Û Catholic Order of Foresters
Columbia Court No. 855
On 24 May 1883, a number of Catholics of Chicago, Illinois, organized as the Catholic Order of Foresters of Illinois. A flat all-around death assessment of one dollar was adopted, and men of all ages were admitted to membership at the same rate. The word Illinois in the original title of the organization was dropped in 1888, as the membership had then extended beyond that State. It had in April, 1909, 1600 courts and a membership of 136,212 distributed over 26 states and Canada. The main offices were at Chicago, Illinois. The official organ, The Catholic Forester, was published at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is presently headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.
From Picturesque Anamosa, compiled and published by W. Leon Hall, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ca. 1900. Submitted by Lois O'Donnell.
