1912 *I.O.O.F.* {MISSING PERSON} DES MOINES, IOWA (REAL PHOTO) POSTCARD+SC# 374!

Description

1912 ***SCARCE POSSIBLY ONE OF A KIND*** ~INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS~ MISSING PERSON: JOSEPH W. KREPS, DES MOINES, IOWA // ADDRESSED TO:  SECRETARY MALHALLA LODGE NUMBER 150, CLINTON, IOWA // ADVERTISING {{{REAL PHOTO}}} POSTCARD // 1 CENT (GREEN) SCOTT# 374 "BENJAMIN FRANKLIN" STAMP!
RARE "108" year old fraternal history with interesting subject matter!
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Independent Order of Odd Fellows
)
.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Seal
of the IOOF Sovereign
Grand Lodge
.
Abbreviation
IOOF
Named after
Odd Fellows
Formation
April 26, 1819
; 201 years ago
Founder
Thomas Wildey
Founded at
Washington Lodge No. 1
,
Seven Stars Tavern
,
Baltimore
,
Maryland
, United States
Type
Fraternal order
Tax ID no.
52-0363509 (Sovereign Grand Lodge)
[1]
Legal status
501(c)(8)
fraternal benefit society
[1]
Purpose
"Visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan"
Headquarters
Grand Lodge
Location
422 Trade Street,
Winston-Salem
,
North Carolina
, United States
Coordinates
36.09881°N 80.246199°W
Coordinates
:
36.09881°N 80.246199°W
Region
International
Membership
600,000 members
10,000 lodges
in 26 countries
[2]
[3]
Sovereign Grand Master
Douglas E. Pittman
[4]
Deputy Sovereign Grand Master
E. Wesley Nelson
[4]
Sovereign Grand Warden
Charles E. Lusk
[4]
Affiliations
"Inter-fraternally":
Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity
(parent organisation 1819-1842)
International Association of Rebekah Assemblies
Revenue
(2014)
,780,337 (Sovereign Grand Lodge)
[1]
Expenses
(2014)
,478,384 (Sovereign Grand Lodge)
[1]
Staff
(2013)
14 (Sovereign Grand Lodge)
[1]
Website
ioof
.org
Part of a
series
on
Odd Fellows
General articles
[show]
Governing bodies
[show]
Auxiliaries
and appendant bodies
[show]
People
[show]
Financial services
[show]
Buildings
[show]
v
t
e
The
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
(
IOOF
) is a non-political and non-sectarian international
fraternal order
of
Odd Fellowship
. It was founded in 1819 by
Thomas Wildey
in
Baltimore
,
Maryland
,
United States
. Evolving from the
Order of Odd Fellows
founded in England during the 1700s, the IOOF was originally
chartered
by the
Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity
in England but has operated as an independent organization since 1842, although it maintains an inter-fraternal relationship with the English Order.
[5]
The order is also known as the
Triple Link Fraternity
, referring to the order's "Triple Links" symbol, alluding to its motto "Friendship, Love and Truth".
[5]
While several unofficial
Odd Fellows Lodges
had existed in
New York City
circa 1806–1818,
[6]
because of its charter relationship, the American Odd Fellows is regarded as being founded with
Washington Lodge No 1
in
Baltimore
at the
Seven Stars Tavern
[7]
on April 26, 1819, by Thomas Wildey along with some associates
[5]
who assembled in response to an advertisement in the New Republic. The following year, the lodge affiliated with the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity and was granted the authority to institute new lodges. Previously, Wildey had joined the
Grand United Order of Oddfellows
(1798-) in 1804 but followed through with the split of Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity (1810-) before immigrating to the United States in 1817.
In 1842, after an elementary dispute on authority, the American Lodges formed a governing system separate from the English Order, and in 1843 assumed the name Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
[8]
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows became the first fraternity in the United States to include both men and women when it adopted the "
Beautiful Rebekah Degree
" on September 20, 1851, by initiative of
Schuyler Colfax
, later
Vice-President of the United States
.
