The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-04-26

Celebration Of ths Forty.Thira An
h AiysPsary-I. o. DE- r.
: fesssrdaA ia this city, the newksrs o
tie luispeudtnt Order of Odd Fellows o
this District celebrated the FoFty-thirC
} Anniversary Of the Introduction Of thu
Order into the United States, by pro
cessioD, Grafton, and other festivities. TIT
Order met at Odd Fellows Hall, at u
O'Clock, where they formed into procession
in the following order: Franklin Lodge
} No. "a. and visiting brethrea, P. H. p.
I. Elkus,' Marshal; Morning Star Lodge
No. 20, and visiting brethren, P. G., Nick
Burton, Marshal; Morning Light Lodge
No. SO, Of Spanish Flat, A. D. Rock
Marshal; Zeta Encampment No. 8, and
visiting patriarchs, P. G. p, Mike h
Shearer, Marshal. The procession, pre-
ceded by the PlacerviIle Brass Band and
under the direction Of P. H. p, J. NJ
Grantham, Marshal Of the Day, marched
TO Upper Placerville and returned ia
O'DOnnell's Theatre, where the exercises
Of the day, consisting Of prayer, by Rev.
]. W. Ross, and grafton, by Rev. c. C.
Peirce, took place.
On the 26th day Of April, A. D. 1919,
the germ OF the Order was planted in the
city Of Baltimore, by There's WjIdey,
who issued call for . meeting of Odd
Fellows. The call was answered by John
Duncan, John WEIGH. John Cheathem,
and Richard Rushworth. These parties
proceeded to institute Washington Lodge,
No. l, to work under the Order in Great
Britain.
1t is unnecessary for US here to go into
the details of the many difficulties which
were found in the way Of a complete and
proper organization; Of the rapid spread
Of the Order; Of the Misunderstanding
existing and constantly arising between
the Order in America and in Great Brit
ain; Of the many embassies sent to the
mother Order by the Order in America,
endeavoring to fix upon some permanent
and satisfactory basis upon which the
Order in both countries couidhAz ,xSSinTUs.
~ work; of their entire failure or of
the fact that the "Grand Lodge of the
United States, after thanking its deputies,
formally and unanimously severed the
connection; and, in view Of the fact that
the Manchester Unity 1.-THE English Order]
had abandoned the ancient work and land.
marks Of the Order, as well as violated its
principles and attempted to invade our
chartered rights, the Grand Lodge Of the
United States, in 1843, declared itself the
only fountain and depository of Indepen
dent Odd Fellowship or the globe"
But what remarkable results have flow
ed from the organization of Washington
Lodge through the efforts of FIVE unpre.
tending, laboring citizens of Baltimore!
Without wealth, without position, I'M
known TO fame, these five welI-doers rails.
ed their standard, inscribed thereon the
notices Of the Order, and went fearlessly
on, needing not the jeers and taunts of
argus-eyed bigotry or Of inhamed and We.
hement jealousy. No one at that time
could have been convinced that in less
than half century this little bubbling
fountain would have gained body and me-
andered its wAy to every State and Terri
tory Of the Union, irrigating the founts
Of Friendship, Love and Truth; Faith,
Hope and Charity; eliciting, in its course,
the admiration Of the good and wise, and
challenging the closest scrutiny of the
skeptical unbeliever and jealous misan-
thrope-pausing, in its way, to minister
to the wants Of the afflicted, cheer the
dropping spirits of the widow, and pro-
vide for the homeless orphan. As we
have said, the results Of the formation Of
Lodge No. l, have indeed been remark
able: Then, the entire Order in America
consisted Of one Lodge, with member
ship offive persons; now, Grand Lodge
exists in every State Of the Union, hav.
ing jurisdiction over thousands of Sub
ordinate Lodges, the membership of
which is numbered by tens Of thousands
The antiquity Of the Order has been
the subject Of much curious and learned
speculation. No effort has been spared
to trace back its origin 20 the dim, distant
past, for the purpose of investing it with
whatever ofawe and generation may belong
to age. History has been indnstriously
searched for analogies and resemblances,
upon which to found its claims to long
descended lineage. The oracles of the
past have been consulted concerning its
paternity, and the most ingenious inter-
pretations put upon their equivOcal re-
spoRses. Some members Of the Order,
probably over-zealOus, have sought to es-
tablish its origin even as far back as the
occupation of the garden of Eden; others
have discovered traditional declaration
that the "Order dates from a society
among the Jewish priesthood, founded by
Moses and Aaron; others have traced
its existence back to the year A. D. IS,
among the Roman soldiers, during the
reign of Nero; while others still have
caught up and harbored the tradition that
in "Spain it was established in the fifth
century; in Portugal in the sixth centu-
ry; in France in the twelfth century,
whence it was carried to England by
John De Neville, and five knights Of
France, who formed Loyal Grand
Lodge of Honor which remained until
the eighteenth century, when it changed