Difference between revisions of "MassachusettsYear1857"

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(FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST)
(Grand Master's Address)
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* 03/11: VI-100; Review of the Grand Master's address in December 1856.
 
* 03/11: VI-100; Review of the Grand Master's address in December 1856.
 
 
* 12/28: VI-159; Address by Grand Master [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=GMHeard Heard], regarding several matters; referred to committee.
 
* 12/28: VI-159; Address by Grand Master [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=GMHeard Heard], regarding several matters; referred to committee.
 +
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===== Communication From the Grand Master, July 1857 =====
 +
 +
''From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XVI, No. 10, August 1857, Page 306:''
 +
 +
''OFFICE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN MASSACHUSETTS.''' ''Boston, July 10, 1857.''
 +
 +
''To the Worshipful Master of _____ Lodge:''
 +
 +
You are requested to cause this paper to be read in your Lodge at its first meeting after you receive it; and it is hoped that the subjects it contains will have that attention from you and from your Lodge which their importance demands.
 +
 +
# — A printed circular, signed by J. F. Brennan, Louisville, Kentucky, having been addressed to Secretaries of Lodges in this Masonic jurisdiction, requesting information which ought not to be communicated except by the permission of the Grand Master, renders it necessary that instructions should be given to the Secretary of your Lodge, which will prevent compliance with the terms of said circular. The means thus employed to obtain a knowledge of important facts relating to affairs within this jurisdiction, are disrespectful to the Fraternity of Massachusetts, and deserve the severest condemnation.
 +
# — Members of Lodges should be cautioned against traveling traders, or pedlars, who seek to promote their private pursuits and speculations through a perversion of Masonic relations. This mode of advancing the selfish purposes of individuals, does much to bring our institution into disrepute. The less experienced and younger Brethren are peculiarly exposed to the designs of these unworthy men. Books professedly Masonic, but of dangerous tendency, jewelry with improper devices, arid regalia, tawdry and inconsistent with our regulations, compose the stock in trade of these unscrupulous traffickers.
 +
# — There is reason to believe that dissolute men, claiming to be Masons, journey about from town to town, soliciting charity and other aid from Lodges and the Brethren, who are so far successful as to be sustained in the practice. This species of vagrancy should be discouraged; to give such persons, supports the idle and vicious at the expense of the meritorious unfortunate. It is recommended that all cases of relief to travelers who profess to be Masons, should be reported to the Recording Grand Secretary, whether the contributions therefor be made by Lodges or by individual Brethren; and the utmost vigilance should be exercised to prevent impositions upon the sympathies and benevolence of the brotherhood. In this connection it may be useful to state, that colored persons, who have visited different portions of the State asking assistance as Masons, are not entitled to that consideration. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts recognize no body purporting to be a "colored" Lodge, or "colored" subordinate Lodge, and it is believed that no regular Lodge in this country admits colored men into the Order; hence, relief afforded to such persons must be on the ground of common humanity, and not because they belong to our institution.
 +
# — It is desirable that the annual election of officers in all the Lodges, should precede the Festival of St. John the Evangelist (27th December), sufficiently early to allow their being installed on or before that day, in order that the Recording Grand Secretary may be enabled to obtain the organization of every Lodge at the commencement of the Masonic year. As soon after the election as possible, the R. G. S. should be provided with an accurate list of all officers chosen and appointed. And whenever a change of incumbent of any office takes place, information of the fact should at once be conveyed to the office of the Grand Lodge.
 +
# — The "proficiency" of candidates demands the serious consideration of every Lodge. The nominal proficiency now demanded is unjust to the candidate? and unworthy the high character of Masonry in Massachusetts. At least, such proficiency should be required at every stage of advancement as will qualify the candidate to pass creditably the examination he must undergo as a visitor to a Lodge where he is unknown. This qualification should be exhibited in open Lodge, before advancement be allowed.
 +
# — The privilege of conferring the degrees by Dispensation ought most rarely to be exercised. It is equal to the power of making Masons "at sight," which can be done only with great danger to the institution. The suspension of the probationary terms required by the Constitutions, it is hoped, will seldom be asked for by Masters of Lodges; and the Grand Master takes this opportunity to express his thanks to them for the support they have given to him in his efforts to curtail the exercise of this power.
 +
# — Each Lodge will hereafter state in its annual returns what degrees have been conferred by Dispensation, and the names of the Brethren who received such degrees.
 +
# —The attention of the Lodge is specially invited to the following important regulations of the Grand Lodge :—
 +
* ''"And no candidate shall be balloted for who has not been proposed at a stated monthly meeting, and who shall not have stood so proposed from one regular monthly meeting to another, without a Dispensation therefor ; nor shall a candidate, in any event, be balloted for, into whose moral character a strict inquiry has not been made, and whose name has not been borne on the notifications for the meeting at which he is to be balloted for. — Constitutions G. Lodge, Art. 3, Sec. 1.''''
 +
* ''"Ordered, That from and after the passage of this Order, it shall not be regular to give more than one degree to the same individual on the same day, nor at a less interval than one month from his receiving a previous degree, unless a Dispensation shall have been obtained therefor. — Constitutions Grand Lodge, page 3."''
 +
* ''"All applications for initiation shall be made to the Lodge in the town where the petitioner resides, if there be a Lodge in such town; but if there be none, then he shall apply to the Lodge nearest his residence. And no person residing in a town where there is a Lodge, shall be initiated in any other town, without the written consent and approbation of the Master and Wardens of that Lodge. Nor shall any candidate be received from any other State, (he being a resident thereof,) where a regular Lodge is established, without the written permission of the Grand Master of such State. — Constitutions G. Lodge, Art. 3, Sec. 5."''
 +
 +
''[http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=GMHeard John T. Heard], Grand Master.''
  
