icq#4202467 -----Original Message----- From: Bearacuda1@aol.com <Bearacuda1@aol.com> To: TNGEN-L@rootsweb.com <TNGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Friday, February 05, 1999 7:10 PM Subject: [TNGEN-L] Check out Grand Lodges in the United States of America/TITLE >Whenever you see a tombstone with a Masonic emblem on it, there is the >possibility of more information: > >Masonic Information online: > > <A HREF="http://www.telebyte.com/masons/m-usa.html">Click here: Grand Lodges >in the United States of America/TITLE</A> > > Yes, there are Masonic funerals. A man has >to be a member in good standing at the time of his death to have one, and >they are only conducted at the request of the family. It does not >automatically happen. (Don't worry if you don't want to read all of >this...but I figured I'll tell you what I know) > > As far as finding anything out about it, >that is a bit more tough. The things I would look for are: > Where was his Lodge >membership, and what lodge? > Where did he die? > (the point being >here that say a person was a Mason in New York, but died in Washington >State, his Lodge in New York is not going to conduct the service.) > > You will probably get more information from >a funeral program than from the Lodge. If you can find such a program and >end up with the name of the Lodge that conducted the service (or possibly >Masonic Service Bureau) then there is a better shot at finding something >out. Whenever a funeral is conducted the Lodge has to be "opened". For >you, all that means is that somewhere, there are minutes. And by minutes >all it will say is that Lodge was opened with the following officers present >for the purpose of conducting a funeral service for XXX. But you have to >find out what Lodge did the service to even have a chance of finding those. > > Now, for the Grand Master part. To some >people, this is a big deal. To others, it is not. Grand Master is the >highest office any man can obtain in the Masons. It is the equivalent of >President of the jurisdiction they cover, such as Washington State. >(President of Rotary in Washington, or Governor of the State). In most >jurisdictions they serve for 1 year, although some are longer. Rarely do >they serve more than once, however earlier in the century you are more >likely to find a "repeater". > A Mason has great respect for the office. >Knowing that a PGM (Past Grand Master) conducted the service tells you that >your cousin may have been a good friend of this PGM. It is not generally >significant of the measure of a person who conducts the service. The >service, when done properly, requires some work to memorize and deliver >properly. There are men who have done this and are called upon frequently to >do the services. If someone has achieved significant recognition in the >Fraternity, it would be considered an honor to conduct the service and a PGM >might be called upon to do it. Or your cousin could have belonged to the >same Lodge as the PGM and it just happened that way. > > >Helen Hewitt >Meigs County, TN > > >==== TNGEN Mailing List ==== >Please make sure your links back to any project >site located on USIT has the URL >http://www.tngenweb.org/ > > >