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 5
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On motion resolved that we put in a contract and proceed to erect the Hall at the earliest practicable period in the coming spring.
The vacancies in the Board were filled at the next stockholders meeting, held Monday evening, January 7, 1850, when Brother John Sargent, a member of Allegheny Lodge No. 223, and Brother John C. Cole, of Lodge 45, were chosen.
It is a matter to be deplored that only the most meagre records of these early sessions of the stockholders have come down to us. The few we have found are those made briefly by Brother McKinley in the Minute Book of the Ma- sonic Fund Society. There must have been prolonged and earnest discussions and arrangements, particularly during
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the period between the organization of the Society and the completion of the Hall in 1851. The presiding officers and the secretaries of these sessions of the stockholders were usually chosen outside the membership of the Board of Trustees and separate minutes were kept, but none of the early ones seem to have been preserved.
It having been decided in December to ask for bids for the construction of the proposed building, there would naturally soon be an immediate need of funds; and so at a session of the Board held February 2, 1850, it was re- solved "to call in" an "installment" of ten percent. of the subscriptions thus far obtained, to be paid "on or before the first of March next, and that all installments due up to that period be requested to be paid to the Treasurer at the office of Hoon & Sargent." This was to be publicly made known by notices in the newspapers. Accordingly we find the following advertisement in local newspapers of date of February 23, 1850 :
Masonic Fund Society.
The Stockholders in the Masonic Fund Society are hereby noti- fied that an installment of ten percent. upon the whole subscription will be requested on or before the first day of March next, and that all installments due at that time, and not heretofore paid, will be required at the same time. Payments to be made to the Treasurer at the office of Hoon & Sargent, Pittsburgh.
By Order of the Board of Trustees, Geo. W. Layng, Pres't Pro Tem.
Then at a meeting of the Board, April 13, this resolu- tion, which gives an indication of the wide distribution of the subscriptions, was adopted :
Resolved, That a person be employed to solicit subscriptions for stock and collect monies due already subscribed, which solicitor shall be authorized to visit Cincinnati, Brownsville and other places, as may be deemed advisable.
At this same meeting the resignation of Brother Cole, who had been elected Trustee in the previous January, was received and accepted. To fill this vacancy another meet- ing of the stockholders was convened on May 16, 1850, and when it was called to order another resignation of a Trus- tee was announced. This time it was Brother John Sar- gent. As to this resignation the minutes furnish the infor-
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mation that, "it being intimated from previous conversa- tion with Bro. Jno. Sargent that in consequence of his hav- ing moved from the city, it would be pleasing to him to be excused from serving as Trustee, his resignation was ac- cepted and an election to fill the vacancy was ordered." This election resulted in the choice of Brothers James Shi- dle and William Noble. This was for Brother Noble a re- election, but for some reasons not known now he again re- signed three weeks later. The election as a Trustee of Brother James Shidle is of particular interest. For there in the year 1850 began by that election a long and faithful succession of membership in the Board of Trustees, which extending down to the present day, has included three rep- resentatives of that family: First, Brother James Shidle; then his son, that illustrious Mason, Geter Crosby Shidle, and then his grandson, Fager Jackson Shidle, who for a number of years has been an efficient member of the Board of Trustees.
As will be shown in the following chapter of this book, the contract for the construction of the Hall had by this time been awarded, an architect chosen, and much progress made towards the actual erection of the building. The fourth day of July had been designated as the date for the laying of the corner stone, Brothers Hailman, Hoon and Mckinley had been named as the Committee on Arrange- ments, and Brother John Birmingham, long a devoted and prominent member of the Craft, selected as chief marshal of the procession.
Two years had now elapsed since that preliminary meeting on December 25, 1847, when the first definite action was taken toward the final realization of the ambition of the brethren to possess a Masonic Hall of proportions am- ple for the needs of the growing fraternity. We have de- sired to trace in this chapter the successive concerted move- ments which, beginning with the erection of the little build- ing in the year 1811, reached their ultimate fruition on that memorable day of October 9, 1851, when with imposing and solemn ceremonies their elegant Masonic Hall on Fifth ave- nue was dedicated. It has been a recital of ups and downs, but never of signal failures. There had been the barriers
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of a widespread and malignant antimasonic opposition to overcome, and there were the handicaps of a small member- ship, a scarcity of funds and the great disasters of the fire of 1845. But all these had geen surmounted and swept away. And never through that long period of forty years had there arisen divisions nor contests among the Pittsburgh Masons. When in the times of persecution their numbers were woe- fully small, those who fearlessly kept the faith, moved proudly to the front. If sometimes there was discourage- ment, there was never a retreat. Always as Masons they looked forward and upward. Through the murk of the clouds the golden sun ever glimmered. And then when the good days came and it shone forth in all its brilliant radi- ance-
What a heart-delight they felt at last- So many toils, so many dangers past.
