The Gehagan Society, silver member’s medal or pass, c. 1806, GEHAGAN SOCIETY FOUNDED BY POLYCARPUS ANNO DOMINI 135, rev. flowering sunflower, "We esteem most what is most concealed", and hallmarks for maker EM, London, 1806, 43mm, 11.11g. Good very fine.

Other examples in trade/collections are hallmarked London 1801 with makers Peter, Ann and William Bateman (awarded to J A Tickell, Secretary L L 1804); London 1803 with the same makers (awarded to Robert Johnson Most Sublime LL 1804). Add to those this piece, London 1806 with marker’s mark EM (not named). This EM mark is attributed to Edward Mayfield but it has been suggested that it may in fact be an unregistered mark for Elizabeth Morley, silversmith (fl. 1794-1807).

The position of the hallmarks and the fact that the known examples should share their design but carry the marks of different makers raises the possibility that the makers were chosen and/or that the silver used was recycled from existing plate, and it’s tempting to think there’s a theme.
Peter, Ann and William Bateman were the children of Hester Bateman (1708-1794). Hester married a goldsmith but was widowed in 1760, receiving her husband’s tools in his will. She took over the business herself, becoming one of our best-known silversmiths and was succeeded by her children, including her daughter-in-law Ann when she herself was widowed.
Elizabeth Morley (fl. 1794-1807) began to work independently as a silversmith on the death of her husband Thomas Morley.
Polycarp is best known for his Epistle to the Philippians. While the epistle offers spiritual guidance for many groups, its relevance to widows within early Christian society has been the subject of research, notably: Margaret L. Butterfield, Sacred Intercessors: Widows as Altar in Polycarp, Philippians In: Patterns of Women’s Leadership in Early Christianity. Edited by: Joan E. Taylor and Ilaria L.E. Ramelli, Oxford University Press (2021), where Butterfield explores Polycarp’s metaphor of the ‘widow as an altar to God’ reflecting a highly important spiritual and societal role.
Nevertheless, it is the nature of secret societies to keep their secrets secret. In fact, little to nothing is known about the Gehagan Society and for now any potential links between the respective silversmiths and the shared philosophies of Polycarp and the society will remain intriguing but speculative.