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 15
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What gives Freemasonry its power and usefulness? What attracts king and subject, statesman and peasant, the learned and the unlearned, to its portals? Not its so-called secrets; not its ceremonies, impressive though they be. Secrecy in some degree prevails in all the relations of man. Masons adopt it as a convenient method to promote the noble ends of the fraternity. But the secrecy of our institution does not constitute its landmarks. It is of the least importance in the work Masonry is in- tended to do. Its beauty and principles do not depend upon these se- crets, for it can and would live without them. It lives because it is a great brotherhood in the broadest and fullest sense, a brotherhood of man. It stimulates its members to be high minded and unselfish. Its ministry is one of light and love. It is not founded on wealth. It takes up the square and level, and moves among the sons of toil. It seeks to promote love. It aims to bring humanity into one grand union, to bring the high and the low into one brotherhood. The lessons it teaches are such as are founded on truth, the divine truth of its Great Light in which centre the
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hopes of the human race. It grasps in its scope two worlds, the one of labor and life, the other of death and immortality. It exemplifies those principles which produce health, happiness, and prosperity on the earth and directs the seeker after truth in that way which leads to the Celestial Lodge above. It stands for peace as against war; for love as against hate; for charity as against selfishness; for religion as against atheism. Its hope and effort are the fulfilment of the angels' song: "Peace on earth, good will to men."
Withdrawing from thegaze of the world, asking nothing from its favor, independent of its power or opinion, Freemasonry lives a law unto itself. It stands for liberty. Every candidate must be a freeman; and, after his admission, he cannot remain a Mason without remaining free. It allows no shackles on body, mind, or soul. No slave-chains clank at its altars; no mind is curbed in its ambitions; and no soul is bound by narrow creed. It has ever been an army of volunteers. There never was a conscript in its ranks. Its pathway never was stained with blood; it never made the earth a slaughter-house; but in all time, among all peoples, everywhere, it has taught a simple faith; equality in its ranks, fraternity among its members, charity to its unfortunates. To call one's self a Mason and de- spise the Golden Rule is an inconsistency. To profess to be a Mason and not to keep the moral law is a fraud. The white apron of purity is our badge, and there is not a tool or an implement of our Craft which is not the symbol of virtue and duty. The plumb reminds us to walk uprightly; the trowel to spread the cement of brotherly love; and the square and compasses to guard our actions by righteousness and to keep our passions within due bounds.
Freemasonry teaches that material achievements are by no means the greatest achievements of which man is capable; and that he may from the heart of the mountain bring forth the ore there by nature stored, he may form iron bands and stretch them across the continents, and thereon he may speed his engine of steam and flame, he may chain the lightning, he may flash his thought from land to land, he may talk with his brother hundreds of miles away, he may weigh suns and moons, and yet come far short of the possibilities of one who is made in the image of God. It is when he shall add devotion to his Maker, and love to his fellow-man, and the genial spirit of fraternity shall possess his soul, that then and not till then he will rise into the realm of his greatest development.
Freemasonry lifts man to higher ideals, develops his moral nature, broadens and deepens his possibilities, and permeates him with the idea of the brotherhood of man. It is its glory that under its influence the walls of prejudice and bigotry, which would separate men, have been
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broken down, and that men of every race and tongue can come, not as strangers, but as children of one Father, around its altar, and unite in adoring the one and common Father of us all.
My brothers of St. John's Lodge, the past is secure, a glorious record of which we are justly proud. For one hundred and seventy-five years this lodge has exercised its beneficent influence in this community. One hundred and seventy-five years it has striven, together with all the other means which God has appointed for such end, to transform the rough ashler of human life into that perfect product which it was meant to be. It has done its part in the ennobling of our race; it has gathered about its altar upright and manly men cemented together by brotherly love and affection; it has bound its members to aid, support, and protect one an- other; it has inculcated temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice. For one hundred and seventy-five years it has consecrated those, who sought its shrine, to the following of that wisdom which shall beget strength and beauty of character; and it has guided them by faith, hope, and charity, to that starry decked heaven where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.
