Difference between revisions of "EveningStar"

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(BIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM WALKER)
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===== BIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM WALKER =====
 
===== BIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM WALKER =====
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http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/images/WilliamWalker.jpg
  
 
William Walker, of Lenox, the first Master of the Evening Star Lodge, was a flue specimen of that class of men who have made this country, ' strong and great. Beginning life a teacher, modest, intelligent, able and patriotic, he left behind .him a reputation, treasured not only by his honored descendants, but by the region where he dwelt. He was in Paterson's regiment from the first; marched at the Lexington alarm, was employed in the building of Fort No. 3, within the limits of Charlestown, the first fort built on the lines around Boston, and helped to man the fort on the day of the battle at Bunker Hill. At the expiration of his first term of service, he reenlisted, served in the Canada expedition, took part at the battle of the Cedars, was at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, was sent to Pennsylvania, crossed the Delaware with Washington and saw the surrender of Burgoyne. In the fall of 1777, he retired from the army, and was appointed to a financial position of great responsibility under the government. He was for many years, and until his death, Judge of the Probate Court for this County. He was the first and long time President of the Berkshire Bible Society. He was also the first District Deputy Grand Master of this Masonic District, and the esteem in which he was held by his Brethren is well illustrated by a letter received by him in 1803, from the Grand Master of the State, which is as follows,  viz. :
 
William Walker, of Lenox, the first Master of the Evening Star Lodge, was a flue specimen of that class of men who have made this country, ' strong and great. Beginning life a teacher, modest, intelligent, able and patriotic, he left behind .him a reputation, treasured not only by his honored descendants, but by the region where he dwelt. He was in Paterson's regiment from the first; marched at the Lexington alarm, was employed in the building of Fort No. 3, within the limits of Charlestown, the first fort built on the lines around Boston, and helped to man the fort on the day of the battle at Bunker Hill. At the expiration of his first term of service, he reenlisted, served in the Canada expedition, took part at the battle of the Cedars, was at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, was sent to Pennsylvania, crossed the Delaware with Washington and saw the surrender of Burgoyne. In the fall of 1777, he retired from the army, and was appointed to a financial position of great responsibility under the government. He was for many years, and until his death, Judge of the Probate Court for this County. He was the first and long time President of the Berkshire Bible Society. He was also the first District Deputy Grand Master of this Masonic District, and the esteem in which he was held by his Brethren is well illustrated by a letter received by him in 1803, from the Grand Master of the State, which is as follows,  viz. :
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Right  Worshipful Wm. Walker, Esqr.<br>
 
Right  Worshipful Wm. Walker, Esqr.<br>
 
<br>
 
<br>
''My Good Brother:'' I find my predecessor, the late [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=GMDunn Grand Master] of the Fraternity in this Commonwealth, appointed you District Deputy Grand Master in the County of Berkshire.<br>
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''My Good Brother:'' I find my predecessor, [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=GMDunn the late Grand Master] of the Fraternity in this Commonwealth, appointed you District Deputy Grand Master in the County of Berkshire.<br>
 
<Br>
 
<Br>
 
I have not the happiness of a personal acquaintance with you, but have often heard of the very respectable character you bear, and the esteem in which you are held by the Brethren of our Order. It will, therefore, give me great pleasure to re-appoint you to the dignified office you have so lately held, if agreeable to you to accept it, and I am confident it will give much satisfaction to the Brethren in your District.<br>
 
I have not the happiness of a personal acquaintance with you, but have often heard of the very respectable character you bear, and the esteem in which you are held by the Brethren of our Order. It will, therefore, give me great pleasure to re-appoint you to the dignified office you have so lately held, if agreeable to you to accept it, and I am confident it will give much satisfaction to the Brethren in your District.<br>

Revision as of 13:35, 9 November 2014

EVENING STAR LODGE

Location: Lenox; Lee (1849)

Chartered By: Paul Revere

Charter Date: 06/08/1795 II-75

Precedence Date: 06/08/1795

Current Status: Active

ø Charter surrendered 06/11/1834; restored 06/13/1849


PAST MASTERS

  • William Walker, 1795-1801; DD?
  • Caleb Hyde, 1802; SN
  • Eldad Lewis, ?
  • Joseph Tucker, ?; SN
  • James Whiton, 1821
  • David Osborne, 1825
  • Jared Bradley, 1826-1855
  • Eli Bradley, 1856
  • John T. Fenn, 1857
  • George F. Bradley, 1858
  • Benjamin A. Morey, 1859, 1860
  • Eliphalet Wright, 1861-1865, 1870-1872
  • William Demming, 1866
  • Robert McAlpine, 1867, 1879
  • Timothy D. Thatcher, 1868
  • Charles S. Osborne, 1869
  • Alonzo Bradley, 1873, 1875, 1878, 1887; SN
  • Edward L. Melius, 1874
  • Dorvil M. Wilcox, 1876, 1877, 1880-1882
  • Charles F. Smith, 1883
  • Edwin H. Phinney, 1884, 1885
  • Henry F. Smith, 1886
  • Jared Bradley, Jr., 1888, 1889, 1895
  • John W. Cooney, 1890, 1891, 1894
  • Edward J. Norman, 1892
  • William G. Clifford, 1893
  • Frank M. Pease, 1896
  • James O. Clifford, 1897
  • Carl Wurtzbach, 1898, 1899; SN
  • Charles E. Tucker, 1900
  • Harvey W. Fenn, 1901
  • Frank J. Barrett, 1902, 1903
  • George W. Ferguson, 1904
  • Victor W. Bradley, 1905
  • Robert C. Lyon, 1906
  • Alfred J. Loveless, 1907
  • Charles H. Marsh, 1908
  • Harry E. Kendall, 1909
  • Alfred H. Wingett, 1910
  • Thomas Proctor, 1911
  • James A. Rice, 1912
  • Thomas Page, 1913
  • Henry W. Jones, 1914
  • William Cameron, 1915
  • Thomas M. Kerr, 1916
  • Charles A. Markham, 1917
  • Manton R. Sedgwick, 1918
  • Henry Heeremans, 1919
  • Harry E. Farrar, 1920
  • Edmund Spencer, 1921
  • Charles H. McCarthy, 1922
  • William H. Prowse, 1923
  • Elmer C. Newton, 1924
  • William B. Connor, 1925
  • Oliver B. Humes, 1926
  • Adelbert I. Newton, 1927
  • Edward A. Sitzer, 1928; N
  • Walter J. Bryans, 1929
  • William Bower, 1930
  • George G. Woodin, 1931
  • Earl W. Dowd, 1932
  • Roscoe L. Spofford, 1933
  • Herbert Hobday, 1934
  • George A. Graves, 1935
  • Albert T. Phelps, 1936
  • Floyd E. Graves, 1937
  • Owen F. Kelly, 1938
  • Henry Sohl, 1939
  • Albert N. Nettleton, 1940; N
  • Warren A. Turner, 1941
  • Bernard G. Graves, 1942
  • R. Harry Barnes, 1943
  • Maurice J. Letner, 1944
  • Franklin T. Kelly, 1945, 1946
  • Frederick C. Holmes, 1947
  • Charles E. Slater, 1948
  • Frederick A. Judd, 1949
  • George E. Burleigh, 1950
  • Raymond C. Pecon, 1951
  • Almon H. Griffin, 1952
  • John A. MacGregor, 1953
  • Marshall L. Barnard, 1954, 1955
  • Stewart D. Seedman, 1956
  • Richard P. Davis, 1957
  • P. Roy Wheeler, 1958
  • Henry N. LePrevost, 1959
  • Joseph Liss, 1960; PDDGM
  • William N. Demos, 1961
  • Edward N. Decker, 1962
  • Donald I. Fillio, 1963
  • Richard E. Sitzer, 1964
  • Robert C. Dunn, 1965
  • William A. Hosmer, 1966
  • Ernest A. Lowry, 1967
  • Robert S. Bierwith, 1968
  • Harry J. Szewczak, 1969
  • Hugh C. Pecon, 1970
  • Edwin R. Grady, 1971
  • Keith M. Raftery, 1972; PDDGM
  • John G. Kelly, 1973
  • Harold E. Soules, 1974
  • Kenneth L. Berry, 1975
  • Gordon G. VanOrman, Sr., 1976, 2002
  • Gordon E. Leeman, 1977
  • John G. Kastrinakis, 1978
  • Charles M. Tacy, 1979
  • Donald R. Hart, 1980
  • M. James Shaw, 1981
  • Rainsford B. Morehouse, Jr., 1982
  • Donald B. Hale, 1983
  • Merrill E. Morehouse, 1984
  • John B. Egee, Jr., 1985
  • Frederick E. Warden, III, 1986
  • Gordon D. Bailey, 1987
  • Rainsford B. Morehouse, 1988
  • Ralph A. Packard, 1989
  • Gordon G. VanOrman, Jr., 1990, 1991, 2004
  • Myron J. Shaw, 1992
  • Merrill E. Morehouse, 1993
  • Gerald E. Strock, 1994-1996
  • Ralph Alden Packard, 1997
  • Thomas Butcher Thorn, 1998
  • Donald R. Hart, 1999-2001
  • Blake O. Middleton, 2003
  • John E. Arnold, 2005-2007
  • Thomas P. Morawiec, 2008, 2009
  • Thomas L. Fennelly 2010-2012

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

  • Petition for Charter: 1795
  • Petition for Restoration: 1849 (Lodge removed to Lee)

