Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-09-16
IN AMERICA.
Its Introduction and Growth in the |
United States.

-
United States.
Shortly after the war of 1912 had been
concluded and while the burning of the
public buildings in Washington by the
English still rankled in the hearts OF
Americans, two Englishmen named
Thomas Wildey and John Welch arrived
in the United States and selected Balti-
more as their residence. To be an
Englishman was an offense to pride and
patriotism, and these two men in conse-
quence, finding themselves with few
friends, as fellow countrymen, soon &C.
quired the habit of spending the most of
their leisure time together. Wildey had
been initiated into an Odd Fellows
lodge in London in 1904, when he was %
years of age and afterwards took an Off
cial part in the organization of another
lodge in the same city, known as Morn
ing Star Lodge, No. 3S. During
his membership in the two lodges
he had passed through all the
offices and had filled the chair of Noble
Grand three times. Welch had also been
member of London lodge and had
passed the chairs before he came to the
United states, The two friends met in
1917, and as their friendship grew closer
they expressed to each other their re-
gre,s that their change of residence had
deprived them of the social pleasure of
the lodge room. AS time passed on, an
intense desire arose to bring about the
same conditions as had existed at their
homes, and they resolved if possible to
form a lodge of Odd Fellows. A strict
search among the people they knew
failed to reveal the presence of another
Odd Fellow, and on the 18th of February,
1919, they inserted the following notice
in the Baltimore american:
"Notice to all Odd Fellows.-A few
members of the Society of Odd Fellows
will be glad to meet their brethren for
lodge. The meeting will be held
On the evening appointed they pro-
and found that only two persons,
ham, had answered the call. The
latter claimed to have been initiated
in Baltimore seventeen years before, but
he gave no satisfactory account of the
lodge, it's name, location or membership,
grip, sign and ancient password. 1t re-
and as there were but four, another ad-
vertisement was inserted calling another
meeting for April I'd of that year. This
advertisement brought forward Richard
Rushworth, who had been initiated in
London; and the magic number being
complete the necessary arrangements
were made, and on April 26, 1919, the
five brothers met at the sign of "The
| DO I'm
lied the Washington Lodge of Odd
as Noble Grand, and John Welch
as Vice Grand. Five Englishmen thus
separated themselves from community
which disliked them on account Of
national prejudice and the place OF their
meetings increased the feeling OF bitter
ness against them. Their efforts to in
crease the membership under these Cir
cumstances met with but poor success
and in more than month they had only
succeeded in increasing the membership
of the lodge to fifteen. In the meantime
the work of the order in England had
changed and the originators of the first
lodge in the United States were without
instruction in the work Of the Indepen-
dent Order.
NEW ARRIVAL.
1t was at this time that Henry M.
Jackson arrived in Baltimore from Liv-
erpool provided with copies of the
charges, then recently revised by the still
incipient Manchester Unity, and he
fondly hoped to become the pioneer OF
Odd Fellows in America. He was sur
prised to learn of the existence OF the
Washington Lodge and without loss
of time secured an introduction
to the Noble Grand, who ten
dered him cordial invitation to at
tend the next meeting of the Lodge, al
which he acted as warden. This posi-
ton enabled him to ascertain, before
the Lodge was opened, that it was moi
worked on the reformed plan and he
gravely announced to the astonished
Noble Grand: Nobody in the Lodge is
correct" The CONSERVATION that en-.
sued was followed by recess and all
were requested to leave the room except
Wildey and Welch. to whom jackson
!, showed his revised documents. The i'm