Foresters' Courts in Welsh Newspapers site, Redbrook etc. (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, March 06, 2014, 00:28 (3917 days ago) @ Jefff

The ever-rewarding Welsh Newspapers website carries a great many articles about the Ancient Order of Foresters, it was clearly very active throughout their area particularly South Wales. That said, a few of these articles relate to Orders in towns as far away as Glasgow, Norwich, Kings Lynn, Manchester, Gloucester, etc, as well as Courts existing throughout the British Empire. Please note this website "only" carries newspapers upto abt 1919, so not quite ideal as far as your query is concerned.

Just one example of things a little closer to home, from the Cardiff Weekly Mail of January 1884, starts
"The 101st quarterly meeting of the Monmouthshire District of the Ancient Order of Foresters was held at the Tredegar Junction Hotel, Pontllanfraith on Monday, when credentials were presented by 22 delegates from the 40 courts."
It goes on to mention this District had 4129 members in it's 40 courts.(Pontllanfraith is near Caerphilly).

Could this District have included the Western FoDean ???.

An article in the Aberystwyth Observer of 1900 reported the annual financial accounts for the Order for Great Britain and Ireland, which look very impressive, as is the membership of 666,667 members.
http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3048475/ART15/order%20foresters%20dean

This is the only references to the Order within the Dean that I can find, having thoroughly searched using various local placenames including Yorkley & Newnham:

Cardiff Times, 22nd May 1880
"REDBROOK
The annual meeting of Court Friendship (No. 4,328), Ancient Order of Foresters, was held at Mr Jones's Bush Inn, Upper Redbrook. Court Friendship has 48 members, who had paid £37 1s 4d on account of the sickness of members, £10 on account of the death of a member's wife, £13 5s 1d for management, and £8 Is to the medical officer, during the year, leaving as the total worth of the court £250, of which £238 3s 10d forms the reserve fund. The brethren, headed by the Llanishen brass band, marched to church, where the Rev William Smith, the vicar of Newland, preached on "Industry in the present, and forethought for the future." After the service the members paraded the village, and then dined in a tent near the Bush Inn. The chair was occupied by Bro. Wm. Teague, of Monmouth, and the vice-chair by Bro. Evan Bennett."
http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3420455/ART52/order%20foresters%20redbrook

A lengthy article about a three day meeting at Gloucester, from the Cardiff Weekly Mail of 10th August 1901, includes:
"FORESTERS' HIGH COURT
THE HIGH CHIEF RANGER AND MR CHAMBERLAIN
The annual session of the High Court of the Ancient Order of Foresters' Friendly Society was opened in the Shire-hall, Gloucester, on Monday. High Chief Ranger FC Workman (Gloucester) presided. The meeting was one of the largest in the history of the Order.
The High Chief Ranger in his inaugural address said the nineteenth century had been one in which their great Order and Friendly Societies generally had risen to great eminence........... Another matter taken in hand was that of a larger annual subscription to the National Lifeboat Institution, and as a result of their appeal upwards of £650 would be handed over............He was pleased to find that their courts still continued to pay the contributions of those of their brethren who had been compelled to stay in South Africa on account of the war. The Plymouth executive council were the first to suggest this payment, and, as Foresters, they were the first to agree to it. They thought it necessary that their Order should send its full representation to the National Conference.............
The Foresters' High Court at Gloucester on Tuesday passed a vote of condolence with the King on the death of the Empress Frederick. For the High Court of 1903 Sheffield was selected by a large majority on the first round over King's Lynn and Swansea, with little opposition..........." http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3374973/ART118/gloucester%20foresters

Sadly no mention is made of the Dean Forest or its Court(s), this being the annual meeting for the whole GB society.

So, sorry Gill, not as many local hits as I'd hoped.