International Order of Twelve
August 01, 2017
The Museum & Library recently acquired a jewel associated with the International Order of Twelve fraternal group. The Rev. Moses Dickson (1824-1901) founded the order, also known as the International Order of Twelve of Knights and Daughters of Tabor, as an African American fraternal group in Independence, Missouri, in 1872. Histories of the order connect it with the Order of Twelve, a group formed in 1846 as an anti-slavery group in the American South. Founded as a benevolence and financial aid group, the International Order of Twelve provided death and sickness benefits to members. The organization accepted men and women, who met collectively to govern the order together. Locally, men and women held separate meetings—the men in “temples” and the women in "tabernacles." The name Tabor refers to Mount Tabor in Israel—a significant site in the Biblical Book of Judges. The group's ritual drew significantly from the Book of Judges.
The jewel features the numbers 777 and 333 stamped onto a metal twelve-pointed star. These numbers formed part of the chief emblem of the fraternal order and were derived from significant days and numbers in the Bible. An 1879 Order of Twelve manual features an illustration of temple jewels with officer titles. The manual also includes illustrations of ritual objects, temple furniture, and guidelines for ceremonies and drills.
The Mississippi jurisdiction of the Order funded and operated the Taborian Hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, from 1942 to the mid-1960s. The hospital was one of two in the state owned and operated by African Americans in the mid-1900s. The Taborian hospital provided access to medical treatment for African Americans in the town of Mound Bayou and surrounding areas. The Taborian merged with the Sarah Brown Hospital in 1966 to become the Mound Bayou Community Hospital. It closed in 1983.
Today the Knights and Daughters of Tabor operates as a 501c3 non-profit focused on revitalization and renovation projects in the Mound Bayou, Mississippi, community.
This temple jewel is featured in a display of Recent Acquisitions, on view at the Museum & Library through July, 2018.
Do you have information about the Order of Twelve? Do you have any relatives who were once members or are you a current member? Let us know in the comments section below.
Dear Crystal,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing this information about your grandmother. We are always trying to find more information about this fraternal order and its members. If you should come across any photos or items that belonged to your grandmother we would love to hear about them.
Posted by: Ymelda Laxton | December 10, 2021 at 08:17 AM
My great great grandmother Mollie Harlan Wilson Lee was a Member of the order in Mound Bayou, Ms. She was also one of the founding memebers of the town.
Posted by: Crystal Neels | December 07, 2021 at 01:47 PM
Dear Shelby,
Thank you for your note about your grandmother and for reading the blog. . We would love to see a picture of her tombstone. We will email you directly about researching the Order of the Twelve.
Posted by: Ymelda Laxton | May 24, 2021 at 08:39 AM
My grandmother has information about the organization on her tombstone I would love to include the picture. She died in Minden, Louisiana. I would love to know more about this. Please pass along any tips for researching about this. Thank you in advance
Posted by: Shelby Watson | May 23, 2021 at 01:18 PM
Dear Deborah,
Thank you for reading the blog and for sharing the information about your grandfather's membership. We are always interested in learning about items related to the International Order of Twelve.
Posted by: Ymelda Laxton | November 24, 2020 at 09:14 AM
My grandfather joined this organization on January 10, 1923; Certificate No. 48339. While going through some old documents given to me by a family member, I located this certificate.
organization. He joined January 10, 1923. The certificate No. is
Posted by: Deborah Johnson | November 18, 2020 at 10:35 PM
Dear Michael,
Thank you for reading the blog and for your question. In an 1889 ritual text for the Order, red is cited as an emblem of blood (and more specifically the blood of Jesus Christ), and green as an emblem of eternal life. These colors are not described in reference to any jewels or regalia in the text, though the red and green may represent those same ideas in the temple jewel. In reference to the gray, we often use a gray photo paper as a background when photographing objects. Thank you for your interest in our collection and please let us know if you have any other questions.
Posted by: Ymelda Laxton | August 17, 2017 at 08:30 AM
How are the colors red and green used along with the resultant neutral gray?
Posted by: Michael | August 16, 2017 at 04:13 PM