KYMASON-L Archives

From: Hettrick/Hill <>
Subject: FAQ on Freemasonry
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 08:27:23 -0700

>From: (Peter Trei)

Freemasonry from a soc.roots perspective.

I am not a geneaologist, amateur or otherwise. But I am a
Freemason, and quite well-read in the field.

Every now and then, Masonry pops up on soc.roots, usually in the
context of "I know that <ancestor> was a Mason, what more can I find
out about him?" This is an attempt to provide a faq file on the
subject.

It's goal is to provide some context for understanding Masonic
documents and artifacts, not teach Masonry. I am most familiar with
the regular "blue" masonic lodge, so anything I say about the other
groups is a little hazy. At the end is some practical advice for using
Masonic sources.

Masonry is a fraternal organization for men. While it can
definitively be traced back to the mid 17th Century, and arguably back
to the late 13th, it became formally organized in 1717, with the
formation of the Grand Lodge of England. It soon spread to the
American colonies, and has generally prospered here.

The Organization of Masonry in America.

Masons are organized into lodges. There is generally a lodge in
almost any small town, sometimes several. Lodges vary in membership,
with a lower limit of seven members, and a practical upper limit
around 1000. Most are in the low hundreds. A mason must be a member in
a lodge to remain in good standing. Some are members of more than one.

Lodges in the same area are grouped into Districts. In
Massachusetts, a typical district will have 5-10 lodges.

Districts are grouped into Jurisdictions. Each Jurisdiction is
presided over by a Grand Lodge. In America, each Grand Lodge generally
has exclusive jurisdiction over a state (and there is also one for
DC).

Masons take three degrees when they join: Entered Apprentice
(EA), Fellowcraft (FC), and Master Mason (MM). If they enter the
officers' line, they may eventually serve a year as Worshipful Master
of the lodge.

All Masons can be referred to as "Brother" (Bro.). Those who have
been installed as Master of a Lodge, are also refered to as
"Worshipful". Past Masters retain this title. In a Masonic document,
you might see "W.'. J. Smith", or "J. Smith, PM" (the .'. represents a
triangle of dots, and has exactly the same significance as an
abbreviating period).

Each district is overseen by a District Deputy Grand Master
(DDGM), who is the representative of the Grand Master (GM), of the
jurisdiction. District level officers are addressed as "Right
Worshipful" (RW), and the Grand Master is "Most Worshipful". Once
again, they retain these forms of address when their term is over, and
prepend "Past" to their titles (PDDGM and PGM).

Symbols and artifacts:

Not all Masons choose to advertize their membership by displaying
symbols, but many do, often on lapel pins, watch fobs, and rings.
Everyone is probably familiar with the standard symbol of Freemasonry;
an interlaced Square & Compasses, surrounding a letter G. Past
Masters have an additional symbol: a pair of compasses above an arc,
sometimes with a blazing sun in the center. PMs are traditionally
given a medal (aka "jewel") in this form, made of gold, to wear at
meetings. The jewel should be returned to the lodge when the PM dies.

Most Masons also possess a white lambskin apron. If they served
as master, or a higher post, they should also have elaborately
embroidered aprons from those offices. Most Masons also have an
engraved membership certificate.

Affiliated organizations.

The foundation of Masonry consists of the Masonic (aka "Blue")
lodge

There are numerous affiliated bodies, which restrict themselves
either to Masons or the relatives of Masons. The most important of
these are:

The "blue lodge" is the foundation of Masonry, and all Masons
take the first three degrees. Some wish to learn more, and a number of
groups of additional degrees (aka "rites") exist. These degrees are
open only to Master Masons, but have a administrative structure
unconnected with the Grand Lodge.

Principle among them are The York Rite and The Scottish Rite

The York Rite:
The York Rite degrees are divided into three blocks: Royal Arch
Chapter, Council of Royal And Select Masters, and Knights Templar
Commandry.

I'm kind of vague on titles here. Members of chapter are referred
to as "Companions". The head of a Chapter is called the High Priest
(HP, PHP). The symbol for Chapter is a keystone with a circle of
letters on it.

Council and Commandry I don't really know enough to comment on.
Knights Templar have rather spiffy uniforms derived from those of
Union Admirals during the Civil War, including a bicorne hat.

