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A Visit to Ms. Catherine's House

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Mr. and Mrs. Waiters were members of the Church Aid Society, a lodge that met once a month. Attendance at meetings was an important part of the social life of the community. Like all the other lodges that were founded by African Americans shortly after emancipation, the Church Aid Society was rooted in the ancient African secret societies. The proper burial of members was an important function of the lodge, and it also served a very modern function in providing health insurance.

Photo 1994.

Note: More information available from Amelia Wallace Vernon, African Americans at Mars Bluff, South Carolina (Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University, 1993. Reprint. Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1995), pp. 54-56, 234 note 18.