The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2016 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. The theme I chose is Genealogy Tips. At the end I will give a related post from my blog Genealogy: Beyond the BMD.
J is for Joiners
Our ancestors were joiners. They joined church groups, sports clubs, fraternity orders like the Masons and the Oddfellows, and social clubs. Even with all the work they had to do and the children they had to raise, they liked to be part of a group of like minds.
Verdun United Church Ladies Aid Society 1910
All the ladies names are written on the back, my grandmother age 16 is far left first row. Her mother, my great grandmother age 43 is the far right middle row. I adore all the hats. The minister took the photo.
Some members of fraternal lodges have their symbol engraved on their tombstone. This is the gravestone of my 2x great uncle Thomas and it has the symbol for the Masons at the top.
To find out if your ancestor joined a club, society order or lodge, check for the group's publications at the local library. Also take a look at the links below I have quite a few listed with lists of members.
Related Posts: Clubs
Joiners our ancestors? Maybe more than today they were. They were very dependent on social circles, I think. Still there are lots of communities left today, take this A-Z blog challenge for instance, more than 1000 bloggers sharing their content.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing yours. I found it very interesting.
Han
That's true, people still like to belong. Thanks for visiting.
DeleteIn the little bit I recorded of my mother she spoke about her paternal grandmother being a Church Joiner and took my mother to Holy Rollers with her one time. Mom said she was scared to death because people were falling down in the aisles, screaming and yelling like they were having fits... Possibly during WW I. Another time her grandmother dressed Mom up as a Red Cross nurse to raise money for the war effort. Mom said she was only 2 or3 and her grandmother scolded her when she couldn't remember the words she had to say. What sad memories for a child to have.
ReplyDeleteMy father was a Mason and Mom in the Eastern Star will have to check if they have anything indicating that on the grave marker.
That is just sad. Nevertheless your Mom was a wonderful compassionate soul!
DeleteOh I love those hats too! What a great word for the letter J.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex, and thank you for visiting.
DeleteKnowing what groups they joined helps to give us a fuller picture of our ancestors'lives.
ReplyDeleteLove the hats.
My Mo used to buy me hats all the time and I hated wearing them LOL
DeleteSnap with our similar theme! That first photograph is gorgeous, notably that array of hats. My mother, too, was a joiner. For her it was a way of making friends and fitting into a new community, as we moved around with my father's job. A lesson I learnt and have followed.
ReplyDeleteI just read a blog today about membership pins that she has from her ancestors' various clubs and organizations. One of my ancestors was a "joiner" but in that case, it meant he was a carpenter who made furniture.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from AtoZ
Wendy
Jollett Etc.
How neat about the pins! I am a pin collector myself, from groups and events and from places I visit.
DeleteMy youngest daughter is a Carpenter, she just got her journeyman ticket - so proud!
I too had "Joiners" who were the carpenter type-two great great grandfathers, a great grandfather and a great uncle.
ReplyDelete