What was the ladies group F.F.F.E.O.? Found in the Nov 7, 1892 issue of THE NEWS (presently The Dallas Morning NEWS),SEVEN DAYS IN SOCIETY, Greenville:
"The F.F.F.E.O. were entertained with a quotation party on Wednesday afternoon from 4 to 6 by Mrs R. S. Carver. Miss Anna Marshall captured the capital prize."

I am turning over every rock to find out the maiden name of this Mrs. R. S. Carver mentioned who was married to Robert Sewell Carver who worked at the Greenville Banner until about 1894/95 when he became editor and proprietor of the Kaufman Sun. Any help from a Greenville historian appreciated.

If you are still searching for this information, I will go to the genealogy section of the Greenville public library this coming week and see what I can find for you.

Yes, perhaps you can find some membership list on this women's organization in Greenville, TX. I have found out that Mrs R. S. Carver was not a local, but that she was from Missouri. Her given and maiden name is not known to us and if we just knew her first name that would be a big help, but if she somehow used her maiden name as her second name that would be tremendous! If you find records on the women's organization, including the correct name and some of the other members that also adds a great deal of history to the timeframe that Robert Carver worked at the newspaper in Greenville.

Even small bits of information sometimes lead the way to other clues. Thank you in advance for any small bit of information.

The records of the library show that the first women's club was formed in 1891. There was a history of early women's clubs and some partial membership lists beginning with 1891 but Carver was not listed. I asked the librarian in the genealogy dept. whether the initials meant anything to her, and they did not. She could not think of any church or civic group of the era that would have used those initials. The first women's club was part of the Chautauqua movement.

I believe the initials are probably incorrect in the NewsBank article. Perhaps the paper was OCR'd before it was placed online and the initials were read incorrectly. I asked about microfilm of the original newspaper to see if the initials might be different on film. The librarian indicated that Greenville did not have the Dallas newspaper on microfilm but it was available on film from the Dallas public library.

I know this is not the outcome you wanted. If there is something else I can research in our local records let me know. The Greenville newspaper is available beginning Nov. 1894.

Your research today at the Greenville library is greatly appreciated. The Club name is exactly as it is spelled in the newspaper article, but the club name may have been different. I wondered if it was supposed to be P. E. O.? Or some order of the Eastern Star? My hunch is that the 1891 DMN typesetter put in too many F's.

The Dallas library offers subscription to NewsBank and the Dallas Morning News Archives go way back with actual photos of the newspaper page AND it is searchable by keyword, date, etc. It is a wonderful source. I use it regularly.

In reading the history of clubs/organizations in Greenville, there were no Greenville Masonic groups until later. If it was PEO then the organization would have been elsewhere such as Dallas.