Phoenix2

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PHOENIX LODGE

Location: Hanover

Chartered By: Sereno D. Nickerson

Charter Date: 03/07/1874 1874-20

Precedence Date: 02/21/1873

Current Status: Active

PAST MASTERS

  • Francis P. Arnold, 1874, 1875, 1877; Mem
  • George B, Oldham, 1876
  • R. C. Waterman, 1878-1880
  • Eben C. Waterman, 1881, 1882
  • William W. Curtis, 1883, 1884
  • Lyman Russell, 1885, 1886
  • John G. Fisher, 1887, 1888, 1895
  • Henry H. Collamore, 1889, 1890
  • R. Willard Crane, 1891, 1892
  • Thomas Barstow, 1893, 1894
  • William A. Josselyn, 1896, 1897
  • William F. Bates, 1898, 1899
  • Calvin S. West, 1900, 1901
  • Elmer E. Turner, 1902, 1903
  • Horace T. Fogg, 1904, 1905; Mem
  • Nathan O. Oakman, 1906, 1907
  • Ernest H. Sparrell, 1908, 1909
  • Lester D. West, 1910, 1911
  • Sumner A. Chapman, 1912, 1913
  • Charles E. Damon, 1914, 1915
  • Joseph F. Merritt, 1916, 1917
  • Edward H. Tindale, 1918, 1919; N
  • Harold P. Bailey, 1920, 1921
  • Lothrop E. Fessenden, 1922
  • John M. Townsend, 1923
  • Edwin H. Gibson, 1924, 1925; N
  • Herbert L. Shepherd, 1926, 1927
  • Frank I. Buffum, 1928, 1929
  • George D. Dumas, 1930
  • Herbert A. Lincoln, 1931, 1932
  • J. Lyman Wadsworth, 1933, 1934; N
  • Alfred J. Wilson, 1935, 1936
  • Russell W. Harris, 1937, 1938; N
  • Ralph A. Sunergren, 1939, 1940
  • Lot Phillips, II, 1941
  • James M. Converse, 1942
  • Calvin T. King, 1943
  • John H. Harrigan, 1944
  • John S. Brooks, 1945, 1946
  • Joseph S. Sylvester Jr., 1947, 1948
  • John C. Tyrie, 1949
  • Edward C. Burchett, 1950, 1951
  • George L. Legg, 1952, 1953; N
  • S. Franklin Ames, 1954
  • Norman C. Robbins, 1955
  • Frederick F. Nagel, 1956
  • Allan A. Carnes, 1957
  • Lloyd S. West, 1958
  • George F. Smith, 1959
  • David B. Richardson, 1960; N
  • Richard A. Gaudette, 1961; N
  • Robert Moodie, 1962
  • Arthur O. Peacock, 1963
  • T. Curtis Power, 1964
  • Kenton W. Greene, 1965
  • George W. Jones, 1966
  • Charles H. Baldwin, Jr., 1967
  • Herbert W. Tripp, 1968
  • George B. Currie, 1969
  • Royal L. Unangst, Jr., 1970
  • Daniel Hamilton, 1971, 1972
  • C. Philip Snow, 1973
  • Charles L. Inglis, 1974
  • Paul R. Chambers, 1975
  • Norman W. Jefferson, 1976
  • Robert C. Hyland, 1977
  • William Wenzlow, 1978
  • Earle W. Bucknam, 1979
  • Lorrimer Armstrong, Jr, 1980
  • Allan Johnson,, 1981
  • Francis J. Hamilton, 1982
  • David I. MacDonald, 1983
  • Arthur L. Mosher, 1984, 85, 1999
  • Robert J. Lukow, 1986
  • Cantrell C. Clemmons, 1987
  • Robert W. Seltsam, 1988
  • Roland A. Cole, Jr,, 1989
  • David K. Dickson, 1990
  • Richard F. Faust, 1991; PDDGM
  • Daniel L. Murphy, 1992
  • Stephen T. Richardson, 1993
  • Arnold Melvin Johnson, 1994, 2000, 2010; PDDGM
  • Christopher S. O'Reilly, 1995
  • Walter L. Tryon, Jr., 1996-1997
  • John R. Grillo, 1998
  • Philip E. Drugge, 2001
  • David W. Luce, 2002
  • Robert V. Hammond, 2003, 2005
  • Biff Coen, 2004
  • James M. Gilmore, 2006
  • John I. Hyland, 2007
  • Dennis J. Blom, 2008
  • Lawrence P. Friedman, 2009, 2019
  • James A. Jones, 2011
  • Donald W. Spradlin, 2013, 2016
  • Douglas A. Knowles, 2014
  • Jonah McCall, 2015
  • John J. McIntyre, III, 2017, 2018

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

  • Petition for Dispensation: 1873
  • Petition for Charter: 1874

ANNIVERSARIES

  • 1924 (50th Anniversary)
  • 1973 (Centenary)
  • 1999 (125th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

BY-LAW CHANGES

1876 1878 1880 1885 1892 1901 1913 1924 1943 1948 1953 1956 1957 1962 1968 1979 1982 1983 1985 1990 1991 1992 1997 1999 2005 2007 2009 2012 2015

HISTORY

  • 1924 (50th Anniversary History, 1924-46; see below)
  • 1973 (Centenary History, 1973-212; see below)

50TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY, MARCH 1924

From Proceedings, Page 1924-46:

By R. W. Horace T. Fogg.

