USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
337
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Bro. Hewitt was elected to the position of Senior Grand Warden for 1817, Deputy Grand Master for 1818-1819, and served as Grand Master for the four terms indicated above.
WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON,
GRAND MASTER, 1822-24.
Brother Seaton was born January 11, 1785, at Chelsea, Va., and was a lineal descendant through his father of one of the oldest and most historic 'families of Scotland, and through his mother of an equally illus- trious English family, that of Winston, both of which settled in Virginia in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and were prominently identified with the early history of the Colonies.
His youth was passed at the ancestral home where a domestic tutor directed his education until he reached in Richmond what was then the culminating academic polishing of "Ogilvie, the Scotchman," a pedagogue of great reputation at that period. The great Patrick Henry was a near relative and frequent guest at the Virginia home, and very fond of young Seaton, directing his early sports and giving him the rich benefit of his companionship.
At the age of eighteen Bro. Seaton's mind was matured, his ambition aroused, his vocation decided, and he passed into the arena of public life, entering with manly earnestness upon the career of political journalism, of which he was one of the country's pioneers. His first essay in the field of politics was as assistant editor of the Richmond Journal. This was followed in the next few years by editorial work in Petersburg, Va., Raleigh, N. C., and Halifax, N. C. At Raleigh, to which place he returned after a short absence, he became associated with Mr. Joseph Gales in the publication of the Register, and in 1809 became united in marriage with Miss Sarah Gales, sister of the above-named. In 1812 the firm of Gales & Seaton acquired The National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser, which had lately been founded, and Bro. Seaton entered upon what proved to be his life work, his journal proving at once a financial success and for many years a powerful factor in the national political world.
During the War of 1812 Bro. Seaton and his partner were both enrolled in the military service and were stationed for some time at Fort War- burton, the present site of Fort Washington, and was with his command when it met the British at Bladensburg, August 24, 1814, and took a con- spicuous part in the sharp engagement that ensued. In Admiral Cock- burn's passage through the city he caused the Intelligencer office to be sacked and all the property, books, and papers to be burned.
An intimate of Jefferson, Marshall, Aaron Burr, Patrick Henry, La Fayette, Daniel Webster, and practically all the prominent men of the country during his adult life, his prolonged career was interwoven with the social and political annals of Washington.
22
338
IIISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
While his great intellect was directed toward the shaping of the national policies of his day he was yet an active and valued citizen of his adopted city, and served as Mayor from 1840 to 1850, having previously twice declined the honor.
He was an ardent worker in the cause of education and was untiring in his efforts to improve local school conditions.
In religion he was Unitarian and was one of the founders of that church in Washington. He was also one of the founders of the Wash- ington Monument Association and its first vice-president.
While the great novelist, Charles Dickens, was in this country he was entertained by Bro. Seaton, and in the raciness and charm of manner, in the genial goodness stamped on every lineament of his countenance this keen reader must have seen the lovable man, and the immortal Cherryble Brothers might seem to have been inspired by the subject of this sketch and his partner, so nearly akin in every gentle characteristic.
His genial cordiality, his captivating courtesy, his large hospitality and readiness of beneficence had few equals, and won the individual affection of all with whom he came in contact. These qualities, united with his great personal charm, his full intelligence and the seal of distinction with which nature had stamped him, marked him out from his fellow-men, and it was but natural that on all civic public occasions, whether it was an address of welcome to an incoming President or to speed a parting one, to inaugurate benevolent institutions or to assume the more delicate and gracious task of presiding at social festivals, that he should be called upon, and thus upon the occasion of the sojourn of LaFayette to this country, the special charge of the nation's guest seemed by tacit consent to devolve upon Bro. Seaton, and how well he discharged this duty is testified by the life-long friendship then formed with our distinguished French ally.
Through an unfortunate combination of circumstances growing out of the war, the Intelligencer lost ground, and on December 31, 1864, Bro. Seaton retired from active connection therewith, after an unprecedented term of service of fifty-two years. His great generosity, however, had interfered with his accumulating a competence in that time, and in his own words he retired "with nothing."
