Tyrian

THE TYRIAN LODGE

Charter Date: 03/02/1770 I-228

Precedence Date: 03/02/1770

Current Status: merged with Acacia Lodge to form The Tyrian-Acacia Lodge, 10/23/2003.

NOTES

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XXIV, No. 12, October, 1865, p. 366:

Tyrian Lodge, of Gloucester, is one of the oldest Lodges of Freemasons in the county, having been instituted, May 9th, 1770. Its Charter bears the signature of General Joseph Warren, of Bunker Hill fame, then Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Continent of America, and was granted to the following petitioners:—Philip Marnett, Andrew F. Phillips, Andrew Giddings, David Parker, John Fletcher, George Brown, Barnett Harkin, Epes Sargent, Jr. The first meeting of this Lodge was held at the dwelling house of the Widow Sargent, when its organization was perfected. The first list of officers was as follows : — Barnett Harkin, W. M.;. George Brown, S. W.; John Fletcher, J. W.; Eben Parsons, Treas.; Epes Sargent, Jr., Secy.

List of Masters; added to section above Since its organization the following persons have acted as Worshipful Mas¬ ters:—Barnett Harkin, 1770—1; Epes Sargent, Jr., 1772—4; Nathaniel War- ner, pro tern., 1775; Barnett Harkin, 1776—8; Epes Sargent, Jr., 1779—81; Barnett Harkin, 1782—6; Nathaniel Warner, 1787; Thomas Saunders, 1789- —95; Nathaniel Warner, 1795—8; Fitz W. Sargent, 1799—1801; John Bench, 1802; John Tucker, 1804—7; Wm. Pearce. 1808; John Tucker, 1809—10; Zenas Cushing, 1811—12; Elias Davison, 1813—16; Samuel Pearce, 1817— 20; William Ferson, 1825—8; Rufus Leighton, 1829—32; William Person, 1843—44; Thomas Ireland, 1845—46; John S. Johnson, 1847—50; Daniel T. Babson, 1851; John Ayers, Jr., 1852—3; Daniel T. Babson, 1864; Fits J. Babson, 1855—8; David Allen, Jr., 1859—60; A. J. Center, 1861—2; John Lloyd, 1863—5.

During the earlier years of the Lodge its meetings were held at private dwel¬ ling houses. Thus, it met at the house of James Prentice from 1770 to 79; house of Andrew Sargent, 1779—81; house of David Plummer, 1781—4; house of Philemon Haskell, 1784—90; house of Nath'l Sargent, 1790—4. In 1794 and 1795, it held its meetings at the Proprietors' School House, (still standing on School street, and occupied as a tenement house,) for which it paid a rental of £3 12s per annum; from 1795 to 1800 it met again at the house of Nathaniel

Sargent, and from 1800 to 1805 at the hall of Jonathan Low. In 1805 and 1806

the meetings were again held in Proprietors' School House, and from 1806 to 1834 in Roger's Hall, occupying the present site of James' stable. In 1834, during the great Morgan excitement, the meetings were discontinued, and by vote of the Lodge the Charter was surrendered, but in 1843 it was restored to the Lodge, together with it* Records and other property. Its meetings in 1843 and 1844, were held at the Engine house on Church street, afterwards at the Orthodox vestry, again at the Proprietors' School House, and then at Franklin Hall on Front street. From here it moved to Stacy's (since Odd Fellows') Hall, where the meetings were held until it moved into the handsome hall fitted up in Burnham's Building, which was burned in the great fire of 1864. It then met at Odd Fellows' Hall again until the completion of its present elegant hall. The Lodge has numbered among its members many of the prominent men of the town, aud is still a flourishing organization. Since its institution over four hundred persons have been made Masons, or raised, most of whom have been members of the Lodge, and thirty-six persons made members in other Lodge* have been admitted to membership. As we have before intimated the influence

of the war has been to increase the number of Masons, and this Lodge has ap¬ prenticed and raised sixty-six persons since the first of January, 1861.

• Tyrian Lodge now numbers one hundred and twenty members. The follow¬ ing is a list of its present officers:—John Lloyd, W. M.; Henry Center, S. W.; Cyrus Story, J. W.; S. S. Day, Treas.; Robert R. Fears, Secy.; George B. Honnors, S. D.; E. L. Rowe, J. D.; John P. Honnors, Tyler. —Gloucester Telegraph.

PAST MASTERS

William Ferson, 1844

YEARS

1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1795 1797 1804 1814 1819 1820 1821 1834 1835

charter vacated 1838; restored 1843 In the Pringle History in 1920 Proceedings, the Lodge was reported as returning the Charter to Grand Lodge "for safekeeping" on February 13, 1834.

1843 1844 1865 1881 1884 1886 1891 1892 1895 1901 1907 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1916 1918 1919 1920 1921 1926 1927 1930 1935 1942 1945 1956 1957 1959 1960 1970 1975 1976 1980 1982 1985 1986 1988 1989 1991 1992 1996 2003