Justus Henry Rathbone (October 29, 1839 – December 9, 1889) was an American school teacher and the founder of the international fraternal order of the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

. Prior to and during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

he taught, worked in a number of places for the government, and with news agencies, and also served as a hospital steward during the war.

Family and early life

Rathbone was born in the town of Deerfield, in

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

on October 29, 1839. He was descended from John Rathbone, one of the purchasers of

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

near the coast of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

in 1660, who was a freeman of Rhode Island in 1664. He was the son of Justus Hull Rathbone, a

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

lawyer, and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth ( née Dwight). Rathbone was given the name of Henry Edwin Dwight, but at the age of ten it was changed to Justus Henry. Rathbone graduated from

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

and attended Carlisle Seminary. He was a

music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He received an education in academies in New York State and for a short time Madison University (later renamed Colgate University), he went west at the age of nineteen. During the winter of 1858–1859, he worked as a teacher at the Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse in

Eagle Harbor, Michigan Eagle Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located on the north side of the Keweenaw Peninsula within Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County in the U.S. State of Michigan. Its population was 69 as of the 2020 census. ...

. On August 11, 1862, Rathbone married Emma Louisa Sanger of Utica, New York and together they had five children, of whom only two daughters lived to adulthood.

Dictionary of American Biography The ''Dictionary of American Biography'' was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). History The dictionary was first proposed to the Council in 1920 by h ...

, Vol. XV, p. 385-386

Career

In 1863 he moved to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

as a government clerk in the

United States Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an United States federal executive departments, executive department. The departme ...

, where he founded the

on February 19, 1864. Rathbone authored the ritual for the Knights, which is based on the mythological friendship of

Damon and Pythias The story of Damon (; grc-gre, Δάμων, gen. Δάμωνος) and Pythias (; or ; or Phintias, ) is a legend in Greek historic writings illustrating the Pythagorean ideal of friendship. Pythias is accused of and charged with plotting against ...

, when he was still a teacher in Eagle Harbor. The cardinal precepts of the fraternal order were, "Toleration in religion, obedience to law, and loyalty to government." Even though the Knights of Pythias was originally founded as an order composed of government clerks, any involvement with government and politics was not to be "permitted within its portals." From January to July 1863, he served in the Federal hospital service as a volunteer citizen nurse, stationed at Cuyler General Hospital, Germantown, Pennsylvania From July 1863 until nearly the end of the Civil War he served as a hospital steward in Washington, D. C. The chief steward of the hospital, Robert Allen Champion, endorsed Rathbone's ideas for the Knights of Pythias and advised that when an appropriate opportunity allowed, an attempt be made to establish the new fraternal order. Rathbone and Champion were soon transferred to Washington and, along with three other government clerks, they organized Washington Lodge, No. 1, on February 19, 1864, the mother lodge of the Order of Knights of Pythias. By the end of 1864, Rathbone was elected "worthy chancellor" of the Washington Lodge which had increased in membership to fifty-two members. However, he was not honored with the fraternal rank of Grand Chancellor in Washington's Grand Lodge, which was also founded during the same year. Rathbone was employed as a clerk in the Treasury Department, from 1865–1869. He then went to work for the Independent News Company of Boston and New York, from 1869–1873, and then served as a clerk in the War Department from 1874 until his death.

Final years and legacy

Two years after his wife died in 1887 Rathbone died at the age of 50 on December 9, 1889, in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

, and was officially honored as the founder of the Knights of Pythias, that same year. Rathbone is buried at New Forest Cemetery in Utica, New York. In 1892 a large monument with a statue of his likeness was erected in his honor as founder of the Knights of Pythias and marks his grave site.

Citations

Sources

* *''Pythian History'' by William D. Kennedy, Chicago, Pythian Publishing Company, 1904. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, Justus H People from Keweenaw County, Michigan People from Deerfield, New York People from Lima, Ohio Colgate University alumni 1839 births 1889 deaths Activists from Ohio Activists from New York (state) Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Utica, New York)