Grand Lodge of the Ladies Society of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Records
Collection Number: 5176
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
This collection was processed with the help of generous funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).Title:
Grand Lodge of the Ladies Society
of the Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Records, 1884- 1972
Collection Number:
5176
Creator:
Ladies Society of the Former
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLF&E)
Quantity:
1 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Manuscripts for publication, photographs
.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
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).
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.
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.
Form and Genre Terms:
Manuscripts for publication.
Photographs.
Access Restrictions:
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a
reference archivist for access to these materials.
Restrictions on Use:
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet
and Procedures for Document Use.
Cite As:
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
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
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1904-1913 | |
3 bound volumes: 1904; 1910; 1913.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1916-1922 | |
3 bound volumes: 1916 (2 copies); 1922.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1925-1937 | |
4 bound volumes: 1925; 1928; 1931; 1937.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1941-1959 | |
4 bound volumes: 1941; 1947; 1953; 1959.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1950-1968 | |
3 bound volumes: 1960; 1963; 1968.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1892 | |
8 pgs., held in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 1892 FRAGILE
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1903 | |
From the Office of Board of Grand Trustees
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1884-1971 | |
Contains "Early History of the Ladies' Society"
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1884-1971 | |
Entries not in chronological order, but type-written note on inside front
cover provides page numbers for date ranges.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 1 | 1892-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1912 | |
Organizer of first lodge of Ladies' Society in Tucson, AZ
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1949 | |
Tucson, AZ
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 4 | ||
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 | ||
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 | ||
Sadie E. Scott, Past Grand President, 1919-1924 Undated
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 7 | ||
Agnes Strong, 1925-1947; Grace Hatfield, 1948-1957; Lillian Kemp, 1957- 1963;
Marian Koger, 1964-1972. Undated
|
|||
Box 3 |