Worshipful Master, Most Worshipful Grand Master, R. W. Sirs, and Brethren:

On an occasion of this character and in this particular locality in speaking of the history of Phoenix Lodge one must of necessity touch upon the history of Freemasonry in Hanover — for Freemasonry flourished here long before the institution of our Lodge — and it is perhaps the story of those olden days which more specially appeals to us at a celebration of this kind.

Of the Lodges now existing under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts there are but nine older than Hanover's first Masonic Lodge. There were originally two Grand Lodges in Massachusetts claiming the right to charter subordinate Lodges. June 17, 1775, Joseph Warren, Grand Master of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, fell at Bunker Hill. During the struggle for independence Grand Lodge work was practically suspended.

In 1787 St. John 's Grand Lodge (the other then existing Grand Lodge) met for the first time in twelve years (This was long accepted as the fact because the records for that period are lost. there is, however, good reason to believe that the St. John's Grand Lodge functioned actively throughout that time. — F. W. H.) Richard Gridley, companion of Warren, who had planned the works on Bunker Hill where Warren fell, occupying the East as Deputy Grand Master. A communication was received from the Massachusetts Grand Lodge suggesting a union of the two Grand Lodges. They gradually drew nearer together and on March 2, 1792, the two Grand Lodges assembled at their respective halls: Massachusetts Grand Lodge at Concert Hall, corner of Hanover and Court Streets, R. W. Paul Revere, Deputy Grand Master, in the chair; St. John's Grand Lodge at the "Bunch of Grapes Tavern on King Street, now corner of Kilby and Milk Streets, and each reported to the other with great unanimity and brotherly affection their decision to formally unite — "And thereupon as at some meeting of the waters where two converging streams unite and form one river so the two Grand Lodges came together and the continuity of Historical Freemasonry in America was in no wise interrupted," and the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was established, and the successor of Joseph Warren and Paul Revere sits in the East of Phoenix Lodge tonight.

Early in December of the same year John Young, of Pembroke, Adams Bailey, of Scituate, George Little, of Marshfield, James Lewis, of Marshfield, Charles Turner, Jr., of Scituate, David Jacobs, Jr., of Hanover, and William Curtis, of Pembroke, all Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, petitioned the Grand Lodge to be created and constituted a regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons with title and designation of Old Colony Lodge within The Town of Hanover.

This prayer was granted. It was the second Lodge to be chartered under the new Grand Lodge. The Charter, still in existence and of full force and effect, was executed by John Cutler, then Grand Master, whose name was later taken by our neighboring Lodge in Abington. It is interesting to notice that even at that time there was a Phoenix Lodge of Masons in America located at Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Forefathers' Rock Lodge at Plymouth was Hanover's nearest neighbor. The time allotted me permits only a word concerning the Charter members of Old Colony Lodge. Unfortunately we actually know but little of John Young, the first Master, who was a Scotchman, or of James Lewis: the latter was made a Mason in St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston. Adams Bailey, of Scituate, was prominent in public affairs. He fought in the Revolution; later in life he was Steward of the United States Marine Hospital in Chelsea. Capt. George Little was a naval officer of distinction. He was captured by a British frigate in 1779, escaped from a military prison in old Plymouth, England, returned to the United States, and was later Commander of the sloop of war Winthrop. He died in Marshfield in 1809.

Charles Turner, Jr., was among the most earnest and active members of the Lodge. He was Worshipful Master from 1793 to 1796, Senior Warden from 1796 to 1801, and Master again in 1802 and 1804 to 1807. In 1810 he visited the Lodge as District Deputy Grand Master. He was Postmaster at Scituate, member of both branches of the Legislature, and a member of Congress 1809 to 1813.

David Jacobs, Jr., of Hanover, died young in 1799, only seven years after the Institution of the Lodge. He aS its first Tyler and served as Treasurer. He left a daughter, Relief Jacobs. She was the grandmother of Charles Sumner, one of Massachusetts' most distinguished senators.

Of Capt. William Curtis we know but little. He was a Captain in the Revolutionary Army, by trade a boat builder. The Lodge met for the first time just across the street on Christmas eve, 1792, at the house of Atherton Wales, inn-holder, the long-time home of our late respected and Worshipful Bro. Eben C. Waterman. On January 10, 1793, it was voted to pay Atherton Wales one shilling for the use of the room and for him to furnish firewood and candles for the use of the Lodge. At the next meeting it was voted not to have any refreshments but liquor and crackers and cheese. In August of the same year a committee was appointed lo confer with Bro. Silas Morton in regard to adding Masonic apartments to the building he was about to erect. This new hall, just next door south, was dedicated June 16, 1794, by the officers of the Grand Lodge. Paul Revere, as Most Worshipful Grand Master, was present, performed the ceremonies, and thereafter installed Charles Turner, Jr., of Scituate, as Master.

