Difference between revisions of "MassachusettsYear1868"

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1868

CHARLES C. DAME, Grand Master

Charles W. Moore, Deputy Grand Master
William F. Salmon, Senior Grand Warden
George H. Taber, Junior Grand Warden

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS

(Held at Masonic Temple, Boston)

• 03/11: VII-222;
• 06/10: VII-235;
• 09/09: VII-241;
• 12/09: VII-251; (Annual Communication)

03/11 Agenda

• VII-233: Report on communication from King Solomon's Lodge regarding jurisdiction.

06/10 Agenda

• VII-237: Invitation by Springfield Masonic bodies to the Grand Lodge for the Feast of St. John the Baptist, referred.
• VII-237: Committee appointed to consider the jurisdictional consequences of the annexation of Roxbury by Boston.
  • VII-239: Report.

09/09 Agenda

• VII-247: Report of Committee on Charity.
• VII-249; Committee appointed to prepare a statement of the Grand Lodge's present indebtedness, to be distributed to the Masters and Wardens.
• VII-249; The Grand Master announced that "brethren who had received the degrees since the last annual return was made could commute their tax to the Grand Lodge by paying nine dollars each."

12/09 Agenda

• VII-255: Report of the Grand Master for the preceding year:
  • Constitutions and Installations:
    • Paul Dean, North Easton (03/24)
    • William North, Lowell (03/26)
    • Isaac Parker, Waltham (03/27)
    • Zetland, Boston (03/31)
    • Ionic, Easthampton (09/25)
    • St. Bernard, Southborough (09/28)
    • Mizpah, Cambridge (10/05)
  • Hall Dedications, Installations:
    • Installation of Essex Lodge, Salem (01/14)
    • Installation of Social Harmony Lodge, Wareham (02/13)
    • Installation of St. John's Lodge, Newburyport (03/16)
    • Installation of Liberty Lodge, Beverly (04/01; also dedicated hall)
    • Installation of Revere Lodge, Boston (12/01)
    • Dedication of Hall at Pittsfield (12/08)
• VII-259: Petition by Lewis Hayden and others (Black Masons) asking to be received as Free and Accepted Masons; referred.
• VII-260: Report of Auditing Committee.
• VII-262: Election of William Sewall Gardner as Grand Master, and other Grand Lodge officers.

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XXVIII, No. 3, January 1869, Page 73:

The Grand Lodge of this State held its One Hundred and Thirty-Fifth Annual Communication, at the New Masonic Temple, in this city, on Wednesday, December 9, ult. The session was more numerously attended, and a larger number of Lodges were represented than on any previous occasion in its history. The only business of importance before it was the election of its officers for the ensuing year, the report of its Committee of Finance, and the reading of the Annual Address of the Grand Master. It has heretofore been usual for the latter to be delivered on the evening of the Anniversary of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, when the new officers are installed into their places and the old ones retire. Experience has shown, however, that this latter meeting has, of late years, been but thinly attended by the Lodges or brethren beyond the immediate limits and vicinity of the city. The information and recommendations of the presiding officer, laid before the Body at such times, are necessarily withheld until the proceedings of the entire year are printed and sent out to the officers of the Lodges; in whose exclusive possession they are too frequently permitted to remain, and, so far as the great mass of the brethren are concerned, might as well have never been issued. To remedy this evil, the Grand Master the present year very wisely, as we think, decided to make his official communication at the Annual Meeting, when a larger representation of all the Lodges is present than on other occasions.

The address was a spirited and well-written production, and occupied about thirty minutes in its delivery; but as we propose next mouth to lay it before our readers in full, we omit here any synopsis of it further than to say that several of the suggestions contained in it are of importance to the present interest and future welfare of the Grand Lodge. Its details show that the Grand Master has, the past year, as in the two preceding years of his administration, had an unusual share of active official duties to perform, and that he has performed them with a faithfulness honorable to himself, and in a manner, as we believe, acceptable to his brethren. Among the most unpleasant of his duties, the past year, was the necessity of issuing a mandamus directing the suspension of one of the Lodges for non-compliance with the order of the Grand Lodge imposing a capitation-tax on its members. We are happy to add, however, that, before the final service of the mandamus, the Lodge referred to receded from its recusancy, and met the requirements of the Grand Lodge; when it was permitted to continue its labors. It is to be hoped that a similar occasion may not again arise in this Commonwealth. Our Lodges and brethren have the reputation, at home and abroad, of being a law-abiding fraternity, and we trust this reputation will never be thoughtlessly impaired. The remedy for all evils that can arise in the masonic government of the jurisdiction lies in the Grand Lodge alone, and there alone it is to be sought. The will of the majority, when constitutionally expressed, is the law of Masonry, and must govern, or all law and government is at an end.

The report of the Auditing Committee showed the finances of the Grand Lodge to be in an improved and encouraging condition, and that the floating debt the past year has been largely reduced.

The election of officers was conducted with much unanimity, and resulted in the choice of William S. Gardner, Boston, Grand Master; Ithamar W. Conkey, Amherst, and I. H. Pope, Boston, Grand Wardens; John McClellan, Boston, Grand Treasurer; Solon Thornton, Boston, Grand Secretary; together with a Board of Directors, consisting of William Sutton, Salem; Sereno D. Nickerson, Percival L. Everett, and Warren Fisher, Jr., of Boston; and William P. Salmon, of Lowell. The remaining officers hold by appointment, and will be given in our next.

The Grand Master's Address, and some other matters of new business, having been referred to appropriate committees, the Grand Lodge was closed until the following morning, at nine o'clock, when it again assembled for the exemplification of the Ritual by the Grand Lecturers, namely, R. W. Brothers E. Dana Bancroft, of South Groton, L. H. Gamwell, of Pittsfield, and Ivory H. Pope, of Boston. There were present to witness this exhibition about seven hundred brethren from all parts of the Commonwealth. The entire work and lectures of the three degrees were given under the direction of the Senior Grand Lecturer, who is esteemed by his brethren to be, and unquestionably is, lake him for "all in all," the most accomplished and reliable Lecturer in the country. He was well sustained by his associates and-assistants, and the large number of brethren' present left, at the close of the day, feeling and expressing that they had received full compensation for their attendance.

Grand Constitutions Amendment Proposals:

None.

Grand Master's Address

• 12/09: VII-255; Grand Master's Address.

• 12/29: VII-269: Grand Master Gardner's Address.

Lodge By-Law Changes

None.

Necrologies and Memorials

• 12/09: VII-257; Death of Rt. Wor. Simon W. Robinson, Past Grand Master; reported by Grand Master Dame; memorial delivered by Rt. Wor. Winslow Lewis.

• 12/09: VII-258; Death of Rt. Wor. Thomas Power, Past Senior Grand Warden; reported by Grand Master Dame; memorial delivered by Rt. Wor. William S. Gardner.

Petitions for Charters

• 03/11: VII-228; Petition for Zetland U.D., Boston, granted with some revisions to by-laws.

• 03/11: VII-230; Petition for William North U.D., Lowell, granted with minor revisions to by-laws.

• 03/11: VII-231; Petition for Isaac Parker U.D., Waltham, granted.

• 03/11: VII-232; Petition for Paul Dean U.D., North Easton, granted with amended by-laws.

• 09/09: VII-247; Petition for Ionic U.D., Easthampton, granted.

• 09/09: VII-248; Petition for Mizpah U.D., Cambridge, granted.

• 09/09: VII-249; Petition for St. Bernard U.D., Southborough, granted upon amendment of by-laws.

Petitions for Dispensation for Lodges

• Dispensations (mentioned in Grand Master's Address, VII-255):
  • Delta, Weymouth (06/06)
  • Faith, Charlestown (06/10)
  • Palestine, South Malden (12/08)
  • Bethany, West Amesbury (12/08)

SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS

None.

FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

(held at Masonic Temple, Boston, 12/29/1868); VII-207.

• VII-266: Reception of M.W. Thomas Arthur Doyle, Grand Master of Rhode Island.
• VII-266: Installation of Grand Master Gardner and other Grand Lodge officers.
• VII-284: Annual Feast celebrated "after the manner of Masons."

LIST OF LODGES IN MASSACHUSETTS BY DISTRICT: 1868

There were 16 districts in Massachusetts in 1868. The district disposition is listed in the 1870 Proceedings, and this list is derived by excluding lodges chartered earlier from the district listings.

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