M. W. Joseph Rollins, a Masonic student and Chair-

man of the Committee on Correspondence of the Grand Lodge of Illinois accepted Norton’s conclusions and re- argued the case for him. Then certain partisans for their own purposes restated Norton’s animadversions and gave them wide circulation. Following this, Bro. Hughan and some other historians, not knowing Nor- ton’s bias but assuming the correctness of his statements of fact and following his arguments, based some of their statements and conclusions upon his.
IV Gould, 330.
Certain old newspaper articles, official lists, and manu- scripts, unknown in the days of Rollins, Hughan and Gould, have since been discovered which utterly and be- yond all cavil or argument prove the falsity of Norton’s premises and, therefore, of his and their reasoning and conclusions. Several good Masonic histories were writ- ten before these discoveries and before Norton’s argu- ments were unanswerably shown to be wrong. ‘Thus his errors are still perpetuated. Unfortunately and usually innocently, writers occasionally still adopt and repeat Norton’s views, quoting as authorities not Norton but those who followed his lead.
Masonic students and historians, therefore, should be careful not to adopt without personal investigation the conclusions arrived at by our best and most revered his- torians, except they are based upon a knowledge of the whole facts, including the recently discovered evidence, all of which relating to the early history of Freemasonry in America are referred to in the text or citations which follow. Authorities will herein be cited for the author’s statements and upon which he has based his conclusions.
In many instances photographic copies of documents
PREFACE ix
not heretofore reproduced for general circulation and some never heretofore published, have been inserted not only as matters of interest but also to preserve the evi- dence and subject it to the test and verification of pub- licity. Those who now or hereafter attempt to write Masonic history, whether as to a single fact or a broad field, must be willing to subject themselves to the same tests applied to all other historians.
The original address has been amplified that it may be suitable for the general Masonic reader whether he reads critically or casually.
Metvin M. Jounson.
Boston, Mass.
P.S. After this book was in type, Wor. Brother William B. Clarke, Past Master of Solomon’s Lodge, No. 1, of Savannah, Georgia, very kindly sent me full details of his researches including the recent discovery of an old original record book of his Lodge. The publishers have been good enough to permit a consequent rewriting of the Georgia material at the last minute.