Certificate of Daniel Service (Servos) of Lodge No. 156, the King's or 8th Regiment of Foot, Fort Niagara, 1784.

Masonry in Niagara-on-the-Lake is older than our Town. When the land board met in 1791 to layout the town of Newark, they wanted a tavern (public house) to be built and a Masonic Lodge, both to be constructed beside each other. At this time there were two lodges in the area, Old Town and Queenston, but their origin story, like much of Masonry in southern Ontario, originates from Fort Niagara and the Lodges that were established there.
This document belongs to one such Lodge established at Fort Niagara. The Kings 8th Regiment of Foot met as Lodge No. 156 from 1773-1785, but it was not exclusive to members of the Kings 8th Regiment. In 1780, Joseph Clement and Lt. Daniel Servos were initiated into the Lodge; both were members of the British Indian Department based at Fort Niagara. This document certifies that Daniel Service (Servos) had entered an apprentice as a fellow craft mason and has been raised to the degree of Master Mason while with the Lodge No. 156. It is dated 1784 and is possibly the Niagara Regions oldest surviving Masonic document.