Republican

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REPUBLICAN LODGE

Location: Greenfield; Gill (1821); Greenfield (1851)

Chartered By: Paul Revere

Charter Date: 01/09/1795 II-60

Precedence Date: 12/08/1794

Current Status: Active


NOTES

According to the 150th Anniversary history (Page 1945-370), the charter was surrendered in 1833.


PAST MASTERS

  • John Long, Jr., 1795-1797
  • John Stone, 1798-1800
  • William Wait, 1801
  • Lemuel Foster, 1802-1805
  • Elijah Alvord, 1806, 1808-1811; SN
  • John Wells, 1807
  • Hooker Leavit, 1812, 1813
  • James Gould, 1814
  • Titus Strong, 1815, 1816, 1819
  • Franklin Ripley, 1817
  • George Grinnell, Jr., 1818
  • Ansel Phelps, 1820, 1821; SN
  • Josiah W. Cannon, 1822, 1823
  • John Pinks, 1824
  • Bethuel Slate, 1825-1827, 1829-1832
  • DARK 1833-1851
  • John A. Gamber, 1852, 1853; SN
  • Charles Mattoon, 1854; SN
  • Edward P. Graves, 1855, 1856; SN
  • George Ripley, 1857
  • Wendell T. Davis, 1858-1860
  • Joshua Thornley, 1861
  • David Lyon, 1862-1864
  • George A. Kimball, 1865
  • Willard T. Leonard, 1866
  • Bowdoin S. Parker, 1867, 1868, 1873; Mem
  • George Wilby, 1869, 1870
  • Edward J. Rice, 1871
  • Franklin Brown, 1872
  • Charles H. McClellan, 1874-1876
  • Henry L. Miller, 1877, 1878
  • James R. Long, 1879-1881
  • Gorham D. Williams, 1882, 1883
  • Anson Withey, 1884, 1885
  • Wyatt A. Fowler, 1886, 1887
  • Franklin E. Snow, 1888, 1889
  • Eugene B. Blake, 1890, 1891
  • Dana Malone, 1892, 1893
  • Charles A. Wheeler, 1894, 1895
  • Edwin R. Fiske, 1896, 1897
  • William B. Allen, 1898, 1899
  • Peter Voorhees Finch, 1900, 1901 Mem
  • George W. Forbes, 1902, 1903
  • Charles J. Fisk, 1904, 1905
  • Louis A. Cook, 1906, 1907
  • G. Harry Kaulback, 1908, 1909; SN
  • John M. Hackley, 1910
  • John B. Clark, 1911
  • Jacob E. Schuler, 1912
  • Frederick L. Haywood, 1913
  • D. Rollin Alvord, 1914, 1915
  • Arthur L. Staples, 1916
  • George K. Pond, 1917
  • Charles E. Smart, 1918, 1919
  • Albert G. Hawks, 1920
  • Francis H. Maxwell, 1921
  • Hector M. MacDonald, 1922
  • Ward C. Bryant, 1923
  • Frank A. Yeaw, 1924, 1925; SN
  • Hiram D. Phillips, 1926
  • Charles S. Tinkham, 1927
  • Earle N. W. Kellogg, 1928
  • Maurice J. Levy, 1929, 1930
  • Frank H. Reed, Jr., 1931, 1932; N
  • John B. Roys, 1933
  • Leon W. Graham, 1934, 1935
  • George W. Carpenter, 1936
  • Cyril B. Raymond, 1937
  • Roy D. Peterson, 1938
  • Lester J. Clapp, 1939
  • Leland M. Cairns, 1940
  • Harold C. Zeiner, 1941, 1942
  • George R. Wilcox, 1943; SN
  • John A. Ross, 1944
  • James H. Pierson, 1945
  • Harold W. Phillips, 1946, 1947
  • Charles J. Hampshire, 1948
  • Philip D. Adams, 1949, 1950
  • John R. Moseley, 1951
  • Leland J. Stiles, 1952
  • Herbert H. Maynard, 1953
  • Norman B. Quick, 1954
  • Edward F. Stange, 1955, 1994, 1995; SN
  • George F. Berry, 1956
  • Monroe E. Smith, 1957; N
  • Warren O. Weir, 1958
  • Louis A. Kramer, 1959
  • Charles G. Campbell, 1960
  • Carlos T. Renfew, 1961
  • Norman W. Whitcomb, Jr., 1962; SN
  • William B. Buck, 1963
  • Alfred D. Varley, 1964
  • James O. S. Graves, 1965
  • H. Richard Spooner, 1966
  • James D. Avery, 1967
  • Samuel J. Yeager, Jr., 1968, 1969
  • Earle Tucker, 1970
  • Vernon M. Miller, 1971
  • Francis O. Hall, 1972
  • Burleigh M. H. Brown, 1973
  • Edmond D. Harrison, 1974 DD
  • Alan F. Bristol, 1975
  • Ralph W. Semb, 1976, 1977, 1979
  • Thomas H. Heinig, 1978
  • Donald A. Leger, 1980, 1981
  • Theron W. Floran, 1982, 1983
  • Thomas J. Specht, 1984, 1985
  • Russell P. Kimball, 1987, 1992, 1993
  • Lawrence G. Kent, 1988, 1996; PDDGM
  • Donald J. McKinnon, 1989
  • Ronald P. Croteau, 1990
  • Matthew A. Gaines, 1991
  • Douglas M. Finn, 1997, 2002
  • Robert C. Brooks, 1998
  • Derwood R. Tyler, 1999, 2000
  • David E. Finn, 2001
  • James R. Vassar, 2003, 2004, 2010
  • Douglas C. Finn, 2005, 2006
  • Kenneth E. Handfield, Jr., 2008
  • Thomas B. McHugh, 2009