ANNIVERSARIES

  • 1895 (Centenary)
  • 1945 (150th Anniversary)
  • 1971 (175th Anniversary)
  • 1995 (200th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

BY-LAW CHANGES

1858 1932 1950 1955 1956 1963 1968 1976 1977 1985 2000

HISTORY

  • 1895 (Centenary Address by Grand Master, 1895-86; see below)
  • 1895 (Centenary Historical Address, 1895-88; see below)
  • 1895 (Centenary History, 1895-98; note that a Centennial Volume exists in print)
  • 1945 (150th Anniversary History, 1945-210)
  • 1971 (175th Anniversary History, 1971-254)
  • 1995 (200th Anniversary History, 1995-200)

NOTES IN GRAND MASTER'S CENTENARY ADDRESS, JUNE 1895

From Proceedings, Page 1895-86:

March 9, 1795, a petition from Simon Learned and others was received and read in the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, M. W. Paul Revere occupying the East as Grand Master. The petition was referred to a Committee, Isaiah Thomas, Chairman, which reported June 8, 1795, as follows: The Committee appointed on the petition of Simon Learned and others, praying to be erected into a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, under the name, title, and designation of Evening Star Lodge, to meet at Lenox, County of Berkshire, reported that the prayer of the petitioners be granted." The report was accepted and Evening Star appeared above the horizon.

In 1796 W. Wm. Dennison was proxy for the Lodge, and in 1803 R. W. William Little.

In 1804 the Lodges of the State were first divided into Masonic Districts. Evening Star Lodge was placed in the Eighth District, and one of its members, R. W. Caleb Hyde, was appointed the first District Deputy Grand Master of the District.

In 1813 Elijah Northrop, Caleb Hyde, and others petitioned the Grand Lodge, explaining the peculiar situation of the Lodge from 1805 to 1813, and the difficulties under which it labored. Dec. 27, 1819, another member of Evening Star Lodge, R.W. Joseph Tucker, was appointed District Deputy Grand Master, and the following year R. W. Bro. Caleb Hyde was proxy for the Lodge. Soon after, came those years of social disturbance, when the lights on so many of our altars were extinguished. Evening Star Lodge, as did many others, closed its doors, but when the fury was past, relit the altar fires and resumed work.

June 13, 1849, a Committee of the Grand Lodge reported upon a petition signed by Lemuel Bassett, Richard Hunt, Elisha Freeman, Seth Barlow, David Baker, Elijah Thomas, George I-I. Phelps, James Landers, Eli Bradley, and Jared Bradley, in behalf of Evening Star Lodge, asking for a return of its charter and for leave to remove the Lodge to Lee.

The Committee reported that the Charter be returned and that permission be granted to remove the Lodge to Lee. The Grand Lodge accepted the report of the Committee and the recommendations were duly carried out. It is a matter of regret that the Lodge has not in its possession the original charter. It certainly bore the name of Paul Revere, Grand Master. That Lodge is fortunate that possesses the autograph of this eminent Brother. Probably the name of no Revolutionary patriot of Massachusetts is so familiar to our ears, General Warren perhaps excepted; and no man holds a warmer place in the true American heart.

HISTORICAL ADDRESS, JUNE 1895

From Proceedings, Page 1895-88:

We are privileged to-day to celebrate the centennial of the existence in this community of a great fraternal and charitable society. The period is short indeed when compared with the mighty reach of time since time began, yet covering a nineteenth part of the world's best era, all of which this society has witnessed, has been a part of. Is it asked: "What is Freemasonry?" The answer comes: It is not a secret society. Its objects, methods, and history, are known of all men. It can scarcely be classed as a private society, for its doors are open to all who are willing to comply with certain reasonable requirements, and are found worthy. Answering to instinctive, uplifting yearnings of humanity, it is rather a great charitable brotherhood — charitable in the broadest and fullest sense, a brotherhood of men, a patron of, a pattern for, all the fraternal associations for good yet devised. Without claiming to be a religious system, it is ever ready to join the grand chorus that saith unto Zion, "Thy God reigneth;" and if it has certain peculiar requirements, ceremonies, and forms of recognition, these can certainly be pardoned in view of what it has wrought for our race.

At the eastern end of the Mediterranean there lies a region scarcely equal in area to one of our smaller States; a region chiefly of rock, mountain and desert, though fertile in spots, even to the vine and olive, and all ever wondrously fertile in wars and religions, battle-fields and temples. More than Egypt or Persia, — more than Greece or Italy, — it has filled History. Its chief city, with little advantage of situation and culture, has, more than Athens or Rome, left its imprint on the ages. Here was built a temple, a palace to the unknown God. Here wrought workmen with the best training and skill of Egypt and Persia, under leadership inspired. Their product, after leaving the quarries, needed no further finish. Its accu-^ racy and beauty were the marvel of both the Pagan and Christian world, then and now. They wrought in marble so clear and white that in sheets it served them for windows. They used cement proving to-day to be firmer and harder than the stone it binds. These men had a right to found a Craft; and if, while chronicling the mystic orders of ancient Paganism, and the social bands that represented the best side of Islamism, the cold criticism of secular history questions the origin, it cannot deny beauty to the legend, that links Freemasonry with the glory and splendor of the temple at Jerusalem, a glory and splendor now and ever to be as living, notwithstanding captures and destructions, as when operative masonry there completed its work. It is one of the fixed laws of nature that all successful growth proceeds from a minute beginning. Causation and consequence are universal. Darwin and Herbert Spencer could have chosen no more fitting illustration of their doctrine of evolution than the origin and career of our Society. Here is certainly the "Drawing of one thing out of another," a continuous "Descent with modifications," lasting through centuries. Beginning with two degrees of simple aim and method, — in due time adding another, afterwards still others, and finally many others, with higher aims and grander methods, — growing with the growth, strengthening with the strength of human intelligence, till it stands before the world one grand harmonious, symmetrical structure. At first assembling in deep vales or on high hills, afterwards in places of greater convenience and safety. Now always in comfortable halls, and often in palatial temples that are rivalled only by the great churches and cathedrals. At first sharing a frugal meal under a lowly roof with a known Brother, afterwards giving liberally in full fraternal sympathy to a tried Craftsman. Now dispensing to worthy Brothers, their widows and orphans, the income of millions invested in great libraries, colleges and homes. At first admitting only those of kindred hand, now welcoming all of kindred heart.

On the continent of Europe, Masonry seems to have flourished in Germany from very early times. The builders' corporations were largely composed of, and controlled by operative masons, and the transition in the eighteenth century to speculative Masonry, as now known, was easy and effectual. Frederick the Great became a Mason in 1738, and immediately thereafter ascended the throne of Prussia, and became an active patron of the Craft. A century later the then Crown Prince, the late Emperor William III., assumed a like position, and the Society has prospered socially and morally in every part of the nation. In France the Society has existed with varying success, and under different forms, but with most brilliant results, under the first Napoleon, whose brother was a Grand Master. In Italy the Society owes its best success to Garibaldi.

But it is to England and Scotland that we owe the greatest debt of gratitude. For centuries the fires of Freemasonry have never been allowed to slacken on British altars. Most worthy Nobles and Princes, men of letters and men of science, have vied with each other in guiding, improving and protecting the Craft. Men like Sir Christopher Wren, who could see the beauty in architecture, could see the beauty in humanity; and the monuments of such men could be seen around them during life as well as after burial. The British mind first grasped the full meaning of the word "Fraternity." Hence to every portion of the English-speaking world have been carried the best spirit and form of Masonry.

MASONRY IN AMERICA

Masonry appears to have left its first trace in America, near Annapolis, Nova Scotia, in 1606, the same year that the gallant Smith planted the Saxon race in Virginia, and fourteen years before the Puritan made of Plymouth Rock his stepping-stone to empire. In 1733 and 1735, Lodges were established under English jurisdiction in Massachusetts and in Georgia, and soon after, in 1750, Lodges were similarly established in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas. Masonry kept abreast of emigration and settlement. The first commission to a Provincial Grand Master seems to have been issued by the Grand Master of England to Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, in June, 1730, giving him authority over New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. No evidence, however, is found of action under this authority. The commission issued from the same source in April, 1733, to Henry Price, of Boston, giving him authority over New England and its dominions, which authority was afterwards extended over all America, and recognized by Benjamin Franklin, as Grand Master of Pennsylvania, is entitled to the credit of being the first high Masonic authority in this country. The Body over which Price presided was known as St. John's Grand Lodge.

In 1769, a commission was issued from the Grand Master of Scotland, appointing a Grand Master of Masons in Boston, New England, and within one hundred miles of the same. In 1772 this authority was extended over the continent of America. The appointee under this commission was Joseph Warren, the Body over which he presided was known as the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, and one of its officers was Paul Revere — Joseph Warren and Paul Revere, two names destined to remain illustrious, until history forgets to record that men once had to struggle for liberty, in this country., Warren fell at Bunker Hill; the Records of his Grand Lodge, have this note: "Memo, April 19th, 1775, hostilities commenced between the troops of G. Britain and America in Lexington Battle, in consequence of which the town was blockaded, no Lodge held till Dec, 1776" — a silence most eloquent.

