The Prudence Book: A List of All Masons (For Detecting Masonic Impostors)

Four years ago, our very first blog post was on the topic of Masonic impostors. Each May since then, we've follow up with another post on the same topic. Our earlier posts looked at Masonic impostors in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but today we're going further back in time and looking at the subject of Masonic impostors in 1859.

The Prudence Book of Freemasonry for 1859 was compiled and published by Rob Morris (1818-1888), a well-known Masonic author and book publisher based in Louisville, Kentucky. Morris was a high-profile Mason who wrote extensively and served in many high Masonic offices. Indeed, he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky when The Prudence Book was published.

Although rather mundanely titled and brief (64 page), Morris's booklet was ambitious. It sought to become a tool that could be used to identify non-Masons intent on imposing upon the good will and charity of Masonic lodges by posing as Masons in need of financial assistance. Morris gives many examples of Masonic impostors on the back inside cover (below, right) of The Prudence Book, including this colorful description: "Mr. A.G. Jones has committed depredations upon the fraternity in Decatur county, Ga. and other places. He is badly pock-marked, and quite loquacious. Beware of him."

At first glance, The Prudence Book seems like an odd title, but it alludes to a line from Freemasonry's "Ancient Charges," quoted by Morris on the cover of the booklet (pictured above, left):

"You are cautiously to examine a strange brother in such a manner as PRUDENCE shall direct you, that you may not be imposed upon by an ignorant, false pretender, whom you are to reject with contempt and derision, and beware of giving him any hints of knowledge."

This issue of Morris's Prudence Book was the first of what he planned to be six separate 64-page booklets, which collectively would do one simple thing: list every Mason in the United States (and British provinces).

Morris's hope was that the Secretary of every lodge in the United States would purchase these booklets so that they would have a current - or current as possible - list of every Mason in the U.S., listed alphabetically by last name within each state. According to an advertisement in the December 15, 1859 issue of The Voice of Masonry and Tidings from the Craft - the Masonic newspaper for which Morris was editor-in-chief - five issues of The Prudence Book had been published. (The ad also indicates that there would be eight issues, rather than the six Morris had originally predicted. Our library only owns the first issue.)

Morris's preface to The Prudence Book succinctly lays out his vision of the need for such a resource and how it would benefit the fraternity:

"But few remarks of a prefatory character are needed. The general call for a publication of this sort has become urgent, clamorous, irresistible. The Masonic periodicals all confirm it. Proceedings of Grand Lodges everywhere confirm it. My correspondence is filled with evidence of it.
...
Hereafter, when a visitor calls upon you, it will be a matter of course to look for his name in the PRUDENCE BOOK. If not there, a satisfactory explanation of the omission will be expected of him.

Hereafter, when an applicant for relief makes known his wants, you have something in the PRUDENCE BOOK which will strengthen or invalidate his claims; and if you are imposed upon in spite of this aid, you have the means at command to discover the fact, and avoid a second loss. Heretofore, you have had neither.

And, by means of the PRUDENCE BOOK, you can trace out distant acquaintances, refresh your mind with the grand array of our noble Institution, far and near, watch its progress and career; and, when preparing to sojourn to other countries, carry with you, in a single volume, a Roll of the workmen nearly as large as that of King Solomon."

Although, in this first issue, Morris states that he intends to continue to update The Prudence Book every year, the whole enterprise still raises the question that dogged later Masonic organizations who tried to stay ahead of traveling Masonic impostors: can the information about who is and who isn't a Mason travel faster than the Masonic impostors themselves?

Rob Morris. The Prudence Book of Freemasonry for 1859: Being a Catalogue from the Latest Official Data, of the Grand Lodges, Subordinate Lodges, and Individual Masons, Members of the Lodges in the United States and British Provinces, with the Seal of Each Grand Lodge: The Whole Affording a Means of Recognition and a Test to Try Impostors. Louisville, KY: Rob Morris, 1859.
Call number: RARE 01.M877 1859

Masonic Impostor! Or, Sea Captain, Bigamist, Forger, Confidence-Man, Thief

Our blog turns three years old this month and, in keeping with years past, it seems like a fine time to return to the subject of Masonic impostors. If you need to get caught up on the subject of Masonic impostors, be sure to check out our three previous posts on the subject.

Pictured here, from the Album of Masonic Impostors, is Hubert Boothby, a Mason who, according the 1900 Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Montana was expelled from Butte Lodge No. 22. The caption below Boothby's photo in the Album is a sort of novel in miniature (or, perhaps, a business card waiting to be made): Sea Captain, Bigamist, Forger, Confidence-Man, Thief.

The subject of Masonic impostors lends itself to over-the-top descriptions of con artists like Hubert Boothby. But at its heart, the story of Masonic impostors is really a story of Masonic charity.

Without the goodwill of Masons helping others, there would be no target for the imposition of those fraudulently posing as Masons. In the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives collection, we have a number of different types of material produced by Masonic Relief Boards. These Boards were often located in big cities and existed to help the down-on-his-luck Mason (or wife or children) by way of centralizing relief. In most cases, the relief board would give relief (cash, meals, a place to stay, etc.) and then get reimbursed by the Masonic lodge that the recipient belonged to. The Masonic Board of Relief in Syracuse, NY published a small annual report that described various different cases brought to them during the year. These ranged from "Worthy Cases Reimbursed" (i.e. legitimate cases in which they assisted Masons and were reimbursed by the Mason's home lodge) to "Worthy Cases Not Reimbursed (i.e. the same as above, but not yet reimbursed by the home lodge). A read through some of the "Fraud" cases, while occasionally amusing, suggests that many of these cases may have involved men who were alcoholics. Both the "Worthy" and "Fraud" cases are oftentimes touching vignettes of hard times. In other cases, like that of Barnet Lebner (below), we get a glimpse at what is more likely the case of a classic con man, spinning tales.

Below are a few examples of both "Worthy Cases" and "Frauds." In an attempt to expose those found to be making fraudulent claims, the Relief Board published their names, while those found "Worthy" were kept anonymous, presumably to guard against any embarrassment or shame that might be felt by those seeking relief.

Worthy Cases
No. 612. Widow of member of King Solomon's Lodge, No. 91, Troy, N.Y. Husband died in 1896. Is ill and lives with daughter, who works for a hotel, and they were about to be ejected for non-payment of rent from their home, and we became responsible. Also belonged to Apollo Commandery. The Commandery assisted $50 through us.
(From "Worthy Cases Reimbursed" in the Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Masonic Board of Relief of Syracuse, N.Y., 1917.)

No. 478. Member of Central City Lodge here. We paid funeral expenses of $89 by authority of the Lodge.
No. 504. Member of Central City Lodge here. By authority of Lodge we paid one month's rent.
(Both from "Worthy Cases Reimbursed" in the Twenty-First Annual Report of the Masonic Board of Relief of Syracuse, N.Y., 1914)

Frauds
F.E. Lanphere, a fraud of the first water, or rather whiskey without water, applied for relief claiming to be starving. He was furnished a meal in a restaurant at expense of fifty cents, but tried in our absence to trade the meal for intoxicating liquor, and when refused, left without eating, and never came back to our protecting arms.
(From "Frauds" in the First, Second, and Third Annual Report of the Masonic Board of Relief of Syracuse, N.Y., 1894, 1895, and 1896)

No. 512. George Barnes, Golden Fleece Lodge, Lynn, Mass. Age 42; machinist and book agent; resides here; was drunk; had no papers; wanted $1. The Secretary [i.e. of Golden Fleece Lodge] wired that he was not known there.
(From "Frauds" in the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Masonic Board of Relief of Syracuse, N.Y., 1915)

No. 387. Barnet Lebner, Monroe Lodge, No. 242, Berlin, Germany. First claimed also to be a Shriner, Chapter, Knight Templar, but later admitted that he was only a third degree member. Wanted to go to Chicago and then to Worcester, Mass. Told one member of the Board that he had a position in Worcester if he could get there next morning at 11 A.M. Claimed to be a rabbi. When questioned sent to the Jervis House for his trunk and left town.
(From "Frauds" in the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Masonic Board of Relief of Syracuse, N.Y., 1912)

 

Suggestions for Further Reading
General Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada. Album of Masonic Impostors. New York : Press of Eclipse Printing Co., 1903.
Call number: 19.78 .A345 1903

Croteau, Jeffrey. "Brotherly Deception." Cabinet, Spring 2009 (Issue 33). Brooklyn NY: Immaterial, Inc., 2009.

Halleran, Michael. "Be on the Qui Vive—Cowans, Swindlers, and Con Men, Then and Now." Scottish Rite Journal, May/June 2009. Washington, DC: Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction, 2009.

In addition, the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives also has many issues of the Annual Report of the Masonic Board of Relief of Syracuse, N.Y. Call number: 43 .S995 1894-.

"Tramping about, victimizing Masonic lodges"

Our blog turns two years old this week. In celebration of that anniversary, we invite you to take a look at our very first post, which discusses early 20th century Masonic impostors. While you're at it, also be sure to take a look at our follow-up post from a year ago, Masonic Impostors Redux: "sleight-of-hand and song-and-dance man."

Keeping with that theme is today's object - a broadside that was sent out to local Masonic boards of relief in 1877, warning them of a man posing as a needy Mason, and attempting to take advantage of Masonic charity. It is, essentially, a wanted poster for a Masonic impostor.

The broadside warns of a man going by the name "Herbert Sydney," and claiming to be an English Mason, supposedly left destitute by the huge fire in St. John's (Quebec) in June 1876. As the poster reports, the Masonic Lodge at St. John's reported that they knew of no Mason by that name.

As we discussed in earlier posts, the success of Masonic impostors during the late 19th and early 20th centuries relied on staying one step ahead of Masonic relief boards spreading the word. This broadside mentions that "Herbert Sydney" swindled relief boards in Baltimore and that he then went to Washington, DC. It's unclear where he went next, but no doubt he was hoping to reach Masonic relief agencies in cities that had yet to receive this "Caution!" broadside.

The broadside closes by warning that the man going by the name of Herbert Sydney is, like many Masonic impostors at the time, thought to be "tramping about, victimizing Masonic lodges."

