Enhanced Historical Document Image

(image) Figure: The historical family record document has been enhanced to improve contrast and clarity for easier reading.

Transcription of Document Text

Title / Heading

Family Record of John Lake (hand-lettered title at bottom of the document)

Birth and Marriage Records

• John Lake – Born August 20th 1792; Married [illegible] 21, 18[illegible].
• Sarah Roberts – Born Sept 10th 1773; Married [illegible] 1792.

(John Lake and Sarah Roberts are the primary couple recorded. John’s marriage date is partially unclear (month and year illegible), and Sarah’s marriage entry only shows the year 1792 with the exact date not visible.)

Children of John Lake and Sarah Roberts

• [Illegible] Lake – Born April 25th 179[illegible] (name and birth year are partially unclear).
• Michael Lake – Born April 23rd 1796 (birth year slightly unclear, could be 1796).
• Richard Lake – Born the 16th June 1803.
• William Lake – Born the 16th Oct 1804.
• Benjamin Lake – was Born 23 November 1808.
• Jeminia Lake – was born Dec 27th 1818.

(“Jeminia” is spelled as written on the document. The entries for Richard and William include “Born the” before the date, and for Benjamin and Jeminia the phrase “was born” is used, exactly as in the original.)

Death Records

• John Lake departed this life Jan 14 1859 in the 66 year of his age.
• Sarah Lake, my wife, departed this life Dec the 21st 1848 in the 75th year of her age.

(The phrase “my wife” is written in the document for Sarah’s death entry, indicating it was recorded by her husband John. John Lake’s death entry is written in the third person without such a qualifier. All dates and ages are transcribed as given, with no punctuation added.)

Looks like someone who had ties to the masons got married and had someone do this to commemorate it to me...

You don't have to freak out because of stuff in your family tree... just make it your mission to break any bad cycles

Maybe this will help, maybe not. But wandaalger.me has a ton of info about freemasonry in the US, and she has spoken about generational curses and removing them. God bless.

trying to get this straight...

John Lake was born in 1792 and married Sarah Roberts who was born in 1773 , yet he was married in the 1800's since the exact year being illegible, while she was married the year John was born? so she married an infant? when she was 19? but later on, he died at age 66 in 1859 while she had passed at age 75 in 1848. her age checks with the year of her birth, while subtracting 66 years from 1859 leads me to 1793. lets say he was 65, that makes it 1794. two year difference, that also coincides with the eldest child. is this "couple" mother and son?

not trying to be troublesome, nor a wise acre, just confused with the info provided.

Looks like a marriage between John Lake born August 20th 1772 and Sarah Mathews? born Sept. 10th 1773 Married January 24th 1794

The circle on the top right looks to be the first of 15 children born. That circle has the name (indecipherable) Lake born April (or August) 23rd 1794

Too much brain power needed for the remainder of the other 14 names. Sorry, OP.

I have a second image with more Masonic symbols but the symbols on this one is more common.

There isn’t a single, definitive historical figure named John Lake born on August 20, 1772, who stands out as widely notable based on available records. However, genealogical data provides some insight into a John Lake born on that exact date, primarily from family trees and historical records tied to early American settlers.

Here’s what can be pieced together:

A John Lake, born August 20, 1772, in Little White Creek, Albany County, New York (now Washington County), appears in multiple genealogical sources. He was the son of Thomas Lake and Michal (or Michelle) Williamson. This John Lake reportedly lived until July 14, 1837, dying in Nottawasaga, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. His family was part of the broader Lake family that migrated and settled in various parts of North America, often linked to Dutch or English colonial roots. His siblings included names like James, Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine, Henry, and others, suggesting a large family typical of the era. Some records indicate he may have died slightly later, between 1837 and 1847, in either Ernestown, Lennox and Addington County, or Nottawasaga, though the 1837 date in Nottawasaga is more consistently cited.

This John Lake’s life aligns with the period of the American Revolution and its aftermath. His father, Thomas, and uncles were involved in a fur trading enterprise in New York, and after the war, many in the family, as United Empire Loyalists, received land grants in Upper Canada from the British Crown due to their loyalty during the conflict. John’s move to Ontario fits this pattern of Loyalist migration. Beyond these basics—birth, death, and family context—specific details about his personal achievements, occupation, or notable events are sparse in accessible records. He doesn’t appear to have left a prominent public mark like some other John Lakes (e.g., John G. Lake, the Pentecostal healer born in 1870), so his story seems to be that of an ordinary settler navigating a turbulent time.

