Aprons, George Washington’s Masonic

Aprons, George Washington’s Masonic. Two (or more) aprons of George Washington are said to have been preserved. One is claimed to have been the handiwork of the Marquise de Lafayette which was brought to this country in 1784 by the Marquis de Lafayette and presented to Washington. This apron is on display in the museum of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. It was presented to this Grand Lodge on July 3, 1829, by the Washington Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania. It said Washington’s legatees had presented it to the society. Nothing was recorded about how the legatees had obtained it. It should be noted that the emblems on this apron are English, not French. Alexandria-Washington Lodge is said to have the box in which this apron had at one time rested. Actually there is no proof whatsoever that this apron is what it is purported to be.

The only known apron to have been owned by Washington was presented to him by the firm of Watson and Cassoul. It had been made by nuns in a convent in Nantes, France. On August 10, 1782, Washington acknowledged the receipt of this apron. It is the property of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in Virginia. (See G. Washington: Master Mason by Allen E. Roberts, but Roberts has since ascertained his account of the ”Lafayette apron” should be considered erroneous in some respects.)

Macoy Collector's Note: This entry perfectly illustrates the careful historical research required to separate deeply ingrained Masonic myth (the Lafayette apron) from documented artifact (the Watson and Cassoul apron).