In a Portrait Studio, Worn with Pride: Prince Hall Freemasonry, Order of Eastern Star, and Real Photo Postcards in the Early Twentieth Century

In celebration of Black History Month and the long history of Prince Hall Freemasonry, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library wanted to highlight a striking new acquisition of a real photo postcard of a Black man standing between two women, with all three wearing Masonic regalia. The man wears a dark suit with a jewel of office pinned on his chest and a Past Master’s apron—identifiable by the common motif of a square and compass with the legs of the compass connected by an arc. The two women are in white dresses, white high heeled shoes, and white stockings. The younger woman, to the right of the man, wears two sashes, one on either shoulder. The one on the left shoulder is more visible, with a band of color running through it, a cockade on the top. The other sash is less visible, although the darker colored folds are clear to see by her waist near the hem of her dress. Any identifying features of the regalia are difficult to discern. Do these sashes mark her as a member of the Order of Eastern Star? The older woman, to the left of the man, was clearly a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, as evidenced by her five-color star apron. Though the picture is black and white, the red, blue, yellow, green, and white in the star are easy to visualize. With her proudly displayed apron, she also wears a necklace, earrings, and a white pin in her hair.

The postcard has no date, no location, nor any hint to the identities of the three people in the photograph. Was this a man and his wife and mother or daughter? Was this a family demonstrating their Masonic pride? The postcard was never sent and was likely kept as a keepsake or handed physically to its intended audience. Postcards were widely popular at the end of the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century in America. In 1913, almost one billion postcards were in sent in the United States, almost ten times the population at that time. Real photo postcards, like the one seen here, were produced on photographic paper with postcard backs. This postcard is undoubtedly a studio portrait—the upper right-hand corner gives a glimpse of the hanging backdrop—that was then printed on photographic postcard stock.

Using the Real Photo Postcard Guide: The People’s Photography, by Robert Bogdan and Todd Weseloh, we were able to estimate the age of the postcard using the distinct design on the back. Bogdan and Weseloh studied thousands of postcard backs to determine the earliest known date and years that the design of the back was in use by manufacturers. This postcard was manufactured by Eastman Kodak Company, which you can tell by the letters AZO surrounding the area for the stamp. The back of the postcard is divided between correspondence and address, which the United States Postal Service allowed after 1907, and the small black squares on the corner of the stamp box are all signifiers that this style of postcard was produced mainly in the 1930s by Eastman Kodak Company.

Though not much is known about the three people in the postcard, the family’s clear pride in their Masonic brotherhood and sisterhood shines through the small photograph and gives a glimpse into Prince Hall Freemasonry and Order of Eastern Star in the early twentieth century. Can you help us identify anyone in this real photo postcard? Do you know what the women’s sashes on the right represent? Please comment below if you have any insight!

Photo Caption

Postcard portraying African American Freemason and two women with regalia, 1930-1939, Museum purchase, A2023/168/001.

References

Bogdan, Robert and Todd Weseloh. Real Photo Postcard Guide: The People’s Photography. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2006.

The Order of the Eastern Star at the Chicago World’s Fair

On August 18th, 1920, the United States Congress ratified the 19th amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Throughout August, to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of this momentous occasion, Museum staff will highlight items from our collection related to women’s fraternal groups. Many of these groups offered not only a place of community for women but also a place to organize. A number of these groups were actively involved in the suffrage movement and had members who championed women's equality. We first feature this recently donated photograph from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Order of Eastern Star Booth at Columbian Exposition, 1893. Lorraine J. Pitkin (1845-1922), Chicago, Illinois. Gift of Thomas Nelson, 2020.008. 

On May 1st, 1893, thousands of visitors streamed into the newly opened Columbian World Exposition at Jackson Park in Chicago, Illinois. This exposition, commonly referred to as the Chicago World’s Fair, celebrated the 400^th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ (1451-1506) arrival in the Americas in 1492. Organizers built over 200 new structures and pavilions that spanned over 600 acres in the South Side of Chicago, including a “Woman’s Building,” designed by architect Sophia Hayden (1868-1953). The structure, created to showcase women artisans and highlight women’s achievements, was managed by an all-female board. A number of female associations were featured in the building, including the Women's Christian Temperance Union, Order of the Eastern Star, and Ladies Catholic Benevolent Association. 

