SDGMCoeA
ALBERT WELLS COE 1833-1904
Grand Master of South Dakota, 1897-1898
BIOGRAPHY
From "The First 100 Years of the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of South Dakota, 1875-1975", Page 58:
Albert W. Coe, the twenty-fourth Grand Master of Masons of South Dakota. was born at Smithfield, Madison County, New York, August 14, 1833. He lived in New York until he was of age and then moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1883 he moved to Deadwood, Dakota Territory.
He was raised in Kilbourn Lodge No. 3, Milwaukee, in 1860. He moved to West Bend, Wisconsin, in 1862, where he organized West Bend Lodge No. 138 and served as Master four times. He affiliated with Deadwood Lodge No. 7 on May 5, 1885, and served as Master there for three terms. He was a member of the York Rite Chapter, Council, and Commandery; and the Deadwood Consistory where he attained the Rank and Decoration of Knight Commander Court of Honor.
1898
For the twenty-fourth Annual Communication in 1898 the Grand Lodge returned to Sioux Falls. Grand Master Coe was pleased to welcome representatives from sixty-nine constituent lodges. The membership had increased by 132 during the year.
During the year the Grand Lecturer, Brother Albert L. Reed, was required to move from the Jurisdiction for business reasons. The Grand Master appointed Frank A. Brown to complete the year. Between the two, a good report was turned in.
During the year Crystal Lodge No. 113 at Clear Lake surrendered its charter. Yankton Lodge No. 122, Yankton, also surrendered its charter and consolidated with St. John's No. 1, Yankton.
Grand Master Coe posed a question for the Grand Lodge when he said, "Is not the Grand Lodge of South Dakota old enough and strong enough to establish a permanent home?"
The Grand Secretary reported that the membership register now had 8,831 names to date and that the work was going forward.
One dispensation had been issued during the year for a lodge to be known as Phenix Lodge at Clear Lake. A charter was issued during the session.
The Grand Charity Fund had now increased to $1,352.76. The Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, and the Grand Secretary were authorized and instructed to loan at least $1,200.00 of the fund on farm property at 7% interest.
Brother Andrew E. Lee, Governor of South Dakota, was introduced and invited to speak. He concluded his remarks by saying, "I have been a Mason since I was twenty-two years old, and I assure you it is a great pleasure for me to meet with the brethren at any and all times."
The Committee on Celebration for the twenty-fifth anniversary, due the following year, repo:ted that they ha1 considered the matter fully and ha da program planned which would be published in due time.
The members of the Grand Lodge and all Masonry in Dakota were saddened by the death of Right Worshipful Brother Franklin J. DeWitt who had died at his home in Yankton, January 24, 1898. Brother DeWitt, a pioneer Mason in Dakota Territory, was President of the Convention which met at Elk Point and formed the Grand Lodge of Dakota. He had acquired quite a respectable Masonic Library, which was donated at his death to St. John's Lodge. Among his Masonic documents were found two of great historic value. The original dispensation for Dacotah Lodge at Fort Randall, Dakota Territory dated April 23, 1862 and the original long-hand minutes of the Proceedings of the Convention held at Elk Point and the Communication at Vermillion, which culminated in the organization of the Grand Lodge of Dakota. The original long-hand minutes of the Convention showed that he had been unanimously elected Grand Master but had declined, owing to a pressure of personal business requiring his absence from the Territory. He was then elected Deputy Grand Master. At the following Annual Communication, held in Yankton in 1876, he was again elected Grand Master, but on account of his then precarious health, he was compelled to decline the honor, to the regret of his brethren. These two valuable documents were presented to the Grand Lodge for safe keeping.
LODGES
- Phenix #129 (06/15/1898)
- Yankton #122 merged into St. John's #1 (02/05/1898)
