History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 174

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 174

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The lodges of Masons which met in it were Beacon, No. 3; Aurora, No. 267; and Bellefontaine Chapter, Royal Arch, No. 25.

The officers and directors of the Union Hall Asso- ciation, which erected the building, werc Joseph W. Branch, president ; George H. Rice, vice-president ; John Balmann, secretary ; Directors, John H. Mar- quard, Philip Stremmel, W. K. Patrick, John Colo- nius, H. W. Coppleman, and Frank Wilmeyer.

Independent Order of Odd-Fellows .- The first lodge of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows in St. Louis was established on the 3d of June, 1835, under a warrant granted by the Grand Lodge of the United States at its session held in Baltimore in September, 1834. There were seven petitioners for the warrant, made up from transient brethren of the order then residing in and about St. Louis. One of them was from London, England; two from Louis- ville, Ky .; three from Pittsburgh, Pa .; and one from Baltimore, Md. By the time the lodge was organized all these petitioners, except the first named, had disappeared and others were substituted. The commission to institute the lodge was committed to Samuel L. Miller,1 a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 3, of Baltimore, who was about to remove to Alton, Ill.

Considerable delay occurred in finding a sufficient number of members of the order to supply the number of five requisite to constitute the lodge. This was not effected until June 3, 1835, when he instituted the lodge under the name of Traveler's Rest Lodge, No. 1. The original members were Thomas Max- well, Henry Woolford (afterwards of Louisville, Ky.), William Pickett, John F. Nagle, George B. O'Connor, Matthias Obert, and Joseph Lespie. The place of the first meeting was in a small house situated on the

1 Samuel L. Miller settled in Madison County, Ill., in 1835, and lived there until his death, July 25, 1879. He became an Odd-Fellow in 1830, joining Harmony Lodge, No. 3, Baltimore, Md., and in 1836 became a charter member of Western Star Lodge, at Alton, Ill. At the time of his death he was doubt- less the oldest Odd-Fellow in the West. He instituted the first Odd-Fellow's Lodge west of the Mississippi, and lived to see three hundred and thirty-one lodges in Missouri, and sixteen hundred lodges west of the "Father of Waters," with a membership of eighty thousand, comprising fully one-sixth of all the Odd- Fellows in the world.

1795

RELIGIOUS, BENEVOLENT, SOCIAL, SECRET, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

north side of Olive Street, between Main and Second. A lodge-room was then fitted up on the east side of Main Street, between Olive and Locust, and in this room the lodge met for the first time on the first Sat- urday in June. At this meeting eight were added to the membership by initiation, and at the next meeting fourteen were initiated. The first officers of the lodge were Samuel L. Miller, N. G .; Thomas Maxwell, V. G .; B. B. Brown, Sec. and Treas. The place of meeting was changed in 1836 to the hall over the Central Engine House, south side of Chestnut Strect, between Third and Fourth. Here the lodge continued to meet for about three years, and then mnoved to the southwest corner of Main and Olive Streets, over the book-store of J. C. Dinnies & Co. .

The first public display of Odd-Fellows in St. Louis took place on the Fourth of July, 1836. After marching through the principal streets of the city in regalia, with emblems and music, the lodge proceeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church on the corner of Fourth Street and Washington Avenue, where an address was delivered by Col. Charles Keemle. An original ode, composed by Lewis T. Thomas, was sung on this occasion, and the celebration closed with a banquet. During the first year of its existence in St. Louis the order had increased to one hundred and fifteen members, and during the second year there was a small increase over this number.

In December, 1836, some of the members of Travelers' Lodge met to petition for a new lodge. John W. Paulding presided, and Charles Keemle, a well-known editor, was secretary. Their petition was signed by J. W. Paulding, Charles Keemle, Henry Lynde Sproat, Thomas S. Tucker, P. T. McSherry, B. B. Brown, W. D. Marrigan, Robert Allen, A. J. Corney, and Charles Soule. The request was granted by the Grand Lodge of 1837. In June, 1838, St. Louis had the honor of a visit from Thomas Wildey, the founder of the order. On June 12th he insti- tuted Wildey Lodge, No. 2, with the following charter members : Charles Keemle, W. D. Marrigan, A. T. Corney, P. T. McSherry, B. B. Brown, Robert Allen, Charles Soule, and Thomas S. Tucker.

