Difference between revisions of "MassachusettsYear1875"

Latest revision as of 02:22, 17 June 2013

1875

PERCIVAL LOWELL EVERETT, Grand Master

Charles A. Welch, Deputy Grand Master
William J. Sawin, Senior Grand Warden
Lucius W. Lovell, Junior Grand Warden

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS

(Held at Masonic Temple, Boston)

• 1875-5: 03/10 (Rt. Wor. Charles A. Welch, Deputy Grand Master, presiding)
• 1875-35: 06/09;
• 1875-103: 09/08;
• 1875-387: 12/08 (Annual Communication).

03/10 Agenda

• 1875-8: The Deputy Grand Master, Rt. Wor. Charles A. Welch, reported that the Grand Master was absent due to the recent and sudden death of his wife.
• 1875-9: Proceedings of the newly-organized Grand Lodge of Wyoming Territory submitted along with a request for recognition; referred.
  • 1875-33: Committee reported recommendation of recognition, though "Your committee doubt as to the expediency of forming small, and therefore weak, Grand Lodges; but as the Brethren immediately concerned are probably the best judges of their own wants and necessities we yield to their decision."
• 1875-11: Report of the Committee on Ritual (pursuant to the appointment on 06/10/1874). At this meeting, the lectures, work and opening and closing ceremonies of the First Degree were set forth. The Ritual was adopted without amendment.
• 1875-23: Report of Charity Committee.
• 1875-23: Resolutions by Past Grand Master Heard, recommending the New England Freemason, a periodical established by Past Grand Master Nickerson.
• 1875-26: Invitation from the Bunker Hill Monument Association to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill on 06/17/1875; referred to the Grand Master.
• 1875-27: A committee was appointed to consider a Board or Commission of Grand Lodge to review all Masonic trials.
  • 06/09: 1875-57; Report of committee; extensive description of the requirements and needs for such a commission; proposed amendment to the Grand Constitutions, Article 4 (as listed above).
• 1875-27: A petition was received from Rt. Wor. Benjamin Pope, requesting the Grand Lodge to consider the expediency of recognizing, regulating and/or supervising Masonic Co-operative Life Insurance Associations; referred.
  • 06/09: 1875-70; Report of the Committee; the Grand Lodge have nothing preventing these organizations from existing, and the Massachusetts legislature had acted in 1874 and 1875 to provide legal security; therefore Grand Lodge should take no action.
• 1875-28: A communication was received from the Charity Committee asking for clarification of its status and its rights to speak and vote in Grand Lodge; referred.
• 1875-31: Letter from Grand Lodge of Kansas, appealing for aid for destitute persons in the western part of the state. Grand Lodge voted a $500 contribution.

06/09 Agenda

• 1875-40: Acknowledgement of the presentation of a portrait of Past Grand Master Isaiah Thomas by Morning Star Lodge.
• 1875-42: Reception of Most Wor. Owen A. Bassett, Grand Master of Masons in Kansas, Kansas Grand Secretary Rt. Wor. John H. Brown, and Illinois Grand Secretary Rt. Wor. John F. Burrill.
• 1875-44: Presentation of the apron worn by the Marquis de Lafayette at the cornerstone laying of the Bunker Hill Monument on June 17, 1825, by Bro. Francis C. Whiston (who was present on that occasion); this Brother offered remarks on the subject. Response by Past Grand Master Heard.
• 1875-49: Presentation of a Royal Arch apron belonging to Grand Master Joseph Warren, worn by Bro. Capt. Josiah Sturgis at the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument. Response by Past Grand Master Nickerson and Past Grand Master Heard. By vote of the Grand Lodge, a lifetime annuity of $100 would be paid to each of the donors of this apron - daughters of Past Grand Master Benjamin Russell - on June 17 of each year.
• 1875-57, 1875-66: Report of the Committee on Ritual (pursuant to the appointment on 06/10/1874). At this meeting, the lectures, work and opening and closing ceremonies of the Second (page 57) and Third Degrees (page 66) were set forth. The Ritual was adopted without amendment. Also, the committee was directed to communicate orally the work and lectures to the Grand Lecturers, and to prepare a Masonic Trestle Board for the use of the Lodges.
  • 1875-116: Committee on Ritual recommended the form of a Trestle-Board to be created for the use of the brethren.
• 1875-68: Report of Charity Committee.
• 1875-68: Brief remarks by Grand Master Bassett of Kansas.

