Hampshire2

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HAMPSHIRE LODGE

Chartered by Massachusetts Grand Lodge

Location: Northampton

Chartered by: John Warren

Charter Date: 01/30/1784 I-314

Precedence Date: 01/30/1784

Current Status: unknown; removed by 1804, likely 1796 by edict.


PAST MASTERS

  • Rufus Putnam, 1784
  • Benjamin Tupper, 1785; Mem
  • Elisha Porter, 1786-1790

YEARS

1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796


HISTORY

FROM CORNERSTONE LAYING, AUGUST 1886

From Proceedings, Page 1886-83, cornerstone laying at Hampshire County Courthouse, address of Grand Master:

The second Lodge in Western Massachusetts, chartered by the same Grand Lodge (the Massachusetts Grand Lodge), was in answer to a petition from a number of Brethren in the county of Hampshire, praying for a charter of erection for holding a Lodge by the name of Hampshire.

The petition was presented January 30, 1784, at which time the charter was granted. Little is known of the history of that Lodge ; but that little is of permanent interest.

Hampshire Lodge was represented in the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, for the first time, on the 2d of June, 1785, when "Wpfull" Benjamin Topper was recorded as present, and "Master of Hampshire Lodge." The record of that meeting bears the autograph signature of " Ben. Tupper." He also represented Hampshire Lodge at Grand Lodge June 24, 1785, and was present at a meeting of the Grand Lodge on the first Friday in March, 1786, as J.G.W. p. temp.

On the same day (Friday, March 6, 1786), and at the same meeting, Hampshire Lodge was represented by Elisha Porter, who then acted as J.G.D. p. temp. He was also present June 24, 1786, when St. John's Day was celebrated by the Grand Lodge, at Warren Hall, Charlestown, Mass., and the Grand Officers were installed.

Friday, Sept. 7, 1787, a return from Hampshire Lodge, of their choice of officers for the year ensuing, was read, and also a vote of said Lodge which had been transmitted to the Grand Lodge. The original return is still preserved in the archives of the Grand Lodge, of which the following is a true copy: —

"In the Hampshire Lodge, April 11, A.L. 5787. Voted that the names of Daniel Shays, Luke Day & Elijah Day, who are members of this Lodge, be transmitted to the Grand Lodge, for taking arms against the Government of this Commonwealth, to be recorded with infamy.

"June 25th. Voted, that Elijah Day's name be erased from the Bye-Laws.
A true extract from the record.
A. Durrant, Sec'y P. T.
NORTHAMPTON, June 25th, 1787."

Note that Danl. Shays & Luke Day are included in the Charter. [Also noted in the record:] Made choice of officers for the ensueing year,

  • Elisha Porter, Master.
  • Asahel Pomeroy, Senr. Warden.
  • Jonathan Curson, Junr. Warden.
  • Thadeus Pomeroy, Sec'y.
  • Benjamin Davenport, Treasurer.

Such was the opinion and action of Hampshire Lodge concerning those who led. a rebellion against the legally constituted authority of the State.

Hampshire Lodge was again represented in Grand Lodge Dec. 7, 1787, but by whom is not stated in the record.

On the 6th of June, 1788, Brig.-Genl. Elisha Porter was present at the Grand Lodge, as the representative of Hampshire Lodge, and at the same meeting was elected Junior Grand Warden.

Dec. 5, 1788, R.W. Elisha Porter, Master of Hampshire Lodge, acted as Senior Grand Warden pro tern, and presented a certificate to the Grand Lodge appointing Bro. Samuel W. Hunt (a grocer in Boston) the proxy of said Lodge. The record of that meeting bears the autograph signature of "E. Porter, S.W. pro tem." Hampshire Lodge was represented by Bro. Hunt as proxy at meetings of the Grand Lodge, held Jan. 7, 1789; Feb. 16, 1789; June 4, 1789, and Dec. 4, 1789.

On or about March 30, 1789, M.W. Moses M. Hays, Grand Master, directed R.W. Elisha Porter to act as a District Deputy Grand Master, vesting him with full power and authority to visit and examine the Lodges in his vicinity and report to the Grand Lodge.

April 2, 1790. The Massachusetts Grand Lodge assembled at Concert Hall, Boston. R.W. Elisha Porter was present, and represented Hampshire Lodge. His autograph signature is attached to the record of that meeting.

Dec. 8, 1790. The .amount of dues to the Grand Lodge unpaid by Hampshire Lodge was reported to be £7 4s., which, upon the 19th of July, 1791, together with two additional quarterages, were paid by "Brother Elisha Porter, Esq."

At the time of the Union of St. John's and Massachusetts Grand Lodges as the present Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in 1792, Hampshire Lodge, of North Hampton, was reported as being within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, and Elisha Porter, of Hadley, was recorded as one of the twelve permanent members of the late Massachusetts Grand Lodge.

Hampshire Lodge survived 1792, but probably expired before 1797; for on the 13th of June of that year Jerusalem Lodge, which participates in the services of this day, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

The names of the Original petitioners for the charter of Hampshire Lodge are not known, two excepted, viz.: Daniel Shays and Luke Day. The former was a captain in the continental army, and probably all the petitioners saw service in the Revolutionary War;

There were three men, possibly, charter members, who were identified with Hampshire Lodge: Rufus Putnam, first Master of Hampshire Lodge ; Benjamin Tupper, Master of Hampshire Lodge in 1785; and Elisha Porter, Master of Hampshire Lodge in 1786. 1787, 1788, 1789, and 1790. These three men were all identified with the Revolutionary Army and were loyal and active.

Elisha Porter resided in Hadley, was a graduate of Harvard College, and at one time sheriff of Hampshire county. He was captain of a company January 18, 1773, and January 22, 1776, became colonel of a regiment detailed for the Canada Expedition, under Major-General Schuyler. July 1, 1781, he was made colonel of the 4th Hampshire Regiment. The data concerning his life are meagre, but are enough to prove that he was for years in active military service, and was long the leading spirit in Hampshire Lodge.

Col. Benjamin Tupper, Master in 1785, was born at Stoughton, Mass., in 1738, and died at Marietta, Ohio, in June, 1792. He was a soldier in the French war, 1756-63; he was present (major in Fellows' Regiment), May, 1775, at the siege of Boston, where he distinguished himself; he served through the Revolution, being present at Saratoga and.Monmouth, and was brevetted Brigadier-General in 1783. After the war he represented the town of Chesterfield, Hampshire Co., in the Legislature. In the measures adopted for the suppression of Shays' insurrection he took an active part. He removed to the north-western territory in 1787, and was one of the founders of Marietta in 1788.

In January, 1786, Col. Tupper was active in. the formation of the Ohio Company, which came into possession of lands in the West, a part of which Col. Tupper had already surveyed. Of this Company, its organization, and purpose, an account will be given when speaking of Gen. Rufus Putnam. After the settlement of Marietta (1788) Col. Tupper remained there until his death.

FROM JERUSALEM LODGE HISTORY, JUNE 1922

From the 125th Anniversary History of Jerusalem Lodge, Page 1922-138:

. . . the first Masonic Lodge located in Northampton was Hampshire Lodge, chartered in 1784, the year following the close of the Revolutionary War. Who were its founders, how long it flourished, and when it ceased to exist, we have been unable to discover.

Practically the only authentic information is gleaned from the notations that appear on the records of the Massaehusetts Grand Lodge. In acldition to the records of the granting of its Charter, we note that Hampshire Lodge was represented in the Grand Lodge in 1785 by Worshipful Brother General Benjamin Tappen and in 1786 by Elisha Porter. The records show that Hampshire Lodge was represented in the Grand Lodge at a total of nine regular sessions.

In the record of 1792, the last mention is made of the Lodge in question. Under date of September 7, 1787, we find this interesting entry in the Grand Lodge records:

"Hampshire Lodge has passed a vote that the names of Daniel Shays, Luke Day and Elijay Day who are members of that Lodge, to be transmitted to the Grand Lodge to be recorded with infamy, in consequence of their conduct in the late Rebellion."

Daniel Shays was the chief leader in the insurrection against the Government after the Revolutionary War known as Shays' Rebellion. The action of old Hampshire Lodge more than a century ago proves that in all ages Masonic principles demand of its members loyalty to government and obedience to law.

FROM JERUSALEM LODGE HISTORY, JUNE 1947

From Proceedings, Page 1947-145:

. . . the first Masonic Lodge located in Northampton was Hampshire Lodge, chartered in 1784, the year following the close of the Revolutionary War. Who were its founders, how long it flourished, and when it ceased to exist, we have been unable to discover.

Practically the only authentic information is gleaned from the notations that appear on the records of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. In addition to the records of the granting of its Charter, we note that Hampshire Lodge was represented in the Grand Lodge in 1785 by Worshipful Brother General Benjamin Tappen, and in 1786, by Elisha Porter. The records show that Hampshire Lodge was represented in the Grand Lodge at a total of nine regular sessions.

In the record of 1792, the last mention is made of the Lodge in question. Under date of September 7, 1787, we find this interesting entry in the Grand Lodge records:

"Hampshire Lodge has passed a vote that the names of Daniel Shays, Luke Day and Elijay Day who are members of that Lodge, to be transmitted to the Grand Lodge to be recorded with infamy, in consequence of their conduct in the late Rebellion."

Daniel Shays was the chief leader in the insurrection against the Government after the Revolutionary War known as Shays' Rebellion. The action of old Hampshire Lodge more than a century ago proves that in all ages Masonic principles demand of its members loyalty to government and obedience to law.


OTHER BROTHERS


LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges