[Printed Letter from the Galveston Grand Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows] by [Texas]. [International Order of Odd Fellows] - 1850

Galveston, Tx: August, 1850. Very good plus.. [1]p., on a single folded sheet, addressed in ink on verso of integral blank, with ink mailing stamp. Original mailing folds, minor wear. An unrecorded printed circular letter issued by the Galveston, Texas Grand Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows, soliciting funds from lodges "in our sister states" for the "erection of a suitable Odd Fellows' Hall in the city of Galveston." The letter goes on to report on the difficulties the Galveston lodge had faced in attempting to expand, ranging from "actual and threatened invasions by Mexico," "difficulties of a political and social character," "reckless conduct of a few unworthy members of the Order in Houston, [which] destroyed the lodges in that city," and "several epidemics which have visited us [which] have kept our treasury empty." The officials of the lodge conclude that should they build "a Hall suitable to our wants" it would "add to our numbers, and give respectability to our Order; and besides the saving it would afford in the way of rents, it would enable us to carry out many benevolent works which at present we cannot attempt." The circular is signed in print by three members of the Galveston lodge, and the seal of the Grand Lodge of the State of Texas is printed at lower left. This particular copy of the letter was addressed to Fidelity Lodge No.54 in Frederick County, Maryland. We could locate no copies of this early Texas imprint in OCLC or elsewhere.