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 FROM THE 
 
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 HS537.D61 H29 
 
 History of the Grand lodge and of freema 
 
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 olln,anx 
 
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 Cornell University 
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 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92403028771 2 
 
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 Graaid Lodge of tlif? District of ColumTiic 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THB 
 
 GRAND LODGE 
 
 AND OF 
 
 FREEMASONRY 
 
 IN THB 
 
 District of Columbia 
 
 WITH 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 COMPII,BD BY 
 
 W. BRO. KENTON N. HARPER, 
 
 NAVAL LODGE, NO. 4. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE GRAND LODGE. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 R. BERESFORD, PRINTER, 
 
 1911. 
 
A.'t'i''^^l 
 
 Copyright, 1911 
 
 BY 
 KENTON N. HARPER. 
 
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION. 
 
 At the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge, P. A. A. M., of the 
 District of Columbia, held December 15, 1909, the undersigned Special 
 Committee were authorized and directed to proceed with the publication 
 of a History of the Grand Lodge and of Freemasonry in the District of 
 Columbia, prepared by W. Bro. Kenton N. Harper, a Past Master of 
 Naval Lodge, No. 4, this jurisdiction, and the Historian of the Grani^ 
 Lodge especially designated and appointed for the purpose. 
 
 The Committee have had careful supervision over the subject matter 
 of this History and in connection with the Historian have defined the 
 scope and arrangement of the work. 
 
 The work, it seems to the Committee, is as complete a history of Free- 
 masonry in the District of Columbia as it is possible to prepare from 
 obtainable data, containing as it does all available facts of general import- 
 ance and interest concerning the Fraternity, covering the period from long 
 prior 'to the formation of the Grand Lodge in eighteen hundred and eleven 
 to the year of its one hundredth anniversary. 
 
 The Committee have been mindful of the difficulties and embarrassments 
 which the Historian has encountered in his work and have been more than 
 gratified at the successful and pleasing outcome of his labors. Brother 
 Harper has been painstaking and thorough in his quest for material and 
 has gotten together a wealth of historical matter of incalculable value to 
 students of our Masonic life and history, and interesting and instructive 
 as well to even the casual reader by the skillful grouping and scholarly 
 presentation of the rich fund of information he has succeeded in bringing 
 together. 
 
 He has exercised good judgment in the selection of his material and 
 accepted only such data as was of unquestioned authenticity and reliability. 
 
 That the Historian has well and faithfully performed the important and 
 onerous duty assigned him the succeeding pages of this volume amply 
 testify, and this chronicle of the life and activities of Freemasonry in our 
 jurisdiction for more than a hundred years will ever stand as a lasting 
 monument to Brother Harper's zeal, ability, and indefatigable industry. 
 
 LURTIN R. GiNN, 
 
 Gborgb E. CorsoNj 
 Arvine W. Johnston, 
 
 Committee. 
 
FOREWORD. 
 
 ^' I look on that man as happy who when there is a question of success looks 
 into his work for a reply, not into the market, not into opinion, not into 
 patronage. ' ' — Emerson. 
 
 In presenting the '■'■History of the Grand Lodge and of 
 Freemasonry in the District of Columbia''' the author .^ con- 
 ceiving that a brief review of the several previous movements 
 in this direction cannot fail to prove of interest.^ not only as 
 ijtdicatiitg in some degree the difficulties of such an under- 
 taking, but also as demonstrating the importance the matter 
 has always assum.ed in the minds of the leaders of our local 
 Craft.1 premises his introduction with the following historical 
 facts : 
 
 As early as 18^'j Grand Master Whiting having recom.- 
 m.ended that a history be prepared " to rescue from the past 
 the material facts and incidents connected with the introduc- 
 tion., progress., and vicissitudes of Masonry within the District 
 of Columbia^'' a committee to examine into and report upon 
 the expediency of such an undertaking was appointed., 
 consisting of Past Grand Master French, D. G. Master 
 Page, and Brother Rheese. This comrnittee, exceptionally 
 well qualified, reported in 18^8, heartily favoring the project, 
 and after touching upon the fact that there is in this section a 
 Masonic history anterior to the formation of the Grand Lodge, 
 says : '■'■A history, to be complete and one creditable to this 
 Grand body, should contain all the action, of whatsoever 
 nature, with which the Grand Lodge has had any connection 
 since its organisation, and it can only be written after much 
 investigation and much reflection, and it will require much 
 time and labor?'' 
 
 In spite of the fact that the committee urged the matter 
 
VI HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 with great force it was lost sight of in the press of other 
 matters^ and was not revived until i8yi when Grand Master 
 Stansbury, in his annual address, influenced unquestionably 
 not only by the palpable desirability of such a work, but also 
 by the repeated and insistent demands from other jurisdictions 
 for light upon our local history, invited consideration of the 
 subject, but no notice being taken thereof he again, in 18^4, 
 earnestly renewed his recommendation, saying, in part : 
 '■'■Every year''s delay will make the recovery of the details of 
 the early history of our lodges more and more difficult.'''' 
 
 Thus aroused the Grand Lodge authorized the Grand 
 Master to appoint an Historian, directed the secretaries of 
 subordinate lodges to afford him every facility for the collection 
 of facts from their records, and otherwise evinced its active 
 interest in the project. In pursuance of the order the Grand 
 Master at once appointed the late Brother Wm. R. Singleton, 
 for many years Grand Secretary, and a Masonic writer of 
 world-wide reputation, who immediately set to work with his 
 characteristic enthusiasm and thoroughness, aud in a com- 
 paratively short time reported that he had his manuscript in 
 shape for publication, but it is a matter of lasting regret that 
 the scarcity of Grand Lodge funds during this period not only 
 prevented the printing of this undoubtedly valuable historical 
 work by that body, but led to the practical rejection of an offer 
 by Brother Singleton to assume the greater part of the ex- 
 petise and a lukewarm attitude toward his later proposition 
 to publish by subscription. The report of the Historian 
 embodying this latter idea was presented in i8yp and con- 
 tained a prospectus of the proposed History, and the whole 
 matter being thereupon referred to a special committee, of 
 which P. G. Master Stansbury was chairman, that com.mittee 
 the following year reported that the first seven chapters 
 covered the plan contemplated by the Grand Lodge, but the 
 remaining eight chapters '■'■deal with degrees, orders and rites 
 oj which this Grand Lodge as a body can have no know- 
 ledge^'' and recommended the publication of the first seven 
 chapters by the Grand Lodge "as soon as the condition of the 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COL,UMBIA Vll 
 
 treasury will permit^'' with the authority to include the rest 
 of the matter within the same cover ^ provided it could be done 
 without expense to the Grand Lodge. 
 
 With the adoption of this discouraging resolution the chance 
 of richly benefiting by the many weary hours of unselfish toil 
 given to the task by one so eminently fitted passed from the 
 Grand Lodge, the most diligent search among the papers of 
 the deceased Brother failing to bring to light the missing 
 manuscript with the exception of a fexv sheets which, according 
 to an introductory memorandum, were rewritten upon the 
 discovery that a portion of the original draft had disappeared. 
 
 The approaching Centennial celebration of the birth of the 
 Grand Lodge impressing the then Grand Master, Lurtin R. 
 Ginn, with the desirability of having prepared '•'•an accurate 
 and comprehensive history of the Grand Lodge and of Free- 
 masonry in the District of Columbia''' as a feature of that 
 eve7it, such a recommendation was incorporated in his address 
 in igo^, and, meeting with the approval of the Grand Lodge, 
 was consummated by the appointment, at the installation 
 communication of the same year, of the author hereof 
 
 Coming thus along the Path of Circumstance, as a duty 
 from which there was no honorable escape, the commission was 
 accepted, in spite of a depressing sense of inadequate equip- 
 ment for the task, and the leisure hours of five years have 
 been conscientiously devoted to research and the assembly of so 
 much of the accumulated data as appeared to be of sufficient 
 historical value. 
 
 The author has endeavored to guard against the tendency 
 of works of this character to degenerate into mere copies of 
 records, burdened with uninteresting minuticB of names, and 
 dates, and trivialities of routine, and while sacrificing no im- 
 portant event has aimed to present a history at once concise, 
 accurate, and readable. Chronological order has been pre- 
 served in the plan as a whole, yet an occasional departure 
 therefrom, in order to bring widely scattered yet closely related 
 units together for the intelligent consideration of important 
 movements covering periods of years, has been deemed essen- 
 
VIU HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 tial^ and is hoped will add to the interest and value of the 
 book. 
 
 The selection of the material and the method of presentation 
 being the result of his personal judgment^ matured by long 
 study and deliberation.^ the author is fully alive to the certainty 
 of criticism. He would say, however, to his Brethren that 
 in the prosecution of this work he has gone carefully through 
 the Grand Lodge reports and detached papers ; has consulted 
 the records of the subordinate lodges ; has read every work 
 remotely bearing on the subject that came his way ; has dug 
 among the newspapers of by-gone days ; has corresponded 
 with or consulted such individuals from whom aid might 
 reasonably be expected, and, in short, has left no stone un- 
 turtted, no clue unfollowed, that gave promise of legitimate 
 material. 
 
 An arduous task and yet full of compensations, and if 
 these chapters, upon which he has wrought with gladness, 
 heartfully, shall meet with any measure of approbation that 
 fact shall constitute an added reward to that already his 
 cherished possession — the consciousness of having discharged 
 this duty to the best of his ability. 
 
 -^^^.c^^^y.^ 
 
 Historian. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FAGB. 
 
 REPORT OF Committee on Pubwcations iii 
 
 Foreword v 
 
 List of Illustrations xiii 
 
 I. — Whence Came We? — Theories of Origin— Grand Lodges of 
 England — Introduction of Masonry Into the Colonies — 
 Formation of Grand Lodge of Maryland — The Tradition of 
 St. Andrew's Lodge, Georgetown I 
 
 II. — In the Beginning — Masonry at the Birth of the Federal 
 City — First Lodge, No. 9, of Georgetown, Chartered — 
 Cornerstone of the District — A Unique Dispensation — 
 Formation of Federal, No. 15 — Laying of Cornerstones of 
 Capitoland White House II 
 
 III. — BETWEEN THE Centuries — A Jurisdiction in the Making — 
 Formation of the Earliest Lodges, Columbia, No. 19, 
 Columbia, No. 35, Naval, No. 41, Potomac, No. 43, of 
 Maryland, and Alexandria-Brooke, No. 47, of Virginia — 
 Death of Washington — Side Lights on the Masonic Usages 
 of the Time 23 
 
 IV. — Independence — The Birth of the Grand Lodge — Pioneer 
 OflBcers — Form of Warrants Issued to Subordinate Lodges — 
 Formal Notification to Other Grand Lodges 34 
 
 V. — In the Early Days — Union Lodge, No. 6, and Lebanon 
 Lodge, No. 7 — The Rise and Fall of the General Grand 
 Lodge Idea — Quaint Constitutional Regulations — Notes.... 42 
 
 VI. — The First Decade — War of 1812 — Annual Visitations Inaug- 
 urated — Fraternal Correspondence — Public Appearances — 
 Discipline — The First Constitution 51 
 
 VII. — Dark Days and Bright — First Meridian — The Washington 
 Monument — First Masonic Temple — Formation of Lodges 
 8, 9, 10, II, 12, and 13 — The Anti-Masonic Wave — Repre- 
 sentative System — Cornerston es — Notes 62 
 
 VIII.— The Dawn of Prosperity— Closing Years of the Half 
 Century^Cornerstones of Capitol Extension and Smith- 
 sonian Institution — Lodges 14, 15, and 16 — Lodge of Mutual 
 Benevolence — The Library — Public Functions — Notes 77 
 
X HISTORY OF IfREEMASONRY 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 IX.— Thb War op the Rebei,i,ion— Military Lodges— Union 
 Lodge, U. D., of Alexandria, Va.— Care of Sick and 
 Wounded Craftsmen — Charters to Harmony, No. 17, 
 Acacia, No. 18, and LaFayette, No. 19— Columbia, No. 3, 
 Revived : °7 
 
 X.— A Reawakening— Charters Issued to Lodges Nos. 20, 21, 22, 
 23, 24, and 25— Citizenship and Jurisdiction — Reception to 
 Earl de Gray— Deaths of M. W. Brothers George C. Whit- 
 ing, Benjamin B. French, Roger C. Weightman, J. E. F. 
 Holmead, Charles F. Stansbury, and Brother James A. 
 
 Garfield 97 
 
 XI,— The New Era— Dedication of Washington Monument- 
 Charters to Lodges Nos. 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30— Deaths of 
 P. G. Master Noble D. Larner and Grand Secretary William 
 R. Singleton— Making a Mason " On Sight"— The Albert 
 Pike Statue m 
 
 XII. — The Latter Days— Centennial of Naval Lodge— Important 
 Public Functions — The Washington Gavel — Deaths of 
 M. W. Brothers George H. Walker, R. B. Donaldson, 
 ]os6 Maria Yznaga, David G. Dixon, and E. G. Davis 126 
 
 XIII. — Meeting Places of the Fraternity — Where the Altars 
 of the Grand and Subordinate Lodges of the District of 
 Columbia Have Been Erected During the Century Preced- 
 ing the Present Temple Movement 138 
 
 XIV. — The New Temple — Tentative Propositions — Origin and 
 Progress of Successful Plan — The Cornerstone-Laying and 
 Dedication — Description of Building 154 
 
 XV. — The Lodges in Detail — Brief History of Each Blue Lodge, 
 Living or Extinct, Under the Jurisdiction of the Grand 
 Lodge of the District of Columbia 173 
 
 XVI.— BENEVOLENCES— The Subject in General— Early Methods — 
 The Masonic Mutual Relief Association — St. John's Mite 
 Association — The Masonic Board of Relief — The Masonic 
 and Eastern Star Home 254 
 
 XVII. — The Work — Gradual Evolution of Latter-Day Ritualism — 
 
 Origin and Development of the Ceremonial in the District. 269 
 
 XVIII.— Capitular Masonry in the District of Columbia 280 
 
 XIX.— Cryptic Masonry in the District of Columbia, by George 
 E. Corson, Recorder of Washington Council, No. i. Royal 
 and Select Masters, for Twenty-three Years ; Past Grand 
 High Priest ; General Grand King, General Grand Chapter, 
 U. S. A. ; Past Grand Commander K. T., D. C, and Past 
 J. G. W. of the Grand Lodge 297 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0:1? COLUMBIA XI 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 XX. — The Orders ov Christian Knighthood in the District 
 OF Coi,UMBiA, by Arvine W. Johnston, Grand Recorder of 
 the Grand Commandery, K. T., of the District of Columbia. 307 
 
 XXI.— The Scottish Rite in the District of Columbia, by Wm. 
 
 L. Boyden, 33° Hon., I^ibrarian Supreme Council, 33° 315 
 
 XXII— The Order of the Eastern Star in the District of 
 
 Coi,uMBiA 323 
 
 Appendix — Biographies : The Life Story of Each Grand Master of the 
 District of Columbia Jurisdiction and Other Brethren of 
 Note 331 
 
 General Index 427 
 
 Personal Index 435 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Indexed by facing page. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 William R. Singleton ^ Frontispiece. 
 
 Procession, laying of cornerstone U. S. Capitol i 
 
 (John) Valentine Reintzel 4 
 
 Union Lodge Room, Eleventh St., N. W 8 
 
 Alexander McCormick 12 
 
 Copperplate from cornerstone Union Hotel 16 
 
 Daniel Kurtz 20 
 
 William Hewitt 24 
 
 The Little Hotel and Lovell's Hotel 28 
 
 William W. Seaton 32 
 
 Samuel Burch 36 
 
 Former meeting places of Naval Lodge, No. 4 40 
 
 Tyler's Bill (1812) 44 
 
 Roger C. Weightman 48 
 
 Masonic Hall, Jefferson St., and Forrest Hall, Georgetown, D. C 52 
 
 William W. Billing 56 
 
 Marmaduke Dove 64 
 
 First Central Masonic Hall 68 
 
 Clement T. Coote 72 
 
 Robert Keyworth 80 
 
 John Mason, Jr 84 
 
 Odeon Hall and Eastern Edifice Seven Buildings 88 
 
 William M. Ellis 96 
 
 William B. Magruder 100 
 
 Homes of Hiram Lodge 104 
 
 Benjamin Brown French 112 
 
 Charles S. Frailey 116 
 
 Old Medical College Building 120 
 
 George C. Whiting 128 
 
 Charles F. Stansbury 132 
 
 Second Central Masonic Hall 136 
 
 Yelverton Peyton Page 144 
 
 James E. F. Holmead 148 
 
 Masonic Hall, Thirty-second St., Georgetown 152 
 
 R. B. Donaldson i6o 
 
 Isaac L. Johnson 164 
 
 Masonic Temple, Ninth and F Sts., N. W l68 
 
 EldredG. Davis 176 
 
 Horace A. Whitney 180 
 
 New Masonic Temple 184 
 
 Joseph C. McCoy 192 
 
 Noble D. Larner 196 
 
XIV HISTORY OP FRSEMASONRY 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 First and second homes of Anacostia Lodge 200 
 
 Edward H. Chamberlain 208 
 
 Myron M. Parker 212 
 
 Present home of Hiram Lodge 216 
 
 Thomas P. Chiflfelle 224 
 
 J. M. Yznaga 228 
 
 Present home of Anacostia Lodge -■ 232 
 
 Jesse W.Lee, Jr 240 
 
 Harrison Dingman 244 
 
 Wm. R. Singleton and Stansbury Lodge Buildings 248 
 
 James A. Sample 256 
 
 Thomas F. Gibbs 260 
 
 First and third meeting places of M. M. Parker Lodge 264 
 
 Frederick G. Alexander 272 
 
 Landon Cabell Williamson 276 
 
 Naval Lodge Hall 280 
 
 Henrys. Merrill 288 
 
 David G.Dixon 292 
 
 George W. Baird 296 
 
 Matthew Trimble 304 
 
 Homes of Takoma and King David Lodges 308 
 
 Samuel C. Palmer 312 
 
 John H. Small, Jr 320 
 
 Completed Wing Masonic and Eastern Star Home 324 
 
 William G. Henderson ., 328 
 
 Harry Staudiford 336 
 
 Malcolm Seaton 340 
 
 George H. Walker 344 
 
 The Albert Pike Monument 352 
 
 James A. Wetmore 356 
 
 Lurtin R. Ginn 360 
 
 Scottish Rite Cathedral (House of the Temple) 368 
 
 Walter A. Brown 372 
 
 Francis J. Woodman 376 
 
 Proposed Masonic and Eastern Star Home 384 
 
 Augustus B. Coolidge 388 
 
 Henry K. Simpson 392 
 
 George C. Ober 396 
 
 J. Claude Keiper 400 
 
 George E. Corson 404 
 
 Arvine W. Johnston 408 
 
 Kenton N. Harper 412 
 
 Ben W. Murch, Charles E. Baldwin, Thomas H. Young, and J. Russell 
 
 Verbrycke 416 
 
 J. Henning Nelms, T. John Newton, Alexander Grant, W. W. Jermane, 
 
 and James W. Witten 420 
 
 Lem Towers, Jr., Joseph H. Milans, J. Harry Cunningham, Charles J. 
 
 O'Neill and Warren C. Eickford 424 
 
Ibistori? Of jfreemasonri? m tbe district of Columbia. 
 
MASONIC PROCESSION AT THE LAYING OF THE CORNERSTONE 
 OF THE CAPITOL, SEPTEMBER 18. 1793 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHENCE CAME WE? 
 
 THEORIES OE ORIGIN — GRAND LODGES OE ENGLAND — INTRO- 
 DUCTION OE MASONRY INTO THE COLONIES — EOR- 
 
 MATION OE GRAND LODGE OE MARYLAND 
 
 THE TRADITION OE ST. ANDREW'S 
 LODGE, GEORGETOWN. 
 
 " Traditions in history are hut the circling wavelets which the magician's 
 wand may raise on the stream of history, but the pearls of truth lie 
 in the deep waters below, and can only be reached and brought to view 
 by the plumb-line of investigation." — Anon. 
 
 The most profound mystery in the great system of morality 
 we call Masonry is its origin. Back of the period of authentic 
 recorded history stretch misty avenues of speculation, along 
 which a host of brilliant delvers after the Truth have wan- 
 dered, and from the warp and woof of world-old traditions 
 v\roven many more or less fanciful and sometimes plausible 
 and attractive theories of the birth and early life of this, one 
 of the greatest forces for good the world has ever known. 
 
 Dr. Oliver would have us believe that Masonry was a living 
 science in the days of the Garden of Eden, and Adam its 
 first earthly exponent. Dr. Mitchell exploits the popular be- 
 lief in its origin at the building of King Solomon's Temple. 
 Dr. Mackey, more conservative, goes no further back than 
 the College of Architects of the seventeenth century; and so 
 on through a host of writers. 
 
 Interesting, beautiful, valuable withal, but not history, and 
 the fact remains, from which there is no escape, that no man 
 I 
 
2 HISTORY OF FRE^SMASONRY 
 
 can lay his finger upon the time or country, the age or clime, 
 when and where the chaotic elements, crystalizing into thfe 
 Masonic creation, first heard the fiat : " Let there be light." 
 
 But while this is true there are today prehistoric evidences 
 of a code or codes of morals, illustrated by symbols, in the 
 far past ages nearly akin to our present system, and from 
 these premises may be drawn certain logical and reasonable 
 conclusions, and altho this work is intended to be a history and 
 therefore has only to do with facts, yet the author conceives 
 it to be perfectly proper as well as instructive to glance, in 
 an introductory way, over this field and thereby gain, per- 
 haps, what the artist would call the atmosphere of the whole 
 subject. 
 
 It is susceptible of proof that before and after the dawn 
 of history there existed in China a cult or institution using 
 our present-day symbols in the same kind of service to which 
 we put them, and this has ample verification in the " Book 
 of History" of that ancient civilization, a work covering from 
 the twenty-fourth to the seventh century before Christ, a 
 period antedating King Solomon's time by 1500 years and 
 stretching 200 years beyond. 
 
 Upon the stupendous piles of Masonry in the Valley of the 
 Nile the traveler may today see the signs and s)Tnbols of 
 Masonry sculptured thousands of years ago — the All-seeing 
 Eye, the mosaic pavement, the blazing star, the square, the 
 circle, the parallel lines, and many others. In Greece, also, 
 are to be found traces of the same application of these well 
 known symbols. These and many other evidences lead in- 
 evitably to the conclusion that from the earliest ages there 
 have existed associations more or less similar in their general 
 aim and finding natural expression in the same simple em- 
 blems. But there is no reason to believe that there is any 
 closer relationship than a natural similarity of expression 
 between the ancient mysteries with their blood-curdling rites 
 and the Masonry of which we have recorded history. 
 
 We may even accept the theory that the mysterious vail of 
 Isis curtained the cradle of our Order, to the extent that in 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI.UMBIA 3 
 
 the exercise of such rites the habit of association for definite 
 purpose may have originated and gradually germinated into 
 the great moral forces of later ages, yet absolutely and con- 
 sistently refuse to trace our ancestry to such sources except 
 in the most general sense. 
 
 Following this train of thought we may readily suppose that 
 in Palestine, at the building of King Solomon's Temple, the 
 mysteries of Egypt and Greece were reconstructed, the old 
 mythological divinities and pagan rites forsaken, and an en- 
 tirely new Order, consecrated to the true God, formed. The 
 same marks of the craftsman are on the ruins of the Temple 
 that may be seen on the Masonry of Egypt and Greece. Here 
 perhaps was the first union of symbolic fraternity with the 
 religion of the Hebrew, but it was not the foundation of 
 Masonry; neither was it the superstructure. The alliance be- 
 tween primitive Christianity and the mystic orders was close 
 and intimate, many of the rites of the early Church showing 
 a striking similarity to and connection with those of the 
 secret organizations of that age. 
 
 With the completion of the Temple and the dispersion of the 
 great host of architects and builders to the four corners of the 
 earth the rites and symbols of these fraternities may well 
 have found lodgment in the virgin soil of many countries. 
 
 With Christianity Freemasonry, let us now call it, was in- 
 troduced into Europe and Great Britain, where there may be 
 seen on imposing cathedrals the identical signs and symbols 
 described as appearing on the ruined temples of Egypt, Greece, 
 and Jerusalem. Attractive as this line of speculation must be 
 to the student of Masonry its further pursuit is forbidden 
 by the limited scope of the present work, and we leave it 
 to trace our genealogy by more authentic tho very meager 
 data. 
 
 Freemasonry in some form, we have every reason to believe, 
 existed on the continent of Europe and in England, Scotland, 
 and Ireland in the middle ages, and was probably identical 
 with the building corporations and guilds known to have 
 existed at that period. The consensus of opinion of the best 
 
4 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 writers is that the present society of Freemasonry is plainly 
 the outgrowth and lineal descendant of those ancient associa- 
 tions of builders, and while documentary evidence is meager 
 and confusing yet the conclusion is logical and acceptable. 
 
 The first authentic, or reasonably authentic, organization 
 for the government, regulation, and protection of Masons in 
 their labor came into being in York, England, A. D. 936, by 
 a charter obtained from King Athelston by his brother. 
 Prince Edwin, who was a patron of Masonry, and continued 
 to exist, it is claimed, for a period of more than 800 years. 
 From this so-called Grand Lodge of York there is no evidence 
 that any charters ever issued to American lodges. 
 
 About 1685 in Great Britain, under direction of the then 
 Grand Master, Christopher Wren, other than operative 
 Masons commenced to be received into the Order, and the 
 change from operative to speculative began, but the symbols 
 and phrases of operative were retained in illustrating specu- 
 lative Masonry and the elucidation of the great truths of the 
 now rapidly developing system. 
 
 The change was a gradual one but was practically complete 
 by the beginning of the eighteenth century, but the thorough 
 reorganization which took place upon the formation of the 
 Grand Lodge of England in 1717 radically changed the 
 form of government and polity of the institution, and has 
 well been characterized as a revolution. The spirit, funda- 
 mental laws, and traditional customs of the ancient Brother- 
 hood, even the technical expressions, well suited to the sym- 
 bolic architecture of the Temple, were retained, but only figu- 
 ratively and with a higher significance. 
 
 This British speculative Masonry was directly and indi- 
 rectly transplanted into the American Colonies about two 
 centuries ago. 
 
 Prior to 1717 any number of Masons — Dr. Oliver says not 
 less than ten — met as lodges and acted without other au- 
 thority than their " inherent right," the word " lodge" at that 
 time having a broad enough meaning to include a meeting as 
 well as an organization. Subsequent to that year, however, the 
 
(JOHN) VALENTINE REINTZEL, 
 Grand Master, 1811. 
 
 (I'ictvire fliscovered on eve of publication.) 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 5 
 
 " inherent right" method of lodge formation was considered 
 illegal, altho practiced to a degree for many decades after- 
 wards without subjecting its adherents to excommunication. 
 Lodges became continuing organizations by charters from a 
 Grand Lodge, and Freemasonry as we know and practice it 
 today may therefore be said to date from the year 1717. 
 
 The story of the formation of the Grand Lodge of England 
 has been so often told that it suffices here to give the briefest 
 outline. At the beginning of the eighteenth century Masonry 
 was at such a low ebb in that country that only four lodges 
 had survived, and these four, together with a number of un- 
 attached brethren, met in convention at the Apple Tree Tavern 
 in Charles Street, Convent Garden, in February, 1717, when 
 it was resolved to revive the periodical conventions of the 
 officers of lodges, which had long been omitted, and to choose 
 a Grand Master, and accordingly, on St. John's day, 1717, 
 the Assembly and Feast of Free and Accepted Masons was 
 held at the Goose and Gridiron, in St. Paul's Churchyard, 
 Mr. Jacob Sayer was selected and installed as Grand Master, 
 and the Grand Lodge of England instituted. At the communi- 
 cation of St. John's day, 1718, George Payne, Esq., was 
 elected Grand Master of Masons, and his administration is 
 especially notable as being the one in which the old Regula- 
 tions were given definite form. These Regulations, which had 
 existed long prior to this period but in scattered documents, 
 manuscripts, rituals, etc., were collected and compiled for 
 the first time in 1720, and approved by the Grand Lodge in 
 1721. This work may well be considered as having the most 
 important bearing on the stabiHty and future prosperity of the 
 institution, and was one of the great revolutionary features 
 of the transition period. 
 
 Before many years had passed serious trouble arose in the 
 fraternity in England, mainly through the persistence of cer- 
 tain brethren in organizing and exercising all the functions 
 of lodges under the old system of inherent right and in con- 
 tempt of the constituted authority of the Grand Lodge, and 
 this rebellious element attained such strength that by the 
 
6 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 middle of the eighteenth century a new Grand Lodge was 
 formed under the title of " Ancient York Masons," a body 
 entirely separate and distinct from the so-called " Grand Lodge 
 of York," previously alluded to, and which had been reorgan- 
 ized in 1735, and continued in existence until 1792. The 
 new Grand Lodge, claiming, without warrant, a direct descent 
 from the original York lodge, styled itself " Ancient," 
 and applied the term " Modern" to the Grand Body of 1717, 
 and these terms, misleading and perhaps incorrect in the 
 strictest equity, clung to the two bodies throughout the period 
 of separate existence and have been a source of confusion 
 to Masonic students ever since. After nearly a century of 
 rivalry the two bodies united in 1813 under the title of " The 
 United Grand Lodge of England," and now constitutes 
 one of the strongest and most prosperous of Masonic 
 organizations. 
 
 The Ancient and Modern Grand Lodges both established 
 lodges and provincial Grand Lodges in this country in the 
 eighteenth century, the majority, perhaps, by the former, and 
 further accessions to the lodges of that period were had by 
 charters from the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 In the new country Masonry, appealing to the very best 
 citizens, flourished with expansive vigor, and it is a pardonable 
 digression to note that in our struggle for independence the 
 greatest names of the period belonged to members of the 
 mystic tie. Washington, Randolph, Payton, Franklin, La- 
 Fayette, Hamilton, Paul Revere, practically all the general 
 officers of the Continental Army, fifty-two of the fifty-five 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a host of 
 others prominent in that history-making epoch are known to 
 have been Master Masons. 
 
 The claims of seniority of the various jurisdictions in the 
 United States in the matter of first lodges has presented a 
 field for disputation which has been greedily seized by many 
 Masonic writers but has no place in the present work except 
 so far as it affects the uncovering of the origin of Free- 
 masonry in the District of Columbia. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 7 
 
 Prior to July 10, 1790, the date of the final passage of the 
 act fixing the seat of the Federal Government on the Potomac, 
 the territory now known as the District of Columbia was a 
 part of the State of Maryland, and while the original District 
 embraced a tract of ten miles square lying on the Virginia 
 as well as the Maryland side of the river, yet inasmuch as the 
 retrocession by the Federal Government to Virginia in 1846 
 of its original contribution to the site left the metes and 
 bounds of the District as we know them today, it is deemed 
 proper in this early retrospect to pay especial attention to the 
 introduction of Masonry into our parent State of Maryland, 
 the history of that introduction necessarily being our own. 
 
 Schultz's History of Masonry in Maryland says : " Ma- 
 sonry was introduced into Maryland during the Colonial 
 period from three sources, viz: by the Grand Lodge (Mod- 
 erns) of Massachusetts; Grand Lodge (Moderns) of Eng- 
 land, and the Grand Lodge (Ancients) of Pennsylvania. 
 Traditions indicate that it was also introduced here from 
 Scotland and Germany." 
 
 Prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 in 1783 we find the existing lodges in that State springing 
 from the sources enumerated above, but immediately upon the 
 close of the Revolutionary War a convention was held, June 
 17, 1783, by representatives from five lodges located on the 
 Eastern Shore to form an independent Grand Lodge, and 
 as these lodges were all warranted by the Provincial Grand 
 Lodge of Pennsylvania it was deemed necessary to obtain a 
 warrant from that body, which itself was a subordinate of 
 the Grand Lodge (Ancients) of England, before consum- 
 mating their purpose. A strong element, however, claimed 
 the inherent right to form a Grand body independent of the 
 permission of Pennsylvania, and when after negotiations with 
 that authority covering a year no satisfactory results were 
 obtained, and when for various reasons the matter had lain 
 in abeyance for three years longer, a convention of deputies 
 from the various lodges met at Talbot Court House April 
 17, 1787, and organized, or as is claimed, reorganized the 
 
o HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland, which from that date to the 
 present has enjoyed a continuous and prosperous existence. 
 
 Thus was formed the parent Grand Lodge of Maryland, 
 the third independent Grand Lodge in this country, if we 
 accept the date, June 17, 1783, as the true one, being preceded 
 by Massachusetts in 1777, and Virginia in 1778. The fact 
 that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on Sep- 
 tember 35, 1786, declared their independence of Great Britain 
 and at once formed a Grand Lodge doubtless had much to 
 do with bringing the dormant movement in Maryland to life 
 in the following year. 
 
 With the gradual absorption of the other lodges of the 
 State and the chartering of new ones outside of our bailiwick 
 we have no direct interest, but before entering upon the history 
 of those bodies in our own territory warranted by this Grand 
 Lodge and of authentic record, let us briefly examine the 
 field of tradition and record for any evidence of organized 
 Masonry in the section subsequently known as the District 
 of Columbia prior to 1789, the date of the first known charter, 
 and the difficulty of such an examination will be made more 
 understandable when the fact is stated that it was the custom 
 of the early days, especially during the Revolutionary War, 
 to keep the records of lodges on slips of paper which were, 
 after so long a time, destroyed, to prevent the possibility of 
 their falling into the hands of profanes, a custom peculiarly 
 aggravating to the modern historian. 
 
 There is at the present day in the possession of Potomac 
 Lodge, No. 5, of this jurisdiction, an old Bible published in 
 Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1754, with the following inscription 
 in beautifully rounded characters on the fly-leaf : " A present 
 from Mr. Colin Campbell to St. Andrew's Lodge, the 30th 
 January, 1773, Bladensburg," the last word being on a separ- 
 ate line. It has also been asserted — but of the fact there is no 
 available evidence — that the late Rev. Brother Thomas Balch. 
 of Georgetown, had in his possession a diploma showing that 
 his great-grandfather. Col. James Balch, was made a Mason 
 in this Lodge as early as 1737. Diligent inquiry among the 
 
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IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 9 
 
 descendants of the Rev. Balch, however, fails to bring to light 
 the missing document, which would afford incontrovertible evi- 
 dence of the existence of a lodge of that name at that period 
 and in this section, but on the contrary unearths an old letter 
 from a nephew of this Col. Balch who states that he never 
 knew his uncle was made a Mason in Georgetown, but was 
 always under the impression that he had received the degrees 
 in France according to the Scottish Rite. 
 
 On this Bible and diploma is predicated the theory that a 
 Lodge, called " St. Andrew's," existed in the settlement which, 
 in 1751, was laid out as Georgetown, at an even earlier 
 date than 1737. That such a conclusion is a natural one we 
 admit, but is not proven by the evidence at hand. That no 
 lodge was chartered by either the Grand Lodge of Scotland or 
 the Grand Lodge of England is shown by the following com- 
 munication to the author in reply to a request for information : 
 
 Grand Lodge of Scotland, 
 
 Freemasons' Hall, 
 Edinburgh, i2fh May, jgo6. 
 Grand Secretary's Office. 
 Mr. K. N. Harper, 
 
 201 E Street, Northwest, 
 
 Washington, Dist. of Columbia, U. S. A. 
 Dear Sir and Bro. : In reply to your letter of 25th Apr., I have made 
 a minute search of our records but cannot trace any lodge having been 
 chartered in Maryland so far back as 1730-40. I have also made enquiry 
 at the Grand Lodge of England, but they have failed to trace the chart- 
 ering of any lodge in Maryland about that time. 
 
 It is of course possible that there may have been such a lodge as that to 
 which you refer, but it would probably be an unconstitutional one, as has 
 been found to be the case with many lodges about the period named and 
 even at a much later date. 
 
 Yours, faithfully and fraternally, 
 
 David Reid, 
 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 This, however, by no means disposes of the matter, for not 
 only were lodges formed by inherent right long subsequent 
 to this date, but, as before mentioned, the term "lodge" 
 applied equally to a hap-hazard congregation of Masons for a 
 single meeting as well as to an organized and continuing 
 
10 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 body, and it may well be accepted as probable, indeed certain, 
 that among the Scotch immigrants, who, more than any other, 
 found their way up the Patawomeke River to the head of 
 navigation, now the site of Georgetown, in those early days, 
 there were many of the Craft who upon proper occasion as- 
 sembled for Masonic intercourse, and, as was customary, 
 inducted new members into the mysteries. This is reasonable 
 and indeed has a certain confirmation in the fact that in the 
 traditions of some of the oldest Georgetown families there is 
 mentioned the so-called " Auld Scotch Lodge," an important 
 institution, in which it is said all differences between Masons 
 were referred for adjustment. So we may accept the presence 
 and activity of the fraternity at this period on our soil but 
 can scarcely go further. 
 
 The inscription in the Bible proves no location for the St. 
 Andrew's Lodge. It was a Scotch Lodge designation in- 
 herited from the old country and held by at least two lodges in 
 the Colonies at that time — one in Massachusetts and one in 
 South Carolina. That Bladensburg was the home of the 
 Lodge we think is sufficiently disproved by the isolated position 
 of the word, and may be accepted as the residence of the 
 donor. That Georgetown may claim the honor is supported 
 only by the fact that the Book has been in the possession of 
 the fraternity there from time immemorial. As the diploma 
 is only a tradition it cannot enter seriously into the argument. 
 
 So, giving the facts and theories as they exist as to this 
 early day and leaving the logical reader to draw his own con- 
 clusions, we pass on. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA II 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IN THE BEGINNING. 
 
 MASONRY AT THE BIRTH OP THE FEDERAL CITY — FIRST LODGEj 
 NO. 9, OF GEORGETOWN, CHARTERED — CORNERSTONE OF 
 THE DISTRICT — A UNIQUE DISPENSATION — FORMA- 
 TION OF FEDERAL, NO. 15 — LAYING OF CORNER- 
 STONES OF CAPITOL AND WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious 
 corner-stone, a sure foundation." — Isaiah xxviii, i6. 
 
 That Freemasonry was a dominating tho unobtrusive 
 force from the very first in this section has striking illustra- 
 tion in the fact that the cornerstone of the District was laid 
 with Masonic ceremonies, and this event, probably with- 
 out a parallel in the world's annals, furnishes, perhaps, the 
 most natural, certainly the most interesting, point of depart- 
 ure in the historical journey we are about to undertake. 
 The word cornerstone is here used in no figurative sense, 
 but refers to a small marker of masonry set up at Jones Point, 
 on Hunting Creek, below Alexandria, Va., from which were 
 run at right angles the lines which formed the first two sides 
 of the ten-mile square constituting the original District of 
 Columbia. This initial stone was placed according to ancient 
 Masonic usages, April 15, 1791, by the Masonic Lodge of 
 Alexandria, Va., which had been chartered eight years before 
 by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania as No. 39, and which, in 
 1788, became Alexandria- Washington Lodge, No. 32, under the 
 jurisdiction of Virginia, with George Washington as Master. 
 
12 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 This lodge, with one chartered in Georgetown as No. 9, of 
 Maryland, in 1789, constituted organized Masonry within the 
 limits of the contemplated new Territory, and while there 
 remains to us only the most meager account of this first public 
 recorded Masonic function yet it may be surmised that the 
 latter lodge was also in evidence on that eventful Spring day 
 and took an active part in the exercises. 
 
 The following account of the affair, published at the time 
 in a Philadelphia paper, is deemed worthy of reproduction: 
 
 Alexandria, April zi, I7<)i. 
 
 On Friday, the 15th inst., the Hon. Daniel Carroll and Hon. David 
 Stuart arrived in this town to superintend the fixing of the first corner- 
 stone of the Federal District. 
 
 The Mayor and the Commonalty, together vsrith the members of the 
 different Lodges [?] of the towrn, at three o'clock, waited on the com- 
 missioners at Mr. Wise's, where they dined, and, after drinking a glass of 
 wine to the following sentiment, viz. : "May the stone which we are about 
 to place in the ground, remain an immovable monument of the wisdom 
 and unanimity of North America,'' the company proceeded to Jones Point 
 in the following order : 
 
 1st. The Town Sergeant. Sd. Hon. Daniel Carroll and the Mayor. 
 3d. Mr. Ellicott and the Recorder. 4th. Such of the Common Council and 
 Aldermen as were riot Freemasons. 5th. Strangers. 6th. The Master of 
 Lodge, No. 23, with Dr. David Stuart on his right, and the Rev. James 
 Muir [for many years an active Mason] on his left, followed by the rest 
 of the Fraternity, in their usual form of procession. Lastly. The citi- 
 zens, two by two. 
 
 When Mr. Ellicott had ascertained the precise point from which the 
 first line of the District was to proceed, the Master of the Lodge and Dr. 
 Steuart, assisted by others of their brethren, placed the stone. After 
 which a deposit of corn, wine, and oil was placed upon it, and the follow- 
 ing observations were made by the Rev. James Muir: 
 
 " Of America it may be said, as of Judea of old, that it is a good land 
 and large — a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and depths that 
 spring out of the valleys and hills— a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, 
 and fig-trees, and pomegranates — a land of oil, olives, and honey — a land 
 wherein we eat bread without scarceness, and have lack of nothing — a 
 land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayst dig brass — 
 a land which the Lord thy God careth for;— the eyes of the Lord thy 
 God are always upon it; from the beginning of the year even unto the 
 end of the year. 
 
 "May Americans be grateful and virtuous, and they shall insure the 
 indulgence of Providence; may they be unanimous and just, and they 
 shall rise to greatness. May true patriotism actuate every heart; may it 
 be the devout and universal wish. Peace be within thy walls, O America 
 and prosperity within thy palaces! Amiable it is for brethren to dwell 
 
ALEXANDER MCCORMICK, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1812-1813. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 3 
 
 together in unity; it is more fragrant than the perfumes on Aaron's gar- 
 ment; it is more refreshing than the dews on Hermon's hill. 
 
 " May this stone long commemorate the goodness of God in those un- 
 common events which have given America a name among nations. Under 
 this stone may jealousy and selfishness be forever buried. From this 
 stone may a superstructure arise, whose glory, whose magnificence, whose 
 stability, unequalled hitherto, shall astonish the world, and invite even the 
 savage of the wilderness to take shelter under its roof." 
 
 The company partook of some refreshments, and then returned to the 
 place from whence they came, where a number of toasts were drank; and 
 the following was delivered by the Master of the Lodge (Dr. Dick), and 
 was received with every token of approbation: 
 
 " Brethren and Gentlemen : May jealousy, that green-eyed monster, be 
 buried deep under the work which we have this day completed, never to 
 rise again within the Federal District." 
 
 The light-house structure now on Jones Point covers the 
 site of these interesting ceremonies. 
 
 The next public Masonic function in the embyro city, of 
 which there is evidence, was the laying of the cornerstone 
 of the Union Public Hotel, better known as Blodget's Hotel, 
 which was located between E and F and Seventh and Eighth 
 Streets, N. W., on the site of the old General Post Ofifice, 
 now the Land Office building, and was the most pretentious 
 hostelry in Washington in the early days. 
 
 The ceremony took place July 4, 1793, and, while there 
 is no available account of the event, the fact is proven by the 
 existence of a copper plate placed in or on the stone at that 
 time, and discovered forty-six years thereafter. 
 
 The plate, a facsimile of which is here given, is in the 
 possession of Bro. Andrew H. Ragan, of B. B. French Lodge, 
 (a son of the late Bro. Daniel Ragan, of Potomac Lodge, one 
 of the devoted few who, in 1838, prevented the surrender of 
 the charter of that Lodge), and its authenticity is vouched 
 for by the following endorsement : " This plate was found 
 in cleaning away the rubbish from the new General Post 
 Office on E, between Seventh .and Eighth Streets West, in the 
 City of Washington. Presented by Charles Coltman, the 
 Superintendent, Oct. 8, 1839." 
 
 While no instituted lodge existed in the City of Washington 
 
14 HISTORY 0^ F^REEMASONRY 
 
 at the time, it is possible that Federal was even then under 
 dispensation and formed the nucleus for the congregation of 
 the members of the craft living in Washington on that " mem- 
 orable" occasion. 
 
 The first charter known to have been issued to any lodge 
 within the limits of the present District of Columbia was 
 issued by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, at a meeting held 
 April 31, 1789, to a lodge to be held in George-Town, Md., 
 on the Potomack River, with * — Fierer as W. M. and Alex- 
 ander Grier as S. W. This lodge was the second one chartered 
 by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, and was officially known 
 as " Lodge No. 9," the designation " Potomac" appearing 
 seventeen years later, in connection with the third lodge con- 
 stituted in Georgetown. 
 
 Lodge No. 9, in January, 1792, granted a dispensation for 
 certain of its members who had moved to Port Tobacco, 
 Charles Co., Md., to open a lodge at that place to be known 
 as St. Columbia, pending a regular application to the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland. It may be said in passing that this 
 somewhat remarkable action finds partial justification in the 
 crude conditions of transportation and communication of the 
 time and the survival in a degree of the old " inherent right" 
 doctrine. Altho this method of procedure was unfavorably 
 criticized in the Grand Lodge, yet the dispensation was con- 
 firmed by a warrant to the new lodge under the title of St. 
 Columbia, No. 11. Space is given to record the birth of this 
 lodge, which survived but six years, because of the fact that 
 it was an off -shoot from our own territory and an important 
 event in our little Fraternity world at that time, the drain on 
 the membership of No. 9 caused by its formation resulting 
 in the demise of the Georgetown lodge in the early part of 
 1794. The petition for the dispensation above referred to as 
 well as that document itself are so novel as to warrant their 
 literal reproduction: 
 
 * There is every reason to believe that this was Charles Fierer, Editor of the Times and 
 the Potomack Packet, 1789. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 5 
 
 PETITION. 
 
 Port Tobacco, Charles County, Md., 1792 and 5793. 
 By a communication of sentiments, the following Brethren, to wit: 
 Robert Ferguson, Basil Warring, Alexander Grier, Archibald Dobbins, 
 Thomas Mundell, Judson Clagett, Zaphaniah Turner, Samuel B. Turner, 
 and Samuel T. Dyson, did sign and prefer the following Petition to the 
 Worshipful Lodge of Ancient York Masons No. 9, in Geo. Town. 
 
 To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and other Brethren of Lodge 
 No. 9, George Town on Potomack. The petition of a number of the 
 Society of Free and Accepted York Masons, residents of Port Tobacco 
 and its vicinity of Charles County, humbly showeth, — That being feeling 
 impressed with a sense of the duties incumbent on the members of that 
 society, when opportunities conveniently offer for the Commemoration of 
 them they humbly represent, to you, that from a diminution of Brethren 
 in and near that place, and many other concurrent circumstances, they are 
 now reduced to a small number, destitute of Constitutional rights to as- 
 semble in Lodge, yet those are both willing and desirous to co-operate 
 with other Brethren in perpetuating the Institution, and to become useful 
 members of the Fraternity your Petitioners therefore pray a dispensation 
 from Lodge No. 9, until they have it in their power to obtain a regular 
 establishment from the Grand Lodge of Maryland — We therefore, whose 
 names are hereunto subscribed, being all Brethren of the Ancient Or- 
 der of Masons, and conceiving ourselves capable of conducting a lodge 
 in purity, have proceeded to the choice of a Master and Wardens, and 
 have unanimously elected Brother Alexander Grier to be Master, Brother 
 Robert Ferguson to be Senior Warden and Brother Judson M. Clagett to 
 be Junior Warden of the same Lodge, and humbly pray that they may be 
 legally incorporated into a Lodge to be held in Port Tobacco. 
 
 (Signed) Robert Ferguson. Judson M. Clagett. 
 
 Basil Warring. Zeph. Turner. 
 
 Alex. Grier. Saml. B. Turner. 
 
 Archd. Dobbin. Saml. T. Dyson. 
 
 Thos. Mundell. 
 
 DISPENSATION. 
 
 (From the Worshipful Lodge of Ancient York Masons No. 9 in George- 
 Town.) 
 
 To all whom it may concern: 
 
 Know that Brother Robert Ferguson, Basil Warring, Alexander Grier, 
 Archibald Dobbin, Thomas Mundell, Judson M. Clagett, Zephaniah 
 Turner, Samuel B. Turner, and Samuel T. Dyson, are authorized and 
 fully empowered to assemble and meet together in Port Tobacco, as a 
 part of Lodge No. 9 (of which they are members) to appoint Officers to 
 govern themselves, according to the Ancient Constitution and Customs of 
 Masons: and they hereby have a dispensation in ample form for holding 
 
1 6 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 such meetings, as in their wisdom shall be deemed prudent, until the first 
 day of January next ensuing, they conducting themselves at such meet; 
 ings, as true, faithful York Masons, have power to do all work of Ancient 
 Free Masons in proper form, except only, entering. Passing and Raising a 
 Brother, for which a perfect Charter must be obtained from the Right 
 Worshipful Grand Lodge of Maryland. 
 
 In evidence of the above, the Officers of Lodge No. 9, do hereunto fix 
 our hands and seal of our Lodge, this twenty-fifth day of June, in the 
 year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, and of 
 Masonry Five thousand seven hundred and ninety-two. 
 Signed by P. Casanave, Master. 
 
 Thos. Beatty, Jr., Senior Warden. 
 
 Valentine Reintzei,!,, Jr., Junior Warden. 
 
 Anthony ReintzEll, Treasurer. 
 
 Saml. Turner, Jr., Secretary. 
 
 The cornerstone of the White House was laid October 13, 
 1793, and while tradition holds the ceremony to have been 
 under Masonic auspices, and a number of veracious histor- 
 ians so affirm, the most diligent search, in which the author 
 has had the assistance of the late A. R. Spofford, for many 
 years Librarian of Congress, and Bro. ElHott Woods, the 
 present Superintendent U. S. Capitol Building and Grounds, 
 has failed to unearth any account of the occasion. In the ab- 
 sence, however, of any evidence to the contrary, and taking 
 into consideration the known fact that the leading men in the 
 Government and in the corps of architects and builders at 
 that time were Master Masons, it is a reasonably fair as- 
 sumption that the ceremony was Masonic, and while this is not 
 historic it is given as an historic probability. 
 
 Work on the Capitol building, Executive Mansion, and other 
 public buildings at once brought to the new city a small army 
 of architects and builders, and among this company were 
 found many of the craft who later were prominently identified 
 with Masonic and municipal matters, and were largely instru- 
 mental in safely guiding the Federal city through its troublous 
 formative period. One or two may properly be mentioned, 
 and the first name that demands attention is that of Brother 
 James Hoban, known as " Captain" through his connection 
 with a militia organization, who was the Architect of the 
 
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IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 7 
 
 Capitol and the Executive Mansion, and who had previously 
 achieved distinction in his profession in Dublin. He was one 
 of many Irishmen and devout Romanists who in that day were 
 also consistent members of the Masonic Fraternity. A quick- 
 tempered tho generous man, with a rather exalted opinion 
 of his own merits, his professional life was a stormy one, 
 but to the sheer power of his will, combating official parsi- 
 mony, the country is indebted for the magnificent proportions 
 of our Capitol and Executive Mansion, and in him the Fra- 
 ternity finds one of the most potent early forces for the perma- 
 nent establishment of Masonry in this section. A resident of 
 Washington for nearly forty years, he grew rich, prominent, in- 
 fluential, and esteemed, and after a long and honorable career 
 passed away in 1831, and after a temporary burial in St. 
 Patrick's Church graveyard (afterwards the site of the Ma- 
 sonic Temple at Ninth and F Streets) found his last resting 
 place in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Next perhaps in point of 
 interest among the earlier Masons was Brother Clotworthy 
 Stephenson, who acted as Grand Marshal at the laying of the 
 cornerstone of the Capitol and was one of the organizers of 
 the old Volunteer Fire Department. Until his death, in 1819, 
 he was most active in Masonry and conspicuous on all public 
 occasions, being a man of fluent speech, good presence, and 
 quick resource. Collin Williamson, a Scotchman and Master 
 Stone Mason at the Capitol, who personally set the corner- 
 stone of that building, also deserves place in the list of the 
 prominent Masonic pioneers as one who, altho but a short time 
 a resident of the city, left the impress of his personality in- 
 delibly stamped on the early history of the Fraternity. The 
 limited scope of the present work forbids at this point the mul- 
 tiplication of names equally deserving of record and which 
 will find recognition on other pages, but these three are here 
 mentioned because of the fact that they were the prominent 
 movers in obtaining a charter for the first lodge founded after 
 the formation of the District. This lodge, Federal, No. 15, of 
 Maryland (now No. 1 of this jurisdiction), having previously, 
 according to the custom of the period, obtained a "dispensation" 
 2 
 
1 8 HISTORY 0? FREEMASONRY 
 
 from No. 9, was warranted September 13, 1793, just six 
 days before the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol, and 
 it is a natural and reasonable conclusion that this approaching 
 ceremonial had much to do with at least hastening its birth. 
 This cornerstone laying, one of the most important events 
 of our local history, occurred September l8, 1793, and was 
 under the exclusive control of the Fraternity, Joseph Clark, 
 Worshipful Master of Lodge No. 12, at Annapolis, acting 
 as Grand Master. Gen. George Washington, then President 
 of the United States, joined in the ceremonies as a Mason, 
 was honored with the chief place in the procession, and is 
 believed to have taken the square and level in his hands and 
 laid the stone according to the ancient Masonic rites. The 
 following contemporary account of the event, published in 
 the Columbian Mirror and Alexandria Gazette, September 33, 
 1793, gives us the viewpoint of the period, and is deemed of 
 such historical interest as to warrant its reproduction in part : 
 
 GfiORGB-TowN, September 21, 1793. 
 On Wednesday one of the grandest Masonic processions took place for 
 the purpose of laying the corner-stone of the Capitol of the United 
 States, which perhaps ever was exhibited on the like important occasion. 
 About 10 o'clock, Lodge No. 9 was visited by that congregation so 
 graceful to the craft, Lodge No. 22 of Virginia, with all their Officers 
 and Regalia; and directly afterwards appeared, on the Southern banks 
 of the Grand River Potowmack, one of the finest companies of Volunteer 
 Artillery that hath been lately seen, parading to receive the President of 
 the United States, who shortly came in sight with his suite, to whom the 
 Artillery paid their military honors ; and his Excellency and suite crossed 
 the Potowmack, and was received in Maryland by the officers and brethren 
 of No. 22 Virginia, and No. 9 Maryland, whom the President headed, and 
 preceded by a band of music; the rear brought up by the Alexandria 
 Volunteer Artillery, with grand solemnity of march, proceeded to the 
 President's square, in the city of Washington, where they were met and 
 saluted by No. 15, of the city of Washington, in all their elegant badges 
 and clothing, headed by brother Joseph Clark, Rt. W. G. M. P. T., and 
 conducted to a large lodge prepared for the purpose of their reception. 
 After a short space of time, by the vigilance of brother Clotworthy 
 Stephenson, Grand Marshal P. T., the brotherhood and other bodies were 
 disposed in a second order of procession, which took place amidst a 
 brilliant crowd of spectators of both sexes, according to the following 
 arrangement, viz: — 
 
IN the; district of COIvUMBIA 19 
 
 The Surveying Department of the city of Washington. 
 
 Mayor and Corporation of Georgetown. 
 
 Virginia Artillery. 
 
 Commissioners of the city of Washington, and their attendants. 
 
 Stone Cutters. Mechanics. 
 
 Two Sword Bearers. 
 
 Masons of the 1st degree. 
 
 Bibles, &c., on Grand Cushions. 
 
 Deacons with Staffs of Office. 
 
 Masons of the 3d degree. 
 
 Stewards with wands. 
 
 Masons of the 3d degree. 
 
 Wardens with truncheons. 
 
 Secretaries with tools of Office. 
 
 Past Masters with their Regalia. 
 
 Treasurers with their Jewels. 
 
 Band of Music. 
 
 Lodge No. 22, of Virginia, disposed in their own Order. 
 
 Corn, Wine, and Oil. 
 
 Grand Master P, T. George Washington; W. M. No. 22, Virginia. 
 
 Grand Sword Bearer. 
 
 The procession marched two abreast in the greatest solemn dignity, 
 with music playing, drums beating, colors flying, and spectators rejoicing 
 from the President's square to the Capitol in the city of Washington, 
 where the Grand Marshal ordered a halt, and directed each file in the 
 procession to incline two steps, one to the right, and one to the left, and 
 faced each other, which formed an hollow oblong square, through which 
 the Grand Sword Bearer led the van, followed by the Grand Master P. T. 
 on the left, the President of the United States in the centre, and the 
 Worshipful Master of No. 23 Virginia on the right; all the other orders 
 that composed the prosession advanced in the reverse of their order of 
 march from the President's square to the" south-east corner of the Capitol, 
 and the artillery filed off to a destined ground to display their manoeuvres 
 and discharge their cannon ; the President of the United States, the Grand 
 Master P. T., and Worshipful Master of No. 22 taking their stand to the 
 east of a hugh stone, and all the craft forming a circle westward, stood 
 a short time in awful order. 
 
 The artillery discharged a volley. 
 
 The Grand Marshal delivered the Commissioners a large silver plate 
 with an inscription thereon, which the Commissioners ordered to be read, 
 and was as follows : — 
 
 This "south-east corner-stone of the Capitol of the United States of 
 America, in the city of Washington, was laid on the 18th day of Septem- 
 ber, 1793, in the thirteenth year of American Independence, in the first 
 year of the second term of the Presidency of George Washington, whose 
 
 * The custom of laying in the north-east comer is of comparatively recent origin. 
 
20 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 virtues in the civil administration of his country have been so conspicuous 
 and beneficial, as his military valor and prudence have been useful in 
 establishing her liberties, and in the year of Masonry 5793, by the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, in concert with the Grand Lodge of Maryland, 
 several lodges under its jurisdiction, and Lodge No. 32 from Alexandria, 
 Virginia. 
 
 Thomas Johnson, "I 
 
 David Stuart, ^Commissioners. 
 
 Daniei, Carroll, J 
 
 Joseph Clark, R. W. G. M., P. T. 
 
 James HoBAN, { Architects. 
 
 Stephen Hallate, J 
 
 Collin Williamson, M. Mason. 
 
 The artillery discharged a volley. 
 
 The plate was then delivered to the President, who, attended by the 
 Grand Master P. T. and three most Worshipful Masters, descended to the 
 cavazion trench and deposed the plate, and laid it on the cornerstone of 
 the Capitol of the United States of America, on which was deposited 
 corn, wine, and oil, when the whole congregation joined in reverential 
 prayer, which was succeeded by Masonic chaunting honors, and a volley 
 from the artillery. 
 
 The President of the United States, and his attendant brethren, as- 
 cended from the cavazion to the east of the corner-stone, and there the 
 Grand Master P. T., elevated on a triple rostrum, delivered an oration 
 fitting the occasion which was received with brotherly love and commen- 
 dation. 
 
 [The oration is sufficiently quaint and interesting to justify 
 the few extracts below] : 
 
 My Worthy Brethren : 
 
 ***** 
 
 I beg leave to declare to you that I have, and I expect that you also 
 have, every hope that the grand work we have done today will be handed 
 down, as well by record, as by oral tradition, to a late posterity — as 
 the like work of that ever memorable temple to our order erected by our 
 ancient G. M. Solomon. 
 
 ***** 
 
 I say that we further hope that the work may be remembered for many 
 ages to come as a similar work hath from the commencement of time 
 to this remarkable moment ; I mean the work of laying the Corner 
 Stone of our ancient, honourable and sublime order. 
 
 ***** 
 
 And I hope that our super-excellent order may here [City of Wash- 
 ington] be indefatigably laborious, not only to keep in good repair our 
 Hallowed Dome ; but be incessantly industrious to adorn it, with the 
 Grand Theological Virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity, and embellish it 
 with Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. 
 
 ***** 
 
 It must, my dear Brethren, be evident to all our understanding — that not 
 alone nature, but Providence, hath marked their intentions in the most 
 
DANIEL KURTZ, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1818-1819", GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1820-1822. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 21 
 
 indelible manner to make this the seat for the Grand Mark, the super- 
 excellent emporium of politics, commerce, industry and arts of the 
 United States — Seated in the very centricity of our republic — on the 
 banks of one of the noblest rivers in the universe — sufficiently capacious 
 to erect thereon a city equal, if not superior, in magnitude to any in 
 the world — It boasts, but then very truly — a climate the most serene and 
 salubrious — equal of access from all the cardinal and intermedial points 
 as any place that kind nature ever formed even beyond the conception 
 of art— wanting no defence but what is in, and ever will be in, I trust, the 
 intrepidity and bravery of its founder and citizens. 
 
 H/i :/ti Hi :^ i^ 
 
 Although it is not the growth of, yet there is already planted in this 
 garden or young nursery of the arts, and hath blossomed numerous 
 flowers, that bloom with high lustre in their various departments, (not 
 to mention its ever to be revered founder), but its finances, conductors, 
 projectors, delineators and executive geniuses without number, and many 
 of them not only brethren of our order, but brothers of super-excellent 
 and sublime estimation. 
 
 At frequent intervals, during the delivery of the oration, volleys were 
 discharged by the artillery. The ceremony ended in prayer. Masonic 
 chaunting honors, and a fifteenth volley from the artillery. 
 
 The whole company retired to an extensive booth, where an ox of 500 
 lbs. weight was barbacued, of which the company generally partook, with 
 every abundance of other recreation. The festival concluded with fifteen 
 successive vollies from the artillery, whose military discipline and manoeu- 
 vres merit every commendation. 
 
 Before dark the whole company departed, with joyful hopes of the 
 production of the labor. 
 
 The punctuation throughout is that of the original article 
 and, in the last line but one of the section showing the Ma- 
 sonic formation, has led to the palpably erroneous impression 
 that President Washington was Grand Master P. T. on this 
 occasion, altho a proper examination of the rest of the account 
 plainly excludes the possibility of such an inference, and 
 indicates that the sentence is intended to enumerate three 
 persons: Joseph Clark, Grand Master P. T. ; George Wash- 
 ington, and the Master of Lodge No. S3, of Alexandria, Va. 
 The conclusion thus reached does not, however, necessarily 
 carry with it the assumption that the long-cherished tradition 
 that Washington personally laid the cornerstone must be 
 abandoned. Controversialists point to the fact that W. Bro. 
 Washington was not the Grand Master P. T., and that while 
 the account credits him with having " deposed" the silver plate 
 
22 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 it simply recites that corn, wine, and oil were deposited on 
 the stone and is silent regarding the ceremony attendant there- 
 on, and argue therefrom that the more important part must 
 have been performed by the Grand Master P. T., and attempt 
 to fortify their position by holding it to be inconceivable in 
 Masonry that any one other than the Grand Master should, 
 in his presence, ofHciate on such an occasion. But while there 
 is no available record of the details of the affair except the 
 above, there is sufficient evidence, both in the text of the in- 
 scription referred to and in the body of the article, to estab- 
 lish beyond question the fact that, by the high power in him 
 vested, the Grand Master P. T. delegated to W. Bro. Wash- 
 ington, for the time being, his rights and prerogatives, in 
 large part, at least, and that to the distinguished first Presi- 
 dent of the United States belongs the honor of " laying" the 
 cornerstone of its Capitol building. Indeed this has substantial 
 corroboration through Bro. John Mountz, Secretary at that 
 time of Lodge No. 9, Georgetown, who was present, and who 
 has left documentary testimony that he stood near the Presi- 
 dent " when he laid the first cornerstone of the Captiol of 
 the United States," and while this document is dated in 1854, 
 when the Brother had reached the advanced age of 83 years, 
 his contemporaries accredit him with unimpaired mental fac- 
 ulties, and full credence must therefore be given to this prac- 
 tically conclusive evidence. 
 
 The gavel used by Worshipful Brother Washington was 
 upon the conclusion of the exercises handed to the Master of 
 No. 9, of Georgetown, Valentine Reintzel, afterward the first 
 Grand Master of the District of Columbia, and has been care- 
 fully preserved by the successors of that lodge, being now 
 in the possession of Potomac Lodge, No. 5, of this jurisdiction, 
 and never allowed to leave the custody of a special committee. 
 A list of the many notable occasions on which it has since 
 been used will be found elsewhere in these pages. The trowel 
 with which the cement was spread is still in the possession of 
 Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22, of Virginia, and is 
 one of the most cherished relics of that historic lodge. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 BETWEEN THE CENTURIES. 
 
 A JURISDICTION IN THE MAKING FORMATION OF THE EARV 
 
 lEST I^ODGES, COI.UMBIA, NO. 19, COI^UMBIA, NO. 35, 
 NAVAI,, NO. 41, POTOMAC, NO. 43, OF MARYLAND, AND 
 
 ALEXANDRIA-BROOKE, NO. 47, OF VIRGINIA 
 
 DEATH OF WASHINGTON SIDE LIGHTS ON 
 
 THE MASONIC USAGES OF THE TIME. 
 
 "They hadn't any fine regalia; 
 
 Their lodges were old and hare; 
 But they knew the ancient landmarks, 
 And they kept them to a hair." 
 
 — KlPUNG. 
 
 While a detailed sketch of each local lodge, living or 
 extinct, is made a part of the present work, yet inasmuch as 
 the history of the earlier lodges constitutes the history of 
 Freemasonry in the District for the period preceding the form- 
 ation of the Grand Lodge, a brief outline of the more impor- 
 tant events connected with these several bodies at that time 
 must find place at this point, that the story may lack no es- 
 sential element for the general reader, the more exacting 
 Student being referred for minutiae to the sketches referred to. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge of Maryland, October 22, 1795, the 
 following quaint petition was presented, and, being supported 
 by Federal Lodge, No. 15, now grown to comparatively stal- 
 wart proportions in the new city, a charter was issued under 
 the title of Columbia Lodge, No. 19 : 
 
24 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 The petition of the subscribers, members of the Society of Free and 
 Accepted Ancient York Masons, residents of Georgetown, Potomack 
 River, Humbly Showeth : 
 
 That whereas the Lodge heretofore held in this town known and dis- 
 tinguished as Lodge No. 9 has from the want of a proper attention in its 
 members and a remissness in the execution of its by-laws by the proper 
 officers and from sundry other causes sunk into disregard; that your peti- 
 tioners a select few who have ever kept sight of the Ancient Landmarks, 
 and reviewed with pain the decline and at length total annihilation of that 
 Lodge and being deeply impressed with a sense of the duties incumbent 
 on us as Masons, and conscious that every effort to revive a Lodge under 
 the charter of No. 9 would prove fruitless, have agreed to petition the 
 Grand Lodge to grant us a constitutional right to assemble, to have and 
 enjoy all rights and privileges usually granted to Lodges, and to confirm 
 our choice of Master and Wardens, with much sincerity we subscribe 
 ourselves your affectionate Brothers. 
 
 Anthony ReintzBl. George Waughan. 
 
 John Suter, Jr. John Reintzel. 
 
 Wm. Casey. James Melvin. 
 
 Valentine BogankEiff. J. Thompson. 
 
 Charles Miner. Wm. Gary. 
 Thos. Beatty, Jr. 
 
 This lodge, while only in existence for several years, has 
 left a few fragmentary records through which may be gained 
 a glimpse of the Masonic usages and customs of that early 
 day which cannot fail to be of absorbing interest to the 
 Masonic reader, and the thoughtful student needs no word of 
 warning in the perusing of these notes to avoid too hasty 
 conclusions. In order to get the proper viewpoint we must 
 breathe the atmosphere of the period, and, as conditions were 
 so radically different then from now, we must accept as 
 necessary and proper many incongruities and odd regulations 
 almost unintelligible to the modern mind but which, doubt- 
 less, were the offspring of the necessities of the times. 
 
 The accounts of this lodge were kept in pounds, shillings, 
 and pence, Maryland currency, and the item of expense for re- 
 freshments which were enjoyed at every meeting figured large 
 in the total; yet this is easily understandable when we reflect 
 that the opportunities for gathering socially were few and the 
 brethren, many of them coming long distances, would nat- 
 urally desire to embrace the opportunity to refresh the inner 
 
WILLIAM HEWITT, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1820-1821. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 25 
 
 man, and neither should we too harshly criticize the fact 
 that liquids of various kinds frequently formed part of the 
 cheer. Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. 
 
 The single book of records covers from November 7, 1795, 
 to December 12, 1796, and contains the by-laws, and, while 
 the entire contents of the book might profitably be quoted, 
 we have space for but a few extracts, and select those that 
 exhibit the widest divergence from our latter day customs. 
 
 Sunday meetings were frequently held for work and routine 
 business, and this habit, indeed a general one, was not broken 
 entirely in the District until the nineteenth century was well 
 advanced. 
 
 An entry under date of May 9, 1796, reads : " Whereas 
 Bro. Bogimaff cannot procure leather aprons as required of 
 him by a resolve of last meeting; Resolved, that Bro. Jas. 
 Thompson procure six dimity aprons for the use of the visit- 
 ing brethren." 
 
 A provision which will at once appeal to the modern Master 
 provided that members of committees be subject to a fine of 
 fifteen shillings for non-attendance on meetings, and unless 
 satisfactory excuse be made to the lodge suspended or expelled. 
 
 Commendable stress was laid upon the observance of the 
 proprieties in the lodge room, a regulation forbidding a 
 member from leaving his seat on any pretense whatever 
 " to walk about the room except it be an officer on his duty, 
 nor shall any refreshment be taken in open lodge or any 
 member leave the room for that purpose without leave from 
 the chair." 
 
 From the by-laws we quote the following: 
 
 Art. I— The stated meetings of this lodge shall be on the second Monday 
 of each month, to be opened precisely at half-past 6 o'clock in all the 
 months of November, December, January, February, and March, and at 
 half-past 7 o'clock in the months April to October. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Secretary or his deputy to call over the 
 names of the members, when every absentee shall pay as a fine for non- 
 attendance at every stated meeting 3s. 9d. (Later raised to 7s. 6d.), and 
 for the third neglect a summons shall be issued and unless due respect 
 be paid thereto and satisfactory reasons be given for such non-attendance 
 
26 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 shall be expelled or suspended for a time as a majority of the members 
 present may deem right. 
 
 Art. Ill — Members behaving in an indecent or disorderly manner shall 
 be suspended for the night or fined in the discretion of the members 
 present in a sum not exceeding two dollars. 
 
 Art. V. — No Mason shall be admitted as a visitor of this Lodge more 
 than two nights in any one year without paying on stated nights the sum 
 of three shillings and nine pence, neither shall any Mason resident of 
 Geo. Town more than three months be permitted to visit without paying 
 the sum of 7s. 6d. 
 
 Art. VII. — Every member shall pay into the hands of the Treasurer or 
 his deputy the sum of 3s. 9d. on all stated nights — 2s. 6d. for the necessary 
 and incidental expenses of the lodge and Is. 3d. for a charity fund to be 
 paid three months in advance. 
 
 Art. VIII. — * * * g pounds for initiation, 3 for fellowcraft and same 
 for M. M. 
 
 Art. X. — [As to ballotting] * * * The J. D. shall furnish every mem- 
 ber present with a white and black ball and after depositing the ballott 
 Box in some convenient part of the room each member shall ballott, and 
 on two black balls being found such candidate stands rejected. 
 
 Art. XL — * * * and in no one night shall more than 3 be passed to 
 the degree of F. C. nor more than 3 to the sublime degree of M. M. 
 
 Art. XIII. — A committee of three to serve three months to furnish re- 
 freshments under the direction of the lodge. 
 
 The last meeting of the lodge of which there is any record 
 was held December 13, 1796, on which occasion the officers 
 were elected for the ensuing year, an invitation accepted from 
 Federal Lodge, No. 15, to join with them in procession on the 
 next St. John's day, and a bill passed to pay for refreshments 
 furnished at the last meeting, amounting to £1 3s. 9-Jd., all 
 tending to show that the lodge was then in a vigorous and 
 healthy state, but at some time between that date and 1806 
 they suspended operations. 
 
 Throughout this period Federal Lodge continued in a fairly 
 prosperous condition, and after the collapse of Columbia, No. 
 19, occupied the Masonic field alone in that part of the new 
 territory constituting the present District of Columbia for the 
 remainder of the century, not only being the exponent of 
 symbolic Masonry, but supporting for a few years, according 
 to the usage of the time, an appendant R. A. Encampment. 
 The ruling spirit of the lodge during the latter years of the 
 
IN the; district op Columbia 27 
 
 eighteenth century was Alex. McCormick, an indefatigable 
 Masonic worker, to whose individual efforts the lodge was 
 more than once saved from dissolution, and who afterward 
 became the second Grand Master of the District. 
 
 Alexandria-Brooke Lodge, No. 47, located at Alexandria, 
 was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, November 29, 
 1796, and as it was one of the original lodges uniting to form 
 the Grand Lodge of the District, and as it subsequently, for a 
 period of years, was an important member of the local Ma- 
 sonic confederation, it may properly be considered our prop- 
 erty, and its birth and development noted in regular course. 
 
 With the closing hours of the century the immortal Wash- 
 ington passed away at his Mt. Vernon home. His life and 
 death, his character and works, are matters of household his- 
 tory the world over, and need no fulsome repetition here; 
 yet a brief sketch of his Masonic career must needs find 
 place in the history of the Fraternity in this jurisdiction, which 
 owes its very existence to his forceful will and which was the 
 object of his especial solicitude and care during the latter 
 years of his life. November 4, 1753, shortly before reaching 
 his majority, he was initiated in Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, 
 Fredericksburg, Va. ; March 3, 1753, nine days after his 
 twenty-first birthday, he passed to the degree of Fellow-craft, 
 and on the 4th of the succeeding August was raised to the 
 degree of Master Mason. Washington was therefore dur- 
 ing his entire adult life a Freemason, and no opportunity was 
 ever permitted by him to pass without manifesting his con- 
 fidence in and respect for the Fraternity. That he took an 
 active part in the formation and conduct of traveling or army 
 lodges during the Revolution is evidenced by the following 
 statement of Brother Scott, P. G. M. of Virginia, in his ad- 
 dress at the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Mon- 
 ument at Richmond, Va., February 32, 1850 : " Frequently 
 when surrounded by a brilliant staff, he would part from the 
 gay assemblage and seek the instruction of the lodge. There 
 lived, in 1843, in our sister State, Ohio, Captain Hugh Maloy, 
 then ninety-three years old, who was initiated a Mason in 
 
28 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 the marquee of Washington, he officiating and presiding at 
 the ceremony." 
 
 December 37, 1779, a convention of army lodges met at Mor- 
 ristown, N. J., and the subject of a General Grand Lodge was 
 discussed and a committee appointed to address the several 
 existing Grand Lodges on the subject, which, February 7, 
 1780, was done, and while the name of Washington was not 
 mentioned as first General Grand Master yet it was generally 
 understood to be the choice of the convention. A month pre- 
 viously, at an emergent session of the Grand Lodge of Pennsyl- 
 vania, it was by ballot determined that it was for the benefit 
 of Masonry that there be "a Grand Master of Masons 
 throughout the United States," and upon ballot " his Excel- 
 lency, George Washington, Esq., General and Commander- 
 in-Chief," was unanimously elected. Massachusetts, however, 
 concluding that the movement was " premature and inexpedi- 
 ent," and Virginia, the only remaining Grand Lodge, making 
 no movement, the project died. The action of Pennsylvania 
 doubtless gave rise to the historical error, widely prevalent 
 and stoutly maintained, that Gen. Washington was at one 
 time General Grand Master of the United States. 
 
 That he was the first Master of Alexandria- Washington 
 Lodge, No. 23, is shown by the fact that the charter is di- 
 rected to " our illustrious and well-beloved Brother, George 
 Washington, Esq., late General and Commander-in-chief of 
 the forces of the United States of America. * * *" Not 
 only was he an active worker in his own lodge, but by the 
 testimony of cotemporaries we learn that he often visited 
 Lodge No. 39, of Alexandria. The prominent part taken 
 by him in the ceremonies incident to the laying of the cor- 
 nerstone of the Capitol building has already been touched 
 upon, and of itself effectually sets at rest the malicious as- 
 sertions appearing from time to time that Washington was 
 not a Mason — a statement so fully controverted by document- 
 ary evidence as to require no denial. 
 
 The body of the illustrious dead was consigned to the 
 tomb December 18, 1799, the two Alexandria lodges and 
 
REAR 1417 F STREET, N. W., ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE LITTLE HOTEL. 
 
 Home of Federal I^odge, No. 1, 1796-1804. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NEAR FIFTEENTH STREET, N. W., ORIGINALLY 
 KNOWN AS LOVELL'S HOTEL. 
 
 First Home of Columbia I,odge, No. 3, 1802-1804. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 29 
 
 Federal Lodge of this city uniting as a funeral lodge and being 
 escorted to the vault by an imposing procession in the follow- 
 ing order : 
 
 Companies of cavalry, artillery and infantry ; military guard 
 of honor; a led horse, bridled and saddled, with the spurred 
 boots of its late rider in the stirrups, and his sword and gaunt- 
 lets at the saddle; the body on a bier covered with a black 
 pall, the tassels of which, three on a side, were held by six 
 colonels of the Revolutionary Army, all Freemasons; rela- 
 tives and intimate friends; funeral lodge of Freemasons; the 
 municipality of Alexandria; citizens; servants of the estate. 
 
 As the procession moved to the sound of muffled drums 
 minute guns were fired from a vessel anchored near the wharf. 
 
 Upon arrival at the tomb the mourners and Freemasons 
 formed an inner circle enclosed by the military, citizens, and 
 servants. The chaplain of the Alexandria Lodge conducted 
 the burial service from the Book of Common Prayer, and 
 closed with a brief address, after which the Masonic rites were 
 fully performed according to the ancient usage. As bearer 
 of one of the " lesser lights," Brother McCormick entered the 
 tomb, and the unconsumed part of the sperm candle he carried 
 was suitably inscribed and preserved by him, and in 1867 
 came into possession of the Grand Lodge of the District. Ac- 
 cording to the custom of the time, refreshments were served 
 throughout the day. 
 
 The beginning of the nineteenth century found Masonry 
 languishing on this side of the river, Federal, the lone rep- 
 resentative, experiencing a period of depression which, how- 
 ever, soon passed, and when on November 8, 1802, the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland, upon the recommendation of No. 15, 
 granted a charter to Columbia Lodge, No. 35, with a list 
 of twenty-one members, largely drawn from the employes 
 of the Treasury Department, an era of comparative activity 
 set in. The two lodges in 1804 united in the erection on 
 Eleventh Street, N. W., of the building long known as Union 
 Lodge Room, a more particular account of which is given in 
 another chapter, and by this enterprise placed the Fraternity 
 
30 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 on a more substantial and promising footing than it had yet 
 enjoyed. 
 
 Over in the East End, or to use a colloquial phrase, " on the 
 Navy Yard," the Masonic leaven vi^as also wrorking, and in re- 
 sponse to a petition from " sundry Brethren working under 
 a dispensation in the Navy Yard at Washington," on May 
 14, 1805, the Grand Lodge of Maryland issued a virarrant to 
 Washington Naval Lodge, No. 41. The selection of the name 
 is easily traceable to the location, and perhaps also to the 
 fact that the war with Tripoli had just ended and the country 
 was ringing with the daring deeds of Decatur and his fleet. 
 This latter assumption seems all the more probable because 
 it was in this city that many of the crews from the fleet were 
 discharged. Tradition indeed holds that from this source the 
 lodge obtained large accessions of membership. As a sample 
 of the warrants issued by the Grand Lodge of Maryland at 
 that time the one granted to Naval Lodge, which is still pre- 
 served, properly calls for reproduction here as one of the 
 valued documents of the Fraternity: 
 
 John Crawforb, M. D., 
 G.M. 
 
 R. Nbi,son, 
 
 D. G. M. 
 
 To All Whom It May Concern. 
 We the Grand Lodge of the State of Maryland of the most Ancient 
 and Honourable Fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons (according to 
 the old institution) duly established, constituted and organized for the 
 said State Do hereby constitute and appoint our trusty and well be- 
 loved Brethren John Davis of Abel, Master, William Smith Senior 
 Warden & John Cummins Junior Warden of a new lodge to be held in 
 the City of Washington in the District of Columbia by the name of 
 "Washington Naval Lodge" Number Forty-one, and We do hereby 
 authorize and empower our said trusty and well beloved Brethren to hold 
 their Lodge at the place hereby appointed and directed at such times as 
 they shall think necessary and convenient and according to the Constitu- 
 tion of Masonry and to admit and make Free Masons according to the 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 3 1 
 
 most HONOURABLE custom of the royai, craft in all nations throughout 
 the known world and not contrariwise: And wB do further authorize 
 and empower our said Brethren and their successors to hear and deter- 
 mine all and singular matters and things relating to the craft within the 
 Jurisdiction of the said Lodge No. 41. And lastly, wE do hereby 
 authorize and empower our said trusty and well beloved Brethren John 
 Davis, William Smith, and John Cummins to nominate choose and 
 INSTALL their successors to whom they shall deliver this warrant, and 
 invest them with all their Powers and Dignities as Free Masons and 
 such successors shall in like manner nominate, choose and Install their 
 successors, &c. &c. &c. such institutions to be upon or near St. John the 
 Evangelist's Day during the continuance of this lodge for ever ; provided 
 always that the said above named Brethren and their successors pay due 
 respect to the Right Worshipful Grand IyOdge from whom they have 
 their authority otherwise this warrant to be of no force or virtue. 
 
 Given under our hands and the seal of the Grand Lodge at the City 
 of Baltimore this fourteenth day of May in the Year of our Lord, One 
 thousand eight Hundred and five and of Masonry, Five thousand eight 
 hundred and five. 
 
 Jacob Small S. G. W. Pt. James Smyth J. G. W. Pt. 
 
 Saml. Vincent G. Sec. 
 
 At the same communication of the Grand Lodge there was 
 received and read the proceedings of a lodge held in the City 
 of Washington, termed " The Congressional Lodge," work- 
 ing under a dispensation granted by the Rt. W. G. M., author- 
 izing Bro. Roger Nelson to obtain a charter, and " whereas 
 no other proceedings of said lodge were transmitted, the 
 dues not paid nor the dispensation returned," it was " resolved 
 that no further proceedings take place respecting said lodge 
 and that said lodge be suspended agreeable to the tenor of 
 said dispensation." 
 
 Events now moved rapidly. Some little temporary dissension 
 arising between Federal and Naval, the ill-feeling seems to 
 have been carried to the Grand Lodge, and is alleged to have 
 been the cause of the suspension by that body of the charter 
 of Federal, May, 1806, on the charge of having admitted 
 "irreligious and unworthy characters" to membership. Six 
 months later, however, the Grand Lodge removed the sus- 
 pension on the ground that Federal had not been given a 
 proper hearing and that the information on which the pre- 
 vious action had been based had been found to be erroneous. 
 
32 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 An appropriation of $55 was voted to the lodge to reimburse 
 it for expenses incurred in its defence, and this amende hon- 
 orable clears the record of one of our oldest and most valued 
 lodges. 
 
 Over in Georgetown, also, the long dormant Masonic spirit 
 was awakening, and at the communication of the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland November 6, 1806, a charter was granted to a 
 number of brethren to hold a lodge to be known as Potomac 
 Lodge, No. 43. At the first election of officers Valentine 
 Reintzel, later the first Grand Master of the District, was 
 chosen Master, and under his administration and through his 
 activity the lodge obtained a foothold which has enabled it to 
 weather the storms of more than a century. For the reason 
 that some of the same names appear in the records of Lodge 
 No. 9, Columbia Lodge, No. 19, and Potomac, No. 43, and 
 also because of the fact that fragments of the records of the 
 first two are in the possession of the last named lodge, the 
 conclusion is natural and logical that it may be considered to 
 have been the same lodge with periods of inaction and under 
 diflferent titles. 
 
 While not strictly bearing upon the history of events, yet 
 possessing no little value as side-lights to bring into stronger 
 relief the details of the picture of the local Masonic world in 
 those pioneer days, a few extracts from the by-laws of " Po- 
 tomak" Lodge, No. 43, in force in the year 1807, may prop- 
 erly find place here. 
 
 The curiously worded preamble is a gem and is as follows : 
 
 We, the Master, officers and members of Potomac Lodge, No. 43, of 
 the most ancient and honorable fraternity of Free and accepted Masons, 
 duly constituted by charter from the Grand Lodge of Maryland, bearing 
 date the 12th day of November, A. D., 1806, and now in open lodge 
 
 assembled at our lodge-room in Georgetown, this day of January, 
 
 1807, Annoque Lucis, 5807, in order to pay homage and adoration to the 
 Grand Architect, whose divine wisdom having resolved to form the world, 
 and reduced a wild chaos to a fair, regular and permanent system; and 
 who not only traced out the whole plan of the Universe, but gave life and 
 being, form and figure, to every part of what before had been a rude 
 indigested and immovable heap of matter, who said, " Let there be light, 
 and there was light," and the dull, heavy and terrean parts of matter 
 
WILLIAM W. SEATON 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1822-1824. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 33 
 
 which over clouded the expansion, obeyed the Almighty fiat, and began 
 to range into form and order, and for the purpose of disseminating 
 brotherly love, relief and charity; and to maintain the principles of 
 benevolence and religion inculcated by our Order — have made, estab- 
 lished and confirmed the following articles, as a constitutional code, for 
 the government of ourselves and our successors. 
 
 •^ -^ ^ ^ yfi ^ 
 
 Art. 1. Sec. 2. — The Lodge shall be opened within thirty minutes of 
 the stated hour of meeting and in case the Master and Wardens should 
 be absent the last Past Master (if a member) shall take the chair; and 
 in case no Past Master should be present the oldest Master Mason shall 
 preside and after offering a prayer to the Divinity for a blessing on our 
 labours proceed to business. 
 
 Art. 11. Sec. 3. — * * * $5 accompanying petition, $15 additional if 
 accepted. * * * and provided also that where there is only one nega- 
 tive the petition shall lye over until the regular meeting next following — 
 and the member who blackballed the candidate shall in the intermediate 
 time make known his objections with the reason of the same to the 
 Master and Wardens who shall be competent to judge whether they are 
 sufficient and if they are adjudged insufficient or if he neglects or refuses 
 to make them known the candidate may then be received. 
 
 Sec. 3 — Each step balloted for as above. 
 
 Art. XII, Sec. 3, provides for fining the Master $3, the in- 
 stalled officers $1, and the members 50 cents for non- 
 attendance. 
 
 And thus in our hasty survey we have passed through the 
 formative period of organized Masonry in the District of 
 Columbia and stand upon the threshold of our existence as an 
 independent jurisdiction. 
 
34 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 THE BIRTH OE THE GRAND LODGE — PIONEER OEEICERS — FORM 
 
 OF WARRANTS ISSUED TO SUBORDINATE LODGES — 
 
 FORMAL NOTIFICATION TO OTHER GRAND LODGES. 
 
 ''The childhood shows the man as morning shows the day.'' 
 
 — Tennyson. 
 
 By the END of the first decade of the nineteenth century- 
 Masonry was in a comparatively flourishing condition in the 
 District of Columbia, with four lodges, Eederal, Columbia, 
 Potomac, and Naval, north, and two, Alexandria-Washington 
 and Alexandria-Brooke, south of the river, and while the ag- 
 gregate membership did not equal that of many of our present 
 lodges, yet in proportion to the population it was numerically 
 strong and healthfully active. As the local fraternity ex- 
 panded and prospered there rapidly developed the American 
 spirit of independence, which soon culminated in a successful 
 movement looking to the formation of a Grand Lodge in and 
 for the District. 
 
 The history of this movement and the birth of the Grand 
 Lodge, being events of the most vital moment in our local 
 history, demand as full a report as the scope of this work will 
 permit, and so, as succinctly as may be without sacrificing any 
 essential feature, the following account is presented. 
 
 The agitation of the subject, covering a period of several 
 years, resulted in the appointment of delegates by the several 
 subordinate lodges and the meeting of those delegates in con- 
 vention in the then Union Lodge Room, on Eleventh Street, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0? COLUMBIA 35 
 
 N. W., December 11, 1810, to consider the advisability of 
 " establishing and organizing a Grand Lodge in and for said 
 District." Alexandria-Washington Lodge alone held aloof, 
 and tho afterward courteously requested to join the union and 
 as courteously declining, still remained friendly and interested, 
 while continuing to hold to its former allegiance. At this con- 
 vention there were present: 
 
 Brothers Alexander McCormick, Patrick Magruder, C. Wil- 
 lis Weaver, Archibald Van Horn, and Charles Glover, of Fed- 
 eral, No. 15 ; James Gait, Amos Alexander, and James Carson, 
 of Alexandria-Brooke, No. 47 ; Charles Jones, Orlando Cooke, 
 and Ninian Beall, of Columbia, No. 35 ; John Davis, of Abel, 
 Shadrach Davis, Joseph Cassin, James Kemp, and David Dob- 
 byn, of Washington Naval, No. 41; Henry Pyfer, Daniel 
 Kurtz, and Lewis P. W. Balch, of Potomac, No. 43. 
 
 It having been unanimously resolved that it was right and 
 expedient to establish and organize a Grand Lodge in and for 
 the District of Columbia, it was further resolved to notify the 
 several lodges to appoint deputies to meet in convention Janu- 
 ary 8, 1811, with full power to form a Grand Lodge and elect 
 and install Grand Officers. 
 
 Pursuant to this plan, the authorized deputies met in Union 
 Lodge Room, at 3 P. M. on the date mentioned, and, having 
 resolved that the installed officers of the Grand Lodge should 
 be a Grand Master, a Deputy Grand Master, Grand Senior 
 Warden, Grand Junior Warden, Grand Secretary, and Grand 
 Treasurer, to be elected by ballot (the deputation from each 
 lodge to have collectively one vote), and that not more than 
 one of the five first-named officers should be chosen from the 
 same lodge, proceeded to an election, which resulted as 
 follows : 
 
 Valentine Reintzel, Potomac, No. 43, R. W. G. Master; 
 John Kinkaid, Brooke, No. 47, R. W. D. G. Master; Alex- 
 ander McCormick, Federal, No. 15, R. W. Senior G. Warden; 
 Joseph Cassin, Washington-Naval, No. 41, R. W. Junior G. 
 Warden; and Charles Jones, Columbia, No. 36, R. W. G. 
 Secretary. 
 
36 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The selection of a Grand Treasurer was postponed until the 
 next meeting, and, after the appointment of a committee to 
 prepare and submit a constitution for the Grand Lodge of the 
 District of Columbia, the Secretary was " requested" to for- 
 ward copies of the proceedings of the convention to the sec- 
 retaries of the Grand Lodges of Maryland and Virginia, to be 
 laid before their " respective lodges," and adjournment was 
 had until February 11, 1811, on which date, for reasons im- 
 possible to gather from the meager records, further adjourn- 
 ment was taken until the following Tuesday. 
 
 No further adjournment being deemed necessary, this lat- 
 ter date, February 19, 1811, saw the convention again in 
 session and witnessed the birth of the Grand Lodge. Brother 
 John Kinkaid, having in the interim passed away. Brother 
 John Richards, of Brooke, No. 47, was duly elected R. W. D. 
 G. Master, and the position of Grand Treasurer was filled by 
 the selection of Brother John Davis, of Abel, of Washington- 
 Naval, No. 41. The Secretary reported that he had, agree- 
 able to the resolution of January 8, forwarded to the secre- 
 taries of the Grand Lodges of Maryland and Virginia a copy 
 of the proceedings, and accompanied the same with an ex- 
 planatory letter in which he had incorporated the request that 
 the lodges here be permitted to retain the warrants under 
 which they were then working. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia then, by 
 unanimous consent of the deputies present, was opened in 
 ample form, when the officers-elect, enumerated above, with 
 the exception of Bro. Chas. Jones, were severally installed and 
 proclaimed as such according to ancient form. 
 
 The roster of officers was increased by the selection of 
 Brother Daniel Kurtz, of Potomac, as W. S. Grand Deacon; 
 William O'Neale, of Federal, No. 15, as W. J. Grand Deacon, 
 and Thomas Summers, of Brooke, No. 47, as Grand Tyler. 
 
 The committee on preparation of a constitution not being 
 ready to report, a committee to prepare a suitable form of 
 warrant was appointed, and the first meeting of the Grand 
 Lodge closed. 
 
SAMUEL BURCH, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1825; GRAND SECRETARY, 1815-1821. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
 
 Zl 
 
 Tuesday, March 12, 1811, the Grand Lodge met agreeable 
 to adjournment, heard the report of the committee on consti- 
 tution, which, after consideration and adoption in part, was 
 referred back to said committee for further consideration. 
 The report of the committee on form of warrants was re- 
 ceived, considered, and unanimously adopted, and then the 
 Grand Lodge " closed in harmony." 
 
 These warrants, while following in a general way the form 
 of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, are our own, and a sample, 
 that of Federal Lodge, No. 1, is therefore given : 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 Vaientjne Reintzel, 
 Grand Master. 
 
 John Richards, 
 Deputy Grand Master. 
 
 AlEx'r McCormick, 
 Senior Grand Warden. 
 
 Joseph Cassin, 
 Junior Grand Warden. 
 
 To ALL WHOM IT may CONCERN : 
 
 Know ye that we, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, of the 
 Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of FREE and ACCEPTED MA- 
 SONS, duly established, constituted, and organized for the said District, 
 by and under the authority of a Convention of Deputies from five 
 Lodges, held at the city of Washington on the nineteenth day of Feb- 
 ruary, in the year of Masonry five thousand eight hundred and eleven, 
 do hereby constitute and appoint our trusty and well-beloved brethren, 
 Nicholas D. Queen, Master; Archibald Van Horn, Senior Warden, and 
 Patrick Magruder, Junior Warden, of a Lodge to be held in the city of 
 Washington, in the said District, by the name of Federal Lodge number 
 one, late Federal Lodge number fifteen, working under the authority 
 from the Grand Lodge of Maryland. 
 
 And we do hereby authorize and empower our said trusty and beloved 
 brethren, and their successors, duly elected and installed, to hold their 
 Lodge at the place aforesaid at such times as they may deem necessary 
 and convenient, and to admit and make Free Masons according to the 
 Most Ancient and Honorable custom of the Craft. 
 
38 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 And we do further authorize and empower said brethren and their suc- 
 cessors to hear and determine, all and singular, such matters and things 
 relating to the Craft within the jurisdiction of their said Lodge, with the 
 assistance of the members thereof. 
 
 And lastly we do further authorize and empower our said truly and 
 well-beloved brethren to install their successors, being first duly elected 
 and chosen, to whom they shall deliver this warrant and invest them with 
 all their powers and dignities as Free Masons, and their successors shall 
 in like manner install their successors, &c., &c., &c., such installation to 
 be on or near Saint John the Evangelist's day, during the continuance 
 of this Grand Lodge. Provided always. That the said above named 
 brethren and their successors pay due respect to this Right Worshipful 
 Grand Lodge and the ordinances thereof; otherwise this warrant to be 
 void and of no effect. 
 
 Given in open Grand Lodge, under the hands of our Right Worshipful 
 Grand Officers and the Seal of our Grand Lodge, at the City of Washing- 
 ton, this nineteenth day of February, Anno Domini one thousand eight 
 hundred and eleven, and of MASONRY five thousand eight hundred and 
 eleven. 
 
 Chas. Jones, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Warrants were issued as follows : To Federal, as No. 1 ; 
 Columbia, as No. 2; Brooke, as No. 3; Naval, as No. 4, and 
 Potomac, as No. 5, all bearing date of February 19, 1811. 
 
 At the next meeting, occurring April 9, 1811, the following 
 resolutions were adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia recom- 
 mend to the different lodges under its jurisdiction the appointment of 
 delegates to meet the Grand Lodges of Maryland and Virginia at their 
 next grand convention, and that they pay their respective dues to said 
 Grand Lodges, and do all other necessary acts and things in relation to 
 obtaining a discharge therefrom. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed for the purpose of 
 informing the R. W. Grand Lodges of Maryland and Virginia that we 
 have organized and established a Grand Lodge for the District of Colum- 
 bia, giving our reasons therefor, and that they request their concurrence 
 therein. 
 
 Tuesday, May 21, 1811, the Grand Lodge again met and 
 completed the roster of officers by the election of the follow- 
 ing: Andrew T. McCormick, Grand Chaplain; Thomas Ar- 
 buckle, S. Grand Deacon; Thomas Holliday, Grand Deacon; 
 Nicholas L. Queen, Grand Marshal; Francis Clark, Grand 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 39 
 
 Steward; Ninian Beall, Grand Sword Bearer; John McGill, 
 Grand Pursuivant, and Barney Parsons, Grand Tyler, the 
 formerly-elected Grand Tyler, Brother Thomas Summers, 
 having resigned. 
 
 This meeting was notable, in the light of the history of sub- 
 sequent years, in giving birth to the Committee on Corre- 
 spondence, at that time designated as the " Committee of Com- 
 munication and Correspondence," with the limited duty of 
 sending out extracts of our proceedings to sister jurisdictions. 
 The important addition of collating and publishing extracts 
 from the proceedings of other jurisdictions, which has proved 
 of such inestimable value, came later. 
 
 At the next meeting of the Grand Lodge, July 9, 1811, the 
 Constitution was finally adopted, 100 copies ordered printed, 
 and the committee appointed for that purpose reported that 
 they had prepared and transmitted an address to the Grand 
 Lodges of Maryland and Virginia. While unmistakably re- 
 calling the Declaration of Independence and couched in some- 
 what stilted phrase, this address is a model of the writing of 
 the period, and certainly a Masonic paper of absorbing in- 
 terest. We quote it in full : 
 
 , R. W. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of ; 
 
 Respected Sir and Brother: 
 
 When it becomes necessary that a separation should take place with 
 those who have long been united in the tender ties of mutual harmony 
 and intercourse a sense of gratitude and esteem should impel those who 
 desire that separation freely to declare the reasons by which they are 
 actuated. Under this impression we, in behalf of the Grand Lodge of 
 the District of Columbia, beg leave to state the reasons which influenced 
 the lodges in this District in the measure by them taken. 
 
 The right and expediency of establishing a Grand Lodge in this District 
 had for a considerable time engaged the attention of the most experienced 
 Masons of this place. Not willing, however, to confide implicitly in their 
 own judgments in a matter of so much importance, experienced Masons 
 from various parts of the United States were consulted, from the de- 
 cisive nature of whose opinion the practicability of the measure appeared 
 manifest. And at a meeting in convention of deputies from five lodges, 
 after mature consideration, the right and expediency was unanimously de- 
 clared; and afterward, on the 19th day of February, 1811, the Grand 
 Lodge of the District of Columbia was organized and opened in due form, 
 with full appellant and corrective powers, which, under the superintending 
 
40 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 care and direction of the Supreme Architect, will promote the interests 
 of the craft and extend the empire of Masonry. The propriety of the 
 measure taken was confirmed by a reference to historic facts. In England 
 Masonry flourished but partially until the organization of the Grand 
 Lodge at York, from which time Masonry, literature, arts, and sciences 
 flourished. The same fruitful source of intelligence extending its benign 
 influence across the Atlantic animated our brethren of the Eastern States, 
 who organized Grand Lodges previous to our Revolution, under authority 
 of charters granted from some one of the Grand Lodges in Great Britain, 
 after which they at once saw the impropriety of working under authority 
 derived from a country having different laws, government, and interests 
 from their own, and accordingly gave up the authority under which they 
 had before acted. There then being no head to resort to, the subordinate 
 lodges of several States, by deputies appointed for that purpose, organized 
 Grand Lodges. It is admitted that necessity urged the adoption of this 
 measure, and that the principle was then acknowledged, and has never 
 since been disputed, and that the lodges of each State were entitled to 
 equal privileges. This District being composed of parts of two States, 
 and separated from them in the same degree as one State is from another, 
 was a circumstance that received considerable weight, in addition to which 
 the desire of uniting and harmonizing the citizens of a district thus 
 situated — ^the expenses and dues retained among us, and the facility of 
 decision in cases within the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge, were circum- 
 stances that received the consideration due to their importance. Also, 
 this being the seat of government, it was supposed the most proper place 
 to rear the standard of Masonry, that the enlightened and distinguished 
 men of our country may meet and unite in one general system the several 
 Grand Lodges of the United States. 
 
 The lodges here have been directed to return the warrants under which 
 they lately worked to the authority from whom they received them, if 
 required, and to settle their accounts. This will be attended to without 
 delay, and experience leads us to believe that when the subject of our 
 proceedings shall be taken into consideration our motives and conduct 
 will receive the sanction of your approbation. 
 
 We cannot on this occasion withdraw from you without experiencing 
 those feelings of regret which flow from a lively recollection of favors 
 bestowed on us for a series of years, and expressing that ardent anxiety 
 for your prosperity which will ever animate our hearts. The sensibility 
 of our feelings is, however, somewhat assuaged with the hope that the 
 strong claim of love will forever be preserved bright between us, and 
 that all our designs and all our exertions will tend to promote the general 
 good. 
 
 We are, etc. 
 
 (Signed) Amos Ai^sxandEr, 
 
 Chas. GlOVER, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 City of Washington, May, 1811. 
 
FORMER MEETING PLACES OF NAVAL LODGE, NO. 4. 
 
 1129 Seventh Street, S. E., 1805-1821. 2. Fifth Street and Virginia Avenue, S. E., 1821-1867. 
 3. Same, enl.irged, 1867-1895. 
 
IN the; district op Columbia 41 
 
 It will be observed that the committee could not resist the 
 temptation to deftly suggest the iridescent dream of a General 
 Grand Lodge, a subject already claiming the attention of the 
 Fraternity and rapidly gathering enthusiastic exponents. 
 
 At the same meeting the following resolution from the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland was read : 
 
 Resolved, That the several lodges composing the Grand Lodge of the 
 the District of Columbia, and heretofore working under the authority of 
 this Grand Lodge, be permitted, according to their desire, to retain their 
 warrants; and that, upon the several lodges paying all their dues up to 
 the time of this grand communication, except initiation fees from the 
 time of their formation of said Grand Lodge, they be recognized as a 
 Grand Lodge, and admitted into correspondence accordingly. 
 
 (Signed) J. Lewis Wampi,Ee, 
 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 6th May, A. L. 5811. 
 
 This action completed the formal withdrawal from the 
 mother Grand Lodge, a separation amicably effected, and 
 which has never for a moment interfered with the closest and 
 most fraternal connection between the two jurisdictions. 
 
 While the usual acknowledgments and good wishes were 
 received from the Grand Lodges of New York, New Jei^sey, 
 Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, 
 Kansas, Tennessee, and England, Pennsylvania alone, on the 
 ground that the mere sending of the proceedings covering the 
 formation of a Grand Lodge did not constitute official notifica- 
 tion, held aloof, and it was not until the Grand Lodge of the 
 District had entered into lengthy explanations and disclaimed 
 any intention of being disrespectful, and more than a decade 
 had elapsed, that full fraternal correspondence was established 
 between the jurisdictions. 
 
 Thus came into being the Grand Lodge of the District of 
 Columbia. 
 
42 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN THE EARLY DAYS. 
 
 UNION LODGE, NO. 6, AND I^EBANON IvODGE, NO. 7 — THE RISE 
 
 AND EAIvI. OE THE GENERAI, GRAND WDGE IDEA — 
 
 QUAINT CONSTITUTIONAL REGULATIONS — NOTES. 
 
 "A few strong instincts and a few plain rules." — Wadsworth. 
 
 The first LODGE to receive its charter from the new Grand 
 Lodge was warranted July 9, 1811, as Union Lodge, No. 6, a 
 lodge formed in the East End, in the territory and upon the 
 recommendation of Naval Lodge, No. 4, and which for many 
 years sustained a most intimate and imique association with 
 the latter body, a detailed account of which may be found in 
 Chapter XV. After a precarious existence of a little over 
 twenty years it surrendered its charter in 1835. 
 
 Tlie same year witnessed the birth of Lebanon Lodge, No. 
 7, which was chartered October 8, 1811, in response to a 
 petition recommended by Federal Lodge, No. 1, and signed 
 by eight brethren, including William Hewitt, subsequently 
 Grand Master.* This Lodge rapidly forged to the front in 
 point of membership, and in 1831 led all its sister lodges with 
 a roster of thirty-nine names. Lebanon rounds out its first 
 century of continuous activity in the year of this publication. 
 
 In the first year of its existence the subject of the formation 
 of a General Grand Lodge came up in the newly-formed grand 
 body. This scheme had been agitated for many years, the 
 Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, as early as 1780, having con- 
 sidered the propriety of appointing a General Grand Master, 
 
 * It is worthy of note, too, that the first initiate of the new I^odge, Bro. Roger C. Weight- 
 man, also served the jurisdiction as Grand Master in later years. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMBIA 43 
 
 and having subsequently formally elected General George 
 Washington to that position and invited the Grand Lodges of 
 Virginia and Massachusetts to join the movement; but, the 
 latter bodies holding aloof, the election was not consummated 
 and the matter dropped. In the succeeding years, however, it 
 persisted in coming to the front, and, inasmuch as this juris- 
 diction in the eai'lier years took a leading part in the various 
 movements in this direction, it is deemed a matter of sufficient 
 local as well as general Masonic interest to warrant a concise 
 resume of what has been referred to in the preceding chapter 
 as an " iridescent dream," and, that the reader who is inter- 
 ested in the subject may have placed before him at once the 
 whole story as it affects the District, we digress from chrono- 
 logical order to pursue it to the end. 
 
 At the meeting held October 8, 1811, a resolution was passed 
 to appoint delegates to meet similar representatives from other 
 Grand Lodges, with a view of meeting in grand convention in 
 the City of Washington Monday, January 4, 1813, or such 
 other date as might be agreed on, and under this authoriza- 
 tion delegates were appointed, but, sufficient interest not being 
 taken by the other jurisdictions in the proposition, the con- 
 vention was not held, and the matter lay dormant for a decade. 
 
 In the issue of the National Intelligencer of March 9, 1822, 
 appeared the following notice : 
 
 Masonic Notice. — Those members of Congress who belong to the 
 Masonic Fraternity,- and those visitors of the city who are or have been 
 members of any State Grand Lodge, are respectfully invited to attend 
 a meeting to be held in the Senate Chamber, this evening, at 7 o'clock, to 
 take into consideration matters of general interest to the Masonic insti- 
 tution. 
 
 Pursuant to this notice a notable assembly of Members of 
 Congress and other prominent Masons assembled in the Sen- 
 ate Chamber (the present Supreme Court Room) at the Capi- 
 tol on the evening referred to. Bro. Thomas R. Ross, a mem- 
 ber of Congress from the State of Ohio, was elected Chair- 
 man, and Bro. William Darlington, Secretary. This conven- 
 tion, unique and unprecedented in history, when the public 
 
44 HISTORY OP IfREEMASONRY 
 
 character and prominence of the men engaged, the official 
 character of the place, and the object sought after are con- 
 sidered, was an event of peculiar Masonic importance and in- 
 terest, both local and general, and deserves far more space 
 than may here be given, yet cannot be passed without a brief 
 report. 
 
 After lengthy debate on the general subject, in which the 
 individual views of the speakers were advanced, the following 
 resolutions, offered by Bro. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, were 
 unanimously adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is expedient, for the 
 general interests of Freemasonry, to constitute a General Grand Lodge 
 of the United States. 
 
 Resolved, That it be proposed to the several Grand Lodges in the 
 United States to take the subject into their serious considerations, at 
 their next annual communication, and that, if they approve of the forma- 
 tion of a General Grand Lodge, it be recommended to them to appoint 
 one or more delegates, to assemble in the city of Washington, on the 
 second Monday of February next, to agree on the organization of such 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 Resolved, That if two-thirds of the Grand Lodges within the United 
 States concur in the propriety of establishing a General Grand Lodge it 
 be recommended to them to instruct their representatives to proceed to 
 the formation of a constitution of a General Grand Lodge, to be subse- 
 quently submitted to the several Grand Lodges in the Union, for their 
 ratification, and which, being ratified by a majority of them, shall be 
 considered as thenceforth binding on all the Grand Lodges assenting 
 thereto. 
 
 Resolved, That the Most Worshipful John Marshall, of Virginia ; Henry 
 Clay, of Kentucky ; William H. Winder, of Maryland ; William S. Cardell, 
 of New York ; Joel Abbott, of Georgia ; John Holmes, of Maine ; Henry 
 Baldwin, of Pennsylvania; John H. Eaton, of Tennessee; William W. 
 Seaton, of Washington ; Christopher Rankin, of Mississippi ; Thomas R. 
 Ross, of Ohio; H. G. Burton, of North Carolina, and the Rev. Thaddeus 
 Mason Harris, D. D., of Massachusetts, be, and they hereby are, ap- 
 pointed a committee to open a correspondence with the respective Grand 
 Lodges within the United States, and to take such measures therein as 
 they may deem expedient to carry the aforesaid resolutions into effect. 
 
 The committee referred to, in complying with these reso- 
 lutions, issued a circular letter of some length setting out the 
 growing need of a general governing body and the advantages 
 
i^ 
 
 ■f 
 
 „^ ,i5?C4.-- -t^ S't 
 
 ///^ 
 
 c5^ t-^ 
 
 UP 
 
 /VW»A_^ A^. <:^^ >^ <Z^js:^ryt*£. 
 
 ^ / 
 
 I' 
 
 / 5 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 TYUER-S BILL. (SEE PAGE 49) 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COX.UMBIA 45 
 
 to be expected from its establishment. Space permits quoting 
 only one paragraph, which appears to contain the conclusion 
 of the whole matter. It reads : 
 
 There are two points which at once present themselves in connection 
 with the idea of establishing a General Grand Lodge of the United States. 
 The first is to acquire, in a correspondence with foreign nations, an 
 elevated stand for the Masonry of this country; to unite with them in 
 maintaining its general principles in their purity; and, secondly, to pre- 
 serve, between our own States that uniformity in work, and that active 
 interchange of good offices, which would be difficult, if not impossible, 
 by other means. 
 
 Inaugurated under such unusual and brilliant auspices, this 
 movement might be supposed to have acquired sufficient initial 
 momentum to carry it to some equally brilliant result, but 
 truth demands the statement that it shared the fate of pre- 
 vious efforts. 
 
 The several jurisdictions failed to warm to the subject. 
 Pennsylvania, while disagreeing with the General Grand 
 Lodge proposition, proposed a convention for the purpose of 
 consulting upon the interests of the Order, to be held in Phila- 
 delphia, or other suitable place, June 24, 1823. Kentucky fol- 
 lowed, by disagreeing with the General Grand Lodge idea and 
 also the substitute offered by Pennsylvania, and, in the face of 
 these discouraging actions, the local Grand Lodge at its meet- 
 ing in November, 1822, proposed, in the form of a resolution, 
 the establishment of a General Grand Lodge, to meet annually 
 at the seat of government, and appointed delegates to repre- 
 sent it at a meeting to be called at Washington the second 
 Monday of February, 1823. 
 
 That this meeting did not take place is evidenced by the fact 
 that at the communication of May 6, 1823, a resolution was 
 passed that an address on the subject be prepared and trans- 
 mitted to the sister grand lodges calling their renewed atten- 
 tion to the matter of a General Grand Lodge, and asking their 
 co-operation in a convention for that purpose to be held in this 
 city on the third Wednesday of February, 1824. 
 
 This attempt proving equally abortive, twenty years elapsed 
 
46 HISTORY OK FREEMASONRY 
 
 before any further concerted action was undertaken, which 
 may in part be accounted for by the fact that this was the 
 period embracing the remarkable anti-Masonic wave of senti- 
 ment which for a few years swept the country. 
 
 On May 8, 1843, however, a National Masonic Convention 
 was held in Baltimore, at which fifteen grand lodges, includ- 
 ing our own, were represented, and while the convention was 
 ostensibly in the interest of uniformity of work other matters 
 were taken up, among which was a proposition to form a Na- 
 tional Masonic Convention — a modification of the General 
 Grand Lodge idea, which preserved to the several grand 
 lodges their independence — and suggesting Winchester, Va., 
 as the next meeting place. 
 
 With this proposition our local body fell in, and appointed 
 delegates to the Winchester convention, which was subse- 
 quently scheduled to meet May 11, 1846, upon which date a 
 number of delegates assembled in that city, but, lacking a 
 quorum, transacted no business. 
 
 The next movement originated with the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland, which, in issuing a call for a convention to be held 
 in Baltimore in September, 1847, intimated that it was pre- 
 pared to submit a constitution for adoption by the General 
 Grand Lodge when formed. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the District, always complaisant as 
 well as progressive, was represented at this convention, which 
 adopted an agreement as to the organization and constitution 
 of the proposed General Grand Lodge, to become efifective 
 after sixteen grand lodges had agreed to the same. This at- 
 tempt, so carefully conceived and carried out, gave promise of 
 success, but was killed by the failure of a majority of the juris- 
 dictions to ratify the constitution, our own Grand Lodge tak- 
 ing the ground that while a " General Grand Lodge was de- 
 sirable, the Baltimore constitution needed modification to be 
 acceptable." 
 
 In the year 1849 several propositions were advanced in the 
 Grand Lodge looking to the formation of a supreme Grand 
 Lodge, and similar movements were started in Maryland and 
 Ehode Island, but without sustained effort or result. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0? COLUMBIA 47 
 
 In 1853 the District was represented in a convention pro- 
 posed by Maine and held at Lexington, Ky., at which it was 
 held to be inexpedient to form a General Grand Lodge, but 
 proposed a National Confederation for specific objects, and 
 called upon the Grand Lodge to ratify this proposition, which 
 would lay all matter of dispute before the Confederation, to 
 be settled by a two-thirds vote ; and for the purpose of further 
 maturing the plans a later convention was held in January, 
 1855, and articles of confederation drawn up, the Grand 
 Lodge of the District, by resolution, becoming party to the 
 same. This proposition, eliminating as it did the vitally ob- 
 jectionable feature of the General Grand Lodge idea — that of 
 loss of independence — seemed destined to succeed, but, like its 
 predecessors, failed of ratification by the requisite number. 
 
 Maine again, in 1857, initiated a movement for a General 
 Grand Lodge, which received the sanction of the local grand 
 body but collapsed at the very outset. 
 
 A modification of the same general scheme was proposed in 
 1859, in a convention held in Chicago, at which the late P. G. 
 M. B. B. French was a delegate as proxy for the then Grand 
 Master, George C. Whiting, for the purpose of forming a so- 
 called North American Masonic Congress; but, the proposi- 
 tion being deemed unsatisfactory, it failed to gain adequate 
 support. 
 
 The sentiment against a General Grand Lodge was now 
 crystalizing. 
 
 The lesson of the years was being learned by the thinkers 
 of the Fraternity, and the absolute futility of any attempt to 
 form a supreme governing body for the various jurisdictions 
 became so strongly impressed upon them that, while several 
 weak attempts have since been made to revive the idea, none 
 have been of sufficient strength and dignity to warrant de- 
 tailed description. 
 
 TTie experience which has been the outgrowth of these 
 years of struggle has, however, been valuable as a clearer, 
 more definite understanding of the powers and prerogatives 
 of each Grand Lodge within its own jurisdiction has been 
 
48 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 reached, a wholesome respect for the rights of sister Grand 
 Lodges gained, and a tacit though unwritten agreement of 
 mutual aid and correspondence attained which makes for 
 practical union and confederation without the sacrifice of in- 
 dividuality. 
 
 Returning from this digression to the contemplation of con- 
 ditions in our infant Grand Lodge, we find that as early as 
 January 14, 1813, the necessity for drastic action to insure at- 
 tendance at the meetings of the Grand Lodge led to the adop- 
 tion of the following amendments to the Constitution : 
 
 " Each installed Grand Officer who shall not attend the 
 Grand Lodge at each regular or extra meeting, being duly 
 notified thereof, shall pay a fine of five dollars, unless the 
 Lodge may consider the excuse, if any, reasonable. 
 
 " Each Lodge failing to be represented by their officers, or 
 to send a deputation duly authorized at each meeting of the 
 Grand Lodge, shall pay a fine of five dollars, provided the 
 Lodge or Master or Wardens thereof, shall be duly notified 
 of such meeting, unless satisfactory excuse shall be given to 
 the Grand Lodge. 
 
 " The Lodge to be opened within half an hour after the time 
 appointed in the constitution or notification, in case of an 
 extra meeting, or as soon thereafter as a sufficient representa- 
 tion may appear, and such fines shall be assessed at large on 
 the proceedings." 
 
 As the representatives were elected as such, and were not, 
 as now, the first three officers, it will be understood that in 
 view of the difficulties of communication, the long distances, 
 and the execrable roads, the billet was not a much sought after 
 one. In this connection it is within the memory of a few of 
 the brethren yet with us with whom the author has conversed, 
 that the usual method of reaching the Grand Lodge by the 
 delegates from the outlying lodges was on horseback. 
 
 In the first years the Tyler was also the Steward of the 
 Grand Lodge, and that officer was known as the Steward and 
 Tyler, but in 1820 the offices were divorced and a Steward ap- 
 pointed. In 1827, however, the two offices were again united. 
 
ROGER C. WEIGHTMAN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1833. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI^UMBIA 49 
 
 and while a list of jewels in 1829 shows two Stewards' and 
 one Tyler's jewel, yet the offices continued as one for a 
 number of years, the supplementary title of Steward, how- 
 ever, being lost. In 1864 the appointment of two Stewards 
 was authorized, and the official family as we have it today 
 completed. 
 
 As a matter of interest, probably unknown to the later gen- 
 eration of Masons, may be cited the fact that upon the forma- 
 tion of the local Grand Lodge, and for many years thereafter, 
 the masters-elect of the subordinate lodges, and not infre- 
 quently the wardens, were installed in that body in a lodge 
 opened in the Past Master's degree. The tendency of the 
 period seemed to be to invest this ceremony with all the 
 dignity and solemnity which properly belongs to it, and 
 which we of the latter days are, perhaps, in our haste, not 
 giving it. 
 
 That the matter of proper refreshment for the members of 
 the Grand Lodge at the regular and special meetings was of 
 considerable importance at this time and for a number of 
 years thereafter has documentary confirmation in a sheaf of 
 receipted Tyler's bills, bearing dates in 1811-14, now on the 
 author's desk, and these are so unique, not to say startling, 
 from our present-day viewpoint, that the temptation is strong 
 to give them place here; but as this is inadvisable, we repro- 
 duce one as a fair sample, and trust to the good sense of the 
 reader in examining it to make proper allowance for the dif- 
 ferent standards of that day. 
 
 As of course is well known, no uniform blanks for petitions 
 were in use, and as a consequence there are preserved some re- 
 markable efforts in this direction. The two following will 
 serve to illustrate this : 
 
 Washington £nd Jan. 1809. 
 
 The petition of Brother respectfully sheweth that he is 
 
 a Master Mason and formerly belonged to Philadelphia Lodge, No. 73, 
 and now with the consent of the Bretherin of Federal Lodge, No. 15, 
 wisheth to become a member thereoff. Should your petitioner be so 
 happy as to obtain it he will as in duty Bound Ever pray. 
 
50 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 Greenleaf's Point, Washington City, April 24, 1815. 
 Sir — ^According to the Directions you give me I send you this line and 
 in hoaps that you will find the character of me that will be suitable to 
 the purpose that I have mentionned to you and by appling to Lieut. Baden 
 or Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Wise you will find. Sir you will peticion for 
 me after you are satisfied of ray conduct and by doeing soe you will 
 oblidge yours Intended associate. 
 
 The present secrecy surrounding the condition of the ballot 
 does not seem to have obtained in the early days, as we note 
 an instance in 1815 in one of the lodges where the ballot being 
 passed and " 8 black balls appearing, he was of course re- 
 jected;" and about the same period it was announced after the 
 ballot that the applicant had been " unanimously rejected." 
 
 Before leaving these interesting glimpses of the time, it is 
 perhaps worthy of note that non-payment of dues was fre- 
 quently punished by expulsion from all the rights and privi- 
 leges of Masonry; that subordinate lodges sometimes officiated 
 at the laying of cornerstones, and that it was the custom at 
 the opening of each meeting to have read " the charge and 
 prayer." 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COL,UMBIA 5 1 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FIRST DECADE. 
 
 WAR OP 1812 — ANNUAL VISITATIONS INAUGURATED — FRA- 
 TERNAL CORRESPONDENCE PUBLIC APPEARANCES 
 
 — ^DISCIPLINE — THE EIRST CONSTITUTION. 
 
 'And Statesmen at her councils met 
 Who knew the Seasons." — Tennyson. 
 
 The Eirst DECADE of the existence of the Grand Lodge 
 shows a slight falling off in point of numbers, for while the 
 two new lodges referred to in the preceding chapter were 
 formed within that period they were drawn almost entirely 
 from the other lodges, and altho for the first few years the 
 aggregate membership can only be deduced approximately 
 from fragmentary returns, yet a reasonably accurate compu- 
 tation shows about 350 members in 1814, while the complete 
 returns for 1821 show only a total of 219. 
 
 It is not the province of the historian to theorize on the 
 facts presented, for the intelligent reader will draw his own 
 conclusions, yet in seeking an explanation of this apparently 
 retrograde movement attention should be given to the fact 
 that instead of separate units owing allegiance to distant 
 grand bodies the lodges were now welded together with com- 
 mon interests, and responsible to a common authority at their 
 very doors, and this condition might well be supposed to re- 
 sult in the exercise of more especial care in the selection of 
 material and the weeding out of objectionable timber. 
 
 At the communication of the Grand Lodge of July 14, 1812, 
 
52 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 which, in the quaint phraseology of the day, " closed in ample 
 form and great harmony," a Committee on Correspondence 
 was appointed, which subsequently at each annual communi- 
 cation until November 6, 1821, reported that they found noth- 
 ing worth the attention of the Grand Lodge, but on the latter 
 date suggested the printing of certain extracts culled from the 
 proceedings of other grand lodges in our own annual publi- 
 cation. The systematic review of the proceedings of our 
 sister grand lodges did not, however, approach its present 
 form until 1849, when quite an exhaustive report was sub- 
 mitted, signed by Brother Charles S. Frailey, Grand Master, 
 1S55-6, and Brother Thomas Miller, since which time this 
 valuable and instructive feature of the annual reports has been 
 handled by a succession of eminent local Masonic writers, 
 among whom it involves no invidious comparison to mention 
 especially our late Brother, Grand Secretary Wm. R. Single- 
 ton, whose work along that line was for many years of na- 
 tional reputation, and P. G. M. George W. Baird, the present 
 chairman, a profound student of Masonry, whose work is of 
 the most scholarly character. While a scarcity of funds has 
 from time to time necessitated limiting the space allotted to 
 these unselfish toilers, yet ample recognition of their worth has 
 never been withheld, and the cumulative result of the last half 
 century constitutes a liberal education in Masonic jurispru- 
 dence to him who cares to take advantage of the opportunity 
 offered. 
 
 The War of 1813, while bringing many exciting and terri- 
 fying days to the inhabitants of Washington, especially at the 
 time of the occupation of the city by the British, does not 
 seem to have affected the Fraternity, the destructive work of 
 the troops being confined to the public buildings, private prop- 
 erty, in the main, being respected. In the defense of the 
 Capital it is a matter of record that many members of the 
 Fraternity took part either in the force under Commodore 
 Barney or in the militia called out to aid in repelling the in- 
 vading army. A little later we find among the visitors to the 
 various lodges English and Irish brethren whom it is reason- 
 
MASONIC HALL, JEFFERSON STREET, GEORGETOWN, D. C. 
 
 Home of Potomac I<odge, No. 5, 1810 to 1840. 
 
 'FORREST HALL" HIGH (NOW THIRTY-SECOND) STREET, GEORGETOWN. D, C. 
 
 Home of Potomac I,odge, No. 5, 1852 to 1859. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 53 
 
 able to suppose wore the uniform of the enemy. Once over 
 the threshold of the lodge, however, they met as brethren and 
 not as foes, and who can estimate the vast influence for good 
 that sprang, then as now, from this practical application of 
 the spirit of universal brotherhood? 
 
 Systematic correspondence with other jurisdictions was in- 
 augurated by order of the Grand Lodge in 1813, and the year 
 following the proceedings were printed and distributed for the 
 first time, the pamphlet being 2y^X5 inches and the bill $10. 
 
 In 1813, also, a resolution was passed to visit the subordi- 
 nate lodges once a year, and while there is no record of com- 
 pliance with the order until 1818, yet the former date marks 
 the inauguration of a custom peculiar to the District of Co- 
 lumbia, which has been observed with comparatively few 
 omissions to the present time. From a mere perfunctory busi- 
 ness inspection, at which not infrequently several lodges, and 
 on at least one occasion, in 1849, as many as five lodges, 
 would meet in joint session for that purpose, the visitations 
 were later,, in the administration of Grand Master Donaldson, 
 made entertaining and instructive by the introduction of com- 
 petent lecturers with suitable topics, and in the earlier days of 
 this innovation the speakers were selected by the Grand Mas- 
 ter, who only in comparatively recent years has given over this 
 duty to the subordinate lodges. The presence of the entire 
 official line of the Grand Lodge at each of the subordinate 
 lodges once a year is, as has been said, only possible in a juris- 
 diction as compact and limited as this, and is a privilege as 
 unique as it is agreeable and educational. 
 
 The year 1813 was one of initiative, for, in addition to the 
 matters above mentioned, a set of jewels was obtained for the 
 grand officers for the first time. According to the custom of 
 the period, the jewels proper were subordinated to the collars, 
 from which they were pendant, the latter being of huge size 
 to our modern local eyes, and in marked contrast to the jewels 
 of the present, with their modest ribbons clasping the neck. 
 The evolution was the work of a century, and has been along 
 a line practically untouched by many other jurisdictions, the 
 
54 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 more conservative still holding tenaciously to the elaborate 
 collar. 
 
 At the communication of January 10, 1815, it was decided 
 to recognize the services of the Grand Secretary by the pay- 
 ment of a salary, and this was fixed at $30. This sum was 
 increased and decreased at various times until the Grand 
 Lodge, entering upon an era of comparative prosperity, in the 
 middle of the century, in 1850 increased it to $100, and in 
 1872 to $300, from which time its growth was steady until 
 the present salary of $1,200 was reached, but has hardly kept 
 pace with the immense increase of the business of the office, 
 which now requires the undivided time and attention of the 
 Grand Secretary. This position, for so many years held by 
 that noted Masonic scholar and writer, the late Brother Wm. 
 R. Singleton, has now been filled for more than ten years by 
 Brother Arvine W. Johnston, who has won an enviable repu- 
 tation by the acceptable transaction of the arduous duties of 
 his office. 
 
 The first public appearance of the new Grand Lodge took 
 place September 14, 1815, when the cornerstone of St. John's 
 Episcopal Church, Sixteenth and H Streets, N. W., was laid 
 according to ancient Masonic usage, R. AV. Grand Master 
 Davidson presiding. 
 
 During this decade there was also laid the cornerstones of 
 a building for Brooke Lodge, No. 2, at Alexandria, Va., July 
 8, 1818; of the Second Presbyterian Church, in Georgetown, 
 July 29, 1820, and of the new City Hall, August 22, 1820, the 
 latter being attended with especial ceremony and display and 
 justifying the following brief description : 
 
 A procession according to the form usual on such occasions 
 was formed at Union Lodge Room and moved under the 
 command of three grand marshals to Strother's Hall, where, 
 according to the arrangements previously made, it was joined 
 by the clerks of the several judicial tribunals of the District 
 of Columbia, the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, the Marshal of the District of Columbia and his 
 deputies, the Attorney of the United States for the District 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 55 
 
 of Columbia, Ambassadors from foreign governments and 
 their secretaries, Commissioners of the public buildings, Secre- 
 taries and other heads of Departments of the Government of 
 the United States, President of the United States, Master 
 Builders and Principal Architect of the work, officers of the 
 Corporation of the City of Washington, Mayors of the towns 
 of Georgetown and Alexandria, ex-Mayors of Washington, 
 the Boards of Aldermen and Common Council of the City of 
 Washington, officers civil, military, and naval, of the United 
 States, and the citizens of the District of Columbia and the 
 adjoining country generally, and strangers then within the 
 City of Washington. The procession thus formed, augmented 
 by a large concourse of spectators, proceeded to the site, where 
 M. W. Grand Master William Hewitt made an address and 
 after an invocation proceeded to lay the cornerstone with the 
 customary ceremonies, upon the conclusion of which Brother 
 John Law delivered the oration of the occasion. 
 
 The first celebration of St. John's day occurred December 
 27, 1817, on which occasion the Grand Lodge, escorted by the 
 several subordinate lodges and led by a brass band, formed a 
 procession and proceeded to the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 near the Navy Yard and listened to an appropriate discourse 
 by the Rev. Bro. Andrew T. McCormick. It may be said in 
 passing that this method of observing the day was for a num- 
 ber of years a popular one, and invariably included a band 
 and substantial refreshments, the latter feature, indeed, being 
 considered of such paramount importance that when, in a 
 spasm of economy in 1831, the Grand Lodge resolved that not 
 more than $20 be expended for refreshments at one time, the 
 provision was inserted that this would not apply to St. John's 
 day. A moment's reflection makes this understandable, for 
 the difficulties of travel from one part of the city to another 
 was such that these afifairs were practically all-day matters, 
 and it was not only desirable but necessary that food and 
 drink be provided. 
 
 In striking contrast with the point of view of the present, is 
 the fact that on October 19, 1819, a resolution was passed by 
 
56 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 the Grand Lodge to petition Congress to authorize a lottery to 
 raise $50,000 for the purpose of erecting a Masonic Hall in 
 this city, a favorite method of the time for raising funds for 
 such purposes. No action, however, was taken under the 
 resolution. 
 
