The Improved Order of Heptasophs was a
fraternal order
A fraternal order is a fraternity organised as an order, with traits alluding to religious, chivalric or pseudo-chivalric orders, guilds, or secret societies. Contemporary fraternal orders typically have secular purposes, including social, cult ...
in the United States that existed from 1878-1917. It was distinguished from its parent organization, the
Order of Heptasophs in that its main focus was on insurance.
History
In the mid-1870s there was a dispute within the Order of Heptasophs. While local chapters or Conclaves were allowed to pay benefits at option since 1872, others wanted a general fund for death benefits. Unable to convince the conservative leadership of the group to offer general benefits, the Zeta Conclave #6 of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
initiated a schism and led a number of members out of the group. A call was issued August 10, 1878 by Judge George V. Metzel, John W. Cruett, James Watkins, the Hon. John G. Mitchell, W. F. C. Gerhardt and Herbert J. Thurn, all of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, for a convention to found a new society. It was addressed to fourteen other Heptasophs, six each from Maryland and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and one each from
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. The convention assembled on August 27 at the Odd Fellows Hall in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. There were only twenty delegates, the six signers of the call and the fourteen addressees. Nevertheless, they organized themselves as the Supreme Conclave of the new Improved Order of Heptasophs, with Judge Metzel as the first Archon
The organization grew slowly, with the 83 members of the Zeta Conclave as the core of the membership. At the first ordinary annual session of the order, in 1879, there were only 149 members in nine local conclaves and by 1880 it had 516 in 12 conclaves. This was partly due to intense opposition from the older Order. However, by 1899 it grew to 35,000 members in twenty states, 12,000 in Maryland alone. The organization reached a membership of 676,887 in 1915, at its peak.
Two Subordinate Conclaves, the Zeta Conclave in Baltimore and the Grant Conclave at
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...
, were prosperous enough to build their own fraternal halls.
In May 1917 the Improved Order of Heptasophs merged with the Fraternal Aid Union. The Fraternal Aid Union changed its name to the Standard Life Association in 1933. The Standard Life Association in turn became Standard Mutual Life, a mutual company, in 1968.
Organization
Unusually for a nineteenth century American fraternal order, the Improved Order of Heptasophs dispensed with the state or "Grand" level of organization and consisted only of the local Subordinate Conclaves and the Supreme Conclave, which had control over the groups business and beneficiary activities. The Supreme Conclave consisted of officers and members elected by members of the Subordinate Conclaves, as well as the charter members, who sat as Supreme Past Archons.
[Stevens p.138]
Notes
See also
*
List of North American fraternal benefit orders
This is a list of North American fraternal orders. Ethnic- and religious-oriented fraternal orders have their own list.
A
* American Benefit Society of New York – Headquartered in White Plains, New York. Had 939 members at the end of 192 ...
External links
St. Louis Public Library (Fraternal Organizations){{Authority control
Fraternal orders
Organizations based in Baltimore
Organizations disestablished in 1917
Organizations established in 1878
Secret societies in the United States
1917 disestablishments in the United States