CHAPTER II. ERECTION AND DEDICATION OF 1851 HALL.
Year of Triumph for the Trustees and Brethren-Architect, James W. Kerr's Plans for Building Accepted-Trustees Accept Builder's Bid of $13,945-Contracts for Material Awarded-Date for Lay- ing Corner Stone Named-Interesting and Impressive Ceremon- ies-Newspaper Comments-Sad Death of Trustee Layng-Work on Hall Pushed Forward Rapidly-Successful Financial Plans- Saloons and Restaurants Formally Barred from New Hall-Put- ting in the Furnishings-Original Description of Building-First Meeting of Board of Trustees in Hall-No Trouble to Get Ten- ants for Store Rooms-First Local Convocation Held-Notable Dedication Ceremonies-Order of Procession-Newspaper Com- mendations.
B ROTHER James King, a prominent physician of Pitts- burgh, a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 219, and who in later times was a surgeon-general in the Civil War, was the orator at the dedication, September 26, 1855, of the new Masonic Hall erected on Chestnut street, in Philadelphia. In his fine address on that occasion, he said:
"However praiseworthy your edifice may be as an exhibition of taste, yet we attach value to it chiefly because of the confidence it inspires that you will make it the means to a great end-the rearing in the midst of this people of a moral superstructure, which is to rest on the Brotherhood, as so many pillars of support.
The Masonic brethren of our days can look back through a clear vista of over seventy years and confidently cherish the elevating conviction that the impelling motives which brought to completion the Pittsburgh Masonic Hall of 1851, comparatively unpretentious as it was, were motives based upon the finest and truest fraternal aspirations and impulses. Men of the stamp of Hailman, of Shaler, of Shidle, of Layng, and of others of that band of progressive Masons of nearly three-quarters of a century ago, would see beyond the material benefits that could accrue from the erection of a Masonic building in the city of Pittsburgh. They had a vision of Masonry that penetrated into far-off years. Freed from the claws of persecution, and gathering strength and influence with each day, the Craft throughout
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the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania stood triumphant, and the brethren of the year 1850 could see their beloved fraternity strong and influential beyond any former time. So, having arranged, beginning actually in the last days of the year 1847, to build a fitting habitation for Masonry, they set about the great labor of putting into reality that for which they had dreamed through many years past. We have in the preceding chapter brought the recital of their prelimi- nary labors down through the proceedings incident to the purchase of a site for their building, the issuance of stock, and the adjustment of other important matters, to the date when the architect was seleced.
The first mention of the architect chosen is in the min- utes of a meeting of the Board of Trustees held April 13, 1850, as follows :
April 13, 1850. Trustees met. Members prest., Hailman, Hoon, Layng, Davitt, Mckinley.
On motion resolved, that the Trustees accept the Plan with side entrances as proposed by J. W. Kerr.
Resolved, that J. W. Kerr be requested to prepare at the earliest convenience Specifications according to the Plan exhibited and ap- proved.
Resolved, that proposals for the removal of the old building be solicited. Also that Proposals for the construction of the Hall be solicited as soon as the Specifications can be prepared, and that such proposals be solicited by public advertisement.
