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WILLIAM F. SALMON

MEMORIAL

From Proceedings, Page 1890-42:

The Grand Master reminded the Grand Lodge of its action at the Quarterly Communication in March last, directing that the Recording Grand Secretary communicate by telegraph to R W. William F. Salmon our sincere sympathy for him in the serious sickness under which he was then suffering, and our earnest hope for his recovery. The order was duly executed, as appeared by the printed Proceedings of our March Communication. But our hopes were doomed to disappointment. Brother Salmon died on the twenty-eighth of the same month.

For nearly thirty years he has been active in the counsels and other service of this Grand Lodge. His devotion, zeal and efficiency are known to us all, but especially to the Brethren of the city of Lowell. To R.W. Brothers Solon W. Stevens and Elisha H. Shaw, and W. Brother Frank L. Weaver, has been assigned the duty of recalling to our recollection the various services and the characteristic traits of our departed Brother.

R.W. Solon W. Stevens presented the following:— IN MEMORIAM WILLIAM FRANCIS SALMON, Born, Oct. 13, 1831. Died, March 28, 1890. The period of a little more than fifty-eight years computed between these dates covers the life of a highly respected citizen, an influential man, and a most proficient and zealous Mason. R.W. William F. Salmon was born in Roxbury, Mass. ; after leaving school he went into the Boston office of the Lowell Carpet Company ; in 1848 he was transferred to the Lowell office of the same. Company, and served in the capacity of paymaster and assistant superintendent successively for a.number of years. He was afterward appointed agent of the Lawrence Manufacturing Company, and after a few years of service in this position he organized the Lowell Hosiery Company, became its manager, and continued in the faithful discharge of the duties of this office until his resignation a few weeks previously to his death. He rendered efficient service as member and as President of the Lowell Common Council, as Alderman, as State Sena44 ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF [June 11, tor, as a member of the Lowell Water Board, and as a member of the Lowell Board of Trade. In addition to these posts of responsibility he was connected with various charitable and philanthropic organizations, and in all these different positions of trust his capacity and his,fidelity made him prominent in the community as an influential .citizen and an enterprising business man. He became interested in Freemason^* in 1853, and maintained an intimate connection with the various departments of the Institution throughout the whole of his busy life. He was made a Master Mason in Ancient York Lodge in 1854, and after service, as Senior Deacon and Senior AVarden was elected for three successive years to the position of Worshipful Master, and in 1867 was elected an honorary member of that Lodge. In February, 1867, he took his dimit from Ancient York and became a charter member of Kilwinning Lodge, served as Senior Deacon during the first two years of its existence, and was also Worshipful Master of this Lodge from Nov*. 30, 1880, until Nov. 30, 1882. He was elected Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1867, and in the succeeding year was elected a member of the Board of Directors, which position he held by repeated elections until the day of his death. In 1872 he was appointed chairman of the Committee on By-Laws and Charters, which position he held until 1888, when he declined >a re-appointment. In 1855 he received his degrees in Capitular Masonry in Mount Horeb R.A. Chapter and served as Secretary of that Chapter for three years. 1890.] THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 45 In 1857 he received his Council degrees in Ahasuerus Council and for many years held important positions ih that Body. He receiVed the Orders as a Knight Templar in 1855 in Pilgrim Commandery, held various official positions therein from 1856 to 1864, when-he was elected for two years consecutively to the office of Commander ; and, during the years 1863-4-5, was Grand Warden of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1862 he was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Lowell Masonic Association, and in 1872 he was elected to the Presidency of the Board, which office, by repeated elections, he held until the time of his death. He received the degrees conferred in Massachusetts Consistory from the fourth to the thirty-second, inclusive, in 1861, and in 1865 was the recipient of the honors of the thirty-third and last degree. He was Master of Ceremonies in Lowell Lodge of Perfection from 1862 until 1877, Senior Warden of Mt. Calvary Chapter Rose Croix in 1862 and 1863, and M.AV. and Perfect; Master from 1863 to 1887. He was the prime mover in the organization of the Lowell Masonic Relief Association ih 1873, and was its first President, which position he held until the day of his death. In this way our Brother was