USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 36
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
M. W. Bro. Woodman is also an active member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the history of his advancement being as follows : Perfect Elu (fourteenth degree), in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1. December 16, 1884; Knight Rose Croix (eighteenth degree), in Evangelist Chapter, No. 1, October 14, 1885; Knight Kadosh (thirtieth degree), in Robert de Bruce Council, No. 1, August 4, 1886; Master of the Royal Secret (thirty-second degree), in Albert Pike Consistory, No. 1, August 7, 1886. He was elected Knight Commander of the Court of Honor October 19, 1892, and coronetted Honorary Inspector-General, thirty-third degree, April 13, 1894. In November, 1895, he was made Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction for the District of Columbia and held that office until December 28, 1909.
He is a Past President of the Convention of High Priests ; a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, the Red Cross of Constantine, and Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
399
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
He was a member of Martha Chapter, No. 4, of the Order of the Eastern Star, from which he dimitted in 1909 to become a charter member and the first Worthy Patron of Temple Chapter, No. 13.
In October, 1889, he was commissioned as a medical officer in the National Guard of the District of Columbia. After serving in the suc- cessive ranks of Battalion and Regimental Surgeon and as Major in the Medical Corps, he was placed on the retired list as of the last named rank at his own request, after twenty years' continuous service.
He is a member and lay reader of St. James P. E. Church; also a member of the District of Columbia organizations of the Yale Alumni Association, the D. K. E. fraternity, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Order of Washington.
In every office held by him M. E. Companion Woodman has brought to the discharge of its duties earnestness and zeal, and his administration of the office of Grand Master in 1907, and his more recent occupancy of the office of Grand High Priest, fully sustained his reputation and added to the high position maintained by our Grand Jurisdiction. As Grand Master his performance of the arduous duties incident to laying the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple, under circumstances pe- culiarly trying, reflected great credit upon him, and he has always measured up fully to the requirements of every Masonic duty. Of pleasing personality, our jurisdiction has had few Grand Officers more affable and capable than Bro. Woodman.
AUGUSTUS BURT COOLIDGE,
GRAND MASTER, 1908.
Bro. Coolidge was born at Bouckville, Madison County, New York, September 17, 1857. His collegiate education was obtained at Law- rence Academy, Groton, Mass., and Colgate University, Hamilton, New York. He was appointed a clerk in the Bureau of Pensions in 1882, and while so employed he entered upon the study of medicine in one of the medical schools of the City of Washington, graduating there- from with the degree of M. D. in 1884. Soon after his graduation he was appointed a Medical Examiner in the Bureau of Pensions, which position he still holds.
Bro. Coolidge's Masonic life began in Harmony Lodge, No. 17, this jurisdiction, wherein he was made a Master Mason June 28, 1887. He dimitted from Harmony Lodge December 27, 1888, and affiliated with La- Fayette Lodge, No. 19, February 21, 1889, in which he still holds mem- bership. He filled by appointment and election the several subordinate offices in LaFayette Lodge, and served as its Master in the year 1895. He is an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32, this jurisdiction. He was elected Junior Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge at the annual communication in 1897, and thereafter he was elected to each succeeding
400
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
station in the progressive line of the Grand Lodge. He was elected and installed as Grand Master at the St. John's Day communication in 1907, and served as Grand Master one year.
Bro. Coolidge's career in Capitular Masonry dates from October 31. 1887, when he was exalted in Mount Vernon Chapter, No. 3, this juris- diction. In December of the same year he was appointed Master of the Second Vail, and was regularly advanced through the succeeding sta- tions, serving as High Priest in 1894. He was appointed Grand Master of the First Vail in the Grand Chapter in 1897, and after filling every station in the progressive line except that of Grand Principal Sojourner, he was elected and installed as Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Ma- sons of the District of Columbia February 12, 1904, serving one year.
He received the Cryptic degrees in Washington Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, and is now a member of Adoniram Council, No. 2.
He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., January 25, 1888, and served for a period in the official line, but refused advance- ment by reason of other Masonic duties.
