Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; A. F. & A. M.

Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; A. F. & A. M. The name which originated with the so-called Ancient Grand Lodge of England or Grand Lodge of England according to the Old Institutions, established beginning in 1751. If terminology and genealogy of Masonic bodies had been kept straight, the name would indicate descent, in part at least, from that Grand Lodge. But the differences between that body and the premier Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, founded in 1717, were not understood in America and none too well in England, so that the significance of the names was often not observed; in addition, lodges of one variety often displaced or merged into lodges of the other variety and a name was adopted without thought of technical accuracy. See AMERICA, MODERN AND ANCIENT INFLUENCES IN.

Macoy Collector's Note: This entry clarifies why the letters A.F. & A.M. (versus F. & A.M.) are not always a reliable indicator of a Grand Lodge's actual historical lineage.