The Holy order of The Lemon

The Order of the Lemon is an ancient lodge founded by Keith Brampton in 1835. He established the lodge with the aim to unite lemon orchards across the vast expanse of the Texas territory against their Mexican overlords while not originally being from Texas. Keith Brampton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1801 to Martin Klaus and Heide Klaus, German immigrants. His parents gave him the name "keith" to make him sound more English or American in hopes that he wouldn't suffer from discrimination. Not much is known about Keith's early life other than that he seemed to be much more educated than most. What is known is that Keith married very early in life at the age of sixteen to a Miss Helen Bourbon who was fifteen at the time. Miss Bourbon was the daughter of one of the wealthiest fruit merchants in New Orleans. William Bourbon, Helen's father, was aging quickly and needed a male heir to take on his family's mass of wealth and it was to his great fortune that his daughter found a lover. After the marriage Keith had opted to change his last name from the german Klaus to the more english sounding last name Brampton. Not soon after the marriage William Bourbon died in 1823. So with that Keith had filled coffers and a decent dowry as well. Along with money he had also inherited the Bourbon estate outside of New Orleans (at the time) along with many fruit plantations in Louisiana. Keith had to adapt to being a business man fairly quickly being only 22 when William Bourbon had died. However, along with the plantations in Louisiana it seemed that William had also acquired the deed to a lemon plantation in Texas. There weren't many lemon plantations in Texas but Keith had developed business connections with most, if not all, of the existing lemon farmers in the Texas territory. With his connections he founded a lodge that would bind the citrus farmers together against the tyranny of the Mexican reign. So with the Texas Revolution in 1835 and the American active involvement against the imperialist Mexican pigs Keith had a vested interest in the indepence of Texas. Keith happily volunteered with the New Orleans Greys when they had offered their services to the Texan cause. The New Orleans Greys were proper soldiers in comparison to the rebels they were fighting and brought with them proper equipment and supplies. Keith had been appointed a lieutenant due to his wealth and social standing but fought just as bravely as any of his other compatriots. His valor was to be noted on the battlefield and earned him the nickname Sour-kraut (the name sour due to him being a citrus farmer and kraut due to his [now disputed among scholars] bavarian heritage). Sadly, during the Goliad Campaign he had been captured by the Mexican Army. On March 27th, 1836 Keith Brampton was murdered in the Goliad Massacre under the orders of General and President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Keith's wife had given birth to a son in 1835, right after he had left for the war.