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Document 27 in Correspondences with St. John’s Lodge No. 3, Box 2
A new batch of items from the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina is now available on DigitalNC.
This batch contain materials concerning St. John’s Lodge No. 3, located in New Bern, N.C. It is one of the oldest Lodges in the United States. The batch includes five minute books, dating from 1952 to 2005, adding to the series previously online. It is now possible to track the activities and members of this lodge from 1798 to 2005. These minute books document the various activities, petitions, and even funerals of members, all of which might be of interest to genealogists or researchers. In addition, two archival boxes of correspondences have also been digitized.
You can see all of the materials from St. John’s Lodge No. 3 here or view the new items at the links below:
To learn more about the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, please visit the contributor page or the website.
Letter to the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina from St. Tammany Lodge No. 30
A new batch from Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina is now available on DigitalNC! The batch includes more than 40 additions to the North Carolina Memory and Images of North Carolina Collections. Dating from as early as 1778, these items document the rich history of Masonry in North Carolina.
An interesting find from this batch includes a Letter to the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina from St. Tammany Lodge No. 30 (pictured to the left). This item, dated to 1807, documents the Tammany Lodge of Wilmington, N.C. in their attempt to expel a member from the group for his “unpardonable” behavior. His crimes included defaulting on debts, cheating his patrons, and “swindling every creature who placed trust in him.”
Also from this batch, are several materials documenting the construction of several Masonic landmarks in the Raleigh area, including the Masonic Temple (designed with help from Leslie N. Boney, Sr.) and the headquarters on Glenwood Avenue.
Album Relating to Josephus Daniels House, Page 3
To learn more about the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, please visit their contributor page or the website.
North Carolina Masonic Mutual Life Insurance Co.
St. John’s Lodge in New Bern, part of The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, has contributed more materials to DigitalNC, including minute books from the 1850s to 1910s, life insurance certificates from the 1860s, an inventory, and rosters. These materials give insight into the life of the Freemasons in the mid to late 19th century. The life insurance certificates from the North Carolina Masonic Mutual Life Insurance Company reveal the names and residences of many members, which can be useful for genealogy research.
Additionally, the Grand Lodge has provided letters written to D.H. Hill, a Confederate General during the Civil War, which are a useful resource for anyone interested in Civil War history. The Southern Historical Collection in Wilson Library at UNC-Chapel Hill contains papers of D. H. Hill, which can be viewed at their site.
You can learn more about The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina from their contributor page, past blog posts, and their website.
The header of the Grand Lodge Certificate establishing Army Lodge A.
New materials from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina have been digitized and added to DigitalNC. The materials include minute books, petitions, bylaws, correspondence, ledgers, and memberships of lodges in North Carolina as well as a few in Tennessee. There are also early issues of The Masonic Journal, a Masonic newspaper from Greensboro dating from the late 19th century. Several physical objects have also been digitized, including brass working tools, a pouch they were stored in, a canvas bag, and ballot tokens. You can view the books and papers under memorabilia and the objects and membership album in images. The newspaper is now part of our extensive North Carolina Newspapers collection.
The North Carolina Freemasons come from a long tradition of European stonemasons and construction workers who formed guilds to keep secret their trade practices in areas such as math and construction. After the Renaissance, Freemasons transformed into a fraternal organization. The tools such as the ones we have digitized were used to represent personal growth and enlightenment by the members. It was in this form that Freemasonry came to North Carolina in the mid-eighteenth century and the first lodge was established in Raleigh in 1792.
You can view more from the Grand Lodge through their contributor page. Browse through the collection in images, memorabilia, or newspapers. Additionally, you can learn more about the Grand Lodge through their website and previous blog posts.
Brass tool from Army Lodge A made from spent German shell casings, circa 1917.
Members of Raleigh Lodge No. 500, circa 1900.
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.
Grand Master Harris at a groundbreaking ceremony in Oxford
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 Whitelaw
Mark of J.H. Mullins
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.
A new batch of materials has been uploaded to DigitalNC from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina. These new materials are all proceedings from the meetings of various groups associated with the Freemasons. Most of the proceedings from this batch are from the Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M., but there are also documents from the Convention of Royal Arch Masons, the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of the State of North Carolina, the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of North Carolina, and the M.E. Grand Royal Arch Chapter of North Carolina.
![Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina [1891]](https://www.digitalnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/grand-lodge.jpg)
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina [1891]
Secrets of Leaksville Lodge #136
These proceedings are just a few of the many items that the Grand Lodge of North Carolina has provided for digitization. For more information about their other materials on DigitalNC, visit their contributor page or see these previous blog posts. For more information about the Grand Lodge of North Carolina itself and their activities, see their website.
