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The History of Freemasonry

by Albert Gallatin Mackey

Chapter 54 - History of The Introduction of Freemasonry into each state and Territory of the United States: The First Lodges and the Grand Lodges

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The First Lodges and the Grand Lodges.

THE Institution, in its modern system of Speculative Masonry, having been established in Great Britain first, and then upon the Continent of Europe, early in the 18th century, we may well assume that among the various colonists from Europe who made their homes in the Western Hemisphere, there must have been many Operative Masons who had been initiated prior to their emigration.

From the various writers on this subject which we have consulted, we learn it is recorded that as early as 1680 there came to South Carolina one John Moore, a native of England, who before the close of the century removed to Philadelphia and in 1703 was commissioned by the King as Collector of the Port. In a letter written by him in 1715 he mentions having spent "a few evenings in festivity with my Masonic Brethren." This is perhaps the earliest mention we have of there being members of the Craft residing in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the Colonies.

We must bear in mind that this was several years prior to the organization of the Mother Grand Lodge of Speculative Masonry, which occurred June 24, 1717.

Roger Lacy's deputation of 1735, given by Lord Weymouth, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England, was the second American lodge on the English Roll.

Gould's History of Freemasonry (1) says of this lodge: "The Charity of the Society was solicited in the Grand Lodge of England, December 31, 1733, to enable the trustees of the new Colony to send distressed Brethren to Georgia, where they may be comfortably provided for." In 1735 a Deputation to Mr. Roger Lacy

(1) Gould, vol. vi., p. 456.

for constituting a lodge (No. 139) at Savannah was granted by Lord Weymouth. It was doubtless the body referred to by Whitfield in his diary, where he records, " June 24, 1738 (Savannah), was enabled to read prayer and preach with power before the Freemasons, with whom I afterwards dined"

Brother Wm. S. Rockwell, of Georgia, has said that a lodge organized by Roger Lacy existed earlier than 1735, possibly 1730. No certain evidence has been discovered confirming this statement.

Hayden, in his Washington and His Masonic Compeers, says: "King Solomon's Lodge at Savannah, which had commenced its work under an old oak tree in 1733, when the first settlement in Georgia began, had belonged to the branch of Masons denominated Moderns, but in February, 1785, it was proposed by Major Jackson, who was then one of its members, that they form themselves into a Lodge of Ancients. The proposition was referred to a Committee, and was subsequently agreed to, and the brethren were duly constituted, by the usual ceremonies, a Lodge of Ancient York Masons." (1) The Grand Lodge of the "Ancients" never warranted any lodges in the State of Georgia.

There was a tradition that this old lodge was instituted by General James E. Oglethorpe.

With this short introduction we shall now proceed to present the histories of the first Lodges and of the Grand Lodges in the several States and Territories of the United States. We commence with Pennsylvania for the reason that the evidence is conclusive that St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia was the first lodge duly organized of which there is any record, and we may, with some degree of assurance, say that Masonry in an organized form existed in Pennsylvania some time prior to 1730, because, as shown in the plate opposite this page, the fac-simile copy of "Liber B" indicates very conclusively that there must have been a prior Liber A.

Pennsylvania.

Up to the discovery of "Liber B" by Bro. Clifford P. McCalla, in 1884, of this original lodge, dated June, 1731, everyone had accepted as a fact that Henry Price, of Boston, was the first commissioned officer in charge of Freemasonry in the Colonies, and that St . John's Lodge, in Boston, was the first regularly constituted lodge

(1) Hayden, p. 348.

ins any of the Colonies. Our Brethren of Massachusetts yet contend that the lodge in Boston was the first duly constituted lodge by the authority of the deputation to Henry Price (and they refer with much force to the correspondence which occurred between Benjamin Franklin and Henry Price).

Bro. John Dove, in his reprint of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, in his "Introduction" claims the first lodge "derived directly from the Mother Grand Lodge of England, was No. 172, the Royal Exchange in the Borough of Norfolk, Virginia, Dec. 1733." He also says:

"During the above period, dating from 1733 and extending to 1792, the Masons of Massachusetts worked under the authority of Provincial Grand Masters appointed by, and deriving their authority from, the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland in 1733, at which period Henry Price was first appointed, by the Grand Lodge of England, Grand Master of the St. John's Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in 1734, and upon petition, his authority was extended to all North America, and under his power, thus extended, Benj. Franklin applied for and obtained a Charter for a Lodge at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

From all that we can gather in the various sketches of this formation period in the history of Freemasonry in the Colonies, it appears to us that the weight of testimony is in favor of the worliing of Masonry, first in Philadelphia, secondly in Massachusetts by secondary constituted authority, and thirdly in Norfolk, Va., by direct charter, emanating from the Grand Lodge itself.

At the period of the working of St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia, the Brethren exercised their prescriptive privilege to open a lodge without a charter, because there was no Grand Lodge to issue one so far as they knew. The lodge may have existed some considerable time prior to 1731, which latter date, it must be remembered; was only eight years after the publication of the Anderson Book of Constitutions, and eight years was a short period in which to fill up a " Liber A."

From all the historical data now available our conclusion is that we must give Pennsylvania the preference, by placing that colony foremost, as having started Freemasonry in an original prescriptive, organic form; followed by Massachusetts, as second, in a lodge, chartered by constituted authority of a Provincial Grand Master; and thirdly, by giving to Virginia the first lodge chartered by the Grand Lodge itself; each of these being authoritative, accordlng to the circumstances governing those who instituted the proceedings.

Thus, in Pennsylvania, Freemasonry is presented as having been organized in an original prescriptive lodge, with proper officers, working for some indefinite time prior to June, 1731, as shown by their ledger.

The present records of the Grand Lodge commence July 29, 1779, and have continued up to the present time. It is thought that during the Revolutionary War, as Philadelphia was a great center of the troubles during that war, all the records and papers of the Grand Lodge were either lost or destroyed, and tradition only gives any idea of the transactions up to the above date. The oldest minutebook now known is of Lodge No. 3, which goes back to November 19, 1767, and comes up to the present time; and it refers to an older book.

December 28, 1778, the Grand Lodge, with the Brethren, about three hundred, celebrated St. John's Day, and Brother William Smith, D.D., preached a sermon. General Washington was present on that occasion. Bro. Rev. Wm. Smith, having abridged and digested the Ahiman Rezon, it was adopted by the Grand Lodge, November 22, 1781. At the quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge, September 25, 1786, steps were taken to sever the official relations between the Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge of England, by the following:

Resolved, That this Grand Lodge is and ought to be, a Grand Lodge independent of Great Britain or any other authority whatever, and that they are not under any ties to any Grand Lodge except those of brotherly love and affection, which they will always be happy to cultivate and preserve with all lodges throughout the globe.

The Grand Lodge having, up to this time, been under a Warrant from the Grand Lodge of England, was closed finally. A convention was held the next day, September 26, 1786. Thirteen different lodges under warrants of the preceding Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania having full power from their constituent members, therefor:

Resolved, That the Lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, lately held under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England, Will, and do now, form themselves into a Grand Lodge, to be called the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and Masonic jurisdiction thereunto belonging, to be held in Philadelphia; and that the late Grand Officers continue to be the Grand Officers of Pennsylvania, invested with all the powers, jurisdictions, preeminence, and authority thereunto belonging, till the usual time of the next election; and that the Grand Lodge and particular Lodges govern themselves by the Rules and Regulations heretofore established, till other rules and regulations shall be adopted.

June 24, 1834, the Grand Lodge celebrated "the Centennial annniversary of the establishment of the first lodge in Pennsylvania, of which Lodge Brother Benjamin Franklin was the first Master." This antedated the claim made by Massachusetts of the first lodge having been established by Price in 1733. The date was evidently mistaken, as the "Liber B," since having been discovered, shows the date of June, 1731.

On June 24, 1734, Franklin was elected Grand Master, and it was in November of that year his letter to Price was written, asking for a copy of his deputation as Provincial Grand Master. etc.

December 4, 1843, the change was permanently made whereby all the business of the lodge, also the opening and closing of the lodge, must be in the Master's degree. It was at this time also that, under the lodge Warrant, those possessing the higher degrees could confer them. Several of the lodges, as many as four, worbed the Royal Arch degree. In 1849, Franklin Lodget No. 134, was authorized to loan its Warrant to confer the Order of the Temple on Encampment No. 29 in Philadelphia. Also Union Lodge, Not 121, was authorized to loan its Warrant to organize Union Encampment, No. 6. This resolution of the Grand Lodge was rescinded on February 15, 1857.

Massachusetts.

In consequence of an application from several Brethren, reading in New England, Free and Accepted Masons, to the Right Honorable and Most Worshipful Anthony, Lord Viscount Montaguei Grand Master of Masons in England, he was pleased. in the year 1733, to constitute and appoint Right Worshipful Henry Price Provincial Grand Master of New England aforesaid.

Upon the receipt of this commission, the Brethren assembled July 30th; and the Charter of Constitution being read, and the Right Worshipful Grand Master duly invested and congratulated, a Grand Lodge was formed under the title and designation of "St. John's Grand Lodge," and the following officers chosen and installed:

Right Worshipful Andrew Belcher, Deputy Grand Master; Right Worshipful Thomas Kennelly, Senior Grand Warden; Right Worshipful John Quann, Junior Grand Warden pro tempore.

A petition was then presented by several worthy Brethren residing ln Boston, praying to be constituted into a regular lodge, and fit was voted that the same be granted.

Thus was Masonry founded in Massachusetts.

The anniversary of St. John the Baptist was celebrated June 24, 1734, in ample form.

A petition being presented from Benjamin Franklin and several Brethren residing in Philadelphia for a constitution holding a lodge there,the Right Worshipful Grand Master, having this year received orders from the Grand Lodge in England to establish Masonry in all North America, was pleased to grant the prayer of the petitionerse and to send them a deputation appointing the Right Worshipful Benj. Franklin their first Master.

A petition from the Brethren resident in Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, for the erection of a lodge there was also granted.

At the usual celebration of the festival of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1735, the Right Worshipful Grand Master appointed the Right Worshipful James Gordon his Deputy.

About this time sundry Brethren going hence to South Carolina, and meeting with Masons thereg formed a lodge at Charleston; from whence sprung Masonry in those parts, December 27, 1736. At the celebration usual on this day, the Right Worshipful Robert Tornlinson was appointed Deputy Grands Master; all the other officers were continued in their respective trusts. (1)

The Right Worshipful Robert Tomlinson having received a commission from the Right Honorable and Right Worshipful John Earl of Loudon, Grand Master of England, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of North America in the stead of the Right Worshipful Grand Master Henry Price, resigned, he was properly installed and invested, and duly congratulated, April 20, 1737.

At the usual celebration, on June 24th following, he was pleased

(1) "Constitutions, History, and General Regulations of Massachusetts," by Rev. T. Mason Harrison 1798.

to nominate and appoint the Right Worshipful Hugh McDaniel his Deputy. On the next December festival, the Right Worshipful James Gordon was re-chosen Deputy Grand Master.

In the year 1738 the Right Worshipful Grand Master went to England via Antigua, where, finding some old Boston Masons, he formed them into a lodge, giving them a Charter of incorporation; and initiated the Governor, and several gentlemen of distinction there, into the Society.

