USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > History of the city of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 41
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
Department of Collections: August Leich, treasurer; Geo. P. Heil- man, deputy.
Department of Public Health and Charity: Clarence Kelsey, M. D., president ; John E. Owen, M. D .; William H. Gilbert, M. D., secretary.
Department of Water Works: Emil G. Heeger, president; John H. Osborn, Geo. W. Haynie; F. D. Caldwell, clerk; Charles J. Thuman, super- intendent ; Geo. J. Vickery, deputy; William E. Sherwood, inspector.
HON. JOHN W. BOEHNE, MAYOR.
Department of Finance: Edward B. Oslage, comptroller; Albert Fisher, deputy comptroller.
Department of Public Works: Ben. Newman, president; William H. Kreipke, Christian Wunderlich; Walter Wunderlich, clerk.
Department of Public Safety: Ben. Bosse, president; Geo. W. Hay- nie, Frank L. Hoelscher; J. W. Sappenfield, clerk.
Board of Water Works Trustees: Madison J. Bray, president; James R Goodwin, B. F. Von Behren; W. M. Madden, secretary ; John W. Peck, superintendent.
Park Commissioners: Joseph Brentano, president; Henry C. Murphy, Otto Kolb, E. Q. Lockyear.
Department of Health and Charities: Dr. E. P. Busse, president ; Dr. James V. Welborn, secretary; Dr. G. W. Varner; August W. Ellerbush ; president common council; William J. Dunn, city clerk; councilmen-at- large, A. W. Ellerbush, Edwin Walker, William F. Hartig; first ward, Ezra Lyon; third ward, Louis Bender ; fourth ward, Thomas Macer; fifth ward, Edward Schmitt; sixth ward, William F. Cleveland; seventh ward, Chas. E. Bellville.
Judicial: Hon. Jordan G. Winfrey, judge of city court; Hon. William M. Blakey, special judge of city court.
MAYOR CHAS. HEILMAN.
Comptroller, Joseph M. Kollmeyer; deputy, Geo. W. Koch; chief of police, Geo. L. Covey.
Board of Public Works: P. W. Richwood, president; Edward Schmitt, J. E. Stickelman; Simon Bartholome, clerk.
Board of Safety: Edwin Walker, Schmidt and Althaus, Fred Parrett. Board of Water Works: M. J. Bray, John Jack, Ed. Heberer; Henry Heilman, clerk; August Pfafflin, surveyor; first ward, Ludson Worsham; second ward, Captain Myerhoff; third ward, Philip Klein; fourth ward, Thos. P. Miller ; fifth ward, Jos. Bartholome ; sixth ward, Henry J. Karges ; seventh ward, Chas. W. Ossenberg; U. S. Grant, chief of fire department.
Board of Health: Dr. P. C. Rietz, president ; Dr P. V. McCoy, vice president; Dr Chas. Hartloff, secretary.
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
Building Inspector, Joseph Brentano; city clerk, Harvey C. Weber ; deputy, F. C. Parrett.
COUNTY OFFICIALS.
If there is any one thing of which Evansville is justly proud, it is her magnificent court house to which a fine elevator has just been added. There is much room in this grand building that it is certain to last for a great many years to come. As it is now, there are vacant rooms up stairs and also in the basement and the matter of moving the offices of the city to the court house is now being discussed. Vanderburg County was really formed under the act of the legislature passed January 7, 1818. On the 9th of March, 1818, the first board of commissioners for Vanderburg County met. They were James Anthony, David Brumfield and George Surkles. They simply organized at their first meeting but met again the following day and divided the county into two townships. Pigeon town- ship, a portion really of Warrick had previously contained all of the land which lay in the new County of Vanderburg. At this meeting the commis- sioners passed an ordinance for the election of two justices of the peace and declared Hugh McGary's warehouse a public ware house and appointed inspectors to serve there. They also appointed overseers of the poor, su- perintendent of school districts, and tax assessors. At this time the open- ing of the first public highway into the county was provided for and Mathias Whetstone, Patrick Calvert and James Patton were appointed as road