In Scottish Rite Masonry M. W. Bro. Coolidge has had an active career, his record being as follows: Fourteenth degree in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, February 22, 1888; eighteenth degree in Evangelist Chap- ter Rose Croix, February 6, 1889; thirtieth degree in Robert de Bruce Council of Kadosh, September 13, 1889; thirty-second degree in Albert Pike Consistory, September 23, 1889; thirty-third degree (honorary) in Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction, October 22, 1897. He was Venerable Master of Mithras Lodge of Perfection in 1896 and 1897, and Venerable Master Kadosh of Albert Pike Consistory in 1898.
He was invested with the Royal Order of Scotland September 16, 1889. He is a member of the Convention of High Priests and the Masonic Veteran Association.
He became a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., January 30, 1888, and served as an officer but declined advancement on account of other duties.
Upon the reorganization of the Board of Managers of the Masonic Temple Association, following the assumption of control of the building by the Grand Lodge, Bro. Coolidge was chosen President and assumed that position October 24, 1910.
He is a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Greek letter fraternity.
He has been a member of the Cosmos Club of this city since 1892. The membership of this club is composed chiefly of men of note and distinction in the realm of science, literature, and art, and it is among the best known and most noted clubs of the world. He has been for some years the club's treasurer.
The Masonic career of M. W. Bro. Coolidge has been one of great activity and usefulness to the Craft. In every position which he has been called upon to fill he has shown marked ability in the discharge of its duties. It is not too much to say that no Grand Master has had a more intelligent conception of the duties of his office, or has performed them with greater diligence and satisfaction to the Craft. Because of his kind-
Holawir Kuipers
GRAND MASTER, 1911.
40I
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ness of heart, his broad and generous sympathy, his true courtesy, his sterling character and his genial personality, he has enjoyed in large measure the love and esteem of his brethren.
He has labored zealously for the upbuilding of Masonry in this juris- diction, and during his administration as Grand Master his constant en- deavor was to set the standard of the institution just a little bit higher than it ever was before. His talks and addresses to the brethren were models of clearness of thought and precision of statement and showed him to be a man of broad culture and large familiarity with books and authorities. An easy, quiet, and forceful speaker he had no difficulty in impressing his ideas upon his hearers or making himself fully understood upon all questions discussed by him.
It was Bro. Coolidge's opportunity and pleasing duty to dedicate our new Masonic Temple to Freemasonry. If the success and distinction of his administration as Grand Master rested upon nothing else, that cere- mony alone, because of its quiet dignity, its impressiveness, its beautiful rendition, and his eloquent words of hope, prophecy, and wisdom, secured for him the unqualified approval and lasting admiration of his brethren, and assured for him and for his administration a place second to none in the history of our Grand Lodge. The beauty and grace of that occasion will abide forever in the minds and hearts of the large concourse of brethren who witnessed it.
HENRY KEDGLIE SIMPSON,
GRAND MASTER, 1909.
Born in Philadelphia, August 8, 1851, he moved to Washington with his parents in 1859, and has ever since resided in the eastern section of this city. He received his education in the public schools of Philadelphia and Wash- ington, graduating in 1868 from the Spencerian Business College with the highest honors of his class. In 1873 he passed the departmental competi- tive examination and was appointed to a clerkship in the U. S. Treasury Department, advancing through many grades to the position of assistant in the disbursing office of that Department. In 1889 he resigned from the Government service to accept the position of Secretary of the People's Fire Insurance Company, and remained with the company until it was reinsured by the Royal Fire Insurance Company of England. The new company, gladly availing itself of his valuable experience and services, placed him in charge of its extensive business interests in the eastern section of the District, a position he still fills to the great satisfaction of the company.
He is also Secretary of the Eastern Building and Loan Association; . Treasurer of the National Capital Investment Company; Director and Vice-President of the Masonic Mutual Life Association of the District of Columbia; member of the Board of Trade, and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Dispensary and Casualty Hospital, of which
26
402
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
board he has been a member since 1889. He has been a member of the National Rifles since the organization of that company in 1880; one of its Board of Directors; its Secretary for several years, and its Treasurer until 1908. He participated in many of the company's competitive drill con- tests, each one of which added laurels to its already deserved fame.
