Grand Lodge of New York explained

Grand Lodge of New York F. & A.M.
Jurisdiction:New York
Grandmaster:Steven Adam Rubin
Deputygrandmaster:Robert L. Hogan, Jr.
Location:New York City, New York
Country:USA

The Grand Lodge of New York, officially the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, is the largest and oldest of several organizations of Freemasons that are based in the U.S. state of New York.[1] The offices of the Grand Lodge are located at Masonic Hall in New York City.

The Grand Lodge of New York was founded December 15, 1782 and it acts as the coordinating body for many Masonic functions undertaken throughout the state. Its various committees organize the Masonic Home in Utica, the Livingston Masonic Library[2] and various charitable events around New York State. The Grand Lodge of New York has jurisdiction over approximately 24,000 Freemasons, organized in more than 800 Lodges in New York State[3] and an additional 9 lodges in Lebanon. The GLNY first began chartering lodges in Lebanon in 1924.[4]

History

Colonial and federalist eras: 1730–1820

The first documented presence of Freemasonry in New York dates from the mid-1730s, when Daniel Coxe Jr. (1673–1739), was appointed by the Duke of Norfolk, the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England, known to historians as the "Moderns", to act as a Provincial Grand Master for the provinces of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. No authenticated primary source records exist of his tenure as Provincial Grand Master, and he died a few years after his appointment. Thus, it seems doubtful that he exercised any real authority in Masonic endeavors.

From 1738 to the 1780s, additional Warrants were issued by the GLE (Moderns) to Francis Goelet (1738–1753), George Harrison (1753–1771) and Sir John Johnson (1771–1783) to serve as Provincial Grandmaster. As Johnson was a supporter of the British during the American Revolution, he is believed to have taken his warrant with him when he fled to Canada, thus leaving the Moderns Lodges without a Provincial Grand Master.[5]

To further complicate matters, by the 1750s, the Antient Grand Lodge of England, known to historians as the "Ancients", a rival Masonic Grand Lodge, had also created a Provincial Grand Lodge of New York, which subsequently chartered lodges under its own jurisdiction. Additional lodges were chartered in New York by the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

The Ancients retained their charter throughout the Revolution, and it was based upon this charter that an independent Grand Lodge of New York was created in 1781, with Robert R. Livingston as Grand Master. The Grand Lodge of New York was officially organized on December 15, 1782, under the Provincial Grand Warrant dated September 5, 1781, from the “Athol” or Antient Grand Lodge of England.

The Grand Lodge declared its independence and assumed its modern title “Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York” on June 6, 1787. While the "Athol" Charter descended from the "Ancients", Livingston himself was a member of a "Modern" Lodge. Thus the two rival Grand Lodge traditions, which in England did not unite until 1813, had already merged before that in New York State.

Grand Lodge Buildings: 1826-1856 and 1875-Present

Early Masonic meetings and meetings of the Grand Lodge were likely held at taverns as well as an early iteration of Tammany Hall. On June 24, 1826 the cornerstone was laid for a Gothic style Masonic Hall on Broadway in lower Manhattan between Reade and Pearl Streets, directly across from the original site of the New York Hospital.[6] This would serve as the home of the Grand Lodge until it the building was demolished in 1856.[7] Perhaps the most important Masonic in this period was the merger of the Grand Lodge of New York with the St. John Grand Lodge, which took place at Tripler Hall on December 27, 1850.[8]

Due to infighting in the Grand Lodge, the Panic of 1857, and the Civil War, it would not be until the 1870s, that the Grand Lodge would again have a permanent meeting location. In 1870, the cornerstone was laid for a new Second French Empire Style building which served as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge from 1875 to 1909.

The current Grand Lodge building is located at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue and was built in 1909, on the same site as the 1875 Grand Lodge Building. At the time, the building caused some controversy, and Past Grand Master James Ten Eyck resigned as Trustee of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund in an effort to convince the then sitting Grand Master Townsend Scudder that the construction of the building would be unwise.[9]

Noteworthy Lodges

St. John's Lodge No. 1, chartered on December 5, 1757,[10] is the oldest operating Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York.[11] St. John's Lodge is the custodian of what is now known as the George Washington Inaugural Bible. On April 30, 1789, it was upon this Bible that George Washington took his oath of office as the first president of the United States.[12] In 2009, the Lodge formed a registered public charity for the purpose of preserving, maintaining and restoring the George Washington Inaugural Bible. In 2014, the St. John's Lodge No. 1 Foundation, Inc. received recognition as an IRS 501(c)3.[13]

Holland Lodge No. 8 was founded in 1787 and originally conducted ritual in the Dutch language. It is the largest lodge by membership currently in the Grand Lodge of New York, and was the lodge in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt took his Masonic degrees.[14]

Warren Lodge No. 32 has the distinction of being the New York's only remaining Full Moon Lodge, whereby its monthly meeting date is the "Thursday before every full moon", rather than on a set calendar day.[15]

Charity

The Grand Lodge of New York has a long history of supporting charitable causes. Among the organizations that are rooted in its charitable endeavors are, the Masonic Medical Research Institute, Acacia Village and Masonic Home in Utica; the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Library and Museum in New York and Utica; the Masonic Youth Camp at Camp Turk in Woodgate; the DeWint House at Tappan and its many charitable activities of its annual Brotherhood Fund Drive. The Grand Lodge sponsors drug and alcohol awareness programs in schools, and gives thousands of dollars a day to worthy charities around the State.

