Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonically Inspired: Order of United American Mechanics and the Knights of Pythias

By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members.  Many of these groups looked to Freemasonry for inspiration in creating their rituals, their symbols and their structure.  Two of these groups – the Order of United American Mechanics and the Knights of Pythias – show Masonic influence in the colorful prints reproduced here.  The National Heritage Museum collection includes hundreds of prints like these, which are invaluable sources to study Masonic and fraternal history, as well as American history and culture.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1845, the Order of United American Mechanics was a patriotic, social and benevolent fraternity that aimed to help native-born Americans find employment, and to assist members’ widows and orphans and members who could not work.  The group’s mission reflected the resentment that some American workers felt toward immigrants who were hired at lower wages.  Its emblem, shown at the print’s center (at left), consisted of a square and compasses – similar to the well-known Masonic symbol – around the arm of labor.

The print at right is titled The Brotherhood of Pythianism.  The Knights of Pythias was founded in 1864 in Washington, D.C., to renew brotherly spirit in the wake of the Civil War.  Founder Justus H. Rathbone (1839-1889), possibly the man depicted at the top of the print, was a Freemason.  Like Freemasonry, the Knights of Pythias awarded three degrees through rituals.  However, the Knights’ rituals followed the story of the friendship of Damon and Pythias, rather than the building of King Solomon’s temple.  This print prominently displays the group’s motto, “Friendship, Charity, Benevolence.”

Left: American Order of United Mechanics, 1870, Strobridge and Company, Cincinnati, OH, National Heritage Museum, 97.019.  Photograph by David Bohl.  Right: The Brotherhood of Pythianism, 1900, The M.C. Lilley and Company, Columbus, OH, National Heritage Museum, Anonymous Gift, 2000.027. 

Can you help us solve this mystery?

Recently, the National Heritage Museum acquired a set of fraternal jewels, which you can see here (click on the picture for a closer look).  The five jewels appear to be part of a set.  They are made out of the same metal and have identical pins at the top, with a crescent moon and a five-point star resting on clouds.  Each jewel has a different pendant hanging from the top piece: a harp, crossed gavels, scales, an open book and a lantern.  They were found in Connecticut, although it is not known if they were originally made or used there.

The jewels do not show any engraving or inscriptions to help us identify the group that initially used them so we are seeking more information.  Have you ever seen anything similar?  Do you know of a fraternal or Masonic group that uses these symbols?

In the May 2009 issue of the Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s The Northern Light, we published a picture of these jewels and asked the same questions.  Prior to this, we received suggestions that the jewels might be from the Daughters of the Nile or the White Shrine of Jerusalem, but comparisons to symbols and jewels from those groups are not conclusive. 

Northern Light readers wasted no time in contacting the Museum with suggestions.  One reader noted a comparison between the star and crescent on the jewels and at the Odd Fellows cemetery in Ennis, Texas.  While similar, the mystery jewels differ significantly from other Odd Fellows jewels in the National Heritage Museum collection.  For another reader, the symbols on the mystery jewels called to mind the moon and star seen on jewelry for members of the Dramatic Order of Knights of Khorassan, a group related to the Knights of Pythias.  But comparisons between our mystery jewels and the symbols for this group did not turn up a conclusive match.  Still another reader suggested that the jewels might be associated with the Moorish Science Temple of America.  We welcomed all of the suggestions and continue to search for the answer to this mystery.

If you have any ideas, please write a comment below and let us know.

Set of Jewels for Unidentified Fraternity, 1880-1930.  Museum purchase, collection of National Heritage Museum, 2006.010a-e.  Photograph by David Bohl.

Shall We Dance?

The card seen here is from a social event that took place on Wednesday, November 27, 1889. On that date, the Eureka Lodge, No.4 of the Knights of Pythias of Lynn, Massachusetts held their annual concert and dance on Thanksgiving Eve.  In addition to this wonderful illustration, the card  contains information that gives us a sense of what the evening must have been like - from the types of dances that were danced to the various dishes served at dinner. The program for the evening included a concert by Reinewald’s Eighth Regiment Band and Orchestra, a full military band. 

The first part of the program (MA 015) was a set of dances including quadrilles, waltzes, contras, schottisches, followed by an intermission and supper.  According to the program, the menu consisted of roast turkey and cranberry sauce, chicken, mashed potatoes, various salads, cold meats, oysters, ice cream and cake, tea and coffee, and fruit.  Following dinner, there was more dancing, including more quadrilles, a Portland Fancy, a Danish, and a Redowa. Several of the dances are named for other fraternal groups of the time period such as “Red Men”, “I.O.O.F”, “K.G.E”.  These names refer to the Improved Order of Red Men, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of the Golden Eagle.

Though the peak of participation in the Knights of Pythias was during the late-19th century, they still exist today, with headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. They are still accepting new members if you are interested.