USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Lodge no. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkesbarr?, Pa. with a collection of masonic addresses > Part 50
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ARTICLE XI. The Lodge will meet every first Monday of every Month, and oftener if cases of emergency require it.
ARTICLE XII. There will be Quarterly meetings, viz. : On St. John the Evangelist's Day, then on the 24th day of September, the 27th of December and on the 27th of March,-when all who have been en- tered as apprentices and passed to a fellow Craft will be advanced to the sublime degree of Master mason. If, however, a very Interesting case should happen, a fellow craft may, by the consent of the Lodge, be raised at a Monthly or special meeting to be called for that purpose.
ARTICLE XIII. Every member present at a quarterly meeting shall pay twenty-five cents, and those who neglect to attend, fifty cents,- unless proof can be made of sickness or other unavoidable occur- rences, to be determined by the Lodge.
ARTICLE XIV. Every Brother who has been Initiated or received the degree of a Fellow Craft will endeavor to brighten himself in the Mistry [mystery] to receive the next degree at the Quarterly meeting,
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for which he will apply to the Lodge, or a Brother who can instruct him.
ARTICLE XV. There shall be a standing Committee of Charity which shall consist of the Worshipful Master, Senr. & Junr. Wardens, Secty. & Treasr. for the time being, or a majority of whom shall be authorized to do business. The duty of this Committee shall be to meet at least once in every month, or oftener, if it be necessary, & receive such applications as may be presented from distressed Breth- ren, their Widdows or Orphans, and afford them such relief as the circumstances of the fund will allow, and the situation of the applicant shall call for. The Treasurer shall pay all the Orders of the said Comte. duly signed by the presiding Officer and countersigned by the Secretary, charging the Charity fund therewith. And the sd. Com- mittee shall keep minutes of the proceedings, which shall be read be- fore the Lodge at every communication.
ARTICLE XVI. At the close of every year there shall be a Commit- tee appointed to examine and settle the Treasr's & Secretary's ac- counts, who shall report at the Quarterly communication in March.
ARTICLE XVII. The Secretary will keep a fair entry of the minutes and transactions of the Lodge, of all the Brethren present belonging thereto, as also the visiting brethren, their names, &c., and what Brethren have been entered, passed, and raised ; for which purpose a good book will be prepared which will be deposited in the Lodge. He may appoint a Secretary pro tem. He will read the minutes of the last Lodge, and also of the present before closing.
ARTICLE XVIII. The Treasurer will keep an exact account of all the moneys he may receive from time to time ; also what moneys he may deliver to the Orders of the Lodge or the Committee of Charity, of which at the Close of the year he will give an account to the Com- mittee appointed for that purpose.
ARTICLE XIX. The members of this Lodge shall meet at the hours hereafter mentioned, viz. :- from March till September at 7 o'clock & from September till March at six o'clock in the evening, except on extra meetings, which time shall be determined by the Master. And the hours of Labour shall not exceed ten o'clock, at which time the Lodge will be closed & the members return to their homes in a quiet manner.
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During the succeeding year certain amendments were adopted, among which were the following :
I .- That every member of this Lodge shall pay or cause to be paid to the Steward of said Lodge ten cents every established Lodge night whether he be present or not, which fund shall be appropriated to furnish the Lodge with refreshments.
II .- That every member who is an entered Apprentice & is desirous to be passed to the fellow Craft pay at such passing two Dollars to the Treasurer ; and any member desirous of being raised from fellow Craft to the Sublime degree of Master Mason also pay at such raising two Dollars to the said Treasurer.
III .- That every Visiting Brother who shall sit in this Lodge after the first Visit shall pay at each Visit twenty-five Cents to the Treasurer of said Lodge; which sum shall go into the Charity fund.
IIII .- That the Secretary prepare and sign Billets directed to each member acquainting them when the Lodge is to meet, and deliver them to the Tyler at least one day before each Lodge meeting ; whose duty it shall be to have the said Billets delivered to every member within the limits of this Lodge.
CHAPTER VIII.
SOME CORRECTIONS, EMENDATIONS, AND ADDITIONS TO AND OF CERTAIN MATTERS CONTAINED IN CHAPTERS I .- V. VARIOUS MASONIC BODIES IN WILKESBARRÉ. LIST OF MEMBERS OF LODGE 61.
