Ancient Order of Gleaners
history of the Ancient Order of Gleaners
The Gleaners was founded in 1894 in Cairo, Michigan, as a fraternal insurance society for men and women over 16 "of good moral character, who furnish satisfactory evidence of insurability" and who "believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe." When the order was first organized, it admitted only persons who were actively engaged in farming, gardening, and related occupations or small-town (up to 3,000 people) residents. These restrictions no longer apply. There were 43,000 members in what is now the Gleaner Life Insurance Society in 1994, ten years later the society boasts a record high membership of 77,300 members in sixty-one active arbors.
Degrees of the order
Gleaners ( 1st degree)
Adoption ( 2nd degree)
Dramatic (3rd degree)
Adoption ( 2nd degree)
Dramatic (3rd degree)