PAGE 17 - 5 Events, 1879/80 Knights Templar Commanderies

PAGE 17 of my great-grandfather's Souvenir Album.  My great-grandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, filled this Souvenir Album with a miscellany of ribbons, invitations, stamps, cards, tickets, cut-outs from hotel letterheads, and other items from his travels and his affiliations.  Grove TERWILLIGER lived from 1856 to 1929, mainly in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, then later settled in Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey, where he and his wife raised their 3 children.

This page shows 5 reception tickets, plus a dark gold ribbon printed "ASSISTANT"; however it is completely unclear what the role entailed.  Still, there it is, carefully glued down between two Grand Reception tickets.  I will describe the 5 tickets from left to right, top row, and then bottom row.

1. Top left:  Palestine Commandery No.18, Knights Templar, Annual Festival and Reception, on Wednesday Evening, January 28th 1880, at the Academy of Music.  This was only the second such activity for this Commandery.  It is made out to J.Grove Terwilliger, and signed by (Introduced by) "Sir" Wayne Petzenberg.
2. Middle:  Reception for Morton Commandery No. 4, Knights Templar, New York, on Wednesday Evening, January 29th 1879, at Gilmore's Garden. This ticket - although very smooth - has a great deal of photographic texture, and is very fascinating.  I kept touching it to see if I could feel the carved designs!
3. Top right:  Centennial of the Masters Lodge No  F&AM, [Freemasons], March 5th 1868, Albany, N.Y.   This small ticket is printed in ornate Olde English, and is quite challenging to read. The Programme is detailed on the ticket; music provided by the Dodworth Orchestra, Harvey D. Dodworth, Conductor.  Old Fulton NY website of NY newspapers was searched for the details: click through for explicit details, including the Oration by the current Master, Dr. S.O. Vanderpoel [4th-6th columns from the left].  You will need to enlarge the page in order to read it. 
   
4. Bottom left: This is the large ticket for the Grand Reception and Annual Festival of the #1 ticket as described above.  January 28, 1880, at the Academy of Music.
5. Bottom right: Palestine Commandery No. 18, Knights Templar, Grand Reception and Easter Festival, held Easter Monday, April 14 1879, at the Academy of Music.

I hope you enjoy looking at these tickets, and learning about the Freemason and Knights Templar organization.  If you have ancestors in the state of NY, the Old Fulton Postcards site is your number one newspaper search site.  Quirky, unusual, and you may wish to turn down your speakers!  But - an excellent site to search for all those early newspapers.  

If you have any information or questions about the above, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net, and/or comment below.  I always love comments!  Thanks for visiting.