FREEMASONRY

A modern name of popular usage designating the principles of the Order
of Freemasons. Formerly the word "Masonry" alone was employed, and is still
used in the writings, history, and ritual of the craft. The term Freemasonry
seems to have arisen from the fact that only free men were eligible to the
Order, and that they were required to be elected with practical unanimity.
The members then denoted themselves "Free and Accepted Masons" ; but the
public curtailed this to Freemasons, and the order to Freemasonry. 

Volume: XIII Pages: 146-151

MASONS, FREE

A secret fraternal organization of worldwide celebrity, and one credited
by enthusiastic writers with great antiquity. The Order, however, is now
conceded to have been instituted about the early part of the eighteenth
century--the pretensions put forth to a date coeval with the building of the
Temple at Jerusalem, with King Solomon as the first grand master, being
considered by those who have thoroughly investigated the subject as not
worthy of credit. The attempt also made to establish a connection between
the fraternity and many of the secret cults and organizations, such as the
Eleusinian mysteries, the Pythagoreans, the Rosicrucians and others, in the
early stages of its existence, has also failed, the utmost accomplished in
that direction being the detection of a certain similarity between the
symbols and ceremonies of these older institutions and the system of ritual
and rule observed by the Masonic order---circumambulation, the use of
aprons, the forty-seventh problem of Euclid, etc. Another consideration
which tends to discredit any connection between these older associations and
the Freemasons is the fact that the conception of Masonry implies a
cosmopolitan brotherhood, which would have been impossible of realization in
the earlier ages of the world's history. The more rational and the generally
accepted theory regarding the origin of the society of Freemasons is, that
it is the successor of the building associations of the Middle Ages of which
the Steinmetzen or stonemasons of Germany were a representative. The term
Freemason has also been a puzzle to philologists, some claiming that it is
Norman French--Frere Macon (brother mason)----while others maintain the
second part of the title to have been derived from the German word Metzen,
having the same signification. These early building societies, the
precursors of the Masons, are found to have been grouped in the eleventh
and twelfth centuries for the most part around the Benedictine monasteries,
the abbots being the architects who employed the masons on ecclesiastical
buildings and repairs. The development of architectural taste and the
acquisition of greater wealth by the Church led to the erection of buildings
on a larger and more imposing scale, requiring the association of craftsmen
in the various branches of construction for longer periods together. This
led to the formation of societies known as the 'Bauhutten', so called from
the wooden booths, where, during the continuance of the work on any
particular building, the craftsmen kept their tools, took their meals, and
held their meetings. By the latter part of the thirteenth century these
societies had increased so in number that a general association of the
'Bauhutten' was formed in Germany, governed by one code of craft laws,
acknowledging one set of secret signs and ceremonies, and working under one
central authority, the 'Haupthutte' of Strassburg. That there is a certain
connection admitted between this organization and the Masonic fraternity may
be inferred from the fact that the trade customs and symbolic forms of the
'Bauhutten' have been described by Masonic writers in Europe and America.
(See Fort, Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry, Philadelphia,
1887). The requirement most rigidly enforced from the earliest period was
secrecy, which was enjoined in the most solemn manner, both journeymen and
apprentices being sworn, before initiation, on the Bible, Square and
Compasses, to preserve inviolate the secrets of the brotherhood. Membership
was at this early period confined strictly to the operative class, who were
supposed to preserve the old secrets of Gothic Masonry, but later, in the
seventeenth century, it no longer was deemed necessary to restrict
membership to craftsmen alone, and, the bars being lowered, gentlemen became
eligible. The 'Haupthutte' went out of existence in 1731.

From the Continent of Europe England derived much of her lodge
organization. The earlier English associations of operative builders were
first called Freemasons in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, because
of the freedom granted them to carry on their occupation. From 1607 to 1618
Inigo Jones, under the patronage of Lord Pembroke, was actively engaged in
Masonic work, but the civil wars and the agitation caused by the Reformation
so materially broke up the Masonic connection that it was not until 1663
that definite steps were taken to put the fraternity on a permanent basis. A
general assembly of Masons was held in London in that year, new rules were
formulated and statutes enacted, and a formal resolution was passed that
Masonic privileges should be no longer confined to the operative Masons.
Professional and literary men, those learned in astrology, or alchemy, as
well as theoretic geometricians and architects, now identified themselves
with the fraternity. This class of membership at first was honorary, whence
the term Free and "Accepted" Masons.