The present and the immediate future belong to us. Here within our sacred borders hand grasps hand in friendship, and like those who gath- ered about the Round Table of Arthur the king, we share our social joys. Here tolerance holds its seat and power, and meeting upon the level we part upon the square. Here liberty and equality are our watchwords and each may confide in those about him, and find help and encouragement in the midst of misfortune and sorrow. Here faith in all which is high and holy is abundantly encouraged, and we are taught abiding hope. Here the Holy Bible is opened before us and we are admonished to make it the rule and guide of life. Here by square and compass we are warned to govern our actions and keep our passions within due bounds. Here sym- bols and ritual are evoked to call forth all which is best within us.
Let us be worthy of the name we bear, the Beloved Disciple's, who, when one hundred years old, went into the city of Ephesus, carried in a chair to the congregation of the faithful, and there, in his tremulous voice, said to those who were gathered about him: "Little children, love one another."
Brotherly Love, Charity, Fidelity, and Truth, born far back among the mysterious shadows of the east, guarded and guided through the darkness of ages by Divine Providence, they have descended to us as an heritage and an inspiration, which shall endure until the heavens shall roll together like a scroll, and the echo of the Archangel's last trumpet shall be lost in an empty void.
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Sometimes, brethren, we have watched a ship go out from our harbor, and our eyes followed the receding sails until they were lost beyond the curve of the horizon. The darkness of night has settled upon the deep, the storm has arisen in its wrath, the fierce winds howl through the sails, and the great waves break upon the decks; but in the glad light of the morning the ship has held on its course, safe and unharmed. So it is with St. John's Lodge. Some of the timbers are old, the waves of passion and prejudice have beaten upon them, and the tempest of ignorance and cal- umny has driven the craft as if to the verge of wreck and ruin; but it sails on today staunch and strong, with all canvas spread to the favoring breeze, and at the masthead the proud banners, with those time-honored mottoes: Faith, Hope and Charity, but the greatest of these is Charity.
May the blessing of God rest upon us, may brotherly love prevail, may every moral and social virtue cement us, and may the valuable tenets of our institution be transmitted through this ancient and honorable lodge pure and unimpaired from generation to generation forever.
"Strike, Strike the Lyre"
Quartette Cooke
Presentation to St. John's Lodge by Rt. Wor. Albert H. Hunter, in behalf of Bristol Lodge, of Bristol, Maine, of the Masonic Diploma received by Commodore Samuel Tucker from St. John's Lodge, January 30, 1779.
ADDRESS OF RT. WOR. ALBERT H. HUNTER, BRISTOL, MAINE.
Worshipful Master,-
It gives me much pleasure to be with you this afternoon and to bring you this precious relic from one of your famous members, Commodore Samuel Tucker.
Of his heroism and achievements on the ocean, I will not speak, as they are a matter of history and probably familiar to you all, but will mention briefly his life in Bristol.
After the close of the Revolutionary War, he came to Bristol to live and was a resident of Bristol and Bremen about forty years. He was re- ceived by the people with great cordiality, and he and his family were always treated with the greatest respect; and the people also showed their appreciation of him by frequently electing him to office. Eight times he represented them in the Legislature of Massachusetts before Maine became a State, and twice afterwards in the Legislature of Maine.
SECOND MASONIC TEMPLE
1867
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In 1820 he was chosen an elector of President and Vice-President of the United States, and was appointed messenger to carry the vote of Maine to Washington, where he was received with the honors due him for his services during the Revolutionary War. He also held minor offices in Bristol and also in Bremen after it was incorporated as a town. He died in March, 1833, aged 86 years and was buried in the rural cemetery in Bremen with his kindred who had preceded him.
