Nearly 200-Year-Old Scottish Rite Document Conserved

by Jeffrey Croteau, Director of the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives

The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library recently had an early Scottish Rite document from the 1820s professionally conserved.

The Conservation Work

The nearly 200-year-old document, shown here and described in greater detail below, is a sheet of wove paper with ink handwriting on it. Before treatment, the document was wrinkled, misaligned, and had tears and losses which were previously repaired with glassine tape.

The Library & Archives hired Bryan Owen, a professional paper conservator, to perform the conservation work. Owen first tested the paper substrates and ink to determine the effectiveness of the ultimate course of treatment. He then dry surface cleaned the document to remove any dirt. Using moisture, he removed the glassine tape. With the tape removed, Owen realigned the tears and repaired them with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. Finally, Owen humidified and flattened the document.

Before treatment view of List of members of the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection, between 1826-1830. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, SC 430.006.

The Importance of the Document

This document contains a list of the 54 Masons who received the degrees in the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection in Albany, New York, between 1820 and 1826. The document itself was likely created between 1826 and 1830. The list includes members’ place of residence and the number of degrees that they received in the lodge. Unsurprisingly, the majority of members are from the Albany area. Two names in particular are striking.

Richard P.G. Wright (1773?-1847)—listed as R.P.G. Wright—was a Black man who became a Mason in African Lodge No. 459 in Boston in 1794. Upon moving to Schenectady, he affiliated with two predominantly white Masonic lodges and joined a Mark lodge. Wright was a barber by trade and an abolitionist who was active in the Underground Railroad in Schenectady. He was also the father of the Reverend Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1797-1847), also a Black abolitionist who, like his father, was a member of Schenectady’s predominantly white Masonic lodges. R.P.G. Wright, who joined the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection in 1820 or 1821 and served as its Grand Treasurer in 1822, is likely one of the earliest (if not the earliest) Black men to participate in Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the United States.

Another name on the list is William Rufus Blake (1805-1863) whose residence is listed as New York City. Some of the names on the list are annotated with the word “dead,” to indicate that, at the time the list was written, the member had passed away. But next to Blake’s name, someone has added the word “comedian.” Blake was an actor, a playwright, and a stage manager. At the height of his career, Blake was believed to be the highest paid stage actor in America. In his 1901 book, A Group of Comedians, William L. Keese notes that Blake “acted during the winter of 1823 in Albany, playing a round of light comedy parts." This may have coincided with Blake joining the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection.

After treatment view of List of members of the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection, between 1826-1830. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, SC 430.006. Photo by Owen Conservation.

This document has been digitized! If you want to get an up-close look at it, visit https://digitalvgw.omeka.net/items/ show/1164.

Have a question or need more info? Drop us a line at library@srmml.org or give us a call at 781-457-4109.

The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives is located in Lexington, Massachusetts, at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and is open to the public.