    The historic period of Freemasonry begins with the formation of what is
known as the premier Masonic Grand Lodge of the world in London, England, in
1717. This is generally styled the "revival' of Freemasonry. Prior to that
time a Masonic lodge was composed of "any number of  brethren assembled at
any place for the performance of work, and, when so assembled, were
authorized to receive into the Order brothers and fellows, and to practice
the rites of Masonry. The Ancient Charges were the only standard for  the
regulation of their conduct. The master of the lodge was elected ' pro
tempore', and his authority terminated with the dissolution of the meeting
over which he had presided, unless the lodge was permanently established at
any particular place." Such lodges are known in Masonic history as time
immemorial lodges. On June 24, 1717, four of the old lodges then existing in
London constituted themselves into a Grand Lodge, the first Masonic Grand
Lodge ever organized, and elected Anthony Sayer their first Grand master.
George Payne succeeded Sayer as grand master in 1718, and Dr. John
Theophilus Desaguliers followed in 1719. In 1720' George Payne was again
grand master, and in that year compiled for the first time a set of 'General
Regulations,' which were subsequently revised by Dr. Desaguliers and Rev.
James Anderson, a Scotch Presbyterian minister, and were first published in
1723, under the title of "The Charges of a Freemason, extracted from the
ancient records of lodges beyond the sea and of those in England, Scotland
and Ireland, for the use of lodges in London." After 1717 new lodges could
be created only under a warrant from the Grand Lodge. In 1724 the Grand
Lodge of England came into conflict with a time immemorial lodge at York,
claiming to have originated at an assembly of Masons in 926. This led to the
formation in 1725, by the old Lodge of York, of the "Grand Lodge of All
England." The Grand Lodge of all England, however, appears to have
maintained friendly relations with the London Grand Lodge. In 1751 nine
lodges owing allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England seceded from that body
on the ground that the Grand  Lodge suffered subordinate lodges of its
jurisdiction to depart from the ancient landmarks of Freemasonry, and
organized a "Grand Lodge of  England, according to old Institutions.'  They
styled themselves 'Ancients,' and called the members of the Grand Lodge of
England 'Moderns.' In 1756 Laurence Dermott, the leader of the seceders,
published the " Ahiman Rezon," or Book of Constitutions, which he copied
from the constitutions of the original or 'Modern' Grand Lodge, and
addressed it to "The Ancient York Masons in England." The Grand Lodge of All
England, at York, died in 1792. There then existed in England but two Grand
Lodges, the "Ancients" and the "Moderns." After negotiations  extending over
a number of years, finally, in 1813, through the efforts of the Duke of
Sussex, grand master of the 'Moderns,' and his distinguished brother, the
Duke of Kent, grand master  of the 'Ancients,' a permanent union was
established under the title of the ' United Grand Lodge of Ancient
Freemasons of England,' by which the fraternity has since been known.
Freemasonry has always been favorably considered in England. In 1799, when
an act of Parliament was passed directed against seditious societies, an
exception was made in favor of Masonic lodges, which were credited with
meeting solely for benevolent purposes. Jews were admitted to membership on
the same footing as other religious denominations. The growth and progress
of the fraternity has been so marked, that there are now in the Grand Lodge
of England more than 2000 lodges, a Grand Lodge, sixty provincial Grand
Lodges, a Grand Lodge of Mark Masters, a Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch
Masons, a Great Priory of Knights Templars, and a Supreme Council of the
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. A few years after the revival a Committee on
Charity was formed and since then Masonic schools have been founded for boys
and girls and institutions for the aged and infirm.
    In Scotland the early history of the Masons differed in no essential
respect from that of  other trade crafts. In 1598-99 the statutes and
ordinances of the Order to be observed "by all Master Masons as set down by
William Shaw, Master of Work to His Majesty, and general wardent of the
craft" (see Lyon, History of Freemasonry in Scotland), were published. These
ordinances, however, are largely concerned with trade relations. The system
of degrees was not  developed, but a "pass-word" was adopted. In 1736 a
final effort, set on foot fifteen years before by Desaguliers, the organizer
of the English Masonic movement, to consolidate the various lodges into a
representative body, was successful,  and on November 30, 1736, the first
general assembly of symbolical Masons was held and a Grand Lodge for
Scotland formed. The representative of the family of Saint Clair, which was
patron of the Masonic Lodge, was elected first grand master; provincial
grand masters were appointed, a general adhesion of Scotch lodges to the new
organization was effected, and Saint Andrew's Day was substituted for the
day of  Saint John the Baptist, the fete day in England. Freemasonry was
introduced into Ireland in 1730, when the first lodge was opened at Dublin.
The English system and ritual were adopted, but, owing to the fact that the
religion of the country is so largely Roman Catholic, Masonry has not made a
very marked progress. At the close of the nineteenth century its
representation  consisted of one Grand Lodge and about 350 lodges.

    The first Masonic lodge in France, according to Clavel and other
well-authenticated authorities, was established at Dunkirk on October 13,
1721, and was styled ' L' Amitie' et Fraternite.' The second was organized
by Lord Derwentwater in Paris in 1725.  It was at first largely patronized
by the nobility, but its purpose does not seem to have been of an elevated
character, and this, supplemented by the vigorous opposition of the Catholic
Church, tended to invest the institution of Masonry with a very unstable
character. In 1736 a Grand Lodge was formed, and in 1766 a new Grande-Loge
Nationale of France was created (subsequently altered in title to the Grand
Orient), and a representative system adopted under which the various lodges
were brought into a degree of subordination to the central and authoritative
body. Considerable hostility, however, was manifested toward the new
organization by the original Grand Lodge, and there was, besides, a conflict
between the rituals in use, the Grand Orient following the Scottish rite,
while the original Grand Lodge had adopted a wildly superstitious form,
fathered by the impostor, Cagliostro.  The Revolution practically suspended
both organizations, which subsequently were revived and in 1799 became
united in one national  organization. Hardly had this union been effected
when another entering wedge was inserted by the introduction of two new
systems of ritual, one the Scottish Philosophical Rite, including the
luminous ring and the white and black eagle, and the other the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite of thirty-three degrees. Finally, in 1804, a union
was again effected between the Grand Orient and the Supreme Council, but
since that period the cause of Freemasonry in France has not been as
progressive as in other European countries. At the close of the nineteenth
century the number of lodges in existence was only about 350. The Grand
Orient has ceased to require belief in a personal God as a test of
membership.  The introduction of Freemasonry into other European countries,
notably Spain, Holland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Russia, took place
between 1725 and 1750, but with varying results. In Russia the Masonic
lodges have been surpressed, while in Austria-Hungary they merely preserve
an existence, owing to the ban of the Church being placed on them.
    The introduction of Masonry into America was under the deputation to
Daniel Coxe of New Jersey, from the Grand Lodge of England, dated June 5,
1730, which appointed him provincial grand master for Pennsylvania, New
York, and New Jersey, ' for the space of two years.'  While Coxe does not
seem to have been active in establishing lodges in his territory, reliable
evidence that Saint John's Lodge was founded in Philadelphia in the latter
part of 1730 or early in 1731 is found in a letter written by Henry Bell,
dated November 17, 1754, in which he speaks of a charter being granted by
Daniel  Coxe to a number of Philadelphians. The existence of the lodge in
1731 is further proved by the account books of Benjamin Franklin, who sold
stationery to and did printing for Saint John's Lodge. The entries bear
dates in 1731. Another corroborative proof is found in a ledger of the lodge
discovered in 1884, which is called ' Liber B.'  Its entries begin with June
24, 1731, and consist of amounts paid into the lodge by members. Franklin
was made a Mason in January, 1731. In 1733 the Grand Lodge of England
granted a deputation to Major Henry Price of Boston, as ' Provincial Grand
Master of Free and Accepted Masons in New England.' On July 30, 1733, a
warrant was granted to form Saint John's Lodge in Boston, Mass. From this
beginning, Freemasonry spread throughout the colonies. There also existed a
large number of  military and traveling lodges, usually attached  to
regiments or battalions of the British Army, and formed under warrants from
the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
    When the War of the Revolution came to a successful close the American
lodges so created withdrew their allegiance to the parent lodges in England
and Scotland and created Grand  Lodges in several of the States, and the
Order thus became deeply rooted in American soil, where it has continued to
grow without interruption other than what is known as the great anti-Masonic
movement, which began in 1826 and continued for about ten years, during
which period the membership was reduced to a very small number. ( See