Early in 1883, at the request of Bros. Edmund L. Dana, Henry M. Hoyt, George Urquhart, William L. Stewart, and other "veterans" of LODGE 61-all of whom are now dead- the gathering of the material for this History was begun by the author. It was his purpose and determination at that time to prepare and publish a book of about one hundred pages, and the printing was begun in November, 1883; but when about fifty pages had been struck off the author de- cided to enlarge the extent and scope of his work. No more pages were printed, therefore, until the Spring of 1885, when the printer resumed his task, and, during the next few months, printed the pages up to and including number 328. Then, for a long period, matters rested in statu quo, for, owing to circumstances over which the author had no con- trol, he was unable to complete his MS. and continue the printing of the book until the beginning of the present year (1897).
Because of certain occurrences during this long delay, it is now necessary to emend and correct some of the para- graphs in the first five chapters of the book. Hence this extra, or "omnium gatherum" chapter, VIII., in which the author also presents some entirely new matters, and some not so new which were either necessarily or inadvertently omitted from the preceding chapters.
Owing to the length of time which elapsed before the
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printing of the last half of the work could be begun, the printer was unable to procure for it paper similar to that which had been used for the first half. This fact is here noted in justice to the printer, and to anticipate any unfavor- able criticism by purchasers of the book with reference to the different kinds of paper used.
BEAUMONT. In the foot-note on page 138, ante, the descent of Fear (Alden) Beaumont is incorrectly given. Andrew and Lydia (Stanford) Alden's third child was Prince (born October 28th, 1718); and their fourth child was Andrew (born June 20th, 1721), who was married to Rebecca Stanford and had Fear, who became the wife of Isaiah Beaumont. Fear, therefore, was the niece, and not the sister of Prince Alden.
Eugene B. Beaumont was promoted Lieutenant Colonel (3d Cavalry) January 14th, 1892, and on the sixth of the following May was placed on the retired list at his own re- quest, after thirty years' service. He now resides in Wilkes- barré. In 1882 Colonel Beaumont organized and led an expedition in the Uncompahgre country, and later he served at Ft. Wingate and Ft. Bayard, New Mexico. In October, 1888, he was detailed as Acting Inspector General, Depart- ment of Texas, and served until February, 1892.
THE BEGINNINGS OF FREE MASONRY IN AMERICA. (See pages 19 and 603, ante.) Peterson, in his "History of Rhode Island," published in 1853, makes the following statement, based upon "documents in possession of N. H. Gould, Esq.":
"In the Spring of 1658 Mordecai Campannall and others, in all fif- teen families, arrived at Newport from Holland. They brought with them the first three degrees of Free Masonry, and worked them in the house of Campannall, and continued to do so, they and their suc- cessors, to the year 1742."
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The history of organized Free Masonry in this country does not go back of 1730, although, without doubt, there were Masons and Masonic meetings in the country prior to the beginning of the organic life of the Institution in Phila- delphia in the year last mentioned.
September 24th and 25th, 1886, in pursuance of a resolu- tion previously adopted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsyl- vania, F. and A. M., the centennial anniversary of the inde- pendence of the Grand Lodge was celebrated at Masonic Temple, Philadelphia. The following paragraphs are from an address delivered upon that occasion by Bro. the Hon. Michael Arnold (afterwards R. W. Grand Master of Penn- sylvania) :
"There were Masonic Lodges in Pennsylvania at a very early day. In the Pennsylvania Gazette, published December 8th, 1730, by Benjamin Franklin, a Mason, he says, 'There are several Lodges of Free Masons erected in this Province.'
"There has been discovered lately a book of the accounts of mem- bers of St. John's Lodge-'Liber B'-which contains entries made as early as June 24th, 1731. Some of the later entries are in the hand- writing of Benjamin Franklin. From the designation of the book as 'Liber B,' we may infer that there was another, perhaps, of an earlier date, called 'Liber A.' Thus we prove the existence of the Fraternity in Pennsylvania as early as 1730. Although they may have existed before that year, whence they derived their authority is unimportant ; but thereafter their authority was derived from the Grand Lodge of England, through Bro. Daniel Coxe, Provincial Grand Master. In a letter dated November 17th, 1754, from Bro. Henry Bell of Lancaster, Penn'a, to Dr. Thos. Cadwalader of Philadelphia, Brother Bell stated that he was one of the originators of the first Masonic Lodge in Phila- delphia, and that they obtained their charter from Grand Master Coxe.
"The first evidence of the existence of a Grand Lodge of Pennsyl- vania is found in the Pennsylvania Gazette of June 27th, 1732. It is stated in that paper that on 'Saturday last, being St. John (Baptist's) Day, a Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons was held at the Tun Tavern.' *
* * The records of the Grand Lodge having been destroyed by fire, the suc- cession until 1749 cannot be given ; but on July Ioth, 1749, Benjamin
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Franklin was appointed Provincial Grand Master-this time by Thomas Oxnard, Esq., who held an appointment as Provincial Grand Master of all North America from the Grand Master of England, under date of September 23d, 1743. * A distinguished Ma- sonic historian of England writes to Grand Master E. Coppeé Mitchell, September 8th, 1886. that he considers 'that the Grand Lodge of Penn- sylvania was formed in 1730 or '31, independent of any other. * All this proves beyond peradventure that the Grand Lodge of Penn- sylvania is the oldest Grand Lodge in America." *
In March, 1892, there was found in the attic of an old country house in Delaware county, Penn'a, where it had lain undisturbed for almost a century, a leather-covered folio, which upon examination proved to be one of the long-lost record-books of the "Masons' Lodge held at the Tun Tavern in Water street," Philadelphia. This "Book of Proceedings" contains 106 closely written pages, setting forth all the pro- ceedings of the Lodge, and giving the names of members and visiting Brethren, during the period from June 28th, 1749, to July 2d, 1755, when the Lodge changed its meet- ing-place to the newly erected Free Masons' Hall in Norris (Lodge) alley. "At a Lodge held ye 24th June, 1755, at 6 o'clock in ye morning, the Lodge opened and chose all the old officers for ye ensuing six months, and adjourned to the Lodge Hall in order to join the procession appointed for this day." This occasion was perhaps the greatest gala day of the "Modern" Masons. There were 130 Brethren in line, who marched to Christ Church, where Bro. the Rev. Wil- liam Smith, D. D., preached the first of his Masonic sermons, which have since become historic.
Bro. JONATHAN E. BULKELEY, M. D., mentioned on page 180, ante, died at Wilkesbarre December 20th, 1885.
The Hon. MORGAN G. BULKELEY (see page 178, ante) was born in East Haddam, Conn., December 26th, 1837. During the War of the Rebellion he served for a time as a private in the 13th Regt. N. Y. Infantry, in the U. S. service. He
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was Mayor of Hartford four terms-1880 to 1888; and Governor of Connecticut from January, 1889, to January, 1893. He has been President of the Ætna Life Insurance Company since July, 1879. He was a charter member of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., Hartford, and is a member of St. John's Lodge No. 3, F. and A. M., of Connecticut.
CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF LODGE 61. February 19th,* 1894, the members of the Lodge and visiting Brethren cele- brated the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of "61." The Lodge was opened at 6 o'clock P. M. in Masonic Hall, Laning Building. There were present, Bro. Michael Arn- old, R. W. G. Master; Bro. Michael Nisbet, R. W. G. Secre- tary, and other officers of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania ; one hundred and seventy-two visiting Brethren, represent- ing twenty-four subordinate Lodges; and one hundred and four officers and members of LODGE 61. Bro. William C. Allan, W. Master of the Lodge, occupied the "Oriental Chair" and presided over the meeting, and the following program was carried out in a successful and entertaining manner :
Prayer, by Bro. the Rev. J. W. Bischoff, of Lodge No. 467. Introductory Remarks, by the Worshipful Master.
Address of Welcome, by Past Master William L. Raeder. Song-"The Chapel," by Bros. Raeder, Spalding, Puckey and Baur, composing the Masonic Quartette.
Address-"Reminiscences," by Past Master George Urquhart. Remarks, by the R. W. Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Historical Sketch of LODGE 61, by Past Master Olin F. Harvey. Song-"The Artillerist's Oath," by the Masonic Quartette.
The Lodge was then called from labor to refreshment,
* The "birth" of the Lodge occurred Tuesday, February 18th, 1794 (see page 28, ante), and the first meeting under the Warrant took place on Thursday, the 27th of the same month. As the 18th of February fell on Sunday in 1894, the celebration was held on the fol- lowing day.
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and the Brethren having formed in procession marched to Loomis Hall on North Main street, where an elegant ban- quet was served. Bro. Charles D. Foster, of Kingston Lodge No. 395, presided as toast-master, and after the feast delivered a short historical address, and then called upon the following Brethren to respond to toasts : Grand Master Arnold, Grand Secretary Nisbet, Edwin Shortz (who was the first W. Master of Lodge No. 467, constituted in 1870), William H. McCartney (of St. John's Lodge No. I, Boston, Mass.), William S. McLean (W. Master of Lodge No. 442, in 1875), and William L. Raeder (W. Master of Lodge 61 in 1889 and '90). The exercises were interspersed with music by the Masonic Quartette, and by Oppenheim's Orchestra, and the celebration was, in all particulars, a most enjoyable and profitable affair. A full account of it was published by authority of the Lodge, in a pamphlet of fifty- eight pages.
