National Heritage Museum

The Sprague Family: An American Story

“William Sprague was the youngest of three brothers…who arrived in Salem in 1629, and from thence removed to Charlestown (then called Mish-a-wam by the natives) where they, with a few others, were the first to form an English settlement.” –Marcia A. Thomas, 1835

Thus begins the story of the Sprague family, an enduring, historically-significant group that calls New England home. The history of the Sprague family can be seen in a new collection at the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives. Through letters, manuscripts, genealogical charts, official documents, and photographs, a clear picture of the Sprague family develops—from their arrival in the 17^th century up until the middle of the 20^th century.

At the center of the collection is Harold W. Sprague, who assembled much of the material. Harold was an extremely active member in fraternal and civic organizations during his lifetime, being appointed Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1952, as well as being recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution. Harold’s involvement in these organizations demonstrates his sense of community and speaks to his interest in history and tradition. Much of the information gleaned from the collection comes from Harold’s own research into the Sprague family history. His investigations led him down a road of various Sprague relations, including the Burt, Taylor, and Adams families, among others.

It was through these familial connections that Harold was able to piece together the links between his ancestors and two great political families of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. William Sprague, who came to Salem in 1629, had numerous children with his wife Millicent Eames. Among these was Samuel (Harold’s ancestor) who remained in Massachusetts, and William, who moved to Rhode Island around 1664. William (the younger) established the Rhode Island line of Spragues that included two prominent leaders. The first, William Sprague III, was the 14^th Governor of Rhode Island (1838-1839). William also served in Congress both before and after he was governor, first as a Representative (1835-1837) and then as Senator (1842-1844). His nephew, William Sprague IV, was greatly influenced by him and followed him into the political realm at an early age. In 1860, William IV was elected the 27^th Governor of Rhode Island (1860-1863). He was only 30 years old at the time, making him one of the youngest governors in U.S. history. Like his uncle, William IV was also a member of Congress, serving two terms as Senator (1863-1875).

While the Sprague family in Rhode Island was certainly notable for their political power, it was through Harold Sprague’s mother that the family is connected to its most influential relatives. As Harold learned through his research, his mother’s side of the family could trace their lineage all the way back to Joseph Adams (1654-1736). Joseph was the uncle of founding father and statesman, Samuel Adams. Even more directly, Joseph’s grandson was John Adams, 2^nd President of the United States. John Adams served as vice-president under George Washington from 1789-1797 before being elected president in 1797, serving one term. He was greatly influential as a political thinker and was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. His political legacy was carried on by his son John Quincy Adams, who served as the 6^th President of the United States from 1825-1829. He then had a long career as a representative in Congress (1831-1848), winning reelection eight times!

Numerous letters, notes, and genealogical charts in the collection show the familial links between the Adams and Sprague families. In addition to these documents, the collection includes autograph books containing a variety of signatures, including those of John Quincy Adams and his son Charles Francis Adams. The presence of these signatures shows just how close the families were. In fact, numerous letters between prominent members of the two families can be seen in the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Adams Family Papers. A quick search through the MHS Online Adams Catalog reveals dozens of letters between the Adams and Sprague families.

The story of the Sprague family is a familiar one in American history. Beginning with a long voyage across the sea, three brothers set forth to explore and establish a new land. They made their home among the wilds of North America and built towns, cities, and families along the way. As time passed, the Sprague family expanded, and the founders of towns gave way to founders of countries and leaders of states. Theirs is certainly an American story, one that can be discovered in the collections at the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives.

If you want to learn more about the contents of this collection, we've made the Sprague Family Papers finding aid available online.

Photos from the Sprague Family collection, USM 077, Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives

Have you explored our online collection?

Last winter, we unveiled a new way to browse selections from the National Heritage Museum collection online.  A new interface allows web visitors to search for specific names, dates, descriptive terms and more.  Each record has a photograph of the object, along with a brief description and information about its origin and history, if known.

In August 2010, we added almost 100 records, which join the initial 125 records.  The new batch includes a variety of highlights from our object collection, along with a selection of treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts collection, on long-term loan to the Museum.

Included among the items from the Grand Lodge collection are this wooden gavel and tray, presented to Grand Master Arthur D. Prince in 1921 when he visited Canal Zone Lodge in Panama.  In 1912, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts granted a dispensation for Canal Zone Masons, many of whom were Americans working to build the canal, to establish Sojourners Lodge.  Today, there are four lodges in Panama that operate under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.  The Grand Master first visited the Panamanian lodges under his jurisdiction in 1914.  Subsequent Grand Masters usually visit once during their three-year term of office.

