So today as I was searching through my recently deceased grandfather's garage, I found a tube of documents with my grandfather's name on them. Opening them, I found that they were certificates and very official documents regarding his titles and ranks within the Order of the Freemasons. Now I don't honestly know much about the Freemasons besides what's on the Wikipedia page and the conspiracy theories I've heard, but this stuff looks very official and very interesting. Not to mention, my entire family had no idea that my grandfather was associated with them, and the tube was in his safe that he left us the combination for. Was he hiding them or just safekeeping them?
Any and all information that you wonderful people could provide would be tremendous, whether it regards the specific documents, or even just Freemasonry in general. Thank you!!
Your grandfather was a member of a "blue lodge",that document is missing, in N.Y. This lodge consists of the first 3 degrees. He then became a member of the Scottish Rite which consists of 29 degrees, making him a 32nd degree mason, there is an honorary degree that can be bestowed on you, making you a 33rd degree. Each degree gives you a title and are listed in order on the first document.The 2nd document is just showing he is a 32nd degree without listing all the titles, sort of a short form of the first one. The 3rd document is an exemption of dues, everyone pays membership dues every year unless they reach a certain age like 70. The 4th document shows he was a shriner. These documents are given to everyone passing these degrees. There is no secret are anything like that about them. They could be framed and hung on a wall like a diploma. You should be very proud of your grandfather, I know from these documents he was a good man.