USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 10
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The cornerstone of the First Baptist Church of Georgetown, D. C., was laid August 22, 1867 ; of a chapel and schoolhouse belonging to the German Lutheran Congregation of George- town September 2, and of the Island Baptist Church, in South Washington, September 30.
An invitation to the Grand Lodge to be present and par- ticipate in the laying of the cornerstone of a monument at Sharpsburg, Md., September 17 of this year was accepted, but there is no record of attendance as a body.
The death, September 4, 1867, of Grand Master George C. Whiting was a serious blow to the Fraternity and marked the passing of one of the bright particular stars of the local Masonic world. The life, character, and work of this brilliant Mason, the impress of whose individuality remains with 11s to a marked degree, are fully set forth in other pages of this work, the reading of which should prove an inspiration to every Mason.
Two dedications of Masonic halls occurred in the year 1867, that of the enlarged Naval Lodge Building, corner Fifth Street and Virginia Avenue, S. E., October 17, and that of Hiram Lodge room, on the northeast corner of Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., December 5.
The peculiar condition which has always obtained in the District of Columbia whereby a large percentage of the popu- lation, while actually residing here, claimed and exercised
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legal citizenship in other jurisdictions, early gave rise to numerous controversies relative to the extent to which this or other interested jurisdictions might lay claim to such ma- terial, and at this period, and even later, more or less sharp and, indeed, acrimonious passages between the authorities have resulted in consequence of this anomalous state of affairs. Prior to the middle of the century the lines of jurisdiction were not very jealously guarded, but with the advent of better facilities of intercommunication the matter began to assume some importance, and whereas before this time there was no constitutional provision for a term of residence as a condition precedent to application, the continued complaints of the Grand Lodges feeling themselves aggrieved by our alleged assumption of jurisdiction over material they considered their own finally led to the adoption of the following provision, which appears in the Constitution of 1864:
Sec. 22. Every Lodge is prohibited from initiating, passing, or raising any one not a citizen of this District, until due enquiry shall have been made of the Lodge nearest his place of residence, and a sufficient time allowed for an answer to be received under the seal of the Lodge ad- dressed; Provided, That this is not designed to prohibit any person from being initiated, passed, or raised, even after such due enquiry is made and answer received, except the latter contains such tangible objections as would of themselves operate in the case of a permanent citizen of this jurisdiction.
This provision seems to have been adopted rather with a view to safeguard the Fraternity here by reason of the tran- sient character of the population than as an acknowledgment of the right of the other jurisdictions in the premises, and, indeed, this position was forcibly taken by Grand Master Whiting during his incumbency; but this attitude was not shared by all the thinkers of the Craft of that day, and in 1870 the section was amended to read as follows :
Sec. 22. Every Lodge is prohibited from initiating any one not a resi- dent of this District for a period of twelve months, without first having received the consent of the Lodge nearest his place of residence under scal.
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The years that have since elapsed have brought about a full discussion between the jurisdictions of all the points involved, and the District is now in line with the rest of the family in this matter, as witness the provisions of the present Con- stitution :
Sec. 91. No petition for the degrees shall be received from any one who has not been a resident of the District of Columbia for the twelve months next preceding its presentation except as provided by the follow- ing section or by dispensation of the Grand Master; and if the petitioner has been rejected for the degrees in another jurisdiction his petition must be accompanied by a waiver of jurisdiction unless the period during which jurisdiction is claimed has expired.
Sec. 92. A resident of this jurisdiction may apply for the degrees to a Lodge of another jurisdiction when such Lodge is nearest his place of residence than is any Lodge in the District of Columbia, provided that the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction grants the same privilege in like cases to Lodges of this jurisdiction. But nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge a requirement of twelve months' residence either in the District of Columbia or in the jurisdiction where the petitioner resides.
The meaning of the word "resident," however, is still, and perhaps always will be, a legitimate source of contention be- tween the Grand Lodge of the District and certain other Grand Lodges the members of which refuse to recognize the unusual conditions here, which have a very vital bearing upon the interpretation of the word. Some instances of extensive correspondence between the Grand Masters of this and other jurisdictions on the subject justifies the belief that only with the dawn of the Millenium will come the great white light of understanding of how a man may vote and pay taxes in one place and yet be a resident ( for Masonic purposes) of another bailiwick.
