USA > Washington DC > History of the Grand lodge and of freemasonry in the District of Columbia : with biographical appendix > Part 5
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
Tuesday, May 21, 1811, the Grand Lodge again met and completed the roster of officers by the election of the follow- ing: Andrew T. McCormick, Grand Chaplain; Thomas Ar- buckle, S. Grand Deacon; Thomas Holliday, Grand Deacon; Nicholas L. Queen, Grand Marshal; Francis Clark, Grand
39
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Steward; Ninian Beall, Grand Sword Bearer; John McGill, Grand Pursuivant, and Barney Parsons, Grand Tyler, the formerly-elected Grand Tyler, Brother Thomas Summers, having resigned.
This meeting was notable, in the light of the history of sub- sequent years, in giving birth to the Committee on Corre- spondence, at that time designated as the " Committee of Com- munication and Correspondence," with the limited duty of sending out extracts of our proceedings to sister jurisdictions. The important addition of collating and publishing extracts from the proceedings of other jurisdictions, which has proved of such inestimable value, came later.
At the next meeting of the Grand Lodge, July 9, 1811, the Constitution was finally adopted, 100 copies ordered printed, and the committee appointed for that purpose reported that they had prepared and transmitted an address to the Grand Lodges of Maryland and Virginia. While unmistakably re- calling the Declaration of Independence and couched in some- what stilted phrase, this address is a model of the writing of the period, and certainly a Masonic paper of absorbing in- terest. We quote it in full :
-, R. W. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of -: RESPECTED SIR AND BROTHER :
When it becomes necessary that a separation should take place with those who have long been united in the tender ties of mutual harmony and intercourse a sense of gratitude and esteem should impel those who desire that separation freely to declare the reasons by which they are actuated. Under this impression we, in behalf of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, beg leave to state the reasons which influenced the lodges in this District in the measure by them taken.
The right and expediency of establishing a Grand Lodge in this District had for a considerable time engaged the attention of the most experienced Masons of this place. Not willing, however, to confide implicitly in their own judgments in a matter of so much importance, experienced Masons from various parts of the United States were consulted, from the de- cisive nature of whose opinion the practicability of the measure appeared manifest. And at a meeting in convention of deputies from five lodges, after mature consideration, the right and expediency was unanimously de- clared; and afterward, on the 19th day of February, 1811, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was organized and opened in due form, with full appellant and corrective powers, which, under the superintending
40
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
care and direction of the Supreme Architect, will promote the interests of the craft and extend the empire of Masonry. The propriety of the measure taken was confirmed by a reference to historic facts. In England Masonry flourished but partially until the organization of the Grand Lodge at York, from which time Masonry, literature, arts, and sciences flourished. The same fruitful source of intelligence extending its benign influence across the Atlantic animated our brethren of the Eastern States, who organized Grand Lodges previous to our Revolution, under authority of charters granted from some one of the Grand Lodges in Great Britain, after which they at once saw the impropriety of working under authority derived from a country having different laws, government, and interests from their own, and accordingly gave up the authority under which they had before acted. There then being no head to resort to, the subordinate lodges of several States, by deputies appointed for that purpose, organized Grand Lodges. It is admitted that necessity urged the adoption of this measure, and that the principle was then acknowledged, and has never since been disputed, and that the lodges of each State were entitled to equal privileges. This District being composed of parts of two States, and separated from them in the same degree as one State is from another, was a circumstance that received considerable weight, in addition to which the desire of uniting and harmonizing the citizens of a district thus situated-the expenses and dues retained among us, and the facility of decision in cases within the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge, were circum- stances that received the consideration due to their importance. Also, this being the seat of government, it was supposed the most proper place to rear the standard of Masonry, that the enlightened and distinguished men of our country may meet and unite in one general system the several Grand Lodges of the United States.
The lodges here have been directed to return the warrants under which they lately worked to the authority from whom they received them, if required, and to settle their accounts. This will be attended to without delay, and experience leads us to believe that when the subject of our proceedings shall be taken into consideration our motives and conduct will receive the sanction of your approbation.
We cannot on this occasion withdraw from you without experiencing those feelings of regret which flow from a lively recollection of favors bestowed on us for a series of years, and expressing that ardent anxiety for your prosperity which will ever animate our hearts. The sensibility of our feelings is, however, somewhat assuaged with the hope that the strong claim of love will forever be preserved bright between us, and that all our designs and all our exertions will tend to promote the general good.
We are, etc. (Signed)
AMOS ALEXANDER,
CHAS. GLOVER,
Committee.
City of Washington, May, 1811.
PHIM INH
FORMER MEETING PLACES OF NAVAL LODGE, NO. 4.
1. 1129 Seventh Street, S. E., 1805-1821. 2. Fifth Street and Virginia Avenue, S. E., 1821-1867. 3. Same, enlarged, 1867-1895.
41
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
It will be observed that the committee could not resist the temptation to deftly suggest the iridescent dream of a General Grand Lodge, a subject already claiming the attention of the Fraternity and rapidly gathering enthusiastic exponents.
At the same meeting the following resolution from the Grand Lodge of Maryland was read :
Resolved, That the several lodges composing the Grand Lodge of the the District of Columbia, and heretofore working under the authority of this Grand Lodge, be permitted, according to their desire, to retain their warrants; and that, upon the several lodges paying all their dues up to the time of this grand communication, except initiation fees from the time of their formation of said Grand Lodge, they be recognized as a Grand Lodge, and admitted into correspondence accordingly.
(Signed) J. LEWIS WAMPLER, Grand Secretary.
6th May, A. L. 5811.
This action completed the formal withdrawal from the mother Grand Lodge, a separation amicably effected, and which has never for a moment interfered with the closest and most fraternal connection between the two jurisdictions.
While the usual acknowledgments and good wishes were received from the Grand Lodges of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas, Tennessee, and England, Pennsylvania alone, on the ground that the mere sending of the proceedings covering the formation of a Grand Lodge did not constitute official notifica- tion, held aloof, and it was not until the Grand Lodge of the District had entered into lengthy explanations and disclaimed any intention of being disrespectful, and more than a decade had elapsed, that full fraternal correspondence was established between the jurisdictions.
Thus came into being the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.
42
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
CHAPTER V.
IN THE EARLY DAYS.
UNION LODGE, NO. 6, AND LEBANON LODGE, NO. 7-THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GENERAL GRAND LODGE IDEA- QUAINT CONSTITUTIONAL REGULATIONS-NOTES.
"A few strong instincts and a few plain rules."-WADSWORTH.
THE FIRST LODGE to receive its charter from the new Grand Lodge was warranted July 9, 1811, as Union Lodge, No. 6, a lodge formed in the East End, in the territory and upon the recommendation of Naval Lodge, No. 4, and which for many years sustained a most intimate and unique association with the latter body, a detailed account of which may be found in Chapter XV. After a precarious existence of a little over twenty years it surrendered its charter in 1835.
The same year witnessed the birth of Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, which was chartered October 8, 1811, in response to a petition recommended by Federal Lodge, No. 1, and signed by eight brethren, including William Hewitt, subsequently Grand Master .* This Lodge rapidly forged to the front in point of membership, and in 1821 led all its sister lodges with a roster of thirty-nine names. Lebanon rounds out its first century of continuous activity in the year of this publication.
In the first year of its existence the subject of the formation of a General Grand Lodge came up in the newly-formed grand body. This scheme had been agitated for many years, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, as early as 1780, having con- sidered the propriety of appointing a General Grand Master,
* It is worthy of note, too, that the first initiate of the new Lodge, Bro. Roger C. Weight- man, also served the jurisdiction as Grand Master in later years.
43
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
and having subsequently formally elected General George Washington to that position and invited the Grand Lodges of Virginia and Massachusetts to join the movement; but, the latter bodies holding aloof, the election was not consummated and the matter dropped. In the succeeding years, however, it persisted in coming to the front, and, inasmuch as this juris- diction in the earlier years took a leading part in the various movements in this direction, it is deemed a matter of sufficient local as well as general Masonic interest to warrant a concise résumé of what has been referred to in the preceding chapter as an " iridescent dream," and, that the reader who is inter- ested in the subject may have placed before him at once the whole story as it affects the District, we digress from chrono- logical order to pursue it to the end.
