MAGLJCuckson
CUCKSON, JOHN 1846-1907
- MM before 1884, Hope #302, Bradford, England
- Affiliated with Roswell Lee, 1889
- Affiliated with Lodge of St. Andrew, 1893
- Grand Chaplain 1893-1895
MEMORIAL
From Proceedings, Page 1907-158:
Rev. John Cuckson, Grand Chaplain of this Grand Lodge in 1893, 1894 and 1895, was born in Lincolnshlre, England, Jan. 25, 1846, and died at Plymouth. Mass., May 6, 1907. He attended the endowed grammar school of Caistor, the Government school at Sheffield and completed his education at the Manchester, England, Unitarian College. At the age of twenty-one he settled in Liverpool, being ordained by Rev. Wm. Gaskell, the husband of the novelist. He was afterwards settled in Birmingham and Bradford, England. He was pastor of the Unitarian Church in Springfield, Mass., from 1884 to 1892, when he was called to the Arlington Street Church, Boston. He remained there eight years, when he became pastor of the First Parish Church in Plymouth, Mass., where he was at the time of his death.
Brother Cuckson was made a Mason in England, but Nov. 6, 1889, by demit from Lodge of Hope, Bradford, England, he joined Roswell Lee Lodge, of Springfleld. He was elected a member of the Lodge of St. Andrew, of Boston, June 22, 1893, and was appointed Chaplain of the Lodge in November, 1898. He held this position until his decease. He was exalted in Morning Star R.A, Chapter Dec. 27, 1889; and was Chaplain of the Chapter in 1891 and 1892. He was Knighted in Springfield Commandery of Knights Templars April 18, 1892, and became a member of St. Bernard Commandery, of Boston, Dec. 13; 1893, and was made an honorary member Feb. 13, 1907.
Brother Cuckson was an earnest preacher, a studious pastor, an excellent citizen and a zealous Mason. The parish in Plymouth, and that community, the Lodge of St. Andrew and our Fraternity lost in his death a worthy and devoted pastor, citizen and Brother.
From New England Craftsman, Vol. II, No. 9, June 1907, Page 344:
Funeral services For Rev. John Cuckson. the former pastor of the Church of the Unity, Springfield, Mass. were conducted in that church May 10th at 2:30 o'clock, with many of the members of tit church and friends of the family in attendance. Rev. A. P. Reccord officiated. The services were simple, and consisted of Scripture reading, prayer and a brief eulogy on Mr. Cuckson by Rev. Mr. Reccord, and singing by the church quartet. The quartet sang the anthem Crossing the Bar, by Barnby; God Love by Shelley, and the old hymn, Abide With Me."
Mr. Reccord said there was a peculiar fitness about the service. Here in the city to which he gave eight of the best years of his life and in the church which he loved and served we meet to pay our tribute of affection and esteem. Mr. Cuckson was of English birth and training, but no one could have been more loyal to the land of his adoption. Coming here as a stranger to American ways and customs, he gave himself to the work of the city and of the church in a way that bore immediate fruit. The clearness of his vision, the profoundness of his thought, the honesty of his purpose and the sincerity of his utterance all combined to place him among the foremost of our preachers.
At the same time he will always be remembered as a kind, generous, sympathetic pastor and friend. He had a marvelous capacity for making and retaining friends and this gathering today is an evidence of the way he is still remembered in this community. After leaving Springfield Mr. Cuckson was settled in Boston and Plymouth. It was while engaged in his pastoral duties as minister of the church of the Pilgrims that death overtook him. It was a fitting close to a life of activity and achievement. Such a soul cannot die. It is a spark struck off from the heart of God and partakes of His eternity. Even now he has entered upon the larger life and the diviner service of the realms above.
The burial was in Springfield Cemetery. and the service at the grave consisted of the simple Masonic ritual which was recited by Worshipful Brother George W. Chester of Boston, the Grand Tyler of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, who represented St. Andrew's Lodge of Boston, of which Rev. Mr. Cuckson was Chaplain.
