A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 99

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

dens and dissipate the cares of the moiling and toiling of our daily existence and which make life after all seem really worth living.

In point of antiquity the credit of being the premier among the existing organizations on Long Island must be given to the Masonic fraternity. The records of the Grand Lodge inform us under date of February 4, 1784, that it was then

"Voted unanimously that the petition of James Gardiner, John Leverel Hudson and Joseph Corwin requesting an Ancient War- rant to form a lodge on Long Island be granted."

There is, however, no further record of this lodge, and, indeed, it is doubtful if it was ever constituted. The three surnames men- tioned frequently appear in the annals of the island, but diligent investigation has failed to locate them exactly. It is generally supposed that they were residents of Brooklyn, but even for this there is no warrant. The record shows, however, that in some part of Long Island there were, in 1784, members of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity in numbers suf- ficient to think of uniting into a lodge. It is worth noting, too, that the then Grand Master, Bro. William Cock, although a lawyer in New York, was a native of Long Island, and a rep- resentative of one of its oldest families.

In 1787, however, another Long Island ap- plication for a charter reached the grand body, over which Chancellor R. R. Livingston then presided, this time from brethren at Jamaica. This was granted and Jamaica Lodge was duly constituted on September 5. that year. It does not, however, appear to have gained much headway, and in 1792 surrendered its charter and passed out of existence. In the following year some brethren at Oyster Bay, headed by Moses Blackly, applied for the necessary authority to organize a lodge in that town, and the application was referred to a committee. So far as the records show that ended the matter. Probably the field in that stronghold of Quakerism did not seem to the

committee very promising. At all events there is nothing in the minutes to show that they even dignified the application with a report. On March 22, 1793, a lodge was constituted at Huntington, but it seems to have been a weak organization from its very beginning. It struggled on, however, until 1806, when so far as can be ascertained it ceased holding any meetings and was abandoned. Its last master was Ruluf Duryea, but local history concern- ing him is silent.

On December 7, 1796, application for a warrant for "a lodge in Suffolk county, Long Island, by the name of Suffolk Lodge" was made to the Grand Lodge of New York, and it was at once granted. Grand Lodge was not so particular then as now and little time was wasted either in making Masons or war- ranting lodges. It was not, however, until March 10 following that the first regular meet- ing of the new body was held and the lodge "duly opened and in order for business." The officers were installed, the first master being William Wright, a past master of Independent Royal Arch Lodge, No. 2, New York City. The visitors present at the opening meeting were seven brethren from Huntington Lodge, No. 26, and "Brother Fagan from Ireland." The first applicant for initiation was Wood- hull Smith, who was afterward passed Fellow- craft March 16 and raised April II. The lodge increased rapidly at first. In the course of its opening year it initiated nineteen candi- dates, the highest number reached in any given twelve months in its entire career. The peo- ple around were mostly farmers or seamen, and while the seamen were enthusiastic at first their vocation did not permit them to attend lodge meetings regularly and after a time most of them lost all interest and dropped out. Those who did retain their connection were of little practical use. The lodge was seldom represent- ed in Grand Lodge meetings even by prox- ies, but it managed to pay its dues with more or less regularity until 1820. In 1822 it was reported in arrears for two years. Long be-

GRAND MASTER R. R. LIVINGSTON.

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FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.

fore that it began to decline, and in the seven lodge. The other cause which may account years from 1806 to 1812 partly inclusive it ini- for the decline of the lodge was the neglect of the brethren to pay their dues regularly. It is not certain that they always paid the fees for degrees. At a meeting of the lodge in February, 1800, when it had been organized three years and had about thirty members, a note in the treasurer's accounts states that there was 'Cash on hand, $64.19; due from members, $103.75.' Four years afterward the state of the finances was in a still worse con- dition, the report being $221.80 due from men- bers and no cash at all in the treasury. It was this un-Masonic conduct in the members not paying dues, and the neglect of the lodge in not using its power of discipline that led to its extinction in the end. A very brief exami- nation into this will teach a lesson which the wise among Masons will be ready to learn." tiated only seven candidates-in 1806, 1807 and 1811 two in each year, in 1810 one, and in 1808, 1809 and 1812 none. From 1812 on- ward things seemed to improve. In 1813 it had three initiations, in 1816 the number reached seven, and in 1820 the records show five additions. From then the story of the lodge is simply that of slow progress to disso- lution. Even in 1816, which looked as if the early success had in a measure returned, of the seven initiates five went no further than the first degree, and in 1820, when there were five initiations, two remained Entered Appren- tices to the end of time, so far as Suffolk Lodge was concerned. This, of course, is a bad sign, but the cause for this particular weakness we can not trace. In spite of many discouragements the lodge met regularly and elected officers each year until December II, 1822, when J. M. Williamson was elected Master. He does not seem to have been in- stalled, and after that date the meetings* were held infrequently and irregularly, the last en- try in the old minute book bearing the date of September 14, 1825. That may be accepted as the date of dissolution.

The writer of a manuscript history of the old lodge, from which the facts 'here set forth have been gleaned, comments on the downfall of this lodge in words which are as applicable to the craft at this date as they were when written nearly forty years ago. He wrote: "Two causes may be found for this decline. First, too little care was taken in the examina- tion of the characters of persons proposed for membership. So far as the minutes show there was not always a committee of inquiry ap- pointed, but the candidate was proposed, re- ceived and initiated at the same meeting. It was this want of due discrimination in the admission of members which explains a fact that appears on the records, viz., that in 1805 there were more suspensions and more of lodge discipline than through all the existence of the

So far as we can learn the body fulfilled all its duties perfectly with the exception de- tailed in the above quotation. We have, of course, no idea of how the "work" was ren- dered, but we may conclude it was at least equal to that of the other Long Island lodges. It observed the two saints' days, sometimes by a dinner, sometimes by a sermon, sometimes by book, and it readily responded to all claims upon its charity. One lamentable feature of the records is the amount of ill feeling that seemed to prevail among the brethren or some of them. As early as 1799 we find a com- mittee at work straightening out a quarrel be- tween two brethren. The committee reported and the report was accepted, but what they did report the minutes do not state. The compiler of the manuscript says: "In 1802 two brethren were called to account by the lodge itself and a committee appointed. This committee duly reported 'that although the said I. B. and S. C. may be considered as respectable members of society, they, as Masons, have acted without the square and compass and ought to be con- sidered as refractory members until something favorable on their side may be produced.' In 1805 the lodge became more severe. Brother

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S. S. was called upon to answer the following charges presented against him by a committee appointed for the purpose: I. Refusing to discharge his dues ; 2. non-attendance at lodge meetings; 3. slandering and injustice to his brethren. S. S. pleaded guilty to the first two, but defended himself against the third. The lodge after considering the defense proceeded to ballot for his expulsion and the ballot was unanimous."

Another brother was charged with "de- frauding the fatherless and the widow," but the minutes do not show what was done with him. In 1802 the lodge was summoned to examine into a "matter of difference" between two of its Past Masters. It did examine on the promise of both to abide by the decision of the brethren, but the one who was held to be in the wrong refused to accept the conclu- sion arrived at, and the matter was carried into a law court. Such things do not add to the prosperity of a lodge, and the wonder is that old Suffolk carried the banner of Ma- sonry in Setauket for the number of years it was so privileged.

The present Suffolk Lodge, No. 60, which meets at Port Jefferson, claims to be the suc- cessor and heir of the old organization with whose history we have just been dealing. The modern No. 60 is a most prosperous body with over one hundred members, and is proud of the earlier lodge whose name it bears. As the old lodge went out of existence in 1824 and the new one was warranted in 1856, it can hardly be said that the theory of continuity is much in evidence. Thirty-two years is a long time in American Masonic history, and that fact makes us feel that the connection between the old lodge and the new is one of sentiment rather than continuity. But then sentiment is a powerful factor in all that con- cerns the fraternity.

