USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the end of the century : a history, Volume 3 > Part 55
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There were shrewd politicians in those days in New York State, as there are at the present time, and they saw in this anti-Masonic agita- tion a lever with which they believed they could cause a mighty up- heaval in politics-and they succeeded. The Anti-Masonic party was born, drawing to its ranks many former adherents of the old organiza- tions. As early as 1829 the candidate of the new party for State senator in the eighth district, composed of counties in the western part of New York, was elected by an unprecedented majority ; and in 1830, in a poll of 250,000 votes, the new party failed of electing its candidate for governor by barely 8,000, while in 1832, when the poll was 320,000, it was defeated by less than 10,000. In Pennsylvania, in 1835, it elected its candidate for governor, and in several other States, and notably Rhode Island, it gained amazing strength. The marvel of anti-Masonry is not that a man may possibly have been abducted, or even killed, at the instigation of the great fraternal organization, but that a strictly local incident, an unproved crime at the best, could have been so magnified, so manipulated by politicians as to attain national
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importance and to become the forerunner of a crusade in which the original cause was almost buried from sight.
Rhode Island was a hot-bed of anti-Masonry second only to New York, though it was naturally a little later in its active and aggressive development. The Grand Lodge of Rhode Island was charged not only with giving its sanction to the Morgan affair, but with having caused the death of one of its members who had betrayed some of the secrets of the organization, and the entire Order was denounced, pub- licly and privately, in the bitterest terms. A newspaper, called The Anti-Masonic Rhode Islander, was started in Newport in 1829. A copy of it is in the possession of the Rhode Island Histor- ical Society. Its motto was, "Thou shalt not do murder", and its publishers were Allen & Folsom, 178 Thames strect. Dr. Benjamin W. Case, a violent anti-Mason, was editor, and his columns were largely devoted to expressing his extreme ideas and broadly condemn- ing all secret orders. The same publishers were responsible, also, for the issue of the "Prospectus of Proceedings and Addresses of the Pennsylvania Anti-Masonic State Convention".
The Newport Mercury of March 13, 1830, said that " Antimasonry seems to be spreading"; that New York and Pennsylvania had both had anti-Masonic State conventions during the preceding week; that the convention at Harrisburg continued in session two days and ap- pointed twenty-eight delegates to attend the general convention to be held in Philadelphia in September. "The Anti-Masonic Convention held at Albany on the 2d inst. appointed 36 delegates to attend the National Convention at Philadelphia on the 11th of September next."
A memorial was presented to the Rhode Island Assembly in 1831 demanding an investigation of the whole subject of Masonry, its obli- gations, proceedings, regulations, etc., and made the claim that "the designs, principles, and practices of Freemasons are believed to be adverse to religion and morality, subversive of civil government, and incompatible with all the social and civil virtues".
The Anti-Masonic party in several States had allied itself with the Whigs; but this was not the case in Rhode Island, where the first of its tickets was nominated in 1831, taking Governor Arnold from the National Republican ticket, and Lieut .- Governor Hazard from the Administration (Democratic) ticket, with a part of the senators from each, and a few independent candidates. An Anti-Masonic conven- tion was held in Providence on September 14, 1831, at which a series of nineteen resolutions was adopted ; these claimed that the preponder- ance of Masons in the Federal government "shows the importance of applying political anti-Masonry to remedy the evils there, as well as in State governments"; they thanked Colden, Richard Rush, and John Quincy Adams for their stand in opposition to Masonry; they claimed that seven-eighths of the press of the country was in control of
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the Order, and that therefore anti-Masonry had the right to resort to the press and the ballot to destroy it; "that the able and fearless manner in which the eausc of anti-Masonry in this State has been sustained and supported by the conductors of the Rhode Island Amcriean, entitles that paper to a liberal and extensive patronage", etc. It was voted to appoint Anti-Masonic county committees and recommended the appointment of town committees.
