Right before Christmas in 1874, a group was inspired by the impassioned General J. A. Kellogg on the subject of temperance. [ KZ4W-HGF ] Their "enthusiasm was awakened" and they organized a "Lodge of Good Templars.(1) At first, they met at the "Bohannon Grange Hall #445" , but five years later, they moved to the upper level of the Howe Store. (2)
Star Tribune 12 Aug 1879, Tue · Page 4
The abbreviations are a bit challenging. I.O.G.T. is Independent Order of Good Templars. The W.s signify a Worthy position. Future blogs will continue to explore the individual officers starting from the top down.
The Worthy Chief Templar was Fred M. Libby and his wife, Nancy Buckley, was The Worthy Vice Templar. They had married in 1872 and migrated to Brooklyn Township from Maine in 1875. Fred continued being a leader in the community. According to his obituary he had been the treasurer of the Market Garden Association for 30 years, was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Osseo, and Scottish Rite and Zuhrah Temple of Minneapolis. (3)
Note that Mrs Libby's female leadership role was the norm in I.O.G.T. As described at a Scottish Rite blog:
"Founded in 1852, with a Grand Lodge of North America organized in 1855, the Independent Order of Good Templars (IOGT) was a total abstinence temperance organization. From its inception, the group accepted men and women equally as members. Women frequently held elected office within the organization. The temperance movement in the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries - with much of its leadership and organization comprised of women - was also aligned with the women's suffrage movement." (4)
The Libbys were both active in Brooklyn Methodist Church and are buried at Mound Cemetery.
(1) Star Tribune 22 Dec 1874, Tue · Page 4
(2) History of Hennepin County p. 287 https://archive.org/details/historyofhennepi00warn/page/286/
(3) The Minneapolis Journal 03 Sep 1933, Sun Page 27
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge of Brooklyn Township, Hennepin, Minnesota.