In the Spirit of Unity: The Meaning of Prince Hall Americanism Day

The exact date of the first Prince Hall Day celebration referred to in this program from the collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is difficult to pinpoint. An uncorroborated article in the Los Angeles Sentinel provides the date 1808, while a gap in the primary source material until 1927 suggests the origin of this African American celebration may have taken place well after the death of Hall in 1808. The journey to discover the true meaning of this document and day underscores Prince Hall Freemasonry's commitment to being a unifying force in American society.

Prince Hall Americanism Day proclamation and program, 1964

"As the Christian has a revival, the Moslem [sic] has a pilgrimage to Mecca, so do Prince Hall Masons have revivals, and they are called Prince Hall Americanism Day, celebrated on or as close to September 12th each year. It is a time for the Prince Hall Mason to take stock of his life, renew his faith in God, Country and Fraternity, which will include his neighbor. It is a time to renew his faith in God, his patriotism to his country and his duty to   mankind. It is in the truest sense a Masonic Revival." – The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas, 2021.

During the 1950s, the theme of “Americanism” was expanded upon by the Grand Masters Conference of Prince Hall Masons in response to the Red Scare of the '50s. The Grand Masters, who also served as leaders within the African American Community, understood the disenfranchisement of African Americans within American society, and saw this moment in history as an opportunity to bring people together in a common cause. "Masonry and Americanism," they stated, "will embrace, substantially, those spiritual drives of our Reverend Brother Prince Hall, who along with his contemporaries [Washington and the Founding Fathers]. served as a founding father of our American Idealism."

It was in this spirit, in the spirit of Prince Hall Freemasonry and of unity, that on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, the two Sovereign Grand Commanders of the Supreme Councils (white) and the two Sovereign Grand Commanders of the United Supreme Councils (black) of the United States met at Washington, D.C., in the House of the Temple to sign a statement of unity. This document recognized the other bodies as the “sole and legitimate conservators” of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the United States and pledged to “support one another in the cause of Scottish Rite Freemasonry” and to serve as example of unity to the world-at-large.  

Statement of Unity proclamation, September 7,2022

Do you have any information regarding the origins or history of Prince Hall Day? Please free to contact us or to comment about this topic in the comments section below.

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Captions

Prince Hall Americanism Day proclamation and program, 1964. Peter B. C. Brown, Jr., Prince Hall Masonic collection, 1964-1989. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 210.001.

Statement of Unity proclamation, September 7, 2022. Records and Correspondence of the Supreme Council, NMJ. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, SC 300.002.

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References

Arizona Sun. “Masons to Observe Prince Hall Day.” September 16, 1955: 7. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Boston Globe. “Auxiliary is Formed : Colored Women Organize to Assist Prince Hall Grand Lodge Centennial Committee.” September 26, 1907: 10. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <ProQuest>

Bridgeport Post. “Prince Hall Lodges of Masons to Hail Founder with State Celebration by 1,000 Members here Sept. 10.” August 23, 1961: 20. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Newspapers.com>

Evening Review. “Prince Hall Day Program.” September 11, 1929: 14. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Freemasons. Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas. “Why Masons Celebrate Prince Hall Day,” 2021, Accessed: 9 September 2022. https://www.mwphglar.com/list-item-title

Freemasons. Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. n.d. Protocol Manual. Accessed: 9 September 2022. https://cdn.website-editor.net/13c5a24262424017aa80012c701f5962/files/uploaded/ProtocolManual%2520%25281%2529.pdf

Hartford Courant. “1,000 Masons to Note Prince Hall Day Sunday.” September 4, 1962; 33. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Newspapers.com>

Herbert, Archille W. “Prince Hall Day Address.” Prince Hall Masonic Digest 7, no. 1 (1958) : 3-6. Accessed: 9 September 2022. https://oakland.access.preservica.com/?s=Prince+Hall+Masonic+Digest

Jackson Advocate. “Prince Hall Masons of Louisiana Hold 94^th Annual Session.” June 29, 1957: 6. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Jackson Advocate. “Prince Hall Message Made Part of Congressional Record.” September 19, 1959: 4. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Los Angeles Sentinel. “City Proclaims Prince Hall Day.” September 22, 1966, C2.

News-Herald. “A.M.E. Zion.” September 29, 1928. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Parmer, Burrell D. “In Remembrance of Prince Hall on the Eve of Prince Hall Americanism Day.” The Texas Prince Hall Freemason II, no. 5 (Winter 2011): 54. Accessed: 9 September 2022. https://www.mwphglotx.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TPHFM-Volume-2-Issue-5-Winter-2011.pdf

Pittsburgh Courier. “Attention Fraters.” March 12, 1927: 9. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Newspapers.com>

“Prince Hall Americanism Day Across Illinois: In Salute of the Father of African American Freemasonry in America and Beyond.” Prince Hall Masonic Journal. Fall 2013-Winter 2014. 9. Accessed: 9 September 2022. https://mwphglil.com/2013-14Winter.pdf

Shreveport Journal. “Negro Masons Will Observe Prince Hall Day.” September 14, 1951: 24. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Weekly Town Talk. “Prince Hall Day Set.” September 13, 1952: 5. Accessed: 9 September 2022. <Chronicling America>

Wesley, Charles H. History of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the State of Ohio, 1849-1960: An Epoch in American Fraternalism. Wilberforce, Ohio: Central State College Press, 1961.

Wesley, Charles H. Prince Hall: Life and Legacy. Washington, D.C.: United Supreme Council Southern Jurisdiction, Prince Hall Affiliation, 1977.

 

Recent Acquisition: Hill Family Masonic Collection, 1817-2019

Donations to the collection, along with museum purchases, have made the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library one of the premier institutions in the world for the study of American Freemasonry and fraternalism. The staff are always grateful for the museum’s generous supporters and donors who have helped to build its world-class collection over the course of its nearly fifty year history. Today, we're highlighting the contributions of Jon Gregory Adams Hill, 33°, who has donated numerous artifacts to the museum’s collection (see a selection here), and who has recently donated the Hill Family Masonic Collection, 1817-2019, to the museum’s archives.

Royal Arch certificate issued to Stephen Baker, 1817 May 23. Handwritten petition of John B. Hill to Liberty Lodge, 1848 November 6. Letter from John E. Giddings and H. L. Foster, 1858 April 9.

Amongst the nearly 400 documents found in this collection is this 1817 Royal Arch certificate issued by Concord Chapter, No. 1, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to Stephen Baker; this 1848 petition of John Beckford Hill, great grandfather of Jon Gregory Adams Hill, to Liberty Lodge of Beverly, Massachusetts; and this 1858 letter from John E. Gidding and H. L. Foster to Liberty Lodge in which they pledge to “abstain from the use of spirituous and intoxicating liquors” for a period of five years on penalty of a $100 fine. These items, which will be added to the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives’ digital collections website in the upcoming months, represent only a small fraction of the many items added to the museum’s collection, built in part by the generosity of our supporters. The museum staff is extremely grateful for the continued support of our donors in helping us ito preserve and provide access to the history of American Freemasonry and fraternalism for future generations. Would you like to donate an item to the Museum and Library’s collection? Please click on this link for more information.

 

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Captions

Royal Arch certificate issued to Stephen Baker, 1817 May 23. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 006.

Handwritten petition of John B. Hill to Liberty Lodge, 1848 November 6. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 300.043

Letter from John E. Giddings and H. L. Foster, 1858 April 9. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 300.043

 

 

 

 

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The Challenges of Research and Making the Connection

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library staff gets satisfaction from the rewards of research, the joy of discovering or rediscovering something that brings context to a document--and consequently to lives of others. In fact, in many cases, we gain a greater understanding of our own lives, as well as the lives of others, through our research. However, when we fail to establish the context or history of a document, that same process can be extremely frustrating.

