NOTE: This material is a text-file – also containing the associated graphics - of the 1902 book, “MASONIC HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.” Where found, the original book measures 12” X 14”, weighs 12 pounds, containing over 600 now-fragile pages; typically the spines are discovered to be broken – testimony to the value of the book, as the broken spines came from having been read and studied! Beyond the geographic subject matter, this work contains a fabulous and scholarly introductory history of the Craft; profusely populated with illustrations.
The intent behind this project was to preserve a great Masonic history book. The book has been scanned, edited and copyrighted at Phoenixmasonry, Inc. by Ralph W, Omholt, Librarian with the intent that it can be used for on-screen reading enjoyment. Certainly, it serves as an electronic research treasure.
Accordingly, please enjoy!
MASONIC HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST
Graphic Recital of the Organization and Growth of
Freemasonry in the Northwest States
Comprising an Historical Review of the Institution
BY
JOHN MILTON HODSON, P. G. M., Oregon
WILLIAM H. UPTON, P. G. M., Washington
JONAS W. BROWN, P. G. M., Idaho
CORNELIUS HEDGES, P. G. M. and O. Sec'y, Montana
To which is prefixed a Narrative of the Origin of Freemasonry and Its Growth and Diffusion
throughout the World. Also an Account of the Capitular, Cryptic, and Scottish Rites
and the Knights Templar. Besides a Chronicle of the Rise and Progress
of the Modern Orders of the Mystic Shrine and Eastern
Star. To which are Added Brief Biographies
of Many of the Founders and
Builders of Masonry in
the Northwest
Entered According to Act of Congress In The Year 1902.
By The History Publishing Company
The astounding diffusion and marvelous growth of Freemasonry, not less than its wonderful vitality and remarkable influence upon men and nations, have constantly excited amazement among the peoples of the earth. It has seemed as if the Institution were not only of divine origin but also under the fostering care and protection of the Godhead, to such an extent has it been patronized apparently, by the Deity. But whether the countenance which the Craft has received is resolvable to celestial approval or merely to human favor, it is certain that its basic principles have ever contained essential elements of the larger conduct of man in his relations with his fellows; and from this Masonic seed has been germinated the vital code of liberty of speech, action and conscience, which is now recognized in all civilized countries as the birthright of every individual.
Progressive, modern thought, recent development of broadly free governments, and the constant advance of the times in every direction - material, mental and spiritual - are all directly traceable to the vitalizing system of postulates enunciated by the Masonic Fraternity, which spread beyond the limits of the Society and its devotees and unerringly pointed the course toward the consummation of the greatest happiness and freedom of the individual conjoined to his highest duty to Man and the State. The opposition of kings, priests and politicians was unable to stem or overcome the ever - increasing power of the Masonic tenets. The doctrines of equality, justice and liberty appealed too strongly to the weak and oppressed to be eradicated by command, cajolery, sophistry or threat. Hence the fulminations of temporal and religious sovereigns were fruitless. Persecution of the members of this new Fraternity was the natural reward of their temerity in setting up novel standards for the guidance of Man in his worldly and spiritual walks, but even this failed of its purpose. The feeble spark became the glowing flame which melted the shackles that Ignorance, Superstition, Intolerance and illiberalism had forged, and the enlightening conflagration from this fervent blaze is gradually consuming the remnants of the fanaticism, bigotry, oppression and false gods which the past has covertly and craftily attempted to transmit in their fullness to this period of light and reason, but which happily have come down the ages more and more denuded of their terror and power.
With the dethronement of the monstrous kingly and priestly domination and its entailed debasement, wrongs and harassments, and the installation in their stead of comprehensive freedom of thought and action, extended views of the rights of the citizen and enlarged mental and physical opportunities, was inaugurated the primal era of that felicitous succession which has opened to humanity the great avenues of knowledge and endeavor. Amid the advancement which followed the gradual displacement of illiteracy, ignorance and prejudice, the all - controlling factor in that remarkable work - the Masonic Organization - was preserved in all its purity and power. Neither assaults, calumnies, oppressions nor persecutions could swerve it from its purpose or stay its progress.
The fanatic, the bigot, the ignorant and the intolerant were alike impotent to impede its advancement or to destroy the force of its teachings. The inexorable laws of nature and the fate of the times worked transmutation of its membership, but its principles were external and immutable and their exploitation but added to its strength and dignity. Silently and imperceptibly, yet with cynical certainty and assurance and irresistible force, its persuasive and ameliorating dogmas were diffused until they were beyond all repression. The establishment of the new status softened the rigors and harshness of the old religious and political doctrines and afforded unhampered opportunity for honorable endeavor and purposeful effort.
Learning became widespread, the fallacies and falsehoods of the political and religious systems were uncovered, reason succeeded unthinking bias and nescience, the sects intermingled freely, clement notions increased, Man's correlative duty to his brother was now extensively cultivated and generous sufferance of divergent opinions ruled. The past was a hideous dream and was soon forgotten in the benign declarations of the new faith - the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of GOD. Thenceforward the path led easily and resistlessly to the ennobling triune of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
The Masonic Sodality then began to enjoy the fruits of its humanizing labors, and in its development penetrated the remotest portions of the globe. In the early years of the American Colonies it indoctrinated liberal polities which conceived the Revolution and produced the great Republic. And at that time it cast its spell upon the expansive woods and plains, mountains and fields of the great territory edging upon the North Pacific and claimed it for its own. In that remote region, long isolated and undeveloped, the untutored savage and the fearless adventurer practiced the elevating tenets of the Masonic Craft and hewed the way to the later erection of the illuminating altars of this sublime Fraternity.
The mighty secret of its wide dispersion, significant growth and momentous power has ever been TRUTH. And TRUTH now, as formerly, is the touchstone of its "landmarks," the basis of its creed, its teachings and its action. Fortified with this trenchant enginery of offense and defense, the Masonic Establishment has been invincible, and by means of TRUTH has furthered, benefited and encouraged mankind in every department of human affairs. It was the pursuit of TRUTH which led to the early exploration and settlement of the Northwest country, and it was the spirit of TRUTH which united the pioneer denizens of that far - off land for the practice of all which ennobles and inspires. In all the vicissitudes of life in that then border land the consuming attractiveness of TRUTH made for endeavor, security and honor. The Red man alike with the White knew, appreciated and respected its force; hence, all dwelt together in that concord which nothing else could induce.