The original officers were-

Noble Grand, Robert Cathcart; Vice Grand, Benjamin F. McKinney ; Secretary, Robert Breeze; Treasurer, Harris L. Sproat.

Among the early members of the lodge were Wil- liam Blackburn, afterwards the second Grand Master of the State ; William S. Stewart, third Grand Master, and later a prominent member of the Sons of Temper- ance; and Charles Pickering and Thomas M. War- mall. John Dawson, who subsequently became the

first Grand Master, was book-keeper of both lodges. Within the first year the lodge had fifty-two members.

On June 13, 1838, the Grand Lodge of Missouri, composed of the past officers of the two lodges, was instituted by P. G. Sire Wildey, and the following were the first officers of that body : John Dawson, Grand Master; William Blackburn, Deputy Grand Master ; Robert Catchcart, Grand Secretary ; Ben- jamin M. Backensto, Grand Treasurer ; William Met- calf, Grand Warden ; Nimrod Snyder, Grand Con- ductor ; William S. Stewart, Grand Chaplain.

At the close of the year 1839 the Grand Secretary reported to the Grand Lodge of the United States that during the previous year there had been seventy- five initiations, and that the membership was one hun- dred and ninety-nine in the two lodges in Missouri.

The room for holding lodge-meetings was in the following year changed to quarters in the buildings on the east side of Main Street, between Vine Street and Washington Avenue. On Nov. 30, 1838, a charter was granted for a degree lodge, and July 26, 1840, a new lodge was chartered in St. Louis,-Ger- mania Lodge, No. 3. On Aug. 29, 1840, the first lodge outside of St. Louis was chartered-Far West Lodge, No. 4-at Boonville. This year closed the first five years of the order in Missouri, and there were four lodges, with a membership of two hundred and sixty-one.

In May, 1841, a charter was asked for St. Louis Lodge, No. 5, but the lodge does not appear to have been organized immediately, for at the Grand Lodge session of June 30, 1841, four lodges were reported in the jurisdiction, namely : No. 1, with seventy-six members ; No. 2, sixty-eight; No. 3, fifty-five; No. 4, thirty-two; total, two hundred and thirty-one mem- bers.

On the 1st of January, 1841, the Odd-Fellows of St. Louis hield a celebration, consisting of a proces- sion and ceremonies at the lodge. The route of the procession was from the lodge-room down Main Street to Elm, up Elm Street to Second, up Second to Market, up Market to Fourth, and up Fourth Street to the Methodist Church, where, after the rendering of an Odd-Fellows' hymn and ode and prayer, an oration was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Maffitt. An anthem was then sung and benediction pronounced, after which the procession returned to the lodge. The officers of the celebration were R. Cathcart, chief marshal ; Committee of Arrangements, Benjamin F. Mckinney, Louis T. Lebeaume, Jacob Smith, E. H. Shepard, B. M. Backensto, Esrom Owens, Robert Cathcart.

On Dec. 12, 1842, Western Light Lodge, No. 6,

1796

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

at Weston, was organized, and at this time the six lodges established in Missouri numbered three hun- dred and twenty-six members.

On April 26, 1843, the city lodges had a public parade in celebration of the anniversary of the found- ing of the order, and the Rev. J. H. Linn delivered an address.

On the 22d of February, 1843, the Legislature passed an act to charter the Grand Lodge. The list of incorporators embraced the names of Thomas B. Hudson, William S. Stewart, Louis T. Lebeaume, Ge- rard B. Allen, William H. Remington, Warren C. Corley, Robert Cathcart, W. M. McPherson, B. F. Mckinney, William Blackburn, William Childs, and others.

