-
Articles/Ads
Article WOMEN WHO ARE FREEMASONS. Page 1 of 1 Article WOMEN WHO ARE FREEMASONS. Page 1 of 1 Article NEXT WEEK. Page 1 of 1 Article NEXT WEEK. Page 1 of 1 Article NEXT WEEK. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Women Who Are Freemasons.
WOMEN WHO ARE FREEMASONS .
TTTHEN it was announced a few weeks ago that Mary E . Lease , \ \ the woman politician of Kansas , was a Freemason and in possess-ion of the ritual , signs and passwords of the Craft , the statement was received with manv expressions of incredulity from men
in tlie Order and out of it . Some declared that if she knew the secret ;; of Masonry she had learned them by stealth or fraud , but the commonest assertion was that the claim was absurd—that women were ineligible to the Order , and that the idea that Mis . Lease or any other woman had penetrated its circles was preposterous .
All talk of this sort is based upon a superficial and inadequate knowledge of the extent to which women , especially in Europe , havo been identified with Masonic affairs . That the secrets of the ancient Order have not always been exclusively monopolised by men will be evident to anybody who cares to take even a casual glance at the history of the Craft .
Mme . Maria Deraismes , whose death has taken place at Paris , was renowned not only as one of the most successful leaders in the struggle for the emancipation of her sex , but likewise for her revival of female Lodges of the Masonic Craft . Several European and American newspapers described her as having been the first woman ever deliberately admitted into the mysteries of the Order , while
others cited the well known instance of Lord Doneraile ' s datighter as being the only other instance of a lady having been initiated . This is altogether wrong . For in the past century there were a large number of ladies of rank who were Freemasons , and at the present moment female Masonic Lodges abound in Spain , the principle feminine dignitary of the Craft being Princess Maria de
Bourbon , daughter of the Infant Don Enerique , who was solemnly initiated by the El Taller Lodge of Salamanca . It was in 1730 that we first heard of feminine Lodges being constituted in France , and although they may be said to have existed alongside of masculine Freemasonry rather than forming part and parcel of it , yet they were definitely recognised as belonging to the Craft by decree of the Grand Orient of France dated 10 th
April 1774 . Feminine Masonry in those days was restricted almost exclusively to ladies of royal and noble rank . Thus wc find the Duchess of Chartres as mistress of one Lodge and the Duchess of Bourbon of another , both of these Princesses being addressed as " Honorable and Worshipful" in the official communications despatched to them by the Grand Orient of France . Marie Antoinette ' s friend , the lovely Princess de Lamballe , who was massacred during the Reign of Terror , and whose head was
Women Who Are Freemasons.
carried on a pike through the streets of Paris , was the mistress of the Social Contract Lodge , and a short timo before tho overthrow of royalty served for a time as Grand Mistress of the Order . In 1805 tho Empress Josephine was present at a meeting of a duly constituted feminine Masonic Lodge at Strasburg , and again , in 1819 , we hear of the celebrated Marquise de Vallette presiding
at the Institution of a new Masonic Lodge . In short , feminine Masons abounded in France up to the year 1863 , when the decree of Pope Pius IX ., denouncing Freemasonry as incompatible with membership in the Church of Rome , caused the abandonment of Freemasonry by women and tho practical , if nofc official , dissolu * tion of their various Lodges throughout the country .
It was not until 1882 that any attempt was made to revive them . In January of that year Mme . Deraismes was solemnly initiated by the masucline Lodge "les Libres Penseurs" ( the Free Thinkers ) at Lepecq , near Paris . The Grand Orient of France , however , declined to ratify the selection , and even went so far as to officially dissolve the Lodge that had been guilty of
unauthorised revival of a practice which had become obsolete . In no wise discouraged by this lack of good will on the part of the Grand Orient Mme . Deraismes took advantage of her initiation to found a Masonic Lodge of her own , and at the present moment there are some sixty or seventy members belonging thereto , one of the Past Grand Mistresses being Mme . Clemence Royer , wife of the
former Cabinet Minister and statesman of that name . All the ladies who belong to this Lodge , which bears the name of the Droit Humain , or Human Right , turned out in full force at the funeral of its founder , and laid on her coffin a largo wreath and inscription . Of course tho obsequies were of a purely Masonic and lay character , the Church being unrepresented at the grave , for
Mme . Deraismes , like all her sister Masons of the present day in France , was a Freethinker and an enemy of the Catholic Church . She made a profession of these sentiments when she applied for recognition of her Lodgo to the Grand Orient . "It is through woman that Catholicism has made its way into our social system , " she declared , " and if it maintains its place there it is entirely through woman . You would therefore , O my Brethren , do well to
initiate as many women as possible into the Craft if you wish to combat Catholicism on an equal ground . " It has become a noteworthy fact that when in 1863 the great ladies of France abondoned Masonry in deference to the injunction of the Church of Rome , the women of Spain , who are quite as religious , and perhaps even still more submissive to the Church , should havo gone on maintaining Lodges and practising the Craft , — " New York Herald . "
Next Week.
NEXT WEEK .
Monday , 23 rd April . 4 Royal Somerset House and Inverness , Freemasons-hall 26 Castle of Harmony , Savoy Hotel 28 Old King's Arms , Freemasons-hall 1744 Royal Savoy , Criterion 2396 Bishonsgate , Great Eastern Hotel
43 St . Paul , Birmingham 48 Industry , Gateshead 102 Unanimity , North Walsham 270 Royal Faith and Friendship , Berkeley 302 Hope , Bradford 307 Prince Frederick . Hebden Bridee
388 Prudence , Halesworth 1272 Tregenna , St . Ives 1325 Stanley , Liverpool 1447 St . Matthew , Barton-upon-Humber 1477 Sir Watkin , Mold 1486 Duncombe , Kingsbridge 1564 St . John , Woking 1741 Mnntcnrnflrifi Diss-— * ^^
_ . _ . 0 „ —v , . uw 1748 Castlemartin , Pembroke 1752 Ogmore , Bridgend 1861 Claremont , Croydon 1895 Thames , Henley 1977 Blackwater , Maldon 1991 Agricola , York 2068 Portsmouth Temperance , Landport 2257 Powell , Bristol 2363 Minnehaha Minstrel , Manchester o ** 79 WoW *™; ,. * ,- ni .-u . 'i » u
, Tuesday , 24 th April . 92 Moira , Albion 141 Faith , Anderton ' s 145 Prudent Brethren , Freemasons-hall 186 Industry , Freemasons-hall 2 C 5 Israel , Cannon Street Hotel 259 Prince of Wales , Hotel Metropole 1348 Ebury , Criterion
253 Tyrian , Derby 293 King ' s Friends , Nantwich 299 Emulation , Dartford 310 Union , Carlisle 357 Apollo University , Oxford 378 Loyal Welsh , Pembroke Dock 386 Unity , Wareham 1358 Torbay , Paignton
¦ isyu Whitwell , Millom 1479 Halsey , St . Albans 1566 Ellington , Maidenhead 1609 Liverpool Dramatic , Liverpool
Next Week.
1636 St . Cecilia , Brighton 1650 Rose of Raby , Staindrop 1675 Ancient Briton , Liverpool 1678 Medway , Tonbridge 1726 Gordon , Bognor 1779 Ivanhoe , Sheffield
1834 Duke of Connaught , Landport 1896 Audley , Newport , Salop 1942 Minerva , Fenton 1958 Hundred of Bosmere , Portsea 2025 St . George , Plymouth 2328 Albert Victor , York OQQO TVNo + l ™ , VTn ««*» . ™ 4 . „„„ luiouiDfluaiiiiuiuuicc
, * HJKIU ] 2358 Mona , Castletown 2405 Ionic , St . Helens Wednesday , 25 th April . 201 Jordan , Freemas ' ons-hall 212 Euphrates , Holborn Restaurant
32 Sfc . George of Harmony , Liverpool 76 Economy , Winchester 82 Foundation , Cheltenham 117 Salopian of Charity , Shrewsbury 163 Integrity , Manchester 220 Harmony , Garston 257 Phoenix , Portsmouth
290 Huddersfield , Huddersfield 304 Philanthropic , Leeds 1219 Strangeways , Manchester 1283 Ryburn , Sowerby . Bridge 1343 St . John , Grays 1403 West Lancashire , Ormskirk
1529 Duke of Cornwall , St . Columb 1633 Avon , Manchester 1663 Hartismere , Eye 1714 Albert Edward , York Town , Surrey 1723 St . George , Bolton 1733 Sunbury , Sunbury
1734 Trinity , Rayleigh 1756 Kirkdale , Liverpool 1760 Leopold , Scarborough 1775 Leopold , Church , Nr . Acerington 1809 Fidelis , Guernsey 1868 Unity , Oldham
1920 Eurydice , Surbiton 1953 Prudence and Industry , Chard 1967 Beaconcourt , New Brompton 1989 Stirling , Cleator Moor 2019 Crook , Crook
2064 Smith Child , Tunstall 2149 Gordon , Hanley * 2186 Striguil , Chepstow 2216 Egerton , Swinton 2259 St . Nicholas , Thorne 2320 St . Martin , Castleton
Next Week.
