Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2017.60.8 |
Object Name |
Chain, Key |
Description |
Machine made. Round pewter circle with a handshake in the middle. The words "WORKING IN UNITY" are written above and below the hands. Around the edge is written "SOVEREIGN GRAND LODGE AUGUST 2005". The other side features a maple leaf in the centre with the words "LONDON ONTARIO 2005 CANADA" embossed above and below the maple leaf. The pendent is attached to a double wire that is thick to attach to keys. It is attached by a single circle of metal. Gray and black. |
Date |
2005 |
Dimensions |
D-1 Dia-3.5 cm |
Collection |
Core Collection |
Material |
Pewter/Steel |
Provenance |
Owned by Ralph Crawford, District Deputy Grand Master. Brougham Lodge no. 155 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was instituted in the village of Brougham on January 29th, 1875. The charter members were: J.W. Wonch, Simpson Webb, Walter Heather, W.J. Bodell and Frank Bentley. From 1875-1892, the lodge met in Brougham where they held their meetings in the Temperance Hall. After the Temperance Hall was destroyed by fire in 1879, they met in the Township Hall until the new brick Temperance building was completed in 1880. The charter and the paraphernalia of the Lodge were destroyed in another fire in December 1892. In August 1893, a duplicate charter was issued. The group then moved into the unused Whitevale Church, the museum's Odd Fellows Hall. The birth of the Order is somewhat hazy but appears to have originated in England in the 18th century. It was made up of men who plied "odd" trades that did not meet qualifications for master craftsmen's guilds. These men banded together to form the "Odd Fellows". The Order was much like the Masonic Lodge in its rituals & symbolism. The purpose of the society was varied and included philanthropy, fellowship and the creation of an early social safety net, as social services were virtually non-existent at the time. Many Odd Fellows Lodges sprung up in North America in the 1800s. Lodges of many orders were popular at this time because membership dues collected became relief money that covered temporary unemployment, sick leave, education and housing of orphans and burial costs for members. |
Search Terms |
Independent Order of Oddfellows. |