viewers. The legislature had appointed some commissioners to fix the seat of justice in the new county but they failed to arrive and the county commissioners took the matter into their own hands and appointed Thomas E. Casselberry, Wilson Bullett and Elias Barker. These three were to act in conjunction with Scott and Hargrove, who had been ap- pointed by the legislature. On the following day, March 11th, these state officials came before the board of county commissioners and located the seat of justice and they also appointed a county agent and treasurer. They then adjourned until May 11, 1818. They served as county commission- ers until in 1824 was passed a law providing that the justice of the peace in the county should perform the duties of county commissioners. Be- fore this law went into operation, however, Ben McNew, William Olm- stead, George Moorehouse, D. F. Goldsmith and Kirby Armstrong had served. In 1824 the first meeting of the board of justices was held, the second Monday in September. The board consisted of John Connor, president ; Daniel Miller, Leon F. Ragon, Benjamin F. Barker, Eli Sher- wood, William Bingham and James Kirkpatrick. This board did not change until 1829 when Nathan Rowley was elected to serve in place of John Connor. He served only one year and was then succeeded by James Rose, but in 1830 Rose in turn was succeeded by Nathan Rowley. The legislature soon saw that it was impossible to carry on the business of the county in this manner, as the justices of the peace had other duties to per-
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form, so in 1831 there was a new law made to return to the plan of having a regular board of commissioners, and in 1831, under a special act of the legislature, James Rose, John P. Stinson and Amos Clark were appointed and adopted a scroll as a seal and proceeded to business. Since then the following have served and all of them have names which are identified not only with the past history of Evansville, but with her history of today :
C. D. Bourne, J. B. Stinson, Wm. R. Barker, Everton Kennerley, D. D. Grimes, Edmund Maidlow, Ezekial Saunders, John Burtis, Leroy Calvert, Alanson Warner, Alexander Maddux, Vicissimus K. Phar, Edward Hop- kins, Thomas F. Stockwell, Simpson Ritchie, Willard Carpenter, Everton Kennerley, Ira P. Grainger, Michael P. Jones, Simeon Long, Jr., Edward Maidlow, Cassimer Schlamp, William Pruitt, John Rheinlander, Michael Mentzer, James Neal, Robert Parrett, John Hogue, Charles Knowles, Philip Decker, Henry W. Hawkins, John Brunb, Bernard Nurre, Joseph B. Parrett, Thomas Bower, Samuel Barker, James Erskine, Clark Cody, Geo. Peva, A. A. Swope, Samuel Barker, James D. Fair, Benjamin Young, Christian Hedderich, Jacob Benninghof, John Laval, Wm. Dean, Henry Brommelhouse, Henry Mesker, Christian Wunderlich, Jas. L. King, Her- man Lkamer, Samuel McDonald, William Elliott, Joseph Bigson, Wm. E. Bower, J. F. Saunders, Wm. Bower, Henry Boeke, Simon Hartig, Charles Lindenschmidt, John G. Paine.
First district, Mark Grank, 1891 to 1904; Thomas C. Ruston, 1905 to 1911. Second district, Henry Wallenmeyer, 1899 to 1905 ; Cicero G. Hornby, 1906 to 1912. Third district, Jacob Detroy, 1897 to 1903; Andrew Koch, 1904 to 1910.
Township trustees: John Dausman, 1901 to 1904; George P. Rhein- hardt, 1905 to 1908; Will Atkins, 1909 to 1912.
Township assessor, Noah A. Riggs, 1901 to 1912.
COUNTY COUNCIL.
Walter M. Schmitt, 1899 to 1900; Philip W. Frey, 1899 to 1902; John H. Osborn, 1899 to 1902; Jos. B. Cox, 1899 to 1900; Cassel McDowell, 1899 to 1906; John Weisheimer, 1900 to 1902; Conrad Rose, 1900 to 1902; Geo. M. Uhl, 1900 to 1902 ; Chas. Y. Jenkins, 1900 to 1902; Samuel Vick- ery, 1903 to 1910; Adolph Goeke, 1903 to 1906; Ferdinand Becker, 1903 to 1906; Conrad Bargdorf, 1903 to 1906; Chas. R. McCutchan, 1903 to 1910; William Koelling, 1907 to 1910; Christian Ziss, 1907 to 1910; Richard W. King, 1907 to 1910; Fred Werkman, 1907 to 1910.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY.