2357 Barry , Cadoxton 2385 Godson , Oldbury 2444 Noel , Kingston-on-Thames 2448 Bradstow , Broadstairs Thursday , 26 th April .
66 Grenadiers , Freemasons-hall 99 Shakespeare , Albion 1563 City of Westminster , Cafe Royal 1974 St . Mary Abbott , Kensington 2319 Scots , Scottish Corporation Hall 39 St . John the Baptist , Exeter
51 Angel , Colchester 78 Imperial George , Middleton 111 Restoration , Darlington 129 Union , Kendal 132 Unity , Ringwood 202 Friendship , Devonport 214 Hope and Unity , Brentwood
215 Commerce , Haslingden 324 Moira , Stalybridge 346 United Brethren , Blackburn 348 St . John , Bolton 1313 Fermor , Southport 1322 Waverley , Ashton-under-Lyne 1345 Victoria , Eocles
1392 Egerton , Bury 1404 St . Vincent , Bristol 1418 Fraternity , Stockton-on-Tees 1437 Liberty of Havering , Romford 1501 Wycombe , High Wycombe 1505 Emulation , Liverpool
1514 Thornhill , Huddersfield 1519 Albert Edward , Clayton-le-Moors 1578 Merlin , Pontypridd 1626 Hotspur , Newcastle-on-Tyne 1705 Prince of Wales , Gosport 1817 St . Andrew , Shoeburyness
1884 Chine , Shanklin 1957 Grove , Hazel Grove 1971 Army and Navy , Aldershot 2215 Anfield , Anfield 2263 St . Leonard , Sheffield 2269 Peace , Wigan
2335 Cycling and Athletic , Liverpool 2375 Hilbre , Hoylake 2387 Manchester Dramatic , Manchester 2418 Hedworth , S . Shields 2462 Clarence , West Hartlepool
2463 Bootle Wilbraham , West Derby 2474 Hatherton , Walsall Friday , 27 th April . 1303 Pelham , Lewes 1385 Gladsmuir , Barnet
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Women Who Are Freemasons.
WOMEN WHO ARE FREEMASONS .
TTTHEN it was announced a few weeks ago that Mary E . Lease , \ \ the woman politician of Kansas , was a Freemason and in possess-ion of the ritual , signs and passwords of the Craft , the statement was received with manv expressions of incredulity from men
in tlie Order and out of it . Some declared that if she knew the secret ;; of Masonry she had learned them by stealth or fraud , but the commonest assertion was that the claim was absurd—that women were ineligible to the Order , and that the idea that Mis . Lease or any other woman had penetrated its circles was preposterous .
All talk of this sort is based upon a superficial and inadequate knowledge of the extent to which women , especially in Europe , havo been identified with Masonic affairs . That the secrets of the ancient Order have not always been exclusively monopolised by men will be evident to anybody who cares to take even a casual glance at the history of the Craft .
Mme . Maria Deraismes , whose death has taken place at Paris , was renowned not only as one of the most successful leaders in the struggle for the emancipation of her sex , but likewise for her revival of female Lodges of the Masonic Craft . Several European and American newspapers described her as having been the first woman ever deliberately admitted into the mysteries of the Order , while
others cited the well known instance of Lord Doneraile ' s datighter as being the only other instance of a lady having been initiated . This is altogether wrong . For in the past century there were a large number of ladies of rank who were Freemasons , and at the present moment female Masonic Lodges abound in Spain , the principle feminine dignitary of the Craft being Princess Maria de
Bourbon , daughter of the Infant Don Enerique , who was solemnly initiated by the El Taller Lodge of Salamanca . It was in 1730 that we first heard of feminine Lodges being constituted in France , and although they may be said to have existed alongside of masculine Freemasonry rather than forming part and parcel of it , yet they were definitely recognised as belonging to the Craft by decree of the Grand Orient of France dated 10 th
April 1774 . Feminine Masonry in those days was restricted almost exclusively to ladies of royal and noble rank . Thus wc find the Duchess of Chartres as mistress of one Lodge and the Duchess of Bourbon of another , both of these Princesses being addressed as " Honorable and Worshipful" in the official communications despatched to them by the Grand Orient of France . Marie Antoinette ' s friend , the lovely Princess de Lamballe , who was massacred during the Reign of Terror , and whose head was
Women Who Are Freemasons.