Under the beneficent rule of TRUTH this vast territory was populated, developed and civilized. It is not singular, therefore, that in the history of this region now distributed among four imperial States of the American Federation, Freemasonry, the foster - mother of TRUTH, should have played an important and controlling part. To graphically depict the many varying but ever - fascinating phases of that anomalous growth was alluring to both the publisher and the editorial corps. It inspired the former to engage in the responsible undertaking, while the task of portraying, the romantic era of this famed land at first interested, then absorbed, and at last completely enthralled the latter.
Their combined labors, pursued with ever - increasing enthusiasm, have produced the present work, in the preparation of which nothing, has been spared that might contribute to a correct, pleasing and permanent picture of the rise of the Masonic Edifice in the Pacific Northwest Distinguished Craftsmen, of pronounced literary ability and with personal knowledge of the times of which they write, have chronicled the local annals of the Fraternity.
Their work has been a labor of love, and in its execution they have evidenced profound reverence, affection and erudition. To this has been added the abilities of other notable authors whose pens have sketched generally the history and achievements of the Masonic Foundation. With pictorial embellishment and dress commensurate to its worth and with a confidence born of earnest and honest effort this historical narrative, dedicated, to TRUTH, is sent forth in the hope that its pages will, in some measure at least, serve to enlighten and entertain, as well as guide to a fuller appreciation of the goodness, nobility and magnificent of the Masonic Guild.
THE HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHAPTER I.
The Origin of Freemasonry
Its History and Works from the Building of Solomon's Temple to the Beginning of the New Era of Masonry.
Science was the Father of Freemasonry and Religion its Mother; it was born in the early dawn of Creation, when the SUPREME GRAND ARCHITECT OF THE UNIVERSE commanded, "LET THERE BE LIGHT," AND THERE WAS LIGHT; it was rocked in the cradle of PHILOSOPHY, taught to walk and read Nature by REASON, and fed by TRUTH. From the day of its birth it had to contend against the darkness of Ignorance, the persecutions of Superstition, and the deadly assaults of Fanaticism, in defense of its life, and maintenance of its existence, a struggle which will continue in one form or another as long as the Sun will shine or the Earth move in the plane of its orbit.
Said our late and beloved distinguished Brother, ALBERT G. MACKEY:
"The true history of Freemasonry is much in its character like the history of a nation. It has historic and prehistoric era. In its historic era, the institution can be regularly traced through various antecedent associations, similar in design and organization, to a comparatively remote period. Its connection with these associations can be rationally established by authentic documents, and by other evidence which no historian would reject. Thus dispassionately and philosophically treated, as though was the history of an empire that was under investigation - no claim being advanced that cannot be substantiated, no assertion made that cannot be proved - FREEMASONRY - the word so used, meaning, without evasion or reservation, precisely what everybody supposes it to mean - can be invested with an antiquity sufficient for the pride of the most exacting admirer of the society.
"And then for the prehistoric era - that which connects it with the mysteries of the Pagan world, and with the old priests of Eleusis, of Samothrace, or of Syria - let us honestly say that we now no longer treat of Freemasonry under its present organization, which we know did not exist in those days, but of a science peculiar, and peculiar only to the Mysteries and to Freemasonry - a science which we may call Masonic symbolism, and which constituted the very heart blood of the ancient and modern institutions, and gave to them, while presenting a dissimilarity of form, an identity of spirit. And then, in showing the connection and in tracing the germ of Freemasonry in those prehistoric days, although we shall be guided by no documents, and shall have no authentic spoken or written narratives on which to rely, we shall find fossils embalmed in those ancient intellects precisely like the living ones which crop out in Modern Masonry, and which, like the fossil shells of the fishes of the old physical formations of the earth, show, by their resemblance to living specimens, the graduated connection of the past with the present. "No greater honor could accrue to any man than that of having been the founder of a new school of Masonic history, in which the fictions and loose statements of former writers would be rejected, and in which the rule would, be adopted that has been laid down as a vital maxim of all inductive science - in words that have been chosen as his motto by a recent powerful investigator of historical truth.
"Not to exceed and not to fall short of facts - not to add and not to take away. To state the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Our late Brother, ALBERT G. MACKEY, has thus clearly presented a true statement of the prehistoric and historic continuity of our Ancient and Honorable Fraternity. Tradition and symbolism have come down to us through the ages, as well as being recorded in hieroglyphics upon the monolithic monuments and in the temples of that most ancient land of mysteries and knowledge, Egypt, the land of the Pyramids and the Sphinx, watered by the River Nile, from whose bosom was recovered the infant MOSES, and with him in after times the knowledge and mysteries, in the Arcana of the past and the present Masonic world.
PHILO - JUDEUS says that "Moses was instructed by the Egyptian priests in the philosophy of symbols and hieroglyphics as well as in the mysteries of the sacred animals." The sacred historian also say's "he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." MANETHO and other traditionary writers inform us that "he was educated at Heliopolis (the City of the Sun) as a priest, under his Egyptian name, OSARSIPH, and that there he was taught the whole range of literature and science which it was customary to impart to the priesthood of Egypt. When, then, at the head of his people, he passed away from the servitude of Egyptian taskmasters, and began in the wilderness to establish his new religion, it is not strange that he should have given a holy use to the symbols whose meaning he had learned on the banks of the Nile."
Karnak is the name of a village in Upper Egypt, occupying a portion of the site of ancient, Thebes. The Great Temple of Amon, commonly known as the Temple of Karnak, is located on the east side of the Nile, about two miles northeast of Luxor. An avenue of sphinxes led to the Water. Besides the Great Temple there are some twenty smaller edifices dedicated to Mut, Khonsu, Mentu, Ptah and other deities. These ruins combine to make the most extensive collection in the world. The whole is a wonderful aggregation of buildings of temples, colonnades, courts and the inner sanctuary. It is constructed with a unity of design, and is different in that respect from the temple at Luxor. The roof was supported by one hundred and thirty-four columns eighty feet in height, and upon them the hieroglyphics may still be read of the histories of the various dynasties of the race of PHARAOHS or kings. Here, was where MOSES was initiated and graduated in the Ancient Mysteries, and from his knowledge gained in this school or academy he was able to found and organize the Jewish religion with civil and military government and the worship of the true GOD.
It is reasonable also to suppose that when he was for so many years an exile in the wilderness to the eastward, that his superior knowledge and attainments enabled him to communicate readily and have intercourse with those persons of like character on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, and even from farther India, from whence the Egyptians originally derived in part and in a modified form the religion and mysteries they practiced, and which formed the curriculum of the hierarchy of Egypt.
