USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > The history of the Masonic fund society for the county of Allegheny from the year 1847 to 1923; with biographical sketches of deceased members of the Board of trustees By Hiram Schock. > Part 24
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We learn that the magnificent silver tea service, designed to be presented to the late Samuel Mckinley by the Masonic lodges, in gratitude for his distinguished services to the Order, will be received by the Hon. Charles Shaler, on the part of the deceased gentleman's family. Col. McCandless is to make the presentation address on the part of the assembled Craft at Masonic Hall, on some day during the third week of September.
There is no record available showing that this ceremony took place, but we are informed by the daughter of Brother Mckinley, Miss Amanda Mckinley, that while she has no personal recollection of the event, she had often heard her mother speak of this presentation. At any rate, the beauti- ful gift was taken to the home of the bereaved widow, and in the home of Miss Mckinley on the North Side, Pitts- burgh, there still remains one piece of this silver tea ser- vice, the other pieces having been distributed among repre- sentatives of the family. It was a gift well worthy both of Brother McKinley and the brethren who bought it. The silver is of the highest quality and the engraving and chas- ing are extremely elegant and artistic.
In the Grand Lodge records there are numerous refer- ences to Brother Mckinley's activities as district deputy. In the minutes of the Grand Communication of March 6, 1848, we read the following:
A return was received from Sam'l Mckinley, D. D. G. Master, showing the organization of Lodge No. 229 at Bridgewater, Beaver County, Penna., April 14, 5848, and the Installation of Officers in ancient form, and the organization of Lodge No. 231 at Pittsburgh, Pa., and the installation of officers in ancient form April 14, 5848.
On the evening of October 17, 1848, District Deputy Mckinley made a visitation to Lodge 45, Brother Hamilton
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J. Rogers being then W. M. The minutes of the lodge have the following :
6 o'clock, P. M.
The W. M. stated that the lodge was called together for the pur- pose of a Grand Visitation from the D. D. G. M of this District. The W. M. appointed Bro. L. M. H. Butler to inform D. D. G. M: Mc- Kinley that the lodge was prepared to receive him, when he entered accompanied by the following officers:
Acting Grand Senior Warden,. Bro. James Stevens " Daniel Zimmerman
Junior
Senior Deacon
Robert Allingham
66
66 Junior 66
David McKee
16 Secretary " Thos. W. Wright
66 66
Treasurer
G. W. Glasgow
66
66
M. C.
Alexander M. Pollock
66
66
M. C.
" John Lawton
The lodge officers having vacated their seats, the Grand Officers took their places. The D. D. G. M. addressed the lodge in a very appropriate and interesting address. On motion Resolved that the D. D. G. Master be requested to furnish a copy of his address to the lodge and that it be transcribed on the minutes of the Lodge.
Brother Mckinley was reappointed deputy for the year 1849. It was in this year that a second attempt was made to revive old Milnor Lodge, No. 165, which had gone out of existence in 1837. The first attempt had been carried through successfully in 1845. The warrant had been sent to Pittsburgh and the lodge was to be constituted on April 10 of that year. But on that very day, at noon, the terrible conflagration which destroyed a great part of the city, broke out, and the Masonic building and most of the papers and equipment therein were burned. The second attempt was halted in the Grand Lodge, and it was not until the year 1854 that Milnor Lodge was reconstituted under the number 287. It was also under the administration of D. D. McKin- ley that Washington Lodge, No. 255, was warranted in 1851.
The years 1850 and 1851 were busy ones for Brother Mckinley. Not only was he giving his attention to his work as District Deputy, but was also at the same time a trustee and the secretary of the Masonic Fund Society, and was a regular attendant at its meetings. The new Masonic Hall was in process of construction on Fifth avenue, and Brother Mckinley was untiring in his efforts to help along that im-
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portant undertaking. Late in the year 1851 he was com- missioned by his fellow trustees to journey to Cincinnati "to collect unpaid stock" in the Masonic Hall, and later he had the great satisfaction of taking part, as District Deputy, in the ceremonies of laying the corner stone in 1850 and finally of the dedication of the structure in 1851. He was reap- pointed District Deputy for 1851 and it was during this year that the district was divided into two, as was an- nounced by Grand Master William Whitney in his address at the Grand Communication of March 26 of that year. He said:
On St. John's Day last when I announced the appointments for the year, it will be remembered that some few of the districts in the State were left vacant for the time being. Since then I have re- appointed Bro. Saml. Mckinley and Joseph L. Stichter. The dis- trict of which Brother Mckinley has formerly had charge was a very large one. I have therefore made two new ones out of the part of Bro. S. Mckinley's and Bro. C. P. Gummert.
