Early  years of Dutch and English Freemasonry in Guyana
                                  by
                   Bro. J. Radzik-Sochacki, B.Sc. ^

                         First published 1982
                             1995 reprint
                          Georgetown, Guyana


             this reprint is dedicated to all Freemasons,
               whithersoever dispersed around the globe,
                but especially to my Brethren in Guyana

                      W.Bro. Jacques Huyghebaert
                       Compuserve  100142, 1234

travelling in foreign countries and earning Master Mason's wages the
better to enable me to support myself and family aid and assist a
distressed worthy Brother Master Mason, his Widow and Orphans, etc.
etc.


Introduction

Guyana (1)  became an independent country in 1966  and is the only
English speaking country of South America.  It is situated on the
north eastern part of the continent between 57 and 62 degrees of
Western longitude.

Although its extends southward to the equator, the majority of its
population is confined to the coastal areas and to the banks of the
many rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

Although several traders, adventurers and emissaries from Europe
landed on the coast of Guiana as early as the 16th century, the
territories were not colonised until 1621 when the first Dutch
settlers  arrived.

The colonising efforts met with varying degree of success but it was
not until the middle of the 18th century that the plantations appeared
to prosper due mainly to the profitable exports of sugar and rum.

The labour was provided entirely by slaves, who were imported from
West Africa.

The inhuman conditions under which the slave population was kept
culminated eventually in the bloody insurrection of 1763 which wiped
out the plantations along the river Canje and some along the Berbice
River.  The initial success of the insurgents was short-lived and the
rebellion was eventually crushed.  Although several planters suffered
heavy losses, the general trade conditions quickly restored the
balance and by 1770 the three colonies, namely Essequibo, Demerara and
Berbice Colonies: again reached the level of prosperity.

Such was the situation when the first Masonic Lodge was constituted.


Dutch Lodges

Brother Antonio Rigano, a Past Master of Lodge "La Persvrance" no.
359 on the register of the Grand Lodge of England, arrived into the
colony of Demerary (2) some time prior to 1771.  He must have met some
other Brethren who joined him as signatories to the petition for a
warrant to form the Masonic Lodge named   "St.Jean de la Runion". The
petition was written in French and was dated 17th March 1771. (3)

In order to understand what eventually followed, it must be recalled
that just one year earlier a pact was made between the Grand Lodge of
England and the National Grand Lodge of the United Provinces, meaning
the Netherlands.  This pact was a culmination of rather unsettled
relations between the two Grand Lodges. (4)

Suffice it to say, the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) declared that
it:

" ... recognises the Grand Lodge of Holland as the National Grand
Lodge of the United Provinces Territories of the States General and
dependent Colonies ... "  (5)

This put the Colony of Demerary squarely under the Dutch Masonic
Jurisdiction and  consequently all the petitions should have been
addressed to the National Grand Lodge.

Of course, it is difficult to say whether Bro. Rigano knew anything
about the above developments or whether he still felt that his loyalty
should have remained with the Premier Grand Lodge.   The petition
prepared by our Brethren in Demerary did not mention England at all
but the opening address to the Grand Master and his Officers ran as
follows :

" ... forming the sublime, most enlightened and most Worshipful Grand
Lodge, Mother of all [Lodges] spread over the surface of the earth ...
".  (6)

Truly no spelling of the word English was thus necessary.

The petition was carried to Holland by Bro. Gideon de Scharden, who
was one of the signatories.  It is not difficult to imagine his
feelings when on arrival in Amsterdam he learned of the pact between
the two Grand Lodges.

The petition so obviously addressed to the Grand Lodge of England did
not stand much chance when presented to the National Grand Lodge.  His
expected return with the warrant suddenly became only a very remote
possibility.

However, our Bro. de Scharden must have been a staunch believer in the
virtues of perseverance.

Without losing much time he approached two well-known Brethren who
were in good standing with the National Grand Lodge and managed to
obtain not only two excellent letters of recommendation but also a
personal intervention by Bro. H. de Leendt.  (7) (8)

Their approach to the National Grand Lodge was that although the
petition was wrongly addressed the Brethren in Demerary would be much
grieved by the very long delay during which time they would not be
able to practice Freemasonry.  All this was due simply to their
ignorance of the recent developments in the field of Masonic
Jurisdiction.

