I’ve been brainstorming with my Mom for a few days now about our biggest brick wall – her maiden name BLACKER. And she finally said to me: “Why don’t you call the Masonic Lodge in Montana to see if they might have some information about my grandfather?”
Actually, that isn’t the first time she’s mentioned this. It’s just the first time I was paying attention.
So after a little internet searching, I discovered that the records were probably located at the Grand Lodge of AF&AM of Montana. And I gave them call.
I asked the man who answered the phone if he might have records dating back to the late 1800s/early 1900s and he said he did. Typically, he explained, any record they have would probably include the date the member joined, his date and place of birth (Bingo!), date and place of death, and any offices he might have held.
I gave him my great grandfather’s name – DAVID LYMAN BLACKER – and told him I believed he was a member of the King Solomon Lodge, based on a newspaper article from April 1911, just after my great grandfather died.
I also asked him to search the name of my great grandfather’s brother, JACOB BLACKER, as I believed he was also a Mason.
He searched and searched . . and then searched again in some old archival records. But still no luck. We discussed the fact that my great grandfather originally lived in Virginia City, then relocated to Radersburg, and finally ended up in Helena. He checked the records again, thinking he might have originally joined another lodge, but still nothing.
After further discussion, we both began to wonder if David might have first become a lodge member in another state. He explained to me that if that had been the case, David would have been welcome to attend meetings and conferences in Montana without formally moving his membership from the original state where he became a member to his new place of residence.
I thanked the gentlemen for his efforts, hung up, and immediately began looking at my records to determine which state or states might be likely candidates for further research.
Just prior to his arrival in the Montana Territory in 1864, my great grandfather spent some time in Colorado. So that’s one possibility.
And before that, he may have lived in Missouri. Of the two locations, I decided Missouri was the best place to start. So I contacted The Grand Lodge of Missouri.
The woman I spoke with told me they receive quite a few look-up requests from folks like me doing genealogy research – and that she loves researching old records. “Well then,” I said, “. . . I’ve got the right person!”.
I gave her the names of my great grandfather and his brother. And in addition, I asked if she would look for my great grandfather’s father-in-law, JOHN BUCHENAU, as I think it’s possible he was also a Mason – and he lived for a short time in St. Joseph, Missouri.
I expect to hear back with the search results some time next week. I’ll keep you posted!
