USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 11
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In 1884 the Grand Lodge, for the first time in many years finding itself in good financial condition, and recognizing the
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great labor entailed upon the Chairman of the Committee on Correspondence, appropriated $150 for the past services of that brother (the late Wm. R. Singleton), and adopted a stand- ing resolution to pay annually $50 for this work.
May 23, 1884, the cornerstone of the Washington Light Infantry Armory and Opera House was laid with considerable ceremony, the escort of Knights Templar including all the local Commanderies and Richmond Commandery, No. 1, of Richmond, Va.
The numerical strength of the Fraternity in the District this year reached 3,005, the decade of stagnation preceding having shown practically no gain, but the growth from this time to the present, with the exception of an occasional tem- porary lapse, has been steady, and in the later years remark- able.
In March, 1884, the Grand Lodge was the recipient of a photographic reproduction from the Grand Lodge of Penn- sylvania of the famous "Liber B," being a copy of the original book of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Philadelphia, Pa., dated June 24, A. D. 1731, as far as known the earliest authentic Masonic record in this country. It is on file in the Grand Lodge Library, and is accessible to the interested student.
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IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
III
CHAPTER XI.
THE NEW ERA.
DEDICATION OF WASHINGTON MONUMENT-CHARTERS TO LODGES NOS. 26, 27, 28, 29, AND 30-DEATHS OF P. G.
MASTER NOBLE D. LARNER AND GRAND SECRETARY WILLIAM R. SINGLETON-MAKING A MASON "ON SIGHT -THE ALBERT PIKE STATUE.
"The weight of the universe is pressed down on the shoulders of each moral agent to hold him to his task. The only path of escape known in all the worlds of God is performance; you must do your work before you shall be released."-EMERSON.
BY FAR the most important event of the year 1885, or, indeed, of many years, in local Masonry was the participation of the Fraternity in the dedication of the Washington Monu- ment. This great work, which had halted early in its career, owes its final completion largely to the efforts of the Masonic brethren of this and other jurisdictions, who, through the long period of inaction, persistently worked toward that end.
The preparations for the event gave rise to a situation which led to the reiteration by the then Grand Master, M. W. Bro. M. M. Parker, of the principle adhered to for some years and previously mentioned, that the Fraternity might not take part in any public function in which no Masonic work was required of it. The story, in brief, follows: The first invitation ex- tended by the Joint Congressional Commission on Dedication assigned to the Masons a prominent and distinctive part in
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the ceremony and was satisfactory. Later, however, the Com- mission decided to curtail the ceremony to one oration, but offered to give the Fraternity "a position of honor in the line." Grand Master Parker replied that "the practice of Masonry was not to swell processions," and declined to invite the Grand Lodge, and, altho importuned by prominent officials, continued to reaffirm that " under no circumstances could the Grand Lodge be induced to depart from its ancient customs." At a later date the Joint Commission invited the Grand Master to meet with it, when the matter was thoroughly gone over, with the result that an invitation was received and accepted by the Grand Lodge to take part in the ceremonies and active steps were at once taken to make the occasion a notable one. Circular letters were sent to all the Grand Lodges of the United States and those foreign grand bodies with which we were in fraternal correspondence and suitable arrangements made for Knight Templar escort and entertainment.
On the date set, February 21, 1885, the Grand Lodge met in special session in the main hall of the Temple, with an unusual number of brethren in attendance, including repre- sentatives from the Grand Lodges of Massachusetts, Pennsyl- vania, New York, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, California, Tennessee, Maryland, West Virginia, and Illinois.
Escorted by the Knights Templar and Royal Arch Masons of the District, lodges from Delaware, Virginia, and New York, and delegations in force from each of the lodges of this jurisdiction, the Grand Lodge proceeded to the Monument in orderly Masonic formation, where, after an invocation by Rev. Mr. Suter and an address by the late W. W. Corcoran, the full Masonic ceremony of dedication was performed ac- cording to usage.
