Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: HISTORICAL ADDRESS SAMUEL PASCO, Past Grand Master. The Grand Master in his annual address last year reminded the Craft that the third quarter of a century was closing, since the formation and organization of this Grand Lodge and recommended its observance and an examination of the history of Freemasonry in Florida, so that an opportunity might be afforded of contemplating what has been accomplished in the past and laying new plans for the future. This recommendation was favorably received by the Brethren and I was charged with the duty of collecting such information and data as could be found and submitting the results of my labors at this Annual Commnuica- tion, and I accepted the appointment very willingly, for it is a subject in which I have long felt a deep interest. I have often regretted that so little was known of the existence of our Craft in the early days of Florida and of the work done by the Brethren who have lived here before us, under the different governments that held this country before and after it became a part of the United States. Much has been lost by delaying this investigation to so late a day. Those who founded the Grand Lodge have all passed away; not one who participated in its councils prior to the late war is now among us and their personal knowledge and the traditions of the earlier days which had been handed down to them have passed out of memory with their departure. In the absence of such sources of information I have gleaned from the published records they have left and from the printed proceedings of other Grand Lodges and from the recorded proceedings ofsome of our older lodges which have escaped the destructive hands of time and accident and have been assisted by the reports of some of the committees of this Grand Lodge; and tho…
