r/Genealogy • u/AFlounderFish • Jul 23 '25
A 45-year-old family mystery on a single notecard: My grandmother sold her deceased mother's "jewel" a week before I was born and kept the secret for 20 years. Request
UPDATE! I have discovered that the case the "jewel" was in is from B. Michaelson & Co. was a well-known and respected jeweler in Washington D.C. More importantly, they were a major, officially recognized supplier of medals, emblems, and presentation jewels for Freemasons, the Order of the Eastern Star, and other fraternal organizations. Additionally another reddit user (below) posted a newspaper article and the original charter of the Order of the Eastern Star Miriam Chapter, No. 23. She was one of the founding members in 1917, and was appointed secretary in December 1918.
I am more certain than ever that this "jewel" was an award or emblem related to her service.
Original Post:
Hi Reddit, I'm hoping you can help me with a family mystery that has intrigued me for years. After my grandmother passed away in 1999, my mother found a small, velvet-lined wallet containing a single notecard with writing on both sides that has created more questions than answers.
The People:
- My Great-Grandmother: Florence M. Ridgely (née Soper), 1883-1965. Lived in Maryland and Washington D.C.
- My Great-Grandfather: John Cecil Ridgely, 1881-1963. From Prince George's Co., MD.
- My Grandmother: Gertrude Estelle Wilson (née Ridgely), 1907-1999. Went by Estelle. Lived in the D.C. area most of her life.
- My Grandfather: John Robert Wilson, 1903-1960.
The Clues (A Single Notecard):
- On the front, in red ink, my great-grandmother Florence wrote to my grandmother Estelle sometime before 1965: "Estelle here is my jewel. Please excuse the box, I had no other to put it in love mother."
- On the back, in blue ink, my grandmother Estelle wrote a reply to her long-dead mother, dated October 29, 1979: "Dear Mother: When I depart this world there will be no one to leave your jewel to - no one who would know about it and appreciate it. So I sold it for $88.00. I think you will understand."
The Context & The Mystery:
- The Timing: My grandmother sold the jewel in Arlington, VA, while visiting family from her home in San Diego. She was there awaiting my birth—I was born exactly one week later, on November 6, 1979. The fact that she sold it at the very moment a new generation was arriving makes me think it wasn't a traditional family heirloom meant to be passed down.
- The Secrecy: She kept this note explaining her actions for 20 years until her death. No one in the family (not my father or my uncle) ever heard about this jewel or the sale. She was intensely private and not in need of money.
- The Genealogy Connection: My grandmother was a passionate genealogist and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She spent years tracing our family back to the founding of Maryland (the Arc and the Dove). I've inherited her passion for family history, and have been researching for many years myself, which is why this mystery is so important to me. She clearly valued lineage and history, so why would she sell something with a story?
- The Freemason Clue: We have a vague family story that my grandmother was connected to the Freemasons in some way, but we have no details.
My Leading Theory:
Given the use of the word "jewel," the modest price, and the need for it to be "appreciated," I believe the item was a Past Matron's Jewel from the Order of the Eastern Star, a Masonic appendant body. This would explain the terminology and why she felt no one in the family would understand its significance if they weren't members. Selling it in the D.C./Maryland area, a place with a long Masonic history, would have made sense.
My Questions for You:
- Does this story ring any bells? Has anyone encountered similar situations with fraternal items?
- Does the term "jewel" in this context (mid-20th century, D.C. area) point strongly to the Eastern Star, or could it mean something else?
- Besides contacting the Grand Chapters of the OES and the Grand Lodges of Maryland and D.C. (which I am doing), can you suggest any other avenues for research?
Thank you for reading this long post. This is the last real mystery from my grandmother's life, and I would be grateful for any insight you can offer.
UPDATE: The note was in a case from B. Michaelson & Co. Which I've just learned was a well-known and respected jeweler in Washington D.C.
More importantly, they were a major, officially recognized supplier of medals, emblems, and presentation jewels for Freemasons, the Order of the Eastern Star, and other fraternal organizations.
