Difference between revisions of "OldColony"

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OLD COLONY LODGE

Location: Hanover; Hingham (1807)

Chartered By: John Cutler

Charter Date: 12/10/1792 II-28

Precedence Date: 12/10/1792

Current Status: Active

NOTES

YEARS

1792 1794 1807 1808

Charter surrendered 1832; restored 1851

1851 1865 1871 1872 1873 1874 1880 1881 1888 1889 1892 1896 1897 1907 1908 1909 1911 1913 1916 1920 1923 1926 1928 1929 1934 1937 1942 1953 1954 1955 1957 1958 1959 1961 1967 1969 1973 1976 1988 1992 1993 1996 2000 2004 2007

MEMORIALS AND BIOGRAPHIES

HALL, ROBERT BERNARD 1812-1868

From M.F.M., XXVII:7, May 1868, p. 217:

DEATH OF ILL. BRO. HON. R. B. HALL, 33°.

The announcement of the death of this distinguished and excellent brother will be received with deep sorrow by those of our brethren to whom he was personally known, and with sincere regret by all who knew his generous nature, his personal accomplishments, and his strong Masonic attachments. He died of apoplexy at his residence in Plymouth, Mass., on the morning of the 15th April, aged fifty-six years and a few months. He had for some time past enjoyed his usual health – which, however, had not for several years been very rugged - and was, on the evening preceding his death, returning from a short walk, when, near his own door, he was seen by his lady to falter in his steps; she sprang immediately to his assistance, but not being strong enough to sustain him, he fell to the ground, and literally died in her arms. The soul did not indeed leave the body until about ten o'clock the next morning, but he neither spoke, nor recognized any member of his family after his fall. He was buried from his private residence on Saturday, the 18th, with Masonic ceremonies, under the direction of Old Colony Lodge, of which he was a member and Past Master. The impressive and beautiful service of the Episcopal Church was performed, beginning at the house, by his warm personal friend and Masonic brother, the Rev. Thomas R. Lambert, D.D., of St. John's Church, Charlestown; at the conclusion of which, at the grave, the Masonic funeral service was read by the W. Master of the Lodge, the symbolical sprig deposited, the grand honors given, and "the mourners went about the streets."

The whole ceremonies were admirably conducted. The procession was a large one, and was escorted from the residence of the deceased to the grave by the Old Colony Encampment of Knights Templars, of Abington, under the command of Sir Knight S. B. Thaxter, accompanied by the very excellent brass band of that place. The deceased was a member of this fine body of Knights, and always manifested a deep interest in its prosperity. Their presence on the occasion, in so full numbers, was a compliment due to the remains of their deceased companion, and was worthy of them. Several of the neighboring Lodges were represented, as were the Grand Lodge of the State and the Supreme Council 33° for the Northern Jurisdiction, of which latter the departed was an esteemed member. R.W. Brothers Lewis, P.G.M., Moore, D.G.M., and Gould, of R.I. - all members of the Supreme Council - were among the pall-bearers. The occasion was one in which the whole town seemed to feel and manifest a solemn interest. The route of the procession was lined with spectators, and the people were assembled in large numbers at the grave, on the arrival of the body there.

We ae not acquainted with the early history of the deceased, further than that he was born in Boston and received the rudiments of his education at the public schools of his native city. We believe he afterwards entered Dartmouth College, and was ordained as an Episcopal clergyman by the late Rev. Bishop Griswold. He, however, soon after went to Europe, where he preached occasionally, and was finally elected to represent his district in Congress. At the expiration of his term he retired to the enjoyments of private life, which he was so capable of appreciating and so well fitted to adorn. He was a fine belles-lettres scholar, and as a conversationist he had but few equals. He was also a ready and fluent speaker, and fine writer. His address at the laying of the corner-stone of the new Masonic Temple in this city fully attests his high literary attainments and power.

Our brother leaves a wife and one daughter to mourn his loss, and by whom he was dearly beloved. To them we tender our warmest sympathies, and commend them to the consolations of a well-grounded assurance that their present loss is his eternal gain.

Congressional biography
Find A Grave entry

DISTRICTS

1803: District 3 (South Shore and Cape Cod)

1821: District 3

1867: District 16 (Plymouth)

1883: District 25 (Hingham)

1911: District 27 (Plymouth)

LINKS

Lodge web site

Massachusetts Lodges