Odd Fellow

For other Orders of Odd Fellows / Oddfellows, consult Odd Fellows

For IOOF, the Australian investment company see IOOF (company)

The I.O.O.F. Hall at the corner of Yonge and College in Toronto, Ontario

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a fraternal organization derived from English Oddfellows orders of the mid-1700s.^{[citation needed]}

The Patriotic Order in England was followed by the Union of United Orders and the Loyal Order. In 1813, various lodges of the Union Order organized the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows. Several unofficial lodges existed in New York City, but American Odd Fellowship is regarded as being founded in Baltimore in 1819, by Thomas Wildey, and the following year affiliated with the Manchester Unity. Within a few years the new American Lodges separated from the English Orders and formed the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Its ladies' auxiliary is known as the Rebekahs.^[1] Both the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs have higher branches known as Encampments and Patriarchs Militant.

Today, some branches of the order (i.e. some countries) allow women to join the Odd Fellows itself, leading the Rebekahs to have declined in importance. Also, the higher branches and their degrees are, in some countries, becoming regarded as being of less importance or too time-consuming, and (in those countries) are gradually being abandoned.

The most widely encountered symbol of the Odd Fellows - on signage and gravemarkers - is the three-link chain ("the Chain With Three Links") with three initials, 'F', 'L' and 'T', one each inside each link, signifying Friendship, Love and Truth.

Grand United Order of Odd Fellows

The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal organization founded in 1843 for black members.^[2] Created at a time when the IOOF was primarily a white-only organization the GUOOF obtained its charter directly from the Manchester Unity in Great Britain so the American IOOF organization had no control over it. Although still in existence the membership in the US has declined, due to the mainstream IOOF no longer being segregated and also due to the decline in fraternal membership in general.

References

External links

Independent Order of Odd Fellows

Lodge buildings bearing the IOOF emblem stand in many small American towns. (Rockfield, Indiana shown.)

• Independent Order of Odd Fellows, I.O.O.F. (and USA)
• Independent Order of Odd Fellows: Background, History, Ritual and Emblems

Americas

• Canada
• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico
• USA (and Independent Order of Odd Fellows, I.O.O.F.)
  • Sycamore Lodge105 sycamore Il.
  • IOOF Maryland State Site
  • Fort Howard, Maryland
  • West Plains, Missouri Odd Fellows
  • Mineola-Pacific Lodge 125
  • Rockville Centre Lodge 279
  • Capitol Lodge #23 Austin Texas

Australiasia, Oceania

• Australian Lodges IOOF(SA) website
  • IOOF.com.au - A financial services company. (No Lodge information.)
• New Zealand

Europe

• Austria
• Belgium and Netherlands
• Czechia
• Denmark
• UK
• Finland
• Germany
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden
• Switzerland (men / women)

Oddfellows (UK)

• Guoofs (Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society)
• Manchester Unity of Oddfellows
  • Manchester Unity Pride of Kent Lodge St Marys Cray and Dartford

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