Anyone Know Masonic Stuff?

I got this pin in a lot with a lot of Shriner's pins and Daughters of the Nile pins. To me it looks like an Order of the Eastern Star pin with a Shriner's guard, but I'm not understanding the connection. I thought Shriner's were usually men and Order of the Eastern Star were women, but I don't know much about these groups, so I'm looking for any information anyone can give.

Thanks!

 

They both have stars on them. Maybe that was enough for whoever put them together.

I'd call them fraternal organisations rather than masonic. I see them as clubs for people who'd not been invited to join the Masons.

I'm not even going to look up the 'Daughters of the Nile'. DAR is fairly self explanatory, but I'd rather just imagine the Daughters of the Nile. Given the habits of the Pharohs it is probably women who have married their brothers.

 

Men can also belong to the OES, tie.

 

You're right about it being an OES "wreath" pin, tie.dye. I was thinking that the guard might be for a person appointed to one of the "official" positions within the chapter (of which there are many) but couldn't get google to cooperate in narrowing the focus.

 

Thank you both.

I was wondering, AF, if it was just a marriage of sorts. Someone had an OES pin that was missing the guard, so they just tossed the Shriner's on there to complete it.

I did not know that men could be belong to OES, Bakersgma....that makes it make a bit more sense.

 

I disappeared for while, looking for my grandmother's OES pins and my grandfather's Masonic ones - hoping that one or the other had a guard that might help explain yours. Unfortunately neither do.

 

It looks like two different colors of gold. Can we see the back?

 

Wow, evelyb, you're observant! I never even noticed that! Here's the back....

 

They both have the nicer clasp, but the hinge looks different as well as the texture of the back.

 

That's what I was wondering at first, and then when I couldn't find any pairing even remotely close to this one, I just started thinking that it was a marriage of whatever the owner conveniently had on hand. Probably lost the original guard and threw this one on there.

Most of the OES pins that I've seen have a gavel for a guard.

 

I *think* the gavel was only used for Presidents, and Past Presidents.
But I could be wrong.

 

I think the Masonic one is newer; the Shriner one could be gold-filled or even unmarked 10k. It might be worth testing to make out; sometimes only one pin in a pair got hallmarked and the one that's missing might have had maker's marks or something else.

 

Tomorrow I'll ask my husband. All the men in his family have been Mason's for generations and his mother was Star Scribe for the state for Eastern Star. I've never seen this combo, but I wasn't a member so I could be wrong.

 

Both were unmarked but tested as at least 10k. The shriner pin just sold; I think I still have the other one.

I ended up putting them up separately as I figured they'd sell quicker that way.

 

That's good to know for future reference. I've been keeping a better eye out for these as I've found several that were unmarked gold.

 

The gavel has nothing to do with the lodge 'president'. It is (or it was), a lady eastern Star Matron whose spouse was obviously a member of the Shrine.

 

Is that what a "worthy matron" is, milestoneks? I thought I had read somewhere that the gavel meant that the wearer had been a worthy matron or a past worthy matron.

 

I can't think of a woman I'd respect who would not kick you in the fork if you called them a 'worthy matron'.

 

"that the gavel meant that the wearer had been a worthy matron or a past worthy matron.............." That would be right. One must first be a member of blue lodge masonry before joining other appendages of masonry, of which their are many. The gavel takes on meaning in blue lodge masonry, but basically is an emblem of power, much like a judge in the court room. There is no 'president' in masonry. The 'man in charge' in blue lodge is the Worshipful Master. In Eastern Star it is the Worthy Matron. If a lady wears an Eastern Star pin depicting a gavel, it would mean she is a past Worthy Matron of her lodge. I would guess that whomever wore the op's pin was a member of the OES and whose spouse was of the Shrine.