After his death his diploma and apron were handed down from one of his descendants to another until they came into the hands of Leander Morton, a member of Bristol Lodge, who saw the value of them as relics, had them framed and brought them to the Lodge room, where they have been ever since. Our Secretary, Bro. E. J. Ervine, has searched the rec- ords carefully to see if there was any record of their presentation to the Lodge, but could find no mention of them. These relics have graced the walls of our Lodge room for so many years that I have been unable to find any one who could remember when they were brought there, or give any information about them. We have taken much pleasure in showing them to our visitors and probably it was through some chance visitor to our Lodge that St. John's Lodge found out that we had them, and when Bro. Littlefield came to us last March and told us that you looked on these relics with longing eyes; that you wanted them; asked us to give them up to you, perhaps you may be able to judge what our feelings were; how at first we thought we could not let them go but, on careful consideration, we could see how much more valuable they were to you than to us, and we reluctantly consented to part with the diploma, and loan you the apron to be put on exhibition during this Anniversary celebration.
Now, therefore, Worshipful Master, I come to you in the name of Bristol Lodge, No. 74, Bristol, Maine, to extend to you fraternal greet- ings on this happy occasion, and to place in your hands, as the official head of St. John's Lodge, this precious treasure, this relic of one of your most famous members, the diploma of Commodore Samuel Tucker, knowing that you will preserve it carefully through the coming genera- tions, and may your pleasure in receiving it be equal to ours in giving it, and may the friendship and fraternal relationship between the two Lodges be as lasting as the rock-bound shores of Maine.
Response
Wor. Leonard G. Roberts
Right Worshipful Brother Hunter :-
With the keenest appreciation of the privilege and high honor I accept in behalf of St. John's Lodge this priceless treasure-the diploma of one
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of her most illustrious members, our brother Commodore Samuel Tucker. Be assured that the brethren of St. John's Lodge appreciate in the fullest degree the fraternal spirit which has prompted the brethren of Bristol Lodge to part with this diploma, which for so many years has been a part of the decorations of your Lodge room, and the object of so much pride to you and pleasure to visiting brethren.
To me, as Master of St. John's Lodge, it is especially pleasing to re- ceive through you, Right Worshipful Brother Hunter, this Masonic di- ploma so carefully preserved through all these years. I am pleased to receive it because it is presented by Bristol Lodge of my own native State of Maine-and particularly am I pleased to receive it because this di- ploma presented to Brother Tucker by St. John's Lodge in 1779 supplies for our archives written evidence of work done by this historic old Lodge at a time when owing to the disturbed conditions of those Revolutionary Days the records of our Lodge are missing-and so, while it was so long and highly prized by the brethren of Bristol Lodge, it is of inestimable value and significance to us.
I can well understand how the brethren of your Lodge could not lightly part with so valuable a relic, but I feel that under the circumstances the value of this diploma to Brother Tucker's mother Lodge is so great that you must all have a feeling of pride and satisfaction in making this most important contribution to the significant events of this 175th anniver- sary celebration. I believe you are but carrying out what the distin- guished brother to whom it was given in 1779 himself would wish to have done. Methinks if we could hear him speaking to us to-day we should hear him say-"Take back to my mother Lodge who gave it me this diploma and say to her that through all the years of change and vicissitude I bore with me wherever I went on land and sea this Masonic diploma, ever cherishing it and guarding it from all dishonor, and now it is returned to her, bearing upon it no stains save those of the salty sea so long my home."
I am glad and indeed it is most fitting that on this occasion you, my Right Worshipful Brother, have made reference to the patriotic service rendered to his State and nation by this distinguished brother, and it is because of these things, -because of the honorable achievements, the illustrious service, and noble living of this truly great man, as well as its historical importance, that we to-day so greatly rejoice in the possession of his Masonic diploma.
In due time you may expect that more formal and appropriate action will be taken by St. John's Lodge in recognition of this rare gift, but for the present I bid you say to the brethren of Bristol Lodge that we most
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profoundly appreciate their generous action and we assure you, Right Worshipful Brother Hunter, and the members of Bristol Lodge that this diploma will be placed in the archives of St. John's Lodge among our other historical relics, there to be forever cherished and preserved as one of our most precious possessions.