Philomathian Lodge lady's invitation ticket, 1859 December 29.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library recently acquired the object pictured here. It reads: "Citizens' Grand Dress Ball, to be given to Philomathian Lodge, Thursday Evening, Dec. 29, 1859. Lady's Invitation." We are not certain who issued the invitation (which may also have served as an entrance ticket to the ball), but we believe that it may be have been Philomathian Lodge of New York City, the first Grand United Order of Odd Fellows lodge in America and an African American branch of the Odd Fellows.

As Professor Hermina G.B. Anghelescu explains in her article “A Bit of History in the Library Attic,” the information contained in ephemeral items, such as tickets, “is often not enough” to establish the context or history behind an item, and researchers may “need to draw from other sources” to establish a link. In short, this small invitation was designed to be used for an event. It was not necessarily designed for future observers, but to be used in the moment. Because of that, some information, such as the creator or place of creation, was often not included because it was unnecessary for the purpose of the object and to the woman who likely carried this with her to a Thursday evening ball in 1859.

Do you have any information regarding the history of this lady’s invitation or of Philomathian Lodge? Please free to contact us or to comment about this topic in the comments section below.

 

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Captions

Philomathian Lodge lady's invitation ticket, 1859 December 29. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, FR 430.017.

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References

Anghelesc, Hermina G. B. “A Bit of History in the Library Attic : Challenges of. Ephemera Research.” Collection Management 25/4 (2001), pp. 61-75.

 

 

The Plight of Italian Freemasonry in the Post-War Years

Today, we highlight a document from the Scottish Rite Masonic & Library’s archives. President Harry S. Truman wrote this letter to the Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin Maynard Johnson in 1948.

Letter from President Harry S. Truman to Melvin M. Johnson, 1948 August 3.

August 3, 1948 I am grateful to you for forwarding with your letter of July thirteenth, copy of a document – CIVIL TRIBUNAL OF ROME – CITATION ACT. I had been hopeful that we could arrive at an amicable adjustment regarding the Masonic property in Italy. I was, however, apprehensive after receiving Ambassador Dunn’s report, copy of which I forwarded to you. The Citation Act, text of which you sent, particularly paragraph eight, page eighteen, is most informative. With legal complications going back more than twenty years when Mussolini ordered the dissolution of the Masonic Lodges and seized their property, I fear court action now pending will be a long drawn out process. However, I shall continue to do everything possible to bring about restoration. I know you will keep me informed of any developments which come to your attention. Sincerely yours, Harry Truman Honorable Melvin M. Johnson, 1117 Statler Building, Boston 16, Massachusetts.

As Commander Johnson noted in his 1950 Allocution, Freemasonry had “led a precarious existence” in Italy since its inception in the early eighteenth century. However, since the rise of the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini starting in 1922, matters had only grown worse for Italy’s brethren. Throughout late 1923 and into early 1924, Fascist troops victimized Masonic lodges. Among the many losses were the temples of Lodge Giuseppe Mazzoni in Prato and Lodge Ferruccio in Pistoria, which were demolished, and the great Masonic library of Lodge Ernesto Nathan in Termoli, which was destroyed. Tensions in Italy during this period between its Freemasons and the government had risen to a boil, and The Builder reported in its September 1927 edition that a “nation-wide persecution was launched” against the supposed enemies of the state, Italy’s Freemasons and socialists.

These events and many others culminated in the passage of Mussolini’s anti-Masonic bill, Law No. 2029/1925, on May 19, 1925, which essentially banned the fraternity in Italy. Six months later, Fascist police occupied Palazzo Giustiniani, the grand sixteenth-century Renaissance building and seat of the Grand Orient of Italy in Rome. A few months later, on January 29, 1926, the ministry of public instruction declared the Grand Orient’s 1911 purchase agreement for the building null and void.