Masonic Imposter broadside. D.K. Osbourne & Co., Baltimore, MD, 1877. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives, A2002/118/1.  

Masonic Impostors Redux: "sleight-of-hand and song-and-dance man"

Our blog turns one year old this week, and we thought we'd harken back to our first post and return to the subject of Masonic impostors, by featuring another image from the Album of Masonic Impostors, published by the General Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada in 1903.

But first a little background about the organization that published the Album. In 1885, a number of Masonic organizations in North America met in Baltimore to organize the General Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada, in order “to establish a central organization for the purpose of facilitating the discovery and exposure of persons traveling about the country and imposing upon the charities of Masons.”

One of the main ways that they accomplished this was by publishing a warning circular that was distributed to relief boards in major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. From there, the relief boards would pass on the information within their local jurisdiction. The goal of all this? To try to spread information about known frauds and impostors who were looking to bilk Masonic relief boards out of money. The Masonic Relief Association compiled physical descriptions, and sometimes photos, of known impostors into their circulars and sent the circulars to relief boards - hopefully in advance of the arrival of the Masonic impostors described within.

Shown above is Patrick Logsdon, from the Album of Masonic Impostors. He is described as follows:

Traveling showman, sleight-of-hand and song-and-dance man. Claims to have been a rough rider and wounded at San Juan Hill. Says he is a member of a Lodge in Lexington, Ky.

The Album contains impostors who all originally appeared in one of the warning circulars. But what exactly was this circular and what purpose did it serve?

The Official Warning Circular (No. 503, September 1928 is shown here) was distributed by the Masonic Relief Association to the various masonic relief boards throughout the country. The hope was that by centralizing communication, word could spread faster than a Masonic impostor could travel. For example, if the relief board in Chicago discovered someone trying to defraud them, they could send a telegraph or place a telephone call to the Masonic Relief Association. The Association would include this information in the compilation of their four-page monthly circular - publishing names, descriptions, and sometimes photographs of known Masonic impostors who had been caught attempting to defraud local relief boards. The circular was mailed out to all the relief boards that belonged to the Association. By the time the Masonic impostor in Chicago made his way to Boston, the Boston relief board would already have seen his mug shot in the warning circular. (An aside: if you're interested in communication networks and how news travels, check out our post on the spread of the Lexington Alarm from last month.)

In addition to publishing newly reported impostors, the Official Warning Circular also republished old cases, reported missing persons, and gave a list of "Lost Receipts" - i.e. Masons who had lost their membership cards - cards which subsequently might have fallen into the hands of a current, or future, Masonic impostor, who might assume the name and identity from the membership card.

Suggestions for Further Reading

General Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada. Album of Masonic Impostors. New York : Press of Eclipse Printing Co., 1903.
Call number: 19.78 .A345 1903

Croteau, Jeffrey. "Brotherly Deception." Cabinet, Spring 2009 (Issue 33). Brooklyn NY: Immaterial, Inc., 2009.

Halleran, Michael. "Be on the Qui Vive—Cowans, Swindlers, and Con Men, Then and Now." Scottish Rite Journal, May/June 2009. Washington, DC: Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction, 2009.

In addition, the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives also has a number of issues of the Official Warning Circular, as well as some of the proceedings of the annual meeting of the Masonic Relief Association.

Album of Masonic Impostors

Why would someone impersonate a Freemason? And why would someone publish a book showing some of the supposedly more nefarious characters who have impersonated Masons?

Pictured here is a page from a book called Album of Masonic Impostors [Call no.: 19.78 .A345 1903], which was published by The Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada, an organization which was a sort of clearing house for improving the methods for providing relief by various Masonic organizations, as well as a central organization for disseminating informaton throughout North America about men known to have tried (or, in many cases, succeeded) in defrauding various Masonic relief agencies by claiming membership in various Masonic bodies.

Especially during a time when receiving benefits in the workplace was uncommon, one of the benefits of joining a fraternal organization was just that - receiving benefits. Death benefits and various types of insurance were some of what you received for paying your dues. (In fact, many non-Masonic fraternal organizations went on to primarily become life insurance companies, many of which still keep "fraternal" in their name, although the fraternal aspect of many of these organizations has been de-emphasized, or disappeared altogether.)

Because there was money to be had by members of a fraternity who were genuinely in need, a brisk business grew of con-men who traveled around posing as Masons and trying to get relief (in the form of money) provided by various Masonic organizations in the different towns and cities they visited. The Masonic Relief Association published an "Official Warning Circular" on a regular basis (a number of which we also have in our collection), that warned various Masonic relief organizations about some of the con men that might come their way. The Album of Masonic Impostors is a bit of a rogues' gallery of some of these men.

Call me soft-hearted, but when I see these photos, like the one of C.S. Salisbury above, I wonder what desperate circumstances drove men like him to resort to becoming "Masonic Impostors."

If you want to learn more about the role of Masonic and fraternal organizations in providing "relief" and social services, we've got a number of great resources. A great place to start is:

Beito, David T. From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890-1967. Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina Press, 2000.
Call number:44 .B423 2000