USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical sketches of early Indiana > Part 42
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Grand Deacon ; Brother Charles I. Hand, Grand Steward and Tyler. Building committee, William Sheets, James Whitcomb, Austin W. Morris. Architect, Joseph Willis.
The Grand Secretary then read the following schedule of deposits :
"BRETHREN-There will be deposited in the cavity of the corner-stone, now about to be laid, as follows, viz: The Holy Bible, square and compass, the Master's mallet, the twenty- four-inch rule, three lights, the globes, the letter G, the plumb and level, a lamb-skin apron, a sprig of evergreen, the trowel, sword, spade and coffin, the constitution and by-laws of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Indiana, the printed minutes of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of this State, of their respective sessions, held in May, 1848. An abstract from the minutes of the several Grand Lodges of the respective States for 1848, showing the names of officers, time and place of meeting, and names and number of subordinate lodges. A printed copy of the proceedings of the last General Royal Arch Chapter and General Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States, held at Columbus, Ohio, in 1847. A copy of the Free Masons' Magazine, edited by Brother C. W. Moore, of Boston. A copy of the last Ma- sonic Review, edited by Brother Cornelius Moore, of Cincin- nati. A copy of the last newspapers issued at Indianapolis. Several pieces of coin of the United States of America, dated
in 1848. A scroll containing the names, organization and pres- ent condition of the several churches in Indianapolis. A scroll containing the names, organization and present condition of the several divisions of the Sons of Temperance in Indianapolis. A scroll containing the date of organization, names of officers, and present condition of Sigourney Union of the Daughters of Temperance in Indianapolis. A scroll containing the date of organization, names of officers, number of members of Center Lodge of I. O. O. Fellows of Indianapolis."
AN ORIGINAL ODE FROM MRS. BOLTON.
The following original ode, prepared for the occasion by Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton, of Indianapolis, was sung by the breth-
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ren and citizens, to the tune of "Hail to the Chief," led by Mr. Willard and others of the choir of the Second Presbyterian Church :
"ODE.
" Sons of a glorious order anointed, To cherish for ages the ark of the Lord, Wearing the mystical badges appointed, Come to the temple with sweetest accord. Come lay the corner-stone, Asking the Lord to own
Labors that tend to His glory and praise ; Long may this mercy seat, Where angels' pinions meet, Rest in the beautiful temple ye raise.
" Brothers united, to you it is given, To lighten the woes of a sin-blighted world, Far o'er the earth, on the free winds of heaven, Now let your banners of love be unfurled. Write there the blessed three, Faith, hope and charity, Names that shall live through the cycle of time ; Write them on every heart, Make them your guide and chart Over life's sea to the haven sublime.
"Go forth, befriending the wayweary stranger, Bright'ning the pathway that sorrow hath crossed, Strength'ning the weak in the dark hour of danger, . Clothing the naked and seeking the lost. Opening the prison door, Feeding the starving poor,
Chiding the evil, approving the just, Drying the widow's tears, Soothing the orphan's fears, Great is your mission, 'in God is your trust.'
" Go, in the spirit of Him who is holy, Gladden the wastes and the by-ways of earth,
Visit the homes of the wretched and lowly, Bringing relief to the desolate hearth. Bind up the broken heart, Joy to the sad impart,
Stay the oppressor and strengthen the just ; Freely do ye receive, Freely to others give, Great is your mission, 'in God is your trust.'
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"Go forth with ardor and hope undiminished, Ever be zealous and faithful and true,
Still, till the labor appointed is finished, Do with your might what your hands find to do. Narrow the way and strait, Is heaven's guarded gate, Leading the soul to the regions of love ; Then with the spotless throng, Swelling the triumph song, May you be found in the Grand Lodge above."
