The Independent Order of Odd Fellows welcomes men and women. Not because they are rich or poor; not because they are educated or uneducated, but because they are men and women. Manly, upright, honest, industrious, temperate, thoughtful, considerate people. People who do not wish to waste their time in the worship of wealth, but who will give their hearts, minds and life to the great work of character building — of making men and women better. Men and women who will let the sunlight of their love dispel the darkness of sorrow and doubt; who are ever ready and willing to do an act of kindness; to act more forgivingly toward their fellowman than they would expect to receive themselves.
The Odd Fellows is one of the oldest and largest non-political and non-sectarian fraternal organization in the world. It was established because the world was very different back then. The things we take for granted now were almost non-existent like healthcare, orphanages, educational systems, care for the elderly and for the impoverished. Even though we have come a long way now, more needs to be done to see that everyone everywhere is treated with care, kindness, and dignity. Working together to achieve these goals and help our fellow men creates a bond that cannot be described. A brotherhood and sisterhood of benevolence that can only be felt as an active participant. Working together, we really can make a difference!
Because the Odd Fellows existed very long ago “mystery of long-past ages enshrouds the origin of Odd Fellowship” and that the exact date of its first founding is “lost in the mists of antiquity”. Members in the United Kingdom trace its roots back to the Trade Guilds of the 12th and 13th centuries.
There are many theories about how it first started and got its name but the generally accepted belief is that it emerged in England when a group of working class men who fell outside the established system of trade guilds banded together to form their own labor association. At the time of industrialization in England, ‘Fellows’ from various ‘Odd’ trades gathered together and formed a fraternity to protect and care for their members and communities at a time when there was no welfare state, trade unions and National Health Insurance. They would work together to help each other and the unfortunate families back on their feet, whether it was rebuilding a barn that had burned, or putting in a new crop after a devastating season. Such helpers came to be known as “odd fellows,” so named by the general population who thought they were “an odd bunch of fellows” who would behave in such a selfless and seemingly impractical fashion. This group then adopted the name.
By year 1700′s, there were a number of Odd Fellows organization in England. The earliest surviving documented evidence of an organization called “Odd Fellows” are the minutes of Loyal Aristarchus Odd Fellow Lodge no. 9 in England dated March 12, 1748. By it being number 9, this connotes that there are older Odd Fellows lodges that existed before this date.
In 1789, a “London Union or United Order of Odd Fellows”, now known as the “Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society”, was formed as a partial amalgamation of two Odd Fellows organization. In 1810, various lodges of the London Union Order in Manchester organized an “Independent Order of Oddfellows” with the title “Manchester Unity”. With their improved system they were able to persuade other Odd Fellow Lodges to join their unity. They also chartered the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in America years after.
While several Odd Fellow lodges had existed in New York City before, because of the charter relationship, American Odd Fellowship (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) is regarded as being founded in Baltimore, Maryland at the Seven Stars Tavern on April 26, 1819, by Thomas Wildey and some associates who were members of the fraternity in England.
On September 20, 1851, I.O.O.F became the first fraternity to accept both men and women when it formed the Daughters of Rebekah. Brother Schuyler Colfax, (Vice President of the United States from 1869 to 1873 under President Ulysses S. Grant), was the force behind the movement. Though the term sorority was not yet coined in this year, it may be considered that the Rebekah is the first and oldest sorority in the world. They are also the first fraternal organization to build cemeteries, home for the elderly and orphans.
Sovereign grand Lodge: www.ioof.org
Grand Lodge of Europe: www.oddfellows.eu
Grand Lodge of BC: www.ioofbc.org/international.htm
The Oddfellows United Kingdom: www.oddfellows.co.uk
Grand Lodge of Cuba: http://www.ioof-cuba.org
IOOF Philippines: www.ioofphilippines.yolasite.com
e-mail IOOF: iooftheSGL@bellsouth.net
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