Difference between revisions of "MassachusettsYear1896"

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1896

EDWIN B. HOLMES, Grand Master

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS

(held at 18 Boylston St., Boston)'

• 03/11: 1896-1;
• 06/10: 1896-87;
• 09/09: 1896-210;
• 12/09: 1896-293; (Annual Communication)

03/11 Agenda

• 1896-19: Installation of officers not present at the Feast of St. John in 1895.
• 1896-19: Presentation of a portrait of Past Grand Master Otis E. Weld.
• 1896-21: Presentation of a Past Grand Master's Jewel to Rt. Wor. Charles C. Dame, and his response.
• 1896-24: Amendment to the Act of Incorporation, presented by Rt. Wor. S. Lothrop Thorndike; signed and enacted, permitting an increase in the amount of real and personal property to be held by the Grand Lodge.
• 1896-37: Thanks voted to the Committees of Adjustment for the insurance claims.
• 1896-38ff: Dedication of new Masonic Apartments; address by Grand Master Holmes, with extended remarks on the places where Grand Lodge has been held.

06/10 Agenda

• 1896-95: Presentation of $5,000 to John H. Collamore Charity Fund by Bro. John Hoffman Collamore.
• 1896-110: Report of Charity Committee.
• 1896-111: Question of jurisdiction between DeWitt Clinton and Social Harmony Lodges, regarding which lodge might control the town of Bourne (once part of Sandwich, but some of which is closer to Wareham.) Referred.

09/09 Agenda

• 1896-217: Communications from the Grand Lodge of Maine with resolutions for the limiting of term of control by lodges over rejected candidates to 5 years; and that this should be uniform in all Grand Lodges. Referred to committee.
  • 12/09: 1896-373; Committee recommended changes to Grand Constitutions; see below.
• 1896-225ff: Invitation by the Grand Lodge of Hungary to send delegates to a Grand National Festival at Budapest, commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the nation. Report of the delegation presented by Rev. Bro. Bush, with considerable detail on Freemasonry in Hungary.
• 1896-379: Jurisdictional dispute between Mount Horeb (West Harwich) and Howard, regarding the town of Dennis. Mount Horeb (West Harwich) petition denied.

12/09 Agenda

Recorded in Grand Master Holmes' address, beginning on page 1896-270:

• • Lodges visited:
    • Star in the East, New Bedford (01/06; installation)
    • Beth-Horon, Brookline (01/14; installation)
    • Norfolk Union, Randolph (01/15; reception of Deputy GM Belcher)
    • The Lodge of Eleusis, Boston (01/16)
    • Granite, Northbridge (01/20)
    • Columbian, Boston (03/05)
    • Washington, Roxbury (03/24; Centennial)
    • John Abbot, Somerville (04/07)
    • Adelphi, South Boston (04/21)
    • Granite, Northbridge (04/22)
    • Eliot, Jamaica Plain (05/20)
    • Revere, Boston (06/02)
    • Union (Dorchester) (06/13; Centennial)
    • Mount Horeb (Woburn) (06/21; Feast of St. John the Baptist)
    • Old Colony, Hingham (07/21)
    • Mount Hope, Fall River (09/25)
    • St. Paul's (South Boston) (11/03)
    • Lodge of St. Andrew, Boston (11/12, installation)
    • Lodge of St. Andrew, Boston (11/30, Feast of St. Andrew)
    • Revere, Boston (12/01)
  • Anniversary Celebrations:
    • Washington, Roxbury (03/17; Centennial)
    • King Hiram's, Provincetown (03/25; Centennial)
    • Republican, Greenfield (04/23; by DDGM Franklin E. Snow)
    • Union (Dorchester) (06/14; Centennial)
    • Harmony, Northfield (06/17; Centennial)
    • Thomas, Palmer (12/15; Centennial)
• 1896-331; Note in Grand Master's Address regarding the visit of Rt. Wor. Henry E. Cooper, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hawaii, holding a commission from the Grand Lodge of Scotland to establish lodges in Hawaii.
• 1896-360: Donation to Lodge of St. Andrew Fund.
• 1896-361: Auditing Committee Report.
• 1896-378: Charity committee report.
• 1896-362: Election of Rt. Wor. Charles C. Hutchinson as Grand Master. Election of other Grand Officers. Remarks by Grand Master Holmes and Grand Master-Elect Hutchinson.

Grand Constitutions Amendment Proposals

• 03/11: 1896-35; Proposals to amend the Grand Constitutions, Part 1, Article 1 Section 2, Article 8 Sections 10 and 14; Part 3, Article 6 Section 2, Article 7 Section 1; and Part 4, Article 3, Section 4. All adopted.

• 09/09: 1896-237; Proposal to amend Part 4, Article 3, Section 4, regarding recommendations for candidates. Referred.
  • 12/09: 1896-372; Committee opposes adoption of the amendment; tabled to March Communication.

• 12/09: 1896-375; Proposals to amend Part 4, Article 3, Sections 4 and 5 regarding the length of time a rejected candidate is controlled by the lodge rejecting him.

Grand Master's Address

• 03/11: 1896-12: Special address by the Grand Master. Insurance in the amount of $110,179.70 has been paid to the Grand Lodge for the loss by fire, and the Board of Directors is investigating alternatives as no offer received has been deemed satisfactory. Also, the Grand Master expresses his condolence to Bro. and Governor Greenhalge.

• 12/09: 1896-305; Special report of the Board of Directors, regarding plans for the rebuilding of the Temple on the existing site at the corner of Boylston and Tremont Streets. "It is of the greatest importance to the Fraternity throughout this jurisdiction that we continue to maintain in Boston a Masonic Temple readily accessible to all the Brethren."

• 03/11: 1896-31: Report on Grand Master's Address. Recommendations adopted: the stereopticon not to be generally used; that there should be a District Exemplification at least once every two years; that there should be a committee appointed to consider costumes and garb for the degrees; and that an order should be formulated regarding music during the presentations.

• 06/10: 1896-103; Report of Committee on Music; a program is disapproved because "úit carries with it a suggestion of entertainment rather than of solemn service." Some recommendations are given for each degree.

• 06/10: 1896-108; Report of Committee on Costuming of Fellow Crafts; resolution "that the Grand Lodge order the discontinuance in this jurisdiction of the costuming of the Fellow Crafts."

• 12/09: 1896-310. Grand Master's Address. Increased amount of real property permitted by legislature; charity contributions by Bro. Collamore and by St. Andrew's Lodge; deaths of Paige, Gould, Gamwell, Quint, Bancroft; Special Communications; visits; Report of Grand Lecturer; Board of Directors report; recommendations on Charity.

Grand Master Holmes declined to be a candidate for 1897, claiming that he functioned largely as Grand Master during 1894 (when Otis E. Weld was the elected Grand Master). Address referred to committee.

Lodge By-Law Changes

• 03/11: 1896-36;
  • Full Codes : Joseph Warren; approved.
  • Amendments: Fellowship, John Abbot, John Hancock, Joseph Webb, Rabboni, Robert Lash, Saggahew, Soley, St. John's (Boston), Union (Dorchester).
    • 1896-36: Approved, with changes for Union (Dorchester).

• 06/10: 1896-96;
  • Full Codes : None.
  • Amendments: Athelstan, Belmont, Bethesda (Brighton), Dalhousie, Eliot, Gate of the Temple, The Massachusetts, Mount Hollis, Mount Tom, Pilgrim, Quinsigamond, Lodge of St. Andrew, approved without change; Hayden, Mount Hope, Roswell Lee, Saggahew, St. Martin's, approved with changes.

• 09/09: 1896-225;
  • Full Codes : None.
  • Amendments: Charles H. Titus, approved without change; Bay State, John T. Heard, King Solomon's, Montacute, Morning Star, approved with changes.

• 12/09: 1896-375;
  • Full Codes : Mount Olivet; approved without change.
  • Amendments: approved without change: Star. Approved with necessary changes: Bethel, Siloam, Warren.

