Headstone says KOTM and TENT 383?

Question

so, my great great grandpa's headstone reads

" Rudolf Weiss

KOTM

TENT 383"

kotm--knights of the maccabees? how do i find info on his role

Tent 383? what does that mean? any ideas? please help?

Answer 1

http://www.rootsweb.com/~tncrocke/fampic...

The Knights of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada. Most active in the U.S. state of Michigan, the group's fraternal aspects took a backseat to providing low-cost insurance to members. In the society's early years, it also provided other final-expense related benefits such as society cemeteries.

     All white persons of sound health and good character, from birth to 70 years of age, were eligible for membership. Families of deceased members received benefits in the form of legal-reserve insurance, and whenever a member died, each living member was assessed 10 cents to go into a pot to provide the widow $1,000.  By the 1890s it provided not only death benefits but also sick benefits of $4 to $10/week; total and permanent disability benefits of $50, $200, or $300 annually (depending on the size of your assessment); $175-$2000 for loss of hands, eyes, feet, etc.; funeral benefits, and so on. " Coal miners, "aeronauts" and other dangerous professions  were excluded. Manufacturers sellers, and drinkers of alcohol were  also excluded.

     Groups like the Maccabees, Foresters, Woodmen, and so on provided  pleasant social meetings and other gatherings. Each had its own ritual legend -- the Foresters, Robin Hood, for example, and the Maccabees the story of Mattathias Maccabee and his sons, the leaders of the Jewish revolt against Syrian desecration of the Temple.  The insurance aspect of the fraternity has always been paramount. Its fraternal aspect drew on the exploits of the Jewish military genius Judas Maccabeus. The aspects of Maccabeus's feats that appealed to the founders of the modern Maccabees were steadfastness and persistence; his wisdom in the use of power; and the fact that he seems to have been the first recorded military leader to order his soldiers to reserve a part of their spoils for the widows and orphans of their fallen colleagues. The offices of a Tent were Commander, Lt. Commander, Knight Record Keeper, Master at Arms, Sergeant, Chaplain, Guards, Sentinel, and Picket.

     The Maccabees conferred three degrees: Degree of Protection, Degree of Friendship, and Degree of Loyalty.

(1) PROTECTION--the candidate was introduced to the demands of Honor, Courage, and Obedience. The candidate learned the history of Maccabee household and how it protected Judea from King Antiochus during the war of independence. To prove themselves fit to "join in the cause of humanity," the tyros had to undergo an ordeal.

(2) FRIENDSHIP--the Commander takes the part of Mattathias, the Lt. Commander that of Judas, the Past Commander that of John (son of Mattathias), and the Chaplain that of Eleazar (son of Mattathias). The candidate received instruction in the nature of friendship.

(3) LOYALTY--the dramatic work revolved around the following characters: Apelles, Mattathias, Matthathias's four sons, Judas, Soldiers, while the candidate, Sentinel, and a Knight took the parts of Jewish peasants. In keeping with the Maccabee legend of the revolt at Modin the patriarch Mattathias remained steadfast to the Jewish religion when ordered to make sacrifice to Roman gods and at great personal risk stops an apostate Jew from offering sacrifice to false gods. The lesson derived from his example was that of genuine patriotism and inculcated the duty to uphold and defend the rights of liberty and conscience when they are threatened by irresponsible power in any form. Additionally, the candidate was reintroduced to the ghost of Eleazar and finally sees the end of the rebellion.

   The Knights of the Maccabees Uniform Rank was called the "Mystic Circle Degree". The members of the Uniform Rank met in a body styled an armory. It was said, "The Uniform Rank is not a highter degree of Maccabeeism. Rather it is to be compared to the pioneers and skirmishers of a large army, whose duty it is to clear the way and develop the enemy, so great battles can be won by those who follow you."  The Uniform Rank was much less dramatic than the Tent Degree's that proceeded it. The first section of the Uniform Rank degree involved the staged debate between the First and Second Guards as to whether "this candidate be merely obligated, and the regular initiation be omitted.

     The lessons of the Uniform Rank were obedience and courage. This was taught by the Captain commanding the newly created Sir Knight to place his bare right hand into a box containing an unknown object, and to bring the "snake" inside the box to the Captain. The officers of a Maccabee Uniform Rank armory were the Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Record Keeper, Assistant Record Keeper, Chaplain, First Guard, Second Guard, First Sergeant (inner sentinel), Second Sergeant (outer sentinel).

Judging from this website--http://www.glenbow.org/collections/searc...  --I would say that "Tent 383" would refer to a smaller unit inside the larger group. Using the Boy Scouts as an example, they have Packs (large group) and Dens (small group), so members can say, "I belong to Den 22 of Pack 13," or something similar.

Answer 2

I was unable to locate a list showing where Tent 383 was located.  But, if you go to: http://www.joycetice.com/flaghold/flag00... , you can see some interesting markers for tombstones along with detailed explanations and a brief history of this fraternal organization.

One of the reasons for joining had to do with insurance and although the organization began in  Canada it ended up in the U.S., as well. At its height it was quite something along with the LOTM - Ladies.

Eventually, it seems to have morphed into an insurance company ...there is a brief organizational history on the website I cited.  At one point it appears that Michigan had most of the tents.

Answer 3

The knights of the Maccabees were a fraternal organization.  A tent was a local group.  

They were founded in Canada.