Historic Langhorne Association

Located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the borough of Langhorne is a small town whose name is used broadly to describe the majority of surrounding Middletown Township. The center of town is located at the intersection of two prominent roads, Maple and Bellevue Avenues. Once Lenni-Lenape paths, these roads run between Bristol and Durham, Pennsylvania, and between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey.

Settled by Quakers beginning in 1680, the area grew as an important transportation center between Trenton and Philadelphia, becoming the stagecoach transportation hub of Bucks County. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town, which served as a stop along the rail line, became a popular summer vacation destination for wealthy Philadelphians who constructed large homes and businesses.

Langhorne was known as Attleborough until 1876, when it was incorporated and named for Jeremiah Langhorne, an early resident of the area and former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

From the guide to the Historic Langhorne Association house histories, circa 1975-2012, (Historic Langhorne Association)

Located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the borough of Langhorne is a small town whose name is used broadly to describe the majority of surrounding Middletown Township. The center of town is located at the intersection of two prominent roads, Maple and Bellevue Avenues. Once Lenni-Lenape paths, these roads run between Bristol and Durham, Pennsylvania, and between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey.

Settled by Quakers beginning in 1680, the area grew as an important transportation center between Trenton and Philadelphia, becoming the stagecoach transportation hub of Bucks County. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town, which served as a stop along the rail line, became a popular summer vacation destination for wealthy Philadelphians who constructed large homes and businesses.

Langhorne was known as Attleborough until 1876, when it was incorporated and named for Jeremiah Langhorne, an early resident of the area and former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

From the guide to the Historic Langhorne Association genealogy files, 1985-2012, (Historic Langhorne Association)

Located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the borough of Langhorne is a small town whose name is used broadly to describe the majority of surrounding Middletown Township. The center of town is located at the intersection of two prominent roads, Maple and Bellevue Avenues. Once Lenni-Lenape paths, these roads run between Bristol and Durham, Pennsylvania, and between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey.

Settled by Quakers beginning in 1680, the area grew as an important transportation center between Trenton and Philadelphia, becoming the stagecoach transportation hub of Bucks County. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town, which served as a stop along the rail line, became a popular summer vacation destination for wealthy Philadelphians who constructed large homes and businesses.

Langhorne was known as Attleborough until 1876, when it was incorporated and named for Jeremiah Langhorne, an early resident of the area and former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

From the guide to the Historic Langhorne Association clippings and obituaries collection, 1951-2012, (Historic Langhorne Association)

Located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the borough of Langhorne is a small town whose name is used broadly to describe the majority of surrounding Middletown Township. The center of town is located at the intersection of two prominent roads, Maple and Bellevue Avenues. Once Lenni-Lenape paths, these roads run between Bristol and Durham, Pennsylvania, and between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey.

Settled by Quakers beginning in 1680, the area grew as an important transportation center between Trenton and Philadelphia, becoming the stagecoach transportation hub of Bucks County. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town, which served as a stop along the rail line, became a popular summer vacation destination for wealthy Philadelphians who constructed large homes and businesses.

Langhorne was known as Attleborough until 1876, when it was incorporated and named for Jeremiah Langhorne, an early resident of the area and former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

From the guide to the Historic Langhorne Association local history collection, 1733-2012, (Historic Langhorne Association)

Located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the borough of Langhorne is a small town whose name is used broadly to describe the majority of surrounding Middletown Township. The center of town is located at the intersection of two prominent roads, Maple and Bellevue Avenues. Once Lenni-Lenape paths, these roads run between Bristol and Durham, Pennsylvania, and between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey.

Settled by Quakers beginning in 1680, the area grew as an important transportation center between Trenton and Philadelphia, becoming the stagecoach transportation hub of Bucks County. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town, which served as a stop along the rail line, became a popular summer vacation destination for wealthy Philadelphians who constructed large homes and businesses.

Langhorne was known as Attleborough until 1876, when it was incorporated and named for Jeremiah Langhorne, an early resident of the area and former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

From the guide to the Historic Langhorne Association photograph and photo postcard collection, circa 1867-2012, (Historic Langhorne Association)

Founded in 1873 by John Emory Burbage, the Knights of the Golden Eagle (K.G.E.) is a fraternal organization with rituals based on those of the Crusaders, with emphasis placed on the word of the Bible. In addition to giving moral and intellectual guidance, the society provides relief to sick or unemployed members and gives survivor benefits to widows and orphans. Membership peaked in 1900 and began to decline precipitously with the onset of World War II. As of 2012, the organization had approximately 2,000 members, and was functioning in only three states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

An altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) was originally organized in England in the 18th century by "ordinary people from different trades and walks of life" who "found it necessary to group together as brothers and sisters and contribute some of their hard-earned wages to a common fund which they could use for unfortunate times such as sickness, losing a job and even death."

The first I.O.O.F. branch in the United States was started in 1819 by Thomas Wildey and four other members of the Order from England: Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore, Maryland. The members, who came to the city at a time when the city was suffering both a yellow fever epidemic and mass unemployment, dedicated the organization to "Visit the sick, relieve the distress, bury the dead and educate the orphans."(I.O.O.F. "About Us")

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was the first national fraternity to include both men and women, adopting the Rebekah Degree, based on biblical scripture, in 1851. As of 2012, Odd Fellows and Rebekahs continued to exist with nearly 10,000 lodges in approximately 26 countries.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Orionto Lodge No. 177, was located in Langhorne, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

The Improved Order of Red Men (I.O.R.M.) is a patriotic secret fraternal society that claims to be related to the Sons of Liberty. Formed prior to the American Revolution, the Sons of Liberty "patterned themselves after the great Iroquois Confederacy and its democratic governing body."

After the War of 1812 the organization's name was changed to the Society of Red Men and in 1834 to the Improved Order of Red Men, and the organization "kept the customs and terminology of Native Americans as a basic part of the fraternity." In 1847, the various local tribes created a national organization called the Grand Council of the United States. The order continued to grow, and by the mid-1920s there were tribes in 46 states and territories with a membership totaling over one-half million.(I.O.R.M. "Who are the Red Men?")

German American members of the I.O.R.M., who had made up a significant proportion of the order, split off and created the Independent Order of Red Men around 1850 when nativism in the United States was at its height. Around this time, fraternal organizations such as the I.O.R.M. "became divided largely along ethnic lines, as English-speaking members adopted a less tolerant attitude toward cultural diversity."(Soyer, 38)

Packanah Tribe No. 342 of the Independent Order of Red Men met in Eden (Penndel), Pennsylvania.

Bibliography:

Mill Valley Lodge #356 (Mill Valley, Calif.). "Knights of the Golden Eagle (KGE)." Accessed December 17, 2012. http://mill-valley.freemasonry.biz/marin_knights_golden_eagle.htm

Independent Order of Odd Fellows. "About Us." Accessed December 17, 2012. http://ioof.org/

The Improved Order of Red Men. "Who are the Red Men?" Accessed December 17, 2012. http://redmen.org/redmen/info/

Soyer, Daniel. Jewish Immigrant Associations and American Identity in New York, 1880-1939 . Harvard University Press, 1997. Accessed December 17, 2012. http://tinyurl.com/c6xlyrx

From the guide to the Historic Langhorne Association collection of fraternal organizations records, 1846-1937, (Historic Langhorne Association)