Many fraternal organizations began during the last half of the 1800s. The Masons and the Oddfellows had earlier beginnings. These organizations usually began when a group of men saw a need within their circle of friends. Many were patterned after the Masonic orders with degrees, rituals and, of course, rules and regulations.

The Grange is one organization that included women in the organization on an equal basis. Some lodges had auxiliaries for the women, but many were exclusively for male members. Each organization was composed of local, state and national levels of meetings, officers and rules. Depending on the organization, local groups were known as councils, clubs, lodges, tents, etc. Some of the organizations were created by people in the same occupation. One based on occupation was The Order of United Commercial Travelers of America. This was created for the commercial traveler or traveling salesman. It was formed in 1888 in Columbus, Ohio. The local groups were called councils. According to the history in the 1914 program book, it was formed “to unite fraternally all Commercial Travelers of good moral character, to give all moral and material aid in its power to its members and those dependent upon them, and to assist the widows and orphans of deceased members, to establish an indemnity fund to indemnify its members for total disability and death resulting from accidental means, to secure from all transportation companies and hotels just and equitable favors for Commercial Travelers as a class, and to elevate the moral and social standing of its members.”

By 1914 there were 37 Councils in New York state and they held their state meeting in Jamestown. In the collection of the Fenton History Center is the 1914 souvenir program for the Fourteenth Annual Session of the Grand Council of the State of New York.” It was held in Jamestown on June 11-13, 1914. The large souvenir program includes listings of officers and the councils in New York state and even a list of members in the councils. There is a history of the Chautauqua Council Number 202, the Jamestown area council. E. George Lindstrom, a Jamestown City councilman, wrote a seven-page history of Jamestown, including a number of pictures.

All that, plus the program for the three days, was in the first 32 pages. The last 32 pages include many advertisements, mostly for Jamestown and nearby establishments. These ads are a great source of information about the businesses in Jamestown and some of the products they sold. The unfortunate part of this is we do not have the information as to what companies and products these traveling salesmen represented. We know that they often represented more than one company or product. A salesman could represent more than one Jamestown furniture factory because the factories produced different types of furniture.

One of the benefits of many of the organizations was a life insurance plan or at least some fund that could be used to help families in need when a member met an untimely death or accident. The United Commercial Travelers had the indemnity funds then, and today they include a life insurance program.

Another fraternal organization is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elk (B.P.O.E.). The local Jamestown Elks Lodge, owns a burial lot in Lake View Cemetery for the benefit of members, if needed. Learn more about this during the Fenton History Center’s “Saints and Sinners” Cemetery Tour at Lake View Cemetery this Saturday. Call the Center at 664-6256 for more information on times and tickets for the tours.