A. J. McCutchan, Louis O. Rasch, Edgar Durre, Chas. W. Wittenbraker, 1900 to 1905; Oscar R. Luhring, 1905 to 1910.
It has always seemed to the citizens of Evansville who pay the greater proportion by far of the taxes of Vanderburg County, that the words county
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commissioner have been always misconstrued. In other words, that the different parties in making up their slates, decided that a man could only be a county commissioner if he came from some where out on a farm. This has always been a great mistake and why it has been adhered to is a mat- ter that has caused much discussion. A county commissioner above all others, should be a shrewd business man, an adept in figures and thoroughly posted on prices, how to make contracts, etc., etc. Unfortunately both parties have at times put into the county commissioner's chair, men who really had no title to the seat, except that they belonged somewhere out in the country. They did not have enough business acumen to run a peanut stand. It is to be hoped that matters in this respect will change. Three good city men thoroughly conversant with affairs are worth a hundred men from the country. This is no reflection whatever on their honesty or integrity but these farmers could no more come in and run a big store on business principles than one of the business men could go to the country and run a farm and make it pay.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
Geo. W. Jacobs was the first treasurer who held the office in Vander- burg County and was appointed on the 10th of March, 1818. His bonds- men were Gen. Robert M. Evans and Luke Wood. He served until his death in 1829 when Major Alanson Warner was appointed in his place. Major Warner served one year and was succeeded by Alexander Johnson, but during the following year Major Warner was again appointed and served until 1841, except during a short time when the office was held by John M. Lockwood. At that time the salary was so small that it was hard to get any man of any business ability to serve. He could make so much more in his own regular business that its was only to fulfill what he deemed his duty, that he ever agreed to serve. In 1841 B. Royston was appointed and served until 1845. When he went in, a fixed salary for the county treasurer was agreed on and the office became one worth seeking. It has gradually grown in value from that time to the present. The following have served.
Robert W. Dunbar, 1845 to 1854; Theodore Vennemann, 1854 to 1858; Leroy Calvert, 1862 to 1874; John Rheinlander, 1874 to 1866; F. Lunken- heimer, 1866 to 1871 ; Wm. Warren, Jr., 1871 to 1875; Emil Rahn, 1875 to 1879; Thomas P. Britton, 1879 to 1883; John Y. Hayes, 1883 to 1887; Au- gust Leich, 1887 to 1891 ; James F. Saunders, 1891 to 1895; Charles F. H. Laval, 1895 to 1899; Philip J. Euler, 1899 to 1903; John P. Walker, 1904 to 1905; Otto L. Klauss, 1906 to 1911.
With the exception of John P. Walker, the above were all men of the finest business ability. They were men, good and true, in every sense of the word, and no man has ever dared to raise one finger, even in doubt, against any of them. But poor John Walker was only the creature of "peanut poli-
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
tics," the curse of Evansville and Venderburg County. He was put in as was many another "good fellow" and we paid for it.
Business men do not put "good fellows" in their stores! They would not let them work for nothing. But politicians, to gratify their own selfish ends, would put in a yellow dog if they could be the gainers by it. Let one of them dare to come and deny this to me and I'll give him a list of names of officials, city and county, and make him admit that his own father would not have hired them. I've lived here too long. Fairy tales don't have any effect on me for I was personally acquainted with the old fairies when they used to saunter out at night-without their crowns.
COUNTY AUDITORS.
James McJohnson was appointed in 1841 as the first auditor and served two years. His successor was H. C. Gwathmey, who resigned shortly after his appointment. William H. Walker was appointed in 1842 and held the office until 1862. Since that time the following have served:
Victor Bisch, 1862 to 1870; Philip Decker, from 1870 to 1874; Joseph J. Reitz, from 1874 to 1878; Wm. Warren, Jr., from 1878 to 1882; Charles F. Yeager, from 1882 to 1886; James D. Parvin, from 1886 to 1894; Louis D. Legler, from 1894 to 1898; Louis Legler, 1894 to 1902; Harry Stinson, 1903 to 1910.
The office of auditor was the last one created and the fact that so many resigned before their terms had expired shows that the pay was very small. But Wm. H. Walker must have made money, as he held the office for 19 years. Victor Bisch, it is said, made more money out of the office than any of the predecessors. A writer says, "Like all places of public trust, in later years it grew to be an office that paid the incum- bent very well, as the emoluments increased, through the system of pro- fessional politics." In 1895 a new act was made by the legislature which reduced the value of the office. There were also two other acts which were supposed to affect it but it is a question whether or not they did.
COUNTY AGENT.
