Masonic Genealogical Research
Administrador - Genealogia.org.mx
More and more people are becoming interested in tracing their
ancestors. For Freemasons discovering whether or not there are
Freemasons in the family tree is a vital part of their genealogical
research.
The Grand Lodge of Scotland is happy to search the membership records
for details of those who may have been Freemasons.
To make an initial enquiry please e-mail Brother George Preston with
as many details as possible (Date of Birth, Lodge Name and Number,
place of residence, occupation etc.) and he will endeavour to assist.
Please note that for those interested in researching the Masonic
activities of English or Irish Freemasons will need to contact those
Grand Lodges.
Grand Lodge of Antient Free and
Accepted Masons of Scotland
(GLOS) All rights reserved.
http://www.grandlodgescotland.com
Please contact our Webmaster with any technical comments or
questions about this site or to provide updates to the site content.
Disclaimer - The information contained in these Web pages is, to the
best of our knowledge, true and accurate at the time of publication,
and is solely for informational purposes. GLOS accept no liability for
any loss or damage howsoever arising as a result of use or reliance on
this information.
Administrador - Genealogia.org.mx
Administrador - Genealogia.org.mx
of famous men who also happen to have been freemasons?
brisa rodriguez garcia
_________________________________________________________________
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Administrador - Genealogia.org.mx
Genealogists often become curious about Freemasonry because of a
mention in a relative's obituary or from finding a Masonic emblem on a
gravestone. Sometimes a family knows of the Masonic connection but for
others, it's a bit of a surprise.
Finding a Masonic member in the family tree will often stimulate the
genealogical inquirer to ask questions:
What is Masonry and why did my relative join?
What information can Masonic records offer to help my research?
>From a genealogy perspective, we'll attempt to answer both questions:
Freemasonry is the world's oldest and largest fraternity. It has
existed in its current form since 1717 and men of good character
throughout the past 300 years have been attracted to it. Freemasonry
does not solicit membership: your relative formed a positive opinion
of the organization and petitioned for membership. He was investigated
as to his morals and character and found at the time of his petition
to be living a life consistent with the high purposes and aims of the
organization. Hopefully he maintained that standard throughout the
balance of his life.
Masonic records contain some information but little is helpful to
genealogical research. Date and sometimes place of birth will appear
on the application for membership and in most cases, the records of
the local lodge (and perhaps of the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction)
will have a notation of date of death. If a person had been
particularly active, their name might appear in lodge minutes but most
likely, such reference would be of little interest in genealogical
research unless one were writing a biography of the person. That a man
was the Chairman of a Dinner-Dance committee or led a fund drive for
the local Masonic Home is not the type of information that any but the
most detailed genealogical researcher could appreciate.
Usually we get inquiries asking if we can provide information about a
particular individual's lodge membership. This website is the work of
one individual as a 'hobby'. It is not an official site nor do we have
any way of searching for any information kept by any of the hundreds
of Grand Lodges throughout the world. Because each Grand Lodge is
sovereign, there is no 'master repository' of data.
Further, Masonic records are not necessarily a primary source. In the
1700s and 1800s, individual lodges did not provide full membership
information to the Grand Lodges of their respective states (for the
US) or jurisdictions. Further, Grand Lodges are not staffed to handle
the many inquiries that they receive. Usually, it is preferable to
inquire with the particular lodge in which the member was affiliated
but here again, the inquiry would go to a Lodge Secretary who is an
unpaid volunteer, sometimes elderly but sometimes young with lots of
family responsibilities (and in either case, rarely a genealogist),
with little time or means for extensive research. As a result, such
inquiries don't always receive a prompt response. Sometimes too, older
records may be secured in a bank vault or they may have been destroyed
by fire, water damage, or some other catastrophe. Because of this,
information from Masonic sources will likely be slow in arriving and
may be totally unavailable.
Inquiry made to the Grand Lodge in which the ancestor was a member may
produce the name and address of the appropriate Lodge Secretary when
such contact is being made from outside the area. If you're nearby the
lodge in question, the Secretary's name can often be found on the
lodge door or nearby.
One of the best internet listings of various Grand Lodges worldwide
along with links to their home pages can be found at the E-M@son
Website which is regularly updated. These addresses and phone numbers
may help BUT
What's very important to remember is that neither Masonic Lodges nor
their Grand Lodges are in 'the business of' genealogical research.
Such data as would be useful to genealogical researchers (marriage
dates, maiden name of spouse, etc) are not types of data kept as a
matter of course. As an example: my Masonic lodge has no 'official
knowledge' that my Grandfather was a Mason even though many members
knew it when I joined. Now, as time has passed, so has that bit of
information - unless I happen to mention it for some odd reason during
a meeting when the Secretary might (but likely wouldn't) add that to
the minutes of the meeting. (It might be "Bro. King spoke on the state
of the building when his Grandfather was a member in the next town and
proposed that we start a building renovation committee." but more
likely it would be "It was proposed that we start a building
renovation committee.") If the Lodge (or Grand Lodge) was willing to
share the information on my petition, you could determine when and
(usually) where I was born, my occupation and residence at the time,
and - sometimes - a few other bits of innocuous information (how long
I'd lived in the jurisdiction, for example, and the names of those
who'd sponsored me). While there is always the possibility of some
'little gem' emerging from such items, the search will generally be
far more trouble in the long run than it's worth and - from our own
knowledge of genealogical work in tracing multiple genealogical lines
to our well-documented Mayflower lineage - the time and energy might
be better spent pursuing other avenues. We don't want to sound too
pessimistic here because we've learned from experience that some
'brick walls' can be broken down from information found in the most
unexpected places but we think that information that might be within
the Masonic institution would likely be much more readily available
elsewhere.
We'd also mention that we sometimes get inquiries from those whose
ancestor is reportedly a "33rd Degree Mason" or a "Grand Master".
These are very rare and distinct honors within the fraternity and
generally, the person was, in fact, a member of the Scottish Rite
bodies having attained the 32nd Degree (more information about this
here) or a Master of their local lodge. These things were both
important to the person and their becoming Master of a lodge shows
that their brethren had great faith in their leadership and management
abilities.