Board member Lorraine J. Pitkin (1845-1922), a women's activist and high-ranking member of the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), a Masonic women's auxiliary group, advocated for this Eastern Star exhibit (pictured at left) to be displayed in the Woman’s Building. The photograph shows various Eastern Star charts, signets, and banners from over nine of the organization's chapters in the Upper Midwest.

Pitkin also participated in the World’s Congress of Representative Women on behalf of OES. The Congress, a week-long conference managed and attended by women as part of the World's Fair, included a day of programming devoted to the Eastern Star on May 16, 1893. Sessions from that day included "The Value of the Eastern Star as a Factor in Giving Women a Knowledge of Legislative Matters"  and "Eastern Star and the Benefit it Has Been to Women as an Educational Organization." Pitkin later served on the Board of Directors of the World's Fair Fraternal Building Association held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1902. This photograph will be featured in our upcoming Flickr album about women and fraternalism. Stay tuned!

Have a favorite item related to women's suffrage or fraternalism at the World's Fair? Let us know in the comments below!

 

References

May Wright Sewall, ed., The World's Congress of Representative Women... (Chicago, IL: Rand McNally, 1894), 68-72.

Maude Howe Elliott, ed., Art And Handicraft in the Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition Chicago, 1893 (Chicago and New York: Rand, McNally & Company, 1894), 180-185.

 

 

The Electrified Signet

Masonic Rainbow Girls Electrified Signet, 1930-1960. Unidentified maker, United States. Gift of Frank W. Thompson Lodge A.F. & A.M., 2012.073.1.

 I came across a four foot tall sign in the museum collection identified as an electrified signet when I was researching the Rainbow Girls, a Masonic youth group. I was curious about the name, since signets are most often associated with rings or personal seals that were used to authenticate  documents. I further investigated the history of these types of signs and found the term signet used primarily by the Order of the Eastern Star and the Rainbow Girls to describe their respective emblems.

Fraternal regalia companies like M.C. Lilley and C.E. Ward manufactured and sold electrified signs, or signets, like this one (pictured to the left), beginning in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These signs used to provide instruction during ritual ceremonies. The different colors and symbols in this particular Rainbow Girls sign could be lit up when the concepts were introduced or revealed during instruction.  In 2012, Frank W. Thompson Lodge A.F & A.M. in Bedford, Massachusetts, donated this Rainbow Girls signet to the Museum. The pictured hanging control box operated the sign.

(L) Masonic Order of the Eastern Star Signet, ca. 1938. Unidentified Maker, United States. Gift of Social Summit Lodge #50, Canaan, New Hampshire, 2011.013.2. (R) O.E.S. Supply Catalog, 1938. C.E. Ward Company, New London, Ohio. Gift of the Estate of John A. Waterhouse, A2011/37/89.

The Rainbow Girls sign is similar to this Order of the Eastern Star electrified signet (pictured to the right) donated to the Museum by Social Summit Lodge #50, in Canaan, New Hampshire, in 2011. 

A 1938 C.E. Ward catalog featured a similar Eastern Star signet for $143. In several different O.E.S. supply catalogs, the electrified signet is described as “a real addition to any chapter room” and “easily operated and unexcelled for rendering the Ritualistic work in the most beautiful and impressive manner.”

To learn more about the Rainbow Girls or Order of the Eastern Star visit our past blog posts here.

 

References:

Mark Tabbert, American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities. Lexington, Massachusetts: National Heritage Museum, 2005.

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Research into Socks Reveals the Role of Women Played in the Growth of American Freemasonry

Before researching these items from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, an invitation for the Westbrook Masonic (Maine) Fair and pair of colorful, miniature socks, I thought they were created by Arthur W. Greely, Treasurer of Esoteric Lodge, No. 159, whose name is printed on the outside of the envelope. However, as I continued my research and learned more about the fundraising technique of sock socials, I became convinced that the creator of the invitation and socks was Alice D. Greely, Arthur’s wife.

Masonic Fund Raising Letter and Socks, 1904.   Masonic Fund Raising Poem January 1904. Envelope Addressed to Mrs. B. F. Joy February 25, 1904.

