USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 2
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This British speculative Masonry was directly and indi- rectly transplanted into the American Colonies about two centuries ago.
Prior to 1717 any number of Masons-Dr. Oliver says not less than ten-met as lodges and acted without other au- thority than their " inherent right," the word " lodge" at that time having a broad enough meaning to include a meeting as well as an organization. Subsequent to that year, however, the
(JOHN) VALENTINE REINTZEL, GRAND MASTER, 1811.
(Picture discovered on eve of publication.)
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" inherent right" method of lodge formation was considered illegal, altho practiced to a degree for many decades after- wards without subjecting its adherents to excommunication. Lodges became continuing organizations by charters from a Grand Lodge, and Freemasonry as we know and practice it today may therefore be said to date from the year 1717.
The story of the formation of the Grand Lodge of England has been so often told that it suffices here to give the briefest outline. At the beginning of the eighteenth century Masonry was at such a low ebb in that country that only four lodges had survived, and these four, together with a number of un- attached brethren, met in convention at the Apple Tree Tavern in Charles Street. Convent Garden, in February, 1717, when it was resolved to revive the periodical conventions of the officers of lodges, which had long been omitted, and to choose a Grand Master, and accordingly, on St. John's day, 1717, the Assembly and Feast of Free and Accepted Masons was held at the Goose and Gridiron, in St. Paul's Churchyard, Mr. Jacob Sayer was selected and installed as Grand Master, and the Grand Lodge of England instituted. At the communi- cation of St. John's day, 1718, George Payne, Esq., was elected Grand Master of Masons, and his administration is especially notable as being the one in which the old Regula- tions were given definite form. These Regulations, which had existed long prior to this period but in scattered documents. manuscripts, rituals, etc., were collected and compiled for the first time in 1720, and approved by the Grand Lodge in 1721. This work may well be considered as having the most important bearing on the stability and future prosperity of the institution, and was one of the great revolutionary features of the transition period.
Before many years had passed serious trouble arose in the fraternity in England, mainly through the persistence of cer- tain brethren in organizing and exercising all the functions of lodges under the old system of inherent right and in con- tempt of the constituted authority of the Grand Lodge, and this rebellious element attained such strength that by the
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middle of the eighteenth century a new Grand Lodge was formed under the title of " Ancient York Masons," a body entirely separate and distinct from the so-called " Grand Lodge of York," previously alluded to, and which had been reorgan- ized in 1725, and continued in existence until 1792. The new Grand Lodge, claiming, without warrant, a direct descent from the original York lodge, styled itself "Ancient," and applied the term " Modern" to the Grand Body of 1717, and these terms, misleading and perhaps incorrect in the strictest equity, clung to the two bodies throughout the period of separate existence and have been a source of confusion to Masonic students ever since. After nearly a century of rivalry the two bodies united in 1813 under the title of " The United Grand Lodge of England," and now constitutes one of the strongest and most prosperous of Masonic organizations.
The Ancient and Modern Grand Lodges both established lodges and provincial Grand Lodges in this country in the eighteenth century, the majority, perhaps, by the former, and further accessions to the lodges of that period were had by charters from the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland.
In the new country Masonry, appealing to the very best citizens, flourished with expansive vigor, and it is a pardonable digression to note that in our struggle for independence the greatest names of the period belonged to members of the mystic tie. Washington, Randolph, Payton, Franklin, La- Fayette, Hamilton, Paul Revere, practically all the general officers of the Continental Army, fifty-two of the fifty-five signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a host of others prominent in that history-making epoch are known to have been Master Masons.
The claims of seniority of the various jurisdictions in the United States in the matter of first lodges has presented a field for disputation which has been greedily seized by many Masonic writers but has no place in the present work except so far as it affects the uncovering of the origin of Free- masonry in the District of Columbia.
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Prior to July 10, 1790, the date of the final passage of the act fixing the seat of the Federal Government on the Potomac, the territory now known as the District of Columbia was a part of the State of Maryland, and while the original District embraced a tract of ten miles square lying on the Virginia as well as the Maryland side of the river, yet inasmuch as the retrocession by the Federal Government to Virginia in 1846 of its original contribution to the site left the metes and bounds of the District as we know them today, it is deemed proper in this early retrospect to pay especial attention to the introduction of Masonry into our parent State of Maryland, the history of that introduction necessarily being our own.