 The matter of the proper designation of the various officers 
 having been under discussion it was, in 1820, ordered that the 
 appellation of the grand officers be Most Worshipful Grand 
 Master, Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, and Right 
 Worshipful Grand Wardens, Secretary, and Treasurer, re- 
 spectively, while the Masters of the subordinate lodges should 
 be styled Right Worshipful and the Wardens Worshipful. 
 These titles remain unchanged as far as the grand officers 
 are concerned, but have long since been modified in the sub- 
 ordinate bodies, where the simple Worshipful Master and 
 Wardens alone are used. 
 
 A standing resolution, which provoked a great deal of dis- 
 cussion in the Grand Lodge and was finally repealed after 
 some years' operation, provided that " it shall be the duty of 
 the lodges working under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge 
 to advertise all expulsions for unmasonic conduct in one or 
 more newspapers published in the District of Columbia after 
 such expulsion shall have been sanctioned by the Grand 
 Lodge." 
 
 The matter of disciplining the brethren for unmasonic con- 
 duct these days was not neglected, and if in reading over some 
 of the charges and specifications we are in turn shocked and 
 amused, we must, for a proper appreciation of the situation, 
 consider the radical difference between the social conditions 
 of that day and this. Thus fortified we can read with some 
 degree of equanimity of the trial and suspension of Brother 
 
 , in 1815, on the following charge and specification: 
 
 " Violation of his obligation by entering into and breaking 
 the cellar of my house in the absence of myself and family, 
 and taking out for his own use a quantity of liquor, for which 
 he has never made or offered any explanation or acknowledg- 
 ment * * *." 
 
WILLfAM W. BILLING, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1835-1837. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIyUMBIA 57 
 
 At a later date, in one of the lodges we find this quaintly- 
 worded entry : " Brother exhibited the following 
 
 charge against Brother : ' Brethren, I hereby charge 
 
 Brother with unmasonic conduct, inasmuch as he 
 
 threatened to cut my throat. Yours, respectfully, , 
 
 Again we read as one of the specifications against a brother 
 that he " has been seen by a member of this lodge riding a bull 
 about the streets and acting in an unmasonic manner. * * *." 
 
 In another place is shown the charge against a member of 
 the Fraternity, " that he threatened to cowskin a brother." 
 
 Happily many of the differences were settled " out of 
 court," it frequently being found only necessary to bring about 
 mutual explanations to effect harmony ; but it is indicative of 
 their stern sense of duty that our early predecessors never 
 shirked that most unpleasant of Masonic duties, the trial. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that altho 100 copies of the first 
 constitution of the Grand Lodge were printed in 1813, the 
 most diligent search has failed to bring one to light, and, in- 
 teresting as that document in its entirety would have been, 
 we must perforce be satisfied to judge of it by the few amend- 
 ments which are of record and which have already been 
 quoted, together with the constitution of 1820, which, being 
 the first available instrument of its kind and possessing the 
 merit of brevity, is quoted in full. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Article 1. The Grand Lodge shall meet in the city of Washington on the 
 first Tuesday in every November and May, at 10 o'clock a. m. 
 
 Art. 2. The installed officers of the Grand Lodge shall be elected by 
 ballot at the meeting in November, after the business of the Grand Lodge 
 shall have been acted on and disposed of. The officers elected shall be 
 declared as elected for their respective offices from St. John, the Evan- 
 gelist's Day, inclusive, for one year, or until their successors are elected 
 and installed; and they shall be accordingly so installed and invested as 
 the Lodge may determine, at any time on or before St. John's Day next 
 succeeding the election. 
 
 If any officer-elect be absent at the General Installation, the Lodge, or 
 
58 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 the Grand Master, shall appoint some suitable brother to install him at 
 some other time and place soon after. 
 
 No person shall be declared elected to office who hath not received a 
 majority of all the votes given in on the last ballot. 
 
 And in case of the death, removal, resignation, or inability to serve, of 
 any of the officers so elected, the vacancy shall be filled with the least 
 possible delay for the remainder of the term. Notice of resignations to 
 be given at a meeting previous to being acted on, and may be accepted 
 or rejected by the Lodge. 
 
 Art. 3. The officers to be elected according to the above articles, are — 
 
 1. The Most Worshipful Grand Master. 
 
 2. The Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master. 
 
 3. The Worshipful Senior Grand Warden. 
 
 4. The Worshipful Junior Grand Warden. 
 
 5. The Worshipful Grand Secretary. 
 
 6. The Worshipful Grand Treasurer. 
 
 The officers to be chosen by ballot or otherwise as the members present 
 may agree on, are — 
 
 7. Grand Chaplain. 
 
 8. Grand Senior Deacon. 
 
 9. Grand Junior Deacon. 
 
 10. Grand Marshal. 
 
 11. Grand Steward. 
 
 12. Grand Sword Bearer. 
 
 13. Grand Pursuivant. 
 
 14. Grand Tyler. ' 
 
 And shall each (except the Tyler) be entitled to a vote on all questions. 
 
 Art. 4. Each installed Grand Officer who shall not attend the Grand 
 Lodge at each regular or extra meeting, being duly notified thereof, shall 
 pay a fine of five dollars, unless the Lodge shall consider the excuse, if 
 any, reasonable. 
 
 Art. 5. The honorary members of the Grand Lodge are, Past Installed 
 Grand Officers, being members of a lodge, the Master and Wardens of the 
 lodges working under this jurisdiction. 
 
 Every Past Master who hath served six months in the chair, being a 
 member of a lodge. 
 
 Art. 6. Every lodge, working under the jurisdiction of this Grand 
 Lodge, shall be represented at every meeting of this Lodge by their 
 deputy or deputies, not exceeding five, who shall be Past Master Masons ; 
 and each lodge, by their deputy or deputies, shall have a vote on all ques- 
 tions before the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Art. 7. Each lodge failing to be represented by their officers, or to send 
 a deputation duly authorized at each meeting of the Grand Lodge, shall 
 pay a fine of five dollars, unless satisfactory excuse shall be given to the 
 Grand Lodge : Provided, The lodge, or Master or Wardens thereof, shall 
 be duly notified of such meeting. 
 
 Art. 8. The Master and Wardens of a lodge shall be the legal repre- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMEIA 59 
 
 sentatives, unless the lodges shall thhik proper to be represented by other 
 members; the names of all deputies thus chosen, to be communicated to 
 the Secretary of this Lodge. A representation from five lodges shall be 
 sufficient to elect or disqualify officers, to expel members, and to act on 
 all cases within the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge. 
 
 Art. 9. Every lodge under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge, shall 
 make a just and true return to this Lodge, at the meeting in November, 
 of all their members, the grade in which they stand, resignations, deaths, 
 rejections, suspensions and expulsions; and for every neglect to make 
 return as aforesaid, shall pay a fine, to this Lodge, of five dollars; they 
 shall pay one dollar for every new-made brother, and fifty cents for every 
 member at each return. Every lodge neglecting to make return and pay- 
 ment of their dues and fines, shall not be allowed to vote by their deputies 
 in this Lodge. And if they refuse or neglect to make return and payment 
 as aforesaid, for two years, the warrant of such lodge or lodges, shall be 
 recalled. 
 
 No lodge shall initiate more than five at the same meeting, or any candi- 
 date that has been rejected by another lodge under this jurisdiction, within 
 one year after such rejection; nor shall any candidate receive more than 
 one degree at the same meeting (cases of emergency only excepted). 
 
 Art. 10. All fines to be assessed at large on the proceedings. 
 
 Art. 11. This Grand Lodge shall have, exercise, and enjoy, full and 
 complete appellant and corrective powers, in all cases relating to the 
 Craft, within its jufisdiction, to assess such contributions from time to 
 time, as the good of the Craft may require, to warrant and organize 
 lodges in this District; such warrant to be prepared by the Secretary, and 
 signed by the installed officers; and there shall be paid therefor, before 
 the same is delivered, twenty-five dollars for the use of this Lodge, and 
 five dollars for the Secretary. 
 
 Art. 12. The Most Worshipful Grand Master to preside when present; 
 he may call an extra meeting of the Lodge when an emergent occasion 
 shall require; he shall preserve peace and harmony in the Lodge, or cause 
 it to be done. In case of the absence of the Most Worshipful Grand 
 Master, the Deputy Grand Master shall preside, and so on to the Junior 
 Warden. And if none of the above-named officers be present, then the 
 senior officer of a lodge, not less than Jimior Warden, shall preside, the 
 officers of the senior Lodge to have the preference, in case there be two 
 of the same grade; the presiding Master to make appointments pro tem. 
 to fill all vacancies for the meeting, to decide all questions of order not 
 provided for in this constitution, with the right of an appeal from his 
 decision to the Lodge. 
 
 Art. 13. All Past Grand Masters, Past Deputy Grand Masters, and Past 
 Grand Wardens, shall, in each grade collectively, be entitled to one vote. 
 
 Art. 14. The Past Masters of each lodge present, at any meeting of the 
 Grand Lodge, shall have one vote collectively, but any Past Master 
 otherwise entitled to a separate vote in the Grand Lodge, shall not have 
 a right to a voice in this vote. And if no Past Master be present, from 
 
6o HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 any lodge which has a Past Master, then the delegates from that lodge 
 shall give the Past Master's vote. 
 
 Art. 15. All questions before the Grand Lodge shall be determined by 
 a majority of the votes of the members present, entitled to vote, except 
 on motion (the mover and seconder being of different lodges) it may be 
 determined by a vote by lodges, that the question be taken by lodges. 
 
 Art. 16. The members of the Grand Lodge shall take their seats accord- 
 ing to the seniority of their respective lodges, and shall not remove from, 
 or change the place assigned them by the Pursuivant during the commu- 
 nication, without the permission of the presiding Master. 
 
 Art. 17. No person shall be admitted in the Grand Lodge, before his 
 name shall be announced in the Lodge, and leave given by the presiding 
 Master. 
 
 Art. 18. The duty of the Treasurer is, to keep a fair and just account 
 of all moneys received and paid by him, on account of this Lodge, and to 
 exhibit the same to this Lodge at every regular meeting, and, on the 
 order of the Most Worshipful Grand Master, or the presiding officer, 
 attested by the Secretary, to pay any money in his hands or possession, 
 belonging to this Lodge. 
 
 Art. 19. The duty of the Secretary is, to keep a fair record of the pro- 
 ceedings of the Lodge, to sign all drafts on the Treasurer, to keep an 
 account with the Treasurer, and with the respective lodges under this 
 jurisdiction, and also to keep an account of all fines incurred under this 
 constitution, and make report thereof to this Lodge at every meeting, to 
 take care of, and safe keep the books, papers, and seal of this Lodge, to 
 issue summonses when directed by the senior officer of this Lodge, in the 
 District, and to do and perform all other duties appertaining to the office 
 of the Secretary; and he shall deliver to this Lodge, or a committee 
 thereof, all books, papers, etc. in his possession, whenever directed so to 
 do by the Lodge. 
 
 Art. 20. The duty of the Marshal is to conduct and command all pro- 
 cessions of the Grand Lodge, to enforce the orders of this Lodge, or of 
 the presiding Master, and to serve all special summonses. 
 
 Art. 21. The duty of the Pursuivant is, to attend the admission of every 
 member or visitor, to see that they enter the Lodge in a proper manner, 
 and that they take and keep the stations assigned them. 
 
 Art. 22. The Lodge to be opened within half an hour of the time 
 appointed in the constitution, or in the notification, in case of an extra 
 meeting; or as soon thereafter as a sufficient representation shall appear. 
 
 Art. 23. All amendments and additions to this constitution, must be 
 submitted at a previous meeting; or a copy of such alteration, addition or 
 amendment, must be served on and left with the Masters of the several 
 lodges under this jurisdiction, two months previous to being acted on. 
 
 The foregoing is the constitution of the Grand Lodge of the District 
 of Columbia, as amended up to the 20th May, A. D. 1820, A. L. 5820, and 
 ordered to be published. 
 
 Samuel Burch, 
 
 Secretary Grand Lodge. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT Of COLUMBIA 6l 
 
 An amendment was adopted May 24, 1832, which grew out 
 of several unsatisfactory experiences and was as follows: 
 
 Art. 24. That it shall not be competent for the Grand Lodge to hold 
 any procession or ceremony for the purpose of laying the cornerstone of 
 any edifice, except such building be intended for Masonic purposes, unless 
 the persons requesting the same, or those having an interest in, or super- 
 intending the erection of such edifice, shall previously agree to pay all 
 expenses, if any there may be, attending said procession or ceremony, 
 including music and necessary refreshments. 
 
62 HISTORY O^ FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 DARK DAYS AND BRIGHT. 
 
 FIRST MERIDIAN — THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT — FIRST MAr 
 SONIC TEMPLE — FORMATION OF LODGES 8, 9, 
 
 10, 11, 12, AND 13 THE ANTI-MASONIC 
 
 WAVE REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM 
 
 CORNERSTONES — NOTES. 
 
 "Truth forever on the scaffold; Wrong forever on the throne — • 
 Yet that scaffold sways the future; and behind the dim unknown 
 Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own." 
 
 — Lower,!,. 
 
 That the Grand Lodge at this time had a by no means 
 narrow conception of its duty as a promoter of the public wel- 
 fare has striking illustration in the fact that there was laid 
 before that body, November 5, 1823, a letter from Brother 
 William Lambert, late of Lebanon, No. 7, accompanied by a 
 printed copy of his report to the President of the United 
 States made in November, 1821, relative to the longitude of 
 the Capitol in the City of Washington, together with a sup- 
 plemental report on the same subject made in the month of 
 March, 1822, and presented as a testimonial of respect from 
 the author, and upon the reception of which a suitable resolu- 
 tion was passed, which was, at the meeting of May, 1823, 
 amplified into the following: 
 
 Whereas, this Grand Lodge did at their last annual communication, held 
 on the 5th of November last, declare " that the encouragement and diffu- 
 sion of learning and science is among the objects embraced by the institu- 
 tion of Masonry," and believing that the measures which have been, and 
 
IN the; district op col,umbia 63 
 
 may be taken for the establishment of a first meridian for the United 
 States at the seat of their government ought to be supported, as tending 
 to lessen, if not to remove, a dependence on Great Britain or other 
 European kingdom, for such meridian ; and also to disseminate among our 
 fellow citizens the knowledge of a useful branch of science; therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That the members of this Grand Lodge will use such influence 
 as they may possess, to induce the proper constituted authorities of this 
 country to carry into effect a national object, in which the inhabitants of 
 the District of Columbia, in common with the citizens of the respective 
 States composing the American Union, must feel themselves materially 
 interested. 
 
 At the meeting of May 4, 1824, a resolution was adopted 
 taxing every brother who visited the Grand Lodge fifty cents, 
 to be demanded of him at the door by the Treasurer unless the 
 Grand Lodge saw fit to admit him without payment. This 
 resolution, meeting with natural objection, was only in force 
 until November 1, 1825, when it was repealed. 
 
 On May 4, 1824, also, the list of lodges was lengthened by 
 the granting of a charter to Humphrey Peake, G. Thornton, 
 Isaac Kell, and other Master Masons, residing in Alexandria, 
 D. C, to form a lodge to be known as " The Evangelical 
 Lodge of Alexandria, No. 8," the M. W. G. M., W. W. 
 Seaton, previously stating that he had granted a dispensation 
 to these brethren April 23, preceding. This lodge, coming 
 into existence close upon the stormy period of Masonic per- 
 secution, was not destined to survive, and became extinct in 
 1843. During its life the Grand Lodge at least once met in 
 its room in Alexandria, in 1838, and it is of record that 
 altho the constitutional hour of convening was 4 P. M., by 
 reason of the delay of the boat in making the " voyage" it 
 was 7 P. M. before the meeting could be held. 
 
 As we pass along the beaten track of history we cannot 
 resist the temptation to take note of matters, trivial in them- 
 selves and yet not without value as uncovering what to our 
 eyes were unusual conditions, and among these we note that 
 it was the regular custom of the Grand Master to retire from 
 the meetings of the Grand Lodge, frequently for almost the 
 entire time taken for the transaction of business, and return later 
 
64 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 with some pomp and circumstance, the Deputy Grand Master 
 in the meantime officiating. Another custom, which obtained 
 on occasion, was appealing from the decision of the Grand 
 Master or acting Grand Master, when in the judgment of the 
 members he was faulty in his interpretation of the constitu- 
 tion or regulations, a proceeding peculiar to the period, wholly 
 without warrant of ancient usage, and happily but compara- 
 tively short-lived. 
 
 November 2, 1824, The New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, was 
 chartered, the Grand Master having previously, on October 4, 
 of the same year, granted a dispensation to said lodge on the 
 petition of William Hewitt (Grand Master 1830, 31, 38, 29), 
 Henry Whetcroft, Thomas Staley, and others. Master Masons. 
 While starting with an unusually small charter list — but eight 
 names appearing on the first return — this lodge has had a 
 steady and prosperous growth and a brilliant career, and now 
 ranks well up near the top in numerical and financial standing. 
 
 One of the customs of the Fraternity in this era, to which 
 passing allusion has already been made, was the frequent for- 
 mation of processions, and this ceremonious public appearance 
 was not confined to funerals and cornerstone layings, as at 
 present, but was usual in their attendance upon divine and 
 memorial services and in public functions not strictly of a 
 Masonic character. A not unusual occurrence was the forma- 
 tion of a procession by a lodge or lodges, accompanied by the 
 children from an orphans' home, a special feature of which 
 was the collection of a voluntary contribution at the end of the 
 march for the benefit of the institution, and it is gratifying 
 to note that these offerings invariably netted a comfortable 
 sum. Any public appearance, whether for a funeral or other- 
 wise, was seldom made without the services of a brass band; 
 but it must be remembered in this connection that carriages 
 were rarely used, that luxurious method of performing a duty 
 coming in with a later age. The obligation to attend the 
 funeral of a deceased brother was properly considered of the 
 first importance and as a result we find the record of numer- 
 ous gatherings on all these occasions, no stress of weather. 
 
MARMADUKE DOVE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1839. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 65 
 
 apparently, operating to prevent the brethren from being pres- 
 ent and joining in the solemn march and simple rites that 
 marked the passing of a Master Mason. 
 
 The history of Naval Lodge, No. 4, furnishes an instance 
 of unusual and impressive conditions in the burial at 10 o'clock 
 of a mid-winter's night, with the earth covered with snow, of 
 the remains of a brother whose death from small-pox neces- 
 sitated hasty interment under circumstances which must have 
 stamped the occasion indelibly upon the minds and hearts of 
 every one present, for given but the bare statement of the 
 time and place, the character and purpose of the gathering, 
 and it needs no master hand to paint the scene, but the most 
 sluggish imagination easily conjures up the weird picture with 
 all its awesome details. 
 
 As early as November 1, 1825, the Grand Lodge passed a 
 set of resolutions commending the project of erecting a monu- 
 ment to George Washington and pledging its active co-opera- 
 tion and aid in that enterprise, and it is no exaggeration to 
 say that the mammoth obelisk now for many years the pride 
 of the country, owes its existence to the efforts of the Masonic 
 Fraternity in general and the local craft in particular. In this 
 connection it may be stated that Washington's birthday was 
 for many years celebrated annually by the Masons of this 
 jurisdiction with great display and oratory. 
 
 On November 1, 1835, the minimum fee for conferring the 
 degrees was fixed at $30. Following the subject to its con- 
 clusion, we find that on November 4, 1834, this sum was 
 reduced to $15; was later raised to $31; again, in 1844, re- 
 duced to $16; increased in 1850 to $31; in 1864 to $30; in 
 1867 to $40; in 1876 to $45, and in 1889 to $50, the present 
 figure. 
 
 The event of paramount importance in the year 1836 was 
 the laying of the cornerstone of the Masonic Temple at 
 Four-and-a-Half (John Marshall Place) and D Streets, N. W., 
 an enterprise of great moment to the local craft, which, tho 
 unhappily of disastrous termination, marked an era in our 
 history, and is of such interest that a detailed account, not 
 5 
 
66 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 only of the ceremonies attending the event but the subsequent 
 history and final loss of the building, is given in the chapter 
 devoted to the " Meeting Places of the Fraternity." 
 
 On April 10 of the following year the Grand Lodge laid 
 the cornerstone of the First Presbyterian Church, a few doors 
 from the new Masonic Hall, and it is worthy of mention that 
 it was only agreed to perform the function after the Church 
 had obligated itself to pay all expenses. The accounts of the 
 ceremonies show the occasion to have been a most brilliant 
 affair, and an auspicious inauguration of one of our oldest 
 and most influential church organizations. Practically un- 
 changed exteriorly, tho somewhat modernized as to its in- 
 terior, the building stands to-day as the home of the same 
 congregation. 
 
 In this year Masonry took organized form in the old First 
 Ward, Hiram Lodge, No. 10, located in the eastern edifice of 
 the Seven Buildings, north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, be- 
 tween Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets, N. W., being 
 chartered December 27, 1827, with Thos. Wilson as Master; 
 Thos. Smith, S. W., and Chas. G. Wilcox, J. W. This lodge, 
 successful from the start, while changing its abode a number 
 of times, has never wandered far from the vicinity of its first 
 location, and has for a number of years had its home at the 
 southwest corner of Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania Ave- 
 nue, N. W. 
 
 March 29, 1828, witnessed an unusual Masonic demonstra- 
 tion in a joint procession formed by the Grand Lodge and 
 Grand R. A. Chapter to testify to the high respect entertained 
 by the Fraternity for the " exalted character and extensive 
 usefulness" of De Witt Clinton, late Governor of New York 
 and G. G. H. P. of R. A. Masons of the U. S. A., and the 
 subsequent attendance in St. John's Church at a memorial 
 service. 
 
 May 31, of the same year, the cornerstone of another 
 church edifice in the immediate neighborhood of the new Tem- 
 ple, Trinity Episcopal, was laid by the Grand Lodge. This 
 church occupied the site now covered by the Columbian Law 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI,UMBIA 67 
 
 Building, Fifth Street, opposite Judiciary Square, and long 
 since passed away, the congregation now meeting in a modern 
 edifice at Third Street and Indiana Avenue. 
 
 At about the time of the inauguration of the building enter- 
 prise by the Fraternity the great anti-Masonic wave, which 
 had its origin in the alleged abduction and murder of one 
 William Morgan, of Batavia, N. Y., a subject now so familiar 
 to every Mason as to require no extended notice here, began 
 to grow in volume and sweep over the country. By 1839, 
 when Andrew Jackson, P. G. Master of Tennessee, became 
 President, anti-Masonry had become a national issue, and for 
 nearly a decade a political and even social persecution was 
 waged that seriously threatened the life of the Fraternity in 
 this country. Locally the force was felt to an alarming de- 
 gree, and while a certain accession of membership was trace- 
 able to the curiosity aroused by the advertisement given the 
 society, yet many of the weak-kneed fell away, and the various 
 lodges were often reduced to sore straits, and necessarily and 
 s}Tnpathetically the Grand Lodge had a serious time to weather 
 the storm. Under the stress Brooke Lodge, No. 2, went out 
 of existence in 1833, Columbia in 1835, Union in the same 
 year, while Federal surrendered its charter in 1836. Brooke 
 Lodge and Union Lodge never revived, but Columbia came 
 to life after thirty years, and Federal remained dormant but 
 one year. It is a matter of tradition so well verified as to 
 amount to history, that Naval Lodge, No. 4, during the height 
 of the disturbance met secretly in the home of the Command- 
 ant of the Navy Yard. Over in the West End it is interesting 
 to note that the celebrated and eccentric itinerant preacher, 
 Bro. Lorenzo Dow, who was neither ashamed nor afraid to 
 avow himself a Mason, on May 10, 1830, when the excite- 
 ment was at flood tide, addressed Potomac Lodge and a large i 
 number of visiting brethren on the subject of Masonry. This 
 noted man and Mason died in 1834 and was buried masonically 
 by Potomac Lodge. This lodge also felt the effects of the 
 troublous times, and fell off in membership and interest to 
 such a degree that in 1837 but five meetings were held, but a 
 
68 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 reorganization was effected in 1838 and an era of prosperity 
 entered upon. 
 
 Before leaving the subject, some idea of the remarkable 
 condition of affairs may be gathered from the fact that on 
 Sunday, September 13, 1835, one of the usual processions, 
 accompanied by and for the benefit of the orphan children 
 from the Female Orphan Asylum of Washington, was organ- 
 ized in " ancient form," after having been deferred from a 
 previous date, according to the explanation of the Grand Mas- 
 ter, " in consequence of the excited state of public feeling, 
 etc." However, there were a sufficient number " left among 
 the living to bury the dead," and, purged of dross, the Fra- 
 ternity in a few years took a new lease of life which has since 
 known nought but vigorous health and growth. 
 
 We have noted the fact that in 1831 full returns gave the 
 aggregate membership as 219. By 1835, altho two new 
 lodges had been instituted in the meantime, the rosters footed 
 up but 337 names. With Hiram added, the rolls in 1828 
 reached a total of 373 ; but, owing to the fact that for a period 
 extending from January 1, 1839, to November 4, 1845, no 
 Grand Lodge proceedings were printed and the manuscript 
 data now available is meager and incomplete, no satisfactory 
 estimate can be ventured upon of the increase or decrease 
 numerically during these years, but covering, as the hiatus 
 does, the full period of the Masonic depression, it may be 
 surmised that in point of numbers Masonry reached its lowest 
 ebb in this locality somewhere within these dates, and, indeed, 
 it is of record that absolutely no growth was experienced for 
 the five years preceding the later date. 
 
 Struggling along under these adverse conditions, the Grand 
 Lodge was in a continual state of financial stringency, owing 
 not only to the depleted membership but to the inability to 
 collect the fines, and the repeated neglect of some of the lodges 
 to pay their dues, and the dissatisfaction engendered by this 
 embarrassing delinquency reached its culmination in 1833, 
 and led to the introduction of a resolution to recommend the 
 consolidation of Lodges 1 and 3, 4 and 6, and 2 and 8. While 
 

 o 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 69 
 
 this resolution was subsequently " laid on the table," its intro- 
 duction serves to show how grievous were the times upon 
 which the Fraternity had fallen. 
 
 The period of Masonic depression referred to above did 
 not, however, result in the complete withdrawal of the Craft 
 from public demonstration, for in addition to the procession 
 for the benefit of the Female Orphan Asylum already alluded 
 to there were many other public appearances for similar 
 charitable purposes as well as cornerstone layings, prominent 
 among which latter was that of the United German Church. 
 Twentieth and G Streets, N. W., August 13, 1833, and that 
 of the Methodist Protestant Church, Ninth, between E and F 
 Streets, N. W., in March, 1835, while on January 11, 1836, 
 the cornerstone of Jackson City was laid by P. G. M. Wm. W. 
 Billing, assisted by M. W. Brother Andrew Jackson, P. G. M. 
 of Tennessee and President of the United States. Inaugu- 
 rated under such auspicious circumstances this embryo city 
 should properly have attained the largest measure of success, 
 but in all charitableness we ring down the curtain upon its 
 subsequent history. 
 
 At the very flood-tide of the great wave of persecution evi- 
 dence is not wanting of life in the local Fraternity and of 
 restless effort to resume all normal functions, and this spirit 
 finds expression in an unsigned paper, bearing date of Janu- 
 ary, 1836, which appears to indicate an abortive attempt to 
 establish a " Lecture Lodge," the object being, it is fair to 
 presume, mutual improvement in Masonic work and lore 
 through the medium of lectures. In no spirit of mirth or 
 criticism, but simply to retain the atmosphere of the docu- 
 ment, unique from every point of view, we quote it literally : 
 
 Whereas Masonry has been of great use and benefit to mankind, and 
 Whereas sundry breathern of the fraternity wishing to defuse and instruct 
 each other in the usefull Knowledge of masonry and perfect each other 
 in regular mode of working the have formed them selves into a lector 
 Lodge and (whereas) rules are necessary for the government of all 
 assembled bodies, There fore be it resolved the following rules be ad- 
 dobted for the goverment of Washington Lector Lodge — 
 
7° HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 1st. This I<odge shall be called Washington Lector Lodge. 
 
 2. The officers shall consist of Master S & J. Wardens Secry. & Tresurer 
 S. & J. Deacons Tylers and conductor to be elected and appointed, as in 
 a regular lodge, except the electtion and appointment to take place the 
 first Sunday in each and every month. 
 
 3. The meetings to be held on each Sunday in the year at 3 oik in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 4. All contributions to be levied by the Lodge to defray the expences 
 thereof. 
 
 5. The same decorum shall be observed in this Lodge as in a regular 
 Lodge, both to the officers and to the members. 
 
 6. Anny member absenting himself from the Lodge two sucksessive 
 meetings shall be fined 13 1-2 c. — unless he give a sufficient excuse then 
 the Lodge may by a majorty of the members present, may remit the fine, 
 
 7. No bro. who is not a member of a regular Lodge shall be allowed 
 to visit this Lodge unless it be by unanimous consent of the members 
 present. 
 
 8. A brother wishing to becoming a member of this Lector Lodge must 
 make application in writing signed by two members of the Lodge and 
 if the bro. is well known he shall be ballotted for and if there be not 
 more than two black balls he shall be atmitted a member on his paying 
 the sum of twenty five cents — ^but should there be three he shall, not be 
 admitted at this meeting but his petition shall be referred to a committee 
 as in a regular lodge and disposed of accordingly — and that the person 
 blck Bolg during the time committee may be sitting shall state their 
 reason to the committee. 
 
 On November 9, 1838, the Grand Lodge fell into line 
 with the growing custom of resident representation, and De- 
 cember 27, 1838, resolutions were adopted prescribing the 
 rank of such representatives and their proper regalia, and 
 empowering the Grand Master to make appointments at other 
 Masonic seats of government during the recess, such appoint- 
 ments to be submitted to the Grand Lodge at its next meeting 
 for confirmation. Under this action the first exchange of 
 representatives was with the New York jurisdiction, the 
 Grand Master nominating and the Grand Lodge confirming 
 the appointment of Brother Wm. C. Brumett, of that State, 
 our resident representative to the Grand Lodge of New 
 York, and official information being received of the appoint- 
 ment of R. W. Brother Abraham Howard Quincy, of Wash- 
 ington, as local resident representative on the part of the 
 Grand Lodge of New York. The system thus adopted in a 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 7 1 
 
 few years and for an extended period met with considerable 
 opposition and was finally entirely lost sight of until revived 
 in 1860 as a new thing, from which time, altho suffering 
 much opposition for a number of years, it held on, and in 
 the latter part of the century took its permanent and undis- 
 puted place as a not only useful but necessary institution. 
 
 A rather peculiar variation from custom is shown in a 
 communication from a subordinate lodge (Ark, No. 33, Gen- 
 eva, N. Y.) to this Grand Lodge, in 1848, asking an exchange 
 of representatives, which request was, of course, courteously 
 declined. 
 
 The geographical location of the principal centers of popu- 
 lation in the then District, constituting three, or indeed four, 
 widely separated communities, with inadequate means of com- 
 munication, led to the adoption in 1839 of a resolution to elect 
 three Deputy Grand Masters — one for Washington and the 
 Navy Yard, one for Georgetown, and one for Alexandria — 
 with the understanding that when all three were present and 
 the business required one of them to preside that the senior 
 should have the preference. The first election resulted in 
 the selection of T. J. Williams, for Washington ; John Myers, 
 for Georgetown; and I. Kell, for Alexandria. This arrange- 
 ment lasted until 1846, when, Alexandria having been retro- 
 ceded to Virginia, two Deputy Grand Masters were annually 
 elected until the year 1848, when a return was had to the one 
 Deputy system, which has obtained to this day. 
 
 While it is not within the province of this work to enter 
 upon the field of jurisprudence or methods of transacting the 
 business of the Fraternity, it is of sufficient general interest 
 to state that the motion to lay on the table, now grown so 
 abhorrent to us, was in the heyday of its popularity during the 
 middle of the last century, and was sometimes, in the heat of 
 vexing debate, given unusual form, as, for instance, in the 
 Grand Lodge, in 1842, it was moved and seconded that a 
 certain resolution be laid under the table, to which was of- 
 fered a substitute by a Past Grand Master that it be " thrown 
 out of doors." That a motion should be " thirded" was a 
 
72 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 quite usual occurrence. And while we linger for these short 
 glimpses of the small things along the way which are not 
 without their value to the complete picture, we might quote 
 the rather stilted phrase of the period in reference to visita- 
 tions : " The Grand Marshal formed a procession and made 
 the grand initiation in accordance with ancient usages." 
 
 One of the methods of travel is indicated in a letter about 
 this time from the Leesburg, Va., lodge, inviting the Wash- 
 ington lodges to join them in a procession on St. John's Day, 
 and as, in their opinion, music was indispensable for such 
 an affair, they requested that " 4 or 5" members of the 
 Marine Band be sent up, and suggested that they might travel 
 with the Alexandria Lodge in the canal boat. 
 
 With the demise of Evangelical Lodge, No. 8, which oc- 
 curred in 1843, passed away the last Alexandria lodge hold- 
 ing a charter from the District, the retrocession by the Gov- 
 ernment to Virginia of the southern part of the original ten 
 miles square occurring in 1846, and, of course, terminating 
 our jurisdiction over Alexandria and vicinity. 
 
 As has been noted in detail in another chapter, the Fra- 
 ternity, in 1843, finally lost title to Central Masonic Hall, 
 Four-and-a-Half and D Streets, and for several years the 
 Grand Lodge and several subordinate lodges were scattered, 
 the former, with Nos. 1 and 7, finding a home at Twelfth 
 Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and No. 9 in the old Circus 
 Building on C Street, N. W. This separation gave rise to 
 some controversy as to the ownership of the various belong- 
 ings saved from the old Hall, and, while the final adjustment 
 is of no moment, it is a matter of historical interest to quote 
 the inventory made at the time, covering as it did practically 
 all of the effects of the Grand Lodge and the centrally-located 
 subordinate lodges : 
 
 Nine yellow chairs ; 9 rods of Steward and Tyler ; 1 small table, painted 
 red; 1 small desk; 16 spit-boxes and 1 large chest with No. 35, Columbia 
 Lodge, on it; 1 cupboard No. 7, and 1 picture, presented by Brother Coote 
 to the Grand Lodge; 1 framed chart; 1 small master's carpet, complete; 
 one triple chair ; 3 lesser lights and sockets ; 1 great light, No. 35, Colura- 
 
CLEMENT T. COOTE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1834. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O? COIvUMBIA 73 
 
 bia Lodge; 1 Tyler's sword, No. 7; 1 water bucket and large letter G; 
 18 yellow broad-back chairs and 2 blue-bottom armed chairs at Brother 
 Greer's office. 
 
 During this period of trial Potomac Lodge, No. 5, be- 
 coming dissatisfied with the Grand Lodge, made persistent 
 efforts extending through the years 1843-44-45, to withdraw 
 from the jurisdiction and unite either with the Grand Lodge 
 of Virginia or that of Maryland. This spirit of unrest was 
 not wholly new, as the matter had been broached on several 
 occasions before, notably in 1830, but the efforts lacked per- 
 sistence and came to nought. After 1845 the lodge made 
 no further efforts along this line and became, as it has since 
 continued, one of the most valued and progressive members 
 of the Masonic family. 
 
 The Fraternity now again began to move out from under 
 the clouds which had so long hovered over it, and the year 
 1845 marked the birth of an era of prosperity. 
 
 In June of that year the Fraternity turned out in great 
 numbers and formed a procession as a tribute of respect to 
 the memory of Brother Andrew Jackson, then lately de- 
 ceased, and proceeding to the Capitol, in company with a 
 large assembly of citizens listened to an eloquent oration by 
 the historian, the Hon. George Bancroft. 
 
 At the installation meeting held December 27, 1845, the 
 petition for a charter for a lodge to be known as St. John's 
 Lodge, No. 11, was received and the charter ordered to issue, 
 Bro. George C. Thomas being named as the first master, 
 Jos. F. Brown as S. W., and John W. Williams as J. W., 
 with an additional charter list of seven names. 
 
 This was quickly followed, in May of the following year, 
 by the granting of a charter to National Lodge, No. 12, which 
 had been working under dispensation for a short time, the 
 officers named in the petition being Bro. (Gen.) James Shields 
 as Master, Bro. John McCalla as S. W., and Bro. Hilary 
 Langtry as J. W. The first-named was Commissioner of the 
 General Land Office at this time, but later resigned that office 
 and took a command in Mexico, where he greatly distin- 
 
74 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 guished himself. He had the honor on his return of being 
 received at a specially convened session of the Grand Lodge 
 January 3, 1848. 
 
 While the usual public appearances were still kept up and 
 a number of cornerstones laid during these latter years, the 
 next aflfair of importance in this line was the laying of the 
 cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institution, May 1, 1847, by 
 that noted Mason M. W. Brother B. B. French, the Grand 
 Master of the District, assisted by the officers of the Grand 
 Lodge, and having present with him as aides the Grand 
 Master of Pennsylvania and the Grand Master of Maryland. 
 The procession preceding the event was a notable one, and 
 embraced a large concourse of distinguished Masonic individ- 
 uals and delegations from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Vir- 
 ginia. Among those present ,at the ceremonies were the 
 President of the United States, Brother James K. Polk; the 
 Vice President of the United States, Brother George M. 
 Dallas ; the Regents of the Institute, Past Grand Masters, and 
 others. 
 
 The apron worn by the Grand Master was the historic 
 one originally presented to Gen. Washington by the Grand 
 Lodge of France through Gen. LaFayette, and worn by the 
 former on the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of 
 the Capitol, and had been for years in the possession of and 
 zealously guarded by Mt. Nebo Lodge, No. 91, of Shepherds- 
 town, Md., and loaned for this occasion. The gavel was the 
 already famous Washington gavel. 
 
 It may be worth while to note in passing that while the 
 Grand Lodge had until this time convened at 10 A. M., the 
 meeting hour in 1847 was changed to 4 P. M., a most incon- 
 venient hour we are prone to conclude, but doubtless adopted 
 with good reason. 
 
 On July 4, 1848, the cornerstone of the Washington Monu- 
 ment was laid by the Grand Lodge, M. W. G. M. B. B. 
 French presiding, and again was gathered an unusual con- 
 course of Masons, when the inadequate means of transporta- 
 tion of the day are considered, including delegations from the 
 Grand Lodges of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, 
 
IN THB DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 75 
 
 Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and 
 Texas. 
 
 A brilliant oration was delivered by M. W. Brother French 
 on the life and character of Washington as a Mason, while 
 the general address was made by Hon. R. C. Winthrop, 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives. Among the Ma- 
 sonic relics on the stand was the chair used by Brother Wash- 
 ington when Master of his Lodge, Alexandria- Washington, 
 No. 23, of Virginia, and his apron and sash; the ancient 
 records of Fredericksburg Lodge, showing the entrance of 
 Brother Washington into Masonry, and the gavel used at the 
 Capitol cornerstone laying. The paraphernalia which had 
 once been the property of the Revolutionary hero and dis- 
 tinguished Mason, Gen. Joseph Warren, was also in evidence 
 on the person of a representative from Boston. 
 
 In 1848 the remarkable attack of gold fever which drew 
 so many adventurous souls to California broke out with con- 
 siderable virulence in Washington and caused quite an exodus 
 to the coast. Among the number were some of the Fra- 
 ternity, and on November 9, 1848, the Grand Lodge on proper 
 petition granted a charter for a lodge to be known as Cali- 
 fornia Lodge, No. 13, to be held in the town of San Fran- 
 cisco, Upper California, and named Samuel Yorke AtLee as 
 Master, Wm. VanVoorhies as S. W., and Bedney F. Mc- 
 Donald as J. W. On December 27, 1848, Brother AtLee 
 having in the meantime resigned, the Grand Lodge confirmed 
 the action of the Grand Master taken during the interim of 
 appointing and having properly installed as Master Brother 
 Levi Stowell in his stead. The latter brother, with the charter 
 in his possession, it was reported, had proceeded to his destina- 
 tion. This lodge, the pioneer in the State, continued in its alle- 
 giance to this Grand Lodge until 1850, when it united with 
 other lodges to form the Grand Lodge of California, becoming 
 No. 1, and furnishing the first Grand Master and Grand Sec- 
 retary. Its separation from this jurisdiction was in the best 
 of feeling, and the local Fraternity has noted with pride its 
 continued success and prosperity. 
 
 In 1849 an unusual memorial was received from certain 
 
76 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 citizens of Bogoto, New Grenada, addressing themselves to 
 this Grand Lodge as " the centre of light," for the purpose 
 of obtaining " the favor of being constituted a regular lodge 
 in due and ancient form." The memorialists were evidently 
 entirely unfamiliar with the organization, rites, and require- 
 ments of Masonry, but were so unmistakably sincere in their 
 desire for light that the Grand Lodge was at considerable 
 pains to inform them of the regulations and prerequisites of 
 organization, and expressed the hope that a sufficient number 
 of Master Masons might be found within their borders to take 
 the proper initiative. Nothing further came of the agitation, 
 however, and the incident closed. 
 
 July 17, 1849, was commenced the movement to procure a 
 memorial stone for the \A''ashington Monument, and this was 
 accomplished by subscription and the stone placed in the 
 following year. It is located on the third landing, or first 
 stop, of the elevator, and is of white granulated marble. Its 
 face is six feet by two feet three inches, and bears the inscrip- 
 tion " Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. Our 
 Brother, George Washington." In the center of the inscrip- 
 tion are the square and compasses, all in raised work, and 
 within and protected by a heavy molding. In an aperture of 
 the block there were placed a list of the contributors and 
 the last printed proceedings of the Grand Lodge. " Thus," 
 in the language of Grand Master French, " have the Free- 
 masons of this jurisdiction presented their offering at the 
 holy shrine of patriotism." 
 
 December 27, 1849, one of the earliest public installations 
 took place, the Grand Lodge, under the escort of the Knights 
 Templar, proceeding to the Unitarian Church, where the 
 M. W. Grand Master, B. B. French, was installed, and upon 
 assuming his station was " saluted according to custom," and 
 delivered one of his eloquent addresses. The subordinate 
 Grand Officers were then installed, as were also the " R. W." 
 Masters-elect of the subordinate lodges. This custom, while 
 observed at intervals until well toward the latter part of the 
 century, has fallen absolutely into disuse, and probably will 
 come as a revelation to many of the younger readers. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OS COI^UMBIA 77 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 THE DAWN OF PROSPERITY. 
 
 CLOSING YEARS OF THE HALF CENTURY — CORNERSTONES OF 
 CAPITOL EXTENSION AND SMITHSONIAN INSTITU- 
 TION — LODGES 14, 15, AND 16 — LODGE 
 OF MUTUAL BENEVOLENCE — THE 
 LIBRARY PUBLIC FUNC- 
 TIONS — NOTES. 
 
 ' The secret of success is constancy to purpose." — DisraEi,i. 
 
 The OPENING of the second half of the nineteenth century 
 found the Fraternity, while still numerically weak, the aggre- 
 gate membership in 1850 amounting to a little less than 300, 
 entering upon an era of comparative prosperity. 
 
 As an instance of our cordial relation with sister jurisdic- 
 tions it is noted that on February 22, 1850, on invitation of 
 the Grand Lodge of Virginia, Grand Master French, attended 
 by a number of the brethren of the District, visited Rich- 
 mond and participated in the ceremony of laying the corner- 
 stone of the Washington Monument at that place, and was 
 treated with the utmost cordiality and consideration. 
 
 That the more modern conception of the function of the 
 Masonic Fraternity, which deprecates a public appearance ex- 
 cept for the performance of Masonic duty, was now begin- 
 ning to assert itself is shown by the fact that, at a special 
 communication held June 18, 1850, the Grand Lodge voted to 
 decline the invitation of the local Washington Monument 
 
78 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Association to take part in a procession and other ceremonies 
 to be held July 4 of that year, " regarding all public displays 
 of the Order as improper which are not necessary to the 
 performance of the duties enjoined upon it." 
 
 On May 6, 1851, there was received from sundry citizens 
 of Monrovia, Republic of Liberia, including the President, a 
 petition for a charter for a lodge to be called " Restoration 
 Lodge." This petition did not receive as much consideration, 
 apparently, as the one a few years before from Bogota, Xew 
 Grenada, but was rejected in a terse resolution of eight words. 
 Had the Grand Lodge acted otherwise, the mind is lost in 
 speculation of what further complication might subsequently 
 have been injected into the troublous question of the standing 
 of lodges of African descent which was soon, and for many 
 years, to plague this jurisdiction. 
 
 June 2-4, of the same year, the Grand Lodge, accompanied 
 by a number of brethren from this and adjacent territory, 
 made a pilgrimage to the Tomb of "\^^ashington, and listened 
 to an address by Grand Master French, and on July 4, fol- 
 lowing, laid the cornerstone of the extension of the Capitol, 
 the latter event being made the occasion of an imposing mili- 
 tary and civic display in addition to the Masonic exercises. 
 President Millard Fillmore, in his capacity as the Chief Ex- 
 ecutive of the Country, was present and took part in the 
 exercises, examined the stone, pronounced it laid, and said: 
 "The Most Worshipful Grand Master of the District of 
 Columbia will now please examine the stone and see that it is 
 zi'ell laid." This active participation by President Fillmore 
 is especially interesting in view of the fact that some years 
 before, at the beginning of the anti-Masonic excitement, he 
 was a most bitter arraigner of the institution, which he had 
 characterized as " organized treason." After the usual cere- 
 monies Grand blaster French made one of his magnificent 
 addresses, and was followed by the Hon. Daniel Webster, then 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 On September 2, 1852, a dispensation was granted by the 
 Grand Master authorizing the establishment of a lodge, to 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI/UMBIA 79 
 
 be known as " Centennial Lodge, No. 14," in the old Seventh 
 Ward, better known as the " Island," and now the " South- 
 west." This Lodge met for a number of years in Island Hall, 
 in that section, but subsequently moved to the central part of 
 the city, leaving the section above referred to without a local 
 Masonic body, in which condition it remains to this day, a 
 remarkable state of affairs when the size of the population 
 and peculiar isolation of the Southwest is considered. The 
 charter issued November 2, 1852. 
 
 On December 29, 1852, the M. W. Grand Master, in con- 
 formity with the precedent established a few years earlier, 
 declined an invitation on behalf of the Grand Lodge, to be 
 present at the " inauguration" of the equestrian statue of 
 Andrew Jackson, for the reason that no Masonic duty was 
 required, and it may relieve the tedium of the narration to 
 inject the fact that B. B. French, chairman of the Committee 
 on Arrangements, signed the invitation, and B. B. French, 
 Grand Master, courteously declined to consider it. 
 
 The cornerstone of the Baptist Church on Thirteenth 
 Street was laid by the Grand Lodge July 21, 1853, and that 
 of the Sixth Presbyterian Church August 10, following. 
 
 December 27, 1853, the family of lodges was further en- 
 larged by the granting of a charter to B. B. French Lodge, 
 No. 15, a lodge which rapidly gained in popularity, and is 
 now one of the strongest numerically in the District. 
 
 During the year 1854 the cornerstone of three churches 
 were laid : the Western Presbyterian, August 2 ; Metropolitan 
 Methodist, October 23, and the New Methodist, Georgetown, 
 November 1. 
 
 As compared with the growth of previous years the in- 
 crease in membership was now to become quite marked, the 
 returns for 1854 showing 419 Master Masons, a very sub- 
 stantial gain. 
 
 November 7, of this year P. G. Master French, on behalf 
 of twelve Master Masons, presented the Grand Lodge three 
 silver cups, for corn, wine, and oil, which were accepted with 
 thanks, and the Grand Secretary ordered to have one of the 
 
8o HISTORY OF I^REEMASONRY 
 
 cups fire-gilded (later changed to "otherwise gilded"), and 
 the three marked " Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia." 
 These cups are used to this day on all proper occasions. 
 
 At the same communication the first active step toward the 
 formation of a Masonic Library, previously authorized by 
 constitutional amendment, was taken by the appropriation of 
 $50 for the purchase of books. This appropriation w^as fol- 
 lowed by similar annual appropriations, and by the latter part 
 of 1855 the Library was in existence and a set of rules for the 
 government thereof adopted. At the outset additions were 
 limited to works of a Masonic character, but this limitation 
 was of short duration. The Grand Secretary was in attend- 
 ance one evening in the week and the Grand Tiler the others, 
 for the purpose of issuing and receiving books. Thus was 
 born that feature of our local Masonic institution which has 
 grown to such stalwart and satisfactory proportions, and in 
 order that the subject may be treated connectedly the story 
 is at once pursued to date. 
 
 While comparatively successful for a brief period, the Li- 
 brary soon fell upon evil days, and languished until 1872. 
 when steps were taken looking toward rehabilitating it, and 
 in the new scheme the subordinate lodges were invoked to 
 take an active interest and contribute to the support of the pro- 
 ject, the latter, indeed, being made compulsory by the levying of 
 a tax of one dollar annually on any brother who desired 
 to make use of the Library.' In addition, donations of books 
 were requested, and in response to this P. G. Master R. B. 
 Donaldson at once presented fifty very valuable works. 
 
 In 1873 the Library was enriched by having placed to its 
 credit the sum of $775, which had been returned by the Chicago 
 Masonic Relief Committee to the Grand Lodge of the District 
 as their share of the tmexpended balance of the fund placed 
 in its hands for the relief of the sufferers by the great fire, 
 and with this sum was created the " Chicago Fire Return 
 Library Fund," $500 being immediately invested, and $375, 
 together with interest from investment, made available for 
 the proper equipment of the Library and the purchase of 
 
ROBERT KEYWORTH, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1840, 1841, 1843. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 8 1 
 
 books. This scheme, however, did not work out with any 
 great degree of smoothness, entailing a continuous three- 
 cornered wrangle between the Committee on Accounts, the 
 Committee on Library, and the Grand Lodge, and in 1878 
 another appeal was made to the subordinate lodges, this time 
 to secure a general donation of works of a miscellaneous char- 
 acter. By this time, however, the books already in stock num- 
 bered 2,843, showing a healthy growth, despite the discour- 
 aging conditions surrounding the scheme of maintenance. 
 
 In 1878 the Library, having been previously located with 
 the Grand Secretary's office in one of the upper rooms of the 
 Temple at Ninth and F Streets, was moved with the latter to 
 the ground floor, and in 1880 to the room which for thirty 
 years thereafter was to be its home. At the outset of this 
 new tenancy the various lodges outside of the Temple were 
 requested to pay $3 a month each to assist in paying the rental 
 of the new quarters. All declined with the exception of 
 Hiram, No. 10, which at once consented, and sent six months 
 of its pro rata in advance. The Library Committee, as will 
 be seen, was working at great disadvantage. The annual ap- 
 propriation of $50, before alluded to, not always materializing; 
 the Committee had at their disposal frequently only the interest 
 accruing from the invested Chicago Fund, which amounted to 
 $50, and with the increasing growth of the Library and the 
 necessity of meeting this with the proper cases as well as the 
 services of additional help in the issuing and receipt of books, 
 the items of light, heat, etc., this sum was grossly inadequate. 
 One way and another, tho, the enterprise eked out its exist- 
 ence and grew. A reorganization of the Library, begun in 
 1880, resulted in the following year in the culling out of a 
 vast number of undesirable public documents and the reduc- 
 tion of the accumulation of works to a rational basis. This 
 cut the aggregate of volumes almost exactly in half, and left 
 1,583 valuable volumes on the shelves, a handsome nucleus 
 for the projected library, which has become the pride of the 
 jurisdiction. By 1882 the number had increased to 1,820. 
 
 In 1883 the Chicago Fire Return Library Fund, amounting 
 6 
 
82 HISTORY 01' FREEMASONRY 
 
 to $500, which had been invested upon real estate security, 
 and had been yielding an annual interest of 10 per cent., ceased 
 to exist, the trustee of the fund reporting in that year that 
 failure to meet the interest for some years had forced him to 
 sell the property securing it, and no bid being received suffi- 
 cient to cover the investment it had been bought in by a friend 
 and subsequently deeded to the trustee. Unpaid tax bills, re- 
 pairs, and bad tenants had caused an outlay greatly in excess 
 of the income, and, the opportunity presenting itself, the 
 property (a frame building on Twenty-second Street) was 
 sold for $650, which left, after deducting expenses of sale 
 and sums advanced by the trustee, $524.50 to the credit of the 
 fund, which sum the trustee recommended be turned over to 
 the Library Committee for the purchase of books. This rec- 
 ommendation was amended by inserting the amount $349.50, 
 and in this shape was approved by the Grand Lodge, which at 
 the same time repealed the resolution of January 8, 1873, 
 creating the fund. Just what disposition was made of the re- 
 maining $175 deponent saith not. The fund thus made avail- 
 able was judiciously used, and resulted in the rapid enlarge- 
 ment of the Library, the following year showing 3,109 vol- 
 umes; 1885, 2,338; 1886, 2,269; 1887, 3,350; 1888, 2,473 
 1889, 3,486; 1890, 2,559; 1891, 2,637; 1893, 3,725; 1893 
 2,741; 1894, 2,819; 1895, 2,941; 1896, 3,990; 1897, 3,990 
 1898, 3,140; 1899, 3,133; 1900, 3,353; 1901, 3,410; 1902 
 3,410; 1903, 3,911; 1904, 4,160; 1905, 4,338; 1906, 4,688 
 1907, 5,038. Since the latter date the number has increased 
 rapidly, and now approximates 10,000 volumes. 
 
 While the actual duties of the Librarian were for many 
 years discharged by the Grand Secretary, the work finally be- 
 came of such proportions as to necessitate the employment of 
 an assistant, and in 1901 the late Bro. John N. Birckhead, of 
 Dawson Lodge, No. 16, was appointed. Upon his death, which 
 occurred November 22, 1903, Bro. Paul Neuhaus, P. M. of 
 Hope Lodge, No. 20, a trained and experienced librarian, filled 
 the position until 1906, and upon his demise, during that year, 
 Bro. Armat Stoddart, of Columbia Lodge, No. 3, was ap- 
 pointed, and has most acceptably filled the arduous position 
 
 ii 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 83 
 
 and has practically completed a long-needed card-index cata- 
 log of the contents of the shelves. To the executive ability 
 of the chairmen of the Library Committee, notable among 
 whom may be mentioned the late M. W. Bro. Noble D. 
 Larner, of many years' service; M. W. Bro. Lurtin R. Ginn, 
 and Bro. Wm. L. Boyden, also Librarian of the large Scottish 
 Rite Library and the present incumbent since 1903, is largely 
 due the present carefully selected and well regulated library, 
 which compares favorably with the best of such institutions 
 in the country. 
 
 August 13, 1855, the cornerstone of the German Reformed 
 Church, D and Four-and-a-Half Streets, S. W., was laid by 
 the Grand Lodge, which also, in the fall of the same year, 
 attended the dedication of the Masonic Temple in Philadel- 
 phia, on which latter occasion a large number of the brethren 
 from this jurisdiction were present. 
 
 June 24, 1856, witnessed a most notable celebration by the 
 Fraternity, an imposing procession being formed in connection 
 with Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 15, and, under the escort 
 of Washington Encampment, K. T., proceeded to the Smith- 
 sonian Institution, where, in the presence of a large concourse, 
 one of the most eloquent Masonic orations ever listened to 
 was delivered by the late Bro. Byron Sunderland, D. D., for 
 many years a prominent Presbyterian divine and active Mason 
 of this city. Among those present was the late Bro. Gen. 
 Lewis Cass, who occupied a seat on the right of the M. W. 
 Grand Master. 
 
 At the communication of May 5, 1857, a charter was 
 granted to Bros. Amos T. Jenkes, P. E. Wilson, E. G. Guest, 
 and nineteen others, to form a lodge to be known as Dawson 
 Lodge, No. 16. This lodge, named after P. G. M. Wm. C. 
 Dawson, of Georgia, well and favorably known in the District 
 of Columbia, has had a most successful career and ranks as 
 one of our flourishing lodges. 
 
 The first Past Grand Master's jewel was presented to P. G. 
 Master Charles S. Frailey, March 31, 1857, just two months 
 prior to his death. Owing to his protracted illness the formal 
 
84 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 presentation had been postponed from time to time, and was 
 finally made in his sick room. When it was planned to have 
 the presentation made at a meeting of the Grand Lodge the 
 brother to whom the duty was assigned, P. G. Master French, 
 was considerate enough to allow P. G. Master Frailey to in- 
 spect not only the jewel but the draft of the remarks he pro- 
 posed to make on the occasion, about two weeks before the 
 date set. These were the days of great care and formality 
 in speech-making. Thus was inaugurated what, in the course 
 of time, became a custom, now for years unbroken, of 
 fittingly decorating each retiring Grand Master. 
 
 The public appearances of the Grand Lodge for the year 
 1857 included a pilgrimage to Mt. Vernon on June 24, accom- 
 panied by Masonic representation from Richmond and Alex- 
 andria, and the laying of the cornerstone of Ebenezer M. E- 
 Church, in East Washington, July 31, the Grand Lodge being 
 conveyed to the latter function in omnibusses. 
 
 A resolution introduced at the annual communication of this 
 year granting permission to any brother present at the taking 
 of a ballot in a lodge to vote, the only stipulation being that 
 he must be a member in good standing in some lodge in this 
 jurisdiction, was decisively defeated. 
 
 February 23, 1858, the Grand Lodge, escorted by a large 
 number of the brethren, made a trip to Richmond, Va., and 
 took part in the ceremonies attending the " inauguration" of 
 the Equestrian Statue of George Washington in that city, and 
 on August 19 laid the cornerstone of a new hall for Potomac 
 Lodge, No. 5, in Georgetown. 
 
 In the same year the proposition of a so-called Mt. Vernon 
 Ladies' Association to purchase and preserve for all time the 
 estate of the late Gen. Washington was actively taken up by 
 the Grand Lodge of this, as well as other jurisdictions, and to 
 their material aid is due the ultimate success of this patriotic 
 undertaking. In addition to the encouragement given to the en- 
 terprise by the local Fraternity, $121 was turned over to the 
 Association by the lodges of the jurisdiction — a goodly sum 
 when the limited membership is considered. 
 
Grand Master, 1842. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 85 
 
 The pressing need of burial sites for indigent Masons dying 
 here without relatives or friends resulted at this time in the 
 purchase of sixty sites in the Congressional Cemetery for that 
 purpose. 
 
 October 10, 1859, the cornerstone of the New York Avenue 
 Presbyterian Church was laid with imposing ceremonies. This 
 edifice, after the lapse of more than half a century, is still in 
 active use, and is a model of the architecture of that early 
 period. 
 
 The reports of the Grand Secretary and Treasurer for this 
 year are notable in that they, for the first time, report " great 
 prosperity" in the jurisdiction, and felicitate the Craft on the 
 skill, competency, and fidelity of the officers in charge of the 
 subordinate lodges. 
 
 On November 1, 1859, a charter was granted to a so-called 
 " Lodge of Mutual Benevolence," on the petition of the Mas- 
 ters of the several lodges. This organization was experi- 
 mental, and designed to handle cases of need, but failed of its 
 purpose and surrendered its charter two years later. No num- 
 ber had been assigned to this unique lodge, and as a conse- 
 quence its demise left no gap in the numerical sequence. 
 
 February 22, 1860, the Grand Lodge, accompanied by its 
 guests, the members of Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, of Vir- 
 ginia, and a large attendance of the Craft, proceeded, under 
 the escort of Washington Commandery, K. T., to Washington 
 Circle, and conducted the ceremony of dedicating the Eques- 
 trian Statute of Washington. The President of the United 
 States, W. Bro. James Buchanan, P. M., of Lancaster Lodge, 
 No. 43, of Lancaster, Pa., was present as an active participant 
 in the exercises, and delivered the dedicatory address. 
 
 At the November communication of this year an elaborate 
 report was submitted by a special committee previously ap- 
 pointed to enquire into the advisability of " districting" the 
 several lodges, with a view of preventing petitioners from ap- 
 plying to any but the lodge nearest their places of residence, 
 and it was developed by this report that while a system of 
 notification between the various lodges was supposed to be 
 
86 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 in operation it was so faulty and so carelessly operated as to be 
 worthless, and the committee recommended a resolution con- 
 fining a petitioner to the lodge nearest to his residence. While 
 the Grand Lodge refused to adopt the resolution, yet the fact 
 of its introduction serves to make understandable the vast 
 difference between many conditions then and now. With the 
 primitive systems of transportation and communication in 
 vogue the various sections were practically as far apart as 
 separate villages, and nothing like the close intimacy of the 
 present day was possible. A citizen of the East End might 
 apply in Georgetown, or even in the central part of the city, 
 and in the absence of notification he would be, for all practical 
 purposes of investigation, a stranger. 
 
 With increasing facilities of communication and the adop- 
 tion of more business-like methods in the Secretary's office, this 
 problem has solved itself, and is handled through the latter 
 official in the shape of weekly bulletins, which give the greatest 
 possible Masonic publicity to all applications and changes. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI^UMBIA 87 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 MILITARY LODGES — UNION LODGE, U. D., OE ALEXANDRIA, VA. — 
 
 CARE OE SICK AND WOUNDED CRAETSMEN — CHARTERS TO 
 
 HARMONY, NO. 17, ACACIA, NO. 18, AND LAFAYETTE, 
 
 NO. 19 COLUMBIA, NO. 3, REVIVED. 
 
 'Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." 
 
 — Daniel Webster. 
 
 In 1860 THE country was in the midst of the fierce political 
 agitation which preceded the War of the Rebellion, and during 
 this period, when brother was turning from brother and father 
 from son, it is a matter of congratulation that no note of dis- 
 cord sounded in the lodge rooms. Brethren went out from 
 the sacred precincts to don the blue or the gray as their sense 
 of duty impelled them, and later met upon the field of battle, 
 perchance, yet always and ever were brethren of the mystic 
 tie, and this brotherhood found its expression throughout the 
 years of the great fratricidal struggle in thousands of instances 
 of alleviation of suffering and the stretching forth of the hand 
 to assist a worthy fallen brother, even tho his uniform chanced 
 to be of a different hue. 
 
 All the influence of the great Fraternity was thrown toward 
 the maintenance of peace, and while, in the providence of God, 
 this was not to be, yet who can measure the immensity of the 
 service wrought by the Brotherhood North and South in less- 
 ening the horrors of war. 
 
 The spirit animating the Craft during the crucial period 
 
88 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 before the breaking of the storm finds adequate illustration 
 in an address delivered by P. G. Master French before the 
 Grand Lodge, in his capacity as representative of the Grand 
 Lodge of Louisiana, from which we quote the following brief 
 extract : 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, at this political center of 
 a mighty nation, now stretches forth her hand and grasps the proffered 
 one from the far South, and holds it with that earnest, affectionate, and 
 fraternal grasp, which, if translated into language, would say, " Behold 
 how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." 
 
 Would to God there were in these times of national trouble more of 
 the spirit of Freemasonry animating the hearts of all. Then would "the 
 North give up and the South keep not back;'' then would fraternity, 
 union, harmony prevail; then would this great and powerful Nation stand 
 on the rock of ages, firm and immovable, and in vain would the ocean of 
 political disappointment dash at its base. Now, owing to the uncircum- 
 scribed passions of men for gain and for power, the great ship of state 
 trembles amid the waves, and to Him alone who can say to the foaming 
 billows, " Peace, be still," and they obey Him, can we now look for aid 
 in this our hour of peril. 
 
 When the first gun was fired, and Washington was suddenly 
 transformed into an immense military camp with hundreds of 
 hospitals crowded with the maimed and dying, the local Fra- 
 ternity were face to face with perhaps the greatest task ever 
 forced upon a comparatively small body of men in the name 
 of duty. Right nobly they met it, and for four years gave of 
 their time and means to lighten the burden of sorrow pressing 
 heavily all about them, caring for the sick and wounded, sub- 
 stantially aiding the distressed, and giving Masonic burial to 
 those sojourning brethren who had " Given the last full meas- 
 ure of devotion to their country." In addition to these com- 
 mon acts of humanity the years were crowded with instances 
 of fellowship and self-sacrificing brotherhood of a character 
 not proper to be written, but which may well be left to the 
 imagination of the enlightened reader. 
 
 The subject is a tempting one, and yet must not be pursued 
 too far, nor to the entire exclusion of the important local 
 Masonic events which have their bearing on our subsequent 
 history. 
 
ODEON HALL," PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AND JOHN MARSHALL PLACE, N. W. 
 
 First Home of St. John's Lodge, No. 11. Nos. 1 and 9 also probably met in this 
 building- for a short time. 
 
 'EASTERN EDIFrCE OF THE SEVEN BUILDINGS," CORNER PENNSYLVANIA 
 AVENUE AND NINETEENTH STREET, N. W. 
 
 First meeting place of Hiram Lodge. No. 10. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 89 
 
 The subject of military lodges early came before the Grand 
 Lodge, and was met in the broad and liberal spirit which was 
 and should be characteristic of the Fraternity; and while a 
 large number of these lodges were formed during the war in 
 our midst, no slightest question of jurisdiction nor trouble of 
 any character whatever marred the perfect harmony of their 
 relations with the local Craft. 
 
 As this is a matter of more than passing interest, and only 
 to be grasped intelligently as a whole, the subject is adhered 
 to at the temporary sacrifice of chronological order. 
 
 At the communication of May 7, 1861, Grand Master Whit- 
 ing laid before the Grand Lodge correspondence with the 
 Grand Master of Rhode Island, in which the latter advised 
 him that he had granted a dispensation to certain Masons serv- 
 ing in the Rhode Island regiment then stationed at Washing- 
 ton to meet as a lodge for social intercourse and improvement, 
 but not for work. To this communication G. M. Whiting 
 courteously responded, commending the action and offering 
 on his part to grant a further dispensation, upon proper appli- 
 cation, for these brethren to do work. 
 
 At the same time the Grand Master advised the Grand 
 Lodge that he was in receipt of an application from certain 
 brethren of the Seventh Regiment of New York Volunteer 
 Militia for a dispensation to open a military lodge, whereupon 
 the Grand Lodge unanimously adopted the following reso- 
 lution : 
 
 Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia advise that 
 the M. W. G. Master grant special dispensations to such regiments or 
 corps of volunteers of the several States now in the service of the United 
 States, in this jurisdiction, as he may deem proper, to hold Occasional or 
 Camp Lodges : Provided, That such dispensations shall only extend to the 
 members of their respective regiments or corps. 
 
 Subsequently Dep. G. Master Y. P. Page, in the absence 
 of G. Master Stansbury, issued a dispensation to Bro. Mar- 
 shall, Lefferts, Colonel of the Seventh Regiment, National 
 Guard of the State of New York, and seventy-two others, 
 members of that regiment, to open and hold a camp lodge with- 
 
90 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 in the body of said regiment, under the name and style of 
 " National Guard Lodge," for mutual instruction and Masonic 
 intercourse. 
 
 On September 24, 1861, a dispensiation was also granted to 
 Col. Horatio G. Sickel and ten others, brethren of the Third 
 Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, to open a lodge in the 
 body of that regiment for the same purpose, to be knovi^n as 
 " The Potomac Lodge." 
 
 January 14, 1S62, G. Master Stansbury, upon the petition 
 of a constitutional number of brethren of the Fifty-ninth Regi- 
 ment, New York State Volunteers, granted a dispensation to 
 enable them to open a camp lodge to be known as " Good Hope 
 Lodge," the colonel of the regiment, Bro. Wm. Linn Tidball, 
 being designated as W. M. 
 
 In the early part of the following year G. Master Page 
 granted a similar dispensation to a number of brethren to open 
 and hold a camp lodge within the Third Brigade, First Divis- 
 ion, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to be known 
 as the " Lodge of the Union." 
 
 The history of one other temporary lodge, coming into ex- 
 istence by reason of the troubled conditions at our doors, con- 
 stitutes one of the most interesting Masonic stories of the 
 period of the war, and is here briefly summarized. 
 
 In 1863 the loyal Masons of Alexandria found themselves, 
 through the alleged action of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, 
 shut off entirely from their natural Masonic rights, that Grand 
 Lodge having, it was alleged, forbidden those working under 
 its jurisdiction to hold Masonic intercourse with Masons ad- 
 hering to their allegiance to the Union. 
 
 In these straightened circumstances they applied for a dis- 
 pensation to G. Master Stansbury to open a lodge in the city 
 of Alexandria, to be known as " Union Lodge." The situa- 
 tion being a most peculiar and delicate one, the Grand Master 
 deemed it expedient to convene the Grand Lodge in special 
 session, at which special and an adjourned meeting the sub- 
 ject was thoroughly discussed, and the conclusion reached that 
 inasmuch as the Grand Lodge of Virginia had excommunicated 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9I 
 
 the loyal Masons within her geographical limits they occupied 
 the same position as residents of a territory in which no Grand 
 Lodge existed, and therefore might with propriety apply for 
 recognition to any jurisdiction they might elect; and in accord- 
 ance with this conclusion the Grand Lodge, by a vote of two 
 to one, on February 15, 1863, signified to the Grand Master 
 its approval of such dispensation, and under this resolution it 
 was granted February 22, 1862, Theodore G. Palmer being 
 named as Master, and the title, " Union Lodge, U. D.," 
 adopted. 
 
 In reporting his action at the semi-annual communication 
 in May, the Grand Master disclaimed any intention of en- 
 croaching on the territory of Virginia, and intimated that when 
 that Grand Lodge should have resumed its normal jurisdiction 
 the dispensation would be returned, and upon his recommen- 
 dation the dispensation was continued. The dispensation was 
 again renewed November 4, 1862, and at the annual com- 
 munication of 1863, the Grand Lodge, however, refusing to 
 grant a charter; but at the installation communication of 1864, 
 upon the presentation of the fact that Andrew Jackson Lodge, 
 No. 120, of Alexandria, Va., had resumed labor, the dispen- 
 sation was withdrawn, and, in view of certain criticisms by 
 several sister Grand Lodges of the action of this jurisdiction, 
 a committee was appointed to examine into the whole matter, 
 which committee reported May 2, 1865, at length, and un- 
 covered the fact that the alleged action of the Grand Lodge 
 of Virginia which had been the primary cause of the granting 
 of the dispensation, i. e., that of forbidding those working 
 under its jurisdiction to hold Masonic intercourse with Masons 
 adhering to their allegiance to the Union, had in reality never 
 been taken by that grand body, and that the assumption of 
 jurisdiction was brought about through a misapprehension. 
 The Grand Lodge immediately decided to make the amende 
 honorable to our sister Grand Lodge, and appointed a com- 
 mittee, consisting of P. G. Masters French and Donaldson and 
 Bro. E. L. Stevens, to wait on that body in person and ex- 
 plain and reconcile the matters in question. 
 
92 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Accordingly, in December of that year, the committee pro- 
 ceeded to Richmond and were most cordially received by the 
 Grand Lodge, then in session, and, a committee of five having 
 been appointed to confer with our representatives, an amicable 
 adjustment of the case was reached, the Grand Lodge of the 
 District acknowledging its error and offering to turn over all 
 sums received from Union Lodge, and the Grand Lodge of 
 Virginia graciously accepting the apology and incidentally the 
 proffer of the money. 
 
 There was, however, a fly in the ointment, which yet for a 
 short period strained the relations of the two jurisdictions. 
 The Grand Lodge of Virginia, in its resolution of acceptance 
 of the overtures of the District, stated that the brethren made 
 in Union Lodge would be recognized as lawfully made breth- 
 ren " when properly healed." 
 
 Naturally and inevitably the local body took the ground that 
 no Mason made under its authority needed " healing," and 
 called upon the Grand Lodge of Virginia to rescind the ob- 
 jectionable phrase and made the payment of the promised 
 Union Lodge moneys provisional upon such elimination. This 
 position was such a proper one, and backed by the expressed 
 opinion of so many of the other jurisdictions, that Virginia, 
 at its next annual communication gracefully receded and re- 
 scinded the obnoxious words, and this action being imme- 
 diately followed by the transmission by this Grand Lodge of 
 $830.85, the sum in question, amicable relations were again 
 completely restored and have existed to the present day. 
 
 Union Lodge having during its existence occupied the hall 
 of Alexandria- Washington Lodge, No. 22, the latter lodge in 
 1865 made a claim against the Grand Lodge of Virginia for 
 the sum of $550 for compensation, and this amount was sub- 
 sequently paid them from the money received from the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia. 
 
 By the latter part of 1862 the demands upon the local 
 Fraternity for the relief of sick and wounded brethren became 
 so great that the Grand Lodge was called in special session in 
 November of that year to consider ways and means of meeting 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OE COLUMBIA 93 
 
 it, and as a result of this meeting it was proposed to the 
 subordinate lodges that they appoint representatives to form a 
 committee which should devise a system of relief and have 
 entire charge of its installation. While it is not of record 
 that this committee ever came into active existence, yet the 
 various lodges continued the good work as it was presented to 
 each until toward the close of the war when, St. John's taking 
 the initiative, a concerted movement was put on foot and 
 participated in by most of the other Masonic bodies looking to 
 systematic relief, and this was extended to Federal and Con- 
 federate brethren alike until the city finally resumed its normal 
 condition. 
 
 The period of the Rebellion, while imposing great labor and 
 responsibility upon the Fraternity, witnessed a remakable 
 growth in numerical strength, the returns for 1863 showing 
 an aggregate of 1,333 Master Masons, and that of 1865, 
 1,720. The logical effect of this increase was the formation 
 of new lodges. First among these for the period alluded to 
 was that of Harmony Lodge, No. 17, chartered May 5, 1863, 
 Bro. J. W. D. Gray being installed as the first Master, Wm. 
 Blair Lord the first Senior Warden, and E. C. Eckloff the 
 first Junior Warden. This lodge at once took rank with the 
 active, progressive lodges of the jurisdiction, which position 
 it has ever since retained. 
 
 At a special meeting held June 24, 1863, an invitation to be 
 present and participate in certain public ceremonies contem- 
 plated for July 4, was considered by the Grand Lodge, and 
 the committee in charge of the affair notified that, inasmuch 
 as the Masonic Fraternity was not accustomed to make public 
 demonstrations except to perform some Masonic labor, and it 
 not appearing that any such duty was required of them on 
 the occasion in question, the invitation was courteously de- 
 clined in so far as their participation in a conventional char- 
 acter was concerned. The attitude of the Fraternity toward 
 participation in non-Masonic functions was thus again clearly 
 defined, and the incident constituted a precedent which has 
 subsequently never been departed from. 
 
94 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The untimely demise of Grand Master Page, one of the most 
 brilliant and promising Masons in the history of the jurisdic- 
 tion, occurring September 26, 1863, the Grand Lodge attended 
 the funeral September 28, and later, on the evening of October 
 3, was present as a body at a memorial service held in Naval 
 Lodge room, on which occasion a eulogy was pronounced upon 
 the deceased by P. G. Master French, which is preserved to us 
 and is a classic. 
 
 December 28, 1863, witnessed the birth of twins in the 
 , rapidly increasing Masonic family. Acacia Lodge, No. IS, and 
 LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, being granted charters on that date, 
 the first upon the recommendation of St. John's Lodge, No. 
 11, and the latter being vouched for by B. B. French Lodge, 
 No. 15. At a resumed communication December 30, 1863, 
 both lodges in turn were instituted and their officers installed. 
 Acacia coming first and acquiring the first number. Brothers 
 Z. D. Gilman, J. W. Jennings, and W. H. Baldwin appear as 
 the first three officers of Acacia Lodge, and Brothers Chaun- 
 cey Smith, F. H. Barroll, and M. V. \V. Weaver filled the 
 corresponding positions in LaFayette. 
 
 July 20, 1864, the Grand Lodge made its only public ap- 
 pearance for the year, the occasion being the laying of the 
 cornerstone of the new Foundry M. E. Church, Fourteenth 
 and G Streets, N. W., while the laying of the cornerstone of 
 the Washington City Orphan Asylum, corner Fourteenth and 
 S Streets, N. W., July 13, 1865, was the only public demon- 
 stration that marked the latter year. 
 
 Columbia Lodge, No. 3, dormant for nearly three decades, 
 at this time began to show signs of returning consciousness, but 
 altho an application for the return of the charter was made 
 December 28, 1863, it was not called up until the communica- 
 tion of the Grand Lodge, November 1, 1864, and action was 
 then still further delayed by the decision of the Grand Master 
 that the application did not meet the constitutional require- 
 ments in the matter of signatures. The petition being again 
 under consideration, the Grand Master was authorized by res- 
 olution to return the charter to any five brethren who had 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 95 
 
 been bona fide members of No. 3 at the time of the surrender, 
 and under this authorization the charter was restored April 
 13, 1865, Brothers J. R. Thompson, T. B. Campbell, and W. 
 H. Suttan being elected and installed the first three officers 
 the same evening. The subsequent history of this lodge is 
 one of unbroken activity and prosperity. 
 
 At the communication of November 1, 1864, a petition was 
 also received from Brothers E. H. Kern, Charles Herzberg, S. 
 Furst, and eleven others, praying for a charter to form a new- 
 lodge to be known as " King Solomon's Lodge, No. 30," and 
 presenting the recommendation of LaFayette Lodge, No. 19. 
 Action on the petition was postponed until December 37, upon 
 which date the prayer of the petitioners was refused, an event 
 unique in the history of this jurisdiction. It is interesting to 
 note in passing that forty years later the name, with another 
 number, was appropriated by a successful local lodge. 
 
 In the latter part of this year the Grand Lodge Constitution 
 was revised, and the care which was apparently given this 
 important work is evidenced by the fact that its consideration 
 occupied the Grand Lodge throughout six special meetings. 
 This Constitution, being within the reach of every interested 
 Mason, is not quoted in full, but the following extracts serve 
 to show the more important changes and amendments as com- 
 pared with the instrument approved in 1830, altho it must not 
 be inferred therefrom that the changes noted were all new 
 in 1864, for many of them were incorporated as early as 1838, 
 and later in a revision covering 1847-50, and the constitution 
 in question is only handled for comparison, as being the one 
 in force after the first half century of the existence of the 
 Grand Lodge, and the one in the revision of which apparently 
 the greatest care had been taken. So well was the work done 
 that in all essential features it remains in force to this day, 
 with only such few immaterial amendments as the changing 
 conditions have necessitated. 
 
 Sec. 1, Art. 1, provides that " This Grand Lodge shall be 
 styled ' The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the 
 District of Columbia.' " 
 
96 HISTORY OP P'REEMASONRY 
 
 Sec. 2 provides for a third communication to be held on St. 
 John the Evangelist Day, and places the hour of convening at 
 4 P.M. 
 
 Sec. 4 requires all members of the Grand Lodge to be prop- 
 erly invested v^rith their clothing and jewels before taking 
 their seats. 
 
 Sec. 1, Art. 11, designates the Deputy Grand Master, the 
 Senior Grand Warden, the Junior Grand Warden, the Grand 
 Secretary, and the Grand Treasurer as " Right Worshipful ;" 
 the Grand Chaplain, " Rev. and Worshipful," and the remain- 
 ing officers, with the exception of the Grand Tiler, as " Wor- 
 shipful," and shows in addition a " Worshipful" Grand Visitor 
 and Lecturer, and two Stewards. 
 
 The clause imposing a fine for non-attendance is conspicuous 
 by its absence. 
 
 In the succeeding Articles the duties of the Grand Lecturer, 
 the Grand Master, and the other Grand Officers are set out in 
 substantially the same detail as appears in our present Consti- 
 tution, while the Articles relating to subordinate lodges, dis- 
 pensations, charters, and diplomas, and standing committees 
 are practically identical with the present law, the Committee 
 on Work and Lectures being the only one authorized at present 
 that was not in existence at the time referred to. 
 
 As has been fully set forth in the chapter devoted to the 
 meeting places of the Fraternity, the movement looking to the 
 erection of a new temple, originating in 1858, took definite 
 shape in 1864—5, an Act of Congress incorporating the Ma- 
 sonic Hall Association of the District of Columbia being 
 passed April 22, 1864, and the site at the corner of Ninth and 
 F Streets, N. W., subsequently purchased. 
 
 The accidental drowning, October 10, 1866, of Bro. W. C. 
 Parkhurst, Senior Grand Warden and one of the brightest of 
 our early chairmen of the Committee on Correspondence, cut 
 off a most promising career, and was universally deplored in 
 this and other jurisdictions where he was well known, and 
 robbed the local fraternity of one of its brilliant and useful 
 leaders. 
 
WILLIAM M. ELLIS, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1844. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 97 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A REAWAKENING. 
 
 CHARTERS ISSUED TO LODGES NOS. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, AND 25 — 
 
 citizenship and jurisdiction reception to 
 
 Earl de gray — deaths of m. w. brothers 
 
 george c. whiting, benjamin b. french, 
 
 roger c. weightman, j. e. f. hol- 
 
 mead, charles f. stansbury, and 
 
 bro. james a. garfield. 
 
 "Yet I doubt not thro the ages one increasing purpose runs 
 And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns." 
 
 — Tennyson. 
 
 With the close of the War a new era dawned upon the 
 City of Washington, an era of awakening, of rapid growth, 
 and of material prosperity, which naturally and inevitably 
 was shared by the Masonic Fraternity. The keynote of the 
 awakening was Hope, and it was eminently fitting, therefore, 
 that the founders of Lodge, No. 20, which was chartered May 
 7, 1867, and instituted the 28th of the same month, should 
 seek no further for an appropriate lodge designation. The 
 spirit of enthusiasm and optimism which inaugurated the en- 
 terprise and dictated the happy selection of a name has been 
 characteristic of the lodge in its subsequent history and has 
 brought it well up in the front rank of local Masonry. The 
 petition for a charter was signed by Bro. J. C. Kondrup and 
 thirty-five others, and the first report shows Bros. Henry V. 
 
 7 
 
98 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Cole as W. M. ; Samuel Houston, S. W., and William Mertz, 
 J. W., and a slight numerical gain. 
 
 The formation of the newly created Grand Royal Arch 
 Chapter of the District was taken cognizance of by the Grand 
 Lodge by a resolution to attend its constitution May 23, 1867, 
 which action is interesting in view of the wholly unwarranted 
 attitude sometimes assumed within symbolic circles of affect- 
 ing ignorance of all appendant Orders, which attitude, how- 
 ever, it is a pleasure to note, has never been pronounced in 
 this jurisdiction, the intercourse between the several allied 
 Orders of the System being marked by a spirit of comity as 
 unusual as it is satisfactory. 
 
 The cornerstone of the First Baptist Church of Georgetown, 
 D. C, was laid August 22, 1867; of a chapel and schoolhouse 
 belonging to the German Lutheran Congregation of George- 
 town September 2, and of the Island Baptist Church, in 
 South Washington, September 30. 
 
 An invitation to the Grand Lodge to be present and par- 
 ticipate in the laying of the cornerstone of a monument at 
 Sharpsburg, Md., September 17 of this year was accepted, but 
 there is no record of attendance as a body. 
 
 The death, September 4, 1867, of Grand Master George C. 
 Whiting was a serious blow to the Fraternity and marked the 
 passing of one of the bright particular stars of the local 
 Masonic world. The life, character, and work of this brilliant 
 Mason, the impress of whose individuality remains with us 
 to a marked degree, are fully set forth in other pages of this 
 work, the reading of which should prove an inspiration to 
 every Mason. 
 
 Two dedications of Masonic halls occurred in the year 1867, 
 that of the enlarged Naval Lodge Building, corner Fifth 
 Street and Virginia Avenue, S. E., October 17, and that of 
 Hiram Lodge room, on the northeast corner of Nineteenth 
 Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., December 5. 
 
 The peculiar condition which has always obtained in the 
 District of Columbia whereby a large percentage of the popu- 
 lation, while actually residing here, claimed and exercised 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMBIA 99 
 
 legal citizenship in other jurisdictions, early gave rise to 
 numerous controversies relative to the extent to which this 
 or other interested jurisdictions might lay claim to such ma- 
 terial, and at this period, and even later, more or less sharp 
 and, indeed, acrimonious passages between the authorities 
 have resulted in consequence of this anomalous state of affairs. 
 Prior to the middle of the century the lines of jurisdiction 
 were not very jealously guarded, but with the advent of better 
 facilities of intercommunication the matter began to assume 
 some importance, and whereas before this time there was no 
 constitutional provision for a term of residence as a condition 
 precedent to application, the continued complaints of the 
 Grand Lodges feeling themselves aggrieved by our alleged 
 assumption of jurisdiction over material they considered their 
 own finally led to the adoption of the following provision, 
 which appears in the Constitution of 1864: 
 
 Sec. 23. Every I^odge is prohibited from initiating, passing, or raising 
 any one not a citizen of this District, until due enquiry shall have been 
 made of the Lodge nearest his place of residence, and a sufficient time 
 allowed for an answer to be received under the seal of the Lodge ad- 
 dressed; Provided, That this is not designed to prohibit any person from 
 being initiated, passed, or raised, even after such due enquiry is made 
 and answer received, except the latter contains such tangible objections 
 as would of themselves operate in the case of a permanent citizen of this 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 This provision seems to have been adopted rather with a 
 view to safeguard the Fraternity here by reason of the tran- 
 sient character of the population than as an acknowledgment 
 of the right of the other jurisdictions in the premises, and, 
 indeed, this position was forcibly taken by Grand Master 
 Whiting during his incumbency; but this attitude was not 
 shared by all the thinkers of the Craft of that day, and in 
 1870 the section was amended to read as follows : 
 
 Sec. 22. Every Lodge is prohibited from initiating any one not a resi- 
 dent of this District for a period of twelve months, without first having 
 received the consent of the Lodge nearest his place of residence under seal. 
 
lOO HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The years that have since elapsed have brought about a full 
 discussion between the jurisdictions of all the points involved, 
 and the District is now in line with the rest of the family in 
 this matter, as witness the provisions of the present Con- 
 stitution : 
 
 Sec. 91. No petition for the degrees sliall be received from any one 
 who has not been a resident of the District of Columbia for the twelve 
 months next preceding its presentation except as provided by the follow- 
 ing section or by dispensation of the Grand Master ; and if the petitioner 
 has been rejected for the degrees in another jurisdiction his petition 
 must be accompanied by a waiver of jurisdiction unless the period during 
 which jurisdiction is claimed has expired. 
 
 Sec. 92. A resident of this jurisdiction may apply for the degrees to a 
 Lodge of another jurisdiction when such Lodge is nearest his place of 
 residence than is any Lodge in the District of Columbia, provided that 
 the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction grants the same privilege in like 
 ■cases to Lodges of this jurisdiction. But nothing in this section shall 
 be construed to abridge a requirement of twelve months' residence either 
 in the District of Columbia or in the jurisdiction where the petitioner 
 resides. 
 
 The meaning of the word "resident," however, is still, and 
 perhaps always will be, a legitimate source of contention be- 
 tween the Grand Lodge of the District and certain other Grand 
 Lodges the members of which refuse to recognize the unusual 
 conditions here, which have a very vital bearing upon the 
 interpretation of the word. Some instances of extensive 
 correspondence between the Grand Masters of this and other 
 jurisdictions on the subject justifies the belief that only with 
 the dawn of the Millenium will come the great white light 
 of understanding of how a man may vote and pay taxes in 
 one place and yet be a resident (for Masonic purposes) of 
 another bailiwick. 
 
 The public appearances of the Fraternity, aside from fu- 
 nerals, during the year 1868, consisted of the dedication of the 
 Monument to Lincoln at the head of John Marshall Place, 
 April 15, the laying of the cornerstone of the Metropolitan 
 Presbyterian Church, Capitol Hill, April 14, and that of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Ninth Street and Mt. 
 Vernon Place, August 4. 
 
WILLIAM B. MAGRUDER, 
 
 GRAND Master, 1845-1846. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT Ot COLUMBIA - lOI 
 
 At the installation communication, December 28, 1868, 
 Grand Master French reported that he had granted a dis- 
 pensation for the formation of a new lodge, to be known as 
 "Anacostia Lodge," in the suburb known as "Uniontown," 
 and the petition, signed by Bro. W. H. Farrish and six others, 
 being presented at the same meeting, together with the recom- 
 mendation of Naval Lodge, No. 4, a charter was ordered to 
 issue to the new Lodge with the line number " 31." The 
 first returns show the above-named brother as Master, with 
 Bros. George H. Martin and Charles Wheeler, Senior and 
 Junior Wardens, respectively, and with a slightly enlarged 
 roster. This Lodge, working in one of the outlying sections, 
 has long since acquired a handsome home, and is one of the 
 solid institutions not only of the local Craft but of the town 
 of Anacostia (the present designation). 
 
 On the same evening of the granting of the above charter 
 a petition to hold a lodge in Georgetown, D. C, to be known 
 as " George Washington Lodge," was presented, signed by 
 Bro. M. C. Causten and eighteen others. The Grand Master, 
 however, deprecating the use of the name " George Wash- 
 ington" as likely to give rise to confusion, there being already 
 two lodges in the jurisdiction with the word " Washington" 
 prefixed to their names, the suggestion was made that the 
 name " Analostan" be substituted, but this not being agreed 
 to, the name as it now stands, " George C. Whiting Lodge, 
 No. 22," was, on motion of Bro. D. P. Searle, P. M. of Har- 
 mony Lodge, adopted and a charter ordered to issue accord- 
 ingly. The first return shows the names of Bros. S. Norris 
 Thorne as Master; Samuel C. Palmer (Grand Master, ISYS), 
 as S. W., and H. M. De Hart, as J. W., and a substantial addi- 
 tion in membership. This Lodge has had a prosperous career, 
 and amicably shares the home of and delves in the same 
 field with Potomac Lodge, No. 5. 
 
 The institution of George C. Whiting occurred January 
 14, and that of Anacostia March 8, 1869, on the latter occa- 
 sion R. W. Bro. A. G. Mackey, P. Grand Secretary of South 
 Carolina, and a Masonic writer of world-wide repute, per- 
 
I02 HISTORY OF I^REEMASONRY 
 
 forming the ceremony, on the invitation of Grand Master 
 Donaldson. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication of May 4, 1869, a peti- 
 tion in regular form, signed by Bros. Joseph Daniels, J. W. 
 Griffin, L. G. Stephens, and fifty-four other Master Masons, 
 was received setting forth that they had been working under 
 a dispensation since February 8, preceding, and praying that 
 a charter be granted empowering them to open and hold a 
 lodge to be known as " Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23," and naming 
 the first three signers as Master and Senior and Junior War- 
 dens, respectively, and, on motion, the prayer of the peti- 
 tioners was granted, a charter issued, and on May 7, 1869, 
 the ceremony of institution was performed. The career of 
 this Lodge has been one of steady growth and prosperity. 
 
 The installation ceremony this year in the Grand Lodge 
 was notable both by reason of being public and also by reason 
 of being held in the lately completed Temple, Ninth and F 
 Streets, N. W. The Grand Lodge on that occasion met in the 
 parlors of the new building, and after the transaction of the 
 regular business proceeded in procession to the main hall, 
 where the installation was conducted by P. G. M. French, in 
 the presence of a large assemblage of the friends of the Fra- 
 ternity, the installation proper being preceded by an eloquent 
 oration by M. W. Bro. French, and concluded by an equally 
 eloquent one by Grand Master Donaldson. 
 
 On May 16, 1870, the foundation stone of the Steuben 
 Monument, at Washington Schuetzen Park, was laid by the 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 While partly occupied before that date, the formal dedica- 
 tion of the new Temple took place May 20, 1870, on which 
 occasion the late Brother Ben : Perley Poore, of Massachu- 
 setts, a journalist of international reputation, delivered an 
 address, which is preserved in the printed proceedings of the 
 Grand Lodge, and is of surpassing interest to the thoughtful 
 Mason. 
 
 While the author has found it advisable, indeed necessary, 
 if reasonable limits were to be set to this work, to touch 
 
IN THB DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA IO3 
 
 but lightly in these historical chapters upon the individuals 
 who came and wrought and passed on through the long years 
 of the century, leaving the details of their lives and char- 
 acters and services to the appended biographical sketches, yet 
 with all due deference to the abilities and accomplishments 
 of a long line of brilliant executives before and since, there 
 stands out against the background of the century one pre- 
 eminent figure, whose life was so closely interwoven with 
 that of the Fraternity, whose unequalled mind led and 
 moulded the policies of the local Craft for so many years, 
 and to whose wise guidance Masonry in this city owes its 
 position today, that we would be derelict indeed if we failed 
 to note the fact that, on August 13, 1870, the Father of 
 latter-day Masonry in the District of Columbia, Benjamin 
 Brown French, passed to his reward. As Grand Master, 
 Grand High Priest, Grand Master of Knights Templar of the 
 United States, Lt.-Grand Commander of the Supreme Coun- 
 cil A. and A. S. R., he served with signal ability; as a Masonic 
 jurist he ranked with Pike, Mackey, Morris, and Macoy; as a 
 scholar he was excelled by few; as a writer he was terse, 
 vigorous, and to the point, and as a public speaker he was 
 magnetic and powerful. Such a Colossus could not pass out 
 from among men without leaving a void, perhaps never to 
 be filled, and without being sincerely mourned, and today, 
 after the lapse of- forty years, his memory is as green as in 
 that other generation when his illuminating presence was the 
 guiding star of Masonry in the District of Columbia. Truly, 
 his works do follow him. 
 
 By 1870 the question of the negro in Masonry was forcing 
 itself upon the attention of the Fraternity throughout the 
 country, and nowhere with more persistence than in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, the Mecca of the one-time slave immedi- 
 ately after the close of the Civil War. It is not within the 
 province of the author to enter into the matter of the origin 
 of the so-called lodges of African descent nor to rehearse 
 any of the arguments for or against their legitimacy. Suffice 
 it to say there are no recognized lodges of African descent in 
 
I04 HISTORY OP :F'REEMASONRy 
 
 the District of Columbia, and therefore no question of recog- 
 nition has been nor can be raised under present conditions. 
 
 On the evening of April 10, 1871, one of the most memor- 
 able events in the history of the local Fraternity took place at 
 the Masonic Temple, the occasion being the formal reception 
 by the Grand Lodge of the Earl de Gray and Ripon, then 
 M. W. Grand Master of England, who vi^as sojourning in 
 this city under commission from his Government in the matter 
 of certain outstanding claims between Great Britain and the 
 United States. 
 
 In addition to the special guest of the evening there were 
 present W. Bro. Lord Tenderden, of England, and a large 
 number of the Grand Masters of other jurisdictions. After 
 an address of welcome by the Grand Master, Bro. Charles 
 F. Stansbury, and an appropriate response by the Earl de 
 Gra}^ the Grand Lodge was called from labor to refreshment, 
 and in procession descended to the banquet hall which was 
 beautifully decorated, the prevailing medium being a lavish 
 use of the banners of the two countries. 
 
 Then ensued perhaps the most brilliant social function in 
 the history of the local Order. The elaborate banquet pro- 
 vided having been duly disposed of, the cloth was removed, 
 and, after the Grand Master had caused the hall to be purged 
 of all except Master Masons, a " Table Lodge" was opened 
 in due form and the glasses charged for the regular toasts. 
 Lack of space forbids any quotations from the responses to 
 these, but they are of record, and, together with the testi- 
 mony of witnesses still with us, prove the occasion to have 
 been truly " a feast of reason and a flow of soul." 
 
 These distinguished Englishmen frequently visited the sub- 
 ordinate lodges during their stay in this city, and, as stated 
 in the Chapter on " Work," exemplified the First Degree in 
 Pentalpha Lodge April 18, 1871, and the same evening the 
 Third in National Lodge, each according to the English 
 system. It is a matter of sincere regret to note that within 
 a few years thereafter the Marquis of Ripon renounced 
 Masonry and embraced the Romish faith, an act received 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0? COI^UMBIA IO5 
 
 with mortification and dismay by the Craft on both sides of the 
 water. 
 
 The great fire at Chicago in October, 1871, called forth a 
 quick and generous contribution from the Fraternity here, 
 the sum of $3,334.90 being at once raised and conveyed to the 
 scene of the disaster by Grand Master Stansbury in person, 
 accompanied by the late Bro. N. B. Fugitt, an active worker in 
 the cause. 
 
 Of the sum turned over $765 was returned during the 
 following year, and became a special Library fund, as has al- 
 ready been mentioned. 
 
 The presentation of an oil portrait of the late Past Grand 
 Master French, March 8, 1871, and one of the late P. G. M. 
 Whiting, May 8, 1872, both from the brush of Bro. Max 
 Weyl, of St. John's Lodge, the noted artist, proved the start- 
 ing point of a nearly complete gallery of portraits of P. 
 Grand Masters now hung conspicuously in the Library and 
 offices of the Temple. 
 
 August 35, 1872, witnessed the only cornerstone laying of 
 the years 1871-2 — that of the Independent German Protestant 
 Church, Fifth Street between M and N Streets, N. W. 
 
 On October 30 of the same year the Grand Lodge dedicated 
 another hall for Hiram Lodge, No. 10, this time the present 
 site, on the southwest corner of Nineteenth Street and Penn- 
 sylvania Avenue, N. W. This lodge room was for a short 
 time used jointly by The New Jerusalem, Hope, and Hiram 
 Lodges, but shortly after the dedication Hope moved to the 
 new Temple, and was soon followed by The New Jerusalem. 
 
 In the early part of 1873 Grand Master Stansbury granted 
 a dispensation to certain Brethren in Brightwood, D. C, to 
 hold a lodge to be known as " Stansbury," the designation 
 being used in spite of his earnest protest. This live coterie 
 of Masons, while yet under dispensation, began the erection 
 of a hall, then and now known as " Brightwood Hall," the 
 cornerstone of which was laid by the Grand Lodge June 30, 
 1873. 
 
 At the annual communication of the same year a petition 
 
I06 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 was presented to the Grand Lodge for a charter, signed by 
 Bro. George W. Balloch, a distinguished General of the Civil 
 War, Bros. Benjamin D. Carpenter, William W. Cowling, 
 and six others, those named being nominated as Master and 
 S. and J. Wardens, respectively. The charter was granted, 
 with the line number 34, the new lodge instituted December 
 17, 1873, and the new Hall dedicated February 26, 1874. 
 Occupying an isolated field to the north of the city, this Lodge 
 at once justified its formation, and has steadily grown in 
 numbers and influence. 
 
 In the year 1873 the Fraternity was especially active in 
 relieving the distress incident to the scourge of yellow fever 
 at ^Memphis and Shreveport, the sum of $1,789.50 being sub- 
 scribed for that purpose, and transmitted to the proper agen- 
 cies, and in the latter part of the following year $523.46 was 
 contributed for the relief of the Mississippi flood sufferers. 
 The sum of $120 was in the same manner turned over to 
 brethren in Kansas in distress through the failure of the 
 crops in 1875. 
 
 As the log of a vessel sailing o^"e^ smooth seas and under 
 cloudless skies contains but little information, and only be- 
 comes voluminous when beset by storm and disaster, so the 
 Masonic record during the period of calm now ensuing offers 
 little of moment or interest to the reader. For eight years 
 but one cornerstone laying was conducted by the Fraternity, 
 that of All Souls' Church, Fourteenth and L Streets, X. W., 
 June 27, 1877. It was a period of comparative lassitude, in- 
 dift'erence, and stagnation in growth, and the Grand Lodge, 
 as usual under such conditions, frequently suffered financi- 
 ally, and was more than once forced into borrowing money 
 to meet necessary expenses, and finally found it necessary, in 
 1377, to levy a pro rata assessment upon the subordinate 
 lodges to raise the sum of $800. 
 
 Death claimed two Past Grand Masters in 1876, the first, 
 Bro. Roger C. Weightman (1833), closing his long and 
 honorable Masonic career of sixty-five years February 2 of 
 that year, and the second, Bro. J. E. F. Holmead (1864), who 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA IO7 
 
 passed away October 19, 1876, the first in his eighty-ninth 
 year and the latter in his forty-second year, the one full of 
 years and honor, the other cut off in the very zenith of an 
 unusually brilliant career. Both lives are treated in detail 
 elsewhere in these pages. 
 
 In spite of the general apathy in Masonic circles, on July 
 10, 1876, a dispensation was granted Bros. H. H. Gerdes, 
 J. C. Hesse, Hugo Eichholtz, and thirteen other Master 
 Masons, authorizing them to open a lodge and confer the 
 three degrees in the German language, and at the annual 
 commimication in November succeeding a charter was issued, 
 and Arminius Lodge, No. 25, entered the family circle with 
 the three brethren named as the first ofificers in the order 
 given. The ceremony of the constitution and consecration 
 took place November 27, 1876, and the new Lodge immedi- 
 ately entered upon a career of unbroken prosperity. The 
 German language is still used exclusively in the lodge room, 
 which, despite that fact, is one of the most popular in the 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 The handsome sum of $1,552.20 was raised for the yellow- 
 fever sufferers of the South in 1878. 
 
 By the year 1880 financial conditions in the Grand Lodge 
 were so much improved that, upon the recommendation of 
 a committee headed by the late M. W. Bro. Noble D. Larner, 
 a start was made toward having the old records printed in 
 volumes of uniform size to those of later years, and this 
 work, tho halted by lack of funds subsequently, was finally 
 completed, and while the long neglect had resulted in the 
 loss of some of the material, yet reasonably satisfactory re- 
 ports for the greater part of the period of the existence of the 
 Grand Lodge are thus permanently preserved, and this result 
 is largely due to the indefatigable labors of the late Bro. 
 William R. Singleton, to whose life-long interest this juris- 
 diction owes so much. 
 
 August 1, 1881, the cornerstone of the Tabernacle, Ninth, 
 near B Street, S. W., was laid according to the ancient usage. 
 
I08 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 and November 9 of the same year the Anacostia Hall was 
 formally dedicated. 
 
 The circumstances of the assassination, suffering, and death 
 of the late Bro. James A. Garfield, then President of the 
 United States, during this year were subjects of the deepest 
 concern to the Fraternity here, as he was a charter member of 
 Pentalpha Lodge and was on its rolls at the time of his death, 
 and was also on the rolls of Columbia Chapter, R. A. M., 
 in which chapter he had received the cryptic as well as the 
 capitular Degrees. He was in addition a member of Co- 
 lumbia Commandery, K. T., and had received the fourteenth 
 degree in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, A. and A. S. R., of 
 this city. Probably the most active Mason locally that has 
 ever filled the Presidential chair, he had to an unusual degree 
 endeared himself to the Craft, and by his example doubtless 
 exercised a large influence in awakening a new enthusiasm 
 which was shortly to bear fruit. 
 
 In connection with the death of Bro. Garfield the following 
 self-explanatory paper was received through the State De- 
 partment, and subsequently acknowledged in proper form by 
 our own Grand Lodge : 
 
 Freemason's Hall, London, 
 
 i2th December, 1881. 
 To His Excellency, the Honourable J. RusseU Lowell, Minister Plenipo- 
 tentiary from the United States of America at the Court of St. 
 James. 
 Sir: 
 
 I have the honor to inform your Excellency that at a general meeting 
 of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, held here 
 on the 7th instant, it was proposed by His Royal Highness, the Prince 
 of Wales, K. G. Grand Master of the Order, seconded by the Right Hon- 
 ourable Lord Tenderden, K. C. B., and carried unanimously: That the 
 Grand Lodge of England should place on record their deep regret at the 
 calamity which has recently befallen their brethren in the United States 
 of America by the untimely death from the hands of an assassin of their 
 late illustrious and lamented Brother, General James Abram Garfield, the 
 President of that Republic, and that the Grand Lodge are desirous of 
 offering the tribute of their condolence with and deep sympathy for the 
 widow and family of their distinguished Brother in the heavy bereave- 
 ment with which it has pleased the Almighty to visit them. 
 
 I am, therefore, commanded by His Royal Highness, The Grand 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA IO9 
 
 Master, to notify the same for Your Excellency's attention, and to request 
 that Your Excellency will be so good as to cause the same to be trans- 
 mitted to the proper quarters. 
 
 The Prince of Wales desires to take this opportunity of expressing 
 personally, as Grand Master, his own fraternal regrets on the occasion 
 and his sorrow that a life so valuable to his country, to his family, and 
 to his Brethren, should have been thus wantonly sacrificed. 
 I have the honour to remain. 
 
 Your Excellency's Most obedient Servant, 
 
 Shadwell H. ClErke, Colonel, 
 Grand Secretary United Grand Lodge of England. 
 
 In the early days of 1883 the Fraternity, not only of this 
 jurisdiction but of the country at large, was called upon to 
 mourn the death of P. G. Master Charles Frederick Stans- 
 bury, which occurred January 31 of that year. As Grand 
 Master in 1862 and again from 1871 to 1874, inclusive, his 
 influence upon the Order, by reason of his valuable contri- 
 butions to Masonic literature and jurisprudence, his culti- 
 vated intellect, his devotion to duty, and his noble efforts for 
 the good of the Fraternity was invaluable and far reaching, 
 while his cultured, refined, conscientious, and unselfish char- 
 acter endeared him to every one with whom he came in con- 
 tact. With his demise a great leader passed from the field 
 of action. 
 
 January 10, 1883, was the date of the adoption of the one- 
 ballot system by the Grand Lodge which is the law today and 
 which has been earnestly advocated for years by many influ- 
 ential brethren. 
 
 The custom established by Grand Master Donaldson of 
 having a lecture delivered at each visitation and the lecturer 
 selected by the Grand Master was this year, by the example 
 of then incumbent of the office, M. W. Bro. E. H. Chamber- 
 lain, changed by placing the selection of speakers in the hands 
 of the several lodges, and this custom, with a still wider lati- 
 tude in the character of the entertainment offered, obtains to 
 this day. 
 
 In 1884 the Grand Lodge, for the first time in many years 
 finding itself in good financial condition, and recognizing the 
 
no HISTORY 0^ FREEMASONRY 
 
 great labor entailed upon the Chairman of the Committee on 
 Correspondence, appropriated $150 for the past services of 
 that brother (the late Wm. R. Singleton), and adopted a stand- 
 ing resolution to pay annually $50 for this work. 
 
 May 23, 1884, the cornerstone of the Washington Light 
 Infantry Armory and Opera House was laid with considerable 
 ceremony, the escort of Knights Templar including all the 
 local Commanderies and Richmond Commandery, No. 1, of 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
 The numerical strength of the Fraternity in the District 
 this year reached 3,005, the decade of stagnation preceding 
 having shown practically no gain, but the growth from this 
 time to the present, with the exception of an occasional tem- 
 porary lapse, has been steady, and in the later years remark- 
 able. 
 
 In March, 1884, the Grand Lodge was the recipient of a 
 photographic reproduction from the Grand Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania of the famous " Liber B," being a copy of the 
 original book of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons., 
 of Philadelphia, Pa., dated June 24, A. D. 1731, as far as 
 known the earliest authentic Masonic record in this country. 
 It is on file in the Grand Lodge Library, and is accessible to the 
 interested student. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA III 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE NEW ERA. 
 
 DEDICATION OE WASHINGTON MONUMENT — CHARTERS T(J 
 
 LODGES NOS. 26, 37, 38, 39, and 30 — deaths oE p. g. 
 
 MASTER NOBLE D. LARNER AND GRAND SECRETARY 
 
 WILLIAM R. SINGLETON — MAKING A MASON 
 
 " ON SIGHT" — THE ALBERT PIKE STATUE- 
 
 "The weight of the universe is pressed down on the shoulders of each 
 moral agent to hold him to his task. The only path of escape known in 
 all the worlds of God is performance; you must do your work before you 
 shall be released." — EmSrson. 
 
 By EAR the most important event of the year 1885, or, 
 indeed, of many years, in local Masonry was the participation 
 of the Fraternity in the dedication of the Washington Monu- 
 ment. This great work, which had halted early in its career, 
 owes its final completion largely to the efforts of the Masonic 
 brethren of this and other jurisdictions, who, through the long 
 period of inaction, persistently worked toward that end. 
 
 The preparations for the event gave rise to a situation which 
 led to the reiteration by the then Grand Master, M. W. Bro. 
 M. M. Parker, of the principle adhered to for some years and 
 previously mentioned, that the Fraternity might not take part 
 in any public function in which no Masonic work was required 
 of it. The story, in brief, follows: The first invitation ex- 
 tended by the Joint Congressional Commission on Dedication 
 assigned to the Masons a prominent and distinctive part in 
 
112 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 the ceremony and was satisfactory. Later, however, the Com- 
 mission decided to curtail the ceremony to one oration, but 
 offered to give the Fraternity " a position of honor in the 
 line." Grand Master Parker replied that " the practice of 
 Masonry was not to swell processions," and declined to invite 
 the Grand Lodge, and, altho importuned by prominent officials, 
 continued to reaffirm that " under no circumstances could the 
 Grand Lodge be induced to depart from its ancient customs." 
 At a later date the Joint Commission invited the Grand Master 
 to meet with it, when the matter was thoroughly gone over, 
 with the result that an invitation was received and accepted by 
 the Grand Lodge to take part in the ceremonies and active 
 steps were at once taken to make the occasion a notable one. 
 Circular letters were sent to all the Grand Lodges of the United 
 States and those foreign grand bodies with which we were in 
 fraternal correspondence and suitable arrangements made for 
 Knight Templar escort and entertainment. 
 
 On the date set, February 21, 1885, the Grand Lodge met in 
 special session in the main hall of the Temple, with an 
 unusual number of brethren in attendance, including repre- 
 sentatives from the Grand Lodges of Massachusetts, Pennsyl- 
 vania, New York, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, New 
 Hampshire, California, Tennessee, Maryland, West Virginia, 
 and Illinois. 
 
 Escorted by the Knights Templar and Royal Arch Masons 
 of the District, lodges from Delaware, Virginia, and New 
 York, and delegations in force from each of the lodges of this 
 jurisdiction, the Grand Lodge proceeded to the Monument in 
 orderly Masonic formation, where, after an invocation by 
 Rev. Mr. Suter and an address by the late W. W. Corcoran, 
 the full Masonic ceremony of dedication was performed ac- 
 cording to usage. 
 
 Following this ceremony Grand Master Parker delivered a 
 striking eulogy upon the life and character of the illustrious 
 Washington, in the course of which he took occasion to refer 
 to and display the following interesting relics : The gavel 
 used by Washington at the laying of the cornerstone of the 
 
//-^^yt^L. ^i^ c:^0/ 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1847-1853, 1868; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1869-1870 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA II 3 
 
 Capitol ; the Bible, belonging to Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, 
 of Virginia, upon which he took his first Masonic vows; the 
 Bible, belonging to St. John's Lodge, No. 1, of New York, 
 upon which he took the oath of office as the first President 
 of the United States; the Great Light, belonging to Alexan- 
 dria-Washington Lodge, No. 23, of Alexandria, Va., upon 
 which he, as Master of that lodge, received the vows of 
 initiates; the apron worn by him, which was wrought by 
 Madame LaFayette; a lock of his hair, presented by Mrs. 
 Washington to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and encased 
 in a golden urn, the gift of the late Bro. Paul Revere, and a 
 candle, one of the Lesser Lights used at the funeral exercises 
 at Mt. Vernon in 1799. 
 
 Immediately after the ceremonies the visiting brethren who 
 desired to leave the city were escorted to Marini's Hall, in E 
 Street, N. W., where ample refreshments were served. 
 
 At 8 o'clock the same evening, the distinguished visitors 
 were the guests of the Grand Lodge at a reception in the 
 parlors of the Riggs House, and later at an elaborate banquet. 
 The responses to the various toasts proposed, which were un- 
 usually numerous, have been preserved and make interesting 
 reading. 
 
 In May, 1887, the Grand Lodge took a prominent part in 
 the Centennial Anniversary celebration of our mother, the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland. On the 12th of that month, in 
 accordance with previous invitation and arrangement, the 
 twenty-one lodges of the District assembled at the Temple, at 
 8 A. M., to the number of 1,370, clad in dark clothes, silk 
 hats, and new lamb-skin aprons. It may safely be asserted 
 in this connection that never before nor since has the Frater- 
 nity presented so uniform and dignified a public appearance. 
 A procession being formed, this large company proceeded to 
 the B. and O. station, where a special train of four sections 
 conveyed them to the Monumental City, and upon their arrival 
 there they were assigned to a prominent place in the procession 
 and other ceremonies of the day. A bronze souvenir of the 
 occasion was presented to each visiting brother, and every 
 8 
 
114 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 effort put forth by the Masons of Baltimore to fittingly en- 
 tertain their guests, their hospitality culminating in a great 
 banquet in the evening at which the District was well repre- 
 sented. It is proper to note that P. G. M. Parker and W. 
 Bro. Sherwood were honored on the occasion by being placed 
 on the staff of the Marshal-in-Chief of the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland. 
 
 On June 7, 1888, the cornerstone of the Scottish Rite Cathe- 
 dral, 1007 G Street, N. W., was laid by the Grand Lodge, and 
 the service of dedication of the new part of the Sanctuary 
 performed October 9 of the same year. 
 
 The only other public appearance of 1888 was on the occa- 
 sion of the laying of the cornerstone of the Fifth Baptist 
 Church, Four-and-a-Half, near N Street, S. W. 
 
 A notable improvement, which can well be appreciated by 
 the majority of local Masons, was the installation during this 
 year in the Temple, Ninth and F Streets, of what was termed 
 " a very fine elevator," and the characterization was appar- 
 ently not intended to be facetious. 
 
 October 14, 1889, was the date of the laying of the corner- 
 stone of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, C and Twelfth Streets,. 
 S. W., the only public function of the year. 
 
 At the communication of November 13, 1889, the question 
 of the proposed erection of a " Washington Masonic Memorial 
 Temple" at Fredericksburg, Va., was laid before the Grand 
 Lodge, and the sum of $500 was appropriated as a contribu- 
 tion toward the project, to be paid in three annual installments. 
 This appropriation was predicated upon the subscription of the 
 entire amount required, $100,000, and, not being available until 
 that had been assured, still remains in the treasury. It is 
 proper to state, however, that within the last few years new- 
 life has been injected into the project, and possible success 
 may ultimately crown the effort, the year 1908 showing an 
 accumulated fund of over $9,000, which has been largely in- 
 creased since that time through systematic effort. 
 
 Upon a petition bearing thirty-seven names. Grand Master 
 James A. Sample, on January 13, 1890, granted a dispensation 
 
IN THE DISTRICT Olf COLUMBIA II 5 
 
 to open a lodge to be known as " Osiris," and at the ensuing 
 communication of the Grand Lodge, May 14, a charter was 
 issued to Osiris Lodge, No. 26. The first officers named were 
 Bros. Wm. Oscar Roome, W. M. ; Landon Cabell Williamson, 
 S. W., and Alonzo Joel Marsh, J. W. The birth of this lodge 
 was attended with some feeling. Most of the charter mem- 
 bers coming from Centennial Lodge, the latter, for what 
 seemed good reasons, formally protested against the issuance 
 of a charter, but at the resumed communication May 31 with- 
 drew the protest, and was most active in extending felicita- 
 tions to the new lodge on the occasion of its constitution the 
 same evening, and it is needless to add that the most amicable 
 relations have ever since existed between the two lodges. 
 
 The cornerstone of the new building of Anacostia Lodge, 
 No. 21, was laid July 2, 1890, and the dedication of the hall 
 followed, November 4, of the same year. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication of the Grand Lodge, 
 May 13, 1891, Grand Master Thos. F. Gibbs reported having 
 granted a dispensation, March 12, preceding, to Bro. James 
 Eldridge Burns and thirty-one others to form a lodge in the 
 northeastern section, and a formal petition, signed by thirty- 
 four brethren, being received the same evening, a charter was 
 granted to open and hold a lodge to be known as " Myron M. 
 Parker Lodge, No. 27," the above-named brother being nomi- 
 nated to be the first Master, and Bros. A. K. Lind and V. A. 
 Hubbard, S. W. and J. W., respectively. The lodge was 
 regularly consecrated and constituted May 21, 1891, in a build- 
 ing on the southwest corner of Third and H Streets, N. E., and 
 occupying, as it does, an exclusive and somewhat isolated 
 field, has enjoyed an unusual degree of prosperity, and well 
 justified its formation. 
 
 The second meeting place of the Lodge, at the corner of 
 I and Eighth Streets, N. E., was dedicated by the Grand 
 Lodge March 22, 1893, and the third, at the corner of H and 
 Twelfth Streets, N. E., in 1897. 
 
 As a matter of interest, while on the subject of this lodge, 
 it may be stated that at the installation communication of the 
 
ii6 HISTORY OP Freemasonry 
 
 same year Bro. J. E. Burns, having served as the Master of 
 the Lodge from the date of the charter to the close of the 
 Masonic year, was, by resolution of the Grand Lodge, declared 
 a Past Master of Myron M. Parker Lodge and a member of 
 the Grand Lodge, the only instance of the kind, so far as the 
 author has been able to discover, in this jurisdiction. 
 
 The custom, now well established, of taking part in no 
 public function without the performance of Masonic work, 
 was again given prominence in 1893 by the declination of the 
 Grand Lodge to take part in the ceremonies incident to the 
 celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the laying 
 of the cornerstone of the Capitol Building, which occurred 
 September 18 of that year. The original invitation to the 
 Grand Lodge from the committee in charge offered space at 
 the Capitol to the Fraternity for the performance of such cere- 
 monies as might be appropriate, and in addition assigned to it 
 the right of line in the parade, and was laid before the Grand 
 Lodge at a special communication held July 26, 1893. A 
 resolution to accept the invitation gave rise to considerable 
 debate, and the whole matter was referred to a committee, to 
 report at a special communication to be called by the Grand 
 Master. In pursuance of this decision a meeting was called 
 August 11, at which the report of the committee was received, 
 and the fact developed that the proposed celebration had not 
 as yet been sanctioned by Congress. In view of this condition 
 of the affair and the reasonable doubt as to the character 
 of the work which might properly be done on the occasion, 
 the Grand Lodge declined to participate, but offered to take 
 the matter under respectful consideration should conditions 
 change. And there the incident closed. 
 
 September 11 and 13, 1893, were marked by a series of 
 unusually elaborate and successful events commemorative of 
 the one hundredth birthday of Federal Lodge, No. 1, includ- 
 ing, on the first evening, a brilliant reception at the old Temple, 
 attended by some 500 members, ladies, and invited guests, at 
 which a musical and literary program of merit was presented, 
 refreshments served, and dancing indulged in, and on the 
 
CHARLES S. FRAILEY, 
 Grand Master, 1855-1856 ; Grand Secretary, 1848-1854. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI^UMBIA II 7 
 
 second evening, a strictly Masonic banquet at the Ebbitt 
 House. 
 
 September 23, 1893, Grand Master L. Cabell Williamson, 
 upon proper petition granted a dispensation to sundry brethren 
 to organize a lodge to be held at Brookland, D. C, Myron M. 
 Parker Lodge vouching for the Masonic ability and moral 
 character of the petitioners, and at the annual communication, 
 November 8, a petition signed by Bros. Thomas G. Carmick, 
 George F. Erdman, William H. Stake, and nine others, being 
 regularly presented, a charter was granted to " King David 
 Lodge, No. 28," the three brethren above mentioned becoming 
 the first three officers in the order named. On the 5th of the 
 following month the lodge was duly instituted, at once be- 
 came the center of Masonic activity in that thriving suburb, 
 and entered upon a career of prosperity and growth that has 
 given it an enviable place in the local Masonic family. 
 
 As early as September 20, 1893, a movement to fittingly 
 observe the centennial of the death of Washington, December 
 14, 1899, was started by the Grand Lodge of Colorado, which 
 issued a circular on the subject and requested the cooperation 
 of all the Grand Lodges. Our own Grand Lodge at once 
 responded by appointing a member of the general committee. 
 It is a matter of regret that the ambitious design of uniting 
 all the Grand Lodges in the effort was not successful, tho the 
 celebration, very properly under the direction of the Grand 
 Lodge of Virginia, was a most creditable one, and is treated 
 of in its chronological place. 
 
 July 24, 1894, occurred one of the most imposing Masonic 
 public appearances of the period, the occasion being the laying 
 of the cornerstone of the Naval Lodge Building, Fourth Street 
 and Pennsylvania Avenue, S. E. The ceremonies were pre- 
 ceded by a procession from the Temple, Ninth and F Streets, 
 N. W., to the above site, of all the Commanderies of Knights 
 Templar of the city, the Marine Band, large representations 
 from each of the sister lodges, and the Grand Lodge, the 
 latter, it may be remarked parenthetically, on foot. After 
 the usual ceremonies, which were accompanied by appropriate 
 
Il8 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 music by the band and vocal selections by a choir of male 
 voices, the oration of the occasion was delivered by P. G. M. 
 L. C. Williamson. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication held May 8, 1895, a pe- 
 tition in proper form was received from twenty-five brethren 
 praying for a charter to open and hold -a lodge in Takoma 
 Park, D. C, to be known as Takoma Lodge, No. 39, and nomi- 
 nating Bro. Wilmer G. Piatt to be the first Master; Bro. 
 Francis J. Woodman, the first Senior Warden, and Bro. 
 Theodore F. Willis, the first Junior Warden. The charter 
 was granted, permission given the new lodge to continue 
 meeting in the Odd Fellows' lodge room at the Park, and 
 later in the month the ceremony of constitution was conducted 
 by the Grand Lodge. The history of this lodge, occupying, 
 like King David Lodge, an exclusive tho somewhat limited 
 field, has been one of unbroken prosperity, and its establish- 
 ment proven to have been a wise move. 
 
 The newly-completed and very handsome edifice erected 
 by Naval Lodge, No. 4, was dedicated June 6, 1895, and this 
 progressive lodge entered upon the occupancy of one of the 
 largest and most beautiful lodge rooms perhaps in this country. 
 
 The only cornerstone laying of the year 1895 was that of 
 the Fifteenth Street M. E. Church, corner Fifteenth and R 
 Streets, N. W., which occurred October S, while the following 
 year boasted of two — that of Trinity M. E. Church, Fifth 
 and C Streets, S. E., on September 9, and that of the American 
 University, at Wesley Heights, D. C, October 21, 1896. 
 which number was still further increased in 1897, that of the 
 North Carolina M. P. Church occurring February 2."); that of 
 the Hebrew Temple, Eighth Street, N. W., September 16, 
 and that of the Christian Church, Ninth and D Streets, N. E., 
 September IS, 1897. But two more ceremonies of this char- 
 acter fell within the century: The cornerstone laying of the 
 Douglas Memorial Church, Eleventh and H Streets, N. E., 
 October 18, 1898, and that of the Gay Street Baptist Church, 
 corner Thirty-first and N Streets, N. W., July 1, 1899. 
 
 During the spring of 1898 the first of a series of mammoth 
 
IN tut DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA II9 
 
 fairs to aid in the erection of a new Temple, a project now 
 taking definite and promising shape, was held with marked 
 financial success, and together with all matters relating to the 
 movement is treated in detail in a special chapter. 
 
 The following data, taken from the original papers and 
 minutes of B. B. French Lodge, No. 15, and certified to by 
 the Secretary, W. Bro. E. St. Clair Thompson, sufficiently 
 covers an interesting and unusual incident, the making of 
 Admiral Schley: 
 
 The petition for the degrees of Masonry of Winfield Scott Schley was 
 regularly received by Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15, F. A. A. M., 
 at its stated communication of October 16, 1899, and was referred to 
 Brothers D. C. Morrison, Harry C. Whiting, W. H. Doe, as a committee 
 of investigation. 
 
 Admiral Schley was then under orders to proceed with the South 
 Atlantic Squadron to the waters of South America. 
 
 The Master of the lyodge, Brother Alexander Grant, then requested of 
 the Grand Master, Brother J. Henry Small, Jr., authority to ballot and 
 confer the degrees on Admiral Schley at a special communication of the 
 Lodge. 
 
 Under date of October 19, 1899, Most Worshipful Brother Small 
 granted the request as follows (citing the Grand Lodge Constitution as 
 his authority for so doing) : 
 
 " I hereby request and authorize you to call a special communication of 
 your Lodge for the purpose of conferring upon Rear Admiral Winfield S. 
 Schley, for me as Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia, 
 the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, at 
 such times as his convenience may permit *'' * *. 
 
 "I will be present in your Lodge at the time the degrees are conferred." 
 
 On October 21, 1899, the Lodge was called in special communication for 
 the purpose of balloting on the petition and conferring the degrees. A 
 unanimously favorable report of the committee was presented, at which 
 time the Grand Master directed " that the taking of the ballot be dis- 
 pensed with." 
 
 The Entered Apprentice Degree was conferred by E. St. Clair Thomp- 
 son, Senior Warden of the Lodge; 
 
 The Fellow Craft degree was conferred by James T. Gibbs, Junior 
 Warden of the Lodge; 
 
 The Master Mason degree was conferred by Alexander Grant, Master 
 of the Lodge. 
 
 On October 26, 1899, the Grand Master filed the following certificate 
 with the Lodge : 
 
I20 HISTORY OP PREEMASONRY 
 
 "I hereby certify that on the evening of October 21, 1899, by the high 
 power in me vested, and under the old regulations of Freemasonry of 
 1721, and the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, 
 Article VI, Section 2, I did confer upon Brother Winfield Scott Schley 
 the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason in 
 Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15, and any Lodge within the jurisdiction 
 of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to 
 receive this certificate in lieu of the usual dimit. 
 
 "J. H. Small, Jr., 
 
 " Grand Master. 
 " Attest : 
 
 "Wm. R. Singleton, 
 [seal.] "Grand Secretary." 
 
 On November 6, 1899, Brother Schley filed a petition for affiliation with 
 the Lodge, which was balloted on the same evening, and the petitioner 
 was declared duly elected to membership in the lodge. 
 
 December 14, 1899, occurred the observance of the centen- 
 nial of the death of Washington, to which allusion has pre- 
 viously been made. The affair vv^as under the direction of 
 the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and the members of the Fra- 
 ternity from this jurisdiction were present as guests. On the 
 morning of that day a procession of several thousand Master 
 Masons was formed on F Street, between Ninth and Four- 
 teenth Streets, N. W., and proceeded to the Seventh Street 
 wharf, where steamers were taken to Mt. Vernon. The cere- 
 monies there were as nearly as possible identical with tho.se 
 at the funeral one hundred years before, and were of the most 
 impressive character. The address of the occasion was made 
 by the late Bro. W^illi^ AIcKinley, then President of the 
 United States. The same evening a reception and buffet 
 luncheon was given by the Grand Lodge of Virginia at Wil- 
 lard's Hotel, this city, to Master Masons and their families, 
 which was largely attended. \A'^hile only participating as 
 guests the local Fraternity took a lively interest in the affair, 
 and the lambskin or white leather apron deposited by the 
 Grand Master of this jurisdiction upon the sarcophagus was 
 subsequently presented, handsomely framed, to this Grand 
 Lodge, by Grand Master Duke, of Virginia, on behalf of the 
 Grand Lodge of that State, the presentation being a most 
 appreciative and eloquent tribute to the brethren of the Dis- 
 trict, and the speech of acceptance by Grand Master Wm. G. 
 
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 Q X 
 
 O -s 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIyUMBIA 121 
 
 Henderson, an equally felicitous acknowledgment of the honor 
 conferred, characterizing the gift as " an indissoluble bond of 
 brotherly love between the Masons of Virginia and the Masons 
 of the District of Columbia." 
 
 On February 33, 1901, Bro. William Reynolds Singleton, 
 Masonic writer, jurist, and scholar, and for many years Grand 
 Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, 
 passed away at an advanced age. While an extended sketch 
 of his life and works is found in other pages of this work, 
 it is deemed a fitting tribute to his unusual worth to chronicle 
 his death as an event by which this jurisdiction suffered a 
 loss greater, perhaps, than that involved in the passing of any 
 other one man in this jurisdiction, P. G. Master French alone 
 excepted. A handsome monument, the tribute of his brethren 
 in this jurisdiction, marks his last resting place in Oak Hill 
 Cemetery, and in his report to the Grand Lodge the Chairman 
 of the Special Committee, P. G. Master Standiford, thus de- 
 scribes it: 
 
 The monument consists of a pedestal of dafk polished granite resting 
 upon a granite base and surmounted by a bronze bust of our deceased 
 brother, the base and pedestal being adorned with appropriate symbols 
 and allegorical figures in bronze, and the sides bearing inscriptions in 
 raised bronze letters, setting forth the date and place of birth and of 
 death of Bro. Singleton, the office which he held in the Grand Lodge, 
 and that the monument is erected by his brethren. The monument stands 
 about nine feet in height, and was designed and executed by the cele- 
 brated sculptor, U. S. J. Dunbar, of this city. It is most artistic in both 
 conception and execution, and in keeping with the purity of life and 
 conduct and the many noble traits of character of him who with high 
 scholarly attainments served this Grand Lodge so faithfully and ably for 
 so many years, and is in every way a fitting tribute to his memory by his 
 brethren of the Craft, who so deeply mourn his loss. 
 
 The monument was formally dedicated July 25, 1903, under 
 unusually impressive conditions. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication of May 8, 1901, a pe- 
 tition was received from Bros. Frank H. Thomas, Isaac E. 
 Shoemaker, Samuel O. Wendel and thirty-two others, praying 
 for a charter to open and hold a lodge at Tenley, D. C, to 
 
122 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 be known as William R. Singleton Lodge, No. 30, and nomi- 
 nating the brethren named above as the first three officers 
 in the order given, and the charter being at once granted, 
 the Grand Lodge, on the 28th of the same month, repaired 
 to the meeting place, dedicated the hall, constituted the lodge, 
 and installed the officers. The field thus occupied, an isolated 
 suburb, has proven a fertile one, and the progressive char- 
 acter of the membership has so improved the opportunities 
 that No. 30 is already in the full tide of vigorous youth, and, 
 with the rapid growth of the population in that direction, has 
 before it an unusually promising future. 
 
 The cornerstone of their present building in Tenleytown, 
 D. C, was laid November 19, 1908, and its dedication 
 occurred. 
 
 September 26, 1901, the cornerstone of the Christian and 
 Eleanora Ruppert Home, a benevolent institution, founded 
 on a bequest of the late Bro. Christian Ruppert, and located 
 near Anacostia, D. C, was laid in ancient form. 
 
 On the 23d of the following month the Grand Lodge, under 
 the escort of Orient Commandery, No. 5, K. T., and a large 
 number of Masons, proceeded in procession from Ninth and 
 F Streets to the intersection of D Street and Indiana Avenue, 
 N. W., and joined with the Supreme Council of the Ancient 
 and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction in 
 dedicating the handsome bronze statue of the late Bro. Albert 
 Pike, erected at that point by the latter body. The statue 
 was unveiled by Bro. Henry L. Palmer, Grand Commander, 
 and Bro. Josiah H. Drummond, P. G. C, of the Supreme 
 Council of the Northern Jurisdiction; Bro. James D. Rich- 
 ardson, Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 
 Southern Jurisdiction, and Bro. Raphael de Zayas Enriquez, 
 of the Supreme Council of Mexico. After the dedicatory 
 exercises by the Grand Lodge the monument was formally 
 delivered to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia 
 by the late Bro. Frederick Webber, Secretary-General, on 
 behalf of the Supreme Council, and received on behalf of the 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 123 
 
 District by Hon. H. B. F. Macfarland, Commissioner, in 
 appropriate addresses. 
 
 During the year now closing the aggregate membership of 
 the several blue lodges had passed the 6,000 mark and num- 
 bered 6,257, showing the very substantial increase of 366 
 over the report of 1900. 
 
 The Masonic event of 1902 was the second great fair 
 for the benefit of the new Temple fund, which was held in 
 April of that year, and which is more fully enlarged upon in 
 another chapter. 
 
 The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the initiation 
 of W. Bro. George Washington, at Philadelphia, November 
 5, 1902, probably one of the most notable gatherings ever 
 held within tiled walls, was attended by the Deputy Grand 
 Master, the late Bro. George H. Walker, P. G. Master George 
 W. Baird, and a delegation from Potomac Lodge, No. 5, of 
 this city, bearing the famous Washington gavel, all of whom 
 were the recipients of the most courteous treatment during 
 their sojourn in our neighboring city. 
 
 The year 1902 marked the installation of the card-index 
 system in the office of the Grand Secretary. The labor of 
 bringing the system up to date was a strenuous task, but is 
 now practically completed, and with the current additions 
 forms an invaluable recorTi, which is safe-guarded by being 
 permanently placed in a fireproof vault in the new Temple. It 
 is proper to state that a similar index has been prepared of 
 the Royal Arch Masons of the District, and is in the custody 
 of the Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter of that body. 
 
 February 21, 1903, occurred a most memorable public cere- 
 mony, that attendant upon the laying of the cornerstone of 
 the War College in the grounds of the Washington Barracks. 
 The Grand Lodge, escorted by Washington Commandery, 
 No. 1, K. T., and headed by the Second Cavalry Band, pro- 
 ceeded to the site and occupied the place reserved for them 
 in the midst of a vast concourse, including the President of 
 the United States, Bro. Theodore Roosevelt, the Cabinet, 
 U. S. Senators and Representatives, members of the Diplo- 
 
124 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 matic Corps, the District Commissioners, and other invited 
 guests, among whom were a large number of ladies. After 
 addresses by the President, Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of 
 War, and Gen. S. B. M. Young, President of the War College, 
 and an invocation by the Acting Grand Chaplain, Rev. Bro. 
 Daniel W. Skellenger, the Grand Lodge took charge, and con- 
 ducted the formal ceremony according to ancient usage, upon 
 the conclusion of which an appropriate address was delivered 
 by the then Grand Master, M. W. Bro. George H. Walker. 
 
 The death of P. G. Master Noble Danforth Larner, which 
 occurred March 19, 1903, removed from Masonic circles a 
 brilliant and indefatigable worker, and one who, as Grand 
 Master in 1881 and 1882, and as Grand High Priest of this 
 jurisdiction and G. G. High Priest of the United States, left the 
 impress of his intellect and indomitable energy not only upon 
 the District of Columbia, where he was for years a potential 
 force in business, social, and religious life, but upon the Frater- 
 nity generally, his reputation being national. The greatest 
 monument to his busy life was the old Temple, Ninth and F 
 Streets, N. W., for to him more than to any other one individ- 
 ual must be given the credit of the inception and ultimately suc- 
 cessful termination of that enterprise. 
 
 On June 27, 1903, the cornerstone of the handsome new 
 Foundry Church, Sixteenth and Madison Streets, N. W., was 
 laid by the Grand Lodge, the escort on this occasion being 
 Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T. 
 
 A rather interesting point during the year grew out of the 
 request of Gen. Anson Mills, U. S. A. (Retired), that the 
 Grand Lodge lay the cornerstone of the Navy Department 
 Annex, Seventeenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. 
 General Mills, in anticipation of favorable consideration of 
 his request, had invited a large number of public officials and 
 made other arrangements for the occasion, but upon the fact 
 being brought to the attention of Grand Master Walker that 
 the building was owned by a private individual, and the 
 further fact that the stone to be laid was not in reality a 
 cornerstone, but simply the plinth in one of the columns of 
 
IN the; district op Columbia 135 
 
 the portico, he courteously decHned to permit the Grand Lodge 
 to participate, on the ground that the constitution of that 
 body only permitted the laying of cornerstones of pubHc 
 buildings, and while, in view of the use to which the building 
 was to be put, this point might be waived, the further fact 
 of its being in no sense a cornerstone, the building proper 
 having already been erected, precluded the use of a ritual 
 filled with references to the " future edifice,"' and predicated 
 upon a presumption that the stone was a part of the actual 
 foundation. 
 
 By the end of 1903 another thousand mark had been 
 passed, and the lodge membership footed up 7,064. 
 
 Aside from the occasions when the last rites were held over 
 the remains of deceased brethren, among whom, in the year 
 1904, were Rev. Bro. Claudius B. Smith, for twenty-three 
 years Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of the District, and 
 P. G. Master Malcolm Seaton, the Grand Lodge appeared 
 in public during that year three times, officiating at as many 
 cornerstone, layings — that of Memorial Continental Hall 
 Seventeenth and D Streets, N. W., April 19; Mt. Pleasant 
 M. E. Church, Columbia Road, N. W., July 30, and thv 
 Second Presbyterian Church South, Twenty-second Street, 
 between P Street and Massachusetts Avenue, N. W., Novem- 
 ber 26. The addresses of Grand Master James A. Wetmore 
 on each of these occasions were of unusual interest and 
 appropriateness and are well worthy of perusal. 
 
126 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE LATTER DAYS. 
 
 CENTENNIAL, OF NAVAL LODGE — IMPORTANT PUBLIC FUNC- 
 TIONS THE WASHINGTON GAVEL DEATHS OF M. W. 
 
 BROTHERS GEORGE H. WALKER^ R. B. DONALDSON, 
 
 JOSE MARIA YZNAGA, DAVID G. DIXON, 
 
 AND E. G. DAVIS. 
 
 "The future mill but turn 
 The old sands in the failing glass of Time." 
 
 — Stoddard. 
 
 The YEAR 1905 witnessed the introduction of what, to this 
 jurisdiction, had previously been unknown — a dayhght lodge; 
 and was the logical outgrowth of the constantly increasing 
 army of night workers peculiar to a great city, whose duties 
 preclude their participation in the ordinary fraternal and 
 social pleasures of the era. 
 
 On April 7 of that year Grand Master Lurtin R. Ginn. 
 upon proper petition, granted a dispensation to a number of 
 brethren to organize such a lodge. On May 10, following, at 
 the second communication of the Grand Lodge, a petition in 
 due form for a charter was received from these brethren, 
 twenty-six in all, and a charter was ordered to issue to them 
 to open and hold a lodge to be known as King Solomon's 
 Lodge, No. 31, the first three officers to be Bros. William H. 
 Singleton, Jose L. Atkins, and Philander C. Johnson, in the 
 order named. The new lodge was duly constituted May 25, 
 of the same year, and has since amply proven that its estab- 
 lishment had indeed filled a long-felt want. It may be again 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 127 
 
 remarked in passing, that the name " King Solomon's Lodge" 
 had been selected for a lodge which struggled for existence in 
 1864, but which " died a-borning." But this latter pre- 
 emptor of the title has well passed the formative period and, 
 endowed with exceptional vitality, gives promise of a long 
 and useful career. 
 
 One of the most elaborate and successful celebrations ever 
 held by a subordinate lodge in this jurisdiction occurred in the 
 week commencing May 14, 1905, when for a period of four 
 days, beginning by attendance Sunday evening upon special 
 divine service. Naval Lodge, No. 4, celebrated their centennial 
 anniversary, in a series of brilliant meetings, receptions, and 
 banquets, the most notable being that of May 15, 1905, when 
 the Grand Lodge and other distinguished Masons were the 
 honored guests. The history of this Lodge, including an 
 account of the centennial celebration, has been preserved in 
 a handsome volume, which was issued as a feature of the 
 occasion. 
 
 Three cornerstone-layings occurred during the year 1905 — 
 that of the Masonic and Eastern Star Home, May 17 ; of the 
 Eckington Presbyterian Church, North Capitol and Q Streets, 
 May 23, and of the Whitney Avenue Memorial Church, 
 May 26. 
 
 September 25, 1905, the Grand Lodge, by resolution, au- 
 thorized the appointment of a committee to take under advise- 
 ment and report some plan for the general celebration of the 
 two hundredth anniversary of the formation of the Grand 
 Lodge of England in 1817. At the communication of Decem- 
 ber 19, 1906, the committee reported that seventy-three Grand 
 Lodges had been communicated with and their cooperation 
 and suggestions requested, but that only twenty-four had re- 
 sponded, and of these but two, the Grand Lodges of Ireland 
 and Cuba, had definitely approved of the plan of a general 
 celebration. 
 
 At the installation communication of 1905, in accordance 
 with the suggestion of the Grand Master in his address and 
 the favorable recommendation in reference thereto by the 
 
128 HISTORY OF I^REEMASONRY 
 
 special committee on said address, the Grand Master appointed 
 the following named brethren as a committee to arrange for 
 the proper celebration of the Centennial of the Grand Lodge, 
 occurring in 1911 : Bros. W. W. Jermane, Nathaniel Fugitt, 
 Luther F. Speer, Andrew Wilson, Charles J. James, Thomas 
 P Morgan, and Frank H. Thomas. Of these two— Bros. 
 Nathaniel Fugitt and Frank H. Thomas — passed away in the 
 course of the two years following, and the vacancies thus 
 created were filled by the appointment of Bros. Claude F. 
 King and Roe Fulkerson. The personnel was again changed 
 in 1909 by the resignation, on account of ill health, of the 
 chairman, Bro. W. W. Jermane, and the appointment to that 
 position of W. Bro. Jas. A. Wetmore, and the resignation of 
 Bro. Thomas P. Morgan and the appointment of Bro. J. Harry 
 Cunningham, and in 1910 by the resignation of W. Bro. Jas. 
 A. Wetmore and the appointment as chairman of Bro. E. St. 
 Clair Thompson. 
 
 At the same meeting and also by authority of the Grand 
 Lodge, upon the recommendation of the same committee the 
 Grand Master appointed W. Bro. Kenton N. Harper, of Naval 
 Lodge, No. 4, as Historian, with directions to prepare a com- 
 prehensive history of this Grand Lodge and of Freemasonry 
 in the District of Columbia, to become one of the features of 
 the above celebration. 
 
 The laying of the cornerstone of the Office Building of the 
 House of Representatives, adjoining the Capitol, occurred 
 April 14, 1906, and was the occasion of one of the greatest 
 Masonic processions in the jurisdiction, the escort comprising 
 the five commanderies and Grand Commandery, K. T., of the 
 District, and large delegations from the subordinate lodges, 
 headed and accompanied by the Marine and Engineer Bands. 
 On arriving at the site, the Grand Lodge was conducted to a 
 platform erected for the occasion, on which were seated Bro. 
 Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States; Bro. 
 Charles W. Fairbanks, Vice-President; Bro. Joseph G. Can- 
 non, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Bro. James D. 
 Richardson, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme 
 
GEORGE C. WHITING, 
 Grand master, 1857-1861, 1865-1867 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 129 
 
 Council, A. A. S. R., for the Southern Jurisdiction; members 
 of the Cabinet; Justices of the Supreme Court; members of 
 the Senate and House of Representatives; members of the 
 Diplomatic Corps; officers of the Army and Navy, and an 
 audience of 5,000 people, including a large number of ladies. 
 After the Masonic ceremonies and an address by the Grand 
 Master, M. W. Bro. Walter A. Brown, the President was pre- 
 sented by Speaker Cannon, and delivered his celebrated ad- 
 dress which has gone into history with the title " The Man 
 with the Muck Rake." 
 
 During this month the handsome sum of $3,616.50 was 
 promptly contributed by the Masonic bodies of the District 
 and forwarded by wire to the Pacific Coast sufferers. Of 
 this sum $523.30 was subsequently returned, as being in 
 excess of the need, and upon its receipt the Grand Lodge at 
 once donated its share of the sum returned to the Masonic 
 and Eastern' Star Home, which action was followed in due 
 time by all the bodies interested. 
 
 May 5, 1906, death claimed one of the brightest minds in 
 the list of Past Grand Masters ever given to the service of 
 Masonry in this jurisdiction, in the person of M. W. Bro. 
 George Harold Walker, whose life and works are given else- 
 where, and whose taking off in the full vigor of middle life 
 left a void difficult, indeed, to fill. 
 
 On June 19 of the same year the Grand Lodge laid the 
 cornerstone of the P. E. Church of the Advent, Second and 
 U Streets, N. W. ; on October 16 proceeded by special train 
 to the site of the Masonic and Eastern Star Home, and dedi- 
 cated the completed west wing thereof, and on November 23, 
 following, laid the cornerstone of the Synagogue of the Adas 
 Israel Congregation, Sixth and I Streets, N. W. 
 
 The reports for the year 1906 show no falling off in the 
 rapid increase which had marked the aggregate membership 
 for some years, a total of 7,999 Master Masons appearing as 
 in good standing at the end of the year. 
 
 A third successful fair was held for the Temple fund in 
 May, 1907, and on June 8 was laid the cornerstone of the 
 9 
 
130 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Temple, Thirteenth Street and New York Avenue, a detailed 
 account of which event, together with the history of the move- 
 ment from its inception, and a description of the building, 
 etc., may be found in a special chapter devoted to the subject. 
 
 The Washington gavel, so-called from having been first 
 used by President Washington in laying the cornerstone of 
 the Capitol Building, was used on this occasion. It was made 
 in 1793, from the marble used in the construction of the 
 Capitol, is one of the most cherished relics of the jurisdiction, 
 and is the property of Potomac Lodge, No. 5, to whose Master 
 it was handed by Washington upon the conclusion of the cere- 
 monies referred to. Altho in 1853 the Grand Lodge requested 
 the transfer to it of the valued souvenir Potomac naturally did 
 not feel justified in parting with it, and retains it, safeguarded 
 beyond the possibility of loss, and never allows it to leave the 
 custody of a special committee, said committee accompanying 
 it on all its journeys. The various occasions on which it has 
 been used or was present constituting a subject of sufficient 
 interest to warrant a place in this work, the following list, 
 prepared some years since by Bro. J. H. Yarnell, Secretary of 
 Potomac Lodge, with later additions by the author, is here 
 appended : 
 
 1793, September 18, cornerstone, United States Capitol. 
 
 1824, August 22, cornerstone, City Hall, D. C. 
 
 1829, August 8, laying the first stone of the Baltimore & 
 Susquehanna R. R., on the 100th anniversary of the City 
 of Baltimore, Md. 
 
 1847, May 1, cornerstone, Smithsonian Institution. 
 
 1848, July 1, cornerstone, Washington Monument. 
 1851, July 4, extension, U. S. Capitol. 
 
 1853, New Baptist Church, Thirteenth Street. 
 
 1853, Sixth Presbyterian Church. 
 
 1854, West Presbyterian Church. 
 
 1854, Metropolitan M. E. Church (Grant's and McKinley's 
 church). 
 
 1854, Methodist Church, Georgetown, D. C. 
 
 1855, German Reformed Church. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA I3I 
 
 1857, Ebenezer M. E. Church. 
 
 1858, February 22, equestrian statue of General Washing- 
 ton at Richmond, Va. 
 
 1858, August 9, cornerstone. Masonic Hall, Georgetown, 
 D. C. 
 
 1859, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Lincoln's 
 church. 
 
 1860, February 22, Clark Mills' equestrian statue of Wash- 
 ington, Washington, D. C. 
 
 1865, Washington Protestant Orphan Asylum. 
 1867, German Lutheran Church, Georgetown, D. C. 
 1867, First Baptist Church, Georgetown, D. C. 
 
 1867, November 10, cornerstone, soldiers' monument, An- 
 tietam. 
 
 1868, Lincoln memorial monument. 
 1868, Mt. Vernon Methodist Church. 
 1868, Metropolitan Presbyterian Church. 
 1868, Masonic Temple, Washington, D. C. 
 
 1870, Foundation, Steuben Monument, Scheutzen Park, 
 D. C. 
 
 1870, Dedication Masonic Temple, Washington, D. C. 
 
 1872, Independent German Protestant Church. 
 
 1872, Masonic Temple, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 1873, Masonic Hall, Brightwood, D. C. 
 1877, All Soul's Church, D. C. 
 
 1881, Congregation of the Tabernacle. 
 
 1881, October 18, dedication Yorktown monument, York- 
 town, Va. 
 
 1882, Post-office, Baltimore, Md. 
 
 1884, Washington Light Infantry Armory. 
 
 1885, February 21, completion Washington Monument, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 1894, Cornerstone, Naval Lodge Building, D. C. 
 
 1896, October 21, American University, Washington, D. C 
 
 1897, North Carolina Avenue Presbyterian Church. 
 1897, Hebrew Tabernacle, Eighth Street between G and H 
 
 Streets, Northwest. 
 
132 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 1897, Christian Church, Ninth and D Streets. 
 
 1898, Douglas Memorial Church, Eleventh and H Streets. 
 
 1898, August 10, cornerstone, Pennsylvania State Capitol, 
 Harrisburg, Pa. 
 
 1899, Baptist Church, Thirtieth and N Streets, Northwest. 
 1899, Masonic Lodge, Gaithersburg, Md. 
 
 1899, December 14, Washington Centennial, Mount Ver- 
 non, Va. 
 
 1902, November 5, sesqui-centennial initiation of Wash- 
 ington into Masonry, Philadelphia. 
 
 1903, February 31, Army War College. 
 
 1903, May 1, Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis. 
 
 1903, Foundry M. E. Church. 
 
 1904, Memorial Continental Hall. 
 
 1905, May 17, Masonic and Eastern Star Home, D. C 
 
 1905, May 23, Eckington Presbyterian Church. 
 
 1906, Office Building of the House of Representatives. 
 
 1907, New Masonic Temple. 
 
 In addition, it was used at the celebration of the Centennial 
 of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, at the laying of the corner- 
 stones of the Baltimore City Hall, and the Deaf and Dumb 
 Asylum at Frederick, Md., and locally at some ceremony in 
 connection with the opening of the C. & O. Canal and at the 
 cornerstone layings of the old Market House and Bank of 
 Columbia, Georgetown, D. C, the dates of the latter events 
 not being available or important. 
 
 It was used officially by the following Presidents of the 
 United States : 1793, George Washington, cornerstone. United 
 States Capitol; 1847, James K. Polk, cornerstone, Smithson- 
 ian; 1851, Millard Fillmore, extension. United States Capitol; 
 1860, James Buchanan, Clark Mills' statue of Washington; 
 1899, William McKinley, Washington Centennial, Mount Ver- 
 non, Va. ; 1902, Theodore Roosevelt, sesqui-centennial Wash- 
 ington's initiation into Masonry, Philadelphia, Pa., and upon 
 other occasions. 
 
 Two other cornerstones were laid during the year 1907 — 
 that of Bethany Baptist Church, Rhode Island Avenue and 
 
CHARLES F. STANSBURY, 
 Grand master, 1862, 1871-1874. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI^UMBIA I33 
 
 Second Street, N. W., October 30, and that of Northminster 
 Presbyterian Church, Eleventh Street and Rhode Island Ave- 
 nue, N. W., November 5. 
 
 The death of P. G. Master Robert Bruce Donaldson, No- 
 vember 22, 1907, was a serious loss to the local Fraternity. 
 For many years the Dean of the Corps of P. G. Masters, a 
 man of unusual attainments and ripened judgment, his advice 
 had been sought, and cheerfully given, in all mooted questions 
 for more than a generation, and his lovable disposition had 
 endeared him to the brethren of this jurisdiction to a re- 
 markable degree. 
 
 With the realization of the hope of years, the new Temple 
 being now in actual course of construction, came a quickened 
 life into Masonic circles, waning interest was renewed, and 
 material prosperity followed naturally. The enthusiasm 
 awakened by the early prospect of modern, commodious, and 
 handsome quarters found its expression in many ways, and 
 in none more strikingly than in the selection of the name 
 " Temple" for a new lodge owing its formation entirely to 
 the re-energizing efifect of that project. 
 
 On October 12, 1907, on proper petition and representation, 
 the Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Francis J. Woodman, issued a 
 dispensation to certain brethren to organize a lodge, and at the 
 annual communication of the same year, December 18, a char- 
 ter was ordered to issue to Bros. Thomas C. Noyes, Louis C. 
 Wilson, John Paul Earnest, and seventy-eight others, the 
 largest charter list of record, to open and hold a lodge to be 
 known as Temple Lodge, No. 32, the three brethren named 
 being nominated in their order as the first three officers. 
 Starting with the prestige of a host of locally well-known 
 names on their roster, it inevitably followed that the success 
 of this lodge was assured from the very start, an assurance 
 which the several years of its existence has amply justified. 
 
 The formal dedication of the new Temple occurred Septem- 
 ber 19, 1908, and is treated of in Chapter XIV, while a de- 
 tailed account of this important event may be found in the 
 Grand Lodge Proceedings, 1908, p. 24 et seq. 
 
134 HISTORY OF S'REEMASONRY 
 
 The third communication of the Grand Lodge, held Sep- 
 tember 26, 1908, was its last assemblage in the old Temple, 
 and was commemorated by a farewell address by the Grand 
 Chaplain, Rev. Brother Joseph Dawson. After closing in 
 ample form, the brethren present joined hands and united in 
 singing " Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 A " House Warming," extending from September 28 to 
 October 10, in the new Temple, afforded the public an op- 
 portunity to inspect the building, and incidentally added in 
 the neighborhood of $10,000 to the treasury of the Temple 
 Association. 
 
 November 19, 1908, the cornerstone of a building for the 
 use of Wm. R. Singleton Lodge, No. 30, was laid at Tenley- 
 town, D. C. 
 
 On April 11, 1909, P. G. Master Jose M. Yznaga, and on 
 November 25, 1909, P. G. Master David G. Dixon, passed 
 away. Both of these brethren had for years been closely and 
 actively identified with local Masonry, were well known and 
 beloved, and their demise was sincerely mourned. 
 
 At a special communication, November 20, 1909, the Grand 
 Lodge took the necessary steps looking to the assumption of 
 control of the new Temple, an event of importance, as being 
 the only instance in the history of the jurisdiction where such 
 control was consummated. The various movements leading 
 up to and following this action are treated elsewhere. 
 
 On March 22, 1910, occurred the death of P. G. Master 
 Eldred G. Davis, one of the most valued members of the 
 Fraternity, and for a long time the chairman of the Commit- 
 tee on Jurisprudence. His activity in Masonic work con- 
 tinued up to the end, which came suddenly and cast a gloom 
 over the entire jurisdiction. 
 
 On May 12, 1910, Grand Master George C. Ober, assisted 
 by the other officers of the Grand Lodge, formally dedicated 
 to Masonry the Cathedral of the Scottish Rite, long known 
 as "The House of the Temple," at Third and E Streets. 
 N. W., which had lately been acquired by the local subordinate 
 bodies of the Rite. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 1 35 
 
 Among the Masonic events of the year 1910 the open-air 
 religious service which took place at Mt. St. Albans Sunday 
 afternoon, September 35, is deserving of special notice. In 
 response to an invitation from the Rt. Rev. Alfred Harding, 
 Bishop of Washington, Grand Master George C. Ober issued 
 a call to the Master Masons of the jurisdiction to attend him 
 on that occasion. Favored with ideal weather, approximately 
 three thousand five hundred members of the Fraternity, the 
 largest number ever gathered in this jurisdiction for a public 
 demonstration, assembled at the intersection of Wisconsin 
 and Massachusetts Avenues, and escorted by the five local 
 commanderies of Knights Templar, and headed by a section 
 of the Marine Band, marched to the Peace Cross in Cathedral 
 Close and in company with a large concourse of visitors took 
 part in the beautiful and impressive service of the Episcopal 
 Church, in the course of which the Right Reverend Brother, 
 Bishop Harding, made an address and Rev. Brother J. Ken- 
 ning Nelms, Rector of the Church of the Ascension, delivered 
 the sermon, the dominant note throughout being the co-opera- 
 tion which should exist between the Church and the Masonic 
 Order. 
 
 The last charter for the formation of a lodge during the 
 first century of the existence of the Grand Lodge was or- 
 dered to issue at the Annual Communication of December 31, 
 1910, and was in response to a petition signed by sixty-five 
 Master Masons in good standing, to open and hold a lodge to 
 be known as Mt. Pleasant Lodge, No. 33, in the northwestern 
 section of the city. The petition, which was recommended by 
 Stansbury Lodge, No. 24, nominated as the first three officers 
 Bros. Richard C. Lewis, Charles H. Bradley, and Edwin Al- 
 len Swingle as Master, Senior Warden, and Junior Warden, 
 respectively. This lodge invades a practically unbroken field 
 in the Greater Washington and there is every reason to pre- 
 dict for it a prosperous career. 
 
 During this year the Committee on Centennial Obsei-vance, 
 having previously been given full authority, perfected the 
 general arrangements for the fitting celebration of the one 
 
136 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Grand Lodge, and 
 at the date of pubHcation are carefully working out the details 
 of the series of events contemplated. 
 
 From the time of the actual initiation of the movement to 
 give prominence to this event there was in evidence a strong 
 undercurrent of sentiment that the celebration should be 
 pitched on a higher plane than is usual, and no pains nor ex- 
 pense spared to make it in every way commensurate with the 
 dignity and importance of the jurisdiction. 
 
 The plans of the Committee as finally perfected on the eve 
 of publication embody the following arrangements and cover 
 a period of three days : 
 
 1. A general reception at the new Masonic Temple Satur- 
 day evening, February 18, 1911. 
 
 2. A religious service in Belasco Theater Sunday after- 
 noon, February 19, 1911 (the actual date of birth), at which 
 it is proposed to have addresses by men of national reputation 
 and recognized eminence and learning, who are members of 
 the Fraternity. 
 
 3. A session of the Grand Lodge the morning of the 30th 
 of an historical and reminiscent character. 
 
 4. On the evening of the last-named date a banquet in honor 
 of the visiting Grand Masters. 
 
 Among the brethren who are expected to be in attendance 
 are the President of the United States and the Grand Masters 
 of seventy-eight Grand Lodges, representing some two million 
 Master Masons. 
 
 The Committee is as follows : E. St. Clair Thompson, B. B. 
 French Lodge, No. 15, chairman; Charles J. James, Ana- 
 costia Lodge, No. 21 ; Thomas C. Noyes, Temple Lodge, No. 
 32; Claude F. King, Temple Lodge, No. 32,; Andrew Wil- 
 son, Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15; Roe Fulkerson, 
 Harmony Lodge, No. 17, and Luther F. Speer, Columbia 
 Lodge, No. 3, with the following subcommittees: Printing, 
 invitation, and entertainment, Charles J. James; reception, 
 Claude F. King; publicity, Thomas C. Noyes; religious serv- 
 
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IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 137 
 
 ices, Andrew Wilson; special representative Grand Lodge, L. 
 P. Speer; banquet, Roe Fulkerson. 
 
 A verbatim report of these several events will be published 
 as an appendix to the Grand Lodge Proceedings of 1911, and 
 probably also in pamphlet form for free distribution. 
 
 Thus is the history of Freemasonry in the District of Co- 
 lumbia brought to date. What the future holds of prosperity 
 and reverse is known only to the great I Am, nor should we 
 care to lift the vail. Suffice it that on the eve of the one hun- 
 dredth anniversary of the institution of the Grand Lodge we 
 may felicitate ourselves on a magnificent record of achieve- 
 ment, and thus inspired it is for us to highly resolve that the 
 precious heritage of a united, harmonious, and powerful juris- 
 diction which has come down to us shall ever remain a sacred 
 trust and be transmitted unimpaired to our successors. 
 
138 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MEETING PLACES OF THE FRATERNITY. 
 
 WHERE THE ALTARS OP THE GRAND AND SUBORDINATE LODGES 
 
 OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HAVE BEEN ERECTED 
 
 DURING THE CENTURY PRECEDING THE 
 
 PRESENT TEMPLE MOVEMENT. 
 
 "Men, my Brothers, men, the Workers, ever reaping something new; 
 That which they have done but the earnest of the things that they 
 shall do." — Tennyson. 
 
 As THE MANNER in which a man is housed may usually be 
 considered to measurably express the degree of prosperity he 
 enjoys, so also is it possible to accurately gauge the gain or 
 loss, the success or failure, of an organization by the character 
 of its homes. Freemasonry presents no exception to this 
 rule, and in the story of the many meeting places of the Craft 
 in the District of Columbia during the century just closed 
 there lies so complete and clear a history of the material 
 vicissitudes of the Fraternity as to warrant the devotion of a 
 chapter to so much of the subject as covers the period from 
 the beginning until the inauguration of the movement which 
 resulted in the magnificent Temple of today, paying es- 
 pecial attention at this time to those buildings in which the 
 Grand Lodge has found a succession of homes or has met on 
 emergent occasions, and glancing hastily at the earlier subor- 
 dinate lodge buildings as they relate to the growth of the 
 Order. 
 
 The march of improvements has swept away some few of 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 139 
 
 these structures, yet there remain a remarkable number — 
 veritable landmarks — which stand as mute witnesses to the 
 progress of Freemasonry in our midst, and unfold a tale which 
 he that runs may read. 
 
 The earlier lodges of Georgetown are known to have met 
 in private houses, but the first definite location of a Masonic 
 lodge within the present limits of the District is that of Fed- 
 eral Lodge, No. 15, of Maryland (later No. 1 of this juris- 
 diction), which in 1793 met in a room specially fitted for its 
 use in the residence of one of the members, on New Jersey 
 Avenue, just south of the Capitol, and now included in the 
 site of the House of Representatives Office Building. In 
 1796, desiring a more central location, this lodge moved to a 
 small hostelry, known as the " Little Hotel," on the north side 
 of F Street, near Fourteenth, N. W., where they found not 
 only quarters for their meetings but likewise convenient re- 
 freshment, and where they remained for about eight years. 
 
 Columbia, No. 35, of Maryland (later our No. 3), which 
 came into existence in 1803 and was largely composed of 
 Treasury employes, found a temporary home in a building 
 known as Lovell's Hotel, on Pennsylvania Avenue between 
 Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets, N. W., but united in 1804 
 with Federal, in the first Masonic building enterprise in the 
 District. This consisted of the purchase of part of Lot 14, 
 Square 323, 23 by 50 feet, on Eleventh Street, N. W., just 
 south of Pennsylvania Avenue, and the erection thereon of a 
 two-story brick building, known as " Union Lodge Room." 
 The second floor, fitted up for lodge purposes and originally 
 reached by an outside stairway on the south side, was used by 
 Federal and Columbia for over twenty years, and also by Leb- 
 anon, after its birth in 1811. Here, too, the Grand Lodge, 
 upon its formation, found a home for a number of years. In 
 addition to its Masonic use, the building was the headquarters 
 of the Boards of Aldermen and Common Council, and also 
 housed the old Washington Library and Vine Lyceum Society. 
 In later years it was occupied by the colored Masons, and with- 
 in a comparatively few years was demolished to make room for 
 
140 HISTORY 01? FREEMASONRY 
 
 the new City Post-Office. Some idea of the condition of 
 affairs in the city in the early days may be gathered from the 
 fact that in 1824 Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 1, took 
 steps to induce the other Masonic bodies meeting in the build- 
 ing to join with thetn in causing. to be made a " gravel footway 
 from this Hall east to the middle of Eleventh Street, and north 
 to the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. * * *" 
 
 Washington Naval Lodge, No. 41, of Maryland (now our 
 local No. 4), which was warranted in 1805, found rented 
 quarters on Seventh Street, S. E., near the Navy Yard gate. 
 The house, a small two-story brick, somewhat modernized 
 exteriorly, still stands and is occupied as a dwelling, known as 
 1129 Seventh Street, S. E., and is a fair sample of the honest, 
 sturdy workmanship of the early part of the last century. 
 The upper floor was used for strictly lodge purposes and the 
 lower as a school, the school teacher, frequently the widow or 
 orphan child of a deceased Mason, attending to the care of 
 the lodge room in lieu of rent. 
 
 The Georgetown lodge, reviving in 1806 under the style 
 and title of Potomac, No. 43, of Maryland, located in the 
 residence of Valentine Reintzel, the Master, and afterward 
 the first Grand Master of the District — a three-story brick 
 dwelling on the west side of Jefferson Street, between the 
 canal and Water Street. This landmark was destroyed by 
 fire in 1857. The growth of the lodge in a few years de- 
 manding more commodious quarters, overtures were made to 
 the Corporation of Georgetown looking to the joint erection 
 at the Market Space of a building which might serve as a 
 Town House and Masonic Hall, but, failing in this, a lot 
 was leased on the west side of Jefferson Street, just north of 
 the canal, and the cornerstone of a building laid by Potomac 
 Lodge, in ample Masonic form, October 18, 1810. This 
 building, still standing, was in the possession of and used by 
 the lodge until 1840. 
 
 By way of recapitulation, then, we find the five lodges which 
 took part in the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1810-11, 
 located as follows : Federal and Columbia, at the Union 
 
IN THE DISTRICT Off COLUMBIA 141 
 
 Lodge Room, on Eleventh Street, N. W. ; Washington Naval, 
 in leased quarters on Seventh Street, S. E. ; Potomac, in its 
 own hall on Jefferson Street, Georgetown, and Brooke Lodge, 
 in Alexandria, Va. 
 
 The Grand Lodge naturally found its first home in Union 
 Lodge Room, but as early as 1816 a movement was started 
 looking to the procuring of a more suitable Masonic building, 
 but the Grand Lodge frowning upon the project it " died 
 a-borning," and the next development in this line was the 
 erection, by Naval Lodge, No. 4, of a two-story brick build- 
 ing on the northwest corner of Fifth Street and Virginia 
 Avenue, S. E., in 1820-1, at a cost of $3,337.01. This un- 
 pretentious structure, located in the center of the most popu- 
 lous section of the Hill, was not only the home of Naval, and 
 Union Lodge, No. 6, during its life, but also for a number 
 of years supplied quarters for a school room for many of our 
 older citizens of Capitol Hill. 
 
 For the first half century of the existence of the Grand 
 Lodge, the distances between the several sections of the city 
 being great, the roads of the worst, and the means of trans- 
 portation the most primitive, the communications, both regular 
 and special, were frequently held in the different lodge rooms, 
 eas't, west, and central, and even Alexandria, as a matter of 
 accommodation to all the members, and thus, altho from 
 time to time acquiring some proprietary interest in certain 
 rooms as headquarters, the Grand Lodge led a nomadic exist- 
 ence from its origin until the occupation of the Temple at 
 Ninth and F Streets, N. W., and it may be noted in passing 
 that other than lodge rooms were sometimes used on emergent 
 occasions, as we find a meeting opened February 36, 1836, in 
 the City Hall, on the First Degree, for the purpose of proceed- 
 ing to St. John's Church, to listen to a discourse on " Wash- 
 ington," and at another time a meeting opened in this same 
 church to attend a cornerstone laying. These instances need 
 not be multiplied, but uncover a condition of affairs unknown 
 at present. 
 
142 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 In 1826 the southwest corner of D and Four-and-a-half 
 Streets, N. W. (John Marshall Place), was selected and pur- 
 chased as the site for a new Temple, the recent erection of 
 the City Hall in that neighborhood commending it as a proper 
 location. The deed to the property, which was purchased 
 of B. O. Tyler, was made to Andrew Tate, Jacob A. Bender, 
 W. W. Seaton, and Wm. Hewitt, the Masters, respectively, 
 of Lodges 1, 3, 7, and 9. The cornerstone was laid September 
 19, 1826, with elaborate ceremonies. The Grand Lodge was 
 opened in ample form in St. John's Church, and proceeded 
 to the site, escorted by a procession of so varied and digni- 
 fied a character and so unique withal as to deserve detailed 
 description, and no apology is needed for reproducing in 
 extenso the order of arrangement, which was as follows : 
 
 Tylers of Lodges Nos. 1, 3, 7, and 9, with drawn swords. 
 
 Two Stewards, with white rods. 
 
 Entered Apprentice Masons. 
 
 Fellows of the Craft. 
 
 Master Masons. 
 
 Junior Deacons of Lodges. 
 
 Senior Deacons. 
 
 Secretaries. 
 
 Treasurers. 
 
 Past Junior Wardens. 
 
 Past Senior Wardens. 
 
 Past Masters. 
 
 Masters of Lodges. 
 
 Members and Officers of Washington Royal Arch Chapter. 
 
 The Grand Chapter of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Grand Tyler and Grand Steward. 
 
 Two Stewards, with white rods. 
 
 Reverend Clergy of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Architect of the Public Buildings. 
 
 Assistants Postmaster-General. 
 
 Commissioner of the General Land Office. 
 
 Register of the Treasury of the United States. 
 
 Auditors of the Treasury. 
 
 Treasurer of the United States. 
 
 Comptrollers of the Treasury. 
 
 Commissioners of the Navy, with their Secretary. 
 
 Senior Naval Officer at the seat of Government. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 01^ COLUMBIA 143 
 
 Topographical Engineer. 
 
 Chief Engineer of the United States. 
 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States, with the General 
 
 Staff of the Army at the City of Washington. 
 
 Librarian of Congress. 
 
 Members and Officers of Congress. 
 
 Functionaries of Foreign Governments. 
 
 Heads of Departments, including the Postmaster General. 
 
 Members of the Board of Common Council. 
 
 President and Secretary of that Board. 
 
 Mayors of Alexandria and Georgetown. 
 
 Mayor and Register of the City of Washington. 
 
 Grand Pursuivant, with drawn Sword. 
 
 Master Builders of the Edifice, with trowels, planes, &c. (each with his 
 
 appropriate tool). 
 
 Architect of the Work. 
 
 The Golden Plumb, Level, Square, Compasses, and Mallet, each borne 
 
 by a Master Mason. 
 
 A Master Mason, with the Cornucopia. 
 
 Two Master Masons, with Cups — one with Wine, the other Oil. 
 
 The Corinthian, Ionic, and Doric Lights, borne by three Master Masons. 
 
 Two Stewards, with white rods. 
 
 Deacons of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Past Grand Secretaries and Treasurers. 
 
 Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer. 
 
 BiBLfi 
 
 (Borne by a Past Master, with a Steward on each side). 
 
 Grand Chaplain and Orator. 
 
 The Book of Constitutions, borne by a Master Mason. 
 
 General Committee to superintend the Building, and Committee of 
 
 Arrangements. 
 
 Past Grand Wardens. 
 
 Grand Wardens, bearing the Ionic and Doric Orders. 
 
 Past Deputy Grand Masters. 
 
 Deputy Grand Master, bearing the Corinthian Order. 
 
 The Globe, borne by a Master Mason. 
 
 Past Grand Masters. 
 
 A Herald, with a Golden Rod. 
 
 The Grand Master, attended by a Herald on each side, with a Golden Rod. 
 
 Grand Sword Bearer. 
 
 Two Stewards, with Rods. 
 
 Judges of the several Courts of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Marslial of the District and his Deputies. 
 
 Clerks of Courts of the District with their Assistants. 
 
 Officers and members of Literary and other Societies. 
 
 Professors and Students of Seminaries of Learning. 
 
 Military and Naval Officers not before enumerated. 
 
 Citizens and Strangers. 
 
144 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The stone was placed by the then Grand Master, John N. 
 Moulder, assisted by his officers, and the oration delivered by 
 Past Grand Master W. W. Seaton, the exercises being in- 
 terspersed by appropriate musical selections, rendered by a 
 choir of ladies and gentlemen and by a band. Upon the con- 
 clusion of the ceremonies, and after " three cheers by the 
 assembled multitude," the procession proceeded to the City 
 Hall, and partook of a collation. 
 
 This Temple, originally known as " Central," and later as 
 " Free-Masons" Hall, which for a comparatively short period 
 was the home of the several bodies mentioned and the Grand 
 Lodge, is still standing, a three-story structure, and has been 
 for many years used as an office building. At the time of its 
 completion, the upper story was used for Masonic purposes 
 and the remainder was sub-let. Small as the building appears 
 to our modern eyes, it is of interest to note that it was the 
 scene of the inaugural ball ushering in Andrew Jackson's 
 second administration, in 1833, and within its walls was also 
 held one of the three inaugural balls marking the induction of 
 the first Harrison into the Presidential office. 
 
 In December, 1837, Masonry entered the as yet unbroken 
 field of the old First Ward, Hiram Lodge, No. 10, being 
 instituted and finding quarters in the eastern edifice of the 
 famous old Seven Buildings, northwest corner Pennsylvania 
 Avenue and Nineteenth Street, N. W., a building which had 
 been used by President Madison as a residence for a time, 
 while the White House was being rebuilt after its destruction 
 by the British. Subsequently, however, the Town Hall, over 
 the Western Market, in the triangular reservation bounded by 
 Pennsylvania Avenue, Twentieth and I Streets, and facing 
 Twentieth Street, was used as a meeting place until 1846. 
 This building was a wooden, two-story structure, the upper 
 floor being reached by an exterior stairway, on which, it is 
 said, candidates were obliged to wait the pleasure of the lodge, 
 no matter what the weather. 
 
 The Fraternity was now entering upon troublous times. 
 The anti-Masonic wave was gathering force and sweeping 
 
YELVERTON P. PAGE, 
 
 GRAND Master, 1863. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OB' COI,UMBIA 145 
 
 over the country, and this jurisdiction was not spared. The 
 decade between 1830 and 1840 witnessed the serious cripphng 
 of the little band, the revenues were greatly reduced and the 
 meeting of the obligations incurred in the building at Four- 
 and-a-Half and D Streets became a matter of serious and 
 increasing difficulty. In 1835 the trouble culminated. Liens 
 were on the building, and those who held them were threaten- 
 ing to enforce ; the lodges were even in debt for the furniture 
 in use, and the outlook was, indeed, gloomy. Under these 
 circumstances, the lodges owning the premises ordered their 
 trustees to convey the property in trust to Grand Master Wm. 
 W. Billing, with authority to sell the same, and apply the 
 proceeds to the liquidation of the debts, and if any surplus 
 remained to divide it among the lodges interested. The prop- 
 erty was thus conveyed to Brother Billing, February 17, 1835, 
 and on the following day by him conveyed to Bro. John 
 Purdy, in fee simple, the consideration being that said Purdy 
 should fully pay and satisfy all claims, provided said claims 
 did not exceed the sum of $5,000. Brother Purdy, then, hav- 
 ing discharged the debts, on February 20, 1835, executed a 
 lease for ninety-nine years to Grand Master Billing, his ex- 
 ecutors, administrators, or assigns, by which, in consideration 
 of $60 annual rental and certain agreements and covenants, 
 the Fraternity might have perpetual right of occupancy of the 
 third floor of the building. On May 5, 1835, Grand Master 
 Billing offered to assign the leasehold to the Grand Lodge, 
 with the understanding that that body should assume the pay- 
 ment of the annual rental of $60, subject to the terms and 
 conditions on which the property was held by him. While 
 this course was recommended by a committee, the Grand 
 Lodge took no action that is of record, but for a period of 
 years, the leasehold still remaining in Brother Billing's name, 
 the rents were collected through the Grand Secretary and 
 Grand Treasurer, and the Grand Lodge was in virtual control, 
 and this is the only instance in the history of the local Craft, 
 until the taking over of the present Temple in 1910, where 
 even an attempt was made to vest title to real estate in the 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Grand Lodge. On December 34, 1843, W. W. Billing as- 
 signed his trust to Abraham Butler, Joel Downing, and Na- 
 thaniel Mulliken, with the consent of the Masonic bodies in- 
 terested. The lease, however, had already become forfeited 
 by reason of non-payment of rent, and the lessor, Brother 
 Purdy, entered into possession. This action appears to have 
 awakened the lodges involved; an injunction was obtained to 
 restrain Purdy from further proceedings, and a special con- 
 vention was held February 13, 1843, when it was resolved to 
 make over to the Grand Lodge, for its use and benefit and 
 for the use and benefit of the subordinate lodges, all right, 
 title, claim, or interest which said lodges had in or to said 
 Masonic Hall. But it was too late. On March 30th, follow- 
 ing, the cause was heard on the bill and the answer of Purdy, 
 and was dissolved and the bill dismissed, and Brother Purdy 
 entered into quiet possession of the premises. Carrying the 
 story of this episode at once to its conclusion it may be men- 
 tioned that charges were preferred against Brother Purdy 
 for his actions in connection with the loss of title, but the 
 charges were not pressed, and the whole matter laid dormant 
 for thirteen years, when a very complete report of the whole 
 transaction was brought in by a committee, headed by the 
 late B. B. French, in 1858, which appeared to exonerate 
 Brother Purdy from blame, and while the Grand Lodge again 
 failed of action, the incident then and there closed. 
 
 After the removal of the injunction, the Masonic tenants 
 were literally set out on the street. In this emergency the 
 Grand Master, Robert Keyworth, had some of the furniture 
 moved and stored, and called a convention of the interested 
 bodies, which met " in a room near Brother Greer's printing 
 office." The convention authorized the sale at auction of the 
 fragments of furniture still remaining unstored, and directed 
 the division of the proceeds among the lodges, which, having 
 been done, Brother Keyworth, on his own responsibility, found 
 quarters in a building on the northwest corner of Pennsyl- 
 vania Avenue and Twelfth Street. This room was fitted up 
 with the furniture saved from the old hall, and Lodges 1 and 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 47 
 
 7 agreed to occupy it jointly with the Grand Lodge, No. 9 
 having, in the meantime, found quarters in the old Circus 
 Building, now Havenerls Bakery, on C Street, N. W., near 
 Four-and-a-Half. This separation gave rise to considerable 
 controversy as to the proper division of the furniture, which 
 lasted for quite a period, but is not of sufficient importance to 
 follow in detail. 
 
 While these troubles were being experienced by the centrally 
 located lodges, Potomac Lodge, of Georgetown, had sold their 
 property on Jefferson Street, but continued to rent the same 
 room until 1843, when they bought a house on Washington 
 Street (now Thirtieth), opposite to the Union Hotel, the 
 third story of which they fitted up as a lodge room and occu- 
 pied for the next twelve years. 
 
 St. John's Lodge, No. 11, chartered December 27, 1845, in 
 the midst of these troublous times, found a fairly convenient- 
 home in the building on the northeast corner of Four-and-a- 
 Half Street (John Marshall Place) and Pennsylvania Avenue, 
 known as " Odeon Hall," which is still standing, where they 
 remained for some years. There is some slight evidence that 
 Nos. 1 and 9 also met in this building in 1844, but this lacks 
 verification. 
 
 Hiram, also, during the year 1846 found a new home in 
 what was known as " Smith's Stable," Nineteenth Street, be- 
 tween Pennsylvania Avenue and I Street, N. W. During 
 their occupancy this building burned, but was immediately re- 
 placed by the structure which now stands on the site. 
 
 In the same years the upper floor of the old Medical College 
 building at Tenth and E Streets was occupied by the Grand 
 Lodge and several of the subordinate lodges, and in 1847 an 
 offer was made to sell the upper floor to the Fraternity. This 
 was not acted upon, but by 1849 Nos. 1, 7, 9, and 13 were 
 meeting here. Increasing prosperity and comparatively rapid 
 growth soon, however, made the brethren restive in these un- 
 satisfactory quarters, much too contracted and reached by a 
 " rickety, dirty, and unlighted stairway," and in 1850 a com- 
 mittee was appointed to devise ways and means to erect a 
 
148 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 " Hall." This committee entered enthusiastically upon their 
 duties by devising a plan to make the building of a national 
 character and to solicit aid from other jurisdictions. This 
 project meeting with the pitiful response from the outside of 
 a total of $139 in five years was then abandoned. 
 
 On the other side of Rock Creek Potomac again, in 1853, 
 changed its quarters, this time selling its building on Wash- 
 ington Street and renting a part of the third floor of Forrest 
 Hall (still standing) on High Street (now Thirty-second), 
 and in the same year a Masonic shrine was erected in the 
 Southwest by the institution of Centennial Lodge, No. 14, 
 which located in Island Hall, Sixth Street and Virginia Ave- 
 nue, S. W., in which building the Grand Lodge occasionally 
 thereafter met. 
 
 In 1855 the old Medical College building was abandoned by 
 the Fraternity, and what was thought to be more suitable 
 quarters found in the structure yet standing on the southwest 
 corner of Ninth and D Streets, and in this building, also 
 known as " Central" Masonic Hall, the Grand Lodge and a 
 number of the subordinate lodges met for a term of years. 
 
 Crossing over to Georgetown again, for the sake of chrono- 
 logical order, Potomac is again found to be on the move, this 
 time purchasing the site and erecting thereon their present 
 handsome hall, on Thirty-second Street, the cornerstone of 
 which was laid in 1858 and the building completed early in the 
 following year. 
 
 On November 2, 1858, was inaugurated the movement that 
 ultimately resulted in the erection of the Temple at Ninth 
 and F Streets, N. W., the initial step being the appoint- 
 ment of a committee by the Grand Lodge to act with similar 
 committees from the various subordinate bodies. This com- 
 mittee, unlike its predecessors, stuck by its guns. On April 
 23, 1864, Congress passed an act incorporating the " Masonic 
 Hall Association of the District of Columbia," which act was 
 approved April 36, 1864. There were eighteen names on the 
 charter, representing the Grand Encampment of Knights Tem- 
 plar, United States; the General Grand Chapter Royal Arch 
 
JAMES E F. HOLMEAD, 
 
 GRAND Master, 1864; Grand High Priest, 1867-1868. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OI*' COIvUMBIA I49 
 
 Masons, United States; the Grand Lodge of the District of 
 Columbia, its several subordinate lodges, and also the chapters 
 and commanderies of the District of Columbia. The charter 
 members, not one of whom is with us in the flesh today, were 
 as follows: B. B. French, G. E., K. T.; Robert McMurdy, 
 G. G. C, R. A. M. ; Charles F. Stansbury, G. L., D. C. ; J. W. 
 Nairn, Lodge No. 1; N. Acker, No. 7; B. Kloman, No. 9; 
 J. B. Turton, No. 11; L. Gassenheimer, No. 13; J. Van Ris- 
 wick, No. 14; J. C. McGuire, No. 15; F. L. Harvey, No. 16; 
 T. M. Hanson, No. 18; Noble D. Larner, No. 19; W. M., 
 Smith, R. A. Chapter No. 1 ; W. G. Parkhurst, No. 2 ; James 
 Steele, No. 3 ; Z. D. Gilman, Washington Commandery, No. 1, 
 and W. P. Partello, Columbia, No. 2. 
 
 The directors appointed pursuant to this act purchased from 
 Gonzaga Church and College a lot on the northwest corner of 
 Ninth and F Streets, N. W., having a frontage of 51 feet 5 
 inches on Ninth Street and 131 feet 5 inches on F, for the 
 sum of $20,000. The buildings upon the site were put under 
 rental temporarily, but in a few years were demolished, and on 
 May 30, 1868, the cornerstone was laid. 
 
 Members of the Fraternity in the several Departments were 
 excused, by Executive order, to take part in the ceremonies, 
 and it is interesting to note that Brother Andrew Johnson, then 
 President of the United States, marched over the entire route 
 of parade in his character as a Master Mason. Unlike the 
 demonstration that marked the laying of the cornerstone 
 at Four-and-a-half and D Streets, the procession on this 
 occasion was strictly a Masonic one, and included in its 
 escort Commanderies 1 and 2, the G. R. A. Chapter and sub- 
 ordinate chapters, and followed closely the arrangement of 
 the present day. The route was as follows : Starting at 
 Ninth and E; down Ninth to Pennsylvania Avenue; to Fif- 
 teenth Street ; to H ; to New York Avenue ; to Seventh Street 
 and Massachusetts Avenue; Massachusetts Avenue to Fourth 
 Street; to Indiana Avenue; thence to Fifth Street; along 
 Fifth to F, and thence to Ninth. Rather a long route, one 
 may be permitted to observe, to cover two squares. 
 
150 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The ceremony was most impressively conducted by Grand 
 Master B. B. French and the oration of the day was deHvered 
 by Brother H. P. H. Bromwell, Representative from lUinios 
 and Past Grand Master of that jurisdiction. During the 
 exercises appropriate music was rendered by the band and by 
 a specially organized choir. Of the singers on the platform 
 on that occasion there remain with us three: D. L. Burnett, 
 E. E. W. Griffin, and Charles W. Hancock, a trio of still 
 active members of the Fraternity, to whom many honors have 
 come. 
 
 As early as December 17, 1868, the Grand Lodge met in 
 the Temple for a public installation, but were not permanently 
 located there until May, 1870, in which month the building 
 was appropriatel}' dedicated according to the ancient usages, 
 the oration on this occasion being delivered by the late Bro. 
 Ben: Perley Poore. 
 
 The growth of the Fraternity at this period was not con- 
 fined to the central lodges, for early in May, 1867, Naval 
 Lodge, in the Eastern section, found it necessary to enlarge 
 its quarters, which was done by extending the building at 
 Fifth Street and Virginia Avenue a distance of eight feet, 
 to the building line on Fifth Street, and adding another story. 
 
 The dedicatory ceremonies took place October 17, 1867, 
 and gain special importance from the fact that the building 
 had been occupied previously for forty-five years without 
 any such formality. The building is still standing, and is 
 owned and occupied by colored organizations. 
 
 Over in the West End another lodge room was dedicated, 
 December 6, 1867, for Hiram Lodge, No. 10, over Redfern's 
 Store, Northeast corner Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania 
 Avenue. They remained here, however, a comparatively short 
 time, the dedication of their present room, at the southwest 
 corner of Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, tak- 
 ing place October 30, 1872. For some years prior to the 
 completion of the new Temple at Ninth and F, New Jerusalem 
 and Hope were tenants of Hiram. 
 
 In Uniontown (Anacostia) Masonry arrived, upon the in- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 01^ COLUMBIA I5I 
 
 stitution, March 8, 1869, of Anacostia Lodge, No. 21, which 
 was located for a number of years in a rough two-story frame 
 structure, on Harrison near Monroe Street, the lower story of 
 which was long a blacksmithing establishment, but later, in 
 1880, purchased its present site, at that time improved by a 
 two-story frame building, in the upper story of which the lodge 
 met for ten years. In 1890 the present handsome edifice was 
 erected at the corner of Jackson and Pierce Streets, the lodge 
 meeting in Naval Lodge Hall, Fifth Street and Virginia 
 Avenue, S. E., during the period of construction. 
 
 Stansbury, No. 24, came into existence November 12, 1873, 
 and occupying an entirely new field, in the northern suburbs, 
 added another meeting place, Brightwood Hall, in which it 
 found a home, and which was dedicated to Masonry in 1874. 
 
 While the Fraternity was thus reaching out and including 
 new territory, affairs at the Temple were anything but satis- 
 factory. As early as May, 1876, the financial conduct of that 
 enterprise was becoming a matter of serious moment, and for 
 a period of years a number of abortive attempts were made to 
 ease the situation, among the propositions advanced being one 
 to call on the ladies of the Fraternity to assist in liquidating 
 the debt; another, to ask the cooperation of other jurisdictions, 
 and a third, to hold a fair. The second only of these experi- 
 ments was tried, and, while a number of encouraging responses 
 were received, substantial aid came not. It was the old story 
 of history repeating itself. 
 
 In 1886, a room being dedicated in the Scottish Rite Cathe- 
 dral, 1007 G Street, N. W., and several of the lodges finding 
 quarters there, the revenues of the Temple were still further 
 reduced, and the situation became much more embarrassing. 
 
 In 1890, at which time the Fraternity held but one-third of 
 the stock of the Temple, an offer was received to purchase the 
 building. The proposition was then advanced and debated to 
 sell, divide the proceeds, and invest that portion held by 
 the Fraternity in a site, title to which should be vested in the 
 Grand Lodge. No decision was reached, and for the next five 
 
152 HISTORY OF IfREEMASONRY 
 
 years a succession of committees labored fruitlessly with the 
 problem. 
 
 In the meantime new territory was being opened up, M. M. 
 Parker Lodge, No. 37, being instituted in 1891, and occupying 
 a hall at the corner of Third and H Streets, N. E., where it re- 
 mained until March 22, 1893, when the Grand Lodge dedicated 
 its meeting place, corner of Eighth and I Streets, N. E., its 
 present quarters at Twelfth and H Streets, N. E., being dedi- 
 cated and occupied, in 1897; King David, No. 28, instituted 
 November 8, 1893, locating in Brookland, D. C, and Takoma, 
 No. 29, born in 1895, finding a home, by dispensation, in Odd 
 Fellows' Hall in that suburb, a building which the lodge has 
 since acquired and especially refitted for its use. 
 
 Over on Capitol Hill Naval Lodge, No. 4, always progres- 
 sive, had purchased a site at the corner of Pennsylvania Ave- 
 nue and Fourth Street, S. E., and erected thereon a large and 
 imposing Masonic edifice, their present home, and this building 
 was dedicated with great ceremony June 6, 1895. While the 
 building was in course of erection, the lodge met for a short 
 time in Potomac Lodge room, but soon asked and obtained 
 permission to meet temporarily in Odd Fellows' Hall, Eighth 
 Street, S. E. 
 
 With the exception of the establishment in 1901 of Wm. R. 
 Singleton Lodge, No. 30, in Tenleytown, and the occtipancy of 
 the new Temple, Thirteenth Street and New York Avenue, 
 N. W., this completes the list of the various meeting places of 
 the Fraternity in the District of Columbia to the present. 
 
 The home of the local Scottish Rite bodies, on G Street, 
 N. W., having been advantageously disposed of, those bodies, 
 in February, 1910, took possession of the " House of the Tem- 
 ple" (now the Scottish Rite Cathedral) at the corner of Third 
 and E Streets, N. W., for a number of years the headquarters 
 of the supreme body, and this handsome building was formally 
 dedicated to Freemasonry May 12, 1910, by the Grand Lodge, 
 Grand Master George C. Ober officiating. 
 
 The near future will witness the completion of three Masonic 
 buildings now in course of construction or contemplated : 
 
MASONIC HALL. THIRTY-SECOND STREET, GEORGETOWN, D. C, 
 
 Occupied by Potomac I,odge, No. 5, since 1859, and by George C. Whiting- I,odg:e, No. 22, 
 
 since institv;tion. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 53 
 
 The new home of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite 
 for the Southern Jurisdiction, in Sixteenth Street, N. W. 
 
 The M. M. Parker Lodge Building, in Eighth Street, near 
 F, N. E., and 
 
 The King David Lodge Building, at Brookland, D. C. 
 
 The present Masonic Temple furnishes material for the 
 chapter which follows. 
 
154 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER XIV- 
 
 THE NEW TEMPLE. 
 
 TENTATIVE PROPOSITIONS — ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF SUCCESS- 
 FUI, PLAN — THE CORNERSTONE-LAYING AND DEDI- 
 CATION — ^DESCRIPTION OF BUILDING. 
 
 "I have surely built Thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for 
 Thee to abide in forever." — I Kings, viii, 13. 
 
 As indicated in the preceding chapter, the pressing need of 
 a new Masonic Temple of proportions ample to accommodate 
 the rapid growth of the Fraternity and of a character in keep- 
 ing with the dignity of the Order began in 1890 to occupy the 
 attention of all interested, and for a series of years many 
 tentative propositions looking to such a consummation were 
 advanced and carefully weighed, but an undertaking of such 
 magnitude was not to be lightly entered upon and haste was 
 made slowly. The briefest outline sketch of the various abort- 
 ive movements alluded to is deemed of historical importance 
 as contributing by a process of elimination toward the forma- 
 tion of the plan ultimately undertaken and is as follows : 
 
 Especial interest in the subject was aroused by the forcible 
 representation of conditions by Grand Master James A. Sam- 
 ple in his address at the annual communication of 1890, and 
 this was followed in 1891 by the formation of a joint commit- 
 tee, composed of representatives from Washington Com- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 155 
 
 mandery, No. 1; Columbia, No. 3, and De Molay, No. 4, 
 K. T., to investigate a project to purchase a site and erect 
 thereon an appropriate building, and this committee, address- 
 ing Grand Master Thos. F. Gibbs, and asking the cooperation 
 of the Grand Lodge, the latter named a committee of five to 
 act with the above committee conditional upon the approval of 
 the Grand Lodge at the May communication. This joint com- 
 mittee was short-lived by reason of the fact that the Grand 
 Lodge on the latter date passed a resolution directing the 
 appointment of an independent committee to examine into the 
 matter of purchasing a site. This action was predicated on 
 the assumption that the building then used was about to be 
 sold, but such sale not being effected the matter was allowed 
 to rest until attention was again called to it in 1893 by Grand 
 Master L. C. Williamson, who strongly urged the necessity of 
 early action and reported the appointment of a special com- 
 mittee to advise the Grand Lodge in the premises. 
 
 This committee not reporting. Grand Master Merrill, im- 
 mediately upon his installation, December 27, 1893, urged 
 interest in the project and appointed a committee of five to. 
 select a site. May 9, 1894, this committee reported progress, 
 but asked that the Grand Lodge by resolution approve of the 
 action of the Grand Master in making the appointment and 
 authorize its continuance. The action desired was at once 
 taken, but nothing further being heard from the committee it 
 was, upon recommendation of the Grand Master, discharged 
 at the annual communication of the same year to permit the 
 incoming Grand Master to appoint a new one, should he so 
 desire. 
 
 Events thus moving somewhat unsatisfactorily along this 
 particular line, Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23, at its regular meet- 
 ing, January 7, 1895, caused to be appointed a committee of 
 three to " investigate and agitate" the subject of a new Temple 
 and to invite the cooperation of similar committees from the 
 other Masonic bodies. 
 
 In view of the fact that at the May communication of the 
 Grand Lodge (1896) Grand Master G. W. Baird, in conformity 
 
156 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 with a resolution then passed, appointed a special committee 
 from the Grand Lodge to consider the matter the Pentalpha 
 Lodge committee was discharged in the latter part of that year 
 to leave the field open for the direction of the governing body. 
 The special committee reported to the Grand Lodge Novem- 
 ber 11, 1896, on the general subject, and while no further ac- 
 tion was taken on the report than to order it to be printed and 
 distributed, and the powers of the committee amplified so far 
 as to authorize it to recommend a definite site, and while the 
 active cooperation of the Grand Lodge was soon thereafter 
 given to the late successful movement, yet the conclusions 
 arrived at and reported by the committee are of more than 
 passing interest, and an excerpt from that report is therefore 
 given. After enlarging upon the necessity for a new Temple 
 the report says : 
 
 A site can now be obtained for from $60,000 to $75,000, which would 
 be ample in its accommodation, and which within two or three years 
 would probably cost twenty-five per cent, more than at present. 
 
 It is the unanimous opinion of your committee that any action taken in 
 this matter should be in the name of the Grand Lodge, and if a site be 
 purchased the title should be vested in that body. 
 
 We, therefore, recommend that a situation be decided upon and secured 
 on the credit of the Grand Lodge and that the constituent lodges centrally 
 located be asked to pledge themselves to pay to the Grand Lodge for this 
 purpose a sum equal to fifty cents per capita, each month, on their present 
 membership, for a term of three years ; this amount to be secured by the 
 lodges in any manner they may consider most expedient. 
 
 The lodges centrally located report a membership of about 4,350, which 
 number, in the above-mentioned plan, would produce something more 
 than $76,000. 
 
 We believe that the Masonic fraternity of the District of Cokimbia has 
 as much local pride as the brethren of other cities, and that they are 
 not only anxious to improve the appearance of their place of meeting, 
 but greatly desire the comforts of modern improvement, and will respond 
 with alacrity to a plan which will accomplish those ends. Look around 
 you, brethren, and see what comparatively weak societies undertake and 
 accomplish in this direction, and then say that 4,000 or 5,000 Masons, 
 comprising the active business men of the Capital, cannot build and pay 
 for a Masonic Temple, which shall not only be a credit to the Order and 
 the city but in its interior a convenience to the Craft. 
 
 If, in three years, we can show a title in fee-simple to the ground 
 there will be no difficulty in raising money for the building; so that in 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 157 
 
 six or seven years from now we may possess a comfortable Masonic 
 home. 
 
 Should our recommendations be favorably considered by this Grand 
 body, the proposition might be submitted to the constituent lodges and the 
 result of their action considered at a special meeting of the Grand Lodge. 
 Fraternally yours, 
 
 Thomas F. Gibbs, 
 James A. Sampi,e, 
 H. S. Mereili,, 
 Wm. Barnum, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 While all these efforts were ineffectual they served to pre- 
 pare the way for final concerted action, which had its incep- 
 tion at a stated conclave of Columbia Commandery, No. 2, 
 K. T., February, 1897, when, upon motion of Sir Knight 
 Oscar W. White, a special conclave of that body was called 
 for the 11th of the same month for the consideration of a 
 proposition to build a new Temple, at which meeting the fol- 
 lowing resolution was adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Eminent Com- 
 mander to consider the question of the erection of a new Masonic Temple 
 in the City of Washington, and to this end to invite the cooperation 
 of the other Masonic bodies of this jurisdiction through such committees 
 as they may appoint for the same purpose; that this committee shall 
 report to the Commandery at its earliest convenience; that the Re- 
 corder be directed to send a copy of this resolution to all other Masonic 
 bodies of this jurisdiction. 
 
 Under the authority of this resolution the following com- 
 mittee was appointed : Sir Knights J. Henry Small, Jr., Chair- 
 man ; George E. Emmons, George Gibson, Samuel H. Walker, 
 and Oscar W. White. 
 
 The work of this committee of Columbia Commandery re- 
 sulted in the appointment of similar committees from a ma- 
 jority of the Masonic bodies of the jurisdiction, and as early 
 as the following month these committees met in convention, 
 effected an organization, and elected as permanent Chairman 
 of the Association, P. G. Master J. Henry Small, Jr., and as 
 Secretary Bro. Howard Perry, following which election the 
 chairman appointed a Committee of Ways and Means con- 
 
158 HISTORY OF FR:eEMASONRY 
 
 sisting of Bros. A. F. Fox, Thomas Somerville, James A. 
 Sample, James L,. Norris, and C. C. Duncanson; Committee 
 on Plans, Bros. G. W. Baird, E. G. Davis, T. M. Gale, H. L. 
 Briscoe, and W. O. Roome; Committee on Superintendence, 
 Bros. S. C. Palmer, George W. Evans, C. H. Smith, W. T. 
 Galliher, and Alex. McKenzie; Committee on Law and Or- 
 ganization, Bros. R. B. Donaldson, S. R. Bond, S. H. Walker, 
 Robt. I. Fleming, and F. H. Tliomas; Committee on Site, 
 Bros. Matthew Trimble, Allison Nailor, James B. Lambie, 
 George Gibson, and Thos. P. Morgan. 
 
 The representatives to the Masonic Temple Association of 
 the District of Columbia, as the new organization was named, 
 were as follows: Grand Lodge, James A. Sample; Federal 
 Lodge, No. 1, R. B. Donaldson; Columbia Lodge, No. 3, 
 Thos. F. Gibbs; Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, Henry Orth; The 
 New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, E. H. Chamberlain; Hiram 
 Lodge, No. 10, James B. Lambie; St. John's Lodge, No. 11, 
 Jesse W. Lee, Jr. ; National Lodge, No. 13, R. C. Lewis ; Wash- 
 ington Centennial Lodge, No. 14, William H. Baum; Benj. B. 
 French Lodge, No. 15, Wallace H. Hills; Dawson Lodge, 
 No. 16, Samuel R. Bond; Harmony Lodge, No. 17, Arvine 
 W. Johnston; Acacia Lodge, No. 18, Chas. J. O'Neill; La 
 Fayette Lodge, No. 19, Thos. P. Morgan; Hope Lodge, No. 
 20, Geo. W. Baird; Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23, Jos. C. John- 
 ston; Osiris Lodge, No. 26, L. C. Williamson; King David 
 Lodge, No. 28, Daniel G. Davis; Grand Chapter, Matthew 
 Trimble ; Columbia Chapter, No. 1, Allison Nailor, Jr. ; Wash- 
 ington Chapter, No. 2, J. R. Garrison; Mt. Vernon Chapter, 
 No. 3, John H. Olcott; Eureka Chapter, No. i, Saml. H. 
 Walker; LaFayette Chapter, No. 5, Geo. W. Evans; Mt. 
 Horeb Chapter, 'No. 7, W. F. R. Phillips; Hiram Chapter, 
 No. 10, John C. Chaney; Grand Commandery, E. G. Davis; 
 Washington Commandery, No. 1, Howard Perry; Columbia 
 Commandery, No. 2, J. H. Small, Jr. ; De Molay Mtd. Com- 
 mandery, No. 4, A. W. Kelley; Orient Commandery, No. 5, 
 E. B. Hesse; Mithras Lodge of Perfection, H. K. Simp- 
 son; Evangelist Chapter, Rose Croix, Wm. Oscar Roome; 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 1 5.9 
 
 Robert de Bruce Council, A. H. Holt; Albert Pike Consis- 
 tory, Mark D. Brainard, Sr. ; Almas Temple, Harry Standi- 
 ford. 
 
 Death and resignation have since caused the following 
 changes in the above list : Ralph W. Lee and Charles F. Benja- 
 min for Federal Lodge, No. 1 ; Josiah M. Vale and Frank B. 
 Curtis, Columbia Lodge, No. 3; Walter T. Paine, Lebanon 
 Lodge, No. 7 ; Wm. G. Henderson, The New Jerusalem Lodge, 
 No. 9; Samuel Hart, Albert W. Bright, Alex. McKenzie, 
 Morris Hahn, and A. Barnes Hooe, St. John's Lodge, No. 11 ; 
 H. Kronheimer and Lafayette Leaman, National Lodge, No. 
 12 ; Ralph L. Hall and W. B. Pettus, Washington Centennial 
 Lodge, No. 14; John R. Garrison and Jas. A. Wetmore, B. B. 
 French Lodge, No. 15; Heath Sutherland and H. W. P. Hunt, 
 Acacia Lodge, No. 18 ; J. Harry Cunningham, J. Frank Traz- 
 zare, E. C. Button, and J. Harry Cunningham (3d time), 
 Hope Lodge, No. 30; W. A. Kimmel and A. M. Poynton, 
 Pentalpha Lodge, No. 33 ; C. H. Buchler and Joseph Herzog, 
 Osiris Lodge, No. 36; W. I. Jochum, Columbia Chapter, No. 
 1 ; J. G. De Moll, Washington Chapter, No. 3 ; Roe Fulkerson, 
 Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 3; Harry B. Mason, Franc. E. 
 Sheiry, and H. K. Simpson, Eureka Chapter, No. 4; Jos. W. 
 Zimmerman, Mt. Horeb Chapter, No. 7 ; Ira W. Hopkins and 
 Mark F. Finley, Hiram Chapter, No. 10; Thos. M. Gale, 
 Benj. S. Graves, and Chas. T. Caldwell, Washington Com- 
 mandery. No. 1 ; Wm. H. Wunder, Orient Commandery, No. 
 5; Samuel E. Aler, Mithras Lodge of Perfection; Harrison 
 Dingman, Evangelist Chapter, Rose Croix; Geo. H. Walker, 
 B. F. Smith, and R. F. Mentzell, Robert de Bruce Council; 
 Frank H. Thomas, Jacobus S. Jones, E. F. Frost, and F. J. 
 Woodman, Albert Pike Consistory, the last named in each case 
 holding at the reorganization. The following representatives 
 were added within the last few years : Wm. F. Meyers, Armin- 
 ius Lodge, No. 35 ; Alex. McKenzie, Temple Lodge, No. 33 ; F. 
 R. Underwood, Ruth Chapter, No. 1, O. E. S. ; Chas. S. Hyer, 
 Naomi Chapter, No. 3, O. E. S., and George Gibson, Esther 
 
l6o HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Chapter, No. 5, O. E. S. The vacancy caused by the death 
 of E. G. Davis, the Grand Commandery representative, has 
 not yet been filled. 
 
 Steps were at once taken to have the Association regularly 
 incorporated, and this was done by act of Congress in the 
 spring of 1898, and was consummated by the signature of the 
 President of the United States April 15 of that year. 
 
 Section 2 of the Act of April 15, 1898 (30 U. S. Stat., 
 357), provides: 
 
 That the purposes and designs of this corporation shall be the purchase 
 of a site in the City of Washington, in said District, and the erection and 
 maintenance thereon of a Masonic Temple, whereby the mutual im- 
 provement of its members and the tenets and the educational, benevolent, 
 and charitable work and purposes of the Order of Free and Accepted 
 Masons and of bodies related thereto may be promoted and advanced; 
 and for said purposes the said corporation shall have power to take 
 and hold, encumber and convey, such real, not exceeding one-quarter of a 
 block, and personal estate as may be necessary therefor, to erect such 
 buildings thereon, and to rent the same or any parts thereof as a source 
 of revenue for the purposes aforesaid. 
 
 Section 7 provides : 
 
 That the capital stock of this corporation shall not be less than one 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars nor more than three hundred thousand 
 dollars, divided into shares of ten dollars each. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Board of Managers of the Ma- 
 sonic Temple Association, May 28, 1898, the following offi- 
 cers were chosen : P. G. Master R. B. Donaldson, President ; 
 P. G. Master J. Henry Small, Jr., Vice-President; P. G. 
 Master E. H. Chamberlain, Secretary, and Bro. Samuel H. 
 Walker, Treasurer. 
 
 On January 7, 1899, P. G. Master R. B. Donaldson, Presi- 
 dent, resigned, and P. G. Master J. Henry Small, Jr., was 
 elected his successor and served continuously until assumption 
 of control by the Grand Lodge. In January 1899, P. G. Master 
 E. H. Chamberlain having declined reelection as Secretary of 
 the Association, he was succeeded by Bro. John R. Garrison, 
 who served to June 4th, 1899, when he resigned owing to his 
 

 {f3rfa0^^:^^2^^^. 
 
 Grand Master, 1869-1870. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMBIA l6l 
 
 official duties requiring him to live in San Juan, P. R. Bro. 
 John H. Olcott was elected as his successor and served until 
 his last illness in July, 1907, after which time the duties of the 
 office were performed by Bro. Geo. E. Fleming, Bro. Thos. 
 P. Morgan, Bro. C. S. Hillyer as Assistant to the Secretary, 
 and Bro. F. R. Underwood. In January, 1901, P. G. Master 
 Jas. A. Sample was elected to the office of Treasurer of the 
 Association, as successor to Bro. Samuel H. Walker, and has 
 served as such continuously to date. 
 
 The financing of the project was inaugurated by the solicita- 
 tion of subscriptions to stock from the various Masonic bodies 
 and individual brethren, and this effort was materially furth- 
 ered by holding a mammoth fair in the spring of 1898, par- 
 ticipated in by practically all the Masonic bodies of the juris- 
 diction. 
 
 The fair thus held netted the sum of $46,866.01 and was 
 so encouraging that the Committee on Site were authorized 
 by the Association to purchase, for a sum not to exceed 
 $115,000, the site recommended by them on which the Temple 
 now stands. It is officially known as L,ots 39-30-31, parts of 
 Lots 6 and 7 and all of Lots 8 and 9, Square 287, is located 
 between Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets and H Street and 
 New York Avenue, and contains 11,324 square feet. 
 
 So successful had been the previous effort to swell the fund 
 through a fair that the enterprise was repeated in 1903, again 
 in slightly different form and under the title of " May Fes- 
 tival," in 1905, and also, again reverting to the original plan, 
 in 1907, each occasion outstripping the previous one in finan- 
 cial returns, while the fiinal concerted effort along this line of 
 endeavor took an entirely new form, that of a so-called 
 " House-warming," which was held for two weeks in the new 
 Temple, commencing September 28, 1908, and immediately 
 following the formal turning over of the building by the con- 
 tractors. Entertainments were given in the several auditori- 
 ums, with dancing and refreshments within reach, all of which 
 were well patronized by the friends of the Fraternity and 
 netted a very comfortable sum. 
 1 1 
 
l62 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 In the meantime, in 1901, the proceeds of the second fair 
 enabhng the Association to clear off the obligations on the site, 
 tentative plans for the building were invited from various 
 architects, and later those submitted by the firm of Wood, 
 Donn & Deming were formally accepted. 
 
 While the undertaking had now reached a point where 
 success was assured, the policy of deliberate action was still 
 adhered to and ground was not broken until 1907, after the 
 several fairs and other additions to the fund through sub- 
 scription had increased it to the point where good business 
 judgment made the venture a reasonable one. 
 
 The cornerstone of the new Temple was laid June 8, A. L. 
 5907, A. D. 1907. On that date the Grand Lodge in special 
 session received as guests the officers of the Grand Chapter of 
 R. A. Masons of the District and the following distinguished 
 visitors: R. W. Bro. George W. Kendrick, Jr., Grand Master 
 of Masons in Pennsylvania; M. W. Bro. Silvanus J. Quinn, 
 Grand Master of Masons of Virginia; M. W. Bro. Kosciusko 
 Kemper, Past Grand Master of Virginia; M. W. Bro. An- 
 drew J. Hallock, Grand Master of Masons of Connecticut; 
 M. W. Bro. John H. Barlow, Past Grand Master of Con- 
 necticut; M. W. Bro. Robert K. Stephenson, Grand Master 
 of Masons of Delaware; M. W. Bro. William H. Nichols, 
 Past Grand Master of Texas; M. W. Bro. Milton J. Hull, 
 Past Grand Master of Nebraska; Bro. Francis E. Warren, 
 representing Grand Master of Masons of Wyoming; Fred- 
 ericksburg Lodge, No. 4, of Virginia, Bro. John P. Stiff, Mast- 
 er, bearing the Washington Bible and square; Alexandria- 
 Washington Lodge, No. 22, of Virginia, Bro. Thomas Brack- 
 enridge Cochran, Master, bearing the Washington trowel; 
 Guard of honor from Potomac Lodge, No. 5, viz: W. Bro. 
 Lem. Towers, Jr., Master, and Bros. Richard S. Clifton and 
 Irvin B. Moulton, bearing the Washington gavel. 
 
 An Entered Apprentice lodge being opened, the officers of 
 the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter proceeded to carriages 
 and, accompanied by an escort composed of the Grand Com- 
 mandery, the five subordinate commanderies, and about 2,000 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 63 
 
 Master Masons, marching as separate lodges in the order of 
 their juniority, proceeded to the site of the proposed building 
 where a large concourse of people were assembled. 
 
 Immediately after the officers of the Grand bodies and their 
 guests had assumed their places, Bro. Theodore Roosevelt, 
 President of the United States, accompanied by his Private 
 Secretary, Bro. William Loeb, Jr., and special escort, Bro. 
 William B. Hibbs, arrived, and after being invested by the 
 Grand Master with aprons were escorted to seats on the plat- 
 form. The following program was then rendered : 
 
 Prayer W. Bro. the Rev. Richard P. Williams. 
 
 "America" U. S. Marine Band and Choir. 
 
 Introductory Address.. M. W. Bro. J. H. Small, Jr., P. G. M., 
 
 President Masonic Temple Association. 
 
 Selection U. S. Marine Band. 
 
 Ceremony of Laying Corner-stone, 
 
 Grand Lodge of Masons of the District of Columbia, 
 
 M. W. Bro. Francis J. Woodman, Grand Master. 
 
 Address on behalf of the M. W. Grand Master, 
 
 M. W. Bro. Matthew Trimble, P. G. M. 
 
 Selection U. S. Marine Band. 
 
 Address. . . Bro. Theodore Roosevelt, President of thejUnited States. 
 
 Selection Choir. 
 
 Address Hon. Henry L. West, Commissioner, D. C. 
 
 Selection U. S. Marine Band. 
 
 Addresses Visiting Grand Masters. 
 
 Address Hon. James D. Richardson, 33°, 
 
 Sovereign Grand Commander Ancient and Accepted 
 Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, Southern Jurisdiction. 
 
 Selection Choir. 
 
 Benediction. . .Brother, the Rev. Joseph Dawson, Grand Chaplain. 
 
 Doxology ' U. S. Marine Band and Choir. 
 
 In the evening the celebration was continued by a banquet 
 at the Hotel Raleigh, at which a most distinguished gathering 
 of Masons from this and other jurisdictions gathered and ex- 
 changed felicitations on the happy event of the day. 
 
 Unforeseen difficulty being met with in securing a founda- 
 tion the work was delayed but was pushed with all the speed 
 possible, and in 1908 the magnificent proportions and monu- 
 mental character of the new addition to the city's architec- 
 
1 64 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 tural beauty grew rapidly into evidence until the completion in 
 September, 1908. 
 
 The dedication ceremonies took place Saturday evening, 
 September 19, 1908, and vsrere of the most impressive char- 
 acter, being opened by an invocation by Bro. Abram Simon, 
 Rabbi of the Washington Hebrew Congregation, followed by 
 vocal selections by a Masonic octet. P. G. Master Matthew 
 Trimble, Vice-President of the Temple Association, in the 
 absence of the President, P. G. Master Small, whose illness 
 prevented his being present, delivered an oration, upon the 
 conclusion of which the ancient Masonic form of dedication 
 was carried out. Grand Master Augustus B. Coolidge, pre- 
 siding. After addresses by the Grand Master and Rev. Bro. 
 J. Henning Nelms the Temple was illuminated throughout 
 and thrown open for inspection, the festive character of the 
 evening being further emphasized by appropriate selections 
 by a large orchestra. 
 
 And thus by regular gradations and measured steps the 
 Fraternity in the District arrived at the goal of its ambition 
 for a quarter of a century, the possession of a Temple worthy 
 of Masonry and worthy of this city, the Mecca of every 
 American. The commanding site permits of no future build- 
 ing being erected sufficiently near to do violence to the har- 
 mony of its surroundings or to mar its monumental effect 
 and the wisdom and indefatigable labors of its promoters in 
 the selection of the site and plans, and in carrying the work 
 to a successful conclusion, deserve the heartiest appreciation 
 of the Masonic world. Following is a brief description of the 
 building : 
 
 It was the view of those engaged in the worthy project of 
 " building the temple" that Washington, being the capital of 
 the nation, the Masonic Temple located here ought to be of 
 great dignity and simplicity and entirely in keeping with the 
 classic public buildings for which Washington is well known. 
 The architects have had these facts in mind and have designed 
 a building which, by its proportions, is unmistakably a temple. 
 
ISAAC L. JOHNSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1875-1876; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1877. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 1 65 
 
 but SO modified as to suit the changed conditions of our time 
 and age. 
 
 The three facades, by their several parts, convey to the 
 mind the uses to which each part is put, the pubHc part by 
 large openings architecturally framed, and the secret by small 
 openings and large, simple wall surfaces. The impression to 
 be conveyed is that part of the building will be for public use, 
 while a larger part will forever remain a closed book, with all 
 its mystery, to the uninitiated. 
 
 The classic style of architecture which has been employed 
 in this building is the most enduring and surely the one in 
 which the Temple of the Ancients reached its greatest beauty 
 and highest development. 
 
 The peculiar shape of the site made it possible to impress on 
 the shortest but most important facade, facing fifty feet and 
 eight inches on Thirteenth Street, the character of the temple 
 so that the most ignorant might, without inquiry, know its 
 purpose. The sides extending down New York Avenue 133 
 feet 6 inches and H Street 144 feet 3 inches, respectively, are 
 a continuation of this Thirteenth Street motive, but here the 
 windows are made much more archaic in character, and by 
 their shape, size, and disposition lend mystic character to the 
 structure. 
 
 The building contains five stories and a basement, with the 
 first story about thirty feet in the main auditorium, the total 
 height being 110 feet above the sidewalk, the greatest allowed 
 by law on this site. It is heated by steam and has a special 
 system of ventilation for the auditoriums, banquet hall, lodge 
 and locker rooms. The structure is fireproof throughout, with 
 steel-frame construction. The exterior walls, however, are 
 self-sustaining. 
 
 The massive Indiana limestone base of the building is heav- 
 ily rusticated. The principal entrance is marked by a large 
 serhicircular opening or doorway to distinguish it from the 
 rectangular openings on the sides, which merely are entrances 
 and exits to the auditorium. 
 
 The colonnade of the superstructure is flanked at either end 
 
l66 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 by heavily rusticated piers, which complete that part of ^he 
 composition. 
 
 An attic crowns the building with an elaborate cheneau, 
 which gives an interesting silhouette against the sky. 
 
 The whole composition is designed for a light-colored ma- 
 terial. The base is of limestone. The cornice and other ar- 
 chitectural features, such as the caps and bases of pilasters, 
 trims about windows, columns, balustrades, etc., are also 
 of limestone or terra cotta to match in color, while the 
 main body of the whole is of a selected gray brick, pleasing to 
 the eye and in perfect harmony with the trimmings. 
 
 T"he main portion of the basement and vaults extending out 
 under the sidewalks on three sides of the building is devoted 
 to an immense banquet hall, seating about 500 people. This 
 room is readily accessible from the main auditorium room on 
 the first floor and by stairways and elevators from any of the 
 lodge rooms. 
 
 In connection with the banquet hall are two entrance halls 
 with toilet for men, toilet and dressing room for women, 
 and coat and hat room. The service part consists of a large 
 kitchen, store room, and pantry, to which supplies can be 
 brought direct from the sidewalk. 
 
 The power part of the basement consists of boiler and 
 pump room, elevator machinery, coal vaults, and fan room for 
 supplying fresh air to the banquet hall. 
 
 A large auditorium, practically at sidewalk level, occupies 
 almost the entire first floor, seats about 1,500 people, and 
 carries out all the requirements of the District of Columbia 
 government to prevent fire and casualties from false alarms 
 and panics. The room is also designed as a music hall, for 
 use of choral societies or oratorio concerts, as well as for 
 especial Masonic rites. 
 
 An unusually fine floor has been provided in the auditorium 
 for dancing, and when balls are given the banquet hall is fre- 
 quently used as a supper room, with separate stairways, dress- 
 ing, coat, and toilet rooms, as described. 
 
 The auditorium is well provided with exits directly to the 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 167 
 
 sidewalk having practically an entrance at each of its four 
 comers. Access to the auditorium can also be had from the 
 main entrance lobby of the Temple. In addition to this lobby, 
 which repeats on each floor, there are two elevators and a stair- 
 way. 
 
 A mezzanine story, on a level with the gallery of the au- 
 ditorium, contains the office of the Board of Managers of the 
 building. 
 
 On the second floor a spacious lobby opens from the public 
 ^ace and gives access to the offices of the Grand Master and 
 the Grand Secretary, the Grand Chapter and Grand Com- 
 mandery rooms, the Library, and two ample lodge rooms, one 
 of which is located on the south side, and the other on the 
 north side of the building. The lodge room, including ante- 
 rooms, on the south side, is occupied under lease by the Masonic 
 Mutual Life Association of the District of Columbia, and the 
 room on the north side is occupied by several Chapters of the 
 Order of the Eastern Star. The Library room is of generous 
 dimensions and the most modern equipment, the sectional 
 bookcases containing an unusually large collection of works of 
 special, fraternal, and general interest, and the walls being 
 adorned with a practically complete set of oil portraits of de- 
 ceased Past Grand Masters. Special attention has been paid 
 to the comfort of the habitues in the matter of the most 
 approved furnishings, the latter going somewhat beyond the 
 ordinarily rigorous demands of a library and adding a touch 
 of the freedom of the lounging-room, an experiment which, 
 it is interesting to note, has resulted in no abridgment of the 
 rights of the readers and students to quiet and the absence of 
 distracting influences. On this as on all the floors ample cloak, 
 ante, and toilet rooms are provided. 
 
 The third floor is devoted to blue lodge Masonry and con- 
 tains two lodge rooms of slightly varying dimensions, the one 
 on the southern side of the building, with a measurement of 
 31 feet by 73 feet 8 inches, being designated as " Lodge Room 
 No. 1," and that on the northern, measuring 30 feet 6 inches 
 by 57 feet 4 inches, as " Lodge Room No. 2." The larger room. 
 
1 68 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 which is handsomely upholstered in blue leather with appro- 
 priately-toned carpet, is occupied by the Grand Lodge, and 
 Lodges Nos. 1, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 19, while the 
 smaller, furnished with leather upholstering, and in addition 
 to its other attractions having a handsome pipe-organ built 
 into a recess, is occupied by Lodges 3, 13, 18, 20, 23, 26, 31, 
 and 32. In addition to cloak and toilet rooms, unusually com- 
 modious ante, preparation, and locker rooms are provided, to- 
 gether with four secluded and comfortably furnished exam- 
 ination rooms. 
 
 The fourth floor, with two assembly rooms of practically 
 corresponding sizes to those on the third floor, is devoted to 
 the Capitular and Templar bodies ; the larger of the two rooms 
 being used by the Grand Commandery, and Commanderies 
 Nos. 1, 2, and 4, K. T., and the smaller by the Grand Chapter of 
 R. A. M., and R. A. Chapters Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 ; Wash- 
 ington Council, No. 1, and Adoniram Council, No. 2, Royal 
 and Select Masters, and Convention of High Priests. Both 
 rooms are handsomely furnished, the tone of the decorations 
 in each being red and the details appropriate and elaborate. 
 In addition to the various supplementary rooms on the floor 
 below an Armory, a Prelate's Chamber and other apartments 
 necessary to the proper rendition of the several Capitular de- 
 grees and Templar orders are provided and properly equipped 
 by the bodies interested. 
 
 The fifth and last floor is occupied largely by an auditorium, 
 which with its gallery is capable of seating 800. A large 
 stage is the special feature of this room. Aside from the 
 necessary additional rooms, four dressing rooms are con- 
 veniently placed, while upon the mezzanine floor on the gal- 
 lery level, a commodious room adapted to use as a lounging 
 room, together with other rooms suitable for any purpose, 
 provide the possibility of most convenient and luxurious ar- 
 rangement. At the time this history goes to press this entire 
 floor is occupied under lease by the Law Department of the 
 George Washington University. 
 
 The building throughout is fitted with a system of forced 
 
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IN THE DISTRICT OF COIvUMBIA 169 
 
 ventilation, is equipped with the most modern assemblage of 
 appliances for electric lighting, and is adequately heated by 
 steam. 
 
 With the completion, dedication, and occupancy of the Tem- 
 ple by the Craft, the question of the advisabihty of placing 
 the title to the property in the Grand Lodge received early 
 consideration by the Board of Managers of the Masonic Tem- 
 ple Association, and at a meeting of said Board, held Novem- 
 ber 28, 1908, in a spirit of greatest fraternity and having the 
 welfare of Masonry at heart, and their work having been done 
 only for the benefit and good of the Craft, the Managers by 
 unanimous vote adopted the following resolution : 
 
 WhSreas, The erection of the new Masonic Temple has been com- 
 pleted, and as it seems to be the prevailing opinion among the Fraternity 
 of this jurisdiction that the title as well as the control of the property 
 should be vested in the Grand Lodge, therefore, 
 
 Be it resolved, That the Masonic Temple Association requests the 
 Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia to appoint a committee of five 
 to meet with a similar committee from the Masonic Temple Association 
 for the purpose of conferring as to the advisability and the best means 
 to adopt in order that the title and control of the property may become 
 vested in the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Grand Master A. B. Coolidge presented said resolution to 
 the Grand Lodge at the annual communication, held Decem- 
 ber 16, 1908, and it was unanimously adopted. Grand Master 
 Coolidge appointed a committee on behalf of the Grand 
 Lodge, consisting of M. W. Bros. Lurtin R. Ginn and Walter 
 A. Brown, and W. Bros. Albert F. Fox, William F. Gude, 
 and Isaac Birch. The committee appointed on behalf of the 
 Masonic Temple Association consisted of M. W. Bros. James 
 A. Sample, William G. Henderson, and James A. Wetmore 
 and W. Bros. Samuel R. Bond and Tliomas P. Morgan. 
 
 The joint committee gave earnest consideration to the ques- 
 tion of the transfer of ownership and control of the Temple 
 to the Grand Lodge and at a special communication of the 
 Grand Lodge, held November 20, 1909, the committee on the 
 part of the Grand Lodge made an exhaustive report of the 
 
170 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 financial condition and operation of the Temple Association, 
 past and present, setting out fully certified exhibits furnished 
 the committee by the President, Secretary, and Chairman of 
 the Board of Audit of the Association. This report will be 
 found in the Grand Lodge Proceedings for 1909. The com- 
 mittee, after a full discussion in its report of its reasons there- 
 for, made the following recommendations which were unan- 
 imously adopted with the greatest enthusiasm by the Grand 
 Lodge: 
 
 1. That the Grand Lodge accept the management of the business affairs 
 of the new Masonic Temple, and thereby its practical ownership, pro- 
 vided that there shall be donated to it for such purpose at least ninety 
 per cent of the entire stock held and owned by individuals and organiza- 
 tions, such donation to be absolute and unconditional, and provided that 
 the act of incorporation of the Masonic Temple Association shall be 
 so amended as to permit such management and practical ownership. 
 
 3. That conditioned upon the performance of recommendation numbered 
 one by the Masonic Temple Association, the Grand Lodge levy a pro 
 rata assessment according to membership upon the several constituent 
 lodges of the jurisdiction, under the authority contained in section nine- 
 teen of the Constitution of the Grand Lodge, of one dollar per capita 
 per annum pro rated according to membership on September thirtieth 
 of each year, the first assessment to be levied and payable upon the 
 returns of the constituent lodges for the Masonic year ending September 
 thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ten. 
 
 3. That the Masonic Temple Association be required, for the purpose 
 of making the aforesaid change, to secure the donation and transfer 
 to the Grand Lodge of the requisite amount of stock, and to obtain the 
 necessary legislation in the premises. 
 
 It it but just to the committee to say here that because of the 
 completeness and thoroughness of the report not a single 
 change was suggested in either the report or the recommenda- 
 tions. 
 
 After said communication the joint committee of the Grand 
 Lodge and the Temple Association continued its labors, and 
 at the communication of the Grand Lodge, held May 11, 1910, 
 the committee on the part of the Grand Lodge reported that 
 " Through the noble and unselfish generosity of the several 
 constituent lodges of symbolic Masonry, the Grand and con- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COtrUMBIA 17I 
 
 stituent Chapters of Royal Arch Masonry, the Grand and 
 constituent Commanderies of Knights Templar Masonry, 
 Washington Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, the 
 several bodies located here of the Ancient and Accepted Scot- 
 tish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, Almas Temple, Ancient 
 Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Chapters of the 
 Order of the Eastern Star, the Masonic and Eastern Star 
 Home, and a large number of the individual members of the 
 Fraternity, there is now in the hands of the Trustees of the 
 Grand Lodge, donated and assigned to it unconditionally, 
 more than ninety per cent, of the stock outstanding of the 
 Masonic Temple Association." 
 
 The committee further reported that the following legisla- 
 tion had been obtained : 
 
 (Public— No. 90.) 
 
 (S. 3889.) 
 
 An Act to Amend an Act to Incorporate the Masonic Temple Association 
 
 of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled 
 "An Act to incorporate the Masonic Temple Association of the District 
 of Columbia,'' approved the fifteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and 
 ninety-eight, be, and the same hereby is, amended by adding to and as a 
 part of section three of the said Act the following : 
 
 At the annual election of the board of managers and at all other 
 stockholders' meetings of the said Masonic Temple Association, each 
 body owning capital stock of the said corporation shall be entitled to one 
 vote for each share of stock held by it. 
 
 Approved, March 23, 1910. 
 
 The committee suggested certain changes in the Grand 
 Lodge constitution necessary to accomplish Grand Lodge 
 ownership, control, and management of the business affairs 
 of the Temple thro a board of managers elected by it. Among 
 the changes suggested was one providing for a standing com- 
 mittee of the Grand Lodge to be known as the Committee on 
 Masonic Temple, which should be a special board of trustees 
 to hold in trust the shares of stock of the Masonic Temple As- 
 sociation owned by the Grand Lodge, and to represent the 
 
172 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Grand Lodge and be its proxies and vote its stock at all stock- 
 holder's meetings of the Temple Association. 
 
 Another suggestion was that the Temple Association so 
 amend its by-laws as to provide for a board of managers con- 
 sisting of seven members instead of some forty-odd members 
 as theretofore. 
 
 The amendments to the Grand Constitution suggested by 
 the committee were unanimously adopted at a communication 
 of the Grand Lodge, held September 24, 1910. 
 
 Grand Master Ober named Bros. Lurtin R. Ginn, Walter 
 
 A. Brown, John H. Small, Jr., Albert F. Fox, and William G. 
 Henderson, first as the special Committee on Masonic Temple, 
 authorized at the May, 1910, communication and then as the 
 standing Committee on Masonic Temple, authorized by the 
 amendment adopted at the September, 1910, communication. 
 
 At a stockholders' meeting of the Temple Association, held 
 October 17, 1910, adjourned from October 1, 1910, the fol- 
 lowing named brethren were elected a board of managers to 
 serve until the annual meeting of the stockholders of the As- 
 sociation in January, 1911 : Bros. James A. Sample, Augustus 
 
 B. Coolidge, Thomas C. Noyes, George E. Fleming, Charles 
 E. Howe, E. C. Graham, and Charles S. Hillyer. On October 
 34th the Board organized by the election of Augustus B. Cool- 
 idge as President; Thomas C. Noyes, Vice-President, and 
 James A. Sample as Treasurer, with the following, not mem- 
 bers of the Board: F. R. Underwood, Secretary, and H. K. 
 Simpson, James B. Lambie, and Lafayette Leaman, Auditing 
 Committee. 
 
 Thus, as was intended from the beginning, the practical 
 ownership, control, and management of the Temple passed to 
 the Grand Lodge, where of right they should be. None of the 
 brethren worked more earnestly and zealously to this end 
 than the little band of officers and members of the Temple 
 Association, who labored so loyally and so unselfishly from 
 the commencement of the Temple movement in 1898 to the 
 completion of the building in 1908, and thereafter until the 
 Temple actually passed to the control of the Grand Lodge. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 73 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE LODGES IN DETAIL. 
 
 BRIEF HISTORY OE EACH BLUE LODGE, LIVING OR EXTINCT, 
 
 UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE GRAND LODGE 
 
 OF THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. 
 
 The FOLLOWING OUTLINE SKETCHES are designed simply to 
 cover those events in the history of each lodge which bear 
 broadly upon the general subject of Symbolic Masonry in this 
 jurisdiction, the less important happenings, of special interest 
 to only a limited number, being left to the Historians of the 
 various lodges. 
 
 FEDERAL LODGE, NO. 1. 
 
 In the year 1793 a handful of Master Masons in the Federal 
 City, finding the long journey to Lodge No. 9, of Maryland, 
 located in Georgetown, an irksome task, not only by reason of 
 the distance, but the character of the route, running through 
 woods, across swamps and streams and along foot and bridle 
 paths, and perhaps, also, being influenced by a desire to take 
 a more prominent part in the approaching cornerstone laying 
 of the Capitol Building, asked and obtained a dispensation 
 from No. 9, Georgetown, according to the custom of the time, 
 to hold a lodge in the City of Washington. 
 
 Foremost in this movement was the original architect of the 
 
174 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Executive Mansion and Capitol, James Hoban, an Irishman, 
 and, what was not unusual in those days, at once an active 
 Mason and a devout Romanist. 
 
 A room in the dwelling of one of the members, on New 
 Jersey Avenue, just south of the Capitol, was fitted up for 
 use, and in the summer of the year mentioned the lodge 
 came into existence. 
 
 At a meeting of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, held Sep- 
 tember 12, 1793, the following petition, bearing date Septem- 
 ber 6, 1793, was received, and is deemed of sufficient historical 
 interest to warrant reproduction in full : 
 
 To the Right Worshipfull the Grand Lodge of Maryland: 
 
 The petition of James Hoban, C. Worthy Stephenson, and Andrew 
 Eastave respectfully showeth — 
 
 That your petitioners, residents of the city of Washington, in the 
 District of Columbia, in the State of Maryland, and were very desirous of 
 labouring in the avocation of Free and Accepted Ancient York Masonry, 
 and therefore petitioned your Lodge, No. 9, for a Dispensation for that 
 purpose, which Dispensation they, with all the charity and brotherly love 
 to promote the Craft, have granted, and is attendant herewith. But your 
 petitioners, finding in the city of Washington a number of Free Masons 
 and many other worthy men, now Cowans, that are desirous to be initiated 
 into our ancient myteries and congregate into a Lawful Lodge — 
 
 Your petitioners have therefore thought proper to pray your Ancient, 
 Honorable, and RespectfuU Body to grant them a charter, investing them 
 as usual with full power to work in all the various Mystical Degrees of 
 Ancient York Masonry; also to enter, pass, raise, and exalt in our Royal 
 Art such as are worthy, under the title of the Federal Lodge, No. 15, in 
 the city of Washington; you appointing until the next anniversary of St. 
 John the Evangelist James Hoban, Worshipfull Master; C. Worthy 
 Stephenson, Senior Warden, and Andrew Eastave, Junior Warden. 
 
 Your petitioners further beg leave to observe that they have attended 
 herewith a letter of recommendation from your Junior Grand Warden, 
 to whom we are all personally known, with these documents, and a con- 
 sciousness of their good wishes and intention to work for the good of 
 the Craft, and there being as yet no opportunity in the city of Washing- 
 ton, they therefore do hope that your sublime body will grant the prayer 
 of our petition, and they as in duty bound will revere and acknowledge. 
 
 Done in the city of Washington, this 6th day of September, A. L. 5793, 
 A. D. 1793. 
 
 James Hoban, 
 
 C. Worthy Stephenson, 
 
 Andrew Eastave. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 75 
 
 The petition was granted, and the charter or " warrant" 
 issued, with the title Federal Lodge, No. 15, Bro. C. Worthy 
 Stephenson having previously paid into the hands of the Grand 
 Secretary £5 for the warrant, and thirty shillings, his perqui- 
 site for drawing the same. 
 
 Six days later, the lodge not yet having been constituted, 
 the Master Masons to whom the above warrant had issued, 
 made their first public appearance as a separate organization 
 by taking part in the procession and ceremonies incident to 
 the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol, on which oc- 
 casion Bro. Stephenson, the then Senior Warden, had the 
 honor of acting as Grand Marshal, and the membership 
 of eight or ten, temporarily increased by visiting brethren 
 to about twenty, made a brave showing " in elegant badges 
 and clothing." 
 
 In addition to the Grand Marshal, Federal was represented 
 in the active ceremonies by Bro. Collin Williamson, one 
 of the founders of the Lodge and Master Stonemason of the 
 Capitol, who, in full Masonic regalia, personally superintended 
 the setting of the stone. 
 
 The earliest known list of members is found in the pro- 
 ceedings of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, under date of 
 December 30, 1794, and is as follows : 
 
 Clot Worthy Stephenson, W. M. ; William Coghlan, S. W. ; 
 Bernard Crook, J. W. ; James Hoban, Treasurer ; James 
 Dougherty, Secretary ; David Gumming, S. D. ; Redmond Pur- 
 cell, J. D. ; John Dickey and James Houston, Stewards ; John 
 Crocker, Andrew Eastave, Collin Williamson, Lewis William- 
 son, and William Knowles, Master Masons. 
 
 The charter of the Lodge, as was not unusual at that time, 
 empowered it to confer the R. A. degree and a Royal Arch 
 encampment, probably the first in the jurisdiction, was formed 
 within the lodge in the first years of its existence. 
 
 A temporary home was found on New Jersey Avenue, S. E., 
 but in 1796 a more central location was had in the "Little 
 Hotel," north side of F Street, above Fourteenth. 
 
 For several years thereafter the lodge does not seem to 
 
176 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 have prospered and by 1798 had reached such a low ebb 
 that the then Worshipful Master, Alex. McCormick, set about 
 a complete reorganization. The thoroughness of this operation 
 may be surmised from the fact that the list of members, 
 sixteen in all, which constituted the roster in 1798, contains 
 no single name which appeared on the list furnished the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland in 1794. 
 
 In the year 1804 the lodge, in connection with Columbia, 
 No. 19, bought a lot of ground on Eleventh Street, north- 
 west, just below Pennsylvania Avenue, and erected a two- 
 story building, known as Union Lodge Room, afterwards 
 used by the so-called Freemasons of African Descent, until 
 pulled down, a few years ago, to make room for the present 
 City Post-office. 
 
 At the May communication of the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land in 1806, the charter of the lodge was suspended, on 
 information that unworthy characters were being made Masons 
 therein; but the suspension only lasted for six months, at 
 the expiration of which time the Grand Lodge, having dis- 
 covered the erroneous character of its information, made 
 the amende honorable, restored the charter, and bore the 
 expense of the appeal made by the lodge. 
 
 In 1807, the day of meeting, which had been Sunday, was 
 changed to the first Monday in each month. 
 
 In the movement looking to the formation of a local Grand 
 Lodge, Federal took a prominent part, the first convention 
 called for that purpose being presided over by Bro. Alex. 
 McCormick, and having as its Secretary Bro. Charles Glover, 
 both members of the lodge. 
 
 Upon the formation of the Grand body, the title of the 
 lodge naturally became Federal, No. 1, both by reason of 
 seniority and the active prominence of its membership. 
 
 In 1811, internal dissensions led to the withdrawal of 
 eight members, who obtained a charter as Lebanon Lodge, 
 No. 7. 
 
 In 1821, the membership had increased to twenty-nine, 
 a reasonably prosperous growth under the then conditions. 
 
ELDRED G. DAVIS, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1877-1878; GRAND COMMANDER, 1898. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 77 
 
 In the Spring of 1831, the lodge again moved, this time 
 occupying the lodge room in the recently erected Central Ma- 
 sonic Hall, Four-and-a-half (John Marshall Place) and D 
 Streets, Northwest. 
 
 The anti-Masonic period, in the thirties, was a troublous 
 time for the lodge, and by October, 1834, so many members 
 had dropped out that a motion was carried to surrender the 
 charter, but the resolution was not presented to the Grand 
 Lodge at the time, being withheld by the Grand Master 
 of that year, Clement T. Coote, a Past Master of Federal, 
 in order, it is supposed, that he might have the semblance of 
 a lodge behind him. On November 1, 1836, however, an 
 immediate surrender was ordered and carried into effect. One 
 year later the charter was restored, at the request of twelve 
 brethren, and entered upon a period of reverses and struggles 
 which lasted for a decade, the first and one of the most serious 
 troubles being the loss in 1843, of the funds invested in 
 Central Masonic Hall. 
 
 A temporary home was found at the northwest corner 
 of Pennsylvania Avenue and Twelfth Street, N. W., where 
 it held together for two years, when, again discouraged, on 
 June 3, 1848, a motion was carried to return the charter. 
 While this was not actually carried into effect, yet no lodge 
 opened for more than a year. 
 
 In July, 1846, the lodge again met, and voted to revoke 
 the resolution of surrender and to remove to the Medical 
 College Building, northeast corner of Tenth and E Streets, 
 Northwest. 
 
 An era of comparative prosperity now set in, and in 1848 
 the roster contained nearly fifty names. 
 
 Besides Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, Federal, in 1849, recom- 
 mended the petition of California Lodge, No. 13; in 1853, 
 that of Centennial, No. 14, and in 1853 stood sponsor for 
 B. B. French, No. 15. 
 
 The wanderings of the lodge were not yet over, and in 
 1854 a change was made to the Masonic Hall on the south- 
 west corner of Ninth and D Streets, Northwest, where it 
 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 remained until the completion of the Temple at Ninth and 
 F Streets, Northwest, in 1870, when it took joint possession 
 of the room which for nearly forty years remained its home, 
 the final move being to its present quarters in the new Temple. 
 
 From the close of the Civil War, when the membership 
 amounted to about 200, the growth of the lodge has been 
 steady, and the return for the year 1910 shows a list of 
 395 Master Masons in good standing. 
 
 In all the public functions in which the local Craft has 
 taken part Federal Lodge has been prominent, among the 
 more notable, in addition to the cornerstone laying of the 
 Capitol building, being the cornerstone laying of the Washing- 
 ton JMonument, in 1848 ; the cornerstone laying of the Capitol 
 extension, in 1851; the dedication of the Washington Monu- 
 ment, in 1885; and the exercises commemorative of the cen- 
 tennial of the death and Masonic burial of Gen. Washington, 
 in 1899. 
 
 The centennial celebration of the birthday of the lodge 
 was held on the evenings of September 11 and 13, 1S93, 
 and was marked by a most excellent literary and musical 
 program, in the Music Hall of the Temple on the first night, 
 to which were invited the members, their ladies and visitors, 
 and concluded on the second by an elaborate banquet at the 
 Ebbitt House, Fourteenth and F Streets. 
 
 In the new Temple project, initiated in the closing years 
 of the last century, the lodge has been prominent and active, 
 doing excellent service at both of the great Fairs and the 
 May Festival, held at intervals for the furtherance of that 
 object. 
 
 The lodge is fortunate in having become the beneficiary, 
 in 1899, of the sum of $20,000 by the will of the late Anthony 
 Buchley, a former member, which bequest is used exclusively 
 as a charity fund. 
 
 Federal Lodge has furnished five Grand Masters directly, 
 viz: Alex. McCormick, 1812-13; Samuel Burch, 1825; Clem- 
 ent T. Coote, 1834; Robert B. Donaldson, 1869-70; and 
 Walter A. Brown, 1906; and, indirectly, Daniel Kurtz, of 
 
IN the; district op Columbia 179 
 
 No. 5, in 1818, and William Hewitt, of No. 7, in 1830, both 
 originally members of No. 1. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters follows : 
 
 Goff A. Hall, 60-61; John D. Bartlett, 68; Geo. D. Patten, 
 71; Winfield S. Jenks, 78; Isaac Fairbrother, 82-83; Wm. 
 H. Proctor, 84 ; Wm. W. Lesh, 85 ; John S. Tomlinson, 87-88 ; 
 Geo. Z. Colison, 89-90; Wm. R. Sheid, 92; Wm. T. Reed, 
 93; Wm. S. Knox, 94; S. Edwin Tomlinson, 95; Joannis 
 J. Faber, 96*; Hosmer M. Johnson, 96*; Walter A. Brown, 
 96; Marion Dorian, 97; Richard B. Nixon, 98; Wm. M. 
 Somerville, 99* ; Harry M. McDade, 99 ; Theodore Friebus, 
 00*; Harry B. Mason, 00; Jas. R. S. Dickens, 02; Alfred J. 
 Arnold, 03 ; Ralph W. Lee, 05 ; Jos. R. Fague, 06 ; Israel D. 
 Yocum, 07*; Percy G. Smith, 08; Geo. H. Townsend, 09; 
 Abram R. Serven, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 
 William A. Harries, W. M. ; Wi'lliam T. Richardson, S. 
 W., and William T. Ballard, J. W. 
 
 ALEXANDRIA-BROOKE LODGE, NO. 2. 
 
 Popularly known as Brooke Lodge, was the second Masonic 
 Lodge in Alexandria, Va., being granted a dispensation June 
 1, 1796, by Grand Master Brooke, of Virginia, after whom 
 the lodge was named, and receiving a charter from the Grand 
 Lodge of Virginia, November 29th of the same year, author- 
 izing them " to hold a regular lodge in the town of Alexandria, 
 in the County of Fairfax, designated to be recorded and 
 known by the name of ' Brooke Lodge, No. 47,' " This lodge 
 was one of the original five forming the Grand Lodge of 
 the District in 1811, at which time it surrendered its Virginia 
 charter and received one from the newly-created Grand Lodge, 
 with the title " Alexandria-Brooke Lodge, No. 2." 
 
 The first three officers in 1796 were Charles Jones, Master; 
 John Harper, S. W., and Alex. McConnell, J. W., while in 
 
 * AfBliated. t Honorary. 
 
l8o HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 addition to Bro. Jones the East was filled during the life of the 
 lodge by the following brethren: Dr. John Richards, Amos 
 Alexander, Dr. James Carson, Thomas Towers, Robert 
 Brockett, Jr., Richard Rock, John Kincaid, and James Gait. 
 
 The lodge erected a hall on St. Asaph Street, between 
 King and Cameron, in which its meetings were held, in which 
 also Brooke R. A. Chapter, No. 3, held its convocations, and 
 where Evangelical Lodge, No. S, in 1830, also found a home. 
 
 The most amicable relations were sustained between this 
 lodge and Alexandria- Washington Lodge, No. 22, the two 
 frequently coming together in joint celebrations and feasts, 
 and the fact that they belonged to different jurisdictions seems 
 never to have marred the harmony of their intercourse. 
 
 In the earlier days Brooke Lodge officiated in the laying 
 of a number of cornerstones, this function, however, being 
 yielded to the Grand Lodge upon its formation. 
 
 Six brethren of this lodge attained high place in the Grand 
 Line, Amos Alexander, however, being the only one to fill the 
 station of Grand Master. 
 
 While prosperous and healthy for a number of years, the 
 approach of the anti-Masonic wave had a blighting influence, 
 and in 1833, the lodge, not then having been represented in the 
 Grand Lodge for several years and practically having ceased 
 to exist, the Grand Marshal was ordered to proceed to Alex- 
 andria and obtain the charter. Failing to accomplish this he 
 was instructed, December 27, 1833, to make further attempt, 
 and also if the value of the tools, implements, and jewels of 
 the lodge was greater than the amount of its debts, to seize 
 such surplus and hold subject to the order of the Grand Lodge ; 
 but it was not until August 7, 1838, that the charter, tools, 
 jewels, and implements were surrendered, the ceremony being 
 performed on that date by Dr. James Carson " in a most 
 graceful and affecting manner." 
 
 Following is the earliest available roster, that of 1821 : 
 Robert Brockett, R. W. M. ; Richard Cook, W. S. W. ; Amos 
 Alexander, W. J. W. and P. M. ; James Carson, Secretary 
 and P. M. ; Nicholas Blasdell, Treasurer ; John Boyd, S. D. ; 
 
HORACE A. WHITNEY, 
 GRAND Master, 1879. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA l8l 
 
 John C. Tyler, J. D.; Thomas Shields, Tyler; Edward A. 
 May, Steward; James Millan, Robert Brockett, Sr., Robert 
 Henderson, John McLeod, Albert De Valengen, John A. Leng- 
 don, John B. Swan, William Stewart, John B. Hill, John W. 
 Beedle, Samuel F. Goodwin, Wm. Devaughn, Benjamin Dyer, 
 Robert Sands, John Manery, John Rodgers, Joseph T. Hallo- 
 well, Paul Stephens, Joseph Caving, and George Talbott, 
 Master Masons, and James Gregsby, F. C, Isaac McLain, 
 Thos. C. TuUy, and John Leviatt are shown withdrawn, and 
 Wm. H. Hannon, deceased. 
 
 COLUMBIA LODGE, NO. 3. 
 
 This lodge, the second of the name in this section, came into 
 existence by charter from the Grand Lodge of Maryland No- 
 vember 8, 1803, with the lineal number 35. At the time of its 
 formation Masonry was at a rather low ebb. Federal Lodge, 
 the only other lodge existing, having fallen upon a period of 
 depression; but with the injection of new blood into the 
 Fraternity this soon passed, and in a short time the two lodges 
 united in the erection of the first Masonic building in the city, 
 the old Union Lodge Room on Eleventh Street, N. W. Prev- 
 ious to this action the new lodge met in a building known as 
 Lovell's Hotel, on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, 
 near Fifteenth Street, N. W., afterward called Washington 
 Hotel, then Tennyson's, and later Standford's. 
 
 The first three officers were : Brothers Charles Jones, W. 
 M. ; Patrick Kain, S. W., and John Burns, J. W., while the 
 following composed the earliest available list of members : 
 Brothers Orlando Cooke, Bernard Dolar, Ninian Bell, Isaac 
 Wilson, John Heron, Samuel Russ, John Dobbyn, Francis 
 Pick, Nathaniel Segar, Joseph Johnson, Robert Spider, James 
 Walker, Thomas Herty, James N. Robertson, Thomas 
 Greeves, Andrew Earth, J. C. Shindle, and Nicholas Whelan, 
 the majority of whom are said to have been employes of the 
 Treasury Department. 
 
l82 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 While the lodge had been working under dispensation for 
 some little time previous to obtaining its charter, the usual 
 record of its operations was not presented to the Grand Lodge 
 with its application, but the omission was not held to be fatal, 
 in view of the strong recommendation of the officers of Fed- 
 eral Lodge. 
 
 Columbia Lodge took an active part in the formation of the 
 Grand Lodge of the District in 1811. and its first blaster, 
 Brother Charles Jones, was honored by being elected the first 
 Grand Secretary, his death during the same year, however, 
 preventing his serving the full term. 
 
 While the first return to the new Grand Lodge shows a 
 marked falling off in membership, only sixteen names being 
 listed, the lodge seems early to have taken a new impetus, and 
 the gain in the next few years, when the limited field is con- 
 sidered, was at least satisfactory, having increased to twenty- 
 seven in 1814, and reached the maximum of its early history 
 in 1828, the roster in that year containing forty-two names. 
 
 In 1833, the date of the last existing return to the Grand 
 Lodge of the first period, the list had dwindled to eleven, and 
 as this constitutes the only documentary evidence of the per- 
 sonnel at that time, a subject which became one of importance 
 when, in after years, an attempt was made to revive the lodge, 
 it is here given : Brothers William Duncan, W. M. ; M. Hur- 
 ley, S. W. ; A. Van Cobble, J. W. ; C. Byrne, S. D. ; J. Wade 
 J. D., and M. Caton, J. Douglass, N. Nicholass, Alex. Clarke, 
 S. Sherwood, Secretary, M. A. Guista, M. Isl. Hohne, and N. 
 Eaton. As the lodge continued for four years more to eke 
 out an existence, and, indeed, in 1835, through reorganization 
 gave some promise of renewed life, it is possible, but improb- 
 able, that this list was materially increased. 
 
 November 7, 1837, the Grand Lodge was asked to accept 
 the charter and other property of the lodge, but decided to 
 lay the matter on the table. Subsequently, on May 1, 183S, 
 a special committee having considered the matter, it was re- 
 solved to relieve Brother F. L. Grammer, the R. W. Master 
 of Columbia Lodge, upon whose application action was taken, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 183, 
 
 of the possession of the charter, tools, jewels, and implements 
 of said lodge, as it had ceased to work; and it was further 
 resolved that the property be laid up for the use of any five 
 members of said lodge who might apply for the same in the 
 future. After some little trouble, growing out of an unsatis- 
 fied Tyler's bill, the matter was finally settled November 9, 
 1838, and the charter and other belongings remained in the 
 custody of the Grand Lodge for nearly three decades. 
 
 While a numerously signed petition for revival of the 
 charter bearing date of March 3, 1857, was presented to the 
 Grand Master for his dispensation it was refused on con- 
 stitutional grounds, but being renewed as a simple request for 
 a new lodge, resulted in the formation of Dawson Lodge, No. 
 16, and it was not until December 38, 1863, that a petition 
 for the return of the charter, signed by Brothers Wm. Cooper, 
 Samuel Sherwood, Thomas Donoho, Jos. Bryan, and James 
 Lawrenson, formerly members of No. 3, was presented to 
 the Grand Lodge. The matter going over, and being re- 
 vived at the meeting of November, 1864, the Grand Master 
 decided that the petition should have the names of three of 
 the old members of the lodge and seven names in all, where- 
 upon further action was postponed until the December com- 
 munication of the same year, when the Grand Master was 
 authorized to restore the charter upon the petition of five of 
 the members of the lodge at the time of its demise. 
 
 After a number of attempts to satisfy this requirement 
 were made in vain, a list of petitioners appearing to fulfill the 
 conditions was presented to the Grand Master, as follows : 
 James Lawrenson, Charles F. Wood, Samuel Sherwood, M. 
 Caton, Jos. Bryan, Alexander Clark, and M. A. Guista, and 
 this being accepted, the charter was formally returned April 
 12, 1865. 
 
 The lodge at once entered upon a career of uninterrupted 
 prosperity, the first return after the restoration showing twen- 
 t)'-one Master Masons, with five initiates on the way, since 
 which time a healthy growth has been maintained, the return 
 of 1910 showing the handsome total of 290. 
 
184 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Columbia has furnished three Grand Masters to the juris- 
 diction: John N. Moulder, 1836-7 (and 1830-2, 38, as a mem- 
 ber of Hiram, No. 10) ; Thomas F. Gibbs, 1891, and J. 
 Claude Keiper, the present incumbent, 1911. Besides the first 
 Grand Secretary, Charles Jones, that office was filled from 
 1836 to 1843 by James Lawrenson, Master of Columbia in 
 1835, and later an affiliate first of No. 7 and subsequently of 
 No. 1. 
 
 The following is the present list of Past Masters : 
 Josiah M. Vale, 69; Alexander F. McMillan, 79; James 
 L. Falbey, 81; Millard J. Moore, 86; William P. Tullock, 93; 
 Wilham H. Decker, 94*; Bunyan Olive, 94-95; Robert G. 
 Tinkler, 96; Samuel H. Moore, 97; Herbert Wright, 98; 
 Wm. H. Miller, 99*; J. Claude Keiper, 99; Luther F. Speer, 
 00 ; Raymond Loranz, 01* ; Louis J. Silverman, 01 ; Jas. J. 
 Horrigan, 02 ; Frank B. Curtis, 03 ; Jos. Salomon, 04 ; Walter 
 B. Harrison, 05; Walter H. Oliver, 06; Harry Wilson, 07; 
 Robert E. Burks, 08 ; Clarence T. Mclntyre, 09* ; Jacobus S. 
 Jones, 09; W. Scott Macgill, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 AA'illiam S. Herndon, W. M. ; James H. Slee, S. W., and 
 Harrv M. Bedell, J. W. 
 
 NAVAL LODGE, NO. 4. 
 
 On May 14, 1805, the Grand Lodge of Maryland issued a 
 charter to " sundry brethren working under a dispensation at 
 the Navy Yard at Washington," and from the fact of its lo- 
 cation and perhaps, also, to the fact that the War with 
 Tripoli had just ended and the country was ringing with the 
 exploits of Decatur and his fleet, may be ascribed the selec- 
 tion of the name. However that may be, the charter issued 
 in the name of Washington Naval Lodge, No. 41. 
 
 Tliis document, which is still in the possession of the lodge, 
 and in a fairly good state of preservation, gives John Davis, 
 of Able, as W. M. ; William Smith, as S. W., and John Cum- 
 mins, as J. W. 
 
NEW MASONIC TEMPLE. 
 
 Thirteenth Street and New York Avenue, Noithwest. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 185 
 
 The first available return, dated May, 1806, shows a mem- 
 bership of forty-six, in addition to the officers quoted above, 
 and is as follows: 
 
 James Burges. 
 Benjamin King. 
 Shadrack Davis. 
 Holder Spooner. 
 Kimble Easley, Sr. 
 Kimble Easley, Jr. 
 Robert Dillon. 
 Samuel Whann. 
 Anthony F. Shraub. 
 Charles C. Herford. 
 David Dobbins. 
 James B. Potts. 
 William Spooner. 
 John D. Henley. 
 Seth Carter. 
 Winlock Clarke. 
 John C. Love. 
 John Harrison. 
 John P. Lovell. 
 Isaac Davies. 
 Robert Alexander. 
 Charles W. Goldsborough. 
 William Hamden. 
 
 Samuel Lowdermilk. 
 Joseph Cassin. 
 Robert Rankin. 
 Stephen Dykes. 
 James Kemp. 
 George Brown. 
 Edward Fitzgerald. 
 John T. Brown. 
 Elisha Perry. 
 Charles D. Brodie. 
 Thomas Smith. 
 Peter B. Pravote. 
 Bartholemew Byns. 
 Joseph Tarbell. 
 James McKaraher. 
 John N. Cannon. 
 Alex. McWilliams. 
 George Dixon. 
 Charles Lacey. 
 James H. Kearney. 
 Samuel Long. 
 Robert Harrison. 
 Philip Alexander. 
 
 For the first fifteen years of its existence the lodge met in 
 a small two-story brick dwelling on Seventh Street, South- 
 east, near M, which is still standing, somewhat modernized. 
 
 In the year 1821, the increasing membership necessitating 
 more commodious quarters, a two-story building was erected 
 on the northwest corner of Fifth Street and Virginia Avenue, 
 Southeast, and this edifice possesses the distinction of being 
 one of the earliest erected in the City of Washington for ex- 
 clusively Masonic use. 
 
 The first floor in this latter structure, as in the former, was 
 
1 86 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 used for school purposes, and many East Washington citizens 
 now living received their educational start in life within its 
 walls. 
 
 This building, located in what was then the most populous 
 settlement in that part of the city, served its purpose for for- 
 ty-six years, at the expiration of which time another story 
 was added, an extension erected, and other improvements 
 made. The building never having been dedicated previously, 
 the date of the occupancy of the remodeled home in 1867 was 
 made the occasion of elaborate dedicatory ceremonies, Grand 
 Master R. B. Donaldson, then occupying the Grand East, 
 officiating. The event was made additionally memorable by 
 an appropriate historical address by Past Grand Master B. B. 
 French, a frequent visitor to and warm friend of the lodge. 
 
 For nearly thirty years this building continued to be the 
 home of the lodge, and it is well within the memory of the 
 present generation of Masons how it became the mecca for all 
 newly-made brethren in the District, and how the fame of 
 its slightly varying rendition of the third degree crowded its 
 comparatively restricted quarters with visitors from this and 
 other jurisdictions. 
 
 The increasing membership ultimately forcing the lodge to 
 seek new quarters, a large lot was purchased, in 1893, at the 
 northwest corner of Fourth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, 
 Southeast, and the erection of the present handsome building 
 at once commenced. This great work was undertaken in 
 a season of financial depression by a comparatively small 
 band of men in moderate circumstances, and the ensuing years 
 made frequent and heavy demands on the private means of 
 the brethren, yet they faltered not, but rose superior to every 
 obstacle, and have now won the assured ownership of their 
 beautiful building dedicated to Masonry and a monument to 
 the devotion of the brethren of the lodge. 
 
 On July 24, 1894, the cornerstone was laid with unusual 
 ceremony by Grand Master Henry Merrill, and on June 6, 
 1895, the building was dedicated in due and ancient form by 
 Grand Master David G. Dixon. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COIvUMBIA 187 
 
 After this last removal the membership rapidly increased 
 from 130 in 1895 to 353 in 1910. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge, in the formation of which Naval 
 Lodge, No. 4, as it then became (the " Washington" being 
 dropped), took an active part, the membership has been well 
 represented, four Past Masters having attained the East in 
 that body; Marmaduke Dove, 1839; WilHam M. Ellis, 1844; 
 Yelverton P. Page, 1863; and George C. Ober, 1910. In 
 addition to the above, each of whom served as Deputy Grand 
 Master, the latter station was also occupied by Thomas How- 
 ard, W. E. Howard, James Nokes, David McComb, and 
 Robert Clarke. This last brother, whose death occurred in 
 February, 1905, and whose remarkable career is well known 
 to many of the brethren of the jurisdiction, also served in 
 nearly every chair in the Grand line, and was Grand Treas- 
 urer from 1847 to 1854. 
 
 The oldest affiliated Master Mason in the jurisdiction at 
 the time of his death, which occurred December 20, 1909, was 
 Brother Charles H. Venable, who served as Master of Naval 
 Lodge in 1849, and who, altho bowed by the weight of years, 
 and unable latterly to attend the lodge, yet always took a lively 
 interest in everything pertaining to its welfare. 
 
 A fact worthy of special mention in connection with this 
 lodge is that throughout its life, of over a century, the charter 
 has never been surrendered nor suspended, nor has it ever re- 
 motely approached a condition that would warrant such a 
 step. 
 
 The centennial anniversary of the granting of its charter 
 was elaborately observed in a series of events commencing 
 May 14, 1905, Sunday, when the lodge attended Divine service 
 in a body, and continuing through largely attended gather- 
 ings held Monday, May 15, for the Grand Lodge and dis- 
 tinguished Masons; Tuesday, May 16, for the members, their 
 ladies and friends, and closing Thursday, May 18, with a 
 banquet for the members solely, all of which functions were 
 pitched upon an unusually high plane, and fittingly closed the 
 
1 88 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 first century of one of the most progressive lodges in this or 
 any other jurisdiction. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters follows : 
 
 Edward B. Bury, 70-71 ; William H. Hoeke, 75-76 ; Joseph 
 H. Hartley, 79; Charles Shelse, S0-S2 ; Chas. A. Stockett, 
 86—87; Arthur J. Symonds, 88-89; Chas. F. Warren, 90; 
 Philip B. Otterback, 91-92; Jas. Tindall, 92*; Millard T. 
 Dixon, 94-95; Kenton N. Harper, 96-97; Harry P. Cook, 
 98; W. T. Hebbard, 99*; Geo. C. Ober, 99; Silas A. Manuel, 
 00; Jos. E. Hodgson, 01; David S. Walton, 02, George AA'. 
 Baird, 02t ; Levi C. Blake, 04 ; Andrew J. White, 05 ; John 
 H. Wolf, 06; John Scrivener, 07; Jules A. Rodier, 08; John 
 J King, 09 : J. Frank Campbell, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 William J. Johnson, W. M. ; George A. Berry, S. W., and 
 Frank H. Kramer, J. W. 
 
 POTOMAC LODGE, NO. 5. 
 
 This lodge, if the contention is admitted that the repeated 
 revival of an organization after periods of coma by practically 
 the same individuals establishes a claim to continuous existence, 
 has the distinction of having had four dates of warranty, 
 three names, and four numbers. 
 
 Constituting, as it did for a number of years, nearly all of 
 organized ^Masonry in this section, its history is set out in de- 
 tail in the main body of this work, and will therefore be but 
 briefly treated here. 
 
 Passing over the matter of the existence of an old lodge in 
 Georgetown, called " St. Andrew's Lodge," fully dealt with in 
 Chapter I, we find that the Grand Lodge of Maryland, at a 
 meeting held April 21, 1789, granted a charter for a lodge 
 to be held in Georgetown, on Potomac River, with Charles 
 Fierer as W. M., and Alexander Grier as S. W. This lodge 
 was the second one chartered by the Grand Lodge of Alary- 
 land, and was officially known as " Lodge No. '.'," the desig- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 1 89 
 
 nation " Potomac" appearing seventeen years later in connec- 
 tion with the third lodge constituted in Georgetown. It is 
 interesting to note that this charter was granted nine days be- 
 fore the inauguration of Gen. Washington as President of the 
 United States. 
 
 Lodge No. 9, as has elsewhere been stated, took part in the 
 ceremony of laying the cornerstone of the Capitol Building 
 September 18, 1793, and to its Master at that date, Valentine 
 Reintzel (afterwards first Grand Master of the District of 
 Columbia), was given by President Washington the gavel 
 then used by him, which has been cherished ever since as a 
 precious relic not only by this lodge, which guards it jealously, 
 but by the entire jurisdiction. 
 
 In January, 1793, after the custom of the time, the lodge 
 granted a dispensation to certain of its members to open a 
 lodge at Port Tobacco, Md., to be known as St. Columbia, 
 No. 11, and, probably owing to the drain thus caused on the 
 local roster. Lodge No. 9 ceased to exist in the early part of 
 1794. 
 
 October 23, 1795, a quaint petition, elsewhere quoted, was 
 received by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, praying for a 
 charter to issue to certain brethren to form a lodge in George- 
 town, D. C, signed by the following brethren : Anthony 
 Reintzel, John Suter, Jr., George Vaughn, John Reintzel, 
 Thos. Beatty, Jr., Valentine Baganrieff, Charles Minor, James 
 Melvin, Wm. Casey, James Thompson, and Wm. Carey. Of 
 these Thos. Beatty, Jr., James Thompson, and Anthony Reint- 
 zel had been members of Lodge No. 9. The petition being 
 recommended by Federal, No. 15, the warrant was granted, 
 with the title Columbia, No. 19, and went into commission 
 with the following officers : James Melvin, W. M. ; James 
 Thompson, S. W. ; John Suter, J. W. ; John Reintzel, Secre- 
 tary; Anthony Reintzel, Treasurer. 
 
 This lodge lived a little more than a year, and during that 
 period conferred the degrees upon four candidates. The 
 complete minutes of the lodge are in the possession of Po- 
 tomac, and are extensively quoted in other pages, as valuable 
 
I go HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 historical material. About the last act of the body was the 
 election of officers for 1797. 
 
 From the opening of the latter year until November 10, 
 1806, over nine years, Georgetown remained without a Ma- 
 sonic organization, but upon the latter date the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland granted a charter to certain brethren in George- 
 town to form a lodge to be known as Potomac Lodge, No. 43. 
 This charter was not obtained without difficulty, an applica- 
 tion for the same in the preceding May having met with a 
 decided rebuff, the committee of the Grand Lodge, to whom 
 was referred said application, reporting adversely, and saying, 
 among other things, that " the present lodges of the District 
 [are] not too much filled to carry on their work." 
 
 The second petition, however, resulting as above, the new 
 lodge at once went acti-\-ely to work, and has continued with- 
 out break to the present day. 
 
 The first officers were: Thomas Pryse, W. M. ; Daniel 
 Kurtz, S. W., and John Hollingshead, J. W., while a roster of 
 the earlier members contains the following names, some of 
 which had been identified with one or both of the preceding 
 lodges : John Reintzel, James Melvin, Robert Craig, Thomas 
 Beatty, Jr., Henry Pyfer, George Lambright, Charles Stone, 
 A. L. Jonchever, Lewis Clephinia, James Green, William 
 Colder, Valentine Reintzel, William Ward, William Calder, 
 Alex. L. Jancherz, William Knowles, and James Deaver. 
 
 Potomac Lodge took an active part in the formation of 
 the Grand Lodge of the District in 1811, and at that time re- 
 cei^'ed its present number, 5 ; but there is reason to believe that 
 there was reluctance on the part of some of the members 
 to breaking away from the jurisdiction of Maryland, indica- 
 tions of dissatisfaction cropping out from time to time, and 
 finally culminating in the years 1843, 1844, and 1845 in serious 
 efforts to separate from the District Grand Lodge and to 
 enter the jurisdiction either of Maryland or Virginia, but from 
 that time to date the lodge has been one of our most pros- 
 perous and loyal lodges. Its roster in 1910 shows 253 names. 
 
 In common with nearly all of the lodges during the anti- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA I9I 
 
 Masonic excitement, a low ebb was reached in 1836-7, but 
 in 1838 a reorganization was effected by fourteen of the 
 faithful ones, and the lodge took a new lease of life. 
 
 The various meeting places of the lodge are touched upon 
 in another chapter, and it is sufficient to say here that the 
 present commodious building was completed and occupied 
 in 1859, and still remains a model structure for the purpose 
 for which erected. 
 
 Potomac Lodge has in possession a number of valuable 
 Masonic relics, the most ancient, besides the " St. Andrew's 
 Bible," being a fairly well-preserved certificate of membership 
 made out to Brother Robert Brown, and dated January 19, 
 A. L. 5793, which, perhaps, antedates any other authentic 
 Masonic document in the District. 
 
 The lodge has given to the jurisdiction five Grand Masters: 
 Valentine Reintzel, 1811 ; Daniel Kurtz, 1818-9 ; John Mason, 
 Jr., 1843; Thos. P. Chiffelle, 1886, and Malcolm Seaton, 1903, 
 which list will, in all probability, be added to in the near future 
 by the elevation of the present Grand Standard Bearer. Lem- 
 uel Towers, Jr. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows: J. Holds- 
 worth Gordon, 74, 80 ; Walter T. Wheatley, 75 ; Isaac Birch 
 83-83; John B. Thomas, 84^86; Jas. S. Hays, 89; Geo. J 
 Fritch, 91-93; Chas. W. Cornwell, 93; Thos. H. Brinkman^ 
 94 ; Wm. S. Waddey, 95 ; Edgar J. Hulse, 96 ; Jas. S. Raeburn^ 
 98-99; John A. Lacy, 00*; Frederick W. Daw, 00; Alpheus 
 W. Hudson, 01; Stanley Billheimer, 03; Benj. B. Hunt, 04 
 Chas. T. Lindsey, 05 ; Chas. H. Williams, 06 ; Lem. TowerS; 
 Jr., 07; Richard S. Clifton, 08; Irvin B. Moulton, 09; Wm 
 Clyde Hunt, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Thomas G. King, W. M.; Abram S. McCoy, S. W., and 
 Frederick C. Handy, J. W. 
 
192 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 UNION LODGE, NO. 6. 
 
 This lodge was the first chartered by the Grand Lodge of 
 the District, a petition being presented and a warrant ordered 
 to issue July 9, 1811. The document was directed to Samuel 
 B. Ellis, Master; William Ward, S. W., and AVilliam Wood, 
 J. W., while the earliest available roster, that of 1814, gives 
 the following list of members : Thomas C. Monroe, W. M. ; 
 George Adams, S. W. ; John Waters, J. W. ; Robert Brown, 
 Treas. ; John McKim, Sec. ; Jonathan Griddle, S. D. ; John 
 Woodberry, J. D. ; John Memtree, Stephen Perrey, Thomas 
 Haliday, William Wood, Fielder Parker, John W. Brashears, 
 William H. Briscoe, Joseph Ward, Walter Cox, James Kelley, 
 James Walker, Samuel Bacon, Isaac Jones, William Bishop, 
 Frederick Cana, Henry B. Joy, Samuel B. Ellis, \\'illiam 
 Smith, Henry Kurtz, Richard Robinson, Robert Armstead, 
 Benjamin Dyer, William Grille, and James Watson. To the 
 list of early members may also be added the name of Marma- 
 duke Dove, afterward Grand Master of the District. 
 
 Union Lodge was the offspring of Naval, No. 4, and drew 
 its material from the same field. The rather unusual relation- 
 ship which long existed between these two lodges is shown by 
 the following extract from " First Century of Naval Lodge, 
 No. 4:" 
 
 " Union Lodge for many years occupied the Naval Lodge 
 room as a tenant, and the connection between them at times 
 became so intimate that frequently the two lodges met in joint 
 session, the different offices being filled temporarily by selec- 
 tions from both staffs. This idealic condition, it might be 
 presumed, would lead naturally and quickly to a consolidation, 
 and, indeed, efforts were made at different times to bring about 
 this result, but in every instance failed. Overtures looking to 
 a partnership in the building enterprise, proposed by Naval 
 Lodge in the first decade of its existence, were not well re- 
 ceived, and Union Lodge remained a paying tenant throughout 
 its somewhat stormy life. In connection with this building 
 enterprise it is worthy of note that after the completion of the 
 
JOSEPH C. MCCOY, 
 
 GRAND Master, 1880; Grand High Priest, 1878. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 1 93 
 
 work referred to, when a proposition was submitted to Union 
 Lodge to become a paying tenant, said Lodge, through a com- 
 mittee, replied expressing surprise at the proposition and tak- 
 ing the remarkable ground that as the building was erected by 
 subscription expressly for the purposes of Masonry, in their 
 opinion all Masons had an equal right to the privilege of sitting 
 in it. They offered, however, to meet half the interest on the 
 deferred payments and half of the other expenses attending it 
 until such time as they had paid as much as Naval Lodge, when 
 they should be considered half owners. By what system of 
 mathematical jugglery they expected ever to catch up with 
 Naval Lodge on this basis it is difficult to conceive. Harmon- 
 ious relations were re-established, and No. 6 remained always 
 a tenant." 
 
 Previous to the final surrender of the charter troublous 
 times were experienced, and more than once the lodge tottered 
 on the brink of dissolution. In fact, the Grand Lodge, at the 
 communication of November 2, 1824, declared No. 6 extinct, 
 and ordered the surrender of the constitution, jewels, furni- 
 ture, &c. This action, however, was reconsidered at the fol- 
 lowing meeting in December of the same year. 
 
 Ten years later, in December, 1834, the delinquencies of the 
 lodge again came before the Grand Lodge, and an injunction 
 was issued by that body staying all further business transac- 
 tions of the lodge. In May of the following year an offer to 
 surrender the charter was made, but action was deferred on 
 the proposition until November, 1835, when the lodge was 
 finally declared extinct. 
 
 Union Lodge was indirectly represented in the Grand East 
 in the person of Marmaduke Dove, originally Master of No. 
 6, later of Naval, No. 4, and Grand Master in 1839, having 
 previously held the preceding subordinate offices in the Grand 
 Lodge. 
 
 Thomas Haliday, the second Master of the Lodge, served 
 as S. G. Warden in 1815, and as G. Treas. 1812-14 and 1816- 
 20; John Pic as J. G. Warden 1823-4, and William Lambert 
 as G. Secretary 1833-9. 
 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 LEBANON LODGE, NO. 7. 
 
 At the regular meeting of Federal Lodge, No. 1, October 7, 
 1811, a communication was received from nine members there- 
 of, setting forth their intention of petitioning the Grand Lodge 
 for a charter to form another lodge, and praying for a recom- 
 mendation. The instrument, while somewhat lengthy, is 
 couched in conventional terms for the most part, but has added 
 to the regular form the following rather fulsome conclusion, 
 an evident afterthought, if the fact that it is penned in a dif- 
 ferent hand may warrant that assumption : 
 
 In case of such an event [the granting of a charter] the warmest sen- 
 sibiHty of our feelings will be excited by the reflection that altho sepa- 
 rated as members of No. 1 we shall still be united as brothers working 
 under the same parent lodge, and being governed by the same principles 
 and views we will be stimulated by a spirit of emulation in the works 
 that may tend most to the honor, respectability, and advancement of the 
 principles of the Craft. Your advice and instruction we will freely 
 request when circumstances may render it necessary. And we hope you 
 will accept the assurance of our earnest solicitude for the continuance of 
 the prosperity that has heretofore attended No. 1, and be assured of the 
 respect and attachment of your friends and brothers. 
 
 No spirit of opposition could possibly live after the recep- 
 tion of this document, and accordingly, on the same evening, 
 the prayer was granted unanimously, and the recommendation 
 prepared, which, being presented, together with a petition for 
 charter, to the Grand Lodge on the following evening, October 
 8, 1811, was favorably considered, and a charter ordered to 
 issue with the name Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, the first officers 
 named being Charles Glover, Master; James Hewitt (Grand 
 Secretary at the time), S. W., and John Weigh tman, J. W. 
 
 The charter list contained the following eight names : 
 Charles Glover, James Hewitt, John Weightman, Wm. Hewitt, 
 John Peltz, Thos. B. Briscoe, Pontius D. Stelle, and Andrew 
 T. McCormick. 
 
 The first return, January 14, 1813, shows an increase of 
 membership to thirteen, and the growth until 1831 was com- 
 paratively rapid, the list in that year containing thirty-nine 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 1 95 
 
 names and leading all the other local lodges. For the succeed- 
 ing twenty years the number of members varied but little, but 
 as the anti-Masonic period was entered the lodge, in common 
 with the rest, had .somewhat of a struggle, the return of 1843 
 showing an aggregate of eleven members. 
 
 The roster of 1814, showing the personnel after two years, 
 follows : John Davidson, W. M. ; Wm. Hewitt, S. W. ; Ezekiel 
 Macdaniel, J. W. ; Washington Boyd, Treas. ; James Hewitt, 
 Sec. ; Henry Whetcroft, S. D. ; and B. H. Tomlinson, J. D. ; 
 Charles Glover, Pontius D. Stelle, John Davis, R. C. Weight- 
 inan, John Weightman, John Peltz, Samuel Hoit, Noah 
 Fletcher, Zach. Walker, David Ott, Ben. M. Belt, James H. 
 Blake, James M. Varnum, Nath. H. Heath, Isaac K. Han- 
 son, Eben McDonald, Edw. Stephens, Wm. Lambert, John 
 E. Green, and Charles Lord, with And. T. McCormick as an 
 honorary member. 
 
 With the general revival in the middle of the last century, 
 this lodge soon forged to the front, and has for a number of 
 years ranked as one of the large lodges of the District, the 
 membership at the date of this publication reaching the hand- 
 some total of 452. 
 
 As an evidence of the fraternal spirit which has always 
 marked this lodge it may be stated that the handsome marble 
 altar now in use by Naval Lodge, No. 4, was formerly the 
 property of Lebanon, and the handiwork of one of its mem- 
 bers, was used by the latter body and the other Masonic 
 lodges meeting in Central Masonic Hall, Ninth and D Streets, 
 N. W., and was, upon their removal to the new Temple at 
 Ninth and F Streets, presented by Lebanon to Naval, June 
 4, 1870. 
 
 No sketch of Lebanon Lodge, however brief, would be com- 
 plete without adverting to the remarkable Masonic career of 
 its first initiate, Roger C. Weightman, who was a continuous 
 member thereof for over sixty-four years, and who was one of 
 only three Masons in this jurisdiction who have been elected 
 to the office of Grand Master without previous service in a 
 subordinate East. 
 
196 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The first century of this progressive lodge being completed 
 October 8, 1911, elaborate preparations are making to fittingly 
 celebrate that event, in anticipation of which Bro. T. Elwood 
 Davis and W. Bro. Walter T. Paine are engaged in preparing 
 an exhaustive history of the lodge that will prove a valuable 
 addition to local Masonic literature. 
 
 Besides R. W. Brother Weightman, who served as Grand 
 Master in 1833, this lodge has furnished seven other Grand 
 Masters, as follows: John Davidson, 1815-16; Wm. Hewitt, 
 1830-31; W. W. Seaton, 1833-34; Robert Keyworth, 1840- 
 41, 43; Eldred G. Davis, 1877-78; David G. Dixon, 1895, and 
 Henry K. Simpson, 1909, each, with the exception of R. C. 
 Weightman and W. W. Seaton, having filled one or more of 
 the subordinate positions. 
 
 In addition to the above Joel Downer served as Dep. G. M., 
 1844; Andrew Glass, J. G. W., 1866, and S. G. W., 1877; 
 Jeremiah Elkins, J. G. W., 1836; James Hewitt, G. Sec, 
 1811-13 ; William Lambert (of First Meridian fame), G. Sec, 
 1833-39 ; Louis Smith, G. Sec, 1831 ; James Lawrenson, G. 
 Sec, 1836-43 (originally of No. 3 and later of No. 1) ; Robert 
 Coltman, G. Treas., 1846-48, and C. C. Duncanson, 1879- 
 1901. 
 
 Present list of Past Masters : Chas. C. Duncanson, 77 ; John 
 Boyle, 85*; Th-s. H. Young, 85; Wm. J. Acker, 86; Henry 
 K. Simpson, 87 ; Edwin L Nottingham, 88 ; Theo. G. DeMoU, 
 89 ; Eugene J. Bernhard, 90-91 ; Lewes D. Wilson, 93 ; Walter 
 W. Ludlow, 94; Summerfield G. Nottingham, 95; John H. 
 Tatspaugh, 98; John E. Walsh, 99; Daniel W. Skellenger, 
 00; Wm. C. Fowler, 01; Alfred J. Fairall, 03*; Arthur H. 
 Smith, 03; J. Gordon Jones, 03; Wm. F. Bowen, 04; Daniel 
 W. Beach, Jr., 05; Chas. S. Heinline, 06; Chas. Walsh, 07; 
 Francis I. Beach, 08; Walter T. Paine, 09; Charles Kattel- 
 mann, Jr., 10. 
 
 Officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Blair McKenzie, W. M. ; Thomas S. Sergeon, S. W., and 
 Charles S. Shreve, Jr., J. W. 
 
Grand master. 1881-1882; grand Secretary, 1867-1871; grand 
 HIGH Priest, 1874-1875; grand Secretary, R. A. M., 1867-1871 ; 
 
 GENERAL GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1886. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 197 
 
 EVANGELICAL LODGE, NO. 8, 
 
 Of Alexandria, D. C. [Va.], came into existence under dis- 
 pensation of the then Grand Master, W. W. Seaton, April 
 23, 1824, and at the next succeeding meeting of the Grand 
 Lodge, May 4, a petition regularly recommended by Brooke 
 Lodge, No. 3, being presented, praying for a warrant of con- 
 stitution, a charter was issued, in which Humphrey Peake was 
 appointed Master; Benjamin G. Thornton, S. W., and Isaac 
 Kell, J. W., of a lodge to be holden in the town of Alexandria, 
 D. C, to be known and designated as " Evangelical Lodge, 
 No. 8." 
 
 This was the third lodge chartered by Virginia and the 
 District of Columbia in Alexandria, and all flourished for a 
 number of years. 
 
 Eor a long period the new lodge met in the hall belonging to 
 Brooke Lodge, No. 2, but for the last few years of its existence 
 held its meetings in the room of Alexandria- Washington 
 Lodge, No. 22, under the jurisdiction of Virginia, thus present- 
 ing the unique spectacle of two lodges owing allegiance to 
 different Grand Lodges working together in the same territory 
 in the greatest harmony. Jurisdictional lines, however, were 
 not so tightly drawn then as now. 
 
 Coming into existence on the eve" of the period of Masonic 
 depression, the life of the lodge was comparatively short, and 
 little data in relation to it is of ayailable record. 
 
 The Grand Lodge, following its nomadic habit of the period, 
 occasionally met in the hall of this lodge, and it is of record 
 that on at least one of these occasions, altho the constitutional 
 hour of meeting was i P. M., the boat from Washington being 
 delayed (probably by adverse winds), the Grand Lodge was 
 not opened until 7 P. M. 
 
 At the meeting of the Grand Lodge, December 27, 1842, 
 there was laid before that body a copy of the proceedings of 
 Evangelical Lodge, of the 23d of the same month, wherein it 
 was decided to surrender the charter; but the Grand Lodge 
 being loath to see so promising a body dissolved, declined to 
 accept the charter and appointed a committee to visit the 
 
198 HISTORY Of FREEMASONRY 
 
 lodge and endeavor to effect an adjustment of the difficulties 
 under which they were laboring. The subsequent report of 
 this committee was discouraging, showing that of twenty-seven 
 resident members but one favored retaining the charter. The 
 Grand Lodge, however, being still reluctant to give up hope, 
 on May 2, 1843, appointed another similar committee, but be- 
 fore the latter made any report another formal surrender of 
 the charter was made December 27th of the same year, and 
 was again declined. 
 
 Altho on May 7, 1844, elaborate resolutions were passed by 
 the Grand Lodge commendatory of the membership of the 
 lodge and appointing Bro. Isaac Kell, P. Dep. Grand Master 
 for Alexandria, an emissary to endeavor " to call the Craft 
 from repose to labor," and altho Bro. H. N. Steele, of No. 8, 
 was elected Dep. G. Master for Alexandria for the year 1844, 
 the lodge was sleeping the sleep that knows no waking, and the 
 date of the last surrender of the charter, December 37, 1843, 
 may be accepted as the day of its demise. 
 
 While no member of this lodge reached the Grand East, the 
 above-mentioned and Bros. Isaac Kell and Levi Hurdle served 
 as Dep. Grand Masters, and the lodge contributed quite a num- 
 ber of incumbents for the positions of Senior and Junior Grand 
 Wardens. 
 
 The first return to the Grand Lodge, that of 1824, contains 
 sixteen names, as follows : Humphrey Peake, Benj . G. Thorn- 
 ton, Isaac Kell, James Berkley, John Hoff, James Miller, John 
 Lymburn, Robert T. Degge, Geo. W. Catlett, Isaac Robbins, 
 John Fenerden, James Jack, John T. Wheat, Pharez Throop, 
 Samuel Isaacs, and John F. Andrews, with the additional, and, 
 shall we say, irrelevant information that three of the list were 
 ministers of the Gospel. 
 
 THE NEW JERUSALEM LODGE, NO. 9. 
 
 October 14, 1824, Grand Master Seaton granted a dispensa- 
 tion, in compliance with the request of certain petitioners, em- 
 powering them to meet as a lodge, and by the power in him 
 vested appointed William Hewitt as the first Master; Henry 
 
IN TH^ DISTRICT Olf COLUMBIA 1 99 
 
 Whetcroft as the first S. W. ; and Thomas Stanley as the first 
 J. W., and upon the following evening attended a meeting of 
 the new lodge and installed the officers thereof. These facts 
 being laid before the Grand Lodge at its annual communica- 
 tion November 2, 1834, together with the petition for a char- 
 ter, the matter was referred to a committee, and upon their 
 favorable report, in which they took occasion to say that they 
 had examined the by-laws and proceedings of said lodge and 
 found " them perfectly consonant with the principles of Ma- 
 sonry," a charter was the same evening ordered to issue under 
 the name of " The New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9." 
 
 By the first return of the lodge the date of institution is 
 given as November 2, 1824, the charter date, but there exists 
 no record of any ceremony connected with that event. Said 
 return, which bears date of December 27, 1824, gives the 
 following list of members; William Hewitt, Master; Henry 
 Whetcroft, S. W. ; Thomas Stanley, J. W. ; William Kerr, 
 Jr.. Sec; Thomas Donaho, Treas. ; Gotlieb Long, S. D. ; John 
 Robinson, J. D. ; and Robert Boyd, an Entered Apprentice. 
 
 The next return, that of 1825, shows an increase to sixteen 
 Master Masons with two Entered Apprentices ; the next eight 
 years added but eight names, and the anti-Masonic period being 
 now under way, the lodge fell upon troublous times, but 
 with the advent of the '40s came a reawakening and rapid 
 growth, the membership in 1847 reaching the handsome ag- 
 gregate of sixty names, since which time, with the exception of 
 the usual seasons of depression that come to all bodies, the 
 increase has been steady, and at the present it stands in the 
 front rank of the local lodges with a roster of 515 names. 
 
 The lodge has been something of a wanderer during its life, 
 as there is evidence to show that it met originally in Union 
 Lodge Room, Eleventh Street, N. W., in Central, or Free- 
 masons' Hall, D Street and John Marshall Place ; the old Cir- 
 cus Building (now Havenner's Bakery), on C Street, near 
 John Marshall Place; (probably) in Odeon Hall, corner Penn- 
 sylvania Avenue and John Marshall Place ; old Medical College 
 Building, Tenth and E Streets, N. W. ; the new Central Ma- 
 
200 HISTORY 01? FREEMASONRY 
 
 sonic Hall, Ninth and D Streets; Hiram Lodge Room, Nine- 
 teenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. ; Masonic 
 Temple, Ninth and F Streets, and the new Temple. 
 
 That No. 9 has been an important factor in all that has made 
 for the advancement of the Fraternity locally is evidenced by 
 the fact that it has given to the jurisdiction five Grand Mas- 
 ters: William Hewitt, 1820-21 (then of No. 7), and 1828-29 
 (as of No. 9) ; William W. Billing, 1835-37; E. H. Chamber- 
 lin, 1883; Harrison Dingman, 1889, and William G.' Hender- 
 son, all of whom had previously filled one or more of the 
 subordinate offices in the Grand Lodge, while H. B. Robertson 
 served as S. G. W. in 1843 and 1845 and Dep. G. M. in 1846; 
 Joseph H. Jochum, J. G. W., 1875-76, and Dep. G. M., 1877; 
 C. Ashford, S. G. W., 1853 ; Grafton Powell, J. G. W., 1855, 
 and S. G. W., 1856; F. A. Jackson, S. G. W., 1864; Wm. J. 
 Rawlings, J. G. W., 1839; Robert Coltman, J. G. W., 1844; 
 Wm. Kerr, Jr., G. Sec, 1830-32; Charles L. Coltman, G. 
 Treas., 1835, and John M. St. John, G. Treas., 1840-41. 
 
 The present list of surviving Past Masters is as follows : 
 Aug. Lepreux, Sr., 54-55; J. Tyler Powell, 68; Jos. H. 
 Jochum, 69-70; Geo. J. Mueller, 71-72; Edmund F. Lawson, 
 76 ; Samuel T. Schofield, 77, 79 ; Andrew W. Kelley, 78 ; Wm. 
 G. Henderson, 80; Martin O'Connor, 83; Samuel S. Burdett, 
 84*; Harrison Dingman, 84; Geo. W. Nagle, Sr., 88*; Jas. B. 
 Henderson, 91; Jas. O. Roller, 93; John Henderson, Jr., 94; 
 Thos. A. Chandler, 95; W. W. Trego, 97; Edward Matthews, 
 99; Howard D. Feast, 00; Chas. C. Coombs, 01; Geo. W. 
 Smith, 03 ; J. Harry Jochum, Jr., 05 ; Thos. C. Henderson, 
 06 ; Wm. McNeir, 07 ; Edwin S. Clarkson, 08 ; John G. Scho- 
 field, 09 ; Warren J. Coffin, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 W. Ivanhoe Jochum, W. M. ; George W. Kennedy, ' S. W., 
 and Thomas Keely, J. W. 
 
HARRISON, NEAR MONROE. STREET, ANACOSTIA. UPPER FLOOR USED 
 FOR LODGE PURPOSES 
 
 Home of Anacostia l,odse. No. 21, from 1869 to 1880. 
 
 LOCATED ON PRESENT SITE; MOVED BACK WHEN PRESENT TEMPLE 
 WAS erected; LATTER ON LEFT. 
 
 Home of Anaccstia Lodge, No. 21, 1880 to 1890. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COL,UMBIA 20I 
 
 HIRAM LODGE, NO. 10. 
 
 On December 15, 1837, a petition for a dispensation to 
 form a lodge to be known as " Hiram Lodge, No. 10," signed 
 by twenty-two Master Masons who were recommended by 
 the Masters and Wardens of Lodges Nos. 4, 5, and 6 as " of 
 fair fame, good moral character, and respectable standing 
 in society," was received by Grand Master John N. Moulder, 
 who was pleased to grant the request and permit the assembly 
 of a lodge to be known as above on Tuesday, December 18, 
 1827, and to also authorize, upon the nomination of the 
 petitioners, Thos. Wilson as the first Master and Thos. Smith 
 and Charles Wilcox as the first S. and J. Wardens, respec- 
 tively. 
 
 Following are the names of the signers of said petition, 
 and constitutes, therefore, the earliest list of members of the 
 lodge: N. P. Washeart, Henry Ashton, Thomas F. Tebbs, 
 Ellis J. Thompson, Levin Belt, John Keith, Thos. Smith, 
 Andrew J. Watson, James C. Houghey, Patrick Leyne, Jno. 
 Burke, Geo. Lamb, Joseph S. Wilson, Charles Little, Jonas 
 Taylor, Thos. Wilson, Levi Washburn, Thomas Miller, Chas. 
 G. Wilcox, Edward Koontz, and John D. Cox. 
 
 The Grand Master, accompanied by several other officers 
 of the Grand Lodge, was present at the first meeting of the 
 new lodge, December 18, in its room in the " Eastern Edifice 
 of the Seven Buildings," corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 
 Nineteenth Street, N. W., and installed the officers. In a 
 short time, however, the lodge found quarters in the Town 
 Hall, in the reservation bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue, 
 Twentieth and I Streets, where they remained until 1846. 
 
 At the Grand Lodge communication of December 27, of the 
 same year, a petition for a charter or warrant of constitution 
 was received, with practically the same list of signers as ap- 
 pears on the former paper, and was unanimously granted, 
 and thus came into existence, without recorded date of formal 
 institution, the new lodge at a time when the dark clouds 
 of persecution were beginning to gather in the Masonic sky. 
 
202 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 In view of this fact, it is understandable why the first dec- 
 ade was a desperate struggle for existence, which finally- 
 culminated, in the late '30s, in a state of coma. This, how- 
 ever, lasted only a few years, as is evidenced by the following 
 extract from a report by the then Grand Secretary, James 
 Lawrenson, dated November 2, 1841 : 
 
 * * * But what will be their [the Grand Lodge] feelings of con- 
 gratulation when they are informed of the resuscitation and entire re- 
 organization of Hiram Lodge, No. 10, in the First Ward. This Lodge, 
 as is well known, has not worked as a lodge for several years before; 
 but our good brethren, who altho scattered " as sheep without a shepherd," 
 have retained their love for the Institution, and have come forward in 
 union and harmony and re-established themselves as a lodge. They have 
 commenced under the most favorable auspices, and will receive the hearty 
 support of their brethren throughout the District. May they go on and 
 prosper. 
 
 The return for 1841 shows eight names, which was in- 
 creased by 1843 to twenty-eight, and has since, with the ex- 
 ception of the usual and natural periods of stagnation, shown 
 a steady and encouraging growth, the return for the present 
 year listing a total of 366 names. 
 
 In June, 1845, the Grand Lodge met in Hiram Lodge room 
 to arrange for funeral honors to Gen. Andrew Jackson, the 
 lodge at the time occupying the old Market House and Town 
 Hall Building, on the triangxilar reservation bounded by Penn- 
 sylvania Avenue, I and Twentieth Streets. 
 
 In 1846 a new home was found in what was known as 
 " Smith's Stable," Nineteenth Street, between Pennsylvania 
 Avenue and I Street. During the occupancy this building 
 burned, and many of the lodge records were thus destroyed. 
 Another move was made in 1867, on December 6 of that year 
 the Grand Lodge dedicating a room over Redfern's store, 
 northeast corner of Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania Ave- 
 nue (or H Street), but the stay here was brief, the present 
 room at the southwest corner of Nineteenth Street and Penn- 
 sylvania Avenue, being dedicated October 30, 1873. Through 
 a series of alterations and improvements this has become a 
 model lodge home. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 203 
 
 It is worthy of note that while in the course of its existence 
 the lodge has met in five different buildings ; all of these have 
 been within a radius of several squares, giving to No. 10 the 
 prestige of antiquity among the institutions of that section of 
 the city. 
 
 That the lodge has been foremost in all the movements for 
 the betterment of the Fraternity is well illustrated by the fact 
 that in 1878, when the Grand Lodge moved its Library to the 
 ground floor of the old Temple and requested a contribution 
 from each of the subordinate lodges for rental, Hiram was the 
 only one to respond favorably, and the response was accom- 
 panied by six months' assessments in advance. 
 
 An exhaustive and readable history of the lodge, from the 
 pen of Past Master Ervin S. Hubbard, is about to be published, 
 and will be available to all interested brethren. 
 
 Hiram has given three Grand Masters to the local Craft: 
 John N. Moulder, 1826-37 (while of No. 3), and 1830-33, 
 '38 (as of No. 10) ; Wm. B. Magruder (a handsome marble 
 bust of whom adorns the lodge room), 1845-46, '54, and 
 George H. Walker, 1903, the first named (then of No. 3) serv- 
 ing as S. G. W. in 1835, and the last filling most of the sub- 
 ordinate positions in turn. 
 
 In addition to the above, T. J. Williams filled the office of 
 Dep. G. M. in 1837; Louis D. Wine, J. G. W., 1873-73, 
 S. G. W., 1874, and Dep. G. M., 1875-76; Thos. Smith, 
 J. G. W., 1842-43, and S- G. W., 1844; Jos. E. Rawlings, 
 J. G. W., 1864; Thos. J. Williams, G. Secty., 1834-35, and 
 H. C. WilHams, same office, 1844-47. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters follows : Martin R. Thorp, 
 75; Jas. B. Lambie, 76-77; Robert Armour, 79; Jas. W. 
 Wrenn, 83; Ira W. Hopkins, 84-85; Warren C. Bickford, 
 86-87; Fielder I. Hunter, 88*; Frederick W. Ritter, Jr., 89; 
 Geo. W. Linkins, 94; John Breen, 95; Alva S. Taber, 96; 
 Geo. W. Uline, 97; Wm. F. R. Phillips, 98; John T. Meany, 
 99; Edwin C. Brandenburg, 00; Henry C. Frankenfield, 01; 
 Jacob A. Clevinger, 02* ; Isaac H. Strasburger, 03 ; S. Clifford 
 Cox, 03; Claude J. Allen, 04; Wm. B. Stokes, 05*; Ervin S. 
 
204 HISTORY Of FREEMASONRY 
 
 Hubbard, 05; Wm. W. Stevens, 06; Henry S. Baker, 07*; 
 Harry G. Kimball, 07 ; Mark F. Finley, 08 ; Calvin F. Hummel, 
 09 ; Wm. G. Pond, 10. 
 
 Officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Charles W. Pimper, W. M. ; William P. Herbst, S. W., and 
 August B. Douglas, J. W. 
 
 ST. JOHN'S LODGE, NO. 11. 
 
 This lodge, the first organized in nearly twro decades, ap- 
 plied for a charter December 27, 1845, the first officers nom- 
 inated being George C. Thomas, Master; Joseph F. Brovi^n, 
 S. W. ; and John W. Williams, J. W., and the petition 
 signed by Geo. C. Thomas, James H. Birch, John W. Wil- 
 liams, Jos. D. Ward, Ezra Williams, Thomas Copeland, 
 Robert Boyd, J. C. Mullay, Jos. F. Brown, and Nahum Stone, 
 and recommended by H. C. Williams, G. Secretary; J. Y. 
 Young, D. G. M., Georgetown, and Robert Coltman, G. 
 Treasurer. 
 
 The charter was unanimously granted by the Grand Lodge 
 the same evening, but bears date of February 23, 1846, on the 
 evening of which day the lodge held its first meeting, in Odeon 
 Hall, Pennsylvania Avenue and John Marshall Place, N. W. 
 (then Four-and-a-Half Street), when Grand Master Wm. 
 B. Magruder, accompanied by a majority of the Grand Of- 
 ficers, was present, delivered the charter, installed the officers, 
 and formally constituted or organized the lodge. 
 
 The first officers of the lodge were : George C. Thomas, 
 Master; Ezra WiUiams, S. W. ; John W. Williams, J.. W.; 
 Joseph D. Ward, Sec. ; James H. Birch, Treas. ; P. H. Hooe, 
 S. D. ; Albion Hurdle, J. D. ; and Samuel Walker, Tyler. 
 
 By 1847 the original membership of ten had increased to 
 twenty-one but in 1848 difficulties arose in the lodge of so 
 grave a nature that it was at one time determined to surrender 
 the charter at the annual communication of the Grand Lodge 
 of that year. Happily, however, this decision was recon- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0? COLUMBIA 205 
 
 sidered, the trouble amicably adjusted, and the members re- 
 newed their labors with increased vigor, the roster for 1850 
 footing up fifty-three names, which, by 1860, was increased 
 to 132, since which time the growth has been practically un- 
 interrupted, until at present it ranks as one of the larger 
 lodges with a membership of 475. 
 
 On the evening of January 8, 1858, the regular meeting 
 night of the lodge, the unusual condition arose of a lodge with 
 a large membership having no one present qualified to assemble 
 it, whereupon Grand Master Whiting organized a " Lodge of 
 Emergency," and installed the officers-elect for the ensuing 
 year. 
 
 St. John's Lodge has not only long been in the front rank 
 numerically, but has been preeminently a public-spirited and 
 progressive factor in the local Masonic family, evidence of this 
 being found in its contribution of $500 in 1854 toward the 
 erection of a Temple, a project at that time being pushed 
 by the Fraternity here, and its generous aid in all the various 
 charitable and other activities of the last half century. 
 
 Particular credit must be given to this lodge for its noble 
 work during the Civil War, at which time the city was filled 
 with sick, wounded, and distressed brethren from every sec- 
 tion, in taking the initiative in a concerted movement on the 
 part of the lodges to extend systematic relief to these, which 
 resulted in the liberal distribution of money, clothing, tobacco, 
 and transportation, and was of incalculable benefit in miti- 
 gating the suffering of the time, and a practical application of 
 the tenets of the Order. 
 
 Three Grand Masters have come out of this lodge : Charles 
 F. Stansbury, 1862, 1871-74; Jesse W. Lee, Jr., 1888; and 
 Harry Standiford, 1901, the two latter also serving in the 
 several subordinate chairs of the Grand Lodge. In addition 
 to the above named, George C. Thomas filled the chairs of 
 J. G. W. in 1842-43, S. G. W., 1844, and D. G. M., 1848; 
 P. H. Hooe, J. G. W., 1853, and D. G. M., 1854-55; J. H. 
 Russell, S. G. W., 1868-69, and D. G. M., 1870; E. Williams, 
 J. G. W., 1849, and S. G. W., 1850; T. H. Baird, Jr., S. G. W., 
 
206 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 I860; Wm. M. Smith, J. G. W., 1857; Hopkins Lightner, 
 1858-59; N. Morris Smith, G. Sec, 1862-66; Charles W. 
 Hancock, G. Sec, 1873, and Christopher Cammack, G. Treas., 
 1855-73, with Joseph H. Milans, the present G. Pursuivant. 
 
 The present Hst of Past Masters is as follows: Chas. W. 
 Hancock, 69 ; Geo. A. Abbott, 73, 76 ; Geo. Wright, 73 ; Jesse 
 W. Lee, Jr., 79-80, 83; Geo. P. Bohrer, 85-86; Wm. H. 
 Douglas, 88; Harry Standiford, 90; Frank J. Foster, 93; 
 Edwin A. HeiHg, 93; Robert A. Dellett, 94; Jas. E. Hutchin- 
 son, 95; Vernon E. Hodges, 96; Edwin A. Niess, 97; Wm. 
 T. Jones, 98; Chas. Fernald, 00; Robert A. Daniel, 01; 
 Amadeo L. Thomas, 03; Jos. H. Milans, 04; Abram B. Hooe, 
 05 ; J. Marion Castell, 06 ; Allen Bussius, 07 ; Frank A. Steele, 
 08; Harry S. Wolf, 09; Charles E. Babcock, 10. 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 Levi H. David, W. M. ; Charles E. Etchberger, Jr., S. W., 
 and Fred M. Bock, J. W. 
 
 NATIONAL LODGE, NO. 12. 
 
 Upon the petition of Brothers J. B. Thomas, William Gor- 
 don, W. Ogden Niles, T. P. Andrews, Samuel A. Allen, H. 
 Langtry, R. Cochran, J. Knox Walker, James Shields, Jno. 
 M. McCalla, Andrew J. McCalla, S. H. Laughlin, N. Lane, 
 and Wm. Collins, Grand Master Wm. B. Magruder granted a 
 dispensation sometime during the month of January, 1846, 
 for the formation of National Lodge, and at the semi-annual 
 communication of the Grand Lodge, May 7, 1846, a charter 
 was ordered to issue with the above title. 
 
 The first roster, bearing date of October 27, 1846, is as 
 follows: James Shields, W. M.; John M. McCalla, S. W.; 
 H. Langtry, J. W. ; Samuel A. Allen, Sec. ; J. B. Thomas, 
 Treas. ; John Robinson, Tyler ; and T. P. Andrews, J. H. 
 Blake, R. Cochran, Wm. Collins, F. S. Evans, B. B. French, 
 W. Gordon, F. Howard, P. C. Johnson, N. Lane, S. H. 
 Laughlin, A. J. McCalla, W. Ogden Niles, N. A. Randel, 
 
IN the; district of coiumbia 207 
 
 J. Knox Walker, W. W. Woodworth, J. S. Wilson, Saml. 
 Walker, C. S. Frailey, W. W. Curran, J. Scott Cunningham, 
 P. G. Washington, J. C. McGuire, A. Porter, G. C. Whiting, 
 Thos. Miller, Joseph Wimsatt, L. L. Loving, and D. E. 
 Stanton. 
 
 This number had increased to thirty-nine at the next return, 
 and to fifty-six by 1860; but two years later the lodge came 
 to grief through the unfortunate handling of the trial of an 
 accused brother, and in consequence thereof on January 21, 
 1863, in obedience to the order of the Grand Lodge, sur- 
 rendered its charter, books, papers, seal, jewels, and other 
 property to the custody of the Grand Master. 
 
 At the meeting of the Grand Lodge, however, on May 5, 
 1863, upon the petition of the then Master and Wardens, the 
 charter and property were returned, and, this cloud having 
 rolled by, practically unbroken well-being has been the lot 
 of this lodge, and while it has not attained great numerical 
 strength it has in the present year the handsome total of 238. 
 
 On the evening of April 18, 1871, in this lodge occurred an 
 event of historical interest, to which allusion has been made 
 in other pages of this work. - In the presence of a large con- 
 course of visiting Brethren Lord Tenderden, P. M. of Har- 
 mony Lodge, England, acting under a dispensation from 
 Grand Master Stansbury, and in his presence, conferred the 
 third degree according to the English method upon Bros. 
 J. N. Acker and Alex. Tait, balloted for and elected to that 
 degree the same evening. 
 
 More than passing notice is due the first Master of Na- 
 tional, Gen. James Shields, who at the time of the formation 
 of the Lodge, was Commissioner of the General Land Office 
 under President Polk, having previously been a member of the 
 Illinois Legislature and a circuit judge. He was a contem- 
 porary of Abraham Lincoln, and his rival to some extent in 
 afifairs both of the heart and politics. During his long career 
 he represented three States in the Senate — the only man who 
 has ever done so — and had frequent opportunities during 
 more than thirty years to visit old National Lodge. He was 
 
2o8 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 thirty-six years old when he became National's first Master. 
 His subsequent career may be briefly stated as follows : Brevet 
 Major General for service in the Mexican war, in which he 
 was desperately wounded ; United States Senator from Illinois, 
 1849-55 ; United States Senator from Minnesota, 1858-9 ; 
 Major General in the Union army; United States Senator 
 from Missouri, January-March, 1879. Died at Ottumwa, 
 Iowa, June 1, 1879, aged sixty-nine. A bronze statue of 
 Gen. Shields stands in Statuary Hall at the Capitol. 
 
 Upon his return from the Mexican war the Grand Lodge 
 was called in special session to tender him a reception. 
 
 Two Grand Masters have come from National Lodge: 
 B. B. French, 1847-53, and I. L. Johnson, 1875-76, the latter 
 also previously serving J. G. W., S. G. W., and D. G. M., 
 while T. John Newton, the present J. G. W., who has come 
 through the entire line, will, in the ordinary course, fill the 
 office in a few years. 
 
 In addition to the above, E. M. Cunningham served as 
 S. G. W. in 1852; M. C. Baxter, J. G. W., 1870, and Charles 
 S. Frailey, G. Sec, 1848-54, who, as a member of No. 15, 
 was Grand Master 1855-56. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Richard C. 
 Lewis, T8-80; Edward Kern, 82-83; T. John Newton, 85- 
 86; Joseph M. Eggleston, 87-88; William E. Handy, 94; 
 Joseph E. Falk, 98; Fred. W. Buddecke, 99; Abner P. Wilde, 
 00 ; Dan C. Vaughan, 01 ; Wm. T. Hastings, 02-03 ; Samuel 
 W. E. Pegues, 04 ; Jos. A. McDannel, 05 ; Louis Kronheimer, 
 06; Lafayette Leaman, 07; J. E. Payne, 08; James E. Tib- 
 betts, 09 ; Roger O'Donnell, 10. 
 
 The officers for the centennial year are : 
 
 George L. Sherman, W. M. ; Robert Meyer, S. W., and 
 John M. Jones, J. W. 
 
EDWARD H. CHAMBERLIN, 
 Grand master, 1883. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 209 
 
 CALIFORNIA LODGE, NO. 13. 
 
 [now CAUPORNIA I^ODGE, no 1, UNDER THE JURISDICTION OE 
 THE GRAND I^ODGE OE CALIEORNIA.J 
 
 This lodge was the direct outgrowth of the gold fever which 
 attended the discovery of the precious metal in California in 
 the late forties. A number of brethren residing in Washing- 
 ton and contemplating the long trip around the Horn, desired 
 to take with them into the new country a warrant to meet 
 and do Masonic work, and accordingly, at the communication 
 of the Grand Lodge November 7, 1848, a petition, in the 
 usual form and with the recommendation of Federal Lodge, 
 No. 1, was presented, and, the prayer of the petitioners being 
 granted, a charter was ordered to issue to them for a lodge 
 to be known as " California Lodge, No. 13," to be located 
 in the town of San Francisco, Upper California. The officers 
 named were: Samuel Yorke AtLee, R. W. M.; Wm. Van 
 Voorhies, S. W. ; and Bedney F. McDonald, J. W. ; the first 
 of whom was immediately installed in the Grand Lodge. 
 
 In addition to the three above named, the petition was 
 signed by P. Allan Brinsmade, J. Brunson, E. M. Cunning- 
 ham, Wm. R. Bradford, Samuel M. Edwards, and Levi 
 Stowell. 
 
 Previous to their departure Brother AtLee resigned, and the 
 Grand Master appointed, and caused to be installed in New 
 Jerusalem Lodge, Levi Stowell in his stead, who received the 
 charter and proceeded to the new field. The names appended 
 to this charter were : Wm. Van Voorhies, Levi Stowell, P. A. 
 Brinsmade, John W. Geary, A. G. Selover, and J. D. 
 Stevenson. 
 
 A letter from W. Bro. Stowell to Chas. S. Frailey, G. Sec- 
 retary, dated March 37, 1850, gives a most entertaining in- 
 sight into some of the early difficulties encountered, and we 
 quote the following brief extract as of special historical 
 interest : 
 
 " The extraordinary circumstances existing at the time of 
 
 14 
 
2IO HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 my arrival in the country prevented my organizing the lodge 
 until late in the year. No proper place could be obtained to 
 hold a lodge, and so intent were all persons in their pursuit 
 for gain that few, if any, could be persuaded to devote an 
 hour's time to anything not affecting their own pecuniary 
 interests ; and, in order to preserve my charter from expiring 
 by limitation it required constant and strenuous exertions on 
 my part, by which I was enabled to erect and furnish a 
 suitable building in which to hold the lodge; which was duly 
 organized in the fore part of November last, under very 
 favorable auspices." 
 
 By the latter part of December of the same year the lodge 
 had a membership roll of twenty-three names, with several 
 petitions under consideration, and immediately took a position 
 of leadership in Masonic matters on the West Coast. 
 
 On April 9, 1850, it participated in the formation of the 
 Grand Lodge of California, and became California Lodge, 
 No. 1, the separatiori from our own jurisdiction being con- 
 ducted regularly and with the best of feeling on both sides. 
 
 As the offspring of this Grand Lodge, it is with pride that 
 we note the eminently successful career of this lodge, which 
 furnished the first Grand Master for the new jurisdiction, and 
 later two others, two Grand Treasurers, and all of the Grand 
 Secretaries. 
 
 In the great earthquake and succeeding conflagration of 
 April 18-19, 1905, the Masonic Temple in San Francisco, as 
 is well known, was destroyed, and while California Lodge 
 saved its charter, jewels, and funds, its records and all else 
 were lost, among other valuables being a book of By-Laws, 
 adopted in 1849, and containing the autographs of every 
 brother who had ever been connected with the lodge to 1905, 
 numbering between 1,700 and 1,800 names. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 211 
 
 WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL LODGE, NO. 14. 
 
 As its name indicates, the formation of this lodge was 
 coincident with the one hundredth anniversary of George 
 Washington's elevation to the sublime degree of a Master 
 Mason, and the petition for a dispensation so thoroughly 
 covers the reasons for its being as to justify full quotation : 
 
 To the Most Worshipful Benjamin B. French, Grand Master of the 
 Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in the District of Columbia. 
 
 Most Worshipful Sir and Brother: The undersigned Master Masons 
 residing in the Seventh Ward of the City of Washington, being desirous 
 to extend the benefits of this Ancient and Honorable Order to that por- 
 tion of the city, which by its remoteness from the places at which their 
 Brethren assemble in other parts of the jurisdiction is debarred of its 
 privileges, and at the same time desiring to commemorate by the institu- 
 tion of a new Lodge the centennial recurrence of the anniversary of the 
 initiation of our late illustrious Brother George Washington in con- 
 formity with the ancient rites of the Order, do hereby respectfully and 
 fraternally present their petition for a dispensation authorizing the estab- 
 lishment of a Lodge in conformity with the ancient constitutions of the 
 Order and the constitution of the Grand Lodge aforesaid, by the name 
 and style of the " Washington Centennial Lodge" of the District of 
 Columbia, and at the same time present for your consideration the names 
 of Brother Ezra Williams as Worshipful Master, Brother Samuel Byington 
 as Senior Warden, and Brother Thomas Thomas as Junior Warden of 
 said Lodge. 
 
 Washington, D. C, August — , iSss. 
 
 The petition was recommended by Federal Lodge, August 
 31, 1853, and carried the following signatures : J. Van Ris- 
 wick, Ezra Williams, Jno. W. Willson, Samuel Byington, C. 
 Ashford, Henry Dudley, J. George Stok, J. H. Wilson, Geo. 
 W. Garrett, William McPeake, John P. Raub, Fredk. Whyte, 
 Wm. Tucker, Arthur B. Williams, Thomas Thomas, John E. 
 Baker, and S. Yorke AtLee. 
 
 The prayer was at once granted, and the lodge commenced 
 operations in the unbroken field of South Washington, more 
 isolated in those days than at present by reason of the exist- 
 ence of the old canal, which completely cut off this section 
 and gave it the name of " The Island," which still survives. A 
 
213 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 home was found in Island Hall, corner Sixth Street and 
 Virginia Avenue, S. W., where the lodge for a number of 
 years enjoyed most commodious quarters, and where the 
 Grand Lodge frequently met. 
 
 A petition for a warrant was presented to the Grand Lodge 
 November 3, 1852, and unanimously granted, the number 14 
 being assigned to the new lodge, and the date of the warrant 
 made November 4, to comply with the desire of the petitioners 
 to have the exact date whereon Washington was initiated 
 into the mysteries of Masonry. For some reason not of 
 record, but seven names appear upon this latter petition, as 
 against seventeen appended to the first, and are as follows : 
 Ezra Williams, Thomas Thomas, Craven Ashford, J. Van 
 Riswick, John E. Baker, J. P. Raub, and Samuel Byington. 
 
 By the year 1855 the membership had increased to thirty- 
 five, and by 1860 to sixty-nine, since which time the progress 
 has been unusually rapid, and No. 14 now ranks as one of the 
 larger lodges, with a membership in the year of publication of 
 498. 
 
 It is, perhaps, a matter of regret that the lodge abandoned 
 the territory of its birth and moved to the center of the city, 
 as this large field has since remained wholly without any 
 Masonic organization. 
 
 The lodge has been represented in the principal offices of 
 the Grand Lodge as follows: H. A. Whitney, Grand Master 
 in 1879, and John Henry Small, G. M., 1899, both of whom 
 also served in the subordinate offices ; George B. Clark, S. G. 
 W., 1870, and Dep. G. M., 1871; A. G. Eowler, J. G. W., 
 1860; A. T. Longley, J. G. W., 1867, and L. Cabell William- 
 son, J. G. W., 1890 (afterward G. M. as of No. 36). 
 
 The present list of Past Masters follows : Emmett C. El- 
 more, 77; Howard P. Marshall, 80; John J. Hill, 84; Walter 
 B. Pettus, 90*; Herbert N. Keene, 90; John H. Small, Jr., 
 91-93; Jas. H. Mcintosh, 93*; Eugene C. C. Winter, 93; 
 Robert Connell, 94; Harry F. Riley, 95; Franklin W. Harper, 
 96; John H. Davis, 98; David Kahn, 99*; Edson Phillips, 
 99; Samuel P. Johnson, 00; Ernest H. Daniel, 01; John H. 
 
MYRON M. PARKER, 
 GRAND Master, 1884-188S. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 213 
 
 Benton, 02*; John Speed Smith, 03; Ralph L. Hall, 03; Jas. 
 W. Witten, 04; Evander French, 05; Clarence R. Dufour, 
 06 ; Dean Swift, 07 ; Robert J. Hall, 08* ; A. Sidney Jones, 
 08; John G. Rice, 09*; Victor H. Wallace, 09; Henry F. 
 Woodward, 10. 
 
 The officers for the centennial year are : 
 
 James T. McClenahan, W. M. ; Wallace Streater, S. W., 
 and Jason Waterman, J. W. 
 
 BENJAMIN B. FRENCH LODGE, NO. 15. 
 
 The unfortunate disappearance of the early records of this 
 lodge, together with the peculiar fact that the usual papers 
 relative to formation are not on file in the Grand Lodge 
 archives, precludes the possibility of a detailed story of its 
 birth, one of the principal features sought after in these 
 sketches. 
 
 From the evidence available, however, we find that the re- 
 quest for a dispensation for this lodge was recommended by 
 Federal Lodge, No. 1, December 20, 1853 ; that a dispensa- 
 tion was granted by Grand Master B. B. French, December 
 22, 1853, and that at the annual communication of the Grand 
 Lodge held December 27, of the same year, a report of the 
 proceedings of the lodge, U. D., was presented, together with 
 a petition for a charter, and, on motion, the prayer was 
 granted without a dissenting voice. 
 
 The first return, made the same night it may be assumed, 
 contained the names of the original signers, and is as follows : 
 Herman H. Heath, W. Master; George C. Whiting, S. AV., 
 and John L. Clubb, J. W., and James H. Blake, W. S. Craw- 
 ford, William M. Ferguson, H. F. Loudon, James C. Mc- 
 Guire, Thomas Miller, R. R. Richards, Samuel J. Seely, and 
 P. G. Washington. 
 
 From the very beginning the lodge seems to have pros- 
 pered, the membership reaching sixty-five in 1860, 224 (in- 
 cluding E. A. and F. C. ) in 1871, and, experiencing a prac- 
 
214 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 tically uninterrupted proportionate growth to the present, the 
 number of members in good standing on the last return footing 
 the handsome total of 700. 
 
 In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it may be 
 accepted as a fact that at the time of its formation the lodge 
 met in the old Medical College Building, Tenth and E Streets, 
 N. W., moving with the other bodies, in 1854, to the Masonic 
 Hall, southwest corner of Ninth and D Streets, N. W., and this 
 tenancy is proven by the fact that the returns are dated from 
 " Central Masonic Hall," the designation given to this latter 
 meeting place, and a source of some natural confusion to 
 students of the subject, inasmuch as the same title had origi- 
 nally been held by the Masonic building on the corner of 
 Indiana Avenue and John Marshall Place. 
 
 In 1870 quarters were found in the Temple, Ninth and F 
 Streets, N. W., and, upon the completion of the present build- 
 ing, its latest move was made to that edifice. 
 
 On December 27, 1903, No. 15 celebrated its semi-centennial 
 with appropriate exercises, including a number of exception- 
 ally valuable papers by distinguished members of the lodge, 
 and these have been preserved in a souvenir volume, which is 
 a model of typographical excellence, contains much interesting 
 matter, and is available to all brethren desiring to acquaint 
 themselves with its purely personal history. 
 
 The following interesting statistical information prepared 
 by Past Master E. St. Clair Thompson, for a number of years 
 the Secretary, is indirectly quoted as furnishing a fair sample 
 of the operations of a prosperous lodge for a period of fifty 
 years. To include the year 1903, 1,523 Master Masons had 
 been made, with twenty-one Eellow Crafts and sixty-seven 
 Entered Apprentices, while 163 men had been rejected for the 
 degrees. 
 
 This lodge is distinguished above all others in the District 
 in that six Grand Masters have called it " home," as follows : 
 C. S. Frailey, 1855-56; George C. Whiting, 1857-61; 65-67; 
 B. B. French, 1868 (formerly G. M. as of No. 12); Myron 
 M. Parker, 1884-85; James A. Sample, 1890, and James A. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0? COLUMBIA 215 
 
 Wetmore, 1904, a total of fifteen years of service in the Grand 
 East, while the near future in all probability holds still another 
 in the person of Alexander Grant, the present Grand Marshal. 
 The first named in 'the list went to the highest station from the 
 desk of Grand Secretary, having served there (as of No. 12) 
 from 1848 to 1854. George C. Whiting also filled the ofifice 
 of Grand Secretary in 1856, and in a similar manner went, 
 in the following year, to that of Grand Master. With the 
 exception of B. B. French, the remainder also filled the im- 
 portant subordinate chairs, James A. Sample being further 
 honored by being elected to the post of Grand Treasurer in 
 1902, and remaining as the present incumbent. In addition 
 to the above, Warren H. Orcutt served as J. G. W. in 1869. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Frederick 
 Johnston, 72; Geo. H. Lillebridge, 73; John Tweedale, 74-75; 
 Samuel B. Evans, 79; Myron M. Parker, 80; Samuel E. 
 Slater, 82; Jas. A. Sample, 83; Wm. H. Lemon, 84; Wm. 
 Barnum, 87; John S. Tomlinson, 88*; Gabriel F. Johnston, 
 88; Nathan Hazen, 89; Howard M. Gillman, 90; Convis 
 Parker, 91*; Frank F. Major, 93; Jas. A. Wetmore, 94; 
 Donald B. MacLeod, 96*; M. C. Connelly, 96*; Watson B. 
 Mundell, 96*; Jos. A. Oliver, 96; Henry M. Schooley, 97; 
 John C. Chaney, 98; Alex. Grant, 99; Geo. F. Foote, 00*; 
 E. St. Clair Thompson, 00; Edward W. Woodruff, 01*; 
 James T. Gibbs, 01 ; Herbert MacNamee, 02 ; Frederick W. 
 Gulp, 03*; Harry A. Fellows, 03; Noel W. Barksdale, 04; 
 Townley A. McKee, 05 ; Fred. D. Griffith, 06* ; Andrew Wil- 
 son, 06 ; Walter R. Whittlesey, 07* ; Arthur L. Bryant, 07 ; 
 Wm. Hart Dexter, 08* ; Joseph O. Harrison, 08 ; Emmett M. 
 Carter, 09 ; Henry E. Bittinger, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 Martin R. Speelman, W. M. ; Harry L. Strang, Jr., S. W., 
 and Leslie Cramer, J. W. 
 
2l6 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 DAWSON LODGE, NO. 16. 
 
 In the early part of 1857 a number of worthy brethren, 
 drawn principally from St. John's Lodge, drew up a petition 
 to the Grand Master, in which they represented that they were 
 desirous of reviving Columbia Lodge, No. 3, and praying that 
 the original charter of that lodge be returned to them. Two 
 of the signers represented themselves as formerly of No. 3 ; 
 but the prayer was not complied with, on the ground that 
 the power to return the charter was vested in the Grand 
 Lodge. 
 
 On March 3, 1857, the same brethren renewed their petition 
 for a dispensation to assemble as a legal lodge under the 
 style and designation of Columbia Lodge. Upon consider- 
 ation, however, they seem to have abandoned their desire for 
 this title and adopted that of Dawson Lodge, in honor of 
 Grand Master William C. Dawson, of Georgia, who, while a 
 resident of the District during his service in Congress, took an 
 active interest in the local Fraternity. 
 
 The petition was recommended by Hiram Lodge, No. 10, 
 under date of March 6, and the dispensation issued by Grand 
 Master AVhiting March 16, 1857, Samuel T. Shugert being 
 empowered to act as W. M., Dewitt C. Lawrence as S. W., and 
 Z. D. Gilman as J. W. 
 
 The paper of March 3, in addition to the above named, 
 was signed as follows : Amos T. Jenckes, Saml. P. Bell, H. N. 
 Steele, A. B. Stoughton, P. E. Wilson, Marcus Bull, J. E. 
 Holmead, Alfred Holmead, Henry O. Brigham, Comfort S. 
 Whittlesey, S. P. Franklin, E. B. Barrett, J. C. Foertsch, J. H. 
 Phillips, J. Typowski, LL. D., E. G. Guest, Z. C. Robbins, 
 F. Glenroy, S. E. Murphy, and W. H. Nalley. 
 
 These names, with the exception of that of J. Typowski, 
 also appear on the application for a charter, which was pre- 
 sented to the Grand Lodge at the semi-annual communication 
 of May 5, 1857. This application was accompanied by all the 
 papers, minutes, &c., kept by the lodge while under dispensa- 
 tion, and, on motion, a charter was unanimously granted, and 
 the number 16 assigned to the new member. 
 
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IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 317 
 
 By 1860 the membership had grown to 99, and by 1865 to 
 208, since which time, while this rate of increase has not 
 been continuous, the additions have indicated a healthy 
 growth, the present roster showing 331 names. 
 
 To this lodge belongs the distinction of having first intro- 
 duced music as an accessory to the degree work in the District, 
 the original quartette consisting of Brothers George L. 
 Sheriff, David L. Bennett, Robert Ball, and John R. Dawson. 
 
 Dawson has given one Grand Master to the jurisdiction in 
 the person of J. E. F. Holmead, who served as such in 1864, 
 having previously filled the offices of J. G. W., in 1862, and 
 S. G. W., in 1863. In addition to this officer, S. T. Shugert 
 held the post of S. G. W., in 1858-59 ; Z. D. Gilman, same 
 office, 1862, and W. J. Stephenson, G. Treas., 1877-78. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : 
 
 Benjamin F. Bittinger, 74* ; Edwin S. Holmes, Sr., 74-75 ; 
 William A. De Caindry, 76-77; Orville Drown, 82; H. 
 Harvey Hazard, 83; Rodolph Williss, 84; Jas. H. Trim- 
 ble, 85; Henry C. Thompson, 86; Benj. F. Larcombe, Jr., 89; 
 Samuel R. Bond, 93 ; Jesse F. Grant, 94 ; Edgar G. Harbaugh, 
 98; Edwin S. Holmes, Jr., 99; Benj. F. Odell, 00; John B. 
 Ireland, 01*; Geo. W. Siggers, 02; John A. Colborn, 03; 
 Ernest G. Thompson, 04; Wm. F. Lannan, 05; Louis Jacob- 
 son, 06*; Milton Strasburger, 06; George W. Baumann, 07; 
 Wm. M. Wailes, 08; Joseph P. Stephenson, 09; Claude H. 
 Woodward, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Geo. G. Seibold, W. M. ; Thomas W. Bramhall, S. W., and 
 John I. Painter, J. W. 
 
 HARMONY LODGE, NO. 17. 
 
 The dispensation to Harmony Lodge departs somewhat 
 from the usual form, but is a paper of such dignity and value 
 as to warrant quotation in full : 
 
2l8 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 To all whom it may concern, Greeting: 
 
 Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. 
 
 Whereas, application has been made to me by W. A. Shannon, Ira 
 Murdock, E. C. Eckloff, Willard Ayers, DeWitt C. Clark, John W. D. 
 Gray, John M. McCalla, Henry Prince, George M. Howard, Wm. Blair 
 Lord, and William H. Faulkner, who are well known to me to be Master 
 Masons, for authority to open and hold a lodge within the jurisdiction 
 of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, to be known and 
 recognized as Harmony Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons : And 
 whereas, the said application has been duly and properly endorsed and 
 recommended to me by eminent Masons, and also by Benjamin B. French 
 Lodge, No. 15, of this jurisdiction: And whereas, there appears to me 
 other good and sufficient reasons why the petition of said brethren should 
 be granted, therefore, I, Yelverton Peyton Page, Grand Master of Masons 
 of the District of Columbia do, by the high powers in me vested, hereby 
 authorize and empower the said Master Masons, whose names are inserted 
 herein, to convene and hold a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, to 
 be known and recognized as Harmony Lodge, at such times and place, in 
 the City of Washington, as to them may seem best. And further, I do 
 hereby appoint Brother John W. D. Gray, to act as Worshipful Master; 
 Brother Wm. Blair Lord, to act as Senior Warden, and Brother E. C. 
 Eckloff, to act as Junior Warden of said Harmony Lodge; authorizing 
 and empowering them to enter, pass, and raise such persons as may make 
 application to them for the degrees of Masonry in regular form and be 
 found worthy, but to do no other act whatsoever: Provided, That the 
 said Master and Wardens shall always be governed by the Ancient Land- 
 marks, the General Regulations, and the Constitution of the Grand Lodge 
 of the District of Columbia. 
 
 This Dispensation to continue in force until the semi-annual communi- 
 cation of the Grand Lodge, unless sooner revoked. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal, at the City of Washington, this 24th 
 day of January, A. D. 1863, A. L. 5863. 
 
 Y. P. Page, 
 
 Grand Master, D. C. 
 
 At the communication of May 5, of the same year, upon 
 proper application, again recommended by Benjamin B. 
 French Lodge, a charter was ordered to issue to Harmony 
 Lodge, No. 17, and on the evening of the 13th of the same 
 month the ceremony of institution was performed, with P. G. 
 M. French presiding. 
 
 The names appended to the petition for charter vary some- 
 what from those shown above, and are as follows : Wm. 
 Blair Lord, Henry Prince, John W. D. Gray, Wm. J. Brown, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 219 
 
 John M. McCalla, George M. Howard, Willard Ayers, Wm. 
 A. Yates, and E. C. Eckloff. 
 
 Thus auspiciously came into being one of our most pro- 
 gressive and successful lodges, which in a few years had a 
 membership of over 100, and at this time stands well to the 
 front with a total of 609 names. 
 
 Not only has No. 17 developed numerically, but it has also 
 been foremost in all movements of a charitable nature, one 
 instance of this being the appropriation of a liberal sum for 
 the relief of the flood sufferers in Pennsylvania and Mary- 
 land, in 1889, in advance of all others, and is further shown 
 by its active cooperation in every united effort since its 
 organization. 
 
 While a " down town" lodge, it met for a number of years 
 in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, in G Street, but moved, with 
 the other bodies, to the present Temple in 1908. 
 
 From this lodge the chair of Grand Master was filled by 
 Lurtin R. Ginn in 1905, who had previously served in the 
 various subordinate positions in the Grand Lodge, and in 
 addition W. G. Parkhurst occupied the station of S. G. W. in 
 1866; George E. Corson, J. G. W., 1880; Wm. A. Yates, 
 G. Sec, 1873-75, and Arvine W. Johnston, the present G. 
 Secretary, who has held that office continuously since 1901. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Robert W. 
 Hardy, 75; Geo. E. Corson, 77-78; John Wilson, 79-80; 
 Orange S. Firmin, 83 ; John F. Blackmar, 87-88 ; Frederick 
 K. Swett, 89; W. Hamilton Smith, 90; Lurtin R. Ginn, 91; 
 Wm. T. Johnson, 92*; Francis M. Criswell, 92; Arvine W- 
 Johnston, 94; Chas. L. Heilbrun, 95; Bennett A. Allen, 96; 
 Wallace C. Babcock, 97; Chas. T. Caldwell, 99; J. Louis 
 Willige, 01; Chas. E. Gross, 03; Louis D. Carman, 03; 
 Maurice D. Rosenberg, 04; Clarence A. Weaver, 05; Clarence 
 M. Exley, 06; Frank R. Underwood, 07; Walter B. Davis, 
 08 ; Roe Fulkerson, 09 ; Otto J. De Moll, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Francis N. Westerman, W. M. ; Robert H. Young, S. W., 
 and Edmund S. Wolfe, J. W. 
 
220 HISTORY 0? FREEMASONRY 
 
 ACACIA LODGE, NO. 18. 
 
 December 5, 1863, Grand Master Charles F. Stansbury 
 granted a dispensation upon a proper petition to certain breth- 
 ren to organize a lodge to be known as Acacia Lodge, and by 
 the same instrument empowered Z. D. Gilman to act as ^^^or- 
 shipful Master, Samuel P. Bell as Senior Warden, and J. W. 
 Jennings as Junior Warden. 
 
 At the communication of the Grand Lodge held December 
 28, 1863, this dispensation was returned, and a petition for 
 a charter recommended by St. John's Lodge, No. 11, pre- 
 sented, bearing the following names : W. H. Baldwin, Edwd. 
 Baldwin, Isaac Bassett, H. C. Baldwin, J. P Bartholow, S. P. 
 Bell, C. B. Baker, Z. D. Gilman, A. P. Gorman, T. M. Hanson, 
 
 Heustis, J. W. Jennings, B. S. Lamkin, J. M. McGrew, 
 
 Daniel McFarlan, O. W. Palmer, John F. Sharrett, A. C. 
 Toner, P. E. Wilson, Jos. B. Will, and Fred. Whyte. 
 
 The prayer being granted and the charter ordered to issue, 
 the lodge was duly instituted as Acacia Lodge, No. 18, De- 
 cember 30, 1863, the occasion being unique in that upon the 
 same evening LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, which had received 
 its charter at the same time, was also instituted. 
 
 Altho but one day elapsed between the surrender of the 
 dispensation and the institution of the lodge, a meeting was 
 held and several candidates passed to the degree of Fellow 
 Craft, but upon its being shown to have been an inadvertence, 
 the offense was pardoned by the Grand Lodge and the Fellow 
 Crafts healed. The incident is given place as a practical illus- 
 tration of one of many peculiar conditions which circum- 
 stances may force upon a lodge. 
 
 By the year 1865 the membership had increased to fifty- 
 three, and ten years later footed up 129, since which time, 
 with the exception of an occasional period of depression, the 
 increase has been satisfactory, the latest return showing a 
 roster of 202 names. 
 
 While no local Grand Master has as yet come from the 
 ranks of the initiates or affiliates of this lodge, M. W. Bro. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMBIA 221 
 
 Wm. D. Todd, who was raised in Acacia Lodge in 1873, 
 served as Grand Master of Colorado in 1889, and has always 
 retained a great love for his mother lodge. 
 
 Representation in the subordinate positions in the Grand 
 Lodge line has been as follows: Joseph B. Will, J. G. W., 
 1868, and Dep. G. M., 1869; and B. F. Fuller, J. G. W., 
 1878, S. G. W., 1879, and Dep. G. M., 1880. 
 
 Following are the living Past Masters : Chas. W. Franzoni, 
 73; Wm. P. Young, 75; Rufus H. Thayer, 79-80, 84; Thos. 
 Robinson, 85-86; Alex. H. Holt, 88; Chas. H. Elliott, 89; 
 Geo. W. Koonce, 90; Harvey W. P. Hunt, 94; Heath Suther- 
 land, 95; Wm. H. Douglas, 96t; Chas. J. O'Neill, 96; Richard 
 P. WilHams, 97*; Edwin B. Hesse, 97; Seward T. Covert, 
 99; John H. Small, Jr., OOf ; Ulysses G. Perry, 01; Henry H. 
 Burroughs, 03; Chas. A. Springer, 03; Chas. E. Stevens, 05; 
 John E. Borland, 07; Howard G. Brown, 08; Edward E. 
 Clement, 09 ; Francis A. Springer, 10. 
 
 The officers for the centennial year are as follows : 
 
 Delos M. Carter, W. M. ; Harry J. Robertson, S. W., and 
 James H. Windsor, J. W. 
 
 LA FAYETTE LODGE, NO. 19. 
 
 This lodge, the twin sister of Acacia, received a dispen- 
 sation from Grand Master Charles F. Stansbury on Christmas 
 day, 1863, and three days later, on the 38th, returned said 
 dispensation to the Grand Lodge attached to a regular petition 
 for a charter to empower it to assemble as a legal lodge, to 
 be known as LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, and to discharge the 
 duties of Masonry in a regular and constitutional manner 
 according to the original " forms of the Order and the regu- 
 lations of the Grand Lodge." 
 
 The first officers nominated in the petition for dispensation 
 were Chauncey Smith, W. M. ; John H. Benton, S. W., and 
 H. J. Alvord, J. W., but these selections appear to have been 
 immediately reconsidered, as the petition for a charter, while 
 naming the same brother as Master, suggested the names of 
 
222 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 F. H. Barroll and W. H. W. Weaver as S. W. and J. W., 
 respectively. 
 
 Altho the large majority of the signers of the petition were 
 members of Benjamin B. French Lodge the separation was 
 with the best of feeling, apparently, and this was emphasized 
 by the fact that said lodge recommended to the Grand Lodge 
 that the prayer be granted. 
 
 At the same communication of that body the charter was 
 ordered to issue, and on the evening of December 30, 1863, 
 the ceremony of institution was performed, and the new lodge 
 started on a career of prosperity. 
 
 The list of charter members, unusually long, follows : H. J. 
 Alvord, T. S. Burr, P. B. Brown, Louis Burgdorf, F. H. 
 Barroll, F. Bartlett, H. P. Bennett, J. H. Benton, J. V. Bryan, 
 P. M. Clark, E. G. Chambers, D. A. Clayton, Paul C. Cook, 
 J. H. Clements, Jos. Clare, J. T. Clements, Jr., J. W. Dwyer, 
 Jas. H. Durham, Jeff. Fowler, G. W. Francis, F. W. C. Fox, 
 E. A. Gillett, G. W. Goodall, H. A. Grannis, J. A. Graham, 
 O. T. Gilman, J. B. Hutchinson, R. Hodgkins, R. J. Harrison, 
 E. H. Kern, N. D. Larner, Peter Lammond, W. E. Moran, 
 A. F. Moulden, J. H. Patrick, J. H. Reiss, C. W. Smith, 
 
 G. E. W. Sharretts, E. A. Smith, Jacob D. Stone, R. H. 
 Stewart, R. M. Sykes, Jno. H. Smoot, Thos. J. Williams, 
 W. D. Wyville, John C. Wilson, R. E. Woodward, W. V. W. 
 Weaver, and W. G. Whittlesey, forty-nine in all. 
 
 The growth of this lodge has been rapid and practically 
 continuous, the membership in two years numbering 179, in ten 
 years mounting to 258, and soon reaching first place in nu- 
 merical strength in the jurisdiction, a distinction it still holds, 
 the latest return crediting it with 753 names. 
 
 Four Grand Masters have come out of LaFayette Lodge: 
 Joseph S. McCoy, 1880; Noble D. Larner, 1881-83; Henry 
 S. Merrill, 1894, and Augustus B. CooHdge, 1908, all of 
 whom, with the exception of Noble D. Larner, filling the 
 several subordinate offices of the Grand Lodge, the latter"s 
 prior service consisting of a five-year term as Grand Secretary, 
 from 1867 to 1871, inclusive. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI,UMBIA 233 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Henry A. 
 Whallon, 68-69; Frank M. Marshall, 72; Jos. S. McCoy, 
 73-74; Burton R. Ross, 75-76; Albert F. Fox, 79; W. Harry 
 Olcott, 83; Hiram H. Martin, 86; Wm. S. Parks, 87; Henry 
 S. Merrill, 88 ; Melchoir B. Strickler, 89* ; John M. McKinney, 
 89; Calvin Neilson, 90*; Jas. H. Wardle, 90; Leonard C. 
 Wood, 92; Thos. W. Cridler, 93; J. Wilson Townsend, 94; 
 Augustus B. Coolidge, 95; John B. Daish, 97; Thos. P. Mor- 
 gan, 98 ; Benj. S. Graves, 99 ; J. Chester Bowen, 01 ; Wm. T. 
 Galliher, 02; John B. Hopkins, 03*; W. Spencer Armstrong, 
 03 ; Jas. L. Marshall, 05 ; Jacob H. Lichliter, 06 ; Hart Mom- 
 sen, 07; Wm. H. Raymond, 08*; Wm. H. Wanamaker, 08; 
 Jas. h. Wilmeth, 09* ; John B. Nichols, 09 ; Gratz E. Dunkum, 
 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 John R. Wright, W. M. ; Charles H. GaUiher, S. W., and 
 James A. Hartsock, J. W. 
 
 HOPE LODGE, NO. 20. 
 
 As the dark clouds of Rebellion rolled away, the Capital 
 City, together with the whole country, entered upon an era 
 of readjustment and recovery, with optimism and hope as the 
 guiding stars, and thus it naturally came about that the first 
 lodge formed under the new conditions had not far to seek 
 for an appropriate name, and the spirit that actuated the 
 founders in forming and naming this new member of the 
 local Masonic family has ever since been characteristic of their 
 successors, and has brought to No. 20 an unusual degree of 
 popularity and well-being. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication of the Grand Lodge 
 held May 7, 1867, a petition in due form was received praying 
 for a charter to form a lodge to be known as Hope Lodge, 
 No. 20, and, being favorably considered, a charter was or- 
 dered to issue accordingly, and on the 28th of the same month 
 the new lodge was consecrated and instituted at Central Ma- 
 
224 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 sonic Hall, Ninth and D Streets, N. W., in the presence of 
 twenty-five of the members and a large concourse of visitors. 
 
 The petition above referred to was signed by the following 
 brethren: Alan C. Adamson, Edward C. Atkins, John R. 
 Arrison, Heinrich H. Boyer, Harry V. Cole, John J. Callahan, 
 T. Harry Donehue, Charles H. Dickson, A. Ferdinand Des- 
 sau, Julius Emmner, Albert M. Evans, Edgar Tewkes, Thomas 
 H. Graham, Richard Goodhart, John H. Houston, Samuel 
 Houston, James A. Jenkins, John C. Kondrup, Max Louis, 
 William Mertz, Richard Morgan, Lewis S. Moe, John F. 
 Mullowny, Walter S. McNairy, Jacob Peyser, Granville C. 
 Ricketts, Slater B. Russell, Isaac B. Ruff, A. Rodrique, H. 
 Dwight Smith, George J. Schwab, S. Norris Thorne, T. D. 
 Winter, and James Wright, while the officers named in the 
 first return were Henry V. Cole, W. M. ; Samuel Houston, 
 S. W. ; and William Mertz, J. W. 
 
 The list of members had passed the hundred mark by 1875, 
 and has shown an excellent average increase since, the present 
 roster containing 354 names. 
 
 In July, 1867, the lodge decided to leave the Central Ma- 
 sonic Hall, and for several years was a tenant of Hiram 
 Lodge, at Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., 
 moved to Lodge Room No. 2 in the old Temple, Ninth and 
 F Streets, December 33, 1871, and again changed to the new 
 Temple upon its completion. 
 
 Admiral George W. Baird (Retired) has the distinction 
 of being the only Grand Master as yet furnished by Hope 
 Lodge, and previous to his occupancy of that chair, in 1896, 
 he also served in the several subordinate Grand Lodge offices. 
 In addition to this representation, Charles O. Brown filled 
 the position of J. G. W. in 1883, and S. G. W. in 1884. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Wm. A. 
 Craig, 80; Thos. W. Sanner, 81; Geo. W. Baird, 83; Fred. G. 
 Dieterich, 86 ; John S. Mills, 87 ; Wm. P. Challice, 88 ; Clar- 
 ence Lewis, 89; Wm. Briggs, 90; J. Harry Cunningham, 91; 
 Chas. I. Snook, 93; Wm. A. Cohill, 93; Chas. W. Henshaw, 
 94; Frank P. Hays, 95*; Chas. C. Van Horn, 98; Nathan S. 
 
THOMAS P. CHIFFELLE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1886. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 225 
 
 Meyer, 99; John H. Small, Jr., OOf; Geo. A. Cohill, 00; John 
 D. Hinternesch, 01; Chas. Long, 02; Chas. M. Shinn, OSf; 
 John F. Collins, 03; Alex. Wolf, 04; John H. Von Herr- 
 man, 05; Edward Y. Davidson, 06; John H. Hoffacker, 07; 
 Allan R. Searle, 08; Edwin C. Dutton, 09; Horace P. Mc- 
 intosh, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 Rudolph B. Behrend, W. M. ; Harry G. Sherwood, S. W., 
 and Grant S. Barnhart, J. W. 
 
 ANACOSTIA LODGE, NO. 31. 
 
 Under date of September 14, 1868, seven Master Masons, 
 residing in Uniontown (now Anacostia), D. C, formally re- 
 quested an endorsement from Naval Lodge, No. 4, of their 
 petition to Grand Master B. B. French, for a dispensation to 
 form a new lodge in that suburb, but, for some reason which 
 the kindly mists of the years has veiled. No. 4, altho con- 
 ceding the petitioners to be Master Masons in good standing, 
 refused a recommendation. 
 
 Through the good offices of M. W. Bro. French, however, 
 a later petition, dated December 17, of the same year, met 
 with better success, whereupon the Grand Master issued a dis- 
 pensation in form, dated December 23, 1868, authorizing the 
 formation in Uniontown of a lodge to be known as Anacostia 
 Lodge, U. D., and appointed " our trusty and well beloved 
 brother" William F. Farish, as Master; Bro. George H. 
 Martin as S. W., and Bro. Charles S. Wheeler as J. W. 
 
 This dispensation being returned at the communication of 
 the Grand Lodge December 38, 1868, accompanied by a 
 regular petition signed by Brothers Wm. F. Farish, John R. 
 McConnell, Charles S. Wheeler, Wm. H. Wheeler, Jno. Cruik- 
 shank, and B. F. Wilkins, a charter was the same evening 
 ordered to issue, with the title of Anacostia Lodge, No. 31. 
 
 The institution took place March 8, 1869, at the lodge room 
 in Uniontown, the occasion being made memorable by the 
 presence of R. W. Bro. A. G. Mackey, the noted Masonic 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 writer and jurist, and M. W. Bro. W. F. Saunders, Grand 
 Master of Montana Territory, the former, on invitation of 
 Grand Master Donaldson, conducting the ceremony and in- 
 stalHng the officers. 
 
 The building in which the initial meeting was held was a 
 rough two-story frame structure, the lower part of which was 
 used as a blacksmith and wheelwright shop, located on Har- 
 rison, near Monroe Street, Uniontown. 
 
 The lodge at once fell upon evil days. At the annual com- 
 munication of November 2, 1869, Grand Master Donaldson 
 reported that Anacostia Lodge, from various causes, one of 
 which was the removal of some of its charter members, had 
 not succeeded well, and on his recommendation a committee 
 was appointed to investigate the conditions. 
 
 The report of this committee is a lengthy one, and shows 
 that the membership had become so depleted that it was almost 
 impossible to get enough together to open the lodge; that no 
 degrees could be conferred for this and the further reason 
 that the necessary furniture was lacking ; that the lodge was in 
 debt, and the outlook indeed gloomy. 
 
 In these straightened circumstances the lodge almost reached 
 the point of surrendering the charter, indeed, took it under 
 consideration, but, in December, 1869, finally determined to 
 make another effort, took hold with new vigor, and in a 
 short time got upon its feet again. 
 
 Some idea of the isolation of the section at that time may be 
 gained from the report of the Grand Master the preceding 
 year that the visitation had not been made to Anacostia Lodge 
 by reason of the difficulty of getting across the Anacostia 
 River. 
 
 On November 15, 1880, the lodge purchased the present 
 site, corner Jackson and Pierce Streets, 78 by 90 feet, im- 
 proved by a school building, readily made available for lodge 
 purposes. The first meeting in the new home was held May 
 2, 1881, the building being dedicated to Masonic purposes 
 by Grand Master Larner, October 31 of the same year. 
 
 Eight years thereafter the quarters were found to be inade- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 227 
 
 quale, and, the membership having now increased to fifty-six, 
 the present handsome edifice was contracted for. The frame 
 building previously used was moved to a point immediately 
 in the rear of the present edifice and is still standing (see 
 illustration). During the erection of this hall the lodge met 
 in the room of Naval Lodge, through the fraternal courtesy 
 of that body, and this is only one of many gracious incidents 
 going to show that the original unpleasantness between these 
 two lodges had been short lived, and had given place to the 
 most cordial relations. 
 
 On July 2, 1890, the cornerstone of the new hall was laid by 
 Grand Master Sample, who also dedicated the building No- 
 vember 4, 1890. 
 
 While never a large lodge, the growth has been healthy, 
 the roster now showing 225 names. 
 
 No. 22 has as yet furnished no representative to the of- 
 ficial line of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : John H. 
 Mills, 71-72, 95; Henry Kuhn, 85, 92-93; Samuel E. Shields, 
 88; Alex. B. Garden, 90; Thos. E. Sherman, 93t; Adolphus 
 Gude, 94; Wilbur S. Dodge, 96; Wm. E. Gude, 98; Julius 
 W. Tolson, 99-03; Wm. T. Galliher, 03t; Chas. J. James, 
 04; Warren Tolson, 05; Edgar R. Balderston, 06; Walter 
 B. Fry, 07 ; Wm. R. Rauchenstein, 08 ; Samuel W. Pumphrey, 
 09 ; Jas. A. Sample, lOf ; George H. Copes, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Wilbur H. Lawrence, W. M. ; Charles F. Roberts, S. W., 
 and Milton J. Eillius, J. W. 
 
 GEORGE C. WHITING LODGE, NO. 22. 
 
 December 22, 1868, Grand Master B. B. French, in re- 
 sponse to a petition in due form signed by nineteen Master 
 Masons and recommended by Potomac Lodge, No. 5, issued a 
 dispensation for a lodge to be held in Georgetown, D. C, to 
 be known as George Washington Lodge, U. D., and in the 
 same instrument appointed M. C. Causten to be the first 
 
228 HISTORY OlP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Master, S. Norris Thorne the first S. W., and George F. Wet- 
 zerich the first J. W. thereof. 
 
 At the installation communication, held December 28, 1868, 
 this dispensation was returned and a petition for charter, 
 bearing the same signatures, presented to the Grand Lodge, 
 which at once granted the prayer, and ordered the charter to 
 issue, with the name George C. Whiting Lodge, No. 23, this 
 name having been chosen after it was pointed out to the peti- 
 tioners that the word " Washington," being already used in 
 two local lodge designations, might operate to cause confu- 
 sion. Before the final selection, however, other names were 
 considered, the word " Analostan" having its advocates. 
 
 The signers of the two petitions, among whom it is perhaps 
 worthy of note that not one came out of Potomac Lodge, 
 were as follows: M. C. Causten, S. Norris Thome, Geo. R. 
 McKnight, F. W. Storch, S. B. Palmer, John H. Darne, Sam- 
 uel C. Palmer, Caspar Mauman, V. Shinn, Geo. F. Wetzerich, 
 A. Otis Houghton, Wilson N. Fuller, A. C. Prather, Robert 
 Butler, John Q. Larman, James H. Ball, T. M. K. Mills, 
 Bodisco Williams, and Henry A. Sylvester. 
 
 The formal institution of the new lodge, the twin of Ana- 
 costia. No. 31, the dates of both dispensations and petitions 
 for charter coinciding, took place January 14, 1869. 
 
 George C. Whiting, while drawing from the same field as 
 Potomac, has always had the most amicable relations there- 
 with, and for its entire life has been a joint occupant of the 
 same lodge room. Altho the field divided between them has 
 been somewhat restricted both of these Georgetown lodges 
 have enjoyed a healthy average growth, the latest roster of 
 No. 23 containing 373 names. 
 
 That the lodge is not only an active and progressive member 
 of the Masonic family but an unusually sociable one, is shown 
 by the fact that for a period of years the annual recurrence 
 of its birthday has been celebrated by an elaborate feast, to 
 which the members and friends are invited to the capacity of 
 the large banquet hall. 
 
 One Grand Master, Samuel C. Palmer, 1898, has claimed 
 
,*>7^ , Sj'Zt^-i^^a-^jU, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 18871 GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1885. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 229 
 
 George C. Whiting as his lodge, but it is practically certain 
 that in the year following this publication — 1912 — Ben W. 
 Murch, the present Deputy, will receive his merited pro- 
 motion and creditably fill the Grand East. Both of the above 
 have also served in the several subordinate offices of the Grand 
 Lodge. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows: Samuel C. 
 Palmer, 72-73; Wm. H. Griffin, 80; Chas. Becker, 83-84 
 John C. Athey, 85; Henry C. Craig, 86-87; Wm. B. Eastoa 
 88-89; Frank I. N. J. Tennyson, 90; Chauncey G. Graham^ 
 91; Jas. T. Greaves, 94; Rezin W. Darby, 95; Walter T, 
 Weaver, 97; Ben W. Murch, 98-99; Benj. F. Harper, GO 
 Harry Becker, 01; Wm. M. Bornheim, 02; E. Harry L, 
 Myers, 03; Ammon H. Johnson, 04; Edward S. Smith, 05 
 Wm. H. Harrison, 06 ; Elbert W. R. Ewing, 07* ; David F, 
 Dumberth, 07 ; Wm. A. Brodie, 08 ; Wm. F. Young, 09* ; Wm 
 E. Greaves, 09 ; Harry K. Pimper, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 Isaac B. Nordlinger, W. M. ; Ernest H. Fowler, S. W., and 
 Richard H. Young, J. W. 
 
 PENTAIvPHA LODGE, NO. 23. 
 
 The first date appended to any paper relating to this lodge 
 is that of January 11, 1869, which is found heading the orig- 
 inal draft of the petition for the dispensation, in which, " for 
 the convenience of our respective dwellings and other good 
 reasons us thereunto moving," fifty-five worthy Master Ma- 
 sons requested Grand Master Donaldson to empower them to 
 hold a regular lodge, to be known as Pentalpha. 
 
 The original word is " Capital," which is erased by line and 
 the word " Pentalpha" interlined by pencil. According to the 
 Historian of the lodge, Bro. Edward A. Keeler, a number of 
 names were tentatively considered during the formative period 
 including Capital, Capital City, Unity, Mt. Vernon, Fidelity, 
 King Solomon, and Excelsior, and Capital was at first selected, 
 but before the first meeting, February 10, 1869, was aban- 
 
230 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 doned for that of Capital City, under which title said meet- 
 ing was held, a vote of the lodge, however, the same evening, 
 changing and settling the designation permanently to Pen- 
 talpha. 
 
 The word is that of the triple triangle or Pentalpha of 
 Pythagoras, and is derived from the Greek pente, five, and 
 alpha, the letter A, and refers to the fact that its configuration 
 presents the form of that letter in five different positions. As 
 a Masonic emblem it forms the outlines of the five-pointed 
 star which is typical of the unseen bond that unites the whole 
 Fraternity. 
 
 The petition was recommended by LaFayette Lodge, Xo. 
 19, and Washington Centennial Lodge, No. 14, both on Feb- 
 ruary 4, 1869, and the prayer was granted by the Grand 
 Master February 8, 1869, the first officers empowered to act 
 being Joseph Daniels, W. M. ; John W. Griffin, S. W., and 
 Lewis G. Stephens, J. W. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication of the Grand Lodge, 
 May 4, 1869, a petition for a charter was presented and grant- 
 ed for the formation of Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23. This pe- 
 tition carried fifty-seven signatures, and it is of interest to note 
 that, both in the list appended to the petition for dispensation 
 as well as that for charter, the autograph signature of James 
 A. Garfield appears. The charter members follow: John W. 
 Griffin, Lewis G. Stephens, Henry O. Hood, James C. Poyn- 
 ton, J. Daniels, Benj. W. Browne, John C. Stewart, J. P. 
 Richardson, E. Warren Hale, H. O. Noyes, H. D. Barr, 
 Henry T. Munson, Chas. H. Hall, Chas. C. Casey, J. O. P. 
 Burnside, J. A. Duren, H. H. Day, H. C. Burr, N. P. Chip- 
 man, E. T. Bower, T. B. Amiss, J. G. Richards, James A. Gar- 
 field, Frank G. Daniels, Charles H. Dwinal, A. J. Bentley, 
 Henry Clay McLean, O. W. Cooke, W. H. Whitney, J. N. 
 Whitney, James E. Waugh, W. S. Roose, Wm. H. Barton, 
 H. S. Washburn, E. F. M. Fachtz, M. E. N. Howell, J. F. 
 Stock, James J. Barns, F. R. Griffith, E. W. W. Griffin, James 
 S. Grinnell, D. T. Pierce, Jno. J. Knox, Ben. F. French, W. T. 
 Turpin, Joseph Stephenson, W. T. Johnson, A. T. C. Dodge, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 23I 
 
 Charles E. Coon, N. O. Chapman, Chas. Warren, George W. 
 Balloch, J. M. Mason, C. B. Blanchard, H. A. Higgins, Chas. 
 W. Denison, and WiUiam R. Singleton. 
 
 On May 7 the formal institution took place, and thus was 
 fairly started the career of this exceptionally progressive 
 lodge, progressive in that it has taken the initiative in many 
 concerted movements, charitable and general, prominent 
 among these being the proposed Garfield Memorial Institute, 
 which between 1882 and 1885 gave promise of success, but 
 later languished, the funds, however, being diverted to the 
 Masonic Home at Louisville, Ky. ; the agitation in 1895 of the 
 project of building a new temple, which antedated by two 
 years the movement which finally bore fruit, and the launch- 
 ing of the successful enterprise of erecting a suitable monu- 
 ment to the memory of the late Grand Secretary, William R. 
 Singleton. It has also been progressive numerically and now 
 numbers 360. 
 
 A most excellent plan of building up a charity fund was 
 adopted by this lodge January 1, 1879, whereby fifty per cent, 
 of the net amount from fees for the degrees in excess of $200 
 is set apart and securely invested for this purpose. This fund 
 has now reached the handsome figure of $10,317.84, and as an 
 example of systematic benevolence is worthy of imitation. 
 
 On the evenmg of April 18, 1871, at a special meetmg ot 
 this lodge, at which, according to the record, there were pres- 
 ent " the largest number of brethren ever congregated in a 
 subordinate lodge in this jurisdiction," the E. A. degree was 
 conferred according to the English ritual, by W. Bro. Lord 
 Tenderden, P. M. of Harmony Lodge, No. 255, Richmond, 
 Surrey, England. 
 
 Our late lamented Brother James A. Garfield, as appears 
 above, was a charter member of this lodge and a continuous 
 and active member thereof until his death, which was especially 
 mourned by the Masonic brethren of this jurisdiction, with 
 whom he had been intimately associated. A suitable me- 
 morial pamphlet containing his Masonic career was published 
 by the lodge in 1881, and is still available. 
 
232 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt is also borne on the rolls 
 of the lodge as an honorary member. 
 
 The thirty-fifth anniversary of the institution was cele- 
 brated in 1904 in an elaborate manner, and the occasion given 
 more than passing interest by the publication at that time of an 
 interesting historical booklet from the pen of the Historian 
 above referred to. 
 
 Pentalpha has furnished two Grand Masters to the juris- 
 diction: Jose M. Yznaga, 1887, and Matthew Trimble, 1897, 
 while in the person of W. W. Jermane, the present S. G. D., 
 the lodge has yet another candidate for that office. M. W. 
 Bros. Yznaga and Trimble both served the Grand Lodge in 
 the several subordinate Grand Lodge positions. In addition 
 to the above, Wm. R. Singleton filled the office of Grand 
 Secretary from 1876 to 1901, the longest official local Grand 
 Lodge service. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows: Wm. H. 
 Appleton, 76; Arthur A. Birney, 83; Calvin E. Town, 86; 
 Jerome B. Burke, 87 ; John K. Robinson, 88 ; Wm. R. Bushby, 
 89 ; Wm. J. Naylor, 91 ; Harry W. Smith, 93 ; Geo. P. Davis, 
 94*; Theo. B. Hibbs, 94*; Samuel A. Hollingshead, 95; Jos. 
 C. Johnson, 96; Harold A. Trembley, 97; Wm. J. Wallace, 
 99; Wm. A. Kimmel, 01, 04; Wilfred M. Barton, 03; Alex. 
 Gordon, Jr., 03 ; Wm. W. Jermane, 05 ; Isaac B. Field, 06 ; 
 Jacob W. Collins, 07; Harry McK. Luckett, 08; John H. An- 
 derson, 09 ; Harry I. Cramer, 10* ; Castleman P. Boss, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 
 Horace S. Naylor, W. M. ; D. Fulton Harris, S. W., and 
 Paul Schureman, J. W. 
 
 STANSBURY LODGE, NO. 34. 
 
 Early in June, 1873, a request was made of M. W. Grand 
 Master Charles F. Stansbury for a dispensation " to form a 
 Masonic lodge at Brightwood, D. C, or within three miles 
 thereof," to be known as Stansbury Lodge. The request was 
 signed by the following-named: George W. Balloch, Benj. 
 
JACKSON AND PIERCE STREETS. ANACOSTIA, D. C. 
 
 Home of Anacostia hodge. No. 21, from 1890 to date. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 2.33 
 
 M. Barker, E. J. Middleton, Jr., Marion Osborn, Benj. D. 
 Carpenter, W. W. Cowling, Benj. W. Summy, B. D. Pabyan, 
 and Fred. G. Rohr. 
 
 The dispensation was granted June 25, 1873, the Grand 
 Master, however, deprecating the use of his name, on the 
 ground that " only when a man has sealed his history in death 
 can the space he occupied be truly measured and his virtues 
 and failings fairly weighed." 
 
 At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, Novem- 
 ber 12, 1873, a petition for charter in due form and signed by 
 the same brethren as above, was presented, with the recom- 
 mendation of Federal Lodge, No. 1, and, the prayer being 
 granted, the charter was the same evening ordered to issue 
 under the name of Stansbury Lodge, No. 24. 
 
 The officers U. D. and the first officers under the charter 
 were : George W. Balloch, a distinguished Federal General 
 of the Civil War, W. M. ; B. D. Carpenter, S. W. ; W. W. 
 Cowling, J. W. ; Benj. M. Barker, Secretary, and B. W. 
 Summy, Treasurer. Of the charter members but two, B. W. 
 Summy and Marion Osborn (the last named the first tiler), 
 are living at the date of publication. 
 
 The lodge was formally instituted in Hiram Lodge room, 
 December 23, 1873, but had occupied while U. D. and con- 
 tinued to occupy for a short time after receiving a charter an 
 upper room in Brightwood Driving Park Inn. 
 
 While starting with barely a constitutional number of Ma- 
 sons to enable them to get a dispensation this lodge displayed 
 at the very outset a most remarkably progressive spirit by 
 commencing at once the erection of their present commodious 
 building, at the corner of Georgia (then Brightwood) Avenue 
 and Piney Branch Road, and pushing it with such celerity that 
 five days after the date of their dispensation the Grand Lodge 
 officiated at the laying of the cornerstone, and on February 
 26, 1874, dedicated the completed edifice, into which the 
 lodge at once moved and has since remained. 
 
 In 1888 a substantial addition was made to the building, the 
 expense of which was materially lightened by the proceeds of 
 
234 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 a successful fair held in the old skating rink on E Street, 
 N. W., under the auspices of the ladies interested in the mem- 
 bership, and it is proper to state in this connection that this 
 lodge has been particularly fortunate in enlisting in its service 
 a most efficient Ladies' Auxiliary, which is regularly organized 
 and has been of great assistance, especially in enabling it to 
 cultivate the social side of lodge life, a side, it may be re- 
 marked, not always given the importance it deserves. 
 
 When the little coterie of brethren formed this lodge Bright- 
 wood was far more isolated than at present, no street-car line 
 being in existence in that section, the roads in bad condition, 
 and the surrounding country sparsely settled, in striking con- 
 trast to the rapid-transit facilities of the present, and the al- 
 most continuous succession of city blocks rapidly reaching 
 out to and threatening, in the very near future, to absorb this 
 thriving village. 
 
 By the end of the year 1874 the membership had increased 
 to twenty-six, and ten years later to fifty-one, since which time 
 the growth has been very satisfactory, the last return footing 
 up 340 members. 
 
 Stansbury has furnished one Grand Master to the jurisdic- 
 tion, in the person of Frederick G. Alexander, who occupied 
 that office in 1892, and who had also previously filled the sev- 
 eral subordinate stations in the Grand Lodge. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows: Benj. W. 
 Summy, 77; Benj. F. Martin, 79; Washington E. Nalley, 81; 
 Henry Yost, Sr., 83 ; Frederick G. Alexander, 84r-85, 87-88 ; 
 Thos. M. F. Bowling, 86 ; John W. Ray, 89 ; Henry S. Lichau, 
 90; Thos. Calver, 92; Algernon R. McChesney, 95; Angus 
 Lamond, 96; Geo. G. Pearson, 98; Henry Yost, Jr., 99; Wm. 
 C. Bergmann, 01; Wm. W. Swart, 02; Arthur C. Shaw, 04; 
 Herbert F. Ivers, 05 ; Harvey T. Rogers, 06 ; George H. Jones, 
 07; John R. McChesney, 08; George B. Heinecke, 09; An- 
 thony Lehr, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 
 Clifford A. Borden, W. M. ; William H. Fugett, S. W., and 
 Philip F. Pollard, J. W. 
 
IN The district OE' COLUMBIA 235 
 
 ARMINIUS LODGE. NO. 25. 
 
 A request for a dispensation to form a lodge, to be known 
 as Arminius, was, under date of May 29, 1876, presented to 
 Grand Master I. L. Johnson. Sixteen signatures were at- 
 tached to the paper, which was in part as follows : 
 
 " Whereas, the benefits of Freemasonry are intended to be, 
 and should always be, attainable to all good men without re- 
 gard to language or nationality, and whereas, there are many 
 Germans in this city prevented from partaking of those bene- 
 fits by reason of an insufficient knowledge of the English 
 language, we, the undersigned. Master Masons in good stand- 
 ing, pray for a dispensation empowering us to form, open, 
 and hold a regular Masonic lodge (to be entitled Arminius 
 Lodge, No. 25), to be conducted in the German language and 
 in accordance with the Constitution, By-laws and Regulations 
 of your Grand Lodge and the principles and usages of the 
 Order." 
 
 The Grand Master, however, was at first unwilling to grant 
 the prayer, being in doubt as to the propriety of establishing 
 such a lodge and the ability of the applicants to so translate 
 the work as to do no violence to the prescribed ritual, and, 
 indeed, refused to do so; but upon the petitioners obtaining 
 a recommendation signed by sixty-eight members of the 
 Grand Lodge, together with another from Washington Cen- 
 tennial Lodge, No. 14, dated June 15, 1876, he reconsidered 
 his action, and granted the dispensation July 10 of the same 
 year, in order to test the ability of the brethren and demon- 
 strate the practicability and necessity of a lodge working in 
 the German language. 
 
 All apprehension on this score was soon removed, the breth- 
 ren at once satisfactorily proving their qualifications to con- 
 duct a lodge successfully and to confer in the German language 
 the degrees according to the ritual, requirements, and usages 
 of this jurisdiction, and accordingly when, at the annual com- 
 munication of the Grand Lodge, November 8, 1876, a petition 
 for charter was presented in regular form, it met with no 
 
236 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 opposition and the charter was at once ordered to issue with 
 the above title and with the names of Brothers Herman H. 
 Gerdes, John C. Hesse, and Hugo Eichholtz as the first three 
 officers, respectively. 
 
 In addition to the above-named, the charter members were 
 as follows : John Bussius, A. H. Eichstadt, Herman Baum- 
 garten, Frederick W. Spiess, R. G. Mauss, Aug. Henning, 
 Charles Brandt, Henry Bonitz, John P. Hinkel, Charles 
 Haerle, A. Michaelis, Henry T. Ries, Edward Droop, Rein- 
 hold Springsguth, and Ernest Ruppert. 
 
 The new lodge was constituted and consecrated in ample 
 form on November 27, 1876, and has fully justified the 
 wisdom of its creation. While its unique character has, of 
 course, limited its field of action, the growth has been steady, 
 and while never having risen to the dignity of being con- 
 sidered a large lodge, it still has at present the very com- 
 fortable number of 180 brethren on its rolls. 
 
 The Scottish Rite Cathedral was the home of No. 25 from 
 its birth until 1909, when a move was made to their present 
 quarters in Naval Lodge Room. 
 
 Arminius has not as yet achieved representation in the offi- 
 cial line of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows: Herman 
 H. Gerdes, 76-77, 00-01; John C. Hesse, 78-79, 86; Louis 
 Goldschmidt, 84, 91-92; Wm. F. Meyers, 96-98; Chas. Gers- 
 dorff, 02; Harry Rothschild, 03-05; Adam Schneider, 07; 
 W. H. Berger, 08 ; John Wischhusen, 09. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 
 John N. Sterzer, W. M. ; Henry Sunwold, S. W., and 
 George M. Siebert, J. W. 
 
 OSIRIS LODGE, NO. 26. 
 
 With the exception of those located in the outlying sections 
 of the city, the formation of which came about for purely 
 geographical reasons, the majority of our lodges may trace 
 their origin to the dissatisfaction of brethren with the con- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 237 
 
 ditions in which they found themselves, and inasmuch as the 
 birth of Osiris furnishes an example of this in a rather marked 
 degree, the broad fact is stated for its historical importance, 
 while the more or less unpleasant details are ignored. 
 
 The whole matter is admirably covered by the following 
 extract from the address of Grand Master Sample, upon the 
 occasion of the institution of this lodge : 
 
 Dissatisfaction with mode of government of both Church and State 
 caused the peopling of this part of the new world by the Anglo-Saxon 
 race; dissatisfaction with the mother country produced this grand Re- 
 public, and until the Almighty sends us the millenium, disagreements 
 among the children of men will occur and progress usually result from 
 them. 
 
 The several steps by which No. 36 came into being are 
 as follows: Under date of January 9, 1890, thirty-seven 
 Master Masons, thirty- four of whom were members of Wash- 
 ington Centennial Lodge, No. 14, applied to Grand Master 
 James A. Sample for a dispensation to form a lodge at the 
 "Masonic Hall" (Scottish Rite Cathedral), 1007 G Street, 
 N. W., to be known as Osiris, and presented in support thereof 
 the recommendation of Harmony Lodge, No. 17. 
 
 In comphance therewith the Grand Master issued the de- 
 sired authorization on the 13th of the same month, and named 
 Wm. Oscar Roome as W. M., L. Cabell Williamson as S. W., 
 and Alonzo J. Marsh as J. W. Two days later the first meet- 
 ing of the lodge was held. 
 
 As it was well known that the separation was due to dis- 
 satisfaction with the mother lodge, the Grand Master used 
 every effort to heal the differences, and only issued the dis- 
 pensation after satisfying himself that it was for the best 
 interests of all concerned. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication of the Grand Lodge 
 held May 14, 1890, a petition for charter, bearing date of 
 May 7, was presented, and, in spite of a formal protest from 
 No. 14, supported by addresses in which it was asserted that 
 the movement was designed to "cripple, injure, and in a 
 measure destroy the usefulness" of the latter lodge, the prayer 
 
238 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 was granted, and the charter ordered to issue the same evening 
 to Osiris Lodge, No. 26. 
 
 The list of signers of the second petition, nearly identical 
 with that of the first, is as follows : Wm. Oscar Roome, L. 
 Cabell Williamson, Alonzo J. Marsh, Joseph P. Herman, 
 Benjamin Salomon, Samuel Herman, Jr., Alfred Moore Lam- 
 beth, William Van Vleck, Fred Elmer Tasker, Meyer Her- 
 man, Geo. H. Bailey, Josiah B. Perry, Leroy M. Taylor, 
 L. M. Taylor, Jr., Wm. H. Barstow, William Frederich, 
 Alexander R. Williams, E. B. Kellogg, Wm. G. Burns, R. W. 
 Stevens, T. J. Edwards, Joseph C. Taylor, Calvin Farnsworth, 
 Henry White, F. M. Draney, W. C. Kimpton, Charles W. 
 Keese, Sam'l Herman, Sr., Henry H. Jacobs, Jos. H. Hunter, 
 Henry C. Jones, A. Jay Marsh, Willis L. Moore, J. Sond- 
 heimer, S. Sugenheimer, Allen Wall, Benjamin W. Green, 
 Edward Roome, Charles A. Riddle, David Strauss, Albert 
 Herman, and David Jackson. 
 
 The lodge was constituted May 21, 1890, and the occasion 
 gained added interest from the fact that a committee from 
 Washington Centennial was present to formally withdraw the 
 protest of that lodge, to pledge their respect, consideration, 
 brotherly love, and encouragement to the new member of the 
 family, and to present, on behalf of No. 14 a beautiful floral 
 tribute. These overtures, it is needless to say, were met in 
 the same spirit, and thus happily ended a short-lived season 
 of strained relations. 
 
 Born under these somewhat turbulent conditions, the lodge 
 soon made for itself an influential place in the sisterhood of 
 lodges, and while as yet it has not attained to great numerical 
 strength, has shown a satisfactory growth, the present roster 
 containing 231 names. 
 
 With the exception of a brief period when the lodge met in 
 Naval Lodge Hall, the home of Osiris was in the Scottish 
 Rite Cathedral, on G Street, N. W., until removal to the 
 new Temple. 
 
 The official Grand Lodge representation of No. 26 has thus 
 far been confined to one person, L. Cabell Williamson, who, as 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OE COLUMBIA 239 
 
 a member of No. 14, served as J. G. W. in 1890, and, as of 
 26, filled successively the stations of S. G. W., D. G. M., and 
 Grand Master, the latter in 1893. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows: L. Cabell 
 Williamson, 90*; Wm. Oscar Roome, 90; Fred E. Tasker, 91; 
 Jas. A. Sample, 95t; Jos. Schiffman, 95*; Chas. S. Hyer, 
 96; Wm. L. Boyden, 97; Frank A. Harrison, 98; C. Howard 
 Buckler, 99 ; Wm. H. De Shields, 00 ; Stuart M. Leitzell, 03 ; 
 Sol Herzog, 03 ; Wm. Montgomery, 04 ; Thos. H. Unsworth, 
 05 ; Sydney R. Jacobs, 06 ; Wm. H. Landvoigt, 07 ; Charles 
 M. Jones, 08*; Wm. V. Lewis, 08; Carey S. Frye, 09; Julius 
 Reis, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 George W. Ingham, W. M. ; Philip M. Ashford, S. W., and 
 Harry L. Parkinson, J. W. 
 
 MYRON M. PARKER LODGE, NO. 27. 
 
 The rapid development of the northeastern section of the 
 city, together with the inadequate street-car facilities of the 
 period, led a number of the Masonic brethren residing there 
 to take steps, in 1891, to form a lodge " convenient to their 
 residences." 
 
 Accordingly, at an informal meeting held March 9 of that 
 year, a tentative organization was effected, and a petition for 
 dispensation in regular form drawn up bearing the signatures 
 of thirty-two Master Masons and requesting authority to form 
 a new lodge "at or near the intersection of Third and H 
 Streets, N. E.," to be known as Myron M. Parker Lodge, 
 the moral character and Masonic ability of the petitioners 
 being vouched for by Federal Lodge, No. 1, under date of 
 March 10, 1891, with the recommendation that the prayer 
 be granted. 
 
 On March 12, 1891, Grand Master Thomas F. Gibbs issued 
 the desired dispensation, and, upon the recommendation of the 
 applicants, appointed J. Eldridge Burns to be the first Master, 
 
24° HISTORY O? FREEMASONRY 
 
 A. K. Lind to be the first Senior Warden, and V. A. Hubbard 
 to be the first Junior Warden. 
 
 While an informal meeting was held March 13, the first 
 stated communication did not occur until March 25, 1891. 
 
 At the meeting of the Grand Lodge May 13, 1891, the 
 dispensation was returned, and a petition for charter pre- 
 sented, nominating the same officers as before and bearing 
 the following names : J. Eldridge Burns, A. K. Lind, V. A. 
 Hubbard, John A. Moyer, Thomas A. Perry, Francis E. 
 Camp, David Heiser, Eli M. Wheat, George Hunter, J. G. 
 Forney, Wm. T. Bowdler, Jas McCandlish, Joe W. King, 
 Winfield F. Works, E. J. Handly, H. N. Steele, J. W. Are- 
 good, T. J. Pettigrew, George Stambaugh, G. C. Burton, 
 D. R. Johnson, S. S. Galliher, P. B. Dickerson, Geo. W. Carr, 
 Walton J. Brooks, Jos. C. Kauffman, Geo. F. W. Strieby, 
 J. E. Nichol, T. B. Crisp, J. H. Peake, L. D. Walter, G. Y. 
 Hansen, H. E. Kottmer, and John F. McAllister. 
 
 The transactions of the lodge while U. D. appearing to have 
 been regular and in accordance with the Constitution of the 
 Grand Lodge, the request was granted, and a charter ordered 
 to issue to Myron M. Parker Lodge, No.. 27. 
 
 The new lodge was consecrated, dedicated, and instituted 
 according to the ancient forms and ceremonies May 21, 1891, 
 in the building at the southwest corner of Third and H Streets, 
 N. E., which was its home until March 22, 1893, when the 
 Grand Lodge dedicated its second meeting place at the corner 
 of Eighth and I Streets, N. E. Four years later the third 
 move was made to the lodge room in the building on H near 
 Twelfth Streets, N. E., which latter room was formally dedi- 
 cated March 16, 1897. 
 
 In October, 1908, a site, 54 by 110 feet, was purchased on 
 the east side of Eighth, between E and F Streets, N. E. By 
 the spring of 1910 this site was free of encumbrance, and 
 steps were at once taken looking to the erection of a building. 
 The proposed structure shows a frontage of fifty- four feet and 
 a depth of approximately eighty feet, the latter half of the 
 depth being somewhat narrowed to permit of necessary light 
 
JESSE W. LEE, JR., 
 Grand master, 1888. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 24I 
 
 and ventilation. The basement is designed to be so fitted as to 
 be a source of revenue; the first floor will be taken up by an 
 entertainment hall, fitted with stage and accessories ; the second 
 floor will contain two lodge rooms, approximating 30 by 40 
 feet each", for miscellaneous societies and orders, while the 
 third floor will be devoted to a large lodge room, committee 
 rooms, and banquet hall. The plans insure a building that, 
 while plain, will be sufficiently ornamented to give a neat and 
 attractive effect, and will, to use the much-abused phrase, " fill 
 a long-felt want." 
 
 The history of the lodge has been one of harmony and pros- 
 perity and the growth all that could be desired, the latest re- 
 turn showing 341 names on the roster. 
 
 Myron M. Parker Lodge has as yet supplied no officer to 
 the Grand Lodge line. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Jos. C. 
 Kaufifman, 91*; J. Eldridge Burns, 91; Andrew K. Lind, 93; 
 Addison S. Helton, 93*; Zachary T. Jenkins, 95; Benj. P. 
 Entrikin, 97* ; Hirah P. Olmsted, 97* ; Michael Schuster, 97 ; 
 Wm. A. Moore, 00* ; John A. Moyer, 00 ; Thos. B. Crisp, 01 ; 
 Wilburn R. Carver, 03; Robert L Carr, 03; Wm. G. Glenn, 
 04 ; Chas. F. Whitney, 05 ; Benj. J. Wrightsman, 06 ; Ralph W. 
 Bowen, 07 ; Edw. H. Tompkins, 08 ; Samuel F. Compton, 09 ; 
 Jos. W. King, 10*; Wm. H. Gibson, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Arthur Carr, W. M.; Lucian T. Williams, S. W., and 
 Frank W. Groh, J. W. 
 
 KING DAVID LODGE, NO. 38. 
 
 In 1893 the suburb of Brookland, D. C, which had but 
 lately come into existence but had already assumed fair pro- 
 portions, became the home of a new lodge. Grand Master L. 
 Cabell Williamson, on September 33 of that year, upon the 
 recommendation of Myron M. Parker Lodge, No. 37, grant- 
 ing a dispensation to fifteen Master Masons to form a lodge 
 in that section, to be known as King David Lodge, and by the 
 same instrument appointing Thos. G. Carmick to be the first 
 i6 
 
242 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Master, George F. Erdman to be the first Senior Warden, and 
 William H. Stake to be the first Junior Warden. 
 
 On the 8th day of November, 1893, at the annual com- 
 munication of the Grand Lodge, upon proper application, a 
 charter was ordered to issue to King David Lodge, No. 28, to 
 hold its meetings in Brookland, D. C, and on December 5, 
 1893, the Grand Master, assisted by the other officers of the 
 Grand Lodge, constituted the new lodge and installed the 
 officers, after which, according to the official account of the 
 affair, the Grand Lodge, members of King David Lodge, 
 and a very large assembly of brethren, were entertained by 
 the ladies of Brookland with an " elaborate banquet, which 
 had been most elegantly and profusely prepared by them," &c. 
 
 But twelve names appear on the petition for charter and 
 are as follows: Thomas G. Carmick, George F. Erdman, 
 William H. Stalee, Hiram J. Penrod, J. L. Sherwood, John 
 B. Lord, William S. Daniels, Christian H. Etz, Philip W. 
 Roth, Arthur F. Kinnan, Peter H. Johnston, and Joseph 
 Phillips. 
 
 The roster of officers December 9, 1893, was as follows: 
 The first three officers as above; C. H. Etz, Secretary; John B. 
 Lord, Treasurer; J. L. Sherwood, S. D. ; H. J. Penrod, J. D.; 
 A. F. Kinnan, S. S. ; Wm. S. Daniels, J. S. ; Peter H. John- 
 ston, Tiler, and Joseph Phillips, Marshal. 
 
 By special permission of the Grand Lodge, the new lodge 
 has held its meetings since organization in the Town Hall of 
 Brookland, but through the generosity of Bro. John B. Lord, 
 Treasurer and Trustee, and who in 1909 celebrated his fiftieth 
 anniversary as a Master Mason, has acquired an attractive 
 site at the corner of Twelfth and Monroe Streets, on which 
 plans are now being perfected to erect a handsome Masonic 
 edifice of three stories, the first to be occupied by store-rooms, 
 the second by an entertainment hall, and the third to be used 
 for lodge purposes. 
 
 While still, by reason of its youth and limited territory, one 
 of the smaller lodges, the latest returns showing 148 members, 
 it is progressive to a degree and bids fair to gain rapidly, 
 both in influence and numerical strength. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 01^ COI^UMBIA 243 
 
 King David has not as yet had representation in the Grand 
 East, but that honor will, in all probability, come to it in the 
 very near future by the elevation of W. Bro. Charles E. 
 Baldwin, the present S. G. W., who has successively filled the 
 various subordinate chairs of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Tlie present list of Past Masters is as follows : Thomas H. 
 Young, 94t; J. Lewis Sherwood, 96; Chas. E. Baldwin, 98; 
 Wm. P. Armstrong, 99; Moses D. Mull, 00; Guy W. A. 
 Camp, 01 ; Millard J. Holmes, 03 ; Jas. W. Pike, 04* ; Daniel 
 G. Davis, 04; John C. Schooley, 05*; Ebenezer Southall, 05; 
 Marvin M. McLean, 06 ; Rufus A. Crenshaw, 07 ; Charles E. 
 Molster, 08; Wm. H. McCray, 09; Wm. O. Firoved, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Isaac S. Pennybacker, W. M. ; William C. Parry, S. W., 
 and Laird L. Neal, J. W. 
 
 TAKOMA LODGE, NO. 39. 
 
 Takoma Park, one of the most thriving and beautiful 
 suburbs of Washington, became the seat of a Masonic Lodge 
 in 1894. 
 
 In the fall of that year twenty-five " Free and Accepted 
 Master Masons," in a petition bearing date of September 24, 
 1894, applied to Grand Master Henry S. Merrill for letters 
 of dispensation to empower them to assemble as a regular 
 lodge, to be known as Takoma Lodge, with their home in 
 Takoma Park, D. C. 
 
 The petition, which was accompanied by the usual recom- 
 mendation from Stansbury Lodge, No. 34, was held in abey- 
 ance by the Grand Master until the annual communication of 
 the Grand Lodge, November 14, 1894, when it was laid be- 
 fore that body, an unusual tho not wholly unprecedented 
 method of procedure. 
 
 The Grand Lodge at once requested the Grand Master to 
 grant the prayer and also gave the new lodge permission to 
 occupy the same room with Takoma Lodge, No. 34, I. O. O. 
 F., and it is perhaps worthy of note, in passing, that this action 
 
244 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 was subsequently acknowledged by the latter organization in 
 a letter of thanks. 
 
 In accordance, therefore, with the mandate of the Grand 
 Lodge, the Grand Master, under date of November 19, 1894, 
 issued a dispensation to Takoma Lodge, and, complying with 
 the wishes of the petitioners, authorized Robert W. Best to 
 act as the first Master, T"heodore Friebus, Jr., as the first 
 Senior Warden, and Wilmer G. Piatt as the first Junior 
 Warden. 
 
 At the semi-annual communication held May 8, 1895, a 
 petition for charter was presented, and the same being ac- 
 companied by a very flattering report from the Grand Secre- 
 tary relative to the proceedings of the Lodge U. D., a charter 
 was ordered to issue the same evening to Takoma Lodge, 
 No. 29, the first three officers nominated being Wilmer G. 
 Piatt, W. M. ; Francis J. Woodman, S. W., and Theodore F. 
 WilHs, J. W. 
 
 Following is a list of the charter members, differing sub- 
 stantially from the first list, tho containing the same number 
 of signers: Robert Williams Best, Thomas Fayette Miller, 
 Wilmer George Piatt, Francis Joseph Woodman, Horace 
 James Long, Charles Morrell Heaton, Jr., Theodore Friebus, 
 Edgar James Perry, Miletus J. Wine, Frederick John Lung, 
 Herbert Martin Camp, Harrison M. Bennett, George H. 
 Bailey, William H. Pope, Benjamin G. Cowl, Theodore F. 
 Willis, F. W. Longley, Lewis Freeman Dudley, James Cline 
 Depue, William Alvey, Theodore Friebus, Jr., O. D. Summy, 
 E. S. Carroll, Samuel S. Shedd, and Charles John Dietz. 
 
 The lodge was formally constituted and the hall dedicated 
 May 14, 1895. 
 
 Permission to remain as co-tenants with the lodge of Odd 
 Fellows before mentioned being given, this building, the gen- 
 eral hall of the village, has since continued to be the home 
 of No. 39, the lodge in the spring of 1909 purchasing the 
 property and extensively improving it. 
 
 While necessarily still one of the smaller lodges, it has ever 
 been a popular one, and its growth steady and legitimate, the 
 latest roster crediting it Avith 97 members. 
 
HARRISON DINGMAN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1889; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1893; 
 COMMANDER. K. T. 1900. 
 
 GRAND 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 245 
 
 Takoma Lodge, altho very young, has already supplied the 
 jurisdiction with a Grand Master, Francis J. Woodman, Past 
 Master of that lodge, presiding over the deliberations of the 
 Grand Lodge in 1907, after having previously filled the sev- 
 eral subordinate places in the line. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Wilmer G. 
 Piatt, 05 ; Thomas M. P. Bowling, 96t ; WilHam H. Douglas, 
 961; Francis J. Woodman, 96; Theo. F. Willis, 97; Matthew 
 Trimble, 98t ; Harrison M. Bennett, 99 ; Orlando D. Summy, 
 01; James A. Wetmore, OSf; William Hart Dexter, OSf; 
 Otis J. Eddy, 03; Wm. T. Andrews, 04; William Mehn, 05; 
 George W. Lewton, 05*; George L. Tarbell, 06; Charles E. 
 Thatcher, 07 ; Alfred D. Smith, 08 ; Schuyler S. Symons, 09 ; 
 Hervey S. Knight, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 
 William E. Dyre, W. M. ; Joseph B. Simpson, S. W., and 
 Howard Fisk, J. W. 
 
 WILLIAM R. SINGLETON LODGE NO. 30. 
 
 In 1901 another outpost was established on our frontier by 
 the formation of a lodge at Tenley, D. C., a growing settle- 
 ment in the extreme northern part of the District. 
 
 In response to an application dated March 30th of that year 
 and signed by thirty-five Master Masons, whose moral char- 
 acter and Masonic ability were vouched for by Potomac 
 Lodge, No. 5, Grand Master Plarry Standiford, on April 2, 
 1901, granted a dispensation to estabhsh a new lodge at the 
 above place, to be known as William R. Singleton Lodge, 
 U. D., and authorized and empowered Frank H. Thomas to 
 act as Worshipful Master, Isaac E. Shoemaker as S. W., and 
 Samuel O. Wendel as J. W. 
 
 On May 8, 1901, a petition in due form being presented, the 
 Grand Lodge ordered a charter to issue, with the name Wil- 
 liam R. Singleton Lodge, No. 30. Following is the list of 
 charter members : Wm. L. Conley, Frank H. Thomas, David 
 Currier, James Sharp, McGill Grove, Thos. J. Giles, Eli Riley, 
 Geo. W. Neale, Chas. C. Pearce, N. W. Chappell, William A. 
 
246 HISTORY 01? PREEMASONRY 
 
 Trigg, John H. Wendel, T. F. Riley, Andrew Burga, John W. 
 Chappell, Frederick F. Robey, Thomas M. Bowling, Anthony 
 M. Ray, Alex. J. Yowell, Frederick J. Heider, Samuel O. 
 Wendel, Frank O. McNew, W. B. Ireland, H. M. Smith, I. E. 
 Shoemaker, James L. Giles, Wm. E. Bell, Chas. A. Becker, 
 M. C. Weaver, Alfred M. Lambeth, Richard E. Cozzens, 
 Philip Young, James H. Taylor, H. E. Corning, and G. C. F. 
 Bratenahl. 
 
 On May 38, 1901, the Grand Lodge repaired to Tenley- 
 town and dedicated the hall of meeting, constituted the lodge, 
 and installed the officers, these events being followed by a 
 banquet and the expression of the felicitations of the visiting 
 friends on the auspicious opening of the career of the new 
 lodge, this good feeling taking substantial character in the 
 presentation by St. John's Lodge of a beautiful charter case 
 of metal taken from a Spanish battleship destroyed at San- 
 tiago. 
 
 The selection of the name was a happy one, and will serve 
 to perpetuate the memory of our late Brother William Rey- 
 nolds Singleton, Masonic writer of international repute, and 
 many years Secretary of this Grand Lodge. 
 
 The field in which this lodge works being perhaps more re- 
 stricted than any other in the jurisdiction, it naturally fol- 
 lowed that after reaching a certain point there has not been 
 a large increase in membership; but there has been no retro- 
 grade movement, and the lodge is to be congratulated on its 
 success, the latest roster footing 81 names. 
 
 From its organization until March 1, 1909, the lodge occu- 
 pied a two-story building on the west side of Wisconsin Ave- 
 nue, Tenleytown, D. C., opposite the present hall, the corner- 
 stone of which was laid November 19, 1908. 
 
 Representation in the Grand Hne has not yet come to this 
 lodge. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Isaac E. 
 Shoemaker, 03; Samuel O. Wendel, 04; Frfederick F. Robey, 
 05; Thos. M. BowHng, 06; Fred. J. Heider, 07; Curtis M. 
 Smith, 08 ; James H. Robey, 09 ; Frederick W. Parks, 10. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 247 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year: 
 Edward N. Riley, W. M.; George Walker, S. W., and 
 S. McComas Hawken, J. W. 
 
 KING SOLOMON LODGE NO. 31. 
 
 On April 6, 1905, a request for a dispensation to form a 
 lodge to be known as King Solomon Lodge, " to be held at 
 Washington during the daytime," and carrying the recom- 
 mendation of Osiris Lodge, No. 26, was presented to Grand 
 Master Lurtin R. Ginn, who granted the request the follow- 
 ing day, and at the same time appointed Wm. H. Singleton 
 as Master, Joseph L. Atkins as S. W., and Philander C. John- 
 son as J. W. 
 
 In addition to the above the names appearing as signers of 
 the petition were : Hamilton Adams, Jewell H. Aubere, Wil- 
 liam Levering Devries, Weston Fhnt, Austin Elmer Heiss, 
 
 D. Percy Hickhng, Lorenzo C. Hover, Christopher T. Hutch- 
 inson, John E. Jones, Alfred M. Lambeth, P. M. ; John D. 
 La Mothe, P. M. ; Frank S. Lerch, Joseph E. Luckett, J. Bar- 
 ton Miller, Thomas C. Noyes, William S. Odell, August 
 Peterson, Charles E. Sayles, Charles Scherer, William Scherer, 
 Parker H. Sweet, Jr., Elkanah N. Waters, and William H. 
 Wunder. 
 
