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Rising Point Volume 22. Issue 1 •
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Contents
Volume 22. Issue 1 - winter 2011 MAILING ADDRESS THE RISING POINT Bonisteel Masonic Library 2520 Arrowwood Trl Ann Arbor, MI 48105 Web site: www.bonisteelml.org Bro. Mitchell Ozog , 32º Editor in Chief. mozog@bonisteelml.org Bro. Karl Grube, Ph.D., 32º Managing Editor kgrube@bonisteelml.org Bro. Robert Blackburn 32º Book Review Editor LAYOUT & DESIGN Bro. Mitchell Ozog COVER CREDITS Photo - Magdalena Ozog
Editor’s Note: Graphics and articles about USA President was first published in The Masonic World Vol. 12, No. 1 September 1945. Reprint with permission of the Detroit Masonic Temple Library and Museum but © Unknown.
FEATURE ARTICLES
3 ......George Washington 5..............James Madison 7................James Monroe 9.............Andrew Jackson 11...................James Polk 13..........James Buchanan 15..........Andrew Johnson 17.............James Garfield 19.........William McKinley 21.....Theodore Roosevelt 23.................Howard Taft 25...........Warren Harding 27.......Franklin Roosevelt 29...............Harry Truman 31...........Lyndon Johnson 32..................Gerald Ford 33,34...The Book Reviews
THE RISING POINT is the official publication of Bonisteel Masonic Library and is published four times per year. Masonic Bodies are welcome to reprint from this publication provided that the article is reprinted in full, the name of the author and the source of the article are indicated, and a copy of the publication containing the reprint is sent to the editor. Submissions to this publication and all Correspondence concerning this publication should come through the Editor Mitchell Ozog. The Editor reserves the right to edit all materials received. Fair Use Notice: The Bonisteel Masonic Library web site and publication THE RISING POINT may at times contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site or the publication Rising Point for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on The Bonisteel Masonic Library web site and publication Rising Point is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml United States Code: Title 17, Section 107 http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/unframed/17/107.html Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
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EORGE W A S H I N GTO N
1st President - April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797
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George Washington
1732-1799
On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. “As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent,” he wrote James Madison, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”
EA Nov 4, 1752, FC Mar. 3, 1753, MM Aug. 4, 1753, in Fredericksburg Lodge (later No. 4), Virginia, MM 1753, named Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge #22, in Alexandria, VA, April 28, 1788, and reelected Dec. 20, 1788, but there is no evidence he was ever installed or presided over any Masonic meeting. Somewhat active and supportive of Freemasonry
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ames
Madison
4th President - March 4, 1809 to March 4, 1817
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Madison made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the Federalist essays. In later years, when he was referred to as the “Father of the Constitution,” Madison protested that the document was not “the offspring of a single brain,” but “the work of many heads and many hands.”
James Madison 1809-1817
James Madison was presumed a Freemason at one time, but the records of the lodge that he is believed to have attended have been lost for that time period.
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ames Monroe 5
th President - March 4, 1817 to March 4, 1825
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As a youthful politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, and in 1790, an advocate of Jeffersonian policies, was elected United States Senator. As Minister to France in 1794-1796, he displayed strong sympathies for the French cause; later, with Robert R. Livingston, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.
James Monroe 1758-1831 EA in Williamsburg Lodge #6 at Williamsburg, VA., Nov. 9, 1775, but there is no record of his taking any further degrees. The records of Cumberland Lodge #8 in Tennessee, June 8, 1819, show a reception for Monroe as “a Brother of the Craft.� possibly MM 1776 Rising point WINTER 2011
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ndrew Jackson 7
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th President - March 4, 1829 to March 4, 1837
Andrew Jackson 1767-1829-1837
More nearly than any of his predecessors, Andrew Jackson was elected by popular vote; as President he sought to act as the direct representative of the common man.
