New Materials from the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, Including Book of Marks of Prominent Carolinians

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.

Groundbreaking ceremony in Oxford

Grand Master Harris at a groundbreaking ceremony in Oxford

Then and Now: Grainger and Honeycutt

Newspaper clipping feature past grand masters Henry Grainger and Jack 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.

Mark of John Nichols

Mark of John Nichols

Mark of John Whitelaw

Mark of John Whitelaw

Mark of J.H. Mullins

Mark of J.H. Mullins

Mark of A. Rosengarten

Mark of A. Rosengarten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.


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