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

  • Petition for Charter: 1794
  • Petition for Restoration of Charter: 1851

ANNIVERSARIES

  • 1895 (Centenary)
  • 1945 (150th Anniversary)
  • 1970 (175th Anniversary)
  • 1995 (200th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

BY-LAW CHANGES

1870 1871 1873 1877 1879 1881 1882 1889 1907 1910 1914 1916 1920 1923 1928 1951 1957 1963 1975 1977 1982 1983 1986 1999 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010

HISTORY

  • 1895 (Centenary historical address not in Proceedings)
  • 1945 (150th Anniversary History, 1945-361)
  • 1970 (175th Anniversary History, 1970-4)
  • 1995 (200th Anniversary History, 1995-3)

OTHER

  • 1816 (Petition to Grand Lodge for a loan, declined, III-316)
  • 1821 (Report on delinquency, III-341)
  • 1876 (Presentation at Grand Lodge, 1876-138)
  • 1878 (Jurisdictional dispute, 1878-83)
  • 1879 (Jurisdictional dispute, 1879-9)
  • 1896 (Anniversary celebration, mentioned in Grand Master's Address, 1896-270)
  • 1909 (Petition for restoration of original charter, 1909-67)

EVENTS

HALL DEDICATION, FEBRUARY 1856

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XV, No. 7, March 1856, Page 141:

This is one of the most respectable and thriving Lodges in the Commonwealth. It received its Charter in 1795, three years after the union of the two Grand Lodges in Boston, and the consequent organization of the present supreme body, It continued in active operation, always numbering among its initiates and members, many of the best and most influential citizens of the beautiful village in which it is located, until the breaking out of the antimasonic persecution; when, for the sake of peace, and in the mistaken hope of contributing to allay the excitement, which was then raging with mad violence throughout the valley of the Connecticut river, it closed its doors and surrendered its Charter.

A few years since, the requisite number of its surviving members asked to have its charter restored, — a request which was readily granted by the Grand Lodge. The Lodge forthwith recommenced its labors, and now numbers on its roll nearly one hundred members! It has recently leased large and commodious apartments in the centre of the town, and filled up a spacious hall for its accommodation, in a style of neatness and elegance not probably surpassed, if equalled by any similar hall in the Commonwealth, out of the city of Boston. The fresco embellishments were executed by Mr. John Sawin, Jr., of Greenfield, an artist of much merit in his line of business. (Note: Mr. Sawin recently executed the fresco work of the Baptist Church in Charles Street, in this city, which is said to be a superior piece of workmanship; and also of the church at Newton Centre. Lodges fitting up new halls, might find it to their advantage to consult him).

A brief description of the embellishments has been furnished us. A cornice twelve inches deep is painted round the walls; above which are twenty-four panels of different sizes and shapes, alternating each other. Within these is a second cornice eight inches deep, leaving an open space of twelve by twenty feet, which is filled with sky, representing morning in the East; noon, in the centre, and night, in the West, — the whole so nicely blended and admirably executed as to produce a chaste and beautiful effect, especially when the hall is lighted. The spaces on the walls are divided into thirty five square-edged panels, sunk, apparently, two inches; within sixteen of these, are pointed as many circular-top panels, in fine elaborate moulding, throwing back the panels three and a half inches, — leaving ample room, in ten of these spaces, for the emblems of the Order. The walls and ceiling, in their architectural parts, are executed in a rich warm lint of French grey, inclining to a buff.

