History of the Ladies' Society, 1892-1972

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.