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ABOUT FREEMASONRY IN GENERAL |
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Freemasonry is the premier
fraternal organization in
the world, with lodges in
almost every country in the
free world. It is open to
men of adult age of any
color, any religion,
nationality or social
standing. The only
requirement of its members
is a belief in a Supreme
Being. The goal of
Freemasonry is to enhance
and strengthen the character
of the individual man by
providing opportunities for
fellowship, charity,
education, and leadership
based on the three ancient
Masonic tenets, Brotherly
Love, Relief and Truth. |
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Freemasonry has a long
and praiseworthy tradition,
dating back centuries. The
first lodge in North America
was the Provincial Grand
Lodge of Masons in
Massachusetts, organized by
Henry Price, who met at the
Bunch of Grapes Tavern in
Boston. North American
Freemasons have been helping
to build better communities
ever since. Many of
America’s early Patriots
were Masons. General Joseph
Warren, who gave his life at
Bunker Hill and Paul Revere
were both Grand Masters of
the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts. Others are
listed below in the "famous
Freemasons section". |
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MAJOR HENRY PRICE |
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FIRST GRAND MASTER IN NEW
ENGLAND |
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Quick History of Freemasonry |
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Although the actual
origins of Freemasonry are
clouded in the mists of
antiquity, it is widely
agreed that Masonry dates
back to the late fourteenth
century and flourished
during the middle ages when
guilds of Masons traveled
throughout Europe building
the great gothic cathedrals.
Apprentices were taken in
and taught the craft by
Master Masons who passed on
the secrets of the trade. As
building declined, the
guilds began to accept
members who were not
actually stone Masons. From
these roots evolved Masonry,
as we know it today. |
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CLICK ON LINK ABOVE TO
ENLARGE |
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CLICK ON LINK ABOVE TO
ENLARGE |
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Ritual and symbols |
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The
Freemasons rely heavily on
the architectural symbolism
of the medieval operative
Masons who actually worked
in stone. One of their
principal symbols is the
square and Compasses, tools
of the trade, so arranged as
to form a quadrilateral. The
square is sometimes said to
represent matter, and the
compasses spirit or mind.
Alternatively, the square
might be said to represent
the world of the concrete,
or the measure of objective
reality, while the compasses
represent abstraction, or
subjective judgment, and so
forth (Freemasonry being
non-dogmatic, there is no
written-in-stone
interpretation for any of
these symbols). Often the
compasses straddle the
square, representing the
interdependence between the
two. In the space between
the two, there is optionally
placed a symbol of
metaphysical significance.
Sometimes, this is a blazing
star or other symbol of
Light, representing Truth or
knowledge. Alternatively,
there is often a letter G
placed there, usually said
to represent God and/or
Geometry.
The square and compasses are
displayed at all Masonic
meetings, along with the
open Volume of the Sacred
Law (or Lore) (VSL). In
English-speaking countries,
this is usually a Holy
Bible, but it can be
whatever book(s) of
inspiration or scripture
that the members of a
particular Lodge or
jurisdiction feel they draw
on—whether the Bible, the
Qur'an, or other Volumes. A
candidate for a degree will
normally be given his choice
of VSL, regardless of the
Lodge's usual VSL. In many
French Lodges, the Masonic
Constitutions are used. In a
few cases, a blank book has
been used, where the
religious makeup of a Lodge
was too diverse to permit an
easy choice of VSL. In
addition to its role as a
symbol of written wisdom,
inspiration, and spiritual
revelation, the VSL is what
Masonic obligations are
taken upon.
Much
of Masonic symbolism is
mathematical in nature, and
in particular geometrical,
which is probably a reason
Freemasonry has attracted so
many rationalists (such as
Voltaire, Fichte, Goethe,
George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin, Mark Twain and
many others). No particular
metaphysical theory is
advanced by Freemasonry,
however, although there
seems to be some influence
from the Pythagoreans, from
Neo-Platonism, and from
early modern Rationalism.
In keeping with the
geometrical and
architectural theme of
Freemasonry, the Supreme
Being (or God, or Creative
Principle) is sometimes also
referred to in Masonic
ritual as the Grand
Geometer, or the Great
Architect of the Universe (GAOTU).
Freemasons use a variety of
labels for this concept in
order to avoid the idea that
they are talking about any
one religion's particular
God or God-like concept. |
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Degrees |
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The
Three Degrees of
Freemasonry |
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Referred to Blue Lodge or Craft
Lodge |
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1° Entered Apprentice |
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2° Fellow Craft |
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3° Master Mason |
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As one
works through the degrees,
one studies the lessons and
interprets them for oneself.