 On May 10 of the same year the Grand Lodge of the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia granted a charter to the lodge thus formed, 
 under the name of King Solomon Lodge, No. 31, F. A. A. M., 
 and on May 25 the lodge was instituted in the lodge room at 
 Scottish Rite Cathedral, 1007 G Street, N. W., with the 
 following officers in the various stations : Master, William H. 
 Singleton; Senior Warden, Joseph L. Atkins; Junior Ward- 
 en, Philander C. Johnson; Secretary, Parker H. Sweet, Jr.; 
 Treasurer, A. M. Lambeth; Senior Deacon, Charles Scherer; 
 Junior Deacon, William H. Wunder; Senior Steward, John 
 
 E. Jones; Junior Steward, Frank S. Lerch; Tiler, J. H. 
 Trimble. 
 
 During the formative period of the lodge a number of 
 names were under consideration, among them being McKin- 
 
248 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 ley, Meridian, Daylight, Abrac (The Lost Word), and King 
 Solomon. This latter was also the name selected by certain 
 petitioners for a charter in 1864: whose application met with 
 refusal by the Grand Lodge. 
 
 King Solomon Lodge, No. 31, is unique in that it is the 
 only Masonic lodge in the District of Columbia that meets in 
 daytime. There are but six daylight lodges in the United 
 States, the others being located in New York City, Chicago, 
 St. Louis, Louisville, and Richmond. Designed for the con- 
 venience of newspaper men and other night workers it at 
 once became popular and by September 30, 1905, had in- 
 creased its membership fifty per cent., and has since main- 
 tained a satisfactory growth, now carrying 60 names on its 
 rolls. 
 
 This lodge met at the place of its institution until the 
 completion of the new Temple, when it found quarters there. 
 The gavel falls at 1 P. M. of the first Wednesday in each 
 month. 
 
 No. 31 is as yet too young to have attained place in the 
 official line of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Lurtin R. 
 Ginn, 05t; Wm. H. Singleton, 05; Jos. L. Atkins, 06; 
 Charles Scherer, 07 ; Wm. H. Wunder, 08 ; Charles E. Sayles, 
 09; John Lane Johns, 10. 
 
 Following are the officers of the centennial year : 
 
 Martin L. Statler, W. M. ; Delos W. Thayer, S. W., and 
 Bert V. Wolfe, J. W. 
 
 TEMPLE LODGE, NO. 32. 
 
 This young member of the local Masonic family, coming 
 
 into existence in 1907, at a time when the new Temple was 
 
 well under way, and owing its formation in some measure, at 
 
 . least, to the increased activity in Masonic circles traceable to 
 
 that enterprise, is most appropriately named. 
 
 Grand Master Francis J. Woodman on October 13, 1907, 
 in response to a numerously signed petition, recommended by 
 Harmony Lodge, No. 17, granted a dispensation for the 
 
HOME OF WM. R SINGLETON LODGE. NO. 30, TENLEY, D. C 
 
 HOME OF STANSBURY LODGE. NO. 24, BRIGHTWOOD. D. C. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 349 
 
 formation of a lodge to be known as Temple Lodge, U. D., 
 and at the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, upon 
 proper application, this action was ratified by a charter being 
 issued to the new lodge with the number 32. 
 
 The officers named in the several petitions and accepted as 
 such were: Thomas C. Noyes, Master; Louis C. Wilson, 
 S. W. ; and John Paul Earnest, J. W. 
 
 The membership roll of the Lodge October 30, 1907, fol- 
 lows: Thomas C. Noyes, Master; Louis C. Wilson, P. M., 
 Senior Warden; John Paul Earnest, Junior Warden; Louis 
 A. Dent, Acting Secretary; E. Southard Parker, P. M., Acting 
 Treasurer; Charles E. Berry, Clifford K. Berryman, P. M. ; 
 James O. Breast, Merritt O. Chance, Price C. Claflin, Fred G. 
 Coldren, Joseph H. Cranford, Joseph H. Curran, Thaddeus 
 C. Dulin, Daniel W. Edelin, John O. Evans, Percy S. Foster, 
 Williams C. Fox, Daniel Fraser, Robert T. Frazier, Harry 
 Giovannoli, Edwin S. Graham, Benjamin W. Guy, Willard 
 F. Hallam, Henry G. Hanford, George W. Harris, Leroy W. 
 Herron, John G. Hodges, Clement W. Huske, Harvey S. 
 Irwin, John Edward Jenks, Philander C. Johnson, John E. 
 Jones, Carter B. Keene, J. Thomas Kelley, Jr. ; W. Seton 
 Kent, Charles E. Kern, Stirling Kerr, Jr.; Claude F. King, 
 P. M. ; Richard Kingsman, Walter H. Klopfer, D. Olin Leech, 
 William Clifford Long, Edwin S. Lothrop, Joseph E. Luckett, 
 Thomas I. Luckett, Alexander McKenzie, S. G. S. ; Fred E. 
 Mann, Edwin S. Marlow, Addis D. Merritt, P. M. ; Frank P. 
 Milburn, George W. Miller, Benjarnin S. Minor, Henry B. 
 Mirick, John Mitchell, Jr., J. Gales Moore, John B. Morrey, 
 Irving C. Norwood, Francis Nye, P. M. ; Deruelle S. Porter, 
 John L. Prosise, William H. Rapley, William F. Roberts, 
 Charles C. Rogers, William Scherer, Francis A. Sebring, 
 P. M. ; Franc E. Sheiry, P. M. ; Lindley E. Smith, Bartholo- 
 mew F. Smith, Edward H. Snyder, William M. Steuart, 
 Harry C. C. Stiles, Isaac S. Stone, James E. Stuart, John E. 
 Taylor, Lewis L. Thompson, J. Frank Trazzare, Matthew 
 Trimble, P. G. M.; Hylas T. Wheeler, P. M.; Charles E. 
 Wood, Waddy B. Wood, and Elliott Woods. 
 
 Honorary contributing members — Charles E. Baldwin, 
 
250 HISTORY Oif FREEMASONRY 
 
 J. G. D.; Noel W. Barksdale, P. M.; Joseph H. Bradley, 
 Walter A. Brown, P. G. M. ; Jacob W. Collins, M. ; Augustus 
 B. Coolidge, D. G. M.; Ernest H. Daniel, P. M.; Harrison 
 Dingman, P. G. M. ; Roe Fulkerson, Lurtin R. Ginn, P. G. M. ; 
 Alexander Grant, J. G. S. ; Benjamin S. Graves, P. M. ; Wil- 
 liam F. Gude, P. M.; William G. Henderson, P. G. M.; 
 William W. Jermane, P. M. ; Arthur D. Marks, Joseph H. 
 Milans, P. M. ; Thomas P. Morgan, P. M. ; James A. Sample, 
 P. G. M. ; Henry K. Simpson, S. G. W. ; J. Henry Small, Jr., 
 P. G. M.; John Speed Smith, G. P.; Harry Standiford, 
 P. G. M. ; Lem Towers, Jr., M. ; Frank R. Underwood, M., 
 and J. Louis Willige, Jr., P. M. 
 
 Temple Lodge, U. D., held its first meeting October 27, 
 1907, on which occasion nearly all of the approximately 
 100 members were present, and was formally instituted as 
 No. 32 December 26, 1907. 
 
 The lodge was formed with purposes claimed to be in ad- 
 vance of the present methods of conducting a Masonic Lodge, 
 and in pursuance of this departure at once placed the initia- 
 tion fee at $100 and the dues at $20, both figures largely 
 in excess of the prevailing custom. In outline, it was pro- 
 posed to form a lodge with a membership small enough to 
 permit a close acquaintance among those who join it, as many 
 lodges in the District are acknowledged to be so large in mem- 
 bership as to make it practically impossible to accomplish that 
 end. It was also proposed to fix the amount of dues high 
 enough to have the lodge fully supported from that source 
 without the necessity of having initiation fees to make up a 
 deficit, which has been regarded as an undesirable condition 
 that generally exists in other lodges. " Temple Lodge intends 
 to demonstrate," it is declared in the statement of the objects 
 and purposes of the new lodge, " that a lodge can be made up, 
 can thrive, can do good work, can give expression to the very 
 highest and best of Masonic principles, and can foster the true 
 Masonic fellowship among its members without low dues 
 or large membership." 
 
 The venture may now be considered as well beyond the 
 experimental stage, and has amply justified the theories and 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 251 
 
 hopes of its founders, the latest roster showing a total of 
 96 names. 
 
 While yet too young to have acquired place in the official 
 line of the Grand Lodge, there are many brethren on its 
 honorary roll who have served therein with distinction. 
 
 The present list of Past Masters is as follows : Matthew 
 Trimble, 07* ; Alexander McKenzie, 07* ; Francis A. Sebring, 
 07*; Claude F. King, 07*; Clifford K. Berryman, 07*; Hylas 
 T. Wheeler, 07* ; E. Southard Parker, 07* ; Francis Nye, 07* ; 
 Addis D. Merritt, 07* ; Franc E. Sheiry, 07* ; Louis C. Wil- 
 son, 07*. 
 
 Following are the officers for the centennial year : 
 
 Carter B. Keene, W. M. ; Sterling Kerr, Jr., S. W., and 
 LeRoy W. Herron, J. W. 
 
 MT. PLEASANT LODGE, NO. 33. 
 
 The remarkable growth of the City of Washington having 
 in the first decade of the twentieth century brought into ex- 
 istence a large and thickly populated section in the northwest, 
 formerly suburban, an absolutely new and unbroken Masonic 
 territory was thereby developed, and the recognition of this 
 fact led to the presentation, at the Annual Communication 
 held December 21, 1910, of a petition, recommended by 
 Stansbury Lodge, No. 24, and signed by sixty-five brethren, 
 to open and hold a lodge in the northwestern section of the 
 city to be. known as Mt. Pleasant Lodge, No. 33, and nominat- 
 ing Bro. Richard C. Lewis, P. M., as W. M. ; Bro. Charles H. 
 Bradley as S. W., and Bro. Edwin Allen Swingle as J. W. 
 
 The petition was unanimously granted the same evening 
 and a charter ordered to issue as requested. 
 
 Thus, under most auspicious and promising circumstances, 
 came into being a lodge for which there is every reason to 
 predict a prosperous future. 
 
 The meeting nights are the first and third Mondays of each 
 month, and the present location in the vicinity of Fourteenth 
 Street and Park Road, Northwest, pending building opera- 
 tions in the near future. 
 
252 HISTOHY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 The charter list is as follows : W. W. Adams, Howard S. 
 Austin, E. L. Beech, Wm. A. Bennett, Jackson F. Blair, F. 
 W. Bolgiano, Chas. H. Bradley, Edw. S. Brashears, Frank 
 W. Garden, James W. Cheney, G. B. Chipman, Jos. R. Cos- 
 tinett, Harry B. Cramer, C. E. Crump, Chas. F. Cummins, 
 Harry A. Cummins, G. Frank Day, Charles Diedel, Henry W. 
 Draper, Charles Drexilious, Rev. Geo. F. Dudley, Geo. J. Ef- 
 feren, Henry B. Elliott, Guy Ervin, Henry Evans, Wm. G. 
 Gentner, Wm. B. Green, W. T. Hackett, Edw. Hammond, 
 Wilbur S. Hawer, S. V. Hopping, Edw. S. Huguely, Geo. W. 
 Huguely, Harry C. James, Chas. A. Jaquette, James Kane, 
 Wm. Herbert Keen, Thomas W. Keller, Charles H. Korts, 
 Richard C. Lewis, C. S. Mackenzie, Geo. H. Markwood, Chas. 
 W. Moore, H. G. McLean, Edwin A. Newman, J. Wm, Palm- 
 er, D. G. Pfeiffer, Edwin Potbury, W. W. Poultney, Levin B. 
 Price, Edwin E. Putnam, Jno. F. Putnam, Jr., M. B. Rich- 
 mond, Wilbur H. Rock, Geo. C. Ross, Charles Sonne, Edwin 
 A. Swingle, R. W. Talbott, Miles Taylor, John W. Ward, 
 Thos. F. Warren, Denwood S. White, D. Elmer Wiber, Jud- 
 son J. Withall, Geo. H. H. Zellers. 
 
 UNION LODGE, U. D. (ALEXANDRIA, VA.). 
 
 The history of this lodge, which operated from February 
 23, 1863, to December 37, 1864, under renewed dispensations 
 from the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, consti- 
 tutes a most interesting episode of the " Late Unpleasantness," 
 and is set out in detail in Chapter IX. 
 
 MILITARY LODGES, U. D. 
 
 It is a matter of record that quite a number of military 
 organizations during the War of the Rebellion carried in 
 their midst traveling or Army Lodges, working under dis- 
 pensations from various Grand Lodges, and this was not con- 
 sidered an infraction of jurisdiction, but, on the contrary, 
 was encouraged by our own Grand Lodge, which also early 
 authorized the Grand Master to issue similar dispensations 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 253 
 
 upon application. In accordance therewith dispensations were 
 issued as follows : 
 
 May 16, 1861, to Marshall Lefferts, Colonel of the 7th 
 Regt. National Guard of the State of New York, and seventy- 
 two members of that regiment, to hold a camp lodge to be 
 known as " National Guard Lodge." 
 
 September 24, 1861, to Colonel Horatio G. Sickel and ten 
 other brethren of the 3d Regt. Penn. Res. Corps, to be known 
 as " The Potomac Lodge." 
 
 January 14, 1862, to Colonel Wm. Linn Tidball and a 
 constitutional number of brethren of the 59th Regt. N. Y. 
 S. v., with the designation " Good Hope Lodge." 
 
 Early in 1863, to a number of brethren to hold a camp 
 lodge within the 3d Brig., 1st Div., 5th A. C, Army of the 
 Potomac, to be called the " Lodge of the Union." 
 
 These were looked upon as emergent lodges, and were not 
 held to the usual strict accountability in the matter of returns, 
 and as a consequence the existing data in reference to them is 
 very meager. 
 
 LODGE OF MUTUAL BENEVOLENCE. 
 
 On November 1, 1859, the Grand Lodge granted a charter 
 for the formation of a lodge to be known as the " Lodge of 
 Mutual Benevolence," with S. T. Shugert, E. L. Stevens, and 
 A. G. Fowler as Master, S. W., and J. W., respectively. This 
 lodge was designed for systematic relief work, after the 
 general plan afterward developed by the Masonic Board of 
 Relief, but failing to enlist the active cooperation of all the 
 lodges surrendered its charter December 27, 1861. No num- 
 ber having been given, its demise left no break in the numeri- 
 cal sequence of the chartered lodges. 
 
254 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAJPTER XVI. 
 
 BENEVOLENCES. 
 
 THE SUBJECT IN GENERAL EARLY METHODS THE MASONIC 
 
 MUTUAL RELIEF ASSOCIATION — ST. JOHN's MITE ASSO- 
 CIATION THE MASONIC BOARD OF RELIEF THE 
 
 MASONIC AND EASTERN STAR HOME. 
 
 "But the greatest of these is Charity.' 
 
 Systematic benevolence within the Fraternity is of com- 
 paratively recent origin, and is the natural and logical out- 
 growth of the greatly changed and enlarged conditions within 
 and without the body of Masonry since the early days of the 
 nineteenth century. During the period preceding the forma- 
 tion of the Grand Lodge and for a number of years thereafter, 
 the City of Washington being a collection of widely scattered 
 settlements with inadequate means of satisfactory intercom- 
 munication it necessarily followed that the several lodges had 
 each its more or less well defined zone of influence within 
 which its charitable activities were concentrated. Through 
 the gradual expansion and overlapping of these several terri- 
 tories and the consequent closer touch of the lodges with each 
 other came ultimately the necessity for cooperation and sys- 
 tem, and while by reason of that system detailed reports of 
 expenditures for relief have for a number of years been an- 
 nually published, in striking contrast to the entire absence of 
 such reports at an earlier period, it must not be inferred there- 
 from that our predecessors were not active and liberal along 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 255 
 
 this line. Indeed evidence is not wanting to indicate that 
 from the very nature of existing conditions this work appealed 
 more strongly to the individual Mason than now. Charity 
 was a personal obligation, not to be comfortably and easily 
 delegated to this or that organization. It is of record in the 
 earlier lodges that the matter of the education of the children 
 of deceased Master Masons was never neglected, and this, 
 being before the era of free schools, sometimes constituted 
 quite a drain upon the meager resources of the lodges and 
 individuals, but was never evaded or scaled. Then, too, this 
 education was not always confined to the ordinary rudiments, 
 but in cases of apparent talent was carried along special lines, 
 thereby thoroughly equipping the young for the battle of life, 
 and there lies upon the desk of the author at this moment 
 corroboration of this in the case of a young orphan girl in the 
 care of Naval Lodge, whose tuition for lessons on the " piano- 
 forte" was a regular appropriation for a long period. The 
 widows were frequently helped in a practical way, where the 
 case seemed to warrant it, by being set up comfortably in some 
 business, and these items, frequently running into the hun- 
 dreds of dollars, were cheerfully met, more often than other- 
 wise, by individual subscription. A distressed brother had 
 but to appear as such, no matter where he hailed from, and 
 relief by the same means would be accorded him. 
 
 Nor was their charity narrow. No case of want within 
 their knowledge failed to awaken sympathy and loosen their 
 lightly-tied purse strings, and it was a frequent occurrence for 
 the various early lodges to form a procession of the brethren 
 and the orphan children of some asylum, and, after an exten- 
 sive parade, take up a collection for the benefit of said institu- 
 tion, and the sums realized thus, when the limited number of 
 contributors is considered, is nothing short of astounding. 
 
 It was the age of individual obligation and effort, and while 
 in the process of evolution new, and at the same time thor- 
 oughly adequate methods, have come into being and are nobly 
 carrying on the work, the tribute of our respect must be laid 
 at the feet of these pioneers who wrought to the full measure 
 
256 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. 
 
 of their opportunities and blazed the way along which the 
 Fraternity have come to a ripened career of usefulness. 
 
 Perhaps the earliest evidence of organized effort is given 
 by the records of Naval Lodge, in 1838, in which year a 
 so-called beneficial association within the lodge, especially de- 
 signed for the relief of sick brethren, was started, and while 
 encountering some opposition in the Grand Lodge was not 
 actually prohibited by that body, and flourished for at least 
 thirty years, apparently accomplishing much good. 
 
 By the middle of the century the pressing need of system 
 and cooperation led to the formation of the " Lodge of Mutual 
 Benevolence," to which the Grand Lodge granted a charter 
 November 1, 1859. This lodge was designed to establish a 
 system for the handling of worthy cases of need, somewhat in 
 the manner afterward developed by the Masonic Board of Re- 
 lief, and, indeed, did considerable work along that line in the 
 short period of its existence, but, by reason of inability to 
 arouse sufficient interest lost ground, and finally expired in 
 the latter part of 1861. 
 
 In 1859 the aggregate sum expended for relief by the 
 several lodges ($1,107.59) was first made a matter of rec- 
 ord. This in a few years became an established custom, 
 which still obtains, and while the tabulation of these and 
 kindred statistics might have a certain value, the character 
 of this work forbids their insertion, and permits only the 
 broadest treatment. The most striking development of a 
 study of these figures is the fact that subsequent to the Civil 
 War, a period of unusually heavy expenditure for relief, the 
 aggregate annual sum for charity bears a remarkable relation 
 to the aggregate membership, and while never showing exact 
 similarity of growth, yet the variation on either side of $1 
 per capita per year is so slight as to be negligible, and that 
 sum may safely be set down as the rate for the last fifty 
 years. This, of course, deals only with the sums coming 
 within the purview of the Grand Secretary, and is aside from 
 many items which never are of record nor reach that official, 
 and is also exclusive of the annual appropriations for the 
 
JAMES A. SAMPLE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1890; GRAND TREASURER SINCE 1902. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COIvUMBIA 257 
 
 support of St. John's Mite Association, the Masonic Board of 
 Relief, and the Masonic and Eastern Star Home. 
 
 As has been stated, the period of the War of the Rebellion 
 made many demands on the means of the Fraternity, and in 
 1863 the Grand Lodge met in special session to devise some 
 scheme of cooperation among the lodges to meet these de- 
 mands. This movement does not seem to have been success- 
 ful, but in the latter part of the War, St. John's Lodge taking 
 the initiative, a concerted movement, participated in by most 
 of the Masonic bodies, was put on foot and did much toward 
 extending systematic relief to the sick and wounded Federal 
 and Confederate brethren until the close of hostilities. 
 Through this medium the sum of $535, together with large 
 donations of clothing and tobacco, were contributed by the 
 different lodges and by individual brethren, and the wants of 
 the members of the Fraternity remaining in the hospitals in 
 this city were relieved and many subsequently assisted in reach- 
 ing their homes. 
 
 The various great disasters which have visited the country 
 have each called forth a most liberal money contribution from 
 the brethren of the District of Columbia, and by way of re- 
 capitulation it may be recited that the sum of $3,334.90 was 
 sent to the Chicago fire sufferers in 1871 ; $1,789.50 to yellow 
 fever sufferers at Memphis, Tenn., and Shreveport, La., in 
 1873; $533.46 to Mississippi flood sufferers, in 1874; $130 to 
 sufferers in Kansas through failure of the crops, in 1875; 
 $1,553.30 to yellow fever sufferers in the South, in 1878 ; in- 
 dividual contributions of many of the local lodges, aggregate 
 unknown, to Johnstown, Fa., victims, in 1889; $1,330 to 
 sufferers in Galveston disaster, in 1900; $896.35 to relieve 
 sufferers from Jacksonville, Fla., fire, in 1901, and $3,616.50 
 to the San Francisco earthquake sufferers, in 1906. 
 
 A chapter on the charity of the local Fraternity would not 
 be complete did it not include mention, at least, of the Masonic 
 Mutual Relief Association, an insurance organization limited 
 to members of the Order, which was chartered March 3, 
 1869, and is still in active operation. An incalculable amount 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 of good has been done in the forty-odd years of its existence 
 in the relief of the widows and orphans of its policy-holders, 
 and while changed conditions have within the last few years 
 necessitated some readjustment of its rates, its career has been 
 uninterrupted and its usefulness in its own peculiar field un- 
 impaired. The officers and directors are drawn from the 
 various lodges, and the representative character of these brethr 
 ren is sufficient voucher for the integrity and stability of the 
 institution. 
 
 Another form of Masonic charity is the distribution upon 
 each recurring Christmas day by the members of Almas Tem- 
 ple of the Mystic Shrine of thousands of generous baskets of 
 provisions to the poor of the city, and this labor of love 
 knows no bounds of Fraternity, race, nor creed, but flows 
 freely and unquestioningly wherever there are hungry mouths 
 to feed; and who can measure the good thus done, not only 
 in satisfying temporary physical want but in bringing into 
 many shadowed by-ways a little of the Christmas sunshine and 
 cheer which makes for happiness and peace. 
 
 With this rapid outline handling of the subject as a whole 
 we come to more detailed but still concise sketches of the 
 three agencies to the support of which the Fraternity is 
 pledged and through which a large proportion of the charity 
 of the organization finds its expression. Each has its peculiar 
 and well defined sphere of action, and in the rare cases where 
 there exists a doubt as to the proper medium of relief there is 
 a hearty, whole-souled, and unselfish cooperation before which 
 the difficulty disappears. These agencies are St. John's Mite 
 Association, the Masonic Board of Relief, and the Masonic 
 and Eastern Star Home, named in the order of their seniority, 
 and are briefly treated as follows : 
 
 ST. John's mite association. 
 
 This Association was organized in 1872, and has enjoyed 
 an uninterrupted career of usefulness to the present day. It 
 is composed of one delegate from each of the subordinate 
 
IN THE DISTRICT Off COLUMBIA 259 
 
 lodges, and was formed for the purpose of rendering relief to 
 Master Masons of this jurisdiction, their wives, widows, and 
 children, and primarily to relieve the lodges of a share of the 
 burdens they encountered. The revenue until 1898 was limited 
 and uncertain, being mainly, derived from voluntary contribu- 
 tions from the several lodges, but in that year it came into 
 possession of a fund of about $15,500, a generous bequest of 
 the late Bro. Anthony Buchly, a member at the time of his 
 death of Federal Lodge, No. 1, of this jurisdiction, and for 
 several years Treasurer of the Grand Lodge, the possession of 
 which fund has enabled it to most satisfactorily widen its 
 field of usefulness. In addition to the voluntary contribu- 
 tions above referred to various methods were resorted to to 
 swell the fund, and among these were a series of " sociables," 
 held in the winters of 81-83 and 82-83, which not only netted 
 a comfortable sum, which was equally divided between the 
 two kindred Associations, St. John's Mite and the Masonic 
 Board of Relief, but brought the Masonic families into closer 
 touch with each other, and served a very useful purpose along 
 that rather neglected line. The Association has been fortu- 
 nate in having been able to command the active support of 
 many of our most earnest, capable, and unselfish brethren,, 
 and its success is, of course, in the largest measure due to that 
 fact. Past Grand Master Donaldson was for some time its 
 president, and R. W. Bro. Andrew Glass, vice-president. The 
 former was succeeded in 1903 and the latter in 1907 by the 
 present incumbents. Past Grand Master Walter A. Brown as 
 president, and Brother Samuel Hart as vice-president; and, 
 under the able management and with the hearty support given 
 to the charity by each, the Association is now doing an ever 
 increasing amount of good. Quietly and unostentatiously it 
 has for years been pushing its work of bringing succor to the 
 distressed and needy, and this in such delicate and tactful 
 ways that no humiliation is felt, and hundreds of families 
 have experienced its beneficence without ever knowing the 
 source of their relief. Since its formation its great useful- 
 ness has been so apparent that it has ever been most popular, 
 
26o HISTORY Olf FREEMASONRY 
 
 SO much so, indeed, that in 1891, when the project of building 
 a Masonic Home was under discussion, the then Grand Mas- 
 ter, W. Bro. Thos. F. Gibbs, strongly recommended the placing 
 of the matter wholly in the hands of this Association. 
 
 MASONIC BOARD OF REUEE. 
 
 This Board was the logical outcome of a condition which, 
 in the latter part of the last century, became so increasingly 
 annoying and difficult to handle as to necessitate active meas- 
 ures for relief. This condition was the ceaseless procession 
 through our midst of a class of worthless impostors who, as 
 has been aptly said, " wandered around the country on the 
 strength of a Masonic pin or half-forgotten obligation," and 
 besieged the local lodges and individual brethren, in season 
 and out of season, for aid. The impossibility of differentiat- 
 ing between the worthy and unworthy frequently led to great 
 injustice being done to the deserving and substantial aid being 
 given to the professional parasites, a situation most distressing 
 to the thinking and feeling members of the Fraternity. While 
 the whole country suffered from the plague it was perhaps 
 more virulent in this city, by reason of its large floating popu- 
 lation and general reputation for prosperity, than elsewhere. 
 
 The matter of organizing a Board of Relief to meet the 
 situation was formally before the Grand Lodge as early as 
 1866, and was referred to the then existent " Board of Mas- 
 ters," which reported favorably upon the project, but for some 
 reason the movement came to naught, and, altho the subject 
 was urged upon the attention of the brethren by practically 
 all the succeeding Grand Masters, it was not until the early 
 days of 1879 that the Masonic Board of Relief came into 
 actual existence. At the date of the first report, Novem- 
 ber 1, 1879, thirteen of the twenty-one lodges in the juris- 
 diction were contributing to its support, and, while for 
 quite a period of years a small number held aloof, the wisdom 
 and effectiveness of the plan finally brought all within the fold. 
 
THOMAS F. GIBBS, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1891. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0? COLUMBIA 261 
 
 and the Association now has the entire Fraternity as its sup- 
 port and every brother a well wisher. 
 
 The objects, as stated in the first report, were : " First, to 
 avoid granting rehef to imposters; second, to avoid hasty or 
 inconsiderate action, and, third, to distribute the work and 
 expenditure proportionably among the several lodges." 
 
 The revenue has been derived f ronj the first by an annual per 
 capita assessment upon the lodges represented, and has never 
 entailed a great burden, running as low as five cents per capita, 
 and even at times passing the year without any assessment 
 whatever. As in the case of St. John's Mite, the income has 
 been in past years further increased by entertainments of 
 various character. 
 
 The experience obtained by the few years of its existence 
 in 1887 dictated the wisdom of certain changes in the matter 
 of the personnel of the Board and the methods of dispensing 
 charity, and led to a reorganization in that year, on the sug- 
 gestion of the then president, W. Bro. L. Cabell Williamson. 
 Under the new system each lodge elected and has continued to 
 elect two representatives, one for one year and one for two, 
 thus insuring a continuing Board. Other important changes 
 were the fixing of the maximum annual assessment at twenty 
 cents per capita and the definite limiting of the works of the 
 Association to strangers and sojourners in the District. 
 
 At the date of the organization of the local Board similar 
 boards existed in several States, and, the number of these 
 rapidly increasing, a General Masonic Relief Association of 
 the United States and Canada was organized, September 1, 
 1885, in Baltimore, Md., and through this medium the several 
 jurisdictions have kept in intimate touch with each other, and 
 by a perfected system of intercommunication have been able 
 successfully to cope with an unbearable evil which had for 
 years been diverting the funds of the Fraternity from their 
 legitimate charities. 
 
 In this General Association the local workers have been 
 active, and have been honored with important official posi- 
 tions, and as an evidence of their influence it may be noted 
 
262 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 that the sixth annual session of that body was held in this 
 city in 1891. 
 
 From the organization to the present day full reports of 
 the operations of the local Board have been published annually 
 in the Grand Lodge Proceedings and are available to any 
 brother who desires details of figures, but the presentation 
 and analysis of statistics so easily available does not fall with- 
 in the scope of this work, and the matter is therefore briefly 
 treated in its more general aspects. 
 
 The methods of handling cases are simple. Two represent- 
 atives are on hand at the Masonic Temple each evening to 
 receive applications for aid and to act immediately if a case ap- 
 pears urgent. An applicant, for instance, represents that he 
 is a member of such a lodge in such a State, that he is in good 
 standing, and that he is temporarily embarrassed and without 
 means. He is usually, after a reasonable examination, es- 
 corted to a boarding house and made comfortable for the 
 time being. The wire is at once used, and in a few hours 
 his story is verified or disproved, and further relief is extended 
 or denied as the case warrants. Temporary embarrassment is 
 tided over and the applicant placed on his feet, or, as is more 
 often the case, transportation to his home is furnished. Ex- 
 penditures are frequently refunded by the applicant's home 
 lodge, and a surprising amount of relief work is thus done at 
 comparatively little cost. This is but one of hundreds of 
 cases of varied character, which readily suggest themselves, 
 and call for the exercise of great tact and discretion. The net 
 result of the operations of the Board has been the reduction 
 of this class of cases to a minimum, and the entire relief of 
 the lodges and individual brethren from embarrassing im- 
 portunities. 
 
 The credit of this happy result is due in no small measure 
 to the men who have given of their time and talents and 
 energy to the work, and among them we may properly men- 
 tion P. G. Master L. Cabell Williamson, at one time president, 
 and who has represented the District in the General Asso- 
 ciation and held the positions of vice-president and secretary 
 
IN THi; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 263 
 
 of that body ; P. G. Master Lurtin R. Ginn, who has also been 
 a representative in the General Association, been honored by 
 election as its president, and who has filled, most ably and ac- 
 ceptably, both the position of president and that of secretary 
 of the local Board; Junior Grand Warden, W. Bro. T. John 
 Newton, a member of the Advisory Board and president of 
 the General Association, and who has also been president 
 and secretary for many years, of the local Board; the late 
 W. Bros. John N. Birckhead and Nathaniel B. Fugitt, 
 both of whom served as president of the local Board; Past 
 Presidents, W. Bros. William Mehn, of Takoma Lodge, No. 
 29 ; Luther F. Speer, of Columbia Lodge, No. 3, and others im- 
 possible of enumeration in the limited space at command. It 
 is purely a work of love for sweet Charity's sake and the 
 good name of the Fraternity, and merits and receives the 
 universal commendation and gratitude of the brethren who 
 know something of the unselfishness and onerous character of 
 the labor thus performed. 
 
 THE MASONIC AND EASTERN STAR HOME. 
 
 This institution marks the final successful culmination of 
 one of a number of movements in this direction set on foot 
 from time to time during the century just closed. From the 
 very earliest days it has been a hope, the subject was fre- 
 quently agitated, and an occasional feeble start made, but 
 probably the first promising effort was in the late fifties, 
 when an organization of an executive committee to build a 
 Masonic Home was effected by representatives of the Grand 
 and subordinate lodges. The plan contemplated the enlisting 
 of the aid of other jurisdictions, and in furtherance of this 
 object the W. G. Chaplain, Rev. Bro. W. D. Haley, was made 
 general superintendent of the work, and to him was assigned 
 the mission of interesting the Fraternity at large in the charity ; 
 but experience soon demonstrated that the conception was too 
 comprehensive, ill-advised, and impracticable, and, being coldly 
 received, was in a short time given up. 
 
264 HISTORY OP IfREEMASONRY 
 
 In 1881 Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23, decided to endeavor to 
 establish a " Masonic Institute" in the District, in memoriam 
 of our late Bro. James A. Garfield, a member of that lodge at 
 the time of his death, and invited Columbia Commandery, 
 No. 2, K. T., and Mithras Lodge, A. A. S. R., with each of 
 which he had been affiliated, to join in the work. The invita- 
 tion being accepted, a corporation was formed under the name 
 of the " Garfield Masonic Memorial Institute," and, with the 
 approval of the Grand Lodge, active work in soliciting sub- 
 scriptions was begun. Again came failure, through inability 
 to arouse sufficient interest, and in 1885 the executive commit- 
 tee, having at that time on hand but $1,000, decided to aban- 
 don the project and turn over the money contributed to the 
 Masonic Widows' and Orphans' Home, of Louisville, Ky., 
 which was accordingly done, the donation being most accept- 
 able and receiving the thankful acknowledgment of that model 
 institution. 
 
 While the matter now rested for a period of years, it was 
 the subject of frequent recommendation by the succeeding 
 Grand Masters, and thus the ground was kept in good condi- 
 tion against the time when the seed should be finally planted. 
 
 It remained for the Order of the Eastern Star to initiate 
 the movement that has finally resulted in the establishment of 
 a Home for the care of indigent Masons, their dependent 
 widows and orphans, and members of the Order of the Eastern 
 Star. 
 
 While the advisability of entering upon the work of estab- 
 lishing such an institution received the attention of the Order 
 for some years, the actual crystallization of thought and effort 
 grew out of the circumstance that in 1898 the untimely death 
 of a brother left three children without adequate means of 
 support. At the instance of the then Grand Matron of the 
 District, Carolyn A. Handy, arrangements for the temporary 
 care of the orphans were made by members of the Eastern 
 Star, and at the next annual communication of the Grand 
 Chapter the Grand Matron urged the establishment of a Home 
 for the needy of both the Masonic and Eastern Star Orders, 
 
FIRST MEETING PLACE OF M. M. PARKER 
 LODGE. No. 27. 
 
 Third and H Streets, N. K. 
 
 THIRD MEETING PLACE OF M. M. PARKER LOOSE, NO. 27. 
 
 Twelfth and H Streets, N. E. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O? COLUMBIA 265 
 
 and recommended the appointment of a committee to formu- 
 late a plan to this end. 
 
 The recommendation being agreed to, a committee was 
 appointed, which committee reported favorably in 1899, and, 
 having sounded the various subordinate chapters in the mean- 
 time, made certain specific recommendations, among others 
 that the name of the institution should be " The Masonic and 
 Eastern Star Home," that it should be regularly incorporated, 
 and that an annual per capita tax of twenty-five cents should 
 be levied on the subordinate chapters for the support thereof, 
 together with other provisions as to the selection- of incorpo- 
 rators, said incorporators to constitute the Board of Directors. 
 
 At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, Novem- 
 ber 8, 1899, the cooperation of that body was solicited, and a 
 special committee was appointed to take up the matter. This 
 committee reported at the May communication of 1900 and 
 recommended that, in view of the undertaking of building a 
 new Masonic Temple, it would be unwrise to assume additional 
 burdens at that time ; and while the opinion was also expressed 
 that as the Grand Lodge was the ruling Masonic body it should 
 have entire control and direction of such an enterprise, the 
 committee expressed hearty sympathy in the objects, aims, and 
 purposes to be accomplished, and also recommended the ap- 
 propriation of a sum not to exceed $500 as a donation to the 
 work. While the report and recommendations were adopted, 
 the character of the appropriation recommended was such 
 that no action was taken under it, but in 1903, in response to 
 an appeal for the Grand Lodge to aid and approve of a pro- 
 posed fair to be held for the benefit of the Home, the sum of 
 $300 was appropriated, and paid over to the Home officials 
 in 1903. 
 
 The action of the Grand Lodge necessitated a change in the 
 name of the institution, and the word " Masonic" was accord- 
 ingly dropped, and an act of incorporation under the changed 
 conditions was passed by Congress and approved March 10, 
 1903. 
 
 In the meantime, by a series of entertainments and by a 
 
266 HISTORY OE" Freemasonry 
 
 fair held in 1903, together with donations from the different 
 Masonic bodies and individuals, a building fund of $13,500 
 had been accumulated. 
 
 In the spring of 1904 Mrs. Sarah Seek, as an act of pure 
 beneficence, donated five acres of land on Sligo Mill Road, 
 about one-half mile north of Stott's Station on the Baltimore 
 and Ohio Railroad, as a Home site, and the Board of Direct- 
 ors, under authority given by the Grand Chapter, purchased 
 five adjoining acres at a cost of $5,000, payable in twenty 
 equal annual installments without interest. By the will of 
 this lady, who died in 1907, the notes for the remaining de- 
 ferred payments subsequent to the date of her death were 
 cancelled, and the Home came into absolute possession of the 
 entire ten acres. 
 
 Early in 1905 ground was broken for the erection of the 
 west wing of the proposed building, plans for which had been 
 accepted some time previously, and the cornerstone was laid 
 by the Grand Lodge, W. Bro. Lurtin R. Ginn, Grand Master, 
 officiating, on May 17, of that year, in the presence of a large 
 assemblage of Masons, members of the Order of the Eastern 
 Star, and friends. 
 
 At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, Decem- 
 ber 32, 1905, Grand Master Ginn made a most eloquent appeal 
 for the cooperation of the Grand Lodge in the noble work, 
 both by a per capita assessment and permission to use the 
 word " Masonic." The appeal was not in vain, and at the 
 St. John's Day communication following permission was 
 granted to amend the title of the Home and the appointment 
 of three representatives on the Board of Directors authorized. 
 The three first named were P. G. Masters Wetmore and Ginn 
 and W. Bro. Charles J. James, all active workers in the cause. 
 In December, 1907, P. G. Master Williamson succeeded P. G. 
 Master Wetmore, the latter declining to serve longer, and the 
 Grand Lodge trio of representatives thus formed remains so 
 constituted to the present. 
 
 The Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, 
 January 6, 1906, in acknowledgment of this action of the 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 01'' COI<UMBIA 267 
 
 Grand Lodge, authorized the amendment of the act of incor- 
 poration to include the word " Masonic" and to provide for a 
 representative from each of the Masonic Lodges on the Board 
 of Directors, and at the first session of the Fifty-ninth Con- 
 gress the Act. was accordingly so amended. 
 
 In September, 1906, the Grand Lodge levied a per capita 
 tax of twenty-five cents upon the subordinate lodges, which 
 at once, with the Eastern Star per capita, gave a fixed income 
 of $3,600, which has since, by natural growth in both Orders, 
 been materially increased. 
 
 The completed portion of the Home was dedicated by Grand 
 Master Walter A. Brown, assisted by the other officers of the 
 Grand Lodge, October 16, 1906, and, as upon the occasion of 
 the. laying of the cornerstone, a special train was used to 
 transport the great gathering of friends to and from the city. 
 
 Thus the institution so long dreamed of became a fact. The 
 policy of the management from the beginning has been not to 
 incur a cent of debt, and this has been rigidly adhered to, so 
 that the Home is today absolutely without incumbrance. 
 
 It is located on a commanding eminence, north of the 
 Soldiers' Home grounds, and while still difficult of access and 
 with crude environment, the time is not far distant when the 
 opening of avenues and the spread of the city in that direction 
 will bring great and desirable changes. The accompanying 
 halftone and engraving show the wing already erected and 
 occupied and the plan of the completed building, which will 
 be one of the most thoroughly equipped modern institutions 
 of the kind in the country. 
 
 While avoiding the mention of names in this connection, 
 where so many workers have given liberally of their time and 
 efforts, it is yet the simplest justice to say that to the enthu- 
 siasm and executive ability of Mrs. Alcena Lamond, the first 
 Grand Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star in the District 
 of Columbia and President of the Board of Directors since 
 its organization, is in a large measure due the successful out- 
 come of the movement. 
 
 The building was at once thoroughly furnished through the 
 
268 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 generosity of the several Eastern Star chapters and individual 
 members of that Order, and immediately started on its labor 
 of love by receiving and caring for the needy. That the 
 charity was a much needed one is vouched for by the fact 
 that in a few years the limited space available, which in 1909 
 had been further augmented by the conversion of the attic 
 story into a number of rooms, had already been taken up by 
 accepted applicants, since which time an undesirably crowded 
 condition has obtained, which can only be relieved by the 
 completion of the original plans, funds for which purpose 
 have been accumulating from various sources, but not in such 
 volume, up to the date of publication, as to justify early action. 
 The same indomitable spirit, however, that has brought the 
 work thus far will, beyond the shadow of a doubt, press it to 
 successful conclusion. 
 
IN THS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 269 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE WORK. 
 
 GRADUAL EVOLUTION OP LATTER-DAY RITUALISM — ORIGIN AND 
 DEVELOPMENT OE THE CEREMONIAL IN THE DISTRICT. 
 
 "The center of Masonic unity is faith in God; its chief manual is the 
 
 Holy Bible." 
 
 One oe the greatest and at the same time most common 
 misconceptions in the Fraternity is that of investing our ritual- 
 ism with the antiquity and importance of the fundamental 
 principles upon which the institution is builded, and, as a con- 
 sequence, we find the tendency in a certain school of Masons 
 to violently oppose the slightest change in ceremonial, holding 
 all such departures as infringements of the ancient land- 
 marks. 
 
 While this is not the time nor place to advance an argument 
 for or against this position, yet, in order that the mind of 
 the average brother may be prepared to receive without 
 shock the disillusioning story of the evolution of our modern 
 degrees, we hold it proper to emphasize the thought that 
 ritualism is not Masonry ; that the ceremonial is but the casket 
 in which the imperishable jewel rests, and that this great sys- 
 tem of morality we call Masonry depends in small degree upon 
 the changing forms and ceremonies with which successive 
 generations have clothed it, but has stood the test of un- 
 known ages simply by reason of the fact that it contains 
 
270 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 within itself those great and eternal principles which make 
 for the development of the moral nature, the uplift of the 
 human race, and the practical demonstration of the great 
 truth of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. 
 
 But the ritual, though constantly changing — naturally, in- 
 evitably, and properly changing — is still an essential, perhaps 
 indispensable, part of the system, and is deserving of the most 
 careful study. Therefore, as concisely as may be, let us trace 
 the development of our S3Tnbolic degrees from their simple 
 primitive origin to the pretentious ceremonial as practiced in 
 the District of Columbia at the present day. 
 
 While some writers do not admit that ritualism is wholly 
 modern, predicating their belief on the fact that it was all 
 esoteric, and therefore not of record, yet it is sufficiently 
 established by research and deduction that the degrees, using 
 the word in its common acceptation, had their origin imme- 
 diately subsequent to the formation of the Grand Lodge of 
 England in 1717, a revolutionary event in the history of the 
 Fraternity, but in nowise disturbing those basic principles 
 which establish the claim that Freemasonry is the most ancient, 
 the most complete, and the most extensive institution ever 
 devised by man. 
 
 For a proper understanding, then, of our ritualistic gene- 
 alogy it will be necessary to take a brief but reasonably com- 
 prehensive survey of the history of ritualism from the above 
 date to the present, following, of course, its ramifications only 
 so far as they lead us to a proper understanding of the devel- 
 opment of our own work in this year of our Lord 1910. 
 
 The ancient guilds of operative Masons, from which we 
 sprang, had their simple but binding obligations, their regula- 
 tions, and their modes of recognition, but no elaborate cere- 
 mony marked the induction of the novitiate. The earliest 
 records of the Craft show them divided into three classes : the 
 Masters, to oversee the work; the Fellow-crafts, the skilled 
 operatives, and the Entered Apprentices, the apprentices under 
 instruction. The latter, of course, were subordinate, and had 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0^ COLUMBIA 27I 
 
 no voice in the councils, the Fellow-crafts constituting the 
 great body of the association. 
 
 As Masonry gradually changed from operative to specula- 
 tive and commenced to include the brightest minds of the 
 period, the institution became more and more a social body, 
 linked together by a moral code, and the subordinate character 
 of the initiates changed until, early in the eighteenth century, 
 the Entered Apprentices constituted the great majority of the 
 Fraternity, the Fellow-craft and Master Mason being merely 
 honorary communicated degrees, conferred as rewards of 
 merit, and the latter only upon those elected to preside, and 
 they, and they only, were known as Master Masons. 
 
 Practically the Entered Apprentice degree constituted the 
 essential part of the system, and the initiated became at once 
 full-fledged Masons. The ceremony was yet of the simplest 
 character, and the main feature was the obligation, which, 
 while of course couched in different language, was substan- 
 tially the obligation of today and carried the same penalty. 
 
 All business was conducted in the E. A. degree, and this 
 continued after the F. C. and M. M. degrees had been elabo- 
 rated into something like their present importance. This ju- 
 risdiction, indeed, held to the custom until 1849, and to the 
 present day it survives in this city in the fact that the corner- 
 stones of public buildings, when Masonically placed, are laid 
 by lodges opened on the first degree of Masonry. It may be 
 remarked, however, parenthetically, that on at least one occa- 
 sion, July 5, 1851, the Grand Lodge returning from such a 
 function was obliged, by lack of sufficient members present, 
 to dispense with the E. A. and open on the M. M. degree. In 
 some other jurisdictions, notably England, the ancient method 
 is still adhered to. Even the obligations of the F. C. and 
 M. M. degrees were originally given in an E. A. lodge and in 
 the hearing of Entered Apprentices, not yet honored by ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 From this primitive beginning come our degrees. 
 
 The restriction as to the third degree being only conferred 
 on those elected to the Chair was, in the course of time, 
 
272 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 removed, and the several degrees separated and elaborated 
 until, early in the last century, they assumed substantially the 
 form they are now in. 
 
 Returning to the earliest recorded movement toward a pre- 
 tentious ritual, we are told that the legend of the third degree 
 was introduced about the year 1731, having been adapted to 
 Masonry from certain idle tales taken out of the Jewish Tar- 
 gums, published in London in 1715, from manuscripts in the 
 University Library of Cambridge. This theory, while un- 
 supported by competent evidence, is at least interesting, and 
 does no special violence to the generally accepted opinion of 
 Masonic writers that this legend, in more or less similar form, 
 played an important part in the mysteries and rites of the 
 ancient secret organizations of different countries which 
 stretch back to prehistoric times. 
 
 Soon after the formation of the Grand Lodge of Ancients 
 Lawrence McDermott, an expelled Mason from Ireland, but 
 doubtless of honest convictions and certainly of brilliant in- 
 tellect, introduced into the lodges of the Ancients, with the 
 Grand Lodge of which he had become connected in the capac- 
 ity of Secretary, certain " improvements," which were later 
 reluctantly adopted by the Moderns. This ritual appears to 
 have been the foundation of our modern ceremonial. 
 
 About the middle of the eighteenth century the desire to 
 especially honor those elected to the East again asserted itself 
 in the separation of some of the essential parts of the M. M. 
 degree and the formation therefrom of another, which was 
 called the Royal Arch, and for many years this degree was 
 conferred in blue lodges on Masters and Past Masters only. 
 Later the degree was given in so-called Chapters appendant to 
 and under the control of individual lodges. Later, however, 
 by the creation of the Past Masters degree, originally an in- 
 stallation ceremony, a way was found to confer the degree 
 upon all found worthy to receive it. 
 
 Just on the border-land between the centuries the R. A. 
 became a separate organization, and gradually settled into the 
 form of four degrees : the Mark Master, an offshoot and 
 
FREDERICK G. ALEXANDER, 
 
 Grand Master. 1892. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 273 
 
 originally in its essentials a part of the Fellow-craft; the Past 
 Masters, already referred to; the Most Excellent, a piece 
 chopped off of the R. A., and expanded, and the Royal Arch. 
 
 The Past Masters degree separated from the lodge very 
 slowly and reluctantly in this jurisdiction. For many years 
 after the divorce of symbolic and capitular Masonry the Grand 
 Lodge as well as the subordinate lodges opened in this degree 
 for installation, and it was not until 1848 that it was finally 
 given over to the capitular system by vote of the Grand Lodge, 
 the right to hold an emergent Past Masters lodge, of course, 
 being retained and exercised to this day. 
 
 Thus out of small communicated degrees have grown all 
 the degrees of symbolic and capitular Masonry above the 
 Entered Apprentice, which, as we have seen, has only lost its 
 character as the parent trunk in comparatively recent years. 
 
 So much for the subject in a general way. Before entering 
 upon more specific details it may be well, in the interest of a 
 clear conception of the situation, to say a word in reference 
 to the much misused term " rite." As generally understood 
 the word in connection with a symbolic lodge denotes the 
 source of its origin and the work it follows, " York rite" being 
 applied to lodges claiming descent from the so-called Grand 
 Lodge held at York, etc. This is incorrect. The term " rite" 
 has no connection whatever with symbolic Masonry. Origin- 
 ally consisting of but three degrees — in fact, but one — there 
 were afterward appended what purported to be higher degrees, 
 and as these were classified or reduced to systems those systems 
 were called " rites." Each retained the original three degrees, 
 and these were erroneously included in the term. The whole 
 of ancient craft Masonry is to be found within the symbolic 
 and Capitular systems. 
 
 The term " York rite" (using the phrase in its perverted 
 sense), as applied to any ritualism practiced in this country, 
 is a misnomer, and arose from the fact that the Athol Grand 
 Lodge, or " Ancients," claimed a connection with the York 
 Grand Lodge, which it never had, and while it chartered many 
 lodges in the Colonies, no American lodge ever sprang from 
 18 
 
274 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 the true York grand body; and while the ritual of the former 
 may, and probably did, coincide with that of the latter, yet 
 the direct descent is clearly disproven, and the right to the 
 term therefore plainly a usurped one. 
 
 To William Preston, who began a reformation of rituals 
 in London, England, about the year 1775, we may properly 
 trace the ceremonial of this jurisdiction. He collected the 
 fragments of old rituals then accessible, assembled them in 
 order, and taught them to the lodges. Within twenty years 
 nearly all the lodges in England, Ireland, and Scotland adopt- 
 ed his work and secured practical uniformity. Thomas Smith 
 Webb, a pupil of Preston's, and well versed in the work, came 
 to the United States about the year 1795, and immediately be- 
 gan to disseminate it. He published the first edition of his 
 Monitor in Albany in 1797, and all publications of a similar 
 character since then have been but reprints of Webb, with 
 such alterations and amendments as the caprice of the authors 
 led them to make. Through his pupils this work was carried 
 into every jurisdiction but that of Pennsylvania, and after his 
 death the innovations and changes fathered by these pupils 
 led to great confusion. One of them, Jeremy L. Cross, has, 
 more than any other, left his impress on our ritual. Appointed 
 Grand Lecturer of the General Grand R. A. Chapter of the 
 United States in 1817, he spent many years traveling over the 
 country, and promulgated his variations of the work in all 
 branches of Masonry wherever he went. 
 
 Pennsylvania, alone, resisted all blandishments of the re- 
 formers and adhered to the original McDermott work, and, as 
 we trace our ancestry legitimately through Maryland to Penn- 
 sylvania, it may be surmised that we had a strain of that blood 
 in our veins at birth. Indeed this is evidenced by the fact 
 that for a number of years after the formation of our Grand 
 Lodge here the term " York Masons" clung to us in spots, and 
 before its final disappearance was on several occasions a mat- 
 ter of discussion in the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Considerable diversity of expression and form among the 
 several lodges forming the Grand Lodge of the District was 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 275 
 
 the necessary result of the various origins. Potomac, while 
 deriving its charter from Maryland, really, through its pre- 
 decessors, antedated that jurisdiction, and may therefore be 
 supposed to have been more or less of a free lance as to its 
 ritual. Naval, Federal, and Columbia probably followed 
 closely the work of Maryland, altho the former shows 
 to this day a slight variation that has been said to owe 
 its parentage to the Scottish rite. Brooke Lodge, of Alex- 
 andria, coming to us from Virginia, must also have had its 
 peculiarities, and thus it will be seen that at the beginning of 
 the last century our first fathers had no small task before them 
 in the adjustment of the warring ritualistic elements and the 
 production of some degree of uniformity, and the immensity 
 and difficulty of the undertaking may be inferred from the fact 
 that a half century of earnest effort was needed to bring about 
 the result as we have it today. 
 
 The first movement was inaugurated January 14, 1812, by 
 the adoption of a resolution by the Grand Lodge to appoint a 
 committee of delegates from the several lodges for the pur- 
 pose of devising a uniform system of work, but the desirability 
 of such a result does not seem to have appealed to the com- 
 mittee, who on July 14 of the same year reported and suc- 
 ceeded in having adopted the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, In the opinion of the Grand Lodge that it is now unnecessary 
 to make any change in the long-estaMished usages of each lodge, and 
 that each lodge be at liberty to use such rules and ceremonies as they 
 shall see fit : Provided, That they do not infringe any of the ancient land- 
 marks of the Craft. 
 
 A little reflection makes this action easily understandable. 
 The lodges were scattered, the distances great, and transporta- 
 tion facilities of the most primitive character, and as a result 
 there was little interchange of visits. Each lodge was in a 
 sense a close corporation, jealous of its rights and traditions, 
 and unwilling to jeopardize its individuality for the sake of a 
 uniformity which promised no adequate compensating results. 
 
 July 13, 1813, the matter came up again in the offering of 
 
276 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 a resolution to have the Prestonian lectures " delivered in such 
 a manner as to make them known to every lodge under the 
 jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge;" but, no action being taken, 
 a hiatus appears until January 10, 1815, when, by resolution, 
 a committee was authorized to hear the Prestonian lectures and 
 report as to the advisability of adopting the same. A com- 
 mittee was appointed, but seems never to have reported. Oc- 
 tober 30, 1818, another committee, for the same purpose, was 
 appointed, which duly reported in April of the following year, 
 and the subject was debated at length in the Grand Lodge in 
 June, but again the project fell through. The time was not yet. 
 
 Evidence is not wanting, however, that the desire for im- 
 provement was still active for in 1831 a proposition to appoint 
 a Grand Visitor and Lecturer was brought before the Grand 
 Lodge, and, while temporarily lost sight of, was revived No- 
 vember 4, 1823, when the first Grand Visitor and Lecturer, 
 Jeremiah Elkins, was chosen, since which time there has 
 been an unbroken line of faithful, capable instructors, to 
 whom the jurisdiction is largely indebted for the world-wide 
 reputation it has enjoyed for years as second to none in its 
 impressive rendition of the symbolic degrees. 
 
 At the session of the Grand Lodge May 3, 1825, the usual 
 resolution was again introduced and resulted in an elaborate 
 report by the committee at the meeting of November 1, 1825, 
 in which, after a lengthy introduction, five resolutions were 
 offered and adopted. These resolutions were singularly 
 prolix and visionary, instructing the " Masters, Wardens, 
 and other officers, together with such other members as have 
 made the greatest advance in Masonic knowledge," to meet 
 and confer on the subject and adopt a uniform mode of work; 
 also recommending the delivering of lectures " upon the prin- 
 ciples, forms, and symbols of Masonry at every stated meet- 
 ing when the business of the lodge would permit," and ad- 
 vising consultation with well-informed brethren from other 
 jurisdictions when suitable opportunity occurred. While of 
 such a general and therefore ineffectual character, these res- 
 olutions mark, perhaps, the first real step in the direction of 
 
L. CABELL WILLIAMSON, 
 
 Grand Master, 1893 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 277 
 
 uniformity, and while such a plan could not possibly accom- 
 plish the object supposed to be sought, yet it constituted a 
 trial of one of the many methods, the gradual elimination 
 of which finally led to the proper course. Its ineffectiveness 
 was brought to the attention of the Grand Lodge November 
 4, 1828, by the then Grand Visitor and Lecturer, John B. 
 Hammalt, who stated that in his " humble opinion" the sys- 
 tem being pursued by the Grand Lodge would not produce 
 that most desirable effect of uniformity, and suggested that 
 " lodges have special meetings for the purpose, or that the 
 Masters and Wardens of the different lodges meet for the 
 same purpose, and that the deacons be invited to unite, and 
 all Master Masons invited as visitors." 
 
 These strictures having been referred to a committee, said 
 committee. May 5, 1829, reported, holding the Grand Lecturer's 
 arraignment of the method adopted November 1, 1825, as 
 disrespectful to the Grand Lodge, deplored the fact that the 
 paucity of funds made it impossible to pay one or more lec- 
 turers well to insure their attention to their duty, salved the 
 sting, however, by complimenting the Grand Visitor and 
 Lecturer on his Masonic ability, etc., and concluded, com- 
 fortably, that " there is no more, if as much, lack of uni- 
 formity here than in other jurisdictions." 
 
 The years 1837, 1841, 1842, and 1843 witnessed spasmodic 
 but ineffectual attempts to bring the lodges together in the 
 work. June 24, 1843, the G. V. and L., Bro. N. Seevers, 
 who had attended a national convention in Baltimore the 
 previous month, with the main object of uniformity of work, 
 reported on the same, and at a special in July explained the 
 work and lectures adopted by the convention, and exemplified 
 two sections of the E. A. degree, " when, the hour being late, 
 the Grand Lodge adjourned," and with the adjournment this 
 attempt disappears from the records. 
 
 A resolution adopted November 6, 1849, having for its ob- 
 ject the appointment of delegates from the various lodges to 
 meet and adopt a uniform system, bore fruit and resulted in 
 the exempHfication, December 21, 1852, by the G. V. and L., 
 
278 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Horatio N. Steele, of the three degrees before the Grand 
 Lodge, and at a special meeting held January 20, 1853, for the 
 purpose of passing upon the same, the work of the first two 
 degrees was adopted without comment. The work of the 
 M. M. degree, however, provoked elaborate discussion, pre- 
 cipitated, there is every reason to believe, by the defense of 
 certain portions of the work of Naval Lodge, No. 4, by Broth- 
 er John W. McKim, S. W. of that lodge, a communiation to 
 the author from this brother, but lately deceased, and at the 
 time of his death an honored judge of the Probate Court 
 and Court of Insolvency for Suffolk County, Mass., clearly 
 proving this. After a variety of resolutions were discussed 
 and defeated, the Grand Lodge adopted one to the effect that 
 the " Grand Lodge would not interfere with any lodge in the 
 use of different instruments with which the work of the degree 
 is performed and in the different manner of the arrangement 
 of the room where the language corresponds with that fixed 
 by the Grand Lodge," and the work as a whole was then ap- 
 proved with but one dissenting voice. 
 
 This work, with a few amendments and alterations, is sub- 
 stantially the work of today. Two of the more important 
 amendments were the introduction of the present prayers of 
 the F. C. and M. M. degrees, which were taken from the work 
 of Great Britain by a committee of which the late B. B. French 
 was chairman, and adopted May 4, 1858. 
 
 This brilliant Mason, to whom, perhaps, more than any 
 other one man the Fraternity in this jurisdiction is indebted, 
 also proposed and had adopted the resolution requiring pro- 
 ficiency before advancement, which he introduced May IS, 
 1S59, and which really marks the first practical step towards 
 uniformity, which can only be had by the general dissemina- 
 tion of the ritual by competent instructors. 
 
 In a decade the revolutionary spirit broke out afresh, and 
 on January 29 and 30, 1864, the three degrees were exempli- 
 fied by the Grand Visitor and Lecturer without action, but on 
 February 20 of the same year a committee, previously ap- 
 pointed for the purpose, reported that they had restricted them- 
 selves to the restoration of the work as exemplified by Brother 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0^ COLUMBIA 279 
 
 Steele and adopted in 1852. They had only departed from it 
 by correcting the grammar and rendering more intelligible 
 certain portions. The first degree was then exemplified and 
 approved, and the present resolution making it obligatory on 
 the lodges to give the lecture on the same evening as the degree 
 was also adopted. On March 16, 1864, and January 21, 1865, 
 the second and third degrees, respectively, were exemplified 
 and adopted. 
 
 The increasing number of petitioners also led, in May of 
 this latter year, to the adoption of the resolution to omit all 
 the usual ceremonies of the second section of the third degree 
 except the manual instruction with all except the last candidate 
 whenever " there is more than one to receive the degree the 
 same evening." 
 
 Four years only elapsed before the impulse again became 
 irresistible to tinker with the ritual, and a committee having 
 been appointed in the spring of 1869 to revise the lecture of 
 the third degree, reported recommending some minor changes, 
 and their recommendations having been adopted, our ritual, 
 with the exception of several slight and wholly unimportant 
 changes, has remained to this day a model for all jurisdic- 
 tions, and no better confirmation of this is needed than the 
 testimony of Earl de Gray and Ripon and Lord Tender den, 
 the former then Grand Master of Masons of England, and 
 the latter a Past Master of that jurisdiction, who, accom- 
 panied by other distinguished British Masons, visited Wash- 
 ington in 1871. While here they were the recipients of many 
 social honors and visited a number of the lodges, and not only 
 witnessed the work, but by dispensation assumed the stations 
 in Pentalpha and National Lodges and conferred the first and 
 third degrees according to the English system. Their opinion 
 was voiced by Lord Tenderden, who declared emphatically, 
 after full opportunity to make the comparison, that he liked 
 our work much better than theirs, and that the ceremony of 
 the third degree was the most beautiful of anything he had 
 ever seen. 
 
 And this is the simple story of our " work," as far as it is 
 proper to be written. 
 
28o HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHAPTER XVm. 
 
 CAPITULAR MASONRY IN THE DISTRICT OF 
 
 COLUMBIA. 
 
 "He that humble th himself shall be exalted." 
 
 The date of the origin of the Royal Arch degree has long 
 been the subject of research and speculation by Masonic 
 writers but while the various theories advanced show some 
 natural differences of opinion, yet the general fact stands out 
 with reasonable clearness that the separation of an essential 
 part of the Master Mason's degree and its elaboration into a 
 fourth degree occurred in England about 1740, several years 
 prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of Ancients. 
 While the circumstances surrounding its birth lie buried in 
 the past, it is a matter of record that it was first cultivated 
 and propagated by the above mentioned Grand Lodge, and, 
 as most of the early American lodges derived their charters 
 from this source, it is a fair presumption that the Royal Arch 
 Degree, with or without express authority, was a part of the 
 system at the time of their constitution. 
 
 At the first the degree was conferred in and by the lodge, 
 later in a body styled encampment or chapter, which was ap- 
 pendant to a lodge, and had no other authority than that 
 derived from the lodge. Still later the dependent chapters 
 organized Grand Chapters, these also being dependent upon 
 Grand Lodges. 
 
 The evolution of the degree and, indeed, of the entire series 
 that now constitute our American system, distinctly different 
 from all others, is a subject of more than passing interest, and 
 
NAVAL LODGE HALL, PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AND FOURTH STREET. S E. 
 
 iluine of No, 4 since 1S95, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 281 
 
 is touched upon in the chapter on " Work," but cannot be 
 pursued in the limits of this strictly historical sketch, and, 
 after pausing for a moment for a glance at its earliest intro- 
 duction in America, we must find our true point of departure 
 at the date of its first appearance in the District of Columbia. 
 
 To the Fredericksburg, Va., Lodge belongs the distinction 
 of the earliest record touching the Royal Arch in this country, 
 or indeed anywhere, the degree being conferred in that lodge 
 December 32, 1753 ; and it is worthy of note that said lodge 
 was at the time an " inherent right" lodge, and did not obtain 
 its charter until five years later. Athol Lodge, of Philadel- 
 phia, Pa., may justly lay claim to the second record, occurring 
 in 1768, and St. Andrew's Lodge (also called a " R. A. 
 Lodge"), of Boston, Mass., the third, in 1769. While these 
 are the earliest records, it must not be assumed from that fact 
 that the degree was not conferred at an even earlier period, 
 the Masonic custom of the period being averse to documentary 
 evidence, the remains of this sentiment even reaching far into 
 the last century, and making historical research surprisingly 
 difficult and unsatisfactory. 
 
 The first evidence of Capitular Masonry in the District of 
 Columbia is contained in the records of a " Royal Arch En- 
 campment" held in Washington City, 1795 to 1799, in which 
 it is shown that on December 14, 1795, eight members were 
 congregated in Federal Lodge, No. 15, for the purpose of 
 forming such an encampment, and at a subsequent meeting, 
 on the 16th of the same month, a committee, previously ap- 
 pointed, reported as to ways and means, among other things 
 venturing the opinion that the " sum of 23 pounds and 1 
 shilling was indispensably necessary to provide the material to 
 prepare them and to arrange the lodge room previous to the 
 forming of a R. A. Encampment," and, to the honor of the 
 Craft, recommended the immediate formation of a fund for 
 the relief of distressed brethren and the widows and children 
 of deceased members. 
 
 The report being agreed to, the encampment appears to have 
 met with some degree of regularity until February, 1799, 
 
282 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 when it was " resolved, that the R. A. Encampment be broke 
 up," and a committee was appointed to settle up its affairs, 
 " and everyone to receive his dividend." 
 
 The record shows the officers and members at this time 
 to have been as follows : M. W. Comp. James Hoban, High 
 Priest; R. W. Comps. John Carter, Captain General; Robt. 
 Brown, 1st Grand Master ; Redmond Purcell, 2d G. M. ; Peter 
 Lenox, 3d G. M.; John Hamley, Treasurer; Patrick Hearly, 
 Secretary ; John Lenox, Tyler ; and Comps. Alex. McCormick, 
 Samuel Elliott, Wm. O'Neal, Jeremiah Galligher, Daniel Gum- 
 ming, Benj. Moore, Jas. Sweeny, Clotworthy Stephenson, 
 Rev. Geo. Ralph, Owen Donlevey, Jas. Hodgson, Pierce Pur- 
 nell, and Richard Gridley. 
 
 Subsequently, tho not of record, the Royal Arch " Chapter," 
 now so-called, appears to have been revived, and under date 
 of December 1, 1804, a meeting was held at which several 
 brethren received the " Excellent Super Excellent Royal Arch," 
 $10 being charged for the same. 
 
 In 1806 Concordia R. A. Chapter, of Baltimore, Md., is- 
 sued a circular to the various chapters in that city and the 
 District of Columbia, requesting them to send delegates to 
 a grand convention to be held in the City of Washington the 
 third Wednesday in January, 1807, and in the preamble we 
 find these significant words : " The Grand Chapter to which 
 we were tributary has for a long time lain dormant." 
 
 In answer to this circular on Sunday, December 14, 1806, 
 the appointment of such a committee was authorized by the 
 only local chapter (that appendant to Federal Lodge) of which 
 we have record, and the convention being held January 21, 
 1807, three Maryland chapters, Washington, Concordia, and 
 St. John's, and three local chapters. Federal and Washington 
 Naval, of Washington, and Potomac, of Georgetown, were 
 represented, which constitutes the only available evidence of 
 the existence at the time of the two latter chapters, which were 
 undoubtedly made up largely from the membership of and 
 dependent upon the two lodges of similar names, and prob- 
 ably had received charters from the Grand Chapter of Mary- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 283 
 
 land, which there appears to be incontrovertible evidence was 
 formed in 1797. 
 
 At this convention the first Grand Chapter of the State of 
 Maryland and the District of Columbia was formed, with the 
 following roster of officers, in which list, it will be observed, 
 two of our subsequent Grand Masters found place: Comp. 
 John Crawford, Grand High Priest; Oliver B. Hayes, Dep. 
 G. H. P.; Valentine Reintzel, G. King; Robert Rankin, 
 G. Scribe; Alexander McCormick, G. Treasurer; Robert 
 Elliott, G. Chaplain; Philip P. Eckel, 1st Captain of the Vails; 
 Charles Jones, 2d Capt. of the Vails; William Smith, 3d Capt. 
 of the Vails; Adam Denmead, 4:th Capt. of the Vails; Benj. 
 King, Grand Marshal, or Master of Ceremonies; Nicholas 
 Quinn, Grand Conductor ; William O'Neale and Joseph Cassin, 
 G. Purveyors; Nathaniel Knight, G. Pursuivant, and William 
 Cook and Brown, G. Janitors. 
 
 The constitution adopted by the convention prescribed a 
 fee of $35 for a charter for a new R. A. chapter, and for a 
 charter to hold a Mark Master lodge separate from a chapter, 
 $18. While the separation made possible by the last clause 
 does not seem ever to have been practiced here, it may be stated 
 for the benefit of the general reader that in England the 
 Mark Master's degree is, and always has been, an entirely 
 separate degree conferred in lodges of that designation and 
 giving allegiance to their own Grand body. 
 
 While the earlier chapters in this section conferred but 
 one degree — the " Excellent Super Excellent Royal Arch" — 
 the system as we have it today was commencing to find favor 
 about this time, and was recognized in the constitution referred 
 to and has obtained ever since, viz : Mark Master, Past Master, 
 Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch. 
 
 After 1807 there is no available record of the above Grand 
 Chapter until 1814, with the exception that there is evidence 
 that our local chapters appointed delegates thereto in 1808. 
 
 In 1814 a reorganization was effected by the action of 
 Washington, No. 1, and Chapter No. 3, of Baltimore, and 
 Federal, No. 1, of Washington, which became Nos. 1, 2, and 
 
284 HISTORY Ot FREEMASONRY 
 
 3, respectively, and a few years later the old chapters, Con- 
 cordia, of Baltimore, and Washington Naval, of Washington, 
 received charters as Nos. 4 and 5, while Phoenix, of Balti- 
 more, Brooke, of Alexandria, and Potomac, of Georgetown, 
 were subsequently gathered into the fold and assigned Nos. 
 6, 7, and 8, in the order named. 
 
 Federal Chapter, No. 3, was undoubtedly the direct de- 
 scendant of the Royal Arch Encampment organized by Clot- 
 worthy Stephenson in 1795, and therefore, perhaps the earliest 
 Royal Arch organization in the District, altho Potomac Chap- 
 ter claims this distinction, not only because of the earlier date 
 of the charter of its parent lodge, Potomac, in 1789, and the 
 probable activity of its R. A. members, but also by reason of 
 the existence of an old seal bearing date of 3310, or A. D. 
 1780, which appears to indicate the existence of a chapter 
 appendant to the so-called " St. Andrew's Lodge," which tra- 
 dition insists existed at a very early period in Georgetown, 
 either under that name or the more popular one of " Auld 
 Scotch Lodge." 
 
 The seal alluded to, which is the only tangible evidence in 
 support of the date, 1780, was, according to the best author- 
 ities on seals, certainly manufactured not over fifty years ago, 
 and therefore the appearance of the early date must have been 
 predicated upon evidence which is at present unavailable. It 
 is, perhaps, proper to state in this connection that the late 
 Bro. C. F. Shekel!, of Georgetown, a Masonic antiquarian of 
 wide reputation, insisted upon the acceptance of this date, but 
 the unfortunate scattering and loss of many of his papers after 
 his demise, has thus far prevented the uncovering of any evi- 
 dence which may have been in his possession. 
 
 The Grand Chapter formed in 1814 seems to have flour- 
 ished for some years, but, the membership in the District hav- 
 ing in a few years assumed respectable proportions and the 
 inconveniences of travel between Baltimore and Washington 
 being very trying, the spirit of independence soon asserted 
 itself, and in May, 1822, the Companions of the District were 
 called together in convention to consider the propriety of 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 285 
 
 forming a Grand Chapter for the District of Columbia, and in 
 response to this call the representatives of Federal, No. 3, 
 *Union, No. 4, and Potomac, No. 8, assembled at that time, 
 and after several adjourned meetings, on July 16, of that year, 
 adopted a constitution and appointed a committee to attend 
 the next meeting of the Grand Chapter of Maryland and the 
 District of Columbia, to present thereat an attested copy of 
 the proceedings of the convention, and authorized to receive 
 the proportion of funds due to the chapters within the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia. 
 
 At a meeting held September 10, 1823, a formal dispensa- 
 tion to form a Grand Chapter in the District of Columbia was 
 received from Hon. DeWitt Clinton, G. G. H. P. U. S. A., 
 dated at New York City. 
 
 Thus came into existence the first independent Grand Chap- 
 ter of the District, altho from lack of proper representation 
 the actual formation was not effected until February 10, 1834, 
 at which date the representatives of Federal, No. 3, Union, 
 No. 4, Brooke, No. 7, and Potomac, No. 8, met and organ- 
 ized by the election of the following officers : Comps. William 
 Lambert, Grand High Priest; Amos Alexander, Dep. G. H. 
 P. ; Marmaduke Dove, Grand King ; Thomas Corcoran, Grand 
 Scribe; Chas. T. Chapman, Grand Treasurer, and Joseph 
 Ingle, Grand Secretary, and the readoption of the former 
 constitution. 
 
 At an adjourned meeting, held March 9, 1834, Potomac, 
 altho having up to this time taken an active part in the forma- 
 tion of the independent Grand Chapter, signified her intention 
 of withdrawing therefrom, and subsequently applied to the 
 General Grand Chapter for permission to retain allegiance to 
 the Grand Chapter of Maryland, which was granted. Three 
 chapters still remaining loyal the local Grand Chapter con- 
 tinued. Federal Chapter assuming the name and number of 
 Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 1, Union became No. 3, and 
 Brooke, No. 3. 
 
 * Probably identical with Washington Naval, No. 4. See history of unique relations 
 between Naval and Union I^odges, in sketch of latter in Chapter XV. 
 
286 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The Grand Chapter of Maryland consented to the forma- 
 tion of the new Grand Chapter and also gave Potomac Chap- 
 ter permission to remain under its jurisdiction, still retaining, 
 however, the title of Grand Chapter of the State of Maryland 
 and the District of Columbia, and thus was presented the un- 
 usual condition of two separate Grand Chapters claiming 
 jurisdiction over the same territory. This state of affairs 
 naturally led to considerable dissatisfaction, but was finally 
 adjusted by the Grand Chapter of Maryland dropping the 
 words " District of Columbia" and relinquishing all jurisdic- 
 tional rights in the section except so far as related to Potomac 
 Chapter. 
 
 The first recorded visitation of the Grand Chapter to a 
 subordinate chapter occurred April 6, 1825, to Brooke Chap- 
 ter, and in general form the proceedings were identical with 
 those of similar occasions today, altho the opportunity was 
 frequently taken advantage of to install the officers elect, and, 
 h condition precedent at this time and for a number of years 
 thereafter to the installation of a High Priest being his pos- 
 session of the rite of the Order of High Priesthood (Anointed 
 Pligh Priests), that degree was also conferred upon him the 
 same evening, the Chapter being temporarily purged for this 
 purpose of all who had not as yet received said degree. 
 
 In 1826 W. W. Seaton succeeded Wm. Lambert as Grand 
 High Priest, and continued as such until 1831, being in turn 
 succeeded by John A. Cook, who was occupying the chair 
 when the Grand Chapter expired in 1833 or shortly thereafter. 
 
 At the annual convocation of January 9, 1827, a charter 
 was granted to Comps. Wm. Hewitt, P. Mauro, William 
 Cooper, W. W. Seaton, and nine others to form a chapter to 
 be known as Temple Chapter, No. 4, and this chapter appears 
 to have been an active member of the little family until the 
 anti-Masonic wave swept the Grand Chapter and most of the 
 subordinate chapters out of existence. 
 
 February 25, 1828, a special meeting of the Grand Chapter 
 was held for the " purpose of evincing its sorrow for the sud- 
 den and lamented decease of our late Comp. DeWitt Clinton, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI.UMBIA 287 
 
 M. E. G. G. H. P. of the G. G. R. A. Chapter of the U. S., 
 and of adopting measures to testify its profound respect fpr 
 his memory," and was followed, March 39, by the formation 
 of a procession composed of the Gi-and Lodge, followed by the 
 Grand Chapters of the District and of Maryland, escorted by 
 the "officers and members of Washington Encampment (K. 
 T.) clothed in the habiliments of their Order," which pro- 
 ceeded to St. John's Church and attended a special memorial 
 service in honor of the distinguished dead. 
 
 The Grand Chapter at this early day led a nomadic exist- 
 ence and met in the various chapter rooms in this city, George- 
 town, and Alexandria, the hour of meeting being 10 A. M., 
 as the difficulties of night journeys at that time were prac- 
 tically insurmountable. 
 
 A rather peculiar feature of the meetings, and one we have 
 also had occasion to note as marking the meetings of the 
 Grand Lodge, was the transaction of much of the routine 
 business by the Dep. G. H. Priest, the High Priest not appear- 
 ing until after the meeting was well advanced, and being re- 
 ceived with considerable ceremony. 
 
 On April 3, 1830, occurred in Washington the installation 
 of Hon. Edward Livingston, G. G. H. Priest elect, and Hon. 
 Joel Poinsett, Dep. G. G. H. P. elect, the ceremony being con- 
 ducted by a Grand Convention of the Grand Chapters of the 
 District and Maryland, with G. H. Priest W. W. Seaton 
 presiding. 
 
 The last available record of this Grand Chapter is found in 
 the minutes of the meeting of January 8, 1833, at which meet- 
 ing Washington, Union, Brooke, and Temple Chapters were 
 represented, and adjournment was had until the fourth Satur- 
 day of the month. Subsequent to this, the anti-Masonic move- 
 ment reaching its height, the Grand Chapter ceased to exist. 
 
 Potomac Chapter alone is known to have continued active 
 through this period until 1838, when Columbia Chapter ap- 
 plied to and received a charter from the Grand Chapter of 
 Maryland. This action was considered improper, as it was 
 held by some authorities that the District, upon the death of 
 
288 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 the local Grand Chapter, was unoccupied territory, and hence 
 under the General Grand Chapter. The latter body, however, 
 through the Dep. G. G. H. Priest, Stapleton, legalized the 
 charter in 1842, by placing the two chapters under the juris- 
 diction of Maryland. 
 
 In November, 1847, the Maryland Grand Chapter granted 
 a charter to Washington Chapter, No. 16, and in 1856 the 
 title of the governing body was again changed to " The Grand 
 Chapter of the State of Maryland and the District of Co- 
 lumbia." 
 
 In 1864 a charter was granted to Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 
 30, of this city, and two years later, the aggregate member- 
 ship of the four local chapters exceeding that of the entire 
 State of Maryland, the desire for independence again took 
 form in the preparation of a memorial by Columbia, Wash- 
 ington, and Mt. Vernon to the Grand Chapter asking for a 
 dissolution of the connection between the Maryland and Dis- 
 trict R. A. Masons, and the formation of a Grand Chapter of 
 the District of Columbia, which was signed by the following 
 Companions : L. G. Stephens, John Lockie, R. H. Boswell, 
 Andrew Glass, William Middleton, A. T. Longley, C. W. 
 Hancock, Noble D. Larner, and Chauncey Smith. 
 
 This resolution having been referred back by the Grand 
 Chapter to the local chapters, they resolved to insist upon a 
 separation, Potomac, however, again declining to join the 
 movement. G. H. Priest James G. Smith, a member of Co- 
 lumbia Chapter, alleging this insistence on the part of the 
 three chapters to be an act of rebellion, refused to have the 
 matter further entertained by the Grand Chapter, and declared 
 the charters of the three chapters suspended, and the elective 
 officers thereof suspended from the rights and privileges of 
 R. A. Masonry. 
 
 In this dilemma the High Priests of said chapters called a 
 convention for the purpose of taking steps to form an inde- 
 pendent Grand Chapter, at which convention, the intimation 
 being authoritatively given, as from the G. H. Priest, that 
 upon request he would convene the Grand Chapter of Mary- 
 
HENRY S. MERRILL, 
 Grand Master, 1894. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COIvUMBIA 289 
 
 land and the District of Columbia in special session to con- 
 sider the matter, and, this recognition appealing to the con- 
 vention, a resolution embodying such a request was drawn up 
 and presented to the G. H. Priest, who accordingly called the 
 Grand Chapter in special session in March, 1867, when the 
 surrendered charters were returned and the separation agreed 
 to by the Grand Chapter. 
 
 In April of the same year delegates from the three chapters, 
 as also from Potomac, met and adopted a constitution and 
 elected officers. Soon after this meeting G. H. P. Smith called 
 another meeting of the Grand Chapter to lay before that body 
 what he considered the insubordination of the local chapters 
 in forming a Grand Chapter without the consent of the first 
 four officers of the General Grand Chapter. This contention 
 being based upon a misinterpretation of the law and being 
 quashed by a communication from the G. G. H. Priest, John 
 L. Lewis, a resolution was passed in the Grand Chapter de- 
 claring the dissolution complete. 
 
 Potomac Chapter, altho having taken an active part in the 
 convention of a few weeks before, now voted against this 
 resolution, and upon its passage requested permission to re- 
 main under the jurisdiction of Maryland. G. H. Priest Smith 
 refused to entertain the request, as Potomac was in the newly 
 created jurisdiction, and stating that as a member of Columbia 
 Chapter, of Washington, he was no longer eligible for the 
 position of G. H. Priest, turned over the gavel of authority 
 to the Deputy. 
 
 On May 23, 1867, Comp. J. E. P. Holmead was installed 
 G. H. Priest, and Comp. h. G. Stephens Dep. G. H. P., at 
 Wall's Opera House, the event being made the occasion of a 
 most notable Masonic gathering and procession. The Grand 
 Lodge and the Fraternity generally participated in celebrating 
 the day as marking a new era in Capitular Masonry in the 
 District. The two commanderies then in existence were called 
 out as an escort for the Grand Chapter, which body was com- 
 posed of representatives from all the local chapters except 
 Potomac, and the ceremony of installation was performed by 
 19 
 
290 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 M. E. Comp. A. G. Mackey, P. G. G. H. P. of the G. G. 
 Chapter of the U. S., while P. G. G. Scribe B. B. French acted 
 as Master of Ceremonies, upon the conclusion of which the 
 Grand Chapter returned to its hall and opened in ample form. 
 
 Thus auspiciously came into existence the present Grand 
 Chapter, but the early days were not without trouble, for the 
 better understanding of which chronological order is tem- 
 porarily abandoned and this feature of the story pursued to 
 the end. Soon after the formation of the Grand Chapter 
 P. G. H. Priest Smith, having in the meantime affiliated with 
 Potomac Chapter and joined the dissatisfied members of that 
 body in refusing to recognize the authority of the new Grand 
 Chapter, was summoned to appear before that body to show 
 cause why he should not be disciplined for such conduct, and 
 upon his failure to do so was suspended. 
 
 Potomac Chapter still persisting in her opposition was, at 
 the same time declared clandestine and irregular, whereupon 
 said Chapter and Comp. Smith laid their greivances before 
 G. G. H. Priest Lewis, who completely reversed his former 
 position and upheld both complainants in their contentions, 
 and declared the so-called Grand Chapter of R. A. Masons 
 of the District of Columbia to have " no valid existence and 
 therefore and hence to be irregular and clandestine," etc. 
 
 The General Grand Chapter, however, at its triennial con- 
 vention in 1868, by resolution recognized this Grand Chapter 
 as regular and its officers entitled to seats in that body, and at 
 the same time passed another resolution permitting Potomac 
 to remain under the G. G. Chapter, " but without territorial 
 jurisdiction over candidates for the capitular degrees." 
 
 This unsatisfactory condition of affairs at once led to over- 
 tures from the Grand Chapter, and an expression of willing- 
 ness to consider any proposition that Potomac might have to 
 offer in regard to becoming a constituent member of the local 
 Grand Chapter was embodied in a certain resolution, which, 
 being read in Potomac Chapter, was promptly referred to the 
 '■ Grand Chapter of Maryland and the District of Columbia," 
 that title being still, in spite of its act of separation, held by 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 29I 
 
 the Maryland Grand Chapter until November, 1869, when 
 finally relinquished, since which time the relations between 
 the two bodies have been most amicable and fraternal. 
 
 This action of Potomac also repudiated the jurisdiction of 
 the G. G. Chapter and served to still further complicate the 
 peculiar tangle which continued until November 30, 1869, 
 when said chapter addressed the Grand Chapter and expressed 
 a desire to resume fraternal relations with the R. A. Masons 
 of the District, which communication being favorably re- 
 ceived, Potomac, at a special communication January 5, 1870, 
 formally applied for and was granted a charter, and accord- 
 ing to its request was given the No. 8, the same as its old 
 charter, altho No. 7 was still vacant. After the adjustment 
 of some unimportant differences of opinion between the new 
 Chapter and the Grand Chapter in relation to the efforts of 
 the G. Visitor and Lecturer to secure conformity with the 
 District " work," Potomac Chapter, at last and for all time, 
 became a full-fledged and active member of the local capitular 
 family, and has been an honor to the jurisdiction ever since. 
 
 Returning now to the starting point of the digression, we 
 find that at a resumed communication. May 24, 1867, the fol- 
 lowing day after the first meeting of the Grand Chapter as 
 such, charters were granted to Eureka Chapter, No. 4, and 
 LaFayette Chapter, No. 5, the first named with Comp. C. Smith 
 as H. P. ; Comp. A. Buchly, King, and Comp. E. B. Mac- 
 Grotty, Scribe, and the latter with Comps. N. D. Larner, N. 
 P. Chipman, and J. B. Will in the corresponding offices in the 
 order named. Both chapters were instituted June 1, 1867, 
 and at once took front rank in the renewed activity of the 
 period, and remain two of the largest and most influential 
 chapters in the District. 
 
 At the May meeting charters were also issued to Columbia, 
 No. 1, Washington, No. 2, and Mt. Vernon, No. 3, all of 
 which have had unbroken careers of usefulness and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 The aggregate membership under the jurisdiction of the 
 Grand Chapter in 1867 was 424, since which time there has 
 
292 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 been a healthy and practically continuous growth, the aggre- 
 gate in 1910 exceeding 3,600. 
 
 January 30, 1869, G. H. Priest B. B. French issued a dis- 
 pensation to form a new chapter, to be known as Washington 
 Naval Chapter, and to be located in the Navy Yard section, 
 and at the semi-annual communication May 10, 1869, a 
 charter was granted to said Chapter and the No. 6 assigned 
 to it, with Comps. Andrew Glass, John A. Foos, and Jos. E. 
 Porter named as H. P., King, and Scribe, respectively. This 
 chapter was instituted May 26, 1869, and, being planted on 
 Capitol Hill and somewhat isolated from the " down-town" 
 bodies, at once became popular in the Eastern section, and 
 altho more than forty years have elapsed, its territory has not 
 been invaded, and it remains a healthy, active, prosperous 
 chapter, and one of the notable Masonic institutions of that 
 part of the city. 
 
 On August 12, 1870, P. G. H. Priest B. B. French, prob- 
 ably without a peer in this jurisdiction as a Masonic organ- 
 izer, writer, jurist, and orator, passed away. His life is 
 treated of elsewhere in these pages, and the perusal thereof is 
 recommended to every companion. 
 
 November, 1872, a charter was granted to Mt. Horeb, No. 
 
 7, thus reversing the chronological value of the numbers. No. 
 
 8, as shown above, having been assigned to Potomac nearly 
 two years before. The new chapter was instituted with con- 
 siderable ceremony December 4, 1872, with Comps. Wm. R. 
 Singleton as H. P. ; George A. Abbott, as King, and L. D. 
 Wine, as Scribe, and continues to this day as one of the most 
 energetic, prosperous, and socially inclined chapters in the 
 District. 
 
 It is worthy of note, as an encouraging indication of the 
 standing of our local companions at the period, that in 1873 
 the Grand Chapter of Canada extended an invitation to La- 
 Fayette Chapter of this city to visit that jurisdiction and ex- 
 emplify the work of the R. A. degree, which invitation was 
 accepted, the trip made, and the degree conferred, it goes with- 
 out saying, in an eminently satisfactory manner. 
 
GRAND Master, 1895. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 293 
 
 October 19, 1876, occurred the death of the first G. H. 
 Priest of the jurisdiction, M. Ex. Comp. James Edward Pris- 
 bie Holmead. As G. Master in 1864 and G. H. Priest in 
 1867 he served the Craft with conspicuous abiHty, and stands 
 out as one of the bright particular Masonic stars in the his- 
 tory of this jurisdiction. A detailed sketch of his life ap- 
 pears elsewhere in this work, and should prove an inspiration 
 to the thoughtful reader. 
 
 Albert Gallatin Mackey, the eminent Masonic writer and 
 jurist, P. G. H. P. of South Carolina, and P. G. G. H. P. of 
 the G. G. Chapter of the United States, passed away in this 
 city June 30, 1881, and was interred in Glenwood Cemetery. 
 While his death was a serious loss to the Fraternity wherever 
 dispersed, it came as a personal bereavement to most of the 
 companions in this city, where for years he took an active 
 part and interest in Capitular Masonry, and was personally 
 well known. 
 
 P. G. H. Priest George B. Clark, who served the Grand 
 Chapter as its presiding officer in 1876, departed this life De- 
 cember 10, 1883. His active service in all branches of Ma- 
 sonry rendered his death an appreciable loss to the local Craft. 
 
 February 21, 1885, the Grand Chapter, with M. Ex. Comp. 
 George E. Corson, the present G. G. King of the G. G. 
 Chapter, as G. H. Priest, joined the Grand Lodge in proces- 
 sion and assisted in the ceremony of dedicating the Washing- 
 ton Monument. 
 
 November 5, 1886, M. Ex. Comp. James Gozzler, G. H. P. 
 of the Grand Chapter of Maryland and the District of Colum- 
 bia from 1858 to 1863, died in Georgetown, at an advanced 
 age; and on January 10, 1889, M. Ex. Comp. James G. Smith, 
 another veteran of the same Grand Chapter, serving as G. H. 
 P. in 1866, at the time of the formation of the local Grand 
 body, and who played an important part in the troubles inci- 
 dent thereto, passed away, and a page in the annual proceed- 
 ings was devoted to his memory. 
 
 September 25, 1890, G. H. Priest Edwin S. Holmes, 
 granted a dispensation to form a chapter at Brightwood, D. 
 
294 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 C, and at the succeeding annual convocation a charter was 
 ordered to issue to Brightwood Chapter, No. 9, naming 
 Comps. Henry Yost as first H. P. ; John Aliller, as King, and 
 J. Enos Ray, Scribe. The institution took place January 7, 
 1891, G. H. Priest Alexander McKenzie conducting the cere- 
 mony. Lying well out toward the northern boundary of the 
 District, this chapter has drawn not only from the local field 
 but from the neai'by Maryland territory, through the reci- 
 procity agreement between the jurisdictions, has had a grati- 
 fying growth and has fully justified its formation. 
 
 Death was particularl}^ active in the ranks of the distin- 
 guished members of the Grand Chapter in the next few years, 
 the following P. G. H. Priests passing to the Great Beyond: 
 Joseph Daniels (G. H. P. 1S72), April 12, 1892: James P. 
 Pearson (1882), December 7, 1893; Abner Townsley Long- 
 ley (1873), February 23, 1896; Robert Ball (1889), :\Iarch 
 23, 1897; Isaac Larue Johnson (1877), December 28, 1S99; 
 Jeremiah C. Allen (1SS3), October 2, 1900; Noble Danforth 
 Larner (1874-5 and P. G. G. H. P.), March 19, 1903; Wil- 
 hara G. Powers (1887), July 20, 1905; Charles H. Smith 
 (1897), January 5, 1906; Thomas F. Gibbs (1892), January 
 30, 1906. George Harold Walker (1894), May 5, 1906; 
 John Lockie (1871), May 14, 1907; James F. R. Appleby 
 (1898), September 27, 1907, and Jose Maria Yznaga (1885), 
 April 11, 1909, while the same period included the deaths of 
 R. E. Comp. Lewis Guillam Stephens (P. Dep. G. H. P. and 
 G. Sec. for twenty years). May 17, 1896;. Ex. Comp. Joseph 
 Brummett (author of " Brummett's ^Masonic Manual"), No- 
 vember 15, 1896; Ex. Comp. William Reynolds Singleton 
 (Chairman of Committee on Correspondence 1886 to 1900), 
 February 23, 1901; R. Ex. Comp. William H. CoUins (P. 
 Dep. G. H. P.), January 25, 1903, and R. Ex. Comp. Nathan- 
 iel B. Fugitt (G. Scribe 1908), June 10, 1908. 
 
 At the annual convocation of the Grand Chapter December 
 14, 1892, a petition in due form was received from, and a 
 charter ordered to issue to, certain companions to form a 
 chapter to be known as Hiram Chapter, No. 10, with Comps. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 295 
 
 Martin R. Thorp, A. S. Taber, and Ira W. Hopkins as the 
 first three officers, in the order named. This chapter, formed 
 largely from the Mt. Horeb Chapter membership, had pre- 
 viously petitioned G. H. Priest Thomas Gibbs for a dispensa- 
 tion, which had been refused on the ground that such a defec- 
 tion would seriously affect the latter chapter. The primary 
 cause of the formation of the new chapter being simply a 
 desire upon the part of the petitioners to remain at their old 
 location, Nineteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., 
 and thereby keep in more effective touch with Hiram Lodge, 
 with which the majority were affiliated, as opposed to the ac- 
 tion of Mt. Horeb in seeking new quarters, was not a differ- 
 ence of such a character as to long strain the relations be- 
 tween the two bodies, which soon became of the most pleasant 
 character, and the wisdom of the movement was at once dem- 
 onstrated by both chapters entering upon an era of prosperity. 
 The new chapter was formally instituted January 9, 1893. 
 
 At a special convocation held September 14, 1897, a charter 
 was ordered to issue to sundry companions in the Northeast- 
 ern section of the city to form and open a R. A. Chapter, to be 
 known as Capitol Chapter, No. 11, to be located near the 
 comer of Twelfth and H Streets, N. E., with Comps. Francis 
 J. Woodman as the first H. P. ; James A. Wetmore the first 
 King; and Charles T. Caldwell the first Scribe. The chapter 
 was duly instituted November 6, 1897, and at once entered 
 upon a prosperous and useful career in a large, rapidly grow- 
 ing, and otherwise unoccupied territory. 
 
 At the annual convocation held February 11, 1903, a charter 
 was granted to twenty companions to form a Chapter to be 
 known as Anacostia Chapter, No. 12, the first three officers 
 named being Ex. Comp. Adolphus Gude and Comps. Robert 
 Cook and Julius W. Tolson. The new chapter was instituted 
 February 23, 1903, G. H. Priest George C. Ober officiating. 
 and has continued to the present in a prosperous condition. 
 Occupying, as it does, the lodge room of Anacostia Lodge, and 
 being without competition in one of the largest of the suburbs, 
 its growth and prosperity have been assured from the be- 
 ginning. 
 
296 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 The local Capitular family as thus constituted remains to 
 this day. The peculiarly compact nature of the jurisdiction, 
 bringing all allied Masonic bodies in unusually close touch 
 with each other, has given to R. A. Masonry the opportunity 
 to be a valuable helpmeet to the Symbolic branch in Washing- 
 ton in all the activities of Temple building and organized char- 
 ity that have marked the last half century, and the relations 
 between the two Grand bodies have always been of the most 
 intimate and amicable character and of great mutual benefit. 
 
GEORGE W. BAIRD, 
 
 Grand master, 1896; Chairman committee on 
 correspondence. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 297 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CRYPTIC MASONRY IN THE DISTRICT OF 
 COLUMBIA. 
 
 George E. Corson, 
 
 Recorder of Washington Council, No. 1, Royal and SslEct Masters, 
 
 FOR Twenty-three Years; Past Grand High Priest; General 
 
 Grand King, General Grand Chapter, U. S. A.; Past 
 
 Grand Commander K. T., D. C, and Past 
 
 J. G. W. of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 The Cryptic degrees are first mentioned in the history of 
 Masonic degrees in the District of Columbia in the records of 
 the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, which was organ- 
 ized in 1822. At the semi-annual convocation of the Grand 
 Chapter, held June 9, 1829, the report of the Committee on 
 Correspondence referred to a circular letter that had been sent 
 by the Grand Chapter of Maryland to each Grand Chapter in 
 the United States. This letter stated in effect (it is too long to 
 quote in full here) that the unsettled state of the degree of 
 Select Mason was a subject deemed of sufficient importance 
 to claim the attention of the several Grand Chapters; that it 
 was not recognized by the Grand Chapter of Maryland until 
 the year 1824, when, it appearing evident that the Select de- 
 gree had not only an intimate connection with, but was in a 
 measure necessary, as preparatory to and elucidatory of that 
 of the Royal Arch, it was required to be given by their sub- 
 ordinate chapters in its proper order, immediately preceding 
 that of the Royal Arch ; that they had learned with regret that 
 
298 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 councils of Select Masons had been established in some of the 
 States independent of Royal Arch Masonry, which they re- 
 garded as a great mistake and abuse of an authority delegated 
 in relation to the Select degree, and that they recommended 
 the subject to the consideration of the Grand Chapters, with 
 the hope that they would see it to be for the general interest 
 of the Craft " to take the degree under your recognizance and 
 control, to whom it of right belongs." 
 
 This subject was referred by the Grand Chapter to a com- 
 mittee and the committee reported : " That they are decidedly 
 of the opinion that the Royal and Select Master's degrees 
 should be recognized by and conferred under the direction of 
 the several Grand Chapters of the respective States and Terri- 
 tories of the Union. With regard to the proper time when 
 these degrees should be conferred, whether before or after 
 the Royal Arch degree, they declined to express an opinion, 
 preferring that this point should be left to the determination 
 of the General Grand Chapter." This report was laid on the 
 table for the present, and when taken up again it was " Re- 
 solved, That the further consideration thereof be postponed 
 till the first Tuesday in August next ; and that in the meantime 
 the Grand Secretary be directed to forward a copy of the re- 
 port this day made on that subject to the several councils of 
 Royal and Select Masters in the District of Columbia." 
 
 At the special convocation of the Grand Chapter, held Au- 
 gust 31, 1829, the following appears : 
 
 Companion Baldwin, from the committee appointed by the Council of 
 Royal and Select Masters of the City of Washington (which body had 
 been addressed on the subject by the Grand Secretary, pursuant to order), 
 presented to the Grand Chapter the following letter and report : 
 
 Washington, August 31, 1829. 
 At a special meeting of the Council of Royal and Select Masters, held 
 at the Central Masonic Hall, on Saturday the 29th of August, instant, the 
 written report having been presented and read, was, on motion, ordered 
 to be transmitted to the Grand Chapter of the District of Columbia at 
 their next meeting. 
 
 I quote the following from the report of the committee of 
 the council: 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 299 
 
 Your committee are confident, from an intimate acquaintance with all 
 the degrees, that those of Royal and Select Masters are not only posterior 
 in order to the Royal Arch, but that in our opinion it would not be 
 consistent with ancient Masonry to make them previous. Whether the 
 interests of the Craft would be promoted by this extended jurisdiction 
 your committee are unable to say, but should that course be thought 
 advisable by the General Grand Chapter, in its solemn deliberation, your 
 committee are decidedly of the opinion that it can only be done under 
 the following restrictions : 
 
 1. That the degrees of Royal and Select Masters can only be conferred 
 on Royal Arch Masons. 
 
 2. No one can be an officer of any chapter who is not both a Royal 
 and Select Master. 
 
 Without these restrictions your committee can never consent to a 
 change in the present established mode of proceeding. 
 
 The report of the committee made at the June convocation 
 of the Grand Chapter was taken up and adopted and a copy 
 thereof, and also a copy of the report of the committee of the 
 council, was transmitted to the General Grand Secretary, to 
 be laid before the General Grand Chapter. Companion Josiah 
 H. Drummond, Past General Grand High Priest, in speaking 
 of the convocation of the General Grand Chapter, held in 
 1839, says (see Gould's History of Freemasonry, Vol. iv, 
 pp. 540-541) : " But the business which was of the most im- 
 portance was the action in relation to the council degrees; a 
 communication was made by Comp. Stapleton, of Maryland, 
 in relation to these degrees, but it was based upon an entire 
 misapprehension of the origin, history, and existing status of 
 those degrees, as more recent investigation has fully demon- 
 strated. But the General Grand Chapter, acting under the 
 same misapprehension, by resolution and without mentioning 
 the degrees in its constitution, advised the council ' to place 
 the degrees under the authority of the State Grand Chap- 
 ters,' and authorized the Grand Chapters to make arrange- 
 ments for conferring the degrees, but only by consent of the 
 Grand Council, in any State in which a Grand Council existed 
 at that time." Comp. Drummond further says : " The council 
 degrees, after the action already given, continued to be a sub- 
 ject of discussion and difference, and in 1853 the matter was 
 
300 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 referred to an able committee, which reported that they had 
 examined the various reports which had been made upon the 
 subject in various State jurisdictions, and found, in substance, 
 that the beHef that the degrees were ' within the pale of the 
 jurisdiction of Royal Arch Masonry' was based upon misap- 
 prehension; and that the General Grand Chapter had no juris- 
 diction over them: A resolution embodying this conclusion 
 was adopted." 
 
 We have no records or accounts whatever in the District of 
 Columbia as to what became of the " council" — or " councils," 
 if more than one — referred to above. The chapters in this 
 District continued to confer the Royal and Select degrees 
 prior to the Royal Arch until 1833, when the Grand Chapter 
 was dissolved. Several of the chapters again joined the Grand 
 Chapter of Maryland, under whose authority they formerly 
 worked, and the council degrees continued to be conferred 
 prior to the Royal Arch until May 23, 1867, when the Grand 
 Chapter of the District of Columbia was again organized, and 
 on that day the New Grand Chapter, by resolution, unani- 
 mously dropped those degrees from the curriculum of the chap- 
 ter work. Soon after the organization of the Grand Chapter, 
 in 1867, Companion Benjamin B. French, the Inspector Gen- 
 eral of the Southern Jurisdiction for the A. A. Scottish Rite 
 for the District of Columbia, issued three dispensations to 
 form three new councils of Royal and Select Masters in the 
 District of Columbia. Those who had received the degrees of 
 Royal and Select Masters in regularly organized councils re- 
 fused to join in this movement, and the question was soon 
 agitated as to the legality and propriety of thus inaugurating 
 a new method of propagating the Cryptic degrees, with the 
 result that these three councils quickly gave up the ghost, and 
 there now remains but little more than tradition respecting 
 them. When the time was deemed judicious Companion Wil- 
 liam R. Singleton and eight other regularly made council Ma- 
 sons petitioned the Grand Council of Massachusetts for a dis- 
 pensation to open and hold a council of Royal and Select 
 Masters in the District of Columbia. This was granted Au- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMBIA 30I 
 
 gust 1, 1870, and on October 3, 1870, the officers of the Grand 
 Council of Massachusetts came to Washington and organized 
 LaFayette Council, with Companion William R. Singleton as 
 Most Illustrious Grand Master. Inasmuch as the great body 
 of Royal and Select Masters in the District had received the 
 degrees of Royal and Select Masters in their several chapters 
 prior to the Royal Arch, it was decided by LaFayette Council 
 that all such Royal Arch Masons, as well as those who had 
 never received the council degrees, should have the degrees 
 for a nominal sum (five dollars). Accordingly, in two nights' 
 assemblies, the Grand Officers of Massachusetts conferred the 
 Royal, Select, and Super-Excellent degrees upon 158 R. A. 
 Masons. A charter was granted to LaFayette Council by the 
 Grand Council of Massachusetts December 14, 1870, and it 
 was instituted under its charter December 20, 1870, and 
 started with flying colors, and enjoyed a fair degree of pros- 
 perity for several years, when from internal dissensions the 
 members lost their interest and ceased to attend the assem- 
 blies, and the council passed out of existence. 
 
 At a convention held at Detroit, Michigan, in August, 1880, 
 by the representatives of several Grand Councils, a General 
 Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters for the United 
 States of America was organized, officers elected and a con- 
 stitution adopted, which was submitted to the several Grand 
 Councils for approval, and on February 17, 1881, the General 
 Grand Council became a fixed fact, as on that date, the ninth 
 Grand Council in number, that of Louisiana, ratified the Gen- 
 eral Grand Constitution. 
 
 On June 30, 1883, Josiah H. Drummond, General Grand 
 Master of the General Grand Council of Royal and Select 
 Masters of the United States of America, issued a dispensa- 
 tion for a council at Washington, D. C, under the name of 
 Washington Council, upon the petition of Joseph S. McCoy, 
 William R. Singleton, and eight other well-known compan- 
 ions, formerly members of the late LaFayette Council. Tlie 
 first assembly of Washington Council under this dispensation 
 was held in the office of the Grand Secretary of the Grand 
 
302 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Lodge, in Masonic Temple, on the evening of July 16, 1883. 
 The officers and companions present at this assembly were: 
 Joseph S. McCoy, Th. 111. Master; Samuel Baxter, Right 111. 
 Dep. Master; Jeremiah C. Allen, 111. Prin. Cond. of the Work; 
 William M. Ireland, Lewis G. Stephens, Joseph Hamacher, 
 Claudius B. Smith, Edward Fitzki, and William R. Singleton, 
 who acted as Recorder. Three other assemblies were held 
 while the council was U. D., viz: on July 21, July 37, and Au- 
 gust C, 1883, and at these assemblies eight companions were 
 proposed for, and elected and received the degrees of Royal 
 and Select Master. At the First Triennial Assembly of the 
 General Grand Council, held at Denver, Colorado, August 14, 
 1883, a charter was granted by that body to the following 
 named companions, " authorizing and empowering them to 
 open and hold a council in Washington, D. C, under the 
 name and title of Washington Council, No. 1, of Royal and 
 Select Masters of the District of Columbia," viz: Joseph S. 
 McCoy, Samuel Baxter, Jeremiah C. Allen, James Lansburgh, 
 William R. Singleton, Claudius B. Smith, Joseph Hamacher, 
 Edward Fitzki, Lewis G. Stephens, William M.. Ireland, 
 James H. Trimble, Howard M. Gillman, Charles B. R. Col- 
 ledge, Harrison Dingman, Geo. Edgar Corson, Randolph 
 Beresford, George W. Howland, and Henry A. Griswold. 
 Through some delay in the delivery of the charter, Washing- 
 ton Council was not constituted and set to work until the 31st 
 day of March, 1887. On that date Geo. L. McCahan, of 
 Baltimore, G. G. Marshal of the G. G. Council, acting for the 
 General Grand Master, constituted the council and installed 
 its officers as follows : Samuel Baxter, T. I. M. ; J. C. Allen, 
 R. I. D. M. ; H. Dingman, I. P. C. W. ; James Lansburgh, 
 Treasurer; Geo. E. Corson, Recorder; Edward Fitzki, Cap- 
 tain of the Guard; Joseph Hamacher, Cond. of the Council; 
 C. B. Smith, Chaplain. Of the officers installed upon this oc- 
 casion but three are now living, Companion Dingman, a Past 
 Master of the council, and Companions Lansburgh and Cor- 
 son, who have been continued as Treasurer and Recorder, re- 
 spectively, to the present time. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COIvUMBIA 303 
 
 Steps were immediately taken to affiliate the members of 
 the late LaFayette Council, who were in good standing when 
 the charter of that council was arrested, and a dispensation 
 was obtained from the General Grand Master for that pur- 
 pose, and a large number of them became members of Wash- 
 ington Council. Several companions who had received the 
 Royal and Select degrees in their respective chapters, when 
 said degrees were conferred under the authority of the Grand 
 Chapter, desiring to affiliate with Washington Council, their 
 wishes were made known by direction of the council to the 
 General Grand Master, who authorized the council to accept 
 and " heal" them upon their presenting " a certificate from 
 the body that made them, which may be regarded in the light 
 of a dimit." A number of companions were admitted to 
 membership in Washington Council under this decision. A 
 larger number would have availed themselves of this privilege, 
 but unfortunately some of the old chapters could not furnish 
 the required certificates, as their records failed to show that 
 the degrees of Royal Master and of Select Master had been 
 conferred upon their members. During the twenty-three years 
 of its existence the following named companions have served 
 Washington Council as Thrice Illustrious Masters, for the 
 years designated: Samuel Baxter, 1887; Jeremiah C. Allen, 
 1888; Harrison Dingman, 1889; Joseph Hamacher, 1890; 
 Alex. H. Holt, 1891; William Oscar Roome, 1893; E. H. 
 Chamberlin, 1893; James H. Wardle, 1894; George H. Walk- 
 er, 1895; Walter B. Pettus, 1896; Charles H. Smith, 1897; 
 A. M. Lambeth, 1898; David M. Cridler, 1899; James H. 
 Mcintosh, 1900 and 1903; Jacobus S. Jones, 1901; Claude F. 
 King, 1902; Ernest H. Daniel, 1904; Roger O'Donnell, 1905 
 and 1906; William T. Hastings, 1907; John A. Colborn, 
 1908; Lafayette Leaman, 1909; August B. Douglas, 1910. 
 
 The possession of the Cryptic degrees not being a prere- 
 quisite to the Orders of Knighthood, the growth of the Cryptic 
 Rite in the District of Columbia has been slow, but of a sub- 
 stantial and most gratifying character, as the degrees have 
 been sought for largely by those who have desired to extend 
 
304 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 and increase their knowledge by receiving " further light in 
 Masonry." The names of ten Grand Masters, eighteen Grand 
 High Priests, and six Grand. Commanders, with a hundred 
 others of less official rank, have appeared, and the most of 
 them still appear, on the roll of members of Washington 
 Council. The work of building up the council and of popular- 
 izing and propagating, the Cryptic degrees has not been at all 
 times of an encouraging character. In 1897, owing to the 
 bankrupt condition of the council, and the lack of interest on 
 the part of its members, it was proposed that its charter be 
 surrendered, but at a summoned assembly this proposition, 
 after due deliberation, was unanimously defeated. The mem- 
 bers aroused from their lethargy, renewed their zeal and in- 
 terest, and soon placed the council on a sound, safe footing 
 and in a prosperous condition, and since then the council has 
 gained largely in numbers, influence, and popularity, because 
 of the ability, energy, and zeal displayed by many of its offi- 
 cers and the increased interest of its members. Its assemblies 
 are made attractive, interesting, and enjoyable by the use of 
 the proper paraphernalia for the conferring of the degrees 
 and instructing the candidates in their sublime lessons and 
 teachings; by the beauty and impressiveness of the work, and 
 by that good-fellowship and sociability by which they are in- 
 variably characterized. 
 
 The state of the Cryptic Rite in the District of Columbia 
 was, however, for many years in a large measure that of satis- 
 fied indifference. There being but one council, it left the pro- 
 pagation of the Rite in the hands of a small number. These 
 few, about the year 1905, saw that the trouble lay in the need 
 for more workers, and decided that the only feasible way to 
 increase the corps of workers and enlarge the field of useful- 
 ness of the Rite was through the organization of a new council. 
 
 The representatives of Washington Council who attended 
 the Ninth Triennial Assembly of the General Grand Council, 
 in Boston, Mass., in 1906, witnessed an excellent and impres- 
 sive rendition of one of the Cryptic degrees by Boston Council, 
 and the report of these representatives, on their return, lent 
 
MATTHEW TRIMBLE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1897; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1879-1880. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O? COLUMBIA 305 
 
 momentum to the efforts already being put forth, with the 
 result that Companions Louis A. Dent and John Speed Smith, 
 with several other members of Washington Council, were re- 
 quested to take up the work preparatory to the organization 
 of another council. These companions secured the signatures 
 of twenty-seven members of Washington Council to a petition 
 for a dispensation to form a new council. Washington Coun- 
 cil gave to this petition its cordial approval and recommenda- 
 tion. 
 
 With this petition before him, on September 2, 1907, the 
 General Grand Master of the General Grand Council, Henry 
 Clay Larrabee, issued his dispensation to the following 
 named companions to form and open a council of Royal and 
 Select Masters in the District of Columbia, to be known as 
 Adoniram Council, viz: E. St. Clair Thompson, Louis A. 
 Dent, Henry B. Mirick, John Speed Smith, Dan C. Vaughan, 
 Charles E. Baldwin, Jacob W. Collins, Herman E. Malzahn, 
 Francis J. Phillips, Harry M. Luckett, Isaac B. Field, Roe 
 Fulkerson, William H. McCray, Theodore T. Moore, Walter 
 B. Pettus, August B. Coolidge, Lem. Towers, Jr., John H. 
 Small, Claude F. King, Alexander Gordon, Jr., Harry G. 
 Kimball, Henry C. Duncan, Harrison Dingman, James A. 
 Wetmore, William W. Jermane, and Arthur F. Bloomer, and 
 designated E. St. Clair Thompson, Master; John Speed 
 Smith, Deputy Master, and William W. Jermane, Principal 
 Conductor. 
 
 At the assembly for organization, on September 17, 1907, 
 the Master appointed Henry B. Mirick, Treasurer; Claude 
 F. King, Recorder; Roe Fulkerson, Captain of the Guard; 
 Dan C. Vaughan, Conductor of the Council, and Louis A. 
 Dent, Steward. 
 
 Adoniram Council entered at once upon a bright and pros- 
 perous career. At the end of its first year, August 31, 1908, 
 it had forty-six names upon its roll. 
 
 On September 16, 1909, it petitioned the General Grand 
 Council for a charter, and directed its Master, E. St. Clair 
 Thompson, to attend the coming Triennial Assembly of the 
 20 
 
306 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 General Grand Council and use every effort to secure the 
 same. 
 
 At the Tenth Triennial Assembly of the General Grand 
 Council, held in the City of Savannah, Ga., November 9, 1909, 
 a charter was unanimously granted to " Adoniram Council, 
 No. 2, Royal and Select Masters of the District of Columbia." 
 At the date of its charter the council numbered eighty-six 
 members. 
 
 On the evening of December 16, 1909, in the Knights 
 Templar Asylum of the new Masonic Temple, Adoniram 
 Council, No. 2, was constituted under its charter by M. P. 
 Companion Henry Clay Larrabee, Past General Grand 
 Master of the General Grand Council, and the following 
 named officers were duly elected and installed: E. St. Clair 
 Thompson, Master; Jacob W. Collins, Deputy Master; Wil- 
 liam W. Jermane, Principal Conductor; Charles E. Baldwin. 
 Treasurer ; Claude F. King, Recorder ; Dan C. Vaughan, Cap- 
 tain of the Guard ; Carey S. Frye, Conductor of the Council ; 
 Roe Fulkerson, Steward. 
 
 The two councils, Washington, No. 1, and Adoniram, No. 
 2, are working together in perfect concord and harmony in 
 the advancement of the Cryptic Rite and in the diffusion of its 
 sublime teachings and principles, looking hopefully forward 
 to the day when other councils shall spring up and join them 
 in the good work, and when a Grand Council of Royal and 
 Select Masters will be numbered among the governing Ma- 
 sonic bodies in the District of Columbia. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI^UMBIA 307 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE ORDERS OE CHRISTIAN KNIGHTHOOD IN 
 THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 Arvini; W. Johnston, 
 
 Grand Recorder of the Grand Commandery, K. T., of the District 
 
 OF Columbia. 
 
 The history of Chivalric Masonry in the District of Colum- 
 bia dates from December 1, 1834, when ten Sir Knights as- 
 sembled in the City of Washington for the purpose of forming 
 an encampment of Knights Templar. It is to be presumed 
 that this " assembly," as it was called, was held under dispen- 
 sation, as otherwise its proceedings would be without justifica- 
 tion in the light of modern Masonic jurisprudence, but, sin- 
 gularly enough, the records afiford no evidence of such author- 
 ity. Sir James Cushman presided as " Most Eminent Grand 
 Commander," and on his right sat William Winston Seaton, 
 Mayor of Washington and congressional printer, distin- 
 guished alike in the political and Masonic annals of the Capi- 
 tal City. 
 
 Petitions were received from two companions, who were 
 balloted upon, elected and invested with the Orders forthwith. 
 A Sir Knight who was " unknown to the members" and " un- 
 able to manifest his faith" was " formally healed" as a pre- 
 liminary to his admission as a visitor. Truly this inchoate 
 body exercised remarkable powers. 
 
 At the assembly of January 4, 1825, it was resolved that 
 " the style and title of this encampment shall be Washington 
 Encampment, No. 1." A committee was appointed to draft 
 
308 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 by-laws, and the fee for the Orders was fixed at twenty-five 
 dollars. The election of the first officers was held, resulting in 
 the choice of Nicholas Blasdell as Most Eminent Grand Com- 
 mander. A petition for a charter, bearing the date of this 
 assembly, was presented " to the Most Eminent Henry Fowle, 
 Esq., Deputy Grand Master of the General Grand Encamp- 
 ment of the United States." On January 14, 1825, Most 
 Eminent Sir Fowle issued a charter to the petitioners to form 
 " Washington Encampment," by which designation the body 
 was known for about thirty years, when it was changed to 
 Washington Commandery, No. 1. 
 
 The first assembly under the charter was held April 6, 
 1835, when a committee was appointed to inquire into the 
 probable cost of the " dress" of the Sir Knights, which is de- 
 scribed as " a sash and apron." The " old black uniform" 
 which has played so prominent a part in the history of the 
 present Washington Commandery is probably an evolution of 
 this " dress." Soon after by-laws were adopted, providing for 
 quarterly assemblies and fixing the annual dues at fifty cents. 
 We learn from the old records that the Encampment was given 
 a roving commission by the Grand Encampment, and held its 
 assemblies alternately in Washington and Georgetown. In 
 1838 it attended divine services at St. John's church in honor 
 of the memory of Grand Master DeWitt Clinton. In 1829 it 
 participated in the celebration at Baltimore of the building of 
 the first railroad. In 1830 it united with the Grand Lodge of 
 Virginia in ceremonies at Alexandria and Mount Vernon in 
 honor of the memory of Washington. Erom the year after 
 its organization the encampment struggled for existence 
 against the fanatical persecution of Masonry which followed 
 the disappearance of Morgan. In 1835, weary of the long 
 conflict, it discontinued its assemblies, and for twelve years its 
 banners were furled and its tapers extinguished. At this time 
 thirty-eight members were borne on its roll. 
 
 In 1847 eleven fraters, inspired by the zeal of one of their 
 number, the illustrious Benjamin Brown French, joined in a 
 petition to Sir Joseph K. Stapleton, Deputy Grand Master of 
 
HOME OF TAKOMA LODGE, NO. 29, TAKOMA PARK. D. C. 
 
 MEETING PLACE OF KING DAVID LODGE, NO. 28. BROOKLAND, D. C. 
 
IN The district of coi^umbia 309 
 
 the Grand Encampment, for a dispensation to revive Wash- 
 ington Encampment, which was issued April 23, 1847. On 
 the 24th of the same month the reorganization was effected 
 by the election of a line of officers. Sir Benjamin B. French 
 was chosen Most Eminent Grand Commander, and continued 
 in that station, with an interval of one year, until 1859, when 
 he retired to become Most Eminent Grand Master of Temp- 
 lars. His administrative genius laid the foundation on which 
 the splendid superstructure of Washington Commandery, No. 
 1 , has been reared. It was during his service in the chair that 
 the name of the body was changed fi'om " Encampment" to 
 '' Commandery." 
 
 The commandery took part in the ceremonies of the laying 
 of the cornerstone of the monument to Washington in 1848, 
 and was present at the dedication of that imposing obelisk in 
 1885. It acted as escort in the funeral procession of Presi- 
 dent Lincoln in 1865, assisted in like duty when the remains 
 of President Garfield were removed from the Capitol to the 
 depot in 1881, and, with the other commanderies, was in line 
 in the procession which escorted the remains of President Mc- 
 Kinley from the White House to the Capitol in 1901. 
 
 The limits of this article preclude narration of the many 
 pilgrimages and other events in which the commandery has 
 taken part. Conservative, yet progressive, it bears upon its 
 roll the names of many representative men in the professional, 
 business and social life of the city, and many whose fame has 
 gone beyond the limits of the jurisdiction. Among the latter 
 we find the leonine Benjamin B. French; Albert Pike, soldier, 
 poet, philosopher. Grand Commander of the Southern juris- 
 diction of the Scottish Rite; the brilliant Charles F. Stans- 
 bury, whose masterly defense of the " old black uniform" 
 thrilled the Grand Encampment at New Orleans in 1874; Al- 
 bert G. Mackey, eminent Masonic jurist; George C. Whiting, 
 the able, earnest and eloquent Grand Master of Masons ; and 
 William R. Singleton, the veteran Grand Secretary and Ma- 
 sonic writer. One of its Past Commanders, Harrison Ding- 
 man, was Grand Captain of the Guard of the Grand Encamp- 
 
3IO HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 ment in 1907-1910. The strength of the commandery at the 
 present time is 539 members. 
 
 In the throes of civil war, when Washington was a vast 
 miHtary camp, another commandery was born. January 13, 
 1863, a dispensation was granted by Most Eminent Grand 
 Master Benjamin B. French to twenty-one Sir Knights to 
 form Columbia Commandery, No. 2, and his action was rati- 
 fied by the Grand Encampment on September 17, 1865, when 
 a charter was grcinted. 
 
 Bom in an atmosphere of strife, Columbia Commandery 
 has ever been imbued with an ardent military spirit. In the 
 spirit of Napoleon's saying, " there are no Alps," the com- 
 mandery has planned and carried out many large enterprises 
 in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Fore- 
 most in every undertaking that enlists the energies of Chris- 
 tian Knighthood, its pluck, ambition, and progressiveness 
 have won for it a commanding position among the Templar 
 bodies of the world. Its record of triennial pilgrimages is un- 
 broken from St. Louis in 1868 to Chicago in 1910. At Pitts- 
 burg it had the honor of being the special escort of Grand 
 Master Warren LaRue Thomas. Two of its Past Command- 
 ers have been chosen as officers of the Grand Encampment — 
 Myron M. Parker as Grand Sword Bearer 1889-1893, and 
 Frank H. Thomas as Grand Captain of the Guard 1895-1898, 
 Grand Junior Warden 1901-1904, and Grand Captain General 
 1904^1907. Many distinguished names are borne on the 
 roster of Columbia Commandery, among whom may be men- 
 tioned President James A. Garfield, who was knighted by the 
 commandery in 1865, and whose remains were escorted by 
 his f raters from Washington to Cleveland; Ben: PerleyPoore, 
 the eminent journalist, who was the first commander under 
 dispensation; Gen. H. C. Corbin, Chief of Staff, U. S. A., 
 and Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, the hero of Santiago 
 Bay. The membership of the commandery is 615. 
 
 Potomac Commandery, No. 3, planted its banners in 
 Georgetown under dispensation in 1870, and was chartered 
 by the Grand Encampment September 23, 1871. While its 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 3II 
 
 jurisdiction, in common with other commanderies, extends 
 over the District of Columbia, its distance from the centers of 
 activity has Hmited its actual field of operations to West Wash- 
 ington, as old Georgetown is now called, a section largely 
 dominated by an influence inimical to Masonry. But "nil 
 desperandum" is the motto of this plucky little commandery, 
 and after many years of warfare it bids fair to reap the re- 
 wards its valor and constancy have earned. It has now a 
 membership of 143. 
 
 De Molay Mounted Commandery, No. 4, was organized 
 under dispensation February 19, 1873, and chartered Decem- 
 ber 3, 1874. Its charter membership was drawn from among 
 the substantial business men of the city, and the accessions to 
 its ranks have come from the same class. Tlie commandery 
 i« distinguished for open handed charity and genuine, knightly 
 hospitality, and excels in the cultivation of the social features 
 of the Order. In its peculiar nomenclature it numbers 186 
 " saddles." 
 
 The long-felt want of a commandery in the populous east- 
 ern section of the city led to the formation of Orient Com- 
 mandery, No. 5. Chartered by the Grand Encampment Au- 
 gust 29, 1895, without a previous existence under dispensa- 
 tion, it entered at once upon a career of phenomenal pros- 
 perity. Starting with a charter membership of 30, in the first 
 year of its existence its ranks were increased to 82, and at its 
 last return it numbered 260 swords. Young, vigorous and 
 enthusiastic, this commandery looks forward to a future as 
 full of promise as the past has been of success. 
 
 The event of greatest magnitude in the annals of Templary 
 in the District of Columbia was the Twenty-fourth Triennial 
 Conclave of the Grand Encampment, which was held in Wash- 
 ington October 8-11, 1889. A Triennial Committee, com- 
 posed of eleven members from each of the four command- 
 eries then in existence, was appointed to arrange for the re- 
 ception and entertainment of the Grand Encampment and 
 visiting commanderies and Sir Knights, and was organized 
 with the following officers : Myron M. Parker, chairman ; 
 
312 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 George E. Corson, vice-chairman; Thomas vSomerville, treas- 
 urer; Harrison Dingman, corresponding secretary; Warren 
 H. Orcutt, .recording secretary. Sub-committees were also ap- 
 pointed with chairmen as follows: Executive, Myron M. 
 Parker; reception, William G. Moore; finance, James E. 
 Waugh; transportation, Edward H. Chamberlin; printing, 
 George Gibson ; hotels, Allison Nailor, Jr. ; halls and decora- 
 tions, John H. Olcott; levee, George W. Evans; excursions, 
 William B. Easton; carriages, Edward Turkenton; music, 
 Robert Ball; badges, James P. Pearson; theaters, Orrin G. 
 Staples; press, Myron M. Parker; horses and horse equip- 
 ments, Martin R. Thorp; barbecue, George W. Pratt; ex- 
 hibition drill, Robert T. Hieston. A guaranty fund of $33,650 
 was raised by a contribution by each commandery of a sum 
 equal to $35 for each member on its roll. Under the capable 
 direction of Chairman Parker and Secretary Dingman the 
 general committee and the several sub-committees successfully 
 planned and carried out the stupendous work of caring for the 
 comfort of one hundred thousand visitors and providing them 
 with a knightly, generous and hospitable entertainment. 
 
 October 8, an ideal autumn day, witnessed the largest and 
 most brilliant pageant known in the history of the Order when 
 34,000 Knights Templar marched on Pennsylvania Avenue to 
 Washington Circle, and thence on K Street to Tenth Street, 
 under the command of Myron M. Parker as chief marshal. 
 The parade was organized in twelve grand divisions, and 
 there were in line the Grand Encampment, thirty-seven Grand 
 Commanderies, two hundred and fifty-eight commanderies, 
 seven battalions, three Canadian Preceptories and one hundred 
 bands. It was reviewed by President Harrison from a stand 
 in front of the White House, and by Grand Master Charles 
 Roome and staff from a stand at Tenth and K Streets. 
 
 From the chartering of Washington Encampment in 1835 
 to the chartering of Orient Commandery in 1895, the Templar 
 bodies of the District of Columbia were borne on the rolls 
 of the Grand Encampment. In the fall of 1895 the five com- 
 manderies, believing that their interests would be better served 
 
SAMUEL C. PALMER, 
 Grand Master, 1898. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 313 
 
 by a governing body of their own creation, voted to form a 
 Grand Commandery, and through their representatives pe- 
 titioned Most Eminent Grand Master Warren LaRue Thomas 
 for a warrant for that purpose, which was issued December 
 2, 1895. 
 
 January 14, 1896, the seventy-first anniversary of the 
 charter of Washington Encampment, the Grand Commandery 
 of Knights Templar and the Appendant Orders of the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia was constituted. Grand Master Thomas pre- 
 siding over the ceremonies and installing the officers. The 
 veteran Noble D. Earner, who had received all the honors of 
 Masonry that could be conferred in the District of Columbia, 
 and had presided over the General Grand Chapter of the 
 United States, was chosen the first Grand Commander, and 
 has been succeeded in the office in turn by Frank H. Thomas, 
 Rezin W. Darby, Eldred G. Davis, William T. Galliher, Har- 
 rison Dingman, George Gibson, George E. Corson, Alexander 
 McKenzie, Andrew W. Kelley, Bennett A. Allen, William E. 
 Hunt, Thomas P. Morgan, William H. H. Cissel, Walter H. 
 Klopfer, and George C. Ober. 
 
 In the organization of the Grand Commandery the com- 
 manderies enjoy the benefits of " home-rule," which is un- 
 known in the political government of the District of Colum- 
 bia. Remote from the Grand Encampment, the commanderies 
 formerly legislated for themselves, with the result that there 
 was frequently lack of uniformity in their regulations and 
 sometimes a misconstruction of the Constitution and Statutes. 
 But under the supervision of the Grand Commandery the con- 
 stituent bodies have been brought into closer relations with 
 each other, uniformity of dress and equipments has been es- 
 tablished, inspections have been instituted, and the regulations 
 of the Grand Encampment have been rightly construed and 
 enforced. 
 
 According to date of organization the Grand Commandery 
 is No. 42 in the list of 47 Grand Commanderies on the register 
 of the Grand Encampment, but in the number of members 
 returned (1,843) it stands No. 36, and in average membership 
 
314 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 of commanderies (366) it is No. 1. The growth of Templar 
 Masonry, from fourteen Sir Knights under Grand Commander 
 Nicholas Blasdell in 1825 to 1,843 Sir Knights under Grand 
 Commander George C. Ober in 1910, has kept pace with the 
 growth of Washington from the straggling village in the first 
 quarter of the nineteenth century to the magnificent city in 
 the first decade of the twentieth. The possibilities of the ex- 
 pansion of the Order in the future are beyond calculation. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI^UMBIA 315 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE SCOTTISH RITE IN THE DISTRICT OF 
 COLUMBIA. 
 
 Wm. L. Boyden, 33° Hon., Librarian Supreme Counch, 
 
 33°. 
 
 The introduction of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite 
 into the District of Columbia may be said to have begun when 
 the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction of the 
 United States elected Brother Benjamin Brown French to re- 
 ceive the Thirty-third degree of Sovereign Grand Inspector 
 General and an active member of the Supreme Council for the 
 District of Columbia, he being on the 13th day of December, 
 1859, duly invested with that degree by the Sovereign Grand 
 Commander, General Albert Pike. Brother French was an 
 active worker in the York Rite, having been Grand Master of 
 the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, Grand High 
 Priest of Maryland and the District of Columbia, Grand 
 Master and Grand Recorder of the Grand Encampment of 
 Knights Templar of the United States, and subsequently Gen- 
 eral Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of the 
 United States. He ultimately became Lieutenant Grand Com- 
 mander of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction. 
 
 In the spring of 1860, Brother Pike conferred the several 
 degrees of the Rite from the 4th to the 33d, inclusive, upon 
 Brothers George C. Whiting, William D. Haley, John G. F. 
 Holston, Gustavus A. Schwarzman, Christopher Ingle, Joseph 
 W. Nairn, William G. Parkhurst, Aaron Van Camp, Ezra L. 
 Stevens, Goff Alfred Hall, and Peter P. Pitchlyn. Bro. Haley, 
 
3l6 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 after having the degrees communicated to him, received au- 
 thority from Brother Pike to confer the same upon several 
 others who could not be present at the several meetings called 
 by the Grand Commander. 
 
 On the 32d of June, 1860, Bro. Pike issued Letters Patent, 
 constituting the Grand Consistory of Sublime Princes of the 
 Royal Secret, 32d degree, the members forming this body be- 
 ing those above mentioned and Benjamin Brown French, 33°, 
 Ben Perley Poore, 33°, Samuel T. Schugert, 32°, and Aaron 
 H. Palmer, 33°. The officers were installed the same day by 
 Brother Pike, and on June 28th a complimentary banquet was 
 given by the consistory in honor of the Grand Commander. 
 The officers of the consistory were George C. Whiting, 33°, 
 John G. F. Holston, 33°, Christopher Ingle, 33°, Ben Perley 
 Poore, 33°, Wm. D. Haley, 33°, G. A. Schwarzman, 33°, 
 Samuel C. Schugert, 33°, Wm. G. Parkhurst, 32°, Joseph W. 
 Nairn, 33°, Ezra L. Stevens, 33°, Peter P. Pitchlyn, 33°, Goff 
 Alfred Hall, 32°, B. B. French, 33°, Aaron H. Palmer, 32°. 
 January 22, 1861, an election was held, resulting in the re- 
 election of all of the above officers, and they were duly in- 
 stalled on the 28th of the same month by the Grand Com- 
 mander. 
 
 The Grand Consistory having issued Letters Patent for a 
 Lodge of Perfection, 14th degree, to be called Osiris Lodge 
 of Perfection, No. 1, the same was formed on the evening of 
 June 22, 1860, the first three officers being Christopher Ingle, 
 Ezra L. Stevens, and William G. Parkhurst. 
 
 These bodies held their meetings in the Masonic Hall, 
 corner of Ninth and D Streets, Northwest, and did consider- 
 able work. Brother Ingle, who is still living at this writing, re- 
 ceiving for his excellent sennces the Honoraiy 33d degree at 
 the hands of the Supreme Council in 1861. The last meeting 
 of the consistory was held April 5th, 1861. The great Civil 
 War, which commenced in the month of April of this year, 
 closed the doors of both Osiris Lodge of Perfection and the 
 Grand Consistory of the District of Columbia. 
 
 On January 19, 1867, Brothers B. B. French, 33°, George 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 317 
 
 C. Whiting, 33°, Christopher Ingle, 33°, and Ben Perely 
 Poore, 33°, met at the " Club House," corner of Fifteenth and 
 H Streets, Northwest, at eight o'clock P. M., to consider the 
 status of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia. They agreed to do all they could to revive 
 the Rite. Altho Osiris Lodge of Perfection and the Grand 
 Consistory had a cjuasi existence at this time, they evidently 
 did little or no work, for we find Brother French, the Active 
 33d, assisted by some of the other brethren, conferring and 
 communicating the degrees at various times and places on 
 worthy Master Masons, the most notable one being the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, Brother Andrew Johnson, who re- 
 ceived the degrees from the 4th to the 33d, inclusive, at the 
 White House, on June 20th, 1867, remarking that the doc- 
 trines inculcated were such as he had been practicing and 
 preaching all his life. 
 
 May 20th, 1870, Brother French appointed Bro. Joseph 
 Thomas Brown, 33°, Hon., his deputy for the District, and on 
 the death of Bro. French, which occurred August 12, 1870, 
 Bro. Pike appointed him Special Deputy for the District of 
 Columbia. 
 
 On December 16, 1870, the following brethren met at the 
 Masonic Hall, with a view to the organization of a Lodge of 
 Perfection, the Letters Patent of Osiris Lodge of Perfection 
 having been recalled by the Supreme Council : Christopher 
 Ingle, Joshua Otis Stanton, George D. Patten, Wm. M. Ire- 
 land, James B. Gibbs, Charles T. Nutze, Benj. S. Hedrick, 
 Richard S. Olcott, Leonard Stoddard, James F. Wollard, 
 Henry C. Barr, George A. Hall, John J. Bell, James Gozler, 
 Clement W. Bennett, George W. Balloch, Joseph W. Nairn, 
 Abner T. Longley, Joseph Daniels, Upton H. Ridenour, John 
 G. F. Holston, Morton P. Chipman, Ben Perley Poore, and 
 Thomas L. Tullock. Albert Pike was present and presided at 
 the meeting, while Albert G. Mackey acted as secretary. A 
 motion was adopted by the brethren organizing themselves 
 into a Lodge of Perfection, to be known as Mithras Lodge of 
 Perfection, No. 2, subsequently changed to No. 1. A petition 
 
3l8 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 was prepared praying for Letters of Constitution, which be- 
 ing granted, the brethren, on December 30, 1870, assembled 
 in the Commandery Room of the Masonic Temple, when the 
 lodge was duly constituted by the Grand Commander, assisted 
 by the Secretary General, Albert G. Mackey. 
 
 December 7, 1871, a Council of Princes of Jerusalem, 15th 
 and 16th degrees, was constituted, under the name of Kedron 
 Council, No. 1, with the following officers : Joseph Daniels, 
 33°, Illustrious Tarshartha; Thomas L. Tullock, 33°, Vener- 
 able High Priest; Joshua O. Stanton, 33°, Excellent Scribe; 
 Abner T. Longley, 38°, Enlightened Warden; George H. 
 Moore, 33°, Enhghtened Junior Warden; Clement W. Ben- 
 nett, 33°, Illustrious Almoner; Charles A. Appel, 32°, 111. 
 Keeper of Seals and Records; Joseph W. Nairn, 33°, 111. 
 Treasurer. 
 
 At the same meeting, December 7, 1871, a chapter of Rose 
 Croix, 17th and 18th degrees, was constituted in the parlor of 
 the Chapter Chamber, Masonic Temple, under the name of 
 Evangelist Chapter, No. 1, the officers elected being Joshua O. 
 Stanton, 33°, Wise Master; Clement W. Bennett, 33°, Senior 
 Warden; Luther H. Pike, 33°, Junior Warden; Wm. M. Ire- 
 land, 33°, Orator; Abner T. Longley, 33°, Almoner; Charles 
 A. Appel, 33°, Secretary, and Joseph W. Nairn, 33°, Treas- 
 urer. The Council of Princes of Jerusalem was subsequently 
 merged into Evangelist Chapter, so that the latter included the 
 degrees from the 15th to the 18th, inclusive. 
 
 On December 11, 1873, the Special Deputy for the District 
 of Columbia, Bro. Wm. M. Ireland, 33°, convened a meeting 
 in the Commandery Room of the Masonic Temple, for the 
 purpose of organizing a Council of Kadosh, 30th degree. A 
 council was duly organized, and was constituted January 39, 
 1874, under the name of Robert De Bruce Council, No. 1, 
 with the following officers: Wm. M. Ireland, 33°, Eminent 
 Commander; Luther H. Pike, 33°, Eminent Prior; Crawford 
 C. Adams, 32°, E. Preceptor; Abner T. Longley, 33°, E. 
 Chancellor; Wm. R. Singleton (at that time 30°), E. Orator; 
 Clement W. Bennett, 33°, E. Almoner; Henry J. Martin, 30°, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 01^ COIvUMBIA 3I9 
 
 E. Recorder; Jonathan M. Smith, 30°, E. Treasurer. Bro. 
 Pike constituted this body, assisted by Albert G. Mackey, Sec- 
 retary General. Bro. Wm. R. Singleton (afterwards a 33° 
 Hon.), the Orator, delivered an impressive oration on this 
 occasion. 
 
 Upon the written request of 111. Bro. Wm. M. Ireland, 33°, 
 and 111. Clement W. Bennett, 33°, addressed to the 32d degree 
 Masons residing in the District of Columbia, the following 
 brethren assembled at Scottish Rite Sanctuary, corner of 
 Seventh and D Streets, N. W., at 7.30 o'clock P. M., January 
 6, 1876: Albert Pike, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander; 
 Wm. M. Ireland, 33°, Clement W. Bennett, 33°, Christopher 
 Ingle, 33°, James B. Gibbs, 33°, Benjamin S. Hedrick, 32°, 
 Abner T. Longley, 32°, Joshua O. Stanton, 32°, Luther H. 
 Pike, 32°, Crawford C. Adams, 32°, Henry J. Martin, 32°, 
 Jonathan M. Smith, 32°, Leonard Stoddard, Jr., 32°, Wm. 
 R. Singleton, 32°, Frederick Widdows, 32°, John B. Daw- 
 son, 33°, Charles T. Nutze, 32°, Allen Wall, 32°, Ezra L. 
 Stevens, 32°, Philip R. Wilson, 32°, Edwin B. MacGrotty, 
 33°, and John B. Wadsworth, 33°. Upon motion of Bro. 
 Hedrick, the members decided to organize a consistory, 33d 
 degree, and a committee was appointed to select a name, and, 
 reporting the same evening, they decided upon the name Al- 
 bert Pike Consistory, which recommendation was unanimously 
 adopted, and they proceeded to the election of officers, with 
 the following result: Clement W. Bennett, Commander in 
 Chief; Joshua O. Stanton, Seneschal; Luther H. Pike, Pre- 
 ceptor; Abner T. Longley, Constable; John B. Dawson, Ad- 
 miral; Crawford C. Adams, Minister of State; Allen Wall, 
 Chancellor; James B. Gibbs, Almoner; Henry J. Martin, 
 Registrar; Philip R. Wilson, Treasurer. The consistory was 
 duly constituted on January 13, 1876. 
 
 October 30, 1880, Dr. John Mills Browne, Surgeon General 
 of the United States Navy, was crowned an active member of 
 the Supreme Council, 33d degree, and Inspector General for 
 the District of Columbia. He was Past Grand Master, Past 
 Grand High Priest, and Past Grand Master of the Grand Con- 
 
320 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 sistory, 32d . degree, of California. The Rite made rapid 
 strides under his able administration. 
 
 ITpon his recommendation, Orient Lodge of Perfection, 
 No. 2, 14:th degree, was constituted, January 12, 1885, with 
 Dr. Thomas G. Loockermann, 33°, Master; Frederick W. Rit- 
 ter, 32°, Senior Warden, and George E. Corson, 32° (now a 
 33d Hon.), Junior Warden. This body held its meetings in 
 the Masonic Hall, Georgetown, and continued working for 
 about eighteen years, when it surrendered its charter in No- 
 vember, 1902, the members affiliating with Mithras Lodge of 
 Perfection, No. 1. 
 
 It was in the Chapter Chamber of the Masonic Hall that 
 James A. Garfield, afterwards President of the United States, 
 applied for the Scottish Rite degrees, his petition being re- 
 ceived on April 4, 1871, elected May 2, 1871, receiving the 
 4th and 5th degrees the same date, and the intermediate de- 
 grees between that time and January 2, 1872, when he re- 
 ceived the 14th degree, beyond which he did not go. 
 
 After the death of John Mills Browne, the active member 
 for the District of Columbia, the then Grand Commander, 
 Thomas H. Caswell, November 4, 1895, appointed Francis J. 
 Woodman, 33° Honorary, Deputy and Legate of the Supreme 
 Council for the District of Columbia. Bro. Woodman con- 
 tinued as Deputy until the present Grand Commander, Brother 
 James D. Richardson, on February 10, 1908, issued an order 
 attaching the District to the jurisdiction of Charles E. Rosen- 
 baum, 33°, the Sovereign Grand Inspector General for Ar- 
 kansas. Bro. Rosenbaum, on December 28, 1909, issued an 
 order appointing Brother Stirling Kerr, 33° Hon., his Repre- 
 sentative and Deputy in the District of Columbia. 
 
 The meeting places of the local bodies of the Rite have been 
 from time to time as follows : In 1860 and up to the breaking 
 out of the Civil War, in the Masonic Hall, corner of Ninth and 
 D Streets, N. W. After the war the members met at various 
 residences, until the organization of Mithras Lodge of Per- 
 fection, December 30, 1870; in the Commandery Room of the 
 Masonic Hall, holding this one meeting only here, after which 
 
JOHN H. SMALL. JR., 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1899. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O? COLUMBIA 331 
 
 it. held a few of its meetings at the residence of Bro. J. W. 
 Nairn, 1109 H Street, N. W., then moving to the Chapter 
 Chamber of the Masonic Hall, February 7, 1871. The bodies 
 of the Rite moved again to the Commandery Room of the Ma- 
 sonic Hall, June 18, 1873, where they stayed until they fitted 
 up a Scottish Rite Hall, at the southwest corner of Seventh 
 and D Streets, N. W., into which they moved on March 2, 
 1875, and where they stayed until their removal to the Scot- 
 tish Rite Cathedral, 1007 G Street, N. W., about September, 
 1886, continuing here until on February 14, 1910, they ac- 
 quired from the Supreme Council, by exchange for their G 
 Street property, the " House of the Temple," situated at the 
 corner of Third and E Streets, N. W. 
 
 The Supreme Council, which is the governing body of the 
 Scottish Rite, has, through its officers or otherwise, held resi- 
 dence in the District of Columbia since 1859, when Albert 
 Pike became its Grand Commander. The Supreme Council, in 
 its early days in Washington, had, however, no regular office 
 rooms other than those of its officers residing here, until 
 sometime after the close of the war. It might be interesting 
 to know that Albert G. Mackey, the Secretary General of the 
 Supreme Council and the distinguished Masonic scholar and 
 writer, had his office in 1870 at 1418 F Street, N. W.; in 
 1871 at 220 I Street, N. W..; along about 1873 to 1876 at 1440 
 M Street, N. W. In 1873 Albert Pike was residing at 116 C 
 Street, N. E. In 1877 the Supreme Council had a perma- 
 nent office at 603 D Street, N. W., after which it moved to 318 
 Third Street, N. W., finally purchasing, in 1883, the property 
 at the corner of Third and E Streets, N. W., and known as 
 the " House of the Temple," but now known, since its acquire- 
 ment by the local bodies, as " The Scottish Rite Cathedral." 
 The Supreme Council is temporarily domiciled here until the 
 completion of its new home, to be located in the Northwest 
 section of the city, and which is to be a magnificent structure, 
 the ground, construction, and furnishing to cost in the neigh- 
 borhood of a million dollars. The Sovereign Grand Com- 
 mander is James D. Richai'dson, 33°; the Secretary General, 
 Austin B. Chamberlin. 
 
 21 
 
322 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 The Scottish Rite in the District has steadily progressed in 
 numbers and in the character and rendition of its work, the 
 present membership being in the neighborhood of eight hun- 
 dred and fifty. The presiding officers of the local bodies are : 
 Ellwood P. Morey, 33°, K. C. C. H., Venerable Master of 
 Mithras Lodge of Perfection; Francis A. Sebring, 33° Hon., 
 Wise Master of Evangelist Chapter of Rose Croix; Ellwood 
 P. Morey, Commander of Robert De Bruce Council of Ka- 
 dosh; Jacobus Seneca Jones, 33° Hon., Venerable Master of 
 Kadosh. Elmer E. Simpson, 33° K. C. C. H., is the efficient 
 secretary of all the bodies. 
 
 The Cathedral of the Rite, at the corner of Third and E 
 Streets, Northwest, never having been formally dedicated to 
 Freemasonry, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia 
 performed this ceremony on the evening of May 13, 1910, the 
 program connected therewith comprising an invocation by the 
 Rev. Brother W. Tayloe Snyder; welcoming of the Grand 
 Lodge by the Sovereign Grand Commander, Bro. James D. 
 Richardson; dedication of the building by the Grand Lodge; 
 address by Grand Master George C. Ober, and an address by 
 Sovereign Grand Inspector General Charles E. Rosenbaum, 
 and benediction by Rev. Bro. Snyder, the exercises being in- 
 terspersed with appropriate music. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 323 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE ORDER OP THE EASTERN STAR IN THE 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 While the Order of the Eastern Star as it exists today in 
 this country is of comparatively recent origin, there is sufficient 
 evidence that the basic idea upon which it is builded — that of 
 giving to the female members of Master Masons' families a 
 means of recognition as such — is as old at least as the re- 
 corded history of the Masonic Fraternity. 
 
 The ancients provided for the participation of women in all 
 the benefits of the institution but those peculiarly pertaining to 
 membership, and they bound every member of it to award, on 
 proper demand, to all worthy Masons' mothers, sisters, daugh- 
 ters, wives, widows, and children, peculiar immunities and 
 benefits. But they failed to provide them with any means of 
 recognition. 
 
 The so-called adoptive rites, admitting women to member- 
 ship, which have flourished for over 400 years in certain 
 European countries, and that one which under the title of the 
 " Order of the Eastern Star," has met with phenomenal suc- 
 cess in comparatively recent years in this and other countries, 
 claim to, and in a large measure do, supply this omission. 
 They give the necessary passport to the close blood dependents 
 of the ancient Craft that may bring to them that protection 
 and succor that is their inalienable right. 
 
 This of itself constitutes the great and unassailable reason 
 for the existence of the Order, while, to give it attractiveness 
 and permanency, the ritual is enriched and beautified by moral 
 and religious instruction, such as Masonry itself everywhere 
 
324 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 seeks to inculcate, and, in addition, the social side of life is 
 made an effective instrument for the enlargement and perpetu- 
 ation of the institution. 
 
 Freemasonry does not exercise the least control over the 
 Eastern Star or kindred Orders, and therefore the term 
 '" adoptive" is only applicable in the limited sense that the Fra- 
 ternity at large is gradually recognizing the value of such or- 
 ganizations and more and more extending encouragement to 
 them. 
 
 Particularly is this true on this Continent, where it is a not- 
 able fact that in every instance the establishment and growth 
 of an Eastern Star community has been followed locally by 
 an unwonted interest and zeal in the Masonic Fraternity, and 
 this has largely operated to quiet the prejudices aroused in the 
 earlier years of its appearance. Along this line it may be noted 
 that as early as 1849 we find the Grand Lodges here and there 
 becoming uneasy about this alleged innovation of degrees for 
 women, and drastic resolutions against their encouragement 
 were passed by some of these bodies, and this attitude was 
 maintained in isolated localities well up toward the latter part 
 of the century; but this sentiment was by no means the pre- 
 vailing one and is now rapidly disappearing. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, always con- 
 servative yet always liberal, has not withheld its encourage- 
 ment from the Order, and the relations between the two or- 
 ganizations, drawn together through the joint management of 
 the Masonic and Eastern Star Home, has ever been increas- 
 ingly amicable and mutually profitable. But long before the 
 formation of the first chapter in this section the best senti- 
 ment of the Fraternity is indicated in the following extract 
 from the address of Grand Master R. B. Donaldson, one of 
 the bright particular Masonic stars in the history of this juris- 
 diction, delivered May 26, 1870, before the Grand Lodge : 
 
 " * * * It is also an important question, I will here re- 
 mark, whether Lodges of Adoption, which enlist the gentler 
 sex beneath the protecting banners of our Order, are not bene- 
 ficial to Craftsmen. True, the fair neophytes may not be con- 
 
IN THB DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 325 
 
 tent with the partial withdrawal of the vails which conceal our 
 secrets ; but I do not share the apprehension of a distinguished 
 Craftsman, expressed at Boston, that within the next hundred 
 years we shall see women wearing the mystic apron, handling 
 the emblematic trowel, and debating whether men should any 
 longer be initiated into the secrets of the Order." 
 
 About the middle of the nineteenth century a Rite of Adop- 
 tion was recognized and regulated by the Grand Orient of 
 France, and it is probable that this Rite was introduced into 
 the Colonies by the French officers who aided the American 
 Government during the Revolutionary War, but there is no 
 evidence that the ritual of the Rite corresponded in any degree 
 with the one in use by the Order of the Eastern Star today. 
 Indeed a translation of the former by the late Albert Pike, in 
 1874, destroys any attempt to establish a close relationship. 
 That the present Order, however, is the outgrowth or legiti- 
 mate descendent of the rite above referred to is a reasonable 
 and acceptable conclusion from the data at hand, but the ritual 
 by which it finds expression is conceded to be, in its substantial 
 entirety, the work of Robert Morris, a distinguished Masonic 
 brother, who during his lifetime claimed to have compiled it 
 about 1849, and to have spent a number of years subsequently 
 in communicating it. 
 
 In 1868 Brother Morris resolved to devote the balance of 
 his life to Masonic explorations in the Holy Land, and Robert 
 Macoy, of New York, claimed that he turned over to him the 
 prerogative he had assumed in the Order of the Eastern Star ; 
 but previous to this Macoy had arranged a manual of the 
 Order, which was published by the Masonic Pubhshing Com- 
 pany and was not copyrighted. In this he styled himself 
 " National Grand Secretary," and attempted to keep up the 
 semblance of a supreme Grand body. In 1876 he assumed 
 the title of " Supreme Grand Patron," and issued 641 charters 
 to thirty-five different States, the District of Columbia receiv- 
 ing one, which was organized in Hiram Lodge room. Nine- 
 teenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., and known as 
 Electa Lodge, having among its members some of the most 
 
326 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 prominent Masons of the jurisdiction, Mr. J. H. Jochum, Jr., 
 then Deputy Grand Master and later Grand High Priest, and 
 others, taking an active interest in the new departure. This 
 lodge appears to have existed for a period of six or eight years. 
 
 It becoming evident about this time that the Supreme Grand 
 body was purely imaginary with Bro. Macoy, who exercised 
 all the functions of such a body, and incidentally enjoyed all 
 the emoluments thereof, active steps were taken in 1874 to 
 form a legitimate General Grand body, and this was con- 
 summated in 1876, in the Masonic Temple at Indianapolis, 
 Ind. 
 
 At the time of this organization the Order consisted of 
 thirteen Grand Chapters, with 375 subordinate chapters, and 
 a membership of 13,000, in striking contrast with the present 
 showing of forty-nine Grand Chapters, 6,549 subordinate 
 chapters, and a membership of 531,141. 
 
 The first chapter under the present regime in the District 
 was chartered by the General Grand Chapter July 17, 1893, 
 and Brother Lantz, Worthy Patron of Alpha Chapter, Balti- 
 more, Md., was deputized by the Most Worthy Grand Patron 
 of the General Grand Chapter to organize Ruth Chapter, No. 
 1, in Stansbury Lodge Room, Brightwood, D. C, with fifty- 
 two charter members. This was followed, July 18, 1894, by 
 the formation of Electa Chapter, No. 3, meeting in Anacostia 
 Lodge Room; January 35, 1895, Naomi, No. 3, in Scottish 
 Rite Cathedral; May 13, 1895, Martha, No. 4, Naval Lodge 
 Hall; January 6, 1896, Esther, No. 5, Scottish Rite Cathedral; 
 Jan. 11, 1896, Adah, No. 6, Hiram Lodge Room. Chapters 
 1, 3, 4, and 6 were granted permission, through special reso- 
 lutions of the Grand Lodge, to meet in the lodge rooms desig- 
 nated above, and these resolutions logically brought about the 
 adoption of an omnibus order, allowing any subordinate lodge 
 to grant this permission in future. 
 
 In 1896 the membership in the District numbered 855, in 
 six chapters, subordinate to the General Grand Chapter, and 
 paying into its treasury per annum twenty-five cents per 
 capita. On March 30, 1896, these six chapters, by a concur- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O^ COLUMBIA 327 
 
 rent resolution, petitioned the General Grand Chapter to form 
 a Grand Chapter of the District of Columbia. In accordance 
 with the call of the Most Worthy Grand Patron, the repre- 
 sentatives and delegates of the several chapters in the jurisdic- 
 tion met in Scottish Rite Cathedral, April 30, 1896, and or- 
 ganized the local Grand Chapter. 
 
 The growth of the Order in the District has been remark- 
 able in the last decade, fourteen chapters in all having been 
 chartered since 1893, twelve of which are still flourishing and 
 known, besides the above, as Bethlehem, No. 7; Mizpah, No. 
 8; Areme, No. 10; Brookland, No. 11; Takoma, No. 13; 
 Temple, No. 13, and Cathedral, No. 14, with an aggregate 
 membership of 3,113 at the last report, October 31, 1910. 
 Adah, No. 6, chartered in 1896, became extinct in a few years, 
 was later revived with the No. 9, but passed away again after 
 a brief period. 
 
 In 1899 the Grand Chapter appointed a committee to inves- 
 tigate the advisability and practicability of establishing a 
 Home for aged and dependent Masons, their widows and 
 orphans, and for indigent members of the Order of the East- 
 ern Star. Upon a favorable report, active work was at once 
 begun and rapidly carried to successful conclusion, the Ma- 
 sonic Fraternity, after a few years, cooperating with the Or- 
 der in the maintainance of the enterprise. The detailed his- 
 tory of this notable achievement, which stands as a lasting 
 monument to the perseverance and effectiveness of the or- 
 ganization, appears in the chapter on Benevolences, and an- 
 swers in full all arguments against the existence of this valu- 
 able auxiliary to Masonry. 
 
 The positions of Worthy Grand Matron and Worthy Grand 
 Patron in the District have been filled as follows : Mrs. Alcena 
 Lamond, L. Cabell Williamson, 1896 ; Mrs. M. Ella Espey, Cor- 
 nelius W. Okey (deceased), 1897; Mrs. Carolyn A. Handy, 
 W. E. Nalley, 1898 ; Mrs. Willie R. Messenger (deceased), Mil- 
 lard T. Dixon, 1899 ; Mrs. Carrie B. Allen, John F. O'Neill, 
 1900; Mrs. Almeria S. Williamson, Fred J. Randolph, 1901; 
 Mrs. Eliza P. Walson, Charles J. O'Neill, 1903; Mrs. Carrie 
 
338 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Bornheim, Bennett A. Allen, 1903; Mrs. Nellie M. Lander- 
 gren, Adolphus Gude, 1904; Mrs. Katie M. L. Gude, George 
 W. Mobray, 1905; Mrs. Jeannette R. Newton, William F. 
 Hunt, 1906 ; Miss Clara E. Ball, J. J. Faber, 1907 ; Mrs. Julia 
 N. Streater, William F. Gude, 1908; Mrs. Mary T. O'Brien, 
 Tom J. Landergren, 1909; Mrs. Hattie R. Hutchinson, Angus 
 Lamond, 1910, while the present incumbent of the office of 
 Grand Secretary, Mrs. Rose A. Yost, has ably filled that po- 
 sition continuously since 1900. 
 
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 WILLIAM G. HENDERSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1900. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 BIOGRAPHIES. 
 
 THE Lii^E STORY OP Each grand master oe the district 
 
 OE COLUMBIA JURISDICTION AND OTHER 
 BRETHREN OE NOTE. 
 
 In the preparation of the following biographical sketches 
 the author has aimed to bring the subjects into view as men, 
 as citizens, and as Masons. The lapse of time, the fragment- 
 ary character of the earlier records, the remarkable dearth of 
 local news in the public prints of the first half of the last 
 century, and the lack of information and sometimes indif- 
 ference of descendants have prevented the fullest realization 
 of this hope, and yet sufficient data has been gathered to con- 
 stitute an interesting and valuable addition to our local his- 
 tory, which is here presented. 
 
 JOHN VALENTINE REINTZEL, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1811. 
 
 An old Luther Bible, published at Basel, Germany, in 1839, originally 
 the family Bible of the Reintzels, and now in the custody of the librarian 
 of Georgetown College, contains several leaves of family notes, written 
 in German, and from these we quote the following extract : " John Valen- 
 tine Reintzel was born and came upon this earth — came into this world — 
 in the year Anno 1761, on the 26th day o'f February, in the sign of the 
 Archer (Sagittarius), and received holy baptism." 
 
332 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 He was the son of John Valentine Reintzel, St., who came to this 
 country from Hamburg, Germany, in the latter part of the eighteenth 
 century and settled at or near Georgetown. Both father and son seem 
 to have abbreviated the baptismal name, and were known as Valentine 
 Reintzel, Sr. and Jr., respectively. 
 
 While only the most meager data concerning the subject of this sketch 
 is available, sufficient evidence is at hand to show that he was an in- 
 fluential citizen and identified with all the progressive movements of his 
 day in the locality of his adoption, the first recorded meeting of the 
 Corporation of Georgetown, held November 38, 1791, at the house of 
 Joseph Semmes, showing him present as a Common Councilman. 
 
 That he was a prosperous business man is attested by the land records, 
 which show his large holdings of real estate, and that he was public- 
 spirited and philanthropical seems to be established by the alleged donation 
 by him of the site on which the old Bridge (M) Street Presbyterian 
 Church of Georgetown stood for many years and his recorded liberality 
 in all of his lodge's subscription charities. 
 
 His Masonic activity commences with the earliest pages of recorded 
 local history, and with the story of the struggles of the Fraternity in 
 the pioneer days his name will always be inseparably linked as that of a 
 forceful leader. 
 
 We find him Master of Lodge No. 9, of Georgetown, in 1793, and in 
 that capacity participating with the illustrious Washington in the cere- 
 mony of laying .the cornerstone of the Capitol building, and being on that 
 occasion signally honored by having placed in his charge by the first 
 President the gavel used in the exercises — a gavel ever since cherished 
 by Potomac Lodge and the jurisdiction as a most precious heritage. 
 
 Throughout all the trying experiences of the Fraternity during the last 
 decade of the eighteenth and the first of the nineteenth centuries he 
 appears to have been a leading spirit, and as one of the original members 
 helped to place Potomac Lodge, No. 43, chartered November 11, 1806, 
 on a firm footing, acting as Worshipful Master thereof for the years 
 1807, 1808, 1809, and 1810, and continuing his activity by substituting in 
 the minor offices as late as 1815, when we find him acting as Junior 
 Warden. From its formation until 1810, the Lodge met in the third story 
 of his residence. 
 
 Brother Reintzel was prominent in the movement to form the Grand 
 Lodge of the District and was honored by being elected the first Grand 
 Master, his election by the convention called for the purpose of creating 
 a Grand Lodge taking place January 8, 1811, and the installation following 
 at the first meeting of the Grand Lodge, as such, February 19, 1811. 
 
 He died in the latter part of 1817, and the Grand Lodge, being notified 
 thereof at the stated communication of December 37 of that year, 
 
 Resolved, unanimously, that the Past Grand Officers of this Grand Lodge 
 be and they are hereby required to wear crepe on the left arm for the space 
 of one month as a token of the brotherly love and respect entertained 
 by the said Grand Lodge for their deceased Brother and late R. W. 
 Grand Master. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 333 
 
 One of the many disappointments which have come to the author of 
 this work is his failure, after the most diligent and far-reaching search, 
 to bring to light a drawing or painting of this good man and Mason for 
 reproduction in these pages. 
 
 ALEXANDER McGORMIGK, 
 
 IGRAND MASTER, 1812-13. 
 
 This Brother was the immigrant son of a Church of England minister in 
 Ulster, who came to Georgetown in the latter part of the eighteenth 
 century and eventually moved to Capitol Hill, where he spent the balance 
 of his life. From 1807 till his death he filled the position of Rector of 
 Christ Episcopal Church in that section, passing away February 18, 1821, 
 and being interred with distinguished Masonic honors in Congressional 
 Cemetery. 
 
 Bro. McCormick, while a clergyman, also was a citizen of prominence, 
 identified with all the progressive movements of his day, and served for 
 some years as alderman and a member of the City Council. 
 
 As a member of the Masonic Fraternity, however, his history is best known. 
 He was initiated in Federal Lodge, No. 15 (now No. 1), February 1, 1796, 
 passed February 13, 1796, and raised March 7, 1796. At once he began to 
 make his mark in Fraternity circles, and as early as 1798 represented his 
 lodge in the Grand Lodge of Maryland; was Master of his lodge in 1806, 
 1808-9, 1812-14, and 1816; Secretary in 1810. He was a delegate from 
 Federal in the convention to form a Grand Lodge in the District and 
 served as chairman of that gathering. After serving as S. G. Warden 
 in 1811, he became the second Grand Master and filled that office with 
 conspicuous ability through the formative years of the infant Grand Lodge. 
 
 There is at this time in the possession of Federal Lodge a code of 
 by-laws drawn up by Bro. McCormick in 1798, when he became Master, 
 having for its object "a restoration of dignity and discipline; or return to 
 true Masonic character and conduct; a lessening of conviviality, and the 
 provision of a sure revenue to enable the lodge to live, work, and 
 pay its way.'' 
 
 Bro. McCormick was undoubtedly a member of the so-called Royal 
 Arch Encampment appendant to Federal Lodge, No. 16, in 1795-99, for 
 in the re-organization of the Grand Chapter of Maryland and the District 
 of Columbia in 1807 we find him elected as Grand Treasurer of that 
 body. During the latter years of his life he took great interest in 
 the advancement of Capitular Masonry. 
 
 One of the most interesting relics in the possession of the Grand Lodge 
 is a fragment of spermaceti candle presented to it by the widow of a 
 son of Bro. McCormick's in 1867, and represented as being the remains 
 of the candle carried by him at the funeral of General Washington, and 
 with which he was said to have entered the tomb. Corroborative evidence 
 leaves no room for doubt as to the genuineness of the souvenir which is 
 carefully preserved. 
 
334 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 AMOS ALEXANDER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1814 AND 1817, 
 
 This Brother was born in Cecil County, Md., in 1760, and settled in 
 Alexandria, Va., sometime prior to 1800. In 1803 he was appointed In- 
 spector of Flour at Alexandria, and held that position until 1824, when he 
 resigned. During the following year he passed away in the city of his 
 adoption. 
 
 Bro. Alexander appears to have been a public spirited and useful citizen, 
 and filled the then very important post above referred to with credit, as is 
 evidenced by his long tenure of office. In this connection it must be 
 recalled that at that time the port of Alexandria was one of first im- 
 portance. According to his contemporaries he was a man of sterling 
 integrity and universally respected. 
 
 In Masonic circles he was ever active and was one of the pioneers in 
 the formation of this Grand Lodge, appearing as a delegate from 
 Alexandria-Brooke Lodge, No. 47, at the original convention in this city 
 December 11, 1810, and taking an active part in the subsequent formative 
 steps. 
 
 He served as Master of Brooke Lodge, No. 2, in 1814, 1817, and 1818; 
 as Deputy Grand Master, 1812, 1813, and 1816 (an instance of elevation 
 to the Grand East without previous service as Master), and was Grand 
 Master in 1814, and again in 1817. 
 
 Another unique feature of his Masonic career is furnished by the fact 
 that four years subsequent to his service as Grand Master he filled the 
 position of Junior Warden of Brooke Lodge for one term in 1821, and 
 that of Senior Warden for the years 1822 to 1825. 
 
 Upon his retirement from office as Grand Master the Grand Lodge 
 unanimously passed a resolution of thanks to him " as a testimony of 
 their unfeigned respect for his person, and for the able and impartial 
 manner in which he has discharged the duties of Right Worshipful Grand 
 Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia." 
 
 He passed away sometime in 1826. 
 
 JOHN DAVIDSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1815-16. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a son of Gen. John Davidson, of An- 
 napolis, Md., who was one of the original proprietors of the land within 
 the lines of the original District of Columbia. He was born and resided in 
 Richmond, Va., until early adult life, and for many years thereafter was 
 a resident of the First Ward in this city and conducted what was 
 known as Davidson's wharf, located near the mouth of Rock Creek. 
 He was a prominent and active citizen and identified with all the pro- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 335 
 
 gressive movements of the period and, in common with the leading citizens 
 of that early day, was a member of the Union Fire Company, which 
 organization held many of its meetings at his house. 
 
 The lapse of time, together with the meager records available, pre- 
 clude the possibility of giving a pen picture of the personality and char- 
 acteristics of the man, but that he filled a large place in the early history 
 of Washington is beyond question, while as one of the pioneer Masons 
 of this section, his service was of the greatest value, especially during the 
 formative period of the Grand Lodge immediately after its institution, 
 the few records preserved to us showing his intelligent initiative and 
 participation at every step. 
 
 Originally a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 36, of Richmond, Va., 
 he dimitted therefrom and united with Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, of this 
 jurisdiction May 1, 1813; was Worshipful Master, 1813-1815, and treasurer, 
 1819-1835. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge he served as Deputy Grand Master in 1814, and 
 Grand Master as above. 
 
 He passed away October, 1829. 
 
 DANIEL KURTZ, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1818-19. 
 
 One of the sturdy pioneers of Masonry in all its branches in the District 
 of Columbia it is a matter for serious regret that the lapse of time has 
 forever dropped the curtain and excluded from our view much con- 
 cerning this Brother's general life which might picture him to us in his 
 character as a citizen and as a man. 
 
 His Masonic history, however, has been preserved with some degree 
 of completeness and, judging from the fact that for nearly half a century 
 he stood high in the councils of the Fraternity and was a revered, respected, 
 and beloved member of the Order, it requires only the most ordinary 
 imagination to complete the picture and endow him with all the attributes 
 which make for good citizenship and upright manhood. 
 
 Brother Kurtz was born at Georgetown, then in Frederick Co., Mary- 
 land, October 5, 1784. When a youth he entered the Columbia Bank in 
 that [then] town, afterwards becoming cashier and holding the position 
 until the bank closed, when he was appointed trustee to settle its affairs. 
 He was subsequently appointed chief clerk in the Indian Bureau tmder 
 the United States Government when, losing his position, by a change of 
 administration, he devoted himself to farming until his death, which 
 occurred August 10, 1846. The farm which he owned and on which he 
 spent the last years of his life was an extensive tract on the west side of 
 the present Rock Creek Park and including a part thereof. 
 
 While the date of Bro. Kurtz's entry into Masonry is unknown, he was 
 
336 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 connected with Federal Lodge for sometime prior to 1806, his name being 
 inserted in the register about January, 1806. Dimitting therefrom during 
 the same year he became a charter member of Potomac Lodge, No. 43 
 (now No. 5). 
 
 As a delegate from this lodge he took a prominent part in the formation 
 of the Grand Lodge of the District. He filled the position of Master 
 of Potomac Lodge for the years 1811, 1813, 1815, 1823, and 1826 ; was S. 
 Grand Warden in 1814, Deputy Grand Master, 1815, 1817, and Grand 
 Master, 1818 and 1819. 
 
 In local Capitular Masonry his is one of the earliest figures of which 
 we have record, his name appearing on a list of members of the R. A. 
 Chapter, which was a revival of the Royal Arch Encampment attached 
 to Federal Lodge, in the year 1808. He became a charter member of 
 Potomac R. A. Chapter, No. 8, upon its formation in 1818, served as 
 Secretary for the years 1818 and 1819, as High Priest in 1820, and as 
 Treasurer in 1844. He also had the distinction of being the Grand High 
 Priest of the Grand Chapter of Maryland and the District of Columbia 
 during the years 1820-22. 
 
 Bro. Kurtz was also a charter member of Washington [Commandery] 
 Encampment, No. 1, K. T., and in the Scottish Rite had attained to the 
 17th degree. 
 
 He passed away August 10, 1846. 
 
 WILLIAM HEWITT, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1820-21, 1828-29. 
 
 Brother Hewitt was a man of prominence in the early days of the City 
 of Washington, and filled several public offices of trust, among others 
 that of Register of the City from 1810 to 1838. 
 
 He was for many years treasurer of the old Patriotic Fire Company, 
 and resided on the site of the Stewart Building, corner Sixth and D 
 Streets, N. W., in which Gen. Scott had his headquarters at the opening 
 of the Civil War. 
 
 For a quarter of a century he was an active, interested, and valuable 
 worker in Symbolic Masonry in the District and has the distinction of 
 having been connected with three local lodges during that period. 
 
 He was initiated in Federal Lodge, No. 1, June 3, 1811, passed August 
 5, 1811, and raised September 2, 1811. November 4, of the same year, he 
 withdrew to become a charter member of Lebanon Lodge, No. 7; served 
 the latter lodge as Secretary in 1811 and 1812 ; J. W., 1813 ; S. W., 1814 ; 
 Worshipful Master, 1816 and 1817, and withdrew therefrom February 15, 
 1822. He was a charter member and the first Master of The New Jer- 
 usalem Lodge, No. 9, and retained the East there for the years 1824 to 
 1826 inclusive. 
 
^J^'^^^^^. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1901; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1902. 
 
IN THS DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 337 
 
 Bro. Hewitt was elected to the position of Senior Grand Warden 
 for 1817, Deputy Grand Master for 1818-1819, and served as Grand Master 
 for the four terms indicated above. 
 
 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1822-24. 
 
 Brother Seaton was born January 11, 1785, at Chelsea, Va., and was 
 a lineal descendant through his father of one of the oldest and most 
 historic families of Scotland, and through his mother of an equally illus- 
 trious English family, that of Winston, both of which settled in Virginia 
 in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and were prominently 
 identified with the early history of the Colonies. 
 
 His youth was passed at the ancestral home where a domestic tutor 
 directed his education until he reached in Richmond what was then the 
 culminating academic polishing of " Ogilvie, the Scotchman,'' a pedagogue 
 of great reputation at that period. The great Patrick Henry was a 
 near relative and frequent guest at the Virginia home, and very fond 
 of young Seaton, directing his early sports and giving him the rich benefit 
 of his companionship. 
 
 At the age of eighteen Bro. Seaton's mind was matured, his ambition 
 aroused, his vocation decided, and he passed into the arena of public life, 
 entering with manly earnestness upon the career of political journalism, 
 of which he was one of the country's pioneers. His first essay in the 
 field of politics was as assistant editor of the Richmond Journal. This 
 was followed in the next few years by editorial work in Petersburg, Va., 
 Raleigh, N. C, and Halifax, N. C. At Raleigh, to which place he returned 
 after a short absence, he became associated with Mr. Joseph Gales in the 
 publication of the Register, and in 1809 became united in marriage with 
 Miss Sarah Gales, sister of the above-named. In 1812 the firm of Gales 
 & Seaton acquired The National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser, 
 which had lately been founded, and Bro. Seaton entered upon what proved 
 to be his life work, his journal proving at once a financial success and 
 for many years a powerful factor in the national political world. 
 
 During the War of 1813 Bro. Seaton and his partner were both enrolled 
 in the military service and were stationed for some time at Fort War- 
 burton, the present site of Fort Washington, and was with his command 
 when it met the British at Bladensburg, August 34, 1814, and took a con- 
 spicuous part in the sharp engagement that ensued. In Admiral Cock- 
 burn's passage through the city he caused the Intelligencer office to be 
 sacked and all the property, books, and papers to be burned. 
 
 An intimate of Jefferson, Marshall, Aaron Burr, Patrick Henry, La 
 Fayette, Daniel Webster, and practically all the prominent men of the 
 country during his adult life, his prolonged career was interwoven with 
 the social and political annals of Washington. 
 22 
 
338 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 While his great intellect was directed toward the shaping of the national 
 policies of his day he was yet an active and valued citizen of his adopted 
 city, and served as Mayor from 1840 to 1850, having previously twice 
 declined the honor. 
 
 He was an ardent worker in the cause of education and was untiring 
 in his efforts to improve local school conditions. 
 
 In religion he was Unitarian and was one of the founders of that 
 church in Washington. He was also one of the founders of the Wash- 
 ington Monument Association and its first vice-president. 
 
 While the great novelist, Charles Dickens, was in this country he was 
 entertained by Bro. Seaton, and in the raciness and charm of manner, 
 in the genial goodness stamped on every lineament of his countenance 
 this keen reader must have seen the lovable man, and the immortal 
 Cherryble Brothers might seem to have been inspired by the subject of 
 this sketch and his partner, so nearly akin in every gentle characteristic. 
 
 His genial cordiality, his captivating courtesy, his large hospitality and 
 readiness of beneficence had few equals, and won the individual affection 
 of all with whom he came in contact. These qualities, united with his 
 great personal charm, his full intelligence and the seal of distinction with 
 which nature had stamped him, marked him out from his fellow-men, 
 and it was but natural that on all civic public occasions, whether it was 
 an address of welcome to an incoming President or to speed a parting 
 one, to inaugurate benevolent institutions or to assume the more delicate 
 and gracious task of presiding at social festivals, that he should be called 
 upon, and thus upon the occasion of the sojourn of LaFayette to this 
 country, the special charge of the nation's guest seemed by tacit consent 
 to devolve upon Bro. Seaton, and how well he discharged this duty is 
 testified by the life-long friendship then formed with our distinguished 
 French ally. 
 
 Through an unfortunate combination of circumstances growing out of 
 the war, the Intelligencer lost ground, and on December 31, 1864, Bro. 
 Seaton retired from active connection therewith, after an unprecedented 
 term of service of fifty-two years. His great generosity, however, had 
 interfered with his accumulating a competence in that time, and in his 
 own words he retired "with nothing." 
 
 For twenty years Bro. Seaton gave unsparingly of his time and talents 
 for the upbuilding of symbolic Masonry in this jurisdiction, and, falling, 
 as this activity did, within the most trying period in the history of the 
 Fraternity, the value of his services cannot be too highly rated. M'hile 
 his original lodge is not a matter of available record his connection 
 with the local Craft began with his affiliation with Lebanon Lodge, No. 7. 
 January 20, 1815. He was elected ■ Senior Warden the following 
 year, and served as Master, 1818 to 1821, and again from 1825 to 1827. 
 During the interim between these terms he served as Grand Master for 
 1822, 1823, and 1824. He withdrew from active participation in Masonic 
 affairs in 1836. 
 
 It is worthy of note that his son, Malcolm Seaton, also served as Grand 
 Master of this jurisdiction in 1903. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 339 
 
 At the patriarchal age of 81, after several years of severe suffering, 
 which he bore with patience and fortitude, he passed away June 16, 1866. 
 
 "And thus," in the language of one of his biographers, " undimmed by a 
 single unworthy act, in every word and thought of his spotless life a 
 true gentleman, duty his watchword, exalted honor his instinct, Christi- 
 anity his guide, William Winston Seaton bore his historic name un- 
 tarnished to the grave ; nobly illustrating the legend of his family arras : 
 'In via virtuti via nulla.' " 
 
 DANIEL BURGH. 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 182S. 
 
 This Brother was one of the pioneer Masons in the history of the 
 Grand L,odge, and, while he served the Fraternity with fidelity and dis- 
 tinction for nearly a quarter of century, dropped away in the latter years 
 of his life from active participation in the affairs of the Order, and 
 we must assume, in the light of the reputation he won during his years 
 of service as a man of intellect, of worth, and of executive ability, that his. 
 passing into an obscurity which the intervening years have rendered 
 impenetrable was due to failing health or other circumstances beyond 
 his control. 
 
 For a number of years he was Doorkeeper of the House of Representa- 
 tives and later the Chief Clerk in the office of the Clerk of the House, and 
 while so serving built and occupied the large house at the corner of 
 New Jersey Avenue and I Street, N. W. During the year 1817, and for 
 several years thereafter he was President of the Board of Common Coun- 
 cilmen. That he was also a citizen militant is shown by the fact that he 
 commanded the artillery at the battle of Bladensburg. 
 
 His entire Masonic life was spent as a member of Federal Lodge, No. 
 1. He was initiated July 1, 1811 , passed February 3, 1812, and raised 
 December 7, 1813 ; served as Secretary for the year 1813 ; Junior Warden, 
 1815 ; Senior Warden, 1816-17, and Worshipful Master, 1818-20. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge line he served as Grand Secretary from 1815 to 
 1821, inclusive, as Deputy Grand Master, 1823 to 1834, and as Grand 
 Master in 1835. 
 
 W. Bro. Burch was among the early leaders of thought along pro- 
 gressive lines, and during his incumbency of the Grand East aroused 
 interest in a movement to erect a suitable Masonic edifice in this city, 
 and to further the project of a suitable monument to Gen. Washington. 
 In addition to these general movements he advocated and was instru- 
 mental in inaugurating one of the earliest movements looking to a revision 
 of the ritual. Apparently a convincing speaker his recommendations ap- 
 pear to have always won respectful recognition and usually resulted in 
 action. 
 
34° HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 JOHN NICHOLSON MOULDER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1826-27, 1830, 1832, 1838. 
 
 Brother Moulder was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in May, 1792, and was 
 a grandson of John Nicholson, an associate and friend of Robert Morris, 
 of Revolutionary fame. He was a man of unusual intellectual attain- 
 ments, a public-spirited citizen, a valued officer in the Federal and local 
 municipal government, and as a Mason gave to this jurisdiction without 
 stint for many years the best of his talents. 
 
 In his early manhood he conducted a school in Philadelphia, but spent 
 the greater part of his life in Washington as a resident of the old First 
 Ward, having his home on I between Twenty-first and Twenty-second 
 Streets, N. W., but later moved to the Third Ward and lived on the 
 east side of Ninth between I Street and New York Avenue. 
 
 In the government service he held for many years a responsible position 
 in the office of the Second Comptroller, and was Comptroller of the 
 Currency under President Andrew Jackson, who was a personal friend. 
 In his capacity as a citizen of Washington he served as Alderman in 
 the First Ward from 1817 to 1819, and again in 1835 and 1826, was also 
 at one time a member of the Board of Common Council, was for a number 
 of years a Justice of the Peace, and was President of the Union Fire 
 Company in its early days. 
 
 Originally a member of Columbia Lodge, No. 3, of this jurisdiction, he 
 filled the station of Master there from 1821 to 1827, inclusive, and in 
 December, 1825, was elected to the Grand East without previous service 
 in any of the subordinate offices of that body. During his second term, 
 in 1827, he granted a dispensation for the formation of Hiram Lodge, 
 and in 1828 withdrew from Columbia, entered the former lodge and was 
 immediately called to the East in that body. Subsequently, as stated 
 above, he served for four more years as Grand Master. 
 
 During the first year of his incumbency (1826) of that office he laid 
 the cornerstone of the first Masonic Temple ever erected in Washington 
 in which the Grand Lodge was actively interested, the building on the 
 southwest corner of Indiana Avenue and John Marshall Place, which is 
 still standing, and the history of which is given in detail in other pages of 
 this work. 
 
 On this notable occasion he delivered an address which is a model 
 in its class and may be found in the Grand Lodge Proceedings for the 
 year 1826. 
 
 He was a member of Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 1, and served 
 that body for two terms as High Priest. 
 
 From a letter of condolence, written by a committee of Washington 
 Chapter, to the widow of Brother Moulder, and dated January 18, 1839, 
 we quote the following extract : " For upwards of twenty years our friend 
 and Companion John N. Moulder, Esq., was connected with the Order 
 of Free Masonry in this city, and for a considerable portion of that 
 time was a distinguished officer and member of this Chapter (having 
 
''^Mi'fyy^ i^ff^m. 
 
 Grand master, 1902. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 01? COLUMBIA 34 1 
 
 twice been elected to the office of Most Excellent High Priest). We, 
 Madam, knew him well, and improve this opportunity to bear cheerful 
 testimony to his kind and courteous manner, the dignity with which he 
 presided over the Craft, the avidity with which he voted favorably on 
 every case of distress, and the haste which sped his willing feet, by day 
 or night, to relieve the wants of the suffering. These were characteristics 
 m John N. Moulder which never can be erased from the memory of 
 his Companions.'' 
 
 That his private life was above reproach is shown by a communication 
 from Erig.-Gen. John M. Wilson, U. S. A., retired, a grandson, who, while 
 never having seen his grandfather, recalls the conversations of his mother 
 in which she described the " superb character and lovely home-life" of her 
 father, a beautiful and sufficient tribute to his memory. 
 
 He died in this city January 7, 1839, and his remains were interred in 
 Congressional, but later moved to Oak Hill Cemetery. 
 
 ROGER G. WEIGHTMAN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1833. 
 
 Born in Alexandria, Va., in 1787, he removed to Washington in 1801, 
 where he learned the printing business with Andrew Way, who subse- 
 quently carried on business with the late Jacob Gideon under the firm 
 name of Way & Gideon. He served for a time as foreman to the Govern- 
 ment Printer and later, for several Congressional terms, held the latter 
 position, with his office on the south side of E Street near Seventh, N. W. 
 He also at one time conducted a book store on the northwest corner of 
 Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N. W. 
 
 During the War of 1813 he was an officer in a cavalry company, and 
 at the close accepted a commission in the militia of the District, and at 
 the time of LaFayette's visit to this country was a Brigadier-General and 
 assisted in the entertainment of the nation's guest. His home, 324 Vir- 
 ginia Avenue, S. E., still standing and now dedicated to and used for 
 settlement work, played an important part in the social functions of that 
 event, the ball-room on the side being specially erected for the better 
 handling of the numerous guests. 
 
 He was later promoted to be a Major-General and Commander-in- 
 Chief of the District Militia, and was occupying that position at the 
 outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, although his impaired health would 
 not permit of his participating in active outdoor service. 
 
 Bro. Weightman for a number of years held office in the City Council 
 and was elected Mayor of Washington in 1824, and served to August, 
 1827, and with such fidelity did he perform his duties that his administra- 
 tion was referred to for years as a model one. He resigned the mayoralty 
 to accept the position of Cashier of the Bank of Washington, then located 
 in the National Hotel building, and held that position until 1834, when 
 
342 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 he resigned on acount of ill-health and was subsequently appointed a 
 clerk in the Patent OiRce and for years was librarian there. 
 
 He had an unsullied reputation and possessed many ennobling traits 
 of character, was a successful business man and a dignified, courtly 
 gentleman. 
 
 In the Masonic Fraternity Bro. Weightman long held a leading position 
 and possesses the unique distinction of having been called from the posi- 
 tion of Senior Warden of his lodge to the chair of Grand Master, making 
 one of three similar instances in the history of this jurisdiction. 
 
 He was made a Master Mason in Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, November 
 24, 1811, being the first candidate who received the degrees in that 
 body and for nearly sixty-five years held continuous membership therein. 
 
 Bro. Weightman passed away February 2, 1876, at the advanced age 
 of 89, and was interred in Congressional Cemetery under the auspices 
 of the Grand Lodge and with an escort of all the Commanderies, K. T., of 
 the District and several companies of the militia. 
 
 CLEMENT T. GOOTE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1834. 
 
 Brother Coote is an interesting figure in the history of Free Masonry 
 in Washington during the period of persecution from 1830 to 1840, and 
 his years of service to the Fraternity, both in his lodge and in the Grand 
 body, were troublous, indeed, but were met by him, in the language of a 
 biographer, "' with a patient and rather formal dignity." 
 
 Happily, however, he lived to see Masonrj' again in the full tide of 
 prosperity, and until the period of the Civil War was felt the influence of 
 the stalwart service he had given to the Craft in the hour of trial. 
 
 He passed away in the City of Baltimore, May 12, 1849, and his re- 
 mains were interred May 15 at Congressional Cemetery, this city, the 
 Grand Lodge conducting the ceremony with M. W. G. Master B. B. 
 French in the East. 
 
 At the communication of the Grand Lodge, called to attend his funeral. 
 Past Grand Master Keyworth presented a package of Masonic books and 
 papers, late the property of Bro. Coote, which had been entrusted to him 
 to turn over to the Grand Lodge to be placed among the archives. The 
 bequest was accepted and the disposition requested made. 
 
 Bro. Coote was engaged in the dry-goods business on the north side 
 of Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., between Ninth and Tenth Streets, was 
 interested in a brewery on New Jersey Avenue near the Eastern Branch, 
 was a lawyer by profession, and long held the position of Justice of 
 the Peace with an office at the corner of Sixth and C Streets, N. W. Of 
 forceful, aggressive character he took great interest in the rather strenu- 
 ous local politics of the day, as is evidenced by a so-called " broadside" 
 aimed at him, which was published and circulated, and a copy of which 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 343 
 
 may be seen in the Library of Congress. Withal he was a citizen of 
 prominence and note. He served as a Councilman in 1826, and as Alder- 
 man from 1837 to 1834, most of the time as President of the Board. 
 
 In Masonic circles his activity and interest dated from his admission 
 to the Order, in vifhich he soon became a zealous and prominent member. 
 He was initiated in Federal Lodge, No. 1, January 2, 1826 ; passed October 
 3, 1826, and raised October 14, 1826; was Secretary in 1837; S. W., 
 1828-29, and Master from 1830 to 1838, with a hiatus from November 1, 
 1836, to November 17, 1837, during which period the charter of his lodge 
 was in the hands of the Grand Lodge. He served as Junior Grand 
 Warden in 1830, Senior Grand Warden in 1831, Deputy Grand Master, 
 1833-3, and Grand Master in 1834, and as indicating something of the 
 unusual difficulties of his position it may be noted that in October, 1834, 
 Federal Lodge ordered the surrender of its charter, but Bro. Coote and 
 a few others, who had resisted this movement for some time, were able to 
 postpone compliance with the mandate of the lodge and the actual sur- 
 render did not take place until November, 1836, a forcible reason for the 
 delay being found in the fact that it may be presumed that W. Bro. Coote, 
 as Grand Master, did not desire to be left without the semblance of a 
 lodge behind him. 
 
 WILLIAM WRIGHT BILLING, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 183S-37. 
 
 Colonel Billing, as he was universally known, was born in the District 
 of Columbia in August, 1801, and received an excellent education in the 
 local private schools. His parents were English and came to this country 
 just a short while before his birth. 
 
 He was an unusually resourceful man, and while engaged in a good 
 private business was a Common Councilman in 1833, and at one time 
 Collector of Taxes of the District. He afterwards accepted a clerkship 
 in the Paymaster-General's office. War Department, which position he 
 held at the time of his death. He resided most of his life at the corner 
 of Fourteenth and L Streets, N. W., in a home destroyed by fire in 
 the early forties. 
 
 He was one of the original members of the congregation of the Taber- 
 nacle Church, Twelfth near H Street, N. W., now the Rhode Island Ave- 
 nue Methodist Protestant Church. 
 
 He is described as a man of most kindly disposition, was hospitable 
 and generous, and at the same time thrifty and acquired considerable 
 property. He was public-spirited and very popular with all with whom 
 he came in contact. In the language of his daughter, Miss Margaret M. 
 Billing, he was a " Christian gentleman." For years he was Colonel 
 of the District Militia, which represented the only military organization 
 in the District at that time. 
 
 He passed away in this city in 1843, and was interred in Congressional 
 Cemetery. 
 
344 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Bro. Billing came into ofifice when the anti-Masonic movement was at 
 its height, and throughout the three years of his incumbency was called 
 upon to meet more unusual and trying conditions than perhaps have ever 
 fallen to the lot of a Grand Master in this jurisdiction. 
 
 He was a fair example, however, of the truism that the times make the 
 man, and, rising superior to the most disheartening obstacles, maintained 
 the integrity of the Grand Lodge, and by the force of his executive 
 ability brought some degree of order out of the chaos into which the 
 Fraternity had fallen. 
 
 At the very beginning of his term of office the trouble the Fraternity 
 had been for some years having to retain their hold upon the building 
 at the corner of John Marshall Place and Indiana Avenue culminated, 
 and only through the efforts' of Grand Master Billing were the various 
 lodges interested enabled to maintain a quasi ownership therein for a few 
 more years. By the arrangement then entered into the leasehold remained 
 in Bro. Billing's name for a number of years, as is fully set out in the 
 chapter on Meeting Places, and is only mentioned in this connection as 
 an evidence of the high place the then Grand Master held in the estimation 
 of his brethren. 
 
 Bro. Billing was initiated in New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, October 16, 
 1826; passed November 20, 1826; raised November 38, 1826; was Secre- 
 tary, 1827-38; Junior Warden, 1829; Senior Warden, 1830-31; Master, 
 1832-35, 37-38, and Treasurer, 1839-43. 
 
 He served as Grand Secretary for the year 1833, and Grand Master 
 for the three terms indicated above. 
 
 Altho during this period Masonry was under a cloud, public demonstra- 
 tions, after the custom of the time, were, indeed, more frequent than 
 at the present, and perhaps the most notable of these at which Bro. Billing 
 officiated as Grand Master was the laying of the cornerstone of Jackson 
 City, across the river, January 11, 1836, which event was made the oc- 
 casion of considerable pomp and ceremony, and was participated in by 
 M. W. Andrew Jackson, P. G. M., of the State of Tennessee and President 
 of the United States, who actively assisted Grand Master Billing in the 
 work. 
 
 MARMADUKE DOVE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1839. 
 
 This Brother, having previously occupied the East in Union Lodge, 
 No. 6, and later affiliated with Naval Lodge, No. 4, was installed Wor- 
 shipful Master of the latter Lodge in 1819, the first chosen for the full 
 present term of twelve months. " Captain" Dove, as he was universally 
 known, was an officer in the Navy, and for many years held a responsible 
 position in the Navy Yard in Washington. He is described as having 
 been a man of unusually commanding presence and genial, magnetic 
 personality. 
 
 Bro. Dove's zeal, fidelity, and attachment to Masonry is evidenced by 
 
"-c^-^^r^-T^^^TVoI 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1903; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1894. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI,UMBIA 345 
 
 the fact that besides serving Naval Lodge as its principal officer during 
 the years 1819, 1830, 1831, 1834, 1835, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1836, 1837, 
 and 1841, he also held the positions of Junior Grand Warden in 1831; 
 Senior Grand Warden, 1820, 1832, and 1834 ; Deputy Grand Master, 1831, 
 1836, 1838, and 1843, and Grand Master in 1839. 
 
 His death occurred July 3, 1846, at the advanced age of seventy years. 
 His remains lie in Congressional Cemetery. 
 
 In addition to his naval service Bro. Dove took an active interest in 
 municipal affairs, serving for some time as a Common Councilman and 
 on the old Board of Alderman, and in testimony of the esteem in which 
 he was held by his associates his funeral was attended by the Board of 
 Aldermen and Board of Common Council, by order of the Mayor. 
 
 At the communication of December 37, 1838, after his installation as 
 Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Dove at once installed his venerable associate, 
 Bro. Isaac Kell, as Grand Senior Warden, and the following extract from 
 the Proceedings of that year, is given as of interest in view of the fact 
 that the years of persecution were then drawing to a close : 
 
 This part of the ceremony [installation of Bro. Kell] was peculiarly 
 impressive. Here were two of the venerable chiefs of the Order, whose 
 locks were whitened with the snows of many winters, who had espoused 
 the cause of Freemasonry upwards of twenty years since; had rejoiced 
 in the days of its prosperity; had fought side by side in the days of its 
 adversity ; who had borne the reproach, and whose attachments were in- 
 creased by the fires of persecution. Now they had met as the two 
 principal officers of the institution, to aid their junior brethren in acceler- 
 ating the great work of science and benevolence, which form the ground 
 work of the Order. 
 
 ROBERT KEYWORTH, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1840-41 AND 1843. 
 
 Bro. Keyworth was born in 1795, and died February 18, 1856, and from 
 the age of twenty-five until his passing away was an interested, active, 
 and valued member of the local Fraternity, and while failing health in 
 his later years prevented his participation in the affairs of his subordinate 
 lodge he was rarely absent from a meeting of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 His unfaltering fidelity to the Craft and zealous discharge of his duties 
 during the period when Masonry was perhaps at its lowest ebb undoubt- 
 edly contributed in no small degree to the rehabilitation of the Order 
 in the District. 
 
 Throughout his long and busy career he was a leader among his asso- 
 ciates in every walk of life and was universally revered and respected. 
 
 He was a watchmaker and jeweler, doing business on Pennsylvania 
 Avenue, west of Ninth Street, was a citizen of prominence, and partici- 
 pated in all the progressive movements of the day. 
 
346 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 He was also for many years interested in the local military and held 
 a commission as Major in the 1st Regt., D. C. Vols., which organization, 
 at his death, passed appropriate resolutions and desired to parade at the 
 funeral but refrained in deference to the wishes of his family. 
 
 The interment, which was attended by an unusual concourse, was at Con- 
 gressional Cemetery and under the direction of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Bro. Keyworth was initiated in Lebanon Lodge, March 3, 1820; passed 
 March 17, 1820; raised October 6, 1820; was Junior Warden in 1837; 
 Senior Warden, 1835 and 1838, and Master, 1831, '32, '39, '40, '44-'47. He 
 was made an honorary member of his lodge April 7, 1848. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge he served as Grand Treasurer during the years 
 1838 and 1839, and Grand Master, as shown above. 
 
 As a Capitular Mason he was also active and was a charter member of 
 Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 15 (now No. 1), attended its first meeting, 
 January 15, 1840, and served that body as its first High Priest. 
 
 WILLIAM M. ELLIS, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1844. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, Pa., August 28, 1806, he received an academic 
 education, and afterward became principal of the academy at Rockville, 
 Md. Later he entered the Washington Navy Yard as a founder and 
 subsequently became master machinist at that place. During his service 
 at the Yard several first-class engines for our vessels were built under 
 his supervision. In after years he established a private business under 
 the firm name of Ellis & Bro., machinists, and prospered. As a citizen 
 he was active in public affairs, was President of the Anacostia Fire 
 Co., and was for some years a member of the Board of Water Com- 
 missioners and of the City Council. 
 
 He was one of the founders of the First Presbj'terian Church and one 
 of its deacons for forty years. He is described as a model citizen, fond 
 husband, and profound Christian. Quiet and unassuming, beloved, and 
 respected, he was deservedly popular among his associates. 
 
 At the time of his death, which occurred March 16, 1868, he was one 
 of the oldest members of the Fraternity in the District and one of the 
 most venerated. In the language of a resolution passed by the Grand 
 Lodge on the occasion of his funeral, under the auspices of that body, 
 " he revered God, he loved his country, he loved his fellow men." 
 
 He was initiated in Naval Lodge, No. 4, November 23, 1827 ; passed 
 December 1, 1827, and raised December 19, 1827, and after serving in 
 several of the subordinate chairs became Master of his lodge in 1835, 
 and afterward in 1848. 
 
 He became Senior Grand Warden in 1837 ; Deputy Grand Master in 
 1839, and Grand Master in 1844. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 347 
 
 JOHN MASON, JR., 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1842. 
 
 This Brother was one of three elevated to that station directly from the 
 body of the Craft during the last century, and was the only one who had 
 never previously held any Masonic office. Indeed, as his fraternal record 
 shows, his active membership in his lodge was remarkably brief and 
 his selection to preside over the Grand Lodge can only be attributed to 
 some special conditions, hidden by the lapse of years, but among which 
 it may be surmised his prominence and the unsettled period were 
 powerful factors. 
 
 Bro. Mason was born in Annapolis, Md., February 18, 1Y97, and came 
 from one of the best known and most patriotic of the old families. His 
 grandfather. Col. George Mason, was an officer in the Revolutionary War, 
 drafted the celebrated " Virginia Declaration of Rights," 1776, and was a 
 member of the Continental Congress in 1777. He built the famous old 
 mansion Gunston Hall, on the Potomac and died there in 1793. 
 
 The father of the subject of this sketch. Gen. John Mason, inherited 
 and lived during the summer months on Analostan Island, also known 
 as Mason's Island, in a pretentious colonial residence which was for years 
 one of the social centers of this section. Among other noted guests 
 entertained here was Louis Phillipe, of France, on his visit to this country. 
 The house was destroyed during the Civil War. 
 
 An uncle, Stevens L. Mason, was the first Governor of Michigan. 
 
 A brother of John Mason, Jr., named James M. Mason, was a Senator 
 from Virginia from 1846 to the War of the Rebellion, and was sent by 
 the Confederate States, with John Slidell, as a Commissioner to England 
 and France, was taken from the British Steamer Trent, but was re- 
 leased on demand of the British Government. 
 
 Bro. Mason received his early training partly at home under tutors 
 and partly at school in Georgetown, and was sent to France to complete 
 his education. 
 
 While a young man he served as Secretary of the U. S. Legation in 
 Mexico, sailing from Old Point Comfort on the famous frigate Consti- 
 tution and landing at Vera Cruz. An incident of his Mexican experience 
 gives some idea of the man. During an uprising among the natives, 
 and while the Consulate was being fired upon, he appeared on the veranda 
 and waving the American flag dared them to fire upon it, which had the 
 effect of dispersing the mob and quelling the excitement. After his 
 return in 1829, his home was always in the District of Columbia, where 
 he enjoyed a large and successful practice as a lawyer. He also con- 
 ducted a mercantile business on Water Street, Georgetown, and traded 
 extensively with the Indians. Later on, with several other citizens he 
 became interested in silk worm culture and planted, with that object in 
 view, large quantities of mulberry trees on the Heights of Georgetown. 
 
 He is described as about five feet eleven inches in height, very hand- 
 some, fine figure, with brown eyes and black hair; his manners were 
 
34^ HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 very courtly and polished like the gentlemen of the " old school." He was 
 a linguist of unusual attainments, speaking seven languages. 
 
 He was for many years preceding the War the Captain of the Potomac 
 Dragoons, a local military organization. 
 
 He was a son-in-law of Gen. Alexander Macomb, U. S. A., of Detroit, 
 the hero of the Battle of Plattsburg, and resided at different times on 
 Bridge (now M) Street, near the Key Mansion, at Evermay, on the 
 Heights of Georgetown, and latterly on the south side of Pennsylvania 
 Avenue, N. W., between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Streets, N. W. 
 
 His brief Masonic history follows : March 9, 1824, petition received in 
 Potomac Lodge, No. 5, and it being regarded as an emergent case, was 
 acted upon the same evening; March 11, 1824, entered and passed; March 
 28, 1825, raised, and asked and obtained leave to withdraw membership, 
 being on the point of sailing for his post of duty in Mexico; October 16, 
 1841, petitioned same lodge for affiliation, and by-law requiring petitions 
 to lie over being unanimously dispensed with, he was elected. He was 
 chosen Grand Master December, 1841. 
 
 He died in the summer of 1859 in this city and his remains were interred 
 in Christ Church Cemetery, Alexandria, Va. 
 
 WILLIAM D. MAGRUDER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1845-46 AND 1854. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Baltimore, Md., February 1, 
 1810, but was raised in Georgetown, D. C, where he studied medicine. 
 During the cholera epidemic in 1832 he came to this city and was placed 
 in charge of what was known as the Western Hospital. Subsequently 
 he engaged in the general practice of medicine with unusual success. 
 
 A large portion of his time and attention was given to the service of 
 the poor, and he was known as one who never hesitated to answer a 
 call from the needy. 
 
 W. Bro. Magruder served for a number of years in both branches 
 of the local City Council, and in 1856 was elected Mayor on the Anti- 
 Know-Nothing ticket. Considering the financial condition of the city 
 treasury the amount of improvement in his administration was notably 
 great. During his term occurred the election riots of June, 1857, when he 
 called for troops and the disturbance was quelled. 
 
 Bro. Magruder was a man of high talents and general popularity, a 
 conspicuous practitioner of medicine and, as shown above, an active, 
 useful citizen. 
 
 In the Masonic Fraternity he was a bright and shining light, and gave 
 most liberally of his talents to the furtherance of the good of the Order. 
 He was said to have been " a brother of superb genius, commanding 
 talents, profound learning, cultivated taste, and classic eloquence," and his 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COL,UMBIA 349 
 
 death was the " occasion of no ordinary lamentation to the Craft and the 
 community at large.'' 
 
 He died May 30, 1869, from a cancerous affection of the stomach from 
 which he had suffered for a number of years, and in spite of a very 
 heavy storm at the time his funeral drew an immense gathering. 
 
 Bro. Magruder was raised in Hiram Lodge March 2, 1843, served as 
 Master for the years 1846, '48, '49, '52, and '53, and as Grand Master, as 
 stated above, being elected to the latter position from the " floor." 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Potomac R. A. Chapter, No. 8, 
 in 1846, and served as High Priest in 1849. 
 
 BENJAMIN BROWN FRENCH, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1847-53 AND 1868. 
 
 This distinguished Brother may properly be called the Father of Latter- 
 Day Masonry in the District of Columbia, and it involves no invidious 
 comparison to say that in the century now closed no man has more perma- 
 nently left the impress of his individuality and genius upon our local 
 institution, nor was more widely or favorably known throughout the 
 Masonic world. 
 
 In the words of one of his contemporary biographers : " The history of 
 our departed Brother is the story of a good man's path through the 
 world ; a life of labor and love ; a stream of usefulness welling up from 
 the fountain of his infancy, and increasing, broadening, and deepening 
 until the close of his well-spent existence ; a bright, cheerful river gladden- 
 ing the hearts of thousands on its either side, and distributing with a 
 generous hand countless blessings all along its course." 
 
 Bro. French was born at Chester, N. H., on the 4th day of September, 
 1800. 
 
 He was the son of Hon. Daniel French, an eminent lawyer of that 
 State, and for many years its Attorney-General, and his ancestors on both 
 sides of the family were among the oldest and most respected of the 
 early settlers of New England. 
 
 He received a good common-school and academic education, which 
 was completed at North Yarmouth Academy, Me., when he was about 
 seventeen years of age. His family were anxious that he should enjoy 
 the advantages of a collegiate course to fit him for a professional career, 
 hut his inclinations did not run in this direction and in 1819 he went to 
 Boston with the intention of going to sea. Disappointed, however, in 
 obtaining such a position as he desired in the merchant service he enlisted 
 as a private in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Warren, 
 Boston Harbor, with a detachment of the 8th regiment of infantry. He 
 was soon promoted to the rank of sergeant and served for four months. 
 
350 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 when, at the earnest sohcitation of friends, who furnished a substitute, 
 he was discharged September 12, 1819. 
 
 Returning to his native town he took up the study of law, and after five 
 years was admitted to practice as a member of the Rockingham bar. 
 
 In March, 1835, he removed to Hookset, N. H., and entered at once 
 upon a promising practice. Immediately after actively engaging in his pro- 
 fession he was married to Miss Elizabeth Smith Richardson, daughter 
 of Hon. W. W. Richardson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 
 New Hampshire, and this union proved to be a most happy one, Mrs. 
 French continuing until her death, in 1861, to be a true and loving help- 
 mate of her distinguished husband. In September, 1863, Bro. French 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ellen Brady, of Washington, a 
 lady of estimable qualities. 
 
 His profession was not a congenial one to him and was destined not 
 to be his life work. Shortly after his marriage he removed to Sutton, 
 and, in 1827, to Newport, N. H. About this time he was elected assistant 
 clerk of the New Hampshire Senate. He was also, while a resident of 
 Newport, one of the editors and proprietors of the New Hampshire 
 Spectator, and represented that town in the State Legislature in the years 
 1831, '33, and '33. 
 
 In December, 1833, he received the appointment of assistant clerk of 
 the House of Representatives and removed to Washington, where he 
 remained the balance of his life. 
 
 For some years he held the position of chief clerk of the House, which 
 office he held until 1847, when he was defeated by one vote. 
 
 During his term as assistant clerk of the House he was instrumental 
 in having the bill passed which marked the inauguration of the first 
 magnetic company, of which he subsequently became president, and 
 devoted himself to its interests, and to his energy, enterprise and business 
 tact, the telegraph of today, then looked upon as chimerical nonsense, 
 became a commercial possibility. 
 
 When his intimate friend. Gen. Pierce, was elected President of the 
 United States, he was appointed Commissioner of Public Buildings and 
 Grounds, but resigned this position in 1855, and returned to the practice 
 of his profession. 
 
 Again appointed to the same position in 1861 he faithfully and accept- 
 ably discharged the duties of the ofBce until 1867, when it was abolished 
 by Congress. 
 
 During this latter term the bronze " Goddess of Freedom" was placed 
 upon the dome of the Capitol building in this city, and, besides the name 
 of Abraham Lincoln, has graven upon the head, " B. B. French, Com- 
 missioner of Public Buildings and Grounds." 
 
 He was chief marshal of the inaugural procession for President Lincoln 
 in 1861, and one of the marshals at the dedication of the National Ceme- 
 tery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863, besides being the author of the 
 hymn sung as part of the ceremonies immediately after the oration of 
 Edward Everett, and just before President Lincoln delivered his famous 
 address. In connection with this historical event the author of this work 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 35 1 
 
 deems it, under the circumstances, perhaps worthy of note that while in 
 Gettysburg on that occasion and at other times Bro. French was the 
 guest of his father, the Hon. Robert Goodloe Harper, and a great chum, 
 so the author has been told, of himself, and the interest in this fact 
 lies in the fantastic destiny that should bring that toddler at his knee in . 
 the far-off years to write his biography. 
 
 During his entire life in this city he took an active interest in municipal 
 affairs and served for many years as President of the local Boards of 
 Alderman and Common Council, and in every position in which he stood 
 forth as the servant of the people his duties were discharged conscien- 
 tiously, energetically, intelligently, and acceptably. 
 
 In religion Bro. French was Unitarian, but, in the language of one 
 writer " what he called the ' religion of Masonry' was his guiding star." 
 
 As a scholar he was noted for his ripe culture and high attainments, and 
 was probably excelled by few in a thorough knowledge of the classics 
 of his own tongue. 
 
 He was an easy and extensive writer, his style being marked by a 
 terse, plain, and vigorous use of the Saxon, and had the happy faculty 
 of saying just what he wanted to say at the right right time and in the 
 right manner. 
 
 As a poet his style was graceful, flowing, and simple, addressing itself 
 to the better feelings of our nature, and marked by the true fire of 
 genius. 
 
 Such, briefly, was the man and citizen, " but," quoting again from an 
 early biographer, "there was another phase of his life concealed by the 
 veils of our sanctuaries from the vulgar gaze of the profane; an inner 
 history of usefulness, energy, and honor; a course in which he deserved 
 and received the highest laurels, the priceless tributes of the regard and 
 esteem of his brethren — more to be valued than the withering crowns 
 of the political arena, which fade away with a breath; ever enduring 
 memorials to true merit, and the rewards of a lifetime well spent in the 
 service of that which is just, noble, and true; the recognition by the 
 Fraternity of initiates of a burning zeal in the cause of universal brother- 
 hood and common humanity." 
 
 Bro. French, in a short autobiographic resume of his life, prepared 
 a few years before his death, informs us that his first impression of the 
 benefits and true grandeur of Freemasonry was occasioned by his attend- 
 ance upon a Masonic funeral at the early age of fifteen years, and the 
 determination was there made to knock at its portals for admission as 
 soon as he should have reached the constitutional age. 
 
 There being no lodge in his native town he was unable to carry out his 
 intention until after his removal to Sutton, when, in 1825, he made appli- 
 cation to King Solomon's Lodge, No. 14, located at New London, about 
 four miles from Bro. French's residence, and during the following winter 
 he received the several symbolic degrees in that lodge. 
 
 Applying himself with his habitual energy and enthusiasm to the work 
 
352 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 and lectures he soon acquired a thorough knowledge of their sublime prin- 
 ciples and tenets. 
 
 In 1837 he removed to Newport and there affiliated with Corinthian 
 Lodge, No. 38, in which lodge he served as Senior Warden and Master, 
 filling the latter station in 1830-33. 
 
 In the same year he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master of 
 the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, and in 1832, its Grand Marshal, 
 both of which positions, as well as the East of Corinthian Lodge, he 
 held at the time of his removal to Washington in 1833. 
 
 Bro. French, arriving in this city in the midst of the period of perse- 
 cution, found Masonry nearly dormant, and altho he frequented the 
 meetings of our lodges and Grand Lodge he did not affiliate until the 
 organization of National Lodge, No. 12, in 1846. 
 
 On November 3 of the same year he was elected Grand Master of 
 Masons for the District of Columbia and served as such with fidelity 
 and marked ability until 1853, when he declined re-election. Subsequently, 
 however, in 1867, he was again called to the Grand East and served 
 during the Masonic year of 1868. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia Chapter, No. 15 (now 
 No. 1), of the City of Washington, in November, 1846, and in 1847 was 
 elected its " Most" Excellent High Priest. During the same year he 
 was elected Grand King of the Grand Chapter of Maryland and the 
 District of Columbia, and after serving as Deputy was elected Grand 
 High Priest in 1850, and was re-elected thereto annually until 1855, when 
 he positively declined the honor. 
 
 April 8, 1847, Bro. French received the Order of the Temple at the 
 hands of DeWitt Clinton Encampment, Brooklyn, N. Y. There being at 
 that time no encampment of Knights Templar in this vicinity, he visited the 
 above-mentioned city for the express purpose of receiving the Commandery 
 degrees with a view of resuscitating the Order of the Temple in 
 Washington. 
 
 On the 35th of the same month he succeeded in reviving the organization 
 of Washington Commandery, No. 1, of this city, dormant for some years, 
 and was elected its Eminent Commander, in which position he continued, 
 with the exception of a single term, for twelve years. His Commandery 
 always continued a favorite organization with him and was remembered 
 by him in the distribution of his Masonic effects. 
 
 In 1850 he was elected Grand Recorder of the Grand Encampment of 
 Knights Templar of the United States, and also General Grand Secretary 
 of the General Grand Chapter of the United States, both of which offices 
 he held until 1859, when he was elected Grand Master of Knights Templar 
 of the United States and positively declined re-election as Secretary of 
 the General Grand Chapter. As Grand Master of Knights Templar he 
 served six consecutive years. 
 
 During his administration as Grand Master of Masons of the District, 
 he laid the cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institution, the Washington 
 Monument, the Capitol Extension, and many other public buildings and 
 churches in this city. 
 
THE ALBERT PIKE MONUMENT. 
 
 Third Street and Indiana Avenue, Northwest, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA ' 353 
 
 In the year 1851 Bro. French received at the hands of illustrious 
 Bro. Giles Ford Yates the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish 
 Rite up to the thirty-second degree, and in 1859 was elected to the 
 thirty-third and last degree, and became an active member of the Supreme 
 Council for the District of Columbia. He was subsequently elected Grand 
 Chancellor of the Supreme Council, and in May, 1870, a few months before 
 his death, became Lieut. Grand Commander. 
 
 He departed this life August 12, 1870, after an illness of several days, 
 of heart disease, in the seventieth year of his age. 
 
 Funeral services were held at his residence on East Capitol Street, and 
 the Templar service at the Presbyterian Church on Four-and-a-half Street 
 (John Marshall Place), after which the remains were conveyed to the 
 Congressional Cemetery, where, at 8 :30 P. M., August 14, 1870, by the 
 aid of the three lesser lights, the solemn and imposing ceremonies of the 
 Grand Lodge were performed. 
 
 Thus passed this good man and Mason. 
 
 His devotion to the Order is shown by the following extract from his 
 will: "Eighth. To the Grand Lodge of F. A. A. M., of the District of 
 Columbia, in testimony of my undying love for the Craft and my firm 
 belief in the truth of the declaration of the great and good Washington, 
 that Freemasonry is a society whose liberal principles are founded on the 
 immutable laws of truth and justice, and my deep conviction of the use- 
 fulness of the Order, all my books on the subject of Freemasonry. And I 
 here express my regret that it is not in my power to make that body a 
 more valuable bequest." 
 
 CHARLES STITCHER FRAILEY, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1855-56. 
 
 Doctor Frailey was born December 39, 1803, in the City of Baltimore, 
 Md., and was there educated, graduating from the University of Maryland 
 in 1835, with a diploma as M. D. Removing to Ohio with a view of 
 practicing his profession he was soon diverted therefrom by receiving an 
 appointment as Assistant Surgeon in the United States Army, and re- 
 paired to Fort Brady, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where the extreme 
 rigors of the climate soon implanted in him the germ of that disease 
 which afiflicted him through life. In the year 1835 he removed to 
 Washington to accept a clerkship in the Land Office, where his abilities 
 soon raised him to the position of chief clerk. He afterwards became 
 chief clerk of the Interior Department, and spent the remainder of his 
 life in this city. 
 
 Bro. Frailey was a man of distinguished ability, of vigorous and 
 cultivated intellect, of stern integrity, and of honest purpose, and his 
 untimely taking off at the age of fifty-two deprived the jurisdiction of 
 
 23 
 
354 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 one of its most valued leaders. A classmate at the University has borne 
 testimony that he was a most congenial and attractive companion, very 
 brilliant in conversation, with a fine tenor voice, and immensely popular 
 with both his fellow-students and the faculty. A daughter, Miss Frailey, 
 now residing in Washington, recalls his charming personality, his wonder- 
 ful memory, and his unusual ability as a reader, impersonating the 
 characters so thoroughly as to lose his identity. 
 
 He was entered, passed, and raised to the sublime degree of Master 
 Mason between January 31 and February 4, 1828, in Tuscarora Lodge, 
 No. 59, then held at New Philadelphia, in the State of Ohio. In 1846 he 
 dimitted and became one of the original members of National Lodge, 
 No. 12, of this jurisdiction. He was elected Grand Secretary of the 
 Grand Lodge in 1847, and acceptably filled that office until 1854, when he 
 was elected Grand Master, being one of only three in our local history 
 to reach that exalted station without previous service as Master of a 
 subordinate lodge. 
 
 To Bro. Frailey is due the inauguration of the present elaborate system 
 of correspondence, the first report along the lines now followed having 
 been presented and signed by him as Chairman of the Committee on 
 Correspondence in 1849. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., 
 in 1854. 
 
 Bro. Frailey also possesses the distinction of being the first Past Grand 
 Master to receive a jewel appropriate to his station, and the circumstances 
 surrounding its presentation were as sad as they were unusual. The 
 jewel having been authorized and procured the presentation was delayed 
 by the condition of the brother's health until a time when it was seen 
 that the Grim Destroyer was marching on with relentless steps, when a 
 committee repaired to the home of the sufferer, and in the presence only 
 of his wife. Past Grand Master B. B. French, in a few beautiful and 
 feeling words, made the presentation, to which Bro. Frailey submitted a 
 written reply which is preserved in the Report of the Grand Lodge 
 Proceedings of 1857 (p. 11), and is recommended to the perusal of serious 
 readers as the utterance of one who stood upon the brink of eternity and 
 to whom in some measure had already come " the light that never was on 
 sea or land." 
 
 Nineteen days thereafter, on May 24, 1857, he passed away. 
 
 His funeral took place two days later at Congressional Cemetery, under 
 the auspices of the Grand Lodge, with Grand Master George C. Whiting 
 conducting the Masonic service, and Past Grand Master B. B. French 
 as eulogist. 
 
 A friend and admirer has left this tribute to his memory : 
 
 "A grave bedewed with manly tears, 
 A name spotless and bright. 
 The sum of all true fame." 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 355 
 
 GEORGE G. WHITING, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1857-61 AND 1865-67. 
 
 To this Brother belongs the distinction of the longest service in that 
 capacity in the history of the jurisdiction, with the exception of M. W. 
 Bro. French, whose terms aggregated the same number of years. 
 
 Bro. Whiting was born in Fauquier County, Va., in 1816, but in his boy- 
 hood came to this city with his family and remained throughout his life. 
 It is related as from the lips of Bro. Whiting himself that his father, 
 a clerk in one of the Government Departments, had, at the time of the 
 election of Andrew Jackson, strongly espoused the candidacy of Adams 
 and expected early removal from office therefor, but a shower chancing 
 to catch the President on one of his daily walks near the Whiting home 
 he took shelter there, and both the President and the elder Whiting being 
 Masons and recognizing each other as such, a strong friendship sprang up 
 between them which lasted throughout the life of the latter and caused 
 the President to take a personal interest in the affairs of the family when 
 the death of George's father left them dependent upon the young man 
 for support, and to have him appointed to a position in the Treasury 
 Department. 
 
 It is also said that during the life of the elder Whiting in Virginia he 
 became seriously involved financially, and that these obligations were all 
 finally wiped out as soon as the son was able to earn sufficient money 
 to do so, an incident which speaks volumes for the character of the man. 
 
 During his adult life he filled many important positions in the civil 
 department of the Government. He was Commissioner of Pensions during 
 the administration of President Buchanan and when succeeded in that 
 position was transferred to a specially created office concerning the African 
 slave trade. He was Acting Secretary of the Interior a number of times 
 and possessed a practical knowledge of the affairs of that Department 
 which rendered his service of great value for many years. 
 
 Bro. Whiting was a man of many virtues. Noble-minded and generous 
 to a fault, urbane and gentle in demeanor, he endeared himself to all 
 with whom he came into contact, while the dignified and impartial manner 
 in which he presided as Grand Master and the learning, skill, and integrity 
 he brought to bear upon the duties of that high office, contributed in the 
 largest measure to the elevation of Masonry in this jurisdiction to a higher 
 plane. 
 
 He passed away September 4, 1867, in the fifty-first year of his age 
 and while Grand Master, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, George- 
 town, D. C, September 6, the Grand Lodge conducting the Masonic 
 rites in the presence of a concourse of Mafsons and citizens that testified 
 to the universal esteem in which he had been held. A few years later 
 a suitable monument was erected by the Fraternity to mark the last 
 resting place of this good man and Mason. 
 
 In Masonic circles Bro. Whiting was for many years a most active 
 and valuable worker. He was initiated in National Lodge, No. 12, March 
 
356 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 17; passed March 31, and raised April 29, 1846, and after serving as 
 Junior Deacon for one term, filled the office of Secretary during the years 
 1850-51; withdrew December 37, 1853, to become a charter member of 
 B. B. French Lodge; served the latter lodge as Senior Warden while 
 U. D., and for the year 1854, filled the office of Worshipful Master 
 during 1855-56, and was elected an honorary member April 3, 1865. 
 
 He entered the official line of the Grand Lodge as Grand Secretary 
 in 1856, and the following year began his long service as Grand Master, as 
 shown above. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 1, 
 April 19, April 26, and May 3, '64. 
 
 George C. Whiting Lodge, No. 22, chartered in 1868, takes its name 
 from this eminent Mason. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK STANSBURY, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1862 AND 1871-74, 
 
 Born in New York City October 13, 1821, he spent his boyhood and 
 early youth in Washington, at the old family mansion on Seventh Street, 
 N. W., opposite the General Post-Office. 
 
 Bro. Stansbury was educated at Princeton College, N. J., and gradu- 
 ated therefrom when nineteen years old. He subsequently studied medi- 
 cine, but not having a taste for the practice abandoned it for the law, 
 which was more congenial, making a specialty of patent law. 
 
 He was a finished scholar, a zealous student, a forcible and vigorous 
 writer, a pleasing speaker, and as a husband, parent, brother, and friend 
 few men were more loved and revered. 
 
 He was appointed by President Pierce as Commissioner of the great 
 English Exposition and World's Fair in 1854, and remained there several 
 years, frequently visiting Continental Europe during the period. ' 
 
 In his earlier days he was associated with his brother. Col. Howard M. 
 Stansbury, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, in making surveys in the 
 Western Territories. 
 
 In Masonry Grand Master Stansbury was a star of the first magnitude, 
 not only locally but nationally, and his active participation in all its affairs 
 of the highest and most lasting value. 
 
 On the occasion of the great calamity which befell Chicago in 1871, he 
 proceeded personally with several brethren to carry to the distressed 
 brethren of that city the offering of the District, and so tactfully was this 
 mission performed that later he was again called to Chicago as one of a 
 commission to examine the record of the Relief Committee. 
 
 Prominent among his good works were his untiring efforts on behalf 
 of the long-neglected Washington Monument, and to his active and 
 efficient labors as a member of the Monument Society is the country 
 especially indebted for the renewed interest and work on that structure. 
 
GRAND MASTER, 1904. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O? COI^UMBIA 357 
 
 Bro. Stansbury was initiated in St. John's Lodge, No. 11, February 7, 
 1857; passed March 13, 1857, and raised May 13, 1857; withdrew July 
 14, 1865, and affiliated January 31, 1883; was Secretary in 1859, Senior 
 Warden, 1860, and Master, 1861 and 1863. He also held honorary mem- 
 bership in Hiram Lodge, No. 10, being elected thereto in 1873. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 2, 
 in the spring of 1857. 
 
 His death occurred January 31, 1883, and the following extract from the 
 tribute of the special committee of the Grand Lodge reflects perhaps the 
 estimation in which this good man was held by his contemporaries : 
 
 " * * * A great leader has passed away, his voice is hushed in 
 death; 'but tho dead, he yet speaketh.' He has left us an example of 
 intelligence and refinement worthy of any age. The home circle has 
 lost a kind husband and father. The community an exemplary and honored 
 citizen. The Masonic Fraternity a tried and trusted leader, an eminent 
 expounder of its principles, a zealous worker, an enthusiastic supporter, 
 a true member. His many valuable contributions to Masonic literature 
 and jurisprudence, his exalted rank and cultivated intellect, his devo- 
 tion to duty and noble efforts for the good of a beloved Order, make 
 his loss most sensibly felt and lamented, not only as a loyal and popular 
 brother Mason, but as one of its most cultivated, gifted, and refined 
 exemplars, besides a most conscientious and unselfish friend and advisoB." 
 
 YELVERTON PEYTON PAGE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1863. 
 
 Bro. Page possessed one of the most interesting personalities in the his- 
 tory of the Grand Lodge, and through a eulogy pronounced upon him by 
 his intimate friend, Pasf Grand Master B. B. French, in 1863, we are per- 
 mitted an insight into his life and character as fortunate as it is unusual. 
 
 He was born in Washington, D. C, July 17, 1833, of parents noted for 
 their integrity and worth, and among the prominent citizens of the city. 
 They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also 
 their son, and his early youth under the care of such parents promised 
 to develop a character for goodness, truth, and morality — which promise 
 was amply fulfilled. In early boyhood he was a page in the U. S. Senate, 
 and became a favorite with many of the Senators. During the recess 
 periods he devoted himself to study, and later became one of the most 
 important clerks in the office of the Secretary of the Senate. He was 
 initiated in Naval Lodge, No. 4, June 5, 1847; passed July 31, 1847, and 
 raised August 3, 1847, and served as Master during the years 1853, 
 1856-58 ; exalted in Washington R. A. Chapter ; made a Knight Templar 
 May 11, 1853. Besides his service as Master he held various offices in 
 Naval Lodge. In manner he was dignified, yet kind and courteous. As a 
 Mason his charity was known throughout the jurisdiction ; to him Free- 
 
35^ HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 masonry was not a mere shadow, it was a solemn and abiding obligation. 
 In the Grand Lodge he stood high, and was bold and decided in the 
 expression of opinions he considered right. He was elected Grand Master 
 for the year 1863, while ill, and was installed in his home. In his address 
 on that occasion he closed with the pathetic words : " You have sum- 
 moned me in my weakness; you must sustain me by your strength." At 
 this time he was apparently convalescing from an attack of pneumonia, 
 and while he became better, he never regained his health, and died Sep- 
 tember 36, 1863, while Grand Master of the District, and but forty years 
 of age. 
 
 JAMES EDWARD FRISBY HOLMEAD, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1864. 
 
 To this Brother belongs the distinction of having been the youngest 
 man to fill the Grand East in the century of the existence of this Grand 
 Lodge, attaining that high office when only twenty-nine years of age. 
 
 Bro. Holmead was born in Baltimore, Md., August 13, 1835, and re- 
 ceived his education from his father in schools taught by him in Baltimore, 
 EUicotts Mills, and other places. Upon reaching his majority he took 
 up his residence in Washington, where he remained the balance of his 
 life. 
 
 For a number of years he held responsible positions in the Patent 
 Ofr.ce, but in 1865 resigned and engaged in business as a patent attorney 
 and agent, in which he became very successful. \\'hile taking an active 
 interest in all public matters he was particularly interested in the public 
 schools, serving for several years as a school trustee in the Fourth 
 District (South Washington), and by his energy- and devotion to duty 
 contributed greatly toward establishing a perfect school system here. 
 
 He was a man possessed of very rare qualities. As an orator he had 
 few equals, and in all deliberations he was listened to with the closest 
 attention. He was an earnest and zealous Mason and a valued citizen, and 
 his rise in the Fraternity and success in business and official life has rarely 
 been equaled for rapidity. His uniform courtesy endeared him to all 
 with whom he came in contact, and his untimely demise, which occurred 
 October 19, 1S76, was mourned in every walk of life. His funeral, which 
 took place in Rock Creek Cemetery under the auspices of the Grand Lodge 
 with Grand Master I. L. Johnson officiating, was attended not only by 
 large representations from the Masonic bodies but by an unusual con- 
 course of citizens, testifying to the universal esteem in which he was held. 
 
 Bro. Holmead was entered as a member of our Fraternity in SL John's 
 Lodge, No. 11, of this city, September 29, passed to the degree of Fellow 
 Craft October 29, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason 
 Xovember 28, 1856. He remained a member of this lodge until May d. 
 1857, when he dimitted and became a charter member of Dawson Lodge, 
 No. 16, in which lodge he was elected Junior Warden December 14, 1857, 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 359 
 
 and was re-elected to the same office the following year. After a service 
 of two years, 1860-61, he was elected Master, and in 1865 was re-elected 
 and held the office for two years. November 3, 1863, he was elected 
 Grand Master, having previously served as Senior Grand Warden. In 
 1867 he was also elected to honorary membership in Hope Lodge, No. 20. 
 He was exalted to the Royal Arch degree in Washington Chapter, No 
 16 (then under the jurisdiction of the Grand Chapter of Maryland and 
 the District of Columbia), March 23, 1857. After filling the positions 
 of Principal Sojourner, Captain of the Host, and King, he was elected 
 High Priest of that Chapter October 27, 1860. Diraitted November 18, 
 1873, to become a charter member of Mt. Horeb Chapter, No. 7. In 
 1862 he was elected to the office of Grand Scribe of the Grand Chapter 
 of Maryland and the District of Columbia, and in 1867 had the dis- 
 tinguished honor of being chosen as the first Grand High Priest of the 
 Grand Chapter of the District of Columbia, which position he filled for 
 two years, and to the present time he is looked upon as the one to whom 
 the success of our local Grand Chapter is due. 
 
 ROBERT BRUCE DONALDSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1869-70. 
 
 Born at Waterford, Loudoun County, Virginia, October 11, 1826, at the 
 age of seven he removed to Alexandria, where his early education was 
 obtained in a private school. In 1842 he came to Washington, where he 
 was first engaged in mathematical instrument making and manufactured 
 many of the instruments used in the telegraphic service of that day. 
 Later he studied dentistry, and for a few years was associated with his 
 teacher, Dr. R. Finley Hunt, in that profession, after which, for a period 
 of forty-five years, he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice, during the 
 course of which he served some time as Professor of Operative Dentistry 
 in the Maryland Dental College in Baltimore and was the recipient 
 of honorary degrees from two dental colleges. In the course of his 
 long practice he invented several new and useful dental instruments, 
 and after his retirement from active work in his profession, by reason 
 of failing eyesight, engaged in the manufacture of these instruments, from 
 which he acquired a comfortable fortune. 
 
 He was summoned to the presence of our Supreme Grand Master at 9 
 o'clock P. M. on November 22, 1907. 
 
 Bro. Donaldson was made a Master Mason in Federal Lodge, No. 1, 
 of this jurisdiction December 4, 1855. He was also an honorary member 
 of Pentalpha Lodge, No. 23, and Hiram Lodge, No. 10. 
 
 He became a Royal Arch Mason in Columbia Chapter, No. 1, January 
 17, 1862, and a Knight Templar in Washington Commandery, No. 1, 
 October 14, 1868. In the Scottish Rite he received the fourteenth degree 
 in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, May 18, 1888; the eighteenth degree 
 
360 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 in Evangelist Chapter Rose Croix, June 23, 1888; the thirtieth degree in 
 Robert de Bruce Council of Kadosh, April 1, 1889; the thirty-second 
 degree in Albert Pike Consistory, April 15, 1889; and the thirty-third 
 degree (honorary) in the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction, 
 October 23, 1903. 
 
 Symbolic Masonry, however, was our Brother's first and best love, and 
 official honors in other branches of the Fraternity had no attraction 
 for hira. He served as Worshipful Master of Federal Lodge in 1863 
 and 1865; as Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in 1864, 1865, 
 1866, and 1867; and as Grand Master in 1869 and 1870. 
 
 He was the first President of the Masonic Temple Association, and 
 it was his earnest wish that he might live to see the new Temple com- 
 pleted. His last appearance in the Grand Lodge was at the special com- 
 munication of June 8, 1907, when the cornerstone of the new Temple 
 was laid. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Donaldson was a sound Masonic jurist, the advantages 
 he derived in his earlier years from his association with such master 
 minds as French, Whiting, and Stansbury being supplemented by a close 
 study of the ethical and philosophical teachings of the Craft. As Chairman 
 of the Committee on Jurisprudence he rendered many years of valuable 
 service to the Grand Lodge. Genial and kindly in his intercourse with 
 his fellow-men, sincere in his friendships, charitable to the unfortunate, 
 a true Mason, an upright citizen, and a devoted husband and father, his 
 memory will be cherished in the hearts of his brethren, and in the love 
 and esteem of his fellow-citizens of the community in which his long and 
 busy life was spent. 
 
 ISAAC LA RUE JOHNSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1875-76. 
 
 Bro. Johnson was born in Warren County, N. J., October 16, 1837. He 
 came to Washington when a youth, was graduated from Columbia College, 
 studied law, and was admitted to the bar of the courts of the District. 
 In 1862 he was commissioned a captain in the 153d Pennsylvania Infantry, 
 and served in the Army of the Potomac. Resigning his commission in 
 1863 he returned to Washington and engaged in the practice of law in 
 which he soon won a reputation highly honorable. 
 
 An able lawyer, his love of Masonry led him to devote a large portion 
 of his time to the service of the Craft, bringing to that service one of the 
 strongest minds ever devoted to it in this jurisdiction. He was a logical 
 and forceful speaker and writer, and his reputation as an able and learned 
 Mason extended far beyond the confines of this jurisdiction. Genial, 
 witty, thoroughly informed on a great variety of subjects, he will long 
 be remembered for his qualities of mind and heart. 
 
 Bro. Johnson was made a Master Mason in National Lodge, No. 12, of 
 this jurisdiction, December 12, 1865, and served as Master of his Lodge 
 
<^^>^<yiZZr7^<:^L^,^ 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1905. 
 
IN The district of Columbia 361 
 
 in 1870 and 1871. His zeal and ability soon won him recognition in the 
 Grand Lodge where he was elected Grand Master for the years 1875 
 and 1876. 
 
 November 35, 1875, he was elected to honorary membership in George 
 
 C. Whiting Lodge, No. 22. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Eureka Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M., 
 in 1867, and was High Priest of that Chapter in 1870. He entered the 
 official line of the Grand Chapter as Grand King in 1873, and became 
 Grand High Priest in 1877. 
 
 He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, of Washington, 
 
 D. C, March 32, 1868 ; dimitted in 1872 to become a charter member of 
 DeMolay Mounted Commandery, No. 4, which body he served as Emi- 
 nent Commander in 1880. 
 
 He also received the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite degrees from 
 fourth to thirty-second in the lodge, chapter, council, and consistory of 
 this jurisdiction. 
 
 He closed his Masonic and earthly career of usefulness in this city on 
 Thursday, December 28, 1899, and his remains were interred at Oak 
 Hill Cemetery December 31, 1899, with Masonic honors performed by the 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 In the words of one of his contemporaries, " This well-known brother, 
 honored and distinguished in the Masonic bodies of our jurisdiction, went 
 down into the shadow of death full of experience, full of kind words, 
 and full of good companionship. He was endowed with a brilliant and 
 comprehensive intellect, kindness of heart, and a warm, genial disposition. 
 As a soldier he won honorable distinction ; as a citizen, respect and esteem ; 
 as a Mason he merited and received honors and preferment." 
 
 ELDRED GRIFFITH DAVIS, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1877-78. 
 
 This Brother was born in Frederick County, Md., near the town of New 
 Market, December 25, 1837. While an infant his father moved to Carroll 
 County, and a few years, later to Howard County, in the same State. He 
 received his education in the public schools of Maryland, attending during 
 the winter and such portions of the summer as he could be spared from 
 the work of farming. At the age of seventeen he received a position in 
 a store in Washington, first as a boy of all work, next as salesman, and 
 later as bookkeeper, and remained there until the death of his father, 
 which occurred in January, 1860, when he returned to Maryland and 
 took charge of the home farm, remaining four years, at the expiration of 
 which time, being offered another position in Washington, he accepted, 
 disposed of his country property, and removed to this city with his 
 mother and two sisters, and became a clerk in the wholesale store of 
 
3^2 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 S. S. Corbin & Co. Soon afterward he went to Richmond, Va., and 
 opened a branch store for the firm, and so successful was he that within 
 twelve months he was offered a place in the firm and a half interest in 
 the Richmond branch. 
 
 This offer he declined, as he preferred to accept a tender on the part of 
 an old Maryland friend of the family, D. H. Gaither, to enter as an equal 
 partner in a similar business. Mr. Gaither furnished the capital and Mr. 
 Davis the experience, and the firm of Davis & Gaither was formed in 
 1866. 
 
 The relations of the partners always were pleasant, and within three 
 years Mr. Davis was enabled to buy out Mr. Gaither's interest and con- 
 tinue on his own account until 1890, when he sold his interest in the 
 business. 
 
 In May, 1888, he was appointed Collector of Taxes for the District of 
 Columbia, which position he held for over twenty years. At the time of 
 his death he was a member of the Board of Assessors. He was a member 
 of the Board of Directors of the Columbia Railway Co. for over twenty 
 years, and was its Vice-President when it was absorbed by the Wash- 
 ington Railway and Electric Co. He was a Director of the Firemen's 
 Insurance Co., of Washington and Georgetown, for a quarter of a century, 
 and in the last years of his life its President. 
 
 His long service in these important positions testifies to his business 
 worth and sterling integrity, while his ability as an executive officer 
 and his thorough knowledge of Masonic law won for him an enviable 
 reputation as Grand Master and has been at the service of the Fraternity 
 for the thirty years which elapsed after his incumbency of the office of 
 Grand Master, his active interest and participation in Masonic affairs 
 having never wavered. He was Chairman of the Jurisprudence Com- 
 mittee of the Grand Lodge at the time of his death and had served a 
 number of years as a member thereof. 
 
 Quiet and unassuming in disposition, Bro. Davis was yet of strong, 
 virile character and made a permanent impress on the institution of 
 Masonry in this jurisdiction. 
 
 He was initiated in Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, October 19, 1866; passed 
 November 16, 1866, and raised January 18, 1867; was Senior Warden 
 of his lodge, 1871 and 1873, and Worshipful. Master in 1873 ; was J. G. W. 
 in 1874; S. G. W., 1875-76, and Grand Master, 1877-78. He was elected 
 to honorary membership in Acacia Lodge, No. 18, April 11, 1882. 
 
 He was exalted in Washington Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M., October 
 31, 1868, and served the Chapter as High Priest in 1874. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., March 
 24. 1869, and was Eminent Commander for the years 1876 and 1877. 
 
 At the organization of the Grand Commandery, January 14, 1896, he 
 was elected Grand Captain-General, and after serving in the succeeding 
 stations of Grand Generalissimo and Deputy Grand Commander, was 
 Grand Commander in 1898. 
 
 He received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted 
 Scottish Rite in Albert Pike Consistory September 20, 1888. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 363 
 
 He was a member of the Masonic Veteran Association and of Almas 
 Temple of the Mystic Shrine. 
 
 He died suddenly at Atlantic City, N. J., March 32, 1910, and was 
 interred in Oak Hill Cemetery March 24, the Knight Templar burial 
 service being performed by the Grand Commandery and the Blue Lodge 
 service by the Grand Lodge. 
 
 HORACE A. WHITNEY, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1879. 
 
 Born in the State of New York in 1841, he served during the Civil 
 War in the 1st N. Y. L. A., enlisting October 1, 1861, at Phoenix, N. Y., to 
 serve three years ; was appointed Sergeant October 10, 1861 ; discharged 
 November 25, 1863, to enter the general service, and was subsequently 
 detailed for duty in the Bureau of Colored Troops under Col. C. W. 
 Foster. In 1867 he was transferred to the Treasury Department and 
 after passing through the various grades became Cashier, which position 
 he occupied at the time of his death. 
 
 W. Bro. Whitney is described as having been " amiable in disposition, 
 courteous and gentlemanly in conduct, and of estimable character ; he was 
 most beloved by those who knew him best, and was sincerely mourned by 
 all his friends and brethren." His zeal for the institution of Masonry 
 led to his rapid preferment while a comparatively young man, and his ad- 
 ministration of every office to which he was called testified to the wisdom 
 of the confidence reposed in his ability. 
 
 He died very suddenly in this city July 3, 1886, and was buried in Oak 
 Hill Cemetery, the Grand Lodge conducting the Masonic services. 
 
 W. Bro. Whitney was initiated, passed, and raised in Washington Cen- 
 tennial Lodge, No. 14, in June and August, 1867 ; served as Junior Warden 
 in 1869; Senior Warden, 1870, and Master, 1872-74. He was elected 
 to the position of Grand Master December, 1878, after filling several of 
 the subordinate chairs in the Grand Lodge. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in LaFayette Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M., 
 January 4 and 18, 1873, and served as Scribe in 1878. 
 
 JOSEPH SYLVESTER McGOY, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1880. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has to his credit more than three decades 
 of active and valuable work for the benefit of the Fraternity. Possessed 
 of an unusual intellectual equipment he has also ever been an indefatigable 
 worker, and these qualities, united with a magnetic and pleasing person- 
 alitv, a courteous demeanor, a genius for executive work, and an excep- 
 
364 HISTORY Of FREEMASONRY 
 
 tional ability as a convincing speaker, gave to the administration of the 
 many offices to which he has been called a rare degree of success. His 
 autobiography, amended only to the extent of several additions his 
 modesty ignored, is of such interest that it is here quoted in extenso : 
 
 " I was born on a farm, some five miles back of the present town of 
 New Rochelle, Westchester Co., New York, on Monday, November 18, 
 1839. My parents removed to New York City in 1844, and when seven 
 years of age I entered the public schools of that city. In September, 
 1854, I was promoted to the grammar class, and graduated therefrom in 
 June, 1855. Subsequently, I entered St. John's College, N. Y., and in 
 June, 1857, concluded my sophomore year. By reason, however, of the 
 financial panic of that year, I entered the service of the Methodist Book 
 Concern, then located in New York City, where I remained until Sep- 
 tember, 1857, when I secured a school. I taught school from September, 
 1857, until June, 1860, when I was offered a more advantageous position 
 to teach at Montgomery, Ala. I sailed from New York in July, 1860, 
 with the purpose of accepting the position. On arriving at Savannah, 
 Ga., I proceeded by rail to Montgomery, but on arriving there I found 
 that sentiment was such, at that time, that I returned to New York. 
 
 " Being desirous of trying my fortune on the Pacific Coast, and with that 
 object in view, there being a regiment of cavalry there at the time, to 
 which I was assured I would be assigned, I enlisted in the regular army, 
 for the cavalry service, on the 27th of August, 1860. Instead of being 
 assigned to the Department of the Pacific, I was assigned to the De- 
 partment of Texas, commanded by Maj. Gen. David E. Twiggs. I was 
 assigned to Company B, 2d U. S. Cavalry, the officers of which were 
 Edmund Kirby Smith, Captain ; Walter H. Jenifer, 1st Lieut. ; and Fitz- 
 Hugh Lee, 2d Lieut. The field officers of the regiment were Albert 
 Sidney Johnson, Colonel ; Robert E. Lee, Lieut. Col. ; George H. Thomas, 
 Senior Major, and Earl Van Dorn, Junior Major. The regiment, rank 
 and file, was considered the best and its officers the ablest in the service. 
 For a time I was much disappointed with my assignment, but in a short 
 time, owing to the consideration shown me by both officers and men, I 
 became fully reconciled with it. 
 
 " My company was stationed at Camp Colorado, Coleman Co., Texas, 
 and during the time I was there, with drill, and reading the northern 
 papers and magazines a month old, time passed pleasantly. We learned 
 of the election of President Lincoln a few days before Christmas, 1860, 
 and subsequently that the Southern States had, or would soon secede 
 from the Union. Rumor was abroad, but it was not until the military 
 forces were surrendered by Maj. Gen. Twiggs, commanding the Depart- 
 ment of Texas, that we realized our condition. By reason of the in- 
 fluence of our officers and the fact that the paroling officer of the State 
 was our own Major (Van Dorn), who had resigned from the army, my 
 regiment alone of all the troops stationed in Texas, was not " captured and 
 paroled.' 
 
 " My company left Camp Colorado in February, 1861, and proceeded 
 to San Antonio, thence to Indianola, where we embarked, leaving only 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COI.UMBIA 365 
 
 our horses and horse equipments with the State authorities, and pro- 
 ceeded, via Key West and Havana, for New York, where we arrived 
 early in April, 1861. Maj. Geo. H. Thomas was at the wharf to receive 
 us. That afternoon we left for Carlisle, Pa., where we obtained our 
 remounts, and on May 3, 1861, proceeded to Washington, D. C, where 
 we arrived May 5, 1861. 
 
 " On the night of May 31-June 1, 1861, under instructions from Lieut. 
 Gen. Winfield Scott, my company made a raid on Fairfax, C. H. We 
 lost four or five men and some horses, and regained our camp near 
 Falls Church, Va., on the morning of June 1, 1861. On July 18, 1861, 
 my Division (the First), Army of Northeastern Virginia, made a re- 
 connaisance along the Confederate lines at Bull Run, and was with General 
 Tyler, its commander during the engagement. On the 19th of July, 1861, 
 I was one of General Barnard's escort, in his observations of the several 
 fords along the line of Bull Run. I participated in the Battle of Bull 
 Run, July 21, 1861, and my company formed a part of the rear guard, at 
 Centerville and Fairfax Court House, during the retreat of the Federal 
 Army from the battlefield. 
 
 " I also participated in the battles of Williamsburg, Gaines' Mill, Savage 
 Station, Nelson's Farm, Glendale, and Malvern Hill, during the Pen- 
 insular Campaign. I was wounded in the latter engagement. Subse- 
 quently to my discharge from the army, on April 1, 1863, to accept an 
 appointment in the office of the Adjutant-General of the Army, I served 
 in Company A, War Department Rifles, from June, 1864, until June, 1865, 
 my commissions being signed by Assistant Secretary of War Tucker. 
 
 " During my service in the army I held the following grades : recruit, 
 private, corporal, duty sergeant, orderly sergeant, second lieutenant, first 
 lieutenant, and captain. Assistant Adjutant-General of Volunteers. 
 
 " I received the Master Mason's degree in LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, 
 March 11, 1867; the Royal Arch degree in Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 20, 
 April 22, 1867, including the Royal, Select, and Super Excellent Master's 
 degrees, which were conferred in the Chapters of this jurisdiction in those 
 early days. I was Master of LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, 1873-74, and after 
 filling several of the subordinate chairs was Grand Master for the year 
 1880; was High Priest of LaFayette R. A. Chapter, No. 5, during 
 the years 1874 and 1875, and Grand High Priest of this jurisdiction for 
 the year 1878 ; Master of LaFayette Council, No. 1, Royal Select and Super 
 Excellent Masters, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Council of Massa- 
 chusetts, from 1875 until 1883; Charter Master of Washington Council, 
 1888 to -1890; knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, Knights 
 Templar, March 14, 1868; was Grand Lecturer of the Grand R. Chapter 
 of the District of Columbia from December, 1873, to December, 1875, and 
 Grand Lecturer of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia 1876. 
 In the absence of the High Priest of LaFayette Chapter in Europe 
 nearly the whole of the year 1873, and while King of that Chapter and 
 Grand Lecturer of the Grand Chapter of the District of Columbia, at the 
 request of the Grand Chapter of Canada, and as representing LaFayette 
 Chapter, I conferred the Royal Arch degree on three actual candidates 
 
366 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 before the Grand Chapter of Canada, in the town hall at Kingston, 
 Canada. I held, at various times during my Masonic career, the offices 
 of Grand Representative of the Grand Chapter of Canada; the Grand 
 Chapter of Nova Scotia, B. C. ; the Grand Mark Lodge of England, Scot- 
 land, and Wales, and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British 
 Crown, and of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, F. A. A. M., which latter 
 representation I still hold." 
 
 NOBLE DANFORTH LARNER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1881-82. 
 
 Born in ^A'ashington, D. C, January 9, 1830, he received his education 
 in private schools, and learned the " art preservative of all arts" in the 
 printing office of his grandfather, Jacob Gideon. In April, 1861, he an- 
 swered President Lincoln's first call for ninety-day men and served until 
 expiration of term of enlistment. In the same year he was appointed to 
 a clerkship in the Interior Department. In 1863 he was elected a member 
 of the City Council, and served for three years. In 1865 he was elected 
 Secretary of the National Union Fire Insurance Company, which position 
 he retained until his death. In 1867 he organized and carried to a suc- 
 cessful conclusion the project for the erection of the old Masonic 
 Temple, and from that time until his death was Secretary of the Masonic 
 Hall Association. He was also for many years Secretary of the Home 
 Plate Glass Insurance Company, and prominently identified with many 
 other business enterprises. 
 
 While a member of the Citj' Council Bro. Larner introduced many im- 
 portant measures, among them the bill to arch the old canal, to sewer the 
 old Slash Run on L Street, and to arch the sewer which ran from what 
 is now Florida Avenue, down to Eighth Street, X. W. Defeated then 
 they were later adopted by the Board of Public Works. He was also 
 active in the passage of the act to get a paid fire department and the 
 establishment of a fire-alarm telegraph system. 
 
 Bro. Larner was made a Master Mason in Benjamin B. French Lodge, 
 No. 15, October 19, 1863. On December 38 of the same year he became 
 a charter member of LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, and served the lodge as 
 Secretary in 1864, Senior Warden in 1865, and Worshipful Master in 
 
 1866 and 1867. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia he was elected Senior 
 Grand Deacon for the year 1866, Grand Secretary for five years from 
 
 1867 to 1871, and Grand Master for the years 1881 and 1882. 
 
 He was exalted in Mount Vernon R. A. Chapter, No. 3, December 35, 
 1865. May 24, 1867, he became a charter member and the first High Priest 
 of LaFayette R. A. Chapter, No. 5, and presided over that body in 1867, 
 1868, and 1869. 
 
 He took a prominent part in the organization of the Grand Royal 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI.UMBIA 367 
 
 Arch Chapter of the District of Columbia, and served that body as 
 Grand Secretary from 1867 to 1871, Deputy Grand High Priest in 1873, 
 and Grand High Priest in 1874 and 1875. 
 
 He was present at every convocation of the General Grand Chapter 
 from 1868 to 1900, and was elected General Grand Captain of the Host 
 in 1874, General Grand Scribe in 1877, General Grand King in 1880, 
 Deputy General Grand High Priest in 1883, and General Grand High 
 Priest in 1886, serving three years in each office. 
 
 He assisted in forming LaFayette Council, R. and S. M., now extinct, 
 in 1870, and was the presiding officer of that body in 1871. March 19, 
 1894, he affiliated with Washington Council, No. 1. 
 
 He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., May 4, 1866 ; 
 became a charter member of DeMoIay Mounted Commandery, No. 4, 
 February 16, 1873, and was Eminent Commander in 1878. 
 
 On the organization of the Grand Commandery of the District of 
 Columbia, January 14, 1896, he was elected the first Grand Commander, 
 and served in that office for the initial term ending at the First Annual 
 Conclave, May 11, 1896. 
 
 He received the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 
 from fourth to thirty-second, from Grand Commander Albert Pike, in 
 1878. 
 
 Bro. Larner was for nearly half a century a potential force in the 
 business, social, and religious life of Washington. He was abundantly 
 endowed with the qualities that make for success — great moral and 
 physical courage, sound judgment, indomitable energy, and unswerving 
 integrity — and it was said of him that no enterprise with which he was 
 connected was ever known to fail. He was for forty years a member of 
 the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, and it was within its sacred 
 walls, March 19, 1903, that the great change came to him, when " in a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye," he painlessly sank to rest. 
 
 " Blessed are the dead which die in the lyord from henceforth : Yea, 
 saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works 
 do follow them." 
 
 EDWARD H. GHAMBERLIN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1883. 
 
 Bro. Chamberlin was born in Philadelphia, Pa., May 12, 1842, and at 
 the age of thirteen years removed with his parents to Prince William 
 County, Virginia, where he lived until the outbreak of the Civil War, 
 when he left the State and went to Northern Pennsylvania and volun- 
 teered his services in support of the Union, but was denied enhstment on 
 account of the loss of the sight of one eye. He subsequently went to 
 New York State and made another effort to enlist, but failed from the 
 same cause. In 1862 he took up his abode in the District of Columbia, 
 where he continued to reside until the date of his death, September 23, 
 
368 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 1901. From the year 1867 to the time of his death he was engaged in 
 the produce commission business, and established and enjoyed an enviable 
 reputation for business probity and fair dealing. 
 
 He was initiated, passed, and raised in 1867 in The New Jerusalem 
 Lodge, No. 9, F. A. A. M., of this jurisdiction, and served as its Worship- 
 ful Master in 1874, and again in 1890. In 1878 he served as Grand Marshal 
 of the Grand Lodge, and successively filled the offices of Junior Grand 
 Warden, Senior Grand Warden, and Deputy Grand Master, and in 1883 
 served as M. W. Grand Master. He was exalted in Columbia R. A. 
 Chapter, No. 1, May 17, 1871, was High Priest in 1875, and served as 
 Secretary from 1877 to 1901. He was greeted as a Royal and Select 
 Master in Washington Council, No. 1, March 30, 1889, and was Th. 111. 
 Master in 1893. He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, 
 K. T., August 4, 1871, and served as its Eminent Commander in 1886, 
 and as its Treasurer from 1896 to 1901, and was Treasurer of the Grand 
 Commandery, K. T., of the District of Columbia from its organization in 
 1896 until his death. He was also a member of Mithras Lodge of Per- 
 fection, Evangelist Chapter Rose Croix, Robert de Bruce Council of Ka- 
 dosh, and Albert Pike Consistory, A. A. S. R., for the Southern Jurisdic-. 
 tion of the United States, and was Treasurer of Almas Temple, A. A. 
 O. N. M. S., at the time of his death and for many years prior thereto. 
 
 His death occurred September 23, 1901, at Phoenix, Ariz., where he 
 had gone in the hope of restoring his health which had been impaired 
 during the previous year. 
 
 Bro. Chamberlin was a man of many noble traits of character and of a 
 high order of natural ability and force of character. He possessed a 
 kindly heart and never turned a deaf ear to an appeal for charity, and in 
 his daily life faithfully and conscientiously practiced the sublime teach- 
 ings of our Fraternity, and endeavored to do his duty to God, to his 
 neighbor, and to himself. With an enthusiasm for the Craft that knew 
 no bounds, he won high honors in all branches of Masonry and was a 
 potent factor in the up-building of the Fraternity. A plain man in 
 everything, honest and sincere, he did not hesitate to oppose what he 
 conceived to be wrong, and to champion the cause of that which he con- 
 ceived to be right. 
 
 MYRON M. PARKER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1881-85. 
 
 Born in Fairfax, Vermont, November 7, 1843, Bro. Parker came of a 
 martial, patriotic family, both of his grandfathers having been soldiers 
 in the War of 1812, and his great grandfathers soldiers in the Revolu- 
 tionary Army, as also in the War of 1812. 
 
 He was a student at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute at the breaking 
 out of the Civil War, and in December, 1863, enlisted in Company M, 
 1st Vermont Cavalry, in which organization he served until the close of 
 the war, taking part in several important battles. 
 
THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE. THIRD AND E STREETS, N. W. 
 
 Now known as Scottish Rite Cathedral and occupied by the local bodies of that Rite and 
 Cathedral Chapter. No. 14. O. E. .S. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COlrUMBIA 369 
 
 In 1865 he was appointed to a clerkship in the War Department. In 
 1879 he was appointed Assistant Postmaster of Washington and so con- 
 tinued until 1881, when he embarked in private business. 
 
 Bro. Parker is a graduate of the law department of the Columbia 
 University in the class of 1876. He was one of the organizers of the 
 Columbia National Bank and the American Security and Trust Co, ; 
 was first President of the Board of Trade and re-elected three times ; is a 
 director in many of the financial institutions of the city; also a director 
 in the Columbia Hospital for Women, Providence Hospital, and the 
 Washington Home for Foundlings. 
 
 He was appointed one of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia 
 by President Harrison; was an Aide-de-Camp with the rank of Colonel 
 on the Staff of the Governor of Vermont, and was a member of the 
 National Republican Committee for eight years. 
 
 Bro. Parker devoted a number of years to the real estate business, 
 in which he was very successful, but in 1894, withdrew from that field 
 and gave his time and attention to corporations, and in this line has very 
 extensive connections, both local and otherwise. 
 
 He has always been an advocate of the outdoor life, and finds health 
 and pleasure through his association with numerous hunting, fishing, and 
 other clubs. 
 
 Bro. Parker is one of the big men physically as well as mentally in the 
 District of Columbia, being several inches over six feet in height, and 
 has an unusually pleasing and dignified presence. His courteous and 
 affable demeanor has given him a wide popularity in many circles, while 
 his executive ability, tact, and force gave to his administration as Grand 
 Master a distinguished place in the history of the local Craft. One in- 
 stance of his firmness and thorough conception of the dignity of the 
 Fraternity gives this point: Near the close of the first year of his ad- 
 ministration as Grand Master the Grand Lodge received an invitation 
 from a Joint Committee of Congress for the Masonic Fraternity to join 
 in the parade on the occasion of the dedication of the Washington Monu- 
 ment, which was firmly declined by Grand Master Parker unless the 
 Masons should have assigned them their proper part of the ceremonies. 
 A correspondence ensued which resulted in the Grand Masonic display 
 upon that occasion, February 21, 1885, the Government having finally 
 conceded the point that the Grand Lodge should perform the Masonic 
 ceremony of dedication. 
 
 He received the symbolic degrees in Warner Lodge, No. 50, of Cam- 
 bridge, Vt, in 1864; dimitted therefrom and affiliated with Benj. B. 
 French Lodge, No. 15, of Washington, D. C, May 4, 1868, of which lodge 
 he was Senior Warden in 1879, and Worshipful Master in 1880. In 1881 
 and 1882 he served as Senior Grand Warden, in 1883 as Deputy Grand 
 Master, and in 1884 and 1885 as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 In 1891 he was elected an honorary member of Myron M. Parker Lodge, 
 No. 27, which was chartered in that year and which had adopted his name. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 1, in 
 24 
 
370 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 1868, and 'is a life member thereof. He was knighted in Columbia Com- 
 mandery, No. 3, K. T., December 7, 1872; served as Standard-Bearer in 
 1876, as Generalissimo during the first eight months of 1878, and as Acting 
 Commander the remainder of the year. He was elected Eminent Com- 
 mander for the year 1879, and re-elected for 1880. He also had the 
 honor of serving his commandery for a third term as Eminent Commander 
 during the year 1889, having been recalled by his fraters to take the 
 helm during that momentous year. His terms were red-letter years in the 
 history of Columbia Commandery, having been three of the most brilliant 
 and prosperous it has enjoyed. 
 
 In 1887 Bro. Parker was elected Chairman of the Joint Committee, 
 composed of nine (afterwards increased to eleven) Sir Knights from 
 each of the four commanderies, appointed to make arrangements for 
 the entertaining of the Grand Encampment of the United States, and such 
 commanderies as might attend, on the occasion of the Twenty-fourth 
 Triennial Conclave, held in Washington in 1889. 
 
 Sir Kt. Parker was the Grand Sword-Bearer of the Grand Encampment, 
 K T., of the United States, from 1889 till 1892. He is an honorary member 
 of Palestine Commandery, No. 18, of New York; of St. John's Com- 
 mandery, No. 4, of Philadelphia; of Apollo Commandery, No. 1, of 
 Chicago, and of University Preceptory, Dublin, Ireland. He is also a 
 Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree. 
 
 THOMAS P. GHIFFELLE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1886. 
 
 Bro. Chiffelle was born in Charleston, S. C, December 11, 1816, and 
 lived in that city during his boyhood. 
 
 He was appointed to a cadetship at West Point from his native State 
 and graduated from that institution in the class of 1836. 
 
 After a few years' service as an officer in the U. S. Army he resigned 
 his commission, began the profession of civil engineering, and took up 
 his residence in Baltimore, Md., and one of his monuments in that city is 
 the Maryland Institute, the cornerstone of which bears his name as 
 architect. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Civil War he came to Washington, where he 
 was closely associated with his former classmate, Gen. M. C. Meigs, in 
 engineering work on public constructions under the War Department 
 
 A man of unusual attainments he was a public-spirited and exemplary 
 citizen, a loving husband and father, and altho not a Mason until past 
 the meridian of life was for nearly a quarter of a century an active and 
 valuable member of the Fraternity. 
 
 His death occurred April 27, 1891, and his funeral was held under the 
 auspices of the Grand Lodge April 30, on which occasion the services 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 371 
 
 of the Rose Croix were conducted by the officers of Evangelist Chapter 
 Rose Croix, No. 1, the Templar service by Potomac Commandery, No. 3. 
 The interment was at Arlington and the Blue Lodge service at the grave 
 was rendered by the officers of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Bro. Chiffelle was initiated in Potomac Lodge, No. 5, January 3, 1870; 
 passed April 4, 1870, and raised May 3, 1870; served as Master of 
 his lodge, 1877-79; was J. G. Warden, 1881-83; S. G. Warden, 1883; 
 Deputy Grand Master, 1884-85, and Grand Master, 1886. 
 
