Phoenician

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PHOENICIAN LODGE

Location: Lawrence

Chartered By: William Sewall Gardner

Charter Date: 09/13/1871 1871-152

Precedence Date: 07/03/1869

Current Status: in Grand Lodge Vault; merged with Tuscan Lodge to form Tuscan-Phoenician Lodge, 05/01/1980. Now a part of Lawrence United Lodge.

NOTE ON DISPENSATION

The original petition for dispensation for this lodge, submitted on 09/01/1868, bore the name of Grand Master Gardner; according to Proceedings Page VII-486, "I refused to have the lodge so named, and the Dispensation was granted in Blank." The original dispensation, dated 07/03/1869, is written over in the Grand Master's own hand with the words: "This Dispensation not having been accepted, it is cancelled, and the Proceedings upon which it is founded are hereby declared null and void and of no effect on future applications; July 16, 1870."

PAST MASTERS

  • D. F. Robinson, 1869, 1870 (U. D.)
  • John Haigh, 1871-1873
  • Caleb Saunders, 1874, 1875
  • Thomas Leyland, 1876; SN
  • Andrew C. Stone, 1877, 1878
  • William H. Barrell, 1879
  • Andrew Sharpe, 1880, 1881
  • Octavius T. How, 1882, 1883
  • William L. Holmes, 1884
  • Thomas M. Cogswell, 1885, 1887, 1888
  • William T. Kimball, 1886
  • Parry C. Wiggin, 1889-1891
  • Alfred P. Showell, 1892, 1893
  • Fred A. Carr, 1894, 1895
  • Edgar S. Rideout, 1896, 1897; Mem
  • Dana W. Scott, 1898, 1899
  • Arthur E. Colby, 1900, 1901
  • William A. Shattuck, 1902, 1903
  • Holman J. Stanchfield, 1904, 1905
  • William H. Glover, 1906, 1907; N
  • Hollan Garth, 1908, 1909
  • Thomas L. Sullivan, 1910
  • George D. Fitts, 1911-1913
  • Otis W. Boothby, 1914, 1915
  • Thomas W. Murphy, 1916, 1917
  • Perley R. Leck, 1918, 1919
  • William E. Redfern, 1920, 1921
  • Joseph C. Saalfrank, 1922, 1923
  • Arlon C. Adams, 1924, 1925
  • Perry B. Ellis, 1926
  • James Houston, 1927, 1928
  • Daniel Saunders, 1929, 1930
  • Harry J. Bunting, 1932, 1933; N
  • Philip A. Carr, 1934, 1935; N
  • Allan J. Battershill, 1936, 1937
  • Harry B. Call, Jr., 1938, 1939
  • Herbert P. Reifel, 1940, 1941
  • George W. Day, 1942, 1943
  • Paul H. Leslie, 1944, 1945
  • A. Earl Arnfield, 1946, 1947
  • Adolph R. McLennon, 1948, 1949
  • Perley H. Locke, 1950, 1951; N
  • Richard A. Hale, Jr., 1952, 1953; N
  • William H. Redfern, 1954, 1955
  • Robert Barnett, 1956, 1957
  • Ralph L. Robbins, 1958
  • Weston D. Eastman, 1959
  • Richard G. Locke, 1960, 1961
  • Duncan S. McKillop, 1962, 1963
  • Stanley I. Kay, 1964, 1965; N
  • Alan R. McLennan, 1966
  • John H. Campbell, 1967
  • James L. DeMarco, 1968
  • Harry J. Masucci, 1969
  • Albert J. Reynolds, 1970, 1977
  • William H. Tracy, 1971
  • Philip G. Flanagan, 1972
  • Robert P. Barnett, 1973
  • Albert F. Hill, 1974
  • Harry C. Holman, 1975, 1980; N
  • Richard A. Naylor, 1976
  • Michael S. Donsuso, 1978
  • Philip G. Flanagan, 1979

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

  • Petition for Dispensation: 1869; 1870
  • Petition for Charter: 1871
  • Consolidation Petition (with Tuscan Lodge): 1979

ANNIVERSARIES

  • 1920 (50th Anniversary)
  • 1945 (75th Anniversary)
  • 1970 (Centenary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

BY-LAW CHANGES

1881 1888 1891 1900 1904 1913 1917 1918 1920 1930 1935 1937 1944 1945 1957

HISTORY

  • 1920 (50th Anniversary History, 1920-351; see below)
  • 1945 (75th Anniversary History, 1945-497)
  • 1970 (Centenary History, 1970-483)

50TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORICAL SKETCH, NOVEMBER 1920

From Proceedings, Page 1920-351:

By Worshipful Dana W. Scott.

Phoenician Lodge, whose Fiftieth Anniversary we observe today, has been fortunate in its Secretaries. They have been able men. Two were City Clerks of Lawrence, one was City Treasurer, the others were successful men in their lines of work. As a result, the records of the Lodge meetings are complete, and we are able to read the story without a break or omission.

There is nothing unique or spectacular in the history of this Lodge. It started in the coming together of a little body of congenial men, mostly members of Tuscan Lodge of Lawrence. They were busy men, prominent in the community, who were willing to give of their time and service to help diffuse light for the betterment of their community, and this is the spirit which we believe has in all these years animated the officers of this Lodge, as it has the officers of most Masonic Lodges.

Our Charter bears twenty-five names, five of which are of members admitted while the Lodge was under Dispensation. Let me read those names. To our older members who were so fortunate as to have known them, will be recalled the faces of splendid men of true Masonic character, the strongest element for good citizenship in any community.

  • John Haigh
  • Granville M. Stoddard
  • Caleb Saunders
  • Samuel May Stedman
  • Arthur W. Dyer
  • Thomas Leyland
  • John Pendergast
  • Horatio Gates Herrick
  • Andrew Sharpe
  • William Smith
  • Arthur W. Howland
  • Cyrus N. Chamberlain
  • William Franklin Kimball
  • Jonathan D. Boothman
  • Edwin Lyford
  • James Walton
  • Henry M. Whitney
  • William H. Salisbury
  • Frederick E. Clarke
  • Samuel Barlow
  • William Stuart
  • Charles D. Moore
  • James C. Stuart
  • Lemuel Huntoon, Jr.
  • John William Barlow

Of these twenty-five men, but three are living today and retain their membership in the Lodge; Brother Stoddard lives in Worcester, Brother J. C. Stuart in Greenfield, Mass., and we are fortunate in still having with us Brother Arthur W. Dyer, our first Secretary, and it seems appropriate at this time to ask him to read to you his record of that first meeting.

The Dispensation was dated November 5, 1870.

The first meeting was held November 16, and at the regular meeting, December 21, 1870, Samuel Barlow, who will be remembered as Agent of the Pacific Print Works, was elected and Initiated an Entered Apprentice, while William and James C. Stuart sent in their applications. February 15, 1871, Brother Samuel Barlow was Raised to the degree of Master Mason, and on that evening the Lodge was presented with a fine set of silver working tools, suitably engraved with the names of the donors, which have been in constant use in Lodge work up to this present day.

February 21, 1872, was a red letter day in the history of the Lodge, for on that date M. W. Sereno D. Nickerson and a suite of sixteen Grand Officers, formally Constituted Phoenician Lodge and installed the following officers:

  • John Haigh, Worshipful Master
  • G. M. Stoddard, Senior Warden
  • Caleb Saunders, Junior Warden
  • Samuel M. Stedman, Treasurer
  • Arthur W. Dyer, Secretary
  • Andrew Sharpe, Chaplain
  • Horatio G. Herrick, Marshal
  • Thomas Leyland, Senior Deacon
  • John Pendergast, Junior Deacon
  • Cyrus N. Chamberlain, Senior Steward
  • John W. Barlow, Inside Sentinel
  • G. W. Waterhouse, Tyler

These exercises, and all the preceding meetings, were held in Tuscan Hall, at the corner of Essex and Jackson Streets. These present rooms in Saunders Block were then being fitted up, and the officers of the Grand Lodge expressing a desire to see them, they were escorted thither and after a thorough inspection declared themselves highly satisfied with the rooms, after which, horse cars being in waiting, they were conveyed to the Franklin House, where .all partook of a sumptuous banquet, followed by a pleasant hour spent in speeches and brought to a close by singing "Auld Lang Syne."

At the meeting on April 17, 1872, the following were elected Honorary Members of Phoenician Lodge: John Haigh, Worshipful Master of Phoenician Lodge; William S. Gardner, Past Grand Master of Massachusetts; Sereno D. Nickerson, Presiding Grand Master of Massachusetts; Josiah H. Drummond, Past Grand Master of Maine.

