I noted in an obituary for a relative that died in 1901 that he was a member of the Sons of St. George. Does anyone know anything about this organization in the Scranton/Dunmore area? much thanks, jho

Sometimes you see items on ebay from the Sons of St George. The following was found here: http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/fraternalism/st_george.htm The Order of Sons of St. George were first established in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1871. It was originally founded for the purpose of resisting attacks by the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish immigrant laborers working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. The Molly Maguires were founded after the predominately Irish Catholic union called the Workingmen's Benevolent Association was broken up the mine owners and officials. The Molly Maguires operated in secret, and used the signs, passwords and grips of the Ancient Order of Hibernians to conceal their criminal activities, which consisted of raiding mine officials homes, beating them up and threatening them with death, and destroying mine owners property during the labor disputes in the 1860s-1870s. The Order of the Sons of St. George evolved into an ethnic fraternal benefit society for Englishmen residing in the United States of America, and their sons and grandsons. It offered sick and death benefits to members, benefits, and social activities such as dances, picnics and other lodge activities. Membership was limited to first-, second- and third-generation Englishmen. There was a female auxiliary called the Daughters of St. George. Both organizations are long defunct. I really didn't think the supposed Molly Maguires "operated" in the Scranton area. Even so, could they have been that great of a threat in Scranton with all the Masonic organizations there in this particular era? -----Original Message----- From: palackaw-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:palackaw-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of janice olds Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 12:23 AM To: palackaw@rootsweb.com Subject: [PALACKAW] Sons of St. George I noted in an obituary for a relative that died in 1901 that he was a member of the Sons of St. George. Does anyone know anything about this organization in the Scranton/Dunmore area? much thanks, jho ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PALACKAW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message