From his youth up he has been closely identified with religious and charitable work; has been a member of the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church since its foundation; Superintendent of its Sunday School for several years; held the offices of Trustee and Deacon; and for many years past has been a devoted and influential member of the Board of Elders.
M. W. Bro. Simpson is a man of great uprightness of character; an esteemed, worthy, and respected citizen, fulfilling in a most exemplary manner all social and domestic ties; and at the same time an earnest, zealous, and accomplished Mason, maintaining the dignity of Grand Master with a personal kindness which made friends of all his brethren. His addresses were instructive, filled with pathos and humor, and pointed with anecdote, and always held his hearers in the closest attention. While he has attained the highest honor in the gift of Masonry, he is still an earnest worker in another branch of the Order, and the full record of his services to the Craft is yet to be written.
M. W. Bro. Simpson was made a Master Mason October 6, 1876, in Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, of this jurisdiction, and after filling various official stations became its Worshipful Master in 1887. In 1898 he was elected Junior Grand Steward in the Grand Lodge, and after serving a term in each succeeding station in the line was, on December 27, 1908, elected and installed Grand Master for the year 1909. He is also an honorary con- tributing member of Temple Lodge, No. 32.
On March 24, 1882, he was exalted in Eureka Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M., and became its High Priest in 1888. In 1897 he was appointed Grand Master of the First Vail in the Grand Chapter, filled all the stations, ex- cept that of Grand Royal Arch Captain, and was installed Grand High Priest, serving the Royal Craft with conspicuous distinction for the year ending in February, 1906.
He received the Cryptic degrees in Washington Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, February 16, 1903.
On July 26, 1882, he received the orders of knighthood in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., and was Eminent Commander for the year 1894. On the organization of the Grand Commandery, January 14, 1896, he was elected Grand Prelate, and re-elected each succeeding year there- after until 1905, when he was elected to the official line as Grand Warder, and now occupies the station of Grand Captain-General.
M. W. Bro. Simpson is an active member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, the history of his advancement being as follows: Made a Perfect Èlu (fourteenth degree) in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, July 4, 1886, a Knight Rose Croix (eighteenth degree) in Evangelist Chapter, No. 1, February 24, 1888; a Knight Kadosh (thir- tieth degree) in Robert de Bruce Council, No. 1, February 15, 1889; a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret (thirty-second degree) in Albert Pike
403
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Consistory, No. 1, April 15, 1889 ; and elected a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor October 19, 1897, by the Supreme Council, thirty-third degree (mother Council of the world), Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.
He is also a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, of the Conven- tion of Anointed High Priests, of the Masonic Veteran Association, of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and of Temple Chapter, No. 13, O. E. S.
GEORGE CLARKE OBER,
GRAND MASTER, 1910.
Brother Ober, son of the late John and Frances Ober, is a native of the jurisdiction over which he has presided. Born in Washington, April 17, 1860, he was educated by private tutors and graduated at the Emer- son Institute in 1878. The following year he entered upon the study of medicine at the Medical College of the Georgetown University, from which he graduated with the highest honors of his class in 1882. After serving a year as resident physician of the Children's Hospital, in 1883 he engaged in private practice, in which he has won distinction and suc- cess. From 1891 to 1903 he was Professor of Materia Medica and Thera- peutics in the Medical Department of the National University. Upon the passage of the Medical Practice Act in 1896 and the organization of the several Boards authorized thereby, he was appointed by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia a member of the Board of Medical Examiners, elected Secretary thereof, and served in that capacity for nine years, when he was elected to the office of President, which he still holds. He is an ex-President of the Board of Medical Supervisors of the Dis- trict, and for the last four years its Secretary. He has also served as Secretary and as First Vice-President of the Medical Association of the District of Columbia ; as Chairman of the Judicial Council of the American Therapeutical Society, and is an ex-President and for many years a member of Board of Counsellors of the Medical Association of the District.
Bro. Ober is a ready, easy, and forceful speaker, a man of dignified yet pleasing personality and polished manner, and possessing, as he does in an unusual degree, a judicial mind and sound judgment, has won an enviable reputation as an able executive and presiding officer.