October 17, 1796: "Voted that Brother Morton furnish fuel as necessary and see that the window shetts are in order, also to meet at 4 p.m. and close at 8 o'clock."

December 14, 1799, Washington died at Mt. Vernon. Every Masonic Lodge throughout the land paid tribute to his memory. For he was then and still remains Masonry's most illustrious Brother. He had been buried several days before even the news of his death reached Hanover. The Lodge went into mourning for sixty days and on February 22, 1800, the Lodge convened to hear a eulogy pronounced by Bro. Chas. Turner, Jr. The procession formed in the Lodge-room, the public congregating about the Corners. The Hanover Artillery acted as escort to the meeting house at the Center, a march of nearly two miles with fife and muffled drum. The last to appear from the Lodge-room were the Worshipful Master and officers, with their jewels in mourning, accompanied by the Acting Chaplain, who was Bro. John Briggs Bell, Chaplain of St. John's Lodge, of Boston. The apron worn by Brother Bell, having on it the Masonic emblems usually displayed on an officer's apron, was presented to Phoenix Lodge by the father of Wor. Bro. William A. Josselyn. It hung upon the walls of our old Lodge-room. How lamentable the fact that it could not have withstood the devastation of fire.

The year 1807 developed a movement of which there had appeared scarcely a previous hint. In the minutes of a meeting held May 25 is a record that a committee was chosen to consult with the Brethren at Hingham. On June 4, 1807, it was voted to petition the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge to move the Lodge to Hingham and the Grand Lodge voted that the prayer of the petition be granted. The last meeting of the Lodge in Hanover was held Nov. 14, 1807. and we can at this time follow its history no further. We cannot but regret the fact that the Lodge could not have remained in the home of its birth, but we can rejoice in this fact, however, that if it had not taken its departure, we would not have been honored by the presence of the officers of the Grand Lodge tonight at the fiftieth anniversary of Phoenix Lodge.

This section remained under the jurisdiction of Old Colony Lodge, but the new members were mostly from Hingham, Cohasset, Weymouth, and none from this section appear as officers, although.the records show that at a public installation which was held at the old meeting house in Hingham December 30, 1824, Rev. Bro. Calvin Wolcott, of Hanover, delivered a sermon well adapted to the occasion.

June 9, 1826, application was made by the Rev. Bro. Calvin Wolcott, Aurora W. Oldham, and others for the approbation of Old Colony Lodge to a petition for a new Lodge to be called Phoenix Lodge, of Hanover, recommending Bro. Horace Collamore for Master. It was voted by the Grand Lodge to approve this petition on Sept. 13, 1826, and on Sept. 26, 1826, the Right Worshipful Honorable Seth Sprague, Jr., of Duxborough, of Corner Stone Lodge, District Deputy Grand Master for the Third Masonic District, was commissioned by Most Worshipful John Soley, Grand Master, to Constitute Phoenix Lodge and install its officers. A Deputy Grand Lodge was opened in form and the officers were invested and installed. Proclamation was made accordingly, a procession was then formed and proceeded to the Meeting House. On this occasion it was St. Andrew's Church, where prayer was offered by Reverend Brother Wolcott, the sermon was by Reverend Brother Bent, of Weymouth, and the oration by Reverend Brother Cutler, of Quincy, with a concluding prayer by Reverend Brother Perkins, of Braintree.

As far as I know, no records of the Lodge exist and we are deeply indebted to Wor. Bro. R. Willard Crane for such facts as have been put in permanent form.

Horace Collamore, of Pembroke, was Worshipful Master. He had attended Hanover Academy, was in business iii Boston several years, and he had been a member of Columbian Lodge, Boston.

Aurora W. Oldham, Senior Warden, was born in Pembroke in 1779, married, and lived on his fifty-six acre farm, a farmer and a prominent member of State Militia, rising to the rank of Major. He was Raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Corner Stone Lodge only six months before Phoenix Lodge was instituted. He had eleven children, one of whom, George B. Oldham, it is interesting to note, became the first Senior Warden of our own Phoenix Lodge. Rev. Calvin Wolcott was Junior Warden. He was made a Mason in Columbian Lodge, Boston, receiving all three degrees in one evening, January 3, 1822. He was Rector of St. Andrew's Church until 1834. Ethan Allen Stetson, a descendant of Cornet Robert Stetson, was Secretary. He was employed as a clerk in his father's store near Teague's Bridge. Like Reverend Brother Wolcott he received the three degrees in one evening. He died in 1831 aged twenty-eight years.

Pelham W. Bonney, a Deacon of the Lodge, lived in that part of Hanson called New State. Before marriage he went to Baltimore, where he was made a Mason. He married a daughter of Aurora Oldham and she was the one who made the regalia for her father and other officers of the Lodge when it was instituted. With his brother Jonathan he operated an iron foundry where the Clapp Rubber Works now are.