The warrant was eventually granted due no doubt to the sympathetic
attitude adopted by the Grand Master baron van Boetzelaer, but with a
proviso that a second petition, this time correctly addressed, was to
be despatched in due time.  This was eventually done but one cannot
avoid wondering why it took so long to acknowledge the undoubtedly
grand gesture of the National Grand Lodge.

The letter was dated 28th September, 1772, and it contains a following
passage:

" ...  We  ...  have received the warrant at the beginning of the
year, under which authority it is possible for us to proceed and
practice in accordance with the constitution of the ancient and royal
art ...   "   (9)

Was there any divergence of opinions or loyalties ?  This question
unfortunately remains unanswered.

The Lodge " St. Jean de la Runion " appeared to hold meetings at
first in private homes of the Brethren.  But a decision was made to
purchase a suitable piece of land and there to erect a Temple.  (10)

There is  however  no documentary evidence whether the Temple was ever
built.  In fact, there is no further correspondence with the National
Grand Lodge until 1779  (11) when the Grand Secretary despatched a
letter answering two letters from the Lodge  "St. Jean de la Runion
and expressing his pleasure on learning that the Lodge resumed its
activities.

This points to a definite period of dormancy sometime between 1773 and
1778 but its duration cannot be established without further evidence.
The possible reasons for the lack of Masonic activity could be
ascribed to the increased tension due to the slave labour unrest
fomented to some extent by Spanish emissaries from Venezuela and to
the increased economic burdens caused by the government decree to
build roads along the coast and river banks at the expense of the
planters.

The lowering of standards led in turn to several minor epidemics which
resulted in a further deterioration of general well-being.  (12)

There is no further information on the fortunes of the Lodge and it is
very likely that its activities ceased completely in view of the
political upheavals which resulted in the occupation of
Guiana.i.Guyana by the British in 1781, which was quickly followed by
French occupation lasting from 1782 till 1784, when the three Colonies
were restored to the Netherlands.

For the sake of historical interest the Founder Members of the Lodge
were:

Antonio Rigano.i. Rigano,       Master
Adrien Loncq, Senior Warden
Nicolas van Rhijn, Junior Warden
J. Henry Siegmann, Secretary
Gideon de Scharden, Member
Phillip Barrar, Member
Pieter van Heisdingen, Member

The second Lodge warranted by the National Grand Lodge of the United
Provinces was named  Coelem Non Mulat Genus.

The warrant  (13) is the only documentary evidence for its existence
as there is no further correspondence or reports.  This Lodge was
situated in New Amsterdam in the then Colony of Berbice.

The Founder Members were :  (14 )

Andreas L. Krieger, Master
Pieter J. Swaving, Senior Warden
J.C.W. Herling, Junior Warden
J.W. Westrik, Member
A.J. van Batenburg, Member
J. van den Broek, Member
O.H. Donzel, Member


It must be mentioned that one of the Founders, namely Bro. A.J. van
Batenburg was destined to become the Governor of the Colony of
Berbice.


Lodge " Chosen Friends of Demerary

In the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789 and the ensuing wars
the Netherlands found themselves under the rule of the so-called
Batavian Republic

The Dutch monarch, William V sought refuge in England where he issued
a directive that the British forces were to be treated by the Dutch as
allies.

The Batavian Republic declared instead that they were to  be treated
as enemies.

The local Governor in Demerary declared in 1795 that the Colony was to
be  considered under the rule of the Batavian Republic.

Within a year ten British ships disembarked 1,300 soldiers and the
Colony was formally occupied by the British on behalf  of the Dutch
Monarch : this was greeted with relief by the majority of the
Colonists.

Under the British rule the conditions rapidly improved and
considerable progress was made in all walks of life. (15)   During
that period a large influx of English planters took place, a number of
whom hailed from the nearby island of Barbados.

In the ensuing era of apparent prosperity and peace one would expect
to see the birth of a Masonic Lodge.

Accordingly in December 1800 a petition was despatched to the Grand
Lodge of New York for a warrant.  But why to New York ?

