Funeral rites and ceremonies

Scope and Contents Autograph letter signed by N. H. Hubbard to his brothers and sisters, four pages. Hubbard describes a Masonic funeral that he witnessed in Virginia, close to the North Carolina border. He explains that the Masons at the funeral "all stood in a ring again, and clapped their hands first over their heads, and then across the breast, then down at the side, repeating it 3 times." This "salute" is known as the public "grand honors." Hubbard also wrote that one Mason from each lodge threw a spade...

Content Description This item contains two letters written by L. Conger and W. R. Conger, the Vice Grand and Noble Grand of Sodus Lodge, No. 338, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to their mother describes the death and funeral of Bezaleel F. Cleveland, a revered Odd Fellow and the founding Noble Grand of Sodus Lodge, No. 338. Cleveland had died of typhoid fever, which had swept Martville, N.Y., in 1848. The two men describe conditions at Martville and make comments regarding James K. Polk’s reelection chances....