In a message dated 9/29/02 8:13:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > Subj:Maccabees > Date:9/29/02 8:13:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From:<A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A> > To:<A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A> > Sent from the Internet > > > > I'm interested in locating membership records for a fraternal organization > called The Maccabees. An ancestor who died in 1917 had been a member so I'm > > obviously interested in the records preceding that time but any information > > on local or other contacts would be appreciated. > > Tom Herson > Ithaca, NY > Dear Tom, For a brief period during the 1970's, a group of York Rite Masons in the Monroe County area of New York State (Rochester) formed an organization known as the Order of Judas Maccabeus. The said order was originally composed of three branches known as the Order of David, the Order of Judas Maccabeus and the Order of the Temple. The order has not been in existence for quite some time. A comprehensive article had been written by Raymond R. Beardsley for the Philalethes Magazine, which was published in their October 1991 issue. For a back issue of the magazine, you may contact the Business Manager, Kenneth D. Roberts, 5266 Mary Ball Road, Lancaster, Virginia 22503; Fax # (804) 462-0376; e-mail address [email protected]; Telephone (804) 462-0384. You may also contact Raymond R. Beardsley, who held the office of Most Sovereign Grand Commander of the Grand Assemblage of the Order of Judas Maccabeus as follows: Raymond R. Beardsley 32 Kurt Road Pittsford, NY 14534-3946 Another fraternal benefit society that drew strength and inspiration through biblical teachers is the Order of Knights of the Maccabees. Originally founded in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada, the order is built upon the legacy of the followers of Judas Maccabeus, the Jewish patriot of the Maccabees family who rededicated the Holy Temple at Jerusalem. According to the research author, Albert C. Stevens, "the name Maccabeus is said to have been derived from the Hebrew term signifying a hammer." It is also a derivative of the name Maccabi, which was "formed from the initials of the Hebrew words mi Kamocha baëlim, Jehovah, signifying 'Who is like thee among the gods, Jehovah?" In the second century BC, the Jewish People transferred their allegiance from Egypt to Syria and twenty-five years later the Syrian King, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, decreed that they were to renounce the Jewish religion and to worship solely the Olympian idol, Jupiter. The Jews were resolved not to comply with the heresy of the King and revolted against Antiochus Epiphanes IV of Syria under the leadership of their Priest Mattathias, the father of Judas Maccabeus. On the death of his father a few years after the thirty-years' war began, Judas took command of the Jewish People and through his military genius secured a new Jewish state in Judaea. The Order of Knights of the Maccabees incorporated the attributes exemplified by Judas Maccabeus into the fabric of their Ritual and philosophy. Specifically, his steadfastness and persistence, his wisdom in the use of power; and most importantly his humanitarian treatment of widows and orphans. It was said that Judas Maccabeus was "the first recorded military leader to have ordered his soldiers to reserve a part of their spoils for the widows and orphans of their fallen colleagues." The organization is divided into local units known as Subordinate Camps, with Great Camps at the district level and the Supreme Tent at the international level. At its inception, each member of the order was obligated to donate ten-cents to the widow of a deceased member, with a ceiling of $1,000. The Maccabees continues to function today in both Canada and the United States, claiming a total membership in 1994 of 3,500. During the mid-1920's the wife of a Maccabee member, Mrs. A.G. Ward, helped establish a women's auxiliary organization called the Ladies of the Maccabees of the World, which met in groups affectionately known as "Hives." Hope this information was helpful. Grip Mason