Schultz's History of Masonry in Maryland says: " Ma- sonry was introduced into Maryland during the Colonial period from three sources, viz: by the Grand Lodge (Mod- erns) of Massachusetts; Grand Lodge (Moderns) of Eng- land, and the Grand Lodge (Ancients) of Pennsylvania. Traditions indicate that it was also introduced here from Scotland and Germany."
Prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of Maryland in 1783 we find the existing lodges in that State springing from the sources enumerated above, but immediately upon the close of the Revolutionary War a convention was held, June 17, 1783, by representatives from five lodges located on the Eastern Shore to form an independent Grand Lodge, and as these lodges were all warranted by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania it was deemed necessary to obtain a warrant from that body, which itself was a subordinate of the Grand Lodge (Ancients) of England, before consum- mating their purpose. A strong element, however, claimed the inherent right to form a Grand body independent of the permission of Pennsylvania, and when after negotiations with that authority covering a year no satisfactory results were obtained, and when for various reasons the matter had lain in abeyance for three years longer, a convention of deputies from the various lodges met at Talbot Court House April 17, 1787, and organized, or as is claimed, reorganized the
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Grand Lodge of Maryland, which from that date to the present has enjoyed a continuous and prosperous existence.
Thus was formed the parent Grand Lodge of Maryland, the third independent Grand Lodge in this country, if we accept the date, June 17, 1783, as the true one, being preceded by Massachusetts in 1777, and Virginia in 1778. The fact that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on Sep- tember 25, 1786, declared their independence of Great Britain and at once formed a Grand Lodge doubtless had much to do with bringing the dormant movement in Maryland to life in the following year.
With the gradual absorption of the other lodges of the State and the chartering of new ones outside of our bailiwick we have no direct interest. but before entering upon the history of those bodies in our own territory warranted by this Grand Lodge and of authentic record, let us briefly examine the field of tradition and record for any evidence of organized Masonry in the section subsequently known as the District of Columbia prior to 1789, the date of the first known charter, and the difficulty of such an examination will be made more understandable when the fact is stated that it was the custom of the early days, especially during the Revolutionary War, to keep the records of lodges on slips of paper which were, after so long a time, destroyed, to prevent the possibility of their falling into the hands of profanes, a custom peculiarly aggravating to the modern historian.
There is at the present day in the possession of Potomac Lodge, No. 5, of this jurisdiction, an old Bible published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1754, with the following inscription in beautifully rounded characters on the fly-leaf : " A present from Mr. Colin Campbell to St. Andrew's Lodge, the 30th January, 1773, Bladensburg," the last word being on a separ- ate line. It has also been asserted-but of the fact there is no available evidence-that the late Rev. Brother Thomas Balch. of Georgetown, had in his possession a diploma showing that his great-grandfather, Col. James Balch, was made a Mason in this Lodge as early as 1737. Diligent inquiry among the
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UNION LODGE ROOM, ELEVENTH STREET, NEAR PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N. W.
The first Masonic Building to be erected in Washington. Occupied by the Fraternity from completion in 1804 to 1827. On present Post-office site.
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descendants of the Rev. Balch, however, fails to bring to light the missing document, which would afford incontrovertible evi- dence of the existence of a lodge of that name at that period and in this section, but on the contrary unearths an old letter from a nephew of this Col. Balch who states that he never knew his uncle was made a Mason in Georgetown, but was always under the impression that he had received the degrees in France according to the Scottish Rite.
On this Bible and diploma is predicated the theory that a Lodge, called " St. Andrew's," existed in the settlement which, in 1751, was laid out as Georgetown, at an even earlier date than 1737. That such a conclusion is a natural one we admit, but is not proven by the evidence at hand. That no lodge was chartered by either the Grand Lodge of Scotland or the Grand Lodge of England is shown by the following com- munication to the author in reply to a request for information :
GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND, FREEMASONS' HALL, EDINBURGH, 12th May, 1906. Grand Secretary's Office.