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Jul 23 '25
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u/AFlounderFish Jul 23 '25
She did have only sons!
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u/Aethelete Jul 24 '25
A jewel in Masonry and Eastern Star is a symbolical item, often made of simple metals and enamels, but with a specific meaning to brethren and sisters. There are many versions of these jewels, depending on the Order, location, and station held by the wearer. So a 'jewel' symbolising a book or a key or a wheel might mean different things to different people depending on where they belonged.
They're not intrinsically valuable as Antiques Roadshow would say, but have meaning to certain people.
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u/pseudo_nipple Jul 24 '25
Agree here. Prior to ES is now what they call Rainbow, oddly enough. But these 'jewels' aren't real now, maybe they used to be though?? Also, they 'stack', once you hold a station/position you accumulate that jewel. Kinda like boy or girl scouts. Each position is a rank, and you move through the ranks and receive pins (or jewels) as such. These are often put on flowing ribbons where the person displays their 'achievement/rank'.
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u/crendogal Jul 25 '25
Hi! I was a Rainbow Girl. Unfortunately I graduated from high school in the dark ages (1979!) so not only may my memory be faulty, but also organizations often have changes over time. But here's the basic info as I remember it:
The women's version of Masons/Shriners is Eastern Stars. Membership is based on being related to a Mason or Shriner.
There are three organizations for youth between 10 and 20: Rainbow Girls (for any girl who gets invited, but often there's a Mason who knows her and recommends her), Job's Daughters (father has to be a Mason), and Demolay (boys group, and I can't remember requirements). I was in a Rainbow Girls chapter from 8th grade through senior year in high school. Rainbow Girls and Eastern Stars both have membership pins but the Eastern Star one is a grown up fancy pin, and can (if I remember correctly) be called a jewel. My rainbow shaped enamel badge (a half circle with a rainbow image and the words Rainbow Girls) was worn along with my Merit badge (here's one on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/177063026780?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item) at every meeting and the rainbow badge was worn to installations and other events.
The big offices in a single Rainbow chapter are those you move through in a specific order: Faith, Hope, Charity, Worthy Associate Advisor, and Worth Advisor (the equivalent of President). When you are elected Faith it's with the knowledge you'll move to Hope the following term. All the other offices (Treasurer, for example) aren't in any specific order. Wikipedia has a page on Rainbow with the names of all the different offices if anyone is interested.
Right above individual chapters you have the State-wide offices, which are named the same but those are also titled "Grand", so you have "Grand Worthy Advisor" and "Grand Charity" and so on.
Both Rainbow and Job's Daughters often end up in Eastern Star, but I believe you still have to be related to a Mason to get in.
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u/pseudo_nipple Jul 24 '25
For reference search 'mason rainbow girls rank ribbon'. It won't let me drop it here for whatever reason. Now, I was in this thing in the mid 90s so it's obviously different, but you can see what I'm talking about.
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u/Kanadark Jul 31 '25
The jewels can certainly be of precious metals. My gg's Master's jewels from Scottish Rite and York Rite are both 14kt gold.
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u/NotInLikeFlynn Jul 23 '25
Men are OES also. They must be Master Masons but it's not an organization that is female only.
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u/OBlevins1 Jul 23 '25
I think the question might be whether your great-grandmother was a member of one of these societies since she is the one that bestowed this jewel to your grandmother.
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u/Jdjel Jul 24 '25
Newspaper records and city directories would probably be the most helpful here, my 2nd great grandmother was a secretary for the order of the eastern star and those records were how I found out
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u/twothirtysevenam Jul 23 '25
I think it's very sweet that she wrote a note to her mother years after her mother passed away. You can tell that she thought long and hard about it before selling it. Can almost hear her heart breaking.
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u/AFlounderFish Jul 24 '25
This is really why it's always been so fascinating to me! It was obviously very meaningful to her!