more or less actively engaged iu Masonic work for the last thirty-six years of his life. He was by far the most proficient Mason in the Communit}* in which he lived, and in the general attainments of Ritualistic requirements and Masonic jurisprudence he had but few equals in the Commonwealth. The record indicated above is merely an outline of the 46- ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF [June 11, work he accomplished. As the narrow spaces between the annual rings on some ancient trees convey to the thoughtless observer but little idea of the great events which have revolutionized the customs of the world while these lines were marked, so th'e intervals between these statistical data afford the casual reader but little conception of the mental application, the patience, the perseverance, and the expenditure of nervous force, implied thereby when considered in their complete significance. His experience embraced every step and degree recognized in legitimate Freemasonry. The Ritual, the symbolism, and the jurisprudence of the Craft, were to him matters for profound and critical study in his hours of freedom from business pursuits. Skill in verbal accuracy, the best mode for the observance, of proprieties, the comprehension of symbolic suggestions, and the perfection of ceremonial details, were to him a life-long and fascinating avocation. He understood better than most men the philosophy concealed beneath that ingenious and labyrinthine system of hieroglyphic device and symbolic nomenclature, which is characteristic of our various rites. The same mental habit, which made him an expert in tracing out t h e " missing links " amid the perplexities of mixed and unbalanced accounts, led him to explore the meaning of cipher, symbol, and technical device, and to fix their interpretations in his remarkably retentive memory. He also gave much time to the study of that department of Masonic jurisprudence which relates to the government of the different Bodies and their relations to each other, and the proper mode of framing By-Laws under which the different Lodges might harmoniously carry on their special work with 1890.] THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 47 the spirit of emulation rather than rivalry. Hence his expressed opinion was heeded as authority. Men felt and believed that his judgments in these matters were the result of superior attainments, wide experience, and preeminent capacit}*. Brother Salmon was a man of strong convictions, selfreliant in judgment; he did his own thinking, and in matters social, political, and religious he drew his own conclusions. Tolerant of different opinions in others, he was the personification of honesty and candor. In the maintenance of his con victions he never forfeited the respect of his opponents. He was also a generous and public-spirited man. Who of us will soon forget his genial, pleasant manner, and the cordial grasp of his hand ? Who of us will forget his willingness to render assistance when needed, and to assume burdens which belonged to others to bear? He seemed always anxious for the improvement of the condition of his fellows. He lived in sympathy with ever}* enterprise calculated to promote the public good ; and, on account of his great executive ability, was often placed at the head of committees and organizations charged with specific duties because of his aptitude as a leader. These traits made him prominent in his large circle of acquaintances, and thus the little section of the great world in which he moved has been made the better because he has lived. He was an able, honest, public-spirited citizen. He had his faults, because he was mortal; he had his weaknesses, because he was human. But he will be remembered for his unselfishness, for his sensibility, for his honesty, and. for his moral worth as a man and as a citizen; and memory will often recall to us, when engrossed in the perplexing pursuits 48 ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF [June 11, of the busy world, many delightful occasions when his presence brought new elements of gladness, and added new zest to the pleasures of the quickly passing hours. He has passed from his place in this visible Grand Lodge to his station in the celestial Lodge beyond. He has laid aside the working tools, and is now at rest. It is difficult to realize that his absence from this chamber will be permanent. He has joined that goodly company of chosen friends, Gardner, Cheever, Titus, Howland, Spaulding, and others, whose shadowy forms were doubtless often seen during the lingering hours of his illness beckoning him on to the delights of/rer newed companionship in the realms of perennial joy. From beyond the veil of infinite mystery their spirits answer to ours, and somewhere in the great empyrean the}* are-waiting for us. " Happy is he who heareth The signal of his release In the bells of the Holy City, The chimes of eternal peace." Respectfully submitted, SOLON W. STEVENS,
ELISHA H. SHAW,
FRANK L. WEAVER,
Committee.

Distinguished Brothers