USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 37
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Bro. Newton was raised in National Lodge, No. 12, April 20, 1880, and filled the East in that body for the years 1885 and 1886; was exalted in Eureka R. A. Chapter, No. 4, March 23, 1883, and served as High Priest in 1889; was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., May 23, 1883.
Bro. Newton has been an indefatigable worker in the different branches of local Masonry, but perhaps his most valuable efforts have been directed toward the perfection of the Masonic Relief work, and along this line he has builded for himself and the jurisdiction an enviable record. His work in this direction commenced on the local Board as a delegate from his lodge in 1882, and he has been in continuous active service to the present time, serving as Secretary from 1886 to 1890, inclusive, when he was elected Vice-President and then President, serving in the latter office two years. In 1904 he again took up the duties as Secretary and is still holding that position.
On the formation of the General .Masonic Relief Association for the United States and Canada, in 1885, our Board became a contributing mem- ber, and it has been his privilege to attend all its meetings as a delegate from our local Board, with the single exception of the 1903 meeting, when
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he was absent from the country on Government business. He has served the Association in various capacities, i. e., as a member of the Advisory Board from September, 1890, to 1899, when he was elected Second Vice- President; in 1901, elected First Vice-President, and in 1903, notwith- standing his absence, was elected President, serving until 1905, and by virtue of such service is a permanent member of said association. At the present time, he is holding the important position of Chairman of the Committee on Organization and Membership.
Gifted with an unusually attractive personality, of courteous, kindly demeanor, Bro. Newton has a deservedly wide circle of friends, while his exceptional mental equipment and earnestness of purpose insures for the jurisdiction a successful administration under his guidance when he shall have been installed as Grand Master.
ALEXANDER GRANT,
GRAND MARSHAL, 1911.
This Brother was born in Monroe, Mich., in the early fifties and is of Scotch parentage. He was educated in the public schools of his native city and graduated from the high school at the age of sixteen. He immediately entered the local post-office as a clerk and served in that capacity and as assistant postmaster for two and a half years. He then obtained a position as mail route agent on the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway, then just completed between Toledo, Ohio, and Bay City, Mich. In 1872 he was transferred to the west division of the great through trunk mail route between New York and Chicago, on the N. Y. Central and Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railways, his assignment being between Cleveland and Chicago. He passed through the several grades from roustabout to clerk-in-charge, and in the latter capacity served on the first exclusive fast mail ever run in the United States. In 1880 he was detailed to the office of the Division Superintendent at Cleveland as Examiner and filled that position for something over two years, when he was called to Wash- ington to assume a place in the office of the General Superintendent. He served in various capacities in that office and in December, 1884, was made Chief Clerk, which position he held until August, 1897, when he was promoted to the position of Assistant General Superintendent. He suc- ceeded Capt. James E. White as General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service of the United States March 1, 1907.
Mr. Grant has been for many years a well-known figure in social and club circles. He is an enthusiastic lover and encourager of athletic sports of all kinds. Before coming to Washington he was for a number of years a member of the Board of Governors and Vice-President of the North- western Amateur Rowing Association, an organization comprising all of the rowing associations in the various cities located upon the Great Lakes. Shortly after coming to Washington he associated himself with the
Www. Johnston,
GRAND SECRETARY OF THE GRAND LODGE AND GRAND CHAPTER AND GRAND RECORDER OF THE GRAND COMMANDERY.
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Columbia Boat Club and shared in its fortunes and those of its suc- cessor, the Columbia Athletic Club., being for many years on the Board of Governors, two years Vice-President and three years President of the last-named organization. He is an active and enthusiastic member of the Columbia Golf Club.
Bro. Grant comes from good Masonic stock. His father was for several years Master of Monroe Lodge, No. 27, A. F. and A. M., juris- diction of Michigan, and subsequently elected Secretary, which office he held until his death in 1865. An elder brother was also Master of the same lodge, High Priest of his chapter, Eminent Commander of his commandery, and for several years District Deputy Grand Master of one of the Districts of Michigan. Alexander Grant was made a Master Mason in Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15, F. A. A. M., February 8, 1893, passed through the several offices and was elected Master in 1898. He was exalted in Columbia Royal Arch Chapter, No. 1, May 2. 1894, and was elected High Priest in 1900. He was made a Knight Templar in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., June 15, 1894, and shortly after was appointed Captain of the Guard. He served successively as Sword Bearer, Standard Bearer, Junior and Senior Warden, and in 1902 was elected Eminent Commander.
