“Hold in Constant Remembrance”: Self-Identity and Celebration
Captain Aaron Bird, 1804
Benjamin Greenleaf (1769-1821)
Maine or Massachusetts
Museum Purchase, 98.064.1
Photograph by David Bohl
Benjamin Greenleaf painted Aaron Bird (1756-1822) in 1804. For his portrait Bird chose to wear, as his only ornament, a gold pin bearing easily recognized symbols of Freemasonry, a square and compasses. A charter member of Cumberland Lodge No. 12 in New Gloucester, Maine, Bird became a Mason before 1803, when members of the new lodge first met. In 1818 he helped establish Tranquil Lodge No. 29 in his hometown of Minot, Maine.
Over the years, many men have taken pride in their association with Freemasonry. In the 1800s, some Masons commissioned portraits of themselves and wanted to be presented as members of the fraternity, wearing jewelry or regalia that identified them as Masons--along with their best and most fashionable clothing. Some of these portraits marked personal achievements, such as holding a lodge office or captaining a ship. In presenting himself as a Freemason a portrait’s subject proclaimed his affiliation with the fraternity as a valued part of his self-identity. He also guaranteed that he would be remembered as a Freemason for as long as the portrait endured.
Andrew, Daniel and Mehitable Wentworth, 1833
Joseph H. Davis (1811-1865)
Berwick, Maine
Special Acquisitions Fund, 90.32
Photograph by David Bohl
Artist Joseph Davis specialized in images that combined profile portraits with the kind of information found on family records. Here he depicts a husband, wife and their young son. While Mehitable Wentworth (1806-1834) holds her new baby, her husband Andrew (1803-1880) grasps objects associated with Freemasonry in his hands, a membership certificate or chart, a square and compasses. The tools may have held a double meaning for Andrew—later census records list his occupation as “Mason.”
Fire bucket, 1799
Massachusetts
Special Acquisitions Fund, 81.48
Photograph by John M. Miller
In the 1700s and 1800s the danger of fire was ever-present. To help contain loss and damage from fires, townsmen formed groups in which members agreed to help each other extinguish fires as well as protect property imperiled by a fire. Zachariah Stevens (dates unknown), who owned this water bucket, belonged to the Masonick Fire Society of Gloucester, Massachusetts—which drew its membership from area Masons. Marked with the Society’s motto, “Friendship in Adversity” and Stevens’ name, this bucket could be easily returned after a fire.
The Bark Isaac Rich, 1876
Luigi Renault (b. 1845)
Leghorn, Italy
Special Acquisitions Fund, 90.14
Here the vessel Isaac Rich flies several banners, including the American flag and a pennant bearing a Masonic symbol, the square and compasses. The dark blue banner let others know that the captain or owner of the ship was a proud Freemason. This painting descended in the family of the ship’s master, William Bartlett Sheldon (ca. 1826-1903). A life-long mariner, Sheldon joined Burlington Lodge No. 32 of Burlington, New Jersey, in 1863.
Masonic Chart, 1832
United States
Museum Purchase, 97.057.1
Photograph by David Bohl
With over ninety different symbols used in Freemasonry’s first three degrees, over the years Masons have developed different visual representations of these symbols to help both recall symbols and to teach their meanings to new initiates. This Masonic chart features many symbols related to the first three degrees. This stylishly painted and colorful work bears a name, S. Bernard. Bernard may have painted the chart or it could have been created for him.