USA > Illinois > The rise and progress of Freemasonry in Illinois, 1783-1952 > Part 8
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Of the lodges subordinate to the Grand Lodge some are little known while others have records that are known today.
Chapter 6 LODGES CHARTERED BY THE FIRST GRAND LODGE
Palestine Lodge No. 10
The Government Land Office was established in Palestine on May 11, 1820. This made it one of the most important towns in the state with, perhaps, the state capitol excepted. The minute book of this lodge has been found and is in the Grand Secretary's office. The book is in poor condition having been used as a scrap book with newspaper clippings pasted over the record. The Grand Lodge record (1824) reads:
Brother Guy W. Smith presented the dispensation granted in vaca- tion to certain brethren residing in Palestine, also a return from said lodge which was received. On motion of Bro. Hart, Grand Treasurer, a charter was granted to Palestine Lodge and time was given them until the next Grand Communication to pay the fees due for said charter.
The Grand Lodge was then adjourned "till the first day of January next" and a lodge of Past Masters opened when brother Guy W. Smith was introduced and duly installed Master of Palestine Lodge in ample form.
The first minutes of the old book are dated September 2, 1824. Brother Isaac Edwards acted as Master pro tem and Brother Robert Smith as Secretary. The record reads:
The petition of David W. Tuttle was presented by the Secretary without the usual fee required by our by-laws. On motion the following resolution was adopted-Resolved, in-as-much as we have a very favor- able opinion of David W. Tuttle who has applied to become a member of this lodge, we will dispense with the by-laws and receive said Tuttle as a member by his pledging himself to make use of all proper exer- tions to pay to the lodge the usual fees for initiation.
On motion it was unanimously adopted
that in consequence of the death of the Worshipful Charles E. Whittlesy each member shall wear black crape on the left arm and a
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piece of blue ribbon in the buttonhole on the left breast for thirty days, and the lodge adjourned until their next regular meeting.
At the next meeting Tuttle was elected and:
That in consequence of the infancy of the lodge the petitions of Alexander M. Houston and John Houston being such, that every mem- ber must have an intimate knowledge of their character and qualifica- tions to become Masons, that the usual order of inquiry shall be dispensed with and these petitions be immediately acted upon.
Both petitioners and Tuttle received the first degree.
also Resolved, That a committee of two be appointed to return thanks to Brother Davis for his eulogy and to William Babson for his address at the funeral of our late Worshipful Master Charles E. Whit- tlesy.
J. T. Moffat presided as Master on October 11, 1824
Nov. 4: Ordered that the Secretary draw from the funds of the treasury $10.00 to pay for publishing the oration delivered at the installa- tion of this lodge by Brother L. S. Shuler and other expenses, after which the meeting was closed.
On December 2, 1824, Guy W. Smith was elected Master. That night
Bro. Smith was duly appointed to transact all or any business for this Lodge at the next meeting of the Grand Lodge at Vandalia and to have all reasonable expenses paid to him by the lodge.
The next meeting was held on December 27, 1824. There is no mention of the attendance of Brother Smith at the Grand Lodge when he was installed and the charter granted unless it is covered by the following:
After the benefit of a lecture in the first degree, the lodge closed in due form.
Dec. 30, On motion the lodge assumed to pay brother J. P. Moffat's Expenses in travelling to and from this lodge.
Could this have been the Master of Vincennes Lodge No. 1? On February 3, 1825 a committee was appointed
to obtain the best terms for a room to hold lodge.
On April 2, 1825 the sum of $5 was paid to Mrs. Hannah Wilson, evidently for hall rent.
In 1826 the lodge contracted to pay Mrs. Hannah Wilson for the
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current year at $12 per annum, to be paid quarterly, which no doubt was for rent of the hall.
On June 17, 1826 Isaac Edwards was again elected Master and Guy W. Smith, Secretary.
On June 24 the lodge called to refreshment to listen to a sermon for two hours when a Masonic sermon was preached by Brother Job M. Baker.
On October 16, 1826 Arnold B. Dake visited.
On December 9, 1826 Edwards was again elected Master and Guy W. Smith, Secretary. The last record in the old book is February 14, 1829.
A partial list of members is
Jesse Barlow, Secy.
Wheeler Mallet
John W. Barlow
Isaac Meeks
E. Boudmoth
James F. Moffat
G. W. Bratton
Joel Phelps
John Cochran
David Porter
Elijah O. Dodson
A. M. Robertson
Isaac Edwards, P.M.
Robert Smith, Secy.
Phillip Edwards
Peleg Spencer
Peter Harrison, Secy.
Pendleton Strothers
Alexander Grant
Guy W. Smith, P.M. also Secy.
Andrew Harris
David K. Tuttle, P.M.
Alexander M. Houston, Secy.
Jacob Weaver
John Houston, Secy.
Charles E. Whittlesy, P.M.
Edward Yegg
Guy W. Smith was the third Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, being elected on December 11, 1826. .
The by-laws were found with the record book. They were adopted on August 7, 1824. There are five articles containing sixteen sections. A fee of five dollars was required with each petition and the same amount for each degree. Quarterly dues were 75c. A petition only needed the recommendation of one member but candidates to be passed or raised required the avouchment of two Master Masons or to be examined by a committee appointed by the Master, when the propriety of his being passed or raised shall be decided as in case of initiation. Petitioners for affiliation were required to present a dimit or other evidence of good standing.
Visitors not members of any lodge were required to pay twenty-five cents for each meeting after the first.
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Greene Lodge No. 11
On December 7, 1824 the record shows a dispensation was issued to Hart Fellows and others to form and open a lodge at Carrollton, in the county of Greene, during vacation, with orders to return it to the Grand Communication.
Ordered, That the dispensation heretofore granted to brethren resid- ing at Carrollton be renewed, and continued in force until the next Annual Communication of this Grand Lodge. Charter granted January 1, 1826.
The lodge made a return showing eleven members but no work had been done.
The only known members of this lodge were Hart Fellows, to whom the dispensation was issued, and Samuel C. Pierce, who repre- sented the lodge at the 1826 communication of the Grand Lodge.
A few years ago the by-laws of this lodge were found among the papers of Henry G. Griswold who lived a few miles from Whitehall. There are thirteen sections, some different from those of today. The lodge met on the Saturday preceding the full moon at twelve o'clock. The Master, Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary, Steward and Tyler were elected. The Senior Deacon was appointed by the Master and the Junior Deacon by the Senior Warden. The fee for the degrees was two dollars to accompany the petition as deposit money, and five dollars when the degree was conferred; Fellowcraft fee was two dollars and that for the third degree three dollars. Fee for affiliation was one dol- lar. Each member was required to pay the Secretary twelve and one half cents at each meeting and visitors (after the first visit ) the same amount. The by-laws were very strict about drinking intoxicating liquor: for the first offense, reprimand in open lodge; for the second suspension; for the third expulsion. Every candidate was required to pass an examination to be conducted "as the master may direct." A member three months in arrears could not vote at the election of officers and no member in arrears could participate in the St. John's Day celebrations.
The only record of membership was in 1824 when the eleven mem- bers were reported to the Grand Lodge.
Illion Lodge No. 12
The first record of this lodge is in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge, January 3, 1826:
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Freemasonry in Illinois
A communication from brother Phillip Aylesworth, Worshipful Master of Illion Lodge No. 12, with a copy of the proceedings of said Lodge, and a return of their dispensation.
There is no record of when the dispensation was issued. The Grand Lodge of January 10, 1826, in the report of the committee on sub- ordinate Lodges, said the return of their proceedings was satisfactory and directed that charter be issued to Illion Lodge No. 12. This was adopted.
On December 3, 1826 Brother Aylesworth represented Illion Lodge No. 12. Again the committee on returns approved the records of this lodge. At this session Brother Aylesworth was elected Junior Grand Warden. The Grand Master and Senior Grand Warden were installed but there is nothing to show that Brother Aylesworth was installed. This was the last known session of the Grand Lodge.
Illion Lodge No. 12 was located in Jacksonville. In 1826 Moses Atwood wrote that he assisted in a Masonic Lodge which met at the northwest corner of the square in Jacksonville. William Sewall, in his diary under date of June 15, 1830, mentions an interment "according to the notions of Masonry." George Hackett a Mason, kept a store along the Mauvaise Terre northwest of the site of Jacksonville before the town was founded. When Jacksonville was laid out on April 26, 1825, Hackett moved his store to the northwest corner of the square and in it Moses Atwood attended the Masonic Lodge. Diligent search has revealed no record of where and when Brother Aylesworth received his degrees. The records of Morgan County were burned on December 7, 1827 and it is possible that the lodge records were kept in the court house by some officer and were lost with the building.