These qualities have brought to him the rather unique distinction of having filled, in addition to the office of Grand Master, the positions of Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons and Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery, K. T., of the District of Columbia, being the incumbent of the latter office at the date of this publication. It is also sufficiently unprecedented to be worthy of note that from May until December, 1910, he ably filled both the chairs of Grand Master and Grand Commander.
404
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
M. W. Bro. Ober was made a Master Mason in Naval Lodge, No. 4, April 18, 1889; exalted to the sublime degree of Royal Arch Mason in Washington Naval Chapter, No. 6, May 29, 1890; knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, September 23, 1891, and became a charter member and the first Captain-General of Orient Commandery, No. 5, October 19, 1895. He was Master of his lodge in 1899, High Priest of his chapter in 1894, and Commander of his commandery in 1898, and his term of service as presiding officer of each body was notable for its prosperity.
In the Grand Lodge he served a full term in every chair from Junior Grand Steward to Grand Master. He was elected Grand Commander in May, 1910, after serving successively in the various subordinate offices.
In the Grand Chapter, R. A. M., he filled every station from Grand Master of the Second Vail, with the exception of Grand Captain of the Host, and was Grand High Priest in 1904.
He is Past President of the Convention of High Priests and a member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. and S. M., of the Masonic Veteran Association, and of Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine.
J. CLAUDE KEIPER,
GRAND MASTER, 1911.
The Most Worshipful Brother who occupies the East in the Grand Lodge for the Centennial year was elevated to that office at the comparatively early age of forty-one.
He was born in St. Nicholas, Schuylkill County, Pa., October 9, 1869, and received his education in the public schools of Shenandoah, in the same county, and the State Normal School of Bloomsburg, Pa. After graduation from the latter institution he taught school for several years in Shenandoah, Pa., and in 1890 removed to Washington and accepted an appointment in the Surgeon General's Office, War Department, in which branch of the service he has since remained, at the present time occupying a position of trust and responsibility in the office of the Adjutant-General of the Army.
After locating in this city he attended the Law School of the Columbian (now George Washington) University and holds the degrees of LL. B. and LL. M. from that institution.
His Masonic career began January 16, 1895, when he was made a Master Mason in Columbia Lodge, No. 3, F. A. A. M., of this city. He became at once a most active and efficient worker, his exceptional qualifications bringing him rapid promotion from the chair of Senior Steward (to which he was appointed June 19, 1895), thro several offices to the East where he served his lodge for the year 1899. He also filled the position of Sec- retary of Columbia Lodge from April 15, 1904, to December 2, 1910.
Elected Junior Grand Steward in December, 1900, he has successively
Per Corson
JUNIOR GRAND WARDEN, 1880; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1886; GENERAL GRAND KING, GENERAL GRAND CHAPTER, U. S. A .; GRAND COMMANDER, K. T., 1902.
405
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
filled the various intermediate offices and was installed as Grand Master December 27, 1910.
He received the Royal Arch degree in Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M., October 30, 1895, and was elected High Priest December 10, 1900.
He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., March 7, 1900; served as Commander 1908-9; was elected Recorder of that body April 14, 1909, and is filling that office at the date of publication.
He has also been a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., since March 17, 1900.
Possessed of tireless energy and a genius for detail work he has filled the various offices to which he has been called with conspicuous ability, his terms as the executive officer of the several Masonic bodies being especially brilliant and successful.
His equipment for the exalted station of Grand Master is of a high order. To a trained and cultured intellect he adds a power of clear and graceful expression that gives him oratorical rank as a forcible, con- vincing and pleasing speaker, while his well-balanced mind, enriched by years of conscientious study, affords him a grasp upon the larger phases of Fraternity life of the utmost value to the Craft.
His pleasing personality and affable manner make him deservedly popu- lar among his brethren and fit him especially for the social obligations of his position, more than usually exacting during the Centennial year.
BEN W. MURCH,
DEPUTY GRAND MASTER, 1911.
Born in Carmel, Me., June 29, 1858, he graduated from Bates College, Lewiston, Me., in 1882, and has since been engaged in educational work, teaching in Maine, Ohio, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, coming to this city in January, 1887. He is at present Supervisor of the Second Division Schools and Director of Night Schools.