At the meeting held October 8, 1811, a resolution was passed to appoint delegates to meet similar representatives from other Grand Lodges, with a view of meeting in grand convention in the City of Washington Monday, January 4, 1812, or such other date as might be agreed on, and under this authoriza- tion delegates were appointed, but, sufficient interest not being taken by the other jurisdictions in the proposition, the con- vention was not held, and the matter lay dormant for a decade.
In the issue of the National Intelligencer of March 9, 1822, appeared the following notice :
MASONIC NOTICE .- Those members of Congress who belong to the Masonic Fraternity, and those visitors of the city who are or have been members of any State Grand Lodge, are respectfully invited to attend a meeting to be held in the Senate Chamber, this evening, at 7 o'clock, to take into consideration matters of general interest to the Masonic insti- tution.
Pursuant to this notice a notable assembly of Members of Congress and other prominent Masons assembled in the Sen- ate Chamber (the present Supreme Court Room) at the Capi- tol on the evening referred to. Bro. Thomas R. Ross, a mem- ber of Congress from the State of Ohio, was elected Chair- man, and Bro. William Darlington, Secretary. This conven- tion, unique and unprecedented in history, when the public
44
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
character and prominence of the men engaged, the official character of the place, and the object sought after are con- sidered, was an event of peculiar Masonic importance and in- terest, both local and general, and deserves far more space than may here be given, yet cannot be passed without a brief report.
After lengthy debate on the general subject, in which the individual views of the speakers were advanced, the following resolutions, offered by Bro. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, were unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is expedient, for the general interests of Freemasonry, to constitute a General Grand Lodge of the United States.
Resolved, That it be proposed to the several Grand Lodges in the United States to take the subject into their serious considerations, at their next annual communication, and that, if they approve of the forma- tion of a General Grand Lodge, it be recommended to them to appoint one or more delegates, to assemble in the city of Washington, on the second Monday of February next, to agree on the organization of such Grand Lodge.
Resolved, That if two-thirds of the Grand Lodges within the United States concur in the propriety of establishing a General Grand Lodge it be recommended to them to instruct their representatives to proceed to the formation of a constitution of a General Grand Lodge, to be subse- quently submitted to the several Grand Lodges in the Union, for their ratification, and which, being ratified by a majority of them, shall be considered as thenceforth binding on all the Grand Lodges assenting thereto.
Resolved, That the Most Worshipful John Marshall, of Virginia; Henry Clay, of Kentucky ; William H. Winder, of Maryland; William S. Cardell, of New York; Joel Abbott, of Georgia; John Holmes, of Maine; Henry Baldwin, of Pennsylvania; John H. Eaton, of Tennessee; William W. Seaton, of Washington; Christopher Rankin, of Mississippi; Thomas R. Ross, of Ohio; H. G. Burton, of North Carolina, and the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, D. D., of Massachusetts, be, and they hereby are, ap- pointed a committee to open a correspondence with the respective Grand Lodges within the United States, and to take such measures therein as they may deem expedient to carry the aforesaid resolutions into effect.
The committee referred to, in complying with these reso- lutions, issued a circular letter of some length setting out the growing need of a general governing body and the advantages
1
1813
.
Jawy 12. F. 2 Jurkics each. 1.50$ 1.95. 3.25
1 Haris
1.4.5
" 10 loures bread 62%
" 2 quilla cidas
" when they
50
2.61
4. Nord heitory word
$ 3.90% handling I if formand te 2.81
20 rugt 4812 hours a day
7. 84' $19.81%
-
TYLER'S BILL. (SEE PAGE 49)
45
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
to be expected from its establishment. Space permits quoting only one paragraph, which appears to contain the conclusion of the whole matter. It reads :
There are two points which at once present themselves in connection with the idea of establishing a General Grand Lodge of the United States. The first is to acquire, in a correspondence with foreign nations, an elevated stand for the Masonry of this country; to unite with them in maintaining its general principles in their purity; and, secondly, to pre- serve, between our own States that uniformity in work, and that active interchange of good offices, which would be difficult, if not impossible, by other means.