 
==== Lodge By-Law Changes ====
 
==== Lodge By-Law Changes ====

Revision as of 12:15, 1 August 2013

1857

JOHN T. HEARD, Grand Master

William Flint, Deputy Grand Master
Bradford L. Wales, Senior Grand Warden
John H. Sheppard, Junior Grand Warden


NOTES

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS

Held at Masonic Temple, Boston

  • 03/11: VI-93;
  • 06/10: VI-111;
  • 09/09: VI-120;
  • 12/09: VI-137; (Annual Communication)

03/11 Agenda

  • VI-95: Petition from Evening Star Lodge, Lee, asking for assistance and a replacement charter, lost due to fire.
  • VI-98: Report of Charity Committee.
  • VI-99: Communication from a committee of the Bunker Hill Monument Association; Grand Lodge invited to inaugurate a statue of General Joseph Warren.
  • VI-100: Report of committee on the printing of diplomas.
  • VI-103: Report of the Trustees of the Grand Charity Fund.
  • VI-107: Committee appointed to procure a new banner for the Grand Lodge.
  • VI-108: Committee appointed to review By-Laws of subordinate lodges.
  • VI-108: Committee appointed to procure regalia for the District Deputy Grand Masters.
    • 06/11: VI-113; Grand Lecturers to be furnished with regalia as well.

06/10 Agenda

  • VI-112: Report of committee on obtaining better accomodations; current building unsatisfactory, and unsuitable to be modified. Recommended that the Trustees take charge of this.
  • VI-114: Report of Charity Committee.
  • VI-115: Resolution for the Trustees of the Temple to be directed to sell the Masonic Temple; motion tabled.
  • VI-116: Invitation to attend St. John's Day in Nashua, N.H., and in Providence, R.I.
  • VI-116: Report of Seal Committee.
  • VI-118: Report of Committee on By-Laws.

09/10 Agenda

  • VI-123: Petition by Cincinnatus Lodge to remove from Sheffield to Great Barrington; granted.
  • VI-124: Correspondence with Bunker Hill Monument committee regarding expenses.
    • 09/23: VI-133; Grand Lodge (reluctantly) grants $100 to the committee.
  • VI-128 (09/10), VI-135 (09/23): Report of Charity Committee.
  • VI-129: Committee to consider an Act of Incorporation.
    • 12/09: VI-141; Committee instructed to draw up an Act of Incorporation under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
    • 12/28: VI-154; Report of committee, tabled.

Adjourned to 09/23.

  • VI-134: Trustees authorized to sell the Masonic Temple.

12/10 Agenda

  • VI-142: Jeremiah Stone readmitted to Masonry, with the concurrence of King Hiram's Lodge.
  • VI-143: Report of Trustees of the Grand Charity Fund.
  • VI-145: Report of Trustees of the Temple.
  • VI-146: Report of Charity Committee.
  • VI-147: Report of the Committee of Finance.
  • VI-148: Committee appointed to secure land for the building of a new Masonic Temple.
  • VI-152: Committee on arrangements appointed.
  • VI-150: Petition by Mount Hope Lodge for remission of dues; referred.
  • VI-150: Re-election of Grand Master Heard elected (102 ballots) and other Grand Lodge officers elected.

Grand Constitutions Amendment Proposals

  • 12/09: VI-151; Amendment to Grand Constitutions for a reduction in Grand Lodge Fees; referred to committee.
  • 12/09: VI-152: Amendment regarding the requirements for certain Grand Lodge offices; referred to committee.

