proprietor. They continue publication today. 
• Clue 3: This time is essential in his life! Being in the city and no longer farming means he had access to many more organizations. It is likely he was an active member of a society during these years. Additionally, there is a chance he could have been affiliated with a group involved in the publication or newspaper industries. 
• In 1887, Mortimer and his family relocated to Denver, Colorado, where he became involved in the banking business. They lived in a affluent area of the city. 
• Clue 4: Transfer to a new location = transfer to a new organization.
• July 1894, Denver hosted the Imperial Shrine convention, a subsidiary of the Masonic Lodge. Per the organizations' website, "At this first Denver Shrine meeting, Mortimer J. Lawrence suggested the name, EL JEBEL, which is Arabic for "The Mountain."' The charter for the 39th Shrine Temple was issued to El Jebel Shrine on June 25, 1888.(1)
• Clue 5: Does it get any better? Here is a direct link, from the society itself, to our subject. Still worthy of further investigation, because I want more! 
• By 1900, the family was back in Cleveland. His banking business was not successful, so he went back to the Ohio Farmer. 
• 1910 - New York City. Further research is needed to closely examine this part of his life. 
• 1920 - Mortimer and Helen had retired to Florida. 
• 1922; Mortimer passes away at the home of his daughter in Washington D.C. on the 30th of November. 

This last twelve years of his life is an open book, and a great deal more research needs to be done. However, you can immediately see the action items here, provided by the clues within our timeline, in regards to his fraternal activity. It seems obvious that the first step should be to contact the Denver El Jebel Shrine to determine if they are willing to share additional information on Mortimer, his role in the organization and his life in Denver. Assuming they have the information on file, they should also be able to tell us if he transferred from another lodge or not, and more importantly, which Masonic Lodge he was a member of. 

(Remember, to be involved in these sub-organizations, the individual must first be an active member in good standing of the parent organization. So we're really looking for information on two different groups: the Shriners and the Masons.)

Note, this is an active research process for me. I have not yet engaged the Shriners or the Masons on Mortimer's involvement. Of course, I chose him intentionally to use as my example; I might as well get some work done on my own family while writing this series, no?  I will be contacting the state level organization of both organizations this weekend. When I know something, you will too! 

Here is my plan, based on the timeline of Mortimer J. Lawrence. I do have more information on his life than what I have included here in this post; only the essential points have been included, in order to prevent this post from becoming a novel. 

1. Contact the El Jebel Shriners and the Masonic Lodge of Denver to inquire on any available information on Mortimer Lawrence. 
2. Research his Army unit from the Civil War to learn of the possibility of his involvement in the G.A.R. 
3. Contact the college, if possible, in Ohio to determine if any records still exist. There may be some background work required, in order to determine what happened to the institution. 
4. Search newspapers from Cleveland to see if I can find him listed as a member of a lodge.
5. We have contacted the Ohio Farmer in the past, but never with this intent. My inquiry here would be specifically to see if they ever published information on local lodges. 
6. Our family collection does include several letters from Mortimer, to his niece, Carrie Brown. Those are just begging to be transcribed and investigated in detail. They may or may not include specific mention of his fraternal activities, but I am sure they do include other information that will be helpful to this particular facet of his life. 

You may be thinking, "but you can do X, and Y, and Z, too! Why is your list so short?" Well, yes, that's true. I could take the time to be much more specific, and I have other ideas as to how to learn more about Mortimer's fraternal life, but I also have to be realistic in what I have time to do, and how much I can commit to this particular project. I will start with the above list, I will remain fluid and open to new ideas, and I will adapt as I go. 

(1) El Jebel Shriners. "The HIstory of EL JEBEL SHRINE." Copyright 2013,  http://www.eljebelshrine.org/history/. 

Overwhelming Need to Change my Plans

Cornerstone in the Museum of Western Colorado
Image: Jen Baldwin, 2013

I spent this past weekend visiting my parents to celebrate my Mom's birthday. (Happy birthday, Momma!) We had an enjoyable weekend with them, and my sister and her family. We decided to take a family expedition to the Western Museum of Colorado to check out their new display, "Distant Treasures in the Mist."

My parents had seen it advertised, it just opened, and we thought it looked interesting. Keep in mind, we have a group of six adults, two twelve year old's, a nine year old, and one four year old. Isn't it wonderful that all of the kiddos were excited to go to the museum?

I digress. 