ANTI-MASONS;  MORGAN, WILLIAM.).  The Order is also prospering in British
America, while in the republics of South America, where the Catholic
religion is in the ascendent, the same influences operate to its hindrance
as in the European countries where Church influence is powerful.
    A system of what is known as Freemasonry exists among the colored people
in America, which, while admitted to be regular, is not recognized by white
members of the Order, or their grand and subordinate lodges in this country,
although receiving full recognition as to the  regularity of their
organization from some of the foreign Grand Lodges. The parent lodge was
opened in Boston, March 6, 1775, through the exertions of Prince Hall, known
in the archives of the Order as the father of Freemasonry among colored men.
There were fifteen charter members and the lodge was known as African Lodge.
It received a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England in 1784 and was
organized as African Lodge No. 429 in 1787, with the rank of a Provincial
Grand Lodge and Prince Hall as provincial grand master. This lodge became
dormant after the death of the charter members, was subsequently revived,
but failed to receive recognition from the Grand Lodge of England. The
African Grand Lodge of Boston, now known as Prince Hall Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, was organized in 1808, and there are at the present time in
the United States twenty-eight colored Grand Lodges, and one in Ontario,
Canada. These are distributed as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,  Michigan,
Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. There
also exist among the negroes bodies of the higher degrees of Masonry, viz.
Chapters of the Royal Arch, Councils of Royal and Select Masters,
Commanderies of Knights Templars, subordinate bodies of the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, a Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General, and
Temples of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
   Concerning the rites, ceremonies, and principles of Freemasonry it should
be said that the underlying principle is a belief in a Supreme Being and the
immortality of the soul. Next to that is the recognition of fraternal
obligations  among members of the Order. The duties of a  Mason are always
to be held subordinate to his duty to his God, to his country, and to his
fellowmen, a fact not generally credited outside the fraternity, and
ignorance of which has led  to much of the opposition it has encountered, on
account of its being a secret institution. It differs from other secret and
beneficial societies in the matter of its beneficiary features, for there is
no obligation expressed in the order of procedure set forth as part of its
fixed policy. The  measure of relief to be extended to fellow members in
distress and the participation in any work of charity are matters implied
rather than commanded. Some of the lodges voluntarily create funds for
charitable purposes, but this is a matter which rests with the particular
lodge, which is independent in any line of action it adopts not antagonistic
to the objects or principles of the Order. As a rule, the dispensing of
relief is entirely governed by circumstances, and is not circumscribed by
conditions of membership in any particular lodge. A sojourning or visiting
Mason, in any locality where he may be temporarily staying, if in distress,
has a claim on his brother Masons, in accordance with the spirit and
teaching of the Masonic fraternity . A system of benevolence has been
adopted in many of the American jurisdictions which is characteristic of
the fraternity. It is the establishment in different jurisdictions of
Masonic homes and infirmaries for the needy and distressed of the Order. The
first of these homes was established in 1867 at Louisville, Ky., as the '
Masonic Widows and  Orphans Home and Infirmary.'  Other institutions have
been founded in Philadelphia, Chicago, Saint Louis, Nashville, Springfield,
Ohio, Wichita, Kan.,  Waterford, Conn.,  Burlington, N.J., Richmond, Va.,
and in Michigan, Texas, and  California. Funds have been established in many
other jurisdictions either to found homes or to provide a systematic
administration of charity. The homes are, like the English institutions,
largely supported by voluntary contributions, but in some States a per
capita tax is levied upon each Master Mason within the jurisdiction.
)