On the evening of the 24th day of May, 1850, the members of the Grand Chapter and a large number of citizens and strang- ers met in one of the city churches for the purpose of presenting to Mrs. Bolton the silver cup voted her by the Grand Chapter for the beautiful ode copied above. The presentation speech was made by Judge Morrison, and was in the following words :
" MRS. BOLTON-The Grand Chapter of Indiana are gratified to be permitted thus publicly to assure you of their warm per- sonal 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 Free Ma- sonry, to thank you for your noble and disinterested vindication of the principles of the Order. In the ancient and appropriate symbolic ceremony of laying the corner-stone of the Grand Ma- sonic Hall of Indiana, you, madam, were so kind and intrepid as to voluntarily come forward, in the face of wide-spread and deep-rooted prejudice, to animate us in the work then just be- gun. And when the edifice shall be completed, as we trust it soon will be, we can never look upon its imposing and symmet- rical proportions, looming out on the blue arch of heaven-a monument of the taste and liberality of the Masonic fraternity of Indiana-without associating a recollection of the beautiful 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 claims 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 eye of an admiring public.
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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 ser- vice 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 defense of the cardinal princi- ples of ancient Free Masonry ; principles, alas, most grievously maligned and misrepresented because they are not generally understood. Penetrated, therefore, with a due sense of the ob- ligations under which you had brought the whole Masonic fra- ternity, the Grand Chapter, at its last annual meeting, unani- mously adopted the following resolutions :
4
"'Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this Grand Chap- ter are due to Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton, of Indianapolis, for the beautiful Masonic ode composed by her, which was sung on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the Grand Masonic Hall, in said city, on the 25th day of October last.
"'Resolved unanimously, That, as a token of the high regard which the members of the Grand Chapter entertain for the char- acter of Mrs. Bolton, and to manifest their appreciation of her merits as a poetess, the Grand Chapter will present for her accep- tance a silver cup with an appropriate device and inscription.
"'Resolved, That a committee be appointed to carry these resolutions into effect, and that a copy of the resolutions, under the seal of the Grand Chapter, be furnished Mrs. Bolton with the presentation.
"And now, madam, as the honored organ of the Grand Chapter, in their name and presence, I present for your accept- ance this cup, the main device of which, you will notice, is the Royal Arch, and under which, and between its sustaining col- umns, is this inscription :
"' THE GRAND CHAPTER OF THE STATE OF INDIANA,
TO
MRS. SARAH T. BOLTON,
As a token of acknowledgment for her excellent Masonic ode ON TIIE
Laying of the corner-stone of the Grand Masonic Hall,
At Indianapolis, October 25, A. D. 1848 ; A. L. 5848.'
.
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" The minor device represents a craftsman in the act of ad- justing a corner-stone to its proper place. The inscription is one quite familiar to you, being three lines from your own in- spiring ode :
"'Come, lay the corner-stone, Asking the Lord to own Labors that tend to his glory and praise.'
" This token, Mrs. Bolton, you will please receive as an ac- knowledgment, by Masons, of a debt that neither time nor cir- cumstances will cancel or efface."
Mrs. Bolton replied :
" I have no language to express my sense of the honor con- ferred on me by the Grand Chapter of Indiana in the presenta- tion 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 recollections. The ode, in con- sideration of which it is presented, was but the simple and spon- taneous outpouring of a 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 relieved, and the orphan cherished by Masonic charity, I learned to love and honor your noble and venerable institution. The seed then sown has ripened with my years. and I now believe that Free Masonry is the sister of Christian- ity. 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 He- brew children, came forth unscathed by the furnace 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 Free Masonry was commissioned. in heaven, to bless and cheer them in their loneliness. She has fed the hungry, reclaimed the wandering, ministered con- solation by the bedside of the dying, and brightened the path-
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way of the bereaved and desolate. Mortals have witnessed her labors of love, and angels have recorded her annals in the ar- chives 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 bo- som, and proclaim that her mission is accomplished."
