Difference between revisions of "MassachusettsYear1909"

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1909

DANA JUDSON FLANDERS, Grand Master

William D.T. Trefry, Deputy Grand Master
Melvin M. Johnson , Senior Grand Warden
Allen T. Treadway, Junior Grand Warden

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS

(held at Masonic Temple, Boston)

• 03/10: 1909-1;
• 06/09: 1909-52;
• 09/08: 1909-88;
• 12/08: 1909-132; (Annual Communication)

03/10 Agenda

• 1909-12: Installation of officers not present at the 1908 Feast of St. John.
• 1909-20: Appointment of a Committee on Legal Affairs.
• 1909-25ff: Presentation of a photograph of a 1761 Diploma; extensive biography of John Pulling. A reproduction of the diploma appears opposite Page 1909-26.

06/09 Agenda

• 1909-71: Report on Conference of Grand Masters at Philadelphia; presented by the Grand Master.
• 1909-71: Vote to revise the Digest of Masonic Law.
  • 12/08: 1909-201; Report of Committee, with a variety of corrections to the Grand Constitutions (see section below).

09/08 Agenda

• 1909-105ff: Presentation by Most Wor. Nickerson on "the latest effusion from Pennsylvania in its pretended claim to priority of chartered existence." His study deals with the Carmick document and dismisses it brusquely.
• 1909-109: Remarks by Wor. Charles F. Gammon, Master of Ancient Landmark Lodge of Shanghai.
• 1909-110: Introduction of Wor. Noel B. Chamberlain, a New York Mason, great-grandson of Henry Price.

12/08 Agenda

• Recorded in Grand Master Flanders' address, beginning on page 1909-161:
  • Anniversaries:
    • Oxford; Oxford Lodge (09/17; 50th Anniversary; Special Communication)
    • Farmington, Maine; Maine #20 (10/08; Centennial); this Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1808.
    • Marlborough; United Brethren Lodge (11/15; 50th Anniversary; Special Communication)
    • Abington; John Cutler Lodge (11/22; 50th Anniversary; Special Communication)
  • Corner Stone Layings and Hall Dedications:
    • Malden; Corner-stone laying of a Soldiers' Monument (05/31; Special Communication)
    • Chelsea; Corner-stone laying of a Masonic Temple (07/24; Special Communication)
    • Westfield; Dedication of Masonic apartments for Mount Moriah (Westfield) (09/15; Special Communication)
    • Chelsea; Corner-stone laying for Universalist Church (10/03; Special Communication)
    • Chicopee; Dedication of the Masonic apartments of Belcher Lodge (10/25; Special Communication)
  • Funerals:
    • Cambridge, for Most Wor. Sereno D. Nickerson (11/10)
    • Brockton, for Most Wor. Baalis Sanford (11/19)
  • Visits:
    • Converse, Malden (01/11)
    • Mount Vernon, Malden (01/27; Ladies' Night)
    • Revere, Boston (02/02)
    • Mount Vernon, Malden (02/04)
    • Wyoming, Melrose (02/24)
    • Essex, Salem (03/02, Masonic Home Night)
    • William North, Lowell (03/03)
    • Columbian, Boston (03/04)
    • King Cyrus, Stoneham (03/05)
    • Golden Rule, Wakefield (03/11)
    • Malden (03/20; exemplification)
    • Joseph Webb, Boston (03/30; Williams Night)
    • Mount Vernon, Malden (04/01)
    • St. Paul's (South Boston) (04/06)
    • Henry Price, Charlestown (04/07)
    • Union (Dorchester) (04/13)
    • Hiram, Arlington (04/19)
    • Soley, Somerville (04/19)
    • St. John's (Boston) (05/03)
    • Good Samaritan, Reading (05/05)
    • Mount Hermon, Medford (05/06)
    • Lodge of St. Andrew, Boston (05/13)
    • The Massachusetts, Boston (05/21)
    • Macedonian, Milton (05/25)
    • Palestine, Everett (06/10)
    • Germania, Boston (06/28)
    • Wilder, Leominster (10/05)
    • Harwich (10/27; exemplification)
    • Charles H. Titus, Taunton (11/05)
    • Lodge of St. Andrew, Boston (11/11; installation)
    • Lodge of St. Andrew, Boston (11/30; Feast of St. Andrew)
    • Baalbec, East Boston (12/02)
    • Belmont, Belmont (12/06)
• 1909-193: Report of the Auditing Committee.
• 1909-194: Re-election of Dana J. Flanders as Grand Master; election of other Grand Officers.

