Long before the movement of the late-19th century, temperance societies were organized in New York and Massachusetts with branches established throughout Maryland by 1831. Another group with similar goals, the Order of the Sons of Temperance, was founded September 29, 1842, "to protect ourselves and others from the evils of Intemperance, afford mutual assistance, and elevate our characters as men." Their seal included the Fountain of Life (water)-a symbol repeated on album quilts in support of the cause of abstinence. Hand drawn ink marks were sometimes employed to add details to album quilts, particularly to motifs of complex design. Signatures ranging from names simply rendered in beautiful calligraphy to those surrounded by elaborate miniature vignettes were also added in ink, either by hand, stamp, or template. In this album square, ink is used to render the banderole and title "The Fountain of Health." The water rising and falling in the fountain, the Ode to Temperance written below, and small details such as the hairs on rose buds are also added with pen and ink, as is the inscription, drawn on a ribbon held in mid-air from a bird's beak.