The life of this Phoenix Lodge was brief. Just one week before it was instituted William Morgan of unpleasant memory disappeared. It was alleged that he was abducted by Masons, his throat cut from ear to ear, and his body buried in the rough sands of Lake Erie a cable tow's length from shore, because he had revealed the secrets of Freemasonry. The Anti-Masons became very active. They formed a political party to drive all Masons out of office. This party spread over a great part of the northern states and made some headway in the South. In the presidential campaign of 1832 it had a national ticket in the field with William Wirt, of Maryland, for President. The party polled a considerable vote and actually carried the state of Vermont. A determined effort was made to exterminate Freemasonry in America. Its secrets were laid bare. At least sixteen editions of Light on Free Masonry, by one David Bernard, were printed, giving verbatim and complete, the signs, pass-words, and the grand Masonic words of all degrees of our Order, and for good measure, the last few editions contained complete revelations of Odd Fellowship.

Freemasonry bended very low before the storm, but it did not break. It offers conclusive proof of the upright character, the noble purpose, the high aim, the life-giving principles of our beloved and honorable Institution that it reappeared, as if from the dead, young and fresh as in the beginning, and is today a great and respected power still moving on in its quiet ways of usefulness, calmly and serenely not only preaching but also practising the glorious tenets of its profession.

As far as it is known only two men were Raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in old Phoenix Lodge: Nathan Dwelley, who lived at the Corners, and John Brooks, who lived in North Hanover. Both of them became honorary members of our own Phoenix Lodge, and in the case of Brother Brooks appear on our records for the first time resolutions on the death of a Brother:

Deacon John Brooks
died in Hanover, Mass., October 5, 1878.
The Memory of the Just is Blessed.

Laying down the cross cheerfully borne for the many years he has followed in the footsteps of his Divine Master, he has received from His hands the bright crown prepared as a reward for earthly toils.

"The Church, the Town, his neighbors all join in expression of sincere sorrow, and swell the wail of mourning, 'weeping with those who weep,' and we as members of a great Fraternity who were honored to welcome him as a Brother would add our testimony to his worth, and our lament at his taking away. For fifty years a Freemason lie has been with the Institute through the night of its trials, till the morning broke and until Truth crushed to earth rose again." Two of his grandsons, honored members of this Lodge, are present tonight.

February 8, 1873, a meeting of Master Masons was held in Bates Hall to obtain the names of those desirous of being congregated into a regular Lodge under the name of Phoenix Lodge.

A petition was signed by fifty Master Masons praying the Grand Lodge to grant a Dispensation to form and open a Lodge after the manner of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and therein to admit and make Freemasons according to the ancient customs and to appoint Bro. F. P. Arnold first Master, Bro. Geo. B. Oldham first Senior Warden, and Bro. James Ford first Junior Warden. A committee headed by Bro. Thomas B. Waterman presented the petition to John Cutler Lodge, of Abington (it being the nearest Lodge), for their recommendation and to the District Deputy Grand Master for the Sixteenth Masonic District for his approval. A Dispensation was granted under which the Lodge worked until April 9, 1874, the date of the Consecration of the Lodge, on which date a Special Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was opened in Hanover.

The Grand Officers arrived at half past eleven o'clock, having left Boston at quarter before nine in the morning by the Old Colony Railroad, and had six miles of stage travel from North Abington in consequence of a car's being off the track and obstructing travel on the Hanover branch. It would appear that even under local management the trains were not always on time!

After a generous collation furnished by the Lodge to the Grand Officers and invited guests, the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Sereno D. Nickerson, with the officers of the Grand Lodge, entered the hall in solemn procession to Dedicate the hall and to Consecrate the Lodge according to the ancient usages and customs of the Craft, which the Most Worshipful Grand Master announced as done in Ample Form. He then proceeded to install the elected officers, assisted by R.W. Bro. Coolidge, as Deputy Grand Master.

The officers were:

  • Francis P. Arnold, Worshipful Master
  • George B. Oldham, Senior Warden
  • Edward M. Sweeney, Junior Warden
  • John O. Trench, M. D., Treasurer
  • Thomas B. Waterman, Secretary
  • Rodolphus C. Waterman, Senior Deacon
  • Stephen W. Bailey, Junior Deacon
  • Thomas H. Tilden, Senior Steward (an honored Charter member present tonight)
  • Lyman Russell, Junior Steward
  • Robert S. Talbot, Chaplain
  • Frank A. Davis, Marshal
  • Robert Sylvester, Jr., Tyler (another honored Charter member, who has also honored us by his presencehere tonight)

Melzar C. Bailey, a third surviving Charter member, had held office during the year the Lodge worked under Dispensation, and while since that date he has held no office in the Lodge, by his very frequent presence and his deep and abiding faith in the Institution he has displayed the same Masonic characteristics as distinguished our other Charter members.

The first visitation was held October 22, 1874, R. W. Bro. Edward Avery, District Deputy Grand Master.

In January, 1875, W. Bro. John G. Fisher was installed Junior Steward and began his long and distinguished career as an officer of Phoenix Lodge, a fourth Charter member and present tonight. And I am confident that the other Charter members and all the officers and members of Phoenix Lodge will join with me in one accord, and proclaim him tonight of all living members as Phoenix Lodge's most loyal and well beloved Brother. That he has received the Henry Price Medal goes without saying; that he richly deserved it is our unanimous and enthusiastic verdict.

