MS-005A

MS-5A

 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS COLLECTION

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The records of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) were accessioned into the Flesh Public Library Archives and Special Collections on February 5, 1986.  The records were acquired from Archives and Special Collections, Wright State University.  The I.O.O.F. is a fraternal organization that offered various insurance benefits to its members.  The collection fills twenty-four Hollinger boxes with one-hundred-one file folders, and also has nine loose volumes.  The records collection covers the years from 1839 until 1962.  There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

 

HISTORY

 

Origins of The Odd Fellows

 

There have been a variety of theories about the origins of the Odd Fellows Lodges.  Most of these have long been discarded because they are dubious and unsubstantiated.  Some theorists have claimed that the Odd Fellows originated with various Old Testament characters such as Adam, Abraham, or Moses and Aaron.[1]  Other theorists have claimed that it originated some time during the Common Era.  One claim is that it originated from a band of Roman soldiers during the reign of Nero, and another is that it originated with the Goths, Huns, Scandinavians, Suevi and Moors. [2] 

 

The most substantial theory is that it had an obscure origin somewhere in Great Britain.[3]  In 1745 in an English magazine titled, Gentlemen’s Magazine, Daniel DeFoe gives a description of what was probably an Odd Fellows Lodge, stating that it is “. . . a place where very pleasant and recreative evenings are spent.”[4]  A more certain reference is one that is made about a society of London laborers and mechanics in a song written for them in 1788 by James Montgomery.  It is, therefore, certain that the Odd Fellows was established at least by this date.[5]

 

The reasons for the establishment of the Odd Fellows were probably to address the hardships that the common person endured during that era due to unfavorable social conditions and to offer them a group that would provide them with fellowship.[6]  During that time Great Britain exhibited extremes in social class, inflicted hard labor on the common worker and generally paid very low wages in return for this labor.  There was no relief for the sick, bereaved or unemployed.  If social relief was to be provided, it would have to be provided by the common people themselves in groups such as this one.  These ideals led to the development of a sort of insurance program based on dues or fees paid by their members so that they might be cared for during times of need.  This practice characterized the orders of Odd Fellows, and it is continued into the twentieth century.[7] 

 

Formation of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Manchester Unity

 

Before 1809 the Odd Fellows of London extended their fellowship to Liverpool.  At this time they adopted the name, “Union Order of Odd Fellows.”[8]  Later on in the early 19^th century they adopted the name, “United Order of Odd Fellows” which was sometimes called the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows.[9] 

 

During the 19^th Century there were several schisms in the United Order.[10]  One group had been formed in 1809 in an effort to reform the organization whose meetings had become little more than convivial gatherings.[11]  Having little success with persuading the other brethren to reform, they formed their own lodge in 1813 and called it the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Manchester Unity.[12]

 

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the United States,

The IOOF

 

In 1817 Thomas Wildey came to the United States from England where he had belonged to the Manchester Unity.[13]  It was his desire to establish a lodge in the United States.  On April 26, 1819 he organized an Odd Fellows hall in the Seven Stars Tavern in Baltimore, Maryland which was chartered by the Duke of York Lodge, Preston England of the Manchester Unity group. [14]  Two unchartered Odd Fellows lodges had already been established in the United States, one in Baltimore and the other in New York, prior to the advent of Thomas Wildey.[15]  Because they were unchartered, he is the one who receives formal credit for having established the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the United States.[16]

 

During the next few years the organization began to spread and flourish in the United States until in 1825 the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of odd Fellows of the United States was formed, and Thomas Wildey was appointed Grand Sire.[17]  The Odd Fellows in the United States then consisted of the sovereign Grand Lodge which governed the national organization, the Grand Lodges which governed the affairs of particular regions and the lodges themselves which were the local units.

 

In 1843 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the United States severed its formal ties with England over a controversial issuance of a charter to a black lodge.[18]  The title, Manchester Unity, was dropped and the official name of the Odd Fellows in the United States became the Independent Order of Odd Fellows more commonly referred to as the IOOF.[19]

 

The IOOF in Ohio

 

During the first half of the 19^th Century the IOOF had gained a significant westward momentum.  In 1830 a group of five men applied for and received a charter for a lodge at Cincinnati, Ohio which was named Ohio No. 1.[20]  By 1832 three lodges had been chartered in Ohio with a combined membership of 350.[21] Then in 1833 the Grand Lodge of Ohio was formed at Cincinnati, and in 1851 it was moved to Columbus.[22] 

 

The IOOF in Piqua, Ohio

 

In 1839, six years after the formation of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, four men established the first IOOF lodge in Piqua.[23]  It was named Piqua No. 8 because it was the eighth lodge to be established in Ohio.  Seeking a suitable location for the new lodge to meet, Piqua No. 8 assisted in financing the building of a third story on the Piqua City Hall building which was being constructed.[24]  After the completion of the third floor hall in 1844 the lodge continued to meet in that location until 1928 when the city bought out their lease and demolished the building.[25]  The lodge met in various locations until disbanded about 1962.[26]

 

At least four other IOOF lodges were generated by the first Piqua lodge.  Commercial Lodge No. 180 was formed in 1851,[27] perhaps as a result of overcrowding in the already existing Lodge No. 8.  For whatever reason this new lodge was formed, it appears to have been on favorable terms with Lodge No. 8.[28]  It lasted until 1915 at which time it reunited with Lodge No. 8. [29]

 

Another Lodge that was generated from Piqua Lodge No. 8 was Piqua Independent Lodge No. 828 in 1897.[30]  This lodge, like Commercial No. 180, appears to have been on favorable terms with Lodge No. 8.  It lasted until 1901 when it united with Commercial Lodge No. 180.[31]

 

An Encampment lodge was also generated from Piqua Lodge No. 8 which was called Miami Encampment Lodge No. 4.  This lodge was founded some time between 1839 (the date for the founding of Piqua No. 8) and 1848.[32]  Encampment lodges differed from the regular lodges in that they offered three advanced degrees beyond what was offered in the subordinate lodges.[33]  Records continue until 1960 for the Miami Encampment.

 

A Rebekah Lodge was also generated from Piqua Lodge No. 8 which was called Minerva Rebekah Lodge No. 16.  This lodge was instituted in 1869.[34]  The Rebekah lodges were different from the others in that they were developed for women.  Men could and sometimes did belong to the Rebekah assembly, but women were not permitted to join the men’s lodges.[35]  Records continue until 1921 for the Minerva Lodge.

 

Finally, following the Civil War, the Odd Fellows Beneficial Association was established[36] (later called the I.O.O.F. Mutual Aide and Accident Insurance Company of Piqua).[37]  The concept of the lodge providing insurance dates back to the very beginnings of the lodge itself as explained earlier.  When the Odd Fellows first met in London in the 18^th Century, they required each person upon entering the lodge to pay one penny.  From this fund they provided insurance and sick benefits to their members.[38]  Evidently, by the post-Civil War era the task of handling claims and insurance dues had become so complex that a separate administrative structure had to be installed to handle the increasing volume of claims.

 

The IOOF in Covington, Pleasant Hill, and Fletcher, Ohio

 

In 1866 about ten men established the IOOF Lodge in Covington, Ohio and it was called Covington No. 383.[39]  This lodge survived until about 1926.[40]  Apparently some time prior to 1893, a second lodge was established:  Royal Lodge No. 239[41] which appears to have survived until around 1925.[42] 

 

Some time prior to 1874, Pleasant Hill, Ohio established Lodge No. 574[43] which survived until at least 1937.[44]  There was also a Rebekah Lodge, Rozezelle No. 753 that functioned at least between the time of 1937 and 1956.[45] 

 

Fletcher, Ohio maintained at least a Rebekah Lodge, Violet No. 435, which was established in 1896 with about 36 persons who were mostly women.[46]  This lodge survived until 1938 when it merged with the Piqua lodge.[47]  An unidentified Fletcher lodge built a lodge hall in 1887 at 120 West Main Street.[48]

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Grosh, Aaron B., Rev.  The Odd Fellows Manual  Philadelphia:  H.C. Peck

and Theo. Bliss, 1853.  Available at Flesh Public Library, Piqua,

Ohio.

 

International Order of Odd Fellows Collection (IOOF Collection)   Piqua,

Ohio:  Flesh Public Library, Archives and Special Collections, 1986.

 

L.A. Jones Piqua Directory  On file at Flesh Public Library, Piqua, Ohio: 

Department of History and Archives.

 

Miami Helmet  Piqua, Ohio, March 4, 1886.  On microfilm at Flesh Public

Library, Piqua, Ohio.

 

Piqua Daily Call  Piqua, Ohio, January 17, 1928.  On microfilm at Flesh

Public Library, Piqua, Ohio.

 

Rayner, John A.  The First Century of Piqua, Ohio, Piqua, Ohio: The Magee

Brothers Publishing Company, 1916.  Available at the Flesh Public

Library, Piqua, Ohio.

 

Ross, Theo. A.  Odd Fellowship: Its History and Manual, New York: The

M.W. Hagen Company, 1887.  Available at the Flesh Public Library,

Piqua, Ohio: Department of History and Archives.

 

Schmidt, Alvin  Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions

Fraternal Organizations, 1978.  Available at the Flesh Public Library,

Piqua, Ohio.

 

Williams Ohio State Register and Business Mirror, 1857.  Available at Flesh

Public Library, Piqua, Ohio: Department of History and Archives.

 

CONTAINER LISTING

 

 

This is an addition to the existing IOOF Collection (MS-5) held at the Flesh Public Library’s Archives.

 

A member of the public donated several Journals of the IOOF Grand Lodge of Ohio.  The years are as follows:

 

BOX 1

 

          File

                    1        1850

                   2        1854

                   3        1890

                   4        1891

                   5        1892

                   6        1893

                   7        1894

                   8        1895

                   9        1896

                   10      1899

                   11      1900

                   12      1901