Bro. CHARLES M. CONYNGHAM (see page 224, ante) died at Wilkesbarré September 6th, 1894. In the month of March previous he had submitted to a difficult surgical operation, in the hope of finding relief from the wound re- ceived at the battle of Spottsylvania in 1864. A second operation was performed in August, 1894, and from ex- haustion following this he died. The following is from an editorial printed in The Wilkesbarré Record September 7th, 1894 :
* * "A man has gone out from among us of whom Wilkesbarré feels justly proud. In all the attributes that make a man Major Conyngham stood pre-eminent. * * As a business man, a soldier, and a citizen he has left to his family the heritage of an honored name. His life was an open book, while his deeds of kindness performed with true Christian modesty have brightened many a gloomy fireside, and invoked the blessings of the poor.
"The tears that fall upon his bier will be tears of genuine sorrow. To those who knew him best the tidings of his death will carry a sense of personal loss, while the people of the city and the valley, who knew
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him by the splendid reputation he has made, will grieve that one of their best and foremost citizens has had to answer the final summons at a time when he should be enjoying the Autumn of a well-spent life.
"To his sorrowing family the hearts of all go out in sympathy. And with it goes the assurance that the memory of the man for whom they mourn shall be one of their proudest inheritances."
Bro. EDMUND L. DANA (see page 229, ante) died at his home in Wilkesbarré April 25th, 1889, after a long illness. Judge Dana was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Osterhout Free Library, Wilkesbarre, and at the time of his death was President of the Board.
At a meeting of the Luzerne Bar held April 29th, presided over by Caleb E. Wright, Esq., the following resolutions were adopted :
Resolved, That in the death of Judge Dana the Bar of Luzerne county has lost from its ranks its most accomplished, as well as its most distinguished member, and one whose career, considered as a whole, has been a history of fidelity to duty, of great usefulness to his fellow-men, and of brilliant achievements which it seldom falls to the lot of any one man to illustrate, in the brief space of a single human life.
In scholarship and polite learning he has had no equal at this Bar. His patriotism was intense, as was shown by his service to his country in the two wars through which he voluntarily served. His integrity, and his reputation as a learned, faithful, industrious, and just lawyer, resulted in his election to the Bench of this district, where, for a period of ten years, he performed all the duties of the high position with honor to himself and to the judicial office which he so well filled.
As a man he was known and recognized as a model American gen- tleman, and his quiet, unobtrusive and modest disposition was asso- ciated with the most genial appreciation of the delights of social inter- course with his fellow-men. The death of such a man marks an era in the history of this Bar, and his memory will be long cherished as that of one who has shed imperishable honor on its history.
Resolved, That as a slight testimonial of our respect for our deceased brother, we will attend his funeral in a body, and wear the usual badge of mourning, and that these resolutions be published in the papers of the county, and after being properly engrossed, and signed by the officers of this meeting, be forwarded to his family.
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September 13th, 1889, a carefully prepared memorial sketch of the life and character of Judge Dana was read by its author, the late Sheldon Reynolds, Esq., before the Wyo- ming Historical and Geological Society. The following are the closing paragraphs of the paper, which has been pub- lished by the Society :
"'With modesty, and yet becoming dignity, with conscientious fidelity, with industry and real learning, with a high sense of his re- sponsibility, he administered the duties of his office wisely, uprightly, and justly. He left a record without a stain, a record of distinguished, able, and faithful service that will insure the lasting preservation of his memory in the respect and gratitude of the people whom he served.'
"As a man, whom we were accustomed to meet in the daily walks of life, he was a genial and agreeable companion and friend ; his cul- tivated tastes and great fund of knowledge, his rare conversational gifts and kindly consideration for the opinion of others, were some of the qualities of mind and heart that cemented many lasting friend- ships. Among the men in this community who have in the past gained eminence in political life, in the several learned professions, in indus- trial and business enterprises, few if any can be said to have attained a larger measure of success or rendered more valuable and lasting services to his fellow-man."
Bro. JAMES P. DENNIS (see page 269, ante) died at Wyo- ming, Penn'a, November 7th, 1887. He was born at Wilkes- barré March 26th, 1812, and was the eldest child of Capt. Jacob John Dennis (born at Philadelphia August 24th, 1783), and his wife Abi Kirk Fell (born at Wilkesbarré February 12th, 1792), who were married at Wilkesbarré by the Rev. Ard Hoyt January 17th, 1811. Jacob J. Dennis was by trade a cabinet maker. In 1819 he was Tax Col- lector, and in later years Assessor, of Wilkesbarré. In 1824 and later he was captain of a company in the 2d Bat- talion, 115th Reg't, Penn'a Militia ; and for some years prior to his death was a colonel in the militia. In July, 1828, he opened a house of public entertainment "at the sign of the Heart," in a large frame building which he had just
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erected at the north-west corner of Market and Franklin streets, Wilkesbarré. This hotel was later known as the " Eagle," and was burned down in the big fire of 1867. Colonel Dennis died at Wilkesbarré December 17th, 1847, his death being preceded by that of his wife, March 7th, 1847.
James P. Dennis was, for a number of years in his early life, captain of a steamboat plying between Pittsburg and New Orleans, and thus obtained the title of Captain by which he was ever afterwards known. Later, for a number of years, he was Superintendent of the Easton and Wilkes- barré Turnpike; and when the city of Wilkesbarré was in- corporated he was appointed one of the Assessors of the city-the duties of which office he performed for some years. He was one of the organizers of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. He was initiated into LODGE 61 March 27th, 1854, and was W. Master in 1860. He was one of the charter members of Shekinah R. A. Chapter, and was its High Priest in 1860. For a year or two prior to his death he was the oldest living Past Master of the Lodge, as well as the oldest native of Wilkesbarré. He was never married.
FELL. When the sketch of Judge JESSE FELL (page 258, ante) was prepared, the author had a good deal of difficulty in obtaining genealogical data relative to the Fell family, and for that reason was able to write but very little con- cerning the descendants of Judge FELL. Since then "The Genealogy of the Fell Family in America," compiled by Sarah M. Fell of Wilmington, Del., has been published (in 1891), and from it the following record has been taken.
Jesse and Hannah (Welding) Fell had eight children, namely :
i .- Frances, born June 7th, 1776.
ii .- George, born August 28th, 1779; married Sarah Cowdrick.
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iii .- Sarah, born July 25th, 1781 ; married Joseph Slo- cum.
iv .- Deborah, born October 19th, 1783; married Edwin Tracey, and had two daughters.
v .- Thomas, born June 16th, 1786; died at Wilkesbarré December 8th, 1791.
vi .- Samuel W., born March 26th, 1788; married Lydia Dusenbury.
vii .- Abi Kirk, born February 12th, 1792; married Col. Jacob J. Dennis.
viii .- Nancy Ann, born April Ist, 1794; married Dr. Isaac Pickering.
i .- Frances Fell was married in 1799 to John Milroy, a civil engineer from Northampton county, Penn'a. In 1799 he was Second Lieutenant in the company of infantry com- manded by Captain Bowman (see page 155, ante). He was initiated into LODGE 61 June 24th, 1799. He died in 1800, being survived by his wife and one son-John, born March 20th, 1800. The widow was married the next year to - Johnson, who died soon after, and was survived by a daugh- ter, Nancy Ann, born in 1802, and by his wife, Frances, who in 1812 was married to Lyman Sholes. Mr. and Mrs. Sholes resided in Danville, Penn'a, and had five children. Mrs. Sholes died November 29th, 1841.
ii .- George Fell and Sarah Cowdrick were married in New Jersey, and resided in Wilkesbarré. The former died in 1804, and was survived by his wife and two children- (1.) Samuel, born November 17th, 1801, and (2.) Jesse A., born October 25th, 1803. (1.) Samuel was married at Wilkesbarré December 25th, 1823, to Mary D. Kyte, and they had six children : Hannah W. (married J. B. Dow), Sally Ann (married B. G. Carpenter), Charles R., Theodore H., Mary D. (married Henry H. Derr), and Samuel C.
iii .- Sarah Fell and Joseph Slocum (born April 9th, 1776; died September 27th, 1855,) were married in Wilkesbarré
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in 1800. They had the following children : Hannah (who became the first wife of Ziba Bennett), Ruth Tripp (who married Wm. S. Ross), Deborah (who married, first, A. O. Chahoon, and, second, S. D. Lewis), Abi Welding (who mar- ried Lord Butler, 2d), George, Jonathan, Joseph, Mary (died in youth), and Harriet Elizabeth (who married, first, Chas. B. Drake, and, second, Henry Lewis). Mrs. Sarah (Fell) Slocum died at Wilkesbarré February 23d, 1828.
The silhouette which faces this page was reproduced from an original, presented to the writer in 1886 by Capt. James P. Dennis, who said that, so far as he knew, it was the only likeness or representation in existence of his grandfather, JESSE FELL-who gave him the silhouette in 1829 or '30.
FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN DAVIS AND LIEUTENANT JONES. The writer of the letter reprinted on page 24, ante, from the Providence Gazette, made a mistake when he wrote that this funeral occurred on Thursday, July 28th, 1779. Thursday, July 29th, was the date.
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