Information
Sheet
R Knights of Pythias. Bear Creek Lodge
No. 310 (Cedar County, Mo.).
343 Record book, 1894‑1912,
bulk 1894-1902.
One volume.
MICROFILM
This is a record book of the Knights of
Pythias lodge at Bear Creek in Cedar
County, Missouri. The records concern the induction of members
and election of officers, purchase of a meeting hall, and distribution of
medical benefits.
Justus H. Rathbone founded the Knights of
Pythias at Washington, D.C., in 1864. The fraternal organization was dedicated to
friendship, charity, and benevolence, principles thought to have been extinguished
during the Civil War. Membership was
limited to white males. The organization
implemented insurance and medical benefit plans in the 1870s. The order was quite successful through the
1920s, when national membership reached its peak of nearly 1,000,000. Its decline in recent years is a classic
example of the experience of many American fraternal organizations.
The minutes of the lodge in Bear Creek, Missouri,
begin with the organizational meeting on 26 September 1894. Thirty‑six members were accepted into
ritual orders. John L. Fox was elected
chancellor. The records concern routine
elections of members and officers, the administration of the Widows and
Orphans Fund and “sick benefits” of $2.50 per week, and the rental and acquisition
of the meeting hall. The Bear Creek
Lodge rented “Castle Hall” until its purchase in 1898. The local chapter of the International Order
of the Odd Fellows rented the hall for its meetings in 1899. The records include plans for a wild game
hunt and supper by members in December 1901.
Guests were invited in what was probably a membership drive. The minutes end on 10 January 1902. The membership application of L. O. Fox,
dated 1912, is enclosed at the end of the volume.
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