Bro. Murch brings to the discharge of the duties of his exalted station the broad culture of the scholar and the benefit of years of executive experience. He is a logical and forceful speaker; is a man of dignified presence, yet modest and unassuming, and has the respect and esteem of the entire Fraternity.
He was made a Master Mason November 24, 1881, in Benevolent Lodge, No. 87, Carmel, Me .; affiliated with George C. Whiting Lodge, No. 22, of this jurisdiction December 12, 1889; served in several of the subordinate offices of the latter lodge and as Master, 1898-99; was elected Junior Grand Steward December, 1901, and has served successively in each of the offices of the Grand Lodge to his present station.
He is a member of Potomac R. A. Chapter, No. 8, and has served therein as Captain of the Host, Scribe, King, High Priest, and Secretary, having filled the latter office for six years.
406
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
He is a member of Potomac Commandery, No. 3, K. T., and served that body as Recorder for four years.
He is a member of Mizpah Chapter, No. 8, O. E. S., and was Patron thereof in 1899; a member of the Convention of Anointed High Priests, President in 1909, and present Secretary ; a member of Washington Coun- cil, No. 1, R. and S. M., the Masonic Veterans' Association, and Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine.
CHARLES E. BALDWIN,
SENIOR GRAND WARDEN, 1911.
Brother Baldwin was born Jan. 4, 1864, near Bradford, Iowa, where his boyhood was spent on a farm. His early education was received in the district public schools, which he attended during the winter terms when the duties of the farm would permit. He afterward attended Bradford Academy, at Bradford, Iowa, and the Iowa State Agricultural College, at Ames, Iowa. After leaving college he engaged in school teaching, first in a country school and afterward as Principal of the Public Schools at Ionia, Fredericksburg, and Lawler, Iowa. In 1889 he was appointed a clerk in the Department of Labor in Washington and has been ad- vanced through the various official grades to the position of Statistical Expert, and at present is Chief of the Examination Division in the Bureau of Labor, Department of Commerce and Labor. After coming to Wash- ington he took up the study of pharmacy and graduated from the National College of Pharmacy in 1891, at which college he served as President of his class.
Bro. Baldwin was initiated in the mysteries of Freemasonry in King David Lodge, No. 28, F. A. A. M., March 6, 1894, passed April 3, 1894. and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason May 1, 1894. He served through the line of offices and was Master in 1898. He is now Treasurer of King David Lodge. He received the Capitular degrees in Eureka Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons, in 1897, and served as High Priest in 1905. He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, in October, 1902, and presided as Eminent Commander in 1907-08. He is an honorary member of Mary Commandery, No. 36, K. T., of Philadelphia, Pa.
At the Annual Conclave of the Grand Commandery, K. T., of the Dis- trict of Columbia, May 9, 1910, he was elected Grand Captain of the Guard.
The Council degrees were conferred upon him in Washington Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, in 1905. He afterward became a charter member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, and served as its first Treasurer under its charter.
He was honored by election to the office of Excellent President of the Convention of High Priests in 1910.
At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, F. A. A. M., of the
407
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
District of Columbia, in December, 1902, he was elected Junior Grand Steward, and has advanced successively through each of the several sta- tions and places to that of Senior Grand Warden, which station he now occupies.
He is a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
He has also been an active worker in the Order of Knights of Pythias, being a Past Chancellor Commander of Polo Lodge, No. 215, K. of P., of the jurisdiction of Iowa, and having served two terms as a representative in the Grand Lodge.
A man of high intellectual attainments and rare executive ability, of courteous demeanor and magnetic pleasing personality, Bro. Baldwin's coming administration as Grand Master cannot fail to be of the greatest credit and value to this jurisdiction.
THOMAS JOHN NEWTON,
JUNIOR GRAND WARDEN, 1911.
Born in Liverpool, England, January 20, 1852, he came to Philadelphia, Pa., when nine years of age, and received his education in the public schools of the latter city. After engaging in mercantile pursuits for a few years he removed to Washington, D. C., and entered the Government service as a clerk in the Department of State, July 1, 1874, and has been continuously employed in that service to the present time, filling many positions of trust, among them that of Special Disbursing Officer of the Department for the Alaskan Boundary Tribunal, which met in London, England, from August 1 to November 18, 1903.
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.