Mr. Grant is an active, earnest Masonic worker and his rapid elevation to the highest offices in the several bodies with which he has been connected is the best evidence of his faithfulness and devotion to the Order. He is Grand Marshal in the Grand Lodge and Generalissimo in the Grand Commandery. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Masonic Mutual Life Association.
He is also Past Potentate of Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine.
WILLIAM W. JERMANE,
SENIOR GRAND DEACON, 1911.
Brother Jermane was born November 4, 1862, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a minister in the Baptist Church and at the time was pastor of the church of that denomination at Frankfort Ky., in which city and at various other places in the same State, the subject of this sketch spent the first twelve years of his life. The family then re- moved to Indiana and later to Illinois, and at Sullivan, in the latter State, Bro. Jermane attended school. His higher education was secured at the Southern Illinois Normal University, Carbondale, that State, finish- ing in June, 1881.
In July of the same year he began work in a country printing office in Pike County, Ill. From there he went to Pittsfield, the county seat, to accept a position on a weekly paper of considerable influence, and in 1883 permanently gave up the work of typesetting and became a member of the local staff of the old Quincy Herald (daily). From the
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latter place he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he was in turn, reporter, city editor, editorial writer, managing editor and editor of the Daily Herald; was city editor of the Tribune of Minneapolis for several years, beginning in 1889, and in 1891 began work for the Minneapolis Journal, in whose employment he still remains, representing that paper at Wash- ington since 1899, and is also correspondent of the Seattle Times. In local newspaper circles he has been Secretary of the Standing Committee of Correspondents for four years, is a member of the Gridiron Club, and also the National Press Club.
Bro. Jermane received the Blue Lodge degrees in Charity Lodge, No. 331, St. Joseph, Mo., in April, 1886, the Chapter degrees in the same city in Mitchell Chapter, No. 89, April 1887, and was knighted in St. Joseph Commandery, No. 4, K. T., in the fall of 1887.
After removing to Washington, he dimitted from the several bodies in Missouri and affiliated with Pentalpha Lodge in 1902, with Mt. Horeb Chapter the same year, and later with Columbia Commandery, K. T., all of this city.
Bro. Jermane is possessed of unusual ability as an executive; is a fluent, magnetic, and convincing speaker, and stands perhaps without a peer in this jurisdiction as a finished and impressive ritualist. These qualities soon marked him out for rapid advancement, and after serving as Senior Deacon and Senior Warden, he became Master of Pentalpha for the year 1905, and was also elected President of the Master's Association during that year.
At the election succeeding his affiliation with Mt. Horeb R. A. Chapter he was appointed to the Second Vail and, after filling the intermediate sta- tions, served as High Priest in 1909 and also as President of the High Priests' Association for that year.
He is a member of Almas Temple and of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. and S. M., and in the latter body is an active worker.
During the year 1909, his physical condition seeming to presage a break- ing down, he resigned from a number of offices, among others the Chair- manship of the Grand Lodge Centennial Committee, the position of Assist- ant Rabban in the shrine, and that of Junior Warden in his commandery.
In the Grand Lodge line he is now serving as S. G. Deacon and in the Grand Chapter line as Grand Master of the Second Vail.
JAMES W. WITTEN,
JUNIOR GRAND DEACON, 1911.
Born in Grundy County, Mo., in 1855, he was educated in the public schools and at Central College, Fayette, Mo. In 1881 he left the farm for the law office and began practicing at Albany, Mo., and in October of the same year was nominated for prosecuting attorney, to which office he was elected and served two terms. He continued the practice of law
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till he was called to the legal department of the General Land Office in 1893. He is now Chief Law Officer of that department and for several years has been superintendent of all land openings. It is universally understood that his conduct of the openings has been entirely satis- factory to all concerned for fairness and equitable treatment of the home- stead seekers.
Those who are nearest to Bro. Witten recognize best his nobility of character, unimpeachable integrity, and high ideals, and these qualities which have won him such distinction as a public servant have brought to him rapid but deserved promotion in the Masonic circles.
