A Freemason in the Family

This Article was first published in the 'Family Tree Magazine' Issue of April 2019. Their Editor has kindly given her permission for it to be reprinted here. www.family-tree.co.uk

Last Spring, I completed the online Future Learn course ‘Genealogy: Researching your family tree,’ delivered by the University of Strathclyde. Apart from some excellent teaching and guidance, the course also promotes and encourages online debate and discussion among students and one or two contributors sought guidance for finding out more about a relative who was understood to be a Freemason. There were very few replies to these queries so I thought I’d explain the background to this subject.

Origins of Freemasonry

Scottish freemasonry has its origins in the Stonemasons ‘Incorporations’ (the equivalent of English ‘Guilds): organisations set up in the mid-to late 15th century to establish standards of competence, fix wages and regulate performances. Unlike the Incorporations for bakers, bonnet-makers, butchers, weavers and leather workers and so on, stonemasons tended to move round the country and they developed a system of signs and ‘grips’ (handshakes) – the equivalent of today’s certificates, diplomas, references etc, so that potential employers (usually senior stonemasons) would know immediately how competent and proficient they were at working in stone When a large stone edifice was being built (for example the great abbeys across central and southern Scotland in the 12th and 13th centuries that attracted continental craftsmen) the stonemasons would be allocated a building nearby (called a ‘Lodge’) where they could store their tools, hold examinations to see how far the competence of their apprentices had progressed and if satisfied, initiate them into the next phase of their training, as well as testing the skills and credentials of visiting craftsmen who claimed to be journeymen masons.

In 1583, William Schaw (1550-1602) was appointed Master of Works to King James Vl (afterwards James l of the United Kingdom) and Schaw set about formally organising the Stonemasons’ Lodges in Scotland, including a requirement in 1598 that they had to start keeping records. Over time, Stonemasons’ Lodges began to admit men (known as Freemasons) who weren’t stonemasons (the first in Scotland was in 1634) and that custom increased exponentially over the years until a time when the main credentials for admission to a Lodge were that the individual was ‘of good character’ and could attest to a ‘belief in a Supreme Being’. This allowed Christians (of all denominations), Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and all other faiths to join Lodges. Religion and politics were the only two topics on which discussion was (and is) forbidden in a Masonic Lodge. New entrants would be proposed and seconded for membership by two Brethren of the Lodge. That arrangement continues to this day.

Although freemasonry in Scotland appears to have grown out of the practices of working Stonemasons’ Lodges, it has been argued that it was in part at least ‘exported’ to England possibly after James Vl acceded the English throne as James l in 1603 with the first Lodges there being created by gentlemen for gentlemen. Scotland has the earliest evidence of Lodges, Lodge Records and minute books.

In 1736 it was agreed that all the Scottish Lodges be organised under a new Grand Lodge (they were following an English example) and grouped into ‘Provinces’ based more or less on the areas of the existing counties at the time. Lodges were also numbered in order of seniority devised from their (assumed) date of formation. At the time this caused a lot of controversy in Scotland (that wasn’t fully resolved until 1807).

Freemasonry today

In recent years, freemasonry has been the subject of controversy with allegations of ‘favouritism’, ‘bias’ and ‘ secrecy’. However today, the Grand Lodges of Scotland, Ireland and England maintain websites that advance

their view that freemasonry is ‘a peculiar System of Morality, Veiled in Allegory and Illustrated by Symbols.’ It’s worth noting too that in judgements delivered in 2001 and 2004, the European Court of Human Rights ruled ‘freemasonry is not a secret society.’

Tracing a Freemason

So how do you go about finding out if your ancestor or a relative was a Freemason? On joining a Lodge every Freemason is issued with a certificate that records his name, the name of the Lodge and the date he joined. Most Lodges have distinct aprons that often also record the name of the Lodge. If your relativewasafterwardselectedtooffice(suchas Worshipful Master in England, or Right Worshipful Master in Scotland) he’d normally receive a medal (Freemasons call these ‘jewels’) with his name, the name of the Lodge and the dates he held these offices. Some, if not all, of these items might still be among your relative’s effects. If you have a photo of your relative wearing his apron, a good clue is how it’ s worn: Scottish Freemasons tend to wear their aprons around their waist under their jackets while English freemasons wear theirs on top of their jackets. Some Freemason also had masonic symbols (usually the square and compasses) carved on their headstones after their burial.

If you think your relative was a Freemason but don’t know the name and/or number of his Lodge then you can search the respective Grand Lodge website for Lodges in the area where he lived and get their contact details. But remember that if his father was also a Freemason, it was often customary for sons to join the same Lodge and that might be some distance away from his normal residence, especially if the family moved around the country. It has to be said too that over the years as membership numbers have reduced, a number of Lodges have amalgamated so the Lodge that your relative joined may no longer exist under its original name and number. Many Lodges have compiled histories of their Lodges (See Bros. Alex Stobo or Grant Macleod for a History of 242 1811—2011). and in Scotland, these are accessible using the Grand Lodge website. These histories will tell you when the Lodge was formed and might also help you discover if your relative’s Lodge amalgamated with another since he became a member. Lodge Secretaries might also be able to search their minute books to see when your relative joined but remember they are all volunteers, the quality of the older records varies widely and some are difficult to discern. In several Lodges, some minute books have been lost through time and circumstance.

Memberships & minute books

Until a few years ago many Scottish Lodges offered life memberships but this no longer happens and all new freemasons have to pay an annual fee to be able to attend meetings (life memberships in England, however, were extremely rare and annual fees were – and are – the norm. So if a Freemason decides he no longer wants to attend Lodge Meetings, he simply resigns, and his resignation will be recorded in the Lodge minute book. This might cause difficulty if you’re trying to find out if/when your relative was actively involved in freemasonry. Similarly, anyone who has been convicted of a serious crime will immediately be expelled from all Masonic Orders thereafter with the date of his expulsion being recorded in the current minute book.

After becoming a Master Mason, your relative might have gone on to join other Masonic Orders (Mark, Royal Arch and so on) and some that only admit Christians as members.

Proud histories

On first reading, it might seem very daunting to start to look for a relative who may or may not have been a Freemason (and remember there are a few individuals around who pretend to be Freemasons). However, Lodges are very proud of their histories and heritage and regularly celebrate ‘milestones’ such as the centenaries of their founding, when commem-

orative jewels are struck and available for all current members, so it might surprise you just how much information Lodge Secretaries can provide about their members. For example, last year Lodge Mother Kilwinning No 0 issued a commemorative VC token to record the bravery of one of its members, an Ayrshire Doctor called Captain Harry Sherwood

Rankin of the 1st Bn Royal Rifle Corps who won the Victoria Cross in 1914 at Hautevesnes in northern France for continuing to dress the wounds of soldiers while under fire, despite having been severely wounded in the leg (a wound he’d dressed himself). When he finally agreed to be carried from the battlefield, his own plight had become desperate and he died a few days later. See Cross

Keys November 2017 for an article about this brother.

If you do make contact with the Lodge you think your relative might have joined, you’ll usually find they are very helpful and will take as much time as possible to assist you in your researches.

About the author

John Crawford has been tracing his family tree for nearly 40 years. He’s more or less retired but has spent over 53 years in the Scottish Waste Management Industry. He has been a Brother of Lodge Mother Kilwinning No 0 since 1988.

Mississippi Survey

An interesting question by a local newsletter is shown below. Are we surprised by the answers? Probably not.