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).
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

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

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

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).
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

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.
SUBJECTS

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.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

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 MATERIALS

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
CONTAINER LIST

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