The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina have provided additional materials for publication on DigitalNC’s website. Included in this batch is a number of minute books, photographs, various petitions from early lodges in North Carolina, and the first three issues of the Trestleboard, which was a newsletter that circulated among the members of three lodges in North Carolina (Hiram Lodge No. 40, William G. Hill Lodge No. 218, and Raleigh Lodge No. 500). Also in this batch are two scrapbooks from past grand masters of the Grand Lodge, Charles A. Harris and Ava Clarence Honeycutt.
Another fascinating piece of Freemason history that was digitized in this batch is the Book of Marks from Raleigh Chapter No. 10 of Royal Arch Masons. This book catalogs the marks that each Royal Arch Mason chose to represent himself. Entries are listed between the years 1863 and 1914. This tradition of choosing a personalized mark comes from the practice of medieval freemasons, who would inscribe a mark on a stone in their building sites as a way to claim their work. A number of prominent citizens of North Carolina are found in this book, including Alexander Boyd Andrews Jr., a prominent lawyer and UNC alumnus, amateur historian, and active member of the Masons who went on to become Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina; John Nichols, a Raleigh printer and abolitionist who went on to become a member of the United States Congress and active member of the Knights of Labor; and Marshall de Lancey Haywood, who served as the librarian for the North Carolina Supreme Court and the historian for the Grand Lodge.
To browse the full collection of materials from the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, visit their contributor page, and for more information on some of these materials, see these previous blog posts.