 He received the Chapter degrees December 5, 1876, and January 33 and 
 February 11, 1877, in Potomac R. A. Chapter, No. 8, and was also a 
 member of Potomac Commandery, No. 3, K. T., of this jurisdiction. 
 
 In Scottish Rite Masonry he had attained the thirty-second degree. 
 
 JOSE MARIA YZNAGA, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1887. 
 
 Born January 9, 1840, in the City of Philadelphia, Pa., he was given 
 the name of his father, who was a Cuban. When but three years of age 
 he was taken by his parents to Louisville, Ky., where he grew to manhood. 
 He was educated in private schools and in a college in that city. He 
 served with honor and distinction in the Confederate Army during the 
 Civil War and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
 He came to Washington in 1864, and in 1869 he entered as a student the 
 law school of Columbian (now George Washington) University, from 
 which he graduated in June, 1871, receiving the degree of Bachelor of 
 Laws. He entered at once upon his chosen profession and devoted 
 himself to the practice of patent law, in which he built up a large and 
 lucrative practice, from which he retired about five years before his death. 
 His home was one of the notable old residences near the Capitol, with 
 an imposing stone wall around it rising many feet above the sidewalk. 
 
 He was a devoted member of the Masonic Fraternity, and won many 
 honors in its service. He was made a Master Mason in Abraham Lodge, 
 No. 8, Louisville, Ky., July 1, 1861, and affiliated with Pentalpha Lodge, 
 No. 23, of this city, February 2, 1874. He was Master of Pentalpha Lodge 
 in 1878, and its Treasurer during the years 1885 and 1886. He was 
 made Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge in 1883, and was regularly ad- 
 vanced, serving as Grand Master in 1887. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Louisville Chapter, No. 5, of 
 Kentucky, and affiliated February 13, 1874, with Mount Vernon Chapter, 
 No. 3, of this jurisdiction and served as its High Priest in '1878. He 
 entered the official line of this Grand Chapter in December, 1881, as 
 Grand Royal Arch Captain, and in December, 1884, was elected Grand 
 High Priest. 
 
372 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 March 27, 1874, he was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, 
 Knights Templar, of which he was Eminent Commander in 1887. He 
 was also a devoted Mason of the Scottish Rite, the thirty-second degree 
 of that Rite having been conferred on him in Albert Pike Consistory of 
 this city June 2, 1887. He was also a Noble of Almas Temple of the 
 Mystic Shrine. 
 
 His earthly labors were terminated and he entered into rest on the 
 nth day of April, 1909, and two days thereafter his body was consigned 
 to the grave in Rock Creek Cemetery, the funeral service being impres- 
 sively rendered by the officers of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Bro. Yznaga was a baptized and confirmed member of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church, having been confirmed in that faith by the Rt Rev. 
 Alfred Harding, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Washington. Although 
 a man of marked intellectual ability he was extremely modest and retiring 
 in his disposition, but impressed every one with whom he came in contact 
 with his splendid personality and his sturdy, unswerving devotion to all 
 his duties as a citizen and a Mason. He was a staunch and charming 
 friend, an uncompromising enemy to anything that would tend to lower 
 the standard of Freemasonry, and an able and conscientious advocate of 
 the highest claims of a clean morality in all personal and professional 
 duties. 
 
 JESSE WASHINGTON LEE. JR., 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1888. 
 
 Past Grand Master Lee is a native of Maryland, having been born in 
 Harford County of that State, July 9, 1833. At the age of twenty-two 
 he entered the U. S. Navy, from which he was discharged October 8, 
 1857. At the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services in defense 
 of the Union, and was mustered November 8, 1861, as 1st Lieutenant 
 and Adjutant of the Baltimore Light Infantry. This organization was 
 subsequently consolidated with the Third Marjland Vols. (Inf.), and 
 he became Captain of Company K of that regiment. With his command 
 ho participated in the battle of Cedar Mountain and an engagement at 
 Beverly Ford, Va. He was Deputy Provost Marshal 3d Dist., Baltimore, 
 Md., under Enrollment Act, 1863, 1864, and 1865; Assessor 3d Dist, Bal- 
 timore, Md., 1866; General Service, U. S. A., November 22, 1866. Since 
 then he has held a position of trust in the War Department, particularly 
 distinguishing himself during the late Spanish-American War by his suc- 
 cessful administration of the extremely arduous duties of his office. 
 
 He first saw Masonic light in St John's Lodge, No. 11, August 27, 1ST5, 
 and served as its Master in 1879, 1880, and 1882. Exalted in Potomac 
 Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M., November 3, 1875, he became High Priest of 
 that body in 1880. He was knighted in Potomac Commandery No. 3, 
 K T., July 16, 1884, but upon the formation of Orient Commandery, 
 
GRAND MASTER, 1906. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 373 
 
 No. 5, became one of its charter members, and served as its Commander 
 in 1897. In the Grand Chapter of R. A. M. of the District he reached 
 the position of Grand Principal Sojourner in 1881, but declined further 
 advancement. 
 
 After filling successively the several important subordinate offices in 
 the Grand Lodge he was elected Grand Master in December, 1887. 
 
 His administration, covering the year 1888, was a notably successful 
 and prosperous one, and to him fell the honor of laying the cornerstone 
 of the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 1007 G Street, Northwest. Altho he did 
 not enter the Masonic Fraternity until early middle life he quickly became 
 one of its best known, most prominent, and popular members, and rose 
 rapidly to the most important positions in the Order. A natural and 
 recognized leader of men he possesses also the distinction of being one 
 of the most impressive ritualists of the jurisdiction. 
 
 In the A. A. S. R. also, many honors have come to him. He was 
 made Perfect Elu February 11, 1888, by Orient Lodge of Perfection, 
 No. 2 ; Knight Rose Croix, February 24, 1888, by Evangelist Chapter ; 
 Kadosh, March 3, 1888, by Robert de Bruce Council, and April 16, 1888, 
 received the thirty-second degree in Albert Pike Consistory. He was 
 Master of Ceremonies in Orient Lodge of Perfection, No. 3, in 1889 ; First 
 Sub-Preceptor of Robert de Bruce Council of Kadosh for several years, 
 and Orator of Albert Pike Consistory, No. 1, from 1893 to 1895. He was 
 elected a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor by the Supreme 
 Council of the thirty-third degree for the Southern Jurisdiction, U. S. A., 
 October 19, 1897. 
 
 Right Worshipful Brother Lee is Grand Representative of the Grand 
 Lodge of North Carolina, of the Grand R. A. Chapter of Arizona, and 
 of the Grand Commandery of Alabama, near the corresponding Grand 
 bodies of the District of Columbia. 
 
 HARRISON DINGMAN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1889. 
 
 Born in Hudson, N. Y., September 5, 1840, he received a common school 
 education in his native city, and in May, 1861, enlisted for two years in 
 the 14th N. Y. Vol. Inf., and at the battle of Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862, 
 was wounded. 
 
 In January, 1867, he was appointed to a clerkship in the Indian Bureau 
 where he is now employed. His tenure of office, however, has not been 
 continuous, as he has been engaged in other pursuits and filled other 
 positions, notably as Supervisor for the District of Columbia in the 
 Census of 1890 and 1900. He was also connected with the first United 
 States Porto Rican Census in 1899, filling the position of Assistant 
 Director. 
 
374 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 He has been prominent in the Grand Army of the Republic, filling the 
 office of Department Commander of the Potomac Department, and later 
 was elected Junior Vice-Commander-in-Chief of the National Organiza- 
 tion, and in the National Encampment, held in this city in 1893, he 
 occupied the very responsible position of Secretary to the Citizens' Com- 
 mittee, which brought him into national reputation in Grand Army circles. 
 
 Bro. Dingman has had a most notable Masonic career. He first saw 
 light in Masonry in The New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, being raised to 
 the sublime degree of Master Mason August 13, 1880, and serving the 
 lodge as Master in 1884. He was elected Grand Marshal of the Grand 
 Lodge in 1884 and served as Grand Master of Masons in 1889. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia Chapter, No. 1, in 
 1881, and filled the office of High Priest in 1886. After filling various 
 offices in the line of the Grand Chapter he was elected Grand High Priest 
 ancl filled that position in 1893. In 1890 he served as Thrice Illustrious 
 Master of Washington Council, No. 1. 
 
 He received the Orders of Knighthood in Washington Commandery 
 in 1883, and filled the position of Commander in 1S91 and 1S93. During 
 the two years of his incumbency he conferred the Orders of Knighthood 
 on 115 candidates, and his record has never been equaled in the history 
 of the Commandery. He was elected Grand Standard-Bearer in the 
 Grand Commandery in 1897, and after filling two other offices in the 
 line was elected Grand Commander in May, 1900. At the Triennial 
 Conclave at Saratoga, in 1907, he was appointed Grand Captain of the 
 Guard of the Grand Encampment. 
 
 W. Bro. Dingman has not confined his activities to the York Rite in 
 Masonry, but has also been prominently identified with the Scottish Rite. 
 He received the degrees conferred in Mithras Lodge in 1888, and in 
 1889 received the other degrees including the thirty-second degree in 
 Evangelist Chapter, Robert de Bruce Council, and Albert Pike Consistory. 
 In 1894 he served as Commander of Robert de Bruce Council. He was 
 made Knight Commander, Court of Honor, October, 1897, and on October 
 23, 1903, received the thirty-third and last degree. 
 
 He has devoted a great deal of time and energy in promoting the 
 interests of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic 
 Shrine. He is a member of Almas Temple and served as Potentate during 
 1893-4-5 and 1896; in 1903 he was elected Recorder, and is still holding 
 that office. In 1896 he was elected Imperial Potentate for North America, 
 and by virtue of filling that position is a delegate ad vitam to the Imperial 
 Council. 
 
 It will be seen that R E. Sir Dingman has been highly honored by the 
 Masonic Fraternity, but these honors have been bestowed on him as a 
 fitting reward for a lifetime spent in unselfish devotion to the interests 
 of the Craft. He has filled every position with zeal, fidelity, and conspicu- 
 ous ability. By his loyalty and genial personality he has attracted to him- 
 self a circle of life-long friends, and his name is known in every State 
 and Territory. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 375 
 
 JAMES ANTHONY SAMPLE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1890. ■ 
 
 Born in South Bend, Ind., October 6, 1844, Bro. Sample received his 
 education in the common schools of that State and Northern Indiana 
 College. In June, 1868, he removed to Washington as an aide in the 
 United States Coast Survey, served later in the Navy Department and 
 the office of the Public Printer, and entered the Treasury Department 
 in May, 1869, where he has continuously remained. 
 
 Bro. Sample has, since 1875, served in the United States Treasurer's 
 office, of which is now Assistant Cashier, and in the cash room filled 
 the positions of paying, receiving, change teller, and vault clerk. In 1893 
 he was made chief of the division of issue, where all of the United States 
 currency issues were sealed, separated, and packed, and where the silver 
 and minor coins sent in for redemption are counted and assorted. He 
 has been frequently intrusted with the examination of sub-treasuries; was 
 sent to London in 1871 with $10,000,000 coupon bonds for the Jay Cooke, 
 McCuUoch & Co. syndicate, and in 1900 was selected by Secretary Gage 
 for the exchange of money of Porto Rico, taking $3,000,000 in United 
 States currency to the island and shipping back to the United States Mint 
 $5,000,000 in the Spanish provincial coin. 
 
 Bro. Sample is a man of most engaging personality, a clear and logical 
 thinker, an attractive and convincing speaker, and possessed of executive 
 ability of the highest order, an equipment which has been at the service of 
 the Fraternity in the District for nearly four decades, his lively interest 
 and active participation in its affairs having never known abatement since 
 his affiliation here in 1875. 
 
 He was for many years an earnest advocate of the proposition to build 
 a new Temple; was prominently identified with every movement in that 
 direction, and soon after the formation of the late Masonic Temple Asso- 
 ciation became its Treasurer and one of its most valued advisors, and 
 through his trained business ability and indefatigable zeal did much for 
 the success of that enterprise. 
 
 Bro. Sample was initiated in South Bend Lodge, No. 294, South Bend, 
 Ind., March 18, 1867; passed March 22, 1867, and raised April 2, 1867; 
 withdrew October 3, 1873; affiliated with San Diego Lodge, No. 35, San 
 Diego, Cal., January 31, 1874; withdrew July 25, 1874; affiliated with 
 B. B. French Lodge, No. 15, of this jurisdiction July 19, 1875; was 
 elected Junior Warden for the year 1881; Senior Warden, 1882, and 
 Worshipful Master, 1883; was elected Junior Grand Warden for 1887, 
 and after passing through the intervening chairs in regular order served 
 as Grand Master for the year 1890. He was elected Grand Treasurer 
 in 1901 and has served continuously as such since that date. 
 
 He is also an honorary member of Anacostia Lodge, No. 21, Osiris 
 Lodge, No. 26, and Temple Lodge, No. 33. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Washington Chapter, No. 2, 
 R. A. M., and was High Priest thereof in 1897. 
 
37^ HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 He was knighted January 33, 1889, in Washington Commandery, No. 1, 
 K. T., and dujing the same year received the fourteenth degree in the 
 Scottish Rite. 
 
 THOMAS F. GIBBS, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1891. 
 
 This Brother was bom in Sandwich, Mass., July 14, 1837. In early 
 life he removed to Bridgewater, in his native State, where he received an 
 academic education. October 6, 1864, he enlisted in the 30th Maine In- 
 fantry, and shortly afterward was detailed for hospital duty in Washington, 
 D. C, in which service he continued until October 31, 1865, when he 
 was honorably discharged and immediately appointed to a position in the 
 War Department. He graduated from the Medical Department of the 
 Georgetown University of this city in 1870, and practiced his profession 
 for about a year in Providence, Rhode Island. He then returned to 
 Washington and resumed his position in the War Department, and con- 
 tinued in that service the balance of his active life. In July, 1901, while 
 going from Washington to Boston, the steamer encountered a heavy 
 gale and Bro. Gibbs was fiung violently from his berth, receiving injuries 
 from which he never recovered, resulting in progressive paralysis and 
 partial blindness. 
 
 He was made a Master Mason in Columbia Lodge, No. 3, January 5, 
 1876; was Junior Warden of said lodge in 1878; Senior Warden in 1879, 
 and Worshipful Master in 1880 and 1883. He was Junior Deacon of the 
 Grand Lodge in 1885, served in each succeeding station in the progressive 
 line, and was Grand Master in 1891. He was also an honorary member 
 of M. M. Parker and Washington Centennial Lodges. In Capitular 
 Masonry, Bro. Gibbs was Grand High Priest in the year 1893. He died 
 January 30, 1906. 
 
 For twenty-five years he was a faithful and zealous worker in Symbolic 
 and Capitular Masonry until his active career was terminated by the 
 injury noted above. In manner courteous and genial, in disposition 
 candid and sincere, he was held in great affection by all who knew him. 
 Living for years in the shadow of death, with the knowledge that his 
 summons might come at any moment, he was yet brave and cheerful, and 
 his interest in the Fraternity never failed. 
 
 He was, indeed, an ideal Mason and a living practical exponent of the 
 moral tenets of the Fraternity. 
 
GRAND MASTER, 1907; GRAND HIGH PRIEST. 1909. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 377 
 
 FREDERICK GOODING ALEXANDER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1892. 
 
 Bro. Alexander was born in Newark, N. J., March 15, 1853, four 
 years after his parents came to this country from England. He moved 
 to Washington in 1863, and was educated in the public schools and 
 Gonzaga College of this city, attending the latter institution three years. 
 Being but a lad during the Civil War he had no military service as a 
 combatant, but during Gen. Early's raid on the Capital City he acted as a 
 drummer boy at Emory Hospital. 
 
 For a number of years he has been engaged in the grocery business 
 in this city. 
 
 Bro. Alexander has always been an earnest and valued member of the 
 Fraternity, and while circumstances, over which he has had no control, 
 have latterly caused his withdrawal from active participation in Masonic 
 matters, he yet retains a lively interest in all that pertains to the Order 
 and keeps in close touch with his brethren. 
 
 Gifted with a commanding presence united with a most affable disposi- 
 tion, possessed of executive ability of a high order and a genius for 
 organization, he quickly came to the front in all his Masonic bodies, 
 fulfilled the trusts reposed in him in a most satisfactory manner, and 
 gathered to himself a host of friends. 
 
 He was initiated in Stansbury Lodge, No. 24, of this jurisdiction 
 March 35, 1878; passed April 33, 1878, and raised July 8, 1878. After 
 serving as Junior and Senior Warden of his lodge in 1883 and 1883, 
 respectively, he filled the office of Master for the years 1884, '85, '87, and 
 '88; was S. G. Deacon in 1887; G. Marshal in 1888; J. G. Warden in 
 1889; S. G. Warden in 1890; D. G. Master in 1891, and Grand Master 
 in 1892. He was elected an honorary member of M. M. Parker Lodge, 
 No. 37, November 6, 1894. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 1, 
 during November, 1879 ; withdrew December 17, 1890, to become a charter 
 member of Brightwood Chapter, No. 9. 
 
 He was knighted in DeMolay Mounted Commandery May 22, 1883, 
 and served as its Commander for 1890-91. 
 
 Bro. Alexander was among the earliest members of the Fraternity 
 to recognize the value of the Order of the Eastern Star and served 
 as the first Patron of the first Chapter to be instituted here — Ruth Chapter, 
 No. 1, located at Brightwood, D. C. 
 
 LANDON CABELL WILLIAMSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1893. 
 
 Born at Charlottesville, Va., October 12, 1853, his early education was 
 by private tutor until he entered the National University where he re- 
 ceived his degree in law, was immediately thereafter admitted to practice 
 before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia and later before 
 the U. S. Supreme Court, and since 1874 has been an active and successful 
 
378 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 practitioner before the bar of Washington. For a number of years M. W. 
 Bro. Williamson has been active in local church affairs, being identified 
 in his earlier adult life with the First Presbyterian and later with the 
 Assembly Church, in which latter he was twice Superintendent of the 
 Sunday School, an Elder, and the leader of a large Bible class. When the 
 Assembly and North Presbyterian Church united several years ago and 
 formed the Northminster Presbyterian Church, he went into that church 
 and is at present an Elder, Superintendent of its Sabbath School, and 
 teacher of a Bible class. His interest in other lines of religious activity is 
 shown by the fact that he served the local Y. M. C. A. for years as its 
 President. 
 
 For more than thirty years he has been an enthusiastic and tireless 
 worker in all branches of Masonry and has given liberally of his time 
 and talents in most efficient work in this field. He was made a Mason in 
 Washington Centennial Lodge, No. 14, of this jurisdiction, receiving the 
 three degrees February 19, March 18, and May 6, 1880, respectively; was 
 Junior Warden in 1884 and Master in 1885-'7 ; withdrew May 21, 1890, as 
 a charter member of Osiris Lodge, No. 26, serving as its first S. W. ; 
 became Junior Grand Warden the same year; S. G. W., 1891; D. G. M., 
 1892, and Grand Master, 1893. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in LaFayette R. A. Chapter, No. 5, 
 in October, 1884, entered the Council as Scribe in 1888, was King in 1889, 
 and High Priest the following year. 
 
 He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., but dimitted 
 and became a member of Orient, No. 5, in which latter commandery he 
 remains. 
 
 In Cryptic Masonry he is on the roll of Washington Council, No. 1, 
 Royal and Select Masters. 
 
 He was one of the founders of the Masonic Relief Association of the 
 United States and Canada, was the Secretary of the same for four years, 
 and its President for two years. He is also a past president of the local 
 Masonic Board of Relief. He holds membership in the Masonic Veterans' 
 Association, the Convention of High Priests, and Almas Temple, A. A. 
 O. N. M. S. 
 
 He is a thirty-third degree Mason of the A. A. Scottish Rite of the 
 Southern Jurisdiction of the United States; is a member of Mithras 
 Lodge, No. 1 ; a life member of Evangelist Chapter of Rose Croix, Robert 
 De Bruce Council of Kadosh, and Albert Pike Consistory, A. A. S. R., 
 and an honorary member of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite. 
 
 As a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Bro. Williamson has 
 also attained exalted rank. He was the first Patron of Naomi Chapter, 
 No. 3, the first Grand Patron of the District of Columbia, and has held 
 the office of Most Worthy Grand Patron of the General Grand Chapter 
 of the O. E. S. 
 
 He is one of the incorporators and directors of the Masonic and Eastern 
 Star Home, and to his untiring interest, activity, and ability the success 
 attained by that Institution is in a large measure due. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 379 
 
 HENRY S. MERRILL, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1894. 
 
 Brother Merrill was born at Plymouth, N. H., May 23, 1843. When 
 about six months old his father removed to Charleston, Mass., and in that 
 place young Merrill resided and received a common school education, 
 until the age of nineteen when, in July, 1863, he enlisted in the 36th Mass. 
 Regt., U. S. Vols., for a period of three years. Two years later he re- 
 ceived his discharge from the army to accept a clerkship in the War 
 Department at Washington, and on February 1, 1873, resigned that posi- 
 tion to enter the service of the Treasury Department where he has since 
 remained. 
 
 Bro. Merrill has for many years taken a lively interest in local Masonic 
 matters and has brought to the discharge of the duties of the many offices 
 he has filled a degree of earnestness and ability which have been alike 
 creditable to himself and the Fraternity. A genial, companionable man he 
 has a host of friends, and still continues to keep in close and helpful 
 touch with all the movements for the advancement of the Fraternity. 
 
 Bro. Merrill was initiated in LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, of this juris- 
 diction, December 16, 1865; passed January 12, 1866, and raised February 
 1, 1866 ; served as J. W. in 1874 ; was Secretary, 1884-87, and again 1892- 
 93, and in the interim, in 1888, filled the East in his lodge. 
 
 He became Grand Master in 1894 after having filled the subordinate 
 chairs and in the same year was elected to honorary membership in 
 Washington Centennial Lodge, No. 14. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Columbia R. A. Chapter, No. 1, 
 from June 1 to August 8, 1866, and served as High Priest in 1872. 
 
 He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 3, K. T., this city, in 
 1868 and dimitted therefrom in 1888 ; affiliated with Washington Command- 
 ery, No. 1, August 8, 1888, and was Recorder of the latter body from April, 
 1896, to April, 1909. 
 
 He is a fifteenth degree Scottish Rite Mason, unaffiliated. 
 
 DAVID G. DIXON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1895. 
 
 Bro. Dixon was born in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, where he 
 was educated in the local district schools and resided until the outbreak 
 of the Civil War, when, in April, 1861, he enlisted, and, August 5, 1861, 
 was mustered into the Union Army and served three years with distinc- 
 tion in Battery " B," 1st Pa. Reserve Light Artillery, being promoted 
 October 10, 1861, to rank of Corporal, and participating in the battles in 
 the seven days' fight before Richmond and Second Bull Run, in which 
 
380 " HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 latter engagement he was severely wounded. Upon receiving his discharge 
 from the military service, June 8, 1864, he came to this city, and accepted 
 a position in the War Department, Surgeon General's Office, and later 
 became Chief Clerk of the Supply Division, which position he held at 
 the time of his death. 
 
 Bro. Dixon was noted for his kindness of heart, genial disposition, 
 and careful and painstaking habits, and was one of the most popular and 
 best-beloved members of the Fraternity in the jurisdiction. 
 
 He passed away, after a long and painful illness, November 25, and his 
 funeral took place at Rock Creek Cemetery, Sunday, November 28, 1909, 
 under the auspices of the Grand Lodge, M. W. Brother H. K. Simpson 
 officiating, and was attended by large delegations from his lodge, chapter, 
 and commandery, and numerous friends. 
 
 He received the Blue Lodge degrees in Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, in this 
 city in the years 1866-67, and after serving in several positions in the 
 lodge, was elected Worshipful Master in 1880, and re-elected in 1881. In 
 1884 he served as Treasurer and in the election of that year was chosen 
 Secretary of the lodge and filled that position for ten consecutive years. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 2, 
 in 1880-81, being exalted March 24, 1881, and after filling several of the 
 subordinate offices of the chapter, was elected as its Excellent High Priest 
 in December, 1884, serving for the year 1885. He was chosen Treasurer 
 of the chapter in 1890, and served in that position continuously until the end 
 of his life. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., in 1882, 
 and subsequently served as Warder, Junior Warden, Senior Warden, 
 Captain General, and Generalissimo, and was elected Eminent Commander 
 in 1893 and served as such for one year. 
 
 He was a member of the Masonic Veterans' Association of the District 
 of Columbia. 
 
 He was made a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., August 
 30, 1886. 
 
 He was elected and served as President of the Convention of Anointed 
 High Priests in 1894. 
 
 In 1886 he was elected an officer in the Grand Lodge of the District of 
 Columbia, and after filling various offices in the line was elected M. W. G. 
 Master, December, 1894, and served in that position for the succeeding 
 Masonic year. 
 
 During his incumbency he officiated at the dedication of the recently 
 erected Hall of Naval Lodge, No. 4, one of the most notable Masonic 
 improvements of recent years. 
 
 He was for many years a member of the Fourth Presbyterian Church. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 38 1 
 
 GEORGE W. BAIRD, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1896. 
 
 For many years Bro. Baird has been prominent and active in Ma- 
 sonic, naval, literary, and social circles. Born in Washingfton, D. C, 
 in 1843, he received his early education in the private and public schools 
 of this city, and when quite young was apprenticed first to a printer and 
 later to a machinist, at which latter occupation he quickly attained pro- 
 ficiency. A natural draughtsman and ready free-hand sketcher, he pre- 
 pared detail drawings from which work was gotten out when he was less 
 than twelve years of age. At nineteen he entered the Navy as an Acting 
 Third Assistant Engineer, serving in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron 
 on the "Mississippi," "Calhoun," and "Pensacola," and was under fire 
 twenty-^hree times during his first year of service. At twenty (the lowest 
 age permitted) he entered the regular Navy, and served through all the 
 grades to that of Chief Engineer. In August, 1895, he was appointed Su- 
 perintendent of the State, War, and Navy building, was transferred to the 
 Line of the Navy March 3, 1899, promoted to Captain December, 1903, 
 and retired as a Rear Admiral April 22, 1905. 
 
 Admiral Baird has been remarkably prolific in inventions for the bet- 
 terment of conditions in the Navy as well as along other lines. Among 
 them are : A fresh-water distiller, an evaporator, pneumatic tell-tale, steam 
 trap, automatic throttle, boiler feeder, etc. He also invented and worked 
 out, proportioned and wrote up the system of ventilating ships by aspira- 
 tion which is now universally used in large steamships. He was one of 
 the pioneers in incandescent electric lighting, having installed the first in- 
 candescent electric-lighting plant ever used in a government ship of any 
 nation — the "Albatross" — a steamer built under his superintendence and of 
 which he was chief engineer for nearly five years. This vessel being 
 intended exclusively for deep-sea exploring he perfected plans for special 
 machinery for that purpose which proved eminently successful. He was a 
 member of the board which powered the enormous gun shops at Wash- 
 ington, where he introduced the high-speed engines, rope transmission, 
 etc., which are now in use in that plant. 
 
 As an essayist on scientific subjects he has attained first rank. Follow- 
 ing are a few of his writings : "Absorption of gases by water and the or- 
 ganic matter contained therein," (^Franklin Institute Journal, Vol. 60, 
 1870) ; "An improved distilling apparatus for steamships," {F. I. J., Vol. 
 64, 1872) ; "Pneumatic Steering Gear," {P. I. J., Vol. 71) ; "The Flagship 
 Trenton," {Naval Institute, Vols. 4 and 5) ; " Ventilation of ships," {N. 
 I., Vol. 6, 1880); "Engineering reports from the Albatross," (G. P. O., 
 1882-3-4-5-6); "Electric lighting on shipboard," {Science, Vol. 2, 1883); 
 "Flight of the flying fish," {Science, Vols. 8 and 10). In the French 
 Academy it was said : " It remained for an American naval officer to prove 
 by mathematics the flight of this fish," 
 
 Bro. Baird is Past President of the American Society of Naval En- 
 gineers, a member of the Geographical Society, Sons of American Revo- 
 
382 HISTORY Of FREEMASONRY 
 
 lution. Cosmos Club, and Society of Naval Architects and Marine En- 
 gineers. After the reorganization of the public school system in Wash- 
 ington, in 1906, he held the very important position of President of the 
 local Board of Education for several years. 
 
 In Masonry Bro. Baird has long been unusually active. He comes 
 of a family of Masons, his father, grandfather, and three uncles on that 
 side being members of the Craft, while on his mother's side tradition has 
 it that every man for eleven generations back was entitled to wear the 
 lambskin apron. He was initiated, passed, and raised in Tolerancia Lodge, 
 No. 4, at Lisbon, Portugal, in July, 1867 ; affiliated with Naval Lodge, No. 
 87, in Vallejo, California, in 1870, and affiliated with Hope Lodge, No. 20, 
 of this jurisdiction, in 1875, of which last lodge he became Master in 
 1S83. He was also elected an honorary member of Naval Lodge, No. 4, 
 of Washington, D. C, February 6, 1903. He received the Capitular de- 
 grees in Washington R. A. Chapter, No. 2, Washington, D. C, being ex- 
 alted January 25, 1882, and serving as High Priest of that Chapter during 
 
 1890. He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, in Januarj-, 
 
 1891. He received the first fourteen degrees of the Scottish Rite in 
 Portugal in 1867 ; the Rose Croix grade in Evangelist Chapter ; the Knight 
 of Kadosh in Robert de Bruce Council, and the Consistory grades 
 in Albert Pike Consistory. He was crowned a thirty-third degree Mason 
 October 26, 1901, in the A. A. S. R., Southern Jurisdiction of the United 
 States. 
 
 Since the death of Bro. Singleton Bro. Baird has most ably and 
 acceptably filled the position of Chairman of the Committee on Cor- 
 respondence. 
 
 MATTHEW TRIMBLE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1897. 
 
 To Bro. Trimble's marked executive ability and thoroughgoing busi- 
 ness methods may properly be given a large share of the honor of suc- 
 cessfully launching the New Masonic Temple enterprise, which developed 
 during his administration from a suggestion of Columbia Commandery, 
 No. 2, K T. 
 
 He has for many years been an exceedingly popular official of the Dis- 
 trict and brought to the position of Assessor, to which he was appointed 
 March 16, 1890, an intimate knowledge of local affairs which enabled him 
 to discharge the duties of that office with the consummate skill bred of 
 long experience. 
 
 He was born March 16, 1842, finished his classical education in 1860 at 
 Kenyon College, Ohio, and for two years thereafter was in charge of the 
 preparatory department of a college located at La Grange, Ky. He re- 
 ceived the degrees of A. B. and A. M. in regular course from his Alma 
 Mater. Removing to Washington in 1865, he took up the study of law in 
 
IN THE DISTRICT O? COIvUMBIA 383 
 
 Columbian (George Washington) University, and graduated therefrom in 
 1867 with the degree of LL. B. The following year he commenced the 
 practice of his profession in Pomeroy, Ohio, in partnership with Judge 
 Lewis Paine, of that place, a distinguished lawyer and an alumnus of 
 Kenyon College, but in 1869 returned to Washington and continued the 
 practice of law until his selection as Assessor, as before stated, which 
 position he held for ten years, when at his own request he was transferred 
 to the Board of Assistant Assessors of Personal Property, which position 
 he now occupies. 
 
 During the existence of the District Legislature he was a member of 
 that body, representing the Tenth Legislative District. 
 
 While pursuing his studies at Kenyon he became a charter member of 
 Kenyon Chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, for which he still 
 retains his early enthusiasm, being at present the President of the Wash- 
 ington Graduate Association of that fraternity. He was also identified with 
 the Nu Pi Kappa Literary Society and early developed a reputation as an 
 orator, a reputation which later years has broadened and strengthened to 
 an enviable extent. He is a charter member of the University Club of 
 this city, and of the national Geographic Society, the Churchman's League 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the Oldest Inhabitants' Associa- 
 tion, and Vice-President of the Masonic Temple Association. In religion 
 he is an Episcopalian, and since his residence in Washington has been a 
 member and communicant in St. John's P. E. Church, Sixteenth and H 
 Streets, Northwest, being for many years a vestryman of said church and 
 its registrar. 
 
 In Masonry Bro. Trimble has for many years been actively interested. 
 He received the Blue Lodge degrees in B. B. French Lodge, No. 15, in 
 1867, having been entered January 31, passed February 18, and raised 
 March 33, of that year. He affiliated with Pentalpha Lodge, No. 33, 
 May 5, 1880, and served as its Master in 1883, withdrawing therefrom in 
 1907 to become a charter member of Temple Lodge, No. 33. He received 
 the Capitular degrees in Washington Royal Arch Chapter, No. 3, in 1868, 
 and became High Priest in 1877. He received the Orders of Knighthood 
 in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, April 5, 1868; the same year dimitted 
 from Columbia Commandery and organized Ohio Valley Commandery at 
 Pomeroy, Ohio, and was elected its first Eminent Commander under the 
 charter. On February 4, 1876, he affiliated with Columbia Commandery. 
 
 After filling a number of the subordinate Grand Lodge offices he was 
 elected Grand Master for the year 1897. 
 
 December 11, 1878, he was elected and installed Grand High Priest of the 
 Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the District of Columbia and 
 served in that capacity for two successive years. 
 
 He is Past President of the Convention of Anointed High Priests. In 
 the A. A. S. R. he has attained the thirty-second degree and been elected 
 Knight Commander, Court of Honor, and Past Wise Master of the Rose 
 Croix Chapter. He is also a member of Almas Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 
384 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 SAMUEL CLAXTON PALMER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1898. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has spent his entire life in Georgetown, D. C, 
 •where he was born in October, 1839. His education was obtained in the 
 schools of that city, but at an early age he engaged in mercantile pur- 
 suits, being employed by John Trunnell, in the grocery business, from 
 1850 to 1854 ; by Knowles & Johnson, in the ship chandlery business, from 
 1854 to 1861, and by Riley A. Shinn, in the bottling business, from 1861 
 to 1863. In 1863, with a partner by the name of Green, he succeeded 
 Shinn in this business, but shortly after acquired the entire interest in 
 the business which he has ever since conducted in his own name. 
 
 While an active, progressive business man and citizen, Bro. Palmer 
 has never held any public office, but for many years has held an enviable 
 place in the hearts of his fellow townsmen and has always been foremost 
 in every movement for municipal betterment or private philanthropy. 
 
 Altho of a retiring disposition he is lovable to a degree, and is one of 
 the best known and most highly respected men in West Washington. 
 
 Among his business activities may be mentioned his service as a director 
 of the Farmers and Mechanics' National Bank since 1894. 
 
 Bro. Palmer's interest and activity in Masonry covers a period of more 
 than forty years, and has been of the greatest value not only to the sub- 
 ordinate bodies with which he was affiliated, but to the Craft in general, 
 his administration of the affairs of the Grand Lodge during his term as 
 Grand Master being marked by the same ability and business acumen 
 which brought success to him in his private affairs. 
 
 He was initiated in The New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, February 18, 
 1867 ; passed March 28, 1867 ; raised May 2, 1867, and withdrew December 
 28, 1868, to become a charter member of George C. Whiting Lodge, No. 
 22 ; was Senior Warden, 1870-71 ; Worshipful Master, 1873-73, and Treas- 
 urer, 1874 to 1897, and 1900 to 1902. After service through the progressive 
 line of the Grand Lodge he ascended the Grand East for the year 1898. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Potomac Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M., 
 June 13, September 13, and October 10, 1871. 
 
 He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., November 
 6, 1874, and remains a member at this time. 
 
 JOHN HENRY SMALL, JR., 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1899. 
 
 Brother Small was born September 3, 1855, in this city, where he has al- 
 ways resided, and received his education in the local public schools, 
 and the Spencerian Business College. Soon after his graduation from the 
 College he became associated with his father in the florist business. The 
 firm of J. H. Small & Sons (composed of father and two sons) has long 
 
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IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 385 
 
 held a prominent place among American florists, having extended its 
 business eighteen years ago, by opening a branch in New York City, 
 where its reputation as artist decorators has become as extensive as in 
 Washington. 
 
 Bro. Small has been for a number of years a prominent figure in the 
 local business world, being connected with a number of financial insti- 
 tutions, and was President of the Washington Board of Trade in 1909. 
 
 He is a man of unusually forceful character and possessed of an ideal 
 business temperament; energetic, quick to grasp a situation, to foresee 
 results, and to arrive at decision, yet withal safely conservative. Clear- 
 minded and resourceful, straightforward, honorable, and upright, his 
 leadership in the larger enterprises of the local Fraternity has always 
 been marked by success, while his genial, courteous disposition toward all 
 mankind has drawn to him a host of friends and admirers. 
 
 His greatest achievement, perhaps, in the Masonic field has been the 
 building of the new Masonic Temple, with which, not only by reason of 
 his executive connection with that enterprise, but also by his tireless 
 personal efforts, his name will always be linked. 
 
 When, in 1897, upon the suggestion and invitation of Columbia Com- 
 mandery, representatives of all the local Masonic bodies assembled for the 
 purpose of considering the project of a new Masonic Temple, Bro. Small 
 was made Chairman of the General Committee and of the Executive 
 Committee, which it created. Later, when it was determined to give a 
 Masonic Fair, he was made President of the Board of Control, and to his 
 splendid organizing ability, energy, and zeal, was largely due the success 
 of that great enterprise. 
 
 When the Masonic Temple Association was organized he was elected 
 Vice-President, and subsequently when the late Bro. R. B. Donaldson, 
 Past Grand Master, declined a re-election, Bro. Small was chosen Presi- 
 dent, which most important position he held from January, 1899, until 
 October 17, 1910. 
 
 Bro. Small was initiated an Entered Apprentice Mason October 16, 
 passed to the degree of Fellowcraft November 20, and raised to the 
 sublime degree of Master Mason December 18, in the year 1879, in 
 Washington Centet.nial Lodge, No. 14. He served as Senior Deacon in 
 1880, as Junior Warden in '81, as Senior Warden in '90, and as Worshipful 
 Master in '91 and in '93. In the Grand Lodge he was Junior Grand 
 Steward in '93, Junior Grand Deacon in '93, Senior Grand Deacon in '94, 
 Grand Marshal in '95, Junior Grand Warden in '96, Senior Grand Warden 
 in '97, Deputy Grand Master in '98, and Grand Master in 1899. He is also 
 an honorary member of Acacia Lodge, No. 18, and Hope Lodge, No. 30. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in LaFayette R. A. Chapter, No. 5, in 
 1880: Mark Master, February 3; Past Master, March 3; Most Excellent 
 Master, March 30, and Royal Arch, April 13; has been honored by his 
 companions by election to the various chairs of office, and served with 
 distinction as High Priest in 1897. 
 
 He was knighted in Columbia Commandery May 7, 1880, served as 
 Guard in '93, as Standard-Bearer in '93, as Senior Warden in '94 and '95, 
 25 
 
386 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 as Captain-General in '96, as Generalissimo in '97, as Commander in '98, 
 and has been elected a life member. He is at present Chairman of the 
 Finance Committee of the Grand Commandery, K. T., D. C. 
 
 He is also a member of Washington Council, No. 1, Royal and Select 
 Masters ; a life member of each of the Scottish Rite bodies of the Southern 
 jurisdiction, having attained to the 33° (honorary) ; a member of Almas 
 Temple, A. A. O. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and of Naomi Chapter, 
 No. 3, Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 WILLIAM GEORGE HENDERSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1900. 
 
 Born in Washington, D. C, October 15, 1853, he received his education 
 in various private schools, including the preparatory school of Columbian 
 College. Receiving an appointment as clerk in the office of the Inspector 
 of Building Materials for the Treasttry Department's Extension he re- 
 mained there until he secured a better appointment in the Agricultural 
 Department, leaving this in 1868 to accept a clerkship in the U. S. Patent 
 Office, where he was for a number of years a member of the examining 
 corps, until 1874, when he resigned. At this time he received the degree 
 of Bachelor of Law from Columbian Law School, graduating with the 
 class of 1874, and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of 
 the District of Columbia. 
 
 For two years after beginning the general practice of law Bro. Hen- 
 derson had his office with the late Walter D. Davidge. Subsequently 
 he concluded to make a specialty of patent cases before the Federal 
 courts. On the motion of Mr. Davidge he was admitted to the bar of the 
 U. S. Supreme Court May 10, 1880. 
 
 Bro. Henderson is also identified with interests outside the pale of his 
 profession, among them the Washington Board of Trade, in which he 
 was for six years a member of the Board of Directors and is at present 
 Chairman of the important Committee on Streets and Avenues. He was 
 one of the organizers, and for a number of years the President of the 
 North Capitol and Eckington Citizens' Association, organized in 1896, 
 and at present is a member ex oMcio of the Executive Committee of that 
 Association and Chairman of its Committee on Street Railways. 
 
 Bro. Henderson has a large and lucrative practice in patent and trade- 
 mark cases both in the District of Columbia and before the U. S. Circuit 
 Courts throughout the States where litigation is in progress. 
 
 Of pleasing presence and courteous demeanor he rejoices in a host of 
 friends, while his judicial training and analytical mind has won for him 
 high rank in the councils of his fellows in all his public and semi-public 
 associations. A close and logical reasoner and a convincing, forceful 
 speaker Bro. Henderson has been a most valuable member of the Masonic 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 387 
 
 Fraternity, to which he has devoted his talents for many years, and in 
 which he has received the highest honors. 
 
 He was initiated in The New Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, August 13, 1874; 
 passed September 10, 1874, and raised October 32, 1874; was Worshipful 
 Master thereof in 1880, and after serving in various subordinate chairs 
 was Grand Master in 1900. In 1903 he was Chairman of the Committee 
 on Revision of the Grand Lodge Constitution and at present is Chairman 
 of the Committee on Jurisprudence of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 He received the Capitular degree in Columbia Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., 
 in 1875, and filled the offices of Scribe and King in 1881 and 1882, re- 
 spectively. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., May 13, 
 1876, and received the Order of Malta February 38, 1877. 
 
 He is a member of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, A. A. S. R., 
 Southern jurisdiction, having received the fourteenth degree on Decem- 
 ber 5, 1899. 
 
 For a number of years Bro. Henderson served as the representative 
 of his lodge on the Masonic Board of Relief, and at one time was Presi- 
 dent of that Board. 
 
 He has also represented his lodge in the New Masonic Temple As- 
 sociation. 
 
 HARRY STANDIFORD, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1901. 
 
 Bro. Standiford was born in Alexandria, Va., May 33, 1858. He 
 graduated from St. John's Academy, Alexandria, in 1874, and two years 
 later came to Washington and engaged in the profession of pharmacy, 
 graduating at the National College of Pharmacy in 1879. In 1883 he be- 
 came the proprietor of a drug store at the southwest corner of Ninth and 
 F Streets, N. W., and built up a large business, which continued until 
 1889, when he was obliged to vacate the premises on account of the de- 
 molition of the building. He then removed to another stand on F Street, 
 between Ninth and Tenth Streets, and continued in the drug business 
 until 1892, when he established a wholesale cigar business, in which he is 
 engaged at the present time. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Standiford was made a Mason in St. John's Lodge, No. 11, 
 receiving the Master Mason's degree January 35, 1884. His aptitude for 
 Masonic work soon led to his appointment to a place in the official line, 
 and to his election, after filling several subordinate stations, to the office 
 of Worshipful Master for the year 1890. 
 
 He received the Royal Arch degree in Washington Chapter, No. 2, Oc- 
 tober 31, 1884, and was High Priest of the Chapter for the year 1895. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., August 
 33, 1886. 
 
 He became a member of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., 
 June 19, 1889, and of Evangelist Chapter Rose Croix, February 26, 1899. 
 
388 HISTORY ot Freemasonry 
 
 He was initiated in Almas Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, Janu- 
 ary 20, 1887, and has been an active member of that organization, serving 
 as Illustrious Potentate in 1897 and 1898, and as representative in the Im- 
 perial Council for six years. 
 
 At the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of 1890, before he 
 had retired from the chair of his lodge, he vfas elected Junior Grand 
 Steward, and entered upon an official career which is probably without 
 parallel in the history of the Grand Lodge. From December 27, 1890, 
 when he took up the rod of the Junior Grand Steward, until December 37, 
 1901, when he laid down the gavel of the Grand Master, he was continu- 
 ously in office, and served a full term in every station in the progressive 
 line. 
 
 He was appointed Grand Master of the First Vail in the Grand Royal 
 Arch Chapter of the District of Columbia December 11, 1895, and after 
 serving in all but two of the succeeding stations in the progressive line, on 
 December 11, 1901, he was elected and installed Grand High Priest for an 
 extended term which ended in February, 1903, the time of holding the 
 Annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter having been changed from 
 December to February. From December 11 to December 27, 1901, he held 
 the offices of both Grand Master and Grand High Priest. 
 
 As Grand Master his investigation of every question was thorough, and 
 when his decision was entered no matter of law or fact had been over- 
 looked. With a high sense of what was due to the dignity and well-being 
 of the Fraternity, he addressed himself to the correction of irregularities, 
 some of which had existed long enough to receive the sanction of ancient 
 usage, and hesitated not to censure where censure was deserved. While 
 maintaining our right of jurisdiction over profanes residing in the District 
 of Columbia, but exercising the right of suffrage in the States, he jealously 
 guarded the rights of another jurisdiction which had been unwittingly in- 
 vaded by one of our lodges. He rebuked the violation of Masonic confi- 
 dence, upheld the right of the Fraternity to a careful investigation of the 
 character of applicants, criticised laxity in many details of administration, 
 and commanded orderly procedure in the dispatch of business. Under 
 his administration the financial affairs of the Grand Lodge were placed on 
 a business basis. Tactful as well as forceful, his genial personality dis- 
 armed the resentment which some of his official acts might have excited, 
 and his unfailing courtesy won for him the love of all his brethren. 
 
 MALCOLM SEATON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1902. 
 
 This Brother, the son of the late William Winston Seaton, Grand Master 
 during the years 1821, 22, and 24, was born in Washington City, Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, May 12, 1829. He received his education in the private 
 schools of the city of his birth, with the exception of the time he was a 
 
GRAND MASTER, 1908 I GRAND HIGH PRIEST. 1904. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 389 
 
 pupil in Benjamin Hallowell's school of Alexandria, Va., and a student at 
 Capt. Kingsley's military school on the Hudson River near West Point. 
 
 In 1848 he was appointed an aid in the United States Coast Survey, the 
 distinguished scientist, Prof. Alexander Dallas Bache, at that time being 
 its superintendent. In 1850 he resigned to accept the position of Assistant 
 Engineer in the Boundary Commission to run the line between the United 
 States and Mexico, under the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, and served 
 iu that capacity until the last stake was driven at the mouth of the Rio 
 Grande in 1853, having in the meantime worked upon the line from New 
 Mexico to California, returning across the country to El Paso, and thence 
 down through Mexico to Camargo on the Rio Grande. 
 
 In 1853 he was reappointed as assistant in the Coast Survey, but his 
 health failing from exposure to the swamps in Louisiana and Texas, he 
 accepted a position October 26, 1860, in the clerical force of the United 
 States Census, which position he held until the work on the Census was 
 finished in July, 1866, when he was transferred to the U. S. Patent Office, 
 his commission bearing date August 1, 1866. In this office he advanced 
 through the several grades of assistant examiners, and in July, 1880, was 
 appointed chief clerk of the bureau, and on October 1, 1882, was promoted 
 to the grade of principal examiner, which position he held during the re- 
 mainder of his life. 
 
 Bro. Seaton was made a Master M'ason November 7, 1867, in Columbia 
 Lodge, No. 3, of this jurisdiction, and on removing his residence to 
 Georgetown, D. C. (now West Washington), he affiliated with Potomac 
 Lodge, No. 5, of that city. He was elected Senior Warden of that lodge 
 in 1889, and in 1890 was elected its Worshipful Master. In 1892 he was 
 elected Junior Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge, and successively 
 passed through the several chairs, and was elected December 4 and in- 
 stalled December 27, 1901, as M. W. Grand Master. This position he 
 filled with signal ability, dignity, and grace. He exacted a strict ad- 
 herence to constitutional provisions, the ancient landmarks, customs, and 
 usages, and observance of fraternal courtesies; his dignified and courtly 
 bearing always commanded respect and deference; his suavity of manner 
 made it always a pleasure to approach him and be in his society, and his 
 choice of language and grace of expression always insured him an atten- 
 tive audience. 
 
 Bro. Seaton was also a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish 
 Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, in which he had 
 taken eighteen degrees. He was a member of Orient Lodge of Perfection, 
 No. 2, until it surrendered its charter in December, 1902, and was later a 
 member of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, and also of Evangelist 
 Chapter Rose Croix, A. A. S. R., located in the city of Washington. 
 
 The latter years of his life were years of suffering, which culminated in 
 his death September 6, 1904, at Marblehead, Mass., whither he had gone 
 but a short time before in the hope that the change might prove beneficial. 
 
390 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 GEORGE HAROLD WALKER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1903. 
 
 Born in Pontypool, Monmouthshire, England, November 27, 1851, he 
 came to this country in 1857, and after spending a year in Northern New 
 York removed to Milwaukee, Wis., where his early education was ob- 
 tained in the public schools and in printing and newspaper offices. In 
 1865, he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he was employed as printer 
 and reporter by the Cleveland Leader until 1873, when he entered Cornell 
 University, working in a printing office at Ithaca to help pay his way at 
 college. Returning to the Cleveland Leader, he was engaged as an edi- 
 torial writer until 1880, when he was employed by the Cleveland Herald, 
 coming to Washington as the representative of that journal in 1881. He 
 soon returned to the Leader, which he represented at Washington until 
 1891, serving also for several years as correspondent of the San Francisco 
 Chronicle. In 1887 he became a. member of the celebrated Gridiron Club, 
 which he served as treasurer for many years. During his long and suc- 
 cessful career as a newspaper man he was brought into contact with 
 many distinguished public men, notably Presidents Garfield and McKinley, 
 with whom he was in close confidential relations. 
 
 Graduating from the law department of the Columbian University, in 
 1893 he abandoned journalism for the legal profession, and entered upon 
 practice in this city, in which he continued until 1897, when he was ap- 
 pointed by President McKinley an Assistant Attorney of the Department 
 of Justice, in which honorable position he remained until his death. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Walker was made a Master Mason in Hiram Lodge, No. 10, 
 November 17, 1882, from which time his progress in the Fraternity was 
 steadily upward. He was exalted in Mount Horeb Chapter, No. 7, R. A. 
 M., March 1, 1883; greeted in Washington Council, No. 1, R. & S. M., 
 January 31, 1888; knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, April 25, 
 1883; received the degrees of the Scottish Rite in Mithras Lodge of Per- 
 fection, Evangelist Chapter, Rose Croix, Robert de Bruce Council of Ka- 
 dosh, and Albert Pike Consistory in 1889 ; and the thirty-third degree 
 (honorary) in the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction, October 
 22, 1897. 
 
 He was Worshipful Master of Hiram Lodge in 1888 ; High Priest of 
 Mount Horeb Chapter in 1886 ; Thrice Illustrious Master of Washington 
 Council in 1895 ; Commander of Washington Commandery in 1896 ; and 
 Wise Master of Evangelist Chapter, Rose Croix, in 1896. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Walker was also an active worker in the Order of the 
 Mystic Shrine, being one of the founders of Almas Temple, of this city, in 
 December, 1885, and serving that body four years as Illustrious Potentate 
 and eleven years as Recorder. For many years he was a representative 
 of Almas Temple in the Imperial Council for North America, and in 
 1894, as Chairman of the Committee on Revision of Ritual, he submitted 
 a revision, largely his own work, which was adopted, and is now the 
 ritual in use throughout North America. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 391 
 
 In the Masonic Grand Bodies of the District of Columbia M. W. Bro. 
 Walker filled numerous official stations and rendered conspicuous service. 
 He was Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia in 1903; 
 Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in 
 1894; and at the time of his death held the office of Grand Generalissimo 
 in the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar. 
 
 Honors came to M. W. Bro. Walker as a just reward for his great 
 usefulness to the Fraternity, and not of his own seeking. William 
 of Orange said of Godolphin that he was " never in the way and never 
 out of the way," and this could be said with equal truth of our beloved 
 Brother. Modest and unobtrusive, content to follow when it was not 
 for him to lead, he was ever dependable, and his time and means and the 
 resources of his trained and well-balanced mind were freely given to the 
 service of all branches of Masonry. Of genial and kindly disposition, 
 and full of love for his fellow men, he abhorred piques and quarrels, and 
 his influence always made for harmony and conservatism. He was a 
 courteous and dignified presiding officer, an engaging speaker, and an 
 accomplished writer. High on the roll of those who have served the 
 Fraternity with ability and distinction, his name will be written among 
 the noblest of Masons and the truest of men. 
 
 He passed away May 5, 1906. 
 
 JAMES A. WETMORE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1904. 
 
 Brother Wetmore was born at Bath, Steuben County, New York, No- 
 vember 10, 1863. At the age of seven years he was taken by his parents to 
 Iowa, but after a sojourn there of a few years they returned with him 
 to their former home in the Empire State, which thereafter became the 
 home of the subject of this sketch. His early education was obtained 
 in the public schools of Iowa and of New York, supplemented by private 
 instruction in modern languages and certain of the arts. Completing 
 his academic education at the age of eighteen, he began the study of 
 law in his father's office, and was inducted regularly into a knowledge 
 of those things which the student of law must know. Bro. Wetmore 
 had unusual advantages in this particular, for his father was one of the 
 leading practitioners at the bar of Western New York. 
 
 Bro. Wetmore realizing the value to be derived from knowledge of 
 an art in which so many men have found the best opportunities of life, 
 made himself so proficient as a writer of shorthand that he was appointed 
 stenographic reporter of the county court of his county. 
 
 His ability was recognized by those with whom he came in contact, 
 and before he had attained his majority many excellent openings for 
 future success were presented to him. He was induced to relinquish his 
 
392 HISTORY OF Freemasonry 
 
 position as court reporter to accept a commercial position with a firm 
 of importers of cattle, horses, and nursery stock, and a year or two 
 later, acting for a prominent New York State hanker, successfully exe- 
 cuted a most difficult commission in Europe in purchasing and shipping 
 100 head of selected cattle to this country. After a year in this business 
 he resigned and engaged in law and newspaper reporting and opened an 
 office for general stenographic work. Among other important duties 
 in which he was engaged during this period was that of reporting the 
 testimony in an investigation into the subject of child labor in factories, 
 conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of New York. 
 
 In 1885 he was appointed to a clerkship in the Treasury Department 
 and came to Washington to live. Here he resumed his legal studies in 
 the law department of Georgetown University and was graduated in 
 1896 with the degree of LL. B., and upon his admission to the bar of 
 the District of Columbia was promoted to be chief of the law and records 
 division in the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury De- 
 partment, which important position he still holds. 
 
 For a number of years prior to his appointment to his present position 
 he was a clerk in the office of the chief clerk of the Treasury Department, 
 and because of his knowledge of the work of that office, in its relation 
 to the department, he was designated by the Secretary of the Treasury 
 to act as chief clerk in the absence of that official, and so served during 
 a large part of the years 1893, 1894, 1895, and 1896, a responsibility rarely, 
 if ever before, placed upon a person holding an appointment of a lesser 
 grade than that of chief of a division in the Secretary's office. 
 
 Bro. Wetmore began his career in Masonry in Evening Star Lodge, 
 No. 44, at Hornellsville, N. Y., in which he was initiated as an Entered 
 Apprentice on August 28, 1888, and at the request of that lodge he re- 
 ceived the degrees of Fellow Craft and Master Mason in Benjamin B. 
 French Lodge, No. 15, of this jurisdiction. He affiliated with the latter 
 lodge on March 17, 1890. He served Benjamin B. French Lodge as 
 Senior Steward, Senior Deacon, and Senior Warden, and in December, 
 1893, was elected Master, and served one year. He was elected Junior 
 Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge in 1895, and served in all but two 
 of the offices in the line of that body, being finally elected Grand Master 
 and serving in that exalted office for the year ending December 27, 1904. 
 
 He received the several degrees of Capitular Masonry in Columbia 
 Royal Arch Chapter, No. 1, and was an officer in the line of that Chapter, 
 when he resigned his position to help organize Capitol Royal Arch Chap- 
 ter, No. 11, of which he is a charter member, and of which he became 
 King at the granting of its charter. He served as High Priest during 
 the year 1899. 
 
 Bro. Wetmore is also a member of Adoniram Council, No. 8, Royal 
 and Select Masters, having dimitted from Washington Council, No. 1, in 
 which he received the cryptic degrees; is a Past President of the Con- 
 vention of Anointed High Priests of the District of Columbia; was 
 knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., of which he is a mem- 
 ber, on May 3, 1895; received the fourteenth degree of the Scottish Rite, 
 
Grand master, 1909; grand high Priest, 190S. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COL,UMBIA 393 
 
 and is a member of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, and is a member 
 of Almas Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic 
 Shrine. 
 
 He is one of the Trustees of the Grand Lodge and among his important 
 committee assignments may be mentioned his service on the Jurisprudence 
 Committee of the Grand Lodge since 1905 and his Chairmanship of the 
 Committee on By-laws of the Grand Chapter. 
 
 In Masonry, as in everything else, Bro. Wetmore has shown marked 
 ability, and his promotion to the greatest honor conferred by the Craft 
 was comparatively rapid. The confidence reposed in him by his brethren 
 was well deserved, for he always proved, as they believed he would, 
 careful, conservative, and conscientious in the performance of every duty. 
 When convinced of the righteousness of any course he essayed, nothing 
 could move him to abandon it. Firmness and fortitude are conspicuous 
 traits in his character. Fond of books, his addresses in public and among 
 the Craft gave evidence of much reading and broad culture. Modest and 
 pleasing in demeanor, ever affable and courteous in manner, he is de- 
 servedly popular in a large circle of brethren and friends. In all the re- 
 lations of life, in the domestic circle, in the outer world as well as in 
 Masonry, devotion to duty has characterized the career of our Brother, 
 This has doubtless been the keynote of his success. 
 
 LURTIN RUFUS GINN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 190S. 
 
 Bro. Ginn was born near Mechanicsburg, Henry County, Indiana, 
 November 11, 1860, and assumed the office of Grand Master when but 
 forty-four years of age, one of the youngest brethren ever elected to 
 this very important Masonic office. 
 
 His early education was obtained in the public schools of his native 
 State. After completing his school career he entered the Central Normal 
 College, located at Danville, Indiana, graduating in the classic course 
 of that institution in 1882. Shortly afterward, while teaching in the 
 district schools of Indiana, he took up the study of law, intending to 
 enter that profession, but receiving an appointment to a clerkship in the 
 Treasury Department he removed from Indiana to this city. After lo- 
 cating here he resolved to continue his legal education, and entering the 
 National University Law School, graduated in 1888. 
 
 He was appointed law clerk in the office of the Comptroller of the 
 Treasury, July 1, 1901, which position he now holds. His high character 
 and talents and his fidelity and efficiency in the administration of his 
 important office have won for him the confidence of the authorities of 
 the department and the esteem and friendship of many persons promi- 
 nent in official circles with whom he is brought in contact. 
 
 Bro. Ginn was raised to the degree of Master Mason in Harmony 
 Lodge, No. 17, April 14, 1887. His capabilities were at once recognized 
 
394 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 by the brethren of the lodge and he was immediately placed in the 
 official line. Perhaps the greatest efforts of his Masonic career were 
 put forth during the period when he was a junior officer of this lodge, 
 which at that time, by the infusion of young blood, was entering upon 
 the career of phenomenal growth which has since distinguished it. Here 
 he was indefatigable in his devotion, carrying the welfare of the lodge 
 into his daily life and devoting nearly every moment of his unoccupied 
 time to the upbuilding of the Masonic organization, thereby ably assisting 
 in promoting the impetus which the lodge secured at that time. In 1890 
 he was elected Master, serving for the year 1891, and becoming a perma- 
 nent member of the Grand Lodge. November 11, 1896, he was elected 
 Grand Pursuivant of the Grand Lodge, thus beginning an official career 
 which ended December 37, 1905, as Grand Master of Masons of this 
 jurisdiction; a career crowned with high honor and great distinction. 
 
 The close of his official life witnessed no abatement, however, in his 
 active interest and participation in Fraternity matters, and the years that 
 have since elapsed have been full of valuable service to the jurisdiction. 
 One instance of special importance that may be cited covers his connec- 
 tion with the transfer of control of the New Masonic Temple to the 
 Grand Lodge, a movement initiated by the Masonic Temple Association. 
 Acting upon the invitation of the latter body the then Grand Master, A. B. 
 Coolidge, in December, 1908, appointed Bro. Ginn Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee of the Grand Lodge to consider ways and means looking to the 
 taking over of the Temple by the Grand Lodge. This Committee made its 
 report, which was unanimously adopted, without change, and an amend- 
 ment to the grand constitution inserted providing for a Committee on 
 Masonic Temple to be the proxy of the Grand Lodge at all meetings of 
 the Temple Association. At the request of Grand Master George C. Ober 
 Bro. Ginn accepted and is now filling the position of Chairman of this 
 Committee. 
 
 When the present Masonic Board of Relief of the District of Columbia 
 was organized in 1887 Bro. Ginn was appointed a delegate representing 
 his lodge. In 1893 he was elected Secretary of the Board, to which 
 office he was annually re-elected, declining further service in 1904. Janu- 
 ary 4, 1906, immediately after retiring from the office of Grand Master, 
 Bro. Ginn was elected President of the Board. 
 
 To his individual efforts may be largely assigned the success of the 
 local Board of Relief, not only in the proper care of the indigent brethren 
 whom unfortunate circumstances have forced to ask charity at the hands 
 of the Masons of this city, but in protecting the treasuries of the lodges 
 of this jurisdiction against the impostor and the unworthy. The repu- 
 tation of the local board is second to none in the country, and the 
 colleagues of Bro. Ginn on the Board are unanimous in testifying that to 
 his intimate connection with and knowledge of its affairs this reputation 
 is in some measure due. The Masonic " hobo" gives the District of 
 Columbia a wide berth, while the unfortunate but worthy Brother does 
 not apply for succor in vain. 
 
 For many years Bro. Ginn has attended as delegate from this juris- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COt,UMBIA 395 
 
 diction the biennial sessions of the Masonic Relief Association of the 
 United States and Canada. September 28, 1905, at the session held at 
 Syracuse, New York, he was elected Second Vice-President, having pre- 
 viously served as Chairman of the Advisory Board, and after serving as 
 First Vice-President was elected to the Presidency of the Association in 
 1909. 
 
 While active in Blue Lodge Masonry, Bro. Ginn has identified himself 
 with the Chapter, Commandery, Scottish Rite, and Shrine. He was ex- 
 alted in Mount Vernon Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M., October 31, 1887, and 
 was its High Priest during the year 1895. He was knighted in Columbia 
 Commandery, No. 3, K. T., October 16, 1891. He received the fourteenth 
 degree in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., January 16, 1890, 
 the Order of High Priesthood March 31, 1904, and in the memorable 
 class of May 29, 1893, he traveled the " hot sands of the desert" under 
 the auspices and guidance of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 
 Past Grand Master Ginn's popularity has been evinced by his prac- 
 tically unanimous election to every Masonic office he has held. Personally 
 he is approachable, with a most engaging manner, and while serving as 
 Grand Master he made it a rule to be at all times accessible to any 
 Mason of the jurisdiction, whether an official or of the rank and file, 
 who desired consultation or advice. Recognizing the responsibilities of 
 the Grand Master he devoted himself to the study of the Grand Lodge 
 Constitution, the ancient usages and customs of the Craft, and the deep, 
 underlying principles upon which Masonry is founded, thereby equipping 
 himself so thoroughly that his decisions as Grand Master were in every 
 instance approved by the Grand Lodge and now have the force and effect 
 of law. 
 
 He is strong in the love of his brethren because of the pure purposes 
 and high ideals of his own life and of his forceful, earnest endeavors to 
 measure his own conduct on the lines of a truly Masonic conception of 
 his reciprocal duties to mankind. Considerate and sympathetic to those 
 who are in trouble, kind and genial in his every-day life, and more than 
 brotherly to those who approach him Masonically, his character is only 
 to be measured on the broadest gauge of sterling manhood and the highest 
 plane of integrity. 
 
 WALTER A. BROWN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1906. 
 
 Bro. Brown is a native of the District of Columbia, having been born 
 in the City of Washington November 25, 1866, and therefore had just 
 passed the thirty-ninth anniversary of his birth when called upon to as- 
 sume the responsible and exacting duties pertaining to the office of Grand 
 Master of Masons, being one of the youngest men to fill that station in the 
 history of the jurisdiction. 
 
 He received his education in the schools of the District of Columbia, 
 and at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania, at which latter institution 
 
396 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 he was chosen president of his class, and also intrusted with the business 
 management of the two magazines published by the students. The suc- 
 cessful manner in which he handled the duties of that position gave early- 
 indication of his aptitude for affairs and grasp of details that were later 
 to characterize his whole business career. 
 
 Upon leaving college he returned to Washington, and there found em- 
 ployment in insurance and real estate offices, where he acquired such a 
 proficiency in all the essentials of the work as to qualify him to go into 
 those lines of business on his own account, which he did in 1891. In this 
 venture he has been successful, and he feels that the best endorsement of 
 his methods and abilities is to be found in the fact that he counts among 
 his clients and business friends today many who intrusted the manage- 
 ment of their properties to him when he started in business. He has been 
 a director of one of our most prominent banks, of trust companies, and 
 other corporations, as well as a member of the Chamber of Commerce 
 and for many years a director of the Washington Board of Trade. 
 
 The Masonic career of Bro. Brown has been one of exceptional activity. 
 He was initiated November 26, 1889, in Federal Lodge, No. 1, passed 
 December 24, 1889, and raised January 28, 1890. At the first election oc- 
 curring in his lodge thereafter he was chosen Senior Steward, and once 
 having entered the line was regularly advanced, serving as Junior Warden 
 in 1894, Senior Warden in 1895, and Worshipful Master in 1896. His 
 successor had not yet been installed as Master of the lodge when he was 
 elected Senior Grand Steward in the Grand Lodge. He was regularly 
 advanced in the Grand Lodge to the various stations and places, and was 
 elected Grand Master on the evening of St. John's Day, December 27, 
 1905. Thus during the seventeen years of his Masonic existence he 
 served his brethren actively and continuously, as an officer in his lodge 
 and in Grand Lodge, for sixteen years — a distinction both rare and well 
 deserved. 
 
 Because of the exceptional conditions which prevailed in Washington 
 during the Civil War all the Masonic bodies in the District of Columbia 
 experienced a period of unexampled prosperity, and the annual gains then 
 n:ade, numerically and financially, have rarely, if ever, been equaled dur- 
 ing any particular year since by any of those bodies. It is, therefore, a 
 matter of pride with Bro. Brown that the year 1896, when he was Wor- 
 shipful Master of Federal Lodge, No. 1, was the most prosperous of any 
 in its existence since the war. 
 
 Bro. Brown was exalted in Columbia Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., April 
 22, 1891, and knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K T., Febru- 
 ary 17, 1892. He is a member of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, 
 A. A. S. R., and of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 
 He has been President of St. John's Mite Association since 1904, when 
 the position became vacant through the resignation of Past Grand Master 
 Robert B. Donaldson, who had held it for many years. 
 
 No Grand Master in this jurisdiction ever held the scales of justice 
 in more equal poise, or showed a keener appreciation of the efforts of the 
 officers of the constituent lodges. While it gave him pleasure to recognize 
 
GRAND MASTER, 1910; GRAND HIGH PRIEST, 1903; 
 GRAND COMMANDER. 1910. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 397 
 
 merit and ability and to bestow praise and words of encouragement where 
 due, he did not shirk the duty of giving timely admonition to the lodges 
 when conditions seemed to require it, and he knew how to do this in a 
 way to effect his purpose without leaving any feeling of humiliation on the 
 part of the brethren. 
 
 While kind, considerate, courteous, unassuming, and democratic to a 
 degree, his dignity and poise in the discharge of his duties reflected the 
 veneration in which he held the high office to which he had been chosen, 
 and won the respect and esteem of his brethren. 
 
 Bro. Brown was called upon during the year to preside at a number of 
 public functions, among the more important of which were the dedication 
 of the completed wing of the Masonic and Eastern Star Home and the 
 laying of the cornerstone of the Office Building of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. On the latter occasion our ceremonies — handed down from 
 time immemorial and of deep significance to us — were performed in the 
 presence of the Chief Executive of the Nation, the representatives of our 
 own and foreign governments, and a vast concourse of spectators. On this 
 occasion the President delivered an address on " The Man With the Muck 
 Rake." It is believed that Bro. Brown cherishes no souvenir of his year's 
 service as Grand Master more highly than the bound copy of that address, 
 presented to him by the President, and bearing on the fly leaf, in the 
 President's own handwriting, the inscription : " To Walter A. Brown, 
 Esq., Grand Master of Masons, from Bro. Theodore Roosevelt." 
 
 FRANCIS JOSEPH WOODMAN, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1907. 
 
 W. Bro. Woodman is a native and a citizen of the Granite State, 
 tho he has resided in the District nearly thirty years. Born in Somers- 
 worth. New Hampshire, August 7, 1851, his early life was spent in that 
 city, where he passed through the graded schools. At the age of nineteen 
 he entered Phillips Academy at Exeter, N. H., from which he graduated 
 in 1873. In the fall of the same year he matriculated in the academic 
 department of Yale University, and during his course at " Old Eli" he 
 joined the D. K. E. fraternity and the famous Yale Glee Club, of which 
 he was the baritone soloist in his junior and senior years. Graduating in 
 1876, he returned to his native city and engaged in the management of 
 The Free Press, a weekly newspaper conducted in connection with an 
 extensive printing business. In 1879 he obtained, through a competitive 
 examination, an appointment to a clerkship in the Pension Office, and two 
 years later entered the Columbian (now George Washington) Medical 
 School, from which he graduated in 1885. He advanced through many 
 grades of the Pension Office, including Assistant Chief of Division, 
 Medical Examiner, and Principal Examiner, to Qualified Surgeon, in' which 
 
398 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 capacity he is at the present time chief of the examination section of the 
 medical division. 
 
 He is an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32, of this juris- 
 diction, and of Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, of Fredericksburg, Va., 
 in which Lodge George Washington was made a Mason, and of which 
 the Marquis de LaFayette was an honorary member. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Woodman's Masonic history began in his senior year at 
 Yale, when he was made a Master Mason in Adelphi Lodge, No. 63, of 
 Fair Haven, Conn., December 14, 1875. February 21, 1889, he affiliated 
 with LaFayette Lodge, No. 19, from which he withdrew May 8, 189.5, 
 to become a charter member of Takoma Lodge, No. 29. He was Master 
 of the lodge in 1896. In 1897 he was appointed by Grand Master Matthew 
 Trimble to fill a vacancy in the office of Junior Grand Steward, and 
 was thereafter elected to each succeeding station in the progressive line 
 of the Grand Lodge. On December 27, 1906, he was installed as Grand 
 Master for the term which ended at the St. John's Day communication 
 in 1907. 
 
 His Capitular history also dates from his college days. March 8, 
 1876, he was exalted in Pulaski Chapter, No. 36, of Fair Haven, Conn. 
 Later he became a charter member of Edwards Chapter, No. 21, of 
 Somersworth, N. H. At the organization of Capitol Chapter, No. 11, 
 November 6, 1897, he was installed as the first High Priest, and served 
 in that office during the following year. In 1900 he was appointed Grand 
 Master of the Second Vail in the Grand Chapter of the District of 
 Columbia, and was regularly advanced to the station of Grand High 
 Priest, filling that office with conspicuous ability for the year 1909. 
 
 He received the Cryptic degrees in the Grand Council of Maryland 
 at Baltimore November 14, 1896, and later affiliated with Washington 
 Council, No. 1, R. and S. M., of Washington. 
 
 He was knighted in St. Paul Commandery, of Dover, N. H., March 
 19, 1878. On the organization of Orient Commandery, No. 5, of Wash- 
 ington, October 19, 1895, he became a charter member, and served as 
 Eminent Commander in 1901. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Woodman is also an active member of the Ancient and 
 Accepted Scottish Rite, the history of his advancement being as follows : 
 Perfect Elu (fourteenth degree), in Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, 
 December 16, 1884; Knight Rose Croix (eighteenth degree), in Evangelist 
 Chapter, No. 1, October 14, 1885; Knight Kadosh (thirtieth degree), 
 in Robert de Bruce Council, No. 1, August 4, 1886; Master of the 
 Royal Secret (thirty-second degree), in Albert Pike Consistory, No. 1, 
 August 7, 1886. He was elected Knight Commander of the Court of 
 Honor October 19, 1892, and coronetted Honorary Inspector-General, 
 thirty-third degree, April 13, 1894. In November, 1895, he was made 
 Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction for the 
 District of Columbia and held that office until December 28, 1909. 
 
 He is a Past President of the Convention of High Priests ; a member of 
 the Royal Order of Scotland, the Red Cross of Constantine, and Almas 
 Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 399 
 
 He was a member of Martha Chapter, No. 4, of the Order of the 
 Eastern Star, from which he dimitted in 1909 to become a charter member 
 and the first Worthy Patron of Temple Chapter, No. 13. 
 
 In October, 1889, he was commissioned as a medical officer in the 
 National Guard of the District of Columbia. After serving in the suc- 
 cessive ranks of Battalion and Regimental Surgeon and as Major in the 
 Medical Corps, he was placed on the retired list as of the last named 
 rank at his own request, after twenty years' continuous service. 
 
 He is a member and lay reader of St. James P. E. Church; also a 
 member of the District of Columbia organizations of the Yale Alumni 
 Association, the D. K. E. fraternity, the Sons of the American Revolution, 
 and the Order of Washington. 
 
 In every office held by him M. E. Companion Woodman has brought 
 to the discharge of its duties earnestness and zeal, and his administration 
 of the office of Grand Master in 1907, and his more recent occupancy 
 of the office of Grand High Priest, fully sustained his reputation and 
 added to the high position maintained by our Grand Jurisdiction. As 
 Grand Master his performance of the arduous duties incident to laying 
 the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple, under circumstances pe- 
 culiarly trying, reflected great credit upon him, and he has always 
 measured up fully to the requirements of every Masonic duty. Of pleasing 
 personality, our jurisdiction has had few Grand Officers more affable and 
 capable than Bro. Woodman. 
 
 AUGUSTUS BURT GOOLIDGE, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1908. 
 
 Bro. Coolidge was born at Bouckville, Madison County, New York, 
 September 17, 1857. His collegiate education was obtained at Law- 
 rence Academy, Groton, Mass., and Colgate University, Hamilton, New 
 York. He was appointed a clerk in the Bureau of Pensions in 1882, 
 and while so employed he entered upon the study of medicine in one 
 of the medical schools of the City of Washington, graduating there- 
 from with the degree of M. D. in 1884. Soon after his graduation he 
 was appointed a Medical Examiner in the Bureau of Pensions, which 
 position he still holds. 
 
 Bro. Coolidge's Masonic life began in Harmony Lodge, No. 17, this 
 jurisdiction, wherein he was made a Master Mason June 28, 1887. He 
 dimitted from Harmony Lodge December 27, 1888, and affiliated with La- 
 Fayette Lodge, No. 19, February 21, 1889, in which he still holds mem- 
 bership. He filled by appointment and election the several subordinate 
 offices in LaFayette Lodge, and served as its Master in the year 1895. 
 He is an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32, this jurisdiction. 
 He was elected Junior Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge at the annual 
 communication in 1897, and thereafter he was elected to each succeeding 
 
400 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 station in the progressive line of the Grand Lodge. He was elected and 
 installed as Grand Master at the St. John's Day communication in 1907, 
 and served as Grand Master one year. 
 Bro. Coolidge's career in Capitular Masonry dates from October 31, 
 
 1887, when he was exalted in Mount Vernon Chapter, No. 3, this juris- 
 diction. In December of the same year he was appointed Master of the 
 Second Vail, and was regularly advanced through the succeeding sta- 
 tions, serving as High Priest in 1894. He was appointed Grand blaster 
 of the First Vail in the Grand Chapter in 1897, and after filling every 
 station in the progressive line except that of Grand Principal Sojourner, 
 he was elected and installed as Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Ma- 
 sons of the District of Columbia February 12, 1904, serving one year. 
 
 He received the Cryptic degrees in Washington Council, No. 1, Royal 
 and Select Masters, and is now a member of Adoniram Council, No. 2. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., January 
 25, 1888, and served for a period in the official line, but refused advance- 
 ment by reason of other Masonic duties. 
 
 In Scottish Rite Masonry M. W. Bro. Coolidge has had an active 
 career, his record being as follows : Fourteenth degree in Mithras Lodge 
 of Perfection, February 22, 1888; eighteenth degree in Evangelist Chap- 
 ter Rose Croix, February 6, 1889; thirtieth degree in Robert de Bruce 
 Council of Kadosh, September 13, 1889 ; thirty-second degree in Albert 
 Pike Consistory, September 23, 1889 ; thirty-third degree (honorary) in 
 Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction, October 22, 1897. He was 
 Venerable Master of Mithras Lodge of . Perfection in 1896 and 1897, and 
 Venerable Master Kadosh of Albert Pike Consistory in 1898. 
 
 He was invested with the Royal Order of Scotland September 16, 1889. 
 
 He is a member of the Convention of High Priests and the Masonic 
 Veteran Association. 
 
 He became a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., January 30, 
 
 1888, and served as an officer but declined advancement on account of 
 other duties. 
 
 Upon the reorganization of the Board of Managers of the Masonic 
 Temple Association, following the assumption of control of the building 
 by the Grand Lodge, Bro. Coolidge was chosen President and assumed 
 that position October 24, 1910. 
 
 He is a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Greek letter fraternity. 
 
 He has been a member of the Cosmos Club of this citj- since 1892. The 
 membership of this club is composed chiefly of men of note and distinction 
 in the realm of science, literature, and art, and it is among the best known 
 and most noted clubs of the world. He has been for some years the 
 club's treasurer. 
 
 The Masonic career of M. W. Bro. Coolidge has been one of great 
 activity and usefulness to the Craft. In every position which he has been 
 called upon to fill he has shown marked ability in the discharge of its 
 duties. It is not too much to say that no Grand Master has had a more 
 intelligent conception of the duties of his office, or has performed them 
 with greater diligence and satisfaction to the Craft. Because of his kind- 
 
GRAND MASTER, 1911. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 0^ COLUMBIA 4^1 
 
 ness of heart, his broad and generous sympathy, his true courtesy, his 
 sterling character and his genial personality, he has enjoyed in large 
 measure the love and esteem of his brethren. 
 
 He has labored zealously for the upbuilding of Masonry in this juris- 
 diction, and during his administration as Grand Master his constant en- 
 deavor was to set the standard of the institution just a little bit higher 
 than it ever was before. His talks and addresses to the brethren were 
 models of clearness of thought and precision of statement and showed 
 him to be a man of broad culture and large familiarity with books and 
 authorities. An easy, quiet, and forceful speaker he had no difficulty in 
 impressing his ideas upon his hearers or making himself fully understood 
 upon all questions discussed by him. 
 
 It was Bro. Coolidge's opportunity and pleasing duty to dedicate our 
 new Masonic Temple to Freemasonry. If the success and distinction of 
 his administration as Grand Master rested upon nothing else, that cere- 
 mony alone, because of its quiet dignity, its impressiveness, its beautiful 
 rendition, and his elocjuent words of hope, prophecy, and wisdom, secured 
 for him the unqualified approval and lasting admiration of his brethren, 
 and assured for him and for his administration a place second to none in 
 the history of our Grand Lodge. The beauty and grace of that occasion 
 will abide forever in the minds and hearts of the large concourse of 
 brethren who witnessed it. 
 
 HENRY KEDGLIE SIMPSON, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1909. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, August 8, 1851, he moved to Washington with his 
 parents in 1859, and has ever since resided in the eastern section of this city. 
 He received his education in the public schools of Philadelphia and Wash- 
 ington, graduating in 1868 from the Spencerian Business College with the 
 highest honors of his class. In 1873 he passed the departmental competi- 
 tive examination and was appointed to a clerkship in the U. S. Treasury 
 Department, advancing through many grades to the position of assistant 
 in the disbursing oiBce of that Department. In 1889 he resigned from the 
 Government service to accept the position of Secretary of the People's 
 Fire Insurance Company, and remained with the company until it was 
 reinsured by the Royal Fire Insurance Company of England. The new 
 company, gladly availing itself of his valuable experience and services, 
 placed him in charge of its extensive business interests in the eastern 
 section of the District, a position he still fills to the great satisfaction of 
 the company. 
 
 He is also Secretary of the Eastern Building and Loan Association; 
 Treasurer of the National Capital Investment Company; Director and 
 Vice-President of the Masonic Mutual Life Association of the District of 
 Columbia; member of the Board of Trade, and Secretary of the Board 
 of Directors of the Eastern Dispensary and Casualty Hospital, of which 
 26 
 
402 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 board he has been a member since 1889. He has been a member of the 
 National Rifles since the organization of that company in 1880; one of its 
 Board of Directors; its Secretary for several years, and its Treasurer until 
 1908. He participated in many of the company's competitive drill con- 
 tests, each one of which added laurels to its already deserved fame. 
 
 From his youth up he has been closely identified with religious and 
 charitable work; has been a member of the Metropolitan Presbyterian 
 Church since its foundation; Superintendent of its Sunday School for 
 several years ; held the offices of Trustee and Deacon ; and for many years 
 past has been a devoted and influential member of the Board of Elders. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Simpson is a man of great uprightness of character; an 
 esteemed, worthy, and respected citizen, fulfilling in a most exemplary 
 manner all social and domestic ties; and at the same time an earnest, 
 zealous, and accomplished Mason, maintaining the dignity of Grand 
 Master with a personal kindness which made friends of all his brethren. 
 His addresses were instructive, filled with pathos and humor, and pointed 
 with anecdote, and always held his hearers in the closest attention. While 
 he has attained the highest honor in the gift of Masonry, he is still an 
 earnest worker in another branch of the Order, and the full record of his 
 services to the Craft is yet to be written. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Simpson was made a Master Mason October 6, 1876, in 
 Lebanon Lodge, No. 7, of this jurisdiction, and after filling various oSicial 
 stations became its Worshipful Master in 1887. In 1898 he was elected 
 Junior Grand Steward in the Grand Lodge, and after serving a term in 
 each succeeding station in the line was, on December 27, 1908, elected and 
 installed Grand Master for the year 1909. He is also an honorary con- 
 tributing member of Temple Lodge, No. 32. 
 
 On March 24, 1883, he was exalted in Eureka Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M., 
 and became its High Priest in 1888. In 1897 he was appointed Grand 
 Master of the First Vail in the Grand Chapter, filled all the stations, ex- 
 cept that of Grand Royal Arch Captain, and was installed Grand High 
 Priest, serving the Royal Craft with conspicuous distinction for the year 
 ending in February, 1906. 
 
 He received the Cryptic degrees in Washington Council, No. 1, Royal 
 and Select Masters, February 16, 1903. 
 
 On July 26, 1882, he received the orders of knighthood in Washington 
 Commandery, No. 1, K. T., and was Eminent Commander for the year 
 1894. On the organization of the Grand Commandery, January 14, 1896, 
 he was elected Grand Prelate, and re-elected each succeeding year there- 
 after until 1905, when he was elected to the official line as Grand Warder, 
 and now occupies the station of Grand Captain-General. 
 
 M. W. Bro. Simpson is an active member of the Ancient and Accepted 
 Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, the history of his advancement being as 
 follows: Made a Perfect filu (fourteenth degree) in Mithras Lodge of 
 Perfection, No. 1, July 4, 1886, a Knight Rose Croix (eighteenth degree) 
 in Evangelist Chapter, No. 1, February 24, 1888; a Knight Kadosh (thir- 
 tieth degree) in Robert de Bruce Council, No. 1, February 15, 1889; a 
 Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret (thirty-second degree) in Albert Pike 
 
Ilf THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 403 
 
 Consistory, No. 1, April 15, 1889 ; and elected a Knight Commander of the 
 Court of Honor October 19, 1897, by the Supreme Council, thirty-third 
 degree (mother Council of the world), Southern Jurisdiction of the 
 United States. 
 
 He is also a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, of the Conven- 
 tion of Anointed High Priests, of the Masonic Veteran Association, of 
 Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and of Temple Chapter, No. 13, O. E. S. 
 
 GEORGE CLARKE OBER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER, 1910. 
 
 Brother Ober, son of the late John and Frances Ober, is a native of 
 the jurisdiction over which he has presided. Born in Washington, April 
 17, 1860, he was educated by private tutors and graduated at the Emer- 
 son Institute in 1878. The following year he entered upon the study of 
 medicine at the Medical College of the Georgetown University, from 
 which he graduated with the highest honors of his class in 1883. After 
 serving a year as resident physician of the Children's Hospital, in 1883 
 he engaged in private practice, in which he has won distinction and suc- 
 cess. From 1891 to 1903 he was Professor of Materia Medica and Thera- 
 peutics in the Medical Department of the National University. Upon the 
 passage of the Medical Practice Act in 1896 and the organization of the 
 several Boards authorized thereby, he was appointed by the Commissioners 
 of the District of Columbia a member of the Board of Medical Examiners, 
 elected Secretary thereof, and served in that capacity for nine years, 
 when he was elected to the office of President, which he still holds. 
 He is an ex-President of the Board of Medical Supervisors of the Dis- 
 trict, and for the last four years its Secretary. He has also served as 
 Secretary and as First Vice-President of the Medical Association of the 
 District of Columbia ; as Chairman of the Judicial Council of the American 
 Therapeutical Society, and is an ex-President and for many years a 
 member of Board of Counsellors of the Medical Association of the 
 District. 
 
 Bro. Ober is a ready, easy, and forceful speaker, a man of dignified 
 yet pleasing personality and polished manner, and possessing, as he does 
 in an unusual degree, a judicial mind and sound judgment, has won an 
 enviable reputation as an able executive and presiding officer. 
 
 These qualities have brought to him the rather unique distinction of 
 having filled, in addition to the office of Grand Master, the positions of 
 Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons and Grand Commander of 
 the Grand Commandery, K T., of the District of Columbia, being the 
 incumbent of the latter office at the date of this publication. It is also 
 sufficiently unprecedented to be worthy of note that from May until 
 December, 1910, he ably filled both the chairs of Grand Master and Grand 
 Commander. 
 
404 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 M. W. Bro. Ober was made a Master Mason in Naval Lodge, No. 4, 
 April 18, 1889; exalted to the sublime degree of Royal Arch Mason in 
 Washington Naval Chapter, No. 6, May 29, 1890 ; knighted in Washington 
 Commandery, No. 1, September 23, 1891, and became a charter member 
 and the first Captain-General of Orient Commandery, No. 5, October 19, 
 1895. He was Master of his lodge in 1899, High Priest of his chapter in 
 1894, and Commander of his commandery in 1898, and his term of service 
 as presiding officer of each body was notable for its prosperity. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge he served a full term in every chair from Junior 
 Grand Steward to Grand Master. He was elected Grand Commander in 
 May, 1910, after serving successively in the various subordinate offices. 
 
 In the Grand Chapter, R. A. M., he filled every station from Grand 
 Master of the Second Vail, with the exception of Grand Captain of the 
 Host, and was Grand High Priest in 1904. 
 
 He is Past President of the Convention of High Priests and a member 
 of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. and S. M., of the Masonic Veteran 
 Association, and of Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine. 
 
 J. CLAUDE KEIPER, 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 1911. 
 
 The Most Worshipful Brother who occupies the East in the Grand Lodge 
 for the Centennial year was elevated to that office at the comparatively 
 early age of forty-one. 
 
 He was born in St. Nicholas, Schuylkill Coimty, Pa., October 9, 1869, 
 and received his education in the public schools of Shenandoah, in the 
 same coimty, and the State Normal School of Bloomsburg, Pa. After 
 graduation from the latter institution he taught school for several years in 
 Shenandoah, Pa., and in 1890 removed to Washington and accepted an 
 appointment in the Surgeon General's Office, War Department, in which 
 branch of the service he has since remained, at the present time occupying 
 a position of trust and responsibility in the office of the Adjutant-General 
 of the Army. 
 
 After locating in this city he attended the Law School of the Columbian 
 (now George Washington) University and holds the degrees of LL. B. 
 and LL. M. from that institution. 
 
 His Masonic career began January 16, 1895, when he was made a Master 
 Mason in Columbia Lodge, No. 3, F. A. A. M., of this city. He became 
 at once a most active and efficient worker, his exceptional qualifications 
 bringing him rapid promotion from the chair of Senior Steward (to which 
 he was appointed June 19, 1895), thro several offices to the East where 
 he served his lodge for the year 1899. He also filled the position of Sec- 
 retary of Columbia Lodge from April 15, 1904, to December 2, 1910. 
 
 Elected Junior Grand Steward in December, 1900, he has successively 
 
JUNIOR Grand Warden, 1880; Grand High priest, 1886; 
 
 General Grand King, General Grand chapter, 
 
 U. S. A.; Grand commander. K. T., 1902. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 405 
 
 filled the various intermediate offices and was installed as Grand Master 
 December 27, 1910. 
 
 He received the Royal Arch degree in Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 3, R. 
 A. M., October 30, 1895, and was elected High Priest December 10, 1900. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., March 7, 
 1900; served as Commander 1908-9; was elected Recorder of that body 
 April 14, 1909, and is filling that office at the date of publication. 
 
 He has also been a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., since 
 March 17, 1900. 
 
 Possessed of tireless energy and a genius for detail work he has filled 
 the various offices to which he has been called with conspicuous ability, his 
 terms as the executive officer of the several Masonic bodies being especially 
 brilliant and successful. 
 
 His equipment for the exalted station of Grand Master is of a high 
 order. To a trained and cultured intellect he adds a power of clear and 
 graceful expression that gives him oratorical rank as a forcible, con- 
 vincing and pleasing speaker, while his well-balanced mind, enriched by 
 years of conscientious study, affords him a grasp upon the larger phases 
 of Fraternity life of the utmost value to the Craft. 
 
 His pleasing personality and affable manner make him deservedly popu- 
 lar among his brethren and fit him especially for the social obligations of 
 his position, more than usually exacting during the Centennial year. 
 
 BEN W. MURGH, 
 
 DEPUTY GRAND MASTER, 1911. 
 
 Born in Carmel, Me., June 39, 1858, he graduated from Bates College, 
 Lewiston, Me., in 1882, and 'has since been engaged in educational work, 
 teaching in Maine, Ohio, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, coming 
 to this city in January, 1887. He is at present Supervisor of the Second 
 Division Schools and Director of Night Schools. 
 
 Bro. Murch brings to the discharge of the duties of his exalted 
 station the broad culture of the scholar and the benefit of years of 
 executive experience. He is a logical and forceful speaker; is a man of 
 dignified presence, yet modest and unassuming, and has the respect and 
 esteem of the entire Fraternity. 
 
 He was made a Master Mason November 24, 1881, in Benevolent 
 Lodge, No. 87, Carmel, Me. ; affiliated with George C. Whiting Lodge, 
 No. 23, of this jurisdiction December 12, 1889; served in several of the 
 subordinate offices of the latter lodge and as Master, 1898-99; was elected 
 Junior Grand Steward December, 1901, and has served successively in 
 each of the offices of the Grand Lodge to his present station. 
 
 He is a member of Potomac R. A. Chapter, No. 8, and has served therein 
 as Captain of the Host, Scribe, King, High Priest, and Secretary, having 
 filled the latter office for six years. 
 
4o6 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 He is a member of Potomac Commandery, No. 3, K T., and served that 
 body as Recorder for four years. 
 
 He is a member of Mizpah Chapter, No. 8, O. E. S., and was Patron 
 thereof in 1899; a member of the Convention of Anointed High Priests, 
 President in 1909, and present Secretary ; a member of Washington Coun- 
 cil, No. 1, R. and S. M., the Masonic Veterans' Association, and Almas 
 Temple, Mystic Shrine. 
 
 CHARLES E. BALDWIN, 
 
 SENIOR GfRAND WARDEN. 1911. 
 
 Brother Baldwin was bom Jan. 4, 1864, near Bradford, Iowa, where his 
 boyhood was spent on a farm. His early education was received in the 
 district public schools, which he attended during the winter terms when 
 the duties of the farm would permit. He afterward attended Bradford 
 Academy, at Bradford, Iowa, and the Iowa State Agricultural College, 
 at Ames, Iowa. After leaving college he engaged in school teaching, 
 first in a country school and afterward as Principal of the Public Schools 
 at Ionia, Fredericksburg, and Lawler, Iowa. In 1889 he was appointed 
 a clerk in the Department of Labor in Washington and has been ad- 
 vanced through the various official grades to the position of Statistical 
 Expert, and at present is Chief of the Examination Division in the Bureau 
 of Labor, Department of Commerce and Labor. After coming to Wash- 
 ington he took up the study of pharmacy and graduated from the National 
 College of Pharmacy in 1891, at which college he served as President of 
 his class. 
 
 Bro. Baldwin was initiated in the mysteries of Freemasonry in King 
 David Lodge, No. 28, F. A. A. M., March 6, 1894, passed April 3, 1894, 
 and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason May 1, 1894. He 
 served through the line of offices and was Master in 1898. He is now 
 Treasurer of King David Lodge. He received the Capitular degrees in 
 Eureka Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons, in 1897, and served as High 
 Priest in 1905. He was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 3, 
 Knights Templar, in October, 1903, and presided as Eminent Commander 
 in 1907-08. He is an honorary member of . Mary Commandery, No. 36, 
 K. T., of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 At the Annual Conclave of the Grand Commandery, K. T., of the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, May 9, 1910, he was elected Grand Captain of the Guard. 
 
 The Council degrees were conferred upon him in Washingrton Council, 
 No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, in 1905. He afterward became a charter 
 member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, and served as its first Treasurer 
 under its charter. 
 
 He was honored by election to the office of Excellent President of the 
 Convention of High Priests in 1910. 
 
 At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, F. A. A. M., of the 
 
IN THB DISTRICT 0^ COLUMBIA 407 
 
 District of Columbia, in December, 1902, he was elected Junior Grand 
 Steward, and has advanced successively through each of the several sta- 
 tions and places to that of Senior Grand Warden, which station he now 
 occupies. 
 
 He is a member of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 
 He has also been an active worker in the Order of Knights of Pythias, 
 being a Past Chancellor Commander of Polo Lodge, No. 215, K of P., of 
 the jurisdiction of Iowa, and having served two terms as a representative 
 in t^e Grand Lodge. 
 
 A man of high intellectual attainments and rare executive ability, of 
 courteous demeanor and magnetic pleasing personality, Bro. Baldwin's 
 coming administration as Grand Master cannot fail to be of the greatest 
 credit and value to this jurisdiction. 
 
 THOMAS JOHN NEWTON, 
 
 JUNIOR GRAND WARDEN, 1911. 
 
 Born in Liverpool, England, January 20, 1853, he came to Philadelphia, 
 Pa., when nine years of age, and received his education in the public 
 schools of the latter city. After engaging in mercantile pursuits for a few 
 years he removed to Washington, D. C, and entered the Government 
 service as a clerk in the Department of State, July 1, 1874, and has been 
 continuously employed in that service to the present time, filling many 
 positions of trust, among them that of Special Disbursing Officer of the 
 Department for the Alaskan Boundary Tribunal, which met in London, 
 England, from August 1 to November 18, 1903. 
 
 Bro. Newton was raised in National Lodge, No. 12, April 20, 1880, and 
 filled the East in that body for the years 1885 and 1886 ; was exalted in 
 Eureka R. A. Chapter, No. 4, March 23, 1883, and served as High Priest 
 in 1889; was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., May 
 23, 1883. 
 
 Bro. Newton has been an indefatigable worker in the different branches 
 of local Masonry, but perhaps his most valuable efforts have been directed 
 toward the perfection of the Masonic Relief work, and along this line he 
 has builded for himself and the jurisdiction an enviable record. His 
 work in this direction commenced on the local Board as a delegate from his 
 lodge in 1882, and he has been in continuous active service to the present 
 time, serving as Secretary from 1886 to 1890, inclusive, when he was 
 elected Vice-President and then President, serving in the latter office two 
 years. In 1904 he again took up the duties as Secretary and is still holding 
 that position. 
 
 On the formation of the General Masonic Relief Association for the 
 United States and Canada, in 1885, our Board became a contributing mem- 
 ber, and it has been his privilege to attend all its meetings as a delegate 
 from our local Board, with the single exception of the 1903 meeting, when 
 
4o8 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 he was absent from the country on Government business. He has served 
 the Association in various capacities, i. e., as a member of the Advisory- 
 Board from September, 1890, to 1899, when he was elected Second Vice- 
 President; in 1901, elected First Vice-President, and in 1903, notwith- 
 standing his absence, was elected President, serving until 1905, and by 
 virtue of such service is a permanent member of said association. At the 
 present time, he is holding the important position of Chairman of the 
 Committee on Organization and Membership. 
 
 Gifted with an unusually attractive personality, of courteous, kindly 
 demeanor, Bro. Newton has a deservedly wide circle of friends, while his 
 exceptional mental equipment and earnestness of purpose insures for the 
 jurisdiction a successful administration under his guidance when he shall 
 have been installed as Grand Master. 
 
 ALEXANDER GRANT, 
 
 GRAND MARSHAL, 1911. 
 
 This Brother was bom in Monroe, Mich., in the early fifties and is of 
 Scotch parentage. He was educated in the public schools of his native city 
 and graduated from the high school at the age of sixteen. He immediately 
 entered the local post-office as a clerk and served in that capacity and as 
 assistant postmaster for two and a half years. He then obtained a position 
 as mail route agent on the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway, then just 
 completed between Toledo, Ohio, and Bay City, Mich. In 1872 he was 
 transferred to the west division of the great through trunk mail route 
 between New York and Chicago, on the N. Y. Central and Lake Shore 
 & Michigan Southern Railways, his assignment being between Cleveland 
 and Chicago. He passed through the several grades from roustabout to 
 clerk-in-charge, and in the latter capacity served on the first exclusive 
 fast mail ever run in the United States. In 1880 he was detailed to the 
 office of the Division Superintendent at Cleveland as Examiner and filled 
 that position for something over two years, when he was called to Wash- 
 ington to assume a place in the office of the General Superintendent. He 
 served in various capacities in that office and in December, 1884, was made 
 Chief Clerk, which position he held until August, 1897, when he was 
 promoted to the position of Assistant General Superintendent. He suc- 
 ceeded Capt. James E. White as General Superintendent of Railway Mail 
 Service of the United States March 1, 1907. 
 
 Mr. Grant has been for many years a well-known figure in social and 
 club circles. He is an enthusiastic lover and encourager of athletic sports 
 of all kinds. Before coming to Washington he was for a number of years 
 a member of the Board of Governors and Vice-President of the North- 
 western Amateur Rowing Association, an organization comprising all of 
 the rowing associations in the various cities located upon the Great Lakes. 
 Shortly after coming to Washington he associated himself with the 
 
Grand Secretary of the grand lodge and Grand Chapter 
 AND grand Recorder of the grand Commandery. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 4^9 
 
 Columbia Boat Club and shared in its fortunes and those of its suc- 
 cessor, the Columbia Athletic Club., being for many years on the Board 
 of Governors, two years Vice-President and three years President of 
 the last-named organization. He is an active and enthusiastic member 
 of the Columbia Golf Club. 
 
 Bro. Grant comes from good Masonic stock. His father was for 
 several years Master of Monroe Lodge, No. 27, A. F. and A. M., juris- 
 diction of Michigan, and subsequently elected Secretary, which office he 
 held until his death in 1865. An elder brother was also Master of the 
 same lodge, High Priest of his chapter, Eminent Commander of his 
 commandery, and for several years District Deputy Grand Master of one 
 of the Districts of Michigan. Alexander Grant was made a Master 
 Mason in Benjamin B. French Lodge, No. 15, F. A. A. M., February 
 8, 1893, passed through the several offices and was elected Master in 
 1898. He was exalted in Columbia Royal Arch Chapter, No. 1, May 
 2. 1894, and was elected High Priest in 1900. He was made a Knight 
 Templar in Columbia Commandery, No. 3, K. T., June 15, 1894, and shortly 
 after was appointed Captain of the Guard. He served successively as 
 Sword Bearer, Standard Bearer, Junior and Senior Warden, and in 1903 
 was elected Eminent Commander. 
 
 Mr. Grant is an active, earnest Masonic worker and his rapid elevation 
 to the highest offices in the several bodies with which he has been 
 connected is the best evidence «f his faithfulness and devotion to the 
 Order. He is Grand Marshal in the Grand Lodge and Generalissimo in 
 the Grand Commandery. He is also a member of the Board of Directors 
 of the Masonic Mutual Life Association. 
 
 He is also Past Potentate of Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine. 
 
 WILLIAM W. JERMANE, 
 
 SENIOR GRAND DEACON, 1911. 
 
 Brother Jermane was born November 4, 1863, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His 
 father was a minister in the Baptist Church and at the time was pastor 
 of the church of that denomination at Frankfort Ky., in which city 
 and at various other places in the same State, the subject of this 
 sketch spent the first twelve years of his life. The family then re- 
 moved to Indiana and later to Illinois, and at Sullivan, in the latter 
 State, Bro. Jermane attended school. His higher education was secured 
 at the Southern Illinois Normal University, Carbondale, that State, finish- 
 ing in June, 1881. 
 
 In July of the same year he began work in a country printing office 
 in Pike County, III. From there he went to Pittsfield, the county seat, 
 to accept a position on a weekly paper of considerable influence, and 
 in 1883 permanently gave up the work of typesetting and became a 
 member of the local staff of the old Quincy Herald (daily). From the 
 
4IO HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 latter place he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he was in turn, reporter, 
 city editor, editorial writer, managing editor and editor of the Daily 
 Herald; was city editor of the Tribune of Minneapolis for several years, 
 beginning in 1889, and in 1891 began work for the Minneapolis Journal, 
 in whose employtnent he still remains, representing that paper at Wash- 
 ington since 1899, and is also correspondent of the Seattle Times. In local 
 newspaper circles he has been Secretary of the Standing Committee of 
 Correspondents for four years, is a member of the Gridiron Club, and 
 also the National Press Club. 
 
 Bro. Jermane received the Blue Lodge degrees in Charity Lodge, 
 No. 331, St. Joseph, Mo., in April, 1886, the Chapter degrees in the 
 same city in Mitchell Chapter, No. 89, April 1887, and was knighted in 
 St. Joseph Commandery, No. 4, K T., in the fall of 1887. 
 
 After removing to Washington, he dimitted from the several bodies 
 in Missouri and affiliated with Pentalpha Lodge in 1903, with Mt. Horeb 
 Chapter the same year, and later with Columbia Commandery, K. T., 
 all of this city. 
 
 Bro. Jermane is possessed of unusual ability as an executive; is a 
 fluent, magnetic, and convincing speaker, and stands perhaps without a 
 peer in this jurisdiction as a finished and impressive ritualist These 
 qualities soon marked him out for rapid advancement, and after serving 
 as Senior Deacon and Senior Warden, he became Master of Pentalpha 
 for the year 1905, and was also elected President of the Master's 
 Association during that year. 
 
 At the election succeeding his affiliation with Mt. Horeb R. A. Chapter 
 he was appointed to the Second Vail and, after filling the intermediate sta- 
 tions, served as High Priest in 1909 and also as President of the High 
 Priests' Association for that year. 
 
 He is a member of Almas Temple and of Adoniram Council, No. 3, R. 
 and S. M., and in the latter body is an active worker. 
 
 During the year 1909, his physical condition seeming to presage a break- 
 ing down, he resigned from a number of offices, among others the Chair- 
 manship of the Grand Lodge Centennial Committee, the position of Assist- 
 ant Rabban in the shrine, and that of Junior Warden in his commandery. 
 
 In the Grand Lodge line he is now serving as S. G. Deacon and in 
 the Grand Chapter line as Grand Master of the Second Vail. 
 
 JAMES W. WITTEN, 
 
 JUNIOR GRAND DEACON. 1911. 
 
 Born in Grundy County, Mo., in 1855, he was educated in the public 
 schools and at Central College, Fayette, Mo. In 1881 he left the farm 
 for the law office and began practicing at Albany, Mo., and in October of 
 the same year was nominated for prosecuting attorney, to which office he 
 was elected and served two terms. He continued the practice of law 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COIyUMBIA 4II 
 
 till he was called to the legal department of the General Land Office in 
 1893. He is now Chief Law Officer of that department and for several 
 years has been superintendent of all land openings. It is universally 
 understood that his conduct of the openings has been entirely satis- 
 factory to all concerned for fairness and equitable treatment of the home- 
 stead seekers. 
 
 Those who are nearest to Bro. Witten recognize best his nobility of 
 character, unimpeachable integrity, and high ideals, and these qualities 
 which have won him such distinction as a public servant have brought 
 to him rapid but deserved promotion in the Masonic circles. 
 
 He was initiated in Washington Centennial Lodge, No. 14, May 4, 
 passed June 1, and raised July 6, 1898; was elected Senior Steward 
 in 1899, and after filling all the intermediate offices was Master in 1904. 
 
 He entered the official line of the Grand Lodge as Senior Grand Stew- 
 ard at the election in December, 1907. 
 
 He was exalted in Mt. Vernon Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M., May 28, 1900. 
 
 LEM TOWERS, JR., 
 
 GRAND SWORD BEARER, 1911. 
 
 Born in Washington, D. C, January 9, 1862, he has resided continuously 
 since that time in the District of Columbia. His education was begun in 
 the public schools, but shortly before reaching the age of twelve he was 
 compelled, through force of circumstances, to leave school and seek em- 
 ployment, which he obtained as messenger boy in the old Washington 
 Stock Exchange in September, 1873. In October, 1875, he entered the real 
 estate office of A. L. Barber & Co. ; in April, 1879, he was employed in the 
 insurance offices of Hanson & Blackford, and in December, 1881, was ap- 
 pointed as a stenographer in the office of the Official Reporter of De- 
 bates of the United States Senate. In 1883 he became assistant editor of 
 the National Tribune, of this city. In 1884 he was appointed as a stenog- 
 rapher in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and remained in 
 that office until May, 1890, when he resigned to become the first Secretary 
 of the Lincoln Fire Insurance Company. In January, 1892, he succeeded 
 to the Secretaryship of the Columbia Fire Insurance Company, which 
 position he held until that company retired from business in 1908, since 
 which time he has been engaged in a general insurance business. In 
 1889 Bro. Towers graduated at law from the old Columbian (now George 
 Washington) University, and in June of that year was admitted to practice 
 before the bar of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. 
 
 Bro. Towers being possessed of an unusually courteous and pleasing 
 demeanor is one of the most popular Masons in the jurisdiction, while 
 his keen intellect, business training, and tact combine to make him a most 
 able executive officer and have won for him a large measure of success 
 in all the offices he has held in business and Fraternal circles. 
 
412 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Bro. Towers received all of his Masonic degrees in this jurisdiction. 
 He was raised in Potomac Lodge, No. 5, F. A. A. M., September 3, 1900; 
 exalted in Potomac Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M., October 31, 1900, and 
 knighted in Potomac Commandery, No. 3, K. T., December 5, 1900. He 
 was made a Noble of Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., February 7, 
 1901. He was Master of Potomac Lodge for the year 1907; High Priest 
 of Potomac Chapter, 1905, and Eminent Commander of Potomac Com- 
 mandery, 1906. He is a charter member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. 
 and S. M., and an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32. He has 
 passed through the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of 
 Freemasonry, having received the thirty-second in Albert Pike Consistory 
 June 30, 1903. 
 
 At present he is also Grand Principal Sojourner of the Grand Chapter, 
 R. A. M., and Grand Standard-Bearer of the Grand Commandery, Knights 
 Templar. 
 
 JOSEPH HERGUS MILANS, 
 
 GRAND PURSUIVANT. 1911. 
 
 Born October 31, 1877, at Landisburg, Perry Co., Pa., and has resided 
 in Washington, D. C, practically all his life. He was educated in the 
 public schools and Columbian (now George Washington) and National 
 Universities of this city; received degrees of Bachelor of Laws, 1899; 
 Master of Patent Law, 1900, at Columbian University, and Master of 
 Laws, 1900, at National University; was first admitted to the practice 
 of law before the bar of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia 
 September 19, 1899, and has since become a member of the bar of many 
 of the Federal courts including the Supreme Court of the United States; 
 has for more than sixteen years devoted his practice to the specialty of 
 patent law, being a member of the Patent Law Association of Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 He is a member of the legal Greek letter fraternity of Phi Delta Phi; 
 is Secretary of the Dime Savings Bank, and a Director of the East 
 Washington Savings Bank, this city. 
 
 He was initiated in St. John's Lodge, No. 11, July 37, 1900; passed 
 August 24, 1900; raised September 28, 1900, and served as Master in 1904. 
 He is also an honorary member of Temple Lodge, No. 32. 
 
 Received the Mark Master's degree in Washington Naval Chapter, No. 
 6, March 3, 1903; Past Master's degree March 17, 1903; M. E. Master's 
 degree, March 17, 1903; Royal Arch degree, April 31, 1903, and at the 
 present time is serving as Scribe; is a member of Adoniram Council, 
 No. 2, R. & S. M. Orient Commandery, No. 5, K. T., conferred the 
 Order of the Temple upon him June 15, 1903, and elected him Com- 
 mander in 1909. 
 
 He is a member of Martha Chapter, No. 4, O. E. S., and served as 
 Patron in the year 1906. 
 
OFFICtAU HISTORIAN, GRAND LODGE, F. A. A. 
 GRAND HIGH PRIEST, R. A. M., 1910-1911. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT 05* COIvUMBIA 413 
 
 He is a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, and has for several 
 years been a member of the following Scottish Rite bodies: Mithras 
 Lodge of Perfection, No. 1; Evangelist Chapter, R. C, No. 1; Robert de 
 Bruce Council, K. K, No. 1, and Albert Pike Consistory, M. R. S., No. 1. 
 
 He was elected Junior Grand Steward in 1908, and has been advanced 
 to and is now serving as Grand Pursuivant. 
 
 Having already attained an enviable position in the professional and 
 business world his unusual ability is proven, and this in connection with 
 his record as a capable and painstaking officer in the several Masonic 
 bodies, gives assurance of a satisfactory and brilliant administration of 
 the office of Grand Master, to which, in the natural course of events, he 
 may attain at an age which would rank him with the little coterie of 
 men who have realized that ambition while comparatively young. 
 
 J. HARRY CUNNINGHAM, 
 
 SENIOR GRAND STEWARD, 1911. 
 
 Born in Washington, D. C, July 19, 1865, he received his education in 
 public schools of this city, graduating from the high school in 1881. For 
 twenty-three years he was connected with the Maurice Joyce Engraving 
 Co., was for a 'short time manager of the Howard Printing Co., and has 
 been cartoonist and correspondent of the Washington Herald since the 
 organization of that paper. In his character as a cartoonist Bro. Cunning- 
 ham has gained a national reputation for his brilliantly conceived and 
 artistically executed hits on the current happenings of the day. Of 
 tried executive ability and affable demeanor his rise in Masonic circles 
 has been rapid and his friends legion. 
 
 For fifteen years Bro. Cunningham was a member of the National 
 Rifles military company, and at one time was Adjutant with rank of 
 Lieutenant on the staff of that organization. He also served one year 
 in the D. C. National Guard. 
 
 He is a Past State Councillor of the Jr. O. U. A. M., a member of the 
 Board of Trade, of the Red Cross Society, of the National Geographic 
 Society, of St. Andrew's Society, the National Press Club, and the 
 famous Gridiron Club. 
 
 He was made a Master Mason in Hope Lodge, No. 30, April 8, 1887, 
 and served as Master in 1891 ; was exalted in Columbia R. A. Chapter, 
 No. 1, in 1887, but is now a member of Montgomery Chapter, of Ken- 
 sington, Md. ; was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., in 
 1888, and served as Eminent Commander in 1904; is also an honorary 
 member of Mary Commandery, No. 36, of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 He is a member of the Masonic Veterans' Association, of Mithras 
 Lodge of Perfection, and of Almas Temple, Mystic Shrine. 
 
414 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 CHARLES J. O'NEILL, 
 
 JUNIOR GRAND STEWARD, 1911. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, whose election filled out the roster of Grand 
 officers for the Centennial year, was born in Washington, D. C, June 15. 
 1869, and has resided therein during his entire life. 
 
 His early education was acquired in the local public schools. In 1893 
 he was graduated from the Lehigh University with the degree of Electrical 
 Engineer and in 1903 from the National University Law School, of this 
 city, with the degree of LL. B. 
 
 He is at present in enjoyment of a lucrative practice as attorney-at-law 
 and counselor in patent causes. 
 
 He is a member of the University Club of Washington. 
 
 Bro. O'Neill brings to his career as an officer of the Grand Lodge equip- 
 ment of the highest order. His analytical mind united with his ability 
 as a clear and convincing reasoner has for a number of years given him 
 unusual weight in the counsels of the Fraternity, while his demonstrated 
 executive ability, cultivated intellect, and dignified yet affable demeanor 
 give assurance that his administration of the offices which in the natural 
 order of things lie before him will be eminently successful. 
 
 He was initiated in Acacia Lodge, No. 18, June 26, 1894; passed, July 
 24, 1894, and raised August 28, 1894; served as Worshipful Master for 
 the Masonic year of 1896, and as Secretary 1898-1903. 
 
 He was exalted in Washington Naval R. A. Chapter, No. 6, October 
 23, 1894; was knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2; K. T., May 3, 
 1895, and dimitted therefrom to become a charter member of Orient 
 Commandery, No. 5, October 19, 1895. 
 
 He became a member of Martha Chapter, No. 4 O. E. S., March 18, 
 1898; served as Patron thereof for 1899, and as Grand Patron of the 
 Grand Chapter, O. E. S., D. C, for 1902. 
 
 He was elected Junior Grand Steward December 27, 1910. 
 
 WILLIAM REYNOLDS SINGLETON, 
 
 GRAND SECRETARY OF THE GRAND LODGE FROM 1875 TO 1901. 
 
 Bro. Singleton was born in Norfolk, Va., October 24, 1818. He was 
 descended on his father's side from a long line of distinguished English 
 ancestors, and on his mother's side from William Bradford, the second 
 Governor of the Plymouth Colony. His early life was spent in his 
 native city, where he received an academic education. In 1834 he entered 
 Middlebury College, Vermont, but left before graduating. The college in 
 after years conferred upon him the degree of A. M. Adopting the pro- 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 415 
 
 fession of architect and civil engineer, in 1836 he removed to the then 
 far West, was engaged for about ten years in railroad construction and on 
 many public works in Illinois and Missouri, and for a brief period edited 
 the St. Louis Evening Gazette. Returning to the East in 1849, he was 
 employed in his profession in the navy yards at Norfolk and Pensacola, 
 and for a time resided in Baltimore. In 1863 he came to Washington, 
 and was employed by the War Department in the construction of de- 
 fenses about the city. At the close of the civil war he was appointed 
 an examiner in the Patent Office, which position he resigned in 1873 to 
 engaged in business as a solicitor of patents, in which he continued until 
 a few years before his death. 
 
 Bro. Singleton was made a Mason in Naphtali Lodge, No. 35, of St. 
 Louis, Mo., receiving the third degree January 20, 1840, and a few years 
 later became a member of Independence Lodge, No. 76, of Missouri, of 
 which he was Worshipful Master in 1848. He served as Senior Grand 
 Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Missouri in 1843 and 1843. On the 
 organization of Pentalpha Lodge, No. 33, of this jurisdiction, May 4, 
 1869, he became a charter member. In 1875 he was elected Grand 
 Secretary of this Grand Lodge and continued in that station until his 
 death. 
 
 He was exalted to the degree of Royal Arch Mason in Missouri Chapter, 
 No. 1, of St. Louis, August 30, 1840, and later affiliated with Independence 
 Chapter, No. 15, which he served as King in 1848. He participated in 
 the organization of two chapters in this city — LaFayette, No. 5, in 1867, 
 and Mount Horeb, No. 7, in 1873 — and was the charter High Priest of 
 the latter body. 
 
 He received the Cryptic degrees in Missouri in 1841; was a charter 
 member and Thrice Illustrious Master of LaFayette Council, No. 1, of 
 this city, now extinct, and was a charter member of Washington Council, 
 No. 1. 
 
 He was knighted in Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T., of this 
 city, June 9, 1875. 
 
 He was made an Honorary Sovereign Grand Inspector-General, thirty- 
 third degree, A. A. S. R., by the Supreme Council of the Southern Juris- 
 diction, May 7, 1878. In the same year he was invested with the Royal 
 Order of Scotland. 
 
 He departed this life February 33, 1901, and his remains were escorted 
 to Oak Hill Cemetery, February 35, 1901, by his lodge, chapter, com- 
 mandery, delegations from other Masonic bodies, and a large concourse 
 of friends, and interred with Masonic honors by the Grand Lodge. 
 
 Special services, in memory of Bro. Singleton, were held by the Grand 
 Lodge December 19, 1901, and a movement at once set on foot for the 
 erection of a suitable memorial to the distinguished dead which resulted 
 in the erection of a handsome monument in Oak Hill Cemetery by the 
 local Fraternity and its dedication by the Grand Lodge July 35, 1903, 
 with appropriate and impressive ceremonies. 
 
41 6 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 The following extract from the memorial issued and caused to be 
 circulated by Grand Master Standiford is quoted as perhaps the best 
 pen picture available of this remarkable man and Brother: 
 
 " ' Paint me as I am !' said Cromwell, when the artist suggested the 
 elimination of a facial blemish. No higher tribute can be paid to the 
 memory of Bro. Singleton than to portray him as he was. We have no 
 need to ascribe to him imaginary virtues, no occasion for the effacement 
 of blemishes. His character was as near perfection as can be attained by 
 finite man. Masonry was his life-long study, and his later years were 
 given entirely to the service of the Craft. Profoundly learned in Biblical 
 and Masonic archaeology, he traced the history of the Craft from the 
 building of the first temple down through the Ancient Mysteries, the 
 Essenes, and the guilds of the Middle Ages to the formation of the first 
 Grand Lodge, and the evolution from operative to speculative Masonry. 
 Landmarks, symbols, rites, traditions, law and precedent, custom and 
 usage, were to him as household words. At fourscore, with sixty years 
 of Masonic life behind him, he often remarked, ' I am still learning 
 Masonry.' His contributions to Masonic literature gave him a world- 
 wide fame, and placed him among the leading writers and thinkers of the 
 Craft. 
 
 " Great talents and achievements set men apart. We view them as on 
 a pedestal, admire them from afar, but know little of their personal life, 
 habits, and characteristics. But Bro. Singleton was one among us, and 
 his noble life was an open book to the six thousand Masons of our juris- 
 diction, who shared in his joys and sorrows, and to whom his death is a 
 personal loss. He knew no rank or distinction in his intercourse with his 
 brethren, but his office was accessible to all, and his sympathetic disposi- 
 tion, kindly humor, cordial greeting, and ever ready response to calls for 
 counsel, won the love and veneration of all. His charities were limited 
 only by his means, but were known only when spoken of by the bene- 
 ficiaries. Possessing strong religious convictions, he was ever considerate 
 of the views of others. In his broad nature there was boundless love 
 for his fellow men, but no room for bigotry or intolerance." 
 
 ARVINE W. JOHNSTON, 
 
 GRAND SECRETARY OF THE GRAND LODGE, F. A. A. M. 
 
 Brother Johnston, who is also Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter, 
 R. A. M., and Grand Recorder of the Grand Commandery, K. T., 
 District of Columbia, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, January 28, 1856, 
 but soon after his parents removed to Medina, in the northern part 
 of the same State, where he retains his legal residence. His early edu- 
 cation was acquired in the public schools, being supplemented by that most 
 valuable addition to a public school education, an apprenticeship at 
 printing in a newspaper office, to which he devoted a half dozen years 
 of his young manhood, a portion of his time being given to reporting 
 the news. His father, a soldier in an Ohio regiment, having been 
 killed in the battle of Resaca, Ga., during the civil war, he was practically 
 the architect of his own fortunes. 
 
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 H. YOO 
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 •^ f?U55ELL VERBRVc^f 
 G. CHAPtAiN 
 
 v'c'vrf r.vj Co. 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COL,UMBIA 417 
 
 Bro. Johnston received an appointment in the Treasury Department 
 in 1876 and came to this city, which has ever since remained his 
 place of residence. During his incumbency of the clerkship he completed 
 a course of law in the National University, of this city, graduating with 
 the degree of LL.B. In the Sixth Auditor's Office he worked him- 
 self up by regrular promotions until he became assistant chief of his 
 division. During the war with Spain he was appointed to a clerkship 
 in the War Department, which he resigned in 1901 to devote his entire 
 time to the duties of the various Masonic offices to which he had been 
 elected. 
 
 As a man, Bro. Johnston has the respect and the warm friendship 
 of the Craft, not alone of this jurisdiction, but of the prominent 
 Masons of the country, with many of whom he has acquaintance 
 by meeting them at various national Masonic gatherings, as well as by 
 official correspondence. 
 
 For more than twenty years he has been a tireless student of Masonry 
 in all its phases, and as a result brings to the discharge of his varied 
 duties a ripened judgment, which, united with an infinite patience and 
 tactful and courteous disposition, gives him the equipment of an ideal 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 Bro. Johnston is so well recognized an authority on the work and 
 lectures of this jurisdiction, that in 1898, during his absence from the 
 city, he was elected to the office of Grand Lecturer of the Grand 
 Lodge, which position, however, he declined. For several years after 
 the death of the erudite and world-renowned Bro. William R. Single- 
 ton, he was the reviewer of foreign correspondence for the Grand 
 Chapter, a field in which he found ample room for the display of his 
 talent as a writer and a ripe student of Capitular Masonry and in 
 which he won recognition in the Masonic world.. 
 
 Bro. Johnston was made a Master Mason in Harmony Lodge, No. 
 17, F. A. A. M., on September 27, 1888, and was Master of the lodge 
 in 1894. He was exalted in Columbia Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., February 
 20, 1889, and was its High Priest in 1893. May 17, 1889, he was 
 knighted in Columbia Commandery, No. 2, K. T., and in 1895 assisted 
 in forming Orient Commandery, No. 5, K. T., of which he became 
 Eminent Commander in 1900. 
 
 He was appointed Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter of the 
 District of Columbia May 18, 1896, and elected at the annual grand 
 convocation in that year, and has been re-elected every year since. At 
 his first appearance in a conclave of the Grand Commandery as a 
 member, he was elected Grand Recorder of that body, a position to 
 which he has been annually re-elected. March 16, 1901, he was appointed 
 Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
 death of the lamented William R. Singleton, elected at the next ensuing an- 
 nual grand cotiununication, and re-elected annually since. During his occu- 
 pancy of the office, he has made a card index of the more than 9,000 
 living Master Masons of this District and all who have ever been 
 members — so copious and full that the complete Masonic history of 
 27 
 
4l8 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 each is at his fingers' ends at a moment's notice. He has also per- 
 formed a similar service for Capitular Masonry, his card index of the 
 Companions of the District being equally complete and valuable. 
 
 In 1897 he was President of the Convention of Anointed High Priests 
 of this jurisdiction. He is also a member of Washington Council, No. 
 1. R. and S. M. ; of Mithras Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., and of 
 Almas Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 
 GEORGE EDGAR CORSON, 
 
 JUNIOR GRAND WARDEN, 1880. 
 
 While never having filled the position of Grand Master, W. Bro. Corson 
 has been for many years one of the most active, best known, and de- 
 servedly popular Masons in the District of Columbia, with a record of 
 varied and distinguished service perhaps unequaled in the history of the 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 Possessed of a dignified yet pleasing presence, a genial, affable, and 
 courteous disposition, a broad, intellectual, and judicial mind, and an 
 unflagging interest and energy in all the activities of local Masonic circles 
 he has filled the many offices of trust to which he has been called with 
 conspicuous ability. 
 
 Bro. Corson, whose ancestors were prominently identified with the early 
 civil and military history of New England, was born in Lebanon, Maine, 
 July 30, 1843. He received his early education in the public schools of 
 his native town and in the Lebanon Academy. August 30, 1861, at the 
 age of nineteen years, he enlisted at Dover, N. H., in the 17th U. S. 
 Infantry, the regiment being at that time stationed and in process of 
 organization at Fort Preble, Portland Harbor, Me. Soon after reporting 
 he was placed on extra duty as acting quartermaster and commissary 
 sergeant and assisted in the organization of the quartermaster and com- 
 missary departments of his regiment and in arming and equipping it for 
 service in the field. In March, 1862, he accompanied his regiment to 
 Washington, D. C, where it was assigned to duty with the Army of the 
 Potomac, with which it saw active and honorable service until the close 
 of the war. In April, 1863, he was appointed commissary sergeant of the 
 1st Battalion of the 17th U. S. Infantry, which rank he held for the 
 remaining period of his enlistment. He participated in all the campaigns 
 of the Army of the Potomac — on the Peninsula, at Antietam, Chancellors- 
 ville, Gettysburg, in New York, in the suppression of the draft riots, at 
 Mine Run, and in the spring of 1864 through the Wilderness to Spottsyl- 
 vania. Tho a non-combatant by virtue of his office as commissary ser- 
 geant, his post of duty being with the wagon train in the rear, and being 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COI.UMBIA 419 
 
 thereby exempt from all the risks and hazards of battle, yet having the 
 patriotic and fighting blood of his colonial and revolutionary ancestors in 
 his veins, and being desirous of seeing service with his comrades on the 
 firing line, he, on May 8, 1864, applied for and obtained the permission 
 of his superior officer to report to the commanding officer of his regiment 
 for duty at the front. He did so at once and took part in the battle of 
 Laurel Hill on May 10, and in the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, 
 May 13, 1864. In the last named engagement he received a severe gun- 
 shot wound through his left side, which became the subject of great 
 interest to the army surgeons, and is noted by Surgeon George A. Otis 
 in his " Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion," among the cele- 
 brated cases of gunshot wounds of the abdomen. For faithful and meri- 
 torious service as a non-commissioned officer, and for courage and gal- 
 lantry in action, he was recommended for a commission in the regular 
 army, but being incapacitated by reason of his wound for service in the 
 field, and having no liking for hfe at an army post, he declined the 
 proffered honor, and at the expiration of his term of service, August 39, 
 1864, took his discharge. 
 
 A few weeks later he came to Washington, and on October 10, 1864, 
 was appointed to a clerkship in the War Department, where he has con- 
 tinued in various positions of trust and responsibility up to the present 
 time 1911). In the early seventies, while Chief of the Endorsement Sub- 
 division of the Record and Pension Division, Surgeon General's Office, 
 he originated a system which was at once adopted and put into practice, 
 of recording requests for information from the records and of filing all 
 transcriptions and correspondence in connection therewith, now known 
 as the "Record Card File." In 1894, upon the recommendation of the 
 "Dockery Commission" — a commission created by Congress "to inquire 
 into the business methods of the several Executive Departments" — this 
 system was put in force, by the orders of the Secretary of War, in the 
 several Bureaus of the War Department, and made to apply to nearly all 
 their correspondence, which, by simplifying the work and substituting the 
 "Record Card File" for the former numerous and expensive record books, 
 has resulted in the saving of much clerical labor and many thousands of 
 dollars to the Government of the United States. 
 
 He is an alumnus of the George Washington University, having been 
 graduated from the Columbian Law School in June, 1871, with the de- 
 gree of Bachelor of Laws, and was at once admitted to the bar and to 
 practice in the courts of the District of Columbia. 
 
 He was mustered into the Grand Army of the Republic in 1871 and has 
 been an active worker in that organization for forty years. He was one 
 of the " Old Guard" that preserved and kept intact the Department of the 
 Potomac, of which he was Department Commander in 1878. 
 
 He is a member of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of the District 
 of Columbia, of the National Geographic Society, of the American National 
 Red Cross, and of the Maine Association in the District of Columbia. 
 
 Bro. Corson was initiated in Harmony Lodge, No. 17, F. A. A. M., 
 December 8, 1870; passed January 12, 1871, and raised February 9, 1871; 
 
420 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 served successively as S. D. and J. W. and S. Warden, and was Master 
 of his lodge during 1877 and 1878. He was elected Senior Grand Deacon 
 in 1879, and Junior Grand Warden in 1880. 
 
 He received the Capitular degrees in Potomac Chapter, No. 8, George- 
 town, D. C, June 20 to July 35, 1871 ; the same year became Captain of the 
 Host, and after filling the intervening stations was elected High Priest 
 for the year 1875, and was re-elected in 1876. After serving in several 
 of the subordinate chairs in the Grand Chapter he became Grand High 
 Priest for 1886 ; was appointed Chairman of Committee on Work in 1887, 
 and has served in that capacity to the present time. 
 
 At the Triennial Convocation of the General Grand Chapter of the 
 United States at Minneapolis, Minn., in 1891, he was elected G. G. Master 
 First Vail, and has been advanced at each succeeding convocation, now 
 occupying the position of General Grand King, to which exalted station 
 he was elected at Savannah, Ga., November, 1909. 
 
 He received the Cryptic degrees in Washington Council, No. 1, of 
 Washington, in July, '83, and January, '91; was elected Recorder in 1886, 
 and served in that capacity for twenty-three successive years. 
 
 He was knighted in Potomac Commandery, No. 3, K. T., Georgetown, 
 November 10, 1871 ; served as Prelate in 1872 and 1873 ; as Generalissimo 
 from 1874 to 1878, and as Eminent Commander, 1879, 1880 and '1881. He 
 entered the line of the Grand Commandery in 1896 as Grand Standard- 
 Bearer, and after filling the various stations between, filled the office of 
 Grand Commander in 1902. He has served as Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Correspondence for the Grand Commandery since May, 1907. 
 