MM 1800?, his lodge is un-known but he is said to have attended at Clover Bottom Lodge under the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. He was present in lodge at Greeneville in 1801 and acted as Senior Warden pro tem. The records of St. Tammany Lodge #29 at Nashville, which became Harmony Lodge #1 under the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, show that Jackson was a member. Very active in Freemasonry, Grand Master of Tennessee 1822-1823
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ames Polk 11th President - March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849
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He offered to settle by extending the Canadian boundary, along the 49th parallel, from the Rockies to the Pacific. When the British minister declined, Polk reasserted the American claim to the entire area. Finally, the British settled for the 49th parallel, except for the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The treaty was signed in 1846.
James K. Polk
1795-1849? - 1845-1849 EA, FC, MM, in Columbia Lodge #31, Columbia, Tenn., 1820, exalted a Royal Arch Mason in La Fayette Chapter #4 at Columbia in 1825 12
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ames
15th President - March 4, 1857 to March 4, 1861
Buchanan
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James A. Buchanan
1791-1868 - 1857-1861
Tall, stately, stiffly formal in the high stock he wore around his jowls, James Buchanan was the only President who never married.
EA Dec. 11, 1816, Lancaster Lodge #43, Lancaster, PA, FC & MM 1817, Junior Warden 1821-1822, Master 1825, exalted in Royal Arch Chapter # 43, in 1826, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
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ndrew Johnson 17th President - April 15, 1865 to March 4, 1869
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Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808, Johnson grew up in poverty. He was apprenticed to a tailor as a boy, but ran away. He opened a tailor shop in Greeneville, Tennessee, married Eliza McCardle, and participated in debates at the local academy.
Andrew Johnson
1808-1875 - 1865-1869 EA, FC, MM, in Greeneville Lodge No. 119 now #3 at Greeneville, Tenn. in 1851, probably a member of Greeneville Chapter #82, Royal Arch Masons, since he joined Nashville Commandery of Knights Templar #1 in 1859. He received the Scottish Rite degrees in the White House in 1867
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ames
20th President - March 4 , 1881 to September 19, 1881
Garfield
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As the last of the log cabin Presidents, James A. Garfield attacked political corruption and won back for the Presidency a measure of prestige it had lost during the Reconstruction period.
James A. Garfield 1831-1881
EA & FC Magnolia Lodge #20, Columbus, Ohio, MM Columbus Lodge #3O, 1864, Affiliated with Garrettsville Lodge #246 in 1866, Affiliated with Pentalpha Lodge #23 Washington, D. C. as charter member in 1869. Exalted in Columbus Royal Arch Chapter 1866, and Knight Templar 1866, 14th Degree Scottish Rite 1872 18
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illiam McKinley 24th President - March 4 , 1897 to September 14, 1901
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William McKinley
At 34, McKinley won a seat in Congress. His attractive personality, exemplary character, and quick intelligence enabled him to rise rapidly. He was appointed to the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Robert M. La Follette, Sr., who served with him, recalled that he generally “represented the newer view,” and “on the great new questions .. was generally on the side of the public and against private interests.”
1843-1901
1897-1901 is sometimes said to have received EA, FC, MM, in Hiram Lodge #10 in Winchester, West Virginia, in 1865, but William Moseley Brown is authority for the statement that this event took place in Hiram Lodge #21 at Winchester, Virginia in that year. McKinley affiliated with Canton Lodge #60 at Canton, Ohio in 1867 and later became a charter member of Eagle Lodge #43. He received the Capitular degrees in Canton in 1883 and was made a Knight Templar in 1884 20
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heodore Roosevelt 25th President - September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909
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Theodore Roosevelt 1858-1919 - 1901-1909
He took the view that the President as a “steward of the people” should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution.” I did not usurp power,” he wrote, “but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power.”
