USA > Indiana > A history of freemasonry in Indiana from 1806 to 1898 > Part 2
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In addition to the powers vested by charter in the two Grand Lodges before mentioned for instituting subordinate Lodges, the Grand Lodge of England appointed Provincial Grand Masters in several of the States, and invested them also with authority to grant warrants for holding Lodges.
The Revolution, which separated the American States from the govern- ment of the mother country, also exonerated the American Lodges from their allegiance to foreign Grand Lodges, because the principles of Ma- sonry inculcate obedience to the government of the country in which we live. The Lodges in the several States, therefore, after the termination of the war, resorted to the proper and necessary means of forming and establishing independent Grand Lodges for the government of the Fra- ternity in their respective jurisdictions.
Masonry in Indiana came by way of Virginia. It was practiced in that colony, according to reliable authority, as early as 1750. The Grand Lodge of Virginia was founded in 1777. It granted charters to various lodges in Ken- tucky, which was then a part of the territory of Virginia. After the Grand Lodge of Kentucky was organized, in 1800, it issued dispensations for the formation of lodges in Indiana as follows: Vincennes, Charlestown, Madison, Corydon, Salem, Lawrenceburg, Vevay and Rising Sun. The lodge at Brookville, the only other lodge in the then Territory, received its charter from Ohio. These were all the lodges there were in Indiana prior to the organization of the Grand Lodge in 1818.
As a matter of course, it goes without saying that Ma- sonry was brought into the Indiana Territory before the organization of the Grand Lodge, but who the distinguished brother was who was instrumental in establishing the first lodge under a legal charter has never been ascertained be- yond a reasonable doubt, if, indeed, the question was, to any great extent, ever made the subject of investigation. In a historical point of view it is a matter of considerable importance. Ever since the days of King Solomon, and the untimely death of our Illustrious Grand Master, down to the present time, all ages have been honored with dis- tinguished Craftsmen, whose labors in the interest of Free- masonry have been perpetuated in the annals of the Insti- tution, and it is, therefore, proper that the name of the dis- tinguished brother who brought Masonry to Indiana should
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
be "discovered and brought to light," and his name handed down to the latest posterity.
The writer has made such investigation of the subject as time and opportunity permitted, and has come to the con- clusion that the honor and credit of establishing Masonry in Indiana belongs, more than to anyone else, to General W. Johnson, of Vincennes. He was made a Mason in Kentucky, and was a distinguished member of Abraham's Lodge at Louisville, and was therefore acquainted with the leading Masons of Kentucky. The first lodge organized in the Indiana Territory was at Vincennes, the dispensation for which was issued by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky August 27, 1807. George Wallace was named as the first Master: James Adams, Senior Warden, and General W. Johnson, Junior Warden. At the session of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, September, 1808, General W. Johnson wrote to the Grand Master that circumstances beyond con- trol prevented installation of the officers, and, as the dis- pensation had expired, asked for another, which was granted September 1, 1808. A charter was granted August 31, 1809, with the same officers as those named in the dispensation. Although General W. John- son was named as Junior Warden, he seems to have been the acknowledged spokesman for the brethren composing the new lodge, and from the active part he took in the or- ganization of the Grand Lodge, and in the proceedings afterwards, in his career in the Territorial Legislature, and in the affairs of the State after it was admitted into the Union, there can be no doubt that he was the active spirit in bringing Masonry into the Indiana Territory and the establishment of the Grand Lodge. John Gibson, the Sec- retary of the Indiana Territory, who had been made an Entered Apprentice and Fellow-Craft in Pennsylvania, was the first upon whom was conferred the honor of being raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason. The first Mason made in the Territory-that is, the first to receive the Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft degrees, and the second to receive the Third, was Parmenas Beckes. A sketch of Brothers Johnson, Gibson and Beckes will be found under the head of Vincennes Lodge No. 1.
ESTABLISHMENT OF FREEMASONRY IN INDIANA.
A S has been shown in a previous chapter, Masonry was legally established in Indiana by the issuing of a dis- pensation to the brethren at Vincennes, dated August 27, 1807. After that date, prior to 1817, several other lodges had been organized, and as in 1816 the Territory had been admitted to the Union as a State, the brethren deemed it advisable to take steps looking to the formation of a Grand Lodge. Accordingly, a convention of the representatives of the following lodges-all there were in the State at that time-met at Corydon, December 3, 1817, for the purpose of taking the preliminary steps for such organization :
VINCENNES General W. Johnson.
LAWRENCEBURG James Dill.
VEVAY .
Hezekiah B. Hull.
RISING SUN
Abel C. Pepper.
MADISON
Henry P. Thornton.
