Woodmen of the world tombstone
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WOW: On the Search of Graves
By Steve Johnson, March 15, 2000
Jim Davenport travels the west in search of grave markers of Woodmen of the World members. He photographs them, takes measurements, and records the inscriptions. It's a hobby that has taken him to all over the Western United States.
One summer day while driving through the pine trees on a high mountain side, following what he'd been told was possibly the road to the cemetery in Alma, Colorado, Jim Davenport spotted what he was searching for, a Woodmen of the World tombstone. He got out his camera and notebook, measured the tombstone, recorded the inscription, and photographed it. A careful search throughout the cemetery showed there were no other such tombstones. Then, a year and a half later, a lady e-mailed him asking if he had any information on a WOW member buried at the Alma cemetery. He sent her the inscription and a copy of the photograph. The lady was thrilled to learn that her shot-in-the-dark paid dividends!
To Jim, WOW markers are as desired and elusive as truffles are to the French. Armed with his maps and lists he compiles from the local library, Jim and
Woodmen of the World
In the frighteningly dangerous early timber industry, the Woodmen of the World offered life insurance plus the trappings of a fraternal order. Employees of formative Placerville timber enterprise J. & J. Blair were most certainly members. If they became victims of a broken cable or any one of hundreds of other all-too-common misfortunes, their families received a sustaining cash death benefit, and they received a tombstone.
The most well-known Woodmen tombstones are the “tree stones” which resemble a log. We have a good example locally at El Dorado Cemetery located at 4740 Church Street in El Dorado, CA.
In Placerville Union Cemetery, located at 650 Bee Street, the closest we come is the Woodmen of the World symbol which contains several smaller symbols plus the Latin epitaph DUM TACET CLAMAT, “Though silent, he speaks.” Doc Ashbrook’s Woodmen of the World tombstone can be found in Section 11 Row 35.
The former fraternal lives on today as Woodmen Life, an insurance company.
Union Cemetery also contains a member of the Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle, which was an early Woodmen woman’s auxiliary, launched as a separa
Woodmen of the World Memorial marker - Brotze, Felix – October 3, 1879 – April 9, 1916
Bracht-Stapper-Rhodius Cemetery, Schertz, Bexar County, Texas
Felix Brotze was the son of Otto Brotze and Josephine Pfeil. He married Laura Stapper [1882-1967] who was the daughter of Julian Stapper and Emma Meurin Stapper and the granddaughter of Eduard Stapper and Felicitas Bracht Stapper)
Woodmen of the World Memorial markers signify that the deceased individual was a member of the Woodmen of the World organization. Originally markers were provided at no charge to the members but as prices for materials increased a charge of $100 was added to the member’s Woodmen of the World certificate. In the 1920’s the organization discontinued the practice of providing markers and added the $100 as a benefit to the insurance policy. However, for many years, members and lodges continued providing the marker.
When Joseph Cullen Root founded Woodmen in the late 1800s, he envisioned an organization dedicated to helping its fellow man. Its purpose was "to minister to the afflicted to relieve distress; to cast a sheltering arm about the defenseless living; ... to encourage broad charitable views...
What is a Woodman of the World Headstone?
Almost every cemetery in the U.S. will have at least one Woodman headstone. The Woodmen of the World was founded as a fraternal organization that provided financial security to its members in times of need. The organization sold insurance, especially for people in high-risk occupations, and many of the policies included riders for a tombstone. In Colorado, the very common high-risk occupation was mining. The organization was committed to the motto "no Woodmen shall rest in an unmarked grave."
From about 1890 until the 1920s, the insurance organization commissioned markers for its members. These markers were provided free of charge, and varied greatly in size and shape. Most commonly, they resembled a tree stump or a stack of cut wood. Some are elaborate hand-carved trees, with fine detailing. Others were simple stone markers, with the Woodman emblem.
The craftsmen received the standardized designs from the organization, but, often modified the designs. The result was a a treasury of beautifully carved tombstones.
Not all the markers carved as trees are Woodman of the World headstones. Woodmen of the World markers have the society's