There are as many ways to
interpret the rituals as
there are Masons, and no
Mason may dictate to any
other Mason how he is to
interpret them. No
particular truths are
espoused, but a common
structure—speaking
symbolically to universal
human archetypes—provides
for each Mason a means to
come to his own answers to
life's important questions.
Especially in Europe,
Freemasons working through
the degrees are asked to
prepare papers on related
philosophical topics, and
present these papers in an
open Lodge, where others may
judge the suitability of the
candidates' ascension
through the higher degrees. |
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History of Freemasonry |
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Main article: History
of Freemasonry
Freemasonry has been said to
be an institutional
outgrowth of the medieval
guilds of stonemasons (1), a
direct descendant of the
"Poor Fellow-Soldiers of
Christ and the Temple of
Solomon in Jerusalem" (the
Knights Templar) (2), an
offshoot of the ancient
Mystery schools (1), an
administrative arm of the
Priory of Sion (3), the
Roman Collegia (1), the
Comacine masters (1),
intellectual descendants of
Noah (1), and many other
various and sundry origins.
Others claim that it dates
back only to the late 17th
century in England, and has
no real connections at all
to earlier organizations.
These theories are noted in
numerous different texts,
and the following are but
examples pulled from a sea
of books:
Much of the content of these
books is highly speculative,
and the precise origins of
Freemasonry may very well be
lost in either an unwritten
or a created history. It is
thought by many that
Freemasonry cannot be a
straightforward outgrowth of
medieval guilds of
stonemasons. Amongst the
reasons given for this
conclusion, well documented
in Born in Blood, are the
fact that stonemasons'
guilds do not appear to
predate reasonable estimates
for the time of
Freemasonry's origin, that
stonemasons lived near their
worksite and thus had no
need for secret signs to
identify themselves, and
that the "Ancient Charges"
of Freemasonry are
nonsensical when thought of
as being rules for a
stonemasons' guild.
Freemasonry is said by some,
especially amongst Masons
practising the York Rite, to
have existed at the time of
King Athelstan of England,
in the 10th century C.E.
Athelstan is said by some to
have been converted to
Christianity in York, and to
have issued the first
Charter to the Masonic
Lodges there. This story is
not currently substantiated
(the dynasty had already
been Christian for
centuries).
A more historically reliable
(although still not
unassailable) source
asserting the antiquity of
Freemasonry is the Halliwell
Manuscript, or Regius Poem,
which is believed to date
from ca. 1390, and which
makes reference to several
concepts and phrases similar
to those found in
Freemasonry. The manuscript
itself refers to an earlier
document, of which it seems
to be an elaboration.
There is also the Cooke
Manuscript, which is said to
be dated 1430 and contained
the Constitution of German
stonemasons(4), but the
first appearance of the word
'Freemason' occurs in the
Statutes of the Realm
enacted in 1495 by Henry
VII, however, most other
documentary evidence prior
to the 1500s appears to
relate entirely to operative
Masons rather than
speculative ones.
1583 is the date of the
Grand Lodge manuscript(4),
and more frequent mention of
lodges is made in documents
from this time onwards. The
Schaw Statues of 1598-9(4)
are the source used to
declare the precedence of
Kilwinning Lodge in
Edinburgh, Scotland over St.
Mary's (or Principal) Lodge.
As a side note, Kilwinning
is called Kilwinning #0
because of this very
conundrum. Quite soon
thereafter, a charter was
granted to Sir William St.
Clair (later Sinclair) of
Roslin (Rosslyn), allowing
him to purchase jurisdiction
over a number of lodges in
Edinburgh and environs (4),
which is the basis of the
Templar myth surrounding
Rosslyn Chapel.
Another key figure in
Masonic history was Elias
Ashmole (1617-1692), who was
made a Mason in 1646,
although Speculative Masons
were being admitteed into
Lodges as early as 1634.
There appears to be a
general spread of the Craft
during this time, but the
next key date is 1717.
In 1717, four Lodges which
met, respectively, at the
"Apple-Tree Tavern, the
Crown Ale-House near Drury
Lane, the Goose and Gridiron
in St. Paul's Churchyard,
and the Rummer and Grapes
Tavern in Westminster" in
London, England (as
recounted in (2)) joined
together and formed the
first Grand Lodge, the Grand
Lodge of England (GLE). The
years following saw new
Grand Lodges open throughout
England and Europe, as the
new Freemasonry spread
rapidly. How much of this
was the spreading of
Freemasonry itself, and how
much was the public
organization of pre-existing
secret Lodges, is not
possible to say with
certainty. The GLE in the
beginning did not have the
current three degrees, but
only the first two. The
third degree appeared, so
far as we know, around 1725. |
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Famous Masons |
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U.S.