EA, FC, MM, in Matinecock Lodge #806, Oyster Bay, NY in 1901. Somewhat active, and very supportive of Freemasonry 22
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illiam
26th President - March 4 , 1909 to March 4, 1913
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Taft
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William H. Taft
1857-1930 - 1909-1913
Born in 1857, the son of a distinguished judge, he graduated from Yale, and returned to Cincinnati to study and practice law. He rose in politics through Republican judiciary appointments, through his own competence and availability, and because, as he once wrote facetiously, he always had his “plate the right side up when offices were falling.”
EA Feb. 18, 1909, MM “Mason at Sight” in Kilwinning Lodge #356, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1901?, Evidently, that made hirn a member at large, for the Grand Lodge issued him a demit and he became a member of that lodge. Somewhat active, and very supportive of Freemasonry 24
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arren Harding 28th President - March 4 , 1921 to August 2, 1923
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Warren G. Harding 1865-1923 - 1921-1923
Warren G. Harding declared, “America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality....”
EA Lodge #7O, Marion, Ohio, Jun 28, 1901, received no other degree until after becoming U.S. President, FC & MM in Marion Lodge #70 in 1920 (MM Aug. 27, 1920), Royal Arch Chapter degrees in Marion Chapter #62 in 1921; Knight Templar in Marion Commandery #36, in 1921, Scottish Rite and Shrine in 1921 26
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ranklin Roosevelt
31st President - March 4 , 1933 to April 12, 1945
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Franklin D. Roosevelt 1882-1945 - 1933-1945
Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.�
EA Oct 11, 1911, FC, MM, in Holland Lodge #8, New York City, in 1911, Scottish Rite in Albany Consistory 1929, Shrine in 1930. Somewhat active, and very supportive of Freemasonry 28
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arry Truman
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32nd President - April 12, 1945, to 1953
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Dangers and crises marked the foreign scene as Truman campaigned successfully in 1948. In foreign affairs he was already providing his most effective leadership. Harry S. Truman 1884-1972 - 1945-1953 EA Feb. 9, 1909, Belton Lodge #450, Grandview, Missouri, MM 1909. In 1911, Truman was the 1st WM of the new Grandview Lodge #618. Grand Master of Missouri 1940-1941. Very active and supportive of Freemasonry, Master of Missouri Lodge of Research while U.S. President, Masonic Ritualist, district lecturer and deputy Grand Master for several years, he died December 26, 1972, buried with Masonic rites in Independence, MO, in televised ceremony. 30
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36th President - 1963, to 1969
yndon B.
Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson was initiated on October 30, 1937 in Johnson City Lodge No. 561, at Johnson City, Texas, but completed only the Entered Apprentice, or first, of the three Masonic degrees. He was a Freemason in the sense that he took the Entered Apprentice, or 1st Degree, but did not continue to the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Some would consider him to have been a Freemason, but others would not.
“A Great Society” for the American people and their fellow men elsewhere was the vision of Lyndon B. Johnson. In his first years of office he obtained passage of one of the most extensive legislative programs in the Nation’s history. Maintaining collective security, he carried on the rapidly growing struggle to restrain Communist encroachment in Viet Nam. Photo Credit: LBJ Library photo by Arnold Newman - Public Domain
Photo Credit: LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto - Public Domain
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G
erald R.