Sock socials were a fundraising technique practiced by many women’s organizations. R. E. Smith, author of The Ladies’ Aid Manual: A Practical Work for Ladies’ Aid Societies writes that women would “meet and plan to make any desired number of miniature socks,” which would be sent along with a printed invitation similar to the invitation presented below.  Sock Social Invitation This little sock we give to you Is not for you to wear; Please multiply your size by two And place inside with care In silver or in cents, Twice the number that you wear (We hope it is immense.) So if you wear a number ten, You owe us twenty, see? Which dropped in the little sock will fill our hearts with glee. So don’t forget the place and date, We’ll answer when you knock, And welcome you with open arms-- But don’t forget your sock. In brief, each person invited to a sock social received a sock, and each sock served as that person’s invitation to the social. The person “had to have the sock to get in at the social,” the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune reported, and in “the sock, he or she would put money."

Considering this information, I believe it is more likely that Alice D. Greely produced the invitation, as well as the two miniature socks. Alice was the wife of a Mason, as was letter's recipient Edna Joy, and both women would have been eligible for Eastern Star membership. That said, my research into both women’s possible Eastern Star ties proved inconclusive. All that we know for certain is that Edna Joy and her husband, Benjamin F. Joy, a prominent local photographer, were invited to the Westbrook Masonic Fair, which was held for the week of February 15, 1904, and run by the lodge, chapter, council and Eastern Star. According to the American Tyler, the proceeds from this Masonic fair were to be used to build a “new Masonic quarters” in Westbrook.

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Captions

Fund Raising Letter from Mrs. Arthur W. Greely to Mrs. B. F. Fox, February 25, 1904. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 260.004.

References

Beckford, William Hale, and George W. Richardson. Leading Business Men of Bangor, Rockland and Vicinity. Boston: Mercantile Publishing Company, 1888. Accessed: 25 January 2017. https://archive.org/details/leadingbusinessm00beck_0

GenDisasters.com. “Ellsworth, ME Masonic Block Fire, Jan 1907.” Accessed: 25 January 2017. http://www.gendisasters.com/georgia/14194/ellsworth-me-masonic-block-fire-jan-1907

Grand Lodge of Maine. Membership Card Records: Card Listing, 1820-1995. Accessed: 25 January 2017. http://www.mainemason.org/genealogy/index.asp

Grand Lodge of Maine (1907). Twenty-first District. In Proceedings of the Grand Lodge, 1907, (Vol. 21, pp. 278 – 281). Portland, Maine: Stephen Berry.

Grand Lodge of Maine (1909). Annual Address: Consolidation of Lodges. In Proceedings of the Grand Lodge, 1908 - 1909, (Vol. 22, pp. 21). Portland, Maine: Stephen Berry.

“Here and There.” American Tyler 18, 14 (1904): 314-319. Accessed: 25 January 2017. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000056270    

“Here and There.” American Tyler 18, 17 (1904): 410-415. Accessed: 25 January 2017. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000056270

“Masonic Buildings.” American Tyler 20, 12 (1905): 262. Accessed: 25 January 2017. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000056270

Pollard, Ralph J. Freemasonry in Maine, 1762-1945. Portland, Maine: Tucker Printing Company, (no date). Accessed: 25 January 2017. http://www.mainemasonrytoday.com/history/Books/Pollard/index.htm

“Skating Parties, Bobsledding, Dancing Were Popular Then.” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, February 2, 1950. Accessed: 31 January 2017. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/17760368/

Smith, R. E. “Fancy Sock Social and Entertainment.” In Ladies’ Aid Manual: A Practical Work for Ladies’ Aid Societies, 48. New York: Eaton & Mains, 1911. Accessed: 25 January 2017.
https://books.google.com/books?id=8i8bAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA48&ots=TXjyr7GfzI&dq=%22sock%20social%22&pg=PA48#v=onepage&q=%22sock%20social%22&f=false

Who Wore the Crown? Collecting Order of the Amaranth Materials

To properly manage the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s collection, the curatorial staff periodically reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the collection so that, as we evaluate new gifts and purchases, we can fill gaps and avoid duplications.  One of the gaps that we are seeking to fill is material (2-d, 3-d, records and papers) associated with fraternal groups for women and children.  So, when a donor generously offered several gifts of Order of the Amaranth material over the past few years, we jumped at the opportunity (see these other posts about the organization).