This was an office unknown at the present day. It was created for the purpose of having a man to sell county property, make purchases for the use of the county, execute papers for it and report to the county com- missioners. In fact, he did most of the work for the board of the county commissioners. It was found, however, that the office was an unnecessary one and in 1852 Hon. Thomas E. Garven who held it, surrendered his trust. When the new state constitution was founded, the two offices were merged in with that of the auditor.
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
COUNTY RECORDER.
The county recorders of Vanderburg County have been, Hugh Mc- Gary, B. M. Lewis, W. T. Jones, Geo. H. Todd, Christian Bippus, John Farrel, F. Lunkenheimer, C. Tomhemelt, S. B. Sansom, Charles T. Jen- kins, Louis Sihler, Otto Durre, Paul DeKress, Ed. H. Rasch.
Ed. H. Rasch, 1894 to 1902; Theo. Kevekordes, 1903 to 1906; Fred H. Woelker, 1907 to 1910.
Kevekordes was another "good fellow." It is needless to say how or when he left. Peanut politics put him in.
COUNTY CLERKS.
This office began as usual, with Hugh McGary and after him came James W. Jones, C. D. Bourne, Samuel T. Jenkins, Ben Stinson, Jacob Lunkenheimer, Louis Richter, Blythe Hynes, Soren Sorenson, Jesse W. Walker, Charles F. Boepple, Charles Sihler.
Chas. Sihler, 1896 to 1904; 1905 to 1912.
COUNTY SHERIFFS.
The sheriffs in the county in their order were as follows: John B. Stin- son, Hazael Putnam, Alanson Warner, James Newman, Alanson Warner, Daniel Miller, Levi Price, Edward Hopkins, Daniel Miller, Thomas F: Stockwell, Wm. W. Walker, John Echols, John S. Terry, John S. Gavitt, John B. Hall, John S. Gavitt, Geo. Wolflin, Robert Early, Alex Darling, Jacob H. Miller, Adolph Pfafflin, Christ Wunderlich, J. A. Lemcke, Thomas Kerth, Charles Schaum, Frank Pritchett, Andrew Richardt and Charles G. Covert.
Martin Koepke, 1898 to 1902; Christ W. Kratz, 1902 to 1906; Wm. E. Barnes, 1907 to 1910.
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
The records of this office have been poorly kept. The first we find on record is Joseph M. McDowell, June 17th, 1819. Then there is a jump of many years, during which time it seems that everybody did their own sur- veying, or occasionally employed a surveyor to run lines or drive stakes. It seems that there was not a competent surveyor in the country until the time of Geo. G. Olmstead, who served until 1853. Azariah Wittlesey, 1855; James W. Saunders, 1856; J. R. Frick, 1860; James D. Saunders, 1862; S. C. Rogers, 1864; Charles B. Bateman, 1870; August Pfafflin, 1872; James D. Saunders, 1876; Robert S. Cowan, 1880; George W. Rank, 1882; George W. Saunders, 1884; Franklin Sauers, 1886; Ira A. Fairchilds, 1890; C. C. Genung, 1892; Fred R. Puder, 1896.
C. Genning, 1901 to 1903; Wm. E. Lemme, 1903 to 1906; Jess Bedford, and Gus Pfafflin, 1907 to 1909; Julius Ehlers, 1909 to 1910.
CRESCENT CLUB
EVANSVILLE COUNTRY CLUB
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
COUNTY CORONERS.
Here is a list of the coroners of the county: Lewis Tackett, 1818; Alanson Warner, 1819; Daniel Avery, 1822; Jesse C. Doom, 1824; Alanson Warner, 1825; John Shaver, 1827; David H. Stevens, 1829; Seth Fairchild, 1831; Z. B. Aydelott, 1836; Adrain Young, 1838; Seth Fairchild, 1842; Lewis Howes, 1844; John Cupples, 1847; Allen C. Hallock, 1849; George A. Fairchild, 1862; John Beschman, 1864; Samuel P. Havlin, 1866; George F. Sauer, 1868; Robert Smith, 1872; George F. Sauer, 1874; Fred Wastjer, 1878; John B. Hermeling, 1880; Dr. Elijah E. Carter, 1882; Fred Wahn- siedler, 1884; Alfred Andrews, 1888; Charles P. Beard, 1892; Charles Johann, 1894 to 1898.
John P. Walker, 1898 to 1902; A. Matt Walling, 1903 to 1906; E. J. Laval, 1907 to 1910.
REPRESENTATIVES IN THE LEGISLATURE.