As President Truman noted in his letter to Johnson, the process to return Masonic property was a “long drawn out process" after the war. The matter was finally settled in 1960 in an out of court settlement mediated by American ambassador James David Zellerbach. Starting that year, the Grand Orient of Italy regained use of a wing in the Palazzo Giustiniani. Twenty-five years later, in 1985, the organization moved to its current location, the Villa del Vascello on the Janiculan, a hill in western Rome.

As for Truman and Johnson, these two Freemasons, along with many other American and European Freemasons, helped European Freemasonry rise from the ashes after the war.  

 

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Captions

Letter from President Harry S. Truman to Melvin M. Johnson, 1948 August 3. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, SC 069.

 

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References

“Freemasonry and Fascism in Italy.” The Builder 8, no. 8 (1927) : 244-248. Accessed: 11 March 2022. http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/the_builder_1927_august.htm

“Freemasonry and Fascism in Italy.” The Builder 8, no. 9 (1927) : 257-264. Accessed: 11 March 2022. http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/the_builder_1927_september.htm

“Grande Oriente d'Italia,” n.d. Accessed: 11 March 2022. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Oriente_d%27Italia

Johnson, Melvin M. Advance copy of the allocution of the M. P. Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson, 33° : to be delivered at the one hundred thirty-eight Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council, 33° : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : September 26, 1950. [Boston, Mass.] : Supreme Council 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., 1950.

 

Charleston’s Best Friend: A Freemason Provides an Intimate Look into the Development of the American Railway System

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library's collection of correspondence from Moses Holbrook (1783-1844) to John James Joseph Gourgas (1777-1865) provides researchers with a wealth of insight into early nineteenth-century American Freemasonry, as well as an intimate look at daily life in Charleston, South Carolina, as seen through Holbrook's eyes. During the 1820s and 1830s, Holbrook, the Southern Jurisdiction's fourth Sovereign Grand Commander, corresponded with the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s John James Joseph Gourgas. Gourgas served as the NMJ's Grand Secretary General from its founding in 1813 until 1832, and then as Sovereign Grand Commander from 1832 until 1851. Holbrook served as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction’s Supreme Council from 1826 until 1844. Holbrook’s letters touch upon a variety of subjects, from outbreaks of yellow fever to the political victory of Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) in the Presidential election of 1828. However, one passage in particular stands out for its contribution to our understanding of transportation history: a passage in Holbrook’s January 1, 1831, letter to Gourgas regarding Charleston’s Best Friend, the first American-built passenger steam locomotive. Holbrook writes,

Letter from Moses Holbrook to John James Joseph Gourgas, 1831 January 1.

The only subject of public attention that occupies us at present is the Rail Road and “Charleston’s Best Friend” (the name given to a little locomotive engine of six horse power that has been built for an experiment and put upon the small portion – about five miles or a little over – of the Rail Road which has been completed for the purpose of trial.) The “Best Friend” when on the trial by the Rail Road Company’s Committee to ascertain whether the machinery - &c - answered the contract which Mr. Miller the inventor had entered into. The “Best Friend” dragged after it near ten tons besides itself and the wood and water necessary – at the rate of about 15 miles an hour with perfect ease and safety. Several pleasure cars are now attached to it and it runs at stated periods of the day to carry passengers only – and Bachelors, Maids, Matrons & Madams all are anxious to make trial of a ride at the speed of about 20 miles an hour. I tried it the other day and went the five miles and back again in thirty minutes and this time included the turning about taking in water &c.  I remain respectfully your friend and well wisher, M. Holbrook

Built at the West Point Foundry in New York in 1830, Charleston’s Best Friend was hailed by the Charleston Courier as an experience that “annihilate[ed] time and space,” a technological achievement that demonstrated the potential of steam powered rail travel. Until this time, travel had been limited by road conditions, the weather, and river navigability. After the short, but great, success of Charleston’s Best Friend, which was destroyed by operator error six months after its maiden voyage, six new locomotives were constructed for the Southern Railway System, including the Phoenix, which was constructed from the remains of Charleston’s Best Friend.  Its short life had completely revolutionized America’s transportation system, and towns across the country shifted their sights from building canals to building railroads.

