A history of freemasonry in Indiana from 1806 to 1898, Part 10

Author: McDonald, Daniel, b. 1833
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Indianapolis : By authority of the Grand Lodge
Number of Pages: 614


USA > Indiana > A history of freemasonry in Indiana from 1806 to 1898 > Part 10


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The cup was presented to Mrs. Bolton by Judge James Morrison, who said:


"MRS. BOLTON: The Grand Chapter of Indiana are grati- fied to be permitted thus publicly to assure you of their warm personal esteem and high appreciation of your poetic merits, but especially do they congratulate themselves that the opportunity thus afforded enables them, in the name of Ancient Freemasonry, to thank you for your noble and dis- interested vindication of the principles of the Order. In the ancient and appropriate symbolic ceremony of laying the corner-stone of the Grand Masonic Hall of Indiana, you, madam, were so kind and intrepid as to voluntarily come forward, in the face of widespread and deep-rooted prejudice, to animate us in the work then just begun. And when the edifice shall be completed, as we trust it soon will be, we cannot look upon its imposing and symmetrical pro- portions, looming out on the blue arch of heaven-a monu-


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ment of the taste and liberality of the Masonic Fraternity of Indiana-without associating a recollection of the beau- tiful and soul-inspiring ode chanted at the laying of the corner-stone. To speak of the poetic excellencies of the ode is not, of course, the object of this manifestation; that has been done by those more competent to the work than the individual addressing you. Nor, madam, do your clainis to high poetic merit rest alone or even mainly on this or any other single production. Far from it. Many, very many gems, rich and rare, are enwreathed in your coronet of song, and ever and anon another and another brilliant is made to flash upon the eve of an admiring public. If, therefore, you have been emulous of fame, you must feel that you have already attained a most enviable niche in her temple. As Masons, madam, we attach peculiar value to the signal service done our Order by this free-will offering of your muse, for we so consider it. I repeat the sentiment -- we do consider it a most noble, glowing and truthful de- fense of the cardinal principles of Ancient Freemasonry- principles, alas, most grievously maligned and misrepre- sented because they are not generally understood. Pene- trated, therefore, with a due sense of the obligations under which you had brought the whole Masonic Fraternity, the Grand Chapter has delegated me in their name to present you this cup. This token, Mrs. Bolton, you will please re- ceive as an acknowledgment by Masons of a debt that neither time nor circumstances will cancel or efface."


To this beautiful address Mrs. Bolton replied feelingly in the following charming words:


"I have no language to express my sense of the honor conferred upon me by the Grand Chapter of Indiana in the presentation of this beautiful cup; but let me assure that honorable body, through you, sir, that I will treasure it up with the proudest care, and that it will be to me, in future years, the nucleus of a thousand bright and cherished recol- lections. The ode in consideration of which it is presented was but a simple and spontaneous outpouring of the heart alive to the dictates of humanity-a heart well taught in the school of adversity to appreciate human aid and human sympathy. When a little child on my mother's knee. I listened to many a story of the stranger cared for, the widow


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relieved and the orphan cherished by Masonic charity, I learned to love and honor your noble and venerable institu- tion. The seed then sown has ripened with my years, and I now believe that Freemasonry is the sister of Christianity. Both have gone out into the wastes and by-ways of earth, 'giving beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.' Both have been subjected to the ordeal of persecution, and both, like the Hebrew children, came forth unscathed by the fur- nace and the flame. When, bowed and broken-hearted, our first parents were driven from the Garden of Eden to reap the bitter fruits of disobedience, the spirit of Freemasonry was commissioned, in heaven, to bless and cheer them in their loneliness. She has fed the hungry, reclaimed the wandering, ministered consolation by the bedside of the dying, and brightened the pathway of the bereaved and desolate. Mortals have witnessed her labors of love, and angels have recorded her annals in the archives of eternity. When the lion shall lie down with the lamb, when the new heavens and the new earth are created, then, and not till then, may she fold her white wings on her spotless bosom and proclaim that her mission is accomplished."


The reader may wonder why the Grand Lodge, instead of the Grand Chapter, did not provide for the presentation of the cup above referred to. The reason was, probably, be- cause the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter had joined in the selection and purchase of a site for the temple-the arrangement at that time being that it should be owned jointly by the two bodies-and so it was agreed that the presentation should be made by the Grand Chapter, as the Grand Lodge had been accorded the honor of conducting the ceremonies of laying the corner-stone.


At the meeting of the Grand Lodge a year later Chairman Sheets said: "The commissioners are happy to state that the value of the stock is no longer problematical. The rooms in the basement story are already rented. The in- come from this part of the building alone will be $1,100 per annum, more than six per cent. upon the cost of the en- tire structure, and when the whole is under rent will, we confidently believe, yield from twelve to fifteen per cent."


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At this session the Grand Lodge increased its subscrip- tion and authorized the Grand Secretary to borrow from subordinate lodges $2,000, to be repaid in 1852 with six per cent. interest, to be applied in furnishing the Grand Lodge Hall.


At the meeting in May, 1851, Grand Master Deming an- nounced the completion of the hall. He said: "Its founda- tion was laid in honor; its capstone will be placed in tri- umph. It is in the right place, and within its walls will the right-minded gather. From the base of the Alleghe- nies to the Gulf of Mexico it will be hailed by brethren as a monument of Masonic fraternity; and should any flood again threaten to overwhelm us, it will appear to the faint- hearted through the gathering mists like the ark resting on Ararat! Consecrated to the perpetuity of the principles of Freemasonry, stability is written on its foundations. May its pillars of Wisdom, Strength and Beauty never know decay. From its threshold may Charity's pure stream well up and roll its onward tide, until, like that which the Prophet saw, its gathering waters shall be so deep and wide that no man can pass over! Here may future generations of Craftsmen both teach and learn the lessons of experimental wisdom. In its archives may the names of Indiana's illustrious dead be registered. Around its altar may our children's children gather in fraternal love. May hand to hand and heart to heart here be joined in in- separable union. May its lights burn and its capstone re- flect the rays of opening and closing day, until the Heav- ens are rolled together as a scroll, and the last tide of time demolish the works of mortality!"


At that time the total cost of the building and grounds was given at $21,693.98. The hall was dedicated by Grand Master Deming with considerable pomp and circum- stance, Rev. Bro. Thomas H. Lynch delivering a lengthy and interesting address, and an original poem by Bro. H. F. West. The following extracts from Brother West's poem is deemed appropriate here:


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* *


*


* ** * %


*


Genius of Masonry,


The muse shall sing of thee again. Although The wasting hand of Time, in all things else, Has wrought sad changes in this world, yet thou Art in the morning of thy life to-day.


Thou hast seen widespread empires rise and fall; And nations come and go, like day and night; And crowded cities, where life's busy hum Was heard. and merchant princes bought and sold, Become a furrowed field. Perchance to-day Some modern Ruth gleans from a harvest field Where once tha't city stood whose imperious King Profaned sacred vessels of the house Of God! To-day the Arab spreads his tent Upon a desert waste, where thou hast seen A city with its hundred gates. The sun Shone not upon another day like this, When thy extended arms reached round this world Of ours. Nor does its shadow fall upon A land thy spirit has not blessed. For all The moral virtues of a Pagan world Are but the footprints of that Book of God Which Masonry preserved!


* * * * * *


To-day thy children come


With songs of joy, with corn, and wine, and oil, And in Jehovah's great and awful name,


And in the name of those our patron saints,


And in the name of all thy sons, throughout


This deep, wide world,-they consecrate to thee, To Virtue, and to Universal Love,


This Temple which their hands have reared. And may Almighty God here write His name, and make


U's living stones for that great spirit "house Not made with hands eternal in the heavens."


In 1854 the entire cost of the structure was about $35,- 300. Wm. Sheets, commissioner, estimated the interest of the Grand Lodge at not less than $30,000. Up to that time he had served without compensation, and desired to continue until the Grand Lodge owned it all and was out of debt. The committee to examine the commissioner's re- port, among other things, said:


"We cannot in justice to all concerned close this report without bearing testimony to the ability, the fidelity and energy with which the arduous and responsible trust which has been intrusted to Past Grand Master Sheets has been


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discharged, with means apparently inadequate to accom- plish a design of so much importance to the honor and pros- perity of the craft with which this hall has been erected and completed. This result has been accomplished main- ly through the talents, energy and industry of the commis- sioner."


As a testimony of respect they offered the following, which was unanimously adopted:


"Resolved, That the Grand Master cause to be manufac- tured a service of silver plate worth at least $500, with suitable Masonic designs and inscriptions, and that he pre- sent said service of plate to Past Grand Master Sheets, on behalf of the Grand Lodge, as a testimonial of the appre- ciation of his valuable services as commissioner of the Grand Lodge Hall."


The service was procured in due time, at a cost much larger than was contemplated in the resolution. The total cost was $1,320.35. The inscription on the plate was as follows:


"TO PAST GRAND MASTER WILLIAM SHEETS, A MAN AND A MASON WHOM WE DELIGHT TO HONOR FOR HIS SKILL, INTEGRITY, AND JUST APPRECIATION OF THE TRUE PRINCIPLES OF MASONRY, AS WELL AS IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HIS ENERGY, FIDELITY AND SUCCESS IN DESIGN- ING AND CARRYING FORWARD, WITHOUT PECUNIARY COMPENSATION, THE BUILDING OF A GRAND MASONIC HALL IN THE CITY OF INDIAN- APOLIS. PRESENTED BY THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF THE STATE OF INDIANA, MAY 29TH, A. D. 1855, A. L. 5855."


The presentation was made by Henry C. Lawrence, then Grand Master, in a flattering address, full of appreciation and gratitude to the recipient for the great and glorious work he had accomplished, almost single-handed and alone. The Grand Lodge, he said, had then been in existence thirty years, and had, at the incipiency of the enterprise, a fund of only $1,000 to begin with. With this he had purchased the ground and erected the temple; the Grand Lodge was out of debt, with a surplus in its treasury and a property whose estimated value was $30,000. All this was accom- plished in the brief space of eight years.


In accepting the gift Brother Sheets, among other things, said: "The motive that actuated me, without pecuniary


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reward or the desire of it, to undertake the arduous and per- plexing labor of erecting this large and costly edifice was not that I might rear a building for the ornament and ac- commodation of our city; neither was it that the Grand Lodge of my State might be furnished with suitable accom- modations when they assembled here in their annual meet- ings. Although these were not lost sight of as incidents, yet the great motive that influenced me was a far more noble and glorious one. I desired to lay the foundation of a system of education that would carry joy and gladness to the hearts of the destitute and the friendless throughout the length and breadth of our great commonwealth. It was a part of my original design that the proceeds of this building should be distributed among the various subordinate lodges in the State for the purpose of educating, at the common schools of the country, the destitute orphans of our Order. But the provisions of the law for common schools are such now as to render this course unnecessary and lead us to establish a higher grade of education in connection with and to be supported by the income of this institution."


He then revealed the plan he had in view for the estab- lishment of this higher grade of education, as follows:


"The whole, or nearly so, of the outstanding stock will have been redeemed by the first of June; 1857. We shall then have an annual income of eight thousand dollars- three thousand from the proceeds of the building, and five thousand from the ordinary revenues of the Grand Lodge. I propose that this income be set apart, for the next three years, for the purchase of a site in this city, and for the erection of suitable buildings for a male and female college, to which may be added, as soon as the means will justify, departments of law and medicine. This can be accom- plished without incurring a dollar of debt, and have every- thing in readiness for the opening of the college in October, 1860, with an annual income for the support of a faculty of eight thousand dollars. * * * Such an institution, brethren of the Grand Lodge, you can, by a prudent econ- omy, raise up and endow, amply, within five years. This I urge you to do, and let it be based upon Christian princi- ples; not sectarian, but let its teachers be Christian men and


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women. I here declare that I would have no connection with any institution of learning that was not based upon Christianity, and in which the pure, unadulterated word of God, the Christian Bible, was not always to be found and read. For this object I have labored for the past eight years, and shall continue to labor, if God shall spare my life, until it be accomplished."