The Order of the Amaranth, like Order of the Eastern Star, with which it was initially affiliated, is open to the female relatives of Master Masons, and to Master Masons themselves.  In the United States in 1873, Robert Macoy (1816-1895), who was active in Order of the Eastern Star, formed the “Rite of Adoption,” which included an Order of the Amaranth degree.  From 1873 to 1921, all members of Amaranth Courts (analogous to Eastern Star Chapters), had to join Order of the Eastern Star first.  In 1921, the two groups split, becoming the separate organizations that they remain today.

Among the large group of Amaranth items now in our collection, ranging from props that were used in rituals to records for several courts, and souvenirs from Amaranth events to regalia, are the two crowns shown here.  Both were worn by Elsie Haynes (1915-2006) when she was active in Amaranth activities in Connecticut.  Haynes probably wore the crown in the top photo when she was Royal Matron of Charity Court No. 17, which met in Windsor, Connecticut, and later in Suffield, Connecticut.  Haynes used the crown in the lower photo when she served as Supreme Royal Matron, head of the national organization, in 1977 and 1978.

We are very pleased to have Order of the Amaranth represented in our collection.  If you have an Amaranth memory to share or a question to ask, please leave us a comment!

Order of the Amaranth Crowns, 1960-1970 (top), ca. 1977 (bottom), Unidentified makers, United States, gift of Barbara F. Lott, 2013.049.22a and .26a.  Photographs by David Bohl.

 

 

The Rowlands Family: Freemasonry as a Tradition

For the Rowlands family, Freemasonry was a family tradition.  Richard Allison Rowlands (1890-1955) was Grand Master of Masons of the State of New York from 1950 through 1952.  He often shared Masonic events with his family, particularly his wife, Gertrude, and his daughter, Patricia.  They are all seen at a visitation to the Westchester-Putnam District in New York, on April 29, 1950 in the photograph (on the left).  R. A. Rowlands is fifth from the left, Gertrude is on his left and Patricia is on his right.

Gertrude and her three daughters were also members of the Order of the Eastern Star.  Gertrude and Patricia took their turns as Worthy Matron.  Gertrude was Worthy Matron of Schnectady's Corlaer Chapter 528 during 1950 and Patricia was Worthy Matron of the same chapter during 1952.

The Rowlands family lived at 1361 Regent Street in Schnectady, New York with their three daughters:  Shirley, Virginia, and Patricia.  R. A. Rowlands' grandfathers were members of the craft.  Richard Rowlands, Sr. was a member of Stella Lodge No. 485 in Brooklyn, New York, and Gerritt Vervoort was a member of Munn Lodge No. 190 in New York City.   R. A. Rowlands' father, John S. Rowlands, was a member of Lebanon Lodge, No. 191, New York City and served as its Master in 1906.  R. A. Rowlands' mother was a member of Flatbush Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. 

The photograph (on the right) shows Richard A. Rowlands at another Masonic event--throwing out the First Pitch at the 14th Annual Baseball Game and Circus Show, Dexter Park, on June 10, 1950.  The event was sponsored by the Brooklyn Masonic Association for Charity, Inc.  R. A. Rowlands participated in many family Masonic events as well as lodge meetings.                                                               

R. A. Rowlands' grandson, Richard V. Travis (son of Virginia Rowlands and L. Earl Travis), is the donor of this collection of materials including a photograph album, three scrapbooks, over 20 Masonic, military, and civic certificates, ephemera and museum objects.  Richard V. Travis is also Executive Director of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, here in Lexington, Massachusetts.   He is a Scottish Rite Mason, on the Board of Directors for the museum, and is a member of many Masonic organizations.

This collection is a wonderful example of how Freemasonry flowed from great-great-grandfather to great-grandfather to grandfather to grandson-- through five generations!

 

For Further Reading: 

Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, 1950, p. 197-200.

Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, 1955,  p.146-149.

Proceedings of the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the Thirty-third and Last Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America, 1955, p. 372-373.

 

Captions:

Photograph Album of Richard A. Rowlands.  Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Libray, Gift of Richard V. Travis, A2012/64/1.

 

 

Prince Hall's Half Century Matrons Club in Los Angeles

Among the new acquisitions this spring 2012, was a manuscript Minute Book of a Prince Hall affiliated "Half Century Matrons Club" dated from 1950 through 1959.  This club was formed in 1950 by Past Matrons of the Order of Eastern Star, Prince Hall Affiliation from the state of California.  The club took its name, "Half Century Matrons Club", because it was formed in mid-20th century. 

