Cindy, I have just started to work on getting information on my great-grandfather's Masonic history so I can tell you my process. First, there is a site on rootsweb (http://www.rootsweb.com/~txburnet/mason.html) which will give you some tips on how to obtain information and what information you may receive. Second, I then went to the Grand Lodge site for the state my ancestor was in (for Texas it is at http://www.gltexas.org/. I wrote an e-mail to the Grand Lodge Secretary asking for information on my ancestor and gave the approximate years he belonged. The secretary told me the dates they had and gave me the name & address for his lodge. One of the secretaries called me on the phone. He was so helpful. Third, I wrote a letter to my ancestor's lodge asking for copies of any records they had on him. I just sent the letters yesterday. I hope I get more information from his local lodge than I got from the grand lodge. My ancestor belonged to the Masons in three states, so I wrote a lot of letters. Good luck!