On the other hand, an address of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island to the publie was prepared in the same year (1831) by John Carlile, William Wilkinson, Peter Grinnell, Barney Merry, Joseph S. Cooke, Barzillai Cranston, Jaeob Frieze, and Thomas Rivers, which replied in detail to the charges of their opponents against the Craft. This address is a dignified paper, logieal and modest in its statements. It set forth that all Masons were not bound to endorse a wrong done by a brother; that their secrets were deserving of as much respect as the internal affairs of a church; that they were subject to the Legislature only as far as eoneerned the issue of their charter, and that while they obeyed the laws, their proceedings could not be stopped. This address was reported to a meeting held in the hall in Providenee June 13, 1831.
The petition to the Legislature, before mentioned, resulted in the appointment of a special committee to make the investigation in Masonie praetiees. This committee met in Providenee on December 7, 1831, and the proceedings assumed the character of a court of law. Masons were examined and called upon to answer questions regarding their Masonic oaths and obligations, and were not to be "protected from answering all questions that might be put to them". It was also understood that Masonic bodies would be required to produee books and reeords before the committee. After a number of sittings, in which there were differenees among members of the committee, a report was made which fills more than two hundred printed pages and was signed by four members of the committee-B. Hazard, James F. Simmons, Levi Haile, and Stephen B. Cornell. Readers must be referred to the report itself for details, which may be found in the library of the Rhode Island Historieal Society and elsewhere. It showed that the worst charges against the Fraternity in Rhode Island were wholly false, and exonerated Freemasonry in the State from all charges of criminality, but closed with the following paragraph in deferenee to the state of the publie mind on the subject :
"This committee eannot but come to the conelusion that Masons owe it to the community, to themselves, and to sound principles, now to discontinue the Masonie institution".
William Sprague, jr., was a member of the committee and was op- posed to the other members in their course and its results as shown in
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their report. Mr. Sprague made a separate report in which he stated that he had learned at the beginning of the investigation that other members of the committee had agreed with the Masons of Providence that they would be called to testify, but would not be required "to state any of the secrets of Masonry". Mr. Sprague showed during the sittings that it was his wish that the Masonic witnesses should be forced to reply to every question, no matter what its character, and $ wanted the examination to go thoroughly into all the details of the Fraternity. The fact is, that the witnesses refused to reply to ques- tions about as they thought best for themselves.
Another local incident of the crusade was the publication by eight persons, among whom were Rev. Ray Potter, Rev. Levi Chase, and Rev. Henry Tatem, of a paper intended to prove that Masonry sanc- tioned, and even required, the sacrifice of human life as a penalty for disclosure of its secrets. To this a reply was made in the form of an address to the public, dated August 4, 1831, and signed by John Carlile, William Winkinson, Peter Grinnell, Barney Merry, Joseph S. Cooke, Barzillai Cranston, Jacob Frieze, and Thomas Rivers, in which the accusations were denied by the most solemn asseverations and logical argument. Jacob Frieze also delivered an address before the Grand Lodge on June 24, 1831, the burden of which was in defense of Masonry from charges of murder and conspiracy. Said he, "if Morgan was murdered, and by Masons, it is probable that but few hands were concerned in the transaction", and the whole Order should not be made to suffer for the deeds of a few persons; he compared Masonry with Christianity, both necessarily containing bad elements, continuing: "Masonry, they say, is a political body, seeking power and influence through the medium of her secrets. Anti-Masonry, of course, is the author of no political schemes". Two other addresses emanating from the committee of Masons above named were issued in the summer of 1831, in reply to the report of the legislative com- mittee.1
A "Declaration of the Free Masons of Rhode Island" published and adopted by the Grand Lodge, March 11, 1833, was a document the preamble of which refers to the injury done to the Fraternity by the anti-Masons, and following with the declaration that all obligations of Masonry are in line with justice, truth and law. This paper was signed by 170 Providence Masons, 60 in Newport and Portsmouth, 45 in Bristol, 27 in Warren, 88 in Smithfield, 65 in Cranston and North Providence, 60 in Warwick and Coventry, 23 in East Greenwich and Wickford, 48 in Glocester, and 48 in Cumberland and Foster.