Relationships with other Masonic organizations

The Masonic youth group Organization of Triangles, Inc., was founded in New York in 1925.[16]

Since 2001, the Grand Lodge of New York has had mutual recognition with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York.[17]

Grand Masters

The current Grand Master is Steven Adam Rubin. The past Grand Masters are as follows:[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bessel: All US Masonic organizations .
  2. Web site: Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library – Collecting, Studying, and Preserving Masonic Heritage . 2023-08-08 . en-US.
  3. 2022 Empire Mason Magazine
  4. Web site: District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon . 2023-08-08 . Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of New York . en-US.
  5. Bicentennial Commemorative Volume of Holland Lodge No. 8, published by the Lodge, New York, 1988. pp 9-12
  6. Web site: Visualizing 19th-Century New York . 2022-12-24 . visualizingnyc.org.
  7. Web site: Grand Lodge of New York's Gothic Hall – Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library . 3 March 2022 . 2022-12-24 . en-US.
  8. Web site: The great Masonic celebration of the brethren hitherto under the jurisdiction of St. John's Grand Lodge with the most worshipful grand lodge of the M.A. & hon. fraternity of free & accepted masons of the State of New York, at Tripler Hall, City of New-York, Friday, December 27th A.D. 1850, A.L. 1850 / daguerreotyped and published by J. H. & F. J. Clark, 551 Broadway New -York ; drawn on stone by C. G. Crehen ; print by Nagel & Weingärtner. . 2024-02-24 . Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
  9. News: MASONIC TEMPLE TANGLE.; James Ten Eyck Resigns as Trustee -- Thinks Building Untimely. . en . The New York Times . 2023-05-18.
  10. News: TimesMachine: Sunday December 1, 1957 - NYTimes.com . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  11. Web site: St. John's Lodge No. 1 A.Y.M. - Oldest Masonic Lodge in N.Y.. 2020-08-28. St. John's Lodge No. 1 A.Y.M.. en-US.
  12. http://www.fcassociates.com/id27.htm Ceresi, Frank and McMains, Carol National Treasures - The George Washington Inaugural Bible
  13. Web site: St. John's Lodge No. 1 Foundation . 2022-12-24 . SJ1 Foundation . en-US.
  14. Web site: fdrlibrary . 2011-09-08 . Found in the Archives . 2022-12-24 . Forward with Roosevelt . en-US.
  15. http://www.esmason.com/magpdf/esm-sum07.pdf The Last Moon Lodge, Empire State Mason, Summer 2007, p. 3
  16. Web site: Official website . 20 September 2023 . Organization of Triangles, Inc..
  17. Web site: Prince Hall Liaison . 2022-12-25 . Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of New York . en-US.
  18. Web site: Past Grand Masters . 2023-04-16 . Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of New York . en-US.
  19. News: Annual Meeting of the Grand Lodge of F. and A.M. of the State of New-York.; FIRST DAY. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  20. News: THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.; Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge. THE GRAND MASTER'S ADDRESS. Brilliant Display of Knights Templar. RECEPTION OF VISITING LODGES. Complete Programme of the Ceremonies Today. Grand Parade of Knights Templar. Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge. The Procession of Today--Formation of the Line and Order of March. The Ceremonics at the Laying of the Corner-Stone. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  21. News: The New Masonic Hall-Meeting of the Board of Trustees Yesterday--Building Committee Appointed. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  22. News: MASONIC ENTERTAINMENT.; Picnic Today at Funk's Union Park--The Proposed Festivitiies--List of Committees. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  23. News: MASONRY.; SESSION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF THIS STATE. ADDRESS OF THE GRAND MASTER REPORTS RECEIVED COMMITTEES APPOINTED. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  24. News: THE NEW MASONIC HALL. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  25. News: THE MASONIC FRATERNITY; NINETY-NINTH COMMUNICATION OF THE GRAND LODGE. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  26. News: NEW-YORK'S FREEMASONS; ANNUAL MEETING OF THE STATE GRAND LODGE. PROSPEROUS CONDITION OF THE FRATERNITY--WIPING OUT A DEBT-QUARREL BETWEEN ENGLAND AND QUEBEC. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  27. News: MASONS TO TAKE COUNSEL; THE NEW-YORK GRAND LODGE TO MEET NEXT TUESDAY. OVER 700 SUBORDINATE LODGES WILL BE REPRESENTED -- FLOURISHING CONDITION OF THE CRAFT -- TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED. . en . The New York Times . 2023-10-07.
  28. News: 1922-05-05 . JUSTICE A.S. TOMPKINS HEADS N.Y. MASONS; Nyack Jurist, Elected Grand Master, Tells of New Era in Masonry--Other Officers Chosen . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-10-07 . 0362-4331.
  29. Web site: Hodapp . Christopher . 2012-04-26 . Freemasons For Dummies: NY PGM Bidnick Expelled . 2023-02-23 . Freemasons For Dummies.

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