USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of Saint John's Lodge of Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as shown in the records of the First Lodge, the Second Lodge, the Third Lodge, the Rising Sun Lodge, the Masters' Lodge, St. John's Lodge, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge > Part 12
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It was thought, too, that in a celebration of such a character the Ma- sons of Massachusetts, so far as possible, would desire to have a part; and so a fraternal invitation was extended to the various lodges throughout the Commonwealth to come in such numbers as might be accommo- dated to take part with us in these services, and we regret exceedingly that while one hundred and twenty-five of these lodges are here to-day represented, yet, by reason of lack of room, hundreds applying for ad- mission necessarily have been denied.
In the beginning, in making preparations for this anniversary cele- bration, it was decided that it was most fitting and proper that the celebration should be inaugurated by a great church service; and so to- day, with our hearts filled with gratitude to the All Beneficent and Su- preme Being, under whose watchful care, through all the changes and vicissitudes of these one hundred and seventy-five years have been the destinies of this ancient lodge, have we come, marching with our open Bible, - the great light in Free Masonry -to this beautiful temple, dedi- cated to the worship of the living God, here to offer up to Him our thanks for His goodness to us in the past and humbly to ask for His help and guid- ance in the proper discharge of the responsibilities and duties of the days that are to be.
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And now, as we are taught that no man should ever enter upon any great or important undertaking without first invoking the blessing of the Deity, let us all rise while our Brother the Rev. George W. Colson in- vokes the divine blessing.
Invocation
Rev. Bro. George W. Colson
God's Glory in Nature
Male Chorus Beethoven
Scripture Lesson
Rev. Bro. Webster H. Powell Chaplain of St. John's Lodge
Anniversary Hymn . . Tune, Adeste Fideles Written for the Occasion by Mrs. John C. Hurll
How rich is the past, with the treasures untold
Of sacred tradition, and memories old;
We sing of the blessings which crowned every day,
The God of our Fathers has led all the way -
The God of our Fathers has led all the way.
We sing of the fellowship faithful and true Which draws us together our vows to renew,
The present is with us to shape as we will,
The God of our Fathers is leading us still - The God of our Fathers is leading us still.
The future is calling: press on to the light, Oh, splendid the vision which dawns on our sight; With high aspiration our way to attend,
The God of our Fathers will lead to the end, The God of our Fathers will lead to the end.
The past is our glory, the present our pride, The future awaits us with portals flung wide, What more can we ask, as we gratefully sing, God rules in His heaven, and is ever our King, God rules in His heaven, and is ever our King.
Prayer Wor. Rev. Edward A. Horton Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
I
FIRST MASONIC TEMPLE TREMONT STREET AND TEMPLE PLACE 1832-1858
SAINT JOHN'S LODGE
Lord's Prayer
Adelphi Quartette
. Brewer-Sullivan
Male Chorus
Sermon
Rev. Bro. John W. Hamilton, D.D., L.L.D.
Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Lord God Almighty .
Verdi
Bro. David M. Babcock and Male Chorus
Singing, America
Benediction Wor. Rev. William H. Rider Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts .
Nunc Dimittis
Weber Quartette
Postlude Fugue in D
Guilmant
Bro. Charles S. Johnson
Music by the Following Male Quartettes :
Albion Schubert Weber Harvard Adelphi
Bro. Ivan Morawski, Conductor
Music Under the Direction of Bro. Charles S. Johnson Organist of St. John's Lodge
STATED COMMUNICATION, MONDAY, OCT. 5
The lodge was opened at 2 o'clock.
After the reception of the visiting Grand Masters, Most Worshipful John Albert Blake, with the officers and members of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, were announced and received with the usual honors. As each of these distinguished guests was introduced, new and fitting
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Response
Lost Chord
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HISTORY OF SAINT JOHN'S LODGE
words of welcome were spoken to him by the Worshipful Master, and each appropriately responded. When these guests were seated Right Worship- ful Harvey N. Shepard introduced His Excellency Curtis Guild, Jr., Governor of the Commonwealth, and later His Honor, George A. Hib- bard, Mayor of the City, both of whom also appropriately responded.
The exercises of the afternoon were as follows:
Address of Welcome
Wor. Leonard G. Roberts, Master of St. John's Lodge
Response
Most Wor. Grand Master John Albert Blake
"Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Dwelling Place," Holden
Quartette
Historical Address
Rt. Wor. Harvey N. Shepard
Worshipful Master, Wardens and Brethren of Saint John's Lodge.
When Freemasonry began it is impossible now for anyone to tell. Like some other world-wide institutions its origin is lost in the dim light of a distant past. But in its essential principles its birth goes back into that vague and shadowy period when in the slow evolution of ages man com- menced to think and reason of the mysteries which surround him.
When he uplifted his eyes to the heavens and watched the rising of the sun in the east, the splendor of noonday in the south, and his crimson glory in the west, and watched the moon and the planets move slowly and regularly across the blue expanse, he bowed his head in the presence of some unknown and powerful Being, and worshipped God.
"The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim. The unwearied sun, from day to day, Does his Creator's power display, And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty hand.
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"Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly, to the listening earth, Repeats the story of her birth; While all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole.
"What though in solemn silence all Move round the dark terrestrial ball? What though no real voice nor sound Amid the radiant orbs be found? In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice. Forever singing as they shine, 'The hand that made us is Divine.""'
Belief and faith in God is the first test in Freemasonry, for no atheist can be a Mason.
The seed, put away in the dark earth, lies seemingly dead in the cold of winter, till, touched by the warm rays of the spring sunshine, it bursts from its prison and blossoms into life. So man conceived the hope of new life beyond the grave, and belief in another world, whither he might go when through with this. Freemasonry touches the resurrection and looks forward into the future life. Here we learn that when the embers of mor- tality feebly glimmer we need not mourn as those who have no hope but turn our eyes in confidence to the opening scenes of eternity. Freemason- ry forgets not the Celestial Lodge above, nor is it ever blind to the path which leads to its golden gates.
Much more slowly came the conception that God is a father and we are his children. To be a stranger was to be an enemy, and even men of one blood recognized no ties beyond the narrow limits of the family or the village. There was need of a special messenger, Jesus Himself, to lead the world to a recognition of the brotherhood of mankind. The story of His life, and the teachings of Himself and of His apostles, the Holy Bible, always lies open upon the altar of Freemasonry, its Great Light, whence it draws all its inspiration; and within its walls is known no distinction of tongue, creed, blood, or color. In the very heart and soul of Free- masonry is the sense of kinship, the consciousness that we are brothers. It measures no man by this world's standard of high and low; it is above the smallness which makes blood or place the test of moral and intellect-
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ual worth; and in the ministration of its rites and the bestowment of its gifts it knows no difference of nations. Every man, of whatever creed, tongue, or blood, may be a Mason if he join with us in full recognition of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of all His children.
Most of our signs and symbols, so familiar to us that generally we look upon them without thought of any special meaning, even as one sees the sun rise in the morning and set again in the evening, without inquiry whence he comes or whither he goes, nevertheless have come to us hal- lowed by use centuries old. They are said to be upon the stones of the temples near which the Ganges pours his holy waters. They are found, we are told, in the great treasure city of Persia and amid the ruins of Babylon. The paintings in the dark and strong tombs of Egypt tell the same story. And it may be that, when the chosen youths of Athens, hav- ing passed the night of vigil, went up in the dark, into the sacred pre- cincts of Eleusis, the signs and symbols, which they saw there, taught them a like lesson to that which they now give to us. The significance of the cornucopia goes back centuries preceding the dawn of the Christian religion, when men gave gifts, one to another, and came together in joy- ous festivities, to celebrate the turning of the sun from its southern course back again, bringing the light and longer days, and the blossoms, flowers, the fruits of spring and summer. When the picturesque homes of the guilds, the beautiful town halls, and the noble cathedrals of Europe were building, the craftsmen were organized into societies and made use of certain marks and signs as means of recognition. The square, the level, and the plumb, familiar to us in every step in Freemasonry, recall those days when its disciples actually were craftsmen and wrought with their hands. Now, not being operative Masons as were our ancient brethren, we give these only a symbolic meaning.
Freemasonry, as we know it, can be traced back a little more than two hundred years. It is found in Germany as a speculative order late in the seventeenth century. Frederick the Great became a Mason in 1738, and immediately thereafter ascended the throne of Prussia, and became an active patron of the craft. A century later the then Crown Prince, the first German Emperor, was chosen to a like position. It has always been among the northern Germans a flourishing institution, including in its membership eminent scholars, great soldiers, kings, and emperors. In Austria its meetings were long held in secret, both the church and the state being bitterly hostile. One hundred and fifty years ago it flourished in Hungary. There were innumerable lodges, and the craft everywhere was accorded freedom of meeting. But in the latter part of the eighteenth century Maria Theresa placed the fraternity under the ban, and one after
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another the lodges were forced to give up their charters, so that by the beginning of the nineteenth century not one was known to exist. In Italy also its meetings were in secret. Now its life again is in the open, and under the shadow of the Vatican in a Roman lodge the principles of Freemasonry are the same as in the United States. The day when Free- masonry was looked upon as a vast, secret, oath-bound monster, plotting in the darkness of midnight, screening criminal members from deserved punishment, has passed away forever. In France it has existed with varying success and under many different forms. Very much of the in- spiration of the Revolution was kindled near its altars. Its members trusted one another, and, because they trusted one another, they dared to go forward, and to a large degree because of them France became free.
Before the beginning of the eighteenth century order and system in the conduct of the affairs of Freemasonry in England were almost unknown. Brethren assembled, as inclination and good fellowship prompted, in their favorite taverns; and, whenever a friend desired to join the circle, they made him an initiate with very little of what we should call ritual. But in 1717 the four Old Lodges of London met in the Apple Tree Tavern and constituted themselves into a Grand Lodge. One of the first resolu- tions which they adopted was that the privilege of assembling as Ma- sons, hitherto unlimited, should be vested in certain lodges convened in certain places and authorized to act by a warrant from the Grand Mas- ter; "and without such warrant no lodge shall be hereafter deemed regular or constitutional." This action of the London lodges met with general approval, a complete change was wrought in practice, a fresh im- pulse was given to Freemasonry, and regular warranted lodges under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England were established throughout Great Britain.
Six years later there came to Boston Henry Price, who was born in London in 1697. Later he went home again, and returned to Boston in 1733, bringing with him the famous deputation as Provincial Grand Master which made the beginning of organized Freemasonry in North America. Before 1733 the number of brethren in this country was very small. They were made in England; and, when we consider the time and expense of going home, it is evident there could be few additions. The Atlantic Ocean was very broad in those days, and it took a long time to get across it.
Henry Price, and the ten immortal brethren, all of whom had been made Masons in England: Andrew Belcher, Thomas Kennelly, John Quane, Henry Hope, Frederick Hamilton, John McNeal, Peter Hall, Matthew Young, John Waddell, and Edmund Ellis, whom he called
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around him, formed St. John's Grand Lodge, the first Masonic body es- tablished in North America, upon Monday, July 30, A.D. 1733, "at the House of Edward Lutwych, at ye sign of the Bunch of Grapes in King's street " in Boston, upon the corner of Mackerel Lane, now Kilby street, near the water's edge. It was replaced by the New England Bank, which in turn was replaced by the Exchange Building. The sign of the tavern was four bunches of grapes, two of which are of the few precious relics which have come down to us from that early and memorable day. It was a notable tavern and the favorite resort of the patriots prior to the Revo- lution. Lafayette visited it in 1784. The meetings of the Society of the Cincinnati were held there; and its walls have heard the voice of our illustrious brother Mason, George Washington.
Full of zeal and knowledge, Henry Price went vigorously to work scattering the good seed right and left. On the thirty-first of August, 1733, he constituted the First Lodge, usually called the "Mother Lodge," to be holden at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern on the second and fourth Wednesdays in every month, dating its charter July 30, on which date the "Brethren having regularly met at the House of Edward Lutwych at ye sign of the Bunch of Grapes in King street Boston New England " had unan mously "agreed to petition our Rt. Worl. Mr. Henry Price, Pro- vincial Grand Master, to Constitute them into a Regular Lodge." For the first half century of their existence the history of the Grand Lodge and of the First Lodge has been curiously intermingled; and the records of one body frequently report transactions of the other.
October 24, 1733, the lodge adopted its First Code of By-Laws, from which I quote four articles :
"IIlly No Brother or Brothers shall set any victuals in the Lodge Room while the Lodge is open, without the leave of the Master or War- dens, nor call for any Liquor or Tobacco without leave as aforesaid.