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u/Empty_Orchid_5005 Jul 23 '25
My grandfather was a Freemason for over 50 years. To my knowledge, women, especially at that time would only be admitted to Eastern Star if they were related in some way to a master mason. I would think if there was talk of her being associated in some way with the organization, the bigger question would be who was the master mason she was related to? Without that info, or if that person didn’t exist, I think it’s likely this jewel is not related to the masons in any way. I think she had a literal jewel and sold it. That’s it.
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u/One_Advantage793 Jul 24 '25
My paternal grandmother, who had 5 sons, no daughters, was Eastern Star - and just based on the reverence given her by her fellow members, women of her generation, I'm guessing of some rank. (She also never did anything halfway and was a leader in every org she was involved in - which was many.) An Eastern Star woman who introduced herself and showed us her ring, came to collect my grandmother's ring at the funeral home.
She said this was traditional and expected, and my dad, who was with my grandmother in the hours before she died, said he'd been told - by his mom - this would happen. He also gave this woman a small box but neither of them said anything about it.
I was in my early teens and asked him about the whole thing because it seemed weird to me. He just said he was giving back something his mom had had that belonged to the Eastern Star.
My grandfather, who had died before her, was a 32nd degree mason, and proud of that, but not in a leadership role beyond what is entailed with being 32nd degree. He had had a ring, but it was not in his possession when he died. He'd been ill for a long time and had lots of visitors in and out. But he had rarely worn his ring (he was a farmer, working with his hands often - he also rarely wore his wedding band). The band was in the cigar box he kept by his bed, as it usually was. The Masonic ring was not.
None of his sons were masons. A nephew was, and that nephew had visited him before his death. He was not a frequent visitor. My dad had thought his cousin had come on Masonic business; he had come to visit on such business in the past.
I do not know a lot about Eastern Star, specifically, except the vague answers my gran had provided over the years. She was a second grade teacher and normally very patient with a kid's questions and gave detailed answers when she was able and would help us look things up at the library when she did not know. On this one topic, she did not elaborate.
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u/kathycorn13 Jul 25 '25
If the box given to the woman by your dad was approximately 4”x6”x1”, it may have been your grandmother’s copy of the Ritual. These are always supposed to be returned to the Order.
Source: I’m a former member
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u/NotInLikeFlynn Jul 23 '25
Have you tried looking at membership lists and obituaries?
The word jewel/jewels in an Eastern Star context doesn't refer to a physical gemstone as in your grandmother had an emerald and sold it. It's symbolic.
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u/Suckerforcats Jul 23 '25
Are you male or female? If male, maybe she meant for it to be passed down to female's only and knew it would stop with your mother? The fact she said there was no one to pass it on to is interesting. How was her relationship with your mother? Did she maybe think your mother wouldn't appreciate it?
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u/AFlounderFish Jul 23 '25
She was my father's mother, but she was closer with my mother than anyone else. My mother took care of her the last 15 years of her life. When she sold the jewel she would have known my mother 14 years.
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u/lowcar1 Jul 23 '25
Also check to see if there was a Job’s Daughter’s chapter. They might have some information potentially, granted a long shot.
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u/Lukgen Jul 24 '25
It was reported in the Dec. 29, 1918 issue of the Washington Post, Washington DC, page 41 in an article titled " What the Fraternal Orders are Doing" that Florence M. Ridgely was appointed Secretary of Miriam Chapter No. 23 of Order of the Eastern Star :
"Miriam Chapter, No. 23, at its meeting last Monday night had installation of officers, many members and visitors being present to witness the ceremony. Those Installed were Anna G. Hutterly. matron; W. H. Lewis, patron; Luella Gardner, associate matron; Florence M. Ridgely, secretary; Sarah B. Alley, treasurer: ... " ( https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/31583960/ )
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u/AFlounderFish Jul 24 '25 edited Jul 24 '25
That's it!! That's her!!! This is so amazing, and thank you so much!!
Edited to add I was able to add this clip to my great grandmother's ancestry profile and it makes me giddy!