Mr. K. N. HARPER,
201 E Street, Northwest,
Washington, Dist. of Columbia, U. S. A.
Dear Sir and Bro .: In reply to your letter of 25th Apr., I have made a minute search of our records but cannot trace any lodge having been chartered in Maryland so far back as 1730-40. I have also made enquiry at the Grand Lodge of England, but they have failed to trace the chart- ering of any lodge in Maryland about that time.
It is of course possible that there may have been such a lodge as that to which you refer, but it would probably be an unconstitutional one, as has been found to be the case with many lodges about the period named and even at a much later date.
Yours, faithfully and fraternally,
DAVID REID, Grand Secretary.
This, however, by no means disposes of the matter, for not only were lodges formed by inherent right long subsequent to this date, but, as before mentioned, the term "lodge" applied equally to a hap-hazard congregation of Masons for a single meeting as well as to an organized and continuing
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body, and it may well be accepted as probable, indeed certain, that among the Scotch immigrants, who, more than any other, found their way up the Patawomeke River to the head of navigation, now the site of Georgetown, in those early days, there were many of the Craft who upon proper occasion as- sembled for Masonic intercourse, and, as was customary, inducted new members into the mysteries. This is reasonable and indeed has a certain confirmation in the fact that in the traditions of some of the oldest Georgetown families there is mentioned the so-called " Auld Scotch Lodge," an important institution, in which it is said all differences between Masons were referred for adjustment. So we may accept the presence and activity of the fraternity at this period on our soil but can scarcely go further.
The inscription in the Bible proves no location for the St. Andrew's Lodge. It was a Scotch Lodge designation in- herited from the old country and held by at least two lodges in the Colonies at that time-one in Massachusetts and one in South Carolina. That Bladensburg was the home of the Lodge we think is sufficiently disproved by the isolated position of the word, and may be accepted as the residence of the donor. That Georgetown may claim the honor is supported only by the fact that the Book has been in the possession of the fraternity there from time immemorial. As the diploma is only a tradition it cannot enter seriously into the argument.
So, giving the facts and theories as they exist as to this early day and leaving the logical reader to draw his own con- clusions, we pass on1.
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CHAPTER II.
IN THE BEGINNING.
MASONRY AT THE BIRTH OF THE FEDERAL CITY-FIRST LODGE, NO. 9, OF GEORGETOWN, CHARTERED-CORNERSTONE OF THE DISTRICT-A UNIQUE DISPENSATION-FORMA- TION OF FEDERAL, NO. 15-LAYING OF CORNER- STONES OF CAPITOL AND WHITE HOUSE.
"Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation."-Isaiah xxviii, 16.
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THAT FREEMASONRY was a dominating tho unobtrusive force from the very first in this section has striking illustra- tion in the fact that the cornerstone of the District was laid with Masonic ceremonies, and this event, probably with- out a parallel in the world's annals, furnishes, perhaps, the most natural, certainly the most interesting, point of depart- ure in the historical journey we are about to undertake. The word cornerstone is here used in no figurative sense, but refers to a small marker of masonry set up at Jones Point, on Hunting Creek, below Alexandria, Va., from which were run at right angles the lines which formed the first two sides of the ten-mile square constituting the original District of Columbia. This initial stone was placed according to ancient Masonic usages, April 15, 1791, by the Masonic Lodge of Alexandria, Va., which had been chartered eight years before by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania as No. 39, and which, in 1788, became Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22, under the jurisdiction of Virginia, with George Washington as Master.
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This lodge, with one chartered in Georgetown as No. 9, of Maryland, in 1789, constituted organized Masonry within the limits of the contemplated new Territory, and while there remains to us only the most meager account of this first public recorded Masonic function yet it may be surmised that the latter lodge was also in evidence on that eventful Spring day and took an active part in the exercises.
The following account of the affair, published at the time in a Philadelphia paper, is deemed worthy of reproduction :
ALEXANDRIA, April 21, 1791.
On Friday, the 15th inst., the Hon. Daniel Carroll and Hon. David Stuart arrived in this town to superintend the fixing of the first corner- stone of the Federal District.