November 21, 1875, at the second visitation of Phoenix Lodge, Hosea Kingman, District Deputy Grand Master, the third degree was worked and our good Brother Thomas H. Tilden acted as the candidate. The records of the visitation of the next year report the fact "work well done and underlined, but the Secretary adds the District Deputy did not approve of our style.

April 26, 1877, the evening was spent in social enjoyment; the Brethren to the number of forty were present. An entertainment of ice cream, oysters, etc., was provided by Bro. Granville D. Damon, a caterer of well-known reputation who on this occasion excelled himself, and Granville has been doing it ever since. He has outlived the threescore years and ten by twenty years, and is now probably one of the oldest Masons in this vicinity. His son, a member of our Lodge, is in charge of our refreshments tonight.

In 1879 permission was for the first time granted by the Grand Lodge to work two degrees on a candidate in one evening, which was done Saturday, November 29, of that year, and two of the sons of that candidate are among the younger members of our Lodge and present tonight.

In December, 1883, our first Master, Francis P. Arnold, was appointed District Deputy Grand Master. He installed the officers in January, 1884, and again in December, 1886, when our first public installation was held, John G. Fisher being Worshipful Master.

On February 10, 1891, Thomas B. Waterman, Secretary of the Lodge from the date of its Consecration, died suddenly in Hanover. He had carefully, conscientiously, and beautifully kept the records of one hundred and ninety-nine stated communications and forty-nine special communications. His minutes of the two hundredth stated communication, at which he was present, were spread upon the records by Wor. Bro. Eben C. Waterman, who succeeded him as Secretary. The fiftieth special communication was called to attend his funeral. His work was done — his record closed.

The last visitation in the old Lodge-room, occupied continuously since its Consecration, was held September 1, 1898 John Burton Henderson, the last candidate to be Raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, being the candidate. The last work in the old room was September 29 Andrew J. Litchfield, Jr., being initiated an Entered Apprentice in due and ancient form. Probably no Brother is farther distant tonight than he. He telegraphs this word from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: "Please convey to Phoenix Lodge my sincere greetings and congratulations on its fiftieth birthday.

October 27, came the election and installation of officers.

November 6, the sixty-third Special Communication was held in the Lodge-room to attend the funeral of Bro. Edward Barstow. Five days later the building was totally destroyed by fire. The memory of this sad event which touched closely many families in this vicinity is fresh in the minds of our elder members.

Three relics only from the old Lodge have survived: the Charter, which was in the safe, the picture of Thomas B. Waterman, which then hung and still hangs over the Secretary's desk, and the chair in which the Senior Warden now sits. In the explosion which followed the fire the picture and chair were blown out of the building intact.

A few weeks later came the great storm of 1898 and the youngest Master Mason of Phoenix Lodge was summoned to his long home.

The Lodge met in Odd Fellows Hall until our present quarters were built and ready for occupancy. October 11, 1900, at two o'clock in the afternoon, was held the seventieth Special Communication of the Lodge and its first meeting in these rooms. The Most Worshipful Charles T. Gallagher, Grand Master, was cordially welcomed by Wor. Bro. Calvin S. West, Master, who resigned to him the oriental chair and the Grand Officers assumed their respective stations. The working tools were surrendered by Wor. Bro. Thomas Barstow. The customary examination of the new building was made and, the report being satisfactory, the Most Worshipful Grand Master did solemnly Dedicate the hall to Freemasonry, to Virtue, and to Universal Benevolence in accordance with ancient form and usage and the ritual of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Marshal making proclamation accordingly.

Of the Grand Officers present Most Worshipful Grand Master Gallagher spoke in his address to the Lodge as follows: We are fortunate and proud to have with us today our respected Grand Secretary, R. W. Bro. Sereno D. Nickerson, who as Grand Master in 1874 constituted your Lodge. He is the embodiment of all that is good and great in Masonry. He is not only an encyclopedia of Masonry, but is always open and free to impart his information to any of the Brethren who desire to have it. He has the universal respect of the Masons of our Commonwealth."

To these sentiments all of us who knew Brother Nickerson are pleased to respond "Amen."

For Phoenix Lodge, much water has run under the bridge since October, 1900, but it is not yet history.

I would have spoken briefly of our deceased Past Masters. Time hardly permits a passing word.

Francis P. Arnold was first Master. His zeal and interest in the Lodge have never been excelled; he labored long and arduously to bring the Lodge to that state of perfection in word and work that has shown its effects in after years. Masonry was very dear to him. He was very dear to us.

George B. Oldham, true to his Masonic ancestry, member of an Army Lodge; in ill health he served but a single year.

Kodolphus C. Waterman, also a veteran deeply interested in public affairs; a warden of St. Andrew's Church; kindness and courtesy were marked qualities of his character; an honest man and Christian gentleman.

Eben C. Waterman, prominent in public affairs, devoted to Freemasonry, skilled in the ritual; many of us have felt the strength of his good right arm in seeking to make an escape at the east gate.

William W. Curtis, a well-beloved Brother; the resolutions on his death record the testimony of the Lodge to his sterling worth, his manly integrity, his kindness of heart, his benevolence and cheerful disposition.