The answer to that question is somewhat complicated apart from the
fact that the Colony was held by the British on behalf of the exiled
Dutch Monarch which incidentally placed it under the Dutch Masonic
jurisdiction, the Brethren themselves claimed that :

" ... notwithstanding ... the desire to establish the Lodge, the
difficulties of the times have rendered all intercourse with Holland
... unattainable.   And moreover, your petitioners are given to
understand that the denomination of people styling themselves Masons
in that country are not of our illustrious order but are distinguished
by the APPELLATION OF MODERNS- AMONG WHOM WE HAVE NO MASONIC
INTERCOURSE  ...  "  (16)

This statement placed our pioneering Masonic Brethren in Demerary as
staunch adherents to the Antients and as it could be that some of them
were hailing from Irish or Scottish Lodges the safest course was to
seek an American warrant.

The petition was duly signed on 27th December 1800 and the warrant was
granted by the Grand Lodge of New York and issued on 12th November
1801.  It empowered the following Brethren:

Abraham Cart, Master
John Brooks, Senior Warden
Henry Beckles-Gall, Junior Warden
W. King, Member
Ph. Cambridge, Member
Wm. Good, Member
Th. Barrel, Member
L. Favarger, Member
P. Nisbet, Member
G. Keller, Member
A. Graff, Member
J. Robb, Member

to form the Lodge "Chosen Friends of Demerary" no. 61 on the Register
of the Grand Lodge of New York.

The Grand Lodge however was fully aware of the thorny problems of
Masonic jurisdiction and included for that very reason the following
clause in the warrant.

" ... this warrant is granted upon the express stipulation that the
same shall continue in force until the Grand Lodge of the nation which
shall have political jurisdiction over Demerary shall think proper to
exercise and shall actually exercise Masonic jurisdiction over the
same when  the POWERS HEREBY DELEGATED SHALL CEASE and this warrant
shall be utterly NULL AND VOID  and shall be surrendered up to the
Grand Lodge of the State of New York ... "  (17)

There is documentary evidence that the dues were paid more or less
regularly up to the end of 1811 through the kind services of Bro. John
G. Tardy of the "Union Franaise" Lodge no. 17 on the register of the
Grand Lodge of New York.  (18)

He was specially nominated by the "Chosen Friends of Demerary" as the
proxy at the Grand Lodge of New York.

The Colony of Demerary continued to be administered by the British
until 1802 when it was returned to the Dutch in accordance with the
Treaty of Amiens

The ensuing peace was however very short-lived : within a year the
British re-occupied the Colony

By 1813, after the fall of the French Emperor Napolon Bonaparte, it
became virtually a foregone conclusion that the colonies of Demerary,
Essequibo and Berbice were to remain under British rule.

Our Brethren of the "Chosen Friends" were therefore bound by the above
quoted clause to return the American warrant and to apply for a
warrant from the Grand Lodge of England.  (19)


Lodge " Fellowship

Very little information is available about this lodge which existed in
New Amsterdam.i.New Amsterdam,;, a small town on the Berbice river.
It appears that it must have been warranted.i.Fellowship Lodge:warrant
date,; before 1813 because the Brethren of  "Chosen Friends" sent a
letter to Lodge "Fellowship" asking for a recommenda-tion; which runs
as follows : (20 )

" ... as it is necessary to have a recommendation from a neighbouring
Lodge previous to making an application to the Grand Lodge for a
warrant ... we humbly entreat that you may afford us your Brotherly
assistance on this occasion ... "

The date of the letter was 4th March 1813.

The recommendation was duly prepared and dated 7th April 1813.  In the
final paragraph we read :

" ... this done in the Fellowship Lodge no.2 acting under warrant from
the Provincial Grand Lodge of Barbados  ... "

The signatories of the recommendation were Bro. T.J. van der Stoop as
Master,  Bro. S.M. Bennett as Senior Warden, Bro. I. Farley as Junior
Warden and Bro. J. Beresford as Assistant Secretary.  (21)

That the Lodge was indeed warranted by the Provincial Grand Lodge of
Barbados, there is evidence in the annotation on the petition of
"Union" Lodge, made by the hand of the Deputy Grand Master (Antients)
Bro. Thomas Harper who added. (22)

" ... being recommended by Lodge in Berbice granted by Provincial
Grand Lodge at Barbados ... "

It was unfortunate that all the records of the Provincial Grand Lodge
were destroyed during the catastrophic devastation caused by a
hurricane that hit Barbados in 1831.  (23)

The only other scrap of information about the "Fellowship" Lodge is
the petition for a warrant to the United Grand Lodge of England dated
15th April 1839.

The list of signatories included the names of S.M. Bennett and J.
Beresford who signed the recommendation for "Union" Lodge in 1813.
The latter signatory was then Assistant Secretary.  (24)

The petition carries an annotation in the hand of the then Prov. G.M.
(Barbados), Bro. John A. Beckles which reads as follows :

" ... being on a visit in British Guiana and becoming acquainted with
the zeal and ability of Brethren who signed above petition, I can with
confidence recommend that they obtain a warrant agreeably with their
prayer ... "

The reason for the petition must have been in the apparent
irregularity of the Lodge in the eyes of the United Grand Lodge which
did not recognise any warrants granted by the Provincial Grand Lodge
of Barbados to any Lodge situated outside of the Island of Barbados.

Lodge "Fellowship" was duly warranted on 5th August 1839 and was given
the number 682 on the register of the United Grand Lodge of England.

No further information nor any returns were ever submitted to London
and the Lodge was eventually erased on 4th June 1862. (25)

For the sake of historical interest the names of the petitioners were:

John Beresford, Master
Michael Samuel Bennett, Senior Warden
John Downer, Junior Warden
James Kirkwool, Member
Samuel Firebrace, Member
L. Downer, Member
W. Fry, Member

The above record sadly confirms the adverse ebb of circumstances which
hit the "Fellowship" Lodge in Berbice as much as it did the Lodges in
Georgetown on the Demerara River.

Freemasonry in Berbice rose from its ashes, on 2nd July 1867 when
"Phoenix" Lodge no.1183 was warranted by the United Grand Lodge of
England.  The existence of the Lodge was short-lived because it lapsed
already circa 1875.  The Lodge was however not formally erased until
6th June 1894. (26)


Union Lodge

As explained previously, the members of "Chosen Friends" were forced
by circumstances to apply to England for a new warrant .

Knowing already their sympathies it was not a surprise that they
addressed the petition dated 8th March 1813,  to the "Grand Lodge of
the Most Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons
of England according to the old constitutions ",  in other words to
the Grand Lodge of the "Antients". (27)

They did it in the proverbial nick of time because the year 1813 was
to see the end of the long feud and dissension between the two rival
Grand Lodges and the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England.

The petitioners could have been aware of the momentous changes and
decided to change the name of the Lodge from "Chosen Friends of
Demerary" to "Union" which under the circumstances was most
appropriate.

However, there could also have been another reason for the adoption of
the new name : the meetings of the Lodge took place in the Union
Coffee House an establishment well known to have been rented for all
kinds of social events.  The members would then have followed an old
custom in England, especially in London, by calling the Lodge after
the name of the establishment in which they used to hold their
meetings.  (28)

The Antients Grand Lodge of England granted the warrant on 29th July
1813 and assigned to the Lodge the number 358 on its register.  This
made Union Lodge one of the last Lodges to be warranted by the
"Antients". (29)  The original warrant is still in possession of and
used by the Lodge.  The founders were as follows :

Abraham Cart, Master
John Croal, Senior Warden
Thomas Forrest, Junior Warden
William Lyng, Member
Robert Marshall, Member
R.D. Jeffers, Member
Paul Massiah, Member
C.  Van Wiesingen, Member
L.C. Mickerts, Member

The new Master wrote a letter to the Grand Secretary dated 18th April
1814 asking for a dispensation to hold the meetings and agreeing to
the postponement of the despatch of the warrant in view of the
unsettled conditions on the high seas.

The interesting part of the letter was the fact that up to the date of
writing the Brethren in Demerara were not aware that the Act of Union
between the two Grand Lodges had taken place already and that the
number of Union Lodge was changed to no. 462.  The Master signed the
letter under the old number of 358.  (30)

In 1816 a new Temple was built and consecrated, a ceremony which was
graced by the presence of the Governor Major General Murray (31)   The
land given for the building was Crown land which the new Governor
Brigadier-General Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg decreed in 1827 that
it would be held by Union Lodge for the period quaintly termed "during
his Majesty's pleasure"  and to be used only for  Masonic purposes .
(32 )

If the land was not used for Masonic purposes for a period of two
years it would revert to the Crown.