The Right Worshipful Lodge of Masters, in Boston, was founded January 2, 1739. In the year 1740, the Right Worshipful Grand Master granted a deputation, at the petition of several Brethren, for holding a lodge at Annapolis in Nova Scotia; and appointed the Right Worshipful Erasmus James Phillips Deputy Grand Master there, who afterward erected a lodge at Halifax, and appointed his Excellency Edward Cornwallis their first Master.

The Right Worshipful Thomas Oxnard having received a deputation dated London, September 23, 1743, from the Right Honorable and Most Worshipful John, Lord Ward, Baron of Birmingham in the County of Warwick, and Grand Master of Masons in England, appointing him Provincial Grand Master in the room of the Right Worshipful Grand Master Tomlinson, deceased; which being communicated March 6, 1744, he was properly acknowledged, invested, installed, and congratulated. He then proceeded to nominate and appoint:

The Right Worshipful Hugh McDaniel, Deputy Grand Master; Right Worshipful Thomas Kelby, Senior Grand Warden; Right Worshipful John Box, Junior Grand Warden; Charles Pelham, Grand Secretary.

The following Grand Officers were chosen and installed at the festival of St. John the Evangelist, holden December 27, 1744:

Right Worshipful Hugh McDaniel, Deputy Grand Master; Right Worshipful Benj. Hallowell, Senior Grand Warden; Right Worshipful John Box, Junior Grand Warden; Charles Pelham, Grand Secretary.

The petition of several Brethren in Newfoundland, for consti tuting a lodge there, was granted December 24, 1746, and a Charter transmitted.

December 27, 1749, a Charter was granted to a lodge in New port, R I. The Right Worshipful Grand Master, assisted by his Grand Officers, February 15, 1750, constituted and consecrated "A Second Lodge" in Boston; March 7th following, he also constituted and consecrated "The Third Lodge in Boston."

At the Quarterly Communication in August, 1750, he granted a Charter for a lodge at Annapolis, Md., and also a Charter for "Hiram Lodge" at New Haven, Conn.

At the festival of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1750, the Brethren attended divine service in Christ's Church, Boston, where Rev. Brother Charles Brockwell delivered a sermon, which was afterward printed in Boston and reprinted and passed through several editions in England, and was added to the Pocket Companion and History of Freemasonry, London, 1754.

Lord Colvill having been appointed Deputy Grand Master, summoned the Brethren to attend him at the Grey Hound Tavern in Roxbury,.January 24, 1752, where he held a Grand Lodge in due form, and the day was celebrated as usual, and Grand Officers were duly chosen. (1)

Lord Colvill having returned to England, October 30th, R. W. Hugh McDaniel was again appointed Deputy Grand Master.

A dispensation was granted to erect a lodge at New London, in Connecticut, January 12, 1753.

A Grand Lodge was held at Graton's, in Roxbury, June 26, 1754, " but by reason of the death of Worshipful Grand Master Thomas Oxnard, this morning at 11 o'clock, the celebration was rather sorrowful than joyous."

"In honor of their Right Worshipful Grand Master, whose loss was sincerely lamented by all who had the pleasure and honor of his acquaintance, and more especially by the Society over which he had for eleven years presided with dignity, they voted to attend his funeral, in mourning, with the honors of Masonry; and to invite the several Lodges in Boston to assist on this mournful occasion."

October 11, 1754, at the Quarterly Communication, the Brethren petitioned the Right Honorable and Right Worshipful Grand

(1) A year or two since, a clergyman of the Church of England, who is probably more Conversant with that church in America than any other individual living, politely furnished us with a document wherein it appeared that the first regular Lodge of Freemasons in America was holden in King's Chapel, Boston, by a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of England, somewhere about the year 1720. It produced great excitement at the time, and the Brethren considered it prudent to discontinue these meetings. "Masonic Mirror and Mechanics' Intelligencer," by Bro. Chas. W. Moore, January 27, 1827.

Master of Masons in England, for a new deputatiox to fill King Solomon's Chair, vacant by the death of their late Grand Master; and recommended the Right Worshipful Jeremy Gridley to him for that Important and honorable trust.

June 24, 1755, the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Mastet summoned the Brethren to attend him at Graton's Tavern, in Roxbury, to observe the Festival of St. John the Baptist. The Grand Officers were chosen and present August 21st. At a special meeting the Right Worshipful Jeremy Gridley informed the Brethren that the Right Honorable and Right Worshipful Grand Master James Brydges, Marquis of Caernavon, Grand Master of Masons in England, had sent a deputation appointing him Provincial Grand Master of North America, where no Grand Master is appointed.

In 1767, Jeremy Gridley, the Provincial Grand Master of North America, died on September 10th; his funeral took place on the 12th, and the members of St. Andrew's Lodge, sixty-four in number (Joseph Warren being the Senior Warden), walked in the procession. After this, however, when every generous effort on the part of St. Andrew's had completely failed, and when it became evident that no "Union of Love and Friendship could be effected" the members of that lodge changed their ground. Men like Warren, Revere, Hancock, and others of illustrious name, felt their patience exhausted and determined not to quietly submit to be any longer denounced as clandestine Masons and imposters. The early proceedings of St. Andrew's were indeed as irregular as it is possible to conceive. Originating in the Association of Nine Masons who had been made clandestinely, it was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1756, and then numbered twenty-one members, exclusive of the original nine, who had left Boston in the interval. Its Charter did not arrive until 1760, at which time the lodge had been increased by eighteen additional members, so that in all thirty-one candidates were initiated before the lodge received its Charter.

At a conference held April 28, 1766, between committees of St. John's Grand Lodge and St. Andrew's Lodge (Richard Gridley being a member of one and Joseph Warren of the other), the representatives of the latter fully admitted the illegality of their early proceedings, but contended that it was in the power of the Grand Lodge of Scotland to "make irregular Masons regular." Against this tfle other committee formulated their belief "that the language of the Constitution for irregularities was submission."

We have quoted this circumstance to show the fallacy of those who refer to the facts connected with the irregularity of the formation of St. Andrew's Lodge.

We have brought the history of Masonry in Massachusetts from its commencement in 1733 to the beginning of the political troubles which finally ended in the independence of the Colonies. Soon thereafter Masonry resumed its wonted character, and after some years of struggle the various warring interests of the Brethren of the different constitutions on March 5, 1792, were united by the organization of but one Grand Lodge, which has continued with prosperity and wonderful success until the present time.

The following copies of two letters from Benjamin Franklin to Henry Price, in which we find acknowledgments of the relative Masonic positions of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, will be found interesting.

Right Worshipful Grand Master and Most Worthy and Dear Brethren, We acknowledge your favor of the 23d of October past, and rejoice that the Grand Master (whom God bless) hath so happily recovered from his late indisposition; and we now, glass in hand, drink to the establishment of his health, and the prosperity of your whole Lodge.

We have seen in the Boston prints an article of news from London importing that at a Grand Lodge held there in August last, Mr. Price's deputation and power was extended over all America, which advice we hope is true, and we heartily congratulate him thereupon and though this has not been as yet regularly signified to us by you yet, giving credit thereto, we think it our duty to lay before your Lodge what we apprehend needful to be done for us, in order to promote and strengthen the interest of Masonry in this Province (which seems to want the sanction of some authority derived from home, to give the proceedings and determinations of our Lodge their due weight), to wit, a Deputation or Charter granted by the Right Worshipful Mr. Price, by virtue of his Commission from Britain, confirming the Brethren of Pennsylvania in the privileges they at present enjoy of holding annually their Grand Lodge, choosing their Grand Master, Wardens and other officers, who may manage all affairs relating to the Brethren here with full power and authority, according to the customs and usages of Masons, the said Grand Master of Pennsylvania only yielding his chair when the Grand Master of all America shall be in place. This, if it seems good and reasonable to you to grant, will not only be extremely agreeable to us, but will also, we are confident, conduce much to the welfare, establishment, and reputation of Masonry in these parts. We therefore submit it for your consideration, and we hope our request will be complied with: we desire that it may be done as soon as possible, and also accompanied with a copy of the Right Worshipful Grand Masters first Deputation, and of the instrument by which it appears to be enlarged as above mentioned, witnessed by your Wardens and signed by the Secretary; for which favors this Lodge doubt not of be ing able to behave as not to be thought ungrateful.

We are, Right Worshipful Grand Master and Most Worthy Brethren,

Your affectionate Brethren and obliged humble Serv ts,

Signed at the request of the Lodge,

Philadelphia, Nov. 28, 1734. B. FRANKLIN, G. M,

DEAR BROTHER PRICE I am glad to hear of your recovery. I hoped to have seen you this fall, agreeable to the expectation you were so good as to give me; but since sickness has prevented your coming, while the weather was moderate, I have no room to flatter myself with a visit from you before the spring, when a deputation of the Brethren here will have an opportunity of showing how much they esteem you. I beg leave to recommend their request to you, and to inform you that some false and rebel Brethren, who are foreigners, being about to set up a distinct Lodge in opposition to the old and true Brethren here, pretending to make Masons for a bowl of punchs and the craft is like to come into disesteem among us, unless the true Brethren are contenanced and distinguished by some such special authority as herein desired. I entreat, therefore, that whatever you shall think proper to do therein may be sent by the next post, if possible. or the next following

I am Your Affectionate brother & humble Serv't,

B. FRANKLIN, G. M. Pennsylvania

Philadelphia. Nov. 28. 1734

P. S. If more of the Constitutions are wanted among your please hint it to me.

These letters were addressed as follows:

To Mr. HENRY PRICE, At the Brazen Head, Boston N.E.

Georgia

Solomon's Lodge, No. 1, received a Warrant for Savannah is 1735; a Warrant for Unity Lodge, No. 2, was issued in 1774, and a Warrant was issued for Grenadier's, No. 386, in 1775. All of these were granted by the Grand Lodge of England.

Roger Lacy's deputation of 1735, given by Lord Weymouth, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England, was the second lodge on the English Roll for America. On October 29, 1784, a lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for Savannah.

On December 16, 1786, the Grand Lodge of Georgia was organized in that city, when the permanent appointments made by the Grand Master of England were solemnly relinquished by the Right Worshipful Samuel Elbert, Grand Master, and the other officersls of the Grand Lodge; and regulations were adopted by which the Grand Officers were to be elected annually. Then the last Provincial Grand Master resigned his position, and William Stephens was elected the first Grand Master under the new and present formation. A notable event occurred March 21, 1824. The cornerstone of the monuments to Greene and Pulaski were laid, General Lafayette acting as Grand Master for the occasion.

As there are those still interested in the search for the origin of Masonry in Georgia, and who believe that a lodge existed there prior to 1735, the date of the Warrant of Solomon's Lodge, which has been lost, it is well to note the following, for reference, as coming from the records: In England a Grand Lodge was holden "by virtue and in pursuance of the right of succession legally derived from the most noble and Most Worshipful Thomas Thyre, Lord Viscount Weymouth, Grand Master of England, 1735, by his Warrant directed to the Right Worshipful Roger Lacy; and by the renewal of the said power by Sholto Charles Douglass Lord Aberdour, Grand Master of Scotland for the year 1755-56 and Grand Master of England for the years 1757-58; as will appear in his Warrant directed to the Right Worshipful Grey Elliot." (1)

Masonry was somewhat prosperous in Savannah, yet in the county outside of the city generally, Masonry had nearly disappeared by the year 1820. The Grand Lodge in that year adopted a new constitution; and the quarterly meetings of March and June were to be held in Savannah, and those of September and December were to be held at Milledgeville, the State Capital. This change was designed to accommodate the wishes of the conflicting parties of the two parts of the State, North and South.

