Woodmen of the World -- Genealogy, History, Family History, American South.

Woodmen of the World, one of the first fraternal benefit societies in the United States, was organized in 1890 by Joseph Cullen Root. Among its social and fraternal benefits, W.O.W. provided life insurance.
Root first established Modern Woodmen of America in 1883. A ladies auxiliary, the Royal Neighbors of America, was established in 1888. In 1890, Root resigned and he organized Woodmen of the World. Over 45,000 W.O.W. gravemarkers have been erected nationally.

     Weep not for me
     my companion dear
     I am not dead
     but sleeping here

Gravemarker of Wm. S. Patterson
Dodson Family Cemetery
Lim Rock, Jackson County, Alabama.
     Photo by tom kunesh

Dum Tacet Clamat, “though silent he speaks” The symbols seen on Woodmen gravemarkers are: the axe, wedge and maul (a.k.a., beetle, sledge), a sawn log, and of course, a stump.
Postcard, early 1900s