USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 22
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In addition to the above the names appearing as signers of the petition were : Hamilton Adams, Jewell H. Aubere, Wil- liam Levering Devries, Weston Flint, Austin Elmer Heiss, D. Percy Hickling, Lorenzo C. Hover, Christopher T. Hutch- inson, John E. Jones, Alfred M. Lambeth, P. M .; John D. La Mothe, P. M .; Frank S. Lerch, Joseph E. Luckett, J. Bar- ton Miller, Thomas C. Noyes, William S. Odell, August Peterson, Charles E. Sayles, Charles Scherer, William Scherer, Parker H. Sweet, Jr., Elkanah N. Waters, and William H. Wunder.
On May 10 of the same year the Grand Lodge of the Dis- trict of Columbia granted a charter to the lodge thus formed, under the name of King Solomon Lodge, No. 31, F. A. A. M., and on May 25 the lodge was instituted in the lodge room at Scottish Rite Cathedral, 1007 G Street, N. W., with the following officers in the various stations : Master, William H. Singleton; Senior Warden, Joseph L. Atkins; Junior Ward- en, Philander C. Johnson; Secretary, Parker H. Sweet, Jr .; Treasurer, A. M. Lambeth; Senior Deacon, Charles Scherer; Junior Deacon, William H. Wunder; Senior Steward, John E. Jones; Junior Steward, Frank S. Lerch; Tiler, J. H. Trimble.
During the formative period of the lodge a number of names were under consideration, among them being McKin-
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ley, Meridian, Daylight, Abrac (The Lost Word), and King Solomon. This latter was also the name selected by certain petitioners for a charter in 1864 whose application met with refusal by the Grand Lodge.
King Solomon Lodge, No. 31, is unique in that it is the only Masonic lodge in the District of Columbia that meets in daytime. There are but six daylight lodges in the United States, the others being located in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Louisville, and Richmond. Designed for the con- venience of newspaper men and other night workers it at once became popular and by September 30, 1905, had in- creased its membership fifty per cent., and has since main- tained a satisfactory growth, now carrying 60 names on its rolls.
This lodge met at the place of its institution until the completion of the new Temple, when it found quarters there. The gavel. falls at 1 P. M. of the first Wednesday in each month.
No. 31 is as yet too young to have attained place in the official line of the Grand Lodge.
The present list of Past Masters is as follows: Lurtin R. Ginn, 051; Wm. H. Singleton, 05; Jos. L. Atkins, 06; Charles Scherer, 07; Wm. H. Wunder, 08; Charles E. Sayles, 09; John Lane Johns, 10.
Following are the officers of the centennial year :
Martin L. Statler, W. M .; Delos W. Thayer, S. W., and Bert V. Wolfe, J. W.
TEMPLE LODGE, NO. 32.
This young member of the local Masonic family, coming into existence in 1907, at a time when the new Temple was well under way, and owing its formation in some measure, at least, to the increased activity in Masonic circles traceable to that enterprise, is most appropriately named.
Grand Master Francis J. Woodman on October 12, 1907, in response to a numerously signed petition, recommended by Harmony Lodge, No. 17, granted a dispensation for the
HOME OF WM. R. SINGLETON LODGE, NO. 30, TENLEY, D. C.
LS
HOME OF STANSBURY LODGE. NO, 24, BRIGHTWOOD. D. C.
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formation of a lodge to be known as Temple Lodge, U. D., and at the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, upon proper application, this action was ratified by a charter being issued to the new lodge with the number 32.
The officers named in the several petitions and accepted as such were: Thomas C. Noyes, Master; Louis C. Wilson, S. W .; and John Paul Earnest, J. W.
