Gravely Speaking

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal organization that formed in England in the 1700s as a service organization. The American association was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819. According to the I.O.O.F. Website, “Thomas Wildey and four members of the Order from England instituted Washington Lodge No. 1. This lodge received its charter from Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows in England.”

Members of the Odd Fellows, like many other society members, choose to be buried in common burial grounds.  Others, when they are not buried in a common ground, often mark their members’ graves with metal markers denoting membership.  Some of the metal markers are quite, with only the three chain links.   The three links of the chain are the main symbol of the society. Often shown inside the three links are three letters, F L T, which signify the organizations motto: Friendship, Love, and Truth.  However, this metal marker from the Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy, Massachusetts, is quite elaborate.

This metal marker is an elaborate cartouche divided into four quarters with Odd Fellows symbols:

• The Keys symbolize the financial security of the Order. This symbol is often used on the Treasurer’s badge.
• The Hourglass represents the shortness of life and the certainty of death. Because time is short, the hourglass also emphasizes the need to assist others quickly and efficiently.
• The Hand-in-Heart symbol has significance with several organizations and religions, especially the Shakers, but when coupled with the three linked rings, it is associated with the Odd Fellows. The Heart-in-Hand symbol represents charity given with an open heart.
• The Globe denotes the universal spirit of benevolence in Odd Fellows Order.

The sash that crosses the cartouche carries the letters: I.O.O.F., the initials for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  Underneath the acronym are the three linked rings, the most recognizable Odd Fellows motif, symbolizes how much better communities, states, and the country works when working together.

In the last decade of the 19^th Century, tens of thousands came to the United States in the largest wave of immigrants to the U.S.  Previous immigrants had come from mostly Northern European countries, such as, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries.  But in what is called the “third great wave” the immigrants were from Southern Europe—they were Slavs, Jews, and Italians.  The largest of those groups to emigrate were the Italians—over 3 million poured into the United States between 1900 and 1915.

In 1905, an organization called “Figli d’Italia” or “The Order of the Sons of Italy in America” was founded by Vincenzo Sellaro in New York City.  The aim of the organization was to help ease the transition for the Italian immigrants from their homeland of Italy to their new homeland.  The aid provided included helping newly arrived Italians learn English, find jobs, gain citizenship, get an education, and receive health and death benefits.  Lodges sprang up wherever there were pockets of Italians who needed assistance.

The logo for the organization depicts a striding lion in a circle.  Three words—Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity—are displayed underneath the lion and the name of the organization encircles the illustration.

Found in cemeteries where Italian immigrants and their descendants are buried are bronze metal markers that mimic the Order’s logo with the centerpiece being the lion.  The top of the circle displays the name of the organization and the bottom identifies the individual lodge and location of the lodge.

In this example in the St. Michael’s Cemetery in Jamaica Plains, the name of the lodge—Loggia Filippo Mazzei—and its lodge number –1930—and emblazoned in the bronze medallion standing next to the grave of an Italian immigrant as a testament to the pride of Italian ancestry and to the Order’s philanthropic work.