It must be added that it is the same land on which the present
Freemasons' Hall at Company Path stands today.

Union Lodge appeared to prosper and during the period 1814-1830, not
less than 44 initiations were recorded and 45 Masons, having arrived
from overseas, joined the membership.

Starting from 1824 there are several entries disclosing that the Lodge
advanced certain Members to the Mark degree as well as exaltations to
the Royal Arch in the attached Chapter.  (33)

In conformity with the practice of the Antients Grand Lodge the
members of Union had been working the Royal Arch as a fourth degree in
a Chapter within the Lodge as was allowed by the 1807 Regulations for
the government of the Royal Arch issued by the Antients.  They appear
to have continued doing this even after the 1817 Regulations ( Supreme
Grand Chapter requiring all Chapters to be separately chartered but
attached to a particular Lodge.)

One entry must be given some prominence : Bro. L. C. Mickerts paid 44
guilders for a Masonic certificate in five languages (34).  It appears
that Masonic globe-trotters existed even in those days.

The entries virtually stopped in 1832 and an ominous low number of
records of 1831 disclosed that several members had resigned from the
Lodge including even the Founder Senior Warden and Past Master Bro. J.
Croal.

This information is in the cash and dues books which have survived to
this day along with many minute books, letters and other papers

The likely reasons for the decline was due to external influences and
sickness i.e. black water fever.  The whole economy of the Colony
depended upon the readily available cheap labour force provided by the
slave trade.  This virtually stopped in 1818 and the cost of
replacement labour rose beyond the available means of the average
planter.

Several plantations became bankrupt and had to sell out.  By 1823 the
House of Commons in London passed the resolution by the Hon. F.
Buxton.that :

" ... is repugnant to the British Constitution and to the Christian
Religion, and that it ought to be abolished gradually throughout the
British Colonies with as much expedition as may be found consistent
with a due regard to the well being of the parties concerned ... "
(35)

The news of the resolution quickly reached the Colony and resulted in
the general unrest among the remaining slave population.  A consequent
drop in production aggravated matters still further.

The proclamation.i.slavery,; by the Governor in 1831 to free the
slaves held by Government and a subsequent consolidated slave
ordinance which dealt with compulsory emancipation brought further
serious upsets and the Colony was on the verge of collapse.  A large
number of traders, agents and other members of the middle class who
could afford to cut their losses left the Colony.

The serious impoverishment of the reminder was reflected in the tragic
depletion in the membership of the Lodge and eventually led to the
period of dormancy.

No records are available to throw light on the fortunes of the Lodge
but it would not be far too fetched a guess that although a few Masons
did occasionally meet there was rarely a sufficient number to form a
quorum at any one time.

To prove that the matters were really at low ebb it can be pointed out
that when several years later Union Lodge was reconvened the By-laws
were printed  under the Lodge number 462.

That number was given to the Lodge after the Act of Union and it was
subsequently changed by the G.L. of England to no. 308 in 1832.  Such
an event as the change of a Lodge's number could not have passed
unnoticed in a regularly operating Lodge.

Even allowing for the slow pace of communications at the time such
news would be known at the latest by the middle of 1833.

Thus it would be reasonable to put the period of dormancy of Union
Lodge as lasting from some time in 1833 to 1853 or approximately
twenty years later.  (36)

For the purpose of this paper the year 1853 is considered as the
beginning of the second era in the history of Freemasonry in British
Guiana.


Mount Olive Lodge


This Lodge was warranted on 8th March 1823 by the then Provincial G.M.
for Barbados, Bro. John A. Beckles (37).  Unfortunately there are no
records available to establish who were the original Founders.  It is
likely however that this may be elucidated in the future when a
further study may be made of the early minutes and other
correspondence available in the archives of the United Grand Lodge of
England.

