USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 27
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In the throes of civil war, when Washington was a vast military camp, another commandery was born. January 13, 1863, a dispensation was granted by Most Eminent Grand Master Benjamin B. French to twenty-one Sir Knights to form Columbia Commandery, No. 2, and his action was rati- fied by the Grand Encampment on September 17, 1865, when a charter was granted.
Born in an atmosphere of strife, Columbia Commandery has ever been imbued with an ardent military spirit. In the spirit of Napoleon's saying, "there are no Alps," the com- mandery has planned and carried out many large enterprises in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Fore- most in every undertaking that enlists the energies of Chris- tian Knighthood, its pluck, ambition, and progressiveness have won for it a commanding position among the Templar bodies of the world. Its record of triennial pilgrimages is un- broken from St. Louis in 1868 to Chicago in 1910. At Pitts- burg it had the honor of being the special escort of Grand Master Warren LaRue Thomas. Two of its Past Command- ers have been chosen as officers of the Grand Encampment- Myron M. Parker as Grand Sword Bearer 1889-1892, and Frank H. Thomas as Grand Captain of the Guard 1895-1898, Grand Junior Warden 1901-1904, and Grand Captain General 1904-1907. Many distinguished names are borne on the roster of Columbia Commandery, among whom may be men- tioned President James A. Garfield, who was knighted by the commandery in 1865, and whose remains were escorted by his fraters from Washington to Cleveland; Ben: Perley Poore, the eminent journalist, who was the first commander under dispensation; Gen. H. C. Corbin, Chief of Staff, U. S. A., and Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, the hero of Santiago Bay. The membership of the commandery is 615.
Potomac Commandery, No. 3, planted its banners in Georgetown under dispensation in 1870, and was chartered by the Grand Encampment September 22, 1871. While its
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jurisdiction, in common with other commanderies, extends over the District of Columbia, its distance from the centers of activity has limited its actual field of operations to West Wash- ington, as old Georgetown is now called, a section largely dominated by an influence inimical to Masonry. But " nil desperandum" is the motto of this plucky little commandery, and after many years of warfare it bids fair to reap the re- wards its valor and constancy have earned. It has now a membership of 143.
De Molay Mounted Commandery, No. 4, was organized under dispensation February 19, 1872, and chartered Decem- ber 3, 1874. Its charter membership was drawn from among the substantial business men of the city, and the accessions to its ranks have come from the same class. The commandery is distinguished for open handed charity and genuine, knightly hospitality, and excels in the cultivation of the social features of the Order. In its peculiar nomenclature it numbers 186 " saddles."
The long-felt want of a commandery in the populous east- ern section of the city led to the formation of Orient Com- mandery, No. 5. Chartered by the Grand Encampment Au- gust 29, 1895, without a previous existence under dispensa- tion, it entered at once upon a career of phenomenal pros- perity. Starting with a charter membership of 30, in the first year of its existence its ranks were increased to 82, and at its last return it numbered 260 swords. Young, vigorous and enthusiastic, this commandery looks forward to a future as full of promise as the past has been of success.
The event of greatest magnitude in the annals of Templary in the District of Columbia was the Twenty-fourth Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment, which was held in Wash- ington October 8-11, 1889. A Triennial Committee, com- posed of eleven members from each of the four command- eries then in existence, was appointed to arrange for the re- ception and entertainment of the Grand Encampment and visiting commanderies and Sir Knights, and was organized with the following officers: Myron M. Parker, chairman ;
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George E. Corson, vice-chairman; Thomas Somerville, treas- urer; Harrison Dingman, corresponding secretary; Warren H. Orcutt, recording secretary. Sub-committees were also ap- pointed with chairmen as follows: Executive, Myron M. Parker; reception, William G. Moore; finance, James E. Waugh; transportation, Edward H. Chamberlin; printing, George Gibson ; hotels, Allison Nailor, Jr .; halls and decora- tions, John H. Olcott; levee, George W. Evans; excursions, William B. Easton; carriages, Edward Turkenton; music, Robert Ball; badges, James P. Pearson; theaters, Orrin G. Staples ; press, Myron M. Parker; horses and horse equip- ments, Martin R. Thorp; barbecue, George W. Pratt; ex- hibition drill, Robert T. Hieston. A guaranty fund of $22,650 was raised by a contribution by each commandery of a sum equal to $25 for each member on its roll. Under the capable direction of Chairman Parker and Secretary Dingman the general committee and the several sub-committees successfully planned and carried out the stupendous work of caring for the comfort of one hundred thousand visitors and providing them with a knightly, generous and hospitable entertainment.
October 8, an ideal autumn day, witnessed the largest and most brilliant pageant known in the history of the Order when 24,000 Knights Templar marched on Pennsylvania Avenue to Washington Circle, and thence on K Street to T'enth Street, under the command of Myron M. Parker as chief marshal. The parade was organized in twelve grand divisions, and there were in line the Grand Encampment, thirty-seven Grand Commanderies, two hundred and fifty-eight commanderies, seven battalions, three Canadian Preceptories and one hundred bands. It was reviewed by President Harrison from a stand in front of the White House, and by Grand Master Charles Roome and staff from a stand at Tenth and K Streets.
From the chartering of Washington Encampment in 1825 to the chartering of Orient Commandery in 1895, the Templar bodies of the District of Columbia were borne on the rolls of the Grand Encampment. In the fall of 1895 the five com- manderies, believing that their interests would be better served
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SAMUEL C. PALMER, GRAND MASTER, 1898.
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by a governing body of their own creation, voted to form a Grand Commandery, and through their representatives pe- titioned Most Eminent Grand Master Warren LaRue Thomas for a warrant for that purpose, which was issued December 2, 1895.
January 14, 1896, the seventy-first anniversary of the charter of Washington Encampment, the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar and the Appendant Orders of the Dis- trict of Columbia was constituted, Grand Master Thomas pre- siding over the ceremonies and installing the officers. The veteran Noble D. Larner, who had received all the honors of Masonry that could be conferred in the District of Columbia, and had presided over the General Grand Chapter of the United States, was chosen the first Grand Commander, and has been succeeded in the office in turn by Frank H. Thomas, Rezin W. Darby, Eldred G. Davis, William T. Galliher, Har- rison Dingman, George Gibson, George E. Corson, Alexander Mckenzie, Andrew W. Kelley, Bennett A. Allen, William F. Hunt, Thomas P. Morgan, William H. H. Cissel, Walter H. Klopfer, and George C. Ober.
In the organization of the Grand Commandery the com- manderies enjoy the benefits of " home-rule," which is un- known in the political government of the District of Colum- bia. Remote from the Grand Encampment, the commanderies formerly legislated for themselves, with the result that there was frequently lack of uniformity in their regulations and sometimes a misconstruction of the Constitution and Statutes. But under the supervision of the Grand Commandery the con- stituent bodies have been brought into closer relations with each other, uniformity of dress and equipments has been es- tablished, inspections have been instituted, and the regulations · of the Grand Encampment have been rightly construed and enforced.
According to date of organization the Grand Commandery is No. 42 in the list of 47 Grand Commanderies on the register of the Grand Encampment, but in the number of members returned (1,843) it stands No. 26, and in average membership
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of commanderies (366) it is No. 1. The growth of Templar Masonry, from fourteen Sir Knights under Grand Commander Nicholas Blasdell in 1825 to 1,843 Sir Knights under Grand Commander George C. Ober in 1910, has kept pace with the growth of Washington from the straggling village in the first quarter of the nineteenth century to the magnificent city in the first decade of the twentieth. The possibilities of the ex- pansion of the Order in the future are beyond calculation.
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CHAPTER XXI.
THE SCOTTISH RITE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
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WM. L. BOYDEN, 33º HON., LIBRARIAN SUPREME COUNCIL, 33°.
The introduction of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite into the District of Columbia may be said to have begun when the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States elected Brother Benjamin Brown French to re- ceive the Thirty-third degree of Sovereign Grand Inspector General and an active member of the Supreme Council for the District of Columbia, he being on the 12th day of December, 1859, duly invested with that degree by the Sovereign Grand Commander, General Albert Pike. Brother French was an active worker in the York Rite, having been Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, Grand High Priest of Maryland and the District of Columbia, Grand Master and Grand Recorder of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States, and subsequently Gen- eral Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of the United States. He ultimately became Lieutenant Grand Com- mander of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction.
In the spring of 1860, Brother Pike conferred the several degrees of the Rite from the 4th to the 32d, inclusive, upon Brothers George C. Whiting, William D. Haley, John G. F. Holston, Gustavus A. Schwarzman, Christopher Ingle, Joseph W. Nairn, William G. Parkhurst, Aaron Van Camp, Ezra L. Stevens, Goff Alfred Hall, and Peter P. Pitchlyn. Bro. Haley,
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after having the degrees communicated to him, received au- thority from Brother Pike to confer the same upon several others who could not be present at the several meetings called by the Grand Commander.
On the 22d of June, 1860, Bro. Pike issued Letters Patent, constituting the Grand Consistory of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, 32d degree, the members forming this body be- ing those above mentioned and Benjamin Brown French, 33º, Ben Perley Poore, 33º, Samuel T. Schugert, 32º, and Aaron H. Palmer, 32°. The officers were installed the same day by Brother Pike, and on June 28th a complimentary banquet was given by the consistory in honor of the Grand Commander. The officers of the consistory were George C. Whiting, 33º, John G. F. Holston, 32°, Christopher Ingle, 32º, Ben Perley Poore, 33º, Wm. D. Haley, 33º, G. A. Schwarzman, 33º, Samuel C. Schugert, 32°, Wm. G. Parkhurst, 32°, Joseph W. Nairn, 32°, Ezra L. Stevens, 32°, Peter P. Pitchlyn, 32°, Goff Alfred Hall, 32°, B. B. French, 33º, Aaron H. Palmer, 32º. January 22, 1861, an election was held, resulting in the re- election of all of the above officers, and they were duly in- stalled on the 28th of the same month by the Grand Com- mander.
The Grand Consistory having issued Letters Patent for a Lodge of Perfection, 14th degree, to be called Osiris Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, the same was formed on the evening of June 22, 1860, the first three officers being Christopher Ingle, Ezra L. Stevens, and William G. Parkhurst.
These bodies held their meetings in the Masonic Hall, corner of Ninth and D Streets, Northwest, and did consider- able work, Brother Ingle, who is still living at this writing, re- ceiving for his excellent services the Honorary 33d degree at the hands of the Supreme Council in 1861. The last meeting of the consistory was held April 5th, 1861. The great Civil War, which commenced in the month of April of this year, closed the doors of both Osiris Lodge of Perfection and the Grand Consistory of the District of Columbia.
On January 19, 1867, Brothers B. B. French, 33º, George
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C. Whiting, 33°, Christopher Ingle, 33º, and Ben Perely Poore, 33º, met at the " Club House," corner of Fifteenth and H Streets, Northwest, at eight o'clock P. M., to consider the status of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in the Dis- trict of Columbia. They agreed to do all they could to revive the Rite. Altho Osiris Lodge of Perfection and the Grand Consistory had a quasi existence at this time, they evidently did little or no work, for we find Brother French, the Active 33d, assisted by some of the other brethren, conferring and communicating the degrees at various times and places on worthy Master Masons, the most notable one being the Presi- dent of the United States, Brother Andrew Johnson, who re- ceived the degrees from the 4th to the 32d, inclusive, at the White House, on June 20th, 1867, remarking that the doc- trines inculcated were such as he had been practicing and preaching all his life.
May 20th, 1870, Brother French appointed Bro. Joseph Thomas Brown, 33º, Hon., his deputy for the District, and on the death of Bro. French, which occurred August 12, 1870, Bro. Pike appointed him Special Deputy for the District of Columbia.
On December 16, 1870, the following brethren met at the Masonic Hall, with a view to the organization of a Lodge of Perfection, the Letters Patent of Osiris Lodge of Perfection having been recalled by the Supreme Council: Christopher Ingle, Joshua Otis Stanton, George D. Patten, Wm. M. Ire- land, James B. Gibbs, Charles T. Nutze, Benj. S. Hedrick, Richard S. Olcott, Leonard Stoddard, James F. Wollard, Henry C. Barr, George A. Hall, John J. Bell, James Gozler, Clement W. Bennett, George W. Balloch, Joseph W. Nairn, Abner T. Longley, Joseph Daniels, Upton H. Ridenour, John G. F. Holston, Morton P. Chipman, Ben Perley Poore, and Thomas L. Tullock. Albert Pike was present and presided at the meeting, while Albert G. Mackey acted as secretary. A motion was adopted by the brethren organizing themselves into a Lodge of Perfection, to be known as Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 2, subsequently changed to No. 1. A petition
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was prepared praying for Letters of Constitution, which be- ing granted, the brethren, on December 30, 1870, assembled in the Commandery Room of the Masonic Temple, when the lodge was duly constituted by the Grand Commander, assisted by the Secretary General, Albert G. Mackey.
December 7, 1871, a Council of Princes of Jerusalem, 15th and 16th degrees, was constituted, under the name of Kedron Council, No. 1, with the following officers: Joseph Daniels, 32°, Illustrious Tarshartha; Thomas L. Tullock, 32º, Vener- able High Priest; Joshua O. Stanton, 32°, Excellent Scribe ; Abner T. Longley, 32°, Enlightened Warden; George H. Moore, 32°, Enlightened Junior Warden; Clement W. Ben- nett, 32°, Illustrious Almoner; Charles A. Appel, 32°, Ill. Keeper of Seals and Records; Joseph W. Nairn, 32°, Il1. Treasurer.
At the same meeting, December 7, 1871, a chapter of Rose Croix, 17th and 18th degrees, was constituted in the parlor of the Chapter Chamber, Masonic Temple, under the name of Evangelist Chapter, No. 1, the officers elected being Joshua O. Stanton, 32°, Wise Master; Clement W. Bennett, 32°, Senior Warden; Luther H. Pike, 32°, Junior Warden; Wm. M. Ire- land, 32°, Orator; Abner T. Longley, 32°, Almoner; Charles A. Appel, 32°, Secretary, and Joseph W. Nairn, 32°, Treas- urer. The Council of Princes of Jerusalem was subsequently merged into Evangelist Chapter, so that the latter included the degrees from the 15th to the 18th, inclusive.
On December 11, 1873, the Special Deputy for the District of Columbia, Bro. Wm. M. Ireland, 33º, convened a meeting in the Commandery Room of the Masonic Temple, for the purpose of organizing a Council of Kadosh, 30th degree. A council was duly organized, and was constituted January 29, 1874, under the name of Robert De Bruce Council, No. 1, with the following officers: Wm. M. Ireland, 33º, Eminent Commander ; Luther H. Pike, 32°, Eminent Prior; Crawford C. Adams, 32°, E. Preceptor; Abner T. Longley, 32°, E. Chancellor ; Wm. R. Singleton (at that time 30°), E. Orator : Clement W. Bennett, 32°, E. Almoner ; Henry J. Martin, 30°,
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E. Recorder; Jonathan M. Smith, 30°, E. Treasurer. Bro. Pike constituted this body, assisted by Albert G. Mackey, Sec- retary General. Bro. Wm. R. Singleton (afterwards a 33º Hon.), the Orator, delivered an impressive oration on this occasion.
Upon the written request of Ill. Bro. Wm. M. Ireland, 33º, and Ill. Clement W. Bennett, 33º, addressed to the 32d degree Masons residing in the District of Columbia, the following brethren assembled at Scottish Rite Sanctuary, corner of Seventh and D Streets, N. W., at 7.30 o'clock P. M., January 6, 1876: Albert Pike, 33º, Sovereign Grand Commander; Wm. M. Ireland, 33°, Clement W. Bennett, 33º, Christopher Ingle, 33°, James B. Gibbs, 32°, Benjamin S. Hedrick, 32°, Abner T. Longley, 32°, Joshua O. Stanton, 32°, Luther H. Pike, 32°, Crawford C. Adams, 32°, Henry J. Martin, 32°, Jonathan M. Smith, 32°, Leonard Stoddard, Jr., 32°, Wm. R. Singleton, 32°, Frederick Widdows, 32°, John B. Daw- son, 32°, Charles T. Nutze, 32°, Allen Wall, 32°, Ezra L. Stevens, 32°, Philip R. Wilson, 32°, Edwin B. MacGrotty, 32°, and John B. Wadsworth, 32º. Upon motion of Bro. Hedrick, the members decided to organize a consistory, 32d degree, and a committee was appointed to select a name, and, reporting the same evening, they decided upon the name Al- bert Pike Consistory, which recommendation was unanimously adopted, and they proceeded to the election of officers, with the following result: Clement W. Bennett, Commander in Chief; Joshua O. Stanton, Seneschal; Luther H. Pike, Pre- ceptor ; Abner T. Longley, Constable; John B. Dawson, Ad- miral; Crawford C. Adams, Minister of State; Allen Wall, Chancellor; James B. Gibbs, Almoner; Henry J. Martin, Registrar ; Philip R. Wilson, Treasurer. The consistory was duly constituted on January 12, 1876.
October 20, 1880, Dr. John Mills Browne, Surgeon General of the United States Navy, was crowned an active member of the Supreme Council, 33d degree, and Inspector General for the District of Columbia. He was Past Grand Master, Past Grand High Priest, and Past Grand Master of the Grand Con-
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sistory, 32d degree, of California. The Rite made rapid strides under his able administration.
Upon his recommendation, Orient Lodge of Perfection, No. 2, 14th degree, was constituted, January 12, 1885, with Dr. Thomas G. Loockermann, 33º, Master ; Frederick W. Rit- ter, 32º, Senior Warden, and George E. Corson, 32° (now a 33d Hon.), Junior Warden. This body held its meetings in the Masonic Hall, Georgetown, and continued working for about eighteen years, when it surrendered its charter in No- vember, 1902, the members affiliating with Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1.
It was in the Chapter Chamber of the Masonic Hall that James A. Garfield, afterwards President of the United States, applied for the Scottish Rite degrees, his petition being re- ceived on April 4, 1871, elected May 2, 1871, receiving the 4th and 5th degrees the same date, and the intermediate de- grees between that time and January 2, 1872, when he re- ceived the 14th degree, beyond which he did not go.
After the death of John Mills Browne, the active member for the District of Columbia, the then Grand Commander, Thomas H. Caswell, November 4, 1895, appointed Francis J. Woodman, 33º Honorary, Deputy and Legate of the Supreme Council for the District of Columbia. Bro. Woodman con- tinued as Deputy until the present Grand Commander, Brother James D. Richardson, on February 10, 1908, issued an order attaching the District to the jurisdiction of Charles E. Rosen- baum, 33º, the Sovereign Grand Inspector General for Ar- kansas. Bro. Rosenbaum, on December 28, 1909, issued an order appointing Brother Stirling Kerr, 33º Hon., his Repre- sentative and Deputy in the District of Columbia.
The meeting places of the local bodies of the Rite have been from time to time as follows : In 1860 and up to the breaking out of the Civil War, in the Masonic Hall, corner of Ninth and D Streets, N. W. After the war the members met at various residences, until the organization of Mithras Lodge of Per- fection, December 30, 1870; in the Commandery Room of the Masonic Hall, holding this one meeting only here, after which
JOHN H. SMALL. JR., GRAND MASTER, 1899
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it held a few of its meetings at the residence of Bro. J. W. Nairn, 1109 H Street, N. W., then moving to the Chapter Chamber of the Masonic Hall, February 7, 1871. The bodies of the Rite moved again to the Commandery Room of the Ma- sonic Hall, June 18, 1872, where they stayed until they fitted up a Scottish Rite Hall, at the southwest corner of Seventh and D Streets, N. W., into which they moved on March 2, 1875, and where they stayed until their removal to the Scot- tish ·Rite Cathedral, 1007 G Street, N. W., about September, 1886, continuing here until on February 14, 1910, they ac- quired from the Supreme Council, by exchange for their G Street property, the " House of the Temple," situated at the corner of Third and E Streets, N. W.
The Supreme Council, which is the governing body of the Scottish Rite, has, through its officers or otherwise, held resi- dence in the District of Columbia since 1859, when Albert Pike became its Grand Commander. The Supreme Council, in its early days in Washington, had, however, no regular office rooms other than those of its officers residing here, until sometime after the close of the war. It might be interesting to know that Albert G. Mackey, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council and the distinguished Masonic scholar and writer, had his office in 1870 at 1418 F Street, N. W .; in 1871 at 220 I Street, N. W .; along about 1872 to 1876 at 1440 M Street, N. W. In 1873 Albert Pike was residing at 116 C Street, N. E. In 1877 the Supreme Council had a perma- nent office at 602 D Street, N. W., after which it moved to 218 Third Street, N. W., finally purchasing, in 1883, the property at the corner of Third and E Streets, N. W., and known as the " House of the Temple," but now known, since its acquire- ment by the local bodies, as "The Scottish Rite Cathedral." The Supreme Council is temporarily domiciled here until the completion of its new home, to be located in the Northwest section of the city, and which is to be a magnificent structure, the ground, construction, and furnishing to cost in the neigh- borhood of a million dollars. The Sovereign Grand Com- mander is James D. Richardson, 33° ; the Secretary General, Austin B. Chamberlin.
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The Scottish Rite in the District has steadily progressed in numbers and in the character and rendition of its work, the present membership being in the neighborhood of eight hun- dred and fifty. The presiding officers of the local bodies are : Ellwood P. Morey, 32º, K. C. C. H., Venerable Master of Mithras Lodge of Perfection; Francis A. Sebring, 33º Hon., Wise Master of Evangelist Chapter of Rose Croix; Ellwood P. Morey, Commander of Robert De Bruce Council of Ka- dosh; Jacobus Seneca Jones, 33º Hon., Venerable Master of Kadosh. Elmer E. Simpson, 32° K. C. C. H., is the efficient secretary of all the bodies.
The Cathedral of the Rite, at the corner of Third and E Streets, Northwest, never having been formally dedicated to Freemasonry, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia performed this ceremony on the evening of May 12, 1910, the program connected therewith comprising an invocation by the Rev. Brother W. Tayloe Snyder; welcoming of the Grand Lodge by the Sovereign Grand Commander, Bro. James D. Richardson; dedication of the building by the Grand Lodge; address by Grand Master George C. Ober, and an address by Sovereign Grand Inspector General Charles E. Rosenbaum, and benediction by Rev. Bro. Snyder, the exercises being in- terspersed with appropriate music.
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CHAPTER XXII.
THE ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
While the Order of the Eastern Star as it exists today in this country is of comparatively recent origin, there is sufficient evidence that the basic idea upon which it is builded-that of giving to the female members of Master Masons' families a means of recognition as such-is as old at least as the re- corded history of the Masonic Fraternity.
The ancients provided for the participation of women in all the benefits of the institution but those peculiarly pertaining to membership, and they bound every member of it to award, on proper demand, to all worthy Masons' mothers, sisters, daugh- ters, wives, widows, and children, peculiar immunities and benefits. But they failed to provide them with any means of recognition.
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