Category: Blog

Renaissance Man & Mason by R∴W∴ Piers A. Vaughan

R∴W∴ Piers A. Vaughan graciously donated two copies of his new book, Renaissance Man & Mason, to the Livingston Library this past week. Described as a “miscellany of talks” delivered over the past two decades, this book is intended to appeal to both those interested in Masonic history and the more esoteric. Thorough discussions on the symbolism of Blue Lodges and Concordant Bodies allow both novices and experts to find light in these pages.

We wish to congratulate R∴W∴ Piers A. Vaughan on this accomplishment, and we look forward to having him at the Livingston Library for a lecture and book signing on November 17th!

Hope to see you there!

The Royal Arch Pendant of a Civil War Hero:

Sgt. William C. Lilly, 149th Infantry, NYS Volunteers

by Catherine M. Walter

The first weekend of September, Museum Village in Monroe, NY, held its 41st Annual Civil War re-enactment, and it was a fantastic event. On Friday, September 2, 2016, Cornerstone Lodge No. 711 and the Cornerstone Masonic Historical Society welcomed me to speak about one of the many Civil War-related artifacts held by The Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York.

If you can, go visit Museum Village! It’s a great excursion for the whole family!

The lecture was held in the Visitor’s Center, one of Museum Village’s historic buildings, while  across the Village’s center lawns were pitched white, Civil War-style tents, with several small campfires interspersed amongst them. The sunset cast a spectacular shade of rose across the sky, seen through lush tree branches. Men and women participating in the re-enactment walked around in period clothing, with some sitting near their tents, explaining their contents to anyone curious. One woman had a tent outfitted with a nurse’s equipment, while soldiers’ tents included a raised cot, a muzzleloader gun hanging along the top bar and bags holding necessities.

With the door to the Visitor’s Center open, the talk was held to the sounds of soft murmured conversation between soldiers gathered around campfires while eating strips of meat, the rattle of military gear, the steady hammering of a wood-splitter and the random call of chickens wandering about, all providing a backdrop of palpable historical authenticity.

It was great to see that a local newspaper, The Times Herald-Record, picked up on the press release sent to them, and they included an announcement of the lecture in their “Today’s Best Bests” section.

I began the lecture by describing the early foundations and current vast resources of the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York.

The Library, found at the Masonic Hall on 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan, holds an unparalleled, interconnected treasure trove of data. Its holdings shed light not only on the Masonic and non-Masonic history of New York State, but of the United States and the World as well. Many Freemasons moved to New York City from points around the globe, and they became members of the Grand Lodge of New York upon arrival. They and their families are the main donors of the book, archive and artifact collections held in the Library.

The Library is open to the general public, and holds over 60,000 titles in its book collection. These books can be searched in the online catalog.

In addition to the books and archives of the Library, there are over 50,000 items in the Museum Division of the Library. Over 600 records with beautiful photographs and extensive data about the history of the Grand Lodge of New York and its members can be seen in the online museum, which is currently being graciously hosted by the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. A new digital portal designed to integrate searches across the Library and Museum collections is in the works.

After explaining the Library’s resources, I described the history of the featured artifact, the Royal Arch Pendant carved by a Civil War Hero, Color Sergeant William C. Lilly. His actions of saving the regiment’s flag and repairing it while under fire at Gettysburg resulted in a painting by Edwin Forbes, a plaque on a monument at Gettysburg, and inclusion in the three-dimensional Soldiers and Sailors Monument by Cyrus Dallin in Clinton Square, Syracuse.

The entire lecture, as well as our new Monthly Lecture Series events, can be viewed on the Library’s YouTube Channel.

A special attendee of the lecture  was RW Herbert W. Buckley, who traveled a great distance to attend the lecture because his great-great-grandfather, George Wheeler Sheppard, was in the 149th NY Volunteers with Brother Lilly.  Pvt. George Wheeler Sheppard was one of the six members of the Regiment who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. I will be doing research to find out if Pvt. Wheeler was also a Freemason.