Thirty-eighth President (1974-1977)
Ford MASONIC RECORD Initiated: September 30, 1949, Malta Lodge No. 465, Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with his half-brothers Thomas Gardner Ford (1918-1995), Richard Addison Ford (1924) and James Francis Ford (1927- ). The Fellowcraft and Master Mason Degrees were Conferred by Columbia Lodge No. 3, Washington, D.C., on April 20 and May 18, 1951, as a courtesy to Malta Lodge. Brother Ford was made a Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°, and Honorary Member, Supreme Council A.A.S.R. Northern Jurisdiction at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, on September 26, 1962, for which he served as Exemplar (Representative) for his Class. Brother and President Ford was unanimously elected an Active Member of the International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay and its Honorary Grand Master, at its Annual Session held at Orlando, Florida, April 69, 1975; Brother Ford held this post until January 1977, at which time he became a Past Honorary Grand Master, receiving his Collar and Jewel on October 24, 1978 in Topeka, Kansas, from the Hon. Thomas C. Raum, Jr., Grand Master, Order of DeMolay. http://www.pagrandlodge.org/mlam/presidents/ford.html Lithographic copy of an engraving of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford by the staff of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. - http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/portraits.asp
When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, “I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.” Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace. 32
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The Manuscript Found in Saragossa Jan Potocki (1761 – 1815) lived a life that reads more like fiction than fact. A Polish nobleman, army officer, novice Knight of Malta, ethnologist, linguist, early balloonist, and world traveler, he is without question one of the most intriguing figures of his age. Yet there is more to Potocki, including some rather dark rumors too. Potocki had a keen interest in the occult and was an acquaintance of Alessandro Cagliostro (into whose elaborate Egyptian-styled Masonry he may have been initiated). Potocki’s two marriages ended in accusations of incest. Thereafter, Potocki retreated to his estate where he is said to have committed suicide with a silver bullet he fashioned from a sugar bowl handle - a gift from his mother – which he had blessed by his priest. Potocki wrote several travelogues documenting his adventures. He also left a novel, originally written in French, titled The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (1814). A literary nesting doll, the book is a collection of interwoven stories adopting a variety styles and conceits. The “manuscript” is said to have been found by a French military officer who, following his capture, is presented with a translated copy of the work. Superficially, it is the diary and recollections of a young army captain in the Walloon Guards who has been called to Madrid for a new posting. While en route, this Alphonse van Worden is separated from his companions and forced to take refuge in an abandoned hostelry. Here he meets two beautiful Muslim princesses who may, or may not be, the ghosts of two recently hung bandits, the Zoto brothers. Bound by his strict code of honor, if not chastity, the young soldier’s word is repeatedly tried and tested as he encounters the Inquisition, a religious hermit, bandits, cabalists, gypsies, a mathematician, the “Wandering Jew,” and a mysterious Muslim sheik that controls the lonely Spanish countryside where the story takes place. The Manuscript Found in Saragossa is a delicious rabbit
hole down which the Masonic reader will, at times, feel he is witnessing a series of obscure Ecosais degrees. Its 66 stories are by turn humorous, picaresque, erotic, gothic, and esoteric. Many incidents and characters call to mind the cards from the Tarot’s Major Arcana. Even the protagonist, Van Worden, is left to wonder whether he hasn’t been caught up in a vast conspiracy, the substance of which is always just beyond his grasp: …I recognized the ill-starred gallows of Zoto’s brothers. The sight of this made me curious. I hastened down and indeed came to the foot of the gallows from which the two hanged men were suspended. I looked away and sadly climbed back to camp. The gypsy chief asked me where I had been. I replied that I had been down to the gallows of Zoto’s two brothers. ‘Where are they,’ asked the gypsy. ‘What do you mean,’ I replied. ‘Are they in the habit of absenting themselves?’ ‘Often,’ said the gypsy, ‘especially at night.’ These few words made me very pensive. I found myself once again in the neighborhood of those damned ghosts and whether or not they were vampires or had been used to persecute me, I believed that I had much to fear from them. I was morose for the rest of the day, did not eat supper and went to bed, where I dreamed of vampires, phantoms, nightmares, spectres and hanged men.