Vly No brother that lives within or about this Town that is not a member of this Lodge shall be admitted as a Visitor, before he has signified his desire of being a member and paying his Quarteridge, or else make it appear that he is actually a member of a Regular Lodge; unless by a dis- pensation of the Master and Wardens.
VIIly No Brother shal propose any person to be made without first asking leave of the Master and Wardens.
IX thly Every member shall pay at least two shillings more per quar- ter, to be applied as charity towards the relief of poor Brethren."
The whole code consists of on'y fourteen articles, brief and to the point, and so explicit that there is no room for doubt or uncertainty. It ap- pears also from these records that the candidate was required sometimes
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to clothe the lodge, that is to furnish gloves for all the brethren present, while at other times it was done at the expense of the lodge. The breth- ren of those days were determined that they would have clean hands at all events.
The establishment of St. John's Lodge in the largest town of the Prov- ince of Massachusetts Bay, then the most prosperous of the colonies, was regarded, even at the time it occurred, as of great interest and import- ance, and was participated in by many gentlemen of distinction in civil and military life.
We find these records:
"Decr. 5733. Nothing further remarkable happened this year only the celebration of the anniversary of St. John the Evangelist after the manner of masons when Our Rt. Worsl. Mr. Jas. Gordon was chosen Master of the Lodge. Masonry caus'd great speculation in these days in New England to the great vulgar and the small."
"5734 June 24. Being the anniversary of St. John the Baptist the Brethren celebrated the Feast in due manner and form, and chose our Rt. Worshi. Bro. Mr. Frederick Hamilton Master of the Lodge."
On the same date a charter was granted by St. John's Grand Lodge to the First Lodge in Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston on the site of the building now numbered 17 upon Milk Street, January 6, 1706, had returned to Boston, not having been here since 1724. Meanwhile he had been to England and there had been made a Mason. Upon this visit to Boston he became acquainted with Price, who in the language of our records, "further instructed him in the Royal Art." Upon his return to Philadelphia he called the brethren there together and in their behalf petitioned Grand Master Price for "a Constitution to hold a Lodge and Our Rt. Worshl. Grand Master having this year Recd. Orders from the Grand Lodge in England to Establish Masonry in all North America did send a Deputation to Philadelphia appointing the Rt. Worshl. Mr. Benja. Franklin first Master; which is the beginning of Masonry there."
In June and December of the following year the Festivals of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist were "Celebrated as usual;" and at the latter the "Rt. Worshl. Bro. Mr. James Gordon was ap- pointed D. G. M. by Our Rt. Worsl. Grand Master Mr. Price, and the Rt. Worshl. Bro. Capt. McLean was chosen Master of the Lodge." This year also, June 24, 1735, a charter was granted to St. John's Lodge of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and December 27, 1735, to the First Lodge in South Carolina, the record reading:
"About this Time some Masons met at Portsmouth in the Province of
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New Hampshire who petitioned Our Rt. Worshl. Grand Master Mr. Price for a Constitution to hold a Lodge there which he Granted."
"About this time sundry Brethren going to South Carolina met with some Masons in Charlestown who thereupon went to work, from which sprang Masonry in those parts."
In 1735 the First Lodge, by leave from the Rt. Worshl. Grand Master, for sufficient reasons then advanced by the Brethren, was removed from the Bunch of Grapes to the Royal Exchange Tavern in King street, which occupied the present site of the Merchants Bank, on the southeast corner of State and Exchange streets, and was kept by a brother of the lodge, Luke Vardy, a noted tavern keeper, who came from London and was admitted a member of our lodge in 1734. The lodge afterwards was known sometimes by the name of the Royal Exchange. The first printed English Grand Lodge Calendar, containing a registry of all the lodges, was prepared in 1736, and published in the latter part of that year, or early in 1737, and in it the lodge at Boston appears: "Royal Exchange, No. 126, Boston, New England, July 30, 1733."
The Boston Evening Post of Monday, June 28, 1736, contains the fol- lowing account of the celebration of St. John's Day:
"Thursday last being the Festival of St. John the Baptist the annual meeting of the Free and Accepted Masons, they accordingly met at the Royal Exchange, King St., Boston. The Grand Master nominated and appointed Messieurs James Cerke and Benjamin Barons his Grand Wardens, and the Lodge chose Mr. Robert Tomlinson, Master, and Messieurs Hugh McDaniel and John Osborn, Wardens for the year en- suing, after which they had an elegant entertainment for his excellency the Governor, The R. W. Mr. Commissionary Price, and several gentlemen of distinction being present."
On this occasion there was sent to England this letter:
"From the Holy Lodge of St. John Held in Boston, New England, the 23rd day of June, A. L. 5736.
Most Worthy and Dear Brethren :- Our great affection for the whole Fraternity will not permit us to slip the favorable Opportunity to give you sincere assurance of our due Regards from all our Most Worthy Brethren, regularly met in the Right Worshipful Holy Lodge of St. John under the Protection of the Heavenly Canopy, and in particular that of England.
Our hearty good wishes we forward to you under the recommenda- tion of our Right Worshipful Brother, Mr. Benjamin Barons (our present S. G. W.) Whose great meritts has contributed very much to the flourish- ing State of Masonry in that Town."
NASS
GRCANT
-
NASSAU HALL WASHINGTON AND COMMON STREETS 1858-1859
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Then follows a list of the names of the members, forty-seven in num- ber, of "the Holy Lodge of St. John held in Boston, in New England." It includes officers of high rank in the British regiments, stationed in the town, as well as in the militia of the Province, together with the leading merchants and professional men, thus attesting the correctness of the statement in the letter that the Fraternity in these parts was already "adorned with the most eminent gentlemen of the place."
In the years 1737 and 1738 there were celebrated as usual the Festivals of "St. John ye Baptist" and St. John the Evangelist, and "Our Rt. Worshl. Bro. Mr. Benja. Hallowell was chosen Master of the Lodge." Freemasonry was extended further by the grant of charters from St. John's Grand Lodge January 2, 1738, to Masters' Lodge of Boston, and late in the year to Annapolis Royal Lodge in Nova Scotia, "at ye Petti- tion of sundry Brethren," and the First Lodge in West Indies of Antigua.
Benjamin Hallowell, who was master in 1738-9 and treasurer in 1741, was born in Boston January 20, 1699. He was his Majesty's Collector of . Customs in Boston, and in addition to his membership in St. John's Lodge he was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- pany. He lived upon Batterymarch street in the North End near his shipyard. On his way to England in 1738 he stopped in Antigua, "where finding some old Boston Masons went to Work and made the Governor and sundry other Gentlemen of Distinction Masons, whereby from Our Lodge sprung Masonry in the West Indies."
There are few localities in America around which the memories of the shadowy past more interestingly cluster than around the ancient town of Annapolis. Not only the soldier, the poet, the philanthropist, and the historian, but also the Mason, have contributed each his share to draw Nova Scotia and Massachusetts, Annapolis and Boston, the Annapolis Royal and St. John's Lodges, into very close relations.
"Monday, December the 29-1740. The Rt. Worshipful Bro. Thomas Oxnard, D.G.M., and a great number of the Brethren met in the Lodge, then was celebrated the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, a very hand- some supper was prepared by the stewards appointment, and the whole entertainment of the evening conducted and carried on in the utmost perfection. Our Rt. Bro. W. Thomas Oxnard, D.G.M., open'd a Grand Lodge and was pleased to nominate and appoint * * * his grand officers for the year ensuing."
"Wednesday, February the 10th, 1741. Being Lodge night Voted, That a petition to the Grand Lodge of England be made and sent with all speed for the Constitution, & appointing our Rt. W. Bro. Thos. Oxnard, Grand Master."
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"Wednesday, July 8th, 1741, Lodge Night. But the house being filled by the members of the General Court, and no possibility of a proper room to hold a Lodge, Ordered by our Rt. Worshipful M. that the Breth- ren be summoned to meet him tomorrow at seven oclock in the evening being Thursday."
"On Friday, September 25, 1741 the Committee appointed by this Lodge waited upon the Honble. Mr. Belcher &c and made the following speech.
"'Thrice Worthy Brother-We being a Committee by the Mother Lodge of N. England held in Boston to wait on you, do take this oppor- tunity to acknowledge the many favors you have always showed (when in power) to Masonry in General, but in more Especial manner to the Brethren of this Lodge, of which we shall ever retain a most grateful remembrance.'"'
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