The Mayor and the Commonalty, together with the members of the different Lodges [?] of the town, at three o'clock, waited on the com- missioners at Mr. Wise's, where they dined, and, after drinking a glass of wine to the following sentiment, viz .: "May the stone which we are about to place in the ground, remain an immovable monument of the wisdom and unanimity of North America," the company proceeded to Jones Point in the following order :
1st. The Town Sergeant. 2d. Hon. Daniel Carroll and the Mayor. 3d. Mr. Ellicott and the Recorder. 4th. Such of the Common Council and Aldermen as were not Freemasons. 5th. Strangers. 6th. The Master of Lodge, No. 22, with Dr. David Stuart on his right, and the Rev. James Muir [for many years an active Mason] on his left, followed by the rest of the Fraternity, in their usual form of procession. Lastly. The citi- zens, two by two.
When Mr. Ellicott had ascertained the precise point from which the first line of the District was to proceed, the Master of the Lodge and Dr. Steuart, assisted by others of their brethren, placed the stone. After which a deposit of corn, wine, and oil was placed upon it, and the follow- ing observations were made by the Rev. James Muir:
"Of America it may be said, as of Judea of old, that it is a good land and large-a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and depths that spring out of the valleys and hills-a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates-a land of oil, olives, and honey-a land wherein we eat bread without scarceness, and have lack of nothing-a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayst dig brass- a land which the Lord thy God careth for ;- the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it; from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
" May Americans be grateful and virtuous, and they shall insure the indulgence of Providence; may they be unanimous and just, and they shall rise to greatness. May true patriotism actuate every heart; may it be the devout and universal wish. Peace be within thy walls, O America, and prosperity within thy palaces! Amiable it is for brethren to dwell
ALEXANDER MCCORMICK, GRAND MASTER, 1812-1813.
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together in unity ; it is more fragrant than the perfumes on Aaron's gar- ment ; it is more refreshing than the dews on Hermon's hill.
" May this stone long commemorate the goodness of God in those un- common events which have given America a name among nations. Under this stone may jealousy and selfishness be forever buried. From this stone may a superstructure arise, whose glory, whose magnificence, whose stability, unequalled hitherto, shall astonish the world, and invite even the savage of the wilderness to take shelter under its roof."
The company partook of some refreshments, and then returned to the place from whence they came, where a number of toasts were drank; and the following was delivered by the Master of the Lodge (Dr. Dick), and was received with every token of approbation :
" Brethren and Gentlemen: May jealousy, that green-eyed monster, be buried deep under the work which we have this day completed, never to rise again within the Federal District."
The light-house structure now on Jones Point covers the site of these interesting ceremonies.
The next public Masonic function in the embyro city, of which there is evidence, was the laying of the cornerstone of the Union Public Hotel, better known as Blodget's Hotel, which was located between E and F and Seventh and Eighth Streets, N. W., on the site of the old General Post Office, now the Land Office building, and was the most pretentious hostelry in Washington in the early days.
The ceremony took place July 4, 1793, and, while there is no available account of the event, the fact is proven by the existence of a copper plate placed in or on the stone at that time, and discovered forty-six years thereafter.
The plate, a facsimile of which is here given, is in the possession of Bro. Andrew H. Ragan, of B. B. French Lodge, (a son of the late Bro. Daniel Ragan, of Potomac Lodge, one of the devoted few who, in 1838, prevented the surrender of the charter of that Lodge), and its authenticity is vouched for by the following endorsement: "This plate was found in cleaning away the rubbish from the new General Post Office on E, between Seventh and Eighth Streets West, in the City of Washington. Presented by Charles Coltman, the Superintendent, Oct. 8, 1839."
While no instituted lodge existed in the City of Washington
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at the time, it is possible that Federal was even then under dispensation and formed the nucleus for the congregation of the members of the craft living in Washington on that " mem- orable" occasion.
The first charter known to have been issued to any lodge within the limits of the present District of Columbia was issued by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, at a meeting held April 21, 1789, to a lodge to be held in George-Town, Md., on the Potomack River, with *- Fierer as W. M. and Alex- ander Grier as S. W. This lodge was the second one chartered by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, and was officially known as "Lodge No. 9," the designation "Potomac" appearing seventeen years later, in connection with the third lodge con- stituted in Georgetown.
