| Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Protector |
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| __________________________________________ PRINT PAGES OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW. The Danish Immigrant Museum 2212 Washington Street P. O. Box 470 Elk Horn, Iowa 51531-0470 Telephone 712.764.7001 Fax 712.764.7002 |
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| For persons researching their Danish ancestry the Danish Brotherhood (DB) membership rolls provide vital clues to family origins in Denmark and also to original name spellings. The Danish Brotherhood (DB) The DB was a national fraternal insurance association for Danish immigrant males. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1881, as an outgrowth of several Danish immigrant veterans' organizations, the organization was initially open to “honorable men, born of Danish parents or who were of Danish extraction." The first six lodges were chartered in July, 1882, and lodges were soon started in many communities where significant numbers of Danes had settled, providing a forum for nurturing Danish culture and language as well as providing financial assistance to members in case of death or illness. A total of 350 lodges were formed in the U.S., British Columbia, and one in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1916 a monthly publication, Det danske Brodersamfunds Blad/The Danish Brotherhood Magazine, later renamed The American Dane was started to further communication among members and lodges. After 1920, as Danish immigration lessened and the number of eligible males dwindled, lodges opened their membership to include both American-born daughters, and later, spouses and children of lodge members, gradually evolving into a social organization for the whole family. Some lodges only existed for a few decades due to economic conditions or changes in the ethnic base of their communities. Members were then transferred to nearby lodges or paid their insurance premiums directly to organization headquarters in Omaha. In August 1995 the insurance function of the DB in America was merged into Woodmen of the World and/or Assured Life Association. A number of DB lodges remain active today as organizations promoting pride in Danish origins and culture. A comprehensive history of The DB in America may be found at: www.denverwoodmen.com/danish.htm The following information is included in DB membership rolls through 1974: • lodge location and number • individual member lodge and national organization numbers • full name of each member • place of birth • residence and occupation • date of membership in the DB • age at time of membership • date of birth • insurance beneficiary (if insurance taken out) • amount of insurance ($250, $500 or $1000) • transfers to and from other lodges • whether dropped from membership and cause • date of death (if a DB member at time of death) The Family History & Genealogy Center (FHGC) has microfilms of DB membership rolls from 1881 through 1995. Membership registers through 1974 have been indexed and may be searched and copied. Click here for a Research Request Form for ordering information. The Danish Sisterhood of America (DSA) The DSA was formed in Negaunee, Michigan, in 1883, as a social and financial aid association for Danish immigrant women similar to its male counterpart, The DB. Additional lodges were gradually established, first in the Midwest, and then extending throughout most of the U.S. as well as parts of Canada. By 1910 the DSA had grown to 119 lodges, totaling 6,000 members. Today some 52 lodges are still active promoting the Danish cultural heritage in 17 states, as well as Vancouver, British Columbia and Port Huron/Sarnia, Ontario. The Danish Sisterhood News is the organization’s monthly newsletter. Membership records for the various DSA lodges are scattered in various places. The largest known collection is located at the Danish Immigrant Archive at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska. For a detailed history of DSA and contact information for active lodges, visit the organization’s webpage: www.danishsisterhood.org |
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