The Tribe of Ben Hur was
founded by D.W.Gerald and F.L. Snyder in 1894 in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Contrary to popular belief, Lew Wallace, the author of the popular Civil War
era novel by the same name, was not the primary founder though he did know
the founders and gave his permission to use the name Ben Hur.
The Tribe of Ben Hur
was a typical fraternal benefit society and reached a peak membership of
106,216 in 1910. By 1990, it had declined to about 15,000.
In 1988, the Ben Hur
Life Association became USA Life Insurance.