Grand Constitutions Amendment Proposals

• 03/10: 1909-21; Proposal to amend Part 3, Article 1, Section 3, directing the Grand Master to appoint a Committee on Jurisprudence to consider "questions of law, jurisprudence, or Masonic policy." Referred.
  • 06/09: 1909-65; Adopted.
  • 09/08: 1909-97: Slight revision to wording.

• 03/10: 1909-45; Proposal to amend Part 1, Article 2, Section 1, to style Past Grand Masters as "Most Worshipful" (instead of "Right Worshipful"). Referred.
  • 06/09: 1909-64; Committee report indicated that most Grand Jurisdictions styled Past Grand Masters thus; and other than Pennsylvania (which does not use the Most Worshipful title) none of the Grand Lodges of the original 13 states reduce the Grand Master's title on retirement. Change was adopted.

• 12/08: 1909-200; Proposal to adopt a Regulation: "The fee for Life Membership in a Lodge shall not be less than fifteen times the amount of the Annual Dues." Referred.

• 12/08: 1909-201ff; Corrections and amendments to the Grand Constitutions as part of the revision of the Digest of Masonic Law; all amendments referred;
  • Part 1, Article 1, Section 1 (add "A.F. & A.M." to Grand Lodge title)
  • Part 1, Article 2, Section 1 (correct titles of Grand Organist and Grand Tyler)
  • Part 1, Article 3, Section 1 (date of Feast of St. John, if December 27 is a Sunday)
  • Part 1, Article 3, Section 2 (notifications of Regular Communications)
  • Part 1, Article 5, Section 1 (omit restriction on Grand Lodge office requirements)
  • Part 1, Article 7, Section 1 (date of Feast of St. John, if December 27 is a Sunday)
  • Part 1, Article 8, Section 7 (duties of DDGMs)
  • Part 1, Article 8, Section 8 (duties of DDGMs)
  • Part 1, Article 8, Section 10 (dates of reporting)
  • Part 1, Article 8, Section 14 (duties of Grand Stewards)
  • Part 1, Article 8, Section 16 (minor change)
  • Part 1, Article 8, Section 17 (Grand Lecturers)
  • Part 2, Article 1, Section 4 (Sigourney Fund)
  • Part 3, Article 1, Section 1 (minor change)
  • Part 3, Article 2, Section 3 (minor change)
  • Part 3, Article 4, Section 1 (members of Board of Commissioners of Trials)
  • Part 3, Article 4, Section 1 (appeals)
  • Part 3, Article 4, Section 6 (rights of suspended Brothers)
  • Part 4, Article 1, Section 3 (minor change)
  • Part 4, Article 3, Section 5 (minor change)
  • Part 4, Article 3, Section 9 (minor change)
  • Part 4, Article 3, Section 10 (procedure)
  • Part 4, Article 3, Section 13 (exception for funerals)
  • Part 5, Section 6 (removal of DDGM approval for new lodge)
  • Change Past Grand Master title to "M.W." as per change in the Grand Constitutions.
  • Change Grand Chaplain stations in Grand Lodge.

Grand Master's Address

• 12/08: 1909-161: Opening remarks. Deaths of Nickerson, Sanford, Sayles. Visitations. Conferences in June, September and November (Note that an extensive discussion of subjects covered at the Conference of Grand Masters is provided starting on Page 1909-176, including a "Form of Renunciation", and a declaration that no National Grand Lodge was being formed or contemplated); remarks on Dispensations; requests for Recognition; Dispensations; Suspensions; Reports of Grand Lecturers; Grand Treasurer's report; Charity; Report of the Board of Directors; Collamore estate litigation; Masonic Home; conclusion.

Lodge By-Law Changes

• 03/10: 1909-10;
  • Full Codes : Mosaic, Rabboni; approved.
  • Amendments: Amity, Hampden, Henry Price, Jerusalem, Mizpah (with necessary changes), Mount Horeb (Woburn), Orphan's Hope, Simon W. Robinson, United Brethren, William Parkman; approved.

• 06/09: 1909-66;
  • Full Codes : Old Colony; approved with necessary changes.
  • Amendments: Beth-Horon (necessary changes), Eliot, Meridian, Plymouth, St. Paul's (South Boston), The Tyrian (necessary changes), Webster; approved.

• 09/08: 1909-104;
  • Full Codes : None.
  • Amendments: Alpha, Belcher, Mount Zion, Puritan, Rising Star; approved.