Lyman Russell; a veteran of the Civil War, he served the town faithfully as an official. He was a Mason whom the Brethren delighted to honor. His pleasing manner and kindly greetings are a happy memory.

Henry H. Collamore, an Ensign in the Navy during the Civil War, active in town affairs, fearless in his advocacy of what he conceived to be right, a loyal friend and Brother.

Thomas Barstow, a builder (he learned his trade with Bro. James Ford), the first Junior Warden of Phoenix Lodge, a town official of many years and member of the Legislature, modest and unassuming, of a retiring disposition but behind all that a sound judgment and a determined purpose to do right.

May I add one name.

Edward M. Sweeney, Junior Warden, Senior Warden, and Treasurer, and while his Brethren were desirous of electing him Master, his naturally retiring disposition and his fear that he could not fill the office as he would desire made him decline. He was a conservative: justice and honesty his marked characteristics.

Brethren, you have been very patient, and I will add but a closing word — which I shall not address to you, Worshipful Sir, or to the Most Worshipful Grand Master or to these the Right Worshipful Brethren or to the Charter members of the Lodge, but only to those favored few who may be permitted to be present fifty years from tonight, when we celebrate our one hundredth anniversary.

To look back fifty years is no difficult matter for many of you. You have seen wonderful changes, the like of which it does not seem possible can be duplicated in another half century. But the principles of Freemasonry have not changed. The foundation stones of a religious faith on which all Freemasonry is builded are unchanging with the changing times, and to the maintenance of these principles unimpaired through a succession of future ages, we are now calling upon the younger members of this Institution to assume their share of the responsibilities.

Lodges as such and in themselves are not concerned with public politics. As such we do not seek to guide public opinion. We are neither fundamentalists nor modernists. The League of Nations and the World Court for us as a Lodge require neither approval nor dissent. We do not exist solely for charitable or social purposes. We neither supersede nor act for State or Court or Church. We must never take upon ourselves as a Lodge the determination of public activities or the righting of public wrongs or the settlement of private disputes.

What is there left for us as a Lodge to do? To maintain unimpaired the glorious tenets of our profession, to practice out of the Lodge the moral virtues which are inculcated in it.

Do this, and many a public wrong will be righted, and many a private dispute will never arise.

The Bible must ever be not only the rule and guide of our faith, but the rule and guide of our actions. Without it Lodges cannot be opened: on it we obligate each newly admitted member; before it kneels each and every officer of a Lodge of Master Masons. It cannot be superseded; it must not be misinterpreted.

Liberty and license are two different words. The faith of our fathers must be preserved and transmitted through a succession of ages until time shall be no more.

For after all it is to the glory of God only that this Institution exists.

CENTENARY HISTORY, OCTOBER 1973

From Proceedings, Page 1973-212:

By Right Worshipful David B. Richardson and Worshipful Robert Moodie.

On the occasion of our one hundredth anniversary it is fitting that we review the long and distinguished history of Masonry in Hanover. At the time Phoenix Lodge celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, R. W. Horace T. Fogg presented a history of Freemasonry in Hanover, which was included in the Grand Lodge Proceedings of 1924. (1924 Mass. 46-63) As this excellent work has never been made available to the Brethren we have incorporated much of his writing in our History of the first one hundred years of Phoenix Lodge.

Of the Lodges now existing under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts there are but nine older than Hanover's first Masonic Lodge. There were originally two Grand Lodges in Massachusetts claiming the right to charter subordinate Lodges. On March 2, 1792, the two Grand Lodges assembled at their respective halls: Massachusetts Grand Lodge at Concert Hall, corner of Hanover and Court Streets, R. W. Paul Revere, Deputy Grand Master, in the chair; St. John's Grand Lodge at the "Bunch of Grapes Tavern" on King Street now corner of Kilby and Milk Streets, and each reported to the other with great unanimity and brotherly affection their decision to formally unite — "And thereupon as at some meeting of the waters where two converging streams unite and form one river so the two Grand Lodges came together and the continuity of Historical Freemasonry in America was in no wise interrupted," and the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was established, and the successor of Joseph Warren and Paul Revere sits in the East of Phoenix Lodge tonight.

Early in December of the same year, 1792, John Young, of Pembroke, Adams Bailey, of Scituate, George Little, of Marshfield, James Lewis, of Marshfield, Charles Turner, Jr., of Scituate, David Jacobs, Jr., of Hanover and William Curtis, of Pembroke, all Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, petitioned the Grand Lodge to be created and constituted a regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons with title and designation of Old Colony Lodge within the Town of Hanover.

This prayer was granted. It was the second Lodge to be chartered under the new Grand Lodge. The Charter, still in existence and of full force and effect, was executed by John Cutler, then Grand Master, whose name was later taken by our neighboring Lodge in Abington. The Lodge met for the first time just across the street from the present hall on Christmas eve, 1792, at the house of Atherton Wales, innholder, the long-time home of our late respected and Worshipful Bro. Eben C. Waterman. On January 10, 1793 it was voted to pay Atherton Wales one shilling for the use of the room and for him to furnish firewood and candles for the use of the Lodge. At the next meeting it was voted not to have any refreshments but liquor and crackers and cheese.

In August of the same year a committee was appointed to confer with Bro. Silas Morton in regard to adding Masonic apartments to the building he was about to erect. This new hall, just next door south, was dedicated June 16, 1794, by the officers of Grand Lodge. Paul Revere, as Most Worshipful Grand Master, was present, performed the ceremonies and thereafter installed Charles Turner, Jr., of Scituate, as Master.

The year 1807 developed a movement of which there had appeared scarcely a previous hint. In the minutes of a meeting held May 25 is a record that a committee was chosen to consult with the Brethren at Hingham. On June 4, 1807 it was voted to petition the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge to move the Lodge to Hingham and the Grand Lodge voted that the prayer of the petition be granted. The last meeting of the Lodge in Hanover was held November 14, 1807, and we can at this time follow its history no further. We cannot but regret the fact that the Lodge could not have remained in the home of its birth, but we can rejoice in this fact, however, that if it had not taken its departure, we would not have been honored by the presence of the officers of the Grand Lodge tonight at the one hundredth anniversary of Phoenix Lodge.

June 9, 1826, application was made by the Rev. Bro. Calvin Wolcott, Aurora W. Oldham, and others for the approbation of Old Colony Lodge to petition for a new Lodge to be called Phoenix Lodge, of Hanover, recommending Bro. Horace Collamore for Master. It was voted by the Grand Lodge to approve this petition on September 13, 1826, and on September 26, 1826, the R.W. Seth Sprague, Jr., of Duxbury, of Corner Stone Lodge, District Deputy Grand Master for the Third Masonic District was commissioned by Most Worshipful John Soley, Grand Master, to Constitute Phoenix Lodge and install its officers.

As far as is known no records of this Lodge exist due to its brief life, however, it is believed that two men were raised in this Phoenix Lodge. One of those men was an ancestor of Wor. John Brooks, who is a present member of Phoenix Lodge.

On February 8, 1873, a meeting of Master Masons was held in Bates Hall to obtain the names of those desirous of being congregated into a regular Lodge under the name of Phoenix Lodge.

A petition was signed by fifty Master .Masons praying the Grand Lodge to grant a Dispensation to form and open a Lodge after the manner of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and therein to admit and make Freemasons according to the ancient customs and to appoint Bro. Francis P. Arnold first Master. A committee headed by Bro. Thomas B. Waterman presented the petition to John Cutler Lodge, of Abington (it being the nearest Lodge), for their recommendation and to the District Deputy Grand Master for the Sixteenth Masonic District for his approval. A Dispensation was granted under which the Lodge worked until April 9, 1874, the date of the Consecration of the Lodge, on which date a Special Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was opened in Hanover.

The Grand Officers arrived at half past eleven o'clock, having left Boston at quarter before nine in the morning by the Old Colony Railroad, and had six miles of stage travel from North Abington in consequence of a car being off the track and obstructing travel on the Hanover branch. It would appear that even under local management the trains were not always on time!

After a generous collation furnished by the Lodge to the Grand Officers and invited guests, the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Sereno D. Nickerson, with the officers of the Grand Lodge, entered the hall in solemn procession to Dedicate the hall and to Consecrate the Lodge according to the ancient usages and customs of the Craft, which the Most Worshipful Grand Master announced as done in Ample Form. He then proceeded to install Br.o. Francis P. Arnold as the first Master of Phoenix Lodge.

On November 11, 1898 the Lodge hall was totally destroyed by an explosion and fire. Fortunately the Charter which was in the safe survived the blast, but little else remained.

The Lodge met in Odd Fellows Hall until our present quarters were built and ready for occupancy, October 11, 1900. At two o'clock in the afternoon, was held the seventieth Special Communication of the Lodge and its first meeting in our present quarters. The Most Worshipful Charles T. Gallagher, Grand Master, was cordially Welcomed by Wor. Bro. Calvin S. West, Master, who resigned to him the oriental chair and the Grand Officers assumed their respective stations. The working tools were surrendered by Wor. Bro. Thomas Harstow. The customary examination of the new building was made and, the report being satisfactory, the Most Worshipful Grand Master did solemnly Dedicate the hall to Freemasonry, to Virtue, and to Universal Benevolence in accordance with ancient form and usage and the ritual of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Marshal making proclamation accordingly. (1900 Mass. 160-165)

For the past 73 years Phoenix Lodge has occupied its present Lodge Hall on the second floor of this building. For many years, until 1964, the first floor was leased for commercial purposes and was occupied by the Post Office Dept., the Telephone Company and various other enterprises. Early in 1964 the entire building was taken over by the Lodge. Extensive renovations were undertaken and the new Banquet Hall and Kitchen were put into use March 4, 1965.

From its early beginnings, Phoenix Lodge met on each Thursday nearest the full of the moon. This by-law was changed in 1924 to allow the Master and Wardens, at their discretion, to eliminate the July and August meetings. The Lodge meeting was established on the first Thursday of each month in January of 1948, but did not take effect until September of that year. This change still left the July and August meetings to the discretion of the Master and Wardens.