In 1844 four more lodges were instituted in the State, one each at Lexington, Fayette, St. Louis, and Hannibal. In the succeeding year three lodges were organized, one each at Platte City, Weston, and Sa- vannah. The end of this year was the close of the first decade of the order in Missouri. The one lodge had increased to fourteen, and the five original mem- bers to six hundred and sixty-six, and the outlook was hopeful and encouraging. In the next ten years there was an increase of seventy-three lodges, making in all eighty-seven lodges, with an aggregate membership of three thousand four hundred and nineteen. The total revenue, exclusive of interest on investments, was $238,664.01. The amount paid out for relief was $70,054.30.

On the 28th of April, 1843, the Grand Lodge began to agitate for the building of a new hall in St. Louis, and subscriptions were made by the lodges in the city. On the 28th of July, the same year, the committee was instructed to purchase a lot, forty by eighty feet, on the northwest corner of Fourth and Locust Streets, which was offered at ninety dollars per foot. About the same time Col. John O'Fallon, in order to forward the enterprise, gave the order a valuable lot on Seventh Street. It remained in possession of the Grand Lodge, and a source of considerable income for more than twenty years.1

It was not, however, until the 10th of May, 1844, that it was deemed prudent to begin the building of the new hall. On that day the building committee advertised for proposals, and in August they were authorized to make a loan of five thousand dollars. The work then progressed rapidly, and on the 26th of April, 1845 (the anniversary of the order), the corner-

stone of the edifice was laid with appropriate cere- monies. There was a grand procession, and the Rev. Mr. Chamberlain, the Presbyterian minister at St. Charles, delivered an address.

The hall was dedicated on the 27th of October, 1846. At nine o'clock the members of the order, in full regalia, assembled in the hall to receive a banner made by Mrs. Anna Maria Evans, and presented by the ladies of Centenary Church. The presentation was made on behalf of the donors by Hon. John Hogan, a well-known citizen of St. Louis, and the banner was received by Dr. John S. Moore. The ceremony having ended, the order, headed by Kor- pony's Band, moved up Fourth Street in procession to Morgan Street, and thence down Fifth Street to Cen- tenary Church, where the exercises consisted of prayer and reading of the Scriptures by Rev. Mr. Pollock, the singing of an ode composed for the occasion, and an oration by Rev. Charles B. Parsons. Several na- tional airs were then executed by the band, and the benediction was pronounced. After leaving the church the procession passed down Fifth Street to Myrtle, thence to Fourth Street, and up Fourth Street to the hall, where, in the presence of the members of the Grand Lodge, in secret conclave, the ceremonies of the dedication, performed by Elihu H. Shepard, Grand Master, took place. The new hall was situated at the corner of Fourth and Locust Streets, and formed the southern termination of " that fine block of build- ings known as Glasgow's row," occupying that side of the square for its entire length. This was the loftiest block in the city at the time, and " the new temple," we are told, " towering as it does above the roofs of the adjoining structures, presents a prominent object in approaching the city, alike imposing and ornamental." The dimensions of the building were forty feet front on Fourth Street by eighty feet on Locust, and the extreme altitude from the pavement to the peak of the pediment was eighty-five feet. The order of ar- chitecture of the external edifice was Corinthian from the Temple of Tivoli, at Rome. The basement of the superstructure was about fifteen feet in height, and was constituted in front of stone-work neatly orna- mented. The hall proper was two stories high, the walls strengthened by pilasters and ornamented with raised paneling in masonry, and the whole surmounted by a lofty attic rising above a heavy cornice. The window ledges and caps were of stone neatly sculp- tured, and the façade presented four pilasters orna- mented with raised panels and surmounted by appro- priate entablatures. In the centre, upon a stone tab- let, was sculptured " Odd-Fellows' Hall," while upon. i the right and left on other tablets were inscribed

1 On the 8th of August, 1843, a charter was granted to Cov- enant Lodge, No. 7, at Warsaw ; and Nov. 15, 1844, Missouri Lodge, No. 11 (the fifth lodge in St. Louis), was chartered.

1797

RELIGIOUS, BENEVOLENT, SOCIAL, SECRET, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

" Instituted June 13, 1838," and " Incorporated Feb. 2, 1843.".

On one of the walls were engraved in gold the words, " We command you to visit the siek, relieve the distressed," and on the other, likewise in gold, was the injunction, " Bury the dead, and educate the orphan."

The basement was leased by S. Rimmer for a con- fectionery establishment, known as the “ Washington Saloon," and the second story was leased for a term of years to Monsieur Korpony, dancing-master, as a ball- and concert-room.

The third story was divided into three apartments, one of which was designed for a library and reading- room for the order, and the other for the meetings of the Grand Lodge of Missouri and the Encampment. In the fourth story was a large hall for the aecommo- dation of the six subordinate lodges in St. Louis, one of which could assemble here each night of the week.

The cost of the building and lot was about nineteen thousand dollars. The erection of the hall was largely due to the energy of Gerard B. Allen, and it required much persistent work to push the projeet through, for when the agitation commenced there were but four lodges in the city, with only two hundred and sixty- three members, and most of thesc were poor. The building was a large and convenient one, and was a eredit to the order and an ornament to the city. On the 31st of March, 1863, it was injured by fire. The upper portion was burned, and six lodges lost their charters. The damage was so great that the walls were taken down and the present building was ereeted, entailing a cost of $33,557.94 for rebuilding and re- furnishing. The new edifice was occupied July 1, 1864.

In recognition of his labors in inaugurating this great work, Mr. Allen, who is still a leading and honored citizen of St. Louis, was in 1845 eleeted Grand Master, a position he held uninterruptedly for seventeen years.

Later lodges in St. Louis were organized as follows : Excelsior Lodge, No. 18, Sept. 9, 1846; Laclede Lodge, No. 22, May 4, 1847; Washington Lodge, No. 24, in South St. Louis, May 22, 1847; Win- genund Lodge, No. 27, Sept. 29, 1847.

a gentleman of whom the most fragrant recollections are still cherished.

The Encampment Branch of the order in St. Louis dates from 1838, Wildey Encampment, No. 1, having been organized in that year.

On the 21st of October, 1853, Goethe Lodge, No. 59, of St. Louis, was chartered.

In 1849 the order celebrated at several central points in the State the fortieth anniversary of Ameri- ean Odd-Fellowship. At St. Louis an imposing pageant was presented by the order, and the oration was delivered by Past Grand Representative Hon. Sehuyler Colfax, of Indiana.

In 1856 the order in St. Louis purchased a large lot in Bellefontaine Cemetery, some three hundred feet in diameter, for the burial of members of the order who might die in the city while visiting it. This lot is under the supervision of a joint relief committee of the lodges in St. Louis, whose duty it is to attend to the sick brethren from other towns who are taken siek in St. Louis, and bury them should they die.

The order in Missouri continued to prosper with unabated progress until the breaking out of the civil war. At the elose of the year 1860 there had been organized one hundred and forty-eight lodges, with a membership of four thousand eight hundred and eighty, being an inerease in five years of sixty- one lodges and one thousand four hundred and sixty- one members. In the succeeding four years no progress was made.

Many of the lodges were broken up and the mem- bers dispersed. Their lodge-rooms were burnt or were otherwise ruined, or were taken possession of by troops of the contending sides, and their papers were burned or lost. Some idca of the depression which resulted may be obtained from the fact that in 1863 there were only one hundred and thirty-eight initia- tions in the whole State. At the beginning of 1860 there were one hundred and thirty lodges in Missouri, with four thousand nine hundred and eighteen mem- bers; in 1864 there were but sixty-two that made returns, and only seventy-five that were regarded as in existenee, with a nominal membership of two thou- sand six hundred and twenty-three. The war does not appear to have affected the St. Louis lodges to as great an extent. In 1860 there were eighteen lodges in the eity and one at Bridgeton, with seventeen hun- dred and sixty-six members, and in 1864 there was but one less, and the membership was thirteen hun- dred and sixty-thrce.

During the fearful visitation of eholera in 1849 the order vindicated its claim to be considered one of the great philanthropie institutions of the city, and its members were foremost in performing the deeds of mercy which the appalling oceasion demanded. Many of its members were strieken down, among them the Rev. Alexander Van Court, the gifted pastor of the Upon the conclusion of peace the order began to Central Presbyterian Church, a true Odd-Fellow, and | revive and to recover the ground lost during the war.

114

1798

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

The Grand Sire, the national head of the order, was Isaac M. Veitch, a resident of St. Louis, and as soon as hostilities had ceased he issued a proclamation in- viting the lodges in the troubled districts to put themselves at once into affiliation with the order, and assuring them of a fraternal greeting. The procla- mation closed with the " hope that our brotherhood may come forth from the severe ordeal to which it has been subjected unscathed and reinvigorated by its trials, and that its great heart may ever vibrate in unison with the teachings of charity."

The year 1865 completed the third decade of Odd- Fellowship in Missouri. In the period of thirty years of its existence one hundred and forty-eight lodges had been chartered, the initiations footed up to 9955, and the remaining membership was 3915. The total receipts of lodges, not counting interest on investments, was $468,904.12. The amount paid out for benefits and relief to members was $101,810.73, and the amount of investments $88,879.65 .:

In 1867 was begun an agitation for a new hall, the present building being insufficient for the demands constantly made upon it. There were then in St. Louis nineteen lodges, with 1938 members. In 1871 a Grand Lodge committee reported having bought a lot at the southwest corner of Ninth and Olive Streets, fronting one hundred and twenty-seven and a half feet on Olive and eighty-six and two-thirds feet on Ninth. It was proposed to build thereon a splendid Odd-Fellows' Temple, but for various rea- sons the idea has not been carried out, although it is still the purpose to do so at some future time. Most of the stock for the enterprise has been taken. It is held by lodges No. 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, and 18, and Wildey Encampment, No. 1.

In 1868 the lodges in St. Louis established an Odd- Fellows' Library, which was endowed in 1871 by the Grand Lodge, which appropriated three hundred dol- lars yearly, and assessed each member fifty cents a year and each person initiated the same amount. The yearly revenues of the library are now nine hundred and seventy-seven dollars. There are three thousand three hundred and fifty-five books on the shelves, and the institution is governed by representa- tives from the several St. Louis lodges. The library officers for the current year are: Chairman, M. C. Libby; Secretary, M. Hoffman ; Treasurer, J. H. Crane ; Librarian, J. J. Archer.

This library is well patronized by Odd-Fellows, Daughters of Rebekah, and their families, and is one of the most useful institutions of the kind in the city.

On the 4th of October, 1869, Union Hall, corner of Broadway and Benton Streets, was dedicated with

the usual ceremonies by the Odd-Fellows of St. Louis. After the rendering of several musical selections and the singing of hymns, an oration was delivered by Charles G. Manro, P. G. M., followed by an oration in German by C. Evers, D.D., G. M., and the pres- entation of a banner by the Rebekah Society of Schiller Lodge.1

The celebration of the Semi-Centennial of Ameri- can Odd-Fellowship was very generally observed throughout Missouri on the 26th of April, 1869. At St. Louis the celebration was worthy of the occasion. Six lodges and encampments joined in the procession, composed of three thousand five hundred members in regalia. The city presented a holiday aspect, as the result of the mayor's proclamation suspending business. The exercises were at Jackson Place Rink, and the address was delivered by Hon. William Wallace, of Indiana. A large social gathering of the order and their families took place at the Southern Hotel in the evening.

The following table will show (in addition to other important particulars) the amounts expended for re- lief in 1881-82 :

NAME AND NUMBER.

Relief Paid.

Money in Treasury.

Invest- ments.

Mem- bership.

Travelers' Rest, No. 1.

$535.00

$224.63

$9,199.99

Wildey, No. 2.

266.00

....

24,631.29

Germania, No. 3

2,308.75

113.14

8,180.00

201

St. Louis, No. 5.

3,522.20

152.40

78,858.82

274

Missouri, No. 11.

856.25

473.13

15,160.00

217

Excelsior, No. 18

350.00

157 67

15,660.00

Laclede, No. 22.

440.00

720.57

300.00

103

Washington, No. 24.

883.00

251.58

3,300.00

133

Wingenund, No. 27

360.00

1,203.25

1,000.00

Goethe, No. 59

1,594.50

4,000.00

Bellefontaine, No. 73

649.65

853.15

115

Schiller, No. 89

1,255.50

1,034.38

8,700.00

191

De Soto, No. 90.

273,00

99.10

400.00

Golden Rule, No. 109

2,154.90

432.55

4,891.00

163

Carondelet, No. 114.

1,082.70

387.0

1,265.00

119

Jefferson, No. 119 ..

254.00

1,191.75

1,375.60

Concordia, No. 128 ..

1,360.40

163.35

2,380.00

132

Ilome, No. 158.

317.45

188.86

300.00

Cosmos, No. 196.

91.00

1,274.40

Keystone, No. 214.

308.65

648.20

500.00

Benton, No. 275 ...

1,115.65

261.15

1,950.00

86.

Mound City, No. 276.

560.80

106.80

1,100.00

103

Summit, No. 277.

316.65

285.00

1,100.00

Aurora, No. 298 ..

254.00

871.85

500 00

Anchor, No. 322.

69.00

479.50

1,509.50

Arcadian, No. 332.

101.50

448.70

200.00

Centennial, No. 352.

406.00

247.80

150.00

Harmonie, No. 353.

374.00

624.95

1,400.00

Templar, No. 388 ..

181.00

372.30

800.00

Mechanics', No. 419*

.......

$23,417.15

$13,536.26

$190,811.20

3157

* Instituted in 1881.

This does not, however, embrace all the relief af- forded, for in St. Louis the various lodges are required to contribute to the maintenance of a board of relief, which cares for the wants of indigent Odd-Fellows, and yearly disburses a considerable sum.

1 The Odd-Fellows' Hall at Elleardsville was dedicated Jan. 7,. 1875.

138

Pride of the West, No. 138.

1.175.55

268.30

2,000.00

Total

1799

RELIGIOUS, BENEVOLENT, SOCIAL, SECRET, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

As previously stated, the order owns a handsome lot in Bellefontaine cemetery, where homeless and friendless Odd-Fellows are buried. In May, 1881, the lodges in Carondelet (South St. Louis) dedicated a beautiful " Odd-Fellows' Cemetery," which is man- aged by the South St. Louis Odd-Fellows' Cemetery Association. But the glory of Odd-Fellowship is in its care for the suffering living, and in this respect the Odd-Fellows of St. Louis have not been behind any in the land.

The Odd-Fellows of Missouri have also been prompt to respond liberally to appeals for aid from abroad. In 1871 occurred the memorable conflagration in Chicago, Ill., and the order in Missouri evinced their ready liberality by substantial aid to the sufferers in large contributions of money. In 1874 the city of Memphis, Tenn., was devastated by the yellow fever, and in response to the appeal of the Grand Master of Missouri the lodges in the State contributed several thousand dollars for the relief of that city.

The lodges in St. Louis have been remarkably vig- orous; not a single one that has ever been organized has been obliged to disband, and there is, it is thought, but one instance where a suspension has ever taken place, and that was but temporary.

During the forty-seven years of the order in Mis- souri there have been organized 426 lodges, with a present membership of 15,200. The initiations were 48,413 ; lodge revenue, $2,066,136.38 ; number of brothers relieved, 21,654; number of widowed fami- lies relieved, 6183; total amount of relief paid, $173,030.10.

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 174

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358