The Freemasons seem to be synonymous with secrecy. Secret handshakes, secret rituals, and taking oaths to keep secrets, all contribute to the general mystique that surrounds The Freemasons. Records from a couple of Freemason lodges, however, have been very helpful in understanding a couple of completely unrelated ancestors. The first ancestor comes from a great grandfather's paternal line, and the second ancestor comes from the same great grandfather's maternal line.
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| The Masonic Square and Compass, with the letter G is a symbol most commonly associated with the Freemasons. |
The Freemasons is an abbreviated term. The full name of this 'club' is the fraternal order of 'Free and Accepted Masons'. The Freemasons evolved from the tradesmen guilds of Britain that represented the stone masons of the medieval era. These included craftsmen who built cathedrals and churches. As the building of these religious structures slowed down, so did the number of new stone masons, and so to ensure that the 'club' continued, members of other trades and vocations were invited to join, as honorary members. The early Freemason lodges adopted rites and rituals of 'ancient religious orders and chivalric brotherhoods'. The Freemasons are not religious but are connected to a form of Christianity that questions the dogma of organised religion. This is not to say that all Freemasons must be followers of the Christian religion. To be a Freemason it is understood that members must believe in the existence of a supreme being and the immortality of the soul, and Freemasons teach the importance of morality, charity, and adherence to the law. The earliest Freemason's lodge was established in England, in 1717, and as the British Empire spread into far corners of the world, so did Freemasonry.
The first Freemason in the family was Asa Farrer Reed, who was my 4x great granduncle. Asa Farrer Reed (sometimes spelled Reid) was the son of Thomas Reed and Lucy Farrer, my 5x great grandparents. And he was the brother of 4x great grandfather, also named Thomas Reed (1767 - 1850). Asa Farrer Reed was born 20th September 1772, in Littleton, Massachusetts, and married Charlotte Clapp, in Amherst, MA in 1800. He was 27, and she was 30; both rather old for newly weds of the time. It seems that the blush of romance was not to last for this pair, because by 1802 Asa Farrer Reed had left the USA for Canada, had his medical qualifications recognised by the government there, and was able to set up in business as a physician. In 1802 Dr Asa F Reed joined the Freemasons at the Lodge in Kingston, ON. It's not clear if he arrived in Canada with his wife Charlotte, but by 1811 their relationship had certainly soured.
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| View of Kingston from Fort Henry, circa 1828 |
On the 24th June 1811 the minutes of the Kingston Lodge notes that the Worshipful Master 'made a motion the body should assist Mrs Reed' since Dr Reed would not assist her in returning home to her friends, nor offer her any support. The brothers agreed to send Mrs Reed $15, as well as a letter which would explain the support that the lodge had, for her plight. The reason for her desire to leave the town, and her husband Dr Asa F Reed, and to return to her friends was explained in the minutes of a later meeting. On 1st August 1811 a second complaint was made against Dr Asa F Reed, namely;
'for having his lawful wife in the United States coming into Canada and living in adultery with another woman and for absolutely refusing to aid or assist his lawful wife in her wants, but to continue in the same unlawful way.'
A further complaint was made;
'by Brother Walker against Brother Reed for having used him with the greatest contnemt and likewise, using the Lodge in the same manner.'
These were very serious complaints, especially the former, considering the morality rules that the Freemasons espoused. He was not going to get off lightly. Brother Dr Asa Farrrer Reed was suspended from the lodge for 6 months, during which time he was to 'clear up his character if it lies in his power' before he could again, return to the Lodge as a 'worthy member.' It's not clear if he did 'clear up his character' sufficiently to become a Freemason again. Probably not.
On the 30th March 1814 Dr Asa Farrer Reed married Deiademia Story, in Kingston, Ontario. It is not clear whether or not she was the woman with whom he was living in adultery, as mentioned in the Freemason's minutes in 1811, but its likely. Alas, the marriage was not to last, and our Dr Asa Farrer Reed was about to experience some just desserts!
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| A broken hearted Victorian woman, by Luke Fildes, published 1880 |
On the 22nd October 1814 the Kingston Gazette published a notice that Deiademia Reid had left her husband, and that 'Dr Asa F Reid... will pay no debts incurred by her.' At the age of 42 Dr Asa Farrer Reed was now twice married, and twice divorced. Luckily for him, all was not lost. An Irish woman named Margaret married Asa. I have not found any marriage records for them, so I suppose it's possible that they didn't actually marry. Nevertheless, they had five children together; Asa Henry (1822 - 1867), Jane (1825 - 1864), Lucy (born 1830), George (born 1831), and Margaret Alice (1844 - 1895). Dr Asa Farrer Reed died 18th October 1859, aged 87, and Margaret passed on 3rd January 1874, aged 81.