Right Worshipful Buckley’s father, Brother Herbert P. Buckley was a Mason, raised in Hancock Lodge No. 552. Both RW Buckley and his father were also members in the York Rite, going through the degrees of Royal Arch, Royal and Select Masters and Knights Templar. RW Buckley then had the extreme pleasure of raising his son, Brother Timothy M. Buckley, in to Hancock Lodge No. 552. To hear (during the question and answer period) about RW Buckley’s connection to Brother Lilly was a wonderful illustration of how the Masonic Brotherhood transcends time.

I’d like to thank the members of Cornerstone Lodge No. 711, especially Worshipful Kenneth T. Skyer, Master, Worshipful Jonathan A. Williams, Secretary and Past Master, and Right Worshipful Bruce M. Wiegand for filming the lecture for our YouTube channel.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Library if you would like a copy of the text of the Lecture, or if you or your Lodge would like a similar Lecture presented by the Library. In the meantime, don’t miss out on the Library’s new Monthly Lecture Series, held at 6:30 on the last Thursday of each month.

 

Having read this great blog post by the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum in Massachusetts on Masonic gift books, I found myself searching our stacks for similarly beautiful books.

I stumbled upon a small collection of books, alternatively titled The Emblem or The Freemasons Annual, dedicated to the “wives, daughters, sisters and sweethearts of Freemasons”.

Illustrated with engravings depicting beauty, justice, faith, hope, and charity, and peppered with Masonic odes and poems, these books were meant to be not only useful but ornamental. Read the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum’s piece to learn more about the history of this wonderful genre of book.

Angel Millar’s August 24th, 2016 lecture is now streaming online!

The main focus of this lecture is Freemasonry’s relationship to various societies and movements in both the East and West over the last three centuries and their attempt to ‘ride the tiger’ of modernity.

Watch the lecture below or click here to check out our YouTube channel, and be sure to catch our next lecture at the library on August 25th!

 

For the Masonic Fraternity, the concepts of light and geometry are central to the Masonic Rituals. As Jean-Luc Leguay is a Brother Freemason, this lecture, held on June 23rd, 2016 and now available to stream below, touches on topics that will be of great interest to Freemasons, to those who are interested in Freemasonry, to those interested in the rare knowledge of illumination, to those who have a love of art, and to those touched by the tragedy of 9/11.

 

 

 

Featured Book from The Library Division

THE | KNIGHTS TEMPLARS, | A HISTORICAL TRAGEDY,| WITH NOTES, | AS IT WAS REPRESENTED ON THE FRENCH THEATRE, | BY THE PERFORMERS OF | THE EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH. | TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, | AN INTERESTING HISTORY | OF THE | ORIGIN, CHARACTER, AND PERSECUTION, | OF THAT | ILLUSTRIOUS ORDER.| ALSO, | THE MODE OF RECEIVING MEMBERS. | THE WHOLE | SUPPORTED BY THE MOST RESPECTFUL AUTHORITIES. | TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL OF M. RAYNOUARD.

“This Religious and Military Order, whose virtue and prowess emblazon the historical page, and the memory of whose unmerited persecution will evoke the tribute of a sign from every generous breast, originated in Jerusalem, A.D. 1118.”

In honor of the upcoming Grand Encampment at Grand Lodge, the Livingston Library delves into the history of a seminal work essential to the Order of the Knights Templar’s literary history.

Francois J. M.  Raynouard’s play, Les Templiers (1805), was among the first modern literary portrayals of the Order of the Knights Templar. Raynouard was a political radical, having been imprisoned for his support of the Girondists political party in France during the time of the Revolution. The Girondists advocated the end of monarchy but feared the chaos spawned by the Revolution, and rightly so. Though Raynouard was only imprisoned, there were mass executions of those affiliated with the Girondists during the Reign of Terror.

