Tombstone Tuesday-Odd Fellows Symbol

The symbol of the fraternal society known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, aka Odd Fellows, is three links of a chain. The society is sometimes known as the Triple Link Fraternity.

Odd Fellows symbol, Union Cemetery, Darke County, Ohio.

The three links may contain the letters FLT, which stand for Friendship, Love, and Truth.

Odd Fellows Symbol, Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.

Odd Fellows symbol, Tomlinson Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio.

The Odd Fellows has been called the “poor man’s Freemasons” and was (and may still be) the second largest fraternal organization, second to the Freemasons.

Odd Fellows & GAR symbols, Union Cemetery, Dark County, Ohio

The Odd Fellows was established in England in the 1700s as a working-class social and benevolent association to help widows and orphans. The Odd Fellows was established in the United States in Baltimore in 1819 and separated from the English Order in 1843, when they took the name Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The society had over 3 million members in 1915 but membership declined during the Great Depression. They reportedly had nearly 500,000 members in 2000.

Odd Fellows & Masonic symbols, Green Park Cemetery, Portland, Jay County, Indiana.

Odd Fellows & Masonic symbols, Green Lawn Cemetery, Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Death care, including funerals, is one of their major member benefits. Lodges usually purchase plots in an existing cemetery or establish a cemetery of their own where plots are sold to members at a modest fee.

Their female auxiliary, the Daughters of Rebekah, was established in 1851.

2 comments

    • Elaine Dykstra on September 6, 2022 at 9:56 pm
    • Reply

    Thanks for your information. There was until recently an Odd Fellows Hall here in Moline, Michigan. I lent out my history books so I can’t see what information I had researched. I do have some plates and cups from the Rebekah’s in Putnam, Michigan that have their signina. Our village is celebrating 150 years on Sept 17. I should pull those dishes out and put them in our temporary museum.

    1. That sounds like a good idea and the perfect place to do that. I am sure people would enjoy seeing the cups and plates. It sounds like a nice celebration. Thanks for writing!

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