In December, 1826, a convention was held which adopted a new constitution dispensing with the quarterly meetings, and made Milledgeville the permanent place of meeting. The Grand Lodge,

(1) The lodges which formed the Grand Lodge were Solomon's, No. 139 (1735), at Savannah; Unity, No. 2 (1774), Savannah (371, English Register); Grenadier's, No. 386 (English Register), (1775), Savannah. Solomon's Lodge was reorganized October 29 1784, Savannah.

Grenadier's Lodge and Solomon's Lodge ceased working, leaving no record.

however, which met at Savannah at the usual times March, 1827, refused to concur with the alteration and chose their Grand Officers

The Milledgeville body met on December 3, 1827, and elected their Grand Officers. As this was a very interesting period in the history of Masonry in Georgia, we must give the final result of this division. The New Grand Lodge appointed committees to possess themselves of the property of the Savannah or old body, and they declared the election held in March of no effect; and all the members of the lodges adhering to the Old Grand Lodge were expelled. Lodge No. 8, one of the Savannah lodges, held to the Milledgeville body; all the others in Savannah held to that body. Union No. 3 of these lodges was the first lodge which adopted Royal Arch Masonry. In the hall of this lodge, the Grand Lodge of Savannah met. Finally, all the lodges in Savannah left the Grand Lodge except Solomon's Lodge, and united with the new body at Milledgeville. January 5, 1837, efforts were made for a reconciliation, which ended at the Grand Communication held November 6, 1839. Solomon's Lodge was admitted to the Grand Lodge by her representatives, and Masonry resumed a united front.

Prosperity followed, which was only checked by the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Since 1866 prosperity has again visited that jurisdiction, and no Grand Lodge in the country can boast of a greater increase proportionally than Georgia.

New Hampshire.

On February 5, 1736, a petition (the original of which has been preserved) was addressed by six Brethren at Portsmouth, N. H., to Henry Price, whom they styled "Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons held in Boston." The petitioners described themselves as "of the holy and exquisite Lodge of St. John," and for power to form a lodge "According to order as is and has been granted to faithful Brothers in all parts of the World," and they declared that they had their "Constitution both in print and Manuscript as good and ancient as any that England can afford." The favor was asked because they had heard there is a "Superiour Lodge held in Boston." Be it noted this was early in 1736, when no lodge had been warranted in Portsmouth; and as the Brethren stated they possessed "Constitutions" in manuscript - which it is hardly possible could have been anything else than a copy of the "Old Charges" - as well as in print the evidence is consistent with the supposition that, while at the date named the lodge must have been some years in existence, its origin may have reached back even to the 17th century.

I am anxious not to lay too much stress on the precise meaning attached by me to the mention of manuscript constitution; nevertheless, I think the petition may be taken as fair evidence that in 1736 there were Brethren in New Hampshire (meeting as Masons in a lodge) who possessed a copy (or print) of the English Constitutions published in 1723, as well as a version of an older set of laws in MS., thus pointing to the possible existence of the lodge at even an earlier period than the Grand Lodge era of 1716- 17.

The granting of the authority, which was a written instrument, was, in connection with that granted to Philadelphia, the first written Masonic authority known to have been issued by a Provincial Grand Lodge. (1)

It will be observed that, in like manner, as Grand Master, Henry Price issued authority to warrant a lodge to the eighteen Masons in Boston who petitioned in behalf of themselves and "other Brethren;" therefore the Brethren had been meeting as a lodge anterior thereto and discharging Masonic duties: convening and working as Masons without other authority than that of ancient immemorial right, which the Craft had many decades before exercised, of meeting when and where circumstances permitted or required, and choosing their own temporary Master; it is probable that thus many of the old Masons in America had been admitted to the Mystic Rites.

Portsmouth was the first settlement by Europeans in New Hampshire (1623). Several lodges were many years afterward constituted within that territory by authority of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

In a letter from Joseph Webb, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in reply to one received from William Smith, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, dated Boston, September 4, 1780, occurs this paragraph:

"I have granted a dispensation to New Hampshire, till they shall appoint a Grand Master of their own, which I suppose will not be very soon, as there is but one Lodge in that State."

(1) C. McClenachan

A "convention" of delegates from two or more lodges was called at Dartmouth in 1787, but the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire was not organized until July 8, 1789. It was in the last of the three years' service of General John Sullivan as Governor of the State that he was elected the first Grand Master of the independent Grand Lodge. It is true there were but five lodges in the State, and but one, St. John's of Portsmouth, that antedated the Revolution; of this General Sullivan was the Master. In October, 1790, the Grand Master, from ill health, was compelled to decline re-election, and Dr. Hall Jackson was elected Grand Master in his stead.

The title assumed by the Grand Body is "The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New Hampshire"

South Carolina.

A Warrant was granted in 1735 by Lord Weymouth, Grand Master of England, for the establishment of a lodge in the city of Charleston, which was organized on October 28, 1736, by the name of Solomon's Lodge.

Brother Sidney Hayden, in Washington and his Masonic Compeers, (1) states that Grand Master Henry Price of Massachusetts, having received an extension of his authority in 1734, from the Grand Master of England, giving him jurisdiction over all North America, granted a Warrant on December 27, 1735, for a lodge at Charleston, S. C.

The St. John's Grand Lodge of Boston, Mass., warranted a lodge in Charleston, S. C., in 1738; this was followed by a grant from the Grand Lodge of England establishing Prince George's Lodge at Winyaw, in 1743; and Union Lodge, by the same authority, at Charleston, May 3, 1755, and, again, a "Master's Lodge" at the same place, on March 22, 1756, and a lodge at Beaufort on September 15th of the same year.

The Grand Lodge of Scotland then appeared in the Province, and warranted Union Lodge, No. 98, in 1760.

St. Mark's Lodge was warranted by the Grand Lodge of England in 1763.

With regard to powers delegated to Provincial Grand Masters,

(1) Hayden, p 240

we have first of record, John Hammerton, appointed by the Earl of Loudoun in 1736.

A second Provincial Grand Lodge was established by a deputation of the Marquis of Carnarvon to Chief Justice Leigh in 1754. Dr. Mackey, in his Encyclopedia, says upon this subject that, in 1777, this Grand Lodge, deputized by the Marquis of Carnarvon, assumed independence and became the "Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons," Barnard Elliott being the first Grand Master. As early as 1783 the Athol or "Ancient " Masons invaded the jurisdiction of South Carolina, and in 1787 there being then five lodges of the Ancients in the State, they held a convention, and on March 24th organized the "Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons." Between the Moderns and the Ancient Grand Lodges there was always a very hostile feeling until the year 1808, when a union was effected, which was but temporary, for a disruption took place in the following year. However, the Union was permanently established in 1817, when the two Grand Lodges were merged into one, under the name of the "Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons."

New York.

From the quotations of authorities herein following, it will be evident that Freemasonry must have existed in the Province of New York prior to the year 1737. The advertising notices and newspaper squibs are convincing that secret communications were being held either among the residents or the sojourning soldiery. By what authority these assemblies were held we are not yet able to disclose; whether under powers granted by Daniel Coxe, by reason of the deputation held by him from June 5, 1730, until the expiration of his personal investment, to wit, until June 24, 1732, or those of his successors, who were to be elected every other year on the feast of St. John the Baptist, when the Provincial Grand Master was to be installed. No testimony has been found of the exercise by Bro. Daniel Coxe of his delegated powers; perhaps no action was had by him; yet "it was a rare thing for any reports to be made by the Provincial Grand Masters abroad of their doings." We incline to the belief that no power was exercised by Brother Coxe pending the period during which he was deputized.

It is not impossible that warranted power existed among the soldiery who were or had been stationed in the Province; nor is it an impossibility that there was an immemorial Charter, or even an inherent or self-born power of constitution the exercise of which would not have been masonically illegal when we consider the condition of the Society, the period, the locality, and Masonic custom, or at least in following the precedent in other lands and of former days.

THE FIVE MASONIC DEPUTATIONS GRANTED TO PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTERS FOR NEW YORK BY THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND

1. Colonel Daniel Coxe, June 5, 1730. Time of service, 2 years 2. Captain Richard Riggs, November 15, 1737. " 14 years 3. Francis Goelet, 1751. " 2 years 4. George Harrison, June 9, 1753 " 18 years 5. Sir John Johnson, 1781. " 10 years

The date of transition of the Grand Lodge from a Provincial to an independent State Masonic organization might be a subject of difference of opinion: herein the date of the summary retirement of the Grand Master and most of the other Grand Officers with the King's troops is assured as a data, to wit, September 19 and October 1, 1783. It might be urged with considerable force that as a definite date, June 6, 1787, should be given, inasmuch as on that date the Grand Lodge accepted and confirmed the Athol Warrant, and declared its establishment under it.

RATIFICATION OF THE GRAND WARRANT, SEPTEMBER 5, 1781.

The Grand Lodge "Resolved, that next Grand Lodge be appointed for all the Lodges in the State to give in their Respective Warrants or Constitutions, or copies of them properly authenticated, that the Rank and Precedency of the whole may be then determined."

A more direct resolution from St. John's Lodge, No. 2, proceeded further to question the Grand Warrant under which the Grand Lodge existed. This was referred to next Grand Lodge.

Accordingly, on March 7, 1787, "The Resolution of St. John's Lodge, No. 2, referred for consideration to this evening, was read, and debates arising, it was resolved, on motion of Worshipful Brother Malcom, that a Committee be appointed to consider the propriety of holding the Grand Lodge under the present Warrant, and the proper measures to effect a change if it should be thought constitutional and expedient, and report their opinion, with the reasons on which it is founded, to the Grand Lodge, at their next Quarterly Communication."

The committee on June 6, 1787, reported their consideration of the propriety of holding the Grand Lodge under the present Warrant. The report was read, accepted, and confirmed.

The subject of the Grand Warrant being disposed of, the Grand Lodge, on the following September 5, 1787, adopted this recommendation:

"That as soon as the Committee appointed to establish the precedency of Rank of the Lodges of this City do report, that then all the Lodges in the State be required to take out new warrants and deliver up the old ones, the dues to the Grand Lodge being previously paid."

The report on lodge precedency and the determination of this subject was finally made June 3, 1789. (1)

Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, as in other localities, we find traces of a pre historic age of Freemasonry. The earliest date when, according to tradition, the Masonic system was known and practiced within the limits of Rhode Island and Providence plantations goes far back of authentic records. There are hints and intimations, with plenty of unverified legends, pointing to a 17th century expression of Freemasonry in Newport, R. I.; but the documents and records which ardent explorers have searched for, to support the theory that Freemasonry was planted in Rhode Island before the Institution was known either in Philadelphia or Boston, have not been found. As the case now stands, there is only a supposition that such may have been the fact. (2)

The organic life of Freemasonry in Rhode Island, as we trace its existence by historic records, goes back to the warranting or St. John's Lodge, Newport, December 27, 1749. This lodge was authorized by St. John's Provincial Grand Lodge of Boston, Mass.,

(1) At the meeting of the Grand Lodge, held June 3, 1789, this subject was duly taken up and the several lodges presented their warrants, and were duly assigned their numbers, according to dates of charters. St. John's Lodge (1757), No. 29 was given No. 1. (2) Memorial. by Henry W. Rugg, D.D.