The district of which Pittsburgh was the center was then made to include only the counties of Allegheny and Armstrong. But the next year, 1852, it was again enlarged so as to include Allegheny, Westmoreland, Beaver and Law- rence counties. Under these circumstances Brother Mc- Kinley found it impossible to give proper attention to the work demanded from a deputy of so large an extent of ter- ritory, and he was compelled to refuse reappointment, and Brother James S. Hoon was named in his place.
As a Royal Arch Mason Brother Mckinley's work there- in was prominent and important. He was, as has been stated, a charter member of Zerubbabel Chapter, No. 162, organized in Pittsburgh in 1846. In the proceedings of the Grand Chapter, May 18, 1846, is this record:
A petition was received and read, signed by a number of Com- panions in Pittsburg, dated July 28, 1846, praying for a Warrant for a Chapter to be held in Pittsburg, to be named Zerubbabel Chap- ter, for Mark Mason, Most Excellent Master and Royal Arch; which was, on motion, referred to the Grand Officers with power to grant a Warrant as prayed for as soon as the Grand Officers shall have been satisfied that the petitioners have complied with the Regula- tions of the Grand Chapter.
The name of Brother Mckinley headed the list of these petitioners, and it is curious to note that on that petition,
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wherever these names have been published, his name ap- pears as follows: "Samuel Mckinley, a physician, of Lodge 45; Jerusalem Chapter, No. 3." How Brother Mckinley came to be designated as a "physician" on that petition has never been explained; and perhaps can be explained only by the surmise that the word "painter"-Brother Mckinley's trade-was tortured from his handwriting into the word "physician." He became the first M. E. H. P. of Zerubbabel Chapter, and was succeeded in that office in December, 1847 by Brother James S. Hoon. At the December 27, 1849, meeting of the Grand Chapter the appointment was an- nounced of Companion Mckinley as D. D. Grand High Priest for the Counties of Allegheny, Washington, Beaver, Fayette, Green and Blair. In the minutes of the Grand Chapter meeting December 27, 1851, is this entry :
All but High Priests having retired, the M. E. Grand High Priest was pleased to confer the degree of Past High Priest upon Companion Samuel Mckinley, of Pittsburgh, a Past High Priest of Chapter No. 162.
In December, 1851, he was succeeded as D. D. Grand High Priest by Brother Hoon. A signal and merited honor was paid to his memory in 1858 when Lodge No. 318 was constituted as Mckinley Lodge in Pittsburgh.
The death of Brother Mckinley in 1854 was felt as a personal loss by the individual members of the Board of Trustees of the Masonic Fund Society. He had resigned as secretary of the Society in December, 1852, his last minutes being of the meeting of the Board December 27 of that year. He was succeeded as secretary by Brother Alexander Rein- hart, who was laid in his grave a little more than two months prior to the death of Brother McKinley. In their memorial resolutions, adopted at a meeting held October 4, 1854, they paid this tribute to his good work and character:
Brother Mckinley, by many years of unwearied devotion to Ma- sonic labors and Masonic charities-a devotion which glowed but more fervently when storms of persecution swept the fiercest-or when the Masonic love of many grew cold-had endeared himself strongly in the affections and admiration of the brethren in this and other States. To his unwearied energies, to the example of his un- tarnished virtues, we largely owe the present elevated conditions of Masonry in this city and district. To the erection also of our noble Hall and to the controlling influence of a pure morality governing
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the Order, he was an efficient contributor. He was for many years our D. D. Grand Master. He had filled all the official stations in Masonry with dignity and general acceptance, and as a member of our Board of Trustees we feel deeply his loss. He died an ardent Christian, an enlightened and honest Mason, a beloved friend. Let us emulate his many virtues.