Potocki’s Manuscript is meant to entertain rather than illuminate. It deservedly draws comparisons with The Arabian Nights, Canterbury Tales, and Decameron. Whether The Manuscript constitutes “Masonic” literature, on the other hand, is up to the reader to decide. But be forewarned, there will be as many twists and turns to reach that conclusion as there are in the book itself. Jan Potocki, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, trans. by Ian Mclean (Penguin Books 1996, $ 17.00 USD)
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INTERNATIONAL MAsONIc REVIEW PUBLIsHED BY BONIsTEEL MAsONIc LIBRARY
Haunted CHambers: the Lives of early Women Freemasons In April 2010, the Grand Orient of France, the largest and oldest Masonic jurisdiction in continental Europe, ruled that women can be initiated as full members of its lodges. For the While this decision is of limited importance to regular Masonry (such jurisdictions having First time severed ties with the Grand Orient of France in 1877 over its admitting atheists), it is ever, the most complete stories nevertheless historic. Women, for the first time in more than four hundred years, are oF early women being admitted directly into our mysteries. Or so we have been lead to believe. Such milestones are rarely so simple. Freemasons Karen Kidd’s Haunted Chambers: the Lives of Early Women Freemasons has two apparent goals. First, to demonstrate that women have already had a share, albeit a small one, in regular Masonry since its inception. Second, that female Freemasons, possessing the same abilities and Masonic passions as their male counterparts, deserve to enjoy full recognition and acceptance by all-male lodges. Kidd acknowledges the meagerness of her source material, yet manages to build some interesting biographical sketches of women who claimed Masonic affiliation with regular Masonry. Her plea for full female recognition, on the other hand, is another matter altogether. Kidd contends that mainstream Masonic histories unfairly conceal the existence of female craft masons when discussing the Fraternity’s origins. She notes that the “Old Charges,” being a body of some hundred or so early manuscripts, contain numerous references to women, including the use of the word “Dame” in some texts as the equivalent of “Master.” Of particular interest is York MS No. 4 (dated 1693): The one of the elders takeing the Booke and that hee or shee that is to be made mason shall lay their hands on thereon, and the charge shall be given. Kid also provides examples of women operative apprentices and men being assigned to female masters as late as the early 18th century. So why, ponders Kidd, were women excluded from speculative Masonry? Regrettably, there is no certain answer to this question. Andersen and Desaguliers made the injunction explicit in Masonry in 1726. Kidd, in a nutshell, believes it was because 18th century women were not “free” under the law and moral codes of their day and that women posed a sexual threat of INTERNATIONAL MAsONIc REVIEW PUBLIsHED BY BONIsTEEL MAsONIc LIBRARY - WWW.BONIsTEELML.ORG
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scandal for speculative lodges making a break from their origins. scandal for speculative lodges making a break from operative their operative origins. Haunted Chambers also contains a catalogue of women alleged to have breached regular Masonry’s gender Haunted Chambers also contains a catalogue of women alleged to have breached regular Masonry’s gender barrier. The number, it should be noted, is littleismore than athan handful and several strainstrain credulity. Only three are are barrier. The number, it should be noted, little more a handful and several credulity. Only three generally accepted to have been been initiated - Elizabeth St. Leger Aldworth (1712), Henriette Heinken (1795), and and generally accepted to have initiated - Elizabeth St. Leger Aldworth (1712), Henriette Heinken (1795), Helene, Countess HadikHadik Barkoczy (1875)(1875) – having drawndrawn particular noticenotice and either recognition or censure from from Helene, Countess Barkoczy – having particular and either recognition or censure their local communities. The others constitute an array of eavesdroppers who, like Aldworth, their Masonic local Masonic communities. The others constitute an array of eavesdroppers who,Elizabeth like Elizabeth Aldworth, may or may been been regularly initiated, two early “adoptive” masons, a transvestite (who,(who, beingbeing a man, may or not mayhave not have regularly initiated, two early “adoptive” masons, a transvestite a man, really really oughtn’t count), and one twoormore whosewhose