Inaugurated under such unusual and brilliant auspices, this movement might be supposed to have acquired sufficient initial momentum to carry it to some equally brilliant result, but truth demands the statement that it shared the fate of pre- vious efforts.
The several jurisdictions failed to warm to the subject. Pennsylvania, while disagreeing with the General Grand Lodge proposition, proposed a convention for the purpose of consulting upon the interests of the Order, to be held in Phila- delphia, or other suitable place, June 24, 1823. Kentucky fol- lowed, by disagreeing with the General Grand Lodge idea and also the substitute offered by Pennsylvania, and, in the face of these discouraging actions, the local Grand Lodge at its meet- ing in November, 1822, proposed, in the form of a resolution, the establishment of a General Grand Lodge, to meet annually at the seat of government, and appointed delegates to repre- sent it at a meeting to be called at Washington the second Monday of February, 1823.
That this meeting did not take place is evidenced by the fact that at the communication of May 6, 1823, a resolution was passed that an address on the subject be prepared and trans- mitted to the sister grand lodges calling their renewed atten- tion to the matter of a General Grand Lodge, and asking their co-operation in a convention for that purpose to be held in this city on the third Wednesday of February, 1824.
This attempt proving equally abortive, twenty years elapsed
46
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
before any further concerted action was undertaken, which may in part be accounted for by the fact that this was the period embracing the remarkable anti-Masonic wave of senti- ment which for a few years swept the country.
On May 8, 1843, however, a National Masonic Convention was held in Baltimore, at which fifteen grand lodges, includ- ing our own, were represented, and while the convention was ostensibly in the interest of uniformity of work other matters were taken up, among which was a proposition to form a Na- tional Masonic Convention-a modification of the General Grand Lodge idea, which preserved to the several grand lodges their independence-and suggesting Winchester, Va., as the next meeting place.
With this proposition our local body fell in, and appointed delegates to the Winchester convention, which was subse- quently scheduled to meet May 11, 1846, upon which date a number of delegates assembled in that city, but, lacking a quorum, transacted no business.
The next movement originated with the Grand Lodge of Maryland, which, in issuing a call for a convention to be held in Baltimore in September, 1847, intimated that it was pre- pared to submit a constitution for adoption by the General Grand Lodge when formed.
The Grand Lodge of the District, always complaisant as well as progressive, was represented at this convention, which adopted an agreement as to the organization and constitution of the proposed General Grand Lodge, to become effective after sixteen grand lodges had agreed to the same. This at- tempt, so carefully conceived and carried out, gave promise of success, but was killed by the failure of a majority of the juris- dictions to ratify the constitution, our own Grand Lodge tak- ing the ground that while a " General Grand Lodge was de- sirable, the Baltimore constitution needed modification to be acceptable."
In the year 1849 several propositions were advanced in the Grand Lodge looking to the formation of a supreme Grand Lodge, and similar movements were started in Maryland and Rhode Island, but without sustained effort or result.
47
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In 1853 the District was represented in a convention pro- posed by Maine and held at Lexington, Ky., at which it was held to be inexpedient to form a General Grand Lodge, but proposed a National Confederation for specific objects, and called upon the Grand Lodge to ratify this proposition, which would lay all matter of dispute before the Confederation, to be settled by a two-thirds vote; and for the purpose of further maturing the plans a later convention was held in January, 1855, and articles of confederation drawn up, the Grand Lodge of the District, by resolution, becoming party to the same. This proposition, eliminating as it did the vitally ob- jectionable feature of the General Grand Lodge idea-that of loss of independence-seemed destined to succeed, but, like its predecessors, failed of ratification by the requisite number.
Maine again, in 1857, initiated a movement for a General Grand Lodge, which received the sanction of the local grand body but collapsed at the very outset.
A modification of the same general scheme was proposed in 1859, in a convention held in Chicago, at which the late P. G. M. B. B. French was a delegate as proxy for the then Grand Master, George C. Whiting, for the purpose of forming a so- called North American Masonic Congress; but, the proposi- tion being deemed unsatisfactory, it failed to gain adequate support.