Thomas Oxnard, Grand Master. Caleb Phillips was the first Master of the lodge thus authorized. Some unpleasantness having been caused by the Master's withholding from the lodge the dispensation thus granted, a second Warrant was issued dated May 14, 1753. Under these warrants the Newport Brethren were only authorized to confer the first two degrees of Masonry. They did not recognize the limitation, however, and proceeded to confer the Master's degree as supplementing the degrees of Entered Apprentice and Fellow-craft. On being called to account for thus extending the authority granted them, they made so good an explanation of the causes that had led them to transcend their powers, that the Grand Lodge confirmed them in the exercise of such powers by granting them a Charter to hold a Master's Lodge.

This lodge - the first organized in Rhode Island - was given additional powers, and we may assume that the ordinary lodge, having control over the degrees of Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft, was united with or merged into the Master's Lodge, so that two separate organizations were not maintained.

As throwing some light upon the misapprehension pertaining to the conferring of degrees by St. John's Lodge of Newport, during this first period of its history, it is important to keep in mind the fact that the third degree was not then, as now, closely united with and expected to follow the two preceding degrees. Candidates for Freemasonry often went no further than the degree of Fellowcraft; those who did advance to the Master's grade were required to pay an additional fee.

A little more than two years before the granting of the confirmation Charter to the Brethren of Newport, a Masonic lodge had been organized in Providence, also taking the name of St. Johnls. A Warrant for this lodge was issued by the same authority that created the body established at Newport.

By the terms of this Charter the Providence Brethren were required to observe the constitution, make returns to the Grand Lodge, and annually keep or cause to be kept the feast of St. John the Baptist, and to dine together on that day, or as near that day as shall be most convenient, and that they send to the Grand Lodge in Boston contributions for poor Brethren.

The Charter of St. John's Lodge in Providence was one of six teen similar authorizations which, up to that time, had been granted by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to sixteen lodges in eleven different provinces or colonies.

The Charter was issued by the direct authority of the eminent and patriotic Jeremy Gridley, then Provincial Grand Master of North America. He was a lawyer of excellent reputation and a devoted member of the Masonic Fraternity.

Freemasonry in Rhode Island at the close of the War of the Revolution was represented by St. John's Lodge in Providence and King David's Lodge in Newport. The first lodge (St. John's) in Newport was inactive, as it had been for a long time. The lodge in Providence, after its revival, had greatly prospered under the efficient leadership of Bro. Jabez Bowen, its Worshipful Master from 1778 to 1790, and had received among its new members a large accession of influential citizens. One of these, William Barton, initiated in 1779, is deservedly remembered and honored for his heroic exploit in making a prisoner of the British General, William Prescott, on the island of Rhode Island, and for other patriotic services. Another, John Carlile, initiated in 1783, served the Craft with exceptional skill in many important offices for a long term of years.

On Monday, June 27, 1791, "being the day affixed on for the celebration of the Feast of St. John the Baptist" (St. John's Day having occurred on the previous Friday), a number of Brethren representing the two lodges met in the State House at Newport and proceeded to organize a Grand Lodge in accordance with the plan that had been approved. The Right Worshipful Moses Seixas presided and installed the officers who had been previously designated for the several stations. When the organization had been completed, the newly installed officers, with members of Grand Lodge and visiting Brethren, marched in procession to Trinity Church, where a discourse, having appropriateness to the occasion, was delivered by the Rector, Rev. Wm. Smith, and a collection was taken amounting to 11 9s. 4d., which sum it was ordered "should be invested in wood and distributed to the poor of this town during the ensuing winter."

By attending as a body on divine service, and making their offering in the house of worship for a benevolent purpose, the Brethren who formed the Grand Lodge of this State, and those masonically associated with them at that time, plainly signified their respect for religion and for that practical charity so much emphasized by the teachings of Freemasonry.

Maryland.

Masonry was introduced into Maryland, during the Colonial period, from three sources, viz.: by the Grand Lodge (Moderns) of Massachusetts, Grand Lodge (Moderns) of England, and the Grand Lodge (Ancients) of Pennsylvania. Traditions indicate that it was also introduced here from Scotland and Germany.

The earliest lodge of which we have any reliable evidence in Maryland, was held at Annapolis. It was chartered by Thomas Oxnard, Provincial Grand Master of the St. John's Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and Provincial Grand Master of North America. There are no records of this lodge known to be in existence, and the only reference to it, on the records of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, is the following, courteously furnished by Brother Sereno D. Nickerson, Grand Secretary : (1)

"1750, Aug. 12. At the Petition of sundry Brethren at Annapolis in Maryland, Our Rt. Wors'l Grand Master, Bro. Thos. Oxnard, Esqr. Granted a Constitution for a Lodge to be held there, and appointed The Rt. Worstl ----- first Mas'r.

"Fryday, July the 13th, 1750. For the Lodge at Maryland, Bro. McDaniel, D. G. M. app'd & pd. for their Constit'n 13.9.

"In the lists, the Lodge is sometimes described as ' Maryland Lodge' and sometimes as 'the Lodge at Annapolis.'"

Among the archives of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, fortunately preserved, are the books of three of the old Colonial lodges, viz.: one located at "Leonardtown, St. Mary's County," in 1759; one at "Joppa, Harford, then Baltimore County," in 1765, and at "Queenstown, Queen Anne's County."

The records of the Leonardtown Lodge extend over a period of three years, and although they appear to be the full and complete minutes of the lodge for that period, there is not the slightest mention by which can be discovered the authority under which it was held, or from whence it emanated.

Upon one of the calendars of the "Modern" Grand Lodge of England, there is the following entry: "Lodge No. 198, Chartered in foreign parts, June 6th, 1759." As this date corresponds exactly

(1) From History of Maryland, by E. T. Schultz. We are indebted to Bro. Schultz for all the information we have in that jurisdiction.

with the date of the first meeting of the Leonardtown Lodge, it is probable that the entry refers to it. It may, however, have been a branch of the lodge at Annapolis. It was not an unusual thing in this country in the early days for one lodge to have branch lodges in other towns or districts. Forty years subsequently a branch lodge was held at this same town.

The records of the Leonardtown Lodge, with one exception, those of the St. John's Lodge, Boston, are the oldest original lodge proceedings discovered in this country, the old ledger of St. John's Lodge, Philadelphia, recently discovered, being simply the secretary's account with the members.

On June 17, 1783, two months after Congress had issued the peace proclamation, we find the lodges on the "Eastern Shore" convened at Talbot Court-house, for the purpose of organizing a Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for the State of Maryland. There were five lodges represented by deputies, one lodge more than participated in the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717.

There were present at this convention, as a deputy from Lodge No. 7, of Chestertonvn, the Rev. William Smith, who was at the time Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, although residing in this State; and Bro. Dr. John Coates, Past Deputy Grand Master of Pennsylvania, a member of Lodge No. 3 of Philadelphia, but then a resident of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It was unanimously Resolved, " That the several Lodges on the Eastern Shore of Maryland consider it is a matter of right, and that they ought to form a Grand Lodge independent of the Grand Lodge of Philadelphia." When the convention prepared to go into an election of officers for a Grand Lodge, Bro. Smith, Deputy from No. 7, stated that "he was not authorized to elect such officers." Whereupon the convention adjourned until the 31st day of July following. " The Rev. Bro. Smith was asked and promised to prepare a sermon against their next meeting."

It was determined to petition the Grand Lodge in Philadelphia for a Warrant for a Grand Lodge to be held on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The convention re-assembled at Talbot Court-house on July 31, 1783, agreeably to adjournment, the Rev. Dr. Smith, being a Grand Officer, took the Chair. The same lodges were in attendance as at

the former session, with the exception of No. 37 of Somerset County, which was not represented, but No. 6 of Georgetown (Eastern Shore) was in attendance, and was represented, as were all the other lodges, by their Masters and Wardens, and not by deputies, as at the former session.

The resolution adopted at the previous session, regarding the right to form a Grand Lodge, independent of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, was unanimously reaffirmed. It was further determined that the Grand Lodge should be a moving lodge: "that is to say, it shall sit at different places at different times; also that said Grand Lodge shall have quarterly communications."

A vote of thanks was then given to Bro. Dr. Smith "for the Sermon preached this day," and a copy asked for publication. They then proceeded to ballot for Grand Officers, when Bro. Coates was elected Grand Master, and Charles Gardner, Grand Secretary. Other officers were elected, and the convention adjourned, to assemble again at Chestertown, on December 18th following, (1783).

The Grand Lodge assembled according to adjournment, December 18th, but on account of the severe weather a number of the Brethren were prevented from attending, and the meeting was not organized until next day.

"From accident and other causes" there was no meeting on that days nor was there any meeting held, as far as the records show, until nearly three years subsequent. The subordinate lodges, however, maintained their organization and doubtless considered their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania severed, as they were not thenceforth represented in that body.

Connecticut.

Masonry in Connecticut derived its organic life from the Grand Lodge in Massachusetts, the St. John's of which Paul Revere was subsequently Grand Master, but also Massachusetts Grand Lodge.

The charters granted by St. John's were:

August 12, 1750, Hiram, at New Haven, David Wooster as Master.

January 12, 1753, at New London, ceased before 1789

February 4, 1754 St John's, Middletown.

April 28, 1762, St. John's, Hartford.

April 28, 1709, Compass, Wallingford

July 10, 1771, St. Alban's, Guilford; became dormant in 1776 revived May 17, 1787.

March 23, 1780, Union, Danbury.

Provincial Grand Master of New York (Geo.) Harrison, under Grand Lodge of England, granted a Charter to "St. John's," in Fairfield, and afterward Bridgeport, in 1762; "St. John's," in Norwalk, May 23, 1765; "Union," at Greenwich, November 1864; and "St. John's," at Stratford, April 22, 1766.

The Massachusetts Grand Lodge (Scotland) granted a Charter to Wooster,"in Colchester, January 12, 1781; "St. Paul's," at Litchfield, May 27, 1781; the Charter dated June 21, 1781; "King Hiram," at Derby, January 3, 1781; "Montgomery" at Salisbury, March 5, 1783 (no record of the Charter to this lodge being granted).

"Columbia," at Norwich, June 24, 1785; and "Frelleich," at Farmington, September 18, 1787 - seventeen lodges.

The Army Lodge, "American Union," chartered by St. John's Grand Lodge at Boston, February 13, 1776, and attached to a Connecticut regiment, frequently met in the State.

It is said that these lodges, chartered by different Grand Lodges, continued to be harmonious as far as was possible.

A convention of lodges met April 29, 1783, in pursuance to the action of a convention held March 13th preceding; thirteen lodges were represented; the formation of a Grand Lodge was duly discussed, and on January 14, 1784, a Grand Master and other officers were chosen, but no progress was made until May 14, I789, when another convention was called, and this adjourned until July 8, 1789; a constitution was then adopted, officers elected, and the present Grand Lodge of Connecticut was duly organized.

Twelve lodges were then represented, which are all existing at the present date and were at the centennial of the Grand Lodge, 1889.

When the Grand Lodge was organized, Stamford, Norwalk, Derby, New London, Guilford, and Waterbury were not represented; Norwalk, Derby, and Stamford, however, were subsequently connected with the Grand Lodge.

The new Grand Lodge chartered the first lodge at Windham viz. v Norwich, No. 13, October 18, 1790, which is at work at the present time.