   The teachings of Freemasonry are symbolical, ceremonial, and allegorical.
Rites, almost without number, were formed by degree-makers during the past
one hundred and fifty years, but most of them had but a short existence.
There are now ten Masonic rites or systems in use throughout the world, all
having as their foundation the three symbolic degrees of Entered Apprentice,
Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. The two rites that are ranked as universal
are the York or English rite, and the Ancient Accepted Scottish rite of
thirty-three degrees. The English rite comprises the three fundamental
symbolic degrees, and the Royal Arch degree, appended in 1813.  The English
rite has been enlarged and changed in this country and Canada and is known
as the American rite. It consists of thirteen degrees, grouped as follows:
Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, conferred in symbolic
lodges;  Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch,
conferred in chapters of Royal Arch Masons; Royal Master, Select Master, and
Super-Excellent Master, conferred in councils of Royal and Select Masters;
and Orders of the Red Cross, Knight Templar, and Knight of Malta, conferred
in commanderies of Knights Templars. Of the thirty-three degrees of the
Ancient Accepted Scottish rite the first three or symbolic degrees are never
conferred, all control of them and right  to use them having been
relinquished by the Supreme Councils of the Scottish Rite to the Grand
Lodges of the United States and Canada. The degrees from the fourth to the
fourteenth are conferred in the Lodge of Perfection;  these are Secret
Master, Perfect Master, Intimate, Secretary, Provost and Judge, Intendant of
the Building, Knight Elect of Nine, Knight Elect of Fifteen, Sublime Knight
Elect,  Grand Master Architect, Knight of the Ninth Arch, and Perfect and
Sublime Mason.  The degrees Knight of the East or Sword and Prince of
Jerusalem are conferred in councils of  Princes of Jerusalem. The degrees of
Knight of the East and West and Knight of Rose Croix are conferred in
chapters of Rose Croix. In consistories of Sublime Princes of the Royal
Secret are conferred the following degrees;  Grand Pontiff, Master ad vitam
or Master of All Symbolic Lodges, Noachite or Prussian Knight, Knight of the
Royal Axe or Prince of Libanus, Chief of the Tabernacle, Prince of the
Tabernacle, Knight of  the Brazen Serpent, Prince of Mercy, Knight Commander
of the Temple, Knight of the Sun or Prince Adept, Knight of Saint Andrew,
Knight Kadosh,  Inspector Inquisition Commander, and  Sublime Prince of the
Royal Secret. The thirty-third and last degree, that of Sovereign Grand
Inspector-General, is conferred in the Supreme Council upon Masons who have
rendered distinguished services to the craft. The English and the Scottish
rites are the only two that are practiced in the United States and are
recognized by Masons generally. The Scottish rite in the United States is
controlled by two bodies, the Supreme Councils of the Northern and Southern
Masonic jurisdictions. They are in fraternal communion with each other and
with the Supreme Council of France as well as those of England, Scotland,
Ireland, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal,
Italy, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Central America, Greece, Canada, Cuba,
Switzerland, Egypt, Tunis, and Spain. The  number of subordinate bodies in
these jurisdictions is:  Northern Jurisdiction, 239, with a membership of
34,035;  Southern Jurisdiction,  267, with a membership of 14,867. There are
in addition to the foregoing a number of societies in the United States,
which though not in any sense Masonic in character, yet require as a
pre-requisite to uniting with them membership in Masonic bodies. The largest
and most popular is the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
(See MYSTIC  SHRINE,  ANCIENT  ORDER OF  NOBLES OF THE.) Minor organizations
are the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, with
headquarters at Hamilton, N.Y., and the Independent International Order of
Owls, with headquarters at Nashville, Tenn. These societies are purely
social organizations, founded for amusement and recreation.
    The only society allied to Masonry that receives women into membership
is the Order of the Eastern Star. It is not a Masonic body, nor has it ever
been recognized by the Masonic fraternity, but its members are composed of
Master Masons in good standing, their wives, daughters, mothers, and
sisters, together with the widows of such Master Masons. The system which
admitted women to membership in bodies allied to Freemasonry originated in
France about 1730. The bodies were called 'Lodges of Adoption,' because each
organization was required to be adopted by a Masonic lodge and was under its
control. Lodges of adoption are said to have  been introduced into this
country about 1778, but they never flourished to any extent. As early as
1793 there was an 'Order of the Eastern Star' in existence in this country.
This organization disappeared early in the last century. The system at
present prevailing in the United States was founded in 1868 by Robert Macoy
of New York, upon the basis of a ritual developed by Robert Morris, an
eminent Masonic writer. There are now in the United States thirty-two Grand
Chapters and over 250,000 members.

