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Ancient Order of Good Fellows Buena Vista Lodge No. 16 Document Box
ca. 1848
Maker not marked
USA: Pennsylvania (probably)
Mahogany, paint, metal
5 3/4"h x 11"w x 6"d
Museum Purchase
2008.032

Rectangular brown Ancient Order of Good Fellows box with hinged lid. Metal handle applied to top at center. Part of lock at center front; body of lock has been removed and is loose inside the box. Painted in gold on the front is "Buena Vista Lodge / No. 16, A.O of G.F. / Instituted Feby. 19th, 1848."


The Ancient Order of Good Fellows was a mutual benefit society established in the Philadelphia area in 1840. It seems to have been defunct by 1924. The group offered "funeral benefits" and "weekly benefits." One reference suggests that a Buena Vista Lodge was organized in Montgomery County, PA in 1869, but it may have initially been established in Philadelphia in 1848. For more information see, blog post, December 24, 2009 http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2009/12/new-to-the-collection-the-ancient-order-of-good-fellows.html