The Scottish Rite:
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is the other main group of
degrees, ranging from 4 thru 33. Reaching the 32nd degree is no great
feat in the US - almost any Mason who desires to can attain it. Scottish
Rite Masons are organized into "Valleys".

The symbol of the 32nd degree is an eagle with a triangular shield
on it's chest, inscribed with the number 32.

The 33rd degree is reserved as an honor to those who have provided
great service to their community and/or Masonry, and is pretty
special. 33rd degree Masons often wear a ring consisting of 3 gold
rings joined together, with a number 33 in a triangle in place of a
stone.

Masons can join both the York and Scottish Rites, and many do.
They must maintain good standing in their blue lodge.

The Shriners:
The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine dates
back to 1872. It's members are well known for their red fezzes and for
parading in unusual vehicles. Their symbol (often seen on the back of
cars) is a star and crescent moon suspended from a scimitar. Shriners
are organized into "Temples". The Shrine is open to 32nd degree Masons
and Knights Templar, and they must maintain good standing in their
Scottish or York Rite bodies, as well as blue lodge.

Order of the Eastern Star:
OES is open both to female relatives of Master Masons, and to
Master Masons themselves. All OES chapters are sponsored by blue
lodges. The OES symbol is an inverted five-pointed star, with each
point filled with a different color. The presiding officers of a OES
chapter are the Worthy Patron (WP/PWP) and Worthy Matron
(WM/PWM).

Order of Demolay:
A boys order, open to male relatives of Master Masons between the
ages of 13? and 21.

Rainbow Girls:
A girls order, open to female relatives of Master Masons between
the
ages of 11 and 21. Symbol is a rainbow.

Job's Daughters. Ditto above - I don't know their symbol(s).

Daughters of the Nile:
Female auxiliary to the Shriners.

There are any number of other "rites" and organizations, but these
are the principle ones.

Prince Hall Masonry:

Because of the color bar maintained by most mainstream American
lodges up until the 1950s, a parallel system of black Masonic
organizations came into being, named "Prince Hall" after a prominent
early black Freemason. Prince Hall and mainstream lodges do not
recognize each other as legitimate (this is slowly changing).

--------------------------------------------------

Getting information from the Masons.

The is important to realize is that while Masons keep records,
doing so is not their raison d'etre, nor are they particularly
motivated to do searches for you. A query may be met with anything
from enthusiastic cooperation to complete indifference. Politeness and
tact are essential.

The description here applies to blue lodges, but the method is
quite applicable for the other orders.

Making contact:

The first thing to do is to get in contact with the Masons. If
you know a Mason, just ask. If not, look in the phone book. Lodges are
listed in the white pages with some combination of "Masonic",
"Masons", or "Freemasons" followed by "Hall" or "Temple". In the
Yellow Pages, they are usually under Fraternal Organizations. In
extremis simply walk up to a lodge and knock on the door (we don't
bite :-).

You want to get in contact with either the Master or Secretary of
a lodge near you. They have books listing all the lodges, or they may
put you in touch with Grand Lodge, where the Grand Secretary's office
can give you further information.

What you need to find out is who has the records and archives of
the lodge you are interested in. In the case of still-extant lodges,
they are kept at the lodge itself. Lodges sometimes go defunct, or
merge with other local lodges. In the first case, the records are
probably at the Grand Lodge. In the second, the lodge into which the
merge occured should have them.

Once you have located the records, the fun begins. You will
probably NOT be allowed to paw through them unsupervised - so you
should try to develop a good relationship with the archivist.

Don't expect computerized records, nor expect all the records to
be terribly well organized.

If the man you are interested in acheived some kind of
prominence, he may be listed in "10,000 famous American Freemasons".

What can you find out?

The most valuable single documents you can find for most Masons
are his petitions for initiation or affiliation (the latter are used
when a Mason moves to a new lodge). This should contain the following
information:

Date and place of birth.
Address
Occupation
Previous lodge (only on affiliations).

It may also contain

Marital Status
Religious Affiliation

If he moved out of town, or left the Masons for some other reason,
there may also be a petition for "demit", giving much the same
information.

Most other information the lodge would possess relates only to
things like attendance, and Masonic activities. While this can be
interesting in fleshing out his life, it will not aid much in tracing
your familiy tree back further.

If the man you are interested in died within the last 50 years or
so, it's entirely possible that may be Masons at his lodge who knew
him personally.

Peter Trei


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