Sons of Temperance

The Sons of Temperance was a brotherhood of men who promoted the temperance movement and mutual support. The group was founded in 1842 in New York City. It began spreading rapidly during the 1840s throughout the United States and parts of Canada.

The organization had a highly restricted membership. In order to become a member (called a “brother“), a man had to be nominated by an existing brother. Three other brothers would then investigate his life to determine if they thought he was worthy of membership. The Sons of Temperance required a two-dollar initiation fee, an amount equal to a week’s wages of an ordinary worker. In addition, the weekly membership fee was six cents. It had secret rituals, signs, passwords, hand grips and regalia.

Women were initially admitted only as guests. For awhile a female auxiliary, the Daughters of Temperance, were active. These were first created in the English chapters of the order after a public outcry against females meeting with males in secret lodges. Daughter of Temperance lodges were created that worked with, but were not governed by the Sons of Temperance. The idea soon crossed the Atlantic to North America. At the 22nd Annual Session held June 21, 1866 at Montreal, "ladies" were admitted to full membership.

A proposal to form a separate division of black members was voted down in 1844. In Ohio, the Grand Division admitted a black member in 1849, raising the issue of social equality. In the years following the American Civil War, two Grand Divisions and a number of subordinate divisions were formed exclusively of "colored members." By the early 1880s, "most" divisions initiated members with "no distinction on account of color."

The constitution of the Sons of Temperance required the brotherhood to pay thirty dollars to cover the burial costs of any brother who died. In short, the organization acted as an insurance company. It required the payment of fifteen dollars for the funeral costs of a member’s dead wife. A bylaw required fellow brothers to visit any sick brother at least once a day, and one of the orders of business at each meeting was to identify any brothers who were ill.

The organization had approximately 5000 chapters by the 1850s. The chapter at West Columbia, South Carolina was housed in the Mount Hebron Temperance Hall.

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