As for Sovereign Grand Commander Holbrook, ravaged by several illnesses, worn thin by the incessant battles with Anti-masonry and the “lukewarmness” of those within the Fraternity, William L. Fox in Lodge of the Double-Headed Eagle reported Holbrook longed to leave Charleston and relinquish his responsibilities as Sovereign Grand Commander. When the United States Government offered settlers to Florida 160 acres of free land on condition they defend it against the Seminoles, Holbrook applied for and received a plot of land under the auspices of the Armed Occupation Act on April 16, 1843, and settled in St. Lucie, Florida. Remembered as a recluse by the settlers, Holbrook lived in his one room, palm-thatched cabin stuffed with hundreds of books brought from Charleston, and served as the settlement’s only doctor. His “many misfortunes over the years” had robbed him of his “once brilliant intellect,” another settler William Henry Peck (1830-1892) remarked in one of his articles for the Florida Star regarding the Indian River settlement. His only solace was his books and a flute “on which he became a virtuoso.”

Charleston's Best Friend: An image from Popular Science Monthly.

On September 11, 1844, Moses Holbrook died and was buried near his cabin on the bluff overlooking the Indian River. He was 61 years old.

 

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Captions

Letter from Moses Holbrook to John James Joseph Gourgas, 1831 January 1. Records and Correspondence of the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, SC 300.002.

A Supreme Council, and a Nation, Mourns the Death of a President

In commemoration of President Abraham Lincoln's life and the impact that his assassination in April 1865 had upon the nation and the fraternity, the staff of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library wish to present this highlight from the collection, Supreme Council member Benjamin Dean's hand-written preamble and resolutions regarding the death of President Lincoln. This document demonstrates how, as Freemasons, one of the fraternity’s governing bodies, the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, expressed not only their sorrow for the President's death, but how the Lincoln assassination was an affront to what Freemasonry embodied.  

Handwritten preamble and resolution of Benjamin Dean, 1865 May 17.

In the Supreme Council of Sovereign Inspectors General 33º for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States, May 17, 1865. Since the last annual meeting of this Supreme Council the nation has been deprived of its chief magistrate by the hand of an assassin. It is peculiarly fit + proper that a body assembled from all the States of our Jurisdiction, and representing so largely our numerous + influencial [sic] brotherhood, a brotherhood whose ancient charges inculcate among its first duties – “to be peaceable citizens + cheerfully to conform to the laws of the country in which we reside – to avoid being concerned in plots and conspiracies against government + cheerfully to submit to the decisions of the Supreme Legislature; it is fit + proper that such an assemblage – true to its teachings – should give some expression to the family of our deceased + honored President, of our sympathy with their misfortunes, + pray for the restoration of peace to their troubled minds. Therefore, resolved – that we deplore the untimely end of our late honored President Abraham Lincoln – cut off by horrid violence – in the midst of the high dignities imposed upon him by this people. Resolved – that we sympathize with the nation + with his distressed family in their unparallelled [sic] affliction. Resolved, that this expression of our sympathy be spread upon our records, + a copy thereof be sent by our Secretary General to the family of our deceased President.

Unanimously passed by the Supreme Council, Dean’s measure was only one of many tributes paid by Freemasons to the martyred President throughout the summer of 1865. And although the President was not a Freemason, in an interview in October 1860 with the American poet and Freemason Rob Morris, presidential candidate Lincoln intimated his “great respect” for the fraternity, and it was widely speculated and reported that Lincoln had only “postpone[d] his application for the honors of Masonry” until after his second term as President and the great burden of office had passed.