Presidents |
Buchanan, James - President
of the U.S.
Ford, Gerald R. - President
of the U.S.
Garfield, James A. -
President of the U.S.
Harding, Warren G. -
President of the U.S.
Jackson, Andrew - President
of the U.S.
Johnson, Andrew - President
of the U.S.
McKinley, William -
President of the U.S.
Monroe, James - President of
the U.S.
Polk, James Knox - President
of the U.S.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. -
President of the U.S.
Roosevelt, Theodore -
President of the U.S.
Taft, William Howard -
President of the U.S.
Truman, Harry S. - President
of the U.S.
Washington, George -
President of US |
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Supreme Court Justices |
Black,
Hugo L. - Supreme Court
Justice
Blair, Jr., John - Supreme
Court Justice
Blatchford, Samuel - Supreme
Court Justice
Baldwin, Henry - Supreme
Court Justice
Burton, Harold H. - Supreme
Court Justice
Byrnes, James F. - Supreme
Court Justice
Catton, John - Supreme Court
Justice
Clark, Thomas C. - Supreme
Court Justice
Clarke, John H. - Supreme
Court Justice
Cushing, William - Supreme
Court Justice
Devanter, Willis Van -
Supreme Court Justice
Douglas, William O. -
Supreme Court Justice
Ellsworth, Oliver - Supreme
Court Justice
Field, Stephen J. - Supreme
Court Justice
Harlan, John M. - Supreme
Court Justice
Jackson, Robert H. - Supreme
Court Justice
Lamar, Joseph E. - Supreme
Court Justice
Marshall, John - Chief
Justice U.S. Supreme Court
1801 - 1835
Marshall, Thurgood - Supreme
Court Justice
Mathews, Stanley - Supreme
Court Justice
Minton, Sherman - Supreme
Court Justice
Moody, William H. - Supreme
Court Justice
Nelson, Samuel - Supreme
Court Justice
Paterson, William - Supreme
Court Justice
Pitney, Mahlon - Supreme
Court Justice
Reed, Stanley F. - Supreme
Court Justice
Rutledge, Wiley B. - Supreme
Court Justice
Stewart, Potter - Supreme
Court Justice
Swayne, Noah H. - Supreme
Court Justice
Todd, Thomas - Supreme Court
Justice
Trimble, Robert - Supreme
Court Justice
Vinson, Frederick M. -
Supreme Court Justice
Warren, Earl - Supreme Court
Justice
Woodbury, Levi - Supreme
Court Justice
Woods, William B. - Supreme
Court Justice |
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Military |
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Arnold,
General Henry "Hap" -
Commander of the Army Air
Force
Bradley, Omar N. - Military
leader
Byrd, Admiral Richard E. -
Flew over North Pole
Doolittle, General James -
Famous Air Force Pilot
Jones, John Paul - First
Admiral of the U.S. Navy
Lafayette, Marquis de -
Supporter of American
Freedom
Lindbergh, Charles - Aviator
MacArthur, General Douglas -
Commander of Armed Forces in
Philillines
Marshall, George - General
of the Armies
McClellan, General George B.
- Army of the Potomac,
Presidential candidate
against Abe Lincoln, faced
General Robert E. Lee at the
battle of Antietam and twice
Governor of New Jersey.
Montgomery, Richard Major
General - Fist General
Officer of the Continental
Army killed in the Battle
for Quebec on Dec 31, 1775.
Murphy, Audie - Most
decorated soldier of WW11.
Nicholas, Samuel -
Revolutionary War hero and
the first Commandant of the
Marine Corps.