Necrologies and Memorials

Governor Frederick T. Greenhalge

• 03/11: 1896-13: Memorial to Bro. Frederic T. Greenhalge, Governor of Massachusetts, by the Grand Master.

• 09/09: 1896-219: Memorial to Wor. Edmund Dana Bancroft, Grand Lecturer, by the Grand Master; also by Rt. Wor. Thomas W. Davis.

• 09/09: 1896-220: Memorial to Rt. Wor. and Rev. Lucius R. Paige, Past Deputy Grand Master, by the Grand Master.
  • 12/09: 1896-385; Memorial presented by Rt. Wor. Sereno D. Nickerson, on behalf of the committee. A fine portrait of Rt. Wor. Paige appears opposite page 1896-385.

• 12/09: 1896-312: Memorial to Rt. Wor. Benjamin Apthorp Gould, Past Deputy Grand Master; mentioned in Grand Master's Address.
  • 12/09: 1896-366; Memorial presented by Rt. Wor. S. Lothrop Thorndike. A fine portrait of Rt. Wor. Gould appears opposite page 1896-366.

• 12/09: 1896-312: Memorial to Rt. Wor. Lorenzo Hamilton Gamwell, Past Senior Grand Warden; mentioned in Grand Master's Address.
  • 12/09: 1896-380; Memorial presented by Rt. Wor. Sereno D. Nickerson, on behalf of the committee.

• 12/09: 1896-313: Memorial to Rev. Alonzo Hall Quint, D.D., Past Grand Chaplain; mentioned in Grand Master's Address.

• 12/09: 1896-315: Memorial to Bro. John Hoffman Collamore, philanthropist; mentioned in Grand Master's Address.

Petitions for Charters

• 03/13: 1896-37; Springfield U.D., Springfield; referred.
  • 1896-44; granted.

Petitions for Dispensation for Lodges

• Dispensations for new lodges, mentioned in Grand Master's Address, starting on Page 1896-270:
  • Unity, Dalton (05/16)

SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS

• 03/17/1896: 1896-71; Roxbury, Centennial Celebration of Washington Lodge.
  • 1896-72: Procession by Grand Lodge, escorted by Lafayette (Roxbury), Eliot, Union (Dorchester) and Washington Lodges to the Meeting House of the First Religious Society in Roxbury, where Washington Lodge was constituted in 1796.
  • 1896-72: Reception by Wor. Herbert F. Morse; reading of the Charter by Wor. Albert E. Carr, Past Master; inspection by the Grand Master. Address by Rev. James De Normandie, Pastor of the Society. Historical Address by Recording Grand Secretary. Centennial Poem by Rev. William H. Lyon. Oration by Rev. A. S. Gumbart, Chaplain of the Lodge.
  • 1896-74: Address by Grand Master Holmes.

• 03/25/1896: 1896-76; Provincetown, Centennial Celebration of King Hiram's Lodge.
  • 1896-77: Reception by Wor. William W. Johnson, Master of King Hiram's Lodge, and Address of Welcome.
  • 1896-82: Response of the Grand Master.
  • 1896-84: Oration by Bro. William H. Rider, "upon the high moral teachings of Masonry‚" and a poem by Bro. R. Perry Bush. Both are "Provincetown boys."
  • 1896-84: A "bountiful banquet spread‚" with brief speeches by the Grand Master and other brethren. A concert by the Apollo Quartet.

• 06/13/1896-06/14/1896: 1896-113; Dorchester, Centennial Celebration of Union Lodge.
  • 1896-113: Grand Lodge embarked with ladies and guests on a Nahant boat to Bass Point. "The sky was lowering; the wind was strongly east and the seas somewhat turbulent." At Bass Point the tables were "fitly spread."
  • 1896-114: Historical Address by Lodge Historian Wor. William T. Adams, Past Master.
  • 1896-128: Address by Grand Master Holmes.
  • 1896-130: Grand Lodge returned to Boston.
  • 1896-130: Sunday evening. "Probably the oldest inhabitant had never known a more violent storm of wind and rain than prevailed during the whole of that day. . . the war of elements made it well-nigh impossible for many of the Grand Officers to be present, as they intended." Grand Lodge opened at Union Lodge, with Brethren of Union, Washington, Rabboni and Macedonian Lodges present.
  • 1896-132: Order of Exercises in detail.
  • 1896-134: Sermon by Rev. Bro. Walter E. C. Smith.

