MAGLHBelcher
Contents
HENRY ALDEN BELCHER 1844-1915
- MM 1866, WM 1884, 1885, 1888, Norfolk Union
- DDGM, Brockton 24, 1891, 1892
- Junior Grand Steward 1889
- Deputy Grand Master 1896
MEMORIAL
From Proceedings, Page 1915-37:
R.W. Henry A. Belcher, Deputy Grand Master in 1896 and a member of the Board of Directors for many years, died at his home in Randolph on January 20, 1915. He was constant in his attendance upon the Communications of the Grand Lodge and the meetings of the Board of Directors, and has always been a loyal and enthusiastic Mason as well as a successful merchant and, highly respected member of the cornmunity.
From Proceedings, Page 1915-60:
Born, August 6, 1844.
Died, January 20, 1915.
Again the relentless messenger has visited our Grand Body and we are called to mourn the loss of our much loved and highly esteemed. brother RIGHT WORSHIPFUL HENRY ALDEN BELCHER.
A noble man, a zealous Mason, who faithfully practised the principles and precepts of our institution.
He was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in Norfolk Union Lodge in 1866, and was its Worshipful Master in 1884, 1885, and 1888. He was also prominent in this Grand Lodge, serving as District Deputy of the 24th District in 1891 and 1892, and was Deputy Grand Master in 1896, and in 1897 he was further honored by an election as a Director of this Grand Body, which position he held at the time of his decease.
He was exalted as a Royal Arch Mason in Pilgrim Royal Arch Chapter in 1872 and, received the degrees of the Capitular Rite in Satucket Council in 1889, and in 1884 Bay State Commandery No. 38, Knights Templar conferred upon him the orders of Knighthood.
He was also a member of Massachusetts Consistory and on September 17, 1891, the Supreme Council of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction conferred upon him the honorary 33d Degree.
Such is a brief Masonic record of one of our most esteemed and beloved brethren, who in all the relations of life by his unvarying kindness, charity, and generosity, endeared himself to all with whom he was associated. He received his education in the schools of Randolph and in early life started on a mercantile career with such marked success that at the age of 18 years he was a partner in a well established dry goods business. When 21 years of age he entered, the house of Jordan, Marsh & Co., Boston, remaining with them eleven years when he became a partner in the house of R. H. White & Co. of that city. In 1896 he retired from business with a well deserved competence. He was a Director in the Boylston National Bank, of Boston, and also held. many other important positions in mercantile and financial circles.
In 1898 and 1899 he represented his native town in the legislature of this Commonwealth.
He was married to Hannah Butler Nye October 24, 1872, who survives him, and to whom we extend our most heartfelt sympathy in her great bereavement.
To our fraternity, with whom he was associated. in the strong bonds of Masonic friendship, the passing of his counsel, his aid, and cheerful cooperation is an irreparable loss, yet we would do his life injustice did we not also bear this testimony, that his good works expressed. themselves in acts of varied. service without distinction of person and upon his conception of the public good. The State, the Church, the Bank, all of the best forms of work that foster general improvement and prosperity levied. upon his time and strength and received an added impulse.
His memory will flourish in immortal green and his name will always be spoken tenderly by a multitude of friends.
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur G. Pollard
Herbert F. French
Ernest S. Rogers
Committee.
SPEECHES
AT CORNER STONE LAYING IN BELMONT, OCTOBER 1896
From Proceedings, Page 1896-280:
FRIENDS AND BRETHREN: In all ages and in every land, men have erected altars and built temples and houses for the worship of God. In' obedience to this want of our common humanity, your society is to build this edifice that you may come up here and worship Him. May it be dedicated to that law of righteousness which man did not make and cannot change, and may your members have the spirit of those truths, without which religion is an empty word.
In response to your cordial invitation, and in accordance with our law, we have to-day laid the Corner-stone of your new church with our ancient customs and ritual. We thus show our sympathy with every movement which tends towards the glory of God, to the spirit of common brotherhood and all the kindly helpfulness which this relationship involves. Close as are the ties which bind you to this church, which will stand for the moral and religious uplifting of this community, they are no closer than are the ties which bind the Masonic Fraternity to those two fundamental principles of our Order — the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.
While Masonry does not claim to be a religion, it inculcates and promotes in its teachings much that lies at the basis of all true religion. The Corner-stone of the Masonic Fraternity is the word of God, and without it there would be no Freemasonry. Taking this to be the rule and guide of our faith, the object of Masonry is to bind together its members in a social intercourse and a fraternal fellowship, with a view to promoting acts of benevolence and charity, exacting the practice of morality and a due allegiance to the powers that be, whether of heaven or of earth.
As we gather within our Lodge-rooms, men of every sect and creed, men of every rank and station in life, men of every shade of political opinion, the employer and the employee, ours must indeed be a wonderful organization, which brings them all together on a neutral ground where each and all may meet and be honored, not for any outward rank or position, but only for their inward rank or worth.
Does anyone ask why this Masonic Fraternity, this organization which traces its origin in the traditions of the remote past, exists and with ever-increasing membership and influence? Let me say that Masonry does not content itself in the past. If it did, its days and its influence would certainly be quickly numbered. It honors these traditions for the lessons which symbolically illustrate its principles; and the noble men of history and of our own day who are and have been the best exponents of its truths serve as an inspiration to make a successful application of its principles to everyday life and to the work of elevating human character.
Masonry can only be known by its fruits, and it is only by acting and living according to its principles that it has exercised such an influence in promoting the happiness of its own members and the world.
Character is the glory of man and Freemasonry devotes itself to its formation. Every member of the Fraternity is taught to be honest, upright, temperate and just, and in all things to be a loyal member of society. The true definition of a Mason is one whose influence is ever for the upbuilding of a manly character and who is ever allied to those who are on the side of what is good and true Brethren and Friends, the purpose for which the Grand Lodge of Masons came here has been accomplished, and I trust that your building may be speedily completed and that to your altar may come childhood and youth to find wisdom and purity; here may manhood be made earnest and thoughtful, and old age find the rest and peace of God.
