User: Add documented silver-jewel commissions for Washington and Bristol lodges

2026-10-02T14:06:42Z

Add documented silver-jewel commissions for Washington and Bristol lodges

User: Create sourced account of Revere’s Masonic offices, engraving and civic activity; add public-domain portrait

2026-09-30T10:30:41Z

Create sourced account of Revere’s Masonic offices, engraving and civic activity; add public-domain portrait

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[[File:Paul Revere by Copley circa 1768.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=Paul Revere seated at a table holding a silver teapot.|Paul Revere, painted by John Singleton Copley around 1768. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.]]
'''Paul Revere''' (1734–1818) was a Boston silversmith, engraver and participant in the American Revolution. He joined the Lodge of St Andrew in 1760 and later held office in both St Andrew's and Rising States lodges.<ref name="house">Paul Revere Memorial Association, [https://www.paulreverehouse.org/biography/ Paul Revere Biography], Paul Revere House. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref> He served as Grand Master of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1797.<ref name="museum">Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://www.srmml.org/hall-of-fame/paul-revere/ Paul Revere], ''The Masonic Hall of Fame''. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>

== Work and public life ==
Revere learned metalworking in his father's workshop. His business produced domestic silver, while his engraving work included book illustrations, commercial stationery and political prints. He became involved in Boston's resistance to British policy and acted as a courier for colonial committees. On the night of 18 April 1775 he rode towards Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the British advance. After the Revolution he developed a foundry and, in 1801, a copper-rolling mill.<ref name="house" />

== Lodge membership and engraving ==
St Andrew's Lodge, which Revere joined in 1760, had received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1756.<ref>Grand Lodge of Ohio, [https://www.freemason.com/paul-revere-freemason-historical/ Most Worshipful Brother Paul Revere], 20 April 2023. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>

A surviving summons dated 10 February 1768 records two kinds of work that Revere undertook for the lodge. He engraved the printed notice and signed it as secretary. The document is held by the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, whose catalogue identifies both his craftsmanship and his administrative role.<ref>Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://srmml.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/1879 Masonic Summons to the Lodge of St. Andrew, 1768 February 10], collection A2002-043-001. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>

== Grand Master of Massachusetts ==
Revere became Grand Master in December 1794. During his three years in office, the Grand Lodge chartered 23 new lodges. His handwritten farewell address of 1797 survives in the museum's archival collections.<ref name="museum" /><ref>Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://www.srmml.org/collections/library-archives/archives/ Archives], description of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts collection. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>

In 1795 Revere also took part, with Governor Samuel Adams and Colonel William Scollay, in placing a commemorative deposit beneath the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House. The deposit was reopened in 1855, when further material was added, and was examined again by Museum of Fine Arts conservators in 2015.<ref>Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, [https://www.mfa.org/collections/conservation/news/time-capsule Time Capsule] and [https://www.mfa.org/press-release/media-advisory-time-capsule-unveiling-at-museum-of-fine-arts-boston Time Capsule Unveiling at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Benjamin Franklin]]
* [[George Washington]]
* [[Famous Freemasons]]

== References ==
<references />

{{Early Masonic history}}
{{Topic navigation}}

[[Category:Early Masonic history]]
[[Category:Craft Freemasonry]]
[[Category:Historical People]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:06, 2 October 2026
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	A surviving summons dated 10 February 1768 records two kinds of work that Revere undertook for the lodge. He engraved the printed notice and signed it as secretary. The document is held by the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, whose catalogue identifies both his craftsmanship and his administrative role.<ref>Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://srmml.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/1879 Masonic Summons to the Lodge of St. Andrew, 1768 February 10], collection A2002-043-001. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>		A surviving summons dated 10 February 1768 records two kinds of work that Revere undertook for the lodge. He engraved the printed notice and signed it as secretary. The document is held by the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, whose catalogue identifies both his craftsmanship and his administrative role.<ref>Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://srmml.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/1879 Masonic Summons to the Lodge of St. Andrew, 1768 February 10], collection A2002-043-001. Accessed 30 September 2026.</ref>
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		+	== Silver jewels for lodges ==
		+	Revere's lodge commissions included officers' jewels as well as engraved paper notices. In 1796 Washington Lodge at Roxbury ordered a set of silver jewels from him. Twelve pieces were later preserved together, but the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library cautions that the original set probably contained nine or ten. The lodge had nine officers when it placed the order, and some offices represented in the surviving group were added later.<ref>Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://srmmlonlineexhibitions.omeka.net/items/show/1155 Officers' Jewels], online exhibition record, EL76.004a–m, dated 1796–1820.</ref>
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		+	A separate commission is recorded in 1797, when Seth Smith Jr., a founding member and first Master of Bristol Lodge at Norton, paid Paul Revere and Son twelve pounds for a set of silver Masonic jewels. The museum has exhibited surviving pieces on loan from Bristol Lodge. These commissions belong to Revere's commercial metalworking practice during his years of Masonic leadership.<ref>Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, [https://scottishritenmj.org/blog/scottish-rite-masonic-museum-library-adds-new-inductees-to-the-masonic-hall-of-fame Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Adds New Inductees to the Masonic Hall of Fame], section on Paul Revere and Bristol Lodge jewels, EL.2022.002.</ref>

	== Grand Master of Massachusetts ==		== Grand Master of Massachusetts ==

Paul Revere - Revision history

User: Add documented silver-jewel commissions for Washington and Bristol lodges

User: Create sourced account of Revere’s Masonic offices, engraving and civic activity; add public-domain portrait