USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The town and city of Waterbury, Connecticut, from the aboriginal period to the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five. Volume III > Part 58
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Whereas, application has been made to us by Joel Clark, James Raynolds and sundry other brethren of the ancient and honorable society of Free and Accepted Masons, now residing at or near Waterbury aforesaid, that we would be pleased to constitute them into a regular lodge and appoint a suitable and worthy person as master of said lodge, with full power granted to him and his successors to rule, govern and regulate the same, that Masonry may increase and flourish in these parts;
Now know ye, that we, trusting and relying in his fidelity, resolution and good conduct, and putting in him special trust, have nominated, ordained, constituted and appointed and by these presents do nominate, ordain, constitute and appoint John Hotchkiss, our right worshipful and well beloved brother, to be the first master of the lodge in Waterbury aforesaid, and do hereby impower him to con- gregate the brethren together and form them into a regular lodge, he taking special care in choosing two wardens and other officers necessary for the due regulation thereof for one year. At the end thereof the lodge shall have full power to choose and appoint their master and other officers, and so annually.
The charter then proceeds with the usual cautionary orders and concludes thus :
Given under our hand and seal, in Boston, this seventeenth day of July, anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, and of Masonry five thousand seven hundred and sixty-five.
J. ROWE, D. Grand Master.
By the Grand Master's command,
EDMUND QUINCY, General Secretary.
III9
THE MASONIC AND OTHER FRATERNITIES.
Upon the back of the charter appears this indorsement:
This may certify that this charter is registered in the records of the Grand lodge of the state of Connecticut.
Test,
ELIAS SHIPMAN, General Secretary.
No records or other memoranda of the lodge thus established, while it held its communications in Waterbury, are known to exist, except the original draft of the by-laws, dated 1765 (written in a full round hand), which is now in possession of a member of Har- mony lodge. The introduction to these by-laws is as follows:
By-laws made, enacted and approved, for the due regulating the first lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Waterbury in Connecticut, and by a unanimous vote of the Right Worshipful master, wardens and members of said lodge, assembled in due form this 25th day of December, 5765. Ordered to be recorded. Follow reason.
Then follow the articles, twenty-one in number, in the quaint lan- guage of the period, but in substance comparing favorably with the codes of the present day; after which we have the following statement and names:
We, the subscribers, having read and considered the above and foregoing by- laws of the Right Worshipful lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, held at Captain George Nichols',* in Waterbury in Connecticut, do hereby acknowledge ourselves members of said lodge, and respectively agree to and approve of all the above and foregoing by-laws, and do hereby bind ourselves respectively to observe, stand by and be subject to them, in the strictest manner.
Witness our hands in the lodge aforesaid, duly formed this 25th day of Decem- ber, 1765, and of Masonry five thousand seven hundred and sixty-five.
John Hotchkiss, Amos Bull, Jesse Leavenworth,
Joel Clark, + John Lathrop, Robert Kinkhead,
James Reynolds, Joseph Perry, Allen Sage,
Isaac Jones, John Webster,
Hezekiah Thompson.
Eldred Lewis,
Amos Hitchcock,
In the absence of written records we are unable to trace the history of the lodge during the ten years of its existence in Water- bury. In a pamphlet printed by George Bunce, New Haven, 1798, containing the sermon preached by Abraham Fowler and the charge delivered by Jesse Beach at the "installation" of Har- mony lodge in 1797, there occurs (at the end of the charge) the following statement :
* The house of Captain George Nichols is still standing, substantially as it was in 1765 (see page 346). Captain Nichols was one of the magnates of the town, an owner of slaves and the only person who appears in the assessors' list as possessing a wheeled vehicle. His house was the most pretentious in the village. The lodge meetings were held in the ball-room, which occupied the upper story of the house.
+ Joel Clark was afterwards the first master of the American Union lodge, which was attached to the army of General Washington during the Revolutionary war. He was colonel in the Connecticut line, and was elected master while the army of Washington was encamped near Boston. The lodge moved with the urmy to New York, and at the battle of Long Island Colonel Clark and several other members of the lodge were taken prisoners by the British. He died in captivity.
II20
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
The Grand lodge of Massachusetts, about the year 1763, granted a warrant for a lodge in Waterbury, and Mr. John Hotchkiss of New Haven was installed their first master; which, however, was soon revoked, and their warrant recalled by the Grand lodge aforesaid for misconduct.