Beyond fraternal and recreational activities, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows promotes the
ethic of reciprocity
and
charity
, by implied inspiration of
Judeo-Christian
ethics. The largest Sovereign Grand Lodge of all fraternal orders of Odd Fellows since the 19th century, it enrolls some 600,000 members divided in approximately 10,000 lodges in 26 countries,
[2]
[9]
inter-fraternally recognised by the second largest, the British-seated Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity.
[10]
History
[
edit
]
British-American
Thomas Wildey
(1782–1861) founder of the
Washington Lodge No 1
Precursor
[
edit
]
Odd Fellows lodges were first documented in 1730 in England
[11]
[12]
from which many organizations emerged.
While several unofficial Odd Fellows lodges had existed in
New York City
sometime in the period 1806 to 1818,
[6]
the American Odd Fellows is regarded as being founded with
Washington Lodge No 1
in Baltimore at the Seven Stars Tavern
[7]
on April 26, 1819, by Thomas Wildey along with some associates
[5]
who assembled in response to a newspaper advertisement. The following year, the lodge affiliated with the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity and was granted the authority to institute new lodges. Wildey had joined the Grand United Order of Oddfellows in 1804, then joined its splinter order, Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity before immigrating to the United States in 1817.
Foundation
[
edit
]
In 1842, after an elementary dispute on whether the American lodges were to be involved in decision-making procedures, in a split along racial lines, some American Lodges formed with exclusively whites-only membership and a separate governing system from the English Order. In 1843, they changed the name of their organization to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
[8]
19th century
[
edit
]
In the following years, lodges were instituted all over the country, first in the east and later in the west. Also in 1842, the English Oddfellow Grand Lodges issued a warrant to an African American sailor named Peter Ogden from New York City; unlike Wildey and the IOOF, Ogden and the African American Odd Fellows lodges never separated from the English order, and they remain part of the
Grand United Order of Odd Fellows
(GUOOF),
[13]
still headquartered in Philadelphia.
[8]
On September 20, 1851, IOOF became the first national fraternity to accept both men and women when it formed the
Daughters of Rebekah
. Schuyler Colfax (Vice President of the United States (1869–1873) under President
Ulysses S. Grant
) was the force behind the movement.
[14]
[8]
Both the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs have appendant branches known as
Encampments
and
Patriarchs Militant
.
[15]
[16]
The
American Civil War
(1861–1865) shattered the IOOF in America; membership decreased and many lodges were unable to continue their work, especially in the southern States.
[17]
After the Civil War, with the beginning of industrialization, the deteriorating social circumstances brought large numbers of people to the IOOF and the lodges rallied.
Over the next half-century, also known as the "
Golden age of fraternalism
" in America,
[8]
[18]
the Odd Fellows became the largest among all fraternal organizations, (at the time, even larger than
Freemasonry
).
[8]
By 1889, the IOOF had lodges in every American state.
[19]
[20]
In 1896, the World Almanac showed the Odd Fellows as the largest among all fraternal organizations.
[18]
By the late nineteenth century, the Order had spread to most of the rest of the world, establishing lodges in the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. According to the Journal of the Annual Communication of the Sovereign Grand Lodge 1922, page 426, there were a reported 2,676,582 members.
[21]
While this data from 1921 may not be the exact zenith of its membership, the organization experienced a loss in membership of 23.5% between 1920-1930
[22]
and has continually declined.
20th century
[
edit
]
American Odd Fellows celebrating the 100th anniversary of the American Oddfellowship in June 1919.
The
Great Depression
and the introduction of
Franklin D. Roosevelt
's
New Deal
brought a decline in membership. During the depression, people could not afford Odd Fellows membership fees, and when the New Deal's social reforms started to take effect, the need for the social work of the Odd Fellows declined.
[17]
In 1971 the IOOF changed its constitution, removing its whites only clause. In 1979 the Order had 243,000 members.
[23]
Some branches of the order (
i.e.
, some countries) have allowed women to join the Odd Fellows itself, leading to the Rebekahs' decline in importance. Also, the appendant branches and their degrees are, in some countries, becoming regarded as less important or too time-consuming, and are gradually being abandoned.
[
citation needed
]
__________________________________________________________________________
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