Masonic Records

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Abstracts from Masonic Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1884-1886
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 978-1-56546-394-3, 313 pages, softbound, $39.00
[ View the index 1884-1886]

This volume includes, along with all the other abstracts, a list of ALL the members in ALL the active lodges in 1884. Masonic records do not usually show parents' or childrens' names, but they keep a man with a known group of associates. These are his friends, relatives, and often fellow migrants. Check the index now to see if your guy is included.

Abstracts from Masonic Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1880-1883
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 978-1-56546-379-0, 240 pages, softbound, $29.00
[ View the index 1880-1883]

This volume includes, along with all the other abstracts, a list of ALL the members in ALL the active lodges in 1880. Check the index now to see if your guy is included. Remember, the biggest value of these records, besides the obvious one of knowing details about a individual, is keeping your man with a known group of associates.

Abstracts from Masonic Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1873-1879
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 1-56546-300-5, 196 pages, softbound, $26.00
[ View the index 1873-1879]

The 1870s in Arkansas were a chaotic period; the War was over but politics were unsettled and many families were still moving back to Arkansas from places they'd gone to avoid the effects of the War. Any record created in this time period is especially welcomed by genealogists. While these Masonic volumes don't usually list a man's parents or children, they do keep him with a known group of associates. The men in his Lodge were often relatives and friends; he did business with them; went to religious services with them; and made them a part of his life. Some of the men mentioned in this volume were associated with Masonry in Arkansas in antebellum days. Check the index to see if your ancestor (or his relatives) are mentioned.

Abstracts from Masonic Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1870-1872
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 1-56546-299-8, 188 pages, softbound, $25.00
[ View the index 1870-1872]

This wonderful book has membership lists! In 1871, the Proceedings (annual report) volume for the Grand Lodge of Arkansas contained over 230 membership lists from most of the active lodges in Arkansas. The value of this marvelous resource is that it places your ancestor with a known group of associates. His lodge brothers were the men with whom he did business in addition to socializing with. And he was related to some of his fellow Masons. These Proceedings volumes also contain retrospective lists of officers of the Grand Lodge back to 1843 and the first drafts of a history of Arkansas Masonry. Check the index, is your ancestor here?

Abstracts from Masonic Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1862-1869
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 1-56546-282-3, 228 pages, softbound, $28.00
[ View the index 1862-1869]

In that awful, chaotic period during and just following the War Between the States, any record that shows your ancestors alive, in a specific place, and in the company of others, is a valuable record. We've abstracted all the information, not just the deaths, from the published Masonic annuals during the 1860s. These annuals contained membership lists for most of the active lodges and the traveling lodges created within Confederate military units from Arkansas. We combed these records for any scraps that would help you. Check the index link above and see if your Masonic ancestors are mentioned.

Masonic Death Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1920-1940
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 1-56546-217-3, 132 pages, softbound, $23.00
[ View the index 1920-1940]

Masonic Death Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 1941-1990
Compiled by Desmond Walls Allen
ISBN 1-56546-153-3, 315 pages, softbound, $39.00
Check the index for your ancestors.
[ Names A - C ] ** [ Names D - G ] ** [ Names H - K ] ** [ Names L - S ] ** [ Names T - Z ]

The Masonic fraternal organization in Arkansas includes leading members of the political and business communities. Each year, the annual report (called Proceedings) for the Scottish Rite Masons includes lists of those members who have died. These lists have been compiled into one index covering the years 1941-1990, listing 44,634 deaths. Each record lists the man's name, death date, lodge number, and volume from which the information was taken. A table in the book correlates lodge numbers to lodge name, location, and county.

State death records in Arkansas must be 50 years old before indexes are available to the records. So a large portion of these Masonic death records are only available from this source.

With a death date, researchers can go to newspaper obituaries, state death certificates, cemetery records, funeral home records, and Social Security Administration records. But the key to more information is that all-important death date.

Because these men listed in the index were Masons, they are all over age 21, and well thought of by their peers. Most owned property and were active in community affairs.

Even if your ancestors weren't Masons, consider your collateral relatives (those branches on your family tree from which you don't descend) and look up their records. The death date for a great-great-uncle might lead you to his newspaper obituary which might mention the cemetery in which he's buried. And when you find information about the folks buried in that cemetery, you might find your ancestors buried there, too.

Want to see if your relative is here? Click below to view text files which contain their names. To learn more, order the book today! (We've broken the names up into groups for the web site, but all the names are listed in one book.)