Librarian Enjoys Digging for Answers

birth and death dates, middle name or initial, or they know what lodge they were a member of. But other times, it’s more complicated.

“As a librarian, I enjoy the work, but it can be like detective work,” she said. “It’s not always as simple as going to the record books or the now-digitized records. Sometimes, I need to look in other places to find the information. If I know the lodge, I can look at the old bylaws, depending on when the person was initiated as a member. Sometimes, they’ll give information on how long that person was a member.” circumstances, include information concerning the names of fathers, mothers, grandparents, etc.

Most of the record books are handwritten in quill or fountain pen ink. “It’s interesting to decipher some of their penmanship from back then,” Cathy said. “We do our best.”

Some people wrongly assume that Cathy’s research will reveal a wealth of information about a person. While it is true that some individual lodges may have kept detailed records, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania can only verify if a man was a member in good standing.

As the Librarian for the Masonic Temple, Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, Cathy Giaimo spends her time purchasing books, managing materials for the online catalog and fielding questions from Masons and the public about early Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania history and manuscripts or historic journals in the collection.

Oftentimes, she will receive inquiries from people trying to find information about a family member who may have been a Mason. Sometimes, they have the person’s

Masonic record books go back to 1789 and up to the present time. Cathy receives at least five or six genealogy requests a week to investigate.

“Genealogy research is challenging, but any type of historical research is never straightforward or easy,” she said.

If the records are accurate, they will include a person’s name, age, the date they received their degrees, possibly their occupation or where they lived, the name of the lodge and any lodge offices they might have held. Records do not, under normal

In addition, the Grand Lodge only has information on members in the Pennsylvania jurisdiction. If a man was made a Mason in any other jurisdiction, there are no records to verify that. There has never been a national or central membership database for Freemasonry in the United States, Cathy said.

If you have a genealogy request, visit the Grand Lodge website at pagrandlodge.org or email GIR@pagrandlodge.com.