Honoring America in the name of England's patron saint
This week we back up from my great-great-to-the x grandfather to just my great grandfather on my mother's side, Joseph Henry. Reading that made me think I was hearing a discussion from a family reunion: Now you remember Aunt Ida, who was your fourth cousin on your mother's side by way of the Orange clan ... I think this stuff may be getting to me. Anyway, among the items my sister sent me from among my mother's effects was a small booklet containing a record of premium payments that Joseph made not long before his death. The booklet was from the Mistletoe Lodge 142, American Order Sons of St. George, Chicago, Il. and listed "Assurements and Dues." Because I'd never heard of such an organization, much like hundreds of other groups I've never heard of, I did what anyone would do. I Googled it. Turns out the organization began as a secret society. I was intrigued. My father had once been invited to join the Masons and, according to my mother, had begun atte...