I have written before about the Improved Order of the Red Men, as well as some of the other fraternal organizations in Southern West Virginia Counties. Here, and here, and here. Since my ancestor Anderson Henley McVey and his son James were members of the Improved Order of the Red Men, I was curious about it and wanted to learn more. I found out their national headquarters is in Waco, Texas, and today I went there to visit their library and museum. I got some little trinket souvenirs for free— key ring, a note pad, pen, pencil, and postcard. I will post some photos at the end of this text. You will see how attractive and well-organized everything is. The man who “mans” the facility was never a member of the “Red Men” but he is college-educated and has an interest in history. He tried to help me find specific information about my relatives, but the information available there is not that specific. However, he was able to tell me that there are now only about FOUR chapters in West Virginia, and TWO of them are in Parkersburg. You might want to see if there is one in your area. Women who want to join the Degree of Pocahontas do not have to have a male relative in the “Red Men”.
The library at the national headquarters is FANTASTIC, and I will be going back, mainly to work on my Texas genealogy. Nobody else was there today, except my friend and me, so it is a shame more people don’t take advantage of these resources.
In a nutshell, the International Order of the Red Men claims its origins with the Sons of Liberty before the Revolution—those who dressed as Indians and dumped tea into Boston Harbor. They existed as a friendship group and supported members in whatever ways they could; this was before the days of all the government-funded welfare we have today. Someone might complain about “appropriation” of Native American culture. I’m not going to get into that; there’s a lot of “appropriation” going on in many different contexts, and I think criticism of this particular group is not helpful or deserved.
As mentioned, some of this information is from my previous posts. Research your own county history to see if the Improved Order of the Red Men or Degree of Pocahontas are mentioned. Here is what I learned about the organization from History of Fayette County, West Virginia, by Peters and Carden (1926):
Pages 346-347
Page 427 mentions the affiliated women’s group, The Degree of Pocahontas, and explains that the groups in Montgomery met in the same building as the Odd Fellows.
Page 458 mentions the Improved Order of the Red Men in Mount Hope.
Page 526 mentions Improved Order of the Red Men and Degree of Pocahontas groups in Ansted.
Page 666 discusses the groups in Winona.
Page 678 discusses the groups in Lansing.
Today’s pictures follow. The desk shown belonged to Aaron Burr; the group purchased it at an auction. It really has nothing to do with the organization. One interesting thing they have there is a complete set of National Geographic Magazines.
Go to the website to learn more and maybe plan your visit. The museum is only a little over a mile from Saltgrass Steakhouse, which I highly recommend! It is one of my favorite places to eat.
I don’t know why these photos are so small. Join Southern West Virginia Settlers Facebook page for a better look at the photos. https://www.facebook.com/groups/6619311088080196/