Meanwhile the politicians were hard at work making the most of their opportunity, their views finding expression in the newspaper
"All of these pamphlets and papers are in possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
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organs of the respective political parties. The issue of the Rhode Isl- and American of November 29, 1830, said, "Ever since 1826 it has been most positively asserted that opposition to Masonry was dead and buried in New York. . In 1828 Solomon Southwick, who was foolishly run for Governor, received 33,000 Anti-Masonic votes. In 1829 an· Anti-Masonic senator received 69,000 votes. In 1830 Francis Granger received 120,000 votes", cte.
The Newport Mercury of October 22, 1831, commented upon the fact that the entire Anti-Masonic ticket had been elected in Vermont. A straight Anti-Masonic ticket was nominated in Rhode Island in 1832, the candidate for governor being William Spraguc. A State convention of the new party was held in Provi- dence, January 17, 1833, to agree upon a Prox of general officers. This was the time when the crusade was at its height, at least in this State. Both of the old parties were scheming for coalition with the Anti-Masonic forces. A communication in the Providence Journal of January 28, 1833, noted the sudden political changes that were taking place and stated that the Jackson leaders in Rhode Island were "rather sober". Continuing, "Now it would seem by the late nomina- tions of State Senators, that the whole Jackson party was to be transferred to Anti-Masonry. What changes have there been, too, in Anti-Masonry ! The leaders of that sect professedly started with the sole view of rendering free-masonry unpopular; yet, in a little while, they turn out to be gambling, reckless politicians, who are ready to trade with this man and that man, be he mason or not, and to engage in petty traffic with this party and that party". The writer asserted that amid all the passing changes, the National Republican party had been consistent. On the other hand, the columns of the Rhode Island American bristled with bitter political editorials in support of the new organization, and the Republican Herald zealously upheld the Jackson interests. The Providence Journal of March 11, 1833, pro- fessed much surprise at the prospect of coalition by the Jackson and Anti-Masonic forces, and charged inconsistency in the nomination of Jolin Brown Francis in opposition to Governor Arnold, demanding an explanation as to which party had given up its principles, the Jackson or the Anti-Masonic. In the mean time the Rhode Island American was making such revolutionary declarations as that Masonry "utterly disqualifies a man to be a Sheriff, Witness, Judge or Juror", and that the leading principle of its party must be that every Mason must be disfranchised. The campaign was a warm one and was followed by the State election on April 17, 1833, in which Arnold, the National Republican candidate ran ahead of Francis in Providence, but the so- called "State Amalgamation" ticket as a whole had about 700 majority in the State.
The campaign of 1834 was little less exciting. A convention of
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those opposed to "the ruinous course of the administration" was held in Providence on April 2, and nominated Nehemiah R. Knight for governor, and George Irish for lieutenant-governor, and many en- thusiastic public meetings were held by the different factions. The Anti-Masons went before the General Assembly with another memo- rial, asking that the civil charters be taken away from the several Masonic organizations to which they had been granted in the State. These organizations were cited to appear and show cause why their charters should not be revoked. The Grand Lodge thereupon ap- peared before the Assembly by counsel and remonstrated against such action; but nothing could stay the tide of opposition now running so strong under the manipulations, and the Assembly, at the January session of 1834, repealed six charters, but left a number in force. Other legislation was enacted in favor of the Anti-Masons, including a law prohibiting the administration of extra-judicial oaths.
After being subjected to all of this determined opposition, misrepre- sentation, and, as they believed, persecution, the Fraternity felt that they might as well abandon the field and bow to what at that time seemed to be the popular will. The Grand Lodge, on March 17, 1834, held a Communication, at which it voted to surrender its civil charter and recommended all lodges in this jurisdiction to take the same action; but the Grand Body made it clear that this course was not intended in any sense to signify an abandonment of the institution or an admission that its life was ended. On June 24, 1834, a committee reported to the Grand Lodge upon the facts connected with the sur- render of the civil charter, in which report is found the following :
"We wish it to be distinctly understood by all our Masonic brethren, either at home or abroad, that the civil charters had no connection with the Masonic charters; that the Grand Lodge retains its Masonic powers as heretofore, and that its members have not relinquished their rights as citizens to assemble peacefully together or to associate as Masons," etc.
