knights of pythias fiind

[kenszatkowski]

A friend found this in montgomery county, kentucky. The house that was there has been gone for approximately 80 years but can't be for sure if there was another house there before that or after. It says 16'th biennial session supreme lodge order of calanthe. I did some research on the net and found that the Knights of Pythias closed the Order of Calanthe in 1901 but there are many references to the order after that date. I did come to the conclusion that the Order of Calanthe was a female order of the Knights of Pythias that was most likely african american in nature. In all honesty I never heard of either fraternity. The more I read the more captivated I became! Dating from the civil war on it appears that many American Presidents and other dignataries from around the world were a part of the Knights of Pythias. If someone could please give me more information about this it would be very much appreciated!

 

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[PBK]

Welcome, Ken... glad to have you with us here at TNet!

This badge is from the Knights of Pythias of North and South America, Europe, Asia & Africa (N.A.S.A.E.A.& A.), which is indeed a Negro fraternal order and was reportedly founded in Richmond, VA in 1869. Although modeled on the Knights of Pythias fraternal order, which at that time was restricted to white males, it had no official affiliation with or sanction from them. Also, Knights of Pythias of North and South America... seems to have been more of a fraternal insurance benefit society. There was also an organization called the Colored Knights of Pythias, smaller than the other two and affiliated with neither.

 

[kenszatkowski]

Thanks PBK! Very interesting indeed! Any idea on how old it may be and an appproximate value?

 

[PBK]

Thanks PBK! Very interesting indeed! Any idea on how old it may be and an appproximate value?

Working from a baseline date of 1869, this 16th Biennial convention badge would have been issued in 1901. According to The Cyclopedia of Fraternities (1907), they had a membership of about 40,000 at that time.

By the way, I notice that there is an extra A in the initials on the badge— evidently an error, perhaps representing the word and despite the &.

When new the badge would have been suspended from a pin-back hanger bar (note the loop at the top), and probably had a backing ribbon as well. Complete fraternal badges of this sort often list for $20-25+ or more. This one might still be in that range, as there is added interest in black fraternal memorabilia.