Marjorie Herbert (President) of Guiding Star Chapter, ran the meetings beginning on December 6, 1950 in Los Angeles, California.  She offered her house as a venue for the first meeting, which was located at 2286 West 22nd Street in Los Angeles.  Other officers included:  Marguerite Norman (Vice-President)-Victory Chapter, Ella Dastey (Secretary)-Starlight Chapter, Gertrude Devers (Treasurer)-Affectionate Chapter, and Roberta Walkins (Chaplain).  Among the other members were:  Gertrude Allen (Electa Chapter), June Harvey (Deborah Chapter), Alberta Parker (Acacia Chapter). 

According to historian Josh Sides, the 1950s in Los Angeles was a postwar economic and industrial boom time. During World War II, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) put constant pressure on the federal government to abolish segregation in the armed forces as well as on the homefront workforce.  However, by the 1950s segregation still existed in Los Angeles in industry, in choosing a home, as well as in fraternal groups. 

On March 31, 1951, Parker reported to the club that she had consulted with Los Angeles Urban League about deciding on a charity project.  They recommended that because of "racial barriers" the club should focus their energy on assisting needy children at the local high school, as a project, rather than as foster mothers to a child in an orphanage. Unfortuantely, there are no more details in the minute book about the orphanage.

In 1951, Herbert and Parker sat in on an NAACP conference in Los Angeles.  The NAACP was and is the nation's oldest civil rights organization.  Herbert reported to the club that speaker Franklin P. Williams had stressed the point that African Americans and people of color must continue to move forward.  According to sociologist Theda Skocpol, Prince Hall Masons had a long history of collaborating with the NAACP.  As early as the 1920s Prince Hall members encouraged and gave financial support to the NAACP. 

According to the minute book, in discussions throughout November and December of 1952, the members of the Half Century Matrons Club decided not to admit Past Patrons from Prince Hall. Herbert reported that she "told P[ast] Patrons as tactfully as she could that the club at this time unless and until the club itself decided to amend its bylaws no past [patron] could be admitted to membership, and that the club hoped he [William Henry] would not feel unwanted or unwelcome."  These women wanted to make their own decisions and keep discussions private.  This was an unusual step at the time, as Past Patrons were admitted to chapters of affiliated OES. 

Prince Hall Masons and the affiliated Order of Eastern Star are alive and well in Los Angeles today.  They recently celebrated Prince Hall Day, in September of 2011. 

Do you have more information about any of the original Half Century Matrons Club members of Los Angeles?  Please leave a comment if you do.   

Caption:

Minute Book for Half Century Matrons Club, Order of Eastern Star, Prince Hall, 1950-1959.  Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, Museum  purchase, A2012/9/1.

References:

Sides, Josh.  L.A. City Limits:  African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London:  University of California Press, 2003.

Skocpol, Theda et al.  What a Mighty Power We Can Be:  African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality.  Princeton and Oxford:  Princeton University Press, 2006

 

 

A New Discovery About an Old Photo

One of the most exciting parts of my curatorial work is discovering new information about objects in the National Heritage Museum’s collection. Recently, I took a closer look at this photo, which the Museum purchased back in 1989. When it was acquired, the image was cataloged as one depicting a group of African American members of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Masonic auxiliary group for female relatives of Freemasons. It has been identified this way in our database ever since.

But, as part of our current photo digitization project (see our post about it), we were able to take a closer look at the photo.  The initials on one subject’s collar – “I.U.O.M.” – along with the memory of another James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) photograph that was recently up for auction, made me realize that this group is not Masonic at all. They are undoubtedly members of another fraternal organization, the Independent United Order of Mechanics.

This group is not as well-known as the Odd Fellows, the Elks, the Moose or the Knights of Pythias. In fact, before we purchased an apron (at right) and collar associated with the group in 2007, I had never heard of it and it isn’t listed in my standard reference books. But, now that I am aware of IUOM, it helped me correctly identify this image.

As I explained in a previous post, the Independent United Order of Mechanics formed in England in 1757 as a Friendly Society, a type of mutual benefit society that also served ceremonial and friendship purposes. The IUOM became established in the United States in 1910 and membership is open to men and women, boys and girls, of “high moral and ethical standards, who believe in “A Supreme Being” who rules and governs the Universe.” In this photograph, several of the group’s values are painted on the wall in back: Brotherly Love, Relief, Truth, Secrecy, Fidelity, and Benevolence.