CHARLESTOWN Joseph Bartholomew.
~ John Miller.
BROOKVILLE Stephen C. Stevens.
SALEM Christopher Harrison.
CORYDON Davis Floyd.
Alexander Buckner, who afterwards became the first Grand Master, was also present from Charlestown, where he then resided, although not a representative of the lodge. As his subsequent career showed, he was a man of ability and of great force and energy, and so it is not strange that he was unanimously elected President of the Convention. Davis Floyd was also unanimously elected Secretary of the Convention. The preliminary arrangements having been completed, the following resolution was introduced:
"Resolved, That it is expedient and advisable that a Grand Lodge should be at this time formed in the State of Indiana."
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
It being decided that the resolution should be determined by a vote of the lodges represented, and that each lodge should have one vote and no more, the ballot was taken, and resulted as follows: Those in the affirmative were: Vincennes. Lawrenceburg, Rising Sun, Vevay, Madison, Charlestown, Salem. Those in the negative were: Brook- ville, Corydon. And so the resolution was adopted.
The following resolution was then unanimously adopted:
"Resolved, That a committee of four members be ap- pointed to inform the Most Worshipful Grand Masters of Kentucky and Ohio that a constitutional number of char- tered lodges have determined in general convention to form a Grand Lodge in this State, and consequently will recede from their mother lodges as soon as a Grand Lodge is or- ganized."
In obedience to said resolution, the following named brethren were appointed as such committee:
General W. Johnson, of Vincennes.
Alexander Buckner, of Charlestown.
Stephen C. Stevens, of Brookville. Davis Floyd, of Corydon.
The following resolution was then adopted, all the lodges represented voting in favor of it:
"Resolved, That the several subordinate lodges here rep- resented do appoint one or more delegates to meet at Madi- son on the second Monday in January next, for the purpose of opening a Grand Lodge for the State of Indiana, and that a communication be forwarded to the rest of the subor- dinate lodges of this State unrepresented in this conven- tion of the above determination."
The committee appointed for that purpose reported the following address to the Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio:
"CORYDON, IND., December 4, A. L. 5817.
" MOST WORSHIPFUL SIR AND BROTHER-A meeting from five regularly chartered lodges and others under dispensa- tion in Indiana has been holden at this place, and adopted the resolutions herein transmitted to you. In adopting this measure we have been actuated by a wish to promote the welfare of the Craft. It cannot be new to or uncon-
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
sidered by the Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio that the Lodges in this country under their jurisdiction labor under many inconveniences. In the first place, we sup- pose the charity fund an important object in our Institu- tion. The benefit of this fund cannot be extended to any brother or his family here. It must also be observed that the lodges in this State cannot conveniently be represented in the Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio by their Mas- ters and Wardens, and that the appointment of other repre- sentatives is subject to great difficulties, from causes which are evident. Another inconvenience (not the least impor- tant in regard to Masonry) is that we cannot expect the presence of either the Grand Master or visitor who may be appointed to inspect our work and see that it is regularly and uniformly conducted. The precedents of five or more chartered lodges need not be referred to, as your Most Worshipful Grand Lodges must be fully acquainted there- with.
"While, however, we deem this measure necessary, we have yet determined that the usual contributions to the Most Worshipful Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio shall be paid up till the period of our separation, and thus proving our disposition to discharge in every respect our duty to our parent lodges. We trust that they will credit the motives which lead us to separate.
"Notwithstanding the separation, we will never forget that we are materials of the same Temple, nor cease to at- tach ourselves to our brethren of Kentucky and Ohio, how- ever remote we may be from their part of the great super- structure. No disgust, no disrespect to the Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio has induced us to adopt this meas- ure; necessity and the welfare of the Craft command it. We shall at every opportunity be happy to communicate through our Grand Lodge with your Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, and assure you we are your friends and brothers.
"Signed by the committee, by order of the convention."
Two copies of the address were ordered to be immedi- ately made out by the Secretary and forwarded to the re- spective Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio. The con- vention then adjourned, to meet in Madison, January 12, 1818.
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
ORGANIZATION OF THE GRAND LODGE.
A number of members of subordinate lodges working in Indiana, agreeably to a resolution of a convention held at Corydon, December 3, 1817, met in the town of Madison, Indiana, on January 12, 1S18, whereupon Alexander A. Meek, being the oldest Past Master present, was called to the chair, and William C. Keen, of Vevay, was appointed Secretary. Alexander Buckner, of Charlestown; Jeremiah Sullivan, of Madison, and Henry P. Thornton, of Madison, were appointed a committee to inspect the credentials of the several delegates, who subsequently reported as entitled to represent their several lodges:
RISING SUN Nathaniel Jenkins.
