Daily AncestorThree links (Odd Fellows)
Three links of chain on a gravestone, often with the letters F, L and T, mark a member of the Odd Fellows: Friendship, Love and Truth.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was founded in Baltimore in 1819 with the motto Friendship, Love and Truth. Its emblem is three joined chain links, so common that the order is called the three link fraternity. The letters F, L and T often sit inside the links.
Do not confuse the joined links with a single broken link, which means a death in the family. An Odd Fellows emblem leads to lodge records worth looking for.
As seen in a recordTown or I.O.O.F. cemetery, 1840 to 1950
Three linked rings with F L T inside: Ansel B. Cudworth, 1834 to 1902, I.O.O.F.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Three links (Odd Fellows)." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/three-links. Last checked 2026-10-15.