The Knights of the Golden Eagle was a

fraternal organization A fraternity (from Latin '' frater'': " brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity ...

founded in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

in 1872.

History

The orders original objectives were to help its members find employment and aid them while unemployed. Membership was open to white males over 18, without physical or mental handicaps, who were able to write and support themselves, were law-abiding of sound moral character and of the Christian faith. There was a

female auxiliary Fraternal orders often have "side degrees", auxiliaries or appendant (as opposed to primary). Some of these are created as female "sister organizations", youth organizations or side degrees proper which are organizations associated with or within th ...

called the Ladies of the Golden Eagle. In the early years of its existence the group received assistance from other secret societies and fraternal groups. The Odd Fellows helped them become established 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. Sin ...

in 1875 and the Knights of Pythias helped them become established in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1880.

Organization

Local lodges were called "Castles," statewide structures were called "Grand Castles", and the overall group "Supreme Castle". In the early 1920s the Knights were headquartered at 814−816 North Broad Street,

. The last known headquarters of the group was in North Wales, Pennsylvania.

Membership

Membership was open to Christian white men over 18, who were of

good moral character Good moral character is an ideal state of a person's beliefs and values that is considered most beneficial to society. In United States law, good moral character can be assessed through the requirement of virtuous acts or by principally evaluatin ...

, sound mental and physical health, able to write and support himself and were law abiding citizens. By the early 1920s the group had 73,340 in 26 states. Membership began to decline in the 1930s. In 1965 the group had 15,000 members, mostly concentrated in

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, ...

. In the late 1970s scholar Alvin J. Schmidt was unable to locate a current address for the group, and determined that it was extinct.

Ritual

The Knights' ritual worked three degrees, based on the history of the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

: the first degree accented the pilgrim and taught the candidate fidelity to God and man; the second degree used the medieval knight as its role model to teach the member to revere religion, fidelity, valor, charity, courtesy and hospitality; the third degree was based on the figure of the crusader and it "equipped the member against the evil of his enemies." Members of the Ladies of the Golden Eagle took one degree, the Temple Degree, upon being initiated. Oaths are sworn on an open

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...

Eagle Home Association

This was the mutual benefit arm of the Knights, whose object was to protect aged members of the order, as well as their orphans and widows. It was supported by a per capita tax on such Castles as were enrolled in it.Preuss p. 112 Preuss was unable to get in touch with this group in the early 1920s.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Knights of the Golden Eagle - Survey of Fraternal Order's History
Organizations established in 1872 Fraternal orders 1872 establishments in Maryland Secret societies in the United States