Sunday, September 18, 2011

Masonic death records!

Who knew? I have been trying for several years now to locate the death date of my great grandfather in Arkansas. He died after the 1930 census but he is not listed in any of the Arkansas Death Indexes. I feel fairly confident that his death was never officially recorded in a death certificate. In an effort to exhaust all possible sources available to me here in Utah I came across a book in the Family History Library that had death records of Masons in Arkansas. The book is:

Masonic Death Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas by Desmond Walls Allen.

The volume I looked at covered the years 1920 to 1940. Lo and behold there was the name of great grandfather listed as having died in 1938. I took a chance on this book because I had examined another book that covered deaths of Free Masons in Arkansas and found other family relatives listed. I never knew that the male members of this family were Masons. I have visited the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia and loved it. I didn't know at the time that my ancestors shared a love for this order just like many of the founding fathers of this nation.

It's so much fun to learn something new about your ancestors AND find an elusive record!