Grand Lodge of the Ladies Society of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
and Enginemen Records, 1884- 1972
Collection Number: 5176
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Grand Lodge of the Ladies Society of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
and Enginemen Records, 1884- 1972
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5176
Abstract:
This collection is comprised of records and photographs documenting the institutional
history of the Grand Lodge of the Ladies' Society of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and Enginemen (BLF and E).
Creator:
Ladies Society of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLF&E)
Quanitities:
1 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
The Ladies' Society of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLF and
E) was organized in April 1884 in Tucson, Arizona by the wife of a railroad fireman,
Georgia M. Sargent. The first meeting of the Ladies' Society was held at the "little
adobe home" of Frank and Georgia Sargent. The constitution and by-laws were published
in the May 1884 issue of the Firemen's Magazine. This lodge had to disband, because
the terminal of the railroad changed. A second lodge, using the already established
constitution and by-laws, was organized in August 1884, in Stratford, Ontario. For
the following six years, the Ladies' Society ran itself and established twelve lodges
for its members. The Ladies' Society was formally recognized as an auxiliary of the
Brotherhood at its second biennial convention in San Francisco in 1890.
The Ladies' Society was organized "for the purpose of rendering assistance, encouraging
the Brotherhood ... in its good work, extending the hand of Charity, helping each
other in time of need, and elevating our social and intellectual standing. It is also
the aim of the Society to cultivate a spirit of harmony, to promote sociability, and
to draw into friendly and affectionate relationship the lady members of the families
of the Brotherhood." In addition to the social features, the Ladies' Society offered
insurance to its members "considered the best of its kind [and] is a guarantee to
the members' participating therein that their loved ones shall receive, without unnecessary
delay, the protection it affords" ("History of the Ladies' Society," Box 2, Folder
1).
Inclusive dates: 1884-1972
Bulk dates: 1903-1971
Records included in the collection document the organizing, founding, and daily business
of the Ladies' Society of the BLF and E, as well as some biographical information
and photographs of grand presidents and co-founders. Various editions of the constitutions
and general laws of the Ladies' Society from 1904 to 1968 are found in this collection
as well as the Journal of Proceedings of the First Biennial Convention of the Ladies'
Society held in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1892. A Report of Receipts and Disbursements for
the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1903, sent from the office of the Board of Grand Trustees
to all member lodges documents the Ladies' Society's finances, number of lodges, and
payments made to members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers. Finally,
two bound ledgers record the dates, locations, and circumstances of the organizing
and disbanding of various lodges. These ledgers also contain additional information
about the Ladies' Society and its membership.
Additional records found in this collection document the institutional history of
the Ladies' Society. A typed manuscript, written in 1934 by Agnes G. Strong (Grand
President, 1925-1947), gives a historical review of the Ladies' Society, prepared
for the Society's Golden Jubilee; other histories of the Ladies' Society, by unknown
authors, are also included. There are also programs from the memorial service for
the founder of the Ladies' Society, Georgia M. Sargent, and from the Golden Anniversary
of Lodge 56 in Tucson, Arizona, where the Society was founded. Photographs of all
former Grand Lodge presidents and two founding members, which include Joshua A. Leach
(founder of the BLF and E) and his wife Sarah (Grand President, 1895-1898), as well
as Georgia M. Sargent (Grand President, 1899-1912) and her husband Frank (Counselor-Brother,
1898), are found in this collection, in additional to a photograph of an ambulance
donated by the Ladies' Society.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
Grand Lodge of the Ladies Society of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
and Enginemen Records #5176. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,
Cornell University Library.
Related Collections: 5141: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Records 5141 MB: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Memorabilia 5141 G: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Graphics 5141 P: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Photographs 5467: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Local 807 (Auburn, NY) Records 5475: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen General Chairman, Boston and
Maine Railroad Records 5646: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Additional Records 5869: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Local 807 (Auburn, NY) Additional
Records 6176: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Additional Records 6040 P: Railroad Collection Photographs
Names:
Sargent, Georgia M.
Strong, Agnes G.
Leach, Joshua
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen. Ladies' Society. Grand Lodge.
Subjects:
Women--United States--Societies and clubs.
Locomotive engineers.
Locomotive firemen.
Railroads- -Employees.
Trade-unions. Railroads. United States.
Trade-unions. United States. Women's auxiliaries.
CONTAINER LIST
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Constitutions and General Laws
|
1904-1913 |
Scope and Contents
3 bound volumes: 1904; 1910; 1913.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Constitutions and General Laws
|
1916-1922 |
Scope and Contents
3 bound volumes: 1916 (2 copies); 1922.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Constitutions and General Laws
|
1925-1937 |
Scope and Contents
4 bound volumes: 1925; 1928; 1931; 1937.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Constitutions and General Laws
|
1941-1959 |
Scope and Contents
4 bound volumes: 1941; 1947; 1953; 1959.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Constitutions and General Laws
|
1950-1968 |
Scope and Contents
3 bound volumes: 1960; 1963; 1968.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Journal of Proceedings of the First Biennial Convention of the Ladies Society of B
of L F
|
1892 |
Scope and Contents
8 pgs., held in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 1892 FRAGILE
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Report of Receipts and Disbursements for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1903
|
1903 |
Scope and Contents
From the Office of Board of Grand Trustees
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Records of Lodges Organized and Disbanded
|
1884-1971 |
Scope and Contents
Contains "Early History of the Ladies' Society"
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Records of Lodges Organized and Disbanded
|
1884-1971 |
Scope and Contents
Entries not in chronological order, but type-written note on inside front cover provides
page numbers for date ranges.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 1 |
History of the Ladies' Society
|
1892-1972 |
Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Memorial Service programs for Georgia M. Sargent
|
1912 |
Scope and Contents
Organizer of first lodge of Ladies' Society in Tucson, AZ
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Program for Golden Anniversary of Lodge 56
|
1949 |
Scope and Contents
Tucson, AZ
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Photographs (2) of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua A. Leach
|
|
Scope and Contents
Joshua A. Leach, Founder of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen. Sarah
Leach, Grand President of Ladies' Society 1895 - 1898. Circa 1890s
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Photographs (3): Maude E. Moore; Georgia M. Sargent; Frank. P. Sargent
|
|
Scope and Contents
Maude E. Moore, 4th Grand President; Georgia M. Sargent, 3rd Grand President; Frank
P. Sargent, co-founder of Ladies' Society and husband to Georgia. Undated
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Photographs (3): Sadie E. Scott (2 photos); Ambulance donated by Ladies' Society
|
|
Scope and Contents
Sadie E. Scott, Past Grand President, 1919-1924 Undated
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Photographs of Past Grand Presidents (5): Agnes Strong; Grace Hatfield; Lillian Kemp;
Marian Koger (2 photos)
|
|
Scope and Contents
Agnes Strong, 1925-1947; Grace Hatfield, 1948-1957; Lillian Kemp, 1957- 1963; Marian
Koger, 1964-1972. Undated
|
|||
Box 3 |
Images digitized from the collection.
|