• 12/08: 1909-199;
  • Full Codes : Grecian; approved.
  • Amendments: Amicable, Dalhousie, Germania, John Abbot, Joseph Warren, Pilgrim; approved.

Masonic Home Committee Reports

• 03/10: 1909-16; Report of Committee, presented by Past Grand Master John Albert Blake. Establishment of the Overlook property; furnishing of rooms; amount pledged about $96,000, $56,000 thus far collected.
• 03/10: 1909-22; Presentation by Rt. Wor. Leon M. Abbott regarding the Williams Estate, which was used by the Grand Lodge to establish a Masonic home; the lawsuit of the Masonic Education and Charity Trust to establish its tax-free status.

• 06/09: 1909-68; Report of Committee, presented by Past Grand Master John Albert Blake.

• 09/08: 1909-98; Report of Committee. "The past few months have shown more conclusively than was ever known before how large a number of our Masonic Brethren are unable to provide fully for the needs of themseves, or their families."

• 12/08: 1909-196; Report of Committee. Among the resolutions adopted regarding the Home:
  • That all invested moneys now in the hands of the Masonic Home Committee be turned over to the Masonic Education and Charity Trust to be held, invested and reinvested with whatever may hereafter be added thereto, in a separate fund to be known as the Masonic Home Fund, the principal and income thereof to be expended as the Grand Lodge shall from time to time direct for the purposes of such Home.
  • That there be appropriated from the balance of the income accumulated since 1904 of the Grand Charity Fund in the hands of the Masonic Education and Charity Trust the sum of ten thousand ($10,000) dollars in securities taken at their par value to become an addition to and a part of the Masonic Home Fund.
  • That the annual income hereafter to accrue of the Grand Charity Fund shall annually be divided into three equal parts: one part to be added to the principal of the Grand Charity Fund; one part to be applied to the support and maintenance of the Masonic Home, and one part to be available for the general charities of the Grand Lodge.

Necrologies and Memorials

• 03/10: 1909-12: Death of Rt. Wor. William Thomas Grammer, Past Senior Grand Warden; presented by Rt. Wor. William F. Davis, for the committee.

• 06/09: 1909-60; Death of Rt. Wor. Charles Harris, grandson of Thaddeus Mason Harris, Past Junior Grand Warden; presented by Rt. Wor. Henry M. Nourse, for the committee.

• 09/08: 1909-92; Death of Rt. Wor. Samuel Brigham Spooner, Past Junior Grand Warden; presented by Rt. Wor. Charles C. Spellman, for the committee.

Commemorative Medal for Sereno D. Nickerson

• 12/08: 1909-145ff; Death of Most Wor. Sereno D. Nickerson, Past Grand Master; presented by Most Wor. Charles T. Gallagher, for the committee. Note: A picture of Brother Nickerson appears on the Frontispiece to this volume of the Proceedings; a commemorative medal is depicted opposite Page 1909-158 and above.
  • 12/08: 1909-205; Memorial to be published and distributed to subordinate Lodges, to other Grand Bodies, and to Masonic periodicals and libraries.

• 12/08: 1909-162; Death of Most Wor. Baalis Sanford; mentioned in Grand Master's Address.

• 12/08: 1909-162; Death of Rt. Wor. Irving B. Sayles, Past Junior Grand Warden.

Petitions for Charters

• 06/09: 1909-67; Petition by Republican Lodge, Greenfield, for the restoration of its original charter; a substitute was granted in 1851. The petition to restore the original charter was granted.

• 12/08: 1909-200; William Whiting U.D., Holyoke; granted.

• 12/08: 1909-200; Esoteric U.D., Springfield; granted.

Petitions for Dispensation for Lodges

• 12/08: 1909-184; William Whiting, Holyoke (01/07)

• 12/08: 1909-184; Esoteric, Springfield (01/12)

SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS

• 05/31: 1909-47. Malden. Corner-stone laying of Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.
  • 1909-48: Opening of Grand Lodge at Masonic Apartments; procession to the monument site on the "Bell Rock", escorted by various organization including Mount Vernon and Converse Lodges.
  • 1909-49: Order of Exercises.
  • 1909-51: "Repast" prrovided in the banquet hall of the Masonic building.

• 07/24: 1909-73. Chelsea. Laying of the Corner-stone of Masonic Hall.
  • 1909-74; Grand Lodge opened in the Elks Lodge "whose apartments were placed at the disposal of the Masonic bodies of Chelsea for this occasion without charge."
  • 1909-74: Procession to site, escorted by York Rite bodies, and Star of Bethlehem and Robert Lash Lodges.
  • 1909-75: Order of Exercises.
  • 1909-77: Address by Rev. and Wor. William H. Rider.
  • 1909-83: List of the contents of the corner stone box.