It is evident from the above minutes that the architect had been chosen some time before the date of April, 1850. This architect was Brother Joseph W. Kerr, at that period and for years later, a leading representative of his profes- sion in Allegheny county. He was a native of Pittsburgh, and a Mason, belonging to St. John's Lodge, No. 219. His parents had come from Scotland, and after studying archi- tecture and kindred subjects in Pittsburgh, he was sent, by his father, to Edinburg, Scotland, where he took a further course in studies pertaining to his profession. Returning, he located in Pittsburgh and in a few years had established a prosperous business. Many principal public buildings, halls, and elegant residences were erected from his plans and under his supervision. Among the structures for which he was the architect was the old United States Post Office
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and Customs building, which stood at the corner of Fifth avenue and Smithfield street, quite near to the Masonic Hall, that was to be constructed from his plans. Other structures of his creation were the old University buildings at Ross and Diamond streets; the former Second Presbyter- ian church at Seventh street and Penn avenue, now the site of the Pitt Theater; the Hospital for the Insane at Dix- mont; the fine residence so long the home of Brother James W. Hailman, known now as a family hotel, on Shady ave- nue, in the East End District, and the Carr residence, still standing in the Point Breeze district.
Doubtless the "plans and specifications" called for in the above quoted minutes were publicly displayed for the examination and approbation of the brethren generally; and although there is no record of any sharp divergence of views on the subject, we may be certain that there was close scrutiny made and plenty of discussion indulged in be- fore the ultimate design was agreed upon. It is evident, too, that two sets of plans were exhibited, as the records of a meeting of the Trustees on May 7 make mention of a second plan. This entry reads :
Resolved, that Plan No. 2, as exhibited by J. W. Kerr, be adopted for the Masonic Hall.
The same minutes make note of the provision that "public proposals be issued for the erection of the Hall, to close Thursday, 24 May." At the same session a Building Committee was appointed, comprising Brothers Mckinley, Layng and Hoon, who were to serve "for the present month." Thereafter the Building Committee was newly named at the beginning of each month. In the matter of proposals for bids further action was taken at a meeting held May 16, 1850, the record of which is as follows:
On motion made and seconded, the Resolution inviting separate Proposals for building, was rescinded, and Resolved, That Proposals be issued to erect the building by Lump Contract; except the orna- mental work of the Hall on 3rd Story and Painting & Glazing & Glass.
Resolved, that the material furnished and work done by Contrac- tor be estimated every 60 days and paid, Reserving 20 pr ct. on each estimate.
Resolved, That the Hall be completed and delivered on 1st July, 1851.
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Resolved, That the closing of Proposals for Hall be extended to the 27th May.
Pursuant to the resolutions adopted, bids were adver- tised for in the Pittsburgh newspapers, the first advertise- ment appearing May 18, 1850, in this form:
SEALED PROPOSALS
For building Masonic Hall will be received at the Office of S. McKinley, No. 11 St. Clair street, Until Wednesday, 27th inst., at 4 o'clock P. M.
Plans and Specifications to be seen at the Architect's office, James Kerr, Jr., Fourth Street.
By Order of Board of Trustees.
S. Mckinley, Sec'y.
Five builders submitted bids, as is shown by the min- utes, quoted below, of a meeting on May 29, 1850. It will be noted that this session of the Trustees was held in "Com- mittee Room, Masonic Hall." This refers to a room in the building at the corner of Wood and Third streets, which had been rented from Mr. Darsie by the Masonic brethren after the fire of 1845. In this Hall the Lodges, the Chapter and the Council, then in existence, met until the new hall on Fifth avenue was opened. The minutes of the above men- tioned meeting of May 29, 1850, are as follows :
Committee Room, Masonic Hall, Pittsburgh, May 29th, 1850. Trustees assembled to receive the bids for Masonic Hall. Present, J. W. Hailman, Hoon, Davitt, Shidle, Noble & Mckinley.
Minutes of last Meeting read, amended and approved.
On motion, ordered that the bids be opened, when it appeared that the following Gentlemen had proposed to the following amts., ac- cording to plans & specifications.
Messrs Becks, Twentythree thousand two hundred dollars $23,200
Pattersons, Fourteen thousand four hundred 14,400.
Boyd & Murdock, Thirteen thousand nine hundred and forty-five " 13,945
Wm. Beck, Seventeen thousand two hundred and
twenty three " 17,223
J. B. Chambers, Fifteen thousand two hundred and three 15,203.
On motion made and seconded, it was Resolved that the Bid of Messrs. Boyd & Murdock be accepted provided they give the Neces- sary Security for the Fulfillment of the Contract and sub-contractors be made satisfactory to the Board of Trustees.
On motion the subject of Bro. Kerr's salary be taken up, and
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after some consideration was postponed until the next meeting of the Board.
The next meeting was held the next day, May 30, and it will be seen that the terms agreed upon between the Board and the architect were simply that he was to give his services at a reasonable and brotherly figure. It seems a small remuneration in these days, and even moderate as it was, Brother Kerr consented to accept part of his pay in the shape of stock in the proposed building. All these ar- rangements are shown by the following minutes :
Committee Room, May 30th, 1850. Trustees met at 4 o'clock, ac- cording to Adjournment. Prest .: J. W. Hailman, President; Hoon, Davitt, Noble, Layng, Shidle & Mckinley.
Minutes of last meeting read & approved, When on motion it was Resolved to employ J. W. Kerr, Jur., as architect of the Hall, and voted him a salary of two hundred dollars for Superintending the Hall until its completion. Also one hundred dollars for the Plan and Specifications, Fifty dollars of the salary to be paid him in Stock.
On motion the bid of Messrs. Wright and Son to do the plaster- ing of the Hall at the sum of Eight Hundred Dollars $800.00, was accepted.
On Motion made and seconded, resolved that the Coppers, Spout- ing, &so. be given to James L. Morehead at the sum of Three hundred & Forty Dollars, $340.00.
On motion made and seconded, resolved that the bid of Messrs. Boyd & Murdock be accepted with the above exceptions.
On motion made and seconded, resolved that 20 pr ct. of the Cap- ital Stock be called in on or before the 15th of July.
Adjourned until Tuesday Evening 3rd of June at 8 o'clock.
We shall now continue quotations from the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees which show consecu- tively the steps taken to bring about the erection and fur- nishing of the new Hall. We shall then revert to other records and certain publications for more extended details, relative to the construction of the edifice, the laying of the corner stone, the dedication of the building and episodes connected with its first occupancy by the brethren and by tenants of the parts devoted to rentals-the whole forming a historical recital of much interest and value.
As will be seen by reference to the minutes of the meet- ing of May 30, 1850, the next session was to be held June 3, but the date was changed to June 4, as follows:
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Masonic Hall, Jun 4, 1850.
Trustees met at 5 o'clock; present, Broths. Hailman, Prest .; Hoon, Treas .; Shidle & Davitt. Broth. Secty being absent from the city, W. J. Davitt was call'd upon to take his place. Minutes of last meeting read and approved.
The Prest appointed Broths. Hoon, Shidle & Davitt Building Comm't for the ensuing month.
It is characteristic of nearly all the minutes of the early meetings of the Board of Trustees that they are brief and fragmentary, and give unfortunately only the merest details. They are, however, all of great help and value. Without doubt there was much discussion over many im- portant questions, and rejections and acceptances of various propositions. But Brother Secretary Mckinley sturdily kept up his practice of setting down in his records only meager information as to the most important matters which came before the Trustees. Thus, for example, there must have been a great deal of interesting talk over the big mat- ters which the Board disposed of at its session of June 4, when arrangements were made for the date of the laying of the corner stone, the ceremonies to be followed and the invitations to be sent out. But Secretary Mckinley calmly packs away these transactions in these few words :
Resolved, That the Corner Stone of the Masonic Hall be laid on the Fourth day of July next.
Broths. Hailman, Hoon & Mckinley were elected a Commt. to make the necessary arrangements for laying the corner stone; also for inviting the G. L. of the State of Penna. & the Brothers at a distance to join us in the Procession.
Then at the next meeting other important matters were disposed of :
Masonic Hall, June 20, 1850.
Trustees met by Call from the president. Pres. J. W. Hailman, president; Bro. Hoon, Tres .; Bro. Davitt & Sec. S. Mckinley. Min- utes of last Meeting read and Approved. Com. on Laying Corner Stone reported progress. On motion, Bro. Jno. Birmingham was ap- pointed Chief Marshal for the 4th inst.
On motion, a plate suitable for deposit was ordered to be pre- pared under the direction of the President.
As will be seen further on, the Committee on Laying the Corner Stone could well afford to report "progress." They had determined to make the laying of the stone a memorable event, and they were arranging a programme
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which should be worthy of the great occasion. Brother John Birmingham, selected to be chief marshal of the procession on the coming Fourth of July, had been Worshipful Master of Lodge 45 away back in the year 1833 and in 1837 had been appointed District Deputy Grand Master for Allegheny County. He had long been conspicuous in river commerce and transportation and was the owner of several splendid steamboats.
One more meeting of the Trustees was held prior to the formal laying of the corner stone, the minutes of which are as follows :
Stated Meeting of Trustees of Masonic Fund Society held July 2nd, 1850, at the Hall, Pitts. Prest. J. W. Hailman, President; James Hoon, Tres .; S. Mckinley, Sec .; also Bro. Davitt & Shidle.
On motion, Resolved that a Vault of suitable dimensions be erected in one of the rooms and that the Building Com. be instructed to procure frames, doors, &so., on the best terms they can.
The President was pleased to appoint Bros. Shidle, Davitt & Mckinley building committee for the prest. month.
On motion made and seconded, Resolved that the bid of S. Mckinley for painting and glazing be accepted, which is as follows:
The materials including Glass are to be furnished and work done as Trustees may direct, at the Pittsburg Painters' Book of prices, de- ducting 33 1/3 pr ct. therefrom, and 40 pr ct. on the work grained. 2/3 of the whole am't to be paid in certificates of stock.
"The Painter's Book of Prices" referred to in the above record embodied the scale of prices for work done, as agreed upon by the men in the painting and glazing business of that period. It will be seen by the records of the meetings of the Trustees given thus far that those earnest and pro- gressive Free Masons went ahead with the utmost care in the work of producing a proper Hall for the brethren of the community; and the results were correspondingly suc- cessful and durable.
Let us now lay aside, for the time-being, the formal records of the meetings of the Trustees of the Masonic Fund Society, and go back to the period when the people of Pittsburgh got the first precise information regarding the erection of the proposed Masonic Hall, which should be, for those days, an edifice worthy both of the great fraterni- ty and of the fast developing city. This information was first publicly gained by the printing of advertisements for
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MASONIC HALL. Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. Corner Stone Placed July 4, 1850. Destroyed by Fire August 12, 1887.
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proposals for the construction of the building. But it is proper to suppose that because of the prominence of the Masonic Order in Allegheny county and the kind of edifice to be erected, the matter would soon be a topic of general conversation. The lot on Fifth "street" having been pur- chased, the architect selected, the style of building decided upon and plans adopted for securing funds, the trustees went courageously ahead with the enterprise. The first thing to be done, was the removal of the old and delapi- dated buildings which stood on the site of the new Hall. This work was started early in April, 1850, and relative to it, we are furnished with this morsel of news by the Pitts- burgh "Post" of Monday, April 22:
Masonic Hall-Workmen have commenced tearing down the old buildings opposite the Theatre, for the purpose of erecting a new Masonic Hall. It will be a magnificent building.
Before the end of May the foundations were being laid, and then came the announcement in the local newspapers of the proposed laying of the corner stone, on the 4th of July. The patriotic selection of that date was rendered addition- ally appropriate by the fact that on the very same day was to be laid, with imposing ceremony, the corner stone of the enlarged Capitol building at Washington, an event excep- tionally memorable in the annals of the American Republic. The impressive ceremonies of that notable event were con- ducted almost entirely under the Masonic rites. It was on that occasion that the immortal Daniel Webster delivered one of his most celebrated orations, and another notable address was made by Brother Benjamin B. French, then Grand Master of Masons in the District of Columbia; and at the special and personal request of Webster, Brother French delivered his address before the great orator him- self spoke.
Our Pittsburgh brethren made large preparations for the impressive placing of the corner stone of their edifice. The Grand Master and the officers of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania were invited, as were brethren from other localities. The local Masonic Bodies and the members indi- vidually prepared enthusiastically to participate in the com- ing ceremonies, and in the minutes of a meeting of Lodge
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45, held Wednesday, June 26, 1850, with Brother James Hoon as Worshipful Master, we read the following:
W. Master James S. Hoon stated to the lodge that he was author- ized to invite Lodge 45 to join in public procession at the laying of the corner stone on the new Masonic Hall, on the 4th day of July. On motion, said invitation was accepted by Lodge 45.
On motion of Brother R. H. McClellan that Lodge No. 45 appro- priate $15.00 for the purpose of providing a dinner for our strange Brethren who join with us in procession on the 4th day of July at the laying of the Corner Stone of Masonic Hall; the Motion was agreed to.
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