For twenty years Bro. Seaton gave unsparingly of his time and talents for the upbuilding of symbolic Masonry in this jurisdiction, and, falling, as this activity did, within the most trying period in the history of the Fraternity, the value of his services cannot be too highly rated. While his original lodge is not a matter of available record his connection with the local Craft began with his affiliation with Lebanon Lodge, No. 7. January 20, 1815. He was elected Senior Warden the following year, and served as Master, 1818 to 1821, and again from 1825 to 1827. During the interim between these terms he served as Grand Master for 1822, 1823, and 1824. He withdrew from active participation in Masonic affairs in 1836.
It is worthy of note that his son, Malcolm Seaton, also served as Grand Master of this jurisdiction in 1902.
.
339
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
At the patriarchal age of 81, after several years of severe suffering, which he bore with patience and fortitude, he passed away June 16, 1866.
"And thus," in the language of one of his biographers, "undimmed by a single unworthy act, in every word and thought of his spotless life a true gentleman, duty his watchword, exalted honor his instinct, Christi- anity his guide, William Winston Seaton bore his historic name un- tarnished to the grave; nobly illustrating the legend of his family arms: 'In via virtuti via nulla.' "
DANIEL BURCH.
GRAND MASTER, 1825.
This Brother was one of the pioneer Masons in the history of the Grand Lodge, and, while he served the Fraternity with fidelity and dis- tinction for nearly a quarter of century, dropped away in the latter years of his life from active participation in the affairs of the Order, and we must assume, in the light of the reputation he won during his years of service as a man of intellect, of worth, and of executive ability, that his passing into an obscurity which the intervening years have rendered impenetrable was due to failing health or other circumstances beyond his control.
For a number of years he was Doorkeeper of the House of Representa- tives and later the Chief Clerk in the office of the Clerk of the House, and while so serving built and occupied the large house at the corner of New Jersey Aventie and I Street, N. W. During the year 1817, and for several years thereafter he was President of the Board of Common Coun- cilmen. That he was also a citizen militant is shown by the fact that he commanded the artillery at the battle of Bladensburg.
His entire Masonic life was spent as a member of Federal Lodge, No. 1. He was initiated July 1, 1811; passed February 3, 1812, and raised December 7, 1812; served as Secretary for the year 1813; Junior Warden. 1815; Senior Warden, 1816-17, and Worshipful Master, 1818-20.
In the Grand Lodge line he served as Grand Secretary from 1815 to 1821, inclusive, as Deputy Grand Master, 1822 to 1824, and as Grand Master in 1825.
W. Bro. Burch was among the early leaders of thought along pro- gressive lines, and during his incumbency of the Grand East aroused interest in a movement to erect a suitable Masonic edifice in this city, and to further the project of a suitable monument to Gen. Washington. In addition to these general movements he advocated and was instru- mental in inaugurating one of the earliest movements looking to a revision of the ritual. Apparently a convincing speaker his recommendations ap- pear to have always won respectful recognition and usually resulted in action.
340
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
JOHN NICHOLSON MOULDER,
GRAND MASTER, 1826-27, 1830. 1832, 1838.
Brother Moulder was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in May, 1792, and was a grandson of John Nicholson, an associate and friend of Robert Morris, of Revolutionary fame. He was a man of unusual intellectual attain- ments, a public-spirited citizen, a valued officer in the Federal and local municipal government, and as a Mason gave to this jurisdiction without stint for many years the best of his talents.
In his early manhood he conducted a school in Philadelphia, but spent ยท the greater part of his life in Washington as a resident of the old First Ward, having his home on I between Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets, N. W., but later moved to the Third Ward and lived on the east side of Ninth between I Street and New York Avenue.
In the government service he held for many years a responsible position in the office of the Second Comptroller, and was Comptroller of the Currency under President Andrew Jackson, who was a personal friend. In his capacity as a citizen of Washington he served as Alderman in the First Ward from 1817 to 1819, and again in 1825 and 1826, was also at one time a member of the Board of Common Council, was for a number of years a Justice of the Peace, and was President of the Union Fire Company in its early days.
Originally a member of Columbia Lodge, No. 3, of this jurisdiction, he filled the station of Master there from 1821 to 1827, inclusive, and in December, 1825, was elected to the Grand East without previous service in any of the subordinate offices of that body. During his second term, in 1827, he granted a dispensation for the formation of Hiram Lodge, and in 1828 withdrew from Columbia, entered the former lodge and was immediately called to the East in that body. Subsequently, as stated above, he served for four more years as Grand Master.
During the first year of his incumbency (1826) of that office he laid . the cornerstone of the first Masonic Temple ever erected in Washington in which the Grand Lodge was actively interested, the building on the southwest corner of Indiana Avenue and John Marshall Place, which is still standing, and the history of which is given in detail in other pages of this work.
On this notable occasion he delivered an address which is a model in its class and may be found in the Grand Lodge Proceedings for the year 1826.
He was a member of Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 1, and served that body for two terms as High Priest.
From a letter of condolence, written by a committee of Washington Chapter, to the widow of Brother Moulder, and dated January 18, 1839, we quote the following extract: "For upwards of twenty years our friend and Companion John N. Moulder, Esq., was connected with the Order of Free Masonry in this city, and for a considerable portion of that time was a distinguished officer and member of this Chapter (having
Malcolm deaton
GRAND MASTER, 1902.
34I
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
twice been elected to the office of Most Excellent High Priest). We, Madam, knew him well, and improve this opportunity to bear cheerful testimony to his kind and courteous manner, the dignity with which he presided over the Craft, the avidity with which he voted favorably on every case of distress, and the haste which sped his willing feet, by day or night, to relieve the wants of the suffering. These were characteristics in John N. Moulder which never can be erased from the memory of his Companions."
That his private life was above reproach is shown by a communication from Brig .- Gen. John M. Wilson, U. S. A., retired, a grandson, who, while never having seen his grandfather, recalls the conversations of his mother in which she described the " superb character and lovely home-life" of her father, a beautiful and sufficient tribute to his memory.
He died in this city January 7, 1839, and his remains were interred in Congressional, but later moved to Oak Hill Cemetery.
ROGER C. WEIGHTMAN,
GRAND MASTER, 1833.
Born in Alexandria, Va., in 1787, he removed to Washington in 1801, where he learned the printing business with Andrew Way, who subse- quently carried on business with the late Jacob Gideon under the firm name of Way & Gideon. He served for a time as foreman to the Govern- ment Printer and later, for several Congressional terms, held the latter position, with his office on the south side of E Street near Seventh, N. W. He also at one time conducted a book store on the northwest corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N. W.
During the War of 1812 he was an officer in a cavalry company, and at the close accepted a commission in the militia of the District, and at the time of LaFayette's visit to this country was a Brigadier-General and assisted in the entertainment of the nation's guest. His home, 324 Vir- ginia Avenue, S. E., still standing and now dedicated to and used for settlement work, played an important part in the social functions of that event, the ball-room on the side being specially erected for the better handling of the numerous guests.
He was later promoted to be a Major-General and Commander-in- Chief of the District Militia, and was occupying that position at the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, although his impaired health would not permit of his participating in active outdoor service.
Bro. Weightman for a number of years held office in the City Council and was elected Mayor of Washington in 1824, and served to August, 1827, and with such fidelity did he perform his duties that his administra- tion was referred to for years as a model one. He resigned the mayoralty to accept the position of Cashier of the Bank of Washington, then located in the National Hotel building, and held that position until 1834, when
342
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
he resigned on acount of ill-health and was subsequently appointed a clerk in the Patent Office and for years was librarian there.
He had an unsullied reputation and possessed many ennobling traits of character, was a successful business man and a dignified, courtly gentleman.
In the Masonic Fraternity Bro. Weightman long held a leading position and possesses the unique distinction of having been called from the posi- tion of Senior Warden of his lodge to the chair of Grand Master, making one of three similar instances in the history of this jurisdiction.
He was made a Master Mason in Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, November 24, 1811, being the first candidate who received the degrees. in that body and for nearly sixty-five years held continuous membership therein.
Bro. Weightman passed away February 2, 1876, at the advanced age of 89, and was interred in Congressional Cemetery under the auspices of the Grand Lodge and with an escort of all the Commanderies, K. T., of the District and several companies of the militia.
CLEMENT T. COOTE.
GRAND MASTER. 1834.
Brother Coote is an interesting figure in the history of Free Masonry in Washington during the period of persecution from 1830 to 1840, and his years of service to the Fraternity, both in his lodge and in the Grand body, were troublous, indeed, but were met by him, in the language of a biographer, " with a patient and rather formal dignity."
Happily, however, he lived to see Masonry again in the full tide of prosperity, and until the period of the Civil War was felt the influence of the stalwart service he had given to the Craft in the hour of trial.
He passed away in the City of Baltimore, May 12, 1849, and his re- mains were interred May 15 at Congressional Cemetery, this city, the Grand Lodge conducting the ceremony with M. W. G. Master B. B. French in the East.
At the communication of the Grand Lodge, called to attend his funeral, Past Grand Master Keyworth presented a package of Masonic books and papers, late the property of Bro. Coote, which had been entrusted to him to turn over to the Grand Lodge to be placed among the archives. The bequest was accepted and the disposition requested made.
Bro. Coote was engaged in the dry-goods business on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., between Ninth and Tenth Streets, was interested in a brewery on New Jersey Avenue near the Eastern Branch, was a lawyer by profession, and long held the position of Justice of the Peace with an office at the corner of Sixth and C Streets, N. W. Of forceful, aggressive character he took great interest in the rather strent- ous local politics of the day, as is evidenced by a so-called "broadside" aimed at him, which was published and circulated, and a copy of which
343
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
may be seen in the Library of Congress. Withal he was a citizen of prominence and note. He served as a Councilman in 1826, and as Alder- man from 1827 to 1834, most of the time as President of the Board.
In Masonic circles his activity and interest dated from his admission to the Order, in which he soon became a zealous and prominent member. He was initiated in Federal Lodge, No. 1, January 2, 1826 ; passed October 2, 1826, and raised October 14, 1826; was Secretary in 1827; S. W., 1828-29, and Master from 1830 to 1838, with a hiatus from November 1, 1836, to November 17, 1837, during which period the charter of his lodge was in the hands of the Grand Lodge. He served as Junior Grand Warden in 1830, Senior Grand Warden in 1831, Deputy Grand Master, 1832-3, and Grand Master in 1834, and as indicating something of the unusual difficulties of his position it may be noted that in October, 1834, Federal Lodge ordered the surrender of its charter, but Bro. Coote and a few others, who had resisted this movement for some time, were able to postpone compliance with the mandate of the lodge and the actual sur- render did not take place until November, 1836, a forcible reason for the delay being found in the fact that it may be presumed that W. Bro. Coote, as Grand Master, did not desire to be left without the semblance of a lodge behind him.
WILLIAM WRIGHT BILLING,
GRAND MASTER, 1835-37.
Colonel Billing, as he was universally known, was born in the District of Columbia in August, 1801, and received an excellent education in the local private schools. His parents were English and came to this country just a short while before his birth.
He was an unusually resourceful man, and while engaged in a good private business was a Common Councilman in 1833, and at one time Collector of Taxes of the District. He afterwards accepted a clerkship in the Paymaster-General's office, War Department, which position he held at the time of his death. He resided most of his life at the corner of Fourteenth and L Streets, N. W., in a home destroyed by fire in the early forties.
He was one of the original members of the congregation of the Taber- nacle Church, Twelfth near H Street, N. W., now the Rhode Island Ave- nue Methodist Protestant Church.
He is described as a man of most kindly disposition, was hospitable and generous, and at the same time thrifty and acquired considerable property. He was public-spirited and very popular with all with whom he came in contact. In the language of his daughter, Miss Margaret M. Billing, he was a "Christian gentleman." For years he was Colonel of the District Militia, which represented the only military organization in the District at that time.
He passed away in this city in 1843, and was interred in Congressional Cemetery.
344
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
Bro. Billing came into office when the anti-Masonic movement was at its height, and throughout the three years of his incumbency was called upon to meet more unusual and trying conditions than perhaps have ever fallen to the lot of a Grand Master in this jurisdiction.
He was a fair example, however, of the truism that the times make the man, and, rising superior to the most disheartening obstacles, maintained the integrity of the Grand Lodge, and by the force of his executive ability brought some degree of order out of the chaos into which the Fraternity had fallen.
At the very beginning of his term of office the trouble the Fraternity had been for some years having to retain their hold upon the building at the corner of John Marshall Place and Indiana Avenue culminated, and only through the efforts of Grand Master Billing were the various lodges interested enabled to maintain a quasi ownership therein for a few more years. By the arrangement then entered into the leasehold remained in Bro. Billing's name for a number of years, as is fully set out in the chapter on Meeting Places, and is only mentioned in this connection as an evidence of the high place the then Grand Master held in the estimation of his brethren.
Bro. Billing was initiated in New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, October 16, 1826; passed November 20, 1826; raised November 28, 1826; was Secre- tary, 1827-28; Junior Warden, 1829; Senior Warden, 1830-31; Master, 1832-35, 37-38, and Treasurer, 1839-43.
He served as Grand Secretary for the year 1833, and Grand Master for the three terms indicated above.
Altho during this period Masonry was under a cloud, public demonstra- tions, after the custom of the time, were, indeed, more frequent than at the present, and perhaps the most notable of these at which Bro. Billing officiated as Grand Master was the laying of the cornerstone of Jackson City, across the river, January 11, 1836, which event was made the oc- casion of considerable pomp and ceremony, and was participated in by M. W. Andrew Jackson, P. G. M., of the State of Tennessee and President of the United States, who actively assisted Grand Master Billing in the work.
MARMADUKE DOVE,
GRAND MASTER, 1839.
This Brother, having previously occupied the East in Union Lodge, No. 6, and later affiliated with Naval Lodge, No. 4, was installed Wor- shipful Master of the latter Lodge in 1819, the first chosen for the full present term of twelve months. "Captain" Dove, as he was universally known, was an officer in the Navy, and for many years held a responsible position in the Navy Yard in Washington. He is described as having been a man of unusually commanding presence and genial, magnetic personality.
Bro. Dove's zeal, fidelity, and attachment to Masonry is evidenced by
GRAND MASTER, 1903; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1894.
345
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
the fact that besides serving Naval Lodge as its principal officer during the years 1819, 1820, 1821, 1824, 1825, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1836, 1837, and 1841, he also held the positions of Junior Grand Warden in 1831; Senior Grand Warden, 1820, 1832, and 1834; Deputy Grand Master, 1821, 1836, 1838, and 1843, and Grand Master in 1839.
His death occurred. July 3, 1846, at the advanced age of seventy years. His remains lie in Congressional Cemetery.
In addition to his naval service Bro. Dove took an active interest in municipal affairs, serving for some time as a Common Councilman and on the old Board of Alderman, and in testimony of the esteem in which he was held by his associates his funeral was attended by the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council, by order of the Mayor.
At the communication of December 27, 1838, after his installation as Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Dove at once installed his venerable associate, Bro. Isaac Kell, as Grand Senior Warden, and the following extract from the Proceedings of that year. is given as of interest in view of the fact that the years of persecution were then drawing to a close :
This part of the ceremony [installation of Bro. Kell] was peculiarly impressive. Here were two of the venerable chiefs of the Order, whose locks were whitened with the snows of many winters, who had espoused the cause of Freemasonry upwards of twenty years since; had rejoiced in the days of its prosperity; had fought side by side in the days of its adversity ; who had borne the reproach, and whose attachments were in- creased by the fires of persecution. Now they had met as the two principal officers of the institution, to aid their junior brethren in acceler- ating the great work of science and benevolence, which form the ground work of the Order.
ROBERT KEYWORTH,
GRAND MASTER, 1840-41 AND 1843.
Bro. Keyworth was born in 1795, and died February 18, 1856, and from the age of twenty-five until his passing away was an interested, active, and valued member of the local Fraternity, and while failing health in his later years prevented his participation in the affairs of his subordinate lodge he was rarely absent from a meeting of the Grand Lodge.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.