On Friday, the 8th February, the Grand Master, accompanied by several of the Grand Officers, proceeded to Greenfield, at the invitation of the Lodge, for the purpose of dedicating the hall, "according to the ancient custom and usages of the Craft. The ceremonies were performed in the presence of about two hundred ladies and gentlemen, to most of whom they were new, and to all of whom they were apparently gratifying. At the conclusion of these services, the Brethren of the Lodge and the visitors present, were briefly addressed by the M. W. Grand Master, in terms suitably adapted to the occasion.

The officers were then installed by the R. W. Brother J. T. Heard,acting on the occasion as D. G. Master. After which an address was delivered by the Rev. Brother William Flint, of Greenfield. This we are most happy to learn is to be printed. It occupied about forty minutes in the delivery, and was an able, eloquent and truthful exposition of the principles, doctrines, and purposes of Freemasonry. It was eminently worthy of the acknowledged talents of its estimable author, and its publication at this time is called for by the highest and best interests of the Institution. False notions are creeping in among us, which, if permitted to obtain, will jeopard the prosperity of the Order in this country. They can be best met and averted by circulating among the Lodges and Brethren more truthful expositions of the genuine principles of the Order.

The ceremonies having been completed, the company were invited to partake of an entertainment served up in the adjacent rooms. The occasion was an agreeable one, and we trust may contribute to the continued prosperity of the Lodge.

OFFICER LIST, MAY 1856

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XV, No. 7, May 1856, Page 209:

Officers of Republican Lodge, Greenfield, Mass.

  • E. P. Graves, W. M. SN
  • N. E. Babbett, S. W.
  • Geo. Ripley, J. W.
  • C. L. Fisk, Treas.
  • S. H. Reed, Sec.
  • D. Lyon, S. D.
  • A. Mitchell, J. D.
  • Rev. William Flint, Chap.
  • D. Hunter, S. S.
  • J. Rowley, Jr., J. S.
  • T. Ripley, M.

MEMORIALS

PETER VOORHEES FINCH, 1839-1901

From History and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association; 1870-1879, Volume 4:

In the death of the Rev. Peter Voorhees Finch which took place the 3d of May, 1901, the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association lost one of its first members, whose name has been associated with its history since the earliest days of its organization.

Mr. Finch was born the 19th of March, 1835, at Shrewsbury, New Jersey. He graduated from Burlington College, New Jersey, in 1854, when he had the honor of making the Greek oration. From the same institution, in 1858, he received his master's degree. In 1860, he was further honored by Trinity College. In the years 1855, 1856, he was a clerk in the Metropolitan Bank of New York City. He then entered the General Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1859. On the 4th of July of that year, he took the order of deacon, being ordained to that office in Trinity Church, New York, by the Right Rev. Horatio Potter, then Bishop of New York. He received ordination to the priesthood at the hands of Bishop Williams of Connecticut, on the 3d of July, 1860. His residence for the following three years and a half was in Connecticut, but for part of that time he was chaplain of the 16th Connecticut Volunteers, and saw much real service in the field and under fire. He was present at the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. He came to Greenfield in late December, 1863, and supplied the pulpit of St. James Church from Christmas until Easter of the following spring, when he became rector of the parish. Here he stayed until October, 1871. He then went to Pittsburg to become rector of St. John's Church in that city. In 1873 he made another remove, this time to Denver, and for the next six years he was rector of St. John's Church there. The year 1879 saw him back in Greenfield, once more installed as rector of St. James, and here he stayed until the end. The renewal of an old pastorate is an experiment seldom made; and still more seldom does it prove successful when made. But in this case the unexpected happened. That the result was so entirely fortunate is highly creditable to both rector and parish.

