Order of Sparta

The Order of Sparta was an American fraternal and relief (life insurance) order, formed by Ancient Order of United Workmen members J.B. Moffitt, Robert A. Welsh, James McConnell, Alexander J. McCleary, and William H. Smith, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1879. It was organised into local chapters known as Senates, presided over by elected officers &mdash; High Priest, King, Regent, Captain of the Guard, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, Page, Herald, Warder, Ephori, Hurtles, and Medical Examiner &mdash; which, in turn, were under the executive jurisdiction of the Great Senate. By 1915, the Order became embroiled in legal disputes over member assessments and payments, eventually culminating in its being declared bankrupt in late 1917, effectively dissolving the organisation.

Initiation into the Order of Sparta was restricted to Christian men of "good physical health", between twenty-one and fifty years of age. The ritual was based on the history of ancient Sparta.