It would appear from this positive statement that the lodge of 1765 must have entirely disbanded. But there is evidence, on the con- trary, that about 1775 it was removed to Woodbury, and that it is substantially identical with the lodge still in operation in that town under the title of King Solomon's lodge, No. 7. This title was granted by the Grand Master at Boston in 1779, upon the peti- tion of the lodge in Woodbury. From the time of the removal of this old lodge until 1797 (a period of twenty-two years), the Water- bury members of the order were obliged to depend upon Derby, Woodbury and Watertown for their Masonic privileges. In this interval had occurred the war of the Revolution, and Waterbury had been deprived of her choicest territory by the erection of new towns carved out of her ancient limits. During the war, nearly all of her able-bodied men enlisted in the service of their country (Miss Prichard's list contains nearly 700* names), and the going away of so many must have drawn heavily upon a society composed of men capable of bearing arms. It is not surprising, then, that the peaceful avocations of Masonry should have been supplanted for the time by the more important duties of the patriot and soldier. In 1797, however, a charter was granted for a lodge to be opened in Waterbury under the title of Harmony lodge, No. 42. The charter mentions the following (twenty-three in all) as applicants :
Elisha Stevens, Jared Byington, Thomas Riggs, Roswell Calkins, James Scovil. Asa Gunn, Abel Wheeler, Daniel Wooster, Nimrod Hull, Julius Beecher, Asahe! Lewis, Daniel Beecher, Timothy Gibbud, Elihu Spencer, Philo Hoadley, Chester Hoadley, Stiles Hotchkiss, Martin Stevens, Sylvester Higby, Lemuel Porter. William Rowley, Jr., Francis Fogue, Tillotson Bronson and John Griffin.
Jared Byington was appointed the first master, and the communi- cations of the lodge were to be held in the First society, at the centre, and in Salem society (Naugatuck) on alternate months.
* See Vol. I, pp. 460-467.
+ The following interesting reminiscences of Francis Fogue appeared in the Waterbury American in 1 2.
"Dr. Francis Fogue, a prominent French infidel, was one of Naugatuck's old residents. He is remem- bered by a few of the present inhabitants for some of his strange eccentricities. Some time prior to his decease he invited a Naugatuck band of musicians to his residence, provided for them a sumptuous banquet and arranged with them to play at his funeral. His favorite tune, the war song of his native land, the "Marseillaise," was to be played while the coffin was being lowered and to continue until the earth was heaped high upon it. He had his coffin and shroud made some time before he was called to tenant them, and would occasionally don the grave clothes and stretch himself in his coffin to see how it seemed. His toml- stone was fashioned and inscribed, and stood by the door of his dwelling. Uno deo confideo (" In one God I trust") was engraved upon the slab underneath his name. His death occurred in 1825 and his bones moulder in the oldest part of Hillside cemetery. A gold plate inscribed with the insignia of the Masonic order, of which he was a member, was countersunk below the surface of the stone; this was pried out and appropriated by some avaricious desecrator, some time afterwards."
The limitations of Dr. Fogue's "infidelity " are indicated by the inscription he chose for his tombstone.
II2I
THE MASONIC AND OTHER FRATERNITIES.
Harmony lodge was organized in Salem, at the house of Daniel Beecher. The ceremonies of its institution were held at the Salem Congregational meeting-house, and a sermon was delivered by the Rev. Abraham Fowler .* Daniel Beecher's house was situated near the west bank of the Naugatuck river on the west side of the street which runs between Naugatuck and Union City, upon the premises now owned and occupied by Bronson Tuttle.t It was for many years occupied as a country tavern, and at the time of the institu- tion of the lodge was kept as such by Daniel Beecher, who was succeeded by his son, Baldwin Beecher, about the year 1834. The records show that Harmony lodge held its communications in this tavern, in 1797, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1824, 1833 and 1835, and probably during some of the intervening years. The first place of meeting in the First society, that is, at Waterbury centre, was at the house of Benjamin Upson, which stood upon the site now occupied by the Waterbury National bank. The house lot measured about two acres and embraced the land upon which the Masonic temple now stands.į From 1797 to 1805 the communications of the lodge were held on alternate months in the "First society at the centre and in the Second society at Salem." At the time of its institution its membership was nearly equal in the two parishes, and for mutual convenience the meetings were held at the two places alternately. After 1805, by permission of the Grand lodge, the alternation was made yearly instead of monthly, and so continued until 1818. At that date the home of the lodge was fixed in Salem society, and its meetings were held there for more than twenty years ; but in September, 1841, it was voted to establish the lodge permanently at the centre, and this action was confirmed by the Grand lodge. There are now within the territory covered at that ime by Harmony lodge, five lodges, three Royal Arch chapters, one council of Royal and Select Masters, and a commandery of Knights Templar, together embracing a membership of more than thousand Masons.
* The sermon, with the charge by Jesse Beach, was published in the pamphlet referred to on page 1119. he title page is as follows: "A Sermon, delivered at the Installation of Harmony Lodge of Free and ccepted Masons, at Salem in Waterbury, December 27, 1797. By Abraham Fowler, A. M., pastor offthe urch in Salem. To which is added, A Charge, given by Jesse Beach, Esq., high priest of the Royal Arch hapter, Derby. Printed by George Bunce, New Haven. 1798." Some years ago there was a copy of this mphlet in the midst of a bound volume in the office of the Waterbury American. In 1886, when it was anted with reference to a history of Masonry in Waterbury, which was then in preparation, it could not be und, although diligent search was made for it, and has not thus far been discovered, The writer of this te had, however, copied the title page and also the memorandum in regard to the revocation of the war- it for the lodge of 1765. (See the History of Free Masonry in Waterbury, by Joseph Anderson, in the merican of February 26, 1886.)
+ The house is still standing, in good preservation, a few rods in the rear of its original site, and is a fine cimen of the best class of houses of the last century.
# It is a pleasing coincidence, that, after a lapse of nearly a century, Harmony lodge should have a home hear to the spot where its founders assembled at the first meeting held at Waterbury centre.
71
II22
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
The records of Harmony lodge are complete, and many interest- ing items could be culled from their pages. Some of the prominent points are as follows:
At the first meeting after the institution of the lodge, it was voted "to present the thanks of the lodge to the Rev. Abram Fowler for the sermon delivered on the 25th, and request a copy for publication; likewise to make him a present of six dollars." At a lodge meeting January 29, 1798, I. Holmes and F. Hotchkiss were elected and were initiated the same night, together with Daniel Clark and D. Scott.
On February 22, 1800, "the lodge met for a day of mourning for illustrious Brother, General Washington, and the fee for the evening amounted to $2.75."
Under date of April 24, 1804, is this item in the treasurer's book: " Received twenty cents for fines and pin money." Mention is frequently made of moneys received for bids on books. The library of Harmony lodge contained probably the largest collection of books in Waterbury, and these were loaned to the members, and the choice sold at auction, the highest bidder being entitled to the first selec- tion.
At the " reckoning" with the treasurer in 1818, there were notes against various members of the lodge, amounting to nearly $200. The custom of loaning the sur- plus funds to members, upon interest, was inaugurated at the institution of the lodge, and was continued for more than half a century. It was a cause of no little trouble, and was discontinued about the year 1852.
Among the items of expenditure appear not infrequently receipts for bills paid for "rum, cider, spirits, sugar, crackers and cheese."*
On June 28, 1798, it was voted, " that Brother James Smith be a committee to return thanks of this lodge to Rev. Tillotson Bronson, rector of St. John's church, for his excellent discourse delivered this day, likewise to make him a present of a pair of black silk gloves." The day referred to was St. John's day, the observance of which was made obligatory upon lodges in the olden time. At a meeting on October 5, of the same year, it was voted, "that Brother Bronson be presented with a pair of silk stockings as a compensation for his sermon delivered at -St. John's, in lieu of gloves." As knee breeches were worn by the gentry of the day, long stockings and low shoes with large silver buckles, were a necessary part of a gentleman's attire. A pair of silk stockings was no mean gift, and was doubtless fully appreciated by the reverend gentleman, whose salary at that time, as rector of St. John's parish and minister at Salem bridge, was but $250 a year.
From the time of its institution until some years after the " Morgan excitement," Harmony lodge continued to prosper, and embraced in its membership many of the influential citizens of Waterbury and its vicinity. Even during the period when its sister lodges in all parts of the state were giving way before the torrent of unjust accusations poured upon them by a political party for selfish purposes, meetings were held and officers elected, and its members patiently waited for the return of reason and justice Attached to the noble declaration of principles issued to the world by the Masons of Connecticut in 1832 are the names of fifty mem-
* The first treasurer's book contains 150 pages, and its entries embrace the period from 1797 to 1833. The accounts of Francis Fogue, 1806-08, and of Israel Coe, 1825-27, are models of neatness and accuracy, and in marked contrast with those of some others preserved in the book.
II23
THE MASONIC AND OTHER FRATERNITIES.
bers of Harmony lodge, constituting a roll of honor of which any organization might be proud. For two or three years previous to the removal of the lodge to Waterbury centre, Masonry was per- haps at its lowest ebb, and soon after that removal the anxiety of over-zealous members to increase its membership led to the admis- sion of material which proved unfit, and which the lodge in after years had much trouble in eliminating. But a change followed, and the high tide of Masonry in Waterbury came during the period from 1850 to 1855. In 1853 seventy regular and special meetings were held and thirty-three candidates were initiated, while at the same time the lodge was purged of some of the objectionable mate- rial received during the previous decade.
