Thomas Wildey (1782–1861) was the founder of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) in North America.

Biography

Wildey was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1782. He was left an orphan five years later - and the IOOF pledge to "Educate the Orphan" sprang from his personal childhood experiences. At the age of 14, Wildey went to live with an uncle. After he had 9 years of schooling, he became an apprentice to a maker of coach springs. He joined the British Oddfellows in 1804. When Wildey emigrated to America in 1817, the British were still unpopular in the States because of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. In that year

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 ...

was suffering both a

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

and mass unemployment. An outgoing personality, Wildey missed companionship and advertised in the newspaper to determine if there were any other Odd Fellows in Baltimore; he requested them to meet him at the Seven Stars Inn. On April 26, 1819, Wildey and the four men who responded to the advertisement, John Welch, John Duncan, John Cheatam, and Richard Rushworth, formed the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in North America, dedicating the Order to achieve

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

goals. Other Englishmen who were Odd Fellows had grouped in the states along the Eastern Seaboard, and Wildey gathered them all into the newly formed fraternity. He traveled widely to set up lodges in the most recently settled parts of the country. At the time of his death in 1861, there were more than 200,000 members of the IOOF. In the late 19th century and early 20th century the IOOF became the largest Fraternal Order in North America with more than two million members.

Baltimore monument

Wildey's Old Fellows Monument, from Robert N

In April 1865 a monument was erected to Wildey in Baltimore, consisting of a statue on a

Doric column The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...

that is 52 feet in height. The monument is located on North Broadway Street between East Baltimore and Fayette Streets.

References

External links

Thomas Wildey: Independent Order of Odd Fellows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildey, Thomas English philanthropists 1782 births 1861 deaths 19th-century British philanthropists