MADISON Alexander A. Meek, Jeremiah Sullivan and Henry P. Thornton.
VEVAY
William C. Keen.
CHARLESTOWN Alexander Buckner, Isaac Howk and Samuel C. Tate.
BROOKVILLE . John B. Rose.
LAWRENCEBURG
Jonathan Woodbury.
VINCENNES
Benjamin V. Beckes.
SALEM .
Marston G. Clark.
CORYDON John Tipton and Reuben W. Nelson.
And the following visiting brethren:
MADISON Richard C. Talbott, Abraham King, John Meek, Alexander McCoskey, James L. White, Moses Gray, James Ross, Nich- olas D. Grover, Copeland P. J. Arion, Joshua Wilkinson and George Leonard.
VEVAY William Carpenter and Joseph Bentley.
Thereupon the presiding officer for the time being- Alexander A. Meek-appointed officers to fill the several stations, and a lodge of Master Masons having been opened in due form, the Grand Lodge of Indiana was declared ready for the transaction of business, whereupon, on mo- tion, it was
"Resolved, That this Grand Lodge do now immediately proceed to elect Grand Officers, to serve until the next Grand Communication."
21
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
It was also further
"Resolved, That the present election shall be by written ballot, and that any member may nominate a brother to fill the office then under consideration; that candidates on the nomination shall retire when the ballots are preparing, but may be called in to vote previous to the votes being counted. If on the first ballot no candidate shall have a majority of all the votes present, the candidate lowest on the list shall be dropped, and a second and third ballot taken, if neces- sary, until some one have a majority of all the votes present."
The Grand Lodge then proceeded with the ballot, which resulted in the election of the following brethren:
ALEXANDER BUCKNER, Grand Master, Charlestown.
ALEXANDER A. MEEK, Deputy Grand Master, Madison. JOHN TIPTON, Senior Grand Warden, Corydon.
MARSTON G. CLARK, Junior Grand Warden, Salem. SAMUEL C. TATE, Grand Treasurer, Charlestown.
HENRY P. THORNTON, Grand Secretary, Madison. JEREMIAH SULLIVAN, Grand Orator, Madison.
ISAAC HOWK, Senior Grand Deacon, Charlestown.
JONATHAN WOODBURY, Junior Grand Deacon, Lawrence- burg
NICHOLAS D. GROVER, Grand Pursuivant, Madison.
ALEXANDER McCOSKEY, Grand Steward and Tyler, Madi- son.
The Grand Lodge was then called to refreshment for the space of an hour, and then to labor again; when, all the brethren but Past Masters having retired, the Grand Lodge was "opened on the Past Master's Degree," when the Grand and Deputy Grand Master-elect were installed in ample form and received the customary salutations and congratu- lations. The Past Masters' Lodge was then closed, a lodge of Master Masons opened, when the remaining officers were duly installed, and, after receiving their charges and em- blems of office, repaired to their several stations.
The several lodges herein represented then surrendered their charters and were granted new charters by "The Grand Lodge of Indiana."
20
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
ORGANIZATION OF THE GRAND LODGE.
A number of members of subordinate lodges working in Indiana, agreeably to a resolution of a convention held at Corydon, December 3, 1817, met in the town of Madison, Indiana, on January 12, 1S18, whereupon Alexander A. Meek, being the oldest Past Master present, was called to the chair, and William C. Keen, of Vevay, was appointed Secretary. Alexander Buckner, of Charlestown; Jeremiah Sullivan, of Madison, and Henry P. Thornton, of Madison, were appointed a committee to inspect the credentials of the several delegates, who subsequently reported as entitled to represent their several lodges :
RISING SUN Nathaniel Jenkins.
MADISON Alexander A. Meek, Jeremiah Sullivan and Henry P. Thornton.
VEVAY William C. Keen.
CHARLESTOWN Alexander Buckner, Isaac Howk and Samuel C. Tate.
BROOKVILLE John B. Rose.
LAWRENCEBURG
Jonathan Woodbury.
VINCENNES
Benjamin V. Beckes.
SALEM .
Marston G. Clark.
CORYDON John Tipton and Reuben W. Nelson.
And the following visiting brethren:
MADISON Richard C. Talbott, Abraham King, John Meek, Alexander McCoskey, James L. White, Moses Gray, James Ross, Nich- olas D. Grover, Copeland P. J. Arion, Joshua Wilkinson and George Leonard.
VEVAY William Carpenter and Joseph Bentley.
Thereupon the presiding officer for the time being- Alexander A. Meek-appointed officers to fill the several stations, and a lodge of Master Masons having been opened in due form, the Grand Lodge of Indiana was declared ready for the transaction of business, whereupon, on mo- tion, it was
"Resolved, That this Grand Lodge do now immediately proceed to elect Grand Officers, to serve until the next Grand Communication."
21
HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
It was also further
"Resolved, That the present election shall be by written ballot, and that any member may nominate a brother to fill the office then under consideration; that candidates on the nomination shall retire when the ballots are preparing, but may be called in to vote previous to the votes being counted. If on the first ballot no candidate shall have a majority of all the votes present, the candidate lowest on the list shall be dropped, and a second and third ballot taken, if neces- sary, until some one have a majority of all the votes present."
The Grand Lodge then proceeded with the ballot, which resulted in the election of the following brethren:
ALEXANDER BUCKNER, Grand Master, Charlestown.
ALEXANDER A. MEEK, Deputy Grand Master, Madison. JOHN TIPTON, Senior Grand Warden, Corydon.
MARSTON G. CLARK, Junior Grand Warden, Salem. SAMUEL C. TATE, Grand Treasurer, Charlestown. HENRY P. THORNTON, Grand Secretary, Madison. JEREMIAH SULLIVAN, Grand Orator, Madison.
ISAAC HOWK, Senior Grand Deacon, Charlestown.
JONATHAN WOODBURY, Junior Grand Deacon, Lawrence- burg.
NICHOLAS D. GROVER, Grand Pursuivant, Madison.
ALEXANDER McCOSKEY, Grand Steward and Tyler, Madi- son.
The Grand Lodge was then called to refreshment for the space of an hour, and then to labor again; when, all the brethren but Past Masters having retired, the Grand Lodge was "opened on the Past Master's Degree," when the Grand and Deputy Grand Master-elect were installed in ample form and received the customary salutations and congratu- lations. The Past Masters' Lodge was then closed, a lodge of Master Masons opened, when the remaining officers were duly installed, and, after receiving their charges and em- blems of office, repaired to their several stations.
The several lodges herein represented then surrendered their charters and were granted new charters by "The Grand Lodge of Indiana."
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
cult problems, as has the Grand Lodge of Indiana, as will be fully shown during the progress of this work. Its rec- ord is one of which its members may well feel proud, and it stands to-day with an honorable record of eighty years behind it as one of the model Grand Lodges of the United States.
Kentucky, the "mother Grand Lodge," was the first to extend fraternal recognition, as will be seen from the fol- lowing from the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ken- tucky, September 2, 1818:
"Brother Butler, from the committee appointed for that purpose, made the following report, which was read and agreed to:
"The committee to whom was referred the communica- tions of foreign Grand Lodges beg leave to report, in part, that they have had the communication from the brethren in the State of Indiana under their consideration, and find that the said brethren, by their representation from six chartered lodges at the town of Madison, did, on the 12th day of January, A. D. 1818, form themselves into a Grand Lodge for the State of Indiana, and by a communication from their M. W. Grand Master, which they beg may be taken as a part of this report, request a reciprocation of cor- respondence. Your committee are too well impressed with the fraternal spirit which animates this Grand Lodge to doubt the propriety of recognizing the equal Masonic sovereignty in Indiana by all those courtesies of intercourse and correspondence which have been the delight of our Order. They only sce in the creation of this additional Grand Lodge an accession to the securities of Masonie su- perintendence, and a new constellation in the firmament of Masonry. They therefore beg leave to submit the follow- ing resolution :
"Resolved, by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, That they will be happy at all times to reciprocate the same fraternal correspondence with the Grand Lodge of Indiana which they maintain with other Grand Lodges in the United States.
(Signed) MANN BUTLER, JOHN MCKINNEY, JR., CH. A. WICKLIFF, Committee.
LODGES FORMING THE GRAND LODGE.
A BRIEF sketch of the lodges taking part in the forma- tion of the Grand Lodge, so far as information has been obtained to enable the writer to do so, is inserted here. The lapse of eighty years since that event occurred, and the death of all the members belonging to all the lodges, the loss of most of the early records, has made the search for information very difficult, and in a few cases unavail- ing. Such information as has been gathered from reliable sources is embraced in the sketches that follow.
Nine lodges took part in. the preliminary and permanent organization of the Grand Lodge, all of which were work- ing under charters or dispensations from the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, except Brookville, which received its charter from Ohio. The charter of Vincennes Lodge was dated October 31, 1809; Madison Union, August, 1815; Charles- town, 1816, and the remainder 1817.
The following is a list of the lodges that were represented at the preliminary meeting at Corydon, December 3, 1817, and at the meeting for the permanent organization of the Grand Lodge, held at Madison, January 12, 1818:
LODGES.
