This collections brings together a number of documents related to historically black fraternal organizations, including many related to Prince Hall Freemasonry.A leading citizen in Boston’s eighteenth-century black community, Prince Hall (1738-1807) was an abolitionist who petitioned the... more

Following the November 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) as President of the United States, seven states in which slavery was legal individually seceded from the Union. They did so because of Lincoln’s opposition to the expansion of slavery in the western United States. South... more

The Armand P. Pfister Papers span the years 1840-1846 and feature seven letters received by Pfister as the Grand Secretary for the Grand Chapter, the Grand Council, and the Grand Lodge of Alabama. Correspondents include Philip Swigert, a Kentucky Mason and Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of... more

The Fraternal Membership Certificates collection features certificates from non-Masonic fraternal organizations in the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives collection. Like a Masonic certificate, a fraternal membership certificate is a diploma issued by a fraternal organization's governing... more

The G. Edward Elwell, Jr., Autograph Collection contains 102 documents collected by G. Edward Elwell, Jr., 33°, a member of Caldwell Consistory (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), a professional printer and Scottish Rite Mason. In 1898, the 12-year-old Elwell wrote a letter to Admiral George Dewey... more

President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) became a Freemason in 1909. By 1940, he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri. In 1945, Truman was created a 33rd degree Sovereign Grand Inspector General in the Scottish Rite's Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction. That same year, the... more

This collection contains a selection of letters written to Jacob Norton (1814-1897). Norton, a Polish Jew who immigrated to England, was a furrier by trade. He was raised to the degree of Master Mason in Lodge of Joppa, No. 188 (London, England) on August 5th, 1839. Norton took his business to... more

The Masonic Membership Certificates collection features Masonic certificates from the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives collection, spanning over three centuries. A Masonic certificate is a diploma issued by a Masonic body, such as a Grand Lodge, or a subordinate body under its... more

The Postcard Views of Scottish Rite Buildings collection contains a selection of early 20th-century postcard views of Scottish Rite buildings in the United States. Includes both exterior and interior views.

The Scottish Rite Documents collection contains some of the founding documents of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, along with a number of other mid-to-late nineteenth-century material related to Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the United States. A selection of Scottish Rite membership certificates can be... more

This collection contains a selection of diverse materials from the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives, reflecting its focus on Freemasonry, fraternalism, and American history.

Although denied membership in mainstream Anglo-American Masonic lodges, women have participated in a variety of fraternal groups in the United States. Both as members and in leadership positions, American women have a rich history of participation in temperance and other fraternal organizations,... more