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URQUHART, DAVID 1846-1919

District Grand Master (Chile), 1915-1919

BIOGRAPHY

From New England Craftsman, Vol. IV, No. 9, June 1909, Page 341:

No doubt the brethren of Massachusetts will be glad to be made acquainted with an officer of the Grand Lodge whose service is performed at a long distance from Boston; and whose face has never been seen by the members of the Grand Lodge at any communication in Masonic Temple.

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has no less than six lodges located in foreign countries, three of them are in South America in what is called the Chile District. These lodges are assigned to the care of Right Worshipful David Urquhart of Valparaiso. By courtesy of Wor. Brother Waller Scott Shrigley, who resided many years in Chile, we have the privilege of showing the likeness of Rt. Wor. Brother Urquhart.

The lodges under the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in Chile have existed since 1853 when Bethesda Lodge of Valparaiso was constituted. Huelen of Santiago dates from 1876 and St. John's of Concepción from 1884. There was another, Aconcagua, Valparaiso in 1869 which surrendered its charter in 1900. These lodges were established for the convenience of English speaking residents, many of whom may be found in South American cities.

In 1871 a communication was received from the Grand Lodge of Chile protesting against the establishment of Aconcagua Lodge of Valparaiso, which had been working by authority of a Dispensation since October 1869. The Grand Lodge of Chile was organized about nine years after Bethesda Lodge was constituted, by authority of the Scottish Rite. This body was granted a qualified recognition by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and mutual interchange of fraternal courtesies authorized with the new Grand Lodge as the head of a co-ordinate, independent Masonic power of the Scottish Rite. It did not however intend to surrender any of its rights in the jurisdiction to the new body. This action of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was directed by the advice of Right Worshipful George H. Kendall who was then District Deputy Grand Master for the Chile District.

This incident discloses the importance of the Grand Lodge representatives in a distant field of duty. The Grand Lodge may safely confide in the judgment of its present Chile deputy to furnish sound advice in any emergency that may in the future arise in the district under his charge.

MEMORIAL

From Proceedings, Page 1919-228:

R.W. DAVID URQUHART of Valparaiso, Chile, District Grand Master for the Masonic District of Chile under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, A.F and A.M., died at Valparaiso, Chile, August 25, 1919. It is with much sorrow that I make this announcement. R.W. Brother David Urquhart was not only a giant in physical stature, but no less great in the stature of his life which was one constant expression of Masonic principles. His public work as Director of the Fiscal Mole in Valparaiso was exacting and important, but he found time to answer every call of distress, public or private. He is pointed to as a "splendid type of a true Christian gentleman. " Not Chile alone, but Europe and America recognized and paid tribute to his personal worth.

Bro. Urquhart's Commission

R.W. Brother Urquhart was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Masonic District in Chile in 1904 and was appointed District Grand Master for the Chilean Masonic District in 1915. As our representative in Chile he has been faithful in every duty; ever zealous in maintaining the dignity and high reputation of the Fraternity.

From Proceedings, Page 1919-445:

R. W. DAVID URQUHART was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, December 24, 1846. He received his early education in that city, and at the age of fourteen years, was apprenticed for five years to the Locomotive and Marine Department of the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway Company. He proved to be a good and persevering apprentice and at the conclusion of his apprenticeship he was retained in the service of that company. After the reorganization of railways in Scotland, he was transferred to Cowlairs and placed in charge of the locomotive department.

During his apprenticeship he joined the 6th Fifeshire Volunteer Artillery and became Sergeant. On his removal to Glasgow he became prominent in recruiting the Highland Regiment of that city.

In 1873 he contracted with the Chilean Government to serve in the State Railway service of Chile, and April 1st of that year he sailed from Liverpool for Valparaiso, where he arrived May 21, 1873. He continued in this service until 1883. In 1879, when the war was declared against Peru and Bolivia, he rendered valuable service to the Valparaiso forts and naval artillery. Among those services during the war may be mentioned the building of the torpedo launch La Fresia and the placing of her machinery and armament, delivering the craft in perfect running condition to the naval authorities. During the war he served on several important commissions for the Government, which gratefully honored him. On February 14, 1884, as a token of the Government's appreciation of his ability and fidelity, he was appointed Director of the Fiscal Mole. That position, conferred for his invaluable services to the Republic of Chile, he retained until his decease.

