Granges were not just in the West. Almost every rural community had them including communities in Pennsylvania and New York. My husband and I both joined the Grange and we live both grew up in North eastern states. Marilyn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Terri" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2007 11:30 PM Subject: [NJ] A possible new source of info > > Hi Folks -- > > While reading the Pacific Northwest magazine in the Sunday paper, I came > across what could be a source for folks to check. > The article is about Granges. > The National Grange traces its roots back to 1867 when farmer Oliver > Hudson Kelley, working for the US Department of Agriculture, was asked > to report on farming conditions in the South after the Civil War. > Disturbed by the dire situation, Kelley and six other men organized what > became a vital force in American democracy, according to Grange history > records. > By 1875, nearly 1 million members belonged to the Order of Patrons of > Husbandry, as the Grange is officially known. > > So -- if you suspect an ancestor went West to farm, and you can't find > him, maybe Grange records could help. And, BTW, women belonged with > equal status. > > While this article obviously speaks to WA state Granges, they were > organized in other farming states/areas. Might be fun to google "blah > blah county Grange", for an example, and see what turns up. > > Stay well all -- Terri > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >