Great Freemasons: Elbridge Thomas Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814)

What, sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. Now, it must be evident, that, under this provision, together with their other powers, Congress could take such measures with respect to a militia, as to make a standing army necessary. Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.
Elbridge Thomas Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814)

Elbridge Thomas Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American statesman and diplomat. As a Democratic-Republican he was selected as the fifth Vice President of the United States (1813–1814), serving under James Madison. He is known best for being the namesake of gerrymandering, a process by which electoral districts are drawn with the aim of aiding the party in power, although its initial "g" has softened to /dʒ/ from the hard /ɡ/ of his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry

(It is believed that he was a member of Philanthropic Lodge of Marblehead, MA, but the records of this lodge are missing from the period 1760-78 when he logically would have been initiated.)

What If I Told You....

Great Freemasons: Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789)

Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Parsons was described as "Soldier, scholar, judge, one of the strongest arms on which Washington leaned, who first suggested the Continental Congress, from the story of whose life could almost be written the history of the Northern War" by Senator George F. Hoar of Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Holden_Parsons

( St. John's Lodge 2, CT)

Great Freemasons: Manley P. Hall (March 18, 1901 – August 29, 1990)

Great Freemasons: Rev. Josiah Henson (July 15, 1789 - May 15, 1883)

Rev. Josiah Henson
July 15, 1789 - May 15, 1883
After he escaped to Canada on 28 October 1830, it is said he aided more than 600 slaves to freedom.
Widely considered the inspiration for Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the Rev. Josiah Henson is buried in the Dresden, Ontario cemetery. On the monument erected to his memory—where "his abused and honoured bones lie"—the square and compasses are engraved in the Fellowcraft position.
There is no mention of freemasonry in either his 1858 or 1877 autobiography, nor in his entry in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
In 2003, Wallace McLeod writes: "Apparently he was made a Mason in Boston during one of his visits there. On his return to Canada he joined Mount Moriah Lodge No.11., Dresden (Prince Hall Affiliation), and is listed as its Secretary in 1866."
The confusion about his year of birth originated in his autobiography, published in London in 1877, where he states, "I was born June 15th, 1789".
Member : [Initiation date unknown]
Mount Moriah Lodge No. 11. Dresden, Ontario

http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/henson_j/henson_j.html

Calvin Coolidge

Great Freemasons: Gerald Ford (July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006)

I have always felt that the real purpose of government is to enhance the lives of people and that a leader can best do that by restraining government in most cases instead of enlarging it at every opportunity.
Gerald Ford (14 July 1913 – 26 December 2006)

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford

Gerald R. Ford was initiated into Freemasonry on September 30, 1949. He later said in 1975:

When I took my obligation as a Master Mason—incidentally, with my three younger brothers—I recalled the value my own father attached to that order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our Country and twelve other members of the order who also served as Presidents of the United States.

Masonic principles—internal, not external—and our order’s vision of duty to country and acceptance of God as a Supreme Being and guiding light have sustained me during my years of Government service. Today especially, the guidelines by which I strive to become an upright man in Masonry give me great personal strength.

Masonic precepts can help America retain our inspiring aspirations while adapting to a new age. It is apparent to me that the Supreme Architect has set out the duties each of us has to perform, and I have trusted in His will with the knowledge that my trust is well-founded….

Entered: Sept. 30, 1949
Malta Lodge No. 465 in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Passed: May 18, 1951
Raised: May 18, 1951
Columbia Lodge No. 3, District of Columbia, conferred the degrees of Fellowcraft and Master Mason on Brother Ford as a courtesy to Malta Lodge on May 18, 1951. Brother Ford's adopted father, Gerald R. Sr., a 33rd degree Mason presented the lambskin apron.
Br. Ford received the Scottish Rite degrees in the Valley of Grand Rapids in 1957 and created a Sovereign Grand Inspector General Honorary 33rd degrees, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, in 1962. (This is the highest honor that can come to an honorary member of the Northern Supreme Council of the A.A.S.R.)
Joined Saladin Shrine Temple, A.A.O.N.M.A.S. in 1959.
Member of Court No. 11, Royal Order of Jesters.
Honorary Member, DeMolay Legion of Honor.
Br. Ford's first services to Freemasonry came when he was selected for the Eastern Team in the Shriner's East West Crippled Children game at San Francisco, January 1, 1935.