Happy 201st Birthday to the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction!

Today, August 5, 2014, marks the 201st anniversary of the founding of the Scottish Rite’s Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (which founded the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in 1975). A year ago today, we celebrated the momentous occasion of the fraternity’s 200th anniversary – see our posts from last year - here and here. This year, the day is passing more quietly. However, our exhibition, “A Sublime Brotherhood: 200 Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction,” which opened last year, is still on view – for a few more weeks. The exhibition will close on September 27, 2014, so if you haven’t visited, it’s time to plan a trip to the museum. We have one more gallery talk planned in the exhibit. The Museum’s Director of Collections and curator of the exhibition, Aimee E. Newell, will offer a free gallery talk on Saturday, September 27, at 2 p.m.

During the official anniversary ceremony last August, in New York City, Sovereign Grand Commander John William McNaughton welcomed his counterpart from the Southern Jurisdiction, Sovereign Grand Commander Ronald Seale. At the festivities, Commander Seale presented Commander McNaughton with a reproduction of the 1813 charter that officially created the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Commander Seale also presented a commemorative glass vase to celebrate the occasion (see above). The vase is currently on view in our lobby as part of our display of recent acquisitions. Engraved on the front is the double-headed eagle emblem of the Scottish Rite with an inscription, “Presented to the Supreme Council, 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, USA, in honor of its Bicentennial Anniversary 1813-2013 by the Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, USA.”

To order a copy of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction's recent published history, which the exhibition is based on, visit the NMJ online store.

Vase, 2013, United States, gift of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, USA, 2013.030. Photograph by David Bohl.

“Fantastic!” and “Intriguing!”: Symposium at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

On Friday, April 11, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library presented its third symposium, “Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism.”  With this program, we seek to present the newest research on American fraternal history.  As loyal blog readers know, the study of the activities and influence of Masonic and fraternal groups in the United States—past and present—offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture. 

Attendees from Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Tennessee enjoyed six scholarly presentations and special staff-led tours of the exhibition “A Sublime Brotherhood:  Two Hundred Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction,” highlights form the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives and a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum collections.  

The morning started with a presentation by Kristen M. Jeschke, of the University of New Hampshire, who spoke about “Mid-Nineteenth Century Lodges:  Middle-Class Families in the Absence of Women,” followed by Jeffrey Tyssens, Professor of Contemporary History, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, with his presentation, “Bragging Brethren and Solid Sisters? Contrasting Mobilization Patterns among Male and Female Orders during the Spanish-American War.”  Margaret Goehring, Assistant Professor of Art History at New Mexico State University, ended the morning session with “Painted Ambition: Notes on Some Early Masonic Wall Painting.”  In the afternoon, participants heard from Adam Geoffrey Kendall, of the Henry Wilson Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry at the Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of California, who discussed “Pilgrimage and Procession: The Knights Templar Triennial Conclaves and the Dream of the American West” and  Stephen Hill, Sr., of the Phylaxis Society, with “The Colored Knights of Pythias.”  Independent scholar Stephen Canner rounded out the day with his presentation, “’The Farmer Feeds Us All’: The Origins and Evolution of a Grange Anthem.”

Throughout the symposium, attendees—who included members of the Masonic community and interested scholars and researchers—contributed to the lively question and answer sessions following the presentations.  Presenters and attendees alike enjoyed meeting fellow enthusiasts and making connections that will last well beyond the event. The symposium was funded in part by the Supreme Council, 33°, N. M. J., U.S. A.  We thank our sponsors and all of the enthusiastic attendees and engaging presenters who made it a great day!

If you are interested in keeping up to date on programs like this and other museum news, you can read about them here.  You can also sign up for our e-newsletter and follow us on Facebook.

 

Photographs:

Margaret Goehring, Assistant Professor of Art History at New Mexico State University, presented “Painted Ambition: Notes on Some Early Masonic Wall Painting,” at the symposium.

Symposium attendees enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum collections. 

Participants examine objects on display in “A Sublime Brotherhood:  Two Hundred Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.”

Discussion during “Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism.”

Spring Gallery Talks: "A Sublime Brotherhood"

We have added some spring gallery talks in A Sublime Brotherhood: 200 Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction to our programs roster.

The talks will be held at 2 p.m. on: Saturday, March 22; Saturday, April 26; Saturday, May 17; Saturday, July 26.

"A Sublime Brotherhood" was curated by Aimee E. Newell, the Museum's Director of Collections, in celebration of the bicentennial of the Northern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite's founding. The exhibition features keystone documents, such as the Francken manuscript (pictured here). You will also see richly decorated ritual objects, like a colorful and intricately carved lectern, and personal items, such as astronaut John Glenn's Scottish Rite ring. 