DigitalNC has recently added some new materials online from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, including meeting proceedings from the years 1866-1890, other types of documents, various physical objects (medals and commemorative jewelry), and large panoramic photographs. One of the photographs shows the members of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina in Washington D.C. with President Calvin Coolidge.
Royal Order of Jesters membership diploma
The meeting proceedings provide a view into the history of Freemasons in North Carolina, particularly in the Raleigh area. The other documents in this batch include a diploma, a membership certificate and a membership patent from various groups within the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. All of these documents contain delicate script and detailed images full of masonic symbolism. Many of the jewels also contain such symbolism.
Engraved Jewel Representing the Seal of King Solomon Lodge No. 56
To see more of the physical objects recently added, take a look at the Grand Lodge’s selection of aprons and badges that have been digitized by DigitalNC. For more information about the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, you can visit their website, or for more on what items have been digitized, see our previous blog post.
Certificate of Membership
New materials from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina have now been made available online, including photographs, documents, and various physical objects. These materials provide a glimpse into the activities of North Carolina Masons from the past 200+ years.
Two names that appear multiple times in this bath of materials are Alexander Boyd Andrews Jr. and Grand Master William Polk. Andrews was a lawyer who took an active role in a number of North Carolina institutions: the Masons, the University of North Carolina, and the Episcopal Church. The Southern Historical Collection in the Wilson Library house some of his papers.
Andrews’ Past Potentate Shriner’s Fez
William Polk was a Revolutionary War hero who went on to have an active career in politics. His roots were on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. In addition to being a representative in the North Carolina House of Commons, Polk was a trustee for the University of North Carolina, serving as president for three years, as well as the Masonic Grand Master of the state. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.
You can view all of the Grand Lodge’s items on DigitalNC here.
The archives of The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina is one of our newest partners, with photographs, a scrapbook, Lodge publications and more added to DigitalNC.
Chartered in 1771, the Grand Lodge is one of the oldest institutions in the state. Many prominent early North Carolinians–William Hooper and Richard Caswell for example–were members. The archives is currently located in the Executive Office Building on Glenwood Road, in Raleigh; many photos shared through DigitalNC in the current batch show the building, including sketches of the murals in the main lobby created by Allyn Cox, who also provided murals for the U.S. Capitol.
Sketch of one of two murals in the Grand Lodge Executive Office Building in Raleigh. Artist: Allyn Cox.
Photo of mural in Grand Lodge Executive Office Building, Raleigh, N.C. Courtesy the NC Museum of History.
Other items shared through DigitalNC include the following:
- Scrapbook of Masonic Bicentennial Celebrations in North Carolina (1976)
- Photographs of Grand Lodge buildings and staff, as well as the Orphanage at Oxford, NC
- Directories and Bylaws for Lodges around the state
- Programs from several building dedications
We hope to share more from the Grand Lodge in the future. View all of their items currently on DigitalNC.
Company H, WWI, 1st North Carolina Infantry of the National Guard, departed Waynesville’s train depot on June 26, 1916. They guarded the Mexican border and returned to Waynesville in February 1917. In July 1917 they then were sent to France during WWI. Courtesy of Haywood County Public Library.
Last Thursday, April 6, 2017, marked the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. Over the next year, many cultural heritage institutions around the country are highlighting the materials they hold related to the “Great War.” We wanted to highlight some of the fantastic local North Carolina materials we have digitized for our partners that document the World War I perspective from North Carolinians’ eyes.
Service records, photographs, news clippings and letters back home from communities across the state are digitized here on DigitalNC. From Wilson County, we have a set of records from 70 men that served in the war that the United Daughters of the Confederacy collected and a scrapbook that includes letters from a Robert Anderson before he was wounded in action and died in France. From Stanly County, we have an enlistment record that includes the amount Harvey Jarvis Underwood was paid to serve, and a history of the service records of Stanly County men who served in the war. From the Grand Lodge of the Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, the NCDHC digitized a list of all the North Carolina masons who died in World War I.
Several scrapbooks from Elon University detail the students’ view of the war as well as what college life during World War I looked like here in North Carolina.
Headline from Page 2 of the April 12, 1917 edition of the Roanoke News
The richest source of information on World War I and North Carolina on DigitalNC may very well be the many local newspapers we’ve digitized that contain the local perspective on the war, including some quite subdued headlines announcing the US’s entry. DigitalNC also hosts several World War I camp and hospital newspapers including the Trench and Camp from Camp Greene and the Caduceus, the paper of the Base Hospital at Camp Greene. Both are from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
To view more materials from World War I, check out a search of our collections here. And to learn more about World War I materials from across the state, visit the institutions highlighted in this blog post from our colleagues over at the State Archives of North Carolina.