The Lodge appeared to prosper and carry on the Masonic business when
Bro. B. Day of Union Lodge no. 462, E.R., acquainted the Master of
Mount Olive Lodge with the contents of a letter addressed to him by
the Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England.  The Grand
Secretary drew the attention to the fact that the Provincial Grand
Master for Barbados had no authority to grant warrants outside of his
Province which was limited to the island only.

As a consequence Mount Olive Lodge was deemed irregular until it
obtained a warrant from England.

In December 1825 the Master of the Lodge despatched the petition by
the hand of the above mentioned Bro. Day who was then about to proceed
to England.  Up to the middle of September 1826 no communication or
even a acknowledgement of that letter was received and a second
petition was prepared and duly despatched. (38 )

It contained the names of the following signatories :

Samuel Cantelo, Albion Lodge no. 63, Barbados
L. Barnes, Harmonic Lodge , Boston.
J. Detricks, Lodge no.33, Irish Grant
S. Wolff, Lodge no.33, Irish Grant
S. Jacobs, Friendship Lodge no. 9, South Carolina
R.T. Reeds, Benevolent Lodge no. 312, New Foundland
P. Beeker, Lodge no.33, Irish Grant
W.D. Boon, Concord Lodge no. 308, Barbados


An interesting feature of the second petition was that the proposed
first Senior and Junior Wardens were to be filled by Brethren who were
initiated, passed and raised in Mount Olive Lodge.

The provisional warrant was eventually granted and dated 10th December
1826.  Unfortunately it was destroyed during one of the great fires
which ravaged Georgetown. (39)

The original number of the Lodge was 812 on the English Register.
Thus we do not know whether the warrant was granted in answer to the
first or the second petition.  This could be easily ascertained by the
name of the proposed Junior Warden.  The original petition had the
name of Bro. J.C. Cruque-Emond.i.Cruque-Emond while the second one
carried the name of J.W. Martheness. (40) Little is known of the
further activities of the Lodge as there is no documentary evidence at
present available.

Grand Chapter minutes of the November 1827 include the following :.

"Read a Petition from certain Compa-nions at Demerara, praying to
establish a Chapter attached to Mount Olive Lodge No. 812 at
Georgetown in that colony.  The petition not being in any manner
vouched or recommended it was resolved.  That the Petition be referred
in order to afford time to produce  a recommendation from some
existing Chapter or Provincial Superintendent in proof of the
qualifications of the Petitioners to be authorised as a Chapter."

The minutes of Grand Chapter of 6 August 1828 reveal that after
receiving a letter from Robert B. Read dated Demerara, 26 April 1828,
one of the Petitioners for a Chapter in that Colony, presented at the
Grand Chapter in November last respecting the qualifications of the
Petitioners.  After motion duly made and seconded it was resolved :

"That the Charter be granted - Mount Olive Chapter to be attached to
the Mount Olive Lodge No. 812 to meet at Georgetown in the Island of
Demerara, on the third Thursday in every month."

The Supreme Grand Chapter Registers give the following name,
presumably the founders :

CANTELO, Samuel
REED Robert Bell
KENT, Frederick
NIXON, J.H.
WILSON, Thompson .
COLSON, G..
FORMAN, John.
FLETCHER, John.

The Chapter would appear to have been working certainly until 1834 but
no further records of the Chapter survive and it was formally erased
by Grand Chapter on 7 August 1861.

No doubt the external influences of the socio-economical nature must
have affected it in similar way as it hit Union Lodge the only other
Lodge in the city of Georgetown.

It was claimed that the Lodge worked up to 1835,  (41)  but without
corroborating evidence suffice it to say that the period of dormancy
lasted from about 1835 until 1854 when it was reconstituted as in the
case of Union Lodge.