09/08 Agenda

• 1875-105: Reception of Most Wor. William Wallace Lee, Grand Master of Masons in Connecticut.
• 1875-107: Request for recognition by Grand Lodges of Prince Edward Island and of Manitoba; referred.
  • 12/08: 1875-425; recognition granted.

1875-368: Address by Rt. Wor. Charles Levi Woodbury on the antiquity of Masonry.

12/08 Agenda

• 1875-395: Introduction of Past Grand Master Thomas A. Doyle of Rhode Island. On page 1875-395, Brother Doyle presented a portrait of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England, and gave remarks. Response by Past Grand Master Heard, including notes on members of the Royal Family who had participated in the Craft (Frederick Louis, George IV, Edward Duke of Kent, and the current Prince of Wales).
• 1875-396: Request for recognition by the Grand Lodge of Dakota.
• 1875-425; recognition granted.
• 1875-403: Auditing Committee report.
• 1875-405: Report on the Sinking Fund.
• 1875-406: Address of Grand Master Everett.
  • Lodges constituted, officers installed:
    • Anchor, Wales (02/04; also installation and hall dedication)
    • Cochichewick, North Andover (06/24; also installation)
    • Norfolk, Needham (07/01; also installation)
  • Hall Dedications and Cornerstone Layings:
    • St. John's (Newburyport) (02/25, by Charles C. Dame, acting as Deputy Grand Master)
    • Pioneer, Somerset (10/11, by Abraham H. Howland, Jr., acting as Deputy Grand Master)
    • Wilder, Leominster (04/15)
    • Dalhousie, Newtonville (05/12)
    • Meridian, Natick (07/15; by Deputy Grand Master Charles A. Welch)
    • Beth-Horon, Brookline (09/28)
    • Chicopee, Chicopee (11/12)
• 1875-416: Re-election of Grand Master Everett, and other Grand Lodge officers.
• 1875-427: Charity Committee report.
• 1875-430: Petition to support the completion of the Washington Monument, proposed by Past Grand Master Nickerson; $1,000 voted to support this effort.

Grand Constitutions Amendment Proposals

• 03/10: 1875-22; Proposed amendment to Part 4, Article 3, Section 1, regarding the form of the petition for the degrees; adopted with a slight change.

• 03/10: 1875-29; Proposed amendment to Part 1, Article 8, Section 17, and Article 8 Section 10, regarding the Grand Lodge of Instruction and the Grand Lecturers; in the report of the Grand Master‚Äôs Address; referred.
  • 06/09: 1875-67; recommended that Section 17 be amended as changed by the committee, and Section 10 not be amended.
  • 09/08: 1875-111; amendment adopted.

• 03/10: 1875-34; Proposed amendment to Part 1, Article 2, Section 1, concerning order of rank. Referred.
  • 06/09: 1875-67; recommended that the section be amended. Adopted.

• 06/09: 1875-63; Proposed amendment to Article 4, creating a Board of Commissioners of Trials. Referred.
  • 09/08: 1875-112; detail of Article 4 as amended; recommitted to the committee after discussion, to be voted on at the December Quarterly.
  • 12/08: 1875-421: recommitted to the next Quarterly after discussion.

Grand Master's Address

• 03/10: 1875-28; Report of the committee on the Annual Address of the Grand Master in 1874.

• 12/09: 1875-406; Annual Address of the Grand Master. Initial remarks. Grand Treasurer's report; Dispensations; Ritual review; warning against impostors; Masonic trials.

Lodge By-Law Changes

• 03/10: 1875-8; Charles C. Dame, King David, Orange, St. James (full code), Zetland, referred.
  • 1875-31: Approved, with slight changes for St. James.

• 06/09: 1875-38;
  • Full codes: Baalbec, John T. Heard, Mount Moriah (Westfield), Roswell Lee, St. Alban's; referred.
  • Amendments: Charles H. Titus, Palestine, St. John's (Newburyport), Social Harmony, Zetland; referred.
    • 1875-69; approved, with changes for all full codes, and for the amendments to Social Harmony.
    • The committee said that it "cannot refrain from calling the attention of the Lodges and members of the Craft, having in charge the preparation of full codes or amendments . . . to the regulations . . . adopted by the M.W. Grand Lodge at the Quarterly Meeting in June 1873."

• 09/08: 1875-105;
  • Full codes: Eureka, Grecian, Ionic (Taunton); referred.
  • Amendments: Alfred Baylies, Athol, Gate of the Temple, Merrimack, Mount Carmel, Norfolk (change of seal only); referred.
    • 1875-117; approved with changes.

• 12/08: 1875-396; Chicopee, Hammatt, James Otis, Montgomery, Mount Olivet, William Sutton; referred.
  • 1875-426; approved.

• 12/29: 1875-434; Joseph Warren (full code); approved.

Necrologies and Memorials

• 03/10: 1875-9; Death of Rt. Wor. John Flint, M.D., Past Grand Warden.
  • 1875-20: Memorial presented by committee.

• 03/10: 1875-9; Death of Bro. Thomas Waterman, "long known and loved by the Fraternity", Secretary of Mount Lebanon Lodge for nearly 50 years.

• 03/10: 1875-14; Death of Wor. Lovell Bicknell, Past Grand Standard Bearer; memorial presented by committee.

• 06/09: 1875-40; Death of Bro. Eben F. Gay, Grand Tyler.
  • 1875-56: Memorial presented by Rt. Wor. Benjamin Dean.

• 09/08: 1875-107; Death of Rt. Wor. Ithamar F. Conkey, Past Grand Warden; memorial presented by committee.

• 09/08: 1875-118ff; Death of Past Grand Master Winslow Lewis, Jr. This section of the Proceedings extends 250 pages, indicating the impact of this Brother's death. Memorial presented by committee, and including:
  • an article from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal
  • a communication from Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes
  • a memoir by Rt. Wor. John H. Sheppard from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (vol XVII)
  • an essay from the Gynaecological Journal (July 1869)
  • an essay from 1850 on the death of his father Past Grand Warden Winslow Lewis Sr., by Past Grand Master Augustus Peabody, and
  • a number of communications from various Masonic sources.
  • A number of Dr. Lewis' remarks and addresses are also included.

Petitions for Charters

• 06/09: 1875-38; Norfolk U.D., Needham; referred.
  • 1875-73; Granted.

• 06/09: 1875-39; Cochichewick U.D., North Andover; referred.
  • 1875-73; Granted.

Petitions for Dispensation for Lodges

• Dispensations mentioned in Grand Master's Address, beginning on Page 1875-406:
  • Satuit, Scituate (05/11)
  • Alpha, South Framingham (09/02)
  • Fraternity, Newtonville (09/03)
  • King Cyrus, Stoneham (10/18)
  • Luther S. Bancroft, Pepperell (10/27)

SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS

(No record of certain of these meetings in the 1875 Proceedings, where no page numbers are given.)

• 02/04: Constitution of Anchor Lodge, Wales, and dedication of the hall.

• 04/15: Leominster. Dedication of Masonic Hall for Wilder Lodge.

• 05/12: Newtonville. Dedication of Masonic Hall for Dalhousie Lodge.

• 06/17: Boston. Centenary of the death of Past Grand Master Joseph Warren.
  • 1875-76: Opening of Grand Lodge and procession to the Bunker Hill Monument. "While waiting for the procession to move, the Grand Master was very courteously invited by Mr. Charles Merriam to enter his mansion-home on Beacon Street, with his officers, and partake of of the rich and generous collation he had provided."
  • 1875-76: Order of procession of carriages.
  • 1875-77: Ceremonies described in brief (See 1875 book on the subject in PDF). Collation at Union tavern where the Green Dragon Tavern had stood, hosted by the Lodge of St. Andrew.

• 06/24: Constitution of Cochichewick, North Andover.

• 07/01: Constitution of Norfolk, Needham.

• 07/03: Cambridge. Centenary of the assumption of command by General Washington of the Continental forces "under the old Elm at Cambridge."
  • 1875-79: Opening of Grand Lodge and procession to Lyceum Hall, Cambridge. Reception by Mayor and Wor. Isaac Bradford.
  • 1875-80: Exercises in a tent on the Common; music, prayer, poem by James Russell Lowell, and oration by Rev. Augustus P. Peabody.
  • 1875-81: Procession to Memorial Hall, Harvard, for banquet, including toasts with Rt. Wor. Judge Sanger as toastmaster.
  • 1875-82: Address by Grand Master Everett.

• 07/15: Natick. Dedication of the Masonic Hall of Meridian Lodge.

• 08/06: Boston. Memorial services for Past Grand Master Winslow Lewis.
  • 1875-91: Opening of Grand Lodge; announcement in kind, loving and appropriate words‚ the death of Past Grand Master Lewis.
  • 1875-92: Telegrams from adjoining jurisdictions.
  • 1875-93: Procession to St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church; religious services. Details of gifts and donations. All seven living Past Grand Masters served as pall-bearers (Grand Master Everett; Heard, Coolidge, Parkman, Dame, Gardner, Nickerson). Grand Master Gardner was excused since he was in bereavement for the recent loss of his own wife.
  • 1875-96: Procession to Mount Auburn Cemetery; graveside services detailed.
  • 1875-98: Address of Grand Master to the Brethren.
  • 1875-101: Charge to the Brethren by the Grand Master.

• 09/28: Brookline. Dedication of the Masonic Hall of Beth-Horon Lodge.

• 11/12: Chicopee. Dedication of the Masonic Hall of Chicopee Lodge. Description of ceremonies.

FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

(held at Masonic Temple, Boston, 12/27/1875)

• 1875-432: Opening and roll call.
• 1865-435: Report of Library Committee, presented by Past Grand Master Nickerson.
• 1875-437: Installation of Grand Master Everett and other Grand Lodge officers. A fine prayer by Wor. Rev. Joshua Young appears on page 1875-437. It was noted that a procession in which "the M.W. Grand Master was saluted, in accordance with the ancient usage of the Craft and of this Grand Lodge."
• 1875-442: Recording Grand Secretary's report. List of diplomas granted (1,595 in 1875) and list of lodges not represented at Grand Lodge in 1874 and for the last 2-5 years; also communications from various Grand Lodges.
• 1875-446: Correspondence received by Rt. Wor. Charles Levi Woodbury from a lodge in Palermo, Italy, asking to become a subordinate Lodge of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Referred to a committee to deal with this inquiry and (according to Past Grand Master Gardner "the more important question . . . the recognition by foreign Grand Lodges of so called Grand Lodges in any of the United States where regular Grand Lodges are already established."
• 1875-448: Banquet. Remarks:
  • 1875-448: Grand Master Everett.
  • 1875-450: Past Grand Master Heard, on the history of the Feast of St. John.
  • 1875-455: Past Grand Master Coolidge.
  • 1875-457: Past Grand Master Parkman.
  • 1875-460: Past Grand Master Gardner.
  • 1875-463: Past Grand Master Nickerson.
  • 1875-466: Deputy Grand Master Charles A. Welch.
  • 1875-469: Past Deputy Grand Master Charles Levi Woodbury.
  • 1875-475: Grand Chaplain Joshua Young.
  • 1875-478: Senior Grand Warden Abraham H. Howland, Jr.
  • 1875-480: Past Senior Grand Warden William J. Sawin.
  • 1875-483: Rt. Wor. Edward Avery.
  • 1875-487: Rt. Wor. William F. Salmon.
  • 1875-489: Rt. Wor. Albert F. Heard, Past Master of a lodge in Shanghai under the English Grand Lodge.
  • 1875-491: Rt. Wor. Wyzeman Marshall.
  • 1875-493: Past Senior Grand Warden Henry Chickering.

LIST OF LODGES IN MASSACHUSETTS BY DISTRICT: 1875

There were 18 districts in Massachusetts in 1875, as well as districts for Chile and China.

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