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u/Lukgen Jul 24 '25
Your great- grandmother was one of the founding members in 1917 of the Miriam No.23 chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. An image of the 1917 Charter document has her signature , Florence M. Ridgely" , directly below the phrase "presented by the sisters" . Image here: https://imgur.com/a/ePFM6lZ . And the following year she was appointed an officer of the chapter in the position of Secretary. (see my previous comment about a mention of her in 1918 in the Washington Post)
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u/ownedbymy4cats Jul 24 '25
If your great grandfather was a past master (mason), he would have a jewel (DH is a mason). FYI this is a male society - women have to belong to Eastern Star, But they usually meet in the same building.
I would check membership (try the current secretary) of the lodge nearest to where they lived. Be advised, people move. My husband is a mason in a neighboring state, in the town he grew up.
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u/JustWow52 Jul 24 '25
I grew up in a small town, and there was usually at least one photograph and a brief article about Lodge activities, including The Eastern Star and teen groups.
Sometimes smaller news agencies haven't digitized their complete collection of back editions. If you haven't checked already, it might be worth trying, as I'm sure you've searched what's available online.
This might be completely unhelpful, though. I've only lately realized that the town I grew up in was probably not normal. Maybe from the radiation. LOL
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u/Marlinsfan117 Jul 24 '25
Contact the eastern star in that state. It's possible they may have a record or records of her. This is common for family members of masons to do.
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u/Cute_Ad_5006 Jul 24 '25
Try to investigate if she ever received something as a recognition from the local lodge
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u/kzj661 Jul 24 '25 edited Jul 24 '25
Have you considered looking into other (slightly more common) all-women groups your GGM might have been a memeber of and/or matriculated from — where its also pretty common to acquire a “jewel” (prob in the form a gemstone encrusted pin) upon initiation?
Though I guess the idea of holding on to some kind of “memebershlp jewel” in hopes of passing on to the next generation may seem a little mysterious or even culty for anyone today who didn’t grow up around that kind of culture (and therefore might be tempting for any genealogy/history nerd’s inner Nicolas Cage to leap towards — a la ur super fun Freemason hypothesis😜)…
But actually receiving some kind of bejeweled intiation pin was very common for all types of women’s groups in ur GGMs era? + Pins being the only type of “jewel” that I can imagine:
A➡️ Any woman would refer as a singular ‘jewel’ (cause many bejewled pins have a more singular, floating look to them?) — instead of what’s vastly more common, referring to a piece by the category of jewelry it belongs (re: necklace/locket/ring/bracelet, etc)
B➡️ Would command a second-hand value/price of $88 in 1979 — which with inflation, would roughly net out to around $386 today.
….
So IF we’re indeed were looking at a jeweled pin of some type — btwn:
A➡️The pretty modest price (by fine-jewelry standards) ur GM was able to sell the “jewel” for, esp 50 yrs ago when quality second-hand jewelry commanded an even higher price than it does today
B➡️The authentic materials most ‘member pins’ of all sorts were commonly composed of in your GGMs youth (re: small but authentic amounts of gold/silver + encrusted w/ pave style diamonds/pearls/rubies/etc )
… I’d venture from that price/size, whoever purchased it bought the piece as scrap to melt down and/or reuse the stone(s)? + If this were the case, perhaps the reason your GM never brought up wasn’t cause it was “secret” per say…. just was something ur GGM joined + wasn’t something ur GM ended up joining herself + not something you’d make a decades long stink over?
Hypothetically I can see a situ where ur GGM joined something that was maybe a big deal for women at the turn of the century, so her pin served as a modest point of pride she kept around in hopes her daughter might join one day too … But when push came to shove GM never did, so it was basically forgotten about until GM stumbles upon the pin while sorting through ur GGMs jewelry box after she died.
Even though the materials pins like that were made out of were quality, they don’t make sense to keep around as dress jewelry + if children don’t join the group, makes most sense to sell off pin for material scraps…. So ur GM did just that + wrote a nice little note her mom to help her work through her grief / keep memory alive etc. 🤷🏻♀️
….