MASONRY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

At the meeting of December, 1776, Col. Paul Revere was present as Senior Grand Warden. He seems to have been always present and active at the meetings of the Grand Lodge, especially active in urging measures looking towards a union of the two Grand Lodges. In 1792, the union took place and the new Body became "The Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons, for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." At the time of the Union the Records show that there were in existence in this Commonwealth twenty Lodges, of which the tenth in seniority was Berkshire Lodge, of Stock-bridge, chartered March 8, 1777, and the sixteenth, Friendship, of Williamstown, chartered July 23, 1785, both chartered by the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. A special meeting of the Grand Lodge was called To hear the petition of Seth Deane and others praying to have a charter, to erect and hold a Lodge in the town of Stockbridge, Berkshire County." This Lodge afterwards appears from the Records of the Grand Lodge to have reported from Great Barrington. In this Lodge some of the charter members of our Lodge may have been initiated. One of these members, Eldad Lewis, was in correspondence with the Massachusetts Grand Lodge in 1788, at that time a young-man, and he could have received his degrees nowhere else so conveniently. But the particular entry of the Grand Lodge Records before the Union, which most interests us, is the following:

Special Meeting of Massachusetts Grand Lodge.
Oct. 6, 1779.

The petition of John Peirce and others praying this Grand Lodge, would grant a charter for holding a Travelling Lodge, having nominated General John Paterson, Master, Col. Benj. Tupper, S. W., and Maj. Wm. Hull, J. W.

Voted a charter be granted them for holding regular Lodges, — make Masons, —pass and raise in this State, or in any of the United States, of America, where no other Grand Master presides, but in any other State ■ where there is a Grand Master constituted by the Brethren of the United States, they are to inform him, and receive his sanction.

This must have been the Lodge called Washington Lodge, reported in the Records, as an army or travelling Lodge.

At this point our interest increases. John Paterson, in 1774, was in Lenox, a lawyer, — thirty years of age, in successful practice, and popular; over six feet in height, a graduate of Yale College, with much military taste and some training. His ancestry were of New England's best. To say that he early espoused the patriot cause is needless. He was sent as a delegate from his town to the Stockbridge convention, where was adopted "a solemn league and covenant," one of the richest gifts of Berkshire to the war. He was also sent as a delegate to the Provincial Congress at Salem. Relieving the war inevitable, he raised and organized a regiment, —became its Colonel, and within less than a day from the time when news of Lexington and Concord reached Lenox, marched with his regiment for Cambridge. He served through the war and was in many of its most prominent battles. He was at Princeton, at Valley Forge, was made a Brigadier-General, and afterwards a Major-General; he was at Monmouth he crossed the Delaware with Washington, was ' sent to the relief of the patriot army in Canada, served on several courts-martial — notably that of Major Andre, — was in close relations to Washington, and is so represented on the historic monument erected by the State of New Jersey. The first name on the roll of the Cincinnati is Washington's, the second Paterson's. His remains rest in the churchyard and his monument stands in the public square at Lenox. There is no written record that Washington, himself a Mason, ever was present at the meetings of Paterson's Lodge, but there is a well-authenticated tradition to that effect, and to think otherwise does violence to our belief in the high-born sympathy of patriots. Serving in Paterson's regiment were two of the founders of this Lodge.

After the union, the first charter granted to a Lodge in Berkshire was issued, June 9, 1794, to Joseph Jarvis and others for a Lodge, to be known as Franklin Lodge, with authority to sit in Cheshire and Lanesborough, alternately six months in each.

In December, 1794, Paul Revere was chosen Grand Master, and although he held this high office but three years, he signed more charters for Lodges which became permanent than had any of his predecessors. At the nest quarterly Grand Lodge Meeting, in March, 1795, a petition was presented from Simon Lamed and others asking; to be erected into a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons; under the name and title of "Evening Star Lodge," to meet at Lenox, County of Berkshire. The petition was referred to a committee of which Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, was chairman, the committee reported favorably, — the report was accepted and the charter granted, and this is the origin of our Lodge. Who besides Simon. Lamed were the charter members the Grand Lodge Records fail to show, and the early Records of this Lodge are beyond recognition. It is known that William Walker was the first Master, Azariah Egleston one of the early Secretaries, and Eldad Lewis an officer. At this time Lenox was not only the County seat, but also very much the capital of the County, 'both socially and politically; the courts met there, met frequently and had long sessions, notwithstanding the authority and jurisdiction of the courts was quite uncertain.

BIOGRAPHY: SIMON LARNED

Simon Larned, though a resident of Pittsfield, was much in Lenox, he was sheriff of the County, active in many business enterprises, a corporator and a director of the Berkshire Bank, an institution quite too enterprising when, with a capital of $50,000, it loaned to a single customer $200,000, who found it inconvenient to pay. He seems to have attained many of the honors prevalent in his day, he represented his town in the General Court, was sent to jail at Lenox, for the Bank debts, afterwards to Congress for two terms, and finally was appointed a Brigadier-General in the national army.

BIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM WALKER

WilliamWalker.jpg

William Walker, of Lenox, the first Master of the Evening Star Lodge, was a flue specimen of that class of men who have made this country, ' strong and great. Beginning life a teacher, modest, intelligent, able and patriotic, he left behind .him a reputation, treasured not only by his honored descendants, but by the region where he dwelt. He was in Paterson's regiment from the first; marched at the Lexington alarm, was employed in the building of Fort No. 3, within the limits of Charlestown, the first fort built on the lines around Boston, and helped to man the fort on the day of the battle at Bunker Hill. At the expiration of his first term of service, he reenlisted, served in the Canada expedition, took part at the battle of the Cedars, was at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, was sent to Pennsylvania, crossed the Delaware with Washington and saw the surrender of Burgoyne. In the fall of 1777, he retired from the army, and was appointed to a financial position of great responsibility under the government. He was for many years, and until his death, Judge of the Probate Court for this County. He was the first and long time President of the Berkshire Bible Society. He was also the first District Deputy Grand Master of this Masonic District, and the esteem in which he was held by his Brethren is well illustrated by a letter received by him in 1803, from the Grand Master of the State, which is as follows, viz. :

Worcester, April 13, 1803.

Right Worshipful Wm. Walker, Esqr.

My Good Brother: I find my predecessor, the late Grand Master of the Fraternity in this Commonwealth, appointed you District Deputy Grand Master in the County of Berkshire.

I have not the happiness of a personal acquaintance with you, but have often heard of the very respectable character you bear, and the esteem in which you are held by the Brethren of our Order. It will, therefore, give me great pleasure to re-appoint you to the dignified office you have so lately held, if agreeable to you to accept it, and I am confident it will give much satisfaction to the Brethren in your District.

Be so obliging as to favor me with a letter on the reception of this. I beg you will not refuse it, if you can by any means serve.
I am with esteem and Masonic affection,
your Brother and friend,
Isaiah Thomas.

BIOGRAPHY: AZARIAH EGLESTON

Azariah Egleston was also a soldier of the Revolution — served in all the battles in which Paterson's regiment was engaged, crossed the Delaware on that dreadful Christmas night, and upon the promotion of Paterson to a Generalship became his Aide and a Colonel. At the close of the war he returned to Lenox, engaged in active business, and for years was the foremost and most enterprising citizen of the town.

BIOGRAPHY: ELDAD LEWIS

Eldad Lewis was a graduate of Yale, of scholarly attainments, and an eminent physician. His Addresses delivered before Masonic Bodies, notably his elaborate poem delivered before this Lodge, June 24, 1814, attest, his admiration of our Order.

BIOGRAPHY: CALEB HYDE, JOSEPH TUCKER

Caleb Hyde, of Lenox, another prominent Mason, may have been a charter member, but we are unable to determine, and so also Joseph Tucker, who was born in Stockbridge in 1772, and was employed in the store of his cousin, Azariah Egleston, prior to 1795. "Squire" Tucker was a member of the Berkshire Bar. He was a man widely known, intelligent, active, and of the highest character for fidelity and integrity. In 1801 he was elected Registrar of Deeds for the Middle District of this County^ and held the office until his death in 1847. In 1813 he was also elected Treasurer of the County, which office he also held until his death, and this office has been held by his descendants continuously since. Brothers Hyde and Tucker also both held the office of District Deputy, and represented the Grand Lodge not only generally, but on special occasions, like the institution of Lodges. Wisdom Lodge, at West Stockbridge, was instituted March 14, 1803, Caleb Hyde representing the Grand Master, and the places of the other Grand Officers were mostly filled by members of Evening Star Lodge. May 27, 1804, a Lodge was instituted at Sheffield, — the record of the proceedings there, characteristic of the man who made it, is this:

SHEFFIELD LODGE

Assembled at the house of Brother Aaron Kellogg to constitute Sheffield Lodge, by direction of the Most Worshipful Isaiah Thomas, Grand Master.

PRESENT:

  • R. W. Caleb Hyde, D .D. G. M. in the chair.
  • R. W. Walter Deane , Deputy G.M. pro tem.
  • R. W. Daniel Chappell, S. G. W.
  • R. W. Oliver Belden, Jr., J. G. W.
  • R. W. Elisha Northrup, G. Tr.
  • R. W. Joseph Tucker, G. Sec'y
  • R. W. Samuel Barstow, S. G. Dea.
  • R. W. Asa Hiller, Jr.. J. G. Dea.
  • R. W. Ephraim A. Judson , 1st Gd. Steward.
  • R. W. Samuel Rossiter, 2d Gd. Steward.
  • R. W. Andrew Robinson, Gd. Tyler.