To access the online collection, visit our website, www.nationalheritagemuseum.org, and click on the “online collection” link.  We appreciate all comments and feedback.  Please feel free to contact Dr. Aimee Newell, Director of Collections, at anewell@monh.org.  And, remember to check back as new records are added.

Gavel and Tray, 1921, Panama, Collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts at the National Heritage Museum, GL2004.6181a-b.  Photograph by David Bohl.

New to the Collection: St. John's Lodge Officers Photo

The National Heritage Museum photograph collection is a treasure trove with images of people, places and events from the 1840s to the present.  We often include photographs from the collection in our exhibitions and they can be invaluable when we are researching a particular person or fraternal group.

This photo, which was donated to the Museum recently by Harriet Dinsmoor Parish, depicts the officers of Boston’s St. John’s Lodge.  Mrs. Parish had kept this photo because her father, Clyde M. Dinsmoor (b. 1888), appears at far left in the back row.  The Masonic regalia that he wears indicates that he was the lodge’s Tyler.  In Freemasonry, the Tyler guards the entrance to the lodge room during meetings, allowing members and non-members to enter at the appropriate times.  By checking the records of St. John’s Lodge, we were able to narrow down the date of the photo to the late 1930s.  The picture was probably taken between 1936 and 1940, shortly after the lodge officers were elected for the coming year.

In addition to documenting the lodge officers, the photograph also helps us understand how the lodge room was decorated in the late 1930s.  In addition to three Masonic chairs, there are two flags visible and a stand with two bunches of carved grapes.  These grapes are a prized possession owned by St. John’s Lodge.  Formed in 1733, just after Henry Price established the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, St. John’s Lodge is the oldest duly constituted lodge in the United States.  The grapes have a history of hanging outside Boston’s Bunch of Grapes tavern where St. John’s Lodge first met.  The tavern opened in 1712 and played host to Henry Price when he constituted the first Masonic bodies in America.  Hanging outside the tavern’s entrance, the grapes identified it at a glance to passersby.

Officers of St. John’s Lodge, 1936-1940, Boston, Massachusetts.  National Heritage Museum collection, gift of Harriet Dinsmoor Parish, 2008.001. 

Freemasons in the Civil War

Recently, the National Heritage Museum was given two silver Civil War identification badges.  The story goes that soldiers wore these to identify themselves in case of injury or death, but also to convey their status as Masons.  Numerous anecdotal stories of northern and southern Freemasons who were injured or captured during the Civil War, but received aid and comfort from Masonic brothers on the opposing side, have been told since those battles.  Being somewhat of a skeptic, I always wondered whether these stories were true.

Now, the question has been answered.  In his recently published book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Freemasonry in the American Civil War, Michael A. Halleran explores Freemasonry during the Civil War.  Halleran found sufficient evidence in letters, reminiscences and regimental histories to provide a documentary background for objects like these badges.  As a historian and curator, I feel much more confident in sharing these items with our visitors, using them to tell the story of Masons during the Civil War.

Both of these examples show the Masonic square and compasses symbol, signifying reason and faith.  If you look closely at the acorn-shaped one, you can see that the year 1888 was added to the “stem” well after its presumed initial use in the 1860s.  We think that the “G.A.R.” and “B. of L.E.” initials were also added later – they indicate the original owner’s membership in fraternal groups the Grand Army of the Republic and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 

Also in the collection, we have a number of carte-de-visite photographs of men in their Civil War uniforms.  Most of these photos show the subjects with a Masonic symbol or badge on their chest.  Indeed, the cover of Halleran's book shows two photographs from an album in the collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts (now housed at the National Heritage Museum).  The men in these images wear their military uniforms and a Masonic pin.  Both men were members of the 43rd regiment, Massachusetts Infantry, and of McClellan Army Lodge No. 6, which was chartered by the Grand Lodge during the war. 

Another example, the CDV shown here from the Museum's collection, is a portrait of Albion Wesley Lewis (1828-1903) of Westfield, Massachusetts.  He wears a square and compasses pin on his coat (although it is hard to make out).  Indeed, the membership records at the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts tell us that Lewis was a member of Mt. Moriah Lodge in Westfield and that he received the first three degrees in June 1861.  Various biographical sketches fill in details of Lewis’ life.  He went to California during the gold rush in 1849 and stayed there for four years.  When he returned, he married Caroline H. Loomis in 1855 and established himself in the business of manufacturing whips.  During the Civil War, Lewis was a member of the 46th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and of the 30th Company Unattached Artillery.  After the war, he went into the clothing business, forming the partnership Loomis, Lewis and Company.  Albion Wesley Lewis died on March 28, 1903.