The Grand Lodge, however, did not look with favor on the scheme, and no action was ever taken in regard to it. In his admirable management of the construction of the Grand Lodge Hall Brother Sheets had reached the highest point of his greatness, and he died without witnessing the realization of his educational dream.


In closing his report in 1858 Brother Sheets said: "I hope one year more, or at most two, will enable me to close up this whole affair, when I shall have the pleasure of pre- senting the Grand Lodge of Indiana-with which I have been connected for more than thirty years-a clear and in- defeasible title, free from all incumbrance, for this prop- erty, worth more than $50,000. Could I feel, in retiring from this arduous and responsible duty, which has lasted through ten long years, without hope or desire of pecuniary compensation, that the income from this noble enterprise would be devoted to the elevation of the moral and intellec- tual condition of those who are to follow us, I should say, 'My labor has not been in vain, neither have I spent my strength for naught.' "


The management of the property was continued in the hands of Brother Sheets until 1866, when a resolution was passed abolishing the office of Grand Lodge Hall Commis- sioner and placing it in the hands of three trustees. The committee to examine the report of Brother Sheets found in his hands $9,828.80. During that year he had made a charge for managing the hall property-a very reasonable one, as it appeared to those who knew the responsibility and labor required to do the work-of 6 per cent. The com- mittee regarded this too much, and cut it down to 3 per cent. In order to give him time to prepare a statement to be presented next morning, a motion was made to lay the


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report on the table, but the motion did not prevail, and then the report was concurred in, 162 to S1. The writer was present as a visitor on that occasion, and in thirty odd years in the Grand Lodge he does not remember of an episode so dramatic as the discussion and votes on that question, or one so pathetic as when Brother Sheets, on the following morn- ing, ascended the platform and delivered the following fare- well address:


"DEAR BRETHREN: When on yesterday I asked that the resolution dissolving the Grand Lodge Hall commission might be laid over until this morning, in order that the do- ings of the commission for the last nineteen years, and their results, might be briefly laid before you by the only sur- vivor of the original board, I thought that such an exhibit would be gratifying to the Grand Lodge, at least to the new members, of whom there seems to be a large number pres- ent. But the manifestations of impatience to hear any- thing from me, exhibited on the consideration of the report striking out one-half of what I considered a most reasonable charge for my services for the past year, in the almost deaf- ening cry of 'question,' 'question,' when I arose to make an explanation and to correct a misapprehension, furnishes me evidence that any further consumption of your time on my part upon this resolution, or any other subject, would be improper and self-degrading.


"After serving you, I think, faithfully for nineteen years, seventeen of which without one dime of pecuniary compen- sation, but most richly rewarded in the approbation and good opinion of all my older Masonic associates, I now hand over to you this Grand Lodge Hall property, worth sixty thousand dollars, unincumbered, yielding an annual net in- come of 15 per cent. upon its entire cost, with a large sur- plus in the treasury, trusting you may place it in the care of those who will prove more faithful and disinterested than I have been. With the hope that you will allow this parting communication to be placed upon the records, I bid you an affectionate and fraternal farewell.".


The hasty and inconsiderate action of the Grand Lodge in this matter was a sad blow to Brother Sheets, from which he never recovered, and which, undoubtedly, hastened his


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death, which occurred a few years later. Those who were instrumental in introducing and pushing the motion to dis- solve the commission, and thus remove Brother Sheets from the position he had held for so many years without compen- sation, and so satisfactorily under so many discouraging cir- cumstances, knew little or nothing of the great sacrifices he had made in the discharge of his thankless duties. He turned over the property, as he said, worth sixty thousand dollars, free of debt, and walked out of the building dis- graced, never to return.


REPAIRING THE OLD HALL.


