Charter Applications for Pennsylvania Granges

When a Grange is organized in a community, one of the first steps is the signing of a charter application by persons willing to become a member of the new organization.    These initial members are known as "charter members".   Fortunately, thanks to careful record keeping by the National and Pennsylvania State Granges over the past 150 years, below are links to a complete set of the charter applications for all Granges organized in Pennsylvania between 1871 and the present time.   

When a charter application is submitted to the State Grange, it is forwarded to the National Grange which assigns a number in the chronological order received.  There is no record at either the National Grange or the Pennsylvania State Grange for Grange #752.   Apparently this number was either missed in the numbering sequence or all record of the Grange to which it was assigned is missing.  
   

In the beginning of Grange work there was no specific provision tor District or Pomona Granges, so when
the local need for these became apparent to the membership they were started by the State Granges.   Any organization records were kept by the State Granges and the Pomona charters (if any were issued) were issued by the State Granges.  At the annual session of the National Grange held in Boston, Massachusetts in 1920, National Master Lowell called attention to the difficulties arising from this situation in the Pomona Grange field and the delegate body took necessary steps to correct it.   Beginning in early 1921 the National Grange began recording the the organization of Pomona Granges and since that time has issued the charters.   Many of the early charter applications for Pennsylvania Pomona Granges are missing from the file below.   Click here for an index to the Pennsylvania Pomona Grange charter applications to find the page number in the file below for available records.

In the beginning of Grange work there was no specific provision tor Junior (originally, Juvenile) Granges, so when the local need for these became apparent to the membership they were started by the State Granges.   Any organization records were kept by the State Granges and the Junior charters (if any were issued) were issued by the State Granges.  At the meeting of the National Grange in Wichita, Kansas in 1922 a Special Juvenile Committee  recommended that the National Grange record the Juvenile Grange organizations and issue the charters.  This report was adopted so beginning in 1923 the National Grange began recording the the organization of Junior Granges and since that time has issued the charters.   Click here for an index to the Pennsylvania Junior Grange charter applications to find the page number in the linked files below for available records.