carried on a pike through the streets of Paris , was the mistress of the Social Contract Lodge , and a short timo before tho overthrow of royalty served for a time as Grand Mistress of the Order . In 1805 tho Empress Josephine was present at a meeting of a duly constituted feminine Masonic Lodge at Strasburg , and again , in 1819 , we hear of the celebrated Marquise de Vallette presiding
at the Institution of a new Masonic Lodge . In short , feminine Masons abounded in France up to the year 1863 , when the decree of Pope Pius IX ., denouncing Freemasonry as incompatible with membership in the Church of Rome , caused the abandonment of Freemasonry by women and tho practical , if nofc official , dissolu * tion of their various Lodges throughout the country .
It was not until 1882 that any attempt was made to revive them . In January of that year Mme . Deraismes was solemnly initiated by the masucline Lodge "les Libres Penseurs" ( the Free Thinkers ) at Lepecq , near Paris . The Grand Orient of France , however , declined to ratify the selection , and even went so far as to officially dissolve the Lodge that had been guilty of
unauthorised revival of a practice which had become obsolete . In no wise discouraged by this lack of good will on the part of the Grand Orient Mme . Deraismes took advantage of her initiation to found a Masonic Lodge of her own , and at the present moment there are some sixty or seventy members belonging thereto , one of the Past Grand Mistresses being Mme . Clemence Royer , wife of the
former Cabinet Minister and statesman of that name . All the ladies who belong to this Lodge , which bears the name of the Droit Humain , or Human Right , turned out in full force at the funeral of its founder , and laid on her coffin a largo wreath and inscription . Of course tho obsequies were of a purely Masonic and lay character , the Church being unrepresented at the grave , for
Mme . Deraismes , like all her sister Masons of the present day in France , was a Freethinker and an enemy of the Catholic Church . She made a profession of these sentiments when she applied for recognition of her Lodgo to the Grand Orient . "It is through woman that Catholicism has made its way into our social system , " she declared , " and if it maintains its place there it is entirely through woman . You would therefore , O my Brethren , do well to
initiate as many women as possible into the Craft if you wish to combat Catholicism on an equal ground . " It has become a noteworthy fact that when in 1863 the great ladies of France abondoned Masonry in deference to the injunction of the Church of Rome , the women of Spain , who are quite as religious , and perhaps even still more submissive to the Church , should havo gone on maintaining Lodges and practising the Craft , — " New York Herald . "
Next Week.
NEXT WEEK .
Monday , 23 rd April . 4 Royal Somerset House and Inverness , Freemasons-hall 26 Castle of Harmony , Savoy Hotel 28 Old King's Arms , Freemasons-hall 1744 Royal Savoy , Criterion 2396 Bishonsgate , Great Eastern Hotel
43 St . Paul , Birmingham 48 Industry , Gateshead 102 Unanimity , North Walsham 270 Royal Faith and Friendship , Berkeley 302 Hope , Bradford 307 Prince Frederick . Hebden Bridee
388 Prudence , Halesworth 1272 Tregenna , St . Ives 1325 Stanley , Liverpool 1447 St . Matthew , Barton-upon-Humber 1477 Sir Watkin , Mold 1486 Duncombe , Kingsbridge 1564 St . John , Woking 1741 Mnntcnrnflrifi Diss-— * ^^
_ . _ . 0 „ —v , . uw 1748 Castlemartin , Pembroke 1752 Ogmore , Bridgend 1861 Claremont , Croydon 1895 Thames , Henley 1977 Blackwater , Maldon 1991 Agricola , York 2068 Portsmouth Temperance , Landport 2257 Powell , Bristol 2363 Minnehaha Minstrel , Manchester o ** 79 WoW *™; ,. * ,- ni .-u . 'i » u
, Tuesday , 24 th April . 92 Moira , Albion 141 Faith , Anderton ' s 145 Prudent Brethren , Freemasons-hall 186 Industry , Freemasons-hall 2 C 5 Israel , Cannon Street Hotel 259 Prince of Wales , Hotel Metropole 1348 Ebury , Criterion
253 Tyrian , Derby 293 King ' s Friends , Nantwich 299 Emulation , Dartford 310 Union , Carlisle 357 Apollo University , Oxford 378 Loyal Welsh , Pembroke Dock 386 Unity , Wareham 1358 Torbay , Paignton
¦ isyu Whitwell , Millom 1479 Halsey , St . Albans 1566 Ellington , Maidenhead 1609 Liverpool Dramatic , Liverpool
Next Week.
1636 St . Cecilia , Brighton 1650 Rose of Raby , Staindrop 1675 Ancient Briton , Liverpool 1678 Medway , Tonbridge 1726 Gordon , Bognor 1779 Ivanhoe , Sheffield
1834 Duke of Connaught , Landport 1896 Audley , Newport , Salop 1942 Minerva , Fenton 1958 Hundred of Bosmere , Portsea 2025 St . George , Plymouth 2328 Albert Victor , York OQQO TVNo + l ™ , VTn ««*» . ™ 4 . „„„ luiouiDfluaiiiiuiuuicc
, * HJKIU ] 2358 Mona , Castletown 2405 Ionic , St . Helens Wednesday , 25 th April . 201 Jordan , Freemas ' ons-hall 212 Euphrates , Holborn Restaurant
32 Sfc . George of Harmony , Liverpool 76 Economy , Winchester 82 Foundation , Cheltenham 117 Salopian of Charity , Shrewsbury 163 Integrity , Manchester 220 Harmony , Garston 257 Phoenix , Portsmouth
290 Huddersfield , Huddersfield 304 Philanthropic , Leeds 1219 Strangeways , Manchester 1283 Ryburn , Sowerby . Bridge 1343 St . John , Grays 1403 West Lancashire , Ormskirk
1529 Duke of Cornwall , St . Columb 1633 Avon , Manchester 1663 Hartismere , Eye 1714 Albert Edward , York Town , Surrey 1723 St . George , Bolton 1733 Sunbury , Sunbury
1734 Trinity , Rayleigh 1756 Kirkdale , Liverpool 1760 Leopold , Scarborough 1775 Leopold , Church , Nr . Acerington 1809 Fidelis , Guernsey 1868 Unity , Oldham
1920 Eurydice , Surbiton 1953 Prudence and Industry , Chard 1967 Beaconcourt , New Brompton 1989 Stirling , Cleator Moor 2019 Crook , Crook
2064 Smith Child , Tunstall 2149 Gordon , Hanley * 2186 Striguil , Chepstow 2216 Egerton , Swinton 2259 St . Nicholas , Thorne 2320 St . Martin , Castleton
Next Week.
2357 Barry , Cadoxton 2385 Godson , Oldbury 2444 Noel , Kingston-on-Thames 2448 Bradstow , Broadstairs Thursday , 26 th April .
66 Grenadiers , Freemasons-hall 99 Shakespeare , Albion 1563 City of Westminster , Cafe Royal 1974 St . Mary Abbott , Kensington 2319 Scots , Scottish Corporation Hall 39 St . John the Baptist , Exeter
51 Angel , Colchester 78 Imperial George , Middleton 111 Restoration , Darlington 129 Union , Kendal 132 Unity , Ringwood 202 Friendship , Devonport 214 Hope and Unity , Brentwood
215 Commerce , Haslingden 324 Moira , Stalybridge 346 United Brethren , Blackburn 348 St . John , Bolton 1313 Fermor , Southport 1322 Waverley , Ashton-under-Lyne 1345 Victoria , Eocles
1392 Egerton , Bury 1404 St . Vincent , Bristol 1418 Fraternity , Stockton-on-Tees 1437 Liberty of Havering , Romford 1501 Wycombe , High Wycombe 1505 Emulation , Liverpool
1514 Thornhill , Huddersfield 1519 Albert Edward , Clayton-le-Moors 1578 Merlin , Pontypridd 1626 Hotspur , Newcastle-on-Tyne 1705 Prince of Wales , Gosport 1817 St . Andrew , Shoeburyness
1884 Chine , Shanklin 1957 Grove , Hazel Grove 1971 Army and Navy , Aldershot 2215 Anfield , Anfield 2263 St . Leonard , Sheffield 2269 Peace , Wigan
2335 Cycling and Athletic , Liverpool 2375 Hilbre , Hoylake 2387 Manchester Dramatic , Manchester 2418 Hedworth , S . Shields 2462 Clarence , West Hartlepool
2463 Bootle Wilbraham , West Derby 2474 Hatherton , Walsall Friday , 27 th April . 1303 Pelham , Lewes 1385 Gladsmuir , Barnet