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
1757; and

WHEREAS, On August 27, 1761, the Grand Lodge of France, in wanting
to spread their influence around the globe, tasked to Stephen Morin to
travel the world in order to establish Perfect and Sublime Masonry; 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; 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
12, 1768; and

WHEREAS, The building became the home to both the Lodge of
Perfection and a new Masonic Lodge, Masters Lodge No. 2, which was
created by members of the Lodge of Perfection on March 5, 1768; and

WHEREAS, Masonry flourished in Albany as the Lodge of Perfection has
included members from lodges all over the greater Capital Region, 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 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.