In the spring of 1851 the Grand Lodge Hall was dedicated to the purposes for which it was erected. The editor of the Masonic Review, who was present, thus writes of the dedication :
"The recent session of the Grand Lodge was, in some. re- spects, the most interesting one ever held in the State. The Grand Hall, to complete which the members had been toiling for years, was finished, and at the annual meeting was to be dedicated in solemn form. A great crowd had assembled to witness the imposing ceremonies, and the craft especially were represented by delegates from every part of the State. We need not describe the procession and the ceremonies, for these things are familiar to our readers ; it is enough to say that the Grand Master, Dr. Deming, officiated on the occasion, and with his usual skill and ability. The great hall of the building was filled to overflowing. Age and childhood were commingled in that throng, man in his rugged strength, and woman in her loveli- ness and purity. The Governors of Indiana and Ohio were both in the throng ; judges and officers of State, with represent- atives from professional, mechanical and agricultural lives, were all present to give eclat to the occasion and honor the comple- tion of the noble work. The Rev. Brother Lynch delivered an address that was well received, and gave general satisfaction to the crowded assembly. The song written expressly for the occasion by Mrs. Bolton, the poetess of Indiana, was sung with fine effect. Mrs. Bolton was in the audience, and her daughter, a beautiful girl of ' sweet sixteen,' was one of the leading sing- ers in the choir. It is right that the mother should be a poetess and the daughter a musician. Indiana may be proud of her gifted and accomplished daughters. The following is the poem referred to :
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" DEDICATION ODE.
" Brothers, rejoice ! for our task is completed, After the pattern appointed of yore; Let the reward to the craftsmen be meted, While, with thanksgiving, we bow and adore, Low at the feet of Him, Throned where the seraphim And the archangels sing anthems of praise, Born of the lowly dust, Wanting in faith and trust,
Ilow shall we worship Thee, Ancient of Days.
Darkly we grope through the light of being, Weary we wait for the day dawning bright ;
Father omnific, supreme and all-seeing, Come to Thy temple and fill it with light. Write here Thy great name, Kindle the altar flame. Sacred to Thee in the most holy place ; And where the cherubs fling Light from each golden wing, Leave us the Ark with its symbols of grace.
" Show us the Truth and the pathway of duty ; Help us to lift up our standard sublime,
Till earth is restored to the Order and Beauty Lost in the shadowless morning of time. Teach us to sow the seed Of many a noble deed ; Make us determined, unflinching and strong- Armed with the sword of right, Dauntless amid the fight, Help us to Level the bulwarks of wrong.
" Prompt us to labor, as Thou hast directed, Ou the foundation laid sure in the past, And may 'the stone which the builders rejected' Crown our endeavors with glory at last. Then, at the eventide, Laying the Square aside, May we look calmly on life's setting sun ; And, at the mercy seat, Where ransomed spirits meet, Hear from the Master the plandit, 'well done.'"
The building was 63 feet front on Washington street by 110 feet deep on Tennessee street, and three stories high. It was built in the Grecian Doric order of architecture, with a portico
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in front II feet deep, extending across the entire front. The entablature was supported by six Doric columns, 44 feet in diame- ter, and 33 feet high ; said columns commencing on a platform on a level with the second story floor. The sides and rear end were finished with pilaster or antæ the same height of the col- umns, 4 feet face and projecting 9 inches, and the whole build- ing crowned with a heavy Doric entablature. The roof was covered with composition, and the whole external surface of the walls with stucco, in imitation of cut stone, giving the build- ing the appearance of a cut stone edifice. The first or base- ment story was II feet high in the clear, and was divided into three store-rooms, each 17 feet wide by 107 feet deep, and a passage and stairway 6 feet wide. The second story was in one large room for a public hall, 54 feet by 96 feet, and 20 feet high, finished with a paneled ceiling and cornice around the room in a good, neat style ; the entrance to said room was from the front, on Washington street, with a private entrance from the rear end. The windows on the front end extended to the floor and opened out on the portico, and those on the west side, on Tennessee street, also extended to the floor and opened out to a handsome balcony, inclosed with a neat iron railing. The third story was appropriated exclusively to Masonic purposes, and consisted of a lodge room 37 by 60 feet, and a chapter room 26 by 60 feet, the ceilings 19 feet high. There were also several other rooms of different sizes, which were used for vari- ous purposes in the labor of the craft. and also an encampment room 32 by 50 feet, and II feet high.