)

    The Sovereign College of Allied Masonic and Christian Degrees of America
is a body of Masons clothed with power to confer academic as well as
ritualistic degrees, the former being given for honorable cause. The highest
academic degree conferred is that of Doctor of Universal Masonry, which has
been conferred on only five distinguished members of the Order. The ritual
of the college comprises the degree of Ark Mariner, Secret Monitor, Tylers
of Solomon,  Saint Lawrence the Martyr, Knight of Constantinople, Holy and
Blessed Order of Wisdom, Trinitarian Knight of Saint John of Patmos. The
Order is  in fraternal communication with the Grand Council of the Allied
Degrees, and the Grand Ark Mariners Council, both of England.
    The following table gives the Grand Lodges in the United States and
British America, with their respective and total membership brought down to
a recent date:

MASONIC  GRAND  LODGES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  BRITISH  AMERICA,
WITH  THEIR  RESPECTIVE  MEMBERSHIP  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  1902.

Alabama    (12,788)
Arizona   (939)
Arkansas   (13,305)
British Columbia   (11,978)
California   (22,776)
Colorado   ( 8,895)
Connecticut   (17,730)
Delaware   ( 2,364)
District of Columbia   ( 6,257)
Florida  ( 4,623)
Georgia  ( 20,844)
Idaho  ( 1410)
Illinois  ( 59,689)
Indiana  (33,604)
Indian  Territory  (4,024)
Iowa  (30,324)
Kansas  (22,388)
Kentucky  (20,627)
Louisiana  (6,361)
Maine  (23,224)
Manitoba  (3,238)
Maryland  (8,278)
Massachusetts  ( 42,093)
Michigan  (45,304)
Minnesota  (17,528)
Mississippi  (10,531)
Missouri  (34,707)
Montana  (3,325)
Nebraska  (12,767)
Nevada  (885)
New Brunswick  (1,894)
New Hampshire  (9,387)
New Jersey  (19,150)
New Mexico  (1,079)
New York  (111,365)
North Carolina  (12,012)
North Dakota  (3,742)
Nova Scotia  (3,574)
Ohio  (48,349)
Oklahoma  (3,291)
Ontario  (26, 939)
Oregon  (5,598)
Pennsylvania  (57,266)
Prince Edward Island  (559)
Quebec  (4,019)
Rhode Island  (5,471)
South Carolina  (6,532)
South Dakota  (4,887)
Tennessee  (17,770)
Texas  (29,680)
Utah  (982)
Vermont  (10,235)
Virginia  (13,842)
Washington  (5,795)
West Virginia  (7,421)
Wisconsin  (18,210)
Wyoming  (1,167)

TOTAL MEMBERSHIP:  933,022

    The above American and British American Grand Lodges maintain fraternal
relations with the Grand Lodges of Belgium, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark,
Eclectic Union (Frankfort-on-the-Main), England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland,
New South Wales, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Porto Rico, Royal York (Berlin),
Saxony, Scotland, South Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania,  Three
Globes (Berlin), Victoria (Australia), Zur Eintracht (Darmstadt), and Zur
Sonne (Bayreuth).
    Besides what may be called orthodox Masonry there are two other bodies
operating in the United States known as those of the Cerneau rite and the
Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis, which differ in ritual from the older
Orders. The Cerneau Masons, or Sovereign Grand Consistory, founded in 1807
by Joseph Cerneau in affiliation with the Grand Orient of France and
enrolled under the Scottish rite, has two consistories in New York City, and
a ' Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General of the
Thirty-third and Last Degree.' It is not in affiliation with Masonic bodies
generally in America and Canada, owing to its connection with the Grand
Orient of France, which does not require for admission to membership the
necessity of a belief in the existence of a Supreme Being. It has
jurisdiction over seventy subordinate consistories of Sublime Princes of the
Royal Secret, which are subdivided into Lodges of Perfection, Councils of
Princes of Jerusalem, Chapters of Rose Croix, and Consistories. The Ancient
and Primitive Rite of Memphis was established in  Montauban, France, in
1814, by Jacques Etienne Marconis and others. On November 9, 1856, the first
organization of the Ancient and Primitive Rite in America was created in New
York under the title of ' A Supreme Council Sublime Masters of the Great
Work Ninetieth Degree' by Jacques Etienne Marconis.  On March 1, 1857, he
organized a 'Sovereign Grand Council-General Ninety-fourth Degree' and
granted a charter with full authority for the administration and government
of the Order, and on June 21, 1862, a ' Sovereign Sanctuary Ninety-fifth
Degree' was created in and for the continent of America in affiliation with
the Grand Orient of France. The "Mystic Temple Grand Council-General
Ninety-fourth Degree' has charge of the State of New York. There are
branches in existence for the government of other countries under titles of
Sovereign Sanctuaries, viz. for Great Britain and Ireland, Egypt, Rumania,
Naples, Palermo and India.
______________________________________________

This completes the total article on the subject matter of MASONS, FREE.


To see a Calander of how 
different masonic
orders use several different systems of designating the year. 

Transcribed by Miriam Medina

The abovementioned article in its exact word by word entirety was taken
from:
Source: The New International Encyclopaedia
Publisher: Dodd, Mead and Company-New York.
Copyright: 1902-1905.
Total of 21 Volumes.

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