Dear list, and Joyce, The Masons are not into genealogy, and this is a shame. The only way you will receive anything will be if a member takes it upon himself to look it up.( so it would help if you knew one of the members) Which may be a very large task, for several reasons. An example the lodge that your ancestor was a member may have merged with another lodge. The small lodges don't have any type of record vault, so any record may have deteriorated by now. If the record could be found It would only contain a small amount of information about your ancestor. Please don't be discouraged. Any information about ones ancestor is priceless! As far as I know, There isn't any masonic laws or rules to prevent them from sharing information about the dead members. I do know it would help to prove your relationship to the ancestor that your researching as well as much information you have on them, When you submit your request. WHAT can we as genealogist do? Well I can tell you the Grand Lodge isn't going to do anything unless the demand is great. In other words if every genealogist in Arkansas was to write to the Grand Lodge and let them know there is a interest in the Genealogical Information of their deceased members, then and only then would they consider it. They have a web site so they have the place for it. By the way the same applies for all the masonic orders. Now about the book, Well I've heard of it, but never have read it. You may ask your local library for an inter library loan this is a free service the libraries offer. Hope this helps, Dennis "Hutton (by way of Jan Davenport )" wrote: > I wrote a couple of months ago to the Masonic Lodge in Brinkley, > Arkansas, for whatever they could send me on my father. Well, I am > still waiting - so I don't know if they are permitted to share records > with family members. I even included the SASE. > > Seems strange however since there is a publication (see below) that my > father is listed in. If anyone should have this book, I would be very > grateful if you would look up Alvin Oswald LAWSON (died 11/18/1958) for > me and send me the results. Perhaps in a few years it might reach us > here in the Seattle, Washington, libraries. > > "Masonic Death Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1941-1990" > compiled by Desmond Walls Allen, Copyright 1999. > > Thanks, > Joyce > billh@wizards.net