Enrollment options
Optional Print Course Material: Research: U.S. Fraternal Organizations
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
Researching your ancestor’s involvement in fraternal organizations can be a very rewarding aspect of genealogy. You may learn a great deal about the individual, or you may learn a great deal about the community they resided in, or both. The research can lead you through a variety of different elements of their life, and add color to the basic timeline of an individual’s life span. During this course, we will discuss a variety of topics including the basics of this type of research, the social impacts of these organizations, and the hazards you may encounter along the way.
Their impact on the history of the United States, and truly across the globe, cannot be overlooked. The impact fraternal organizations have had on their individual members—our ancestors—must also not be overlooked in a thorough investigation of a family history.
Course Length: 8 weeks
MODULE 1
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
Introduction
Aren’t they all just Masons?
How many organizations are there?
How many people were really involved?
A Part of Your Genealogy Research
Important Terminology
Basic Historic Timelines
Basic History of Fraternal Societies
Politics & Fraternal Societies
Dispelling Common Myths
MODULE 2
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS
Society Style Differences
Fraternal
General Organization & Structure
Benevolent Organizations
Secret Organizations
Ethnic Organizations
Women’s Organizations
MODULE 3
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS…Continued
Religious
Guilds
Political
Military
Work & Industry
Guilds
Symbols
MODULE 4
LINEAGE SOCIETIES
What Makes Lineage Societies Different?
Specific Resources
Civil War Organizations
Surname Societies
MODULE 5
RESEARCH PLANNING
Clues to Fraternal Affiliation
Preparing for a Long Process
Putting the Clues Together
Identifying Resources
MODULE 6
RESEARCH RESOURCES
Websites
Graveyards
Headstone Symbols
Newspapers
Museums
Local Archives
Manuscript Collections
Court Records
Current Members
Historic Research Field
Family Heirlooms
Regalia, Medallions, Aprons & Other Adornments
MODULE 7
RESEARCH EXECUTION
The Fraternal Society Today
Knowing When to Pull Back
Controversial Organizations
Open & Receptive – The Attitude of the Genealogist
Recommended Reading & Resources