KNIGHTS OF HONOR

KNIGHTS OF HONOR. The Knights of Honor, a fraternal organization, was founded in 1873. Its principles included care for the sick and paying certain sums to the heirs of deceased members. Some lodges paid sick benefits from the local treasury, but all death benefits were paid by the supreme lodge headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. The Knights of Honor also believed that true charity should not be confined to any society or creed. During the yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s and 1880s large sums of money were disbursed by the agents of the order to sufferers outside of the organization. (1) In Iowa it was also considered a powerful temperance organization. (2)

On May 20, 1878 the Knights of Honor, Metropolitan Lodge, No. 1,072 was opened in Dubuque with thirty-five members. These included Otto WULLWEBER and Christian WULLWEBER. In December of that year, every Knight in the United States was assessed two dollars to pay the cost of insurance caused by the plaque of yellow fever in the southern states. (3) In March 1879 Henry WHEELER of Dubuque was elected the state organization's Grand Dictator. (4)

After a few years there came a lull in the growth, and the order actually declined. On January 1, 1910, there were 1,234 subordinate lodges in the United States, with a membership of 21,603. (4)

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Source:

1. "Knights of Honor." Wikipedia. Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Honor

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, April 6, 1879, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18790406&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, December 1, 1878, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18781201&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

4. "Knights of Honor," Dubuque Herald, March 15, 1879, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18790315&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

5. Wikipedia