Both this photograph and the one sold at auction were taken by well-known New York photographer James Van Der Zee. Sought out by the famous and not-so-famous alike, Van Der Zee maintained a studio in Harlem starting in the 1920s. In addition to individual portraits, he worked to record middle-class black life in Harlem, including photos like this one of fraternal groups and activities.

Do you recognize the location where this photo was taken? Do you have other photos or regalia associated with the IUOM? If so, leave us a comment below!

Independent United Order of Mechanics Group, 1928, James Van Der Zee (1886-1983), New York City. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Special Acquisitions Fund, 89.34.

Independent United Order of Mechanics Apron, ca. 1920, probably American. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Purchase, 2007.029.2.

New to the Collection: A Masonic Cupboard from Indiana

Over the summer in 2010, we were alerted to the availability of this Masonic cupboard, which reportedly came from the “old Masonic Hall” in Madison, Indiana, but had most recently been part of a private collection in Ohio. After some negotiations, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library purchased the cupboard for its collection and had it transported to Lexington, Massachusetts.

We are always on the lookout for Masonic furniture, especially if it is accompanied by a story or documentation of its previous use. We were very excited to add the cupboard to our collection – we do not have another piece like it, nor do we have many pieces of Masonic furniture from the Midwestern United States. The symbols on the doors suggest that the local Order of the Eastern Star group organized their papers in one section, while the town’s Masonic lodge used the other two. Pencil notations remain inside over some of the dividers to remind previous users about which types of papers went where. A new Masonic building was constructed in Madison, Indiana, in 1871 and the cupboard may have been made or purchased around that time.

The cupboard has recently been placed on view in the Museum’s lobby area as part of a new exhibition of recent acquisitions for the collection (see the photograph at right). The Museum actively works to improve and refine its collection of over 17,000 objects through gifts and purchases. The new display highlights some of our recent acquisitions in order to recognize our donors and to demonstrate the kinds of things that we collect. We plan to rotate these objects once or twice a year. We hope you will plan a visit to the Museum soon – and then leave a comment here about your favorite recent acquisition!

Cupboard, 1870-1900, probably Indiana, Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Museum purchase through the generosity of Helen G. Deffenbaugh in memory of George S. Deffenbaugh, 2010.039a-r.

References:

“Masonic Chit-Chat,” The Freemason’s Monthly Magazine 30 (July 1871), 288.

Dwight L. Smith, Goodly Heritage: One Hundred Fifty Years of Craft Freemasonry in Indiana (Indianapolis, 1968).

The Royal Neighbors of America

In 2006, the National Heritage Museum received a set of five fraternal banners that had originally belonged to the donor's grandmother.  When they were sent to us, the donor explained that his grandmother, Elsie Hlava Meek (1886-1969), was an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star and suggested that the banners were related to that group.

Initial examination quickly established that they were not Eastern Star banners, but determing their correct origin took some effort.  Each banner depicts a symbol and has a word painted above: Endurance; Faith; Modesty; Unselfishness; and Courage.  By searching for these terms on the internet, the group of origin was identified as The Royal Neighbors of America.  Initially founded in 1888 as a social group, Royal Neighbors was chartered in 1895 as a fraternal benefit society for women "to bring joy and comfort into many homes that might otherwise today be dark and cheerless...by affording the mother an opportunity to provide protection upon her life."  The group's first "Camps" were established in Iowa and Nebraska.  Initially, Royal Neighbors was a ladies' auxiliary to the Modern Woodmen of America, but dissolved its affiliation with that group in 1929.

By 1910, RNA had 250,000 members and was the leading women's benefit society in the United States.  As early as 1911, the group supported the cause of universal suffrage, well pre-dating the achievement of the vote for women in 1920.  In 1931, the Royal Neighbors National Home opened its doors to provide "the comforts of a home...for deserving members of our society, in need of such a service," pursuing this goal until the home closed in 2004.  The organization remains active today, providing life insurance and pursuing community service activities. 

Elsie Meek, the last owner of the banners, probably belonged to Ivy Camp #1806 in Ravenna, Nebraska.  From 1920 to 1923, she was also a member of Aster Chapter #258 of the Eastern Star.

Royal Neighbors of America Banners, 1910-1940, American, National Heritage Museum collection, gift of A.J. Meek, 2006.003.6, 9.  Photographs by David Bohl.