Grand Master's Address

  • 03/11: VI-100; Review of the Grand Master's address in December 1856.
  • 12/28: VI-159; Address by Grand Master Heard, regarding several matters; referred to committee.
Communication From the Grand Master, July 1857

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XVI, No. 10, August 1857, Page 306:

OFFICE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN MASSACHUSETTS.' Boston, July 10, 1857.

To the Worshipful Master of _____ Lodge:

You are requested to cause this paper to be read in your Lodge at its first meeting after you receive it; and it is hoped that the subjects it contains will have that attention from you and from your Lodge which their importance demands.

  1. — A printed circular, signed by J. F. Brennan, Louisville, Kentucky, having been addressed to Secretaries of Lodges in this Masonic jurisdiction, requesting information which ought not to be communicated except by the permission of the Grand Master, renders it necessary that instructions should be given to the Secretary of your Lodge, which will prevent compliance with the terms of said circular. The means thus employed to obtain a knowledge of important facts relating to affairs within this jurisdiction, are disrespectful to the Fraternity of Massachusetts, and deserve the severest condemnation.
  2. — Members of Lodges should be cautioned against traveling traders, or pedlars, who seek to promote their private pursuits and speculations through a perversion of Masonic relations. This mode of advancing the selfish purposes of individuals, does much to bring our institution into disrepute. The less experienced and younger Brethren are peculiarly exposed to the designs of these unworthy men. Books professedly Masonic, but of dangerous tendency, jewelry with improper devices, arid regalia, tawdry and inconsistent with our regulations, compose the stock in trade of these unscrupulous traffickers.
  3. — There is reason to believe that dissolute men, claiming to be Masons, journey about from town to town, soliciting charity and other aid from Lodges and the Brethren, who are so far successful as to be sustained in the practice. This species of vagrancy should be discouraged; to give such persons, supports the idle and vicious at the expense of the meritorious unfortunate. It is recommended that all cases of relief to travelers who profess to be Masons, should be reported to the Recording Grand Secretary, whether the contributions therefor be made by Lodges or by individual Brethren; and the utmost vigilance should be exercised to prevent impositions upon the sympathies and benevolence of the brotherhood. In this connection it may be useful to state, that colored persons, who have visited different portions of the State asking assistance as Masons, are not entitled to that consideration. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts recognize no body purporting to be a "colored" Lodge, or "colored" subordinate Lodge, and it is believed that no regular Lodge in this country admits colored men into the Order; hence, relief afforded to such persons must be on the ground of common humanity, and not because they belong to our institution.
  4. — It is desirable that the annual election of officers in all the Lodges, should precede the Festival of St. John the Evangelist (27th December), sufficiently early to allow their being installed on or before that day, in order that the Recording Grand Secretary may be enabled to obtain the organization of every Lodge at the commencement of the Masonic year. As soon after the election as possible, the R. G. S. should be provided with an accurate list of all officers chosen and appointed. And whenever a change of incumbent of any office takes place, information of the fact should at once be conveyed to the office of the Grand Lodge.
  5. — The "proficiency" of candidates demands the serious consideration of every Lodge. The nominal proficiency now demanded is unjust to the candidate? and unworthy the high character of Masonry in Massachusetts. At least, such proficiency should be required at every stage of advancement as will qualify the candidate to pass creditably the examination he must undergo as a visitor to a Lodge where he is unknown. This qualification should be exhibited in open Lodge, before advancement be allowed.
  6. — The privilege of conferring the degrees by Dispensation ought most rarely to be exercised. It is equal to the power of making Masons "at sight," which can be done only with great danger to the institution. The suspension of the probationary terms required by the Constitutions, it is hoped, will seldom be asked for by Masters of Lodges; and the Grand Master takes this opportunity to express his thanks to them for the support they have given to him in his efforts to curtail the exercise of this power.
  7. — Each Lodge will hereafter state in its annual returns what degrees have been conferred by Dispensation, and the names of the Brethren who received such degrees.
  8. —The attention of the Lodge is specially invited to the following important regulations of the Grand Lodge :—
  • "And no candidate shall be balloted for who has not been proposed at a stated monthly meeting, and who shall not have stood so proposed from one regular monthly meeting to another, without a Dispensation therefor ; nor shall a candidate, in any event, be balloted for, into whose moral character a strict inquiry has not been made, and whose name has not been borne on the notifications for the meeting at which he is to be balloted for. — Constitutions G. Lodge, Art. 3, Sec. 1.''
  • "Ordered, That from and after the passage of this Order, it shall not be regular to give more than one degree to the same individual on the same day, nor at a less interval than one month from his receiving a previous degree, unless a Dispensation shall have been obtained therefor. — Constitutions Grand Lodge, page 3."
  • "All applications for initiation shall be made to the Lodge in the town where the petitioner resides, if there be a Lodge in such town; but if there be none, then he shall apply to the Lodge nearest his residence. And no person residing in a town where there is a Lodge, shall be initiated in any other town, without the written consent and approbation of the Master and Wardens of that Lodge. Nor shall any candidate be received from any other State, (he being a resident thereof,) where a regular Lodge is established, without the written permission of the Grand Master of such State. — Constitutions G. Lodge, Art. 3, Sec. 5."