-CORYDON, 1817- REPRESENTATIVES.
-MADISON, 1818- REPRESENTATIVES.
VINCENNES
General W. Johnson . . Benj. V. Beckes.
MADISON Henry P. Thornton
. Henry P. Thornton. Alexander A. Meek. Jeremiah Sullivan.
CHARLESTOWN Joseph Bartholomew John Miller
. Alexander Buckner.
Isaac Howk. .
Samuel C. Tate.
LAWRENCEBURG
James Dill
Jonathan Woodbury.
CORYDON Davis Floyd
John Tipton. Reuben W. Nelson.
RISING SUN Abel C. Pepper
Nathaniel Jenkins.
VEVAY ..
Hez. B. Hull .
William C. Keen.
BROOKVILLE
Stephen C. Stevens John B. Rose.
SALEM Christopher Harrison . Marston G. Clark.
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
VINCENNES LODGE No. 1.
When the lodges surrendered their charters they had re- ceived from their mother Grand Lodges at the time of the formation of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, they were given numbers according to the date of the charters (except as to Brookville and Salem, which did not accept charters until later), and Vincennes, being the earliest date, was given No. 1, which it has held continuously ever since.
From the records of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Au- gust 27, 1807, it is shown that a petition from the brethren in and near Vincennes in the "Indiana Territory" asked for a dispensation or charter to form a lodge at that place, which was granted, with George Wallace Master, James Adams Senior Warden, and General W. Johnson Junior Warden. On September 1, 1808, General W. Johnson wrote that circumstances had prevented organization, and as the dispensation had expired, asked that another be is- sued, which was done, with the same officers as before-in other words, the dispensation was renewed.
After the organization of the lodge, at a meeting held June 5, 1809, the "circumstances" above referred to, which prevented the organization of the lodge under the first dis- pensation, were graphically set forth in a somewhat lengthy address to the Grand Master and other officers of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. Why this address was prepared and "unanimously adopted" and spread upon the records of the lodge at that time is not known. The address, which, as a matter of history, is deemed worthy of preservation, is as follows:
" To the M. W., the R. W., the Deputy Grand Master, the W. Grand S. W., and Jr. W., and the rest of the Brethren of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky :
"BRETHREN-We, the brethren of Vincennes Lodge, in the County of Knox, and Indiana Territory, beg leave to lay before you a plain and succinct statement (unadorned with the festoons of eloquence) of our present situation as labor- ers in the great and unbounded field of benevolence and charity and fellow-travelers to that country from whose
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HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY.
bourne no finite creature returns, hoping, nay, not doubt- ing but that that brotherly friendship, guided by that in- estimable boon, heaven-born charity, which animates your breasts, will induce you to pity our foibles and extend a fraternal, helping hand to correct our indiscretions, should we have fallen into one in the manner of the organization of our lodge, which, as far as facts have come to our knowl- edge, is as follows:
"In the month of November, A. L. 5806, the Brothers George Wallace, Jr., James Adams, General W. Johnson, Davis Floyd and Samuel Gwathmay petitioned the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, through Abraham's Lodge No. S, Louisville, for a dispensation or charter to form a regular lodge in Vincennes. The petition meeting with no ob- struction, it was raised at the East Gate; that is, it was duly laid before the Grand Lodge, which issued early in the year A. L. 5807 authorizing Brothers Ferguson and Heading- ton, of Louisville, Kentucky, to install our officers and 'set the Craft to work;' but, unfortunately, Brother Heading- ton being absent from Louisville on a tour to New Orleans, and Brother Ferguson being constantly engaged with his patients in his medical avocation, was unable to attend, and in this state of things the time stated in the dispensation for its return ran out without anything having been effected under it. The Grand Lodge was pleased, no doubt from a representation of the above circumstances, to renew the dis- pensation, and Brothers Taylor and Ferguson were author- ized, both or either of them, to install our officers. Brother Taylor, at a considerable sacrifice, at length attended, but lo! another difficulty, as serious as the former was tardy, presented itself. Brother Wallace, who was named in the dispensation as W. M., was necessarily absent on a trip to Philadelphia, and Brother Adams, who was likewise named as S. W., was also absent at the U. S. Saline (now Shawnee- town, Ill.) There was then none of the officers present but Brother General W. Johnson, as J. W. What was to be done? Brother Wallace was not expected to return for some months; Brother Adams was settled at the Saline, and Brother Taylor was obliged to return to private affairs and the bosom of his family. We in vain searched for prece- dents to guide us. Our former difficulties and retardation, not to mention unnecessary and accumulating expense,
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