Crescent City Shriners?????

[robertdreed]

By 1705, the Knights Templar had long since been suppressed as an order, at least officially. I think New Orleans was most likely named for the French city of Orleans, rather than any particular person. <br><br>One place to look for a Masonic legacy in the U.S.A. is in the history of the Matrangas (or maybe it's the Matrenga family) , an Italian (Sicilian?) clan that was involved in the banana and fruit trade out of Central America at the turn of the 19th-20th century. They were the labor bosses of the New Orleans waterfront, and also involved in the smuggling trade and early pre-Prohibition era racketeering. <br><br>I'm not sure how connected they might have been to Mazzini's conspiratorial Italian Grand Orient circles, but it's something to check into. <br><br>I think I read Webster Tarpley of the LaRouche people, commenting on their influence, in one of his articles. His bibliographical sources could provide some leads, if he listed them. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=robertdreed>robertdreed</A> at: 9/7/05 5:13 am<br></i>

[robertdreed]

fwiw, my local police department uses six-pointed stars for their badges. <p></p><i></i>

[segovius]

The Metrangas had links to the Carbonari which were a quasi-Masonic Italian secret society which were in turn a remnant of the Islamic guilds originating from the Muslim occupation of Sicily.<br><br>The Carbonari were absorbed into La Cosa Nostra and many Mafia heirarchies and traditions are redolent of this group. They have no connection as such with the Masons except that, being both derived from Islamic sources, they share a certain similarity.<br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>