Most Worshipful Joseph H. Eggleston, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, then spoke as follows:
Most Worshipful Sir
Worshipful Master and
Brethren of St. John's Lodge :-
I feel, standing here, that, like Moses of old, I should "put off the shoes from off my feet," for the ground whereon I stand is holy ground. The Masons of Massachusetts and of Virginia are linked together by many, many ties. But that your fathers had him here near Boston, in command of the American Army, defending their homes, that greatest of men, and that Virginian Mason, George Washington, would have worn this jewel I now wear, as our first Grand Master. It is the only one the Grand Lodge of Virginia ever had and has been worn by each of my pre- decessors for one hundred and thirty years.
Our colony was older than yours-your Masonry antedated ours. To mate with your Henry Price, we give you Governor John Blair, our first Grand Master; and for your Paul Revere, our George Washington.
Virginia and Massachusetts-the two first permanent English colo- nies-are the pillars on which has been erected the Royal Arch of American civil and religious liberty, the Keystone of which is our Ma- sonic Motto :-
The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.
They have not always been friends; but when not friends, they were worthy, honorable foes. There was a time, which few of you can remem- ber, when fearful strife divided us. You younger men could never realize, were I competent to depict to you, the intensity of the hate of North against South, and of South against North. To me, and to the few of you who fought in ours, the greatest of Wars, those memories are and will ever be, a nightmare burned into our very souls. The hate, prejudice, and malice of those days were a contagious insanity. Without that insanity wars could never come. Nothing was too vile and mean for men, women, and children to believe and say of their mortal foes. Even the worship of our common Father in Temples dedicated to the Prince of Peace, was
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perverted into malediction against our enemies, and the calling down of the wrath of the God of Battles on our foes. This was true with us, and equally true with you. And yet there was one Institution, and one alone, which lifted its votaries up above the passions of war, and that was Ma- sonry. Masons on both sides remembered that our obligations to each other existed before wars were, and will continue after they are forgotten. Prisoners were set free, the hungry fed, and the naked clothed, because they were Masons. I, myself, know of one case in which one of eight of your soldiers, selected by lot to be hanged in retaliation, was exchanged for another prisoner and escaped hanging solely because he was of our Brotherhood. William McKinley was made a Masonin Winchester, Vir- ginia, seeking our portals because he saw our dirty, ragged privates mixed in with his own brother officers in the hospital, and given extra, tender care by their Masonic brethren in blue. I could stand here for hours and relate incidents of like character. Incidents of life saved by foes, both blue and gray, when in the night, under the pitiless rain, the moans of wounded and dying were mingled with our cry of distress, never, to my knowledge, unheeded by Masons on either side.
You have here the oldest Masonic Lodge. Its history and traditions are known and honored all over our broad land. When I received your Worshipful Master's kind invitation, I was greatly moved. I began thinking how I could best show to you my deep feeling for this high privi- lege. I remembered that there still stands in Richmond, Virginia, an old building, once in its fashionable center, now in its slums, the oldest Ma- sonic Hall in America. Fond memories cluster around it, which I want you to share. It has been used for Masonic purposes alone for One Hun- dred and Twenty-three Years. Great men and Masons have entered its doors and sat around its two great fireplaces, where cord wood could still be burned. Men in low shoes, with silver buckles, silk stockings, and knee breeches, ruffled shirts, high stocks, and with powdered hair, tied in queues. Lafayette and his staff visited Richmond Randolph Lodge, No. 19, which still meets there and owns the building. Their signatures adorn the records of that Lodge, which records are unbroken back to 1787.
On the morning of April 3rd, 1863, when all that remained of our "thin, gray line" had left the city, crossed over the river and burned the bridges, the army in blue came marching in. As a column of cavalry rode slowly up Franklin Street, because Main was burning, the Colonel of the leading regiment (I wish I knew his name) saw this old Masonic Hall. In all that turmoil and excitement, while one-third of the city was on fire, when thousands of negro slaves had been set free in a moment; when
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spies, deserters and criminals were creeping from their hiding places to burn and pillage; all law and order gone; he called a halt. He detailed a guard under a Captain, all Masons, and put them in charge of that building, with orders to admit none but Masons. This saved the building and its priceless contents. Nor was this all. A few days later, a Pennsyl- vania Mason (bowing to Grand Master Orlady), Gen. Weitzell, in com- mand of the city, sought out the Master of one of the two lodges which then met there, and asked him to call a meeting, At that meeting there were present a few old men, some crippled Confederates, and throngs of splendid men in blue, striving to devise measures of relief for the families of those who were still fighting their army toward Appomattox. One of them left his sabre in the ante-room, and it is there yet, a precious relic.
To add one more link to the holy chain which binds us to you and you to us, I have had made for you a souvenir. I am going to present it to you, not for its intrinsic worth or value, but that it may be laid up with the records in the archives of your lodge as a memorial that I have here- in been admitted. It is very simple, consisting, as you see, of a silver shield, on which is fastened a square, compasses and G made of old nails, hammered out by hand on an anvil and driven in that old building One Hundred and Twenty-three Years ago. They still retain their form as nails, and that you may know that they are authentic, I will state, by his request, that they were extracted from the building by a Past Master and the present Secretary of the Lodge, and given to me for this purpose. On the back of the shield is this inscription:
" Presented to St. John's Lodge, Boston, Mass., Oct. 5, 1908, at the celebration of their one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary by Joseph William Eggles- ton, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, on behalf of the Grand Lodge of Virginia.
This jewel is made of nails from Masons Hall, Rich- mond, Virginia, erected in 1785, and continuously used for Masonic purposes alone to the present day. It was for many years the Home of the Grand Lodge of Virginia."
I present it to you, Worshipful Sir, for your lodge. May it serve to remind you of the ties that bind us to you and you to us, and
"May God be with you now and evermore."
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In response Worshipful Master Roberts said:
Right Worshipful Brother Eggleston :-
You have indeed added a new and unexpected glory to the incidents of this historic day. In the thrill and majesty of this moment, in the midst of these applauding brethren, with heart touched by the warmth of your Virginia eloquence, I find no language at my command in any measure adequate to express all that I feel as from your hands I gratefully accept in behalf of St. John's Lodge this splendidly significant testimonial of the good will and affection of the Masons of Virginia for the Masons of Massa- chusetts.
You, Right Worshipful Sir, have spoken of a period when the feelings of the peoples of Virginia and Massachusetts were not of the most cordial sort. But whatever were their mutual feelings then these brethren stand- ing and applauding your noble Virginia sentiments have made it unmis- takably plain that you to-day have won their hearts and better than any words of mine have shown to you the warmth and depth of the affection of the Massachusetts brethren for the brethren of the Old Dominion. We are reminded again by your eloquent reference to that greatest of all Masons, the illustrious father of his country, of the many sacrifices that great Virginian made for his country and of how much we owe to Vir- ginia and to him for his matchless contribution to the cause of liberty.
I can think of no more significant and welcome gift than this beautiful shield with its emblazonry of symbols and the letter G fashioned from the nails taken from your historic Masons Hall in Richmond-and as fond and dear memories of other days cluster around this old Masonic edifice so in the coming years shall we of St. John's Lodge, beholding this shield and these riveting nails, be reminded of this hour and inspired and admonished to keep as bright and shining as this burnished shield the light of our mutual friendships. As Master of this oldest lodge in Ameri- ca I am proud and pleased indeed to receive from so distinguished a Mason this souvenir of the oldest Masonic building in this country, and accepting it in behalf of St. John's Lodge I assure you, Right Worshipful Sir, that it will forever be kept and treasured by us as a gift priceless beyond the touch of words. I thank you and through you the Masons of Virginia for their kind thought in thus honoring us with so rare a gift, and I bid you to bear back from us to them this sentiment- Virginia and Massachusetts, Dominion and Commonwealth, leaders together in the great cause of Freedom, may the patriotism and brotherly love ani- mating their sons in those early and these later days be transmitted unimpaired to all the generations yet to be!
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Bass Solo, " The Mariner's Home's the Sea," Randiger Dr. Clark
Recollections of Some Distinguished Members of St. John's Lodge Rt. Wor. Sereno D. Nickerson, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
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