By this record it appears that for a period of over forty years, including an absence of eight years, Mr. Finch made his home in New England. As we have seen, he was not a New Englander by birth. But there can be no doubt that he became one by adoption and affinity. That is a very good plan to follow. Better late than never. I have seen a 3'oung man of unimpeachable New England antecedents, who himself had been educated in Boston and was thoroughly imbued with the New England spirit, refused membership in the New England Society of a far western state, because he happened to have been born in Ohio. To his huge disgust he had to stand by and see the coveted privilege to which he had thus been declared ineligible, bestowed on a youth of French-Canadian parentage, who knew no more of New England traditions than he did of the Elgin Marbles, for the very sufficient reason that his parents had migrated to New Hampshire shortly before his birth, so that he had first opened his eyes among the hills of that indubitably New England state.

By long years of endearing association Mr. Finch made this beautiful region of the Connecticut and Deerfield valleys his home. Here the most enthusiastic and vigorous years of his still youthful manhood were passed. And hither he returned to garner the full sheaf of his matured wisdom and experience.

Mr. Finch married Miss Harriet Bronson of Hartford, in that city, the 28th of April, 1864. Mrs. Finch is now living in Greenfield. Of the three children born of this marriage, one survives: Dr. Edward Bronson Finch of New York City.

To his activities as rector of St. James, Mr. Finch added those of a public spirited citizen and of a nature that included a wide range of interests. In 1865 he was chosen as one of the school committee, and for twelve consecutive years, beginning in 1880, he held the same position. He was a Mason and in the circles of that order he held honorable and influential posts.

He was P. M. E. High Priest of Franklin R. A. Chapter; Past Thrice Illustrious Master of Titus Strong Council, R. & S. Masters; Past Eminent Commander of the Connecticut Valley Commandery; Grand Prelate of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templars of Massachusetts and Rhode Island; and at the time of his death he was Worshipful Master in Republican Lodge, A. F. and A. M., Greenfield.

He was an interested member of the Fortnightly Club of Greenfield, and in the last year of his life he was the president of that society. His bent for historical matters appears in his connection with the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. He was one of its first councilors, an office to which he was elected many times. At different times he served as vice-president. At field meetings he occasionally acted as president of the day. On various occasions he read papers and gave addresses before the Association. These contributions were always welcome, and always interesting.

Like the poet, the after-dinner speaker is born, not made. Mr. Finch had this gift, and his good nature in accepting the invitations that frequently came to him to exercise it, made it a source of great pleasure to those who had the good fortune to hear him. He was exceedingly happy and entertaining as a public speaker, and on occasions when speaking was the order of the day he was sure to be in demand.

Looked on as a whole this life that we are considering was a very even life, and a very transparent one. Such a life, I take it, is worth more than the generality of those that present more striking contrasts and conspicuous traits. It means so much as a quiet, unobtrusive influence for good; an influence imperceptibly diffused, as it were, throughout the circle of its acquaintance. It is not a slight achievement just to live for over a generation in one village and win and hold the respect and affection of the community. Another country parson who had lived in and near Greenfield a matter of forty years, was driving along one of our beautiful roads one day with a friend from another place, who was visiting him. A party of picnickers at a little distance to one side of the road, recognized the minister as he passed, and hats were raisedt and handkerchiefs waved in salute. The greeting was returned, and as they left the party behind, this minister turned to his guest and said: "I can't tell who those people were, but it seems they all know me. I tell you it's a dreadful thing to live forty years in one place. You can't be wicked, if you want to." Now in the guise of a jest, that expresses a bit of shrewd and profound wisdom. The test of the years is a test of character, and it is the most searching test to which one can be put. He who stands it is as gold tried by the fire. And how revealing of the true measure of human and spiritual values is such a test. It shows as clear as noonday how infinitely worth more than anything that a man does or can do is the man himself. In himself, and not in any performance of his, is summed up both his inherent worth and his worth as an influence on the lives he has touched.

It was Mr. Finch's distinction that he met this supreme test and that it set upon him the ineffaceable stamp of a worth and genuineness which cannot be counterfeited.

In all the relations of his life and of his calling he bore himself with credit. He was the good shepherd of his flock, and the good friend of all who came in contact with him. To be good and do good was as natural for him as it is for the grass to grow. He knew how to rejoice with them that rejoice, and to weep with them that weep. He was a man of large public spirit, sterling common sense and broadly tolerant vision and attitude. He believed thoroughly that his way was for him the right way, but he never sought to impose his way on others against their will and judgment. He was a man of moderate and sensible views, absolutely devoid of fanaticism. He had an ample flow of good spirits, and an unfailing sense of humor which, properly balanced, as it was in him, is a sure mark of mental and moral soundness. His exhaustless fund of anecdotes and pleasantry made him at all times an entertaining converser and a congenial companion.