Following this ceremony Grand Master Parker delivered a striking eulogy upon the life and character of the illustrious Washington, in the course of which he took occasion to refer to and display the following interesting relics: The gavel used by Washington at the laying of the cornerstone of the
Faith fully + Fraternally GO Brauch P. S. M:
GRAND MASTER, 1847-1853, 1868; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1869-1870
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Capitol; the Bible, belonging to Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, of Virginia, upon which he took his first Masonic vows; the Bible, belonging to St. John's Lodge, No. 1, of New York, upon which he took the oath of office as the first President of the United States; the Great Light, belonging to Alexan- dria-Washington Lodge, No. 22, of Alexandria, Va., upon which he, as Master of that lodge, received the vows of initiates; the apron worn by him, which was wrought by Madame LaFayette; a lock of his hair, presented by Mrs. Washington to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and encased in a golden urn, the gift of the late Bro. Paul Revere, and a candle, one of the Lesser Lights used at the funeral exercises at Mt. Vernon in 1799.
Immediately after the ceremonies the visiting brethren who desired to leave the city were escorted to Marini's Hall, in E Street, N. W., where ample refreshments were served.
At 8 o'clock the same evening, the distinguished visitors were the guests of the Grand Lodge at a reception in the parlors of the Riggs House, and later at an elaborate banquet. The responses to the various toasts proposed, which were un- usually numerous, have been preserved and make interesting reading.
In May, 1887, the Grand Lodge took a prominent part in the Centennial Anniversary celebration of our mother, the Grand Lodge of Maryland. On the 12th of that month, in accordance with previous invitation and arrangement, the twenty-one lodges of the District assembled at the Temple, at 8 A. M., to the number of 1,370, clad in dark clothes, silk hats, and new lamb-skin aprons. It may safely be asserted in this connection that never before nor since has the Frater- nity presented so uniform and dignified a public appearance. A procession being formed, this large company proceeded to the B. and O. station, where a special train of four sections conveyed them to the Monumental City, and upon their arrival there they were assigned to a prominent place in the procession and other ceremonies of the day. A bronze souvenir of the occasion was presented to each visiting brother, and every 8
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effort put forth by the Masons of Baltimore to fittingly en- tertain their guests, their hospitality culminating in a great banquet in the evening at which the District was well repre- sented. It is proper to note that P. G. M. Parker and W. Bro. Sherwood were honored on the occasion by being placed on the staff of the Marshal-in-Chief of the Grand Lodge of Maryland.
On June 7, 1888, the cornerstone of the Scottish Rite Cathe- dral, 1007 G Street, N. W., was laid by the Grand Lodge, and the service of dedication of the new part of the Sanctuary performed October 9 of the same year.
The only other public appearance of 1888 was on the occa- sion of the laying of the cornerstone of the Fifth Baptist Church, Four-and-a-Half, near N Street, S. W.
A notable improvement, which can well be appreciated by the majority of local Masons, was the installation during this year in the Temple, Ninth and F Streets, of what was termed " a very fine elevator," and the characterization was appar- ently not intended to be facetious.
October 14, 1889, was the date of the laying of the corner- stone of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, C and Twelfth Streets. S. W., the only public function of the year.
At the communication of November 13, 1889, the question of the proposed erection of a " Washington Masonic Memorial Temple" at Fredericksburg, Va., was laid before the Grand Lodge, and the sum of $500 was appropriated as a contribu- tion toward the project, to be paid in three annual installments. This appropriation was predicated upon the subscription of the entire amount required, $100,000, and, not being available until that had been assured, still remains in the treasury. It is proper to state, however, that within the last few years new life has been injected into the project, and possible success may ultimately crown the effort, the year 1908 showing an accumulated fund of over $9,000, which has been largely in- creased since that time through systematic effort.
Upon a petition bearing thirty-seven names, Grand Master James A. Sample, on January 13, 1890, granted a dispensation
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to open a lodge to be known as " Osiris," and at the ensuing communication of the Grand Lodge, May 14, a charter was issued to Osiris Lodge, No. 26. The first officers named were Bros. Wm. Oscar Roome, W. M .; Landon Cabell Williamson, S. W., and Alonzo Joel Marsh, J. W. The birth of this lodge was attended with some feeling. Most of the charter mem- bers coming from Centennial Lodge, the latter, for what seemed good reasons, formally protested against the issuance of a charter, but at the resumed communication May 21 with- drew the protest, and was most active in extending felicita- tions to the new lodge on the occasion of its constitution the same evening, and it is needless to add that the most amicable relations have ever since existed between the two lodges.