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did not hold high office iii the other Masonic bodies in Lawrence, but was always active in the Blue Lodge, was District Deputy Grand Master for the District in 1886, 1887, and 1888, Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge in 1889, and our first member to become a 33° Mason. An able and upright Judge, a splendid type of citizen, Judge Stone was an ornament to the Bar, to his City, and to the Masonic Fraternity, as all who knew him will gladly testify.

October, 1878, Andrew Sharpe became Worshipful Master. Brother Sharpe was then a prominent dry-goods merchant in Lawrence, and had previously held office in the Chapter. James E. Shepard became Secretary. The books of the Treasurer show that the Lodge, with a membership of seventy, had a debt of $1,850.00.

October, 1879, William A. Barrell was installed Master. Brother Barrell was Agent of the Lawrence Duck Company. He was Recorder of Bethany Commandery from 1877 to 1883, and had held office in the Chapter also.

October, 1880, Dr. William D. Lamb became Master, and after his installation he presented the Lodge with candlesticks and rough and perfect Ashlars for use in the degree work. Dr. Lamb was also at this time the head of the Chapter.

December, 1881. The time of the annual meeting having been changed to December, Dr. Octavius T. Howe was installed Worshipful Master, Ex-Mayor A. B. Bruce was Senior Steward, and Lewis G. Holt, Marshal.

January, 1884, William L. Haines became Worshipful Master, and Edward B. Kelley was made Treasurer, succeeding Samuel M. Stedman, who had served from the first meeting, or over thirteen years. Because of business demands the new Master was obliged almost immediately to give up his office, and, a Dispensation having been granted, at a special meeting held March 22, 1884, Thomas M. Cogswell was elected Worshipful Master and Lewis G. Holt, Senior Warden.

January, 1886, William T. Kimball was installed, with Warren E. Eice as Senior Warden and Parry C. Wiggin, Junior Warden.

January, 1887, Thomas M. Cogswell again returned to the East, with F. S. Longworth, then City Missionary, as Senior Warden.

January, 1889, Parry C. Wiggin became Worshipful Master, with Henry P. Hopkins as Treasurer, and William T. Kimball, Secretary. The Lodge had now reached a membership of over one hundred, had paid off the bulk of its indebtedness, and was able to reduce the annual dues to $3.00. Phoenician Lodge has been unfortunate in having so many of its leading officers remove out of town. Wor. Brother Wiggin is a case in point. After serving three years as Worshipful Master, Brother Wiggin was called to Boston and now holds the important position of Comptroller for the American Woolen Company.

January 16, 1889, Brother Wiggin was given a public installation, with Adelbert C. Varnum as Senior Warden, and the venerable Captain Horatio G. Herrick, one of our charter members who had been Eminent Commander of Bethany in 1881 and 1882, was Chaplain. In 1891 William H. Russell became Secretary, and Alfred P. Showell Senior Warden.

January, 1892, Alfred P. Showell was promoted to preside in the East, and two prosperous years followed.

January 3, 1894, Frederick A. Carr was installed Worshipful Master, and George H. Merrick, Secretary. Wor. Bro. Carr was for years an important official of the Boston and Maine Railroad, in the Boston office, and many Boston and Maine engineers have been numbered among our members.

January 15, 1896, Edgar S. Rideout became Master. Wor. Bro. Rideout has never ceased to take an active part in Masonic affairs. While still residing in Lawrence he passed through the chairs of the Chapter and Council, was District Deputy Grand Master in 1904 and 1905, served as Treasurer of Phoenician Lodge for six years and Secretary for four years, and is now the Commander of St. George Commandery of Beverly, to which place he removed in 1912.

In 1898 and 1899 Dana W. Scott was Worshipful Master. Henry F. Hopkins retired as Treasurer, and was followed by Frank P. Bugbee. In 1899 the installation was a public one and was attended by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Charles C. Hutchinson. A banquet followed for two hundred persons, and since that year a Ladies' Night or a Members' Night has been held alternately each year. In 1899 Otto F. Kress became Chaplain, and has served us continuously ever since. It would not seem like a meeting of our Lodge not to find him leading us at the altar.

In 1900 and 1901 Arthur E. Colby presided over the Lodge, which was now in a nourishing condition. February 28, 1900, at the Ladies' Night, Most Worshipful Charles T. Gallagher, Grand Master, was present and made a brief address.

In 1902 and 1903 William A. Shattuck, a valued official of the American Woolen Company, was Worshipful Master. Our Treasurer, Frank P. Bugbee, having died, Wor. Edgar S. Rideout was elected to succeed him.

In 1904 and 1905 Holman J. Stanchfield presided in the East. The legal fraternity appears quite prominently in the list of candidates about this time, and in quick succession we find the names of Louis S. Cox, Paul R. Clay, Roland H. Sherman, Irving W. Sargent, and John C. Sanborn, Jr.

In 1906 and 1907 William H. Glover filled the Oriental Chair with grea,t satisfaction to all concerned. Brother Glover has filled the chairs of the Chapter and Council, was Eminent Commander of Bethany in 1915 and 1916, and District Deputy Grand Master for the District in 1918 and 1919.

January 7, 1907, the officers of Germania Lodge, of Boston, came to Lawrence and exemplified the Master Mason degree in the German language upon two candidates of that nationality, Bauer and Kirsch. The Weber Quartet assisted and a German lunch followed in the banquet hall for about three hundred brothers. May 23, 1907, at a largely attended meeting at which the third degree was worked upon five candidates, Bro. Benjamin Schreiber presented the Lodge with a silk banner which he had had made while in Japan. Upon receiving a Lodge notice in that far-away land the idea of reproducing the beautiful design of the Pillars and Globes appealed to him, and as a result of his kindly thought Phoenician Lodge treasures this souvenir.

At the Visitation, October 30, 1907, John Albert Blake, Grand Master, and suite paid a fraternal visit to the Lodge and the attendance was three hundred and twelve.

In 1908 and 1909 Hollan Garth served as Worshipful Master, and the growth and prosperity of the Lodge continued. George H. Merrick, who had so acceptably filled the position of Secretary since 1894, removed to Providence, and Wor. Edgar S. Rideout relinquished the duties of Treasurer to Wor. Bro. Dana W. Scott and became Secretary, until he in turn moved away from Lawrence in 1912 and was succeeded by W. W. Lathrop, our present Secretary.

In 1910 Thomas L. Sullivan was Master, but left the city to reside in Dover, N. H., before the expiration of the year, and was succeeded for the years 1911 and 1912 by George D. Pitts, another loyal and devoted officer of Phoenician Lodge who has always given freely of his time and good service for the welfare of this Lodge.

In 1913 Herbert N. Colby was Worshipful Master, and as he removed to Beverly, was able to serve for one year only, and was followed in 1914 and 1915 by Ora Wendell Boothby, an enthusiastic Mason who has passed through the chairs of the Council and was Eminent Commander of Bethany in 1912 and 1913.

June 16, 1915, the Lodge had as guests the officers and members of Mount Olivet Lodge, of Cambridge, Mass., who exemplified parts of the third degree in the presence of two hundred and fifty members, and presented the Lodge with a Gavel as a souvenir of the occasion.

In 1916 and 1917 Thomas W. Murphy was Master. January 16, 1916, a Military night was observed, when Capt. Daniel C. Smith of the eighth infantry was given his third degree, with Captain Frederick G. Bauer, of Eliot Lodge, Jamaica Plain, in the East, and the other chairs filled by military officers in full uniform. Over four hundred sat at the banquet which followed the work. April 4, 1917, R. W. Bro. William H. Glover presented the Lodge with a beautiful silk American flag as a token of goodwill and affection. During Wor. Bro. Murphy's term the campaign for a new Temple was undertaken. Phoenician Lodge was at that time out of debt and had an invested balance of about two thousand dollars, and this sum was voted as a donation to the cause.

In 1918 and 1919 Perley R. Leek presided. Our Senior Warden, Herbert M. Abbott, and many of our members, went to France. The dues of all such were remitted and every encouragement given their patriotic endeavors.

1920 William E. Redfern serves us as Master, and in common with most other Lodges, finds many candidates knocking at the door for admittance.

June 9, 1920, about one hundred of our members journeyed in automobiles to the Masonic Home at Charlton and worked the third degree upon five candidates, paying a fraternal visit to our Bro. John Tempest, who has for several years been a resident.

Such, in brief, are the simple annals of the activities of this Lodge. It has been customary each year to have a Past Master's Night, and we have usually joined the two other Lodges in attending church one Sunday each year in a body. Although we are fifty years old, we are still the youngest Masonic Lodge in the city.

In this fifty years the city has grown from less than twenty-nine thousand to about one hundred thousand people, and our Lodge membership has increased greatly. Two-thirds of our citizens came from across the water, many with ideas out of harmony with the teachings of Masonry, In such a community there is great need for an organization such as ours, where there is ever an open Bible upon the altar, and where the youngest Entered Apprentice finds himself gazing upon the folds of the American Flag; these symbolize our teachings — Morality based upon the Bible, and Patriotism. May God help us to keep the Faith.

OTHER

  • 1922 participation in Lawrence temple cornerstone laying, 1922-105)

EVENTS

CONSTITUTION OF LODGE, FEBRUARY 1872

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XXXI, No. 5, March 1872, Page 150:

PHOENICIAN LODGE. This is the historically suggestive and classical name of a new and promising Lodge, located in the city of Lawrence, which, having worked a year under Dispensation, was formally Constituted and had its Officers duly installed by the M. W. Grand Lodge of this Commonwealth, on Wednesday the 21st of February, ult. Both ceremonies were tastefully and impressively performed by Grand Master Sereno D. Nickerson, assisted by R. W. Bros.

It is worthy of note in this connection that with two exceptions, the offices of the Grand Lodge were filled by their official representatives, and that there were four Past Grand Masters present; the last fact being especially gratifying, as indicating the interest which the older members of the Grand Lodge feel in every new enterprise calculated to strengthen and promote the welfare of the Order in the jurisdiction.

The ceremonies were conducted in accordance with the Ritual, and therefore need not be particularly described here, further than to add that the interest in them was largely increased by the fine singing of an excellent choir, and the equally fine playing of an accomplished organist. We were particularly struck with the effective rendering of the following beautiful hymn, sung at the closing of the Constituting ceremonies:—

HYMN.

Whilst thy genius, oh Masonry, spreads all around.
The rays of the halo with which thou art crowned;
Shall be the star, in thy sky, which now rising appears,
Not partake of that light, that grows brighter with years?

Shall its portion of fire be left to expire,
And leave no bright trace for as to admire?
Oh, no, its mild beams shall be seen from afar;
And the child of distress, bless the new rising star.

, Like the beams of that Star, which of old marked the way,
And led where of peace the sweet Messenger lay,
May its light, still to Virtue and Masonry true,
Mark the path that with strength Wisdom bids us pursue.
As its beams, unconfined, illumine the mind
With pleasure that leaves no sad feeling behind;
The jewel of beauty glows bright, and its ray
Makes Grief's gloomy night fly from Joy's radiant day.

As the blush of the rose more enchanting appears,
When its sweet leaves are fill'd with the morn's pearly tears;
So from gratitude's tears shall our star rise more bright;
For Charity's smile shall give warmth to its light.
And Justice divine shall with Harmony join,
To assist its ascent by the unerring line,
Whilst Prudence and Temperance guarding their own,
Shall shed a new ray upon Masonry's crown.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies at the hall, the Grand Lodge and Brethren in attendance were escorted to the American House, where they sat down to a well served dinner. This having been satisfactorily disposed of, the half hour remaining before the leaving of the cars for Boston, was occupied by short speeches by the M. W. Grand Master and R. W. Bros. Lewis, Heard and Parkman — all the speakers expressing their personal gratification with the organization and material of the new Lodge, and their hopes for its continued prosperity. We give the names of the officers installed as follows:

  • John Hay, W. M.
  • Granville M. Stoddard, S. W.
  • Caleb Saunders, J. W.
  • Samuel M. Stedman, Treas.
  • Arthur W. Dyer, Sec.
  • Thos. Leland, S. D.
  • John Pendergast, J. D.
  • Andrew Sharpe, Jr. Chaplain.
  • Horatio G. Herrick, S. S.
  • Cyrus N. Chamberlain, J. S.
  • John W. Barlow, I. S.
  • Gideon W. Waterhouse, Tyler.

There are now three Lodges in the city, all in active operation, and a new and more spacious hall for their future occupancy is nearly ready for dedication.

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

DISTRICTS

1870: District 6 (Newburyport)

1883: District 10 (Lawrence)

1911: District 11 (Lawrence)

1927: District 11 (Lawrence)

LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges

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