The membership roll of the Lodge October 30, 1907, fol- lows: Thomas C. Noyes, Master; Louis C. Wilson, P. M., Senior Warden; John Paul Earnest, Junior Warden; Louis A. Dent, Acting Secretary ; E. Southard Parker, P. M., Acting Treasurer ; Charles E. Berry, Clifford K. Berryman, P. M .; James O. Breast, Merritt O. Chance, Price C. Claflin, Fred G. Coldren, Joseph H. Cranford, Joseph H. Curran, Thaddeus C. Dulin, Daniel W. Edelin, John O. Evans, Percy S. Foster, Williams C. Fox, Daniel Fraser, Robert T. Frazier, Harry Giovannoli, Edwin S. Graham, Benjamin W. Guy, Willard F. Hallam, Henry G. Hanford, George W. Harris, Leroy W. Herron, John G. Hodges, Clement W. Huske, Harvey S. Irwin, John Edward Jenks, Philander C. Johnson, John E. Jones, Carter B. Keene, J. Thomas Kelley, Jr .; W. Seton Kent, Charles E. Kern, Stirling Kerr, Jr .; Claude F. King, P. M .; Richard Kingsman, Walter H. Klopfer, D. Olin Leech, William Clifford Long, Edwin S. Lothrop, Joseph E. Luckett, Thomas I. Luckett, Alexander Mckenzie, S. G. S .; Fred E. Mann, Edwin S. Marlow, Addis D. Merritt, P. M .; Frank P. Milburn, George W. Miller, Benjamin S. Minor, Henry B. Mirick, John Mitchell, Jr., J. Gales Moore, John B. Morrey, Irving C. Norwood, Francis Nye, P. M .; Deruelle S. Porter, John L. Prosise, William H. Rapley, William F. Roberts, Charles C. Rogers, William Scherer, Francis A. Sebring, P. M .; Franc E. Sheiry, P. M .; Lindley E. Smith, Bartholo- mew F. Smith, Edward H. Snyder, William M. Steuart, Harry C. C. Stiles, Isaac S. Stone, James E. Stuart, John E. Taylor, Lewis L. Thompson, J. Frank Trazzare, Matthew Trimble, P. G. M .; Hylas T. Wheeler, P. M .; Charles E. Wood, Waddy B. Wood, and Elliott Woods.
Honorary contributing members-Charles E. Baldwin,
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J. G. D .; Noel W. Barksdale, P. M .; Joseph H. Bradley, Walter A. Brown, P. G. M .; Jacob W. Collins, M .; Augustus B. Coolidge, D. G. M .; Ernest H. Daniel, P. M .; Harrison Dingman, P. G. M .; Roe Fulkerson, Lurtin R. Ginn, P. G. M .; Alexander Grant, J. G. S .; Benjamin S. Graves, P. M .; Wil- liam F. Gude, P. M .; William G. Henderson, P. G. M .; William W. Jermane, P. M .; Arthur D. Marks, Joseph H. Milans, P. M .; Thomas P. Morgan, P. M .; James A. Sample, P. G. M .; Henry K. Simpson, S. G. W .; J. Henry Small, Jr., P. G. M .; John Speed Smith, G. P .; Harry Standiford, P. G. M .; Lem Towers, Jr., M .; Frank R. Underwood, M., and J. Louis Willige, Jr., P. M.
Temple Lodge, U. D., held its first meeting October 27, 1907, on which occasion nearly all of the approximately 100 members were present, and was formally instituted as No. 32 December 26, 1907.
The lodge was formed with purposes claimed to be in ad- vance of the present methods of conducting a Masonic Lodge, and in pursuance of this departure at once placed the initia- tion fee at $100 and the dues at $20, both figures largely in excess of the prevailing custom. In outline, it was pro- posed to form a lodge with a membership small enough to permit a close acquaintance among those who join it, as many lodges in the District are acknowledged to be so large in mem- bership as to make it practically impossible to accomplish that end. It was also proposed to fix the amount of dues high enough to have the lodge fully supported from that source without the necessity of having initiation fees to make up a deficit, which has been regarded as an undesirable condition that generally exists in other lodges. "Temple Lodge intends to demonstrate," it is declared in the statement of the objects and purposes of the new lodge, " that a lodge can be made up, can thrive, can do good work, can give expression to the very highest and best of Masonic principles, and can foster the true Masonic fellowship among its members without low dues or large membership."
The venture may now be considered as well beyond the experimental stage, and has amply justified the theories and
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hopes of its founders, the latest roster showing a total of 96 names.
While yet too young to have acquired place in the official line of the Grand Lodge, there are many brethren on its honorary roll who have served therein with distinction.
The present list of Past Masters is as follows: Matthew Trimble, 07 *; Alexander McKenzie, 07 *; Francis A. Sebring, 07* ; Claude F. King, 07 *; Clifford K. Berryman, 07 *; Hylas T. Wheeler, 07 *; E. Southard Parker, 07 *; Francis Nye, 07 *; Addis D. Merritt, 07 *; Franc E. Sheiry, 07 *; Louis C. Wil- son, 07 *.
Following are the officers for the centennial year :
Carter B. Keene, WV. M .; Sterling Kerr, Jr., S. W., and LeRoy W. Herron, J. W.
MT. PLEASANT LODGE, NO. 33.
The remarkable growth of the City of Washington having in the first decade of the twentieth century brought into ex- istence a large and thickly populated section in the northwest, formerly suburban, an absolutely new and unbroken Masonic territory was thereby developed, and the recognition of this fact led to the presentation, at the Annual Communication l:eld December 21, 1910, of a petition, recommended by Stansbury Lodge, No. 24, and signed by sixty-five brethren, to open and hold a lodge in the northwestern section of the city to be known as Mt. Pleasant Lodge, No. 33, and nominat- ing Bro. Richard C. Lewis, P. M., as W. M .; Bro. Charles H. Bradley as S. W., and Bro. Edwin Allen Swingle as J. W.
The petition was unanimously granted the same evening and a charter ordered to issue as requested.
Thus, under most auspicious and promising circumstances, came into being a lodge for which there is every reason to predict a prosperous future.
The meeting nights are the first and third Mondays of each month, and the present location in the vicinity of Fourteenth Street and Park Road, Northwest, pending building opera- tions in the near future.
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The charter list is as follows: W. W. Adams, Howard S. Austin, E. L. Beech, Wm. A. Bennett, Jackson F. Blair, F. W. Bolgiano, Chas. H. Bradley, Edw. S. Brashears, Frank W. Carden, James W. Cheney, G. B. Chipman, Jos. R. Cos- tinett, Harry B. Cramer, C. E. Crump, Chas. F. Cummins, Harry A. Cummins, G. Frank Day, Charles Diedel, Henry W. Draper, Charles Drexilious, Rev. Geo. F. Dudley, Geo. J. Ef- feren, Henry B. Elliott, Guy Ervin, Henry Evans, Wm. G. Gentner, Wm. B. Green, W. T. Hackett, Edw. Hammond, Wilbur S. Hawer, S. V. Hopping, Edw. S. Huguely, Geo. W. Huguely, Harry C. James, Chas. A. Jaquette, James Kane, Wm. Herbert Keen, Thomas W. Keller, Charles H. Korts, Richard C. Lewis, C. S. Mackenzie, Geo. H. Markwood, Chas. W. Moore, H. G. McLean, Edwin A. Newman, J. Wm. Palm- er, D. G. Pfeiffer, Edwin Potbury, W. W. Poultney, Levin B. Price, Edwin E. Putnam, Jno. F. Putnam, Jr., M. B. Rich- mond, Wilbur H. Rock, Geo. C. Ross, Charles Sonne, Edwin A. Swingle, R. W. Talbott, Miles Taylor, John W. Ward, Thos. F. Warren, Denwood S. White, D. Elmer Wiber, Jud- son J. Withall, Geo. H. H. Zellers.
UNION LODGE, U. D. (ALEXANDRIA, VA.).
The history of this lodge, which operated from February 22, 1862, to December 27, 1864, under renewed dispensations from the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, consti- tutes a most interesting episode of the "Late Unpleasantness," and is set out in detail in Chapter IX.
MILITARY LODGES, U. D.
It is a matter of record that quite a number of military organizations during the War of the Rebellion carried in their midst traveling or Army Lodges, working under dis- pensations from various Grand Lodges, and this was not con- sidered an infraction of jurisdiction, but, on the contrary, was encouraged by our own Grand Lodge, which also early authorized the Grand Master to issue similar dispensations
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upon application. In accordance therewith dispensations were issued as follows :
May 16, 1861, to Marshall Lefferts, Colonel of the 7th Regt. National Guard of the State of New York, and seventy- two members of that regiment, to hold a camp lodge to be known as " National Guard Lodge."
September 24, 1861, to Colonel Horatio G. Sickel and ten other brethren of the 3d Regt. Penn. Res. Corps, to be known as " The Potomac Lodge."
January 14, 1862, to Colonel Wm. Linn Tidball and a constitutional number of brethren of the 59th Regt. N. Y. S. V., with the designation " Good Hope Lodge."
Early in 1863, to a number of brethren to hold a camp lodge within the 3d Brig., 1st Div., 5th A. C., Army of the Potomac, to be called the "Lodge of the Union."
These were looked upon as emergent lodges, and were not held to the usual strict accountability in the matter of returns, and as a consequence the existing data in reference to them is very meager.
LODGE OF MUTUAL BENEVOLENCE.
On November 1, 1859, the Grand Lodge granted a charter for the formation of a lodge to be known as the "Lodge of Mutual Benevolence," with S. T. Shugert, E. L. Stevens, and A. G. Fowler as Master, S. W., and J. W., respectively. This lodge was designed for systematic relief work, after the general plan afterward developed by the Masonic Board of Relief, but failing to enlist the active cooperation of all the lodges surrendered its charter December 27, 1861. No num- ber having been given, its demise left no break in the numeri- cal sequence of the chartered lodges.
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CHAPTER XVI.
BENEVOLENCES.
THE SUBJECT IN GENERAL-EARLY METHODS-THE MASONIC MUTUAL RELIEF ASSOCIATION-ST. JOHN'S MITE ASSO- CIATION-THE MASONIC BOARD OF RELIEF-THE MASONIC AND EASTERN STAR HOME.
"But the greatest of these is Charity."
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE within the Fraternity is of com- paratively recent origin, and is the natural and logical out- growth of the greatly changed and enlarged conditions within and without the body of Masonry since the early days of the nineteenth century. During the period preceding the forma- tion of the Grand Lodge and for a number of years thereafter, the City of Washington being a collection of widely scattered settlements with inadequate means of satisfactory intercom- munication it necessarily followed that the several lodges had each its more or less well defined zone of influence within which its charitable activities were concentrated. Through the gradual expansion and overlapping of these several terri- tories and the consequent closer touch of the lodges with each other came ultimately the necessity for cooperation and sys- tem, and while by reason of that system detailed reports of expenditures for relief have for a number of years been an- nually published, in striking contrast to the entire absence of such reports at an earlier period, it must not be inferred there- from that our predecessors were not active and liberal along
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this line. Indeed evidence is not wanting to indicate that from the very nature of existing conditions this work appealed more strongly to the individual Mason than now. Charity was a personal obligation, not to be comfortably and easily delegated to this or that organization. It is of record in the earlier lodges that the matter of the education of the children of deceased Master Masons was never neglected, and this, being before the era of free schools, sometimes constituted quite a drain upon the meager resources of the lodges and individuals, but was never evaded or scaled. Then, too, this education was not always confined to the ordinary rudiments, but in cases of apparent talent was carried along special lines, thereby thoroughly equipping the young for the battle of life, and there lies upon the desk of the author at this moment corroboration of this in the case of a young orphan girl in the care of Naval Lodge, whose tuition for lessons on the " piano- forte" was a regular appropriation for a long period. The widows were frequently helped in a practical way, where the case seemed to warrant it, by being set up comfortably in some business, and these items, frequently running into the hun- dreds of dollars, were cheerfully met, more often than other- wise, by individual subscription. A distressed brother had but to appear as such, no matter where he hailed from, and relief by the same means would be accorded him.
Nor was their charity narrow. No case of want within their knowledge failed to awaken sympathy and loosen their lightly-tied purse strings, and it was a frequent occurrence for the various early lodges to form a procession of the brethren and the orphan children of some asylum, and, after an exten- sive parade, take up a collection for the benefit of said institu- tion, and the sums realized thus, when the limited number of contributors is considered, is nothing short of astounding.
It was the age of individual obligation and effort, and while in the process of evolution new, and at the same time thor- oughly adequate methods, have come into being and are nobly carrying on the work, the tribute of our respect must be laid at the feet of these pioneers who wrought to the full measure
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of their opportunities and blazed the way along which the Fraternity have come to a ripened career of usefulness.
Perhaps the earliest evidence of organized effort is given by the records of Naval Lodge, in 1828, in which year a so-called beneficial association within the lodge, especially de- signed for the relief of sick brethren, was started, and while encountering some opposition in the Grand Lodge was not actually prohibited by that body, and flourished for at least thirty years, apparently accomplishing much good.
By the middle of the century the pressing need of system and cooperation led to the formation of the " Lodge of Mutual Benevolence," to which the Grand Lodge granted a charter November 1, 1859. This lodge was designed to establish a system for the handling of worthy cases of need, somewhat in the manner afterward developed by the Masonic Board of Re- lief, and, indeed, did considerable work along that line in the short period of its existence, but, by reason of inability to arouse sufficient interest lost ground, and finally expired in the latter part of 1861.
In 1859 the aggregate sum expended for relief by the several lodges ($1,107.59) was first made a matter of rec- ord. This in a few years became an established custom, which still obtains, and while the tabulation of these and kindred statistics might have a certain value, the character of this work forbids their insertion, and permits only the broadest treatment. The most striking development of a study of these figures is the fact that subsequent to the Civil War, a period of unusually heavy expenditure for relief, the aggregate annual sum for charity bears a remarkable relation to the aggregate membership, and while never showing exact similarity of growth, yet the variation on either side of $1 per capita per year is so slight as to be negligible, and that sum may safely be set down as the rate for the last fifty years. This, of course, deals only with the sums coming within the purview of the Grand Secretary, and is aside from many items which never are of record nor reach that official, and is also exclusive of the annual appropriations for the
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JAMES A. SAMPLE, GRAND MASTER, 1890; GRAND TREASURER SINCE 1902.
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support of St. John's Mite Association, the Masonic Board of Relief, and the Masonic and Eastern Star Home.
As has been stated, the period of the War of the Rebellion made many demands on the means of the Fraternity, and in 1862 the Grand Lodge met in special session to devise some scheme of cooperation among the lodges to meet these de- mands. This movement does not seem to have been success- ful, but in the latter part of the War, St. John's Lodge taking the initiative, a concerted movement, participated in by most of the Masonic bodies, was put on foot and did much toward extending systematic relief to the sick and wounded Federal and Confederate brethren until the close of hostilities. Through this medium the sum of $525, together with large donations of clothing and tobacco, were contributed by the different lodges and by individual brethren, and the wants of the members of the Fraternity remaining in the hospitals in this city were relieved and many subsequently assisted in reach- ing their homes.
The various great disasters which have visited the country have each called forth a most liberal money contribution from the brethren of the District of Columbia, and by way of re- capitulation it may be recited that the sum of $3,334.90 was sent to the Chicago fire sufferers in 1871; $1,789.50 to yellow fever sufferers at Memphis, Tenn., and Shreveport, La., in 1873 ; $523.46 to Mississippi flood sufferers, in 1874; $120 to sufferers in Kansas through failure of the crops, in 1875; $1,552.20 to yellow fever sufferers in the South, in 1878; in- dividual contributions of many of the local lodges, aggregate unknown, to Johnstown, Pa., victims, in 1889; $1,330 to sufferers in Galveston disaster, in 1900; $896.35 to relieve sufferers from Jacksonville, Fla., fire, in 1901, and $2,616.50 to the San Francisco earthquake sufferers, in 1906.
A chapter on the charity of the local Fraternity would not be complete did it not include mention, at least, of the Masonic Mutual Relief Association, an insurance organization limited to members of the Order, which was chartered March 3, 1869, and is still in active operation. An incalculable amount
17
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of good has been done in the forty-odd years of its existence in the relief of the widows and orphans of its policy-holders, and while changed conditions have within the last few years necessitated some readjustment of its rates, its career has been uninterrupted and its usefulness in its own peculiar field un- impaired. The officers and directors are drawn from the various lodges, and the representative character of these breth- ren is sufficient voucher for the integrity and stability of the institution.
Another form of Masonic charity is the distribution upon each recurring Christmas day by the members of Almas Tem- ple of the Mystic Shrine of thousands of generous baskets of provisions to the poor of the city, and this labor of love knows no bounds of Fraternity, race, nor creed, but flows freely and unquestioningly wherever there are hungry mouths to feed; and who can measure the good thus done, not only in satisfying temporary physical want but in bringing into many shadowed by-ways a little of the Christmas sunshine and cheer which makes for happiness and peace.
With this rapid outline handling of the subject as a whole we come to more detailed but still concise sketches of the three agencies to the support of which the Fraternity is pledged and through which a large proportion of the charity of the organization finds its expression. Each has its peculiar and well defined sphere of action, and in the rare cases where there exists a doubt as to the proper medium of relief there is a hearty, whole-souled, and unselfish cooperation before which the difficulty disappears. These agencies are St. John's Mite Association, the Masonic Board of Relief, and the Masonic and Eastern Star Home, named in the order of their seniority, and are briefly treated as follows :
ST. JOHN'S MITE ASSOCIATION.
This Association was organized in 1872, and has enjoyed an uninterrupted career of usefulness to the present day. It is composed of one delegate from each of the subordinate
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lodges, and was formed for the purpose of rendering relief to Master Masons of this jurisdiction, their wives, widows, and children, and primarily to relieve the lodges of a share of the burdens they encountered. The revenue until 1898 was limited and uncertain, being mainly derived from voluntary contribu- tions from the several lodges, but in that year it came into possession of a fund of about $15,500, a generous bequest of the late Bro. Anthony Buchly, a member at the time of his death of Federal Lodge, No. 1, of this jurisdiction, and for several years Treasurer of the Grand Lodge, the possession of which fund has enabled it to most satisfactorily widen its field of usefulness. In addition to the voluntary contribu- tions above referred to various methods were resorted to to swell the fund, and among these were a series of " sociables," held in the winters of 81-82 and 82-83, which not only netted a comfortable sum, which was equally divided between the two kindred Associations, St. John's Mite and the Masonic Board of Relief, but brought the Masonic families into closer touch with each other, and served a very useful purpose along that rather neglected line. The Association has been fortu- nate in having been able to command the active support of many of our most earnest, capable, and unselfish brethren, and its success is, of course, in the largest measure due to that fact. Past Grand Master Donaldson was for some time its president, and R. W. Bro. Andrew Glass, vice-president. The
former was succeeded in 1903 and the latter in 1907 by the present incumbents, Past Grand Master Walter A. Brown as president, and Brother Samuel Hart as vice-president; and, under the able management and with the hearty support given to the charity by each, the Association is now doing an ever increasing amount of good. Quietly and unostentatiously it has for years been pushing its work of bringing succor to the distressed and needy, and this in such delicate and tactful ways that no humiliation is felt, and hundreds of families have experienced its beneficence without ever knowing the source of their relief. Since its formation its great useful- ness has been so apparent that it has ever been most popular,
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