Senate Resolution No. 3687

BY: Senator BRESLIN

COMMEMORATING the 250th Anniversary of Masters
Lodge No. 5 F.&A.M., 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, Masters Lodge No. 5 F.&A.M. 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 Masters Lodge No. 5 F.&A.M., Albany, New York, to
be celebrated on Saturday, April 14, 2018; 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
1757; and

WHEREAS, The First Royals, granted a military warrant dated October
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; about that time,
several members began to discuss the possibility of having their own
lodge building; and

WHEREAS, While it appears this was not the sentiment of all members,
a plot of ground on what is now the northwest corner of Lodge Street and
Corning Place was purchased from the City on October 17, 1766, by Dr.
Samuel Stringer; and

WHEREAS, It was on March 5, 1768 that William Gamble, Master, Dr.
Samuel Stringer, Senior Warden, and Jeremiah VanRensselaer, Junior
Warden, were appointed of A Lodge Named Masters Lodge Number Two to be
held in the City of Albany; two months later, on May 12, 1768, with
appropriate ceremony, the cornerstone was laid for the first lodge house
erected and owned by a Masonic Lodge in America; and

WHEREAS, The building, when completed, was occupied by Masters Lodge
and a Regular Lodge of Perfection warranted December 20, 1767; the
property remained in the hands of Masters Lodge for the next 127 years
when in 1895, the present temple was erected and title was presented to
the Masonic Hall Association of Albany; and

WHEREAS, It was not until April 4, 1798, that agreement was reached
with Grand Lodge and a new warrant was issued to Masters Lodge,
recognizing its original warrant of March 5, 1768, and retaining its
Number 2; in later years, the lodges in the State of New York were

renumbered by Grand Lodge and Masters Lodge received the number "5" on
June 7, 1839; and

WHEREAS, Masters has counted among its members a long list of
prominent citizens, including Mayors, bankers, judges, physicians,
lawyers, alderman, etc., all of them inextricably entwined in the
history of Albany, the State and the Nation; and

WHEREAS, Few organizations reach such venerable an anniversary as
250 years, and Masters Lodge 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 Masters Lodge No. 5 F.&A.M.,
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 Masters Lodge No. 5 F.&A.M., Albany.