Fraternal Orders and Your Family History Research

ﾩ Copyright 2013 Caroline M. Pointer

What is a Fraternal Order?
As defined by Wikipedia, a fraternal order "...is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood." [1]

Some examples of fraternal orders are Masons, Freemasons, Oddfellows, Knights of Pythias, and Knights of Columbus.

What Kind of Information You Might Find to Help You With Your Research.
Fraternal order membership information or records can provide that one little {or big} clue that you need to further your research. While census records are excellent for showing an every-10-year snapshot of your ancestors, fraternal order records can provide the in-between-census information that is needed to help you tell you ancestor's family story or to further your research.

For example, my 2nd great grandfather, Daniel Rook Vaughan, was a member of the Order of the Knights of Pythias, and when I requested his records from them and received them, I was able to further narrow down when he and his family moved from Eagle Pass, Texas, where they are located in the 1900 census [2], to San Antonio, Texas, where Daniel passes away in 1909 [3], because the records from the San Antonio Chapter indicated when he had been accepted into the chapter in 1902. [4]

Further, in the copies of the San Antonio Chapter records I received about him, they notated his death date in 1909 [5] lending further evidence of his death. Other information gleaned from them include names of other members [6,7] he may have known at the time as well as the fact that his membership to this particular chapter had been accepted based on a membership card [8]. If true, this could possible mean he had joined previous to 1902 at another chapter...somewhere.

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© Copyright 2013 Caroline M. Pointer

How to Find if Your Ancestor Was a Member of a Fraternal Order.
These places can be varied and many {or few} depending on how much information you already have and/or know. Here are a few ideas on where to look:

• Look at their death certificate. Were they buried in a fraternal order's cemetery? That's exactly how I found out my 2nd great grandfather was a member of the Order of the Knights of Pythias. The name of the cemetery was the Knights of Pythias Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. [9]
• Look at their tombstone. Are there any symbols on it you don't know the meaning of? Take a pic of it and research the symbol on a website like graveaddiction.com.
• Look at county histories. A fraternal order chapter is located in a city or town, which, in turn, is located in a county. Locate county histories both online and offline looking for an entry about your ancestor. Even if your ancestor didn't have a biographical write-up, he may have still been listed in the general history of the county or area as a member or founding member of a a particular fraternal order's chapter.
• Visit with family members. Call up your Great Aunt Bernice. You know, the one with all the awesome family artifacts and heirlooms? {The family ephemera!} Ask if you can come and visit and  talk about family history with her. And possibly see the family artifacts. If you're lucky and she agrees, then let her tell you what she knows and remembers. Have a look-see at those artifacts. Look on the back of photos where there are groups of men in funny looking hats. Are there any clues in the photo -- like a sign or banner with the fraternal order's name? Perhaps there is identification on the front or back of the photo. Also look for membership cards, membership certificates, letters, post cards, and funny-looking hats. Yes, funny-looking hats. Ask if you can take pictures and/or scan all the possible fraternal order clues -- even the funny-looking hat.
• Search the image online. If the funny-looking hat doesn't have any identification information on it do a Google Image Search or a TinEye Reverse Image search of the image of the funny-looking hat. Maybe someone else has already identified the fraternal order whose members wore the funny-looking hat and maybe they shared the image online somewhere. Do the same kind of  reverse image search(es) for the group photo. Maybe a descendant or a group has posted the same photo online somewhere and maybe they have more information about it. {Hey, stranger things have happened, and you just never know until you look.}
• Consult city directories -- online and offline -- where you know your ancestor lived. Look in the index under clubs, orders, lodges, etc.
• Consult church histories -- online and offline -- where you know your ancestor lived. Some fraternal orders are religious-based as in the case of the Knights of Columbus.

How to Look Up Information about Fraternal Orders Online.

• Google the fraternal order.
• Consult the Genealogy Research: Complete List of Fraternal Organizations page on exonumia.com.
• Visit Cyndislist.com where you can find links to all sorts of fraternal orders, links to articles about fraternal orders in general, as well as links to articles about specific fraternal orders.

How to Contact Fraternal Orders for Further Information.

• If they have a website, look on the fraternal order's website to see how they might want to be contacted for questions. Make sure your requests are direct and courteous. Keep in mind that these fraternal orders may not have digitized records, and it may take a while for them to retrieve the information. In my case, the Knights of Pythias records were not digitized and it took about a month to receive them. But? Totally worth the wait.
  
• If they don't have a website consult an online White Pages Directory or one at the library.

Have you had any luck with researching an ancestor's fraternal order membership? Any surprises you learned while doing it -- about researching or your ancestor? How did you find out your ancestor was a member of a fraternal order? Share in comments below. =)

~Caroline

© Copyright 2013 Caroline M. Pointer

Sources
1. Wikipedia contributors, "List of general fraternities," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_general_fraternities&oldid=549406892 (accessed April 17, 2013).
2. "1900 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com ( http://ancestry.com : accessed 17 Apr 2013), entry for Daniel Vaughan (age 52), p.1B, Eagle Pass, Texas; citing "NA film no.T623."
3. "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JFZC-ZZ2 : accessed 17 Apr 2013), Daniel R. Vaughn, 26 Dec 1909.
4. "Semi-Annual Report, Unity Lodge No.36, San Antonio, Texas, 30 Jun 1902," Order of the Knights of Pythias, Dallas, Texas.
5. "Semi-Annual Report, Unity Lodge No.36, San Antonio, Texas, 31 Dec 1909," Order of the Knights of Pythias, Dallas, Texas.
6. "Semi-Annual Report, Unity Lodge No.36, San Antonio, Texas, 30 Jun 1902," Order of the Knights of Pythias, Dallas, Texas.
7. "Semi-Annual Report, Unity Lodge No.36, San Antonio, Texas, 31 Dec 1909," Order of the Knights of Pythias, Dallas, Texas.
8. "Semi-Annual Report, Unity Lodge No.36, San Antonio, Texas, 30 Jun 1902," Order of the Knights of Pythias, Dallas, Texas.
9. "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JFZC-ZZ2 : accessed 17 Apr 2013), Daniel R. Vaughn, 26 Dec 1909.