• 06/17/1896: 1896-149; Northfield, Centennial Celebration of Harmony Lodge.
  • 1896-149: Grand Lodge opened at Stimpson's Inn in Northfield. Procession by Grand Lodge to the lodge hall; reception by Wor. Edward S. Bardwell, Master of Harmony Lodge; escort to Unitarian Church.
  • 1896-150: Address of Welcome by Wor. Edward S. Bardwell.
  • 1896-153: Response of the Grand Master.
  • 1896-155ff: Very detailed historical address by Dr. Ward. Note: Harmony Lodge's Charter was concealed in the hollow of an oak tree from 1836 to 1850, after the Master refused to surrender it to the District Deputy Grand Master in 1836.
  • 1896-164: A "capital dinner" held at Town Hall, provided by Wor. Frank E. Stimpson. Remarks by many brothers, with Bro. Rollin C. Ward as toastmaster.

• 06/24/1896: 1896-166; Great Barrington, Centennial Celebration of Cincinnatus Lodge.

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Searles Estate (Kellogg Terrace)

• • 1896-167: Opening of Grand Lodge; carriages taken to Kellogg Terrace, where "a delightful hour was passed in admiring the treasures of art."

• • 1896-167: Procession, with escort by Gartland's, Chatham, Housatonic, Lenox, New Milford, and Great Barrington Bands, Pomeroy's and Lakeville Drum Corps, Berkshire Commandery, and representatives of Crescent, Occidental, Upton, Globe, Huntington, Berkshire, Lafayette (North Adams), Greylock, Mystic, Wisdom, Evening Star, St. Peter's #21 (CT), Montgomery #13 (CT), Western Star #37 (CT), Housatonic #61 (CT), and Cincinnatus Lodges. Nearly 1,000 persons were in the procession - "the largest and most imposing parade ever seen in Southern Berkshire" - which marched through the principal streets to the Fair Grounds.
  • 1896-169: Order of Exercises described. Address of Welcome by Wor. Herbert C. Joyner.
  • 1896-176: Response of the Grand Master.
  • 1896-180ff: A detailed Historical Address by Bro. Isaac R. Prindle, Secretary.
  • 1896-205: Toastmaster, Wor. Henry T. Robbins to the assembly - "shut their mouths and lend their ears." Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Recording Grand Secretary and Past Grand Master Warren of Connecticut gave remarks.

• 09/05/1896: 1896-208; Boston. Funeral services for Rt. Wor. and Rev. Lucius R. Paige.
  • 1896-208: Opening of Grand Lodge; carriages to First Universalist Church in Inman Square, Cambridge; deputations from Amicable Lodge, Cambridge RAC, members and former members of Cambridge City Council, and other organizations. Services by Rev. A.E. White.
  • 1896-209; Conveyance to Mount Auburn Cemetery; Masonic burial service.

• 09/12/1896: 1896-239; Worcester. Corner-stone laying for City Hall.
  • 1896-240: Dinner at the Bay State House in Worcester with the brethren of Quinsigamond Lodge. Grand Lodge opened there following the dinner.
  • 1896-241: Procession to building site, with "every organization in the city of Worcester wearing a uniform or regalia, estimated to number about 6,000 men." The procession took nearly two hours to complete.
  • 1896-241: Keller's American Hymn played; Address by Mayor Bro. A.B.R. Sprague; response by the Grand Master.
  • 1896-250: Corner-stone laying ceremony.
  • 1896-250: Address by Grand Master Holmes.
  • 1896-254: Historical Note: The original corner stone of the then-current City Hall was laid by Morning Star Lodge in August 1824, as reported in the Worcester National Aegis newspaper, reproduced in the Proceedings.

• 09/23/1896: 1896-256; Newtonville. Corner-stone laying for a new Masonic Hall.
  • 1896-257: Grand Lodge opened in the hall of the Newton Club; procession escorted by Gethsemane Commandery; Beth-Horon, Isaac Parker, Belmont, Dalhousie, Pequossette, Monitor, and Bethesda Lodges, along with the Waltham Watch Company Band.
  • 1896-258: Welcoming address by Wor. George P. Whitmore.
  • 1896-261: Address by Wor. Albert L. Harwood.
  • 1896-271: Corner-stone laying ceremony.
  • 1896-271: Address by Grand Master Holmes.

• 10/03/1896: 1896-276; Belmont. Corner-stone laying for the Waverley Unitarian Church. Deputy Grand Master Rt. Wor. Henry A. Belcher presiding.
  • 1896-277: Grand Lodge entertained at luncheon at the house of Wor. Edward O. Hatch, Master of Belmont Lodge, following which it opened.
  • 1896-277: Procession to building site with the escort of Belmont Lodge. Historical sketch of the society by its Clerk, John H. Edwards; address by Grand Chaplain Edward A. Horton.
  • 1896-278: Corner-stone laying ceremony. Inventory of the contents of the corner stone box.
  • 1896-280: Address by Acting Grand Master Belcher.
  • 1896-282: Hymn by William Cullen Bryant.

• 11/11/1896: 1896-284; Hudson. Dedication of the Masonic hall of Doric Lodge.
  • 1896-285: Procession by Grand Lodge into hall; welcome by Master of Doric Lodge.
  • 1896-286: Dedication of hall; address by Grand Master Holmes.
  • 1896-290: At Armory Hall, "the ladies had provided a banquet which proved most acceptable." Speeches by the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, "after which the Grand Officers were obliged to imitate the swallows and homeward fly."

• 12/15/1896: 1896-393; Palmer. Centennial Celebration of Thomas Lodge.
  • 1896-393: Procession by Grand Lodge into Hall; welcome from the Master of Thomas Lodge. Procession to Congregational Church.
  • 1896-395: Address of Welcome by Wor. George H. Wilkins.
  • 1896-398: Response by Grand Master Holmes.
  • 1896-401ff: A very detailed Historical Address by Bro. O.P. Allen.
  • 1896-423ff: Address by Dr. and Bro. George C. Lorimer.
  • 1896-440: Banquet at Opera House "where the tables were handsomely spread" for about 450 guests. Toastmaster Rt. Wor. George Robinson, Past Master and Past District Deputy.

FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

(held at Masonic Temple, Boston, 12/29/1896)

• 1896-442: Opening and roll call.
• 1896-445: Installation of Rt. Wor. Charles Carroll Hutchinson as Grand Master. Extended remarks by immediate Past Grand Master Holmes. Installation of other Grand Officers.
• 1896-452: Presentation of Past Grand Master's Jewel to Past Grand Master Holmes, and his response.
• 1896-456: Report of Recording Grand Secretary: 2,154 Master Mason diplomas issued in 1896.
• 1896-457: List of lodges not represented in Grand Lodge in 1896, as well as the past 2-5 years (plus Aconcagua Valparaiso, not represented for the past 15 years).
• 1896-460: Feast of St. John, listing toasts and names of speakers:
  • 1896-460: Grand Master Hutchinson.
  • 1896-463: Past Grand Master Holmes
  • 1896-467: Rev. and Bro. Lindsay, rector of St. Paul‚Äôs Church, Boston.
  • 1896-475: Past Grand Master and Recording Secretary Nickerson.
  • 1896-479: Rt. Wor. Charles Levi Woodbury.
  • 1896-485: Grand Chaplain Edward A. Horton.
  • 1896-492: Rt. Wor. Solon W. Stevens.
  • 1896-499: Rev. Bro. Bush, Masonic ambassador to Hungary.
  • 1896-503: Rt. Wor. Arthur G. Pollard.

LIST OF LODGES IN MASSACHUSETTS BY DISTRICT: 1896

There were 28 districts in Massachusetts in 1896, as well as districts for Chile and China.

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