The public appearances of the Fraternity, aside from fu- nerals, during the year 1868, consisted of the dedication of the Monument to Lincoln at the head of John Marshall Place, April 15, the laying of the cornerstone of the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church, Capitol Hill, April 14, and that of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Ninth Street and Mt. Vernon Place, August 4.
WILLIAM B. MAGRUDER, GRAND MASTER, 1845-1846.
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At the installation communication, December 28, 1868, Grand Master French reported that he had granted a dis- pensation for the formation of a new lodge, to be known as "Anacostia Lodge," in the suburb known as "Uniontown," and the petition, signed by Bro. W. H. Farrish and six others, being presented at the same meeting, together with the recom- mendation of Naval Lodge, No. 4, a charter was ordered to issue to the new Lodge with the line number "21." The first returns show the above-named brother as Master, with Bros. George H. Martin and Charles Wheeler, Senior and Junior Wardens, respectively, and with a slightly enlarged roster. This Lodge, working in one of the outlying sections, has long since acquired a handsome home, and is one of the solid institutions not only of the local Craft but of the town of Anacostia (the present designation).
On the same evening of the granting of the above charter a petition to hold a lodge in Georgetown, D. C., to be known as "George Washington Lodge," was presented, signed by Bro. M. C. Causten and eighteen others. The Grand Master, however, deprecating the use of the name " George Wash- ington" as likely to give rise to confusion, there being already two lodges in the jurisdiction with the word "Washington" prefixed to their names, the suggestion was made that the name " Analostan" be substituted, but this not being agreed to, the name as it now stands, " George C. Whiting Lodge, No. 22," was, on motion of Bro. D. P. Searle, P. M. of Har- mony Lodge, adopted and a charter ordered to issue accord- ingly. The first return shows the names of Bros. S. Norris Thorne as Master ; Samuel C. Palmer (Grand Master, 1878), as S. W., and H. M. De Hart, as J. W., and a substantial addi- tion in membership. This Lodge has had a prosperous career, and amicably shares the home of and delves in the same field with Potomac Lodge, No. 5.
The institution of George C. Whiting occurred January 14, and that of Anacostia March 8, 1869, on the latter occa- sion R. W. Bro. A. G. Mackey, P. Grand Secretary of South Carolina, and a Masonic writer of world-wide repute, per-
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forming the ceremony, on the invitation of Grand Master Donaldson.
At the semi-annual communication of May 4, 1869, a peti- tion in regular form, signed by Bros. Joseph Daniels, J. W. Griffin, L. G. Stephens, and fifty-four other Master Masons, was received setting forth that they had been working under a dispensation since February 8, preceding, and praying that a charter be granted empowering them to open and hold a lodge to be known as " Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23," and naming the first three signers as Master and Senior and Junior War- dens, respectively, and, on motion, the prayer of the peti- tioners was granted, a charter issued, and on May 7, 1869, the ceremony of institution was performed. The career of this Lodge has been one of steady growth and prosperity.
The installation ceremony this year in the Grand Lodge was notable both by reason of being public and also by reason of being held in the lately completed Temple, Ninth and F Streets, N. W. The Grand Lodge on that occasion met in the parlors of the new building, and after the transaction of the regular business proceeded in procession to the main hall, where the installation was conducted by P. G. M. French, in the presence of a large assemblage of the friends of the Fra- ternity, the installation proper being preceded by an eloquent oration by M. W. Bro. French, and concluded by an equally eloquent one by Grand Master Donaldson.
On May 16, 1870, the foundation stone of the Steuben Monument, at Washington Schuetzen Park, was laid by the Grand Lodge.
While partly occupied before that date, the formal dedica- tion of the new Temple took place May 20, 1870, on which occasion the late Brother Ben: Perley Poore, of Massachu- setts, a journalist of international reputation, delivered an address, which is preserved in the printed proceedings of the Grand Lodge, and is of surpassing interest to the thoughtful Mason.