It is worthy of note that several lodges in this State held to their charters throughout the crusade, and it is still more deeply significant that not a single lodge gave up its Masonic charter during the period when the institution was most actively assailed. Several were dor- mant, however, only a short time after the birth of anti-Masonry and became extinct before the revival of Masonic prosperity-which took place twenty years or more after the beginning of the excitement in Rhode Island caused by the disappearance of Morgan. The charter of the Grand Lodge was restored by an act of the General Assembly, passed April 4, 1861, when brighter days for Masonry had come and all eyes were turned towards the events that were heralding a far greater and more honorable conflict.
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After the surrender of its eharter by the Grand Lodge there was a slight ehange of sentiment among the Anti-Masons, who considered their eause won, and who did not sympathize with the political meas- ures which were overwhelming the original question. A writer in the Providenee Journal of April 7, 1834, signing himself "An Anti- Mason", said, in substance, that after several years of eonfliet the Grand Lodge had surrendered its charter and the objeets of the move- ment were thus accomplished; therefore, why be instruments longer "to cut our own throats ?" The name of John Brown Franeis again led the " Administration Prox"; the Providenee Herald published the Anti-Mason and the Jackson proxes side by side. At the ensuing elee- tion Mr. Knight had a majority in Providence of 669, and was elected by about 160. In 1835 Franeis beat Knight by less than 100 votes, and in 1836 Van Buren received the electoral vote of Rhode Island for the presidency. The political party designation of Whigs and Tories now eame into existence, the Anti-Masons continuing their coalition with the former. In the spring of 1837 in Rhode Island the Tory element was so strong that it was hopeless for the Whigs, and, as stated in the Journal, the election "went without opposition". In the following August, however, the Whigs were eneouraged by obtaining a majority for their ticket, and in the Providence Journal of April 3, 1838, is found the statement that Rhode Island was the first State in the Union to acquire "the memorable distinetion of breaking loose from the company of Van Buren"; but the latter was elected presi- dent. The Whigs and their allies were sueeessful in the next year, when William Sprague was elected governor. During all of this period of ten years, or more, the Anti-Masonic politieal party, built upon the disappearance of one man in a mysterious manner, nurtured by politieians for their own ends, and reeeived with open arms into one of the older politieal organizations, was an immense power in many parts of the country.
The time approached when this movement began to lose its hold upon popular favor, and its deeline was as rapid as its rise. By the year 1840 the storm was about over in Rhode Island, although its cffeets continued mueh longer. No new lodge was chartered in this jurisdiction from 1825 to 1856. During nearly fifteen years after the beginning of the crusade there was almost entire eessation of work ill the lodges, and membership rapidly deereased. The returns to the Grand Lodge in 1840 represented an aggregate of 950; about one-third as many reported in 1850. But there were many zealous and faithful brethren who never lost hope. Sueh men as Joseph S. Cooke, Grand Master during the darkest period, Caleb Earle, Peter Grinnell, Moses Richardson, William C. Barker, Christian M. Nestell, Oliver Johnson, James Hutehison, Henry Martin, Barney Merry, Rev. Dr. George Taft, Willliam Field, James Salsbury, and others, never wavered in
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their allegiance to Masonry, nor ceased their efforts for the life and advancement of the Fraternity. When the opposition had largely disappeared charters were brought from their hiding-places, rooms and furniture were renovated, the ancient ceremonies were resumed, and a more hopeful spirit animated the faces and speech of the faith- ful.
On June 24, 1840, a large number of brethren held a Festival Com- munication of the Grand Lodge in Pawtucket in the Congregational church, where an eloquent discourse was delivered by Rev. Paul Dean, of Boston. This was only one of several evidences of the beginning of the revival. In 1842 the Rhode Island Grand Lodge was repre- sented by William Field at the convention held in Washington to consider the establishment of a General Grand Lodge, and at another convention at Baltimore, in May, 1843, the same representative attended; here plans were perfected for the holding of a National Masonic Convention once in every three years. In 1847 another convention, held in Baltimore, adopted a constitution for a Supreme Grand Lodge, which was to become operative when it was ratified by sixteen Grand Lodges; this project failed, but Rhode Island was one of the States that favored it. When another effort was made in the same direction in 1849, a Quar- terly Communication of the Rhode Island Grand Lodge was held in Providence on November 26, and a draft of a constitution for a Gen- eral Grand Lodge was adopted. But this attempt, too, failed and no General Grand Lodge was ever organized.