Having a completely different blog post scheduled to be published this week already in my drafts, I was not expecting to be quite as captivated as I was. However, plans soon change, don't they? I found myself overwhelmed by the need to change my plans. And here's why:

Nearly through the fascinating display of early Spanish influence on western Colorado and the surrounding area, I came across a photo of this item. The museum labeled this piece as a "Decorative sword cover fragment" from a "Masonic Knight's Templar." Found by the Clark family near a stone structure in the Kannah Creek valley. All this particular display had was images of the piece, but I was still captivated. If it ever indicated that the museum had possession of this remarkable piece of history, I missed it. I studied this for some time, finally turning the corner and moving on through the remainder of the exhibit.

As per usual while in a museum, I got separated from the group and wound my way through the rest of the facility on my own. Everyone else had been there at least once, except me, so they graciously allowed me the time and freedom to soak it all in. I was excited to see the pistol belonging to Alfred Packer (convicted of cannibalism in the 1800s in Colorado, but eventually given a full pardon), a replica school house and mining display. What hit me next, though, hit me full in the face.

The actual scabbard portion was there! Right there! 

Forgive me, these are not the best photographs. I could have spent the rest of the day right there in that spot, examining this piece of fraternal history, and all its lovely detail. Made entirely of brass, the engravings were exceptionally well preserved, and such intricate detail! It truly is a piece of art.

The research of the Western Investigations Team (WIT) found that it dates from the 1850s, and may have been from a military unit from that period. The scabbard piece was found with a 19th century muffin-style military button. The site, Kannah Creek, was a common source of fresh water, and certainly a camp site for early survey and military expeditions.

Distinguishable on the scabbard are the traditional image of Emperor Constantine, staring at the cross in the sun, the inverted triangle in the sun, a coat of arms, and a cross with a crown. The last represents the Knight's Templar degree in York Rite masonry. It was originally found in 1961, and had gone missing for forty-five years! It was recovered in 2006 and returned to the museum. The stone structure mentioned above may also be Masonic remnants, but that is yet to be determined.

For me, this was a very exciting find. I was thrilled to discover such a unique and interesting piece of fraternal history right in my own backyard, and on permanent display at a museum down the street from my parents house. (Which means, I can go see it often!)  It may not have been the direction I had planned to go this week, but it certainly has captured my attention and has opened yet another door to walk through. What was fraternal life like for those early explorers, missionaries, and military units? Did they remain engaged in their society or simply walk away from it all?

Nearly Ready

The pin of the 2013 Grand Master,
Dana A. Speaks.
The Grand Lodge of Colorado.
©Ancestral Journey, 2013.

For the past three weeks or so, I've been focusing my blogging efforts on learning more about Fraternal Societies. It started with simply recognizing my curiosity of the subject, and then allowing myself the time and freedom to take on such a project. I hope that you have enjoyed the posts so far, and have learned along with me.


I’m nearly ready to start focusing on individual organizations, tactics for researching those groups and what there is to gain from a genealogical stand point by doing all of this. I have one last organizational type piece to compile, and that is my wish list. There are countless texts available on fraternal societies, and even more on secret societies (everybody loves a good conspiracy, right?). I have accumulated a dream library that I will someday own, but a good chunk of this is simply on my goal list for now.

What I already have…

I have two texts that I refer to constantly in my research on societies.

1. Alan Axelrod. The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies & Fraternal Orders. Checkmark Books, New York, NY, 1997. [There is a newer version available, but this is what I have on my desk.]
2. Tara E. Atterberry, Project Editor. Encyclopedia of Associations: An Associations Unlimited Reference, Vol’s 1, 2 and 3. Gale, Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills, Michigan, 2011. [These texts are reference materials. They are available digitally, I just happened to get the entire set for $3 from my local library, so I went for it.]

I have also found that my dictionary, a copy of the Bible, and these last two published references have proven helpful:

• Jerome Francis Beattie, President and Editor. The Hereditary Register of the United States of America. The Hereditary Register Publications, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, 1977. [Again, an older version, and again, a library steal at the cost of $1.]  This text has allowed me to identify and gain familiarity with some of the more obscure organizations, such as Son of a Witch. It provides just a bit more information than those listed above.

• W. Ellwood Post. Saints, Signs & Symbols. Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1974. This small reference book has given me the ability to identify “hard to find” symbols from documents and grave markers. Although not intended by the author to be a genealogical resource, it has proven helpful on several occasions.

Why a Bible? Well, a great number of these organizations have Christian influence; so you will find references to particular passages or other religious imagery or stories used often.

What I would love to have….

• Charles William Heckethorn. The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, Vol’s 1 & 2. Nabu Press, 2010.
• Michael R. Poll. Masonic Words and Phrases. Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2005.
• Dina C. Carson. Colorado’s Territorial Masons: An Annotated Index of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Colorado, 1861-1876. Iron Gate Publishing, 2013. [Hey! I know the author!]
• Lee E. Bishop. American Society Medals: An Identification Guide. Bishop & Elliott Publications, 1998.
• Victoria Solt Dennis. Discovering Friendly and Fraternal Societies: Their Badges and Regalia. Shire Discovering, 2008.