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Captions

Handwritten preamble and resolution of Benjamin Dean, 1865 May 17. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, SC 300.002.

References

“A Conversation with Mr. Lincoln.” Voice of Masonry and Tidings from the Craft 3, no. 6 (June 1865): 248.

 

Brothers Helping Brothers to Stand on their Feet: The Story of Masonic Employment Bureaus

Many readers know of the Scottish Rite’s mission to be a fraternity that fulfills its Masonic obligation to care for its members. Many documents in the collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library illustrate this theme like this 1911 letter from the Masonic Employment Bureau of Seattle, which highlights the Fraternity’s efforts to provide meaningful employment to their unemployed Brethren. 

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Letter from the Masonic Employment Bureau to Washington Lodge, No. 3, 1911 July 18.

Seattle, Wash. July 18, 1911. Worshipful Master, Wardens and Brethren of Washington Lodge # 3 F. & A. M. Worshipful Sir and Brethern [sic]:— The several Masonic Lodges of F. & A.M. in Seattle have organized, and are now operating a Masonic Employment Bureau. The object of the Bureau is to secure employment for worthy Master Masons of local Lodges, or sojourning brethern [sic]. You will no doubt agree that this is a step in the right direction, but, as many more of our brethern are coming to Seattle than can be supplied with positions here we are appealing to the Masonic Lodges of the State to aid us to secure positions in their respective Cities and Towns, where labor is in demand. The Bureau can furnish first-class, capable men in all lines of work, and shall certainly be pleased to have your fraternal co-operation. If you know of any positions now open, or any that you may hereafter hear of, a letter to the Secretary-Superintendent will get results. With best wishes to your Lodge, I remain Fraternally yours, C. H. Steffen Sec’y.—Supt.

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The first Masonic employment bureau in the United States was created in the city of St. Louis in 1895 by a group of Freemasons who desired to see “worthy members of the Fraternity” find employment. The St. Louis bureau had a long and storied existence, which may have ended sometime in the mid- to late-1970s. It helped numerous Freemasons find employment during its existence, and in 1917, the Proceedings for the Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star of for the state of Wisconsin reported that the St. Louis bureau had expanded its mission to include their members, as well as “their dependent ones.”

Classified ads for Masons seeking work The New Age Magazine, 1931 September

More importantly, the St. Louis Bureau inspired Freemasons to follow its example, and similar Masonic employment bureaus sprung up throughout the country. Builder Magazine reported that in 1924 alone, thirty Masonic Employment Bureaus existed, including the bureau in Seattle. The magazine also reported that as of 1922, twelve of these bureaus had found 16,578 individuals employment. Do you have any information regarding the history of Masonic Employment Bureaus? Please contact us or comment about this topic in the comments section below.

 

 

 

 

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Captions

Letter from the Masonic Employment Bureau to Washington Lodge, No. 3, 1911 July 18. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 630.004.

A Freemason Strives for Reconciliation as a Supreme Council Splinters

While much attention has been given to Edward A. Raymond, Killian H. Van Rensselaer, and their roles in the Schism of 1860, this document from the collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library brings attention to a lesser-known figure: William Blackstone Hubbard, 33°, a Freemason from Ohio, who had served as the Grand Master of Ohio and for a year (May 1861 to May 1862) as the Sovereign Grand Commander Elect of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.

List of officers, members, and Sovereign Grand Inspectors Generals, 1862 February 5.