The year 1797, when Suffolk Lodge was chartered, was a busy one, apparently, among the Freemasons on Long Island. Morton Lodge at Hempstead was then organized and still continues, having celebrated its centennial

with great eclat June 23, 1897, when Grand Master Sutherland and a host of dignitaries took part in the proceedings. It was probably an offshoot from Huntington Lodge, at least the brethren applying for a warrant seemed to be members of that organization. The cen- tennial exercises created quite a degree of in- terest in local circles, and many stories of the older brethren found their way into print. From these we select two. The first incident is that of two brothers who lived on the north side of the island, perhaps twenty miles from Hempstead. They reached the lodge by what is called the "ride and tie" method. That is, they both started together early in the morn- ing, one riding the single horse on the farm, and the other walking. The rider proceeded to a place agreed upon, where he tied the horse and took up his journey afoot. When the first walker reached the horse he mounted and after passing his walking journey tied the horse again at another place of agreement. So the journey was made to the lodge, and the re- turn on the following morning was a repeti- tion of the scheme.

The second story is told of a man named Platt Stratton, living near what is now College Point. Stratton was a candidate for Masonry and rode into Hempstead on horseback at about noon. Having looked after his horse in the barn, he went to the hotel through the kitchen, which was as fashionable a way as the front door at the time. In the kitchen he found an old colored cook standing over a great fire in the large chimney place, across which was a gridiron of very ample proportions.

"What's the gridiron for, Aunty?" asked Stratton, to which the old cook replied: "I'se don' know, marsa, zackly, 'cept that the Ma- sons meet ter day an' dey genly uses it when dey meets." This was enough for Stratton. He returned to the barn, mounted his horse and rode off. Nothing was ever heard of him again by the lodge, and he doubtless died in the faith that the gridiron was intended for him.

The various committees who arranged for

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the celebration of the centennial were as fol- Miller, William P. Miller, Foster L. Oakley, lows, and included the master, Robert A. George Emery, Eugene V. Willis, William B. Osterhout. Davidson, and all the living past masters of the lodge :

Invitations - Wor. Bro. B. Valentine Clowes, Bros. George W. Terry, Carman Lush.

Grand Marshal-R. Wor. Charles L. Phipps. Aids-Lewis H. Clowes, Israel W. Williams, William B. Osterhout, Jotham Post, Henry Floyd Johnson, Royal Harvey.

Railroad and Transportation-R. Wor. Robert A. Davison, Wor. Augustus Denton. Music-Wor. Bros. Augustus Denton and Oliver E. Stanton.

Press and Printing-Wor. Bros. Oliver E. Stanton, Lot Van de Water, Jr., and B. Valentine Clowes.

Tent and Hall-Bros. Lewis H. Clowes, Eugene V. Willis and John Findlay.

Refreshments-Bros. William M. Akley, Lewis H. Clowes, William McCarthy, Eugene V. Willis, Jotham Post, Foster L. Oakley, Benjamin Griffin, Edward Willis, Morris Sherwood, John Findlay, Richard C. Camp- bell, Thomas W. Albertson, Walter N. De Nyse, Israel W. Williams, George W. Terry, John Miller, C. Gardner Miller, William B. Osterhout, William S. Hall, Wor. Oliver E. Stanton.

Decorations-Bro. Richard C. Campbell.

Reception-R. Wors. Robert A. Davison and Charles L. Phipps, Wors, Augustus R. Griffin, Benjamin A. Haff, B. Valentine Clowes, John W. De Mott, Joseph E. Firth, Robert Seabury, Augustus Denton, Lott Van de Water, Oliver E. Stanton and John R. Sprague, Bros. George W. Terry, Israel W. Williams, Richard C. Campbell, Thomas W. Albertson, William McCarthy, M. J. Gilder- sleeve, Lewis H. Clowes, Walter N. De Nyse, C. Gardner Miller, Joseph H. Bogart, M. D .; C. G. J. Finn, M. D .; Charles F. Lewis, Tim- othy J. Bird, Thomas B. Seaman, Thomas J. Sammond, Charles Davison, Samuel S. Rhame, William H. Patterson, William S. Hall, John

In 1797, too, the first known Brooklyn lodge of which we have any record-St. Al- ban's-was constituted. There are vague in- dications that, apart from the lodge warranted in 1784 and which, as has been pointed out, may or may not have been a Brooklyn body, there was one lodge existing there prior to 1797-Mechanics', No. I. But all we know about that is its name. About St. Alban's Lodge we certainly know little more. It only existed for about two years, and then it was permitted to disappear. At all events, it was mentioned as "lately held" in the petition pre- sented December 4, 1799, to the Grand Lodge by a number of its members and others for a new warrant under the name of Fortitude Lodge. The warrant was at once issued, and bore the signature of Chancellor Livingston.

That lodge is now undoubtedly the oldest in Brooklyn, and it celebrated its centenary in December, 1899, with a banquet and reception which will long be remembered with pleasure by all who were permitted to take part in the proceedings. The first meeting place of the lodge was in the upper room of a tavern near "the Ferry," as Fulton Ferry was then called, and the keeper of the tavern, Martin Boerum, was one of the charter members. Soon after its institution the lodge was called upon to make its first public appearance, when it took part in the local procession on the death of George Washington, and it marched in one of the processions which, in 1824, welcomed La- fayette on his memorable journey through the country which he had helped to mold into a nation. There was always a good deal of pa- triotic sentiment in Fortitude Lodge when oc- casion arose, and it was one of the lodges which, in 1814, under the immediate direction of the Grand Lodge, helped to build the forti- fications around Brooklyn and so protect it from the British invasion then expected.

Fortitude has had its ups and downs like

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

all our older lodges, but it managed to pull through, although it was hard pressed in 1832, when an epidemic of cholera made things un- pleasant in Brocklyn. The history tells us that "the first record of the conferring of degrees was on January 13, 1806. The fee for each degree was two dollars, but at a meeting of the lodge held January 20, 1806, the fee for each degree was raised to five dollars." The history also tells us that "refreshments ap- pear to have been an important part of the proceedings of the lodge. The amounts of money spent for this purpose ranged all the way from five dollars to sixty dollars per night. Upon the night of November 16, 1812, there is the record in the minutes of a charge of £4[ 12s Tod, which is something over two hun- dred dollars. The regular refreshments for meeting nights during the earlier history of the lodge were cheese, crackers and wines."

"Besides this the records show that the ex- penditures for charity were continuous and lib- eral. How they managed it all, with their small income, I can not understand, unless it be that the brethren "chipped in" very frequently and that fines were liberally imposed and willingly paid. The great curse of all our early lodges was the drinking habit. When they went to refreshment the brethren went in reality in- stead of symbolically, as we do at present, and the junior warden's duties as superintendent of the feast meant more than mere words. But the costliness of the custom led to its abolition, although some of the lodges had to adopt he- roic measures before the abolition was com- plete. Had the habit not been stopped we would have had a very different history of Freemasonry in New York than that to which, in the language of the political platform mak- ers, we now 'point with pride.' Our early brethren, both here and in Britain, were jolly fellows and the lodges were often places of pleasant retreat, where the flowing bowl and the merry song made life seem rosier and hap- pier than in the currents of life appeared pos- sible. They performed their Masonic work

with dignity and with care, they were scrupu- lous, possibly more scrupulous than we are in these days of rush and commercialism, as to who they admitted to their charmed circle, they zealously fulfilled all the Masonic duties they professed, and when they turned from their labors to 'rest and refresh themselves'

they did it with a thoroughness and abandon that sometimes stagger us, as we read the story. In many instances the records of the old lodges tell us more of the refreshment epi- sode than of the incidents of the time devoted and 'vade-mecums' present us with page after to work, the old 'monitors' and 'companions' used to sing, and as most of the poetry is mis- page of the songs and glees and 'catches' they making and law defiance, we are apt to get erable doggerel, and refers to drinking, love

rather a poor opinion of the morals and man-

ners of the early brethren unless we probe a thers all the credit to which they are entitled, little beneath the surface. But give these fa- 1800 and that of 1900 without coming to the it is impossible to study the Freemasonry of

as steadfastly as possible to the old landmarks, progressive of organizations; that if it holds conclusion that the craft is one of the most

it is earnestly seeking forth after new ones.

"To me, the most interesting part of Ma-

sonic study has been, not its rules, not even its ritual, but the character and standing of the men who have been prominent in its ranks. really proved a moral factor, if its philosophy If Masonry has been worth anything, if it has is sound, it can not have failed to impress itself upon the lives and thoughts and aspira-

tified with it. Fortitude Lodge has had quite tions of those who have been prominently iden-

a number of brethren on its roll who have won say that the teachings and mellowing and tinguished above their fellows, and who can but still sufficient to show that they were dis- a measure of fame, sometimes local, it is true,

these men in winning such distinctions and honors as they received? The first master of broadening influence of the lodge did not aid

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Fortitude Lodge, Dr. George A. Clussman, who held the office until the close of 1801, was the most prominent physician of the time in Brooklyn, and although physicians, like actors, are soon forgotten when they cross old Char- on's ferry, this man's memory is still held in sweet remembrance in the story of the com- munity in which he lived and labored. Forti- tude's first Senior Warden (afterward Mas- ter), Daniel Rhoades, was a grocer and a soldier, and in the war of 1812 was a member of the military company locally known as 'the Katy-dids,' which failed to win national renown only because the Brit- ish forces did not come to this neighbor- hood during that struggle with the old country. Still though the opportunity did not come, Rhoades and his comrades proved that they were ready to meet it. The more notable of the early officers, however, was the junior warden, Henry Eckford, the greatest shipbuilder of his time. A native of Scotland, but a typical American citizen, he constructed most of the vessels which on the Great Lakes won so much fame in the war of 1812 for the American navy. The once fa- mous .battleship Ohio and many other noted war vessels were built from his designs, and in fact he was the reconstructor of our navy at the time when America successfully wrest- ed from Great Britain-for a while, at least- the undisputed sovereignty of the seas. He afterward went to Turkey and became chief naval constructor for that country. He died in 1832. All his biographers bear witness to the loyalty and sweetness of his disposition, to his true Christian spirit and to his posses- sion of every true Masonic virtue."

The first chaplain of the United States Navy, the Rev. John Ireland, was also a mem- ber of Fortitude Lodge. He was one of the chaplains of the Grand Lodge. Another broth- er of Fortitude who held this honor was the Rev. Evan M. Johnson, one of the most nota- ble of the long list of clergymen who have made the name of Brooklyn famous as "the City of Churches." He was a zealous worker

in the Master's service, freely gave of his own means to the cause in which he labored, and for years preached without fee or reward, building one or two churches where they were needed-among the poorer classes of the city- among the lapsed masses. He was a man of rare courage, and in the pulpit and out of it never hesitated to proclaim his loyalty to Ma- sonry even in days when persecution was abroad and zealous Masons were content to hide their light under a bushel. It is singular that men like Ireland and Johnson did not hold the appointment of Chaplain in the lodge, but from the list in the volume now published it would seem that such officials were not for- mally recognized and appointed until 1864.

Masonically, probably the best known name on the long list of members of Fortitude Lodge is that of Nathaniel F. Waring, who was its master in 1834 and again in 1848. For many years he was one of the most active Masons in New York, and came into special promi- nence in connection with what is known as the Phillips Grand Lodge. He was elected grand master of that body in 1857, and when it was received into the legitimate Masonic fold in 1858 he, according to the agreement, carried with him into "the" Grand Lodge his honors as a past grand master. We can hard- ly regard him, even when in opposition to the regular Grand Lodge, as being clandestine, for his opposition was based upon honest princi- ple, and he was an honest man, one of those who would rather be right than be president, as the saying goes.

Fortitude Lodge at present is a flourishing body of craftsmen. It has some two hundred members on its roll, and ranks high among the lodges of Brooklyn. It is fully conscious of its position as a representative lodge, is proud of its antiquity, and is a splendid example of that Masonic spirit which with one hand holds steadfastly to the past and with the other reaches out for all that is beautiful and worthy and commendable in the days which are pass- ing over us.

On July 26, 1804, a lodge was constituted

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at Sag Harbor, but it passed out of existence in 1818, and appears to have had a struggle for existence until 1818, when it disappeared. An interesting history of this lodge and its suc- cessor, the Wamponamon Lodge of the pres- ent day, has been written by one of the Past Masters of the latter, Brother Brinley D. Sleight, which we here reproduce :

During the first decade of the present cen- tury the Masonic fraternity established its or- ganization in Sag Harbor. The first officers of Hampton Lodge, No. III, were: Elias Jones, Master; Ithuel Hill, Senior Warden; Joel Fordham, Junior Warden; Moses Clark, Treasurer ; Benjamin K. Hobart, Secretary ; John Godbee, Senior Deacon; Aaron Clark, Junior Deacon ; John Morrison, Tyler.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 99

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188