The theme for week 28 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is character. I chose to write about the character I found inscribed on my great grandfathers tombstone. Benjamin Cook died 27 June 1900 at the age of about 37. He was a bridge builder for the railroad so originally we thought it might have something to do with his work. The people with the railroad didn’t recognize it at all.
The I L of H we eventually figured had to do with the Iowa Legion of Honor. We still have not figured out the C P H or the symbol with I think a hawk or eagle and a triangle. I learned from newspaper articles that he was a part of the Iowa Legion of Honor. He had a $2000 policy through them for his wife in the event of his death.
I’ve tried to find out more about the Iowa Legion of Honor. It dissolved around 1910 and their early records were destroyed in a fire. I have found a few articles. It was one of many fraternal orders during this time in Iowa. Here is a list I found in the Every other Daily Union in 1903. You can see it wasn’t the largest organization.
This obituary was sent to me by the person who helped me find out more about my great grandfather. The family rumor was he changed his name from Koch to Cook. I thought he was born in Germany. This article helped because it says he had two brothers from Watertown, Wisconsin who came to the funeral. I never thought to look in Wisconsin. It took me awhile to figure out which Koch family in Wisconsin he belonged to. It turned out he had also changed his first name from Bernhard to Benjamin.
Of course there was no mention of names for the brothers. I tried finding out more information about the funeral to see if there was a record somewhere but no luck. This did give us our link to the Iowa Legion of Honor. The story of finding his family will wait for another day, since this is about the symbol on top of his tombstone.
It turns out the policy Ben had with Iowa Legion of Honor saved his wife and children after his untimely death. Kate, his wife, took the money and purchased a house for the family.
Kate and Ben had a large outstanding bill at the local grocer. The grocer sued Kate to try to make her sale her house in order to pay the bill. Kate and Ben had three children at the time of Ben’s death, all under the age of seven. The lawsuit was settled by the Iowa Supreme Court in Kate’s favor, Kate and her three children were able to keep their home.
You can see it took three years before this was settled. It was an important case in Iowa law.
It turns out Ben was not the only one involved in the Iowa Legion of Honor. In 1898 women were able to join the Legion.
Not sure exactly how involved Kate was with the organization but I found several articles defining various roles she played. I don’t know what a junior guide would have been but that was maybe her first role.
This article tells of a trip to Cedar Rapids for a grand lodge meeting. Kate was one of the members who attended this meeting.
May 28, 1903
The Legion also involved social activities. Here are a couple I was able to find that involved Kate.
Always a little more to try to figure out with each person. I don’t think I will ever have a complete picture of their lives but each time I do some research I learn a bit more. Did you have a relative in a fraternal organization? Do you know more about the inscription on to of my great grandfather’s tombstone?
My Tree in the Forest 