Napoleon’s battlefield victories brought spoils to France from around the world. It was during his conquest of Italy that papers from the Vatican Archives were retrieved. Raynouard spent years studying these works, eventually writing a historical piece called Monuments Historiques Relatifs a la Condemnation des Chevaliers du Temple [Historical Documents related to the Condemnation of the Knights Templar]. Most notably, he found no conclusive evidence regarding secret Gnostic doctrines or mystical practices. Inspired by his historical work, he wrote Les Templiers to be performed for the Emperor himself.

It was Raynouard’s play that perpetuated one of the many false claims associated with the Knights Templar. Having confused the Mongol general Mulay with Grand Master Jacques de Molay, Raynouard claimed Grand Master Molay led the Mongols in their attack, capturing Jerusalem and the imaginations of many. At the height of the confusion in 1846, a large painting was created by Claude Jacquand, titled Molay Prend Jerusalem, 1299 (“Molay Takes Jerusalem, 1299”), which portrays the moment of capture. Today the painting hangs in the Hall of the Crusades in Versailles.

Raynouard’s playwright career came to an abrupt halt when his play Les Etats de Blois (1810) offended Napoleon due to themes related to freedom of speech. He became a well-respected linguist and died near Paris, France in 1836.

The library holds two copies of the English translation of Raynouard’s Les Templiers. Published in 1809 by the translator Matthias James O’Conway in Philadelphia, this edition includes both An Interesting History of the Knights Templars and the play itself, entitled The Knights Templars, a historical Tragedy. The frontispiece of the book of Jacques de Molay was engraved by Benjamin Tanner, an engraver of Philadelphia, just four years after he moved to Philadelphia from New York City. The copy featured was presented to the Grand Lodge of New York by the Brooklyn Masonic Veterans in 1933. It has a number of ownership signatures, including a manuscript notation that was at some point cut out of the book.

For more information on Raynouard and the Knights Templar, check out Gordon Napier’s The A to Z of the Knights Templar: A Guide to Their History and Legacy and Thomas Keightley’s The Knights Templar and Other Secret Societies of the Middle Ages. To read about Benjamin Tanner’s engraving career, check out the blog The Ephemera of Business.

The Livingston Library will be open on Saturday during the Great Encampment! Come check out our special Knights Templar displays!

A few weeks ago the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Library was featured on WFDU 89.1 FM’s program, The Metro Beat! Susan Teltser-Schwarz interviewed Morgan and Catherine on Freemasonry and everything the Livingston Library has to offer. If you didn’t catch it live, or want to listen again, click the play button below:

A recent donation to the Livingston Library brought to the surface the incredible story of Lt. Col. James Huston.

Born into the tumultuous political environment of Ireland in the early 19th century, the future Mason James Huston took an early interest in military science. Though he was at first a loyal follower of the Great Liberator Daniel O’Connell, Huston’s found a more radical home in the Young Ireland Movements. His background in military tactics marked him early on for leadership.

The English soon discovered Huston’s involvement in fighting for Irish Independence. In 1848, the English Government claimed to have received information regarding Huston drilling large numbers of men to fight the English. It was this allegation that decided Huston’s fate. A bounty of 500 pounds was set on Huston’s head, with a hanging to look forward to if caught.

Huston fled to Scotland, sailed to France, and finally settled in New York City taking a position as a clerk. He joined Manahatta Lodge No. 498, becoming a Master Mason in April of 1861. That same month Fort Sumter was fired upon, beginning this country’s Civil War. Huston went to the front as Captain of Company E. in the Second Regiment N.Y.S.M. It was said he was incapable of fear!

Though he was a strict disciplinarian, his constant concern for the comfort and welfare of men was endearing. He received his commission as Colonel on the march to Pennsylvania and led 374 men of the 82nd New York regiment onto the field at Gettysburg. He was killed there at the age of 44 before he could be mustered in.

Thank you to the Kubishen Family for this wonderful gift.

Written by Morgan Aronson.