General information regarding researching Masonic Lodge membership: First, the "Grand Lodge" is the state-level coordinating body for all of the subordinate Lodges for a single state if you are researching "Blue Lodge" Masonic Membership (i. e. A.F. & A.M. or F. & A.M). There is no official national body for those foundation aspects of Masonry. Each state's Grand Lodge is always the first place to begin the search. There can be other bodies such as Prince Hall Grand Lodges. Secondly, if the Grand Lodge finds the name, number and city for the actual subordinate Lodge that the man belonged to, then a letter to the Secretary of that local Lodge may yield more details on the former member. Unfortunately, if the member has moved out of state from his original membership and has not transferred his membership to the new residence, it is rather easy to lose track of him. However, if Masonic Funeral Services (usually conducted after the regular religious funeral service), then the "new" state's Grand Lodge should have a record of that fact since all inter-state communications are supposed to go through the Grand Lodges and not Lodge to Lodge in different states. If there is a record that the Masonic member was also a member of an "appendant body" to Masonry, such as the Scottish Rite, the York Rite (Chapter, Council & Commandry or Knights Templar) or Shrine, then these organizations all have national offices. The Scottish Rite is divided into the Southern and Northern Jurisdictions, but that still is easier to track than having to check each of the individual states. Hope this helps. JD