Post script by the author

It is regretted that the foregoing study has a somewhat sketchy
appearance.  This was due largely to the lack of relevant documentary
evidence in a quantity that one would wish to have.  It is hoped that
some further material may be forthcoming when the present work should
receive more extensive treatment.  But even the little of the material
which was made available could not occur without the much appreciated
kind help and encouragement from the following Brethren :  Bro. A.E.
Boerenbeker.who secured practically all the information on the Dutch
Lodges and the relationship between the Grand Lodges in Holland and
England;  Bro. Clifford E. Green,P.D., Dep. G.M. of N.Y. who provided
the information about the "Chosen Friends" through the kind help of
Bro. W.K. Walker, G. Sec., Bro. F. Allen Rhode, Asst. to G.Sec. and
Bro. A. Boudreau, Librarian, all of the Grand Lodge of New York; Bro.
J.M. Hamill, Asst. Librarian of the United Grand Lodge of England;
Bro. Roy. A. Wells, P.M. Quatuor Coronati Lodge no. 2076, E.C.; Bro.
R. Nicholas Jack, D.G. Sec. (Barbados), Bro. G.B.F. King, P.D.G.W.
(Guyana) and P.M. Union Lodge no. 247; Bro. E.E. Seaton,P.M. Mount
Olive Lodge no. 385, E.C.


Post script  concerning the 1995 edition.

W. Bro. Peter A. Taylor, D.G.M. (Guyana) kindly volunteered to revise
the original text for this reprint.  The content is identical to the
original except for a few obvious typing or spelling errors, which
were corrected.  The historical details regarding the first Royal Arch
Chapters in Georgetown were provided by W.Bro. Peter A. Taylor. while
a few footnotes and the index have been added by W.Bro. J.
Huyghebaert.


Footnotes

1   the former British Guiana

2   Present day Georgetown, along the Demerara River.

3   Original petition in the Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

4   Dr. A.E. Boerenbeker : "Relations ... between  the Grand Lodges
    ..., AQC 83.

5   Dr. A.E. Boerenbeker :"Relations ... between  the Grand Lodges
    ..., AQC 83.

6   Original petition in the Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

7   Letter by P. Dieprest, Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

8   Letter by H. de Leendt,  Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

9   Letter from J. Diem,  Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

10  Letter from J. Diem,  Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

11  Letter from Grand Secretary, Archives of the G.L. of Holland.

12  A.R.P. Webber  "Centenary History of British Guiana" p. 84-91

13  Original warrant (9th January 1799), Archives of the G.L. of
    Holland.

14  Private letter from Dr. A.E. Boerenbeker.

15  A.R.P. Webber  "Centenary History of British Guiana" p. 119-127

16  Petition - original in the archives of the G.L . of New York

17  Warrant - original in the archives of the G.L . of New York

18  Receipts and proceedings of the G.L. of New York (Archives).

19  Presumably, since no direct evidence is available and the warrant
    in possession of the G.L. of New York does not specify whether it
    is the original or a copy.

20  Original letter - Archives of the G.L. of England.

21  Original letter - Archives of the G.L. of England.

22  Petition "Fellowship"- Archives of the G.L. of England.

23  Private communication from the D.G. Sec. (Barbados).

24  Petition "Union"- Archives of the G.L. of England.

25  Private communication from the Librarian of the U.G.L. of England
    dated 25th April 1995.

26  Private communication from the Librarian of the U.G.L. of England
    dated 25th April 1995.

27  Petition "Union"- Archives of the U.G.L. of England.

28  C.J. Maggs,  "Centenary History of Union Lodge", p. 27-28

29  Warrant - Union Lodge in Freemasons' Hall, Georgetown.

30  Letter to the Grand Secretary, - Archives of the G.L. of England.

31  Letter of convocation &  reply - Archives of Union Lodge no. 247
    E.R.

32  C. J. Maggs,  "Centenary History of Union Lodge",
    p. 29-30.

33  Dues Book (1814-1832) - Archives of Union Lodge no. 247 E.R.

34  Cash Book (1817-1832) - Archives of Union Lodge no. 247 E.R.

35  C.J. Maggs,  "Centenary History of Union Lodge", p. 177-178

36  Bye-Laws booklet (1853) - Archives of Union Lodge no. 247 E.R.

37  Letter to Grand Secretary. - Original in Archives of the G.L. of
    England.

38  Second petition - Original in Archives of the G.L. of England.

39  Most  buildings and constructions in Georgetown, due to the
    absence of stone or brick materials locally, were mostly made -
    and still are - of wood, which is easily available from the nearby
    rain forest.

40  First petition - Original in Archives of the G.L. of England.

41  E.M. Duke, " Historical Address on Mount Olive Lodge", 1927