Below is a complete list of our representatives in the state legislature : Hugh M. Donague, 1821 ; Joseph Lane, 1822; Robert M. Evans, 1822; John McGrary, 1825; Thomas Fitzgerald, 1825; Charles M. McJohnson, 1827; William Trafton, 1828; Robert M. Evans, 1829; Joseph Lane, 1830; John 'A'. Breckenridge, 1833; Christopher C. Graham, 1835; Wm. T. T. Jones, 1836; Joseph Lane, 1838; Wm. B. Butler, 1839; Amos Clark, 1841; W. B. Butler, 1842; Daniel Miller, 1843; James T. Walker, 1844; Conrad Baker, 1845 ; Charles T. Battell, 1846; James E. Blythe, 1847; Nathaniel J. James, 1848; Wm. R. Greathouse, 1849; Isaac Hutchins, 1850; Willard Carpenter, 1851; John M. Stockwell, 1853; Grampel W. Hardin, 1855; Charles Denby, 1857; Ben Stinson, 1859; Jas. E. Blythe, 1859; Joseph E. Edson, 1861 ; Jno. S. Hopkins, 1861; T. E. Garvin, 1863; Jno. A. Reitz, 1863; E. F. Sullivan, 1865; Fred W. Cook, 1865; Emil Bischoff, 1867; Jno. S. Hopkins, 1867; Leroy Calvert, 1869; Jos. F. Welborn, 1869; Robt. P. Hooker, 1871; Wm. Heilman, 1871; James D. Riggs, 1873; Geo. Wolflin, 1873; Adolph Pfafflin, 1875; Wm. H. Miller, 1875; John Whitehead, 1877; John Dannettell, 1877; John S. Hopkins, 1870; Jacob W. Messick, 1870; John H. Roclker, 1881 ; Jolın F. Pruitt, 1883; James W. Spain, 1883; John F. Pruitt, 1885; Chris- topher J. Murphy, 1885; Philip Klein, 1887; Robert L. Mackey, 1887; Jacob Covert, 1887; Jacob Covert, 1889; John J. Nolan 1891 ; M. J. Niblack, 1891 ; John Foster, 1893; Albert Kamp, 1893; Fred Holloway, 1895; Albert Kamp, 1895; B. M. Willoughby, 1895; H. J. Peckinpaugh, 1897; Christ Kratz, Jr., 1897; B. M. Willoughby, 1897; C. C. Shreeder, 1903 to 1910; Adolph Decker, 1903 to 1904; Louis H. Legler, 1905 to 1906; Otto Geiss, 1907 to 1908; Christ Hewig, 1909 to 1910. Joint representatives, Oscar Luhring, 1903 to 1904; Phelps Darby, 1905 to 1906.
STATE SENATORS.
The state senators have been representative men, socially and intellect- ually. The list to 1897 is as follows: Ratliff Boone, 1818; Elisha Harrison,
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
1819; Thomas Given, 1825; Charles I. Battell, 1833; William Casey, 1835; Joseph Jane, 1839; Gaines H. Roberts, 1840; John Pitcher, 1841; Joseph Lane, 1844; Wm. H. Stockwell, 1846; Enoch R. James, 1847; Wm. R. Great- house, 1853; Cyrus K. Drew, 1855; Mangus T. Carnahan, 1859; Daniel Morgan, 1869; Henry Morgan, 1860; Henry Clay Gooding, 1873; William Heilman, 1887; Wm. Rahm, Jr., 1881 ; Thos. Kerth, 1889; A. J. McCutchan, 1893 to 1895; August Leich, 1897 to 1899; Edgar Durre, 1905 to 1912; Samuel Crumbaker, 1902 to 1904. Joint senators, Walter A. Legeman, 1899 to 1902; James Gray, 1903 to 1904; Clamor Pelzer, 1905 to 1908.
COUNTY ASSESSORS.
This office was created by the legislature in 1891. After the act went into effect, the county commissioners appointed William Dean to fill the new office until his successor could be elected and qualified. He served from 1891 to 1892. Henry Haynie succeeded him in 1892 and served until 1896. His successor was William Diedrich, whose official term expired in 1900. Township assessor, Noah 'A. Riggs, 1901 to 1912; Henry E. Drier, 1900 to 1910.
JUDGE OF SUPERIOR COURT.
John H. Foster, 1898 to March, 1905; Alexander Gilchrist, 1905 to 1910.