• 09/15: 1909-111. Westfield. Dedication of Masonic Temple for Mount Moriah Lodge.
  • 1909-112: Opening of Grand Lodge in the new Hall. Welcome by Master.
  • 1909-112: Exercises of dedication "according to the customary form". Address by Grand Chaplain Rev. Edward A. Horton.
  • 1909-113: A banquet in the banquet-hall "which tested the full capacity of the new apartments. Remarks by many brethren, with Bro. George W. Winslow as toast-master.

• 09/17: 1909-114. Oxford. 50th Anniversary of Oxford Lodge.
  • 1909-115: Opening of Grand Lodge; reception by Wor. A. Frederick Putnam of Oxford Lodge.
  • 1909-115: Order of Exercises.
  • 1909-115: Historical Address by Rev. Bro. Albert Tyler, Chaplain of the Lodge for 36 years; history of Masonry in Oxford from the organization of Olive Branch Lodge in 1797.
  • 1909-116: A "bountiful supper" in the Town Hall.

• 10/05: 1909-117. Chelsea. Corner-stone laying of First Universalist Church.
  • 1909-118; Grand Lodge opened in the Elks Lodge.
  • 1909-118: Procession to site, escorted by York Rite bodies, and Star of Bethlehem and Robert Lash Lodges.
  • 1909-119: Order of Exercises.
  • 1909-122: List of the contents of the corner stone box.

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Nayasset Club, Chicopee

• 10/25: 1909-123. Chicopee Falls. Dedication of Masonic Temple for Belcher Lodge.
  • 1909-124: Opening of Grand Lodge in the new Hall. Welcome by Wor. Edwin L. Davis, Master of Belcher Lodge.
  • 1909-124: Order of Exercises.
  • 1909-125: Prior to the ceremonies, the Grand Lodge was feted at the Nayasset Club in Chicopee. Following them, there was a banquet in the new Temple, at which there were numerous speakers, with Rt. Wor. Clarence A. Brodeur as Toastmaster. "The peculiar adaptation of the Temple to Masonic use is in its being a reconstruction of a spacious mansion house by the addition of Lodge-room and banquet-hall."

• 11/13: 1909-126. Marlborough. 50th Anniversary of United Brethren Lodge.
  • 1909-115: Opening of Grand Lodge; reception by Wor. C. Lester Bartlett of United Brethren Lodge. Most Wor. B. Mallet, Grand Master of Maine, was also in attendance.
  • 1909-115: Order of Exercises.
  • 1909-116: Banquet, followed by an installation of officers for the lodge. Remarks by various Brothers.

• 11/21 - 11/22: 1909-129. Abington. 50th Anniversary of John Cutler Lodge.
  • 1909-129: Opening of Grand Lodge; reception by the Master of John Cutler Lodge.
  • 1909-130: Order of Exercises, including a Historical Address by Wor. David V. Poole.
  • 1909-131: Banquet, followed by remarks by various Brothers.
  • 1909-131: (11/21) On the previous day, the Chaplain of the Lodge, Rev. Bro. Thomas J. Lewis, officiated at religious services at the Congregational Church; Rev. Bro. Stephen H. Roblin gave the Anniversary Sermon.

FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

(held at Masonic Temple, Boston, 12/28/1909)

• 1909-207: Opening and roll call.
• 1909-209: Installation of Grand Master Dana Judson Flanders. Installation of other Grand Officers.
• 1909-215: Report of Recording Grand Secretary: 3,012 Master Mason diplomas issued in 1909.
• 1909-216: List of lodges not represented in Grand Lodge in 1906, as well as the past 2 years.
• 1909-217: Feast of St. John, listing toasts and names of speakers:
  • 1909-217: Grand Master Flanders.
  • 1909-222: Past Grand Master Charles T. Gallagher.
  • 1909-231: Grand Chaplain Edward O. Horton.
  • 1909-243: Wor. Frederick W. Hamilton, President of Tufts College and Master of Washington Lodge.
  • 1909-250: Wor. George W. Winslow.
  • 1909-257: Grand Chaplain Rev. William H. Rider.

LIST OF LODGES IN MASSACHUSETTS BY DISTRICT: 1909

There were 28 districts in Massachusetts in 1909, as well as districts for Chile and China.

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