Lodge No. 9, in January, 1792, granted a dispensation for certain of its members who had moved to Port Tobacco, Charles Co., Md., to open a lodge at that place to be known as St. Columbia, pending a regular application to the Grand Lodge of Maryland. It may be said in passing that this somewhat remarkable action finds partial justification in the crude conditions of transportation and communication of the time and the survival in a degree of the old " inherent right" doctrine. Altho this method of procedure was unfavorably criticized in the Grand Lodge, yet the dispensation was con- firmed by a warrant to the new lodge under the title of St. Columbia, No. 11. Space is given to record the birth of this lodge, which survived but six years, because of the fact that it was an off-shoot from our own territory and an important event in our little Fraternity world at that time, the drain on the membership of No. 9 caused by its formation resulting in the demise of the Georgetown lodge in the early part of 1794. The petition for the dispensation above referred to as well as that document itself are so novel as to warrant their literal reproduction :
* There is every reason to believe that this was Charles Fierer, Editor of the Times and the Potomack Packet, 1789.
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PETITION.
PORT TOBACCO, CHARLES COUNTY, MD., 1792 AND 5792.
By a communication of sentiments, the following Brethren, to wit: Robert Ferguson, Basil Warring, Alexander Grier, Archibald Dobbins, Thomas Mundell, Judson Clagett, Zaphaniah Turner, Samuel B. Turner, and Samuel T. Dyson, did sign and prefer the following Petition to the Worshipful Lodge of Ancient York Masons No. 9, in Geo. Town.
To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and other Brethren of Lodge No. 9, George Town on Potomack. The petition of a number of the Society of Free and Accepted York Masons, residents of Port Tobacco and its vicinity of Charles County, humbly showeth,-That being feeling impressed with a sense of the duties incumbent on the members of that society, when opportunities conveniently offer for the Commemoration of them they humbly represent, to you, that from a diminution of Brethren in and near that place, and many other concurrent circumstances, they are now reduced to a small number, destitute of Constitutional rights to as- semble in Lodge, yet those are both willing and desirous to co-operate with other Brethren in perpetuating the Institution, and to become useful members of the Fraternity your Petitioners therefore pray a dispensation from Lodge No. 9, until they have it in their power to obtain a regular establishment from the Grand Lodge of Maryland-We therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being all Brethren of the Ancient Or- der of Masons, and conceiving ourselves capable of conducting a lodge in purity, have proceeded to the choice of a Master and Wardens, and have unanimously elected Brother Alexander Grier to be Master, Brother Robert Ferguson to be Senior Warden and Brother Judson M. Clagett to be Junior Warden of the same Lodge, and humbly pray that they may be legally incorporated into a Lodge to be held in Port Tobacco.
(Signed) ROBERT FERGUSON. JUDSON M. CLAGETT.
BASIL WARRING. ZEPH. TURNER.
ALEX. GRIER. SAML. B. TURNER.
ARCHD. DOBBIN. SAML. T. DYSON.
THOS. MUNDELL.
DISPENSATION.
(From the Worshipful Lodge of Ancient York Masons No. 9 in George- Town.)
To all whom it may concern:
Know that Brother Robert Ferguson, Basil Warring, Alexander Grier, Archibald Dobbin, Thomas Mundell, Judson M. Clagett, Zephaniah Turner, Samuel B. Turner, and Samuel T. Dyson, are authorized and fully empowered to assemble and meet together in Port Tobacco, as a part of Lodge No. 9 (of which they are members) to appoint Officers to govern themselves, according to the Ancient Constitution and Customs of Masons : and they hereby have a dispensation in ample form for holding
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such meetings, as in their wisdom shall be deemed prudent, until the first day of January next ensuing, they conducting themselves at such meet- ings, as true, faithful York Masons, have power to do all work of Ancient Free Masons in proper form, except only, entering, Passing and Raising a Brother, for which a perfect Charter must be obtained from the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Maryland.
In evidence of the above, the Officers of Lodge No. 9, do hereunto fix our hands and seal of our Lodge, this twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, and of Masonry Five thousand seven hundred and ninety-two.
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