JUDGE OF CIRCUIT COURT.
H. A. Mattison, 1896 to 1902; Louis C. Rasch, 1903 to 1908; Curran A. DeBruler, 1909 to 1914.
CHAPTER XXIV.
FRATERNAL AND BENEVOLENT ORDERS-THE BEGINNING OF MASONRY AND ODD FELLOWSHIP-OTHER ORDERS-ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL-THE ORPHAN ASYLUMS-THE OUTING FARM.
FRATERNAL AND BENEVOLENT ORDERS.
If one were to look into the records of the various cities it is probable that it would be found to be a fact that in no city of its size in the country has there been more interest in fraternal and benevolent organizations than in the city of Evansville. This has been a fact since its earliest history. As the matter stands today, there is probably no fraternal organization now existing that is not now represented, or has been represented in the past in this city. The great numbers of benevolent orders is due to the fact that there have been so many of the working class in the city. It has al- ways been a city of few rich men, and this is a fact that has worked against its advancement in the past. And the reason that so many of these humbler ones in the way of the world's goods went into benevolent orders was that each wished in some way to protect his family in case of his death. The majority of recent orders have been based on a plan of cheap life insurance and it is unfortunate that some of them have found that it was impossible to carry absolutely safe life insurance at a less rate than that fixed by the old insurance companies. The decay of one very important order which at one time had eight different lodges here, was due to the fact that when it was founded, the men were all young and the death losses were so few, that quite a sum was laid by to meet them. This continued for years, until the members began to grow old and drop off at such a ratio that the fees from new members and the dues could not possibly meet the death losses and as the society did not invest its surplus as do the great insurance companies who have millions at their control, it was only a short time until the treasury was nearly bankrupted. Then it was decided that an extra assessment must be placed on the older members and this was attempted, but it did not work, because they naturally felt that after pay- ing a stated sum for many years, it was wrong to fix an extra tax on them, because they had grown old. They had fully believed that enough young men could be induced to enter into the order to keep the age ratio at about the same standard all the time. This was demonstrated in other orders and a case is told of a young man who joined an order and after being
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HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
taken into full membership, looked around and saw nothing but old men, and his business instincts told him that there could only be one outcome to his investment if he looked on it as a business investment, and that was, that when he paid death benefits for these old men, there would be nothing left. He therefore went the next day and took some straight life insurance which he is now carrying.
Most of the new orders of the present day are trying by every means to do away with what seems to be the fate of the older benevolent orders, but whether they will succeed in this attempt time alone will show. It is an absolute fact, however, that the American table of mortality has a splen- did bases on which to go and the rates made by the old insurance com- panies are based on thorough business principles as brought out by the very finest experts that money can command. And no benevolent order existing can hope to insure at a rate any lower than that made by these same old companies. If one joins a benevolent society for the fraternal benefits, that is all right, and in case he suddenly meets death, his family will be cared for. But no one enters these orders with any expectation of this kind. It is a safe proposition, however, that any man who belongs to any fraternal order of any kind, is just so much better off than the man who doesn't. The writer in his day has belonged to nearly every frater- nal organization in the city and does not regret in the least the money that it cost him. Fortunately he lived longer than many, but if he had died his family would have been benefited, and he certainly appreciates the many, many pleasant hours spent with the brethren in the different lodges. As is well known to everyone who has given the matter any thought, the Masons and the Odd Fellows are the two fundamental orders. In Masonry it can be proven that a regular lodge was instituted in the year 926 in England but their history and their symbols antedate that period hundreds of years Solomon's Temple shows many of the symbols used by masonry. At the base of Cleopatra's column, which latter work of art was brought to this country, are the masonic symbols and in Yucatan, a country from which now the greatest relics are being obtained, the masonic symbols are still being found. One of our greatest American diplomats found himself in China and was told that there were Masons in the city where he was. He went to the door and although not understanding one word of the Chinese language, worked his way into the lodge where they were giving the Mas- ter Masons degree. Before leaving the lodge, through an interpreter, he asked how long they had understood Masonry and the reply was, "Before the days of Confucious." This would make the date many hundreds of years before Christ. The Masons claim and probably, very justly, that Masonry began with the building of the tower of Babel and that when the Masons separated, they took their beliefs into the various parts of the world and taught them in the different tongues which were there given. It is known that Masonry existed among the Indians. By whom it was
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