References:

William Richard Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts.  New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910.

“Albion Wesley Lewis,” Lewisiana or the Lewis Letter 13 (May 1903): 162-163.

George Harlan Lewis, Edmund Lewis of Lynn, Massachusetts and Some of His Descendants.  Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1908.

Top Left: Masonic ID Badge, ca. 1861, American.  National Heritage Museum collection, gift of Jacques Noel Jacobsen Jr., 2009.021.25.  Photograph by David Bohl.

Right: Masonic ID Badge for Jos. W. Perry, ca. 1861, American.  National Heritage Museum collection, gift of Jacques Noel Jacobsen Jr., 2009.021.24.  Photograph by David Bohl.

Bottom: Albion Wesley Lewis, 1861-1865, T.P. Collins, Westfield, Massachusetts.  National Heritage Museum collection, gift of Jacques Noel Jacobsen Jr., 2009.021.4. 

A White House Foundation Stone

At the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) became aware that the White House needed extensive repairs.  Plaster was cracked, floors were sagging and repeated coats of white paint had covered the decorative carving on the exterior.  Upon further examination, the conditions were discovered to be even worse than anticipated.  A refurbishment project for the White House was undertaken over several years: the interior was completely removed and the exterior walls were supported with stronger foundations.  A steel frame was built within the shell.

During an inspection of the construction, President Truman noticed carvings on some of the stones in the original White House walls.  These marks were “signatures” left by the eighteenth-century stonemasons who worked on the original construction.  President Truman, an active Freemason, arranged for many of these stones to be sent to Grand Lodges across the United States.

The stone pictured here was sent to the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts in 1952 along with a letter signed by President Truman.  The president explained that “these evidences of the number of members of the Craft who built the President’s official residence so intimately aligns Freemasonry with the formation and founding of our Government that I believe your Grand Lodge will cherish this link between the Fraternity and the Government of the Nation, of which the White House is a symbol.”

One of the White House foundation stones is on view as part of the National Heritage Museum’s exhibition, "The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry, and the Architecture of Washington, D.C."  The exhibition presents 21 oil paintings by Peter Waddell based on the architecture of Washington, D.C., and the role that our founding fathers and prominent citizens – many of whom were Freemasons – played in establishing the layout and design of the city.  The exhibition is supplemented with approximately forty objects from the National Heritage Museum’s collection. 

"The Initiated Eye" will be on view through January 9, 2011.  The paintings in the exhibition are the work of Peter Waddell, and were commissioned by, and are the property of, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C., with all rights reserved.  This exhibition is supported by the Scottish Rite Masons of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.

Left: Within These Walls, 2005, Peter Waddell (b. 1955), Washington, D.C.  Courtesy of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C.  Right: White House Foundation Stone, 1792-1800, American, Collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts at the National Heritage Museum, GL2004.0146.  Photograph by David Bohl.

The Charlton Masonic Home

During the late 1800s, the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts began to consider establishing a home for sick and aged Freemasons and their families in the state.  The Grand Lodge was motivated by larger social trends.  Prior to the Civil War, caring for the sick and the elderly was a family's responsibility.  After the war, concern for the problems of old age increased.  Families were not working together on their farms as much anymore, and more people began working outside their homes for pay, making the care of the sick and the old difficult.  Between the Civil War and World War I, the number of homes for the aged increased, retirement pension programs were established, and old age annuities began to be offered by insurance companies and by fraternal and mutual benefit societies.

Fundraising for the Massachusetts Masonic Home began in earnest in late 1907.  In December 1908, the Grand Lodge purchased the old Overlook Hotel property in Charlton, Massachusetts, located near Worcester in the central part of the state.  The photograph below shows Grand Lodge officers signing the purchase paperwork.  This photograph is part of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts collection housed at the National Heritage Museum.

By early 1911, the Grand Lodge had raised $148,290 from 30,000 Masons (about half of the state’s membership) and felt that they had sufficient funding to open the Home.  The dedication took place on May 25, 1911, with a crowd of 3,000 in attendance.  The Grand Master addressed the crowd, reminding them that “the establishment of the Home to-day is the result of no recent inspiration, but has been the growth of years.”  Over the next 100 years, the Charlton Masonic Home grew, with room for more and more beds added over the decades.  Known today as the Overlook Masonic Health System, the Home continues to flourish.

Left: Postcard, Bird’s-Eye View of Charlton Masonic Home, ca. 1911, National Heritage Museum, Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives, A96/066/6102.  Right: Signing the Papers for the Transfer of the Charlton Masonic Home, 1909, G. Chickering, probably Boston, Massachusetts, Courtesy of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, GL2004.7185.

Masonic Trench Art

2009 marks the fifth anniversary of an agreement between the National Heritage Museum and the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, which brought the Grand Lodge collection to the Museum on extended loan.  Both organizations have seen many benefits over the past five years.  The Grand Lodge collection is professionally cared for, with each object inventoried and tracked.  In turn, the Museum is able to research, exhibit and publish the objects in the collection, along with new information about them.

I have been fortunate to work with the Grand Lodge collection for almost three and a half years.  Among the more than 12,000 objects, I have many favorites; the pendant pictured here is near the top of my list.  Made in one century and sold at auction in another, this small item attests to the universality of Freemasonry’s tenets and reminds us of the importance of tradition.

The pendant is similar in form and materials to many that were made as an early form of “trench art” by French prisoners in England during the Napoleonic Wars.  Between 1793 and 1814, there were over 120,000 French soldiers and sailors in British prisons.  Using what was handy, including bone, straw from their mattresses, paper, their own hair, and other materials, the prisoners fashioned these small pictures.  Many sold or traded their work for food, clothing or bedding to improve their living conditions at the prison.  French Freemasons in the prisons were allowed to form lodges.  Pendants like this one may have helped those Masons to remember their teachings and might have been used in the prison lodges to teach new members or to identify lodge officers.  These items were undoubtedly appealing souvenirs for English Masons, who purchased or traded for them with the prisoners.  

A century after it was initially made, this pendant was purchased at the 1901 auction of industrialist John Haigh’s (1832-1896) library by former Grand Master of Massachusetts Samuel Crocker Lawrence (1832-1911).  John Haigh was a native of England, but came to America in 1855.  Apprenticed as a calico printer, Haigh worked at the Pacific Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and later became part owner of the Middlesex Bleachery and Dye Works.  Initiated into a local lodge in Lawrence in 1859, Haigh was an active Freemason who frequently served as an officer.

Samuel Crocker Lawrence was initiated into Hiram Lodge in West Cambridge (now Arlington), Massachusetts, in 1854.  A Civil War general, Lawrence became president of the Eastern Railroad Company in 1875 and served as the first mayor of the city of Medford, Massachusetts, from 1892 to 1894.  An active Freemason, Lawrence bequeathed his extensive Masonic library to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts when he died in 1911.  Today, the Grand Lodge Library is named in his honor.

References:

Jane A. Kimball.  Trench Art: An Illustrated History.  Davis, CA: Silverpenny Press, 2004.

Mark J.R. Dennis and Nicholas J. Saunders.  Craft and Conflict: Masonic Trench Art and Military Memoribilia.  London: Savannah Publications, 2003.

William Hammond.  Masonic Emblems and Jewels: Treasures at Freemasons’ Hall.  London: A. Lewis, 1920.

Masonic Pendant, 1793-1815, England, Collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts at the National Heritage Museum, GL2004.3033.  Photograph by David Bohl.

What do we collect?

Established in 1975 by Scottish Rite Freemasons of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States, the National Heritage Museum tells America’s story. For over thirty years, the museum has collected, by gift and by purchase, objects that help tell that story. Today, the collection numbers over 16,000 objects. 

The collection’s primary strength is its American Masonic and fraternal items.  As the largest group of objects of its kind in the United States, the Museum’s holdings include over 400 fraternal aprons, over 2,500 fraternal badges and pieces of jewelry, and more than 1,000 items of fraternal regalia, as well as household and lodge furnishings, glass, ceramics and works of art, all decorated with Masonic and fraternal symbols.  The Museum manages an additional 12,000 objects and documents from the collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts under a long-term loan agreement.  The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives comprise 60,000 books, 1,600 serial titles and 2,000 cubic feet of archival materials related to American history and fraternalism.  Selected treasures from our collection can be seen on our website.  The Library’s catalog of printed books is also accessible online.

The Museum also collects material related to American history.  These items offer different perspectives for the interpretation of important events, people, themes and issues in American history.  For example, the Willis R. Michael collection of American and European clocks comprises an encyclopedic diversity of over 140 time-keeping mechanisms.  Many of these clocks are currently featured in the National Heritage Museum exhibition, "For All Time," on view through February 21, 2010.  The Dr. William L. and Mary B. Guyton Collection of more than 600 George Washington prints and related ephemera showcases the way that the memory of our first president has developed over the past 200 years.

The objects in the museum collection are highlighted in interpretive exhibitions, presented in educational programs and used as the focus of scholarly research.  All enrich our understanding of the past.  The National Heritage Museum actively seeks to add items to its collection that tell an engaging story, do not duplicate existing holdings and are in good condition.

If you have questions about the National Heritage Museum’s collection, or would like to make a gift to the collection or a financial donation to support future object purchases and conservation, we would like to hear from you. For more information, please contact Aimee E. Newell, Director of Collections, at (781) 457-4144 and anewell[at]monh.org.

Top: Masonic tracing board, ca. 1820, attributed to John Ritto Penniman (1782-1841), probably Boston, Massachusetts, National Heritage Museum, Special Acquisitions Fund, 89.76.  Photograph by David Bohl.  Bottom: G. Washington, 1856, A. Chappel, artist, G.R. Hall, engraver, New York City, National Heritage Museum, Dr. William L. and Mary B. Guyton Collection, 86.61.115.

A Masonic Past Master's Jewel

As Freemasonry developed during the early 1700s in England and America, symbols were associated with each office.  The officers started wearing their symbols as silver pendants, called jewels, while attending meetings and public ceremonies.  Masonic jewels were almost always silver, generally made by a silversmith working in the area where the lodge met, although few are marked by their makers.  The lodge’s officer jewels belonged to the Lodge and passed from man to man as they entered and left office.  
 
The jewel seen here is a Masonic Past Master’s jewel.  Unlike lodge officer jewels, Past Master jewels were usually purchased by the lodge and then presented to the outgoing Master in appreciation of his service as leader.  The recipient would wear his Past Master jewel on his chest at lodge events to signify his experience.  This jewel was presented to James Dickson (1774-1853), Past Master of Boston’s St. John’s Lodge, in 1812.  Dickson was born in London and came to Boston by 1796, where he followed an acting career and managed the Boston Theatre during the early 1800s.  He later became a merchant, importing fancy English goods, and accumulated a fortune estimated at $100,000 by 1851.

Dickson became a member of St. John’s Lodge in 1804, serving in several offices between 1808 and 1815.  After receiving this jewel in recognition of his service as Master in 1812, Dickson again served the lodge as Master in 1818 and in 1829.  He also served as Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts; this jewel is now part of the Grand Lodge collection at the National Heritage Museum.

Past Master’s Jewel, 1812, Boston, Massachusetts.  Collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts at the National Heritage Museum, GL2004.0145.  Photograph by David Bohl.

Boston Turns on the Lights for the Knights Templar in 1895

At the end of August 1895, the city of Boston greeted 20,000 Masonic Knights Templar from around the country.  These men, and their wives, gathered in the city for their Triennial Conclave (see our previous post on this event).

While the parade on August 27 must have been quite a sight, it was not only the Knights Templar members that dressed for the event.  As part of the celebration, the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island decorated the exterior of the Boston Masonic building with a spectacular display of bunting and electric lights. 

This photograph shows just how conspicuous the building was, with the large central Templar cross, Masonic keystone and square and compasses symbols.  Across the top of the building, the words “fraternity,” “fidelity,” and “charity” are spelled out in lights.  At night, when the lights were turned on, the building glowed for all to see.

Sadly, less than two weeks after the Conclave celebrations concluded, the Boston Masonic building caught fire and had to be torn down.  This was the second devastating fire on this site in thirty years.  In 1864, the previous building at the corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets, which housed the Winthrop House Hotel as well as the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, caught fire.  Both times, no one was trapped in the building, but the Grand Lodge did lose treasured objects, regalia and papers. 

The Grand Lodge rebuilt their Masonic building at the same location – now 186 Tremont Street – and dedicated the new building in December 1899.  Today, that building is home to the Grand Lodge administrative offices, the Samuel Crocker Lawrence Library, five lodge rooms and a theater. Twenty Masonic groups regularly meet in the building.

To learn more about the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and the 1895 Triennial Conclave, visit the National Heritage Museum to see our exhibition, "The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts: Celebrating 275 Years of Brotherhood."  The exhibition runs through October 25, 2009.

Boston Masonic Building, August 1895, Massachusetts, courtesy of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, GL2004.2057.