 He received the fourth degree to the fourteenth degree of the A. and 
 A. S. R. in Mithras Lodge, No. 1, in March, 1884, and served as Secretary 
 thereof from January 1, 1884, to February 5, 1889; the fifteenth degree 
 to the eighteenth degree in Evangelist Chapter, R. C, No. 1, June and 
 July, 1884, and served as W. M. of that chapter from May 10, 1887, to 
 April 10, 1890; the nineteenth degree to the thirtieth degree in Robert de 
 Bruce Council of Kadosh, October, 1884, to January, 1885, and served as 
 Commander in 1899 and 1900 ; thirty-first degree and thirty-second degree 
 in Albert Pike Consistory, No. 1, April 1, 1885; was crowned thirty-third 
 degree and proclaimed an Inspector-General (honorary) and a member 
 of the Supreme Council of the A. A. S. R. for the Southern Jurisdiction 
 of the United States October 25, 1901. 
 
 He is a member of the Convention of Anointed High Priests and was 
 President of the same in 1902. 
 
 He belongs to the Masonic Veteran Association of the District and filled 
 the office of President of that organization for the years 1908 and 1909. 
 
 He received the degrees of the Royal Order of Scotland December 12, 
 1887, at Washington, D. C, under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand 
 Lodge; was appointed First Grand Marischal by Bro. Josiah H. Drum- 
 mond, the Provincial Grand Master, July 1, 1894, and has been annually 
 reappointed to that office to date. 
 
iv, w. JE.R 
 
 MANE 
 
 S G. OE*^ 
 
 CON 
 
 °fAcori 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 42 1 
 
 KENTON NEAL HARPER, 
 
 HISTORIAN, GRAND LODGE. F. A. A. M.. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 
 
 By A. W. Johnston. Grand Secretary. 
 
 In the pantheon of those who have rendered able and distinguished 
 service to the Grand Lodge, the author of this work, Bro. Kenton Neal 
 Harper, is deserving of a conspicuous place. 
 
 Bro. Harper was born at Gettysburg, Pa., May IS, 1857, and comes of 
 good Masonic stock, his father, Bro. Robert Goodloe Harper, editor, 
 judge, and man of affairs, having been one of the pioneer Masons in that 
 section of Pennsylvania. During the anti-Masonic excitement the elder 
 Harper engaged in the defence of our institution in a pamphlet controversy 
 with the redoubtable Thaddeus Stevens, at whose instigation he was ar- 
 rested and haled before the legislature at Harrisburg for his connection 
 with the Craft. 
 
 As a boy of six young Harper was an eye-witness to many of the 
 scenes of horror enacted in those dreadful days of July 1-3, 1863, when 
 the tide of battle surged back and forth through his native town, and the 
 memory of them remains with him vividly to this day. 
 
 His education was obtained in private schools and at Pennsylvania 
 College, being a member of the class of 1876 from that institution. He 
 then engaged in newspaper work for several years in Detroit, Cincinnati, 
 Louisville, and Cumberland, Md., in the latter city holding the posi- 
 tions of associate editor of the Daily Times and editor of the Weekly 
 Alleghanian. 
 
 Coming to Washington, he held for a brief time a position in the 
 Government Printing Office, and on March 8, 1886, entered the service 
 of the War Department, where he has since remained, being at present 
 in charge of the card index rooms of the Medical Division of the Adju- 
 tant-General's Office. 
 
 Bro. Harper's Masonic career began in 1893, when he was initiated 
 January 21; passed February 18, and raised March 17, in Naval Lodge, 
 No. 4. His aptitude for Masonic work was at once recognized by the 
 lodge, which conferred upon him the unusual honor of an election as 
 Junior Warden in less than nine months after he was raised. After a 
 service of one year in this station and two years as Senior Warden he 
 was elected Master and presided over the lodge in the years 1896 and 
 1897, and on Dec. 1, 1910, was elected Secretary. 
 
 He was exalted in Washington Naval Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M., October 
 89, 1896, and served the Chapter as High Priest in 1901. In 1903 he was 
 appointed Grand Master of the First Vail in the Grand Chapter, and has 
 been regularly advanced to the office of Grand High Priest, in which 
 he was installed February 9, 1910, for the term which will expire at the 
 Annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter in February, 1911. 
 
 He was knighted in Orient Commandery, No. 5, K. T., February 19, 
 
422 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 1906, and after filling several stations in the progressive line vifas installed 
 April 18, 1910, as Commander for the year 1910-1911. 
 
 He is a member of Adoniram Council, No. 2, R. and S. M. ; of Martha 
 Chapter, No. i, O. E. S., which he served as Worthy Patron in 1901 ; and 
 of the Board of Directors of the Masonic and Eastern Star Home of the 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 Near the Grand bodies of the District of Columbia he is the Repre- 
 sentative of the Grand Lodge of Idaho, the Grand Chapter of Iowa, and 
 the Grand Commandery of Tennessee. 
 
 He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington. 
 
 Bro. Harper was made a life member of Naval Lodge in 1905 in recog- 
 nition of his service in preparing the history of the lodge, which was pub- 
 lished in that year under the title, " First Century- of Naval Lodge, No. 4, 
 F. A. A. M." His ability in collecting and arranging the data for this 
 work and presenting it in a clear and vigorous narrative led to his 
 appointment as Historian of the Grand Lodge by Grand Master Lurtin 
 R. Ginn, and in the present work he has more than justified the wisdom 
 of his appointment and rendered an inestimable service to the Craft. It 
 is a splendid monument to his laborious research, his skill in arrangement, 
 and his ability as a writer. 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, 
 
 GRAND COMMANDER OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL, 33°. A. A. S. R., 
 SOUTHERN JURISDICTION, U. S. A.. 1858-1891. ' 
 
 Knowing well that statues of marble and bronze fall to the earth, are 
 swallowed by it, perish, and are forgotten, while the works of genius 
 alone survive, Bro. Pike erected his monument in his poems, in his 
 scholarly writings, and in books containing his profound Masonic and 
 philosophical investigations which are as yet known only to the few. 
 Like the great Roman he desired no other monument save that which is 
 found in his works. The Supreme Council, over which he presided for 
 so many years, has erected to his memory the bronze statue, the work 
 of the great Italian Sculptor, Trentanove, which was unveiled at the 
 celebration of the Centennial Anniversary. 
 
 No brief sketch such as must be given in this work can do justice to 
 the life and work of Albert Pike. 
 
 Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 29th day of December, 1809, 
 he was educated at Newburyport and Framingham. Compelled to teach 
 in order to earn money to pay his board and tuition, he fitted himself 
 to enter the junior class at Harvard College, but finding that to enter 
 that class he would have to pay the fees of the Sophomore and Freshman 
 classes before entering he declined to do so, and thus, as he said, " was 
 
IN THE DISTRICT Olf COL,UMBIA 423 
 
 deprived of the advantages of a collegiate education." Afterwards, while 
 teaching, he educated himself by taking substantially the college courses. 
 In 1834 he removed to Arkansas. A soldier in the war with Mexico he 
 commanded a company in Colonel Archibald Yell's Regiment. He was 
 Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, a Judge 
 of that Court, and was regarded as the leading lavsryer of the State. 
 Having studied the Civil Law he removed to New Orleans in 1853 and 
 engaged in practice there during that year. He was the first person 
 who proposed to hold a convention for the purpose of considering the 
 building of a railroad to the Pacific Ocean. Entering the Confederate 
 Army he served for a time as a Brigadier-General. His estate was con- 
 fiscated and was retained by the United States until after his death, when 
 part of it was returned to his children. He removed to Washington and 
 practiced law in that city until 1880, when he gave up the practice. Of 
 his poems the great English critic, "Kit North" (Wilson), said, "they 
 entitle their author to take his place in the highest order of his country's 
 poets." He was versed in many languages, including the Greek, Latin, 
 Hebrew, Sanskrit, French, Spanish, Italian, &c., and there remain as speci- 
 mens of his work in the Library of the Supreme Council his manuscript 
 translations of the Veda and the Zend-Avesta. 
 
 His labors for the Fraternity were the result of the conviction that he 
 could render humanity greater service in that field than in any other, altho 
 he could have achieved great distinction in political life or in the line of 
 his profession. He was prominent and held numerous offices in the York 
 Rite. He was made a Mason in Little Rock in July, 1850, a Royal Arch 
 Mason November 29, 1850, a Knight Templar February, 1853. He received 
 the degrees of the Scottish Rite from Albert G. Mackey on March 20, 
 1853, at Charleston, and received the thirty-third degree honorary on April 
 25, 1857, at New Orleans. He was crowned an active member of the 
 Supreme Council March 20, 1858, at Charleston. He was Honorary Grand 
 Commander of the Supreme Councils of Brazil, Egypt, and Tunis, 
 Provincial Past Grand Prior of the Grand Priory of Canada, and was 
 an honorary member of the Supreme Councils of Mexico, Colon, Hungary, 
 New Granada, Italy, the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States, 
 England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Canada, and Greece. His ability, 
 learning, and character, were thus recognized and honored throughout 
 the world. 
 
 By reason of his long residence in this city and his active interest in 
 York as well as Scottish Rite Masonry, he was well known, respected, and 
 loved by the entire local Fraternity, and his death, which occurred in this 
 city April 2, 1891, was felt to be an irreparable loss to the jurisdiction. 
 
 IN MEMORY OF THE LATE ALBERT PIKE. 
 
 In mystic glory with song and story 
 
 The coming ages shall prolong thy fame. 
 And o'er the ocean with deep devotion 
 
 The true and faithful shall revere thy name. 
 
424 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 While streams are flowing and winds are blowing 
 Along the boundless prairies of the West, 
 
 Thy manly bearing and dashing daring 
 
 Shall shine in honor with the brave and blest. 
 
 The good you brought us, the truth you taught us. 
 Shall linger down the billowy tides of time — 
 
 In templed tower with pride and power 
 
 In every heart and soul, and land and clime. 
 
 You taught us beauty and love and duty. 
 And Truth, the great foundation stone of all. 
 
 That never falters and never alters, 
 But reigns triumphant over home and hall. 
 
 Masonic pages through unborn ages 
 
 Shall paint the picture of thy lofty mien. 
 
 And tell to others that brave mystic brothers 
 Shall keep thy memory in immortal green ! 
 
 John A. JoYCfi. 
 Washington, D. C, October 25, J899. 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN MAGKEY, 
 
 SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL, 35°, A. A. S. R., 
 SOUTHERN JURISDICTION, U. S. A., FROM 1844 TO 1881. 
 
 This Brother was born in Charleston, South Carolina, March 13, 1807. 
 When seventeen years of age he was appointed a teacher in the public 
 schools of St. Johns, a place near Charleston, and while teaching he 
 studied medicine, was admitted to the South Carolina Medical College, 
 and was graduated in 1832, his Latin thesis obtaining the first prize. Some 
 years afterwards he became Demonstrator of Anatomy in the college from 
 which he had been graduated. He gave up the practice of medicine in 
 1843 and afterwards devoted himself to literature and Masonry, becoming 
 a frequent contributor to the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the 
 day. 
 
 He was made a Mason in 1841 and was elected Grand Secretary of the 
 Grand Lodge of South Carolina in 1843 and Grand Lecturer in 1845, 
 holding these offices until 1866. He was elected Grand High Priest of 
 the Grand Chapter in 1854, and re-elected every year continuously until 
 1867. The office of General Grand High Priest of the General Grand 
 Chapter of the United States was filled by him in 1859. The thirty-third 
 degree was conferred on him in 1844 and he was then elected Secretary 
 General, holding the place until his death. Dr. Mackey's first book on 
 Masonry was the " Lexicon," which was published in 1845. Then ap- 
 peared in succession " The Mystic Tie," " Ahiman Rezon," " Principles 
 of Masonic Law." " Book of the Chapter," " Text Book on Masonic 
 
-J- - 6- 
 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 425 
 
 Jurisprudence," "History of Masonry in South Carolina," "Manual of 
 the Ivodge," "Cryptic Masonry," "Symbolism of Freemasonry," "En- 
 cyclopedia of Freemasonry," and " Manual of Parliamentary Law." These 
 works made the name of the author famous and they are still in use 
 throughout the United States by many of the various bodies of the 
 Fraternity. 
 
 In July, 1865, he was appointed Collector of Customs at Charleston, 
 and in 1868 was elected President of the Constitutional Convention of 
 South Carolina. He gave up political life in 1870, came to Washington, 
 D. C, and devoted his attention to the duties of the office of Secretary 
 General of the Supreme Council. General Pike thus describes Dr. 
 Mackey, "Tall, erect, of spare but vigorous frame, his somewhat harsh 
 but striking features were replete with intelligence and amiability; 
 idolized by his wife and children he loved them devotedly; plotted no 
 harm against any one, and sought no revenge even when he did not for- 
 give, not being of a forgiving race, for he was a McGregor having kinship 
 with Rob Roy." 
 
 His ripe scholarship, his profound knowledge of Masonic law and usage, 
 his broad views of Masonic philosophy, his ceaseless and invaluable 
 literary labors in the service of the Order, his noble ideal of its character 
 and mission as well as his genial personal qualities and lofty character 
 united to make him universally known and as widely respected and beloved 
 by the Masonic world. 
 
 While a resident of Washington, Brother Mackey took an active in- 
 terest in York Rite Masonry; was a member and regular attendant of 
 the Grand Lodge and a frequent visitor to the subordinate lodges and 
 chapters of this jurisdiction; served for some years as Chairman of the 
 Committee on Jurisprudence of the Grand Lodge, and was always an 
 adviser to assist the deliberation of that body with his knowledge and 
 counsel. 
 
 Dr. Mackey died at Fortress Monroe June 30, 1881, and was interred 
 June 26 in Glenwood Cemetery, this city, the Grand Lodge performing 
 the solemn ceremonies of the Order, after religious and Scottish Rite 
 services had been held at All Souls' Church. The Supreme Council 
 in recognition of his great services to it and to Masonry erected a tablet 
 to his memory in the Cemetery. 
 
GENERAIy INDEX. 
 
 Anniversary Washington Centennial 
 
 at Philadelphia 133 
 
 Anti-Masonic period. . .67-69, 144-145 
 
 Ballot system, present 109 
 
 Benevolences : 
 General subject. .106, 107, 139, 354- 
 258 
 
 Lodge 33 Charity Fund 331 
 
 Chicago Fire Relief Fund 105 
 
 Christmas charity 358 
 
 Disaster contributions 357 
 
 Garfield Memorial Institute. .331, 
 
 364 
 Lodge of Mutual Benevolence . . 353, 
 
 356 
 Masonic and Eastern Star Home.. 
 
 357, 358. 263-368, 333-338 
 Masonic Board of Relief.. 354, 357, 
 359, 260-364, 394 
 
 Masonic Institute 364 
 
 Masonic Mutual Relief Assn.. 357- 
 358 
 
 Relation to membership 256 
 
 St. John's Mite 357, 358 
 
 Board of Masters 360 
 
 Bogoto, New Grenada 76 
 
 Burial sites 85 
 
 Card-index system 133 
 
 Centennial observance. . .138, 135-137 
 
 Centennial of Maryland 113-114 
 
 Central Masonic Hall 144-145 
 
 Chapters, R. A. : 
 Old: 
 
 Federal 383 
 
 Potomac 282 
 
 Washington-Naval 383 
 
 Washington, No. 1 140, 285 
 
 Federal, No. 1 283 
 
 Union, No. 2 285, 287 
 
 Brooke, No. 3 180, 285-287 
 
 Federal, No. 3 284-285 
 
 Union, No. 4 285 
 
 Temple, No. 4 286-287 
 
 Washington-Naval, No. 5 284 
 
 Brooke, No. 7 384-285 
 
 Columbia, No. 15... 83, 387, 391, 
 346, 353 
 
 Washington, No. 16 288, 359 
 
 Mt. Vernon, No. 30 388, 365 
 
 New: 
 
 Columbia, No. 1..158, 159, 168, 
 291, 354, 356, 359, 368, 369, 374, 
 377, 379, 387, 392, 396, 409, 413, 
 417 
 
 Chapters, R. A. : 
 New: 
 Washington, No. 3.. 158, 159, 168, 
 
 391, 357, 363, 375, 380, 383, 383, 
 
 387 
 Mt. Vernon, No. 3.. 158, 159, 168, 
 
 391, 366, 371, 395, 400, 405, 411 
 Eureka, No. 4.. 158, 159, 168, 391, 
 
 361, 403, 406, 407 
 LaFayette, No. 5.. 158, 168, 291, 
 
 292, 363, 366, 378, 385, 415 
 Washington-Naval, No. 6.. 293, 
 
 404, 412, 414, 421 
 Mt. Horeb, No. 7.. 158, 159, 168, 
 
 293, 395, 359, 390, 410, 415 
 Potomac, No. 8.. 384, 385-393, 
 
 336, 371, 372, 384, 405, 413, 
 
 420 
 Brightwood, No. 9.. 393-394, 377 
 Hiram, No. 10.. 158, 159, 394, 295 
 
 Capitol, No. 11 295, 393, 398 
 
 Anacostia, No. 13 395 
 
 Foreign : 
 
 Concordia, No. 4 383, 384 
 
 Edwards, No. 31, N. H 398 
 
 Independence, No. 15 415 
 
 Louisville, No. 5, Ky 371 
 
 Missouri, No. 1 415 
 
 Mitchell, No. 89, Mo 410 
 
 Montgomery, Md 413 
 
 Number 3, Md 383 
 
 Phoenix, No. 6, Md 384 
 
 Pulaski, No. 26, Conn 398 
 
 St. John's, Md 282 
 
 Washington, No. 1, Md. .383, 383 
 Encampment, R. A... 26, 281, 283, 
 
 333, 336 
 
 Membership 291 
 
 Old seal 384 
 
 Conclusion 137 
 
 Correspondence, Com. on.. 38-39, 53, 
 
 53, 110 
 Commanderies, K. T. : 
 Old: 
 
 Washington Encampment 83 
 
 Washington Encampment, No. 
 
 1 307, 308, 336 
 
 New: 
 Washington, No. 1..149, 154, 155, 
 
 158, 159, 168, 308-310, 313, 313, 
 
 353, 359, 362, 374, 376, 380, 382, 
 
 387, 390, 396, 400, 402, 404, 405, 
 
 407, 415 
 
428 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Commanderies, K. T. : 
 New: 
 
 Columbia, No. 2 108, 124, 149, 
 
 155, 157, 158, 168, 264, 310, 361, 
 367, 368, 370, 372, 378, 379, 383- 
 385, 392, 395, 406, 409, 410, 413, 
 414, 417 
 Potomac, No. 3.. 310, 371, 372, 
 
 406, 413, 420 
 DeMolay, No. 4.. 155, 158, 168, 
 
 311 367 377 
 Orient, No. 5.. 158, 159, 311, 373, 
 398, 404, 412, 417, 421 
 Foreign : 
 
 Apollo, No. 1, 111 370 
 
 Dewitt Clinton Encampt, N. Y.. 
 353 
 
 Mary, No. 36, Pa 406, 413 
 
 Ohio Valley, Ohio 383 
 
 Palestine, No. 18, N. Y..' 370 
 
 Richmond, No. 1 110 
 
 St. John's, No. 4, Pa 370 
 
 St. Joseph, Mo 410 
 
 St Paul, N. ri 398 
 
 University Preceptory, Dublin, 
 
 Ireland 370 
 
 Cornerstones : 
 
 Adas Israel Synagogue 129 
 
 All Souls' Church 106 
 
 American University 118 
 
 Anacostia Lodge Building 115 
 
 Baptist Church, 13th St 79 
 
 Bethany Baptist Church 133-133 
 
 Blodget's Hotel 13 
 
 Brooke Lodge Building 54 
 
 Capitol 18-22 
 
 Masonic formation at 19 
 
 Inscription on plate 19-20 
 
 Capitol Extension 78 
 
 Central Masonic Hall 141-143 
 
 Christian Church 118 
 
 City Hall 54-55 
 
 Continental Hall 125 
 
 District 11-13 
 
 Douglas Mem. Church 118 
 
 Eckington Pres. Church 127 
 
 Eleanora Ruppert Home 132 
 
 Fifteenth St. M. E. Church .... 118 
 
 Fifth Baptist 114 
 
 First Baptist, Georgetown 98 
 
 First Pres. Church 66 
 
 Foundry M. E. Church 94, 124 
 
 Gay St. Baptist Church 118 
 
 German Luth. Church, George- 
 town 98 
 
 German Reformed Church 83 
 
 Hebrew Temple 118 
 
 House of Rep. Office Bldg..l38- 
 
 129, 397 
 Ind. Ger. Prot. Church 105 
 
 Cornerstones : 
 
 Island Baptist Church 98 
 
 Jackson City 69 
 
 Masonic and Eastern Star Home.. 
 
 127 
 Masonic Temple, iYi and D, N. 
 
 W 65-66 
 
 Masonic Temple, 9th and F..148- 
 
 149 
 
 Meth. E. Church, South 100 
 
 Meth. Prot. Church 69 
 
 Metropolitan Meth. Church 79 
 
 Metropolitan Pres. Church 100 
 
 Mt. Pleasant M. E. Church .... 135 
 
 Naval Lodge Building 117-118 
 
 New Masonic Temple. .139-130, 
 
 163, 163 
 
 New Meth. Church 79 
 
 New York Av. Church 85 
 
 N. C. Av. M. P. Church 118 
 
 Northminster Pres. Church 133 
 
 Potomac Lodge Building 84, 140 
 
 Prot. E. Church of the Advent .. 139 
 
 Refusal to lay so-called 124-135 
 
 Scottish Rite Cathedral 114 
 
 Second Pres. Church 54, 125 
 
 Sixth Pres. Church 79 
 
 Smithsonian Institute 74 
 
 St. John's Epis. Church 54 
 
 St. Mark's Luth. Church 114 
 
 Tabernacle Church 107 
 
 Trinity Epis. Church 66-67 
 
 Trinity M. E. Church 118 
 
 Union Public Hotel 13 
 
 United German Church 69 
 
 War College 123-124 
 
 Wash. City Orphan Asylum 94 
 
 Wash. Lt. Inf. Armory 110 
 
 Washington Monument 74 
 
 Washington Monument at Rich- 
 mond 77 
 
 Western Pres. Church 79 
 
 White House 16 
 
 Whitney Ave. Mem. Church... 127 
 Wm. R. Singleton Lodge Buildg.. 
 
 123, 134 
 
 Cryptic Masonry 297-306, 365 
 
 Councils of: 
 
 Old: 
 
 LaFayette 300, 301, 303, 367 
 
 LaFayette, No. 1 365, 415 
 
 New: 
 
 Washington, No. 1..16S, 171, 
 301, 302, 306, 365, 367, 368, 
 374, 378, 386, 390, 392, 398, 
 402, 406, 415, 418, 420 
 
 Adoniram, No. 2.. 168, 305,306, 
 393, 400, 404, 406, 410, 412. 
 422 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 429 
 
 Dedications : 
 
 Albert Pike Statue 122 
 
 Anacostia Lodge Hall 108, 115 
 
 Brightwood Hall 106 
 
 Equestrian Statue Wash 85 
 
 Hiram Lodge Rooms 98, 105 
 
 House of the Temple 134 
 
 Lincoln Monument 100 
 
 Mas. and E. S. Home 129, 397 
 
 Mas. Temple, 9th and F 102 
 
 Naval Lodge Building. .98, 118, 150 
 
 New Temple 133 
 
 Scottish Rite Cathedral 114 
 
 Washington Monument 111-113 
 
 Wm. R. Singleton Lodge Rm. . .122 
 Wm. R. Singleton Monument. .121 
 
 Degrees 104 
 
 Fees for 65 
 
 Discipline 56-57 
 
 Fairs 118, 119, 123, 129 
 
 First Century of Naval Lodge... 422 
 Foundation stone Steuben Mon . . 102 
 Freemasonry : 
 
 Change from oper. to spec 4 
 
 Introduction into Colonies 6 
 
 Introduction into Europe 3 
 
 Introduction into Maryland 7 
 
 Modern ,5 
 
 Origin of 1-3 
 
 Regulations 5 
 
 Funerals 64-65 
 
 Liber B 110 
 
 Library : 
 
 Chicago Fire Fund 80-82 
 
 History of 80-83 
 
 Garfield Mas. Mem. Institute 264 
 
 General Grand Chapter, R. A. M . . . 
 
 274, 298-300, 313, 352, 367, 420, 424 
 
 General Grand Council. .301, 302, 306 
 
 General Grand Lodge 40 
 
 Story of movements to est.. .42-48 
 
 General Mas. Relief Assn 407 
 
 George Washington University. . .168 
 
 Grand Chapters, R. A. M. : 
 
 District of Columbia. .98, 148, 158, 
 
 168, 162, 285, 286, 288-290, 297- 
 
 300, 383, 373, 391, 412, 417, 420, 
 
 421 
 
 Canada 292 
 
 Iowa 422 
 
 Maryland... 282, 283, 286, 297, 300 
 
 Md. and D. C 283, 336, 352 
 
 South Carolina 424 
 
 Grand Commanderies, K. T. : 
 
 District of Columbia. .158, 160, 168, 
 312, 313, 386, 391, 402, 403, 406, 
 412, 416, 417, 420 
 Tennessee 422 
 
 Grand Council of Maryland 398 
 
 Grand Council of Mass 300 
 
 Grand Encampment.. 308, 310, 313, 
 
 352, 370, 374 
 Grand Lodges: 
 District of Columbia .. 136, 158, 162, 
 176 
 Address to Grand Lodges. .39-40 
 
 Centennial of 128, 135-137 
 
 Charge for admission to 63 
 
 Constitution, amendments to.. 37, 
 48 
 
 Constitution of 1820 57-61 
 
 Constitution of 1864 95, 96 
 
 Declines to participate in cere- 
 monies. .77-79, 93, 111, 112, 116 
 Designation of officers of.. 56, 96 
 
 Deputy Grand Masters 71 
 
 Formation of 34-41 
 
 History of 128 
 
 Hour of meeting 74 
 
 Installation in 49 
 
 Inventory of effects of 72, 73 
 
 Permission to retain Md. char- 
 ters 41 
 
 Pilgrimage to Tomb of Wash . . 78 
 
 Presentation of apron to 120 
 
 Public installation 76 
 
 Refreshments at 49 
 
 Representative system 70-7 1 
 
 Silver cups presented to... 79, 80 
 
 Ancients 280 
 
 Arkansas 366 
 
 California, of 210 
 
 Colorado 117 
 
 Cuba 127 
 
 England 4-6, 127, 270 
 
 Idaho 422 
 
 Ireland 127 
 
 Maryland.. 7, 8, 174, 176, 181, 188, 
 189 
 
 Missouri 415 
 
 South Carolina 424 
 
 Virginia 117, 120, 308 
 
 York 4, 6 
 
 Grand Orient of France 325 
 
 Grand Secretary, salary of 54 
 
 High Priests : 
 
 Convention of.. 168, 378, 380, 383, 
 392, 398, 400, 403, 404, 406, 418, 
 420 
 
 Order of 286 
 
 House of the Temple 134 
 
 House warming 134 
 
 Jewels 53, 83, 84 
 
 Jurisdiction 98-100 
 
430 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Lodges : 
 District of Columbia : 
 Old: 
 
 Auld Scotch Lodge 10, 384 
 
 St. Andrews, Georgetown .. 8- 
 10, 188, 384 
 
 Charters from Maryland: 
 No. 9.. 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 
 23, 34, 32, 173, 188, 189, 
 333 
 St. Columbia, No. 11.. 14, 
 
 15, 189 
 Federal, No. 15.. 14, 17,23, 
 
 36, 29, 31, 34-36, 175, 176, 
 
 189, 281, 382, 333, 336 
 Columbia, No. 19.. 33-26, 
 
 32, 176, 189 
 Columbia, No. 35.. 39, 34. 
 
 35 
 Washington-Naval, No. 41, 
 
 30, 31, 34-36, 184 
 Potomac, No. 43.. 33-36, 
 
 190, 333, 336 
 Charter from Virginia: 
 
 Alexandria-Brooke, No. 47, 
 
 37, 34-36, 179, 334 
 New: 
 
 Federal, No. 1..37, 38, 42, 67, 
 
 72, 116, 117, 139, 140, 142,. 
 146, 147, 158, 159, 168, 173-1 
 179, 181, 194, 309, 311, 313, 
 333, 339, 275, 336, 339, 343, 
 359, 360, 396 
 
 Brooke, No. 2. . .38, 67, 141, 179- 
 181, 197, 375 
 
 Columbia, No. 3.. 38, 67, 94, 95, 
 136, 139, 140, 158, 159, 168, 
 181-184, 216, 275, 340, 376, 
 389, 404 
 
 Naval, No. 4... 38, 43, 67, 137, 
 131, 140, 150, 153, 184-188, 
 193, 193, 195, 301, 325, 227, 
 355, 356, 275, 378, 344, 346, 
 357, 380, 383, 404, 431, 422 
 
 Potomac, No. 5.. 33, 38, 67, 73, 
 101, 130, 131, 140, 147, 163, 
 188-191, 301 337, 228, 275, 
 336, 348, 371, 389, 412 
 
 Union No. 6.. 42, 67, 141, 192- 
 193, 201, 344 
 
 Lebanon, No. 7.. 42, 46, 63, 73, 
 143, 158, 159, 168, 176, 177, 
 194-196, 335, 336, 338, 343, 
 346, 363, 380, 402 
 
 Evangelical, No. 8.. 63, 73, 180, 
 197-198 
 
 The New Jerusalem, No. 9. .64, 
 
 73, 105, 143, 147, 149, 158, 
 159, 168, 198-300, 336, 344, 
 368, 374, 384, 387 
 
 Lodges : 
 District of Columbia: 
 New: 
 Hiram, No. 10. .66, 68, 105, 144, 
 
 147, 150, 158, 301-204, 216, 
 
 340, 349, 357, 359, 390 
 St. John's, No. 11.. 73, 93, 94, 
 
 105, 147, 158, 159, 168, 304- 
 
 206, 330, 246, 257, 357, 358, 
 
 372, 387, 412 
 National, No. 13.. 73, 104, 115, 
 
 147, 158, 159, 168, 306-208, 
 
 379, 215, 354, 355, 360, 407 
 California, No. 13.. 75, 177, 
 
 209-210 
 Washington-Centennial, No. 14, 
 
 ...78, 79, 148, 158, 159, 168, 
 
 177, 311-313, 230, 235, 237, 
 
 238, 363, 376, 378, 379, 385, 
 
 411 
 B. B. French, No. 15.. 79, 94, 
 
 119, 130, 136, 158, 159, 168, 
 
 177, 313-315, 218, 222, 356, 
 
 366, 369, 375, 383, 392, 409 
 Dawson, No. 16.. 83, 158, 168, 
 
 183, 216-317, 358 
 Harmony, No. 17.. 93, 136, 158, 
 
 168, 317-319, 237, 248, 393, 
 
 399, 417, 419 
 Acacia, No. 18.. 94, 158, 159, 
 
 168, 330-331, 363, 385, 414 
 LaFayette, No. 19.. 94, 95, 158, 
 
 168, 220, 321-333, 330, 365, 
 
 366, 379, 398 
 Hope, No. 30.. 97, 105, 158, 159, 
 
 168, 233-335, 359, 383, 385, 
 
 413 
 Anacostia, No. 31.. 101, 103, 
 
 136, 150, 335-337, 375 
 George C. Whiting, No. 23.. 
 
 101, 337-339, 356, 361, 384, 405 
 Pentalpha, No. 33.. 104, 155, 
 
 158, 159, 168, 239-333, 364. 
 279, 359, 371, 383, 410, 415 
 
 Stansbury, No. 24.. 105, 106, 
 
 151, 332-334, 343, 251, 377 
 Arminius, No. 25.. 107, 159, 
 
 235-336 
 Osiris, No. 26.. 114, 115, 158, 
 
 159, 168, 236-239, 247, 375, 
 378 
 
 M. M. Parker, No. 27.. 115, 
 116, 117, 153, 239-341, 369, 
 376, 377 
 
 King David, No. 28.. 117, 118, 
 
 152, 158, 241-243, 406 
 Takoma, No. 29.. 118, 243-245, 
 
 398 
 Wm. R. Singleton, No. 30.. 
 121, 122, 152, 345-247 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 431 
 
 Lodges : 
 District of Columbia: 
 New: 
 King Solomon, No. 31.. 126. 
 
 137, 168, 247-348 
 Temple, No. 33.. 133, 136, 159, 
 
 168, 248-351, 375, 383, 398, 
 
 399, 403, 413 
 Mt. Pleasant, No. 33.. 135, 251- 
 
 353 
 Military, U. D. : 
 
 Good Hope (59 N. Y.)..253 
 
 History of 89, 90, 253 
 
 Lodge of the Union (5 A. 
 C.) 90, 253 
 
 National Guard (7 N. Y.).. 
 89, 90, 253 
 
 Potomac, The (3 Pa.).. 90, 
 253 
 Union, U. D. (Alex., Va.) . .90- 
 
 92, 252 
 African descent, of.. 78, 103, 
 
 104 
 Capitol City (Pentalpha) . .339 
 
 Congressional, The 31 
 
 George Washington, U. D. 
 
 (23) 237 
 
 King "Solomon, No. 20 95 
 
 Lecture 69, 70 
 
 Mutual Benevolence, of.. 353, 
 
 256 
 
 Restoration 78 
 
 Table 104 
 
 Foreign : 
 
 Abraham, No. 8, Ky 371 
 
 Adelphi, No. 63, Conn 398 
 
 Alex.-Wash., No. 22, Va..ll, 
 
 12, 18, 19, 20, 31, 33, 28, 34, 
 
 35, 93, 113, 162, 180, 197 
 Andrew Jackson, No. 120, Va.91 
 
 Athol, Pa 281 
 
 Benevolent, No. 87, Me 405 
 
 Evening Star, No. 44, N. Y..392 
 
 Charity, No. 331, Mo 410 
 
 Corinthian, No. 38, N. H..352 
 Fredericksburg, No. 4, Va..27, 
 
 75, 85, 113, 162, 281, 398 
 Independence, No. 76, Mo. .415 
 King Solomon, No. 14, N. H.351 
 
 Lancaster, No. 43, Pa 85 
 
 Monroe, No. 27, Mich 409 
 
 Mt. Nebo, No. 91, Md 74 
 
 Naphtali, No. 25 415 
 
 Number 12, Md 18 
 
 Number 39, Va 11, 28 
 
 Naval, No. 87, Cal 382 
 
 San Diego, No. 35, Cal.... 375 
 South Bend, No. 294, Ind..375 
 
 St. Andrew's, Mass 281 
 
 St. John's, No. 1, N. Y 113 
 
 Lodges : 
 District of Columbia: 
 
 Foreign : 
 
 St. John's, No. 36, Va....335 
 Tolerancia, No. 4, Portugal. 382 
 Tuscarora, No. 59, Ohio... 354 
 
 Warner, No. 50, Vt 369 
 
 Longitude of Capitol 63, 63 
 
 Masonic and Eastern Star Home.. 
 
 171, 257, 327, 378, 397, 422 
 
 Cornerstone laying 366 
 
 Dedication of 139, 367 
 
 Location of 366, 267 
 
 Masonic Board of Relief . .360-363, 
 378, 387, 394, 407 
 
 Masonic Hall Association 96, 148 
 
 Masonic Institute 364 
 
 Masonic Meeting Places : 
 
 Anacostia Lodge Room . . 336, 337, 
 
 336 
 Brightwood Driving Park Inn. .333 
 
 Brightwood Hall 105, 151, 333 
 
 Central Masonic Hall (1)..65, 66, 
 
 72, 144, 145, 146, 177, 199, 214, 
 
 298, 340, 344 
 Central Masonic Hall (2).. 147, 
 
 195, 199, 313, 214, 233, 324 
 
 Circus Building 73, 147, 199 
 
 Club House, 15th and H 317 
 
 Eastern Edifice Seven Bldgs...301 
 
 Forrest Hall 148 
 
 Freemasons' Hall 144, 199 
 
 Hiram Lodge Room.. 98, 200, 324, 
 
 333, 335, 336 
 
 House of the Temple 152 
 
 Island Hall 148, 212 
 
 Little Hotel 139 
 
 Lovell's Hotel 139, 181 
 
 Market House 302 
 
 Masonic Hall, 9th and D 316 
 
 Masonic Temple, 9th and F..103, 
 
 148, 149, 150, 151, 195, 200, 214, 
 
 224 
 Medical College Building. .147, 199, 
 
 214 
 M. M. Parker Lodge Room.. 115, 
 
 240, 241 
 Naval Lodge Hall.. 94, 98, 185, 186, 
 
 336, 338, 326 
 New Temple.. 129, 130, 133, 134, 
 
 154-173, 300, 334, 238, 248, 360, 
 
 385, 394 
 
 Amendment to act of incorp. .171 
 
 Chapter Room 168 
 
 Commandery Asylum 168 
 
 Completion of 164 
 
 Control by Grand Lodge.. 169- 
 172 
 
 Dedication of 164 
 
 Description of 164-169 
 
432 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Masonic Meeting Places: 
 New Temple: 
 
 Fairs for 161 
 
 Financing of 161, 162 
 
 Ground broken 162 
 
 House warming 161 
 
 Initial movement 15T 
 
 Library 167 
 
 Lodge Rooms 167, 16S 
 
 May Festival 161 
 
 Representatives to Temple Assn. 
 158-160 
 
 Site of 161 
 
 Tentative proposition 154-157 
 
 Odeon Hall 147, 199, 204 
 
 Potomac Lodge Buildings. .139, 
 140, 147, 148, 191 
 
 Redfem's Store 202 
 
 Residence, 1109 H N. W 321 
 
 Scottish Rite Cathedral (1)..151, 
 
 236, 237, 238, 247, 326, 327, 373 
 Scottish Rite Cathedral (2).. 321, 
 
 322 
 Scottish Rite Hall, 7th and D..321 
 Scottish Rite Sanctuary, 7th and 
 
 D 319 
 
 Smith's Stable 147, 203 
 
 Stansbury Lodge Room 326 
 
 Takoma Lodge Room 244 
 
 Town Hal) 201, 202 
 
 Town Hall, Brookland 242 
 
 Twelfth and Pa. Av. N. W 72 
 
 Union Lodge Room.. 29, 34, 35, 54, 
 139, 140, 176, 181, 199 
 
 White House 317 
 
 Wm. R. Singleton Lodge Room . 246 
 Masonic Mutual Life Assn.. 167, 257, 
 358, 401, 409 
 
 Masonic oration 83 
 
 Masonic Relief Assn, U. S. and Can- 
 ada 261, 262, 263, 395, 407 
 
 Masonic Temple Assn.. 157, 158, 159, 
 
 160, 161, 360, 375, 385, 387, 394, 400 
 
 Masonic Veteran Association. .363, 
 
 378, 380, 400, 403, 404, 406, 413, 420 
 
 Masonic Home, Ky 231, 264 
 
 Membership.. 51, 68, 77, 79, 93, 110, 
 
 135, 139 
 Memorial Temple at Fredericksburg, 
 
 Va 114 
 
 Monrovia 78 
 
 Mt. St. Albans, service at 135 
 
 Mt. Vernon Assn 84 
 
 Mystic Shrine (A. A. O. N. M. S.).374 
 Almas Temple.. 159, 171, 258, 363, 
 368, 372, 374, 380, 383, 386, 388, 
 390, 393, 395, 396, 398, 400, 403, 
 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 410, 412, 
 413, 418 
 Imperial Council 374, 388, 390 
 
 Order of the Eastern Star... 333-328 
 
 General Grand Chapter 336 
 
 Grand Chapter 266, 327, 414 
 
 Chapters : 
 
 Ruth, No. 1 159, 336, 377 
 
 Electa, No. 3 336 
 
 Naomi, No. 3.. 159, 336, 378, 386 
 Martha, No. 4.. 326, 399, 412, 414, 
 422 
 
 Esther, No. 5 159, 160, 326 
 
 Adah, No. 6 326, 327 
 
 Bethlehem, No. 7 327 
 
 Mizpah, No. 8 337, 406 
 
 Adah, No. 9 327 
 
 Areme, No. 10 327 
 
 Brookland, No. 11 327 
 
 Takoma, No. 12 32T 
 
 Temple, No. 13 327, 399, 403 
 
 Cathedral, No. 14 337 
 
 Electa Lodge (1) 335, 336 
 
 Alpha, of Maryland 336 
 
 Membership 326, 327 
 
 Peace Cross 135 
 
 Petitions, old sample 49, 50 
 
 Pilgrimage to Mt. Vernon 84 
 
 Pilgrimage to Richmond 84 
 
 Processions 64, 65 
 
 Public installation 102, 150 
 
 Redistricting lodges 85 
 
 Relics.. 74, 75, 113, 113, 162, 191, 333 
 
 Reprint of Proceedings 107 
 
 Residence 98-100 
 
 R. and S. M. degree 398-301 
 
 Royal Order of Scotland. .398, 400, 
 403, 413, 430 
 
 Ritual, history of 269, 379 
 
 Scottish Rite 171, 315-333, 353 
 
 Albert Pike Consistory. .159, 319, 
 360, 362, 368, 372, 373, 378, 382, 
 390, 398, 400, 402, 412, 413, 430 
 Council of Princes of Jerusalem.. 
 318 
 
 Court of Honor 374, 383, 398 
 
 Evangelist Chapter Rose Croix... 
 
 158, 159, 318, 322, 360, 368, 371, 
 373, 374, 378, 382, 383, 387, 389, 
 390, 398, 400, 402, 413, 420 
 
 Grand Consistory 316, 317 
 
 Kedron Council, No. 1 318 
 
 Mithras Lodge of Perfection .. 158, 
 
 159, 264, 317, 318, 320, 323, 359, 
 368, 374, 378, 387, 389, 390, 393, 
 395, 396, 398, 400, 402, 413, 420 
 
 Offices of 321 
 
 Orient Lodge of Perfection, No. 
 
 2 320, 373, 389 
 
 Osiris Lodge of Perfection, No. ly 
 
 316, 317 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 433 
 
 Scottish Rite: 
 Robert de Bruce Council of Ka- 
 dosh..l59, 318, 332, 360, 368, 373, 
 374, 378, 382, 390, 398, 400, 402, 
 413, 420 
 Sublime Princes of the Royal Se- 
 cret 316 
 
 Supreme Council .. 132, 316, 321, 
 360, 373, 390, 398, 400, 403, 415. 
 420, 423-435 
 Singleton Monument 131, 415 
 
 St. John's Day, celebration of 55 
 
 Table Lodge 104 
 
 Templary in the District 307-314 
 
 Visitations 53 
 
 War of 1813 52 
 
 War of the Rebellion 87-94 
 
 Washington Gavel 130-132, 189 
 
 Washington Monument. .65, 74, 76, 
 
 111-113, 293, 356, 369 
 York Rite 273-274 
 
 28 
 
PERSONAL INDEX. 
 
 Abbott, Geo. A 206, 292 
 
 Abbott, Joel 44 
 
 Acker, J. N 207 
 
 Acker, N 149 
 
 Acker, Wm. J 196 
 
 Adams, Crawford C 318, 319 
 
 Adams, Geo 192 
 
 Adams, Hamilton 247 
 
 Adams, W. W 252 
 
 Adamson, Alan C 324 
 
 Aler, Saml. E 159 
 
 Alexander, Amos.. 334, 35, 40, 180, 
 285 
 
 Alexander, Fredk. G 377, 234 
 
 Alexander, Philip 185 
 
 Alexander, Robt 185 
 
 Allen, Bennett A 319, 313, 338 
 
 Allen, Carrie B 337 
 
 Allen, Claude J 203 
 
 Allen, Jeremiah C 294, 302, 303 
 
 Allen, Saml. A 206 
 
 Alvey, Wm 244 
 
 Alvord, H. J 221, 222 
 
 Amiss, T. B 230 
 
 Andersen, John H 333 
 
 Andrews, John F 193 
 
 Andrews, T. P 300 
 
 Andrews, Wm. T 245 
 
 Appel, Chas. A 318 
 
 Appleby, Jas. F. R 294 
 
 Appleton, Wm. H 232 
 
 Arbuckle, Thos 38 
 
 Aregood, J. W 340 
 
 Armour, Robt 203 
 
 Armstead, Robt 192 
 
 Armstrong, Wm. P 243 
 
 Armstrong, W. Spencer 223 
 
 Arnold, A. J 179 
 
 Arrison, John R 224 
 
 Ashford, Craven 200, 211, 213 
 
 Ashford, Philip M 239 
 
 Ashton, Henry 201 
 
 Athey, John C 229 
 
 Atkins, Edw. C 224 
 
 Atkins, Jos. L 126, 347, 348 
 
 AtLee, Samuel Yorke 75, 309, 211 
 
 Aubere, Jewell H 247 
 
 Austin, Howard S 353 
 
 Ayers, Willard 218, 219 
 
 Babcock, Chas. E 206 
 
 Babcock, Wallace C 219 
 
 Bacon, Saml 192 
 
 Baganrieflf, Valentine 189 
 
 Bailey, Geo. H 238, 344 
 
 Baird, George W..381, 52, 123, 155, 
 
 158, 224 
 
 Baird, T. H., Jr 205 
 
 Baker, C. B 220 
 
 Baker, Henry S 204 
 
 Baker, John E 211, 212 
 
 Balch, Jas 8, 9 
 
 Balch, Lewis P. W 35 
 
 Balch, Thomas 8, 9 
 
 Balderston, Edgar R 237 
 
 Baldwin, 398 
 
 Baldwin, Chas. E...406, 343, 349, 305 
 
 Baldwin, Edwd 330 
 
 Baldwin, H. C 220 
 
 Baldwin, Henry 44 
 
 Baldwin, W. H 94, 230 
 
 Ball, Clara E 328 
 
 Ball, Jas. H 228 
 
 Ball, Robert 217, 294, 312 
 
 Ballard, Wm. T 179 
 
 Balloch, Geo. W..106, 331, 232, 233, 
 
 317 
 
 Bancroft, George 73 
 
 Barker, Benj. M 233, 333 
 
 Barksdale, Noel W 315, 350 
 
 Barlow, John H 163 
 
 Barnhart, Grant S 225 
 
 Barns, James J 230 
 
 Barnum, Wra 157, 215 
 
 Barrett, E. B 216 
 
 Barr, H. D 33') 
 
 Barr, Henry C 317 
 
 Barroll, F. H 94, 232 
 
 Barstow, Wm. H 238 
 
 Barth, Andrew 181 
 
 Bartholow, J. P 220 
 
 Bartlett, F 222 
 
 Barton, Wilfred M 333 
 
 Barton, William H 330 
 
 Bassett, Isaac 330 
 
 Baumann, Geo. W 317 
 
 Baumgarten, Herman 236 
 
 Baum, W. H 158 
 
 Baxter, M. C 308 
 
 Baxter, Saml 303, 303 
 
 Beach, Dan. W., Jr 196 
 
 Beach, Francis 1 196 
 
 Beall, Ninian 35, 39 
 
 Beatty, Thos., Jr 16, 24, 189, 190 
 
 Becker, Chas 229 
 
436 
 
 HISTORY 0? FREEMASONRY 
 
 Becker, Chas. A 246 
 
 Becker, Harry 229 
 
 Bedell, Harry M 184 
 
 Beech, E. L 252 
 
 Beedle, John W 181 
 
 Behrend, Rudolph B 225 
 
 Bell, John J 317 
 
 Bell, Ninian 181 
 
 Bell, Saml. P 216, 220 
 
 Bell, Wm. E 246 
 
 Belt, Ben 195 
 
 Belt, Levin 201 
 
 Bender, Jacob A 142 
 
 Benjamin, Chas. F 159 
 
 Bennett, Clement W....317, 318, 319 
 
 Bennett, David L 217 
 
 Bennett, Harrison M 244, 245 
 
 Bennett, H. P 222 
 
 Bennett, Wm. A 252 
 
 Bentley, A. J 230 
 
 Benton, John H 213, 221, 222 
 
 Beresf ord, Randolph 302 
 
 Berger, Wm 236 
 
 Bergmann, Wm. C 23i 
 
 Berkley, Jas 193 
 
 Bernard, Eugene J 196 
 
 Berry, Chas. E 249 
 
 Berry, Geo. A 188 
 
 Berryman, Clifford K 249, 251 
 
 Best, Robt. W 244 
 
 Bickford, Warren C 203 
 
 Billheimer, Stanley 191 
 
 Billing, Margaret M., Miss 343 
 
 Billing, W. W 343-4, 69, 145, 200 
 
 Birch, Isaac 169, 191 
 
 Birch, James H 204 
 
 Birckhead, John N 82, 263 
 
 Birney, Arthur A 232 
 
 Bishop, Wm 192 
 
 Bittinger, Henry E 215 
 
 Bittinger, Benj. F 217 
 
 Blackmar, John F 219 
 
 Blair, Jackson F 253 
 
 Blake, Levi C 188 
 
 Blake, Jas. H 195, 206, 213 
 
 Blanchard, C. B 231 
 
 Blasdell, Nicholas 180, 308, 314 
 
 Bloomer, Arthur F 305 
 
 Bock, Fred M 206 
 
 Boganreiff, Valentine 34 
 
 Bogimaff, Bro 25 
 
 Bohrer, Geo. P 206 
 
 Bolgiano, F. W 252 
 
 Bond, Saml. R 158, 169, 317 
 
 Bonitz, Henry 336 
 
 Borden, Clifford A 334 
 
 Borland, John E 221 
 
 Bornheim, Carrie 328 
 
 Bornheim, Wm. M 229 
 
 Boss, Castleman P 232 
 
 Boswell, R. H 283 
 
 Bowdler, Wm. T 240 
 
 Bowen, J. Chester 223 
 
 Bowen, Ralph W 241 
 
 Bowen, Wm. F 196 
 
 Bower, E. T 230 
 
 Bowling, Thos. M 246 
 
 Boyd, John 180 
 
 Boyd, Robert 199, 204 
 
 Boyd, Washington 195 
 
 Boyden, W. L 83, 239, 315 
 
 Boyer, Heinrich H 224 
 
 Boyle, John 196 
 
 Bradford, Wm. R 209 
 
 Bradley, Chas. H 135, 253 
 
 Bradley, Jos. H 250 
 
 Brady, Mary Ellen 350 
 
 Brainard, Mark D., Sr 159 
 
 Bramhall, Thos. W 217 
 
 Brandenburg, Edwin C 203 
 
 Brandt, Charles 236 
 
 Brashears, Edw. S 252 
 
 Brashears, John W 192 
 
 Bratenahl, G. C. F 246 
 
 Breast, Jas. O 249 
 
 Breen, John 203 
 
 Briggs, Wm 324 
 
 Brigham, Henry 216 
 
 Bright, Al. W 159 
 
 Brinkman, Thos. H 191 
 
 Brinsmade, P. Allan 209 
 
 Briscoe, H. L 158 
 
 Briscoe, Thos. B 194 
 
 Briscoe, Wm. H 192 
 
 Brockett, Robt 180 
 
 Brockett, Robert, Jr 180 
 
 Brodie, Chas. D 185 
 
 Brodie, Wm. A 229 
 
 Bromwell, H. P. H 150 
 
 Brooks, Walton J 240 
 
 Brown, 383 
 
 Brown, Chas. O 224 
 
 Brown, Geo 185 
 
 Brown, Howard G 221 
 
 Brown, John T 185 
 
 Brown, Jos. F 73, 204 
 
 Brown, Joseph Thos 317 
 
 Brown, P. B 222 
 
 Brown, Robert 191, 282 
 
 Brown, Walter A.. 395-7, 129, 169, 
 172, 178, 179, 350, 259, 267 
 
 Browne, Benj. W 230 
 
 Browne, John Mills 319, 320 
 
 Brumett, W. C 70 
 
 Brummett, Jos 294 
 
 Brunson, J 209 
 
 Bryan, Jos 183 
 
 Bryan, J. V 233 
 
 Bryant, Arthur L 315 
 
 Buchanan, Jas 85, 132 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 437 
 
 Buchler, C. H 159 
 
 Buchley, Anthony 178 
 
 Buchly, Anthony 259, 391 
 
 Buckler, C. Howard 239 
 
 Buddecke, Fred W 208 
 
 Bull, Marcus 316 
 
 Burch, Samuel 60, 178, 330 
 
 Burdett, Saml. S 200 
 
 Burga, Andrew 246 
 
 Burgdorf, Louis 322 
 
 Burges, James , 185 
 
 Burke, Jerome B 233 
 
 Burke, John 20L 
 
 Burks, Robert E 184 
 
 Burnett, D. L 150 
 
 Burns, Jas. Eldridge..ll5, 116, 240, 
 341 
 
 Burns, John 181 
 
 Burns, Wm. G 238 
 
 Burnside, J. O. P 230 
 
 Burr, T. S 332 
 
 Burroughs, Henry H 331 
 
 Burton, G. C 340 
 
 Burton, H. G 44 
 
 Bury, Edw. B 188 
 
 Bushby, Wm. R 333 
 
 Bussius, Allen 306 
 
 Bussius, John 336 
 
 Butler, Abraham 146 
 
 Butler, Robert 338 
 
 Byington, Saml 311, 313 
 
 Byns, Bartholemew 185 
 
 Byrne, C 182 
 
 Caldwell, Chas. T 159, 319, 295 
 
 Callahan, John J 234 
 
 Calver, Thos 234 
 
 Cammack, Christopher 206 
 
 Camp, Francis E 340 
 
 Camp, Guy W. A 343 
 
 Camp, Herbert M 344 
 
 Campbell, Colin 8 
 
 Campbell, J. Frank 188 
 
 Campbell, T. B 95 
 
 Cana, Frederick 193 
 
 Cannon, John N 185 
 
 Cannon, Joseph G 138, 139 
 
 Cardell, William S 44 
 
 Garden, Frank W 352 
 
 Carey, Wm 189 
 
 Carman, Louis D 219 
 
 Carmick, Thomas G 117, 342 
 
 Carpenter, Benj. D 106, 233 
 
 Carr, Arthur 341 
 
 Carr, Geo. F. W 240 
 
 Carr, Robert 1 241 
 
 Carroll, Daniel 12, 20 
 
 Carroll, E. S 244 
 
 Carson, James 35, 180 
 
 Carson, James, Dr 180 
 
 Carter, Delos M 221 
 
 Carter, Emmett M 215 
 
 Carter, John 383 
 
 Carter, Seth 185 
 
 Carver, Wilburn R 341 
 
 Gary, Wm 24 
 
 Casanave, P 16 
 
 Casey, Chas. C 230 
 
 Casey, Wm 34, 189 
 
 Cass, Lewis 83 
 
 Cassin, Joseph 35, 37, 185, 283 
 
 Castell, J. Marion 206 
 
 Caswell, Thos. H 330 
 
 Catlett, Geo. W 198 
 
 Caton, M 183, 183 
 
 Causten, M. C 337, 338 
 
 Caving, Joseph 181 
 
 Challice, Wm. P 334 
 
 Chamberlain, E. H 109, 158, 160 
 
 Chamberlin, Austin B 331 
 
 Chamberlin, E. H.. 367-8, 200, 303, 
 312 
 
 Chambers, E. G 223 
 
 Chance, Merritt O 349 
 
 Chandler, Thos. A 300 
 
 Chaney, John C 158, 215 
 
 Chapman, Chas. T 285 
 
 Chapman, N. O 231 
 
 Chappell, John W 246 
 
 Chappell, N. W 245 
 
 Cheney, Jas. W 252 
 
 Chipman, G. B 252 
 
 Chipman, Morton P 317 
 
 Chipman, N. P 291 
 
 Chififelle, T. P 370, 371, 191 
 
 Cissel, Wm. H. H 313 
 
 Claflin, Price C 249 
 
 Clagett, Judson M 15 
 
 Clare, Jos 233 
 
 Clark, Dewitt C 218 
 
 Clark, Francis 38 
 
 Clark, Geo. B 212, 293 
 
 Clark, Joseph 18, 20, 21 
 
 Clark, P. M 223 
 
 Clarke, Alex 183, 188 
 
 Clarke, Robt 187 
 
 Clarke, Winlock 185 
 
 Clarkson, Edwin S 200 
 
 Clay, Henry 44 
 
 Clayton, D. A 223 
 
 Clement, Edward E 331 
 
 Clements, J. H 233 
 
 Clements, J. T 222 
 
 Clephinia, Lewis 190 
 
 Clevinzer, Jacob A 203 
 
 Clifton, Richard S 162, 191 
 
 Clinton, DeWitt 66, 286, 30S 
 
 Clubb, John L 313 
 
 Cochran, R 306 
 
 Cochran, T. B 163 
 
 Coffin, Warren J 200 
 
438 
 
 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Coghlan, William 175 
 
 Cohill, Geo. A 225 
 
 Cohill, Wm. A 224 
 
 Colborn, John A , . . . 317, 303 
 
 Colder, Wm 190 
 
 Coldren, Fred G 249 
 
 Cole, Henry V 98 
 
 Cole, Harry V 224 
 
 Colison, George Z 179 
 
 Colledge, Chas. B. R 303 
 
 Collins, Jacob W...333, 350, 305, 306 
 
 Collins, John F 225 
 
 Collins, Wm 206 
 
 Collins, Wm. H 294 
 
 Coltman, Charles 13 
 
 Coltman, Chas. L 200 
 
 Coltman, Robert 196, 300, 204 
 
 Corapton, Samuel F 241 
 
 Connell, Robert 213 
 
 Connelly, M. C .' 315 
 
 Cook, Harry P 188 
 
 Cook, John A 286 
 
 Cook, Paul C 223 
 
 Cook, Richard 180 
 
 Cook, Robert 295 
 
 Cook, William 283 
 
 Cooke, Orlando 35, 181 
 
 Cooke, O. W 230 
 
 Coolidge, Augustus B.. 399-401, 164, 
 
 169, 172, 323, 223, 250, 305, 394 
 
 Coombs, Chas. C 200 
 
 Coon, Chas. E 231 
 
 Cooper, Wm 183, 286 
 
 Coote, Clement T 343-3, 177, 178 
 
 Copeland, Thos 204 
 
 Copes, Geo. H 327 
 
 Corbin, H. C 310 
 
 Corcoran, Thos 385 
 
 Corcoran, W. W 113 
 
 Corning, H. E 346 
 
 Cornwell, Chas. W 191 
 
 Corson, Geo. E.. 418-20, 319, 293, 297, 
 
 302, 313, 313, 330 
 
 Costinett, Jos. R 252 
 
 Covert, Seward T 221 
 
 Cowl, Benj. G 244 
 
 Cowling, Wm. W 106, 233 
 
 Cox, S. Clifford 203 
 
 Cox, John D 201 
 
 Cox, Walter 192 
 
 Cozzens, Richard E 346 
 
 Craig, Henry C 229 
 
 Craig, Robt 190 
 
 Craig, Wm. A 324 
 
 Cramer, Harry B 252 
 
 Cramer, Leslie 215 
 
 Cranford, Jos. H 349 
 
 Crawford, John 30, 283 
 
 Crawford, W. S 313 
 
 Crenshaw, Rufus A 243 
 
 Criddle, Jonathan 192 
 
 Cridler, David M 303 
 
 Cridler, Thos. W 223 
 
 Crisp, Thos. B 240, 241 
 
 Criswell, Francis 219 
 
 Crocker, John 175 
 
 Crook, Bernard 175 
 
 Cross, Jeremy L 374 
 
 Cruikshank, John 335 
 
 Crump, C. E 252 
 
 Gulp, Frederick W 215 
 
 Gumming, Daniel 383 
 
 Gumming, David 175 
 
 Cummins, Chas. F 352 
 
 Cummins, Harry A 353 
 
 Cummins, John 30, 31, 184 
 
 Cunningham, E. M 308, 209 
 
 Cunningham, J. Harry.. 413, 128, 159, 
 
 324 
 
 Cunningham, J. Scott 207 
 
 Curran, Jos. H 249 
 
 Curran, W. W 207 
 
 Currier, David 245 
 
 Curtis, Frank B 159, 184 
 
 Cushman, James 307 
 
 Daish, John B 223 
 
 Dallas, Geo. M 74 
 
 Daniel, Ernest H 212, 250, 303 
 
 Daniel, Robt. A 306 
 
 Daniels, Frank G 230 
 
 Daniels, Joseph.. 102, 230, 294, 317, 
 
 318 
 
 Daniels, Wm. S 242 
 
 Darby, Rezin W 329, 313 
 
 Darlington, Wm 43 
 
 Darne, John H 328 
 
 David, Levi H 206 
 
 Davidge, Walter D 386 
 
 Davies, Isaac 185 
 
 Davis, Danl. G 158, 243 
 
 Davis, Eldred G.. 361-3, 134, 158, 196, 
 
 313 
 
 Davis, Geo. P 233 
 
 Davis, John 195 
 
 Davis, John H 212 
 
 Davis, John, of Abel 30, 31, 35, 36 
 
 Davis, John, of Able 184 
 
 Davis, Shadrach 35, 185 
 
 Davis, T. Elwood 196 
 
 Davis, Walter B 219 
 
 Davidson, Edw. Y 225 
 
 Davidson, John.. 334, 335, 54, 195, 196 
 
 Daw, Frederick W 191 
 
 Dawson, John B 319 
 
 Dawson, John R 217 
 
 Dawson, Jos 134, 163 
 
 Dawson, Wm. C 83, 216 
 
 Day, G. Frank 253 
 
 Deaver, James 190 
 
 De Caindry, Wm. A 217 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 439 
 
 Decker, Wm. H 184 
 
 Degge, Robt. T 198 
 
 De Gray and Ripon, Earl 279 
 
 De Hart, H. M 101 
 
 Dellett, Robt. A 206 
 
 De Moll, J. G 159 
 
 De Moll, Otto J 319 
 
 De Moll, Theo. G 196 
 
 Denison, Chas. W 231 
 
 Denmead, Adam 283 
 
 Dent, Louis A 249, 305 
 
 Depue, James C 244 
 
 De Shields, Wm. H 239 
 
 Dessau, A. Ferdinand 224 
 
 De Valengen, Albert 180 
 
 Devaughn, Wm 180 
 
 Devries, Wm. L 247 
 
 Dexter, Wm. Hart 215 
 
 Dickens, Chas 338 
 
 Dickens, Jas. R. S 179 
 
 Dickerson, P. B 240 
 
 Dickey, John 175 
 
 Dickson, Chas. H 224 
 
 Diedel, Charles 252 
 
 Dieterich, Fred. G 224 
 
 Dietz, Chas. J 244 
 
 Dillon, Robt 185 
 
 Dingman, Harrison .. 373, 374, 159, 
 
 300, 250, 303, 303, 305, 309, 312, 313 
 
 Dixon, David G 379, 380, 186, 196 
 
 Dixon, George 185 
 
 Dixon, Millard T 188, 337 
 
 Dobbin, Archibald 15 
 
 Dobbins, David 185 
 
 Dobbyn, David 35 
 
 Dobbyn, John 181 
 
 Dodge, A. T. C 230 
 
 Dodge, Wilbur S 237 
 
 Doe, W. H 119 
 
 Dolar, Bernard 181 
 
 Donaldson, R. B..359, 360, 53, 80, 91, 
 
 102, 109, 133, 158, 160, 178, 186, 
 
 336, 229, 259, 334, 385, 396 
 
 Donaho, Thos 199 
 
 Donoho, Thos 183 
 
 Donehue, T. Harry 224 
 
 Donlevey, Owen 283 
 
 Dorian, Marion 179 
 
 Dougherty, Jas 175 
 
 Douglas, August B 204, 303 
 
 Douglas, Wm. H 206 
 
 Douglass, J 182 
 
 Dove, Marmaduke..344, 345, 187, 192, 
 
 193, 285 
 
 Dow, Lorenzo 67 
 
 Dowling, Thos. M. F 234 
 
 Downing, Joel 145 
 
 Downer, Joel 196 
 
 Draney, F. M 238 
 
 Draper, Henry W 252 
 
 Drexilious, Charles 852 
 
 Droop, Edward 236 
 
 Drown, Orville 217 
 
 Drummond, Josiah H..123, 299, 301, 
 430 
 
 Dudley, Geo. F 252 
 
 Dudley, Henry 211 
 
 Dudley, Lewis F 244 
 
 Dufour, Clarence R 213 
 
 Duke, R. T. W., Jr 120 
 
 Dulin, Thaddeus C 249 
 
 Dumberth, David F 229 
 
 Dunbar, U. S. J 121 
 
 Duncan, Henry C 305 
 
 Duncan, Wm 182 
 
 Duncanson, C. C 158, 196 
 
 Dunkum, Gratz E 233 
 
 Durham, Jas. H 232 
 
 Dutton, Edwin C 159, 325 
 
 Dwinal, Chas. H 330 
 
 Dwyer, J. W 222 
 
 Dyer, Benj 180, 193 
 
 Dykes, Stephen 185 
 
 Dyre, William E 245 
 
 Dyson, Samuel T 15 
 
 Earnest, John Paul 133, 249 
 
 Easley, Kimble, Jr 185 
 
 Easley, Kimble, Sr 185 
 
 Eastave, Andrew 174, 175 
 
 Easton, Wm. B 229, 312 
 
 Eaton, N 183 
 
 Eaton, John H 44 
 
 Eckel, Philip P 283 
 
 Eckloff, E. C 93, 218, 219 
 
 Eddy, Otis J 345 
 
 Edelin, Danl. W 349 
 
 Edwards. Saml. M 309 
 
 Edwards, T. J 238 
 
 Efferen, Geo. J 252 
 
 Eggleston, Jos. M 208 
 
 Eichholtz, Hugo 107, 236 
 
 Eichstadt, A. H 236 
 
 Elkins, Jeremiah 196, 276 
 
 EUicott, Mr 12 
 
 Elliott, Chas. H 221 
 
 Elliott, Henry B 353 
 
 Elliott, Robert 283 
 
 Elliott, Samuel ■. 382 
 
 Ellis, Saml. B 193 
 
 Ellis, Wm. M 346, 187 
 
 Elmore, Emmett C 213 
 
 Emmner, Julius 224 
 
 Emmons, Geo. E 157 
 
 Enriquez, Raphael de Zayas 122 
 
 Entrikin, Benj. P 241 
 
 Erdman, Geo. F 117, 242 
 
 Ervin, Guy 252 
 
 Espey, M. Ella 327 
 
 Etchberger, Chas. E., Jr 206 
 
 Etz, Christian H 343 
 
440 
 
 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Evans, Albert M 224 
 
 Evans, F. S 206 
 
 Evans, Geo. W 158, 312 
 
 Evans, Henry 252 
 
 Evans, John O 249 
 
 Evans, Saml. B 215 
 
 Ewing, Elbert W. R 229 
 
 Exley, Clarence M 219 
 
 Faber, J. J 179, 328 
 
 Fabyan, B. D 233 
 
 Fachtz, E. F. M 230 
 
 Fague, Jos. R 179 
 
 Fairall, Alfred J 196 
 
 Fairbanks, Chas. W 128 
 
 Falbey, James L 184 
 
 Falk, Jos. E 208 
 
 Farish, Wm. F 225 
 
 Farrish, W. H 101 
 
 Farnsworth, Calvin 238 
 
 Faulkner, Wm. H 218 
 
 Feast, Howard D 200 
 
 Fellows, Harry A 215 
 
 Fenerden, John 198 
 
 Ferguson, Robert 15 
 
 Ferguson, Wm. M 213 
 
 Fernald, Chas 206 
 
 Field, Isaac B 232, 305 
 
 Fierer, 14 
 
 Fierer, Charles 188 
 
 Fillius, Milton J 227 
 
 Fillmore, Millard 78, 132 
 
 Finley, Mark F 159, 204 
 
 Firmin, Orange S 219 
 
 Firoved, Wm. O 243 
 
 Fisk, Howard 245 
 
 Fitzgerald, Edward 185 
 
 Fitzki, Edward 302 
 
 Fleming, Geo. E 161, 172 
 
 Fleming Robt. 1 158 
 
 Fletcher, Noah 195 
 
 Flint, Weston 247 
 
 Foertsch, J. C 216 
 
 Foos, John A 292 
 
 Foote, Geo. F 215 
 
 Forney, J. G 240 
 
 Foster, Frank J 206 
 
 Foster, Percy S 249 
 
 Fowle, Henry 308 
 
 Fowler, A. G 212, 253 
 
 Fowler, Ernest H 229 
 
 Fowler, Jeff 222 
 
 Fowler, Wm. C 196 
 
 Fox, Albert F 158, 169, 172, 223 
 
 Fox, F. W. C 222 
 
 Fox, Wm. C 349 
 
 Frailey, C. S..353, 354, 52, 83, 84, 
 207, 208, 209, 214 
 
 Frailey, Miss 354 
 
 Francis, G. W 222 
 
 Frankenfield, Henry C 203 
 
 Franklin, S. P 216 
 
 Franzoni, Chas. W 221 
 
 Eraser, Daniel 249 
 
 Frazier, Robt. T 249 
 
 Frederich, Wm 238 
 
 French, B. B.. 349-53, v, 47, 74, 75, 
 76, 77, 78, 79, 84, 88, 91, 101, 102, 
 103, 105, 121, 149, 186, 206, 208, 
 211, 213, 314, 218, 225, 227, 330, 
 278, 290, 293, 300, 308, 309, 310, 
 315, 316, 317, 342, 354, 355, 357. 
 
 French, Daniel 349 
 
 French, Evander 213 
 
 Friebus, Theodore 179, 244 
 
 Friebus, Theodore, Jr 244 
 
 Fritch, Geo. J 191 
 
 Frost, E. F 159 
 
 Fry, Walter B 327 
 
 Frye, Carey S 239, 306 
 
 Fugett, Wm. H 234 
 
 Fugitt, N. B 105, 128, 263, 294 
 
 Fulkerson, Roe.. 128, 136, 137, 159, 
 219, 250, 305, 306 
 
 Fuller, B. F 221 
 
 Fuller, Wilson N 223 
 
 Furst, S 95 
 
 Gaither, D. H 362 
 
 Gale, Theo. M 158, 159 
 
 Galligher, Jeremiah 282 
 
 Galliher, Chas. H 223 
 
 Galliher, S. S 240 
 
 Galliher, Wm. T 158, 223, 313 
 
 Gait, James 35, 180 
 
 Garden, Alex. B 227 
 
 Garfield, Jas. A.. 390, 108, 109, 230, 
 231, 264, 310, 320 
 
 Garrett, Geo. W 211 
 
 Garrison, John R 158, 159, 160 
 
 Gassenheimer, L, 149 
 
 Geary, John W 209 
 
 Centner, Wm. G 252 
 
 Gerdes, Herman N 107, 236 
 
 Gersdorff, Chas 236 
 
 Gibbs, Jas. B 317, 319 
 
 Gibbs, Jas. T 119, 215 
 
 Gibbs, Thos. F..376, 115, 155, 157, 
 
 158, 184, 239, 260, 394, 295 
 Gibson, George.. 157, 158, 159, 312, 
 313 
 
 Gibson, Wm. H 241 
 
 Gideon, Jacob 341, 366 
 
 Giles, Jas. L 246 
 
 Giles, Thos. J 245 
 
 Gillett, E. A 232 
 
 Gillman, Howard M 215, 302 
 
 Gilman, O. T 222 
 
 Gilman, Z. D...94, 149, 216, 317, 320 
 Ginn, Lurtin R.. 393-5, vii, 83, 136, 
 
 169, 173, 219, 247, 250, 263, 422 
 Giovannoli, Harry 349 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 441 
 
 Glass, Andrew 196, 2S9, 288, 392 
 
 Glenn, Wm. G 241 
 
 Glenroy, F 21C 
 
 Glover, Charles 35, 40, 194, 195 
 
 Goldsborough, Chas. W 1S5 
 
 Goldschmidt, Louis 236 
 
 Goodall, G. W 222 
 
 Goodhart, Richard 234 
 
 Goodwin, Samuel F 181 
 
 Gordon, Alex., Jr 232, 305 
 
 Gordon, J. Holdsworth 191 
 
 Gordon, W 206 
 
 Gorman, A. P 230 
 
 Gozzler, James 293, 317 
 
 Graham, Chauncey G 229 
 
 Graham, E. C 173 
 
 Graham, Edwin S 249 
 
 Graham, J. A 222 
 
 Graham, Thos. H 224 
 
 Grammar, F. L 182 
 
 Grannis, H. A 332 
 
 Grant, Alex 408, 409, 119, 215, 250 
 
 Grant, Jesse F 217 
 
 Graves, Benj. S 159, 223, 250 
 
 Gray, Earl de 104 
 
 Gray, John W. D 98, 218 
 
 Greaves, Jas. T 229 
 
 Greaves, Wm. E 229 
 
 Green, Benj. W 238 
 
 Green, James 190 
 
 Green, John E 195 
 
 Green, Wm. B 253 
 
 Greer, 146 
 
 Greeves, Thomas 181 
 
 Gregsby, James 181 
 
 Gridley, Richard 282 
 
 Grier, Alexander 14, 15, 188 
 
 Griffin, E. E. W 150, 230 
 
 Griffin, John W 103, 330 
 
 Griffin, Wm. H 339 
 
 Griffith, Fred. D 215 
 
 Griffith, F. R 230 
 
 Grille, William 192 
 
 Grinnell, Jas. S 230 
 
 Griswold, Henry A 302 
 
 Groh, Frank W 341 
 
 Gross, Chas. E 219 
 
 Grove, McGill 345 
 
 Gude, Adolphus 337, 395, 338 
 
 Gude, Katie M. L, 333 
 
 Gude, Wm. F 169, 337, 350, 338 
 
 Guest, E. G 83, 316 
 
 Guista, M. A 183, 183 
 
 Guy, Benj. W 249 
 
 Hackett, W. T 252 
 
 Haerle, Charles 236 
 
 Hahn, Morris 159 
 
 Hale, E. Warren 230 
 
 Haley, Wm. D 863, 315, 316 
 
 Haliday, Thos 192, 193 
 
 Hall, Chas. H 230 
 
 Hall, Goff Alfred 315, 316, 317 
 
 Hall, Robt. J 213 
 
 Hall, Ralph L 159, 313 
 
 Hallam, Willard F 349 
 
 Hallate, Stephen 30 
 
 Hallock, Andrew J 163 
 
 Hallowell, Jos. T 181 
 
 Hamacher, Jos 303, 303 
 
 Hamden, Wm 185 
 
 Hamley, John 383 
 
 Hammond, Edw 352 
 
 Hancock, Chas. W 150, 306, 388 
 
 Handly, E. J 240 
 
 Handy, Carolyn A 364, 337 
 
 Handy, Frederick C 191 
 
 Handy, Wm. E 308 
 
 Hanford, Henry G 249 
 
 Hannon, Wm. H 181 
 
 Hansen, G. Y 240 
 
 Hanson, Isaac K 195 
 
 Hanson, T. M 149, 220 
 
 Harbaugh, Edgar G 217 
 
 Harding, Alfred 135, 372 
 
 Hardy, Robt. W 219 
 
 Harper, Benj. F 229 
 
 Harper, Franklin W 212 
 
 Harper, John 179 
 
 Harper, Kenton N.. 421-423, 138, 188 
 
 Harper, Robert Goodloe 351, 431 
 
 Harris, D. Fulton 333 
 
 Harris, Geo. W 349 
 
 Harris, Thadeus Mason 44 
 
 Harries, William A 179 
 
 Harrison, Frank A 339 
 
 Harrison, John 185 
 
 Harrison, Jos. O 315 
 
 Harrison, R. J 232 
 
 Harrison, Robt 185 
 
 Harrison, Walter B 184 
 
 Harrison, Wm. H 229 
 
 Harrison, Wm. H. (Pres.) 312 
 
 Hart, Samuel 159, 359 
 
 Hartley, Jos. H 188 
 
 Hartsock, Jas. A 223 
 
 Harvey, F. L 149 
 
 Hastings, Wm. T 308, 303 
 
 Hawer, Wilbur S 352 
 
 Hawken, S. McComas 347 
 
 Hayes, Oliver B 383 
 
 Hays, Frank P 334 
 
 Hays, Jas. S 191 
 
 Hazard, H. Harvey 217 
 
 Hazen, Nathan 215 
 
 Hearly, Patk 282 
 
 Heath, Herman 213 
 
 Heath, Nath. H 195 
 
 Heaton, Charles M., Jr 244 
 
 Hebbard, W. T 188 
 
 Hedrick, Benj. S 317, 319 
 
442 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Heider, Fred. J 246 
 
 Heilbrun, Chas. L 219 
 
 Heilig, Edwin A 206 
 
 Heinecke, Geo. B 234 
 
 Heinline, Chas. S 19ii 
 
 Heiser, David 240 
 
 Heiss, Austin E 247 
 
 Helton, Addison S 241 
 
 Henderson, Jas. B 200 
 
 Henderson, John, Jr 200 
 
 Henderson, Robt 181 
 
 Henderson, Thos. C 200 
 
 Henderson, Wm. G.. 386-387, 120,121, 
 
 159, 169, 200, 250 
 
 Henley, John D 185 
 
 Henning, Aug 236 
 
 Henshaw, Chas. W 224 
 
 Herbst, Wm. P 204 
 
 Herford, Chas. C 185 
 
 Herman, Albert 238 
 
 Herman, Jos. P 238 
 
 Herman, Meyer 238 
 
 Herman, Saml., Jr 233 
 
 Herman, Saml., Sr 238 
 
 Herndon, Wm. S 184 
 
 Heron, John 181 
 
 Herron, Le Roy W 249, 251 
 
 Herty, Thos 181 
 
 Herzberg, Chas 95 
 
 Herzog, Jos 159 
 
 Herzog, Sol 239 
 
 Hesse, Edwin B 158, 221 
 
 Hesse, John C 107, 236 
 
 Heustis, 220 
 
 Hewitt, James 194, 195, 196 
 
 Hewitt, Wm.. 336-337, 42, 55, 64, 142, 
 
 179, 194, 195, 196, 198, 199, 200, 
 
 286 
 
 Hibbs, Theo. B 232 
 
 Hickling, D. Percy 247 
 
 Hieston, Robt. T 312 
 
 Higgins, H. A 231 
 
 Hill, John B 181 
 
 Hill, John J 212 
 
 Hills, Wallace H 158 
 
 Hillyer, C. S 161 
 
 Hillyer, Chas. C 172 
 
 Hinkel, John P 236 
 
 Hinternesch, John D 225 
 
 Hoban, James 16, 20, 174, 175, 282 
 
 Hodges, John G 249 
 
 Hodges, Vernon E 206 
 
 Hodgkins, R 222 
 
 Hodgson, Jas 282 
 
 Hodgson, Jos. E 188 
 
 Hoeke, Wm. H 188 
 
 Hoff, John 198 
 
 Hoffacker, John H 225 
 
 Hohne, M. M 182 
 
 Hoit, Samuel 195 
 
 Holliday, Thos 38 
 
 Hollingshead, John 190 
 
 Hollingshead, Saml. A 232 
 
 Holmead, Alfred 216 
 
 Holmead, J. E. F.. 358-359, 106, 107, 
 217, 289, 293 
 
 Holmes, Edwin S., Jr 217 
 
 Holmes, Edwin S 293 
 
 Holmes, John 44 
 
 Holmes, Millard J 243 
 
 Holston, John G. F 315, 316, 317 
 
 Holt, Alex. H 159, 221, 303 
 
 Hood, Henry O 230 
 
 Hooe, A. Barnes 159 
 
 Hooe, Abram B 206 
 
 Hooe, P. H 204, 205 
 
 Hopkins, Ira W 159, 203, 295 
 
 Hopkins, John B 233 
 
 Hopping, S. V 252 
 
 Horrigan, Jas. J 184 
 
 Houghey, Jas. C 201 
 
 Houghten, A. Otis 228 
 
 Houston, Jas 175 
 
 Houston, John H 224 
 
 Houston, Samuel 98, 224 
 
 Hover, Lorenzo C 247 
 
 Howard, F 206 
 
 Howard, George M 218, 219 
 
 Howard, Thos 187 
 
 Howell, M. E. N 230 
 
 Howland, Geo. W 302 
 
 Hubbard, Ervin S 203, 204 
 
 Hubbard, V. A 115, 240 
 
 Hudson, Alpheus W 191 
 
 Huguely, Edw. S 252 
 
 Huguely, Geo. W 252 
 
 Hull, Milton J 162 
 
 Hulse, Edgar J 191 
 
 Hummel, Calvin F 204 
 
 Hunt, Benj. B 191 
 
 Hunt, Harvey W. P 159, 221 
 
 Hunt, R. Finley 3.59 
 
 Hunt, Wm. Clyde 191 
 
 Hunt, Wm. F 313, 338 
 
 Hunter, Fielder 1 203 
 
 Hunter, George 240 
 
 Hunter, Jos. H 233 
 
 Hurdle, Albion 204 
 
 Hurdle, Levi 198 
 
 Hurley, M 182 
 
 Huske, Clement W 249 
 
 Hutchinson, Christ T 247 
 
 Hutchinson, Hattie R 328 
 
 Hutchinson, J. B 222 
 
 Hutchinson, Jas. E 206 
 
 Hyer, Chas. S 159, 239 
 
 Ingham, Geo. W 239 
 
 Ingle, Christopher.. 315, 316, 317, 319 
 
 Ingle, Joseph 285 
 
 Ireland, John B 217 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COIvUMBIA 
 
 443 
 
 Ireland, W. B 346 
 
 Ireland, Wm. M 303, 317, 318, 319 
 
 Irwin, Harvey S 349 
 
 Isaacs, Samuel 198 
 
 Ivers, Herbert F 334 
 
 Jack, James 198 
 
 Jackson, Andrew. .67, 69, 73, 303, 344, 
 
 355 
 
 Jackson, David 338 
 
 Jackson, F. A 200 
 
 Jacobs, Henry H 338 
 
 Jacobs, Sydney R 339 
 
 Jacobson, Louis 317 
 
 James, Chas. J 138, 136, 327, 266 
 
 James, Harry C 352 
 
 Jancherz, Alex. L 190 
 
 Jaquette, Chas. A 352 
 
 Jenckes, Amos T 83, 316 
 
 Jenifer, Walter H 364 
 
 Jenkins, Jas. A 224 
 
 Jenkins, Zachary T 241 
 
 Jenks, John E 349 
 
 Jennings, J. W 94, 230 
 
 Jermane, W. W.. 409-410, 128, 232, 
 
 250, 305 
 
 Jochum, Jos. H 200 
 
 Jochum, J. Harry, Jr 200, 330 
 
 Jochum, W. Ivanhoe 159, 300 
 
 Johns, John Lome 348 
 
 Jonchever, A. L 190 
 
 Joy, Henry B 193 
 
 Johnson, Albert Sydney 364 
 
 Johnson, Ammon H 339 
 
 Johnson, Andrew 149, 317 
 
 Johnson, D. R 340 
 
 Johnson, Hosmer M 179 
 
 Johnson, I. L.. 360-361, 308, 335, 294, 
 
 358 
 
 Johnson, Joseph 181 
 
 Johnson, Jos. C 232 
 
 Johnson, Philander C..126, 206, 247, 
 
 249 
 
 Johnson, Saml. P 212 
 
 Johnson, Thomas 20 
 
 Johnson, Wm. J 188 
 
 Johnson, Wm. T 219, 230 
 
 Johnston, Arvine W. .416-418, 54, 158, 
 
 319, 307 
 
 Johnston, Fredk 315 
 
 Johnston, Gabriel F 31 5 
 
 Johnston, Jos. C 158 
 
 Johnston, Peter H 243 
 
 Jones, A. Sidney 213 
 
 Jones, Charles.. 35, 38, 179, 181, 182, 
 
 184, 383 
 
 Jones, Charles M 339 
 
 Jones, Geo. H 234 
 
 Jones, Henry C 238 
 
 Jones, Isaac 193 
 
 Jones, Jacobus S...159, 184, 303, 322 
 
 Jones, J. Gordon 196 
 
 Jones, John E 247, 249 
 
 Jones, John M 308 
 
 Jones, Wm. T 306 
 
 Joyce, John A 434 
 
 Kahn, David 313 
 
 Kain, Patrick 181 
 
 Kane, James 352 
 
 Kattelmann, Chas 196 
 
 Kauffman, Jos. C 340, 341 
 
 Kearney, Jas. H 185 
 
 Keeler, Edward A 339 
 
 Keely, Thos 300 
 
 Keen, Wm. Herbert 252 
 
 Keene, Carter B 349, 251 
 
 Keene, Herbert N 312 
 
 Keese, Charles W 338 
 
 Keiper, J. Claude 404-405, 184 
 
 Keith, John 301 
 
 Kell, Isaac 63, 71, 197, 198, 345 
 
 Keller, Thos. W 353 
 
 Kelley, Andrew W 158, 200, 313 
 
 Kelley, James 193 
 
 Kelley, Thomas, Jr 349 
 
 Kellogg, E. B 238 
 
 Kemp, James 35, 185 
 
 Kemper, Kosciusko 162 
 
 Kendrick, Geo. W 162 
 
 Kennedy, Geo. W 200 
 
 Kent, W. Seton 249 
 
 Kern, Chas. E 249 
 
 Kern, Edw 308 
 
 Kern, E. H 95, 222 
 
 Kerr, Stirling 320 
 
 Kerr, Stirling, Jr 349, 251 
 
 Kerr, Wm 199, 200 
 
 Key worth, Robt .. 345-346, 146, 196, 
 
 342 
 
 Kimball, Harry G 204, 305 
 
 Kimmel, Wm. A 159, 232 
 
 Kimpton, W. C 238 
 
 King, Benj 185, 383 
 
 King, Claude F..138, 136, 349, 303, 
 
 305, 306 
 
 King, John J 188 
 
 King, Joe W 240 
 
 King, Thos. G 191 
 
 Kingsman, Richard 349 
 
 Kinkaid, John 35, 36, 180 
 
 Kinnan, Arthur F 343 
 
 Kloman, B 149 
 
 Klopfer, Walter H 349, 313 
 
 Knight, Hervey S 345 
 
 Knight, Nathaniel 383 
 
 Knowles, Wm 175, 190 
 
 Knox, John J 330 
 
 Knox, Wm. S 179 
 
 Kondrup, John C 97, 334 
 
 Koonce, Geo. W 321 
 
 Koontz, Edw 301 
 
444 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Korts, Chas. H 252 
 
 Kottnier, H. E 240 
 
 Kramer, Frank H 188 
 
 Kronheimer, H 159 
 
 Kronheimer, Louis 203 
 
 Kuhn, Henry 227 
 
 Kurtz, Daniel.. 335-336, 35, 36, 178, 
 
 190, 191 
 
 Lacey, Chas 185 
 
 Lacy, John A 191 
 
 Lamb, George 201 
 
 Lambert, Wm 62 
 
 Lambeth, Alfred Moore.. 238, 246, 
 
 247, 303 
 
 Lambie, Jas. B 158, 173, 203 
 
 Lambright, Geo 190 
 
 Lamkin, B. S 220 
 
 Lammond, Peter 222 
 
 Lamond, Alcena 267, 327 
 
 Lamond, Angus 234, 328 
 
 La Mothe, John D 247 
 
 Landergren, Nellie M 328 
 
 Landergren, Tom J 328 
 
 Landvoigt, Wm. H 239 
 
 Lane, N 206 
 
 Langtry, H 206 
 
 Langtry, Hilary 73 
 
 Lannan, Wm. F 217 
 
 Lansburgh, Jas 302 
 
 Lantz, 326 
 
 Larman, John Q 228 
 
 Larcombe, Benj. F 217 
 
 Lamer, Noble D.. 366-367, 83, 107, 
 
 124, 149, 222, 226, 288, 291, 294, 
 
 313 
 
 Larrabee, Henry Clay 305, 306 
 
 Laughlin, S. H 206 
 
 Law, John 55 
 
 Lawrence, De Witt C 216 
 
 Lawrence, Wilbur H 227 
 
 Lawrenson, James 183, 196, 202 
 
 Lawson, Edmund F 200 
 
 Leaman, Lafayette. .159, 172, 208, 303 
 
 Leech, D. Olin 249 
 
 Lee, Jesse W., Jr.. 372, 158, 205, 206 
 
 Lee, Fitzhugh 364 
 
 Lee, Ralph W 159, 179 
 
 Lee, Robert E 364 
 
 Lefferts, Marshall 253 
 
 Lehr, Anthony 234 
 
 Leitzell, Stuart M 239 
 
 Lemon, Wm. H 215 
 
 Lengdon, John A 181 
 
 Lenox, John 282 
 
 Lenox, Peter 282 
 
 Lepreux, Aug 200 
 
 Lerch, Frank S 247 
 
 Leviatt, John 181 
 
 Lewis, Cflarence 224 
 
 Lewis, John L 289, 290 
 
 Lewis, Richard C 158, 252 
 
 Lewis, Wm. V 239 
 
 Lewton, Geo. W 245 
 
 Leyne, Patrick 201 
 
 Lichau, Henry 6 234 
 
 Lichliter, Jacob H 223 
 
 Lightner, Hopkins 206 
 
 Lillebridge, Geo. H 215 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham 207, 350 
 
 Lind, Andrew K 115, 240, 241 
 
 Lindsey, Chas. T 191 
 
 Linkins, Geo. W 203 
 
 Little, Chas 201 
 
 Livingston, Edw 287 
 
 Lockie, John 288, 294 
 
 Loeb, Wm., Jr 163 
 
 Long, Chas 225 
 
 Long, Horace J 244 
 
 Long, Gotlieb., ^99 
 
 Long, Samuel. 185 
 
 Long, Wm. C 249 
 
 Longley, Abner T..212, 288, 294, 317, 
 
 318 
 
 Longley, F. W 244 
 
 Loranz, Raymond 184 
 
 Lord, Chas 195 
 
 Lord, John B 242 
 
 Lord, Wm. Blair 93, 218 
 
 Luckett, Harry M 232, 305 
 
 Luckett, Jos. E 247, 249 
 
 Luckett, Thos. 1 249 
 
 Ludlow, Walter W 196 
 
 Lung, Fredk. J 244 
 
 Lothrop, Edwin S 249 
 
 Loudon, H. F 213 
 
 Louis, Max 224 
 
 Love, John C 185 
 
 Lovell, John P 185 
 
 Loving, L- L 207 
 
 Lowdermilk, Samuel 185 
 
 Lymburn, John 198 
 
 McAllister, John F 240 
 
 McCahan, Geo. L 302 
 
 McCalla, And. J 206 
 
 McCalla, John 73, 218, 219 
 
 McCalla, John M 206 
 
 McCandlish, Jas 240 
 
 McChesney, Algernon R 234 
 
 McChesney, John R 234 
 
 McLean, Henry Clay 230 
 
 McClenahan, Jas. T 213 
 
 McComb, David 187 
 
 McConnell, Alex 179 
 
 McConnell, John R 225 
 
 McCormick, Alex.. 333, 27, 29, 35, 37, 
 
 176, 178, 282, 283 
 McCormick, Andrew T..38, 55, 194, 
 
 195 
 
 McCoy, Abrara S 191 
 
 McCoy, Jos. S. .363, 222, 223, 301, 302 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
 
 445 
 
 McCray, Wm. H 343, 305 
 
 McDade, Harry M 179 
 
 McDannel, Jos. A 308 
 
 McDermott, Lawrence 273, 274 
 
 McDonald, Bedney F 75, 309 
 
 McDonald, Eben 195 
 
 McFarlan, Daniel 220 
 
 McGill, John 39 
 
 McGrew, J. M 320 
 
 McGuire, Jas. C 149, 307, 313 
 
 Mcintosh, Horace P 335 
 
 Mcintosh, Jas. H 212, 303 
 
 Mclntyre, Clarence T 184 
 
 McKaraher, James 185 
 
 McKee, Townley A 215 
 
 McKenzie, Alex.. 158, 159, 349, 251, 
 
 294, 313 
 
 McKenzie, Blair 196 
 
 McKim, John 193 
 
 McKim, John W 378 
 
 McKinley, Wm 130, 133, 390 
 
 McKinney, John M 333 
 
 McKnight, Geo. R 23S 
 
 McLain, Isaac 181 
 
 McLean, H. G 353 
 
 McLean, Marvin M 343 
 
 McLeod, John 181 
 
 McMillan, Alex F 184 
 
 McMurdy, Robert 149 
 
 McNairy, Walter S 234 
 
 McNeir, Wm 300 
 
 McNew, Frank O 246 
 
 McPeake, Wm 311 
 
 McWilliams, Alex 185 
 
 Macdaniel, Ezekiel 195 
 
 Macgill, W. Scott 184 
 
 MacGrotty, E. B 391 
 
 Mackenzie, C. S 253 
 
 Macfarland, H. B. F 133 
 
 Mackey, Albert G..424, 425, 225, 290, 
 
 393, 309, 317, 318, 319, 331, 423 
 
 MacLeod, Donald B 215 
 
 MacNamee, Herbert 315 
 
 Macomb, Alex., Gen 348 
 
 Macoy, Robert 335, 326 
 
 Magruder, Patrick 35, 37 
 
 Magruder, Wm. B..348, 349, 203, 204, 
 
 206 
 
 Major, Frank F 215 
 
 Maloy, Hugh 27 
 
 Malzahn, Herman E 305 
 
 Manery, John 181 
 
 Mann, Fred. E 249 
 
 Manuel, Silas A 188 
 
 Marks, Arthur D 350 
 
 Markward, Geo. H 252 
 
 Marlow, Edwin S 349 
 
 Marsh, Alonzo J 115, 237, 238 
 
 Marshall, Frank M 223 
 
 Marshall, Howard P 212 
 
 Marshall, Jas. L 223 
 
 Marshall, John 44 
 
 Martin, Benj. F 234 
 
 Martin, Geo. H 101, 225 
 
 Martin, Henry J 318, 319 
 
 Martin, Hiram H 233 
 
 Mason, George, Col 347 
 
 Mason, Harry B 159, 179 
 
 Mason, J. M 331 
 
 Mason, James M 347 
 
 Mason, John, Gen 347 
 
 Mason, John, Jr 347, 348, 191 
 
 Mason, Stevens L 347 
 
 Matthews, Edw 200 
 
 Mauman, Caspar 338 
 
 Mauro, P 386 
 
 Mauss, R. G 236 
 
 May, Edw. A 181 
 
 Meany, John 'f : . . 203 
 
 Mehn, William 345, 263 
 
 Meigs, M. C 370 
 
 Melvin, James 24, 189, 190 
 
 Memtree, John 192 
 
 Mentzell, R F 159 
 
 Merrill, Henry S..379, 155, 157, 186, 
 222,' 233, 343 
 
 Merritt, Addis D 349, 251 
 
 Mertz, Wm 98, 234 
 
 Messenger, Willie R 337 
 
 Meyer, Nathan S 324, 335 
 
 Meyer, Robt 30S 
 
 Meyers, Wm. F 159, 336 
 
 Michaelis, A 336 
 
 Middleton, E. J., Jr 233 
 
 Middleton, Wm 288 
 
 Milans, Jos. H 412-413, 306, 350 
 
 Milburn, Frank P 349 
 
 Millan, Jas 181 
 
 Miller, Geo. W 349 
 
 Miller, James 198 
 
 Miller, J. Barton 247 
 
 Miller, John 294 
 
 Miller, Thomas 52, 201, 207, 213 
 
 Miller, Thos. F 244 
 
 Miller, Wm. H 184 
 
 Mills, Anson, Gen 124 
 
 Mills, John H 227 
 
 Mills, John S 224 
 
 Mills, T. M. K 228 
 
 Miner, Charles 34, 189 
 
 Minor, Benj. S 249 
 
 Mirick, Henry B 249, 305 
 
 Mitchell, John, Jr 249 
 
 Mobray, Geo. W 328 
 
 Moe, Lewis S 224 
 
 Molster, Chas. E 243 
 
 Momsen, Hart 223 
 
 Monroe, Thos. C 192 
 
 Montgomery, Wm 239 
 
 Moore, Benj 282 
 
446 
 
 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Moore, Chas. W 253 
 
 Moore, Geo. H 318 
 
 Moore, J. Gales 349 
 
 Moore, Millard J 184 
 
 Moore, Saml. H 184 
 
 Moore, Theo. T 305 
 
 Moore, Wm. A 341 
 
 Moore, Willis L 238 
 
 Moore, Wra. G 313 
 
 Moran, W. E 332 
 
 Morey, Ellwood P 333 
 
 Morgan, Richard 334 
 
 Morgan, Thos. P.. 138, 158, 161, 169, 
 
 233, 250, 313 
 
 Morgan, Wm 67 
 
 Morrey, John B 249 
 
 Morris, Robert 325 
 
 Morrison, D. C 119 
 
 Moulden, A. F 323 
 
 Moulder, J. N.. 340-341, 144, 183, 201, 
 
 203 
 
 Moulton, Irvin B 162, 191 
 
 Mountz, John 22 
 
 Moyer, John A 240, 241 
 
 Mueller, Geo. J 200 
 
 Muir, Rev. James 13 
 
 Mull, Moses D 343 
 
 MuUay, J. C 304 
 
 Mulliken, Nath 146 
 
 Mullowny, John F 334 
 
 Mundell, Thomas 15 
 
 Mundell, Watson B 215 
 
 Munson, Henry T 230 
 
 Murch, Ben.JV 405-406, 329 
 
 Murdock, Ira 218 
 
 Murphy, S. E 216 
 
 Myers, E. Harry L, 329 
 
 Myers, John 71 
 
 Nagle, Geo. W., Sr 200 
 
 Nailor, Allison, Jr 158, 312 
 
 Nairn, Joseph W..149, 315, 316, 317, 
 
 318 
 
 Nalley, Washington E 334, 337 
 
 Nalley, W. H 316 
 
 Naylor, Horace S 332 
 
 Naylor, Wm. J 232 
 
 Neal, Laird L 243 
 
 Neale, Geo. W 345 
 
 Neilson, Calvin 323 
 
 Nelms, J. Henning 135, 164 
 
 Nelson, Roger 30, 31 
 
 Neuhaus, Paul 83 
 
 Newman, Edwin A 252 
 
 Newton, Jeannette R 328 
 
 Newton, T. John 407-408, 308, 363 
 
 Nichol, J. E 340 
 
 Nicholass, N 183 
 
 Nichols, John B 333 
 
 Nichols, Wm. H 162 
 
 Niess, Edwin A 206 
 
 Niles, W. Ogden 206 
 
 Nixon, Richard B 179 
 
 Nokes, James 187 
 
 Nordlinger, Isaac B 229 
 
 Norris, James L, 158 
 
 Norwood, Irving C 249 
 
 Nottingham, Edwin 1 196 
 
 Nottingham, Summerfield G 196 
 
 Noyes, H. O 330 
 
 Noyes, Thos. C..133, 136, 173, 247, 
 249 
 
 Nutze, Chas. T 317, 319 
 
 Nye, Francis 349, 251 
 
 Ober, Geo. C. 403-404, 134, 135, 152, 
 172, 187, 188, 295, 313, 314, 322, 
 394 
 
 O'Brien, Mary T 328 
 
 O'Connor, Martin 300 
 
 Odell, Benj. F 317 
 
 Odell, Wm. S 247 
 
 O'Donnell, Roger 308, 303 
 
 Okey, Cornelius W 337 
 
 Olcott, John H 158, 161, 313 
 
 Olcott, Richard S 317 
 
 Olcott, W. Harry 333 
 
 Olive, Bunyan 184 
 
 Oliver, Jos. A 315 
 
 Oliver, Walter H 184 
 
 Olmsted, Hirah F 241 
 
 O'Neale, Wm 36, 282, 283 
 
 O'Neill, Chas. J 414, 158, 221, 327 
 
 O'Neill, John F 327 
 
 Orcutt, Warren H 215, 313 
 
 Orth, Henry 158 
 
 Osborn, Marion 232 
 
 Ott, David 195 
 
 Otterback, Philip B 188 
 
 Page, Yelverton P.. 357-358, v, 89, 90. 
 
 94, 187, 218 
 
 Paine, Walter T 159, 196 
 
 Painter, John 1 217 
 
 Palmer, Aaron H 316 
 
 Palmer, Henry L 123 
 
 Palmer, J. Wm 353 
 
 Palmer, O. W 220 
 
 Palmer, S. B 228 
 
 Palmer, Saml. C..384, 101, 158, 228, 
 
 239 
 
 Palmer, Theodore G 91 
 
 Parker, Convis 315 
 
 Parker, E. Southard 349, 251 
 
 Parker, Fielder 193 
 
 Parker, M. M.. 368-370, 111, 113, 114, 
 
 214, 315, 310, 311, 312 
 
 Parkhurst, W. C 96 
 
 Parkhurst, W. G...149, 219, 315, 316 
 
 Parkinson, Harry L, 239 
 
 Parks, Fredk. W 246 
 
 Parks, Wm. S 22.5 
 
 Parry, Wm. C 243 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 447 
 
 Parsons, Barney 39 
 
 Partello, W. P 149 
 
 Patten, Geo. D 317 
 
 Patrick, J. H 322 
 
 Payne, George 5 
 
 Payne, J. E 208 
 
 Peake, Humphrey 63, 197, 198 
 
 Peake, J. H 240 
 
 Pearce, Chas. C 245 
 
 Pearson, Geo. C 234 
 
 Pearson, Jas. P 294, 312 
 
 Pegues, Saml. W. E 208 
 
 Peltz, John 194, 195 
 
 Pennybacker, Isaac S 243 
 
 Penrod, Hiram J 242 
 
 Perrey, Stephen 192 
 
 Perry, E. J 244 
 
 Perry, Elisha 185 
 
 Perry, Howard 157, 158 
 
 Perry, Josiah B 238 
 
 Perry, Thos. A 240 
 
 Perry, Ulysses G 231 
 
 Peterson, August 247 
 
 Pettigrew, T. J 240 
 
 Pettus, Walter B..159, 212, 303, 305 
 
 Peyser, Jacob 224 
 
 Pfeiffer, D. G 252 
 
 Phillipe, Louis '. 347 
 
 Phillips, Edson 212 
 
 Phillips, Francis J 305 
 
 Phillips, J. H 216 
 
 Phillips, Joseph 242 
 
 Phillips, Wm. F. R 158, 203 
 
 Pic, John 193 
 
 Pick, Francis 181 
 
 Pierce, D. T 230 
 
 Pierce, Franklin 350, 356 
 
 Pike, Albert.. 422, 424, 309, 315, 321, 
 
 325, 367 
 Pike, Albert, Poem in memory of..423 
 
 Pike, Jas. W 243 
 
 Pike, Luther H 318, 319 
 
 Pimper, Chas. W 204 
 
 Pimper, Harry K 229 
 
 Pitchlyn, Peter P 315, 316 
 
 Piatt, Wilraer G 118, 244, 245 
 
 Poinsett, Joel 287 
 
 Polk, Jas. K 74, 183, 207 
 
 Pond, Wm. G 204 
 
 Poore, Ben: Perley..l08, 150, 310, 
 
 316, 317 
 
 Pope, Wm. H 244 
 
 Porter, A 207 
 
 Porter, Deruelle S 249 
 
 Porter, Jos. E 292 
 
 Potbury, Edwin 252 
 
 Potts, Jas. B 185 
 
 Poultney, W. W 353 
 
 Powell, Grafton 300 
 
 Powell, J. Tyler 300 
 
 Powers, Wm. G 294 
 
 Poynton, A. M 159 
 
 Poynton, Jas. C 230 
 
 Prather A. C 228 
 
 Pratt, Geo. W 312 
 
 Pravote, Peter B 185 
 
 Preston, Wm 274 
 
 Price, Levin B 252 
 
 Prince, Henry 318, 349 
 
 Prosise, John L 249 
 
 Pryse, Thos 190 
 
 Pumphrey, Saml. W 337 
 
 Purcell, Redmond 175, 383 
 
 Purdy, John 145, 146 
 
 Purnell, Pierce 282 
 
 Putnam, Edwin E 252 
 
 Putnam, John F., Jr 252 
 
 Pyfer, Henry 35, 190 
 
 Queen, Nicholas D 37 
 
 Queen, Nicholas L 38 
 
 Quincy, Abraham Howard 70 
 
 Quinn, Nicholas 283 
 
 Quinn, Silvanus J 162 
 
 Raeburn, Jas. S 191 
 
 Ragan, Andrew H 13 
 
 Ragan, Daniel 13 
 
 Ralph, Geo 282 
 
 Randel, N. A^. 206 
 
 Randolph, Fred. J 327 
 
 Rankin, Christopher 44 
 
 Rankin, Robert 185, 283 
 
 Rapley, Wm. H 249 
 
 Raub, John P 311, 212 
 
 Rauchenstein, Wm. R 227 
 
 Rawlings, Jos. E 203 
 
 Rawlings, Wm. J 200 
 
 Ray, Anthony M 246 
 
 Ray, J. Enos 294 
 
 Ray, John W 234 
 
 Raymond, Wm. H 223 
 
 Reed, Wm. T 179 
 
 Reintzel, Anthony 16, 24, 189 
 
 Reintzel, John 24, 189, 190 
 
 Reintzel (John) Valentine 331 
 
 Reintzel, Valentine.. 33, 33, 35, 87, 
 
 140, 189, 191, 283 
 
 Reintzell, Valentine, Jr 16 
 
 Reis, Julius 239 
 
 Reiss, J. H 323 
 
 Revere, Paul 113 
 
 Rheese, v 
 
 Rice, John G 218 
 
 Richards, J. G 330 
 
 Richards, John 36, 37 
 
 Richards, John, Dr 180 
 
 Richards, R. R 313 
 
 Richardson, E. S., Miss 350 
 
 Richardson, Jas. D. .123, 138, 163, 320, 
 
 321 323 
 Richardson, J. P 330 
 
448 
 
 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 Richardson, William T 179 
 
 Richardson, W. W 350 
 
 Ricketts, Granville C 324 
 
 Richmond, M. B 253 
 
 Riddle, Chas. A 338 
 
 Ridenour, Upton H 317 
 
 Ries, Henry T 236 
 
 Riley, Edward N 247 
 
 Riley, Eli 245 
 
 Riley, Harry F 312 
 
 Riley, T. F 246 
 
 Riswick, J. Van 212 
 
 Ritter, Frederick W 303, 320 
 
 Robbins, Isaac 19S 
 
 Robbins, Z. C 216 
 
 Roberts, Chas. F 227 
 
 Roberts, Wm. F 249 
 
 Robertson, Harry J 221 
 
 Robertson, H. B 300 
 
 Robertson, Jas. N 181 
 
 Robey, Fredk. F 246 
 
 Robey, Jas. H 246 
 
 Robinson, John K 199, 306, 332 
 
 Robinson, Richard 192 
 
 Robinson, Thos 321 
 
 Rock, Richard 180 
 
 Rock, Wilbur H 252 
 
 Rodgers, John 181 
 
 Rodier, Jules A 188 
 
 Rodrique, A 224 
 
 Rogers, Chas. C 249 
 
 Rogers, Harvey T 234 
 
 Rohr, Fred. G 233 
 
 Roller, Jas. O 200 
 
 Roome, Chas 312 
 
 Roome, Edw 238 
 
 Roome, Wm. Oscar.. 115, 158, 237, 
 
 238, 239, 303 
 
 Roose, W. S 230 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore.. 123, 128, 132, 
 
 163, 232, 397 
 
 Root, Elihu 124 
 
 Rosenberg, Maurice D .319 
 
 Rosenbaum, Chas. E 330, 323 
 
 Ross, Burton R 233 
 
 Ross, Geo. C 252 
 
 Ross, Thos. R 43, 44 
 
 Roth, Philip W 243 
 
 Rothschild, Harry 236 
 
 Ruff, Isaac B 234 
 
 Ruppert, Christian 123 
 
 Ruppert, Ernest 236 
 
 Russ, Samuel 181 
 
 Russell, J. H 205 
 
 Russell, Slater B 234 
 
 Salomon, Benjamin 33S 
 
 Salomon, Jos 184 
 
 Sample, Jas. A.. 375, 114, 154, 157, 
 
 158, 161, 169, 173, 214, 215, 237, 
 
 337, 350 
 
 Sands, Robt 181 
 
 Sanner, Thos. W 224 
 
 Saunders, W. F 226 
 
 Sayer, Jacob 5 
 
 Sayles, Chas. E 247, 348 
 
 Scherer, Chas 247, 248 
 
 Scherer, William 247, 250 
 
 Schiffman, Jos 239 
 
 Schley, Winfield Scott 310 
 
 Schley, Winfield Scott, The making 
 
 of 119, 120 
 
 Schneider, Adam 236 
 
 Schofield, John G 200 
 
 Schofield, Saml. T 300 
 
 Schooley, Henry M 215 
 
 Schooley, John C 24.S 
 
 Schugert, Saml. C 316 
 
 Schureman, Paul 233 
 
 Schuster, Michael 241 
 
 Schwab, Geo. J 224 
 
 Schwarzman, Gustavus A 315, 316 
 
 Scott, Bro 37 
 
 Scott, Winfield 365 
 
 Scrivener, John 188 
 
 Searle, Allan R 225 
 
 Searle, D. P 101 
 
 Seaton, Malcolm. .388, 125, 191, 338 
 Seaton, W. W.. 337-339, 44, 63, 142, 
 
 196, 198, 286, 387, 307 
 
 Sebring, Francis A 349, 351, 322 
 
 Seek, Sarah 266 
 
 Seely, Saml. J 213 
 
 Seevers, N 377 
 
 Segar, Nathaniel 181 
 
 Seibold, Geo. G 317 
 
 Selover, A. G 309 
 
 Semmes, Jos 333 
 
 Sergeon, Thos. S 196 
 
 Serven, Abram R 179 
 
 Shannon, W. A 218 
 
 Sharp, Jas 245 
 
 Sharret, John F 220 
 
 Sharretts, G. E. W 222 
 
 Shaw, Arthur C 234 
 
 Shedd, Samuel S 244 
 
 Sheid, Wm. R 179 
 
 Sheiry, Franc E 249, 351 
 
 Shekell, C. F 384 
 
 Shelse, Chas 188 
 
 Sheriff, Geo. L 217 
 
 Sherman, Geo. L 208 
 
 Sherwood, 114 
 
 Sherwood, Harry G 225 
 
 Sherwood, J. Lewis 242, 243 
 
 Sherwood, Saml 182, 183 
 
 Shields, Jas., Gen 73, 207, 308 
 
 Shields, James 206 
 
 Shields, Saml. E 227 
 
 Shields, Thos ^181 
 
 Shindle, J. C 181 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 449 
 
 Shinn, Riley A 384 
 
 Shinn, V 228 
 
 Shoemaker, Isaac E 121, 345, 246 
 
 Shraub, Anthony F 185 
 
 Shreve, Chas. S., Jr 196 
 
 Shugert, Saml. T 216, 253 
 
 Sickel, Horatio G 90, 253 
 
 Siebert, George M 236 
 
 Siggers, Geo. W , 217 
 
 Silverman, Louis J 184 
 
 Simon, Abram 164 
 
 Simpson, Elmer E 322 
 
 Simpson, Henry K..401, 158, 159, 
 
 172, 196, 250, 380 
 
 Simpson, Jos. B 245 
 
 Singleton, Wm. H 126, 247, 248 
 
 Singleton, Wm. R.. 414-416, vi, 53, 
 
 54, 107, 120, 121, 231, 232, 346, 
 
 292, 294, 300, 302, 309, 318, 319, 
 
 382, 417 
 
 Skellenger, Daniel W 124, 196 
 
 Slater, Saml E 215 
 
 Slee, Jas. H 184 
 
 Slidell, John 347 
 
 Small, jf. Henry, Jr.. 384, 119, 120, 
 
 157, 158, 160, 163, 164, 172, 213, 
 
 250 
 
 Small, John H 305 
 
 Smith, A. D 245 
 
 Smith, Arthur H 196 
 
 Smith, Bartholomew F 159, 349 
 
 Smith, C 291 
 
 Smith, Chas. H 153, 294, 303 
 
 Smith, Chauncey 94, 331, 388 
 
 Smith, Claudius B 135, 303 
 
 Smith, Curtis M 246 
 
 Smith, C. W 222 
 
 Smith, E. A 322 
 
 Smith, Edmond Kirby 364 
 
 Smith, Edward S 329 
 
 Smith, Geo. W 200 
 
 Smith, Harry W 232 
 
 Smith, H. Dwight 224 
 
 Smith, H. M 246 
 
 Smith, Jas. G 388, 289, 390, 293 
 
 Smith, John Speed 273, 250, 305 
 
 Smith, Jonathan M 319 
 
 Smith, Lindley E 249 
 
 Smith, Louis 196 
 
 Smith, N. Morris '. 206 
 
 Smith, Percy G 179 
 
 Smith, Thos 66, 185, 301, 303 
 
 Smith, W. Hamilton 219 
 
 Smith, Wm 30, 31, 184, 192, 283 
 
 timith, Wm. M 149, 206 
 
 Smoot, John H 222 
 
 Stelle, Pontius 194 
 
 Snook, Chas. 1 224 
 
 Snyder, Edw. H 249 
 
 Snyder, W. Tayloe 322 
 
 29 
 
 Somerville, Thos 158, 312 
 
 Somerville, Wm. M 179 
 
 Sondheimer, J 333 
 
 Sonne, Charles 252 
 
 Southall, Ebenezer 243 
 
 Speelman, Martin R 215 
 
 Speer, Luther F..138, 136, 137, 184, 
 
 263 
 
 Spider, Robert 181 
 
 Spiess, Frederick W 236 
 
 Spoflford, A. R I6 
 
 Spooner, Holder 185 
 
 Spooner, Wm 185 
 
 Springer, Chas. A 221 
 
 Springer, Francis A 221 
 
 Springsguth, Reinhold 236 
 
 Stalee, Wm. H 117, 242 
 
 Staley, Thos 64 
 
 Stambaugh, Geo 240 
 
 Stansbury, Chas. F..356, vi, 90, 104, 
 
 109, 149, 205, 207, 220, 231, 232, 
 
 309 
 
 Stansbury, Howard M 356 
 
 Standiford, Harry.. 387, 131, 159, 305, 
 
 306, 345, 350 
 
 Stanley, Thos 199 
 
 Stanton, D. E 307 
 
 Stanton, Joshua O 317, 318, 319 
 
 Stapleton, 388, 299 
 
 Stapleton, Jos. K 308 
 
 Staples, Orrin G 312 
 
 Statler, Martin L 348 
 
 Steele, Frank A 306 
 
 Steele, H. N 198, 216, 240, 378 
 
 Stelle, Jas 149 
 
 Steele, Pontius D 195 
 
 Stephens, Edw 195 
 
 Stephens, Lewis G. .103, 230, 388, 289, 
 
 394, 303 
 
 Stephens, Paul 181 
 
 Stephenson, Clotworthy..l7, 18, 174, 
 
 175, 282, 284 
 
 Stephenson, Joseph 230 
 
 Stephenson, Jos. P 217 
 
 Stephenson, Robt. K 162 
 
 Stephenson, W. J 317 
 
 Sterzer, John N 336 
 
 Steuart, Wm. M 349 
 
 Stevens, Chas. E 331 
 
 Stevens, Ezra L..91, 353, 315, 316, 
 
 319 
 
 Stevens, R. W 238 
 
 Stevens, Thaddeus 421 
 
 Stevens, Wm. W 204 
 
 Stevenson, J. D 209 
 
 Stewart, John C 230 
 
 Stewart, R. H 222 
 
 Stewart, WiUiam 181 
 
 Stiff, John P 162 
 
 Stiles, Harry C. C 249 
 
45° 
 
 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 St. John, John M 200 
 
 Stock, J. F 230 
 
 Stockett, Chas. A 188 
 
 Stoddard, Leonard 317, 319 
 
 Stoddart, Armat 82 
 
 Stok, J. George 211 
 
 Stokes, Wm. B 203 
 
 Stone, Chas 190 
 
 Stone, Isaac S 249 
 
 Stone, Jacob D 222 
 
 Stone, Nahum 204 
 
 Storch, F. W 328 
 
 Stoughton, A. B 216 
 
 Stowell, Levi 75, 209 
 
 Strang, Harry L 215 
 
 Strasburger, Isaac H 203 
 
 Strasburger, Milton 217 
 
 Strauss, David 238 
 
 Streater, Julia N 328 
 
 Streater, Wallace 213 
 
 Strickler, Melchoir B 223 
 
 Strieby, Geo. F. W 240 
 
 Stuart, David 12, 30 
 
 Stuart, Jas. E 250 
 
 Sugenheimer, S 338 
 
 Summers, Thomas 36, 39 
 
 Sunwold, Henry 236 
 
 Summy, Benj. W 233, 234 
 
 Summy, Orlando D 244, 345 
 
 Sunderland, Byron 83 
 
 Suter, John, Jr 34, 189 
 
 Suter, Rev 113 
 
 Sutherland, Heath 159, 331 
 
 Suttan, W. H 95 
 
 Swan, John B 181 
 
 Swart, Wm. W 234 
 
 Sweeny, Jas 282 
 
 Sweet, Parker H., Jr 347 
 
 Swett, Frederick K 219 
 
 Swift, Dean 213 
 
 Swingle, Edwin Allen 135, 252 
 
 Sykes, R. M 222 
 
 Sylvester, Henry A 228 
 
 Symonds, Arthur J 188 
 
 Symons, Schuyler S 245 
 
 Taber, Alva S 203, 295 
 
 Tait, Alex 207 
 
 Talbott, Geo 181 
 
 Talbott, R. W 252 
 
 Tarbell, Geo. L 245 
 
 Tarbell, Joseph 185 
 
 Tasker, Fred. Elmer 238, 239 
 
 Tate, Andrew 142 
 
 Tatspaugh, John H 196 
 
 Taylor, Jas. H 246 
 
 Taylor, John E 249 
 
 Taylor, Jonas 201 
 
 Taylor, Joseph C 238 
 
 Taylor, Leroy M 238 
 
 Taylor, Miles 252 
 
 Tebbs, Thos. F 201 
 
 Tenderden, Lord. . . .104, 108, 207, 279 
 
 Tennyson, Frank I. N. J 239 
 
 Tewkes, Edgar 334 
 
 Thatcher, Chas. E 245 
 
 Thayer, Delos W 248 
 
 Thayer, Rufus H 231 
 
 Thomas, Amadeo L 206 
 
 Thomas, Frank H..121, 128, 158, 159, 
 
 245, 313 
 
 Thomas, Geo. C 73, 204, 205 
 
 Thomas, Geo. H 364, 365 
 
 Thomas, John B 191, 206 
 
 Thomas, Thomas 211, 213 
 
 Thomas, Warren LaRue 310, 31^? 
 
 Thompson, Ellis J 201 
 
 Thompson, Ernest G 31? 
 
 Thompson, E. St. Clair.. 119, 128, 136, 
 
 214, 215, 305, 306 
 
 Thompson, Henry C 217 
 
 Thompson, James 24, 25, 189 
 
 Thompson, J. R 95 
 
 Thompson, Lewis L 249 
 
 Thome, S. Norris 101, 224, 228 
 
 Thornton, Benj. G 197, 193 
 
 Thornton, G 63 
 
 Thorp, Martin R 203, 395, 312 
 
 Throop, Pharez 198 
 
 Tibbetts, Jas. E 20? 
 
 Tidball, Wm. Linn 253 
 
 Tindall, Jas 188 
 
 Tinkler, Robt G 184 
 
 Todd, Wm. D 231 
 
 Tolson, Julius W 227, 295 
 
 Tolson, Warren 237 
 
 Tomlinson, B. H 195 
 
 Tomlinson, John S 215 
 
 Tomlinson, S. Edwin 179 
 
 Tompkins, Edw. H 241 
 
 Toner, A. C 220 
 
 Towers, Lem., Jr. .411, 413, 163, 191, 
 
 250, 305 
 
 Towers, Thomas 180 
 
 Town, Calvin E 333 
 
 Townsend, Geo. H 179 
 
 Townsend, J. Wilson 223 
 
 Trazzare, J. Frank 159, 249 
 
 Trego, W. W 200 
 
 Trembley, Harold A 332 
 
 Trigg, Wra. A 246 
 
 Trimble, Jas. H 217, 247, 302 
 
 Trimble, Matthew.. 382, 158, 163, 164, 
 
 232, 349, 351, 398 
 
 Trunnell, John 384 
 
 Tucker, Wm 311 
 
 TuUock, Thos. L 317, 318 
 
 TuUock, Wm. P 184 
 
 Tully, Thos. C 181 
 
 Turkenton, Edward 313 
 
 Turner, Samuel B 15 
 
IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 
 
 451 
 
 Turner, Samuel, Jr I6 
 
 Turner, Zephaniah 15 
 
 Turpin, W. T 330 
 
 Turton, J. B ...149 
 
 Tweedale, John .215 
 
 Twiggs, David E 364 
 
 Tyler, B. 143 
 
 Tyler, John C 181 
 
 Typowski, J 316 
 
 Uline, Geo. W 203 
 
 Underwood, Frank R..159, 161, 172, 
 
 219, 350 
 
 Unsworth, Thos. H 239 
 
 Vale, Josiah M 159, 184 
 
 Valengen, Albert De 181 
 
 Van Camp, Aaron 315 
 
 Van Cobble, A 182 
 
 Van Dom, Earl 364 
 
 Van Horn, Archibald 35, 37 
 
 Van Horn, Chas. C 224 
 
 Van Riswick, J 149, 211 
 
 Van Vleck, Wm 238 
 
 Van Voorhies, Wm 75, 209 
 
 Varnum, Jas. M 195 
 
 Vaughan, Dan. C 208, 305, 306 
 
 Vaughn, George 189 
 
 Venable, Chas. H 187 
 
 Von Herrman, John H 225 
 
 Waddey, Wm. S 191 
 
 Wade, J 182 
 
 Wailes, Wm. M 217 
 
 Walker, Geo. H..390, 391, 133, 124, 
 
 129, 159, 303, 247, 294, 303 
 
 Walker, James 181, 192 
 
 Walker, J. Knox 306, 207 
 
 Walker, Saml 204, 207 
 
 Walker, Saml. H...157, 158, 160, 161 
 
 Walker, Zach 195 
 
 Wall, Allen 338, 319 
 
 Walton, David S 188 
 
 Wallace, Victor H 313 
 
 Wallace, Wm. J 232 
 
 Walsh, Chas 196 
 
 Walsh, John E 196 
 
 Walson, Eliza R 327 
 
 Walter, L. D 240 
 
 Wanamaker, Wm. H 233 
 
 Ward, John W 253 
 
 Ward, Jos 192 
 
 Ward, Jos. D 304 
 
 Ward, Wm 190 
 
 Wardle, Jas. H 323, 303 
 
 Warren, Chas 231 
 
 Warren, Chas. F 188 
 
 Warren, Francis E 162 
 
 Warren, Joseph 75 
 
 Warren, Thos. F 252 
 
 Warring, Basil 15 
 
 Washburn, H. S 230 
 
 Washburn, Levi 201 
 
 Washeart, N. P 201 
 
 Washington, George.. 18, 19, 31, 22, 
 
 27, 43, 117, 120, 123, 132, 189, 211, 
 
 213 
 
 Washington, P. G 207, 313 
 
 Waterman, Jason 313 
 
 Waters, Elkanah N 347 
 
 Waters, John 193 
 
 Watson, Andrew J 201 
 
 Watson, Jas 192 
 
 Waugh, Jas. E 230, 312 
 
 Waughan, George 24 
 
 Way, Andrew 341 
 
 Weaver, Clarence A 219 
 
 Weaver, C. Willis 35 
 
 Weaver, M. C 246 
 
 \Veaver, M. V. W 94, 333 
 
 Weaver, Walter T 329 
 
 Webb, Thos. S 274 
 
 Webber, Frederick 122 
 
 Webster, Daniel 78 
 
 Weightman, John 194, 195 
 
 Weiehtman, Roger C. 341-342, 42, 
 
 106, 195, 196 
 
 Wendel, John H 246 
 
 Wendel, Saml. 121, 245, 346 
 
 West, Henry h 163 
 
 Westerman, Francis N 219 
 
 Wetmore, Jas. A.. 391-393, 125, 138, 
 
 159 169, 214, 215, 266, 295, 305 
 
 Wetzench, Geo. F 228 
 
 Weyl, Max 105 
 
 Whallon, Henry A 223 
 
 Whann, Saml 185 
 
 Wheat, Eli M 240 
 
 Wheat, John T 198 
 
 Wheatley, Walter T 191 
 
 Wheeler, Charles 101 
 
 Wheeler, Chas. S 325 
 
 Wheeler, Hylas T 249, 351 
 
 Wheeler, Wm. H 325 
 
 Whelan, Nicholas 181 
 
 Whetcroft, Henry.. 64, 195, 198, 199 
 
 White, Andrew J 188 
 
 White, Denwood S 352 
 
 White, Henry 338 
 
 White, Oscar W 157 
 
 Whiting, Geo. C. 355-356, v, 47, 89, 
 
 98, 105, 205, 307, 313, 314, 216, 
 
 309, 315, 316, 317, 354 
 
 Whiting, Harry C 119 
 
 Whitney, Chas. F 241 
 
 Whitney, Horace A 363, 312 
 
 Whitney, J. N 330 
 
 Whitney, W. H 230 
 
 Whittlesey, Comfort S 216 
 
 Whittlesey, Walter R 215 
 
 Whittlesey, W. G 222 
 
 Whyte, Fred 211, 230 
 
 Wiber, D. Elmer 252 
 
452 
 
 HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY 
 
 Widdows, Fredk 319 
 
 Wilcox, Charles 201 
 
 Wilcox, Chas. G 66 
 
 Wilde, Abner P 208 
 
 Wilkins, B. F 225 
 
 Will, J. B 220, 221, 291 
 
 Williams, Alexander R 233 
 
 Williams, Arthur B 211 
 
 Williams, Bodisco 228 
 
 Williams, Chas. H 191 
 
 Williams, Ezra.... 204, 205, 211, 212 
 
 Williams, H. C 203, 204 
 
 Williams, John W 204 
 
 Williams, Lucian T 241 
 
 Williams, Richard P 163, 22] 
 
 Williams, Thos. J 71, 203, 222 
 
 Williamson, Almeria S 327 
 
 Williamson, Collin 17, 20, 175 
 
 Williamson, L. Cabell .. 377-378, 115, 
 
 117, 118, 155, 158, 212, 237, 238. 
 
 241, 261, 266, 327 
 
 Williamson, Lewis 175 
 
 Willige, J. Louis 219, 250 
 
 Wilhs, Theo. F 118, 244, 245 
 
 Williss, Rodolph 217 
 
 Willson, John W 211 
 
 Wilraeth, Jas. L 223 
 
 Wilson, Andrew... 128, 136, 137, 215 
 
 Wilson, Harry 184 
 
 Wilson, Isaac 181 
 
 Wilson, J. H 211 
 
 Wilson, John 219 
 
 Wilson, John C 222 
 
 Wilson, John M 341 
 
 Wilson, Jos. S 201, 207 
 
 Wilson, Lewes D 196 
 
 Wilson, Louis C 133, 249, 251 
 
 Wilson, P. E 83, 216, 220 
 
 Wilson, Thos 66, 201 
 
 Wimsatt, Joseph 207 
 
 Winder, Wm. H 44 
 
 Windsor, Jas. H 221 
 
 Wine, Louis D 203, 292 
 
 Wine, Miletus J 244 
 
 Winter, Eugene C. C 212 
 
 Winter, T. D 224 
 
 Winthrop, R. C 75 
 
 Wischhusen, John 236 
 
 Withall, Judson J 252 
 
 Witten, Jas. W 410, 411, 213 
 
 Wolf, Alex 225 
 
 Wolf, Harry S 206 
 
 Wolf, John H 188 
 
 Wolfe, Bert V 248 
 
 Wolfe, Edmund S 219 
 
 Wollard, Jas. F 317 
 
 Wood, Chas. E 250 
 
 Wood, Chas. F 183 
 
 Wood, Leonard C 223 
 
 Wood, Waddy B 250 
 
 Wood, William 192 
 
 Woodberry, John 193 
 
 Woodman, Francis J.. 397-399, 118, 
 
 133, 163, 244, 245, 248, 295, 330 
 
 Woodruff, Edw. W 215 
 
 Woods, Elliott 16, 349 
 
 Woodworth, \</. W 307 
 
 Woodward, Claude H 317 
 
 Woodward, Henry F 313 
 
 Woodward, R. E 332 
 
 Works, Winfield F 240 
 
 Wrenn, Jas. W 303 
 
 Wright, Geo 306 
 
 Wright, Herbert 184 
 
 Wright, James 334 
 
 Wright, John R 333 
 
 Wrightsman, Benj. J 341 
 
 Wunder, Wm. H 159, 247, 348 
 
 Wyville, W. D 322 
 
 Yarnell, J. H 130 
 
 Yates, Giles Ford 353 
 
 Yates, Wm. A 219 
 
 Yocum, Israel D 179 
 
 Yost, Henry 294 
 
 Yost, Henry, Jr 234 
 
 Yost, Henry, Sr 234 
 
 Yost, Rose A 328 
 
 Young, J. Y 204 
 
 Young, Philip 346 
 
 Young, Richard H 239 
 
 Young, Robert H 319 
 
 Young, S. B. M 124 
 
 Young, Thos. H 196 
 
 Young, Wm. F 229 
 
 Young, Wm. P 331 
 
 Yowell, Alex. J 346 
 
 Yznaga, Jose Maria.. 134, 232, 294, 
 
 371 
 
 Zellers, Geo. H. H 253 
 
 Zimmerman, Jos. W 159 
 
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