The oldest and largest fraternal organization in the state, The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, was founded in 1771 and has maintained an active presence in the state since then. We are excited to add new issues of The North Carolina Mason on the site to help represent this long history. These latest additions include 1973-1993, a significant update to our preexisting collection and a valuable resource for anyone interested in the membership, activities, and philanthropy of North Carolina Freemasons in the late twentieth century. To learn more about the North Carolina Masons today, you can visit their website.
Two of the ledgers are from St. John’s Lodge in Wilmington, NC and include meeting minutes, member lists, and other correspondence over the period of 1907-1919. Repairs and other work done to the building the lodge resided in at the time is a common topic of conversation, among many other things. Some interesting items covered both in the St. John’s ledgers as well as one from Zion Lodge No. 81 in Trenton, NC are the payments made out of widows of deceased Masons, showing a way that the Masons provided an avenue of financial and other support when few social safety nets existed for women in particular.
To view more materials we have digitized for the Grand Lodge, visit their partner page here. And to learn more about the North Carolina Masons today, you can visit their website.
Thanks to our partner, The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, a batch of minute books and scrapbooks are now available on our website. The minute books, spanning from 1870 to 1935, come from various lodges including St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Numa F. Reid Lodge No. 344, Relief Lodge No. 431, and Yadkin Falls Lodge No. 637. They feature records of lodge meetings, finances, and references to life outside the lodge including mention of the 1898 Wilmington Massacre.
Three men from the Numa F. Reid Lodge No. 344 posing for a picture.
To learn more about The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, please visit their website.
To view more Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina materials on our website, please click here.
Despite being written for an audience of children, the issues are text-heavy. However, their contents definitely relate to news and issues of interest to children or teens, such as stories, lessons, and updates about local or national happenings. The following are clippings which illustrate the variety of materials included in these newspapers:
“The Origin of Newspapers,” The Children’s Friend, May 5, 1875
Click here to browse all issues of The Children’s Friend, and here for all issues of The Orphan’s Friend. DigitalNC is grateful to the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina for their partnership in making these papers accessible. To learn more about the Grand Lodge, visit their partner page here, or their website here.
Twenty new items from the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina are now online, thanks to their continued partnership. These recently digitized materials are mostly comprised of minute books recording various lodges’ meetings, but also includes some petitions for establishing or reestablishing new lodges, a charter for a new lodge, members listings, an address to a lodge, and a scrapbook. Geographically, the new additions document masonic activities in Raleigh, Halifax, High Point, Trenton, Charlotte, Oxford, Lincolnton, Smithfield, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The materials span centuries, with a copy of the Charter for the Royal White Hart Lodge No. 403 of Halifax from 1767 and a scrapbook from the Numa F. Reid Lodge No. 344 of High Point from the 1960s.
Over one hundred issues of the Orphans’ Friend newspaper from 1876 and 1877 are available online now. A publication of the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, Orphans’ Friend was distributed to children at the “Orphan Asylum,” or orphanage, in Oxford, North Carolina. The newspaper was established in 1875 and is still published by the Grand Lodge today. It was initially published to draw attention to childcare needs across North Carolina after the Civil War left many orphaned.
These issues are often mostly comprised of stories, recommendations and lessons, and frequently include news from around North Carolina.
To browse all issues of Orphans’ Friend on DigitalNC, click here. To learn more about the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, visit their partner page here or their website here. We are thankful for their partnership in making these newspapers available online.
A page from the Book of Marks of the Chorazin Chapter no. 13 of the Royal Arch Masons of Greensboro, NC, 1914
A new batch of items from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina are now available online. The recently digitized materials consist largely of minute books, account ledgers, and membership rolls from the Grand Lodge and various other Masonic lodges in North Carolina. Also included is a selection of twentieth-century scrapbooks, bylaws, historical sketches, and programs from several different lodges. The textual materials originate mainly from lodges in the Raleigh and Greensboro areas and date from the early 19th century to the 1960s.
Officers of the Order of Colonial Masters at the Royal White Hart Lodge no. 2, 1911
Accompanying the textual materials are two groups of photographs, the first detailing various activities and features of the the Royal White Hart Lodge No. 2 of Halifax, NC in 1911. The second group of photographs documents a ball held on April 18, 1962 which celebrated the installation of Charles Carpenter Ricker as Grand Master of Phoenix Lodge No. 2 in Raleigh, NC. A single photo, taken circa. 1915, which details a gathering of Oasis Shriners in Charlotte, NC, accompanies the two larger sets.
To see more materials from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, visit their partner page or take a look at their website.
A new batch of materials from our partner, The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina are now up on DigitalNC. This set includes minute books, scrapbooks, historical manuscripts, letters and charters, some dating back to the 18th century. Several physical artifacts have been digitized, including a commemorative apron and a souvenir pin from the turn of the 20th century.
A celebration for the installation of James Brewer as Grand Master in 1961.
The minute books are from all around the state, including Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Statesville and Boone. Also included is a letter from Edward K. Graham, President of UNC, to Grand Master Andrews inviting him to the 1916 University Day ceremony. There are also several scrapbooks included, with photographs including receptions and various programs, including the 275th Anniversary of the United Grand Lodge of England in West London in June 1992.
UNC President Edward K. Graham inviting Grand Master Andrews to wear his Masonic regalia to the 1916 University Day ceremony
Commemorative apron honoring the services of Walter Scott Liddell
To see more materials from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, visit their partner page or take a look at their website or our previous blog posts.
A photo of Cecil Liverman from the scrapbook documenting his time as Grand Master of North Carolina.
New materials from our partner, The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina are now up on DigitalNC. This batch features minute books, scrapbooks, resolutions, and proceedings, along with images of a historic gavel. The gavel was made circa 1900 from the wood of the Council Oak at Quaker Meadows in Burke County, NC, where the leaders of the patriot forces met on September 30, 1780 to plan their attack on British and Loyalist forces at Kings Mountain.
Two scrapbooks focus on the Grand Lodge career of Cecil Liverman. The first documents his time as a Mason Officer from 1976-1983, and the second documents his year as the Grand Master of Masons in North Carolina from 1982-1983. The scrapbooks include photographs, letters of correspondence, news clippings, event programs, and more.
Lodge officers at the cornerstone laying for Selma Lodge #320 on June 2, 1983.
To see more materials from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, visit their partner page or take a look at their website.
A member in full regalia at the 175th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina
New materials from out partner The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina are now online. This batch includes several Minute Books and an Account book from St. John’s Lodge no. 1, Minute books and an account book from Zion Lodge no. 81, speeches from well known North Carolina Free Masons such as William Lander and J.M. Lovejoy, letters of correspondence, and more.
One item that may be of particular genealogical interest is a collection of lists of masons who died in World War I. The list is organized by name of lodge and includes the member’s rank, date and place of death, and where he was buried.
Additionally several photographs have been added including images from the 175th anniversary celebration of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. The photos show members in full regalia, as well as men in colonial costumes as part of the celebration.
To learn more about The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, take a look at other digitized items on their partner page, or visit their website.
Colonial costumes as part of the anniversary celebration
This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.