The Brethren of Sheffield Lodge being assembled at the place aforesaid, after the usual ceremonies, formed a procession and moved to the meeting-house, preceded by a band of music. The exercises were publicly performed. A sermon well adapted to the occasion was preached by the Rev. Ephraim Judson, there was occasional solemn and cheerful music during the performance, both vocal and instrumental, consecration took place in Masonic order and regular installation of the officers of Sheffield Lodge. They returned in Masonic arrangement and partook of a generous entertainment at the expense of Sheffield Lodge. The Grand Lodge then retired and closed in due form.

Pleasure and innocence closed the day.

Attest: Joseph Tucker,
Gr. Sec. pro tem.

FESTIVALS

It is proper to note that the office of District Deputy was held in the olden time by many other prominent Berkshire men, such as Gen. John Whiting, of Great Barrington, Judge Daniel N. Dewey, of Williamstown, and Edward F. Ensign, of Sheffield. During the early part of the century the annual festivals of St. John the Baptist were celebrated quite frequently, some one of the Lodges of the county, or one of the Lodges in the towns on the New York border, entertaining their Brethren nearly every year. This Lodge held such a celebration in 1801, as appears by a notice issued from the Lodge signed by Azariah Egleston, Secretary; Cincinnatus and Franklin Lodges being specially invited and all other Brethren generally. In 1814 there was another celebration at which Dr. Lewis delivered his address, before alluded to, and in 1819 there was another celebration.

In 1825 occurred the last St. John's day celebration by Evening Star Lodge in Lenox, of which we have found any notice, when a sermon was delivered in the Congregational Meeting House, before the members of Evening Star Lodge, and several other associated Lodges, by Rev. Aaron Humphrey, Rector of St. Luke's Church, Lanesborough, and Trinity Church, Lenox.

ANTIMASONRY

In 1825 Masonry was at its greatest apparent prosperity, the last war had been almost forgotten, an era of good feeling prevailed, the country was prospering through emigration. European conditions were watched with curiosity, more than anxiety. The visit of Lafayette to this country had added popularity to the Society, — many Lodges had been organized, and a great many new members were admitted. In September, 1826, however, an event occurred, which for the next twenty years, not only stifled all prosperity, but nearly terminated the life of the Society in this country. William Morgan, of Bata-via, New York, had announced that he was about to publish a book divulging Masonic secrets. Certain indiscreet members of the Order, with a zeal that had little acquaintance with the knowledge or spirit of Masonry, took upon themselves the task of, in some way, preventing the publication. They were charged with committing -a heinous crime. The charges may not have been fully proven, but the public believed them and many Masons believed them, and the effect on the Society was the same as if fully proven. Brethren withdrew from Lodges; Lodges were given up, charters surrendered, and Masonry most decidedly was under a cloud. Anti-Masonic newspapers were established, over two hundred of them in the country, one of them called the Berkshire Herald being started in Lenox. Certain shrewd and able politicians, who had been for some time looking around for an issue, — who had in fact become hungry for an issue with which to arouse the people, — seized the opportunity. Thurlow Weed, a man of great ability, was indefatigable in his efforts to discredit Masonry. When confronted with positive evidence that a body found in Niagara river was not Morgan's, Weed declared that "It was a good enough Morgan .until after election," an expression that became a permanent phrase in the language of the country, while Weed became a permanent power in the management of political parties.

In vain was the influence of men like De Witt Clinton, then Governor, of New York, Lewis Cass in Michigan, James Buchanan in Pennsylvania, General Jackson in Tennessee, Henry Clay in Kentucky, and Rev. Samuel Osgood, of Springfield, in this State, who was then, an officer in our Grand Lodge. It was charged that Masons sought to introduce royalty in the country; that there were in their Orders officers denominated Kings, Priests, and Scribes; some so-called. divines charged that Masonry denied the Mosaic account of creation, and taught that the world was. in reality more than 6,000 years old. This was accounted positive and dangerous infidelity. But what would those divines have thought of the statement of Dr. McCosh that the age of the world is certainly more than 200,000,000 years. The issue was up, and it was kept up by the party styling itself anti-Masonic, with such excess of zeal, however, that there soon arose a counteracting party whose members were called "Jack Masons." The contest between these two parties was viewed with equanimity by the Fraternity. It was well that the end should come. It may have been hastened in this way.

Thoughtful Brethren believed, (and it was true), that there had been many serious mistakes in the conduct of Masons towards their fellows who were not Masons, and they did not. hesitate to condemn such .conduct, but they still believed that such a noble society, with noble aims, should continue,, and it has continued. The angel of Masonry, like the fabled Goddess of Fortune, when she came to earth, had folded her wings in token that she came to stay.

