| Question:
I've been clearing out the attic and come across policies from friendly societies
in my grandfather's and great-grandfather's names. What were friendly societies?
Ms Vyst replies: mutual benefit societies have existed in the British
Isles from medieval times in the form of guilds or incorporations in burghs, but
these were restricted by and large to burgesses. In the 17th century friendly
societies began to be set up, which allowed others to save money towards the costs
of burial, pensions for dependants and loss of earnings through sickness, infirmity
or old age. The Registration of Friendly Societies Act 1793 (33 Geo. III, c.54)
led to a big increase in the number of societies, but many folded in the 1820s,
when increasing age of the membership put severe pressure on funds, which had
stagnated because of under-subscription or because subscription rates had not
kept pace with inflation. Sounds horribly familiar, doesn't it! The more fortunate
societies survived the recession. The Friendly Societies Act 1855 (18 & 19
Vict., c.63) established the Registrar of Friendly Societies, and led to another
increase in the number and financial power of societies in the late 19th century.
As far as
I know, grandpa was a railway clerk and great-grandpa was a draper, yet the policies
are respectively for the Free Gardeners and Ancient Shepherds. Does this mean
I have agricultural blood in me?
Not necessarily. The Loyal Order of Ancient
Shepherds was founded in 1826 in Lancashire, "to relieve the sick, bury the
dead, and assist each other in all cases of unavoidable distress, so far as in
our power lies, and for the promotion of peace and goodwill towards the human
race". From 1829 onwards it spread throughout Britain, organising itself
into districts. The British Order of Ancient Free Gardeners, which dates back
to the 17th century, began by offering advice to gardeners and landowners, but
admitted non-gardeners from early on and developed into a friendly society, relieving
members who were unable to work due to infirmity or sickness and paying an endowment
to the family of a member on his death. Entry to membership was open to healthy
Protestant men (with the exception of miners and other underground workers) between
the ages of 16 and 40. It was divided into lodges. Ah,
this might explain regalia and other things I found relating to a lodge of the
Independent Order of Oddfellows. I thought this was something masonic! Were the
Oddfellows a friendly society too?
Indeed, the United Order of Oddfellows
was a mutual society and it held social meetings and ceremonials. The Order derived
its name from the fact that it was made up from members of different trades. It
began in the 17th century and spread throughout Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1810 a breakaway movement, the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity
Friendly Society, was formed and went on to become one of the largest friendly
societies in the UK.
This is all fascinating stuff and I'd like to
write this up for my local history journal: Annals of Muckleton. Where can I read
more about friendly societies in general and how do I track down the records of
one or two local societies?
The Open University runs a Friendly Societies
Research Group, whose website has some very useful content on using friendly society
records (www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/fsrg/).
For specifically Scottish background you should get hold of W Hamish Fraser, Conflict
and Class: Scottish Workers 1700-1838 (Edinburgh, 1988); Alexander Craib, Benefit
Societies and the Working Classes (Dumbarton, c.1890); and James Millar, The Friendly
Society Guide (Dundee, 1825). The records of Scottish friendly societies are held
by a variety of archives, libraries and other bodies. A great many are listed
in Ian MacDougall (ed.) A Catalogue of Some Labour Records in Scotland (Edinburgh,
1978). Printed rules and regulations for friendly societies and similar bodies
dissolved before 1929 are held by the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). The
online version of the catalogue can be searched at www.nas.gov.uk.
For records in other archives look in the Scottish Archive Network online catalogue
at www.scan.org.uk, the Higher Education
Hub http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk and the National Register of Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/.
You can see examples of friendly society records and artefacts at the Resources
for Learning in Scotland website (http://www.rls.org.uk/).
Finally,
er . . . I don't suppose any of the policies might be worth something now?
Well,
you never know. A few years back, my cousin was left our grandmother's policy
with the Old Monklands Lodge of the Daughters of Temperance and blew the proceeds
on a tour of the vineyards of Beaujolais. In your case, if the policy was with
a society which still exists or only recently was wound up, you should contact
the society concerned or the Association of Friendly Societies, whose website
is at http://www.afs.org.uk/. Failing that,
the Mutual Societies Registration unit of the Authorisation Division of the Financial
Services Authority is responsible for what was the Registry of Friendly Societies,
and may be able to trace what happened to a society's successor, but only if the
society concerned was registered (until recently many societies weren't). The
unit has a database which shows what happened to many of the friendly societies
which dissolved or transferred engagements to another society over the last fifty
years or so. The address is: The Mutual Societies Registration, 25 The North Colonnade,
Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS (tel 020 7066 4916, email mutual.societies@fsa.gov.uk).
Bear in mind that, even if the policy has not lapsed or been paid out, the maturity
value or death benefit will probably be quite small in comparison to insurance
and life assurance policies today. |
