I just found out my Grandfather was a 32 degree Freemason..

My niece sent me our family genealogy, which is traced all the way back to 950 in Normandy France, and it shows my Grandfather listed as a 32 degree Freemason. My Great Grandfather belong to the bricklayers, masons and plasterers union in Fall River Massachusetts. He was commissioned to carve 4 stone tablets for the old post office in Fall River, Mass. When the building was torn down, the tablets were put in storage and later put on display at The Mariners Museum by the waterfront in Fall River, Mass.
I wish I had known this when he was alive, I have a million questions I wanted to ask him....


Mods, Not sure where this goes, feel free to move if needed.

reply to post by GammaRayBurst

If I was in that sort of position, I'd try to get in to be honest.

Bit of networking will get you a long long way in these times

My niece sent me a picture of the carvings my Great Grandfather made

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/15b349df274a.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by GammaRayBurst


So was mine, in Colorado, and I never met him. Watch out for that genealogy stuff. Mine traces back to the same place through the Montague line, but you have to question once you piggy back onto another line. So, we're cousins. Of course, we all are at a certain point. :-)

I have a older friend. 32nd degree.
I asked him a number of questions...most of the conspiracy stuff is crap, but amusing nonetheless.

Yes, they are connected politically, but any large organization is. Some chapters are more inclined to have a hand in the local politics than others.
The biggest annoyance they have is that some of the ceremonies are online, which is traditionally spoken down to new people..never written..so it is a tradtional issue more than anything.

It is more rare to find an eagle scout than a high ranking member of the masons.

reply to post by GammaRayBurst


These are phenomenal. Very cool about your Grandfather.

I wish i had an interesting geneology to share.

I know very little of both sides of my family. I basically go as far back on my mom sides to the early 1800's, and my dad i know nothing beyond his fathers father.

But than again, im the only truly 'intellectual' person in my family. Theyre not stupid or anything, just most of them are completely enraptured by society. Clubs, video games, sports, cars, girls, music... they know lots about, but intellectual philosophical views... not much, and if there is any, its superficial.

I am so alone

I like to pretend that im related to a former prime minister of portugal, who came from the same island that my dad is from (madeira) and he has the same last name as us... but, it could be coincidence. Or maybe my grandfather was a grandson of his!

reply to post by GammaRayBurst


You might be Illuminati Bloodline and not know it ha. Seriously, those carvings are cool and your niece did a great job of gifting your family with the info.

If the carvings are still on display, it sounds like a road trip is in order for you. Thanks for sharing.

It really is amazing that you have a documentation of your family history that goes back over a 1000 years.

For nobility, yes, it makes sense. But common people?? Or you are not among the common people? hmmm

What usually happens is that you find a relative that plugs into a genealogy that has already been done. That's what happened to me. A great grandmother was named Mary Montague and it just so happened that a Montague had done a massive genealogy in 1895, so I grabbed his book, which traced the line back to Normandy.

But the problem is that a lot of the research is speculative, so you can be led astray very easily. The Montagies were a big family in Britain, and at that point it is inevitable that you connect up with a royal family, and they REALLY do genealogy. So if this book is to be believed, I am a 22nd cousin to Prince Charles.

But at some point it doesn't matter. If there are 4 generations per hundred years, do the math: 2-4-8-16-32-1 billion just like that.

reply to post by rufusthestuntbum


You don't need family in the freemasons to be allowed to join, you just turn up and talk with the masons at their lodge and see if it's right for you.

If you're a good person, you have a good chance of them accepting you into freemasonry.

Originally posted by ShadowScholar
reply to post by rufusthestuntbum

 

You don't need family in the freemasons to be allowed to join, you just turn up and talk with the masons at their lodge and see if it's right for you.

If you're a good person, you have a good chance of them accepting you into freemasonry.

I have no interest in joining, just amazed at what I didn't know about my family history..Thanks

It's not uncommon to have grandfathers or uncles who were Mason's from previous generations. Freemasonry was a lot bigger in the early and mid 1900s, I'm sure theres a lot of people who have Masons in the family tree and are unaware of it.

To me what more cool is that your grandfather left pieces of art made out of stone to history. You will forever be able to remember him and show people what an amazing craftsman he was.

reply to post by ShadowScholar


For some odd reason 4 or 5 years back i was interested in joining my local lodge, but was unable to. They required someone on the inside to get me in.

Guess some lodges are just different. This lodge also has been intimately involved with the formation of the town (now a faily upper middle class town with a pop. of roughly 55 k) with major store owners, mayors and city concilman as members. When you go inside they have their pictures on the wall.

reply to post by ShadowScholar


1. On what night of the week do they normally meet?
2. I know it isn't family, but I thought you needed someone to vouch for you, can you get in without already having a connection?

reply to post by rufusthestuntbum


Usually Tuesdays.

There are no invites, you have to seek us out. In my jurisdiction you need 2 Masons to vouch for you.

Theres many other threads available with this and other pertinent information if you use the search function... or open up the 'secret societies' forum page. Good luck.

Just finished talking to my mother about this... she tells me my Grandfather also worked for the Mob running "Numbers" for a time.. most of my relatives are from Staten Island so I guess it makes sense... I remember my Grandfather coming to visit us in Calif...he always wore a suit and tie..always, I thought that was weird.....I' don't know if I want to know more or not..LOL

Originally posted by rufusthestuntbum
reply to post by ShadowScholar

 

1. On what night of the week do they normally meet?
2. I know it isn't family, but I thought you needed someone to vouch for you, can you get in without already having a connection?

Lodges meet on different nights. My lodge back in Boulder, Colorado met on Tuesdays. My lodge in New Orleans (here for med school) meets on Thursdays.

The only person I knew when joining was the initial brother I talked with. I literally went down to the lodge, knocked on the door and talked with the man who answered. I took an application, filled it out and after a fellowship night or two there were several that knew me and vouched for me. It was quite easy to join. The memory work was challenging.

I'm 32nd degree Scottish Rite now. I took degrees during a fall reunion here in the New Orleans Valley. I've learned a lot and the fraternity with the brothers has been really swell.

reply to post by GammaRayBurst


that seems to be the case alot...

my uncle comes from a long sicilian line of mafioso. His 3 sons (my uncle being the 'head') come from it, his father came from it. it goes back along time. My uncles also a member of the KoC (knights of columbus) and he described the initation ceremony as being the most "embarassing thing he ever went through"..

Unlike what most people say, masonry, KoC. elks etc can serve as convenient fronts for crime syndicates/illuminati.

Yeah, I remember being surprised when I found out my grandfather had been a member of the Knights of Columbus. He died when I was about 13, but I didn't know that about him until long after he died. They'd never take me, though, because I'm not Catholic :p