Danish Brotherhood in America
History
Danish Brotherhood in America is a fraternal organization that was founded in 1882 in Omaha, Nebraska. It had about 8,000 members in 2010. A period report said of the Danish Brotherhood, "This is by far the strongest and most influential secular organization about the Danes in America In 1881, Mark Hansen formed the Danish Arms Brothers, a group of Danish veterans who had fought in the American Civil War or the Danish-Prussian War, in Omaha, Nebraska. Other societies sprang up in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. In January 1882, five of these societies met in a convention in Omaha and decided to form an ethnic fraternal order that would offer benefits to its members as well as preserving Danish culture and traditions. The order grew steadily; at the end of its first year of existence it had six lodges and 200 members. By 1889, it had 883 members and in 1891, 2,000 in 41 lodges. In 1897, it was reported to have 10,000 members in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, California and Washington. In 1923, the Brotherhood had 283 lodges in at least 15 states with 19,176 members. By 1925, the Danish Brotherhood in America had 21,000 members. In 1979, it was back down to 10,000 members in 150 lodges.