Frontier Lodge No. 13
In the year 1822 the town of Lewistown was laid out by Ossian M. Ross. One year later it was commissioned a county seat. Fulton County at that time took in nearly all the territory from near Pike County to Chicago. When Ross laid out the town he specified where certain buildings were to be located and the first building erected was on the spot where now stands the Presbyterian church. Ross designated the top floor for a Masonic Lodge hall and the first floor for a school. He did not succeed in getting a lodge established until the Grand Lodge granted a dispensation some time in 1825. The first meeting was held on December 3, 1825. The committee on returns of the Grand Lodge on January 10, 1826 reported:
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Lodges Chartered by First Grand Lodge
That the dispensation granted Illion Lodge No. 12 and Frontier Lodge No. 13, in the recess, have been returned, together with their by-laws, and copies of their proceedings under that dispensation; that their by-laws and proceedings appear to have been correct, with one exception. It is the opinion of your committee, that the brethren of that lodge, have advanced candidates from one degree to another, and even for initiation with too much rapidity; thereby leaving too little time, either to become acquainted with the lectures in the preceeding degree, or for a strict inquiry into the character of the applicants. They there- fore, beg leave to offer the following resolution:
Resolved, That this Grand Lodge disapproves of the practice of ad- vancing candidates to any degree until they shall have acquired a compe- tent knowledge of the preceeding degree.
Resolved, That a charter be granted to Frontier Lodge No. 13.
A charter was granted on January 10, 1826 upon payment of the sum due for the charter.
On December 20, 1826 the lodge recommended the formation of Stranger's Union Lodge at Galena. At the 1826 communication of the Grand Lodge in January, S. Dewey and Ossian M. Ross were present as delegates from Frontier Lodge.
On January 1, 1827 the committee on returns found the records of this lodge in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Grand Lodge and the Principles of Masonry.
At the session of December, 1826 the lodge was represented by Ossian M. Ross who was appointed one of a committee to examine the books and accounts of the Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer. No further reference to this lodge has been found. Harmon G. Rey- nolds said it became defunct in 1827.
Strangers Union Lodge No. 14
On December 20, 1826 the Grand Lodge Proceedings show that:
The petition of sundry brethren residing at Fever River (Galena) for a charter for a lodge at that place, recommended by Frontier Lodge, was received, and, on motion of Bro. Mills, referred to a select com- mittee.
On January 1, 1827 it was
Ordered, That the committee to which was referred the petition of sundry brethren on Fever River be discharged from further considera- tion thereof, and that a charter be issued by this Grand Lodge agreeable to the prayer of said petitioners.
The record of the organization meeting is not in existence but an- other dated April 21 reads:
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Freemasonry in Illinois
Galena, April 21st, A.L. 5827
Strangers Union Lodge No. 14 met pursuant to adjournment.
Members present, Chas. Gear, W.M .; James Harris, S.W., pt .; Benson Hunt, J.W .; L. P. Vansburg, Treas .; G. W. Brittin, Sec .; M. Mecker, S.D .; M. Faucette, J.D .; W. Spear, Tyler; and Daniel Moore.
On motion of Bro. Harris:
Resolved, That the sum of ten dollars be paid for the first or Entered Apprentice degree, five dollars for the Fellow Craft degree, and ten dollars for the Master Mason degree.
Bro. Sec. presented the petition of John D. Chandler, which was read and referred to a Committee of Bros. Meeker, Morris and Vansburg.
On motion of Bro. Harris:
Resolved, That Bro. Meeker be authorized to procure a suitable Lodge room.
On motion of Bro. Harris:
Resolved, That the regular communication of this Lodge be held on the Thursday of or preceeding the full moon in each month.
On motion of Bro. Harris:
Resolved, that Bro. Sec. be authorized to procure necessary station- ery for the Lodge.
On motion of Bro. Britton:
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to examine petitions and applications for membership.
Bros. Harris, Hunt and Vansburg were appointed the committee. On motion of Bro. Britton:
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to revise our By-Laws and report amendments at our next regular communication.
Bros. C. Gear, M. Meeker and G. W. Britton were appointed to the committee.
Lodge closed in harmony.
Brother H. H. Gear said: "we had no regular place of meeting; the Lodge was poor and rents high." On May 28, 1828 Moses Meeker was elected Master and a committee appointed "to procure a suitable room for our next regular communication." This committee failed to report and another was appointed on July 24 to rent a room for "four months or a year." Another record reads:
Monday, Dec. 2d, A.L. 5828, 9 o'clock.
Lodge met pursuant to adjournment.
The Lodge then proceeded to take charge of the funeral of Bro. Thos. H. January, who was buried according to the Ancient Masonic custom.
