Craft Masonry in Orange and Rockland Counties, New York

Orange County
Little Britain Lodge No. 6, Little Britain, Orange, New York
Warrant – bef. 2 May 1773
http://books.google.com/books?id=CyDnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA519&lpg=PA519&dq=%22little+britain+Lodge%22&source=bl&ots=01v
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A#v=onepage&q=%22little%20britain%20Lodge%22&f=false page 519
Dr. W. C. Derby, of Ellenville, N. Y., is the owner of an old Masonic certificate, which was granted in 1773 to Daniel Darby, a
member of Little Britain lodge, No. 6, of Little Britain, a small hamlet in Orange county, NY, near Newburgh. The certificate was
transmitted to Dr. Derby by his father, who was not a Mason, but regarded the certificate as a family heirloom. The certificate reads
as follows:
"We the under named, Doth certify that the bearer hereof Dan'l Darby hath been a Worthy Member of our Society of Free,
Registered and Accepted Masons, in Little Britain No. 6, Where he attended regularly the Eighteen Months Last past, During which
time his conduct was well approved of, And is hereby recommended as a Master Mason: Given under our hands and Seal of our
Lodge This 2nd Day of May, One Thousand Seven-hundred and Seventy-three. JAMES HAMILTON, Master. WM. OLIPHANT, JOHN
COLVELL, Wardens.
The holder of the certificate, as well as other Masons in Ellenville, would like to know more about Little Britain lodge, No. 6. Its
existence is well authenticated, though it is not now on the list of New York lodges, and is supposed to have moved back to
England. The number 6 formerly held by Little Britain lodge is now held by St. George's lodge, of Schenectady, but St. George's
lodge did not receive this number until 1839. There is no lodge now in existence in New York which was numbered 6 previous to
that year, so that the history of New York's present lodges gives little light on the subject.
Vol. I, 1954, page 10 or 324 Pages
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/10,000_famous_freemasons/Volume_4_Q_to_Z.htm
John Francis Hamtramck (1756-1803) Colonel of American Revolution; military commander of Detroit. b. Aug. 16, 1756 in
Quebec, Canada, the son of French refugees. He was baptised Jean Francois. Parents later settled just north of Lake Champlain in
NY. In Sep 1775 he joined General Montgomery's army marching on Montreal, and was appointed continental commissary. He was
commissioned a lieutenant early in 1776, and on Nov. 21 captain of the 5th NY Continentals. Became a major Jan. 1, 1781;
lieutenant colonel and commander of the first sub-legion under General Anthony Wayne on Feb. 18, 1793. When Detroit was
occupied by the Americans under Article 2 of Jay's Treaty, Colonel Hamtramck was ordered to descend the Maumee River, and on
July 13, assumed command of Detroit.
On July 24, 1775 Dr. Peter Middleton, Provincial Deputy Grand Master of New York, issued a warrant to form St. John's
Regimental Lodge No. 1. From the diary of Ensign John Barr of the N.Y. Line on Feb. 3, 1780 we learn: "Our lodge (St. John's)
formed at Captain Hamtramck's hut." This was while in camp near Morristown, NJ. St. John's Lodge is now settled at Clark's Town
in NY. Later we find Hamtramck as a member of Union Lodge No. 1 (now Mt. Vernon No. 3 of Albany), having signed the register of
that lodge as "No. 63," with no date shown. Hamtramck, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, was named in his honor, and it is interesting to
note that as the largest Polish city in America, even today it does not possess a Masonic lodge because of its heavy Catholic
population. d. April 11, 1803 and is buried at Mt. Elliott Cemetery in Detroit.
http://famousamericans.net/johnfrancishamtramck/
John Francis Hamtramck, soldier, born in Canada in 1757; died in Detroit, Michigan, 11 April, 1803. He served as captain in
Dubois's New York regiment in the Revolutionary war, was appointed major of infantry, 29 September, 1789, and lieutenant-colonel,
commanding the 1st sub-legion, 18 February, 1793. He held command of the left wing of General Wayne's army, and was
distinguished in his victory on the Miami on 20 August, 1794. In 1802 he received the commission of colonel. He was an exemplary
disciplinarian. A monument was created to his memory and placed in the grounds of St. Anne's Roman Catholic church, Detroit, by
the officers whom he had commanded.--His son, John Francis, soldier, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1798; died in
Shepherdstown, Virginia, 21 April, 1858, was a sergeant in Zachary Taylor's expedition up the Mississippi river in 1814, and, owing
to his bravery in an action opposite the mouth of Reek river, Illinois, 19 July, 1814, with 700 Sac and Fox Indians supported by
British batteries, received an appointment to the United States military academy. He was graduated in 1819 and assigned to the
artillery, but resigned in 1822, and settled near St. Louis, Maine, where he became a planter. From 1826 till 1831 he was Indian
agent for the Osage tribe. He removed to Shepherdstown, Virginia, in 1832, where he engaged as a planter. In 1835 he was captain
of the Virginia militia, and held this post until his death. He served in the Mexican war as colonel of the 1st regiment of Virginia
volunteers. From 8 March till 20 July, 1848, he was governor of Saltillo. From 1850 till 1854 he was mayor of Shepherdstown. In
1853 he was appointed justice of the Jefferson county court, which office he held until the time of his death.
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