As readers may know, Edward A. Raymond’s tenure as Sovereign Grand Commander abruptly ended on August 24, 1860, when Raymond, accompanied by Grand Treasurer General Simon W. Robinson, abruptly closed the Supreme Council’s special meeting sine die, or with no appointed date for resumption. The ensuing chaos led to the formation of three competing Supreme Councils: the newly-formed Raymond Council; the Van Rensselaer Council led by Lieutenant Sovereign Grand Commander Van Rensselaer; and the Cerneau-inspired Atwood Council. For nearly ten months, from August 25, 1860, through May 14, 1861, the Raymond and Van Rensselaer Supreme Councils traded barbs as both Councils claimed to be the legitimate governing body of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. And while the maneuverings of both Supreme Councils are too complicated to outline fully in this online forum, the proceedings

for both Supreme Councils agree that William Blackstone Hubbard was one of the few, if not the only, men pushing for reconciliation. As Lieutenant Sovereign Grand Commander Van Rensselaer stated in his 1862 Annual Address,

The members of the Supreme Council and Sovereign Consistory, are all aware of the efforts made by our Ill. Brother William B. Hubbard, and the Princes of the Royal Secret, at our last session, May, 1861, to induce the late Commander and Treasurer to meet with the Council, resume their seats, and aid in the work. The sittings of the Council were continued for several days, in the hope that the exertions of our Illustrious Brethren would meet with success, and that peace and harmony would be restored. (1862 Proceedings, p. 588-589)

Hubbard’s sole intention was to broker peace between his Brothers, and only after his efforts during 1861’s Annual Session were exhausted did Hubbard leave before its closure. As Raymond reported to his Sovereign Grand Consistory on May 22, “On leaving, he [Hubbard] addressed a note to me regretting his disappointment, and declaring that he did not expect ever again to meet any of his brethren in Supreme Council on earth…” (1861 Raymond Proceedings, p. 31)

On the day after Hubbard had left Annual Session, on May 20, 1861, the five members of the Van Rensselaer Supreme Council who were present unanimously voted to depose Sovereign Grand Commander Edward A. Raymond, and elected William B. Hubbard in his place. “The reason for their doing this is plain,” Raymond stated.

…[T]hey felt the need of the condition to their cause of the capital which the publication of such an election might possibly bring, and therefore they elected him after he had gone, and consequently, could not decline while they were in session. (1861 Raymond Proceedings, p. 31)

William Blackstone Hubbard

William Blackstone Hubbard would never serve as Sovereign Grand Commander. During the following year’s Annual Session, Hubbard offered “his well wishes to the Supreme Council” but declined “any official honors.” In the years following, Hubbard distanced himself from the Supreme Council, which in the 1865 Proceedings declared his seat as an Active Member vacant, citing his ill health.

William Blackstone Hubbard, 33°, died the following year on January 5, 1866. He never lived to see the unification of the two previously competing Supreme Councils in 1867.

 

 

 

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Captions

List of officers, members, and Sovereign Grand Inspectors Generals, 1862 February 5. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, SC 300.002.

A Celebration of the Role of DeMolay International in the Lives of Young Men

In celebration of DeMolay International’s one hundredth anniversary, the staff of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library would like to congratulate the Order and recognize its commitment to shape young men of all nationalities into “leaders of character.” In this week’s post, we highlight this festive 1937 Halloween costume dance invitation addressed to Robert G. Milliken of Denver, Colorado.

Denver Chapter Halloween costume dance invitation (obverse).

Denver Chapter Halloween costume dance invitation (reverse).

While little information has been discovered regarding the costume dance held at Denver’s Scottish Rite Temple, Milliken’s 2011 obituary details a life that exemplifies the seven cardinal virtues or the "basis of good character" taught by the Order.

If you happen to be in the metro Boston area over the summer, please consult our website for more information regarding the museum's current exhibitions, including the Library’s new exhibit that celebrates DeMolay’s storied history.

 

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Captions

Denver Chapter Halloween costume dance invitation, 1937 October 29. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 014.

