A Series of Questions about the Study of Freemasonry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jrff.v2i1.158Keywords:
female freemasonry, Boston, masonic historyAbstract
The story of Hannah Mather Crocker and her involvement in freemasonry in Boston during the 1790s and early 1800s provokes a number of questions for the Masonic scholar. How do we define female freemasonry? What was Crocker’s true intent? Following on Mary Copeland’s provocative paper, this piece provides an additional interpretation of Crocker’s pamphlet, A Series of Letters about Free Masonry, and argues for the importance of building context while doing Masonic History.
References
Botting, Eileen Hunt, and Sarah L. Houser, ‘Drawing the Line of Equality’: Hannah Mather Crocker on Women’s Rights. American Political Science Review 100 (2006), 265–78.
Bullock, Steven C., Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730–1840 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996).
Crocker, Hannah Mather, A Series of Letters on Free Masonry (Boston, MA: John Eliot, 1815).
Engle, Willis D., The History of the Order of the Eastern Star (Indianapolis, IN: Wills D. Engle, 1901).
Franklin V, Benjamin, ‘Crocker, Hannah Mather’. In: John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press 1999, Vol. 5), 747–48.
Harris, Thaddeus Mason, Discourses, Delivered on Public Occasions, Illustrating the Principles, Displaying the Tendency, and Vindicating the Design, of Free Masonry (Philadelphia, PA: George Howorth & McCarty & Davis, 1819).
History. History of Saint John’s Lodge of Boston (Boston, MA: privately printed, 1917).
Jeffers, H. Paul, The Freemasons in America: Inside the Secret Society (New York: Citadel Press, 2006).
Kelley, Mary, ‘A More Glorious Revolution’: Women’s Antebellum Reading Circles and the Pursuit of Public Influence. The New England Quarterly 76 (2003), 163–96. doi:10.2307/1559902
Kidd, Karen, Haunted Chambers: The Lives of Early Women Freemasons (New Orleans, LA: Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2009).
Morris, S. Brent, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry (New York: Alpha Books, 2006).
Proceedings. ‘Biographical Sketches of Grand Chaplains: Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris’. In Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 185–93 (Boston, MA: Rockwell & Churchill), 1873.
Proceedings [I]. Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts…1792–1815 (Cambridge, MA: Caustic-Claflin Company, 1905).
Proceedings [II]. Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Boston, MA: The Rockwell and Churchill Press, 1905).
Roy, Thomas Sherrard, Stalwart Builders: A History of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts 1733–1970 (Boston, MA: The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1971).
Seaburg, Alan, Harris, ‘Thaddeus Mason’. In: John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, Vol. 10), 188–89.
Snoek, Jan, ‘Researching Freemasonry: Where Are We?’, Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism 1.2 (2010), 227–48.
Triber, Jayne E., A True Republican: The Life of Paul Revere (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1998).
Ward, Harry M., The War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society (London: University College London Press, 1999).
Wasserman, James, The Secrets of Masonic Washington (Rochester, VT: Destiny Books), 2008.
Bullock, Steven C., Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730–1840 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996).
Crocker, Hannah Mather, A Series of Letters on Free Masonry (Boston, MA: John Eliot, 1815).
Engle, Willis D., The History of the Order of the Eastern Star (Indianapolis, IN: Wills D. Engle, 1901).
Franklin V, Benjamin, ‘Crocker, Hannah Mather’. In: John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press 1999, Vol. 5), 747–48.
Harris, Thaddeus Mason, Discourses, Delivered on Public Occasions, Illustrating the Principles, Displaying the Tendency, and Vindicating the Design, of Free Masonry (Philadelphia, PA: George Howorth & McCarty & Davis, 1819).
History. History of Saint John’s Lodge of Boston (Boston, MA: privately printed, 1917).
Jeffers, H. Paul, The Freemasons in America: Inside the Secret Society (New York: Citadel Press, 2006).
Kelley, Mary, ‘A More Glorious Revolution’: Women’s Antebellum Reading Circles and the Pursuit of Public Influence. The New England Quarterly 76 (2003), 163–96. doi:10.2307/1559902
Kidd, Karen, Haunted Chambers: The Lives of Early Women Freemasons (New Orleans, LA: Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2009).
Morris, S. Brent, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry (New York: Alpha Books, 2006).
Proceedings. ‘Biographical Sketches of Grand Chaplains: Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris’. In Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 185–93 (Boston, MA: Rockwell & Churchill), 1873.
Proceedings [I]. Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts…1792–1815 (Cambridge, MA: Caustic-Claflin Company, 1905).
Proceedings [II]. Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Boston, MA: The Rockwell and Churchill Press, 1905).
Roy, Thomas Sherrard, Stalwart Builders: A History of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts 1733–1970 (Boston, MA: The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1971).
Seaburg, Alan, Harris, ‘Thaddeus Mason’. In: John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, Vol. 10), 188–89.
Snoek, Jan, ‘Researching Freemasonry: Where Are We?’, Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism 1.2 (2010), 227–48.
Triber, Jayne E., A True Republican: The Life of Paul Revere (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1998).
Ward, Harry M., The War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society (London: University College London Press, 1999).
Wasserman, James, The Secrets of Masonic Washington (Rochester, VT: Destiny Books), 2008.
Published
2011-05-22
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
A Series of Questions about the Study of Freemasonry. (2011). Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism, 2(1), 158-165. https://doi.org/10.1558/jrff.v2i1.158