What is the objective behind listing all of this? I actually have a couple of goals here. The first is to define which texts are truly my priorities. My Amazon wish list is pretty big in this category, so for my own purposes, I need to narrow down my choices and really focus on collecting the most helpful and valuable research tools that I can, rather than just buying whatever pops up at the next used book sale at the library. (Although, to be honest, I’ll probably continue to buy randomly from the library, it’s a great use of my pocket change, and it supports the library! What could be better?)

Secondly, I do believe it is important to identify the tools of your research as much as possible before truly diving into said research. This list will allow me to place requests through inter-library loan and determine a more concrete timeline for the work I am planning and the posts here on my blog that will go along with that.

Any family member that may be reading this, go ahead and print out this list… its nearly Christmas, after all. <grin>

And for those researchers that are joining me on this journey of self-education, I ask you: what is your dream list of fraternal related materials? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Twitter 101: A Genealogists' How To

A quick diversion from my series on fraternal societies to announce....

I am so excited about the crowdsourcing that is available on Twitter, I will be offering FREE "how to" sessions via Google Hangouts starting in November! These will not be HOA's, so they will not be streamed on YouTube, and they will not be recorded. They are private, intimate sessions for you to ask any question you want. We can work through the process together, learn my best "tricks" on Twitter, and in an hour or less, get everyone comfortable enough with the platform to be able to participate in #genchat . Each session will be limited to ten people - including me! - so I'm asking you to RSVP either by posting to this message or by emailing me at ancestralbreezes at gmail dot com. There is no fee. There never will be. I just want all of my geneabuddies to understand the impact that Twitter can make on their research. The first session will be held on Thursday, November 14 at 9:30am Mountain. I will add more hangouts to the schedule very soon, and will try to accommodate all the time zones. If you need a special time to fit with YOUR schedule, please contact me, and we can work together to set something up. Join me in learning all about Twitter and what it can do for you, your research and your genealogy education! Connect with me on G+: google.com/+JenBaldwin 9:30am Mountain is.... 8:30am Pacific 10:30am Central 11:30am Eastern

Benevolent, Friendly or Both?

 

Which one was it?

Two of the common terms used to describe a particular kind of fraternal society are benevolent and friendly. What were these organizations, how did they differ from other fraternal groups (or did they?), and are they really two different things? 
Let's start with a definition; according to dictionary.com: 

• Benevolent: adj. 1: marked by or disposed to doing good. 2: organized for the purpose of doing good. 3: marked by or suggestive of goodwill. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benevolent)
• Friendly: adj. 1: acting like a friend : kind and helpful. 2: having or showing the feelings that friends have for each other. 3: showing support or approval.

But that doesn't really help us much. How do we put these two terms into context? 

Let's try using a source that was created around the study of fraternal societies to begin with:  The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders.¹  This text describes a Friendly society as one that is British in origin, and act primarily as financial mutual aid organizations. The term “Friendly,” is used largely in Britain, and the history of friendly societies intertwines with Acts of Parliament in relation to insurance and general welfare programs provided by the government.

Benevolent organizations are those that are “set up to do good, rather than merely to be enjoyable.” The concept described in this text is similar to the definition seen above.²
 

Keep. It. Simple.

What is the difference between Benevolent and Friendly? It would seem there are two significant points:

1. Friendly societies help their members financially, versus just helping their members.
2. Friendly societies originate in England, and the term seems to have stayed there predominantly, while benevolent was used more in the United States. Simplified? The geography is the difference.

One last point to make here, which I thought to be rather telling.

“Some people distinguish between societies that help only their own members (benevolent or friendly societies) and societies that help other people (charitable or service societies), but this is not a very helpful distinction.”³

Even though the overall statement seems to be dismissing this common belief, the fact that the author puts benevolent and friendly together is an indication of how similar the two terms are. I believe we can safely say that the differences are minor, however, they are blatant enough to know that the two words are not interchangeable, and must be used intentionally when in discussion on fraternal societies.  Once again, where you are in the world makes a difference in how you research, and what you research!
 

For more information….

Wikipedia lists "some common" friendly societies, and the collection ranges from the AARP to the I.O.O.F. to the Royal Liver Assurance. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_society#List_of_some_friendly_societies)


Selly Sell: I wrote a Legacy QuickGuide on researching Fraternal Societies. You can find it here.
 
 

¹ Alan Axelrod. The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders. Checkmark Books, New York, NY, 1997, p.98-99.
² Ibid, p xi, Introduction.
³ Ibid, p xi, Introduction.