(Grok)

I see 4 digit numericals in the center 2 hearts. "1772 and 1773" respectively. So this real old pre-american mason documentation

1. Thomas Lake: Genealogical Findings a. Thomas Lake Sr. (1690–1765): • Birth: 1690 in Gravesend, Kings County, New York. • Death: October 19, 1765, in East Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. • Parents: Capt. John Lake IV and Neeltje Claessen Smit. • Spouse: Jannetje (surname not specified). • Children: ◦ Sarah Michaux. ◦ Catherine Stuphen. ◦ Daniel Lake. ◦ Garrett S. Lake. ◦ Thomas Lake Jr. ◦ Ann Alter. ◦ Ellen Lake. ◦ Winifred Hull. ◦ Jacob Lake. ◦ John Lake. Note: This lineage traces back to early settlers in New York and New Jersey, indicating the family's deep roots in the region. b. Thomas Lake Jr. (1735–1814): • Birth: Circa 1735 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. • Death: August 20, 1814, in Newberry County, South Carolina. • Spouse: Elizabeth Reeder (married around 1760 in New Jersey). • Children: ◦ David Lake. ◦ Elijah Lake. ◦ Enoch Thomas Lake. Note: Thomas Jr. served as a private in the New Jersey militia during the Revolutionary War before relocating to South Carolina. c. Thomas Lake (1731–c.1813): • Birth: 1731 in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. • Death: Circa 1813 in Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, Canada. • Parents: Nicholas Lake and Mary Johnson. Note: This Thomas Lake migrated to Canada, suggesting a Loyalist affiliation during the Revolutionary War.
2. Blondell Surname: Regional Presence The Blondell surname has historical roots in Pennsylvania and New Jersey: • Origins: The name is of French origin, with variants like "Blondel." • Notable Individuals: ◦ Alice Blondell: Born in 1900 in Pennsylvania. ◦ Arthur Blondell: Born in 1953 in New Jersey. ◦ Charles Blondell: Born in 1898 in New Jersey. Note: These entries indicate the Blondell family's presence in the region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
3. Potential Connections and Next Steps Given the prominence of the Lake family in New Jersey and the presence of the Blondell surname in the same region, it's plausible that intermarriages occurred between these families.

check this out https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Lake/6000000001044510651?utm

I don't know much about old documents, but you can try taking photographs with a range of different light colours, from infrared to ultra violet, both shining from the front (camera side) and from the back (through the document). Use RAW camera capture to enable PhotoShop manipulation. Try using a photo-scanner, front and back, set at the highest resolution possible, both photography and document settings.

Once good photographs are available fiddle with the best photography editor that you can find, such as PhotoShop. Include the use of black and white processing.

You need to look up "fraktur." German artists in that time period made beautiful documents like this for marriage, birth, baptism. There are fraktur in my family dating from the 1700s. This is in Virginia in an area settled largely by Germans. It was also common in Pennsylvania among the Germans there.

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/feature/fraktur/

Masonic family tree!

Looks like family tree of sorts.

Here’s what I think It says:

Center Heart, Left: “John Lake Born August 20th 1772 married …(illegible) Center Heart, Right: Sarah Matthews Born September 10th 1773…(illegible)

**Bottom Left in box: ** “John Lake departed this life July 14th 1837 in the 65th year of his life.”

Right Left in box:* “Sarah Lake, my wife, departed this life June 8th 1818 in the 45th year of her life.”

Around the two center hearts are circles with names and DOB’s of either their parents, their children, or both? Either way, the couple appear to have been blessed, by a large family. For example, above Sarah Matthew’s name small #1: “Michael Lake DOB (illegible)

I could go on but I’m working on a little touch screen and it’s kind of laborious. Would advise having two screens, or one large screen and just writing what you think you see from there.

Is there someone with some sort of photo shop that can help me read these? I even inherited a small ritual book and so I know my great aunt and uncle kept their activities going into the 1960s. I have seen nothing that says my grandfather did though. It’s scary to think what this has done if the curse is real.