For nearly twenty-five years Bro. Urquhart was President of the Board of Directors who governed a Masonic School in Valparaiso called Blas Cuevas in honor of an illustrious Brother of Chile. In 1908, on his return from a visit to Scotland, as the steamer made fast at the Mole, the Directors of the school with teachers and scholars stepped on board, and presented him with an oil portrait of himself, in behalf of the school, as & remembrance of their friendship and esteem.

It was a permanent custom of Bro. Urquhart to observe, Christmas Eve, his birthday anniversary. One annual observance was a repetition of the others. In the forenoon of that day, December 24, it was the custom of the younger pupils of the school, from seventy-five to one hundred in number, accompanied by their teachers, to visit Bro. Urquhart at his home, where they were entertained as his guests. The children engaged in music, songs, and games and were treated to cakes, toys, sweets, and other delicacies. Before leaving they gave vigorous cheers, over and over again, for their hospitable benefactor. The next morning a half hundred of children from an orphan asylum would call to wish him a "Merry Christmas." The orphans were treated on the same liberal scale as the school children. During the day the brigade of Boy Scouts from the Blas Cuevas School called, headed by their drum and fife corps. They serenaded in front of the residence and the Captain presented Bro. Urquhart a suitable gift, with beautiful flowers. Bro. Urquhart made an address to the brigade urging the Scouts to prove worthy of the uniform they wore and of the flag they proudly carried. The drum corps would strike up "God Save the King" in honor of Bro. Urquhart, for he was to them more than a King. The exercises closed when the brigade marched by the house giving a marching salute.

Many poor, deserving people called, as was their custom, and none went away empty handed. They were given liberal allowances of tea, sugar, and groceries, exemplifying his readiness to aid the distressed and feed the poor. This exhibits but one page of his generous work.

On the 16th day of August, 1906, the city of Valparaiso was nearly destroyed by an earthquake. The mountains toppled into the sea and tenor reigned supreme. It was estimated that three thousand persons were killed, a larger number injured, and one hundred thousand left homeless. Vigorous measures were immediately taken to care for the dead, restore the injured., and shelter the homeless. Bro. Urquhart was among the foremost in rendering assistance. He gave thirty-five families shelter in the school rooms and hastily constructed tents on the play-grounds, and by the Masonic assistance of Brethren in Chile, opened a soup house, where two hundred people were supplied with food twice a day. Later, when the gift from this Grand Lodge arrived in Valparaiso, he supplied many of the poor with sewing machines, kitchen utensils, and clothing, which called forth the hearty thanks of the recipients.

The chairman of this committee can bear personal testimony to the kindness of Bro. Urquhart. When M.W. Bro. Benton was in Chile Bro. Urquhart was his aid and interpreter and devoted his entire time to his entertainment and that of his family. A committee of the Boston Board of Trade, visiting Valparaiso, also acknowledged publicly its obligation to Bro. Urquhart.

Bro. Urquhart received the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry in St. Andrew's Lodge, Glasgow, Scotland. The Master Mason's degree was conferred March 8, 1873. Twenty-three days later he sailed for Chile. He affiliated with Bethesda Lodge in Valparaiso, October 5, 1874. He was Senior Steward in 1876 and 1877, and, for thirty consecutive years thereafter was an officer of that Lodge. He was Master in 1883 and 1884; was installed as District Deputy Grand Master of the Chilean Masonic District in 1904 and District Grand Master of Chile from 1915 to 1918. As the official representative of Massachusetts Masonry in Chile, he was faithful in every duty, and. zealous in mainlaining the dignity and reputation of the Fraternity,

The Chilean News in a sketch of Bro. Urquhart said: "If our Christian faith should ever be assailed in our presence; or if we are ever told by the flippant insolence of a decadent skepticism that Christianity is a myth and the devotion to Christ crucifed. a disease, we can confound all such atheistic sophistries by pointing to that splendid type of a true Christian gentleman, David Urquhart, who, up to the verge of threescore years and ten of a truly Christian life has displayed a fulIness of vigorous and manly faith in the Nazarene."

Bro. Urquhart was an outspoken and earnest disciple of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

"At home, on the beautiful hills of God,
By the valley of rest so fair,
Some day, sometirne, when our task is done,
And silently sinks life's western sun,
With joy we' shall meet him there.' '

Respectfully submitted,
Everett C. Benton,
Albert R. Shrigley,
Oliver A. Roberts,
Committee.

Distinguished Brothers