Not at all conspicuous in wealth or public affairs, yet the funeral of Brother Mckinley was a notable one and a signal tribute to his popularity and as a citizen and a Mason. The services at the grave were particularly impressive. From a long and most sympathetic account of the interment as printed in the Pittsburgh "Commercial Journal" of August 26, 1854, we take the following:
The funeral of the late P. D. D. G. Master Samuel Mckinley on the afternoon of Friday, the 25th, was by far the most imposing Ma- sonic solemnity of the kind which has taken place here since the great revival of the Order in this District. It was conducted under the special direction of W. M., William Noble, of Lodge 45, of which ancient lodge the deceased brother was a member. Upward of 400 Masons, including the officers not only of the cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, but of the whole Masonic district embraced with the jurisdiction of the late Brother Mckinley, were in attendance. The officers were clothed in the insignia of the Order and the brethren wore the peculiar badge which has been worn from immemorial time at the funerals of brethren of the Order. The procession proceeded under the direction of Brother Volz as Grand Master of Ceremonies and his assistants, Brothers Anderson and Campbell, from the Ma- sonic Hall in Fifth street, to the residence of the deceased brother in Allegheny city; and having there taken charge of the remains, to the place of sepulture, the Mount Union Cemetery, below Allegheny City. A vast crowd of citizens accompanied the cortege on foot, and large trains of carriages, with the mourning family and relations, added to the imposing character of the spectacle. The effect of the scene was increased by the slow movement of the procession, to the music of the solemn dirges played during the progress of the funeral by Young's band. * * The services were conducted with unusual solemnity by Brothers Johnston and Rutter, and so far as the ceremonial required, by Worshipful Master Noble. At that part of the ceremony at which the master asks: "Is there no one who can comfort us?" Brother Charles Shaler, P. D. D. G. Master, ad- dressed the assemblage.
Here the newspaper gives a lengthy report of the eloquent and beautiful address by Judge Shaler, an address which for grace of language and sweetness of sentiment is equal to any tribute ever paid to any Mason, whether king
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or artisan. We will quote here but one paragraph :
The great and distinguishing characteristic of Brother Mckinley was LOVE. In him it was a perennial fountain, flowing out of a pure heart, refreshing all who came within its influence. The foun- tain was always full to overflowing, and from it the energy and enthusiasm that governed his life and conduct seemed to derive their strength. It was impossible to converse with him even for a few moments, without imbibing a portion of his delightfully loving spirit. The kindness of his nature calmed you at once, and his whole life was but the emanation of this overwhelming power of his being.
When the news of the tragic death of this greatly esteemed brother reached the Grand Lodge officers at Phil- adelphia deep regret and sorrow were expressed. At the quarterly Grand Communication held September 4, 1854, R. W. Grand Master James Hutchinson presiding, resolu- tions were presented and adopted as follows:
The death of P. D. D. G. M. Bro. Mckinley was announced, when P. G. M. Bro. James Page read the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, to-wit:
Resolved, as this Grand Lodge has received information of the demise of Brother Samuel Mckinley, P. D. D. G. M., of the Allegheny District, and it is right and proper for the assembled brethren to manifest their sense of the great loss the Fraternity has sustained by this mournful event; therefore, resolved, that in the death of our esteemed brother we feel and know that a safe and brilliant light in the Order has been suddenly and peacefully extinguished.
Resolved, That by this dispensation of the Supreme Grand Mas- ter of the Universe one endeared to us by many pleasing recollections and Masonic ties has been removed from the scenes of his earthly labors and usefulness, to that Grand Lodge not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Resolved, that if ever a heart was imbued with and cherished the pure principles of the Order, and a life was truly devoted to their diffusion, and to the advancement of the prosperity and welfare of the Craft at large, we must seek for that heart and life in the career of our lamented brother, and forever connect them with his memory.
Resolved, that we tender our deepest sympathies to the bereaved family, and the many friends of the deceased, and as some solace for their heavy sorrow, point them to the beautiful example set by him whose loss we mourn.
Resolved, that a copy of this preamble and resolutions be properly prepared, to be signed by the Grand Officers and forwarded to the family of our deceased brother.
A public meeting of the Masonic brethren in Allegheny county was held in Masonic Hall in Pittsburgh, August 26,
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1854, to pay tribute to the memory of Brother Mckinley. There was a very large attendance and Brother William Noble presided. Addresses, eloguently expressive of the great regard in which the deceased brother was held were made by Brothers Charles Shaler, Col. Samuel W. Black, Judge Wilson McCandless, Dr. William Johnson and others of the brethren, and resolutions were adopted expressing their sorrow over the death of their beloved fellow Mason. At his death Brother Mckinley was a member of the coun- cils of Allegheny city, and the members of this organiza- tion attended his funeral in a body, and resolutions of con- dolence were also adopted at a meeting of the councils August 25, 1854.
Surely the life and labors of this modest and good Ma- son are worthy of enduring appreciation and remembrance by the brethren of the great Fraternity he loved so well, and we may fittingly close this account of his useful career by quoting the resolutions adopted by his Lodge, No. 45, prepared by a committee comprising Brothers John P. Glass, Alexander M. Pollock and William G. Algeo-resolu- tions notable for their loftiness of thought and beauty of expression :
Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. Our brother sleeps in death, and we are bowed down in sorrow. Death has been in our Temple, and the voice of him we loved so well will be heard no more. The Great Grand Master has decreed that the labors of Samuel Mckinley should cease, and that he should be transferred for repose and refreshment to the Grand Lodge above.
While submissively bowing to our Divine Master's will, we can- not but deeply feel the separation that deprives us of the counsels of one whose matured wisdom, purity of life and Christian character, shed so bright a lustre upon our Order; therefore,
Resolved, that in the recent and unexpected death of our estim- able brother, Samuel Mckinley, Lodge 45 has lost one of its oldest and brightest members, and the Masonic Fraternity one of its most exemplary advocates and valued ornaments.
Resolved, that as men and Masons we deeply sympathize with the sorrowing family of the deceased; and while no expressions of grief can assuage their sorrow, we tender them the assurance that there are heavy hearts here, that loved him while living, and will emulate his virtues, now that he is dead.
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JAMES S. HOON, 32°
When Brother Samuel Mckinley found in the year 1853 that he would be unable to accept reappointment as D. D. Grand Master for the Fifth Masonic District, the R. W. Grand Master, Brother James Hutchinson, named Bro- ther James S. Hoon for the office. The appointment was announced at the annual Grand Communication, December 27, 1853, in these words: "Br. James S. Hoon, of Pitts- burgh, in place of Bro. Samuel Mckinley, who declined re- appointment, for the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Westmoreland, Beaver, Lawrence, Butler." It was certain- ly an extensive district; there was much to do in it, and during the two years he filled the office, Brother Hoon gave the work close and efficient attention.
In the list of the early members of Lodge 45 Brother Hoon is recorded as having become a member of that Body October 10, 1845. It is interesting to note that on exactly the same date a petition for membership in the same lodge was presented for James W. Hailman, and at the same time Brother Mckinley was W. M. of Lodge 45. About the first thing mentioned in the minutes of the lodge concerning the activities of Brother Hoon, after he had received his last degree, was to serve on a committee formed "to take into consideration the propriety of issuing script by Lodge 45." This venerable organization was at that period, as were the other Pittsburgh Masonic Bodies, under financial stress, owing to the disastrous fire of April, 1845. The proposed "script" was to represent a loan of and be an acknowledg- ment for the sum of three dollars to the lodge from each holder of this script. Happily better days soon dawned, and this plan to raise money was not put into operation. He was conversant with financial affairs. Over a decade before becoming a member of the Craft he had formed a partnership in the banking and brokerage business with Thomas Sargent, the firm being known as Hoon & Sargent. This latter gentleman had come to Pittsburgh from Massillon, Ohio. For many years their place of business was at the corner of Wood and Sixth street. This business
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association was continued until 1855, when Mr. Sargent moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was a prominent Mason, being a member of a lodge at Canal Dover, Ohio. He how- ever was active in the fraternity while residing in Pitts- burgh, and at the first stated meeting of Gourgas Lodge of Perfection, held in the new Masonic hall in Pittsburgh, Sep- tember 1, 1852, he was elected Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer.
Being familiar with financial affairs it is not surprising to find that at the first meeting of the newly organized Ma- sonic Fund Society, January 8, 1848, Brother Hoon was chosen treasurer, an office which he held for seven success- sive years. He was an indefatigable worker at anything he undertook, and during the time in which he was treasurer of the Society there were few meetings he did not attend and no financial transaction of the Society with which he was not connected.