The sentiment against a General Grand Lodge was now crystalizing.
The lesson of the years was being learned by the thinkers of the Fraternity, and the absolute futility of any attempt to form a supreme governing body for the various jurisdictions became so strongly impressed upon them that, while several weak attempts have since been made to revive the idea, none have been of sufficient strength and dignity to warrant de- tailed description.
The experience which has been the outgrowth of these years of struggle has, however, been valuable as a clearer, more definite understanding of the powers and prerogatives of each Grand Lodge within its own jurisdiction has been
48
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
reached, a wholesome respect for the rights of sister Grand Lodges gained, and a tacit though unwritten agreement of mutual aid and correspondence attained which makes for practical union and confederation without the sacrifice of in- dividuality.
Returning from this digression to the contemplation of con- ditions in our infant Grand Lodge, we find that as early as January 14, 1812, the necessity for drastic action to insure at- tendance at the meetings of the Grand Lodge led to the adop- tion of the following amendments to the Constitution :
" Each installed Grand Officer who shall not attend the Grand Lodge at each regular or extra meeting, being duly notified thereof, shall pay a fine of five dollars, unless the Lodge may consider the excuse, if any, reasonable.
" Each Lodge failing to be represented by their officers, or to send a deputation duly authorized at each meeting of the Grand Lodge, shall pay a fine of five dollars, provided the Lodge or Master or Wardens thereof, shall be duly notified of such meeting, unless satisfactory excuse shall be given to the Grand Lodge.
" The Lodge to be opened within half an hour after the time appointed in the constitution or notification, in case of an extra meeting, or as soon thereafter as a sufficient representa- tion may appear, and such fines shall be assessed at large on the proceedings."
As the representatives were elected as such, and were not, as now, the first three officers, it will be understood that in view of the difficulties of communication, the long distances, and the execrable roads, the billet was not a much sought after one. In this connection it is within the memory of a few of the brethren yet with us with whom the author has conversed, that the usual method of reaching the Grand Lodge by the delegates from the outlying lodges was on horseback.
In the first years the Tyler was also the Steward of the Grand Lodge, and that officer was known as the Steward and Tyler, but in 1820 the offices were divorced and a Steward ap- pointed. In 1827, however, the two offices were again united,
ROGER C. WEIGHTMAN, GRAND MASTER, 1833.
49
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
and while a list of jewels in 1829 shows two Stewards' and one Tyler's jewel, yet the offices continued as one for a number of years, the supplementary title of Steward, how- ever, being lost. In 1864 the appointment of two Stewards was authorized, and the official family as we have it today completed.
As a matter of interest, probably unknown to the later gen- eration of Masons, may be cited the fact that upon the forma- tion of the local Grand Lodge, and for many years thereafter, the masters-elect of the subordinate lodges, and not infre- quently the wardens, were installed in that body in a lodge opened in the Past Master's degree. The tendency of the period seemed to be to invest this ceremony with all the dignity and solemnity which properly belongs to it, and which we of the latter days are, perhaps, in our haste, not giving it.
That the matter of proper refreshment for the members of the Grand Lodge at the regular and special meetings was of considerable importance at this time and for a number of years thereafter has documentary confirmation in a sheaf of receipted Tyler's bills, bearing dates in 1811-14, now on the author's desk, and these are so unique, not to say startling, from our present-day viewpoint, that the temptation is strong to give them place here; but as this is inadvisable, we repro- duce one as a fair sample, and trust to the good sense of the reader in examining it to make proper allowance for the dif- ferent standards of that day.
As of course is well known, no uniform blanks for petitions were in use, and as a consequence there are preserved some re- markable efforts in this direction. The two following will serve to illustrate this :
WASHINGTON 2nd Jan. 1809.
The petition of Brother respectfully sheweth that he is a Master Mason and formerly belonged to Philadelphia Lodge, No. 72, and now with the consent of the Bretherin of Federal Lodge, No. 15, wisheth to become a member thereoff. Should your petitioner be so happy as to obtain it he will as in duty Bound Ever pray.
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.