John T. Heard, Grand Master.

Lodge By-Law Changes

Necrologies and Memorials

  • 09/09: VI-121; Death of Rt. Wor. Elias Haskell, Past Senior Grand Warden; Grand Lodge recessed to attend funeral.

Petitions for Charters

  • 12/09: VI-140; Petition by Morning Star Lodge, Worcester, to have their charter dated to the original one; granted.

Petitions for Dispensation for Lodges

  • Eureka, New Bedford (05/08; mentioned in Grand Master's Address, Page VI-159.)
  • Mount Vernon, Malden (08/27; mentioned in Grand Master's Address, Page VI-160.)
  • John Abbot, Somerville (10/21; mentioned in Grand Master's Address, Page VI-160.)
  • Berkshire, Adams South Village (11/14; mentioned in Grand Master's Address, Page VI-160.)
  • Hiram, Copiapo, Chile (12/15; mentioned in Grand Master's Address, Page VI-160.)
  • Star of the South, Concepción, Chile, returned (mentioned in Grand Master's Address, Page VI-160; "some of the petitioners preferring to connect themselves with existing Lodges rather than to establish a new one.")

Petitions for Restoration of Charter

None.

SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS

None.

FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

(held at Masonic Temple, Boston, 12/28/1857)

EarlOfZetland.jpg
The Earl of Zetland, Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England
From the collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts

  • VI-154: Lodge of Instruction.
  • VI-154: Invitation to dedicate the hall of Mount Zion Lodge in Barre; accepted.
  • VI-156: Petition by members of the late Bethel Lodge, referred.
  • VI-157: Installation of Grand Master Heard and other Grand Lodge officers.
  • VI-158: Grand Master's Address, beginning on Page VI-158.
  • VI-161: Correspondence with the Grand Master of England, the Earl of Zetland.

LIST OF LODGES BY DISTRICT: 1857

There were 11 Districts in 1857, plus special areas for Nantucket, Provincetown and Valparaiso, Chile.

This district layout is based on the O.P. edition of the Proceedings. However, this publication is riddled with errors and omits several lodges known to have existed in 1857; accordingly they have been conjecturally assigned to districts.
Note that District Grand Lecturers were appointed, as per the vote in Grand Lodge; the District Deputy Grand Masters were appointed, except for District 1 (Wor. William C. Martin).

DISTRICT 1

William T. Coolidge, Newton, District Deputy Grand Master; 12 Lodges + 2 U.D.

DISTRICT 2

Isaac P. Seavey, Newburyport, District Deputy Grand Master; 11 Lodges

DISTRICT 3

William North, Lowell, District Deputy Grand Master; 7 Lodges

DISTRICT 4

Levi Rawson, Farnumsville, District Deputy Grand Master; 7 Lodges

DISTRICT 5

Lucien B. Keith, Hingham, District Deputy Grand Master; 8 Lodges

DISTRICT 6

Henry Earle, Worcester, District Deputy Grand Master; 7 Lodges

DISTRICT 7

George H. Taber, Fairhaven, District Deputy Grand Master; 6 Lodges + 1 U.D.

DISTRICT 8

Sylvanus Baxter, Provincetown, District Deputy Grand Master; 7 Lodges

DISTRICT 9

Daniel Reynolds, Springfield, District Deputy Grand Master; 8 Lodges + 1 U.D.

DISTRICT 10

W.B.C. Pearsons, Holyoke, District Deputy Grand Master; 12 Lodges + 2 U.D.

DISTRICT 11

Charles B. Rogers, Charlestown, District Deputy Grand Master; 11 Lodges + 2 U.D.

NANTUCKET

Benjamin Brown, Nantucket, Special Deputy for Nantucket; 1 Lodge

PROVINCETOWN

J.P. Johnson, Provincetown, Special Deputy for Provincetown; 1 Lodge

VALPARAISO

C.T. Ward, Special Deputy for Valparaiso; 12 Lodges + 1 U.D.

  • Bethesda (Valparaiso, Chile, 1854)
  • Hiram (Copiapo, Chile, U.D.)



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