Serie

Series IV: Knights of the Loyal Guard

• 1869 - 1917 (Creación)

Series IV represents records from the Knights of the Loyal Guard, a beneficiary society found in Flint in 1895. It collected dues from members to be paid out as needed to the dependents of other members who had died. It was organized hierarchically, with the Supreme Division overseeing several grand divisions, each overseeing several subordinate divisions. The organization grew rapidly in the late 1890s, reaching a membership of 5,000 members across 104 subordinate divisions. The Loyal Guard paid out in its first seven years $225,000. Members met at the Grand Council every four years. Women were not initially welcome, but began admitting them in 1898 under special circumstances. Full admittance came a year later.

Records in this series are various and show in great detail how the organization operated, but at the level of the Supreme Division. Records from grand divisions and subordinate divisions exist, but only in occasional correspondence to the Supreme Division. Copies of the constitution and laws of the Loyal Guard are present for multiple years. Ledgers contain minutes for meetings of the Supreme Division and also of Grand Council meetings. The series contains many issues of The Loyal Guard Magazine past 1905. Those before exist in far fewer numbers, though the series does include the first published issue. Other records include reports on meetings, voting, business correspondence, membership, and issuance of benefits to dependents of deceased members. No records, however, show how the Loyal Guard ended.

Many ledgers are present, but the majority of records are loose leaf sheets of paper. Information is largely handwritten in cursive and black ink.

The general condition of this series is poor. Records had not been kept in folders, but were housed together in Hollinger boxes as if dropped in without any organization. Despite being separated into folders, the order of which they were arranged in the boxes is still maintained. Yellowing and brittleness are common. Several ledgers are fragile that handling them risks detaching covers or pages from spines. Similarly, many papers are fragile to the point of flaking if handled. Tears and holes in papers are common. Signs of water damage can be found on many papers. Some handwriting and typeface have faded.