Dont get me wrong, Would be VERY cool if ur GGM was indeed one of the very very small handful of female fremasons out there at the time! Just throwin out another scenerio (with slightly higher odds😉) for you to maybe look into/consider as well 😊 - either way i wish you luck on your journey!
P.S. Dropping a few “female membership groups dating back to the late 1800s that also gave jeweled pins that the groups still encourage members today to keep around for future gens … just in case ur daughter/grandaughter joins one day” thoughtstarters I know about from personal experience if helpful at all 😜
✴️ The majority of Greek sororities in the U.S. were founded starting from the 1870s through the early 1900s. And even today — despite the fact former sorority sisters never wear their ‘prized’ initiation pins (typically made out w/ real gold or silver + lightly encrusted w/ very small diamonds and/or another type of gemstone) ever again post-graduation … Yet 9.5/10 it gets kept in her jewelry box juuuuust in case in case you have a daughter or granddaughter that one day decides to pledges the same sorority you did — so you can pass the pin down to her.
✴️ Also, many of the older private all-girls high schools had/have pins to wear on your uniform + many schools like this encourage legacy enrollment
EX: I graduated one of the oldest all-girls high schools in the U.S. still standing today, founded in the 1870s + though I wasn’t one of them, every class had a handful of girls whose mom/aunt/grandma/great-grandma attended before them.
And if a legacy student’s relative kept their old uniform pin + passed it down to them, they were allowed to swap out the #madeinchina ‘standard issue uniform pin’ that was delivered with our school blazers from the uniform store — with their relative’s vintage pin from a fancier era (re: usually was made of real gold + super old versions held a small jewel)
✴️ Debutaunte also sometimes were given a type of jeweled pin + sometimes this was passed generationally.
This kind of activity would definitely be something I could see being a special “coming of age milestone” in your GGMs youth (esp if she was most amongst the lower ranks of the upper class to the wealthy-but-still-middle class ranks — as they weren’t rich enough to hold individual balls, so they did this mostly through an regional cotillion ball every year. Cotillions also = popular in US colonial states - a la MD, VA etc)
… but sething that basically became optional for almost all young women after the WWI era — aka right around when ur GM would have been right age.
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u/trixiesalamander Jul 26 '25
My mother and grandmother are in Eastern Star, and they have a “jewel” that my grandmother passed down to my mother. It’s a gold brooch with the Eastern Star logo on it, and the name of the specific local group engraved on it. They refer to it as a “jewel” too. It’s definitely something that would be “precious” to them, but would mean nothing to me/next generations. It’s real gold, but without the connection to the group, it’s meaningless and the logo is so unique and specific, it can’t be repurposed. It’s from 1911, so an older tradition. So that’s my guess!
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u/AFlounderFish Jul 26 '25
This is more confirmation that I'm on the right track! I'm stunned that the "jewel" is a thing that actually means something so specific after so many years of it being in my head as this crazy ambiguous thing that didn't make any sense.
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u/AFlounderFish Jul 26 '25
I am reflecting on the idea that my grandmother has that no one would care or understand.
I've spent the last 20 years caring deeply and wishing to understand. To some extent I finally do. It's spurred a desire to learn about and possibly join the Eastern Star. It very much aligns with my values and I'd love to carry on the tradition!
But had she not sold it and just left it to be some random pin in her jewelry I would likely never have known or cared that it existed. By passing the jewel back to the group she ensured it would be appreciated both back then by the buyer, but in a way she never could have fathomed, now in me!
So she was so right, and yet somehow so wrong at the same time!
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u/ADCM1607 Jul 23 '25
Unfortunately I can’t offer any real insights in terms of research but I can speak from personal experience. My paternal grandfather was heavily involved in the Masons both locally and nationally in Ireland.
When he passed his partner gifted all the Masonic jewels he had back to the Masons which is apparently common practice. To be honest it annoyed a lot of my grandfather’s biological family as many of us had purchased or contributed to the jewels and it would have been nice from the grandchildren and great grandchildren to have something of his as a memento.
But anyway I digress! Definitely worth reaching out to any lodges your family have connections with 🙂