REGHELLINI, in his work, "Masonry considered as the result of the Egyptian, Jewish and Christian Religions," published at Paris in 1833, says: "MOSES, in his mysteries, and after him, SOLOMON, adopted a great part of the Egyptian symbols, which, after them, we Masons have preserved in our own.
The direct traditional and historic base of our Craft rests upon the construction of Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem, itself a compendium of architecture, religion, science and philosophy, and the focus to which was directed the vision of all the learned of the ancient world, as well as the principal architects and builders, who came from Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece, from the West, along the shores of the Mediterranean to the far East, beyond the Euphrates and Tigris to India, and even far off Cathay, to construct the first and the most splendid Temple ever erected to the worship of the true GOD, and built by that ancient " Parliament of Religions," the Masonic Builders of the World. To be sure, the inner Temple or Sanctum Sanclorum, was to be sacredly and secretly used by the Levitical Priesthood, in accordance with the Mosaic ritual of the Tabernacle set up in the Wilderness, yet the knowledge of its purposes, and for what it was designed, was fully understood by the Architect Masons who constructed it and all the secret recesses and chambers of that wonderful edifice. The great porch or tower of 20 cubits or 39 77/100, feet square, and 120 cubits or 238 1/2, feet high in front of the Temple, before which stood the two great brazen pillars, was for astronomical as well as military purposes; to study the heavens, as did the Shepherd Kings centuries before on the plains of Chaldea, as also to serve as a watchtower to look over the City of Jerusalem, and watch the approach of invading enemies.
The great purpose of SOLOMON was to maintain peace, magnify his influence and power and to control the then great highway of overland commerce from India to the Mediterranean having unlimited resources and power, and having for his chief ally the friend of DAVID, his father, HIRAM, King of Tyre, with whom he divided the revenue of imports and exportation. Therefore, he cultivated the friendship of all surrounding countries and their governments, from whence came so many Craftsmen of all kinds and of all shades of religious beliefs, but having a central fundamental principle of the worship, each in his own way, of the one only and true GOD, for which the Great Temple was to be erected; and for the Deity Himself, each according to his nation and tongue, gave Him a name, accordingly, which was compounded and three names that were chosen by the chiefs of the architects at last became one for their own private recognition, according to legend and tradition.
When the time came for the dedication of the Temple, it was to be done out of doors in sight of everybody, and not in the Temple itself; nor was it done by the Jewish priesthood, but by King SOLOMON himself, as king and sovereign of the people, the representative of the people and for the people, not of the Israelites alone, but for everybody under his protection who might desire to come there and worship GOD in his own way and of his own free will; for in the midst of his memorable prayer he said:
“Moreover, concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people, Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling - place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people, Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name."
This part of his prayer was chiefly intended for the foreign Masons who had helped to build the Temple, for we read, "And DAVID commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel, and he set Masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of GOD." "And SOLOMON numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith DAVID, his father, had numbered them, and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand, and three thousand and six hundred. And he set threescore and ten thousand to be bearers of burdens, fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people at work."
Thus it will be seen came the first systematic organization of Freemasons of which we have any historic account, and to be directly employed upon government and religious work, under the immediate direction of one HIRAM ABIF, the chief architect of the work, who was sent by HIRAM, King of Tyre, in compliance with the expressed desire of King SOLOMON. It is upon the knowledge, education, skill, life, and tragic death of this most distinguished Mason of which there is any account, either historical, traditional, or legendary, that is formed the structure of our philosophic, semireligious, speculative, and symbolic Freemasonry of today, which has come down to us through the ages for a period of over twenty-nine centuries and carrying with it the history, tradition, and mysteries of as many centuries before. He is the central figure of all recorded time and the Master Builder of the Masonic World. He had the highest recommendation that could possibly be given to him at the time. HIRAM, King of Tyre, said of him in his letter to King SOLOMON:
"And now I have sent a cunning (wise) man, endued with understanding of HIRAM, my father's. The son of a woman of the daughters of DAN, and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord DAVID, thy father."
He was relieved, however, from having to originate the plans for the Temple, for DAVID, it seems, was the original designer who drew the plans of the Temple, in accordance with divine direction, for everything in and about this wonderful edifice then to be built, and had given them to his son, King SOLOMON, for the account given of it is as follows:
"Then DAVID gave to SOLOMON, his son, the pattern of the porch and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat; and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of GOD, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things. * * * * * All this, said DAVID, the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern," etc.
There is a secret tradition that King SOLOMON, when the Temple was nearly completed, had tired of HIRAM ABIF, the Chief Architect of the Temple, who was the representative of the people and who had risen from their level to become the companion of kings. The necessity of personal intercourse during the construction of the Temple had made his architect familiar with that royalty which was but recent and in the second generation only; and the Tyrian architect regarded SOLOMON as but a man and the son of a shepherd of fortuitous circumstances, who by causing the death of his elder brother ADONIJAH, the next in line to DAVID, had succeeded the first occupants of the throne upon the change of the autonomy and form of government of the people of Israel. King SOLOMON, being jealous of his power and glory, and determined that no other monarch should erect a similar temple of equal magnificence and splendor, is said to have himself, secretly and surreptitiously, secured the plans and the last designs drawn upon the trestleboard of the Temple, and secretly contrived to plot whereby his chief architect might be removed, that no other king or nation should have them or be able to secure his services. The unconscious instruments of his purpose performed the part they were incited to enact, not knowing who was the actual chief conspirator whose will they had carried out, when they supposed that they were only executing their own; and yet received the decision of their fate at his hands, the chief conspirator and criminal acting as their judge - his grief and indignation simulated and hypocritical and from whose royal decree there was no appeal.
Through the long line of martyrs whose lives have been sacrificed on the altars of Truth, Science, and Philosophy and for Civil and Religious Liberty, Freemasonry has come down to the
present age brighter in its effulgence, and like the sun in its course, will forever shine, giving life and light wherever the unfettered intellect and the freed soul of man can measure the distance and the courses of the stars and find repose in the bosom of its divine Creator, the All Father and the ALMIGHTY GOD.
