I have long been curious about the Order of Red Men that is frequently mentioned in the Pantagraph. According to the history in the "The Illinois Red Man," a journal published in Bloomington IL, this cultural misappropriation began in Baltimore, Maryland in 1833 at the Temperance House of Elisha Snike. The fraternity was founded on the principles of brotherhood and benevolence to the brothers of the organization. The calendar for the organization was laid out on the Jewish calendar until 1867 when it was changed to the current calendar. All persons who were not members of the tribe were called "palefaces." One of the first rules of the first tribe was that the council fire could never be lit where "firewater" was sold.
Money was called wampum and was divided into four measures: fathom ($1.50), yard (.75), foot (.25) and inch (.12 1/2). The cost of The Illinois Red Man was "two inches" per "Great Sun." A year was a "great sun" and divided into moons, such as the flower moon, the hunting moon, the worm moon, etc. The Tribe of Red Men was not introduced in Illinois until 1854 and did not at first flourish. Bloomington was boastful of its Red Men tribes, of which there were three in 1902 and two Councils of Pocahantas. Meetings were filled with oration and music, but never intoxicating drinks.
In other writings in The Illinois Red Man, it was noted that the benevolence of the tribe should extend to those members who were sick, with sick benefits, to the widows and orphans of members and at the time of other distress of its members. Reportedly, the principles of the ORM were not built upon native American ideas, but on the ideas of the Founding Fathers. The Great Sachem, or the highest official of the state, urged tribes to celebrate the birthday of George Washington in someway. No mention is made of any effort to teach constitutional principles or patriotism (as the DAR did) or any other way in which they promoted the ideas of the Founding Fathers.
George M Adams was the editor of The Illinois Red Man. He was born in Lexington January 1859 on his parents' farm, but left the farm when he was 13 to pursue his education in Saybrook and then at ISNU. After completing his education he worked as a teacher at Four Corners and Bush college district. He was also interested in publication and worked editing the Arrowsmith paper and the Saybrook Gazette. In 1882 he moved to Bloomington and became a telegraph editor with the Daily Bulletin. In that year he also married Jennie McKnight. With her he had three sons, two of whom lived to adulthood. In 1900 he purchased his own printing plant and then began The Illinois Red Man in 1902. Mrs. Adams' obituary indicates that she moved to Normal in 1908 and went in to business with the McKnight bookstore there. An announcement of Mr. Adams' will stated that he left small bequests to his sons and left the remainder of his estate to his friend, Brittie Baker. His wife was not yet dead. So much for benevolence to widows.
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