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| The Kingston Gazette was a daily newspaper from 1810-1818, and during the War of 1812, was the only paper available in Upper Canada. |
The second ancestor who was part of this club was my 2x great grand uncle, and brother to my 2x great grandmother. Eldest son and 2 years younger than my 2x great grandmother, Edward John Main was born 3rd March 1848, at the Peacock Hotel, in North Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. The Peacock Hotel had a popular restaurant where they served a great fish supper, and was located very close to the Leith Docks. I suspect it was a great favourite of the sailors arriving in port, looking for a good meal and a comfy bed. Since the hotel was in close proximity to the port, it's not surprising that Edward John Main joined the navy, and took to the sea!
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| The Peacock Hotel, North Leith |
Edward John Main worked as an engineer, for the Royal Navy, and ended up living and working for a time in Canton, China, when he was recorded by the Freemasons as having membership with them in 1883-1884. After this time he moved to Hong Kong where he worked at the Hong Kong harbour as a harbour engineer. He remained with the Hong Kong freemasons from 1887-1889, during which time he may have married Miranda (last name unknown). Miranda and Edward welcomed their first child in October 1891; Gracie Lilian Emma Main was born in Hong Kong on the 10th October 1891. A second child was born 9th January 1894; Edward Liston Main. Sadly Edward Liston Main died at exactly 8 months of age, on 9th September 1894. Edward, Miranda, and daughter Gracie visited the UK in 1901, at which time Edward John Main was recorded in the ships passenger list as a 'merchant'. It seems that at some point between 1889 and 1901, Edward left the navy, and had started a business as a merchant possibly importing 'chinoiserie', tea, or some other Chinese artefacts or produce. It seems that the visit in 1901 was indeed a visit; Hong Kong was the family's home by that point.
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| Hong Kong Harbour, in the early 1900s |
Edward and Miranda had a third child together; Sadie Jean Main was born on the 31st August 1902. She was not to know her father for long. Edward John Main died on the 21st September 1903, just 11 months later. Both Edward John Main and his only son, Edward Liston Main were buried in the Hong Kong Cemetery, in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, China.
It's not entirely clear exactly what happened to Miranda and her daughters, in the years shortly after the death of Edward John Main. At some point Miranda Main returned to the UK and became a school mistress. Sadie returned to the UK at some point, and in 1929 married a Glaswegian named James Malcom Ian Armstrong McIntyre in Oxfordshire. They had 2 children; Ian Edward Armstrong McIntyre (born 1931), and Jane Armstrong McIntyre (born 1933). Sadie died in 1981, in Droxford, Hants.
Gracie worked as a governess for a Hong Kong businessman named Percy Hobson Holyoak in 1918, and married a Japanese born merchant's assistant of Scottish descent, Fraser Syme-Thompson, a year or two later. Gracie had two sons with Fraser Syme-Thompson; Fraser (born circa 1922) and George (born circa 1923). Sometime between 1926 and 1935 Fraser Syme Thompson must have died. On 27th October 1935 Gracie married widower William Herman Godden, a British merchant born in Curacao, which was then considered part of the Dutch West Indies. They lived in Cryals, Matfield, Kent, but also appear to have had an apartment in Thames House, Queen's Place, London, which is now known as Five Kings House, and not to be confused with Thames House, home of the British security service!
At the time of the 1939 register Miranda was living at Cryals, Matfield, Kent, with her daughter Gracie and Gracie's husband, and step-son Peter Musgrave Godden. I believe that Cryals, Matfield was a large manor house now known as Cryals Court. Cryals Court is an elegant Edwardian building which has since been converted into a number of apartments. Miranda died in 1946, at Cryals, Matfield, at the age of 86. She was 43 when her husband Edward John Main died, and lived a further 43 years as a widow. Gracie died in 1992 at the impressive age of 101.
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| Cryals Court, Matfield, Kent |
Without the Freemasons' records much of the lives of these ancestors might have been missed by me. It seems satisfyingly ironic that the 'club' that is well known for its secrecy, helped me unlock the secrets of these two ancestors' lives.
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freemasonry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry_in_Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Freemasonry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie#Popularization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Kings_House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingston_Gazette
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