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Visiting brethren: Abner Fields, A. T. Crow, H. H. Gear, Jas. Douglas, of Davis Lodge No. 22, Lexington (Ky) - Woodbridge, L. Franklin, Union Lodge No. 7, Mo. and Morris Holmes of Morning Lodge, Albany.
Moved and seconded, that a committee of five be appointed to re- move the body of our deceased brother's wife to the place of his inter- ment. The following were the committee: Bros. A. T. Crow, A. Philleo, Jas. Harris, Abner Fields and M. Faucette.
Lodge closed in harmony.
J. J. Chandler Sec.
M. Meeker, Master.
This was the first Masonic funeral in the northwestern part of the State.
On December 12 the Master read an address relative to surrender- ing the charter. However, it was "Resolved, that the charter be re- tained and G.L. dues paid for 1827-28" and another committee was appointed to procure a suitable lodge room. On December 20th a committee was appointed to make arrangements for celebrating the twenty-seventh by providing a "dinner, and obliging some brother to deliver an address."
On the twenty-seventh
Lodge met pursuant to adjournment, when the brethren proceeded to celebrate this day in due and ancient form.
On motion of Bro. Chandler and seconded by Bro. Hunt, that Bros A - B be not permitted to walk in procession to-day. Carried by a unanimous vote of the Lodge.
Why these two were not permitted to join the procession has never been made known.
Dec. 27th On motion
Bros. Chandler, Holmes and Faucette were appointed a committee to get Bro. Chas Gear to lecture from day to day, until the brethren had made such advance as would enable them to work.
March 22, 1829 two candidates
were examined in open Lodge as to their profiency in the first two degrees of Masonry, which proved satisfactory.
This is the first record of a candidate's examination.
On April 18 the committee appointed to procure a Tyler reported:
The committee appointed to procure a Tyler, reported that Bro. James Harris would accept the station and perform the duties on the following terms: One dollar for each meeting, 50 cents for summoning members in town to special meetings and serving process from the Lodge, the same fees as the sheriff is allowed for serving summons. His duties will be to tile the Lodge, keep the room in order, have wood and candles
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Freemasonry in Illinois
supplied at the expense of the Lodge, and when the clothing wants wash- ing, he is to procure it done the Lodge to pay on his order for the same.
On June 11, 1829 it was voted to postpone the election of officers. This resolution was offered:
Resolved, That we return our charter to the G.M. or D.G.M. of Illinois, and apply to the G.L. of Mo. for a new one.
Here ends the record of the first lodge in the northwestern part of the State. The lodge had thirty-five members. Sixty visitors were recorded.
Galena Lodge U.D.
This lodge worked under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Missouri. The first meeting was held on July 17, A.L. 5830.
Officers and members present, Bro. Benjamin Mills, W.M .; Daniel Wann, S.W .; Moses Meeker, J.W. pt; Wm. Hempstead, S.D .; Samuel Smoker, Sec. Visitors :- Bros. Jas. A. Clark, Jas. Burns and Lewis M. Morse. Lodge opened in the third Degree. Committee on by-laws reported, and report recommitted.
The next meeting was held on the 22nd and was entirely taken up with considering the by-laws. Only one other is recorded, the 29th. These three meetings close the record of Galena Lodge U.D.
LaFayette Lodge No. 15
The first mention of this lodge is in the proceedings of January 3, 1825.
A petition from certain brethren residing in Pike, Adams and Cal- houn, for a charter for a Lodge, to be located at Atlas, was read and referred to the committee on reports from Lodges.
For January 7 we read from the report of the committee on subor- dinate lodges:
The application of brethren residing in and near the county of Pike, for a charter, made a report that the prayer of the petitioners ought to be granted; which report was concurred in.
No names were given in the proceedings as members of this lodge, but from the Chapman and Massie Histories of Pike County we learn that
The first Masonic Lodge was held up-stairs, at the house of Col. Ross, in Atlas, between 1830 and 1834. The desk used on the occasion
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is still in the possession of Marcellus Ross. It is a plain box, strongly built, fifteen inches square and two and one-half feet high, and contains two shelves. In one side is a door swung on hinges.
William Ross had the title of Colonel by appointment in the Illinois militia. It is on record that Nicholas Hanson, Levi Roberts, James W. Whitney, Ossian N. Ross, Belus Jones and Hampton Wade were mem- bers of this lodge.
In the minutes of Bodley Lodge U.D. under date of November 3, 1835 we find:
Meeting was held Nov. 3rd, at which J. W. Whitney was intro- duced as a member of LaFayette Lodge and appointed S. W. pt.
A fire destroyed the carly county records in 1829. Possibly the lodge records were in that building. No early records have ever been found.