As a Brotherhood, traveling from one country to another in camps or lodges, ready to undertake the reconstruction of buildings, destroyed by the ravages of war or of the elements, from their ruins, or to build new ones - whether churches, cathedrals, public or private edifices or fortresses - the banded Craftsmen pursued their calling in every country of Western Asia, Northern Africa, and throughout all the countries of Continental Europe and the British Isles. While temporarily sojourning in huts or lodges themselves, they were ever ready to contract to build a most gorgeous, sumptuous palace, a costly cathedral, a lordly castle, or a plain citizen's dwelling. The science of construction in Grecian, Roman, Moorish, or Gothic architecture was as familiar to them as the curriculum of the most noted universities of today to the scholarly professors who occupy the chairs at Oxford, Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. Whether in Athens or in Rome, Grenada, Seville, or in Paris, at Dresden, Munich, Cologne, or Rheims, at London, Edinburgh, Stirling, or Melrose, these journeying Craftsmen, with their masters schooled in the learning of the old Colleges of Architecture at Rome, traveled with freedom from toll over the face of Europe, carrying the secrets and mysteries of their Craft with them, fully understanding the purposes and nature or character of the buildings to be constructed, and their handiwork still remains to be seen commanding the admiration of the beholders for centuries since the last finishing strokes were given and the scaffolding removed.
The ancient mysteries and knowledge of all the religions were known to them, for they had to erect the temples and edifices for them, and thus they learned the symbolism, faith, and philosophy of each, and were always well prepared to digest and analyze all shades of doctrines and beliefs while inwardly committed to none but their own independent thoughts, studying Nature and reading her mysteries by the God - given Light of Reason, and worshiping their Creator in the starlighted Cathedral of the Universe, the mountains for their altars and the plains and valleys for the checkered pavement of their temple and kneeling floor. Their working tools furnished them symbols for teaching moral lessons and guides for their conduct, while the blade of the trowel of the Master Mason reminded him of the form of his coffin, upon which in the lines from the points at right angles, if a Christian, he could discern the symbol of his faith, and, in its handle, he grasped the everliving acacia, which again placed in the ground at the head of his grave, like AARON's rod, would take root and bud and bloom anew in full strength and fragrance, the symbol and type of his own immortality.
These scattered lodges were at last mostly found in England, and after the Great London Black Plague and Fire of 1666. The four lodges that were engaged in the finishing of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1717, having admitted to their fellowship the scholars and philosophers and scientific men of that day as "Accepted Masons," instructed them in the allegories, legends, and symbols of the Craft, and Freemasonry, thus augmented, expanded and widened to a larger sphere and became stronger in its growth, while the floor of its temples became neutral ground, where political disputations ceased and polemical discussion of sectarian religious beliefs were rigorously hushed and barred, and Nature's humanity and loving kindness were given a chance to bring good men of opposite opinions together, “who might have forever remained at perpetual distance from each other."
Such was the origin of Freemasonry in the beginning until the so-called "Revival of Freemasonry " in 1717, and which has come down to us with but few modified changes from that date for a period of one hundred and seventy-nine years. ESTO PERPETUA.
CHAPTER II.
The Objects of Freemasonry:
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY, BROTHERLY LOVE, TRUTH, RELIEF TO THE WIDOW, THE ORPHAN AND THE DISTRESSED.
In stating the objects of Freemasonry at the head of this chapter as the cardinal tenets of our "Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity," and which we desire to illustrate, it may truthfully and logically be said that there must be LIBERTY to maintain EQUALITY and FRATERNITY as the natural result of the two which compose the first triad of Masonic principles which forms the base of our institution and the second triad is the living, force and natural outflow in activity of the former; for there could be no BROTHERLY LOVE without FRATERNITY, no RELIEF without the active principle of EQUALITY in HUMANITY, and no LIVING TRUTH without the exercise of LIBERTY to declare and maintain it. This double triad forms the double interlaced triangular symbol of the cardinal tenets of our beloved Order; and the hexagon in the center formed by the crossing of the lines of these two equilateral triangles shows the outlines of the foundation stone of our Temple in perspective, upon which is inscribed the Trinity of every true Mason's religion, regardless of any particular creed: FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY.
A sublime FAITH in the ALL FATHER and Creator of the Universe without superstition, for otherwise no man could be free or fit to become a Mason. A well grounded HOPE of IMMORTALITY, like that of JOB: "For I know that my Redeemer liveth"; or like that of PAUL: "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of GOD, an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens." And CHARITY, which crowneth all, so well described and systematized by MOSES, the lawgiver of Israel: "When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy GOD may bless thee in all the works of thy hands. When thou beatest thine olive trees thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vinevard, thou shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless, nor take a widow's raiment to pledge. Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. At his day thou shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD and it be sin unto thee." Or as PAUL and PETER have said: "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations; for brethren ye have been called unto liberty; but by love serve one another. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous; fear GOD, love the brotherhood; honor all men. And now abideth FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY; but the greatest of these is CHARITY"; all of which latter is summed up in the Golden Rule, " Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them," as laid down by the Most Wise Master who ever appeared among men. These are the fundamental principles upon which the universal religion of Freemasonry is founded. In this connection we may revert to the Ancient Charges of a Freemason:
I. CONCERNING GOD AND RELIGION.
A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be stupid atheist nor an irreligious libertine. But though in ancient times, Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, it is now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves that is, to be good men and true, or men of honor and honesty, by whatever denominations or persuasions they may be distinguished, whereby Masonry becomes the center of union and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance."
II. OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE, SUPREME AND SUBORDINATE.
"A Mason is a peaceable subject to the civil powers wherever he resides or works, and is never to be concerned in plots and conspiracies against the peace and welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior magistrates; for as Masonry hath always been injured by war, bloodshed, and confusion, so ancient kings and princes have been much disposed to encourage the Craftsmen, because of their peaceableness and loyalty, whereby they practically answered the cavils of their adversaries, and promoted the honor of the fraternity, who ever flourish in times of peace. So that if a Brother should be a rebel against the State, he is not to be countenanced in his rebellion, however he may be pitied as an unhappy man; and if convicted of no other crime, though the loyal brotherhood must and ought to disown his rebellion, and give no umbrage or ground of political jealousy to the government for the time being, they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his relation to it remains indefeasible."
FURTHER EXTRACTS FROM THE ANCIENT CHARGES OF A FREEMASON.
"The persons admitted members of a Lodge must be good and true men, free born, and of mature and discreet, age; no bondsmen, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of good report."
"All Masons shall work honestly on working days, that they may live creditably on holy days; and the time appointed by the law of the land, or by custom, shall be observed."
"The Craftsmen are to avoid all ill language and to call each other by no disobliging name, but Brother or Fellow; and to behave themselves courteously within and without the Lodge."
EDITORIAL NOTE. The Double Interlaced Triangle illustrated above was the device on DAVID'S shield and on SOLOMON'S seal. The twelve angles within and without each point had reference to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Each angle being of sixty degrees, it is for this reason that in the jewel of a Past Master the compasses are extended to sixty degrees upon the segment or arc of a circle, the angle being that on which the bee forms its cell in the honeycomb within the hive, and which contains also a geometric problem and a key as well as moral lessons to be drawn therefrom.
"No private piques or quarrels must be brought within the door of the Lodge, far less quarrels about religion or Nations or State policy, we being only as Masons of the Universal religion above mentioned; we are also of all Nations, tongues, kindreds, and languages, and are resolved against all Politics, as what never conduced to the welfare of the Lodge or ever will. This CHARGE has always been strictly enjoined and observed; BUT ESPECIALLY EVER SINCE THE REFORMATION IN BRITAIN, OR THE DISSENT AND SECESSION OF THESE NATIONS FROM THE COMMUNION OF ROME."
We have cited these extracts from the "Ancient Charges of a Freemason " because within them is contained, preserved, and to be for all time perpetuated, the principles and doctrines of absolute civil and religious liberty to each individual member of the fraternity admitted within the sacred walls of its Temple; and, while its tessellated floor is neutral ground and no discussions of a debatable character upon matters of either religion or politics are permitted within the Sanctum Sanctorum, yet at the same time the good seed is sown. When the prejudices and passions of men are subdued to a peaceful tranquility, toleration prevails, the right of private choice and judgment is recognized, and the result is that, being honest, good men and true, pure in intentions, peaceably disposed, mutual respect and esteem is cultivated and a fraternal spirit of brotherly love and affection cements the Mystic bond of Brotherhood. Freemasonry has no punishment for sectarian religious heresy nor for political rebellion, excepting there be heinous crime connected therewith; for what may be considered treason today may by success be loyalty tomorrow, and by revolution the position of political parties be reversed in holding the reins of government.
These principles and maxims and the policy of our honored institution were well laid down for the government of the Craft by the Grand Lodge of England chiefly composed of those who had suffered as victims of persecution, Huguenots and Scotchmen when it was first organized by the four London Lodges on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1717, at the Apple Tree Tavern, London, when ANTONY SAYRE, the son of a French Huguenot, was elected Grand Master, at the time of the so called "Revival of Freemasonry," when speculative or philosophic Freemasonry became more general, and adopted or accepted by the operative guild or craft, which, continually traveling to and fro and in foreign countries, disseminated these principles whithersoever they journeyed in plying their vocation. As a distinguished writer has said, "The Grand Kabalistic Association known in Europe under the name of 'Freemasonry' appeared all at once in the world at the period when the Protest against the Papal Power came to break the Christian unity." As has also been well said by our late and lamented Brother, ALBERT G. MACKEY: "The design of Freemasonry is neither charity or almsgiving, nor the cultivation of the social sentiment, for both are merely incidental to its organization; but it is Ike search after truth, and that truth is the unity of GOD and the immortality of the soul. The various degrees or grades of initiation represent the various stages through which the human mind passes, and the many difficulties which men individually or collectively must encounter in their progress from ignorance to the acquisition of this truth."
It was this idea which generally prevailed in the seventeenth century among the operative Freemasons, who were called upon to construct religious and other edifices for the various sects which had divided the Christian Church, and that called forth a more general spirit of inquiry among them into religious and philosophical truths, and the calling to their aid the scientific, philosophic, and learned scholars of the age, who were welcomed into the Operative Guild as auxiliaries and were received and made Adopted or Accepted Freemasons, as had been their custom from time immemorial; and among those admitted was the learned antiquarian, ELIAS ASHMOLE, who also has left the impress of his work upon the drama in that portion of the ritual which now relates to the Fellow Craft Degree in particular and before Freemasonry was divided into three degrees. He was made a Freemason October 16, 1646, two centuries and a half ago and seventy-one years before the Grand Lodge of England was formed. Some thirty-six years after his admission into the fraternity, March 10, 1682, he was summoned to attend a Lodge of Masons the next day at Masons' Hall, London, an account of which he has left in his diary, in his collection in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. Among other things, he says:
"There is no doubt to be made that the skill of Masons, which was always transcendent even in the most barbarous times - their wonderful kindness and attachment to each other, how different soever in condition, and their inviolable fidelity in religiously keeping their secret - must expose them in ignorant, troublesome, and superstitious times to a vast variety of adventures, according, to the different fate of parties and alterations in government. By the way, I shall note that the Masons were always loyal, which exposed them to great severities when power wore the trappings of justice, and those who committed treason Punished true men as traitors. Thus in the third year of the reign of HENRY VI (1432), an Act of Parliament was passed to abolish the society of Masons and to hinder, under grievous penalties, the holding of Chapters, Lodges, or other regular assemblies. Yet this act was afterward repealed, and even before that, King HENRY VI and: several of the principal lords of his court became Fellows of the Craft."
Thus the principles of Freemasonry were those of absolute civil and religious liberty and equality of all men who were honest, good, and true, and worthy of admission to the Brotherhood, which were being fostered and strengthened within the sacred precincts of their Lodges, where they grew in strength and expanded and spread beyond their walls, and permeated society of every rank and degree, effectually but silently like the growth of the forest, doing their perfect work, and which in the course of events has proven irresistible; and all free government everywhere at the present day owes its existence primarily or indirectly to the influence of our beloved institution. The great mistake of many writers of Masonic history is the utter ignoring of the political and religious conditions of the times of which they write, of the controversies and conflicts of sects and parties of both Church and State, of the actors therein, who have directed the current of events of rival intolerant, superstitious, and persecuting religions, and of the antagonisms of contending political parties and armed adherents of ambitious kings and prelates.
Speculative Freemasonry itself is the child of both rational religion and liberal politics, but not of fanaticism and partisanship; it was begotten during a truce and born during an armistice; its clothing, the Master Mason's apron, is a flag of truce and at once commands, "Peace, be still!" for the place over which it flies is holy and neutral ground. The fugitive Huguenots driven from France upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the despoiled Scottish noblemen, adherents of the House of the Stuarts, and liberalminded Englishmen who were scholars, fused with the operative Masons of the four Lodges that were engaged in the building of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and became Accepted Masons and Brethren of the Craft.
They enriched the ritual and drama of initiation with moral and philosophic instruction, combined with scientific formula and symbols, and clothed it with legendary tradition blended with both sacred and profane history, and taught the most sublime truths that can be inculcated and impressed upon the hearts of men. The so-called "Revival of Freemasonry" in 1717 was the spiritual rebuilding of King SOLOMON's Temple in which every Mason to this day is engaged within himself, to be erected and dedicated to ALMIGHTY GOD. No slave or bondman was permitted to work on, in or about the Temple, not even to remove the rubbish. He therefore must be freeborn as well as a freeman in whom the spirit of Freemasonry is to dwell free as a citizen, morally free, and utterly free to worship GOD as he pleases, whose heart and mind are illuminated by the Great Light of the Holy Bible, which ever lies an open book, for all to read, upon every altar of Masonry, and erected to ALMIGHTY GOD.
It was the French Huguenot Reformer, JOHN THEOPHILUS DESAGULIERS, born March 12, 1683, at Rochelle, France, who having become a curate of the Church of England and initiated in the "Lodge of Antiquity" in St. Paul's Churchyard, secured the assistance of several older Masons to aid in the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, in which he was eminently successful. He was more of a scientist than a preacher, and PRIESTLEY styles him "an indefatigable experimental philosopher." Said our lamented Brother, ALBERT G. MACKEY: "To few Masons of the present day, except to those who have made Freemasonry a subject of special study, is the name of DESAGULIERS very familiar. But it is well they should know that to him, perhaps more than to any other man, are we indebted to the Present existence of Freemasonry as a living institution; for when in the beginning of the eighteenth century Masonry had fallen into a state of decadence which threatened its extinction, it was DESAGULIERS who, by his energy and enthusiasm, infused a spirit of zeal into his contemporaries which culminated in the revival of the year 1717, and it was his learning and social position that gave a standing to the institution, which brought to its support noblemen and men of influence, so that the insignificant assemblage of the four London Lodges at the Apple Tree Tavern has expanded into an association which now overshadows the entire civilized world. And the moving spirit of all this was JOHN THEOPHILUS DESAGULIERS."
ANTONY SAYRE, the son of a French Huguenot, was elected the first Grand Master. In 1718 he was succeeded by GEORGE PAYNE, and in 1719, DESAGULIERS was elected Grand Master, followed by the DUKE OF WHARTON, the EARL OF DALKEITH, LORD PAISLEY, and others. These three last named gentlemen, eminent Masons and Grand Masters, had been attainted and forfeited their titles in the British or rather Scotch peerages for their adherence to the House of Stuart, as will be seen by reference to DE BRETT'S "Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland." WHARTON forfeited his title in 1728. DALKEITH was a descendant of the DUKE OF MONMOUTH, illegitimate son of CHARLES II. CHARLES RADCLIFFE, who had married CHARLOTTE, Countess of Newburgh, a widow, was the third son of EDWARD II, Earl of Derwentwater, and assumed that title upon the death of his nephew, who was executed for rebellion against GEORGE II in 1716, and, fleeing to France, assisted in the planting of Freemasonry in that country and became the first Grand Master of Masons of France in 1725. His mother was MARY TUDOR, the illegitimate daughter of Charles II. He also had been attainted and convicted of treason before his flight. He left France in 1733 (sixteen years after the Grand Lodge of England was organized), and made several visits to England in unsuccessful pursuit of pardon. The blood of the Stuarts, though illegitimate, which flowed in his veins, operated as an effective barrier to his hopes and prospects. Filled with hopeless disappointment, he at last allied his fortunes with those of The Young Pretender in 1745, and sailed from France to join him, but the vessel in which he embarked was captured by an English man - of - war. He was taken prisoner and beheaded on Tower Hill, London, December 8, 1746. Under the skillful guidance of these eminent, learned and loyal craftsmen, the revivification of the decadent society became complete, and a higher appreciation of its principles and purposes attracted to its altar men of renown whose devotion insured the stability and growth of the institution as a fraternity dedicated to the uplifting of humanity.
The Grand Lodge of England, thus formed, made itself and its subordinates a Universal Bible Society and the sworn custodians of the Great Light of Freemasonry, and in the installation ceremonies of the Masters of Lodges, DESAGULIERS, when he framed them, borrowed almost the exact language in reference to it as used in the coronation ceremonies prescribed by King JAMES I of England
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(who was also, at the same time, King JAMES VI of Scotland). For the information of the Brethren and as matter of historic curiosity, we subjoin the charges in parallel columns:
AT THE CORONATION OF THE KING PRESENTATION OF THE BIBLE BY THE ARCHBISHOP.
"Then shall the Dean of Westminster take the Holy Bible that was carried in the procession, from off the altar and deliver it to the Archbishop, who, with the rest of the Bishops going along with him, shall present it to the King, first saying these words to him:
"Archbishop - Our gracious King, we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom. This is the Royal Law. These are the Lively Oracles of GOD. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this Book, that keep and do the things contained in it, for these are the words of eternal life, able to make you wise and happy in this world, nay wise unto salvation, and so happy forevermore through faith, which is in CHRIST JESUS, to whom be glory forever. Amen!"
"Then the King delivers back the Bible to the DEAN OF WESTMINSTER, to be reverently placed again upon the holy altar."
AT THE INSTALLATION OF THE WORTHY MASTER -
PRESENTATION OF THE BIBLE TO THE MASTER ELECT.
"Then the Marshal of the Lodge, going to the altar and taking the Holy Bible therefrom (or if for convenience sake using another), will deliver it to the Past Master acting as the Installing Officer, who says:
"Installing Officer - My Brother, I now present you the Book of Holy Writings. It is the Great Light in Masonry, and should ever be the great law of the Brotherhood. It will guide you to all truth, it will direct you to eternal happiness, and an attentive regard to the divine precepts it contains will insure you success in the fulfillment of the duties you are now about to assume. * * In short, by a diligent observance of the bylaws of your Lodge and the constitutions of Masonry, and, above all, the Holy Scriptures, which are given as the rule and the guide of your faith, you will be enabled to acquit yourself with the highest honors here and lay up a crown of rejoicing which shall continue when time shall be no more."
It is again placed upon the altar [or table].
The Scottish element at the time of the so-called " Revival of Freemasonry" in 1717 in England prevailed, and the Masonic world is greatly indebted to a man born August 5, 1684, at Edinburgh, Scotland - a Doctor of Divinity of the Presbyterian faith, who removed to London and became the Pastor of the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Swallow Street, Piccadilly - the Rev.JAMES ANDERSON, who was commissioned by the Grand Lodge of England, September 29, 1721, to collect and compile the history and charges of the fraternity from the then existing constitutions of the Lodges. Those who then composed the Grand Lodge of England were comparatively young men, DESAGULIERS being only thirty-eight years and ANDERSON thirty-seven years of age. A French Episcopalian and a Scotch Presbyterian working in harmony in drawing their designs upon the Masonic trestleboard relegated sectarianism to where it belonged. Both of them were away from their native land - both direct descendants of those who had been persecuted for political and religious conscience sake - and laboring in concord at a time when a century of persecution had driven the best blood and the greatest intelligence out of the United Kingdom to find a refuge in the then wilderness of America, where the great lights of Freedom and of Freemasonry were to be soon established and in time illumine the entire New World. "Anderson's Constitutions and Old Charges and Regulations," compiled by him, have been the general standing regulations of the fraternity for a century and three - quarters, since they were collated and compiled. St. Paul's Cathedral in London had just been completed, its great architect, Sir
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CHRISTOPHER WREN, had shortly afterward died and been immured within it when ANDERSON completed his important work for the Craft. The Brotherhood was soon thereafter to be divided and scattered.
It was during these troublous times that Free and Accepted Masonry had to be organized with a central authority placed within a representative body to be known as the Grand Lodge of England, that the Great Lights might be kept burning and send their refulgent rays around the globe and penetrate every corner of the earth. England, where it was organized, may therefore claim to have been the seat of WISDOM; Scotland, for having furnished the compiler of its constitution and laws which gave it STRENGTH; and France, the birthplace of the chief author and designer of its ritual, may claim its BEAUTY. ASHMOLE, ANDERSON, and DESAGULIERS, the rose, the thistle, and the lily, the floral symbols of light and power, of warning and protection, and of purity and adornment, represented in these three great master builders, will continue to bloom with the fragrant acacia, symbol of immortality, as long as there are compasses and squares to draw designs upon the trestleboards of the Craft, a trowel in the hands of a Master Mason to spread the cement, or the gavel of a Master to sound and direct the work. Thus Free and Accepted Masonry, at its revival in 1717, with a regularly constituted and organized Grand Lodge of authority delegated to it, created amidst political and religious strife of all parties, factions, and fanatics, started out on its grand, but quiet and peaceful mission, to humanize and civilize the world, with the silent but firm guaranty of the rights of conscience, bearing upon its snow white banners its grand principles of LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY, BROTHERLY LOVE, RELIEF, and TRUTH, and its standard planted upon its most perfect ashlar and chief cornerstone of FAITH IN GOD, HOPE IN THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, and CHARITY FOR ALL MANKIND, especially of the HOUSEHOLD OF THE FAITHFUL.
“Slave to no sect, who takes no private road,
But looks through Nature up to Nature's God;
Pursues that chain which links th' immense design,
Joins heaven and earth, and mortal and divine;
Grasps the whole world of Reason, Life, and Sense,
In one close system of Benevolence:
Happier as kinder, in whate'er degree,
And height of Bliss but height of Charity." - Pope.
CHAPTER III
Advent of Freemasonry into America.
MASONRY PROVIDED THE LEADERS THAT INCITED THE COLONISTS AND LED THEM TO VICTORY, LEAVING ITS IMPRESS UPON THE FREE INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Before entering upon the work of "The History of the Northwest" proper, it is expedient and appropriate that an account of our Masonic ancestry and descent in our own country of the American Republic should be given; and as there were individual Masons on the Pacific Slope, before American occupation, carrying the light within their own breasts, scattered over the country and traversing its solitude, so there existed a similar condition in the early settlement of the American Colonies upon the Atlantic Coast.
It is said that there is evidence that "Freemasonry existed in the then French Colony of Nova Scotia without the English language as early as 1606," or fourteen years before the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. The first Mason of whom there is any account in that state or in America in colonial times was Governor Jonathan Belcher who was made in a Lodge in London in 1704, or thirteen years before the so-called "Revival of Freemasonry in 1717. SERNO D. NICKERSON, Past Grand Master and now Grand Secretary and Historian of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, who is always exact in his statements of facts of history, records the following: " In 1741 Governor JONATHAN BELCHER said to the first Lodge in Boston (St. John's), 'It is now thirty-seven years since I was admitted into the Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons.' He was present and his health was drank in the Grand Lodge of England, September 26, 1744. The Craft spread far and wide, and whenever two or three of them were gathered together they made merry, and they made Masons!"
Thus it will be seen that wherever there were three Master Masons to come together, and thus have a quorum, they would open a Lodge of Master Masons pro tempore, initiate, pass and raise candidates, close and disband until another emergency should arise. There was no supreme authority to govern and control, no warrants or charters issued, and this loose system generally prevailed, though fortunately for Freemasonry the population at that time was very limited and every man knew his neighbor before admitting him to the fellowship of brotherhood. Even in 1733 the population of the city of Boston was only about 18,000, Philadelphia about 12,000, and New York even in 1777 numbered only 21,767, so that in the selection of material there was not much danger of going very far astray.
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In the British Isles, however, Masonry had its Lodges which were permanent, kept their records, and were separate, independent sovereignties, amenable to no other regulations and laws but those established by themselves; and their government in legislation was shared by the humblest Entered Apprentice, who had both voice and vote in the administration of their affairs, and each was a free republic with freemen and Freemasons in itself, their Masters and other officers of their own choice, limited by their own laws and landmarks of the Order and the terms for which they were chosen; but when the Grand Lodge of England was organized at the Apple Tree Tavern in London, in 1717, then a new order of things commenced by its declaring, "That the privilege of assembling as Masons, which has been hitherto unlimitd, shall be vested in certain Lodges or Assemblies of Masons convened in certain places, and that every Lodge to be hereafter convened, except the four old Lodges at this time existing, shall be legally authorized to act by a warrant from the Grand Master for the time being, granted to certain individuals by petition, with the consent and approbation of the Grand Lodge in Communication, and without such consent no Lodge shall be hereafter deemed regular or constitutional." In "Anderson's Constitutions of 1723" we find among the General Regulations, "compiled first by Mr. GEORGE PAYNE, Anno 1720, when he was Grand Master, and approv'd by the Grand Lodge on St. John Baptist's Day, Anno 1721," the following, being the second paragraph of Article VIII:
"If any Set or Number of Masons shall take upon themselves to form a Lodge without the Grand Master's Warrant, the regular Lodges are not to countenance them, nor own them as fair Brethren and duly form'd nor approve of their Acts and Deeds; but must treat them as Rebels, until they humble themselves, as the Grand Master shall in his Prudence direct, and until he approve of them by his Warrant, which must be signify'd to the other Lodges, as the Custom is when a new Lodge is to be register'd in the List of Lodges."
Says Bro. SERENO D. NICKERSON: "The new system thus inaugurated met with general approval and was adopted by common consent by the English speaking portion of the Craft, from time to time, as it became known. In no quarter was the new departure more cordially approved, or more cheerfully conformed to than in the British North American Provinces."
In 1721 the Grand Lodge of Munster, Ireland, was formed, of which SPRINGETT PENN (the oldest son of the celebrated WILLIAM PENN, the founder of Pennsylvania) was the first Deputy Grand Master; but in 1730 the Grand Lodge of Ireland was regularly organized.
The Grand Lodge of Scotland was constituted in 1736. The Grand Master of Scotland, WILLIAM ST. CLAIR, Earl of Orkney, who then exercised supreme power, declared: "Taking into consideration that his holding or claiming any such jurisdiction, right or privilege might be prejudicial to the Craft and vocation of Freemasonry, renounced his claims and empowered the Freemasons to choose their Grand Master. The consequence of this act of resignation was the immediate organization of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, over whom, for obvious reasons, the late hereditary Grand Master or Patron was unanimously called to preside." This act carried with it all of the Scottish Lodges of one allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
As all the duly constituted Masonic bodies in the American Colonies derived their warrant of authority from the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland and Scotland, it is necessary to briefly refer to the Grand Lodges in England, for there were several. According to ANDERSON and PRESTON, the first charter granted in England to the Masons as a body was bestowed by King ATHELSTAN in 926, upon the application of his brother, Prince EDWIN. "Accordingly," says a legend first cited by ANDERSON, "Prince EDWIN summoned all the Masons in the realm to meet him in a congregation at York, who came and composed a General Lodge, of which he was Grand Master; and having brought
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with them all the writings and records extant, some in Greek, some in Latin, and some in French and other languages, from the contents thereof that assembly did frame the Constitution and Charges of an English Lodge. From this assembly at York the rise of Masonry in England is generally dated; from the statutes there enacted are derived the English Masonic Constitutions, and from the place of meeting the ritual of the English Lodges is designated as the 'Ancient York Rite.'"
For a long time the York Assembly exercised Masonic jurisdiction over all England, but in 1567 it was split in twain. The Masons of the southern part of the island elected Sir THOMAS GRESHAM, the celebrated merchant, their Grand Master. He was succeeded by the illustrious architect, INIGO JONES. There were then two Grand Masters in England who assumed distinctive titles: the Grand Master of the north being called "Grand Master of all England," while he who presided in the southern portion of England was called "Grand Master of England."
The political disturbances, civil wars, and conflicts of parties during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries played havoc with Masonry, and the General Assemblies had ceased altogether. In 1715 there were but four Lodges in the south of England, all working in the city of London, and it was these four Lodges which came together on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1717, and formed the Grand Lodge of England and adopted the regulations, as already stated. This Grand Lodge and that at York maintained friendly relations until 1725, when the former invaded the jurisdiction of the latter, and again in 1735, when it repeated the offense by the EARL OF CRAWFORD, Grand Master of England, constituting two Lodges and appointing deputies for Lancashire, Durham, and Northumberland. Total non - intercourse and interdiction was the result between these two bodies. In 1738, or three years afterward, several Brethren seceded from the Grand Lodge of England, took advantage of this breach, and called themselves "York Masons," and when the latter body took action against them they then adopted the name of "Ancient York Masons," charged the Grand Lodge of England with making innovations, branding them with the name of "Modern Masons," and they then in 1739 established a new Grand Lodge in London under the name of the "Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons." Thus these Masons not only seceded from their own regular Grand Lodge but appropriated the name of the other at York and affixed an amendment to it in the word "Ancient." The York Grand Lodge may have winked at or encouraged this revolt on account of the invasion of its own jurisdiction by repeated unfriendly acts of the Grand Lodge of England at London.
For some years the Ancient Lodges in several instances appear to have worked on an independent system, claiming the original right, which every body of Masons had, to assemble and work without a warrant; but finally in 1751 they changed the title again to "The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, according to the old Constitutions," while the regular body was known as " The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons under the Constitution of England." This latter body soon after its organization was recognized by the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland, and these four, Grand Lodges granted warrants to subordinate Lodges in the American Colonies, and the seeds of rivalry and jealousy took root in a virgin soil, which bore fruit for nearly three quarters of a century.
The first regular authority or appointment to constitute Masonic Lodges in the American Colonies was issued by the DUKE OF NORFOLK, Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of England, on June 5, 1730, to DANIEL, COXE, of New Jersey, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This was followed by Lord Viscount MONTACUTE, the succeeding Grand Master, on April 30, 1733, appointing HENRY PRICE, of Boston, Provincial Grand Master of New England. There are no official records or accounts of Provincial Grand Master COXE having
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created any Lodges or issued any warrants for Lodges while he held his appointment. There were independent Lodges within his jurisdiction which met semi - occasionally and did as they pleased, while he was in London the most of the time, looking after his own private interests. These independent single Lodges assumed each for itself the title of "Grand Lodge," and its Master that of "Grand Master.
On July 30, 1733, just three months from the date of his appointment, R\W\ HENRY PRICE, as Provincial Grand Master of New England, at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern, in Boston, was duly invested and congratulated, and St. John's Grand Lodge was then formed, the first regularly constituted Lodge of Masons in America, and the recognition of Freemasonry and of Lodges by the granting of warrants of authority was put in motion by his granting a warrant to eighteen Master Masons and their Brethren to form a subordinate Lodge known as First Lodge, in Boston, and installing their officers. In 1783 it took the name of St. John's Lodge, by which it has ever since been known. Among the first to recognize the authority of HENRY PRICE, who had been appointed Provincial Grand Master for all of North America, was BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, the so called Grand Master of the self - constituted "Grand Lodge of St. John's," in Philadelphia, in which he was made in February, 1731. The records of St. John's Grand Lodge of Boston recite that, "About this time (June 24, 1734) Our Worshl. Bro. Mr. BENJN. FRANKLIN from Philadelphia became acquainted with Our Rt. Worshl. Grand Master Mr. Price, who further instructed him in the Royal Art, and said FRANKLIN on his Return to Philadelphia called the Brethren there together, who petitioned Our Rt. Worshl. Grand Master, having this year Recd. Orders from the Grand Lodge in England to Establish Masonry in all North America, did send a Deputation to Philadelphia, appointing the Rt. Worshl. Mr. BENJN. FRANKLIN first Master; which is the beginning of Masonry there." This last sentence refers to regularly constituted Masonry by lawful authority.
Du