The building was designed by J. Willis, architect, of Indiana- polis. The lot on which it was erected is 63 feet front by 350 feet deep. Entire cost of lot and building was about $20,000.
GRAND MASTERS OF THE STATE.
The following is a list of the Grand Masters of Indiana in the order in which they served: In 1818, Alexander Buckner; in 1819, Alexander A. Meek; in 1820, John Tipton ; in 1821-2. John Sheets ; in 1823-4, Jonathan Jennings ; in 1825, Marston G. Clark ; in 1826, Isaac Howk ; in 1827, Elihu Stout ; in 1828, John Tipton ; in 1829, Abel C. Pepper ; in 1830, Philip Mason ; in 1831, William Sheets : in 1832, Woodbridge Parker; in 1833,
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Philip Mason ; in 1834, Daniel Kelso ; in 1835, John B. Martin ; in 1836, James L. Hogan ; in 1837. Caleb B. Smith ; in 1838 to 1844, Philip Mason ; in 1845, Isaac Bartlett ; in 1846, Johnson Watts ; in 1847 to 1850, Elizur Deming ; in 1851-2-5-6-9 and 1860, A. C. Downey ; in 1857-8, Solomon D. Bayliss ; in 1861, Dr. Thomas R. Austin ; in 1862, John B. Fravel ; in 1863-4, William Hacker; in 1865-5-7, Harvey G. Hazelrigg ; in 1868- 9,1870-1, Martin H. Rice ; in 1872-3, Christian Fetta ; in 1874, Lucian A. Foote ; in 1875, David McDonald.
John Tipton was a United States Senator; John Sheets, a paper manufacturer of Madison ; Jonathan Jennings, a Governor of Indiana ; Abel C. Pepper, United States Marshal of Indiana ; William Sheets, a well-known merchant and manufacturer of Indianapolis ; Daniel Kelso, a lawyer and politician of some prominence in Southern Indiana ; Caleb B. Smith, a well-known statesman and jurist, whose remains are deposited in a vault at Crown Hill; A. C. Downey, a distinguished jurist ; William Hacker, an historian of the order, and probably the best versed man in Indiana in the literature and jurisprudence of the craft ; Martin H. Rice, who is a native of Vermont, and in early life followed the profession of a civil engineer. He was made a Mason at Plymouth, where he lived until a few years ago, when he became a resident of Indianapolis. He is the present editor and proprietor of the Masonic Advocate, a Masonic journal of great influence and popularity. He is in the prime of life, and bids fair to live many years to instruct his brethren in the prin- ciples of an order which four times honored him with its highest office. It will be observed that Judge Downey's term of service was longer than any of the other Grand Masters, it being for six years, and that next to him in length of service is Past Grand Master Rice, who was Grand Master for four years.
One of the best known Masons of Indiana, was Past Dep- uty Grand Master Caleb Schmidlapp, of Madison. Mr. Schmidlapp was born in Germany in 1798. He came to this country in 1818, and settled in Cincinnati, where, in 1825, he became a brother of the " Mystic Tie." During his residence in Cincinnati he had the pleasure of sitting in a lodge with the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited the Masonic lodge in the Queen City, when last among the people for whom he had done
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so much and who loved him so well. He emigrated to Indiana in 1830, and settled in Madison. He was first a member of the Grand Lodge in 1838, and was present at every meeting of that body since, until the convocation of 1875, which he did not at- tend on account of physical infirmities.
Past Deputy Grand Master M. D. Manson, of Crawfordsville, deserves honorable mention in the sketch of Indiana Masonry. He was a valiant soldier in the Mexican war and in the war of the rebellion, and is no less distinguished in peace than he was in war. He was once the candidate of his party for the office of Secretary of State, and was afterwards elected to Congress from his district. In 1872 he was elected Auditor of State and served his term. He is still living, and is in vigorous health.
Grand Secretary Morris-One of the best known and most in- fluential Secretaries the Grand Lodge of Indiana ever had was Austin W. Morris, who died on the 21st day of June, 1851, while filling that office. He was a son of Morris Morris, and a brother of General Thomas A. Morris, of Indianapolis. He was born in Kentucky on the 9th day of August, 1804, and was in the prime of life when he died. He was much in public life, and every position he filled was honored and dignified by his actions. He left his impress upon the city of his adoption. and to-day his name is honored and revered by all who knew him. Particularly is his memory dear to his Masonic brethren who knew him as Grand Secretary of the highest body of their or- der and an active worker in all things appertaining to the good of Masonry. The following article, written by the editor of the Masonic Review, and published shortly after the death of this distinguished Mason, is so beautifully conceived and is such a truthful estimate of his character that we reproduce it just as it was written :
"We have known many excellent men in our day, men of rare piety and uniform, consistent goodness, but we have known few, if any, who combined so many traits of excellence, so good, so kind, so true, as the subject of this notice. We knew him well ; we had known him long, and we loved him. As Secre- tary of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, and as a prominent and leading Mason of that State, we have been familiar with his de-
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portment as a Mason for a number of years. He was, in our eye, the beau ideal of a Free Mason. Frank, generous, firm, consistent, unwavering in his attachment to the principles of the order, determined and consistent in his efforts to preserve Masonry in its purity, and exhibiting in his own character a living illustration of what a Mason ought to be. He taught by example. Few, very few, have passed from this earth who left behind a more stainless reputation than Austin W. Morris."
The Grand Lodge of Indiana, in order to testify its appre- ciation of his services, and to commemorate his name, erected to his memory an imposing monument, and the visitor to-day will see at Crown Hill, the beautiful cemetery where rest so many of our friends and loved ones, a column upon which is engraved an epitome of the virtues of one whom the Masons of Indiana loved while living and whose memory they now revere.
James F. D. Lanier, the founder of the eminent banking house of Winslow, Lanier & Co., was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Indiana in 1830. At that time he lived at Madison and was a practicing lawyer. Subsequently he was president of the Madison Branch Bank, and went to New York in 1848 to start the banking house which now bears his name.
Judge Sullivan-Among the officers of the first Grand Lodge of Indiana were Jeremiah Sullivan and Nicholas D. Grover. The first was a native of Virginia, and came to Indiana when a young man. He settled at Madison, and remained a resident of that city until his death, which occurred a few years ago. He was dignified in his manners and of the strictest integrity. He was a lawyer by profession and attained great distinction. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana for many years, and, with his associates, Judges Blackford and Dewey. constituted a legal triumvirate whose decisions were authority wherever they were known. He was the father of General Sul- livan, who attained distinction in the war of the rebellion, and the grandfather of Thomas L. Sullivan, a promising young at- torney of Indianapolis.
General Grover, who died at Logansport in 1875, was the last member of the first Grand Lodge of the State. He was origi- nally from Madison, where he lived for many years, and was
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well known in both the southern and northern portions of Indi- ana. He survived but a short time his friend and associate in the first Grand Lodge, John B. Rose, of Wabash, who died a few years ago.
Stephen C. Stevens, who represented his lodge at the first meeting of Masons at Corydon, was originally from Brookville, but many years ago removed to Madison. He was a lawyer by profession, and at one time was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana. He was active in politics and a pioneer in the abo- litionist movement. In his old age misfortunes overtook him and his mind became clouded. He was an inmate of the insane asylum at Indianapolis, where he died eleven years ago.
Francis King, who held the office of Grand Secretary from 1851 to 1868, a period of fourteen years, will be remembered by many of the readers of this sketch. He was the private secre- tary of Governor Wright during the time he held that office, and as such came into contact with men from all parts of the State. After Governor Wright went out of office Mr. King was elected Treasurer of the city of Indianapolis and served for some time. Subsequently he was elected Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, and continued in office until he died. He was an hon- est and conscientious man, and his death was much lamented by the citizens of Indianapolis, both Masons and non-Masons, as well as by the fraternity throughout the State.
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