Washington's Masonic Correspondence As Found among the Washington Papers in the Library of Congress   By: George Washington (1732-1799)

ORIGINAL PASTEL PORTRAIT FROM LIFE BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS, PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 1794, PAINTED AT THE REQUEST OF ALEXANDRIA LODGE, No. 39, A. Y. M., WARRANTED BY THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA, FEBRUARY 3, 1783, NOW THE ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON LODGE, No. 22, A. F. & A. M. OF VIRGINIA. REPRODUCTION FROM THE UNIQUE COPY IN THE MUSEUM OF THE R. W. GRAND LODGE, F. & A. M. OF PENNSYLVANIA.

COPYRIGHTED BY ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON LODGE, No. 22, VIRGINIA, AND PRINTED BY ITS PERMISSION.=

Washington's Masonic Correspondence

AS FOUND AMONG THE WASHINGTON PAPERS IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Compiled from the original records, under the direction of the Committee on Library of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, with annotations.

BY JULIUS F. SACHSE LIBRARIAN, MASONIC TEMPLE PHILADELPHIA

PHILADELPHIA 1915

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1915, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C., by J. HENRY WILLIAMS, R.W.G.M.

COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY

JOHN WANAMAKER, Chairman , SAMUEL W. LATTA, NORRIS S. BARRATT, HARMAN YERKES, HENRY DARRACH, WALTER T. TAGGART.

JULIUS F. SACHSE, Librarian .

An Edition of One Thousand Copies has been printed, of which this is No. 355

PRESS OF THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY LANCASTER, PA.

=J. HENRY WILLIAMS Grand Master 1914 1915.=

J. Henry Williams, R. W. Grand Master

Office of the R. W. Grand Master F. & A. Masons in Pennsylvania, Masonic Temple Philadelphia,

The position of eminence, the great respect and the profound reverence in which the name of WASHINGTON is enshrined in the hearts of the American people, and particularly so, with the members of this Fraternity, and of all true lovers of liberty and freedom wheresoever dispersed, is the reason, if any be needed, why everything relating to this great man and worthy brother should be preserved for the future generations, to be used by them as a guide, in the cultivation of those cardinal virtues of Honor and Integrity, that should ever characterize the conduct of a good man and a good Mason.

The collection and reproduction of the letters of Brother WASHINGTON, together with the text of this book, have been prepared under my supervision, and its publication is heartily approved.

J. Henry Williams Grand Master. FEBRUARY 22, A.D. 1915 A.L. 5915.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Foreword 1

The Masonic Correspondence of Washington 5

I Correspondence with Watson and Cassoul 19

II Correspondence with Alexandria Lodge, No. 39, 1783 28

III Correspondence with Alexandria Lodge, No. 39, 1784 34

IV Correspondence with King David's Lodge, No. 1, Newport, R. I., 1790 37

V Correspondence with St. John's Lodge, No. 2, Newbern, N. C., 1791 44

VI Correspondence with Prince George's Lodge, No. 16, Georgetown, S. C., 1791 51

VII Correspondence with Grand Lodge of South Carolina, 1791 57

VIII Correspondence with Grand Lodge of Georgia, 1791 65

IX Correspondence with Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, 1792 69

X Correspondence with Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1792 80

XI Correspondence with Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, 1796 86

XII Correspondence with Alexandria Lodge, No. 22, Virginia, 1797 95

XIII Correspondence with Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1797 102

XIV Correspondence with Grand Lodge of Maryland, 1798 111