The growth of the Fraternity and its popularity are shown in the fact that to the year 1800 the lodges had increased to fortyfour, with three thousand members. About this time one Joash Hall established clandestine lodges, one in Middletown, one in New London, and one in Wallingford. These, however, soon died out.

When the proposition to establish a Supreme Grand Lodge was started among the various Grand Lodges, Connecticut deemed the project inexpedient.

This Grand Lodge granted two charters to form new lodges in Ohio, viz.: "Erie," No. 47, now "Old Erie," No. 3, at Warren; the other "New England," No. 45, afterward New England, No. 4, at Worthington, and now belonging to the spurious and clandestine body calling itself a Grand Lodge in Ohio, and the names of all the bodies which constituted that affair have been published by the Grand Lodge of Ohio in 1898. The above two lodges, with "American Union," the Army Lodge, mentioned above, assisted in forming the Grand Lodge of Ohio in 1808. Jeremy L. Cross was appointed Grand Lecturer in 1816 for the State of Connecticut.

In 1821 an act of incorporation was passed by the Legislature. In 1823 the Grand Lodge refused to divide the State into Masonic districts. The Grand Lodge made an appropriation, in 1826, of $500 for a monument to Brother George Washington.

At this period the anti-Masonic movements had reached Connecticut, the Brethren generally neglected to attend their lodges and many charters were surrendered and revoked; and such was the condition of the Craft at the annual session of 1831, that all the officers of the Grand Lodge, except the Grand Treasurer, resigned their offices, and new officers, except the Grand Treasurer, were chosen. Yet at the next annual session only the Grand Master and Grand Treasurer were present; at that time they adopted the "Declaration of Masonic Principles," and this, in some measure, allayed the anti-Masonic sentiments. Twenty-five lodges were represented at the session in 1841. There was an improvement up to 1845. and to the present time Masonry, in that jurisdiction, has kept even pace with all the other States in New England.

The Civil War was the cause of several applications for army lodges. June 6, 1861, a dispensation was issued to twelve Brethren of the 4th Connecticut Regiment for a lodge to be named "Connecticut Union." No. 90.

Another dispensation was asked for "Ensign" Lodge, No. 91, in the 5th Connecticut Regiment, but was refused.

Several years since (1887) quite a difficulty occurred between Hiram Lodge, No. 1, and the Grand Lodge, in consequence of the Grand Lodge having by statute changed the mode of giving the due- guard of the third degree, which resulted in the arrest of the Charter of the lodge and expulsion of several of the officers After some time better counsel prevailed, and the members, being satisfied that they were wrong in their action, they made all proper acknowledgments, and matters were duly arranged and the Charter was restored, and the utmost harmony has prevailed ever since.

Virginia.

From the Freemason's Pocket Companion, by Auld and Smellie, published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1765, appears "An Exact List of Regular English Lodges;" therein we find "No. 172, The Royal Exchange in the Borough of Norfolk, in Virginia; 1st Thursday Dec., 1733;" "No. 204 in York-Town, Virginia; 1st and 3d Wednesday, Aug. 1, 1755." This is corroborated by the Pocket Companion published in London, England, in 1759, by John Scott, under the head of "Lodges in Foreign Parts;" "Norfolk, in Virginia, 1st Thursday; York-Town, Virginia, 1st and 3d Wednesday." (1)

The date calf 1733 is challenged by several of our recent writers as being a misprints and they say it should have been 1753. We have seen no cogent reason for this correction, but must submit to the weight of authority as we have no corroborative evidence to sustain the earlier date of Bro. John Dove, the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, who was very sure that it was correct, and in the first volume of his History of the Grand Lodge of Virginia says: "Thus it will be seen from reliable data, that Masonry was practised in Virginia under chartered privileges in 1733, derived from the Mother Grand Lodge of England." Very soon after these two lodges were chartered, eight other charters were applied for and obtained frorn the several Grand Lodges existing in Great Britain in the following localities: Norfolk Lodge, No. 1, in the Borough of Norfolk; Port Royal, No. 2, in Caroline County; Blandford, No. 3, Petersburg; Fredericksburg, No. 4, Fredericks

(1) John Dove's "History of the Grand Lodge of Virginia."

burg; St. Tammany, No. 5, Hampton; Williamsburg, No. 6, Williamsburg; Botetourt, No. 7, Gloucester Court-house; Cabin Point, No. 8, Prince George Court-house; York Town, No. 9, York Town.

The work of these lodges was continued legally and masonically under their independent charters, until the course of time and the eventful period of the Revolutionary War caused them to organize a convention, which was called to meet at the request of Williamsburg Lodge, No. 6, at Williamsburg, May 6, 1777, and which resulted in the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, October 13, 1778, at Williamsburg, by the election of John Blair as the first Most Worshipful Grand Master of Ancient York Masons in America. He was at that time Past Master of Williamsburg Lodge, No. 6. This Grand Lodge was held in Williamsburg until 1784, when it was removed to Richmond. (1)

Charters were continuously granted to new lodges, until their numerical denomination, being derived from various sources, had become too complicated for discrimination; at the meeting in October, 1786, a resolution was adopted that a committee be appointed to regulate the rank of the several lodges then under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia. We make the following table for future reference:

Constitution No. Name of Lodge. under which Date of Charter. Chartered. 1 Royal Exchange 172 England 5733 Norfolk Norfolk(old #142) June 1, 5741 2 Kilwinning Cross Scotland December 1, 5755 Caroline County. 3 Blanford Scotland September 9, 5757 Petersburg. 4 Fredericksburg Scotland, 1757 July 21, 5758 Fredericksburg. 5 Tammany................ February 2, 5759 Hampton. 6 Williamsburg November 6, 5773 Williamsburg 7 Botetourt November 6, 5773 Gloucester Court-house. 8 Cabin Point Royal Arch April 15, 5775 Prince George Court-house 9 Swan (204) Scotland July 1, 1755 February 22, 5780 York Town. 10 Richmond December 28, 5780 Richmond. 11 Northampton July 8, 5785 Eastville, N. H. Co. 12 Kempsville October 1, 5785 Princess Ann Co. 13 Staunton February 6, 5786 Staunton. 14 Manchester February 28, 5786 Manchester. 15 Petersburg May 6, 5786 Petersburg. 16 Portsmouth Wisdom (1) G. Orient, La Sagasse France June 15, 5876 Portsmouth. 17 Charlotte Virginia July 6, 5786 Charlotte 18 Smithfield Union Virginia October 29, 5787 Richmond 19 Richmond Randolph Virginia October 29, 5787 Richmond

(1) Removed from Port Republican, Island of San Domingo, when insurrection of blacks occurred

(1) The Capital of the State having been changed from Williamsburg to Richmond. FREEMASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES I421

By reference to the Pocket Companion before mentioned, it will be seen that York Lodge, No. 204, was chartered for York Town, Va., August 1, 1755. The conclusion is that it became dormant (and was revived in 1780), as was probably the case with Royal Exchange, No. 172 of date December, 1733, which became No. 1 of June, 1741. Although it is evident from authentic history that the Masons of Virginia had the right to open and hold a Provincial Grand Lodge under and by authority of Cornelius Harnett as Provincial Grand Master by right of his deputation as such, yet it was deemed by them more in accordance with Masonic law to obtain their charters from the Grand Lodge itself. The Masons of Norfolk petitioned for and obtained the Charter for the Royal Exchange, as we firmly believe with Brother Dove, in 1733. The records of Virginia show that a second lodge was chartered for the same place as Norfolk Lodge June 1, 1741, and held their meetings the same night every month; we therefore think that Royal Exchange had ceased to exist, and Norfolk Lodge took its place and was represented in Williamsburg at the conventions held May 6, 1777, and October 13, 1778.

In the autumn of 1784, Lafayette came to America, and visited Washington at Mount Vernon. Of all the generals of the Revolution he had been the most beloved by Washington; and both to him and to his wife in France had the hospitalities of Mount Vernon been often tendered by Mr. and Mrs. Washington. Madame Lafayette had wrought with her own hands in France a beautiful Masonic apron of white satin groundwork, with the emblems of Masonry delicately delineated with needle-work of colored silk; and this, with some other Masonic ornaments, was placed in a highly finished rosewood box, also beautified with Masonic emblems, and brought to Washington on this occasion as a present by La fayette. It was a compliment to Washington and to Masonry delicately paid, and remained among the treasures of Mount Vernon till long after its recipient's death, when the apron was presented by his legatees to the Washington Benevolent Society and by them to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, in whose possession the apron now is, while the box that contained it is in possession of the lodge at Alexandria. The apron presented to Washington by Messrs. Watson & Cassoul two years before, and which is still in possession of Lodge No. 22 at Alexandria, has been often mistaken for this; but the two aprons may be easily identified, by the Watson & Cassoul apron being wrought with gold and silver tissues with the American and French flags combined upon it, while the Lafayette apron is wrought with silk and has for its design on the frontlet the Mark Master's circle, and mystic letters, with a beehive as its mark in the center. The same device is beautifully inlaid on the lid of the box in which it was originally presented to Washington; and as this box is also in possession of Lodge No. 22 at Alexandria, and kept with the Watson & Cassoul apron, it has by many been supposed that this was the apron presented in 1784 by Lafayette. This mistake has also, perhaps, been perpetuated by a Statement that when Lafayette visited this lodge during his visit to America in 1824, he was furnished with the apron now in possession of Lodge No. 22, and in the box in which he had in 1784 presented one to Washington, to wear on the occasion; and that he there alluded to it as the one he had in former years presented to his distinguished American Brother. Even were this statement true, a lapse of forty years might have misled him in the identity of the apron, particularly as it was handed to him for the occasion in the well-remembered box in which he hadt in his early Masonic life, presented one to Washington. The historic descriptions of the aprons leave no doubt as to the identity of each, and both are among the valued memorials of Washington's Masonic history. The Watson & Cassoul sash and apron, and also the Masonic box in which the Lafayette apron was presented to Washington, were presented to Lodge No. 22 at Alexandria, June 3, 1812, by Major Lawrence Lewis, a nephew of Washington, in be half of his son, Master Lorenzo Lewis. (1)

North Carolina.

The first organization of Masons in this colony was a lodge warranted by the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) "at Wilmington, in Cape Fear River, in the Province of North Carolina, March, 1754 (Calendar says 1755); but was not Listed until 1756, although the Constitution was paid for June 27, 1754." (2)

The Royal White Hart Lodge, No. 338, English Register, was warranted for Halifax N.C., August 21, 1767. It was retained

(1) Hayden's Washington, etc. (2) John Lanets "Masonic Records," p. 67.

on the register until 1813. The first is known as St. John's, No. 1, and the second retains its original name of Royal White Hart Lodge, No. 2 (1)

In the transaction of the St. John's Grand Lodge of Massachusetts a record states that on October 2, 1767, that body granted a deputation to Thomas Cooper, Master of Pitt County Lodge, as Deputy Grand Master of the Province.

In 1771, a lodge now known as St. John's, No. 3, was established at New Berne.

Judge Martin, in a discourse delivered on June 24, 1789, says that Joseph Montford was appointed, toward the year 1769, as Provincial Grand Master by the Duke of Beaufort, and in 1771 he constituted St. John's Lodge, above mentioned as No. 3; that this was probably the true date of the Provincial Grand Lodge of North Carolina, for on December 16, 1787, we find nine lodges in the territory; and that a convention was held at Tarborough and organized "The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina." (2)

In 1771, a Grand Lodge was organized, which met at Newbern and Edenton. The records were destroyed by the English during the War of the Revolution.

December 9, 1787, an effort was made to reorganize the Grand Lodge by the representatives of the following lodges: Unanimity; St. John's, No. 2; Royal Edwin, No. 4; Royal White Hart, No. 403; Royal William, No. 8; Union at Fayetteville, Blandford, Bute, and Old Cone.

At a meeting of the Grand Lodge held June 25, 1791, the lodges were all renumbered and new charters were issued to them.

The General Assembly of North Carolina incorporated the Grand Lodge in 1797. Some of the lodges were also incorporated.

In 1856, St. John's College was established at Oxford, the present writer having furnished a design for the building. During the war, from 1861 to 1865, the college was vacated by the students. After the war the Grand Lodge converted the building and grounds into an orphans' home, and with varied success it has at last become permanently one of the best orphans homes in the country. Several additions have been made to the original buildings. This Grand

(1) John Lane's "Masonic Records," p. 108. (2) Mackey's "Encyclopedia," p. 536 1424 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY

Lodge stands among the first of the Southern States for its prosperity in all essential features.

Maine.

The first Masonic lodge organized m Maine was located at Falmouth, which was subsequently called Portland.

Jeremy Gridley, Provincial Grand Master for Massachusetts (St. John's Grand Lodge), granted authority to Alexander Ross to constitute this lodge. We learn that this "Constitution" was not acted upon. Ross died November 24, 1768, and a petition was signed by eleven Brethren, and sent to John Rowe, who succeeded Gridley, and on March 30, 1769, he granted a new Charter, deputizing William Tyng to act as Master. The first meeting was held May 8th of that year. It seems that the two rituals, viz., the '*Modern" and "Ancient," were in conflict in this lodge, and in 1772 the lodge resolved for harmony's sake to use these rituals on alternate evenings.

June 5, 1778, an application, which did not have a sufficient number of signers, was made to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (acting under the Grand Lodge of Scotland), to be called Warren Lodge, to be located at Machias. This petition was returned, and when properly signed, September 4, 1778, the Grand Lodge granted a Warrant, September 10, 1778.

A lodge was warranted by the United Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, June 1, 1792, to be named Lincoln Lodge. The same Grand Lodge issued a Warrant for another lodge in Portland in 1806.

Maine was admitted into the Union of the States in 1819, whereupon Simon Greenleaf issued a call for a convention to be held October 14, 1819, for the purpose of organizing a Grand Lodge for that State. There were then thirty-one lodges in that State all warranted by Grand Lodges in Massachusetts. Twenty-nine of these unanimously agreed to constitute a Grand Lodge in Maine.

The committee appointed by this convention, in consequence of the determination of the late "Massachusetts Grand Lodge, in 1781," that all charters granted without the limits of this (Massachusetts) State shall be understood to remain in force until a Grand Lodge is formed in the government where such lodges are held; "requested that the connection with the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts should be dissolved, etc., which was finally granted, donating $1,000 as a foundation for a charity fund, and the District Deputy Grand Masters in Maine were directed to pay what funds they might have in hand belonging to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to the new Grand Lodge.

What a commentary this is upon the conduct of very many Grand Lodges, who fought frightfully against the organization of new Grand Lodges in territory where they held lodges under their obedience. The generosity and Masonic bearing of this grand old Commonwealth commend the Brethren thereof to our praise and admiration. We have had occasion in another place to mention this historical circumstance.

June 1, 1820, twenty-four bodies were represented and chose their Grand Officers. William King, the Governor of the State, was elected the first Grand Master.

The Grand Lodge, through the Grand Officers, was incorporated by the Legislature of Maine, June 24, 1824. The Grand Officers were installed, at the meeting-house of Rev. Mr. Payson, by the Grand Master of New Hampshire.

Simon Greenleaf succeeded William King as Grand Master.

At a meeting of the Grand Lodge, July 10, 1820, the following was proposed:

"To consider whether a person, who is conscientiously scrupulous against taking an oath, can be admitted to the benefits of Masonry by solemn affirmation."

This was fully considered, and on January 8, 1824, the following report of the committee was received and adopted by the Grand Lodge:

"Your committee deem this a question of no little importance as it bears on the interests of the Craft. On the one hand, if decided in the negative, there will be necessarily excluded from a participation of all the Mysteries, and very many of the benefits and advantages of Masonry a large class of Men, among the most respectable of our citizens, on account of their integrity, their conscientious regard for all those great moral principles which dignify human nature, and certainly not among the most backward in deeds of mercy and charity. On the other hand, if decided in the affirmative, it would seem at last to sanction a departure from what, for ages, has been deemed a form of sacred words, and what has not hitherto failed to bind the consciences of otherwise the most hardened offenders. It is impossible that your committee should not examine with mistrust a principle which should shut out from the Masonic Fraternity such men as Clarkson; and they can not close their eyes to the bad effect which sanctioning such principles must have on the moral sense of the Community. On the whole, your Committee conceive that no Masonic principle is violated in adapting the form of the Obligations to consciences of Men equally good and true, but on the contrary, that serious hurt would grow to the Institution of Masonry, by an adherence to the technical form of words, heretofore used, for the purpose of securing that fidelity on the Crafts Men which have never yet been violated, even when all other principles have been wrecked, in the vortex of unhallowed appetites, or the whirlwind of ungoverned passions."

The Grand Lodges of the United States commented upon this action. Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Delaware, Virginia, and Pennsylvania protested, and the last passed the following resolutions:

"That the Grand Lodge of Maine be respectfully requested to reconsider the resolution adopted by them on the 8th January, 1834, proposing a new mode in which the degrees of Masonry can he conferred.

"That this Grand Lodge feel themselves bound to refuse to recognize any person, as a Mason, known to be initiated in the Mode proposed by the Grand Lodge of Maine."

Soon after this the so-called "Morgan excitement" prevailed to such an extent over all the Northeastern States, that it had the same depressing effect as in New York and Pennsylvania.

In 1829 there were fifty-eight lodges. A large number of these suspended their labors.

At the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge in 1837, the oldest lodge at Portland was the only one represented. In 1844, sixteen lodges were represented. In 1849, Mount Hope was organized, the only one in twenty years. In 1860, there were ninety-six lodges, having four thousand three hundred and nineteen members. In ten years (1870) there were one hundred and fifty-four lodges with fourteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-six members.

New Jersey.

This colony was the home of the first Provincial Grand Master appointed by the Grand Lodge of England for any Province in America, to wit, that of Daniel Coxe, who received a deputation in 1729. Anderson mentions the issuing of this Masonic instrument in his History of Masonry. It was dated contemporaneously with one to Lower Saxony, and one to Bengal, India. Daniel Coxe appears never to have exercised any Masonic power in New Jersey. He was a resident of Burlington, and represented Gloucester County, N.J., in the Assembly of 1716, at which he was elected Speaker.

On May 13, 1761, a constitutional number of Master Masons in and about the town of Newark petitioned for and received from the hands of George Harrison, Provincial Grand Master of the Province of New York, a Warrant of Dispensation, Directed to William Tukey as Master, and others as officers, to meet and operate as a lodge, the first meeting-place being Rising Sun Tavern; after that the communications were held at the residences of the respective members. The lodge was called St. John's Lodge, No. 1, and preserves its original minutes to the present day.

"This Lodge observed Washington's Birthday as a Masonic Festival as early as 1792; and that venerable Lodge has, from that time to the present, yearly convened on that festive day to commemorate the Masonic Virtues of Washington.'' (1)

On June 24, 1762, Jeremy Gridley, Grand Master of Masons of the Province of Massachusetts, granted a deputation to Jonathan Hampton, Esq., to constitute a lodge by the name of Temple Lodge, No. 1, to be located in Elizabethtown, N. J.

On June 20, 1764, as set forth in an original document in the Archives of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, the Grand Lodge of London (Ancients), Thomas Erskine, Grand Master, appointed Wm. Ball, Esq., Grand Master of Masons for the Province of Pennsylvania and the territories thereunto belonging: by virtue of this authority, three lodges were instituted in New Jersey, in the years 1767, 1779, and 1781.

In 1779 the headquarters of General George Washington were at Morristown, N. J. Numerous military lodges were organized in the American Army; and on December 27th of that year a festival

(1) Sidney Hayden's "Washington," etc.

was held by the "American Union Lodge" at Morristown, at which Bro. George Washington was present. The Minutes of the Proceedings of American Union Lodge are at the present time in the possession of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut.

On February 7, 1780, a convention lodge held at Morristown in accordance with a previous understanding, December 27, 1779, favored a Grand Lodge of America. This movement Pennsylvania also endorsed in 1780. New Jersey subsequently withdrew its assent.

A convention of Master Masons was held on December, 18 1786, for the preparatory consideration of, and to mark out the course to be adopted for, the formation of a Grand Lodge for the State. This resulted in the adoption of the constitution on April 2, 1787, from which period the Grand Lodge dates.

Michigan.

No written history of Masonic events prior to 1826 have as yet been discovered. From the "Historical Sketch," by Brother Foster Pratt, M.D., Past Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Michigan, we are enabled to glean all the well established facts as to the early introduction of Masonry into that State: " From 1764 to 1844, historical material accumulated around our Mystic Temple, not in consecutive records, nor in permanent forms, but in fragmentary papers, and varying traditions; and it has required no little research and labor to dig up from 'the rubbish' and to establish beyond question, exact dates, historical landmarks, and the true order of Masonic events."

There has been no written history of Masonry in Michigan prior to 1844. Three Grand Lodges have been organized in that State. The first was in 1826. The first lodge, is "named Zion," was formed by a Warrant from Provincial Grand Master George Harrison, of New York, under the date of April 27, A.D. 1764, which was No 448 Register of England, and No. 1 of Detroit. It is most likely that the military and citizens of Detroit were combined in this lodge.

When the British troops at a later date were serving in Michigan, there were probably three military lodges - which were noticed in an English Masonic Register as No. 289 at Detroit in 1773, No. 320 at Detroit in 1783; and St. John's Lodge, No. 373, at Mackinaw in 1785. These were undoubtedly military lodges. The registry shows that their warrants came direct from England.

These lodges left no trace in Michigan, but they all went with their respective regiments, in 1796, when Michigan was surrendered to the United States.

The SECOND MASONIC PERIOD commenced in 1794. From the peculiar conditions of the country and the times it seems no records were preserved; yet there was some evidence that during a portion of that time, for thirty years, Zion Lodge maintained life and performed some labor. So long as Great Britain claimed Michigan as a part of Upper Canada, which was until 1796, the Masonic jurisdiction was therefore in the Grand Lodge of Canada, which had already been organized. On September 7, 1794, a Warrant was issued to Brethren in Detroit from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada, called Zion Lodge, No. 10. This lodge was instituted December 19, 1794, James Donaldson, Worshipful Master. In 1796 American troops planted the flag and institutions of the United States at Detroit.

The THIRD MASONIC PERIODW A.D. 1806, New York jurisdiction. - The records of the Grand Lodge of New York show that September 3, 1806, a Charter was granted by DeWitt Clinton, Grand Master, to the Brethren of Detroit, by which Zion Lodge was reformed and-recorded as "No. 1 at Detroit." With their petition they surrendered to the Grand Lodge of New York the original Warrant of 1764. This lodge was "installed" July 6, 1807. We find no other records of interest..

