Honor Lodge’s 250th Anniversary

Senate Resolution No. 4297 BY: Senator BRESLIN COMMEMORATING the 250th Anniversary of The Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection, Albany, New York, to be celebrated on April 14,2018 WHEREAS, Organizations which serve the interests of the people of this Empire State merit the commendation of this Legislative Body; and WHEREAS, The Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection has served the interests of the people of this Empire State for 250 years; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of The Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection, Albany, New York, to be celebrated on Saturday, April 14,

2018; and WHEREAS, On June 24, 1717, at the Apple Tree Tavern in England, John Theophilus Desaguliers organized Freemasonry bringing together for the first time all four Lodges in London creating the First Masonic Grand Lodge known as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster; and WHEREAS, In 1729, Scottish born Andrew Michael Ramsay traveled to France, after an unsuccessful attempt in England, to influence new and "higher" forms of Masonry influenced by Hebrew and Egyptian histories; and WHEREAS, Now referred to as Scottish Masonry, Ramsay's form of Masonry was now restricted by the Grand Lodge of France, though his ideas of higher forms of Masonry were not and it was in 1745 that the Grand Lodge of France recognized a rival group, the Royal Arch, while still suppressing Scottish Masonry; and WHEREAS, Scottish Masonry in France remained restricted until 1758 when the Sovereign Council of Emperors of the East and West, Sublime Scottish Mother Lodge was established in order to counter a growing group of middle class Masons and gain power in the Grand Lodge of France; and WHEREAS, Freemasonry was brought to Albany in the summer of 1758, when the Second Battalion of the First Royal Foot Guards of Great Britain's colonial forces arrived, having served in Nova Scotia since

26, 1737, by Lord Viscount Tyrone, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, took great pride in their regimental Masonic life and conferred degrees on a number of local citizens; and WHEREAS, It was not until 1765 that the duplicate lodge finally received its legal warrant from the Grand Lodge of England bearing the name of Union Lodge No. 1, and by then Masonry had become a definite and established institution in the life of the community; and WHEREAS, In the early 1760s, Morin made his way to Kingston, Jamaica, where he met a Dutch merchant by the name of Andrew Francken who was appointed by Morin the title Deputy Inspector General, granting Francken the authority to erect Scottish Rite bodies in Northern America; and WHEREAS, Making his way to New York, on December 20, 1767, Andrew Francken, together with the following members of Union Lodge No. 1, William Gamble, Francis Joseph Von Pfister, Thomas Swords, Thomas Lynott, and Richard Cartwright, chartered the Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection in Albany, New York, thus organizing one of the first Scottish Rite bodies in Northern America; and WHEREAS, After a number of weeks of holding meetings in a room at an inn owned by Cartwright, the desire arose to build a new lodge house and, on January 11, 1768, a proposal was sent to Union Lodge requesting that in a joint venture to build a lodge house, Union lodge was reluctant to join in on the venture; and WHEREAS, On February 27, 1968, Samuel Stringer purchased from Union Lodge, for the amount of Four Pounds, a plot of land purchased by them in 1766 from the city of Albany; this land would be used to build their new lodge house; and WHEREAS, The cornerstone for the new Masonic building was laid on the corner of Lodge Street and Maiden Lane in Albany, New York, on May

250 years, and The Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection can be justly proud of its rich heritage; to this day, it seeks to maintain and augment the fine traditions and devotion to the ancient mysteries of Freemasonry which have been handed down from generation to generation; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of The Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection Albany, New York, to be celebrated April 14, 2018; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection, Albany, New York.