General Nathanael Greene Masonic Jewel
General Nathanael Greene Masonic Jewel
On June 19, 2021, M∴W∴ Grand Master Robert B. Ellston, along with a large and distinguished suite of officers, made an official visitation to the Southern Masonic District at Charity Lodge No. 23 in Kenyon, RI. The meeting was held in their outdoor Lodge.
The program for the afternoon was on Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene and was presented by a volunteer from the Nathanael Greene Homestead Association located in Coventry, RI. Discussion was had as to whether General Greene was a Mason. It appears that there is no evidence proving that he was a Mason though he wore a Masonic Jewel given to him by Marquis de Lafayette.
The Masonic Jewel remained in the Greene Family for 130 years being handed down to Nathanael’s brother Christopher Greene, then Celia Greene, Ethan Ray Clark, Anna Ward Clarke and finally Charles Ray Brayton who prized this jewel most highly.
Around 1913 Charles Ray Brayton, "as he lay on his bed in the June Brown Hospital, stricken, as he knew for the last time, his mind clear as the light of the day which his eyes had not beheld for several years, his heart turned to this Grand Lodge. With characteristic generosity he expressed to his wife his desire to give to his Masonic brethren one of his most cherished possessions, this ancient jewel, and charged her with the duty of its disposal." The Jewel is accepted by the Most Worshipful Grand Master who requests Brother Burnham to convey to Mrs. Brayton the thanks of Grand Lodge. More detailed narrative can be found in the 1914 Proceedings of The Grand Lodge. The Jewel is currently on display in the Grand Lodge Library and Museum.
