Description: Alterum Alterius Auxilio Eget "Each Needs the Help of the Other" The Ancient Order of United Workmen was a fraternal organization founded by John Jordan Upchurch in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1868. Known by its abbreviation A.O.U.W., this organization was formed for workers in mechanical trades. It became the first fraternal society to offer benevolent insurance for the widows and orphans of its members. The A.O.U.W. structure was similar to Freemasonry, with secret rituals, symbols, and degrees of membership. By 1885 it had become the largest fraternal benefit organization in America. The A.O.U.W. disbanded its supreme lodge structure in 1929 and dissolved as a national organization in 1952. Upchurch was a Freemason, so he similarly organized the A.O.U.W. based on secret rituals and degrees of membership. Included with membership were many symbolic items, such as pins, ribbons, medallions, watch fobs, ceremonial swords, rings, porcelain shaving mugs, trophies, and other mementos of rank or achievement. By 1885, the A.O.U.W. was the largest fraternal benefit organization in America. The following year, the A.O.U.W. took the lead in forming the National Fraternal Congress. This organization still exists today as the American Fraternal Alliance. Over the years, many items pertaining to the structure and operations of the A.O.U.W. were produced and can still be found today. Ephemera related to the A.O.U.W. include original insurance certificates, ritual books, bylaw and rule books, annual meeting minutes, letters, programs, and other paper items. The A.O.U.W. operated under a supreme lodge structure until 1929 when it established a congress instead. It continued to act as a national organization until 1952, when the national fraternal society was dissolved. State lodges merged into other benefit societies, converted to mutual insurance companies, or closed.
Price: 25 CAD
Location: Langley, BC
End Time: 2025-01-28T00:40:58.000Z
Shipping Cost: 3.12 CAD
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Returns Accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Medal