It was in his personal bearing that the true quality of the man was revealed. In his case surely the style was the man. It has been said of him that he was "a gentleman of the old school." As that expression is usually meant, it fitted him very well. But to speak precisely, it was not an apt characterization. A gentleman of the old school, and especially a clergyman of the old school, was a personage to be dreaded. He did not bring joy with him, but rather clouds of darkness. His bearing and conversation were such as to cause an immediate drop of the barometer in the atmosphere surcharged with his portentous presence. Were a clergyman strictly of the old school to appear among us to-day, doubtless we should hail him as an object of curious interest. But as far as the ordinary intercourse of life is concerned, we should presently find it expedient to avoid him as much as possible. Quite the reverse of this aweinspiring type was Mr. Finch. He had none of that stiffness, that preternatural gravity, that demeanor as of a peripatetic judgment-day. He met all alike with quiet dignity, a tact that disarmed suspicion, and unaffected sincerity that put one at one's ease, a gentleness that had nothing of the effeminate in it, a kindliness that was not forced, and a grace of self-possession at the farthest remove from assurance, that would instantly have made him at home in any circle, from the humblest to the most exalted.

Equally was he removed from all the various sorts of attitudinizing, mannerisms, and professional airs that characterize certain modern types of clergymen. He was not flippant. He did not belittle himself or his office. He indulged in none of the kinds of familiarity that breed contempt. The ingratiating manner was utterly foreign to his nature. He did not stoop to make bids for a cheap popularity. As Kipling says of Lord Roberts, "He did not advertise." His greeting had in it no taint of artificiality, no pompousness, no supernal gush. You did not have to be on your guard with him against that abominable mixture of condescending amiability and pious palavering which comes from, I know not where, and serves, I know not what purpose, save to make the now happily diminishing number of those who affect it, the shiny objects of a kind of regard that no right-minded person in his senses would for a moment tolerate.

He kept always the golden mean. He neither protested too much, nor was he of the churlish manner of those who are so fearful lest their dignity be called in question, that, watch-dog fashion, they mount perpetual guard over it. He was natural, easy, cordial. He met you in frank, human fashion, and on a worthy level of humanity. In a word, his bearing was always that of a man and a gentleman; and this did not belie his inmost nature.

"The place thereof shall know it no more," is not a true word concerning any human life that has had real meaning, that has been a real life. There are men, it may be, who come aud go like shadows. They have no substance, no presence, no personality, no vital human touch. They are apparitions, phenomena, not warm living personalities. No mere brilliance of achievement can save them from their fate.

But of such as these was not our friend. Rather was he of the company of those who, whether they be widely known or not, yet wherever they are known are known. We feel the presence while it is in our midst. We miss the presence withdrawn. And then again we do not miss it; for in a finer, truer sense it cannot be withdrawn.

No one, susceptible to a great personal influence, can visit Mt. Vernon and not feel that somehow the mighty dead still inhabits there. A great spirit broods over the place and hallows it. You go there and you speak with hushed voice and walk as in a waking dream. Thus potent is a real human presence to perpetuate itself. And lesser lives, so they too be real, do in their measure share this potentiality. And so every community becomes in a sense a shrine of the departed. We speak of the burying ground as the "city of the dead." But the true earthly city of those we call dead is the place where they lived and wrought and loved and suffered and achieved. I went to Concord and visited the tomb of Emerson. But he was not there. He never had been there. Then I was permitted to visit his home, his library; and there I found him. They who have wrought themselves into the life of a community, live on in that life.

There are those whose forms grow to seem as truly landmarks as the rocks and hills. To call to mind the scenes amid which they lived is to call them to mind. They are as much a part of the landscape, as really help to make it, as the elms that gave them shade. Those out of whom virtue went while they walked the village streets do not, cannot so pass away, but that they still walk those streets with us who remain. To the many who knew and loved him our friend is not dead; he is not even away. Being dead, he yet speaketh.

And for our own speaking, we may best end it so:

His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, "This was a man!"

St. James Parish history

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS


DISTRICTS

1803: District 7 (North Central Massachusetts)

1821: District 7

1851: District 9

1854: District 10

1867: District 8 (Greenfield)

1883: District 13 (Greenfield)

1911: District 14 (Greenfield)

1927: District 14 (Greenfield)

2003: District 26


LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges