Thomas Oxnard
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| Latin Motto | Virtute Silentio Amore |
|---|---|
| English Motto | By Virtue, In Silence, With Love |
| Constituted | 1731 |
| Jurisdiction | Pennsylvania |
| Location |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA |
| Website | pamasons.org |
The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania claims to be the oldest Grand Lodge in the United States, and the third oldest in the world after England (est. 1717) and Ireland (est. 1725), having been originally established as the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1731. This claim is disputed by both the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and the Grand Lodge of Virginia.
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is the largest Grand Lodge, in terms of membership, in the United States. In 2015 it reported a membership of 101,745 and was the only Grand Lodge in the United States to have membership above 100,000. It is only surpassed in membership by the United Grand Lodge of England on a worldwide scale.
Two English grand lodges erected lodges in Pennsylvania during the 18th century, the Premier Grand Lodge of England (known as the "Moderns"), established in London in 1717, and the Ancient Grand Lodge of England (known as the "Antients" or "Ancients"), established in London in 1751. The first of these, the Moderns' Grand Lodge, was first to establish lodges and provincial grand lodges in the American colonies. But by 1785, the Moderns and their lodges had ceased to exist in Pennsylvania, the last of their members having been absorbed by the lodges of the Ancients. The present day Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania descends primarily from the Ancients, with the Moderns having been grafted onto "Ancient York Masonry."
The earliest minute book of any Masonic lodge on the North American continent is that for Tun Tavern Lodge No. 3 ( of the Moderns) in Philadelphia. The Tun Tavern was the first "brew house" in the city, being built in 1685, and was located on the waterfront at the corner of Water Street and Tun Alley. The extant records of the Lodge begin on 24 June 1731, but the lodge may have been older than that. It was reported by Benjamin Franklin, in his Gazette for 8 December 1730, that there were "several Lodges of Free Masons erected in this Province...." The Tun Tavern, being a popular meeting place in Philadelphia, was undoubtedly the first location of a lodge in Philadelphia. Other organizations were formed there, including the St. George's Society in 1720, and the St. Andrew's Society in 1747. Even the United States Marine Corps was founded there on 10 November 1775 by Samuel Nicholas, grandson of a member of the Tun Tavern Lodge. According to Henry Coil, a Freemason from Massachusetts, the Tun Tavern Lodge was never warranted nor issued a charter, being an "immemorial rights lodge." However, the Librarian of the Masonic Library in Philadelphia believes that, simply because there is no existing evidence, there is no reason to assume that the Tun Tavern Lodge was never warranted since all of the other Lodges at the time had been, and that it must have been warranted prior to 1749 since the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has in its archives the minute books for the Tun Tavern Lodge from 1749-1755.
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Wikipedia