Masonic pedigrees persist more more in thein realm of legend ratherrather oughtn’t count), andorone two more Masonic pedigrees persist the realm of legend than historical fact. It is also other other than perhaps Elizabeth Aldworth, was ever to enter than historical fact. It isclear also that clearnone, that none, than perhaps Elizabeth Aldworth, waspermitted ever permitted to enter a regular lodgelodge again.again. a regular KarenKaren Kidd is a member of a co-Masonic lodgelodge and Haunted Chambers, a littleatoo readsreads more more like like Kidd is a member of a co-Masonic and Haunted Chambers, littlefrequently, too frequently, a polemic against gender exclusivity in regular Masonry than athan straightforward history. ThereThere is no is reason a polemic against gender exclusivity in regular Masonry a straightforward history. no reason to question her orher anyorwoman’s commitment to Masonic idealsideals and principles. They They are, after to question any woman’s commitment to Masonic and principles. are, all, afteruniversal. all, universal. But speculative Masonry, regardless of operative masonry’s actualactual traditions, was established as anas all-male But speculative Masonry, regardless of operative masonry’s traditions, was established an all-male organization. And there need need not benot anything sinister or controversial in thisinfact. During an age clubs, men men organization. And there be anything sinister or controversial this fact. During anofage of clubs, liked to organize socially as men. And we still do. who wish co-Masonry, adoptive Masonry, or liked to organize socially as men. And we stillLet do.those Let those who pursue wish pursue co-Masonry, adoptive Masonry, or female lodges do so.doThey do notdo need our permission, nor is nor there any reason for regular Masonry to recognize female lodges so. They not need our permission, is there any reason for regular Masonry to recognize them.them. It is enough that we have and they It is enough that we our havetraditions our traditions andhave they theirs. have theirs. Haunted Chambers contains somesome very interesting and useful material. It is a Itshame that Kidd not Haunted Chambers contains very interesting and useful material. is a shame that did Kidd diddiscuss not discuss the advent of either co-Masonry or female Masonry. Women beingbeing barredbarred from regular Masonry, it would the advent of either co-Masonry or female Masonry. Women from regular Masonry, it would have have been been interesting to learn more more aboutabout the development of these bodies and their female champions. interesting to learn the development of these bodies and early their early female champions. Perhaps Kidd is leaving that tothat another book.book. I mustI also that are two errorserrors whichwhich caught Perhaps Kidd is leaving to another mustpoint also out point outthere that there arefactual two factual caught my eye I confess, irritated me (as they in any work).work). On p.On 64,p. Kidd to “Ancient myand eyewhich, and which, I confess, irritated me (asdo they do innon-fiction any non-fiction 64, refers Kidd refers to “Ancient Mason Laurence Dermott,” authorauthor of Ahiman Rezon, as “Grand Master of Ireland.” Dermot was awas Pasta Master Mason Laurence Dermott,” of Ahiman Rezon, as “Grand Master of Ireland.” Dermot Past Master of an of Irish and Grand Secretary of theof Ancient GrandGrand LodgeLodge of England from 1752 to 1771. He was anlodge Irish lodge and Grand Secretary the Ancient of England from 1752 to 1771. Henever was never GrandGrand Master of theofGrand LodgeLodge of Ireland or anyorjurisdiction. Also problematic is Kidd’s assertion on p. on 42 p. 42 Master the Grand of Ireland any jurisdiction. Also problematic is Kidd’s assertion concerning whether or notor Elizabeth Alworth received the 3rdthe degree in Masonry: concerning whether not Elizabeth Alworth received 3rd degree in Masonry: TheseThese Masonic historians seemseem not tonot know, forget,forget, or ignore the fact was known as as Masonic historians to know, or ignore thethat factwhat that what was known “the Master’s Part” was yet separated into itsinto own from the Second Degree. The Third “the Master’s Part”not was not yet separated itsdegree own degree from the Second Degree. The Third th Degree did not yet exist thein 18the Century. Degree did not yet this existearly this in early 18th Century. Kidd is apparently unaware that the College, DublinDublin MS, dated 1711 1711 (a year she suggests Kidd is apparently unaware thatTrinity the Trinity College, MS, dated (a BEFORE year BEFORE she suggests Aldworth was initiated) demonstrates that inthat Ireland, at least, all