Founder, Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in American and Jurisdiction, Peter Ogden
Peter Ogden was born in the West Indies and served on the S.S. Patrick Henry as a steward. He was the founder of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America.
One of the key players in the development of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America was Peter Ogden. He was a person of color who traveled between New York and Liverpool, England through his service as a steward on a ship. While in England, he became an Odd Fellow and was a member long before the idea of an American lodge for non-whites was considered.
Peter Ogden reportedly swayed American blacks interested in the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows to focus their attention on gaining affiliation with an English lodge rather than lodges in the United States. Ogden presented the admission application in person to the appropriate committee during one of his voyages while in England. While some in the American white lodges felt, the application would be denied, the [English] Lodge did not hesitate, it is said, but gladly accepted…knowing no men by color.
The dispensation was granted for the Philomathean Lodge, No. 646, New York, NY, and Ogden became their first leader. With this first establishment of a black lodge came the ability to grant dispensations for the creation of more, and the Hamilton Lodge was established in New York in 1844. Ogden was instrumental in making sure the process was handled correctly for the second group, as well as the many other lodges opened during the 1840’s.