While the author has found it advisable, indeed necessary, if reasonable limits were to be set to this work, to touch
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but lightly in these historical chapters upon the individuals who came and wrought and passed on through the long years of the century, leaving the details of their lives and char- acters and services to the appended biographical sketches, yet with all due deference to the abilities and accomplishments of a long line of brilliant executives before and since, there stands out against the background of the century one pre- eminent figure, whose life was so closely interwoven with that of the Fraternity, whose unequalled mind led and moulded the policies of the local Craft for so many years, and to whose wise guidance Masonry in this city owes its position today, that we would be derelict indeed if we failed to note the fact that, on August 12, 1870, the Father of latter-day Masonry in the District of Columbia, Benjamin Brown French, passed to his reward. As Grand Master, Grand High Priest, Grand Master of Knights Templar of the United States, Lt .- Grand Commander of the Supreme Coun- cil A. and A. S. R., he served with signal ability ; as a Masonic jurist he ranked with Pike, Mackey, Morris, and Macoy ; as a scholar he was excelled by few; as a writer he was terse, vigorous, and to the point, and as a public speaker he was magnetic and powerful. Such a Colossus could not pass out from among men without leaving a void, perhaps never to be filled, and without being sincerely mourned, and today, after the lapse of forty years, his memory is as green as in that other generation when his illuminating presence was the guiding star of Masonry in the District of Columbia. Truly, his works do follow him.
By 1870 the question of the negro in Masonry was forcing itself upon the attention of the Fraternity throughout the country, and nowhere with more persistence than in the Dis- trict of Columbia, the Mecca of the one-time slave immedi- ately after the close of the Civil War. It is not within the province of the author to enter into the matter of the origin of the so-called lodges of African descent nor to rehearse any of the arguments for or against their legitimacy. Suffice it to say there are no recognized lodges of African descent in
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the District of Columbia, and therefore no question of recog- nition has been nor can be raised under present conditions.
On the evening of April 10, 1871, one of the most memor- able events in the history of the local Fraternity took place at the Masonic Temple, the occasion being the formal reception by the Grand Lodge of the Earl de Gray and Ripon, then M. W. Grand Master of England, who was sojourning in this city under commission from his Government in the matter of certain outstanding claims between Great Britain and the United States.
In addition to the special guest of the evening there were present W. Bro. Lord Tenderden, of England, and a large number of the Grand Masters of other jurisdictions. After an address of welcome by the Grand Master, Bro. Charles F. Stansbury, and an appropriate response by the Earl de Gray, the Grand Lodge was called from labor to refreshment, and in procession descended to the banquet hall which was beautifully decorated, the prevailing medium being a lavish use of the banners of the two countries.
Then ensued perhaps the most brilliant social function in the history of the local Order. The elaborate banquet pro- vided having been duly disposed of, the cloth was removed, and, after the Grand Master had caused the hall to be purged of all except Master Masons, a " Table Lodge" was opened in due form and the glasses charged for the regular toasts. Lack of space forbids any quotations from the responses to these, but they are of record, and, together with the testi- mony of witnesses still with us, prove the occasion to have been truly " a feast of reason and a flow of soul."
These distinguished Englishmen frequently visited the sub- ordinate lodges during their stay in this city, and, as stated in the Chapter on "Work," exemplified the First Degree in Pentalpha Lodge April 18, 1871, and the same evening the Third in National Lodge, each according to the English system. It is a matter of sincere regret to note that within a few years thereafter the Marquis of Ripon renounced Masonry and embraced the Romish faith, an act received
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PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE (OR H STREET) AND NINETEENTH STREET, N. W.
Second floor of Stable on left, marked by carriage, home of Hiram Lodge, No. 10, 1846 to 1867 ; Building on corner, December, 1867, to October, 1872.
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with mortification and dismay by the Craft on both sides of the water.
The great fire at Chicago in October, 1871, called forth a quick and generous contribution from the Fraternity here, the sum of $3,334.90 being at once raised and conveyed to the scene of the disaster by Grand Master Stansbury in person, accompanied by the late Bro. N. B. Fugitt, an active worker in the cause.
Of the sum turned over $765 was returned during the following year, and became a special Library fund, as has al- ready been mentioned.
