We can’t claim to have any noble or royal members in Lodge Temperance 2557 but we’ve had members from all other walks of life including Mayor’s, Ministers, butchers, miners, gardeners and have now discovered a cowboy!
Last month we reported that Mrs Leslie Newman, the wife of our Secretary, Wbro Keith Newman, found a Lodge Temperance 2557 regalia case with apron and documents at a car boot sale which belonged to Bro Luke Nicholson. You can read the original article here.
We’ve managed to contact a descendant of Bro Luke and a distant cousin who have been able to provide some interesting information about him, including a photo.
On his application to join the Lodge he claimed to be a “rancher” and the keen historian will wonder what a “rancher” was doing in Leadgate, Co. Durham, a village just outside Consett, whose inhabitants were more likely to be employed in coal-mining and iron or steel working. Luke’s parents and brother John were successful drapers, his brother Edward a veterinary surgeon and in 1901 at the age of 16, Luke was a bank clerk.
So when did he become a “rancher” a word more used to describe someone who is involved with raising cattle on a ranch in North America? The passenger arrival and departure lists of the time perhaps hold part of the answer. As early as 1903 Luke travelled to Canada with later journeys to and from ports in North America when his occupation was variously described as a “cowboy” and “rancher”.
To find out more about our “cowboy” freemason check out his story here.
