One From The Archives: A Few Fun Facts About Famous American Freemasons

by Midnight Freemasons Regular Contributor

Todd E. Creason, 33°

published 2007 by Moon & Son Publishing

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years.  I started the Midnight Freemasons in about 2006!

The blog was called "The Midnight Freemason" in the beginning, because it was just me.  I was researching and writing my book "Famous American Freemasons" at the time. That book was published in 2007 (and still available at booksellers everywhere).  But I researched the book and wrote in the evenings after a full day of work.  I was often working on it well after midnight (which is where the title of the blog came from).  But the Midnight Freemason blog was originally created to post interesting facts and stories and research that I didn't wind up using in the book--and I just hate wasting good material!  That's not changed, I have a pastor's blog I'm in the process of doing the same thing with, using it to post stuff I didn't wind up using in the sermon!

It's not very fancy now, and it certainly wasn't any fancier then. This article was one of the first blogs I published.  I still love stuff like this.  Back in the 80s we called them "factoids": 

Here's a few interesting facts you may not know about Famous American Freemasons: 

 

General George Washington

-Although George Washington seemed reluctant to accept the commission as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, he had done very little to try and stop the nomination, and had taken to wearing his buff and blue military uniform every day when the Second Continental Congress met.

John Philips Sousa

-As a boy, John Philips Sousa accompanied his father to Gettysburg with the Marine Marching Band, where he witnessed Abraham Lincoln give his famous speech. He would later grow up to conduct that same band, and would spend his life writing patriotic marches.

Roy Rogers & Trigger

-Roy Roger's famous horse Trigger had a job even before he met Roy.  He was horse ridden by Olivia de Haviland in the Errol Flynn classic film Robin Hood.  Back then, Trigger's name was "Golden Cloud."

Harry S Truman

-Harry S Truman cheated on his eye exam in order to qualify for military service. He once joked that his weak eyesight had always been a problem, in fact, he was unable to play baseball as a boy until his teammates found him a job he could do that didn't require good vision--umpire.

John Wayne

-John Wayne's nickname "Duke" came from his boyhood when he used to run around around town with the family dog--a giant Airedale.  The local firemen used to call the two "Big Duke" (the dog) and "Little Duke" (the boy).

Now wasn't that interesting?

~Todd E. Creason






Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is the award-winning author of the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He currently serves as Secretary of St. Joseph-Ogden Lodge No. 970 (IL).  He formerly served the Grand Lodge of Illinois as the State Education Officer. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research (FMLR) and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville. 

How Ben Franklin Gave St. John's Lodge A Little Push

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Todd E. Creason, 33°

Almost everyone knows that Benjamin Franklin was a Freemason, but not so many know the interesting way Benjamin Franklin came to be one. 

Benjamin Franklin very much wanted to join St. John's Lodge, but at that time, you had to be invited to join the Freemasons.  Benjamin Franklin had a difficult time getting invited to join, and he hadn't exacly been subtle in dropping hints that he'd like to join.  

Why wouldn't he?  He valued many of the same values the Freemasons respected.  The Freemasons were dedicated to civic works and fellowship.  They held a nonsectarian policy about religious toleration which mirrored his own beliefs.  And without question, Franklin also saw membership as a step on the social ladder. 

In hopes of currying favor with the Freemasons, he began to publish small, favorable pieces about the Freemasons in his newspaper.  But that didn't work.  So he tried a slightly different tactic--something a little more noticeable perhaps.  

In December of 1730, he published a long article in his paper claiming to have uncovered some of the secrets of the Freemasons.  He claimed one of these secrets was that many of the so-called “secrets” were actually hoaxes.  And he claimed he would soon begin publishing those "secrets" in detail in a series he planned to run in his newspaper. 

That got their attention!

Within a couple of weeks, Benjamin Franklin was initiated into the St. John’s Lodge.  Shortly after his initiation, his newspaper printed a retraction of the article and put in its place a glowing piece about the positive influences of Freemasonry.  Brother Benjamin Franklin became a Master Mason at St. John’s Lodge in Philadelphia in 1731. 

I guess that's one way to do it.  

~TEC, 33°

Revised and republished 8/7/2026.  Original version published 12/16/13.

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is the award-winning author of the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He currently serves as Secretary of St. Joseph-Ogden Lodge No. 970 (IL).  He formerly served the Grand Lodge of Illinois as the State Education Officer. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research (FMLR) and is a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville.