Library Presents Penn Patent Copy to Knights Templar

By Christina Georgiou


Knights Templar Generalissimo Robert Sarnofsky, of Stockertown,
Eminent Commander Lester Morrow, of Nazareth and
Captain General Louis Starniri, of Wilson Borough, with Easton Public
Library Director Jennifer Stocker and Marx Room curator Barbara Wieman.



Representatives from the Easton Public Library presented a high-definition digital copy of a Penn patent to Knights Templar Friday night as a thank you gift to the Masonic organization for donating the original document to the library's history collection earlier this year.

"The original has been restored and now hangs in the Marx Room of the Easton Public Library," library director Jennifer Stocker, accompanied by Mark Room curator Barbara told members of Hugh de Payens Commandery No. 19 as the facsimile was presented.

The copy, which is visually undistinguishable from the original, was presented in the same frame the original document was found in.

The digital copy, in the frame the original Penn land grant
patent was found in.

Knights Templar Generalissimo Robert Sarnofsky, of Stockertown, Eminent Commander Lester Morrow, of Nazareth and Captain General Louis Starniri, of Wilson Borough, thanked the library for the high-quality copy, and said they were happy the original is in a safe, temperature-controlled location where the public is able to view and enjoy it.

"But also, a copy has come home too, so I think it's the best of both worlds," Starniri said.

The Knights also quipped that the copy of the document being in the frame the original was found in was a bit like the custom "returning the Tupperware full."


The original Penn patent land grant, top center, hangs
in the Marx Room at the Easton Public Library.

The original, which hangs with other important Easton documents such as a portrait of Declaration signer George Taylor and where the original Easton flag is displayed, is available for viewing by the public during regular Marx Room hours.

The patent was discovered in a locked antique safe in the Masonic Temple on South Third Street after the long-lost combination was discovered while organization members were going through some old papers.

Dated Jan. 10, 1763, the nearly 250-year-old document is the original deed to the property on which the Masonic building today stands, which was the site of the first county jail. Signed by Richard Penn, the payment for the grant of the land was "one red rose", to be presented to the son of William Penn annually on March 1.