The presentation of an oil portrait of the late Past Grand Master French, March 8, 1871, and one of the late P. G. M. Whiting, May 8, 1872, both from the brush of Bro. Max Weyl, of St. John's Lodge, the noted artist, proved the start- ing point of a nearly complete gallery of portraits of P. Grand Masters now hung conspicuously in the Library and offices of the Temple.
August 25, 1872, witnessed the only cornerstone laying of the years 1871-2-that of the Independent German Protestant Church, Fifth Street between M and N Streets, N. W.
On October 30 of the same year the Grand Lodge dedicated another hall for Hiram Lodge, No. 10, this time the present site, on the southwest corner of Nineteenth Street and Penn- sylvania Avenue, N. W. This lodge room was for a short time used jointly by The New Jerusalem, Hope, and Hiram Lodges, but shortly after the dedication Hope moved to the new Temple, and was soon followed by The New Jerusalem.
In the early part of 1873 Grand Master Stansbury granted a dispensation to certain Brethren in Brightwood, D. C., to hold a lodge to be known as "Stansbury," the designation being used in spite of his earnest protest. This live coterie of Masons, while yet under dispensation, began the erection of a hall, then and now known as "Brightwood Hall," the cornerstone of which was laid by the Grand Lodge June 30, 1873.
At the annual communication of the same year a petition
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was presented to the Grand Lodge for a charter, signed by Bro. George W. Balloch, a distinguished General of the Civil War, Bros. Benjamin D. Carpenter, William W. Cowling, and six others, those named being nominated as Master and S. and J. Wardens, respectively. The charter was granted, with the line number 24, the new lodge instituted December 17, 1873, and the new Hall dedicated February 26, 1874. Occupying an isolated field to the north of the city, this Lodge at once justified its formation, and has steadily grown in numbers and influence.
In the year 1873 the Fraternity was especially active in relieving the distress incident to the scourge of yellow fever at Memphis and Shreveport, the sum of $1,789.50 being sub- scribed for that purpose, and transmitted to the proper agen- cies, and in the latter part of the following year $523.46 was contributed for the relief of the Mississippi flood sufferers. The sum of $120 was in the same manner turned over to brethren in Kansas in distress through the failure of the crops in 1875.
As the log of a vessel sailing over smooth seas and under cloudless skies contains but little information, and only be- comes voluminous when beset by storm and disaster, so the Masonic record during the period of calm now ensuing offers little of moment or interest to the reader. For eight years but one cornerstone laying was conducted by the Fraternity, that of All Souls' Church, Fourteenth and L Streets, N. W., June 27, 1877. It was a period of comparative lassitude, in- difference, and stagnation in growth, and the Grand Lodge, as usual under such conditions, frequently suffered financi- ally, and was more than once forced into borrowing money to meet necessary expenses, and finally found it necessary, in 1877, to levy a pro rata assessment upon the subordinate lodges to raise the sum of $800.
Death claimed two Past Grand Masters in 1876, the first, Bro. Roger C. Weightman (1833), closing his long and honorable Masonic career of sixty-five years February 2 of that year, and the second, Bro. J. E. F. Holmead (1864), who
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passed away October 19, 1876, the first in his eighty-ninth year and the latter in his forty-second year, the one full of years and honor, the other cut off in the very zenith of an unusually brilliant career. Both lives are treated in detail elsewhere in these pages.
In spite of the general apathy in Masonic circles, on July 10, 1876, a dispensation was granted Bros. H. H. Gerdes, J. C. Hesse, Hugo Eichholtz, and thirteen other Master Masons, authorizing them to open a lodge and confer the three degrees in the German language, and at the annual communication in November succeeding a charter was issued, and Arminius Lodge, No. 25, entered the family circle with the three brethren named as the first officers in the order given. The ceremony of the constitution and consecration took place November 27, 1876, and the new Lodge immedi- ately entered upon a career of unbroken prosperity. The German language is still used exclusively in the lodge room, which, despite that fact, is one of the most popular in the jurisdiction.
The handsome sum of $1,552.20 was raised for the yellow- fever sufferers of the South in 1878.
