Family and Forebears

While researching my great-great-grandfather, Duncan Barnes - A Newfoundlander from Harbour Grace -  I came across this great register in the Ancestry.com Card Catalog called "England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921".

My Dad told me that his grandfather and his uncle were Freemasons.  I thought maybe his great-grandfather was too.  Sure enough, he shows up in this register twice.  The first mention is on folio number 275 under Avalon Lodge in St. John's, Newfoundland (1).  Duncan Barnes "Date of
Initiation" was September 27, 1905.  He is 42 and living at Pilley's Island (where most of his children are born).  I know all of this information is accurate but I have his occupation as a "Master Mariner" in my family tree and this register lists his profession as "Trader". This gives me a little more detail about what he may have done on those ships.




The second mention of Duncan shows up on folio number 71 (2) but mentions that he " Resigned Dec 1919".  In 1920 Duncan left Newfoundland with his 3rd wife Theresa and purchased a house in
Toronto, Ontario.  This might explain why he resigned from the St. John's Avalon Lodge, but so far I have not been able to find any record of him joining a Toronto Lodge.  I will have to look more into this later.




An interesting register to have a look at if you have ancestors that were Freemasons, you might learn a little bit more about them.  An easy way to find this on Ancestry.com is to click on search, then click on Card Catalog.  Type "Freemason" as the keyword and the collection will show in the results.

If you are ever looking for Freemason's in your genealogy there is a good chance that their close relatives were as well.  In my case, a Grandfather, son, and grandson were also Freemasons.  My next research project is to search this register for other relatives that were Freemasons, I hope I find more.

To learn more about my Barnes family from Newfoundland visit the Barnes & Howell Family Page or click the Barnes tab in the side bar to find other posts.





Source Citation 1:
Library and Museum of Freemasonry; London, England; Freemasonry Membership Registers; Description: Membership Registers: Colonial and Foreign C 646-8900 to Colonial and Foreign D 801-1041; Reel Number: 24 - Lodge Location, Newfoundland. Lodge Number 776. Folio Number 275. Source Information: Ancestry.com. England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Membership registers 1751-1921 from the collection of the United Grand Lodge of England held by the Library and Museum of Freemasonry. Images reproduced by courtesy of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London. Rights reserved.
Source Citation 2:
Library and Museum of Freemasonry; London, England; Freemasonry Membership Registers; Description: Membership Registers: Colonial and Foreign 705-989 to Colonial and Foreign 1022-1338; Reel Number: 61 - Lodge Location, St.John's Newfoundland.  Lodge number 776. Folio Number 71.  Source Information: Ancestry.com. England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Membership registers 1751-1921 from the collection of the United Grand Lodge of England held by the Library and Museum of Freemasonry. Images reproduced by courtesy of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London. Rights reserved.