Infamous and Unusual Freemasons

From About Freemasons

Many Masons are active members of charities and fine members of their community. However, any organization as large as Freemasonry is certain to have some eccentric and even infamous Masons as well.

Unusual Masons

One unusual Mason was the Chevalier Charles D'Eon of France and he caused quite a bit of controversy when he became a Mason in 1766. Although he was of a French noble family and has highly skilled, even serving as Junior Warden of his Lodge, his rather effeminate appearance created a stir among fellow Masons. Some of the Masons of his Lodge claimed he was a woman after all and that Freemasons had been duped into admitting a woman as one of their number. An insurance company and witnesses testified that he was a woman and D'Eon himself accepted a pension and an offer from Louis XVI to dress as a woman. In his later life, D'Eon wore women’s clothes almost exclusively and lived as a woman. He passed away in 1810 and when an autopsy was performed and revealed at long last that the Mason was indeed a man.

Joshua Norton was an Englishman who emigrated to the US and became part of the Occidental Lodge of San Francisco. For a time, Norton prospered and built a huge fortune but he lost all his money, and this affected his mental health. He decided that he was the “Emperor” of the United States, wore an emperor’s uniform and issued proclamations to better the country. Because he was loved and respected, those around him – including his fellow Masons – humored him and he even issued some of his proclamations as “emperor” from the Masonic Temple. He was given a Masonic funeral at his death.

Infamous Masons

In England, a rather infamous Mason was the Reverend William Dodd. He was a Grand Chaplain of and active at his Lodge. However, he also had money problems and he forged the name of the Earl of Chesterfield in a money transaction involving 4200 pounds sterling. He was convicted of forgery and despite public support and many appeals for clemency, he was executed for the crime.

Matthew McBlain Thompson was a Scottish man who spent much of his life living in the US. He was a Mason but used Freemasonry for fraud. In the US, he founded the "American Masonic Federation," which used the Masonic name but did not actually have anything to do with Freemasonry. Using this fictitious organization, he sold fake Masonic degrees. Thompson was arrested and placed on trail. Although the judges and jury were not Masons, they found Thompson guilty and sentenced him to pay a large fine and spend two years in jail.

Another rather infamous mason was George Cooke. In 1847 Cooke traveled from his native US to the England, where he styled himself Major General George Cooke, LL.D. and joined Prince of Wales Lodge, No. 259. He became active in the community, in his Lodge and in the local education system. In fact, it appeared that he would receive honors for his dedication to Freemasonry. Unfortunately, it was all a sham. When Cooke returned to the US it was revealed that Cooke was a scam. His Masonic honors were taken away and he was discredited.