--- title: Fraternally yours description: Fraternal organizations are not as commonplace for most people today as they were back in the mid-1800s on through the twentieth century. image: https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/fraternal-men-300x188-1.jpg --- # [Vita Brevis A resource for family history from AmericanAncestors.org](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Fraternally yours [August 30, 2017](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2017/08/fraternally-yours) [Critical Analysis](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/critical-analysis), [Photographs](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/photographs), [American History](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history), [Spotlight](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/spotlight), [Research Methods](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-methods), [Family papers](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-papers), [Object Lessons](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/object-lessons) [Rhonda McClure](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/rmcclure) [![](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/fraternal-men-300x188-1.jpg?width=300&height=188&name=fraternal-men-300x188-1.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/fraternal-men-1.jpg)Fraternal organizations are not as commonplace for most people today as they were back in the mid-1800s on through the twentieth century. Our ancestors joined these groups for camaraderie, financial support regarding burials, insurance, and more. There were hundreds of such organizations, some of which popped up for just a brief few years. In August, I had an opportunity to give a webinar for the New England Historic Genealogical Society in regard to these groups. We discussed determining organizations of which an ancestor might have been a member based on acronyms or insignias on tombstones, jewelry, papers, and other ephemera, and then how to find additional information about an ancestor, including records, as a result. ### The most important piece of information beyond the exact fraternal group, though, is the local organization. They go by many names. The webinar was just an hour long, which was like the tip of the iceberg. There is so much information about these groups and so many places one needs to look to identify a group, especially when all you have to go on is, perhaps, the acronym or a lodge name. The most important piece of information beyond the exact fraternal group, though, is the local organization. They go by many names. Masons have *lodges*. The Grand Army of the Republic had *posts*. The Sons of Temperance had *divisions*. The Knights of Columbus have *courts*. The Improved Order of Red Men have *wigwams*. Finding these local groups can best be done by using newspapers and city directories for the years in question. Many newspapers carry small announcements of newly elected officers, the formation of new lodges, etc., and the deaths of members. There is something fascinating about these organizations, as they catered to religious beliefs, ethnicities, occupations, and more. It is sad that, in a country that has more people than ever before, many of the last surviving organizations are seeing their numbers dwindle. If your ancestor was a member of any of these groups, you may want to take an hour and listen to the webinar: [Fraternally Yours, Finding Your Ancestor in American Fraternal Organization Records](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLTQOA9AHUk&feature=youtu.be). Take a look at some of the amazing books that were published and have now been digitized on Google Books about fraternal groups in general and about the history of specific organizations, including: - Albert Clark Stevens, [*The Cyclop**ædia of Fraternities*](https://books.google.com/books?id=H-K3AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) - James Dabney McCabe, [*History of the Grange Movement*](https://books.google.com/books?id=UbcyAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+grange&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_iaqz8_zVAhVh1oMKHYUMDdcQ6AEIPTAE#v=onepage&q=the%20grange&f=false) - Morris H. Gorham, [*The History of the Improved Order of Red Men*](https://books.google.com/books?id=kj06AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=improved+order+of+redmen&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6gLfb8_zVAhUpxoMKHYZjAucQ6AEIKjAB#v=onepage&q=improved%20order%20of%20redmen&f=false) Another book to keep a look out for as a used book to purchase is Alan Axelrod’s *The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies & Fraternal Orders,* as this gives a lot of information on many organizations and describes the differences in scope and purpose. Keep in mind that the records of these organizations are private records and not all organizations are willing to share. However, there are a number of digitized collections on AmericanAncestors.org, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.org now. ### Share this: - [mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2017/08/fraternally-yours](mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2017/08/fraternally-yours) - - - More - - ![Rhonda McClure](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Rhonda_McClure.jpg) ## About Rhonda McClure Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist, is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business for 18 years. She was a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of twelve books including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding your Famous and Infamous Ancestors and Digitizing Your Family History. She is the editor of the 6th edition of the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research, available in our bookstore. When she isn’t researching and writing about family history, she spends her time writing about ice hockey, covering collegiate to NHL teams and a couple of international teams. Her work has allowed her the privilege of attending and covering the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Areas of expertise: Immigration and naturalization, late 19th and early 20th century urban research, missionaries (primarily in association with the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions), State Department Federal records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software and online trees (FTM, RootsMagic, Reunion, AncesTrees, etc.), digital peripherals, and uses both Mac and Windows machines.[View all posts by Rhonda McClure →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/rmcclure) [← A Starbuck in Seattle](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2017/08/starbuck-in-seattle) [Getting the most out of a library visit →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2017/08/getting-most-library-visit) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ### Recent Posts [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) [The Norwegian folge](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/the-norwegian-folge) [Research…in a Miniskirt? 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