From the date of the institution of Harmony lodge until 1853 it had no fixed place of meeting. It is known to have held its com- munications at fifteen different houses and taverns at Waterbury centre and in Salem society. One of these houses, formerly the residence of Daniel Clark, has in recent times been removed from East Main street to Phonix alley, and is known as the Log Cabin restaurant. The old lodge room is in the story over the restaurant, and is used as a shoemaker's shop. The room is still substantially as it was in the days of the fathers. No material change has been made in its interior during the past eighty years, and it is well worth a visit as illustrating the contrast be- tween the past and the present. It is the most ancient of our Masonic land- marks remaining unaltered, and if these THE FIRST MASONIC LODGE ROOM. FROM AN OLD DRAWING IN THE POSSESSION OF N. J. WELTON. old walls could speak, what an interest- ng chapter might be furnished for the history of Masonry in Waterbury! Of all who sat around the table which was always pread under that arched ceiling, not one remains to tell the story of hours of social intercourse, of songs and toasts and jokes, of olemn rites, of deeds of charity -and helpfulness there performed r planned, and of the many moral lessons there inculcated. In 852 Julius Hotchkiss commenced the erection of the brick block n the corner of East Main and North Main streets, in the third tory of which was a large hall for public meetings and a smaller all in the eastern end. This smaller hall was secured by Har- ony lodge, was fitted up for Masonic purposes, and was dedicated December 27, 1853, by Grand Master David Clark. It was occupied y the Masonic fraternity of Waterbury from August 18, 1853, until ovember 16, 1888, and was known as " Masonic hall" for not less
1124
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
than thirty-five years. In 1857 the eastern third of the block, con- taining stores, tenements and the Masonic hall, was purchased from Mr. Hotchkiss for $12,000, by the "Franklin institute," a corporation formed to provide a perma- nent home for the Masonic bodies of Waterbury at a rea- sonable rental .* These bodies occu- 5887. pied the hall until, in the opinion of a majo- rity of their members, MASONIC TEMPLE the well-being of the order demanded lar- ger and more conven- ient accommodations. This demand result- ed, after various plans had been considered, in an application to the legislature in 1887 for a special charter for a corporation .to be called the Masonic RTH Temple association of Waterbury, which 9NAL charter was granted.t A lot on Bank street, forty-one feet wide and 100 feet deep, was purchased by this as- sociation for $20,000;
ground was broken, June 27, 1887, and the corner stone was laid, October 6, 1887, under authority of Grand Master Henry H. Green,
* The members of this corporation were all connected with the fraternity, and its by-laws were so framed as to continue the ownership of the stock under Masonic control. Although in the course of time its ownership became concentrated in a few persons, the original design has been adhered to, so that the Masonic bodies of Waterbury had the use of the premises at a much lower rental than could have been obtained elsewhere.
+ The capital stock of this corporation is $25,000, divided into shares of twenty-five dollars each. These shares are owned by individual Masons, but it is the intention of the association that they shall ultimately be held by the Masonic bodies of Waterbury, and the charter and by-laws are so framed as to secure this result.
1I25
THE MASONIC AND OTHER FRATERNITIES.
with an address by the Rev. R. W. Bolles. The temple was com- pleted in October, 1888, at a cost of about $60,000, and was dedi- cated November 20, 1888, by Grand Master J. W. Mix, with the imposing ceremonies of the order, and a historical address by Nathan Dikeman. It is, with one or two exceptions, the finest structure devoted to Masonic uses in New England, and will no doubt be the home of Freemasonry in Waterbury for many gen- erations.
The following is a complete list of Masters of Harmony lodge from 1797 to 1895 inclusive :*
Jared Byington, 1797-'99.
Nathan Dikeman, 1853, '60.
Benjamin Upson, 1800, 'OI.
John W. Paul, 1854-'56.
William Leavenworth, 1802.
Benjamin P. Chatfield, 1857-'59.
Lemuel Porter, 1803-'05, '09.
Norman D. Grannis, 1861, '62.
Frederick Hotchkiss, 1806, '14.
Edwin A. Judd, 1863, '64.
Andrew Adams, 1807, '08, '10, ' 12, '13, '19, '24, '25.
Lemuel Harrison, 18II.
William D. Comes, 1815.
Elias Ford, 1816, 1821-'23.