The cornerstone of the new building of Anacostia Lodge, No. 21, was laid July 2, 1890, and the dedication of the hall followed, November 4, of the same year.
At the semi-annual communication of the Grand Lodge. May 13, 1891, Grand Master Thos. F. Gibbs reported having granted a dispensation, March 12, preceding, to Bro. James Eldridge Burns and thirty-one others to form a lodge in the northeastern section, and a formal petition, signed by thirty- four brethren, being received the same evening, a charter was granted to open and hold a lodge to be known as " Myron M. Parker Lodge, No. 27," the above-named brother being nomi- nated to be the first Master, and Bros. A. K. Lind and V. A. Hubbard, S. W. and J. W., respectively. The lodge was regularly consecrated and constituted May 21, 1891, in a build- ing on the southwest corner of Third and H Streets, N. E., and occupying, as it does, an exclusive and somewhat isolated field, has enjoyed an unusual degree of prosperity, and well justified its formation.
The second meeting place of the Lodge, at the corner of I and Eighth Streets, N. E., was dedicated by the Grand Lodge March 22, 1893, and the third, at the corner of H and Twelfth Streets, N. E., in 1897.
As a matter of interest, while on the subject of this lodge. it may be stated that at the installation communication of the
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same year Bro. J. E. Burns, having served as the Master of the Lodge from the date of the charter to the close of the Masonic year, was, by resolution of the Grand Lodge, declared a Past Master of Myron M. Parker Lodge and a member of the Grand Lodge, the only instance of the kind, so far as the author has been able to discover, in this jurisdiction.
The custom, now well established, of taking part in no public function without the performance of Masonic work, was again given prominence in 1893 by the declination of the Grand Lodge to take part in the ceremonies incident to the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol Building, which occurred September 18 of that year. The original invitation to the Grand Lodge from the committee in charge offered space at the Capitol to the Fraternity for the performance of such cere- monies as might be appropriate, and in addition assigned to it the right of line in the parade, and was laid before the Grand Lodge at a special communication held July 26, 1893. A resolution to accept the invitation gave rise to considerable debate, and the whole matter was referred to a committee, to report at a special communication to be called by the Grand Master. In pursuance of this decision a meeting was called August 11, at which the report of the committee was received, and the fact developed that the proposed celebration had not as yet been sanctioned by Congress. In view of this condition of the affair and the reasonable doubt as to the character of the work which might properly be done on the occasion, the Grand Lodge declined to participate, but offered to take the matter under respectful consideration should conditions change. And there the incident closed.
September 11 and 12, 1893, were marked by a series of unusually elaborate and successful events commemorative of the one hundredth birthday of Federal Lodge, No. 1, includ- ing, on the first evening, a brilliant reception at the old Temple, attended by some 500 members, ladies, and invited guests, at which a musical and literary program of merit was presented. refreshments served, and dancing indulged in, and on the
CHARLES S. FRAILEY,
GRAND MASTER, 1855-1856; GRAND SECRETARY, 1848-1854.
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second evening, a strictly Masonic banquet at the Ebbitt House.
September 22, 1893, Grand Master L. Cabell Williamson. upon proper petition granted a dispensation to sundry brethren to organize a lodge to be held at Brookland, D. C., Myron M. Parker Lodge vouching for the Masonic ability and moral character of the petitioners, and at the annual communication, November 8, a petition signed by Bros. Thomas G. Carmick, George F. Erdman, William H. Stalee, and nine others, being regularly presented, a charter was granted to "King David Lodge, No. 28," the three brethren above mentioned becoming the first three officers in the order named. On the 5th of the following month the lodge was duly instituted, at once be- came the center of Masonic activity in that thriving suburb, and entered upon a career of prosperity and growth that has given it an enviable place in the local Masonic family.
As early as September 20, 1893, a movement to fittingly observe the centennial of the death of Washington, December 14, 1899, was started by the Grand Lodge of Colorado, which issued a circular on the subject and requested the cooperation of all the Grand Lodges. Our own Grand Lodge at once responded by appointing a member of the general committee. It is a matter of regret that the ambitious design of uniting all the Grand Lodges in the effort was not successful, tho the celebration, very properly under the direction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, was a most creditable one, and is treated of in its chronological place.
July 24, 1894, occurred one of the most imposing Masonic public appearances of the period, the occasion being the laying of the cornerstone of the Naval Lodge Building, Fourth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, S. E. The ceremonies were pre- ceded by a procession from the Temple, Ninth and F Streets, N. W., to the above site, of all the Commanderies of Knights Templar of the city, the Marine Band, large representations from each of the sister lodges, and the Grand Lodge, the latter, it may be remarked parenthetically, on foot. After the usual ceremonies, which were accompanied by appropriate
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music by the band and vocal selections by a choir of male voices, the oration of the occasion was delivered by P. G. M. L. C. Williamson.
At the semi-annual communication held May 8, 1895, a pe- tition in proper form was received from twenty-five brethren praying for a charter to open and hold a lodge in Takoma Park, D. C., to be known as Takoma Lodge, No. 29, and nomi- nating Bro. Wilmer G. Platt to be the first Master ; Bro. Francis J. Woodman, the first Senior Warden, and Bro. Theodore F. Willis, the first Junior Warden. The charter was granted, permission given the new lodge to continue meeting in the Odd Fellows' lodge room at the Park, and later in the month the ceremony of constitution was conducted by the Grand Lodge. The history of this lodge, occupying, like King David Lodge, an exclusive tho somewhat limited field, has been one of unbroken prosperity, and its establish- ment proven to have been a wise move.
The newly-completed and very handsome edifice erected by Naval Lodge, No. 4, was dedicated June 6, 1895, and this progressive lodge entered upon the occupancy of one of the largest and most beautiful lodge rooms perhaps in this country.
The only cornerstone laying of the year 1895 was that of the Fifteenth Street M. E. Church, corner Fifteenth and R Streets, N. W., which occurred October S, while the following year boasted of two-that of Trinity M. E. Church, Fifth and C Streets, S. E., on September 9, and that of the American University, at Wesley Heights, D. C., October 21, 1896, which number was still further increased in 1897, that of the North Carolina M. P. Church occurring February 25; that of the Hebrew Temple, Eighth Street, N. W., September 16, and that of the Christian Church, Ninth and D Streets, N. F., September 18, 1897. But two more ceremonies of this char- acter fell within the century: The cornerstone laying of the Douglas Memorial Church, Eleventh and H Streets, N. E., October 18, 1898, and that of the Gay Street Baptist Church, corner Thirty-first and N Streets, N. W., July 1, 1899.
During the spring of 1898 the first of a series of mammoth
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fairs to aid in the erection of a new Temple, a project now taking definite and promising shape, was held with marked financial success, and together with all matters relating to the movement is treated in detail in a special chapter.
The following data, taken from the original papers and minutes of B. B. French Lodge, No. 15, and certified to by the Secretary, W. Bro. E. St. Clair Thompson, sufficiently covers an interesting and unusual incident, the making of Admiral Schley :
The petition for the degrees of Masonry of Winfield Scott Schley was regularly received by Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15, F. A. A. M., at its stated communication of October 16, 1899, and was referred to Brothers D. C. Morrison, Harry C. Whiting, W. H. Doe, as a committee of investigation.
Admiral Schley was then under orders to proceed with the South Atlantic Squadron to the waters of South America.
The Master of the Lodge, Brother Alexander Grant, then requested of the Grand Master, Brother J. Henry Small, Jr., authority to ballot and confer the degrees on Admiral Schley at a special communication of the Lodge.
Under date of October 19, 1899, Most Worshipful Brother Small granted the request as follows (citing the Grand Lodge Constitution as his authority for so doing) :
"I hereby request and authorize you to call a special communication of your Lodge for the purpose of conferring upon Rear Admiral Winfield S. Schley, for me as Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia, the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, at such times as his convenience may permit *
"I will be present in your Lodge at the time the degrees are conferred."
On October 21, 1899, the Lodge was called in special communication for the purpose of balloting on the petition and conferring the degrees. A unanimously favorable report of the committee was presented, at which time the Grand Master directed "that the taking of the ballot be dis- pensed with."
The Entered Apprentice Degree was conferred by E. St. Clair Thomp- son, Senior Warden of the Lodge;
The Fellow Craft degree was conferred by James T. Gibbs, Junior Warden of the Lodge;
The Master Mason degree was conferred by Alexander Grant, Master of the Lodge.
On October 26, 1899, the Grand Master filed the following certificate with the Lodge :
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"I hereby certify that on the evening of October 21, 1899, by the high power in me vested, and under the old regulations of Freemasonry of 1721, and the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, Article VI, Section 2, I did confer upon Brother Winfield Scott Schley the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason in Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15, and any Lodge within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to receive this certificate in lieu of the usual dimit.
" J. H. SMALL, JR., " Grand Master.
" Attest :
" WM. R. SINGLETON,
[SEAL.] " Grand Secretary."
On November 6, 1899, Brother Schley filed a petition for affiliation with the Lodge, which was balloted on the same evening, and the petitioner was declared duly elected to membership in the lodge.
December 14, 1899, occurred the observance of the centen- nial of the death of Washington, to which allusion has pre- viously been made. The affair was under the direction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and the members of the Fra- ternity from this jurisdiction were present as guests. On the morning of that day a procession of several thousand Master Masons was formed on F Street, between Ninth and Four- teenth Streets, N. W., and proceeded to the Seventh Street wharf, where steamers were taken to Mt. Vernon. The cere- monies there were as nearly as possible identical with those at the funeral one hundred years before, and were of the most impressive character. The address of the occasion was made by the late Bro. William McKinley, then President of the United States. The same evening a reception and buffet luncheon was given by the Grand Lodge of Virginia at Wil- lard's Hotel, this city, to Master Masons and their families, which was largely attended. While only participating as guests the local Fraternity took a lively interest in the affair, and the lambskin or white leather apron deposited by the Grand Master of this jurisdiction upon the sarcophagus was subsequently presented, handsomely framed, to this Grand Lodge, by Grand Master Duke, of Virginia, on behalf of the Grand Lodge of that State, the presentation being a most appreciative and eloquent tribute to the brethren of the Dis- trict, and the speech of acceptance by Grand Master Wmn. G.
SERARATE ROOMS FOR STORING NVDDS.
SEPARATE ROOMS FOR STERN
W"WALTER'S STORAGE WARE HOUSE W.MAINTERS STORAGE MAY
Get
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OLD MEDICAL COLLEGE BUILDING, TENTH AND E STREETS, N. W.
Used as a Masonic Hall by the Fraternity from 1846 to 1855. Entrance on Tenth Street Front. Old Ford's Theater on extreme left.
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Henderson, an equally felicitous acknowledgment of the honor conferred, characterizing the gift as " an indissoluble bond of brotherly love between the Masons of Virginia and the Masons of the District of Columbia."
On February 23, 1901, Bro. William Reynolds Singleton, Masonic writer, jurist, and scholar, and for many years Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, passed away at an advanced age. While an extended sketch of his life and works is found in other pages of this work, it is deemed a fitting tribute to his unusual worth to chronicle his death as an event by which this jurisdiction suffered a loss greater, perhaps, than that involved in the passing of any . other one man in this jurisdiction, P. G. Master French alone excepted. A handsome monument, the tribute of his brethren in this jurisdiction, marks his last resting place in Oak Hill Cemetery, and in his report to the Grand Lodge the Chairman of the Special Committee, P. G. Master Standiford, thus de- scribes it :
The monument consists of a pedestal of dark polished granite resting upon a granite base and surmounted by a bronze bust of our deceased brother, the base and pedestal being adorned with appropriate symbols and allegorical figures in bronze, and the sides bearing inscriptions in raised bronze letters, setting forth the date and place of birth and of death of Bro. Singleton, the office which he held in the Grand Lodge, and that the monument is erected by his brethren. The monument stands about nine feet in height, and was designed and executed by the cele- brated sculptor, U. S. J. Dunbar, of this city. It is most artistic in both conception and execution, and in keeping with the purity of life and conduct and the many noble traits of character of him who with high scholarly attainments served this Grand Lodge so faithfully and ably for so many years, and is in every way a fitting tribute to his memory by his brethren of the Craft, who so deeply mourn his loss.
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