Historedia
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Dispensation Claim

When
1845
Where
West Union, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Part of
Ephraim Bee and the E Clampus Vitus dispensation

Ephraim Bee claimed the Emperor of China granted him a dispensation to extend E Clampus Vitus in the New World, attributed to Caleb Cushing.

Members claim the order was brought from Qing Dynasty China to the United States in 1845, when inn and stable owner Ephraim Bee received a commission from the Emperor of China to "extend the work and influence of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus." Bee said the commission came via Caleb Cushing, the American Commissioner to China. Both legend and scholars place the founding in West Union, Virginia (now West Virginia), in 1845. The story is apocryphal fraternal lore, and the 1 January date is a likely placeholder.

Sources

  1. E Clampus Vitus Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-06
  2. Ephraim Bee Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-23

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.