Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, valley correspondence collection, 1971-2000
Scope and Contents
The collection reflects the many concerns of Scottish Rite officers regarding the country’s changing demographics, social values and priorities. The majority of correspondence comes from or was addressed to the Sovereign Grand Commander, NMJ of the time, including: Sovereign Grand Commander Stanley F. Maxwell (served 1975-1985), Sovereign Grand Commander Francis G. Paul (served 1985-1993), and Sovereign Grand Commander Robert O. Ralston (served 1993-2003) and includes documents from 1971-2000 that originated largely from various Valleys across New England and the Mid-Atlantic addressed to the Sovereign Grand Commander, as well as responses coming out of the Commander’s office.
The Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction Valley correspondence collection documents many of the developments among consistories across the northeast United States. It consists of official letters and carbon copies, dues receipts, donation records and requests (especially with regard to the Blue Envelope Appeal in the 1980s and 1990s, the Abbott Scottish Rite scholarship and the schizophrenia research program), lists of officers, event pamphlets and schedules, photographs, news bulletins, and reports on a variety of subjects related to the consistories. Included are a large number of condolence letters pertaining to the deaths or illnesses of various members.
Dates
- Creation: 1971-2000
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection may be governed by copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Please contact the Archivist regarding permission to publish material.
Biographical / Historical
After its beginning in France in the mid-eighteenth century, the Scottish Rite branch of Freemasonry was formalized in its existence in the United States on May 31, 1801, when Colonel John Mitchell and Reverend Dr. Frederick Dalcho opened a meeting of the Supreme Council 33° of Freemasonry. In 1813, the Supreme Council issued a proclamation and charter granting sovereignty for the Grand and Supreme Council of the Most Puissant Sovereigns, Grand Inspectors General of the 33° for the Northern District and Jurisdiction of the United States of America.
The Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction became a branch of Freemasonry open to Masters of the Masonic Lodges who seek to further their understanding and exploration of the tenets of freemasonry and allows members to ascend the 32 degrees which explore the cultural knowledge of Freemasonry and the organization’s core values. The Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction oversees the various branches, known as valleys, across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and at the highest 33°, the Sovereign Grand Commander oversees leadership of the Supreme Council as chief executive officer. Outside of ritual practices and social events, the Supreme Council was involved in various social events, rites and charitable pursuits reflected in the correspondence.
Full Extent
3.75 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction is the governing body of Scottish Rite Freemasonry that serves 15 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. By the late twentieth century, over 100 smaller city-level Scottish Rite bodies, known as Valleys, were active in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and were overseen by the Grand Sovereign Commanders of the Supreme Council, at this time located in Boston, Massachusetts.
There was a flow of communication be over 100 valleys, especially with the Sovereign Grand Commanders located at the Supreme Council headquarters; Sovereign Grand Commander Stanley F. Maxwell (served 1975-1985), Sovereign Grand Commander Francis G. Paul (served 1985-1993), and Sovereign Grand Commander Robert O. Ralston (served 1993-2003).
This collection contains items dated from 1971-2000 that document these correspondences and shed light on many pressing issues affecting freemasons and the United States as a whole.
Arrangement
One folder was allocated to each of the 111 valleys represented and their documented correspondence from the early 1970s up until 2000, with exceptions of Fort Wayne, IN; Boston, MA; Grand Rapids, MI; Southern New Jersey; Cincinnati, OH; and Cleveland, OH, where two folders were needed due to bulk of correspondence. Folders are arranged alphabetically first by state, followed by the city/valley. Folder contents are arranged chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Aren Briggs as a part of an archival internship through Simmons University and the project was supervised by Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Archivist Sarah Shepherd. It was originally sorted by year with a folder dedicated to every valley each year, even if there was no documented correspondence and as a result contained several hundred empty folders, as well as many folders which contained only one or two single-page documents. With the goal of condensing the collection, folder contents were combined to contain all documents from each valley into one folder, maintaining chronological order based on original files.
The containers intially spanned 6.71 linear feet which was reduced to 3.75 linear feet. All paperclips were removed to prevent further rust damage, but document order was maintained so that any correspondence attachments remain adjacent to the related items. Metallic staples were not removed for expediency following the “More Product, Less Process” philosophy. To the same principle, any full newspapers included in the collection were photocopied and replaced, but small clippings where there was little to no acid-bleeding were untouched. In one donation envelope from the Southern New Jersey file, a freemason included several pieces of “jewelry” (a tie pin and several lapel pins with Masonic iconography) which were transferred to the museum collection.
Subject
- Paul, Francis George, 1921–1996 (Person)
- Maxwell, Stanley F. (Stanley Fielding), 1910-1997 (Person)
- Ralston, Robert Odel, 1938-2018 (Person)
- Scottish Rite (Masonic order) (Organization)
Topical
- Title
- Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, valley correspondence collection, 1971-2000
- Author
- Aren Briggs
- Date
- -
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Repository
33 Marrett Road
Lexington MA 02421 US
(781) 457-4109