ancient landmarks
A Fellowcraft’s Introduction to the
Ancient Landmarks
by Brian Chesney La Fayette – Dupont Lodge No. 19
What follows is a presentation by Brother Brian Chesney at the April 8, 2010 stated communication of La Fayette – Dupont Lodge No. 19.
T
his is a brief presentation about the Ancient Landmarks of the Masonic brotherhood. This has been a quick study of a subject that I am sure bears a closer, more scholarly treatment than that I have provided. Please accept my apology at the outset if I accidentally stray into areas that may be conjectural or debatable. My sources have varied from well respected texts, the good word of fellow brothers, and the more profane use of the internet. My humble aim is to report on the words of others without attempting to make any hasty conclusions that are better left to more grayer and wiser heads than mine. As you will see, it is easy to jump to the wrong conclusions about the Landmarks’ importance due to the dual symbolic and legal nature. If I have learned anything from this exercise, it is that Masonic law is historically vast and intellectually humbling. To attempt to summarize the Landmarks in a 10 minute presentation will barely capture the importance of this work to Masonic law. Without being too ambitious, I hope to briefly discuss each and, in particular, the various available references that I used (bona fides); the organization of lodges; and the evolution of the Landmarks themselves to better illuminate the “ancient and universal customs of order” known as the Landmarks as first enumerated by Worshipful Brother (WB) Albert Gallatin Mackey in his 1856 book Jurisprudence of Freemasonry.
initiated, passed, and raised in St. Andrews Lodge No. 10 at Charleston, South Carolina. Soon afterwards, he affiliated with Solomon’s Lodge No.1, which he served as Master in 1842. His list of Masonic achievements is long and varied and eventually led him to be coroneted with the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction, where he was an active member of the Supreme Council and served as Secretary General for many years. It was during this time that he was closely associated with another notable American Mason, Albert Pike. As a particular note of interest for our Lodge, Lafayette Lodge was chartered in 1863 and it is alleged that after Albert Mackey moved to Washington, DC in 1870, he affiliated with several Lodges including Lafayette Lodge No. 19. Albert Mackey was professionally a medical doctor but is best known for his authorship of many well respected books and articles about Freemasonry, for this paper most particularly, the Landmarks of which there are 25 in all. His funeral was held at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in DC, across from the Scottish Rite Center.
If not by degree, then by written word alone, Albert Mackey was a well accepted authority on all things Masonic.
Of course, the first and most important reference is Mackey himself. Albert Gallatin Mackey was a native son of Charleston, South Carolina. He was born there in 1807 and buried in Washington, DC in 1881. Graduating with honors from the Charleston Medical College in 1834, Mackey entered immediately the busy practice of his chosen profession which chiefly occupied his time until 1854, when his literary and Masonic labors engrossed his efforts. In 1841, he was
The Voice of Freemasonry
16
To say Mackey’s literary work consumed his life may be an understatement. Between 1845 and 1875 he wrote twelve Masonic books, including the Jurisprudence of Freemasonry. Remember that this was in the days before word processors. Even the first typewriter was not to become commercially viable until 1870. As well as his published books, Albert Mackey contributed and edited at least six Masonic periodicals from 1849 to 1875 when failing health necessitated his giving up this work. If not by degree, then by written word alone, Albert Mackey was a well accepted authority on all things Masonic. I have read three books of great value in researching the Ancient Landmarks. The first was the Masonic
