|AMERICAN MASONIC HISTORY|
24. Who was the first Provincial Grand Master in America?
Daniel Coxe who was appointed in 1730 for New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England.
25. How was the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania formed?
It was the voluntary association of several Lodges for the mutual advantages to be derived from such a union - the same process followed by the two previous Grand Lodges (England and Ireland).
26. Which Presidents of the United States were Freemasons?
George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Gerald R. Ford. Some authorities also include Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, but documentry evidence is lacking. Lyndon B. Johnson received the Entered Apprentice Degree, but did not advance.
27. Which other famous Americans, during the Revolution, were Masons?
Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere, John Marshall, Joseph Warren, and John Paul Jones are but a few Masons noted in history.
28. Which Presidents were Grand Masters?
Andrew Jackson of Tennessee and Harry S. Truman of Missouri.
29. Who was the first native-born American to become a Mason?
Jonathan Belcher, who became Governor of Massachusetts in 1730, according to a letter he wrote to the "First" Lodge of Boston in 1741 stating that he had been made a Mason in 1704 in London.
30. When and under what circumstances was the Cornerstone of the National Capitol laid?
On September 18, 1793 by Bro. George Washington with a Masonic Ceremony.
31. Who owns the Gavel used at that time?
Potomac Lodge No. 5 of the District of Columbia, formerly Columbia Lodge No. 19 of Maryland.
32. Where has this gavel been used in Pennsylvania?
In the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Masonic Temple at Philadelphia in 1868, and in 1898, at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, and again in 1986 at the redepositing of the Capstone at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia, the laying of the Cornerstone of the renovated Washington Grist Mill in Perryopolis in 1992, and at the Dedication of the National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge National Historic Park in 1997.
33. Who gave George Washington a beautiful Masonic Apron which he wore while laying the Cornerstone of the National Capitol?
Brother Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier, more commonly known as the Marquis de Lafayette.
34. Where is this apron now?
In the Collection of the Grand Lodge, on deposit with the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania.
35. What were Military Lodges?
Duly constituted Lodges which had no permanent place of meeting but traveled with regiments or other military organizations to which they were attached.
36. In the early 1700's how were Lodges formed?
Under the "time immemorial usage," a number of Masons were permitted to meet, form a Lodge and practice the Rites of Freemasonry. .
37. When and where was George Washington made a Mason?
On November 4, 1752 in the Lodge at Fredericksburg, Virginia.
38. Who was Warrant Master of Alexandria Lodge when it ceased to be No. 39 of Pennsylvania and became No. 22 of Virginia?
39. Upon what Bible was George Washington sworn in as President of the United States, and by whom was the Oath of Office administered?
The Bible that belonged to St. John's Lodge No. 1, New York City. The Oath of Office was administered by Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State who at the time was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York. Although not part of the text of the Oath in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, Washington pronounced the words, "so help me God" and kissed the Bible, setting a precedent that every President has followed to this day.
40. What was the first book dedicated to Brother George Washington?
The 1783 Pennsylvania edition of the Ahiman Rezon.
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