HISTORY

Danish Brotherhood Lodges in Canada

The three Canadian lodges - all located in British Columbia - were formed relatively late. They were located in Vancouver (chartered in May 1931), Prince George (chartered in January 1944), and Port Alberni (chartered in April 1951). The Danish Brotherhood of America Lodge #328 Vancouver, BC, was founded in 1931.

Origins of the Brotherhood in America

The Danish Brotherhood in America is a fraternal organization founded in 1882 in Omaha, Nebraska. It had about 8,000 members in 2010.

In 1881, Mark Hansen formed the Danish Arms Brothers, a group of Danish veterans who had fought in the American Civil War or the Danish-Prussian War in Omaha, Nebraska. Other societies sprang up in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. In January 1882, five of these societies met in a convention in Omaha and decided to form an ethnic fraternal order that would offer benefits to its members as well as preserve Danish culture and traditions. The order grew steadily; at the end of its first year of existence, it had six lodges and 200 members. By 1889, it had 883 members and in 1891, 2,000 in 41 lodges. In 1897, it was reported to have 10,000 members in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, California and Washington. In 1923, the Brotherhood had 283 lodges in at least 15 states with 19,176 members. By 1925, the Danish Brotherhood in America had 21,000 members. In 1979, it was back down to 10,000 members in 150 lodges.

The Supreme President of the Brotherhood as of 1923 was Soren Iversen of New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1960, the Brotherhood began a scholarship program.

The organization merged into Woodmen of the World and/or Assured Life Association in August 1995.

Most of the records of the Danish Brotherhood in the United States and Canada are located at the Danish American Archive and Library in Blair, Nebraska, USA. These consist of membership lists by location with information on potential use by genealogists.

Insurance and Benefits

At a convention in Milwaukee in September 1919, the Brotherhood unanimously agreed to a new benefits plan that would put the organization on a 100% solvent basis. Under the new system, each policy would be charged with its deficiency which could be paid up all at once or at the policyholder's death.