A new constitution for the Rhode Island Grand Lodge was reported in 1847 and adopted in 1848. Changes were few, among them being a declaration of the inherent right of a Grand Lodge to amend its own constitution, without confirmation of amendments by subordinate lodges; also, the restriction of the business of St. John's Day to the election of officers. The minimum fees for conferring degrees was fixed at $24; $14 for the first degree, $3 for the second, and $7 for the third degree. Of this amount $4 went to the Grand Lodge.
At a Quarterly Communication, held August 27, 1849, resolutions were adopted which led to the founding of the Grand Lodge Library, which, at the time of its destruction by fire hereinafter referred to, had grown to a fine collection of standard Masonic and other works.
The Centennial Celebration of St. John's Lodge, Providence, took place on St. John's Day, June 24, 1857. This was one of the most no- table gatherings of the Fraternity in Rhode Island. Every lodge in the State was present, with visiting organizations, St. John's Encamp- ment of Providence, Washington Encampment of Newport, Holy Sepulchre Encampment of Pawtucket, and others, all forming an imposing procession. The services were held in the Bap- tist church and were conducted by Rev. George W. Chevers, Grand
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Chaplain ; an address was delivered by the Rev. George M. Randall, D. D., which was highly complimented.
The first Masonic Lodge constituted in Rhode Island after the abatement of opposition was Franklin Lodge No. 20, of Westerly, the dispensation for which was granted November 24, 1857; there is no evidence that the dispensation was ever issucd. The charter was dated and granted May 25, 1857, and the first meeting was held July 8, 1857. The lodge was incorporated in January, 1870; it passed through a period (1859-61) of internal dissension, which arose mainly over the election of a certain member as Master; but the good offices. of the Grand Lodge and the good sense of many of the members finally caused a settlement of the difficulty in an amicable way. James H. Hoyt was the first Master.
The next lodge constituted was What Cheer Lodge No. 21, of Providence, for which a dispensation was granted August 31, 1857. The first regular Communication was held in What Cheer building, September 1, 1857. William B. Blanding, Master; Lyman Klapp, S. W .; Robert S. Fielden, J. W .; Absalom P. King, treasurer; Edward Hooker, secretary; Sylvanus Tingley, S. D .; Samuel L. Blaisdell, J. D., were present, with twelve other Rhode Island brethren and a few visitors. The initiation of Nicholas Van Slyck was the first per- formed, November 6, 1857. A charter was granted and dated Novem- ber 30, 1857, and the lodge was publicly constituted February 2, 1858; the incorporation took place at the January session, 1864. This lodge has had a very prosperous existence; the number of members in 1861 was 110, and the additions during the war period brought the number up to 230. (A period of still greater activity ensued in 1870-1 when 125 petitions were presented, of which 62 were granted.) The fees in this lodge were originally $30, but were twice increased, until they reached $75, afterwards being reduced to $50, as at the present time.
The decade 1860-70 was one of marked prosperity and growth of Masonry in Rhode Island. In the year first named there were sixteen lodges in the jurisdiction, all of which have been noticed. There was an aggregate membership in the jurisdiction of 1,483. Only four lodges had more than one hundred members each; few lodges were occupying their own halls, and few had any invested funds. But there were strong men directing affairs in the Grand Lodge of the State. William Gray, of Newport, was Grand Master; Ariel Ballou was Deputy Grand Master; Philip B. Bourn and William B. Blanding were Grand Wardens, and Thomas A. Doyle was Grand Secretary; others of equal energy were associated with these. While the outbreak of the Civil War caused a shock in Masonic circles, the growth of the institution was not retarded during that trying period. The Frater- nity was well represented in both the army and the navy and evinced
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the patriotism of all loyal Americans. Seven new lodges were char- tered in this State in the decade, besides the so-called traveling lodge, American Union, attached to the First Rhode Island Regiment of Detached Militia, for which a dispensation was granted April 29, 1861. The dispensation was returned August 26, 1861, it being learned that it could not be used as anticipated.
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