Norm Miller presenting ‘George Washington’s Distinguished Masons’ at Amherst Historical Society on Jan. 16

The Amherst Historical Society, 113 S. Lake St., will host Norman B. Miller’s presentation of “George Washington’s Distinguished Masons” at 7 p.m., Jan. 16.

Miller, a volunteer and former master of Amherst’s Stonington Lodge, will present a history on the men George Washington trusted as his own distinguished masons.

“Norm is a member and volunteer of the Amherst Historical Society, and is a wealth of knowledge of the Amherst community and history,” said Elizabeth Fought, public relations manager for the Amherst Historical Society. “Anytime he can do presentations, we are absolutely thrilled.”

Miller said he will dress as people did in the 1700s to give guests a more realistic feel for the history of that era.

“I will be dressed in revolutionary attire as if I was attending a lodge meeting in the 1700s,” he said. “I won’t have a powdered wig though.”

Among Washington’s Freemasons, Miller said he learned of a picture featuring men like Benjamin Franklin and Marquis de La Fayette, and wanted to bring awareness to just how much Washington trusted them.

“All the people that were responsible for the victory of the Revolutionary War, were under Washington’s command, and all of them happened to be Master Masons,” he said. “Some from Ireland, some from England, some from the colonies — but all members of the Masonic Fraternity; he put his faith and trust into all these men.”

Miller said he will touch on the history of each individual involved in both the Revolutionary War and Freemasonry, including his own ancestor Nathaniel Greene, also known as “The Fighting Quaker.”

“I felt like it was worth bringing out to the masses of what and why he thought this way,” he said. “It connects to Amherst, around the way it comes back to Amherst and the Masonic Fraternity.”

Miller’s ancestors tied to the history include Abram Powers and Diedrick Hoffman in the Revolutionary War, as well as his grandfather Fred R. Powers in Amherst, according to Miller.

“This is an opportunity to share more of the history of the people of our community, and the Masonic brotherhood,” he said.

According to Miller, history always has been important to him, especially because of his ancestors from the area.

“Our family is very historically connected to the community,” he said. “I think it’s wonderful that the Amherst Historical Society brings these opportunities to the community.”

Fought said the event is free to the public.

“It offers a very nice community-based comradery to have people come together to learn about history,” she said. “The Historical Society is very grateful to Norm Miller for giving his time to put on this fantastic presentations and bring history to life for our community.”

Editor’s note: This story was edited at 9:49 a.m. Jan. 12, 2024 to correct the date of the program.