Cincinnatus Lodge No. 16
All that is known of this lodge is the short record in the 1826 pro- ceedings of the Grand Lodge:
A petition was received from a number of brethren asking for a dispensation to organize a new lodge at Shawneetown but permission was granted to withdraw the petition as the petitioners had not settled their accounts with the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, to which they had formerly been a subordinate body, and that they were not recommended by a lodge subordinate to this Grand Lodge.
The vote on the petition of the brethren of Shawneetown was recon- sidered and a charter ordered issued on January 1, 1827. It was re- solved:
That Bro. James Hall be, and is hereby, authorized to install the first officers of Cincinnatus Lodge.
This completes the known information about this lodge. No names were mentioned. The Kentucky record shows that Lawrence Lodge was dropped from their list of member lodges in 1824. The reference in 1826 about dues owed to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky is not understood.
Chapter 7 LODGES 1835-1840
Bodley Lodge No. 97
On December 6, 1834 Daniel Harrison, Daniel Whipple, Henry King, Samuel W. Rogers, J. N. Ralston, Joshua Streeter, John Wood, Hiram Rogers, H. L. Montandon, A. Miller, Henry Asbury, J. T. Holmes, Nathaniel Pease, Michael Most, Salmon Cogswell, Richard M. Young, and Samuel Alexander met at Quincy to consider the ad- visability of establishing a lodge. It was resolved:
That a petition be sent to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, praying the grant of a Dispensation, or a Charter for a Lodge, and that Brother Daniel Harrison be recommended as Master, Bros. Daniel Whipple and H. King as Wardens.
It was decided to name the lodge "Bodley," after Thomas Bodley who was one of the clerks of the convention which met on December 13, 1793. This convention recommended to the United States govern- ment the seizure and control of the Mississippi river alleging that as Spain was then engaged in a war which taxed all her energies, the seizure of the Spanish country might be easily made, and easily held. He was one of the three representatives of Lexington Lodge No. 1 in the convention of September 8, 1800 which organized the Grand Lodge of Kentucky and was clerk of the convention. He was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge in 1800-01-02.
In connection with the filing of the petition for the dispensation it was resolved:
That each Brother pay to Daniel Harrison the sum of two dollars, to be appropriated towards paying the expenses of said Dispensation or Charter.
Nothing further was done until October 19, 1835. That day the record reads:
Notice having been given that the Grand Lodge of Kentucky had at their annual communication, held in Louisville, on the 31st day of
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August, A.L. 5835, granted a Dispensation for a Lodge to be held in Quincy, Ill., to be styled Bodley Lodge U.D., to continue one year, and that the R. W. Richard Apperson G.M. G.L. Ky. had deputised Bro. H. H. Snow to install the several officers named in the said warrant of Dis- pensation, to set the craft to work, &c; and that October 19th A.L. 5835, had been appointed for that purpose, the brethren met agreeably to appointment.
On July 2, 1836 Harrison Dills petitioned for the degrees. Brother Dills became Grand Master in 1857 and then served as Grand Treas- urer from 1863 to 1875.
May 1, 1837
Resolved, That the members of this lodge celebrate the anniver- sary of St. John the Baptist, and that Bros. James Murphy, James McClain, S. W. Rogers, J. N. Ralston, and Thomas Carter be the committee on arrangements, with full power to provide a dinner, an orator and a preacher to officiate on said occasion; to invite our brothers of Palmyra (Mo.) and elsewhere to attend, and most respectfully to invite the ladies, to partake of the festivities of the occasion; in short, all acts for the comfort, convenience and good order of the occasion.
This year was the first reference to forming a Grand Lodge when a committee was appointed to ascertain how many lodges there were in the state.
On October 3, 1838 a committee was appointed to procure a "lot of ground" for the purpose of building a lodge room thereon; and it was resolved that they should immediately build a hall.
On November 3 a petition for a lodge at Columbus was recom- mended. That year some of the members became discouraged and a resolution was introduced that it was expedient to return the charter to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. Fortunately it was not adopted.
On December 1 three members were expelled from the lodge "for taking leave without notifying their creditors of their intention to do so." One was described as being by occupation "a blacksmith and a Methodist."
On December 27 the building committee reported that a building 20 by 35 feet, two stories high, would cost $1,600.00. The committee reported subscriptions amounting to $600.00. Nothing further was done about constructing the building. On April 2, 1839 the question of a building was again brought up and an adverse report was made. However, twenty dollars was voted to the Trustees of the Methodist church which evidently was for permission to use the "garret" of the
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