On April 25, 1970, a great honor was bestowed on Phoenix Lodge and our faithful Secretary of eighteen years service, Bro. Everett G. Rhodes, when the Grand Lodge presented him with the Joseph Warren Medal for Distinguished Service to his Lodge and to Masonry. Bro. Rhodes not only served Phoenix Lodge for 18 years as Secretary, but during this period also served the 18th Lodge of Instruction as Secretary for four terms. In 1962 and 1963 Bro. Rhodes served as District Deputy Grand Secretary for our late beloved R. W. George L. Legg. Throughout his entire Masonic career, Bro. Rhodes has been a light to his Brethren.

According to the best account available there are eight members still living who were present at the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration. These members are specifically referred to in the address given by R.W. Fogg, 50 years ago, which is quoted in the summary of this history. Wor. George C. Dumas who was Senior Deacon that memorable night is now our Senior Past Master. The other Brethren that were present were Wor. Ralph A. Sunergren, Bro. Joseph W. Church, Bro. Melvin B. Shepherd, Bro. Clarence L. Pratt, Bro. Raymond H. Parker, Bro. Harry L. Josselyn and Bro. Joseph M. Hackett, in addition Bro. James C. Tyrie, a present member of Phoenix Lodge, was present as a visitor. All of these members have been invited to be our guests tonight.

Brethren all, we are indebted to R. W. Horace T. Fogg for the following quotation taken directly from his address of 50 years ago, which is so timely that we felt it should be quoted in its entirety.

"Brethren, you have been very patient, and I will add but a closing word — which I shall not address to you Worshipful Sir, or to the Most Worshipful Grand Master or to these Right Worshipful Brethren or to the Charter members of the Lodge, but only to those favored few who may be permitted to be present fifty years from tonight when we celebrate our one hundredth anniversary.

"To look back fifty years is no difficult matter for many of you. You have seen wonderful changes, the like of which it does not seem possible can be duplicated in another half century. But the principles of Freemasonry have not changed. The foundation stones of a religious faith on which all Freemasonry is builded are unchanging with the changing times, and to the maintenance of these principles unimpaired through a succession of future ages, we are now calling upon the younger members of this Institution to assume their share of the responsibilities.

"Lodges as such and in themselves are not concerned with public politics. As such we do not seek to guide public opinion. We are neither fundamentalists nor modernists. The League of Nations and the World Court for us as a Lodge require neither approval nor dissent. We do not exist solely for charitable or social purposes. We neither supersede nor act for State or Court or Church. We must never take upon ourselves as a Lodge the determination of public activities or the righting of public wrongs or the settlement of private disputes.

"What is there left for us as a Lodge to do? To maintain unimpaired the glorious tenets of our profession, to practice out of the Lodge the moral virtues which are inculcated in it.

"Do this, and many a public wrong will be righted, and many a private dispute will never arise.

"The Bible must ever be not only the rule and guide of our faith, but the rule and guide of our actions. Without it Lodges cannot be opened; on it we obligate each newly admitted member; before it kneels each and every officer of a Lodge of Master Masons.

"It cannot be superseded; it must not be misinterpreted.

"Liberty and license are two different words. The faith of our fathers must be preserved and transmitted through a succession of ages until time shall be no more.

"For after all, it is to the glory of God only that this Institution exists."

With these goals to strive for, Phoenix Lodge begins its second century.

OTHER

  • 1890 (Petition on charter member, 1890-36)

EVENTS

CONSTITUTION OF LODGE, MARCH 1874

From New England Freemason, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1874, Page 195:

Constitution of Phoenix Lodge, Hanover, Mass.—A Special Communication of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was opened in Hanover on the ninth instant. The Grand Officers arrived at 11.30 o'clock, having left Boston at 8.45 a. m. by the Old Colony R. R., and performed six miles of stage travel from N. Abington, in consequence of a car being off and obstructing the track on the Hanover Branch. A generous collation was furnished by Phoenix Lodge to the Grand Officers and invited guests, under the direction of Brother J. H. Costley of the Hanover House. The Masonic services of dedication, constitution and installation were conducted by Grand Master Nickerson, who delivered a short practical address, followed by interesting and eloquent remarks by Past Grand Masters Coolidge and Parkman.

The Grand Officers returned to Boston by the 4 p. m. train. The Charter bears the names of thirty-two members. The occasion was much enjoyed by all the Brethren present, and the new Lodge commences its Masonic career under the most favorable auspices. The Grand Lodge was represented as follows: M. W. Sereno D. Nickerson, Grand Master; R. W. William D. Coolidge, as Dep. Grand Master; R. W. William T. Grammer, S. G. Warden; R. W. Henry Endicott, as J. G. Warden; R. W. William Parkman, as G. Treasurer; W. Thomas W. Davis, as R. G. Secretary; R. W. Charles H. Titus, as G. Cnaplain; W. William H. Chessman, G. Marshal; Bro. Alonzo P. Jones, as S. G. Deacon; Bro. L. Cushing Kimball, as J. G. Deacon; W. E. Dana Bancroft, G. Lecturer; Bro. B. F. Nourse, G. Tyler.


GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

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DISTRICTS

1873: District 16 (Plymouth)

1883: District 25 (Hingham)

1911: District 27 (Plymouth)

1927: District 27 (Plymouth)

2003: District 18


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