Over the past year we have commented a number of times about the history of the Freemasons of New Westminster and noted events and anniversaries relating both to separate local lodges and to the overall beginning of Masonic groups in this city.
If you have worked on your genealogy, you are well aware of the potential importance of finding out that an early relative belonged to a group such as the Masons or the Elks, Kiwanis, Rotary, Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF), Eagles, and so on.
You might also find business affiliations, professional groups, unions, religious denominations and more.
All of these bodies, to various degrees and limitations, can open doors to information, sources and leads to your family member's story. Most are happy to help wherever they can.
The Freemasons of New Westminster in 1861 and 1862 set about forming a lodge that would eventually be known as Union Lodge. From this inception and through the formation of other lodges in the city, the Masons have met in a number of rooms and separate buildings over the past 150 years.
At present, the lodge building, an impressive brick faced landmark on Agnes Street, is home to many different Masonic and related groups.
Back in the early 1860s, the Masons started by meeting in any available room and then became somewhat formalized with a site at a hotel owned by Philip Hicks.
They had homes in three other buildings along Columbia Street at Lorne Street, two of which burned in large fires, and also met in a prominent structure on Eighth Street, owned by the Knights of Pythias.
The Masons were involved in many cornerstone-laying ceremonies in the city, and the downtown was a major focal point for such formal activity. These events often included a short parade, much colour, ritual words, procedures and defined protocol. At the other end of town in Sapperton, the Masons operated a cemetery under their own rules, direction and layout.
The burial ground was clearly marked as Masonic and had great, largely unfulfilled, plans. Great stories all - filled with interesting people and events.
To find out more local Masonic information, watch for two tours and a Historical Society program this month.
The first tour (lodge sites and interesting stories) is downtown on June 3 starting at 1: 30 p.m. at the corner of Columbia Street at Fourth Street; the second is on June 24 starting at 1: 30 p.m. at the Fraser Cemetery office, 100 Richmond St., for a walk in the old Masonic Cemetery, now part of Fraser.
The Historical Society presentation with words and pictures of local Masonic history will be Wednesday, June 20, starting at 7: 30 p.m. in the New Westminster Public Library auditorium in uptown New Westminster.
Plan to join us on these occasions for some intriguing stories tracing back to the first years of the Royal City.