The FOURTH MASONIC PERIOD, A.D. 1812 - 20, second war with England. - Until October 5, 1813, when the battle of the Thames occurred, there were no meetings, as the country was occupied by the British forces. In October, General Lewis Cass became Governor, and the American flag again waved at Detroit, the lodge having forfeited its Charter by the events of the war. Upon petition of its members the Grand Lodge of New Yorks, March 14, 1816, granted a Charter to Zion Lodge, No. 62, instead of former No. 1. By a new arrangement of numbers in 1819, according to the original charters, this lodge became No. 3.

The FIFTH MASONIC PERIOD, First Grand Lodge. - A dispensation was granted by the Grand Lodge of New York in 1821, and instituted December 26, 1821, by the name of Detroit Lodge, No. 337

March 7, 1822, in the town of Pontiac, County of Oakland, by the name and style of Oakland Lodge, No. 343, which had been previously organized under dispensation.

A Warrant was issued September 1, 1824, a dispensation having been issued on June 12, 1824, to form a lodge in Green Bay, in the county of Brown, by the name of Minomanie, No. 374, which is in Wisconsin at this time, as then it was in the territory of Michigan. December 1, 1824, at the town of Monroe, in the county of Monroe, territory of Michigan, by the name of Monroe Lodge, No. 375.

The Grand Lodge was Organized in 1826. - The convention met June 24, 1826. Were present by their representatives Lodges No. 3, No. 337, No. 374, and No. 375, all chartered by the Grand Lodge of New York. No. 343 of Pontiac was not present at this meeting, but appeared later and joined in its action. June 28th a constitution was adopted. July 31st Grand Officers were elected and installed. This new Grand Lodge was duly recognized by the Mother Grand Lodge of New York by suitable and fraternal resolutions, June 11, 1827. At the Institution of the Grand Lodge, General Lewis Cass was installed Grand Master. Four lodges were soon thereafter organized, viz.: Stony Creek, Western Star, St. Cloud, and Friendship. These made nine lodges in its jurisdiction. The meager official records of its proceedings have been published, yet all that the Grand Lodge accomplished soon came to naught.

The principal importance that attaches to the matter arises from the fact that it became the cause of four years of Masonic confusion, after eleven years of silence. The exact date of the suspension of life is not known, and the manner of it was unique; "and when dead it did not rest in peace."

As a Masonic curiosity, the dispensation granted by Grand Master Lewis Cass to Stony Creek Lodge, January 9, 1828, is yet in existence, which is the only lodge which maintained its existence during the dark days of the anti-Masonic excitement.

The SIXTH MASONIC PERIOD, A.D. 1840 - 44, Reconstruction. - Michigan attained to Statehood in 1837. The population increased from 1829, when Masonic labor ceased, with only about 30,000, to nearly 250,000 in 1840. The increase of population being mainly from States where Masonry had resumed its labors after the recent anti-Masonic crusade, the Institution began to revive in 1840, and on November 15th of that year a convention was held at Mt. Clemens. Nothing definite was accomplished and it adjourned to May 5, 1841. The history of the proceedings of the Brethren during the four years between 1840 and 1844 is very interesting but entirely too lengthy for our limits, and we refer our readers to the local history of the Grand Lodges of Michigan. (1)

On September 17, 1844, the Grand Lodge of Michigan was constitutionally organized and elected the Grand Officers - which Grand Lodge continues to the present time and has grown and prospered and is among the leading Grand Lodges of the United States.

Delaware.

There appears to be some uncertainty concerning the first lodge instituted in Delaware. It is said that the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1764 warranted Union Lodge No. 121, at Middletown, for General Majoribank's Regiment. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania granted warrants to Lodge No. 5, at Cantwell's Bridge on June 24, 1765, and renewed March 5, 1798, and was surrendered, January 30, 1815, in order to unite in forming the Grand Lodge of Delaware. Hyneman's World's Masonic Register says: "The Grand Lodge of Delaware was organized June 6, 1806." Here is a difference of ten years in the date of organization of the Grand Lodge.

A Charter to Lodge No. 13, at Christiana Ferry, afterward Wilmington, was granted, December 27, 1769; surrendered and renewed, January 22, 1789; was vacated, September 15, 1806, for un- Masonic proceedings in the establishment of the pretended Grand Lodge of Delaware (Hyneman, ante); to Lodge No. 18 at Dover, Kent County, granted, August 26, 1775; surrendered and renewed, May 31, 1787; to Lodge No. 33, at New Castle and at Christiana Bridge, one year at one place and the ensuing year at the other, granted, April 3, 1780; surrendered and renewed, March 1, 1790; vacated, September 15, 1806, for un-Masonic conduct in the formation of the pretended Grand Lodge of Maryland; to Lodge No. 44, at Duck Creek Cross Roads; granted, June 24, 1785; surrendered and renewed, September 6, 1790; has ceased long since; to Lodge No. 63, at Lewistown; granted, May

(1) "Historical Sketch of Early Masonry in Michigan," by Foster Pratt, p. 42 et seq.

28, 1794; vacated, April 7, 1806; to Lodge No. 96, the Delaware Hiram Lodge at Newark; granted, December 6, 1802; vacated, September 15, 1806, for un-Masonic conduct in the formation of the Grand Lodge of Delaware.

The Grand Lodge of Maryland granted a Warrant to St. John's Lodge in Laureltown, Sussex County, on September 18, 1792. It became delinquent to the Grand Lodge and its Warrant was forfeited, June 13, 1800. June 6, 1806, it petitioned to be revised but was refused. Grand Lodge warranted a new lodge named "Hope" at the same time and place. Nine Brethren, said to represent Lodge No. 31, Grand Lodge of Maryland, Nos. 33, 96, and 14, Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, met at the town hall in Wilmington, and resolved that, as a matter of right, and for the general benefit of Masonry, they ought to form a Grand Lodge within said State, and did then proceed to form the Grand Lodge of Delaware. A committee of five was appointed to prepare a set of regulations. The meeting adjourned to June 7, 1806, when twelve Brethren were present. They proceeded to the appointment of Grand Officers, pro tempore, and thereupon, without any previous installation, opened the Grand Lodge of Delaware. Warrants were granted without any charge except the secretary's fees for executing them, etc. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, to whom the proceedings had been referred, refused to recognize them, that five lodges at least were indispensably necessary to form a Grand Lodge (there were only five lodges at the formation of the pretended Grand Lodge), and that three of the lodges were indebted to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for fees and dues. Accordingly, these warrants were vacated. The Grand Lodge of Maryland also refused to recognize the new Grand Lodge, and in 1808, the Charter of Hope was annulled. The action taken by Pennsylvania and Maryland did not seem to affect the new Grand Lodge, and in 1816 the Lodge No. 5, Cantwell's Bridge, under the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, joined the new Grand Lodge by permission of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, thus making five.

Vermont.

In 1778, some of the towns in New Hampshire, near the Connecticut River, put themselves under the control of Vermont. The attention of the citizens was directed to this circumstance, and a petition from sixteen towns, including Hanover and some others, east of Connecticut River, was presented to the Legislature of Vermont, at the first session in March, 1778, with the request to receive them into Union and Confederation. At the next session of the Legislature an act was passed to authorize these towns to elect and send members to the Legislature at their next session. At the session of the General Assembly, in October, 1778, delegates from at least eight towns of New Hampshire took their seats in the Assembly. (1)

We have stated this much of the political history of that early period, to account for circumstances in the Masonic history, which would not be otherwise understood, viz.: that the original petition for a Charter for a Vermont lodge was dated at "Cornish, Vermont," and why the lodge met at Charlestown, N. H., in place of Springfield, Vt., which town was named in the Charter. Again: Ira Allen's History says that, "On the meeting of the Legislature of Vermont at Windsor, February 12, 1779, to get rid of a connection which had occasioned so much trouble and danger, the Assembly passed an Act dissolving the Union of the sixteen towns in New Hampshire." (2)

For a period of four years ending February, 1782, both sides of the Connecticut River were to some extent common territory. (3)

November 8, 1781, a petition from Cornish, Vt., was presented to St. Andrew's Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and a Charter was ordered to be issued November 10, 1781, the lodge to be located at Springfield, Vt.

This lodge, instead of meeting at Springfield, Vt., held the meetings in Charlestown, N.H. May 17, 1787, the lodge was in some doubt as to the propriety of their meeting in Charlestown, N. H.

A Charter was applied for, to St. Andrew's Grand Lodge, for a lodge at Charlestown, named Faithful, which was granted, February 2, 1788. The Vermont lodge was removed to its proper place at Springfield. On May 14, 1795, upon petition to the Grand Lodge, the said lodge was moved to Windsor, Vt., and the lodge met there until September 19, 1831, when it suspended its meetings, in consequence of the anti-Masonic or Morgan excitement. On January 10, 1850,

(1) Ira Allen's History, in George F. Koon's "Freemasonry in Vermont." (2) Ibid (3) Ibid.

upon petition, the present Charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of Vermont. The second lodge established in Vermont was chartered by St. Andrew's Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, January 20, 1785, and was named North Star, in Manchester, Bennington County, and was constituted, February 3, 1785.

Dorchester Lodge was the third lodge constituted in Vermont previous to the formation of a Grand Lodge in Vermont. This lodge was chartered by Sir John Johnson, May 5, 1791, Grand Master of the Province of Quebec.

Temple Lodge, at Bennington, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, May 18, 1793.

Union Lodge, at Middlebury, was the last lodge chartered prior to the organization of the Grand Lodge of Vermont. The Charter was issued by the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, May 15, 1794.

A convention was held at Manchester, August 5, 1794, and the following lodges were represented, viz.: North Star, Dorchester, and Temple. After appointing committees for several purposes, preliminary to a permanent establishment of a Grand Lodge, the convention adjourned, to meet at Rutland, October 14, 1794, at which time the Grand Lodge adopted the constitution. There were present, by representatives, the following lodges, viz.: North Star, Vermont Lodge, Dorchester, Temple, and Union. The Grand Officers were elected, Brother Noah Smith being Grand Master.

The Grand Lodge continued to hold the annual communications until during the anti-Masonic excitement in 1826. From 1828 to 1836 many of the lodges failed to be represented, and to pay their annual dues to the Grand Lodge. At the Annual Communication, October 11, 1831, a resolution, recommending an unqualified surrender by the Grand Lodge of the charters of the several secular lodges was dismissed by a vote of ayes 99 to noes 19.

Without dwelling upon the history of that time, which tried the souls and patience of all good Masons, we extract from the proceedings of the Grand Lodge held October 7, 1834.

At the session of October 7, 1834, the following transaction took place:

On motion of Bro. Joel Winch, a committee of three was appointed to examine the communications received from secular lodges and present the views of the Grand Lodge at this time. N.B. Haswell, Joel Winch, and Solomon Mason were appointed, who made the following report:

Whereas, The Grand Lodge of the State of Vermont has witnessed with regrets the assembling in different counties of the State of Masons called together by a notice or authority new and unknown to the usages of the craft and in opposition to the constitution of the order; therefore

Resolved, That the Grand Lodge deem the assemblage of Masons in the manner above alluded to to be unmasonic and unconstitutional.

Resolved, That the resolution adopted by the Grand Lodge at its last session (whereby permission was given to the secular Lodges to surrender their charters and records, giving to said Lodges authority to retain and dispose of their property and funds as they see fit) was a measure calculated to relieve [all] who wished to retire from Masonry.