three separate degrees were were already beingbeing Aldworth was initiated) demonstrates in Ireland, at least, all three separate degrees already worked. GivenGiven that Aldworth accidentally overheard the Fellowcraft Degree, there there is no reason to assume that that worked. that Aldworth accidentally overheard the Fellowcraft Degree, is no reason to assume she ever any more “light”“light” in Masonry than what she had improperly obtained, let alone be be she received ever received any more in Masonry than what shealready had already improperly obtained, let alone granted the Master Mason degree or be or allowed to sit in East. On the contrary, common sensesense dictates she she granted the Master Mason degree be allowed to the sit in the East. On the contrary, common dictates wouldwould only have obligated as faras asfar necessary to maintain secrecy. But allBut of this, much concerning only been have been obligated as necessary to maintain secrecy. all oflike this,solike so much concerning thesethese early women Freemasons, is conjecture owingowing to theto scant historical record. early women Freemasons, is conjecture the scant historical record. Karen Kidd, Haunted Chambers: the Livesthe of Early Freemasons (Cornerstone 2009, $24.95 Website: http://www.hauntedchambers.com Karen Kidd, Haunted Chambers: Lives Women of Early Women Freemasons (Cornerstone 2009,US). $24.95 US). Website: http://www.hauntedchambers.com
According to her web site, She was initiated into Freemasonry in August 2006, into a Seattle, WA-based Lodge Lodge According to her web site, She was initiated into Freemasonry in August 2006, into a Seattle, WA-based that works under the Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry, American Federation of Human Rights.Rights. The The that works under the Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry, American Federation of Human Honorable Order is based Larkspur, CO, and was founded in the US in the She is She also is a also a Honorable Order is in based in Larkspur, CO, and was founded in the US early in the20th earlyCentury. 20th Century. member of the Honorable Order’sOrder’s Lodge Lodge of Research, for which written severalseveral architectures/research papers papers member of the Honorable of Research, for she which she written architectures/research and more in the In March 2008, She was honored by many Malecraft Brethren during during a ceremony andare more are works. in the works. In March 2008, She was honored by of many of Malecraft Brethren a ceremony in Machester, England. Karen Karen essay, essay, “I am “I Regular”, won the World in Machester, England. am Regular”, won the World “If I have any hopes for “If I have any hopes“Haunted for “Haunted AwardAward in Internet Lodge Lodge No 9659’s Short Paper’s competition. InternetInternet Chambers”, it’s thatit’sthethat book in Internet No 9659’s Short Paper’s competition. Chambers”, thegets bookto gets to the readers who most want it.want Thereit.are the readers who most There are Lodge Lodge is a Lodge in Manchester England that works under the United is a Lodge in Manchester England that works under the United quite a quite few folks who willwho findwill thisfind book a few folks this book Grand Grand Lodge Lodge of England. It’s biannual short papers competition attractsattracts of England. It’s biannual short papers competition a challenge and would neverit never a challenge and rather would it rather entrantsentrants the world was thewas firstthe Co-Mason and theand firstthe woman the over. worldShe over. She first Co-Mason first woman had been written. I’m not I’m out not to convert had been written. out to convert Freemason to win such award a contest sponsored by a Lodge under under anyone. anyone. Those who’d it out it out Freemason to winansuch an in award in a contest sponsored by a Lodge Thoserather who’ddismiss rather dismiss of hand are free to do so. But I know there of hand are free to do so. But I know there the UGLE. DuringDuring the ceremony, She was addressed as “Brother” and and the UGLE. the ceremony, She was addressed as “Brother” are readers who really to want knowtothis are readers whowant really know this She received the award from the then Grand MasterMaster of the UGLE, She received the award from thePro then Pro Grand of the UGLE, history. history. Those are the are readers I hope to Those the readers I hope to the Most Marquess of Northampton. theHon Mostthe Hon the Marquess of Northampton. reach.” reach.”
Source: http://www.hauntedchambers.com/About__Biography_.html Source: http://www.hauntedchambers.com/About__Biography_.html
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