Come and learn about the Scottish Rite's French roots, its founding in America two centuries ago and its evolution into one of the most popular American fraternal groups during the 1900s. Among other features of the exhibition are photos, costumes, and Scottish Rite items, many of which have never previously been on view.

Our readers may be interested in the publication that accompanies "A Sublime Brotherhood," co-authored by Newell and other Museum staff. To learn more about the book and how to order it, read our previous post.

For further information, contact the Museum at (781) 861-6559 or check our website: www.monh.org.

Image credit:

Francken Manuscript, 1783. Henry Andrew Francken, Kingston, Jamaica. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, SC 010. Photograph by David Bohl.

Register Now! April 11, 2014 Symposium - Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism

Don't miss out!  Register now for the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library symposium on Friday, April 11, 2014 - Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism.  This day-long symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups.  By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members.  The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture.

The day will include:

"Mid-Nineteenth Century Lodges: Middle-Class Families in the Absence of Women," Kristen M. Jeschke, DeVry University

"Bragging Brethren and Solid Sisters? Contrasting Mobilization Patterns Among Male and Female Orders During the Spanish-American War," Jeffrey Tyssens, Vrije Universiteit Brussels

"Painted Ambition: Notes on Some Early Masonic Wall Painting," Margaret Goehring, New Mexico State University

"Pilgrimage and Procession: The Knights Templar Triennial Conclaves and the Dream of the American West," Adam G. Kendall, Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum of Freemasonry, Grand Lodge of California

"The Colored Knights of Pythias," Stephen Hill Sr., Phylaxis Society

"'The Farmer Feeds Us All': The Origins and Evolution of a Grange Anthem," Stephen Canner, Independent Scholar

Participants will also have their choice of a tour of our exhibition, "A Sublime Brotherhood: 200 Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction," a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum collection, or a tour of highlights in the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives.

Registration is $65 ($60 for museum members) and includes morning refreshments, lunch and a closing reception.  The day runs from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  To register - BY MARCH 21 - visit our website and complete a registration form.

The symposium is funded in part by the Supreme Council, N.M.J., U.S.A.

 

A New Book! A Sublime Brotherhood

In honor of the Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction's 200th anniversary the Supreme Council has published a new history book called A Sublime Brotherhood: Two Hundred Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. The much anticipated volume is now available for purchase. The 200-page lavishly illustrated work traces the history of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction from 1813 to the present. The book is divided into six chapters to tell the story of the organization, highlighting the people, structures, traditions and objects that help us understand how the NMJ began, where it has been and what it looks like today.

It is a "must-have" volume and a great souvenir of our bicentennial celebration. You can order your copy now online. The price is $33 plus shipping. They are going fast, so don't wait.

Astronaut John Glenn's Scottish Rite Ring

2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish Rite’s Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (see these posts for more information on the history of the Scottish Rite). The Jurisdiction’s Supreme Council founded the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in 1975. To celebrate, we are presenting a new exhibition, “A Sublime Brotherhood: Two Hundred Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.”

Opening June 15, 2013, the exhibition uses more than 100 objects and images to tell the story of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. While most people assume that the Scottish Rite began in Scotland, it was actually founded in France in the mid-1700s. Early groups met in the West Indies, eventually taking root in New York, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.

Among the objects on view is the 33rd degree ring originally owned by astronaut and Freemason John H. Glenn Jr. (b. 1921). The first American to orbit the earth, in 1962, Glenn circled the planet three times in the Mercury capsule Friendship 7. After retiring from the Marine Corps in 1965, Glenn pursued his interest in politics. Starting in 1974, he served Ohio for four consecutive terms in the United States Senate. The Grand Master of Ohio made John Glenn a Mason at sight in 1978. In 1998, soon after Glenn received the Scottish Rite’s 33rd degree, conferred on selected members as a high honor, he wore this ring when he returned to space in the shuttle Discovery.  On the journey he became the oldest American to participate in a NASA mission.

Starting Saturday, June 15, 2013, the exhibition will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On June 15, 2013, at 2 p.m., Aimee E. Newell, the museum’s Director of Collections and curator of the exhibition, will give a gallery talk. Please visit www.nationalheritagemuseum.org for more information.

Scottish Rite 33rd Degree Ring, 1998, Irons and Russell Company, New York, NY, gift of John H. Glenn Jr. in memory and honor of Vern Riffe, a good friend, 33° Mason, and the longest serving Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives in history, 2000.018a. Photographs by David Bohl.