About Freemasonry

The Fact Sheets contain information about common questions about Freemasonry.

For more information about Freemasonry, contact the MSA for a catalog of publications or visit our links page for more online information.

Joining Freemasonry

The requirements for joining Freemasonry, such as age, vary depending on your location. See the links page for the Grand Lodge in your state and contact them for local requirements and a lodge near you.

Freemasonry and Genealogy

Genealogists often become curious about Freemasonry because of a mention in a relative's obituary or from finding a Masonic emblem on a gravestone. Sometimes a family knows of the Masonic connection but for others, it's a bit of a surprise.

Finding a Masonic member in the family tree will often stimulate the genealogical inquirer to ask "What information can Masonic records offer to help my research?".

Masonic records contain some information but little is helpful to genealogical research. Date and sometimes place of birth will appear on the application for membership and in most cases, the records of the local lodge (and perhaps of the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction) will have a notation of date of death.

Many Grand Lodges are not staffed to handle the number of  inquiries that they receive. It is preferable to inquire with the particular lodge in which the member was affiliated, but note the inquiry would go to a Lodge Secretary who is an unpaid volunteer, with little time or means for extensive research. As a result, such inquiries don't always receive a prompt response. Sometimes too, older records may be secured in a bank vault or they may have been destroyed by fire, water damage, or some other catastrophe. Because of this, information from Masonic sources will likely be slow in arriving and may be totally unavailable.

Inquiry made to the Grand Lodge in which the ancestor was a member may produce the name and address of the appropriate Lodge Secretary, if contact is being made from outside the area. If you're nearby the lodge in question, the Secretary's name can often be found on the lodge door or nearby.