Rare Temperance Letter Provides Insights into the Lives of Women

Research into this unsigned letter attributed to Mary E. Elliot (1851-1942) in the collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library provides an intimate look into the life of this nineteenth-century reformer and sheds light into the personal motives that led many American women to champion the crusade against alcohol. In the letter, which may be read in full by clicking the image below, Elliot, the Grand Worthy Secretary for the Grand Lodge Massachusetts of the Independent Order of Good Templars, offers her support and praise to an anonymous female Temperance reformer whose relative suffered from alcoholism.

Temperance letter attributed to Mary E. Elliot, August 3, 1876.

"I wish I could fly to you – if only for a moment—to tell you how deeply I sympathize with you and how I would gladly lighten your burden of sorrow if I could. It seems cruel that one who has saved so many as you have and caused so much happiness should be permitted to see one so dear to her suffer from temptation. If you succeed in this same period in saving him what a glorious triumph it will be, I have for him feelings of the tenderest sympathy and trust that the prospect now looks brighter, knowing as I do your fidelity and devotion I feel confident that the victory will be yours. You have my earnest prayers that this may be the result; that he who is so kind and generous and capable of accomplishing so much good in the world may yet conquer his appetite."

While more research needs to be conducted to verify the identity of Elliot’s female recipient, readers may conclude from Elliot’s letter that she was most likely a leader or potential leader in the Temperance movement, a charismatic speaker and advocate of the cause who inspired both men and women alike through her lectures throughout the state of Massachusetts.

In addition to being an advocate for Temperance reform, Mary E. Elliot was a passionate supporter of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Civil War veterans association. In 1878, Elliot helped form an auxiliary relief corps to Willard C. Kinsley Post, No. 139, G.A.R., in Somerville, Massachusetts, and for fifty years, served as the Secretary for the Department of Massachusetts Women’s Relief Corps, the state’s auxiliary to the G.A.R.  Elliot also served as a regular contributor to the military department of the Boston Globe for nearly 20 years, where she wrote extensively upon the efforts of women to support the Relief Corps.

Do you have any information regarding the history of this document or the people behind its creation? Or would you like to learn more about the Temperance movement in America? Feel free to contact us or to comment about this topic in the comments section below.

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Captions

Temperance letter attributed to Mary E. Elliot to unknown recipient, August 3, 1876. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 300.010.

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References

Anonymous. 1901. Charles Darwin Elliot, Mary Elvira Elliot, from the Massachusetts Edition of the American Series of Popular Biographies. [Boston?]: [publisher not identified]. Accessed: 25 March 2019. https://archive.org/stream/charlesdarwinell00np/charlesdarwinell00np_djvu.txt

Cambridge Chronicle. 1879. “Temperance Reminiscences. Some Recollections of Twenty Years.” August 23, 1879. Accessed: 25 March 2019. https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/?a=d&d=Chronicle18790823-01.2.2

Daily Boston Globe. 1942. “Mary E. Elliot is Dead at 91.” November 8, 1942.

Digital Public Library of America. n.d. “Women and the Temperance Movement.” Accessed 25 March 2019. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-and-the-temperance-movement

Howe, Julia Ward, ed. “Mary Elvira Elliot” In Representative Women of New England, 305-307. Boston: New England Historical Publishing Company. Accessed: 25 March 2019. https://books.google.com/books/about/Representative_Women_of_New_England.html?id=BY0EAAAAYAAJ

IOGT International. n.d. “The History.” Accessed 25 March 2019. https://iogt.org/about-iogt/the-iogt-way/who-we-are/the-history/

Library of Congress. n.d. “The Grand Army of the Republic and Kindred Societies.” Accessed 25 March 2019. https://www.loc.gov/rr/main/gar/garintro.html

National Woman’s Relief Corps. n.d. “Women’s Relief Corps.” Accessed 25 March 2019. http://womansreliefcorps.org/

Woman's Relief Corps (U.S.), Department of Massachusetts. 1895. History of the Department of Massachusetts, Woman’s Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic. Boston: E. B. Stillings & Co. Accessed 25 March 2019. https://archive.org/details/historyofdepartm01woma/page/n7