The Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves

"[1][2][3] Since its founding, there have been more than 10,000 members including heads of state, Supreme Court justices, governors, popes, professors, generals, and other notables.

[12] Thirteen men[5] first met on June 4, 1810, at Marsh's Tavern at 19 Court Street and opened a subscription list,[13][14][10] noting that The great number of horses stolen from amongst us and in our vicinity is truly alarming, and calls for the attention of every well-disposed Citizen.

It is evident that there has been, and probably will continue, a combination of Villains through the northern states to carry into effect this malignant design, and their frequent escape from the hand of justice stimulates them to that atrocious practice.

And as that kind of property is most liable to be carried out of our knowledge, it requires the utmost exertion of every good member of society, to baffle and suppress depredations of this kind...[1][10] At this meeting, the following officers were chosen: William Ellis, Clerk, Nathaniel Whiting, President, General George Ellis, Vice President, and Eliphalet Baker, Treasurer.

Applications for membership in the Society must be approved by a majority vote by current members and a "controversial nomination years ago of Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran was not seconded.

Robert Hanson, who has followed in the steps of his father and grandfather as clerk-treasurer of the Society, has said "I've always wondered what the reaction in the Vatican mail room is when they open the envelope and see the certificate.

[20] The last time the Society investigated a horse theft was in 1909, although a number of pranks between members set off false alarms after that.

In days when vigilante justice was a major component of the Society, "not a few horse thieves were apprehended by the organization of the long name.

[19] A group of riders headed south on the Providence Road, and found evidence that the horse had bucked the thief off its back and into the mud.

The alarm was raised, fliers were distributed, and members set off in motor cars, but they failed to find the stolen horse.

[25] Four years later, in December 1910, Joseph Agel of Boston brought a short, chunky, nervous horse that was blind in one eye to the Scarry Stable.

[41] By 1899, horse thefts were becoming so rare that newspapers as far away as The Evening Times of Washington, D.C. were noting that "it might seem to the ordinary observer that the members ought to devote themselves to something worth doing, now that their particular object in life has disappeared.

"[11] At the turn of the 20th century, under the guidance of its new president, Dr. Edward Knobel, its annual meeting became a social event with dinner, drink, and entertainment.

"[26] He reported that the membership was limited to 350 men and that there was a perpetual waiting list to join with "the slightest fleck on your social record" being cause to be rejected.

[1][22] While alcohol was forbidden in the schools, it was a convenient setup with both a cafeteria and an auditorium, and surprise was expressed yearly at the variety of colors of "water" in glasses.

[1][22] In the early 1900s, the committee of Riders were elected based on their weight, "so that when a thief is captured his captors can sit on him to prevent him from escaping.

[27] One member, whose "hulking frame could barely contain his enthusiasm for the group," told a reporter that the annual meeting was "the greatest event in the history of Dedham, ever.

"[51] For many years it was a men's only club, but in 2012 Margo Pyle became the Society's first female Rider, or one who is responsible for searching for horse thieves when one is stolen.

"[2] In 2020, when a horse named Leo went missing in Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire, Clerk-Treasurer Kevin Hampe was contacted asking if the Society would help looking for it.

[22] Hampe initially thought the call was a joke, but eventually informed the caller that the Society's jurisdiction is limited to within 20 miles of the Norfolk County Courthouse.

[54] The Horse Thieves Tavern at the corner of Washington and High Streets in Dedham Square also took its name from the Society, and was open from 2018 to 2024.