He was initiated in Washington Centennial Lodge, No. 14, May 4, passed June 1, and raised July 6, 1898; was elected Senior Steward in 1899, and after filling all the intermediate offices was Master in 1904.
He entered the official line of the Grand Lodge as Senior Grand Stew- ard at the election in December, 1907.
He was exalted in Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M., May 28, 1900.
LEM TOWERS, JR.,
GRAND SWORD BEARER, 1911.
Born in Washington, D. C., January 9, 1862, he has resided continuously since that time in the District of Columbia. His education was begun in the public schools, but shortly before reaching the age of twelve he was compelled, through force of circumstances, to leave school and seek em- ployment, which he obtained as messenger boy in the old Washington Stock Exchange in September, 1873. In October, 1875, he entered the real estate office of A. L. Barber & Co .; in April, 1879, he was employed in the insurance offices of Hanson & Blackford, and in December, 1881, was ap- pointed as a stenographer in the office of the Official Reporter of De- bates of the United States Senate. In 1883 he became assistant editor of the National Tribune, of this city. In 1884 he was appointed as a stenog- rapher in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and remained in that office until May, 1890, when he resigned to become the first Secretary of the Lincoln Fire Insurance Company. In January, 1892, he succeeded to the Secretaryship of the Columbia Fire Insurance Company, which position he held until that company retired from business in 1908, since which time he has been engaged in a general insurance business. In 1889 Bro. Towers graduated at law from the old Columbian (now George Washington) University, and in June of that year was admitted to practice before the bar of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
Bro. Towers being possessed of an unusually courteous and pleasing demeanor is one of the most popular Masons in the jurisdiction, while his keen intellect, business training, and tact combine to make him a most able executive officer and have won for him a large measure of success in all the offices he has held in business and Fraternal circles.
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Bro. Towers received all of his Masonic degrees in this jurisdiction. He was raised in Potomac Lodge, No. 5, F. A. A. M., September 3, 1900; exalted in Potomac Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M., October 31, 1900, and knighted in Potomac Commandery, No. 3, K. T., December 5, 1900. He was made a Noble of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., February 7, 1901. He was Master of Potomac Lodge for the year 1907; High Priest of Potomac Chapter, 1905, and Eminent Commander of Potomac Com- mandery, 1906. He is a charter member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. and S. M., and an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32. He has passed through the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, having received the thirty-second in Albert Pike Consistory June 30, 1903.
At present he is also Grand Principal Sojourner of the Grand Chapter, R. A. M., and Grand Standard-Bearer of the Grand Commandery, Knights Templar.
JOSEPH HERCUS MILANS,
GRAND PURSUIVANT, 1911.
Born October 31, 1877, at Landisburg, Perry Co., Pa., and has resided in Washington, D. C., practically all his life. He was educated in the public schools and Columbian (now George Washington) and National Universities of this city; received degrees of Bachelor of Laws, 1899; Master of Patent Law, 1900, at Columbian University, and Master of Laws, 1900, at National University; was first admitted to the practice of law before the bar of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia September 19, 1899, and has since become a member of the bar of many of the Federal courts including the Supreme Court of the United States ; has for more than sixteen years devoted his practice to the specialty of patent law, being a member of the Patent Law Association of Wash- ington.
He is a member of the legal Greek letter fraternity of Phi Delta Phi; is Secretary of the Dime Savings Bank, and a Director of the East Washington Savings Bank, this city.
He was initiated in St. John's Lodge, No. 11, July 27, 1900; passed August 24, 1900; raised September 28, 1900, and served as Master in 1904. He is also an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32.
Received the Mark Master's degree in Washington Naval Chapter, No. 6, March 3, 1903; Past Master's degree March 17, 1903; M. E. Master's degree, March 17, 1903; Royal Arch degree, April 21, 1903, and at the present time is serving as Scribe; is a member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. & S. M. Orient Commandery, No. 5, K. T., conferred the Order of the Temple upon him June 15, 1903, and elected him Com- mander in 1909.
He is a member of Martha Chapter, No. 4, O. E. S., and served as Patron in the year 1906.
R. Harper
OFFICIAL HISTORIAN, GRAND LODGE, F. A. A. M .; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, R. A. M., 1910-1911.
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He is a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, and has for several years been a member of the following Scottish Rite bodies: Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1; Evangelist Chapter, R. C., No. 1; Robert de Bruce Council, K. K., No. 1, and Albert Pike Consistory, M. R. S., No. 1.
He was elected Junior Grand Steward in 1908, and has been advanced to and is now serving as Grand Pursuivant.
Having already attained an enviable position in the professional and business world his unusual ability is proven, and this in connection with his record as a capable and painstaking officer in the several Masonic bodies, gives assurance of a satisfactory and brilliant administration of the office of Grand Master, to which, in the natural course of events, he may attain at an age which would rank him with the little coterie of men who have realized that ambition while comparatively young.
J. . HARRY CUNNINGHAM,
SENIOR GRAND STEWARD, 1911.
Born in Washington, D. C., July 19, 1865, he received his education in public schools of this city, graduating from the high school in 1881. For twenty-three years he was connected with the Maurice Joyce Engraving Co., was for a short time manager of the Howard Printing Co., and has been cartoonist and correspondent of the Washington Herald since the organization of that paper. In his character as a cartoonist Bro. Cunning- ham has gained a national reputation for his brilliantly conceived and artistically executed hits on the current happenings of the day. Of tried executive ability and affable demeanor his rise in Masonic circles has been rapid and his friends legion.
For fifteen years Bro. Cunningham was a member of the National Rifles military company, and at one time was Adjutant with rank of Lieutenant on the staff of that organization. He also served- one year in the D. C. National Guard.
He is a Past State Councillor of the Jr. O. U. A. M., a member of the Board of Trade, of the Red Cross Society, of the National Geographic Society, of St. Andrew's Society, the National Press Club, and the famous Gridiron Club.
He was made a Master Mason in Hope Lodge, No. 20, April 8, 1887, and served as Master in 1891; was exalted in Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 1, in 1887, but is now a member of Montgomery Chapter, of Ken- sington, Md .; was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., in 1888, and served as Eminent Commander in 1904; is also an honorary member of Mary Commandery, No. 36, of Philadelphia, Pa.
He is a member of the Masonic Veterans' Association, of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, and of Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine.
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CHARLES J. O'NEILL,
JUNIOR GRAND STEWARD, 1911.
The subject of this sketch, whose election filled out the roster of Grand officers for the Centennial year, was born in Washington, D. C., June 15, 1869, and has resided therein during his entire life.
His early education was acquired in the local public schools. In 1893 he was graduated from the Lehigh University with the degree of Electrical Engineer and in 1903 from the National University Law School, of this city, with the degree of LL. B.
He is at present in enjoyment of a lucrative practice as attorney-at-law and counselor in patent causes.
He is a member of the University Club of Washington.
Bro. O'Neill brings to his career as an officer of the Grand Lodge equip- ment of the highest order. His analytical mind united with his ability as a clear and convincing reasoner has for a number of years given him unusual weight in the counsels of the Fraternity, while his demonstrated executive ability, cultivated intellect, and dignified yet affable demeanor give assurance that his administration of the offices which in the natural order of things lie before him will be eminently successful.
He was initiated in Acacia Lodge, No. 18, June 26, 1894; passed, July 24, 1894, and raised August 28, 1894; served as Worshipful Master for the Masonic year of 1896, and as Secretary 1898-1902.
He was exalted in Washington Naval R. A. Chapter, No. 6, October 23, 1894; was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., May 3, 1895, and dimitted therefrom to become a charter member of Orient Commandery, No. 5, October 19, 1895.
He became a member of Martha Chapter, No. 4, O. E. S., March 18, 1898; served as Patron thereof for 1899, and as Grand Patron of the Grand Chapter, O. E. S., D. C., for 1902.
He was elected Junior Grand Steward December 27, 1910.
.
WILLIAM REYNOLDS SINGLETON,
GRAND SECRETARY OF THE GRAND LODGE FROM 1875 TO 1901.