In 1822 Mr. Jared Bradley of Lee, the father of our present Master, became a member of this Lodge, and in 1826 he became its Master, and so continued for nearly thirty years, and to his Masonic loyalty is due the fact that for the round century Evening Star Lodge, with a single exception, at the time of the fire, never missed a regularly appointed Communication. Under his supervision its place of meeting and property were removed from its rooms in the Coffee House at Lenox, first to the house of Brother Northrup, thence to the house of Brother Enos Smith, on the northern border of Stockbridge, and finally to the Master's own house in Lee, where for more than twenty years meetings were regularly held, though not much work was done. Here gathered a faithful few — men like Eli Bradley, a cousin of the Master, Lemuel Bassett, David and John Baker, Elisha Freeman, Augustus Hurlbert, David Thompson, Caleb Belden, Geo. H. Phelps, James Landers, and James and Lyman Whiton. Edwin Sturgis, who had taken the degrees in Connecticut, joined them here. These were a band of Brothers most surely, every one of them a full man in belief and purpose, all men of influence in their community.- Of that faithful band, all save one has passed to the other side. Our Brother, the venerable Edwin Sturgis, for sixty-seven years a Mason, for many years an officer in this Lodge, and many years an honored and trusted officer in this town, is the only one with us to-day, and may his pride and joy in this day be as great as is ours in his presence, thus linking us through days of darkness to grand beginnings.

RETURN OF THE CHARTER

Prior to 1848 Masonic prospects in the country had very much brightened, and on September 13 of that year Lemuel Bassett, Richard Hunt, Elisha Freeman, Seth Barlow, David Baker, Elijah Thomas, Geo. H. Phelps, James Landers, Eli Bradley and Jared Bradley, in behalf of Evening Star Lodge in Lenox, petitioned the Grand Lodge for a return of' the charter of said Lodge, and for leave to remove their Lodge to Lee, and on June 13, 1849, the petition was granted. The return of the charter was purely technical, as it had never been out of the custody of the proper officers of the Lodge. The removal to Lee thus formally took place, but it was not until 1852 that the Lodge established itself in permanent quarters. On February 26, of that year, Lodge rooms in the Church & Sedgwick block, which stood on a portion of the site of the present Northrup block, were formally dedicated. At that time an Address was delivered in the Methodist Episcopal Church by Rev. J. Z. Nichols. From 1852 onward, the Lodge apparently prospered until, on the 23d of January, 1857, the most disastrous fire occurred which Lee has ever known, destroying the Church & Sedgwick block, as well as many other business blocks, and the church and, chapel standing where this edifice now stands. All the property of the Lodge was burned, including its charter and records. That charter issued over the signature of one of our nation's heroes! Those records made by men some of whom had been companions of Washington and Lafayette!

Immediately after the fire the proper petition, signed by Caleb Belden, Jared Bradley, John T. Fenn, Geo. Bradley, Richard Evans, Joseph B. Whiting, C. C. Holcombe, Geo. H. Phelps, Samuel S. Rogers, Edward S. May, Caleb Benton, and James H. Collin, was made to the Grand Lodge, asking that a duplicate of their charter be furnished Evening Star Lodge. The petition was at once granted and a charter issued.

The Lodge occupied rooms temporarily in Wallace's hotel, which then stood where Memorial Hall now stands; afterwards, when the present Northrup block was completed, occupying, in connection with and by the courtesy of the Odd Fellows, the present Lodge rooms, and finally coming to a full occupancy on the surrender of their rights by the Odd Fellows. Since 1857 the Lodge has been prosperous, and this day closes a century of its existence, — and what a century! Since 1795, what problems have been wrought out! What rights secured to men! What charities and philanthropies created! What material resources developed! What opinions modified! yes, — and what duties yet remain, to a world living, not under the darkness of Paganism, or the dimness of Judaism, but under the brightness of resplendent Christianity! Shall-not the world be urged onward and upward till every race has read the story of the Cross, in a literature its own? And may this society do its part. Do clouds of trouble arise, — may it strive to line those clouds with silver, — make life a poem rather than a contest,— its highest enjoyment to go about doing good.

OTHER

  • 1813 (Granting of petition to work under the "old charter")
  • 1820 (Note on delinquency; III-283)
  • 1821 (Note on delinquency; III-341)
  • 1822 (Note on delinquency; III-428)
  • 1824 (Note on delinquency; III-525)
  • 1825 (Exoneration from charges for the year; III-560)
  • 1828 (Note on delinquency; IV-146)
  • 1829 (Note on delinquency; IV-170)
  • 1857 (Petition for a replacement charter destroyed by fire; VI-95)
  • 1896 (Participation in the centennial celebration of Cincinnatus Lodge; 1896-196)


GRAND LODGE OFFICERS


DISTRICTS

1803: District 8 (Berkshires)

1821: District 8

1835: District 9

1849: District 9

1867: District 9 (Pittsfield)

1883: District 15 (Pittsfield)

1911: District 16 (Pittsfield)

1927: District 16 (Pittsfield)

2003: District 31


LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges