FactGrid:The Global Genealogy of Lodges

Masonic chart, 1846

The aim: To give a Genealogy of all the lodges that ever existed. When did they start? How were they affiliated?

In the course of 2019/20 we will get some 800 data sets about lodges filled with official library knowledge of the DNB. The data sets offer names and basic information to identify a lodge, but they do not offer a more structured view on the evolution of Freemasonry.

Think of a tree of all the lodges world wide. Think of an computer generated film that shows how Freemasonry spreading over the globe. Think of a project which lodges worldwide can add to and which they can use as a common source of historical knowledge.

799 data sets to cope with

In the course of 2019 we will implement millions of GND data sets. Among them data sets such as these:

• Große National-Mutterloge in den Preußischen Staaten, genannt Zu den Drei Weltkugeln
• Große Loge von Preußen, Genannt Royal York zur Freundschaft

We should be able to go beyond the 799 and we should be able to provide a couple of more interesting statements than those made here with the help of all the lodges world wide.

Momentum

We should have a team of at least 10 people who could consider what one should know about a lodge and how lodges evolved in genealogies and systems. We would need people with

• Masonic connections who could win history minded people in other lodges as partners.
• knowledge about web applications who could create an interface that focuses on masonic FactGrid information. The interface to create allows you to search lodges and documents. It should have visualisations such as a generate a pedigree for the specific lodge.
• the necessary historical knowledge to understand what such a database should be able to offer.

The site top create could run on any server - we would just be the data repository it uses to answer questions.

What should be done

• We should take a look at the two GND data sets and think of better ones that include and modify these data.
• We should try to find the team for this job. I (Olaf) can get and implement the data for the first 800 lodges. But the project would need an independent team that could organise itself.

Some things one might like to know about lodges

• mother lodge
• ritual (do they change?)
• the various historical names with specific information about name changes.
• location (city)
• changing addresses/buildings over time
• offices
• members
• objects of interest (if lodges want to offer insight into interesting historical possessions).

Some links

• Lanes Masonic Records
• Search of the German National Library GND-Data, 800 data sets - these data sets will become FacgtGrid objects during the next year.]
• Bossu
• Wikidata query a masonic lodge - 255 datasets strangely meager.