By the year 1880 financial conditions in the Grand Lodge were so much improved that, upon the recommendation of a committee headed by the late M. W. Bro. Noble D. Larner, a start was made toward having the old records printed in volumes of uniform size to those of later years, and this work, tho halted by lack of funds subsequently, was finally completed, and while the long neglect had resulted in the loss of some of the material, yet reasonably satisfactory re- ports for the greater part of the period of the existence of the Grand Lodge are thus permanently preserved, and this result is largely due to the indefatigable labors of the late Bro. William R. Singleton, to whose life-long interest this juris- diction owes so much.
August 1, 1881, the cornerstone of the Tabernacle, Ninth, near B Street, S. W., was laid according to the ancient usage,
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and November 9 of the same year the Anacostia Hall was formally dedicated.
The circumstances of the assassination, suffering, and death of the late Bro. James A. Garfield, then President of the United States, during this year were subjects of the deepest concern to the Fraternity here, as he was a charter member of Pentalpha Lodge and was on its rolls at the time of his death. and was also on the rolls of Columbia Chapter, R. A. M., in which chapter he had received the cryptic as well as the capitular Degrees. He was in addition a member of Co- lumbia Commandery, K. T., and had received the fourteenth degree in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, A. and A. S. R., of this city. Probably the most active Mason locally that has ever filled the Presidential chair, he had to an unusual degree endeared himself to the Craft, and by his example doubtless exercised a large influence in awakening a new enthusiasm which was shortly to bear fruit.
In connection with the death of Bro. Garfield the following self-explanatory paper was received through the State De- partment, and subsequently acknowledged in proper form by our own Grand Lodge :
FREEMASON'S HALL, LONDON, 12th December, 1881.
To His Excellency, the Honourable J. Russell Lowell, Minister Plenipo- tentiary from the United States of America at the Court of St. James.
Sir :
I have the honor to inform your Excellency that at a general meeting of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, held here on the 7th instant, it was proposed by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, K. G. Grand Master of the Order, seconded by the Right Hon- ourable Lord Tenderden, K. C. B,, and carried unanimously : That the Grand Lodge of England should place on record their deep regret at the calamity which has recently befallen their brethren in the United States of America by the untimely death from the hands of an assassin of their late illustrious and lamented Brother, General James Abram Garfield, the President of that Republic, and that the Grand Lodge are desirous of offering the tribute of their condolence with and deep sympathy for the widow and family of their distinguished Brother in the heavy bereave- ment with which it has pleased the Almighty to visit them.
I am, therefore, commanded by His Royal Highness, The Grand
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Master, to notify the same for Your Excellency's attention, and to request that Your Excellency will be so good as to cause the same to be trans- mitted to the proper quarters.
The Prince of Wales desires to take this opportunity of expressing personally, as Grand Master, his own fraternal regrets on the occasion and his sorrow that a life so valuable to his country, to his family, and to his Brethren, should have been thus wantonly sacrificed.
I have the honour to remain,
Your Excellency's Most obedient Servant,
SHADWELL H. CLERKE, Colonel, Grand Secretary United Grand Lodge of England.
In the early days of 1882 the Fraternity, not only of this jurisdiction but of the country at large, was called upon to mourn the death of P. G. Master Charles Frederick Stans- bury, which occurred January 31 of that year. As Grand Master in 1862 and again from 1871 to 1874, inclusive, his influence upon the Order, by reason of his valuable contri- butions to Masonic literature and jurisprudence, his culti- vated intellect, his devotion to duty, and his noble efforts for the good of the Fraternity was invaluable and far reaching, while his cultured, refined, conscientious, and unselfish char- acter endeared him to every one with whom he came in con- tact. With his demise a great leader passed from the field of action.
January 10, 1883, was the date of the adoption of the one- ballot system by the Grand Lodge which is the law today and which has been earnestly advocated for years by many influ- ential brethren.
The custom established by Grand Master Donaldson of having a lecture delivered at each visitation and the lecturer selected by the Grand Master was this year, by the example of then incumbent of the office, M. W. Bro. E. H. Chamber- lain, changed by placing the selection of speakers in the hands of the several lodges, and this custom, with a still wider lati- tude in the character of the entertainment offered, obtains to this day.
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