Peary, Robert E. - First man
to reach the North Pole
(1909)
Pershing, John Joseph -
Decorated American Soldier
Rickenbacker, Eddie - Great
American Air Force Ace
Tirpitz, Alfred Von - German
Naval officer responsible
for submarine warfare |
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Sports |
Cobb, Ty -
An original member of the
Baseball Hall of Fame
Combs, Earle Bryan -
Baseball Hall of Fame
Dempsey, Jack - Sports
Hornsby, Rogers - A member
of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Naismith, James - Inventor
of Basketball
Palmer, Arnold - Golf Pro |
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Actors\Writers |
Autry,
Gene - Actor
Borgnine, Ernest - Actor
Burns, Robert - The National
Poet of Scotland
Casanova - Italian
Adventurer, writer and
entertainer
Clemens, Samuel L. - Mark
Twain - writer
Cohan, George M. - Broadway
star
Collodi, Carlo - Writer of
Pinocchio
Doyle, Sir Author Conan -
Writer - Sherlock Holmes
Fairbanks, Douglas - Silent
film actor
Fields, W.C. - Actor
Gable, Clark - Actor
Gibbon, Edward - Writer -
Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire
Godfrey, Arthur - Actor
Gray, Harold Lincoln -
Creator of "Little Orphan
Annie
Hardy, Oliver - Actor -
Comedian
Kipling, Rudyard - Writer
Lincoln, Elmo - First actor
to play Tarzan of the Apes
(1918)
Mix, Tom - U.S. Marshal
turned actor. Stared in over
400 western films
Murphy, Audie - Most
decorated American Soldier
of WWII
Pushkin, Aleksander -
Russian Poet
Rogers, Roy - American
cowboy and screen star
Rogers, Will - Actor
Scott, Sir Walter - Writer
Sellers, Peter - Actor
Shakespeare, William -
Writer
Swift, Jonathan - Wrote
Gulliver's Travels
Voltaire - French writer and
philosopher
Wallace, Lewis - Wrote "Ben
Hur"
Wayne, John - Actor |
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Musicians\ Entertainers
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Basie,
William "Count" - Orchestra
leader/composer
Berlin, Irving - Entertainer
Clark, Roy - Country Western
Star
Dickens, Little Jimmy -
Grand Ole Opry Star
Ellington, Duke - Composer,
Arranger and Stylist
Jolson, Al - Fame as the
first 'talking picture' the
Jazz Singer
Key, Francis Scott - Wrote
U.S. National Anthem
Lloyd, Harold C. -
Entertainer
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus -
Composer
Sax, Antoine Joseph -
Invented the Saxophone
(1846)
Sibelius, Jean - Composer
(Finland)
Skelton, Red - Entertainer
Smith, John Stafford - Wrote
the music that became the US
National Anthem.
Sousa, John Philip - Led the
U.S. Marine Band from 1880 -
1892
Stratton, Charles "Tom
Thumb" - Entertainer
Tillis, Mel - Country Singer
Whiteman, Paul - "King of
Jazz" |
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Government
Leaders |
Abbott,
Sir John J.C. - Prime
Minister of Canada 1891-92
Bennett, Viscount R.B. -
Prime Minister of Canada
1930-35
Borden, Sir Robert L. -
Prime Minister of Canada
1911-1920
Bowell, Sir Mackenzie -
Prime Minister of Canada
1894-96
Churchill, Winston - British
Leader
Diefenbaker, John G. - Prime
Minister of Canada 1957-63
Edward VII - King of England
Edward VIII - King of
England who abdicated the
throne in less than 1 year
George VI - King of England
during W.W. II
MacDonald, Sir John A. -
Prime Minister of Canada
1867-73 & 1878-91
Nunn, Sam - U.S. Senator |
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Astronauts |
Aldrin,
Edwin E. - Astronaut
Armstrong, Neil - Astronaut
Glenn, John H. - First
American to orbit the earth
in a space craft
Grissom, Virgil - Astronaut |
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Early
American Pioneers
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Austin,
Stephen F. - Father of Texas
Bowie, James - Alamo
Brant, Joseph - Chief of the
Mohawks 1742 - 1807
Burnett, David G. - 1st
President of the Republic of
Texas
Carson, Christopher "Kit" -
Frontiersman, scout and
explorer
Clark, William - Explorer
Cody, "Buffalo Bill" William
- Indian fighter, Wild West
Show
Colt, Samuel - Firearms
inventor
Crockett, David - American
Frontiersman and Alamo fame
Henry, Patrick - Patriot
Houston, Sam - 2nd&4th
President of the Republic of
Texas
Jones, Anson - 5th President
of the Republic of Texas
Lamar, Mirabeau B. - 3rd
President of the Republic of
Texas
Lewis, Meriwether - Explorer
Livingston, Robert -
Co-Negotiator for purchase
of Louisiana Territory
Revere, Paul - Famous
American
Travis, Colonel William B. -
Alamo |
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Signers of
the Declaration of
Independence |
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Franklin,
Benjamin - 1 of 13 Masonic
signers of Constitution of
the U.S.
