Ancestry adds English and Irish freemasonry registers

There has been an interesting release from Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) this morning, in the form of its new Freemasonry Membership Registers. The following is the announcement:

Reveal the Freemasons in your family

Uncover the secrets of the Freemasons in our exclusive new Freemasonry Membership Registers for England and Ireland. These extensive and revealing records cover details such as name, profession, initiation date and other personal information. Find out more about your family’s secrets with our Freemason records.

The collections are individually titled as follows:

England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60620

This is comprised of records from:
Antients Grand Lodge 1751-1813
Moderns Grand Lodge 1755-1813
United Grand Lodge of England 1813-1921

Sourced from the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London


Ireland, Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland Membership Registers, 1733-1923
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60904

Comprised of 24 volumes covering 1733-1923. Sourced from The Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.

I've just confirmed my great grandfather Ernest Graham was a freemason in Belfast. The entry notes when he went through different degrees - entered apprentice 11 DEC 1919, fellow craft 19 FEB 1920, and master mason 15 MAR 1920, and received his Grand Lodge certificate on 13 MAY 1920. The fact that he was a painter is also recorded, and his year of death in 1942. It further lists the name of his lodge (Renown) and the lodge number (421).

Funny handshake anyone?!

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.