After the office of Grand Lodge Hall Commissioners had been abolished, and Brother Sheets, chairman, had retired, as indicated in his farewell address, the Grand Lodge Hall and property for the ensuing year was placed in charge of the Grand Master, Secretary and Treasurer, who were au- thorized to make all necessary contracts for the repairing and renting of the property. The building and rooms had, up to that time, been in use about nineteen years, and as the city had increased rapidly in population and importance during that time, and the lodges and membership in the city and State had more than doubled, it was deemed advisa- ble to remodel, enlarge and "modernize" the building, so that it would be more in keeping with the progress of the age. In 1867 the Grand Officers having in charge the management of the property reported the amount of the hall funds loaned on mortgage security, including interest thereon up to June 30th of that year, at $19,260.85. In closing their report they said:


"We regret to say, in conclusion, that the hall building, for the want of suitable repairs, is in an untenantable con- dition. The roof, from its peculiar construction and neg- lect heretofore in not keeping it in proper repair, is now re- ported by an architect, who has carefully examined it, to be so unsafe that in a short time, unless a very large sum is soon expended in repairing or rebuilding it, the hall build- ing must become tenantless and unproductive."


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At that time suggestions for the sale of the entire prop- erty and an investment elsewhere had been made, but Grand Master Hazelrigg said he had no hesitation in saying that it was a duty the Craft owned to themselves, to the past, the present and the future to discard every proposition of the kind, and so the suggestion was abandoned. There- upon a resolution was adopted providing for the election of three trustees, who should have exclusive and entire con- trol of the hall property and funds, with full power to rent, repair or remodel the same in such manner and to such ex- tent as in their judgment should be for the best interests of the Order, subject at all times, however, to the instruction of the Grand Lodge. In conformity to this resolution the following trustees were elected: Ephraim Colestock, for one year; Sol. D. Bayless, two years; William T. Clark, three years; and then, on motion, it was resolved that said trustees be directed to proceed immediately to modernize and repair the Grand Lodge Hall building, as indicated in the report of the Committee on Ways and Means.


The trustees in 1868 reported a plan for remodeling at a cost of about $80,000, but, as their authority to raise funds was limited, nothing further had been done. The Com- mittee on Ways and Means, in reporting on the action of the trustees, said that they had misapprehended the instruc- tions of the Grand Lodge to "repair and remodel" the building. They, the trustees, proposed to rebuild the same almost entirely, an enterprise which had never been sug- gested nor designed by the Grand Lodge. They added: "The walls of this hall, in the opinion of this committee, are good, sound and substantial; the floors can be raised, the rooms remodeled, the walls raised and an additional story added without removing one brick, except the columns in front, which should be done; add one story to the building, put on a new roof, and this will give us a temple to which the Craft of Indiana would gladly come to attend our an- nual communications." This recommendation was adopted. Harvey G. Hazelrigg was elected trustee in place of E. Colestock, whose time had expired, and John M. Bramwell was elected in place of W. T. Clark, resigned.


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A year later, in 1869, the trustees reported that they had made the repairs indicated by the Grand Lodge at its last session, at a total cost of $9,771.77, an expenditure much larger than they had expected. The old roof, which was liable at any time to fall, had been removed and replaced by a substantial slate roof, and the rooms and halls had been thoroughly repaired, the interior thoroughly cleaned and repainted, and the building generally put in a safe condi- tion. The Committee on Ways and Means took pleasure in pronouncing it good work-just such work as was wanted, and added: "For the first time for many years this Grand Body has been enabled to assemble in this building and transact its regular business with no fears that the roof would come tumbling on us or any accident happen to inter- fere with the labors of the Craft. The trustees have dis- played excellent good taste, not only in the style and dura- bility of the repairs by them made, but in the rearrange- ment of the upper rooms, and in the ornamentation of the same, for all of which the highest praise is due them."


This was supposed to be the end of the repairing and re- modeling of the building for several years to come, but the report of the trustees for 1873 revealed the fact that an- other "remodeling" and overhauling was deemed necessary. They stated that the property, in its then condition, was not yielding a justifiable income, and they were fully satisfied that it could not be improved in that regard short of a thor- ough remodeling and modernizing of the Grand Lodge building, and recommended action in that direction. A resolution authorizing the trustees to sell the property and invest the proceeds in safe securities was defeated, and the matter was passed over until the next annual meeting. At that meeting (1875) the committee reported: "Much as Grand Masonic Hall building may be esteemed (and justly so, too,) as a memento of the past, we think it a clearly dem- onstrated fact that to continue it in its present condition would not accord with that prudential judgment which usu- ally dictates the course of sagacious individuals in the man- agement of their private affairs."




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