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Texas Masonic Deaths with Selected Biographical Sketches.Michael Kelsey, Nancy Graff-Kelsey, Ginny Guinn Parsons. 1998. Softcover, 5.25 x 8.25, as new, index, 203 pages. According to the publisher: In 1828, eight years before Texas achieved her independence upon the battlefield of San Jacinto, the first Masonic Convention in Texas was held at San Felipe de Austin on the Brazos river. Attending the convention were Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas; Ira Ingram, the first Speaker of the Congress of the Republic of Texas; H. H. Lague; Eli Mitchell; Joseph White; and Thomas M. Duke, each of whom figure prominently in Texas history. Since then, there have been many Texans, from all walks of life, affiliated with the Masons. Information from Grand Lodge annual reports published for the years 1858 through 1882 is the basis for this book. (Local lodges are responsible for maintaining and submitting records about their members to the Grand Lodge, the administrative body.) The book is organized in three parts. Part One, Deaths Reported in Lodge Records, lists lodge member deaths year by year. Listings include the name, number and location of the lodge, the county where meetings were held, and the names of lodge members who died during the year prior to submission of the report to the Grand Lodge. Part Two, Biographical Sketches, covers many of the Masons mentioned in the first part of the book. The biographical sketches were created using information from lodge records, newspaper obituaries, and tombstone inscriptions. Part Three, Additional Information, presents the articles 'Petition for First Lodge in Texas' and 'Masonry as Explained in 1853'; how to contact the Masonic Grand Lodge; and a glossary of Masonry terms. A surname index is also included. [K153-H]
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