Resolved, That the Grand Lodge do hereby receive, and they instruct their Secretary to receive hereafter, such charters and records as may be surrendered by virtue of the resolution aforesaid, and they order the same whenever surrendered to be deposited among its archives.

Resolved, That this Grand Lodge feel it a duty they owe themselves as well as the whole Masonic fraternity to declare, that while its individual members are left to the free and unmolested enjoyment of their sentiments upon the various subjects connected with religion and politics, and the right to judge of men and their actions, they hereby most solemnly declare that Masonic bodies have not tile right to connect the institution with the sectarian or party views of eitherthat any attempt thereat is a gross innovation upon those principles which among good and correct Masons are universally acknowledged, and should be universally practised upon.

Resolved, That the Grand Lodge do at this time as they have hitherto done, declare to the world that the object of their association, and motives for continuing therein, are founded upon the principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. They disclaim the right of Masons to inflict corporeal punishment and acknowledge no other right to enforce obedience from its members but reprimand, suspension and expulsion.

Resolved, That the Grand Lodge recommend to those brethren who incline still to adhere to the institution of Masonry, to continue to cultivate a spirit of good will towards those who may differ from them respecting the origin and continuance of Free Masonry; and while we are ready to forgive those whose fidelity has been shaken by one of those popular commotions incldent to our free institutions, we are also ready to judge with candor the motives by which they have been governed.

In presenting the foregoing resolutions, your committee will close their report in the language of one of the late officers of this Grand Lodge whose labors on earth are finished; we ask you to gaze with us upon the ominous gathering, which to no eye can be viewless; we ask you to contemplate its swelling aspect, its various phases, and its multiform ramifications; listen to its busy notes of preparation and anticipate its maturity of strength, and then imagine its consummation to have taken place; then cast your eye around and see how many have quaked and quailed, how many have failed, how many have surrendered at discretion, and how many have renounced their faith and armed to batter us down; then complete the picture, and when you find the smoke and din of the conflict is passed, and the light streaming in upon us once more, not a heart flinching, not a hand palsied, but each and every one still invincible in defence of the mighty truth.

If Free Masonry falls, her monument will not crumble, nor her epitaph fade. It is erected upon the everlasting hills, it is firmly planted in the deepest vallies. The widow's prayer of joy, the orphan's tear of gratitude as they ascend, like the dew before the solar influence, bear with them its eulogy and its praise. So long as there remains a fragment of the temples of antiquity; so long as one stone of the edifices it has consecrated shall rest upon another; so long as brotherly love, relief, and truth obtain among men, so long will its mausoleum endure. The waves of popular prejudice may beat against it, the shouts of popular clamor may be thrown back in echoes from its base, the winds and weathers of time may press upon it, but still it will endure, glory will encircle it, honor will be yielded to it, and veneration will be felt for the hallowed recollections it quickens into action; and hereafter when he casts his eyes over the galaxy of social institutions among men, the philanthropist will involuntarily associate with his subject that other and celestial galaxy, and realize as now from the fiat that has effected the one, so then from the economy that controlled the other, that he will soon have to mourn for a lost Pleiad which can never more be visible in the moral constellation.

NATHAN B. HASWELL,

For Committee.

NOTE. - When we see the present status of Masonry at the end of the 19th century, how true a prophet was Brother Haswell !

The few faithful Brethren in Vermont never surrendered their Masonry, but continued to hold their communications of the Grand Lodge, and adjourned from year to year, until all the excitement had died out, when the politicians discovered that they could no longer impose upon the people.

Many of the Brethren wished again to resume the work of Masonry in Vermont, and thought it desirable that it should be done under the old organization; as they had made provision for keeping it up to the then present date. Bro. Grand Master Nathan B. Haswell, who had held the Grand Lodge together for so many years (blessed be his memory), called a meeting of the Officers of the Grand Lodge, to be held at Mason's Hall, in Burlington, January 14, 1846, at which time and place the Grand Officers met and the Grand Lodge of Vermont resumed its legitimate functions and prestige, and has continued to do so ever since; and, notwithstanding the great trials and persecutions inflicted upon Masonry as an institution, and upon individuals, the Grand Lodge of Vermont stands to-day upon a higher pinnacle than ever before.

The "Green Mountain Boys" will ever maintain the honor and glory of their great antecedents.

Florida.

Originally, after the discovery by Ponce de Leon in 1513, Florida belonged to the Kingdom of Spain. The country was settled by Huguenots in 1562, and permanently occupied by Spaniards in 1565, at St. Augustine. It was ceded to Great Britain in 1763, again to Spain in 1783, and finally to the United States in 1819, and admitted to the Union in 1845.

The origin of Masonry in Florida is somewhat vague, and the writers on the history of Masonry do not agree as to when it was first introduced into that country. In 1768, the Grand Lodge of Scotland erected a lodge, No. 143, at East Florida and appointed Governor James Grant Prov. G.M. for North America, southern district. (1)

A "memorial from the Brethren of St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 1, late of West Florida; now of Charlestown, South Carolina, with sundry papers relative thereto," was presented to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, July 8, 1783. Of this lodge nothing more is known. When the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania responded to the memorial and a Charter was issued, it was forwarded to the W. Master of another lodge with instructions to ascertain if the W. Master and members of the said lodge were of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity, and consented to be under that jurisdiction. In 1768, the Grand Lodge of Scotland granted a Charter to a lodge in East Florida.

There is no trace whatever of such a lodge.

Brother Mackey indicates that Lodge No. 30, chartered by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina (Ancients), at St. Augustine, East Florida, became "extinct in consequence of a decree of the King of Spain." No. 56, at Pensacola, was chartered by the Grand

(1) Gould, voi. vi., p.403.

Lodge of South Carolina (date is unknown). It also became extinct. The same Grand Lodge, June 30, 1820, chartered Floridian Virtues Lodge, at St. Augustine, in place of No. 30, and which also ceased to work in 1827. June 29, 1821, that Grand Lodge revived No. 56 at Pensacola, by the name of Good Intention Lodge, No. 17, which became extinct in 1825. January 3, 1824, that Grand Lodge issued a Charter to La Esperanza Lodge, No. 47, at St. Augustine, which is supposed to be a revival of No. 30.

From the reprint of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Florida, the committee on the reprint say that the first lodge in East Florida was St. Fernando, at St. Augustine, warranted by the Grand Lodge of Georgia, about 1806. As South Carolina had issued a Charter as early as 1804, consequently this one could not have been the first.

Jackson Lodge, at Tallahassee, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Alabama, December 19, 1825. On December 15, 1827, it was suspended and the Charter was forfeited, December 8, 1829; it was, however, placed in good standing on the payment of its arrearages of dues.

Washington Lodge, at Quincy, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Georgia, December 2, 1828; also the same Grand Lodge chartered Harmony Lodge, at Marianna, December 8, 1829. July 5, 1830, these three lodges met and framed and adopted a constitution, July 6th, and the Grand Officers were elected and installed. With the exception of the Territory of Michigan, this was the first Territorial Grand Lodge; and as the first one in Michigan did not continue very long, Florida Grand Lodge, now existing, may claim to he the first formed in a Territory.

Kentucky.

Kentucky being originally a part of Virginia, up to 1792, jurisdiction over it was exercised by that State.

November 17, 1788, Lexington Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia. The following lodges also derived their authority from the same Grand Lodge, viz.: November 25, 1791, Paris Lodge was chartered; Georgetown Lodge received a dispensation, January 9, 1796, and a Charter, November 29, 1796, a dispensation was issued to Hiram Lodge, September 20, 1799, and a Charter was granted, December 11, 1799; a dispensation was issued to Abraham's Lodge, at Shelbyville, in the latter part of 1799 or commencement of 1800.

Representatives from these five lodges met September 8, 1800, at Lexington, and determined that it was expedient, necessary, and agreeable to Masonic constitution, that a Grand Lodge should be established for that State. The convention then issued a call for a second convention for October 16, 1800.

This convention, composed of the above five lodges by their representatives, met, and after organizational elected their Grand Officers, who were then installed.

District of Columbia.

This district, containing originally one hundred square miles, was set apart by Act of Congress, approved July 16, 1790, for the capital of the United States: being partly in the State of Maryland, on the north and east side of the Potomac River, and on the south and west side of that river, in the State of Virginia.

Prior to that date a lodge had been organized by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, in the town of Georgetown, situated on the west bank of Rock Creek, April 12, 1789, by the name of Potomac Lodge, No. 9. For some reasons, now unknown, this lodge ceased to work. October 23, 1795, the Grand Lodge of Maryland granted a Warrant to another body of Masons (probably many of them had been members of No. 9), which was named Columbia, No. 19. This lodge also ceased its labors, and another lodge was warranted by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, by the name of Potomac Lodge, No. 43, which last lodge continued with the name and number as stated, until the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was constituted, February 11, 1811, when the same name being continued, the number was changed to 5, and is the same at the present time.

Federal Lodge, No. 15, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, September 12, 1793. By Act of Congress, the District of Columbia having been laid out and the public buildings for the several departments being under construction, especially the Capitol of the United States, the city of Washington having also been laid out, many private residences were being constructed, and the population was greatly increased.

EPISODE.

The corner-stone of the Capitol was laid September 18, 1793, with Masonic ceremonies, conducted by the President, Brother George Washington, who came up from Alexandria, accompanied by Alexandria Lodge, No. 39, and was joined by Potomac Lodge, No. 9. Federal Lodge, No. 15, although its Warrant had been issued a few days previous to this occasion, and in consequence of its not having been duly instituted, could not join in the ceremonies, although the Brethren were present as spectators. The gavel used on that occasion, made by one of the workmen, of a piece of marble similar to that used in the building, was presented to General Washington; after the ceremonies it was given by him to the Worshipful Master of Potomac Lodge, No. 9, and is in the possession of that lodge at the present time.

Brooke Lodge, No. 47, being located in Alexandria, Va., after the formation of the Federal District, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

Alexandria Lodge, No. 29, also located in the city of Alexandria, was originally chartered by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, February 23, 1783, but soon after the institution of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, October 13, 1778, this lodge withdrew from her allegiance to the Mother Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, by her consent, and received a Warrant from the Grand Lodge of Virginia, under the name of Alexandria Lodge, No. 22, dated April 28, 1788, with George Washington, Esquire, late Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the United States of America, as Worshipful Master.

Columbia Lodge, No. 35, in Washington City, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, November 8, 1803; Washington Naval Lodge, No. 40, also in Washington City, was also chartered by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, May 14, 1805.

December 11, 1810, a convention was held by the five lodges above mentioned, viz.: Federal, No. 15; Brooke, No. 47; Columbia, No. 35; Washington Naval, No. 40; and Potomac, No. 43. Alexandria Lodge, No. 22, declined to join in this movement and was sustained by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and quietly acquiesced in by the Brethren in the District of Columbia. This convention adjourned to January 8th, and again to February 11, 1811, when the organization of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was fully completed, The several lodges surrendered their charters to their Mother Grand Lodges, and charters were issued to them by their own Grand Lodge, their numbers being changed to 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, according to original dates. Of these five lodges, all are in existence and are in a flourishing condition, except Brooke Lodge, No. 2, of Alexandria, which returned to the Grand Lodge of Virginia when that part of the District of Columbia was retroceded to the State of Virginia, and soon thereafter ceased to labor.

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