He received the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in 1852, the year in which the Rite was estab- lished in the Valley of Pittsburgh. With him to receive these degrees were Brothers James W. Hailman, Charles W. Ricketson, Samuel Eakin, Thomas Davage and Horatio N. Speer; and these brethren, acting under Ill. Bro. William G. Van Rennselaer, 33°, Deputy Inspector General, organ- ized, formed and opened Gourgas Lodge of Perfection Janu- ary 20, 1852. A week later the Ill. Deputy, under dispen- sation granted January 27, organized and opened, with the brothers above named, the Pennsylvania Grand Council of the Princes of Jerusalem. Brother Hoon was chosen as the first H. of T. D. G. Master and February 4, 1857, became Thrice Potent Master. He was chosen in 1852 as the first M. E. S. P. G. of the Princes of Jerusalem, and was also the first M. W. and P. of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Rose Croix and the first Commander-in-Chief of the Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. Speaking of this period, that illustrious and accomplished Mason, the late Samuel Harper, 33º, said:
Up to this date, (1869) the unwise policy had been pursued of electing the same brother as the presiding officer of all the Bodies. The first brother so chosen was brother Hailman, who was succeeded by Brother Hoon. These two brothers died in office, and that event
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in both instances, left the bodies in a state of disorganization, as there was no one prepared to take up the work in any of them.
Brother Hoon was one of the members of the Frater- nity who aided materially in the revival of Capitular Ma- sonry in Western Pennsylvania. The Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania was organized as an independent body and a constitution adopted May 17, 1824. The next year Chapter 113 was organized in Pittsburgh, it having in fact been created years before under the authority of the Grand Lodge, which had then that power. This Pittsburgh Chap- ter had a precarious existence and disappeared in 1840. Thereafter for five years Capitular Masonry languished, until in 1846, a petition was presented to the Royal Arch Chapter of Pennsylvania praying for a Warrant for the establishment of a new Chapter in Pittsburgh. Among the signers of this petition was Brother Hoon, who is desig- nated therein as "a banker, of Lodge 45; Columbia Chapter No. 91." When the Chapter was constituted in Pittsburgh December 30, 1846, he was elected as the first Scribe. He took great interest in Chapter work and in 1851 was appointed D. D. G. H. P. by the Grand Chapter of Pennsyl- vania, and continued in that office until the end of 1854.
At a meeting of the Masonic Fund Society, July 3, 1855, Brother Hoon resigned as treasurer of that organization, after seven years of service. He had by this time become engrossed in the work both in the Scottish Rite and the Chapter. He had also in this year become an incorporator and later a director in that noted Pittsburgh banking insti- tution, the Dollar Savings bank, chartered in 1855. In this year the partnership between him and Brother Thomas Sargent was dissolved, the latter removing to Fort Dodge, Iowa. About two years later Brother Hoon was elected alderman in the Second ward, Pittsburgh, and he then found it necessary to relinquish some of his Masonic labors and so resigned as treasurer of the Masonic Fund Society. He took this action with the understanding that he would be succeeded by one who would ably fill the office. That was Brother James S. Herdman, who was, in fact, chosen treas- urer at the same meeting at which Brother Hoon resigned. In December of 1855 he also resigned as a member of the
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Board of Trustees, and retired with the sincere friendship and good will of all the trustees. His last appearance at any meeting of the Masonic Fund Society was at a gathering of the stockholders, December 28, 1857, when he acted as one of the judges of election for trustees for the next year. At the time of his withdrawal from the Board of Trustees he was, and had been for some time past, a director in the Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad Company.
He died in Pittsburgh suddenly on February 3, 1859. Early in the evening of that day he was at the Masonic Hall on Fifth avenue and had started on his way home. While walking along Grant street near Diamond street he was suddenly taken ill and was taken into the law office of Nathaniel Buckemaster, Esq., then at No. 51 Grant street, where he expired in a short time. The following account of his death is given in the Pittsburgh "Gazette," of February 5, 1859:
On Thursday evening James S. Hoon, Esq., formerly of the firm of Hoon & Sargent, but lately alderman for the Second ward of this city, died at the office of N. Buckmaster. He had started to go home in company with several friends, and was attacked with a sud- den and severe pain in the chest, which caused him to step aside at the office above mentioned, where he fell, and in a few moments expired. It was disease of the heart which caused his sudden demise. Mr. Hoon leaves a large circle of friends to mourn his loss. He will be buried with Masonic honors, having been D. D. G. M. of this dis- trict two years. He was 52 years of age and lived on Second street, and was a member of Lodge 45. He was a director at the time of his death in the Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad Company.
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