Independent Order of Good Templars I.O.G.T. formed a chapter on May 7, 1880 in Freeport. Known as the Sincerity Lodge No. 236, Independent Order of Good Templars I.O.G.T. Unlike other fraternal temperance organizations like the Washingtonians and the Sons of Temperance, which maintained separate auxiliaries for women (the Martha Washington Society and the Daughters of Temperance, respectively), the Templars broke from tradition and allowed women full membership. Though the lodge boasted it had sixty members for its 16th anniversary, the Freeport chapter had all but disappeared by 1900. In 1885, during its peak, the Sincerity Lodge held a Templars' convention in the Freeport Presbyterian Church. During this meeting a 'lively discussion" took place on the topic "The Rights of Liquor Dealers as Citizens."
Source:
"Sincerity Lodge." Queens County Review. May 07, 1897, 3. Accessed January 1, 2020. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071432/1897-05-07/ed-1/seq-3/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, January 1, 2020.