Master Mason Certificate, 1796
Around 1790 Daniel Rathbone moved to Saratoga County, New York where he ran a sawmill. As part of establishing himself in a new community, Rathbone joined the first Masonic lodge in the area—Franklin Lodge No. 37 in Ballston. An Albany craftsman named Isaac Hutton engraved the Master Mason’s certificate Franklin Lodge officers issued to Rathbone. On the certificate, lodge offices attested that they “recommend him [Rathbone] as a worthy member.”