My Grandpa's Scrapbook

My Dad's Dad, who died of brain cancer when I was young, kept a scrapbook (photos, membership cards, letters, postcards, brochures, newspaper clippings, ETC.), which chronicles nearly thirty years of his life as a Mason.

One of the more interesting items (to me, anyway) is a letter with the heading, "Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry - Valley of Columbus, Ohio - Masonic Temple - [Address and phone number omitted]", which reads, in part, as follows: "...Enclosed is your demit from the Valley of Columbus as requested. [...] While we dislike to lose you as a member, I assume you have given the matter serious consideration before taking this action. [...]".

He quit, and nobody in the family seems to know why...

reply to post by Icarus_Fallen


Very interesting.. Thanks for sharing..

It seems like the logical conclusion would be that he had a disagreement with the organization.

There are a lot of reasons for one to demit. I wonder what his was?

Give us some more, if you can. U/L a photocopy so members can give it a look. How long was your grandfather a Mason? Are there any other items in the scrapbook that may shed some light on the letter? Waiting patiently.

You could try getting in touch with his old lodge.
If it's still around you can ask the members if they know of why he left.

Demitting is not the same as a resignation or "quitting." It is unlikely that this was a result of any disagreement between your grandfather and the Scottish Rite.

The most usual reason for a demit is to end the obligation to pay dues while you are in good standing. In this way, you "suspend" your membership and can fairly easily rejoin at a time when you have the money. Another reason would be that you simply haven't any time to devote to the organization -- as with dues, this allows you to leave in good standing and come back when you have time.

One last reason for a demit is a desire to transfer membership from one location to another. You would demit from one and then apply to the other.

reply to post by driley


That was my hit too. Glad you cleared it up, you know in his Grandfathers day, money was very hard to come by and he was probably a hard worker that needed to support his family instead of the Lodge at the time. Depression days?

I would also call his old Lodge and find out what you can, maybe they will invite you?

reply to post by driley


I would agree this is the most likely reason why someone demits. I've considered it a few times over the years when money was tight, but ultimately decided to stay and rubbed a few pennies together to get the annual membership fee.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies, Everyone.

The letter is dated October 22, 1982, not quite five years from the date of his death.

Looking through his membership cards, I seriously doubt it was a money thing. I mean, the annual "Dues" seem pretty nominal. For instance, a light blue card from 1981 (the colors vary year-to-year) reads as follows: "Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite - VALLEY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO - THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT BRO. [name omitted] IS A MEMBER OF THE FOLLOWING BODIES AND ENTITLED TO THE CORRESPONDING DEGREE THEREOF: Enoch Lodge of Perfection, 14[degree] Franklin Council P. of J., 16[degree] Coumbus Chapter, Rose Croix, 18[degree] Scioto Consistory, 32[degree] WITH ANNUAL DUES PAID TO DECEMBER 31 1981 Dues ......... $20.00"

driley writes:

...Another reason would be that you simply haven't any time to devote to the organization -- as with dues, this allows you to leave in good standing and come back when you have time.[...]

This seems the best fit, in light of the circumstances surrounding his health. From what I understand, he never fully recovered from a 1979 back surgery (or at least he "was never the same" after the procedure). His health declined steadily through the early to mid-eighties, culminating in the cancer diagnosis in 1986.

However, I think it's safe to assume that my Grandpa did, in fact, "quit", as the letter of demit and the 1981 membership card bear the most recent dates of all the artifacts.

Furthermore, if there are any burial rites associated with Freemasonry, his gravesite and marker don't bear any evidence that he took advantage of them.



[edit on 21-12-2008 by Icarus_Fallen]

Originally posted by Icarus_Fallen


Furthermore, if there are any burial rites associated with Freemasonry, his gravesite and marker don't bear any evidence that he took advantage of them.

Once you demit, you don't get anymore paperwork, usually. Your membership is suspended -- so you won't get dues cards or the like.

The right to Masonic funeral services derives from your status as a Master Mason. Demitting from the Scottish Rite wouldn't disqualify him in anyway from that. His lodge (blue lodge or craft lodge) would handle those services and, in the vast majority of cases, there would be no sign that they had been performed. Not everyone chooses to put their Masonic status on their tombstone -- even those who choose to have the burial service.

My father, for example, had a Masonic burial service. And a military service, too. However, his headstone only denotes his military service. That was my mom's choice -- and I am pretty sure my Dad wouldn't care.

So... if you really want to know what happened, my suggestion is to contact your state's grand lodge (easily found by using Google). Find the e-mail address for the Grand Secretary. Write a nice e-mail explaining what you have and asking his assistance in sorting out your family history. Most Grand Lodges have rules concerning what they will and will not say concerning members -- even deceased ones. However, you should get something -- be advised, in these tough economic times some Grand Lodges are charging a small fee to offset the cost of the staff time involved in searching records.

Anyway... good luck.