Hancock, John - 1of 9
Masonic signers of
Declaration of Independence |
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Other Famous
Masons |
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Balfour,
Lloyd - Jewelry
Bartholdi, Frederic A. -
Designed the Statue of
Liberty
Baylor, Robert E. B. -
Founder Baylor University
Beard, Daniel Carter -
Founder Boy Scouts
Bell, Lawrence - Bell
Aircraft Corp.
Borglum, Gutzon & Lincoln -
Father and Son who carved
Mt. Rushmore
BuBois, W.E.B. -
Educator/scholar
Calvo, Father Francisco -
Catholic Priest who started
Freemasonry in Costa Rica
1865
Chrysler, Walter P. -
Automotive fame
Citroen, Andre - French
Engineer and motor car
manufacturer
Desaguliers, John Theophilus
- Inventor of the
planetarium
Dow, William H. - Dow
Chemical Co.
Drake, Edwin L - American
Pioneer of the Oil industry
Dunant, Jean Henri - Founder
of the Red Cross
Ervin Jr, Samual J. - Headed
"Watergate" committee
Faber, Eberhard - Head of
the famous Eberhard Fabor
Pencil Company
Fisher, Geoffrey -
Archbishop of Canterbury
1945 - 1961
Fitch, John - Inventor of
the Steamboat
Fleming, Sir Alexander -
Invented Penicillin
Ford, Henry - Pioneer
Automobile Manufacturer
Gatling, Richard J. - Built
the "Gatling Gun"
Gilbert, Sir William S. -
Was the librettis for
"Pirates of Penzance"
Gillett, King C. - Gillett
Razor Co.
"Grock - Swiss Circus Clown
Guillotin, Joseph Ignace -
Inventor of the "Guillotine"
Hedges, Cornelius - "Father"
of Yellowstone National Park
Henson, Josiah - Inspired
the novel "Uncle Tom's
Cabin"
Hilton, Charles C. -
American Hotelier
Hoban, James - Architect for
the U.S. Capitol
Hoe, Richard M. - Invented
the rotary press,
revolutionizing newspaper
printing
Hoover, J. Edgar - Director
of FBI
Houdini, Harry - Magician
Jenner, Edward - Inventor -
Vaccination
Jones, Melvin - One of the
founders of the Lions
International
Lake, Simon - Built first
submarine successfull in
open sea.
Land, Frank S. - Founder
Order of DeMolay
Lipton, Sir Thomas - Tea
Marshall, James W. -
Discovered Gold at Sutter's
Mill California 1848
Mayer, Louis B. - Film
producer who merged to form
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Mayo, Dr. William and
Charles - Began Mayo Clinic
Maytag, Fredrick - Maytag
Menninger, Karl A. -
Psychiatrist famous for
treating mental illness
Michelson, Albert Abraham -
Successfully measured the
speed of light in 1882
Montgolfier, Jacques Etienne
- Co-developer of the first
practical hot-air balloon
New, Harry S. - Postmaster
General who established
Airmail
Newton, Joseph Fort -
Christian Minister
Olds, Ransom E. - American
automobile pioneer
Otis, James - Famous for
"Taxations without
Representation is Tyranny"
Papst, Charles F. - Coined
the term "Athletes Foot"
Peale, Norman Vincent -
Founder of "Guidepost"
Penny, James C. - Retailer
Poinsett, Joel R. - U.S.
Minister to Mexico who
developed the flower:
Poinsettia
Pullman, George - Built
first sleeping car on train.
Ringling Brothers - All 7
brothers and their father
were Masons.
Salten, Felix - Creator of
Bambi
Sarnoff, David - Father of
T.V.
Schoonover, George - Founder
of "The Builder"
Stanford, Leland - Drove the
gold spike linking the
intercontinental railroad
Stanford, Leland - Railroads
& Stanford University
Still, Andrew T. - American
Physician who devised
treatment of Osteopathy
Teets, John W. - Chairman
and President of Dial
Corporation
Thomas, Dave - Founder of
Wendy's Restaurant
Thomas, Lowell - Brought
Lawrence of Arabia to public
notice
Wadlow, Robert Pershing -
Tallest human on record
being almost 9 feet tall
Warner, Jack - Warner
Brothers Fame
Webb, Matthew - First man to
swim the English Channel
(1875)
Wyler, William - Director of
"Ben Hur"
Zanuck, Darryl F. -
Co-founder of 20th Century
Productions in 1933
Ziegfeld, Florenz - His
Ziegfeld's Follies began in
1907 |
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