Moses Hall, 1817, '26, '27, '31.
Silas Judd, 1818.
James Spruce, 1875. James E. Coer, 1876.
James D. Wooster, 1820.
Charles B. Vail, 1877.
Anson Sperry, 1828.
George E. Hendey, 1878.
Daniel Hayden, 1829, '38.
George B. Thomas, 1879.
Reuben L. Judd, 1830.
David L. Durand, 1880, '81.
Harvey Judd, 1832-'34.
Augustus I. Goodrich, 1882.
John D. Meers, 1835.
Robert Murphy, 1883.
Henry Hine, 1836.
Ezra L. Fields, 1884. James Callan, 1885, '86.
Henry W. Spencer, 1837.
Joshua Guilford, 1839, '41, '43, '46, '47.
John D. Chatfield, 1887-'90.
William M. Pemberton, 1842, '44, '45.
Charles A. Colley, 1891.
Isaac B. Castle, 1848.
Albert W. Cutts, 1892.
James M. Grannis, 1849, '50.
Harry O. Miller, 1893.
Henry Chatfield, 1851, '52.
James W. B. Porter, 1894, '95. +
The number of initiates in Harmony lodge from the date of its organization to November 1895, is 848. }
* The oldest living past master of Harmony lodge is Henry Chatfield, who now resides in Torrington. Of the forty-nine masters twenty-two (November, 1895), are living. Of those who have died, one lived to the ge of ninety-four, three were over ninety, and nine over eighty, at the time of their decease. Israel Coe, who was treasurer of Harmony lodge, 1825-'27, died in Waterbury, December 18, 1891, four days after his inety-seventh birthday. In April, 1895, the past masters of Harmony lodge voted to furnish one of the poms in the new Masonic home at Wallingford.
+ A pamphlet containing the charter and by-laws of Harmony lodge, with the na nes of all members and de dates of their admission, and a list of the past masters, was published in 1885.
# A handsome illustrated pamphlet of 16 pages, published in 1894, contains an address entitled, "Free- masonry in Foreign Lands," by Frederic S. Goodrich, of Albion College, Mich., first delivered before Harmony lodge, of which Professor Goodrich is a member.
Nelson J. Welton, 1865-'67.
Frederick H. Laforge, 1868-'70.
Alfred J. Shipley, 1871, '72.
Henry U. Church, 1873.
John H. Weeden, 1874.
1126
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
CONTINENTAL LODGE.
The rapid increase of population and the corresponding increase in the membership of Harmony lodge made it evident that the interests of Freemasonry demanded the establishment of another lodge in Waterbury. After due deliberation, and with the unani- mous consent of Waterbury Masons, an organization was effected, and in 1869 a dispensation was granted by Grand Master Asa Smith for a new lodge, to be called Excelsior lodge. S. S. Robinson was named as the first master, and G. E. Somers and W. W. Bonnett as the first wardens. In 1870 this dispensation was returned to the Grand lodge and a charter was granted to the organization under the title of "Continental lodge, No. 76" (this number having been given to a lodge in California by the Grand lodge of Connecticut before the formation of the Grand lodge of California). The number 76 naturally suggested the name "Continental," and this was adopted in place of "Excelsior." In the charter are the names of forty- 'nine brethren, about half of whom were members of Harmony lodge. They are as follows:
Samuel S. Robinson, George E. Somers, William W. Bonnett, Frederick A. Spencer, Oscar Bursch, James E. Johnson, John S. Castle, John N. Ensign, George W. Andrews, Charles I. Curtiss, Henry H. Peck, Leroy S. White, Nathan Dike- man, Franklin L. Curtiss, Andrew Mcclintock, David B. Hamilton, Edward L. Griggs, David E. Sprague, James Brown, Rufus E. Hitchcock, J. Hobart Bronson, Jacob M. Nelson, Frederick Wilcox, Edgar L. Day, Joseph Munger, Philip Simons, Andrew Terry, Oliver J. Warner, Nelson J. Welton, Joseph A. Bunnell, Joseph B. Spencer, Frederick B. Dakin, Robert W. Hill, Albert Burritt, S. L. Munson, Edward T. Root, Charles Parsons, Thomas Kirk, Edwin D. Welton, Orville H. Stevens, Anson A. Root, George Pritchard, William E. Crane, William W. Watrous, William C. Hillard, Stephen W. Kellogg, Charles W. Gillette, Charles C. Commer- ford, Benjamin F. Neal.
The record of this new lodge is an interesting one. From its origin to the present time, it has enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity and the relations between it and the older lodge have been of the most cordial and fraternal character.
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