Organized is the topic for week 43 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. “Organized” can mean someone who is organized, a way of organizing your genealogy research, or being a member of an organization. I learned through some newspaper articles and obituaries that my great-great grandparents Eugene and Hattie (Leighton) Ladd were members of the IOOF and the Rebekahs. A 1929 Portland Evening Express article entitled "Congin Rebekah Lodge Observes Fifteenth Anniversary Tonight” discussed the chapter’s founding in 1914, the plans for their celebration, and paid tribute to 14 of the original 82 founding members who had passed away. Hattie was one of them. My great-grandfather’s 1948 obituary mentioned that he was a member of the IOOF. What were these organizations, and would my great-great grandparents’ memberships in these groups give me any clue about their characters?
IOOF stands for Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It is one of the oldest and largest service-based fraternal organizations in the world, founded in 1806 in a tavern in New York. Their mission statement, taken from their website, is as follows:
As an organization, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows aims to provide a framework that promotes personal and social development. Lodge degrees and activities aim to improve and elevate every person to a higher, nobler plane; to extend sympathy and aid to those in need, making their burdens lighter, relieving the darkness of despair; to war against vice in every form, and to be a great moral power and influence for the good of humanity.
The Rebekahs is the sister-branch of the Odd Fellows. The organization was founded in 1851. Today both organizations are gender-inclusive, but back then they were separate, though they combined forces for certain events and service projects.
Eugene and Hattie wanted to give back to their community and help others, which isn’t surprising – especially given Eugene’s background.
Eugene Jenness Ladd was born on August 18, 1865 in Alton, New Hampshire. He was the only son of Enoch Place Ladd, a well-loved and respected Baptist minister who spent his brief life serving others, and Hannah Margaret Rand. His father died when he was young and his mother remarried a wealthy factory owner, Joshua Holland. The family relocated to Limerick, Maine when Enoch was assigned to a church there, and Eugene spent his childhood in that area. While I don’t know what his relationship with his stepfather was like, he was also a well-respected man in his community. Eugene maintained contact with his older step-siblings who would occasionally visit him. After his stepfather’s death, Eugene’s mother moved to his Westbrook home. Like most of my family who settled in Westbrook, Maine, he worked at the S.D. Warren Paper Company.
Hattie Emma Leighton was born on October 4, 1863 in Calais, which is in Washington County, Maine. She was the sixth child and eldest daughter of Lewis R. Leighton and Dorcas Willey “Dolly” Hall. She came from a large family of 14 children and maintained contact with them after her marriage and move to Westbrook. Her eldest daughter, Clara, died in Calais when she was two, likely while they were visiting Hattie’s parents and siblings. Snippets in the gossipy parts of the newspaper mentioned family visiting her, and her visiting family. A couple of her sisters settled in the Portland area, and her sister, Della, and Della’s husband, Ralph Bridges, were shown living with them on the 1900 census. Della was nine years younger than Hattie, and she may have been her favorite sister. She named her youngest daughter Ione Della. The only other child named after one of her family members was my great-grandfather, Dana Lewis, named after her father, Lewis. Prior to her marriage, Hattie was a dressmaker and milliner. I find it charming that Hattie literally made hats!
Eugene and Hattie were married in Calais, Maine on September 20, 1886. By 1889 they were living in Westbrook where their first child, an unnamed son who died in infancy, was born. The couple went on to have four more children: my great-grandfather, Dana Lewis (1890-1954), Clara Margaret (1895-1897), Enoch Eugene (1899-1919), and Ione Della (1902-1988). They made their home on Brown Street. In every picture of the family, they are well-dressed. Hattie was a striking woman with a regal bearing. She passed away in 1915 from cancer at the age of 52. Eugene spent years mourning his wife and didn’t remarry until 1932. He passed away in 1948 at the age of 83.
I can see why clubs like the Odd Fellows and the Rebekahs would have appealed to community-minded, church-going people like my great-great grandparents. They passed their love of serving others onto their children. Ione was also a mentioned in the newspaper article about the Rebekahs as a member in 1929, and she was a member of another service organization, Daughters of the American Revolution. Dana was a Mason – a member of the Warren Phillips Lodge, #186. Many of their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren followed in their footsteps and continued the family tradition of giving back through various organizations.
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