Bro. Singleton was born in Norfolk, Va., October 24, 1818. He was descended on his father's side from a long line of distinguished English ancestors, and on his mother's side from William Bradford, the second Governor of the Plymouth Colony. His early life was spent in his native city, where he received an academic education. In 1834 he entered Middlebury College, Vermont, but left before graduating. The college in after years conferred upon him the degree of A. M. Adopting the pro-
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fession of architect and civil engineer, in 1836 he removed to the then far West, was engaged for about ten years in railroad construction and on many public works in Illinois and Missouri, and for a brief period edited the St. Louis Evening Gazette. Returning to the East in 1849, he was employed in his profession in the navy yards at Norfolk and Pensacola, and for a time resided in Baltimore. In 1863 he came to Washington, and was employed by the War Department in the construction of de- fenses about the city. At the close of the civil war he was appointed an examiner in the Patent Office, which position he resigned in 1873 to engaged in business as a solicitor of patents, in which he continued until a few years before his death.
Bro. Singleton was made a Mason in Naphtali Lodge, No. 25, of St. Louis, Mo., receiving the third degree January 20, 1840, and a few years later became a member of Independence Lodge, No. 76, of Missouri, of which he was Worshipful Master in 1848. He served as Senior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Missouri in 1842 and 1843. On the organization of Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23, of this jurisdiction, May 4, 1869, he became a charter member. In 1875 he was elected Grand Secretary of this Grand Lodge and continued in that station until his death.
He was exalted to the degree of Royal Arch Mason in Missouri Chapter, No. 1, of St. Louis, August 20, 1840, and later affiliated with Independence Chapter, No. 15, which he served as King in 1848. He participated in the organization of two chapters in this city-LaFayette, No. 5, in 1867, and Mount Horeb, No. 7, in 1872-and was the charter High Priest of the latter body.
He received the Cryptic degrees in Missouri in 1841; was a charter member and Thrice Illustrious Master of LaFayette Council, No. 1, of this city, now extinct, and was a charter member of Washington Council, No. 1.
He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., of this city, June 9, 1875.
He was made an Honorary Sovereign Grand Inspector-General, thirty- third degree, A. A. S. R., by the Supreme Council of the Southern Juris- diction, May 7, 1878. In the same year he was invested with the Royal Order of Scotland.
He departed this life February 23, 1901, and his remains were escorted to Oak Hill Cemetery, February 25, 1901, by his lodge, chapter, com- mandery, delegations from other Masonic bodies, and a large concourse of friends, and interred with Masonic honors by the Grand Lodge.
Special services, in memory of Bro. Singleton, were held by the Grand Lodge December 19, 1901, and a movement at once set on foot for the erection of a suitable memorial to the distinguished dead which resulted in the erection of a handsome monument in Oak Hill Cemetery by the local Fraternity and its dedication by the Grand Lodge July 25, 1903, with appropriate and impressive ceremonies.
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The following extract from the memorial issued and caused to be circulated by Grand Master Standiford is quoted as perhaps the best pen picture available of this remarkable man and Brother :
"' Paint me as I am!' said Cromwell, when the artist suggested the elimination of a facial blemish. No higher tribute can be paid to the memory of Bro. Singleton than to portray him as he was. We have no need to ascribe to him imaginary virtues, no occasion for the effacement of blemishes. His character was as near perfection as can be attained by finite man. Masonry was his life-long study, and his later years were given entirely to the service of the Craft. Profoundly learned in Biblical and Masonic archeology, he traced the history of the Craft from the building of the first temple down through the Ancient Mysteries, the Essenes, and the guilds of the Middle Ages to the formation of the first Grand Lodge, and the evolution from operative to speculative Masonry. Landmarks, symbols, rites, traditions, law and precedent, custom and usage, were to him as household words. At fourscore, with sixty years of Masonic life behind him, he often remarked, 'I am still learning Masonry.' His contributions to Masonic literature gave him a world- wide fame, and placed him among the leading writers and thinkers of the Craft.
" Great talents and achievements set men apart. We view them as on a pedestal, admire them from afar, but know little of their personal life, habits, and characteristics. But Bro. Singleton was one among us, and his noble life was an open book to the six thousand Masons of our juris- diction, who shared in his joys and sorrows, and to whom his death is a personal loss. He knew no rank or distinction in his intercourse with his brethren, but his office was accessible to all, and his sympathetic disposi- tion, kindly humor, cordial greeting, and ever ready response to calls for counsel, won the love and veneration of all. His charities were limited only by his means, but were known only when spoken of by the bene- ficiaries. Possessing strong religious convictions, he was ever considerate of the views of others. In his broad nature there was boundless love for his fellow men, but no room for bigotry or intolerance."
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