|
 Introduction
From
1789 to the present, there have been
108 Justices of the United States Supreme
Court. Depending on which source is
consulted, 34, 36, 38, or 40 of them
have been Freemasons. This means about
one-third of the Supreme Court Justices
were Masons, a far larger proportion
than in the general population.
Supreme
Court Justices Who Were Freemasons
Two
Supreme Court Justices were Grand Masters
of Virginia. John Blair, Jr., was a
Justice of the United States Supreme
Court from 1789 to 1796. Previously
he was Grand Master of Virginia from
1778 to 1784. John Marshall, the greatest
Chief Justice of the United States,
was in that position from 1801 to 1835.
He was also Grand Master of Virginia,
from 1793-1795. (However, there is evidence
that John Marshall was not proud or
enthusiastic about being a Freemason,
at least later in his life.)
Another
Chief Justice who had a great impact
on our country, Earl Warren, served
from 1953 to 1969. He was Grand Master
of California 1935 to 1936. He was also
Potentate of Aahmes Shrine, and a 33rd
degree Scottish Rite Mason and an officer
in two of the Scottish Rite bodies,
in Oakland, California.
William
H. Taft became a Mason "at sight" in
1909, while he was President of the
United States and before he became Chief
Justice. Although he did not become
a Mason in the traditional way, it is
reported that he made many visits to
Lodge meetings, participated in Masonic
ceremonies, and attended meetings of
the George Washington Masonic National
Memorial Association.
Robert
Trimble, an Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court from 1826 to 1828, was
Master of his lodge, Union #16 in Paris,
Kentucky. Henry Baldwin, Associate Justice
from 1830 to 1844, was Master of Lodge
#45 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in
1805. Joseph R. Lamar, Associate Justice
from 1910 to 1916, was Senior Warden
of Webb Lodge #166 in Augusta, Georgia,
in 1885, but apparently did not become
Master of the Lodge.
Many
of the Supreme Court Justices who were
Freemasons also were members of their
local Royal Arch Chapters, Cryptic or
Royal and Select Master Councils, Knight
Templar Commanderies, Scottish Rite
bodies, Shrines, and Grottoes.
Stanley
Matthews, Associate Justice from 1881-1889,
became a Mason in 1847, but demitted
in 1856, long before he served on the
Supreme Court.
William
R. Denslow's book, 10,000 Famous
Freemasons, identifies a total
of 38 Supreme Court Justices who were
Masons, often giving their lodges and
the dates of their degrees. Allen E.
Roberts' book, Masonic Trivia and
Facts, says that Ronald E. Heaton
compiled a list of 39 Supreme Court
Justices who were Freemasons, and a
1940s study in the possession of MSA
lists 34. Some of these sources list
as Masons those who are not listed by
others. If we rely on any of these sources
for our list of Supreme Court Justices
who were Freemasons, we get a total
of 40.
The
following chart lists the Supreme Court
Justices who are identified by one or
more sources as having been Freemasons. |
