Difference between revisions of "Satucket"

Revision as of 19:28, 8 December 2014

SATUCKET LODGE

Location: East Bridgewater

Chartered By: Samuel Crocker Lawrence

Charter Date: 03/08/1882 1882-24

Precedence Date: 04/06/1881

Current Status: Active

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

• Petition for Dispensation: 1881
• Petition for Charter: 1882

ANNIVERSARIES

• 1931 (50th Anniversary)
• 1956 (75th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

• 1882 (Lawrence; Constitution of Lodge and installation; Special Communication)
• 1883 (Lawrence)
• 1901 (Gallagher)
• 1927 (Simpson; Ladies' Night)
• 1931 (H. Dean; 50th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1956 (W. Johnson; 75th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1973 (Vose)
• 1986 (Richardson)
• 1987 (Ames; mortgage burning; Special Communication)
• 1992 (Darling; 10th Anniversary of Tri-Town; Special Communication)
• 2000 (Bauer)

BY-LAW CHANGES

1883 1885 1888 1891 1911 1912 1916 1927 1949 1957 1966 1970 1972 1976 1980 1986 1989 1991 1996 2000 2009 2012

HISTORY

• 1931 (50th Anniversary History, 1931-54; see below)
• 1956 (75th Anniversary History, 1956-127)

50TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY, APRIL 1931

From Proceedings, Page 1931-54:

The old East Parish, afterwards the town of East Bridge-water, was the birthplace of organized Masonry in the Bridgewaters, and no history of Satucket Lodge would be complete without some reference to the organization of our Mother Lodge, Fellowship, which, later, established Itself permanently in the South Parish, now the town of Bridgewater.

In the year 1797 Fellowship Lodge was organized and its first meeting was held at' the home of Right Worshipful Hector Orr, an enthusiastic Mason who had received his Master Mason Degree while a student at Harvard College, from which institution he graduated in 1792.

At a meeting of Fellowship Lodge held during the first year of its existence it was voted to finish and furnish a room in Brother Orr's house as a Lodge-room, and he served as its first Worshipful Master. His home was the second house north of the Washburn Library and we find that meetings of the Lodge were held in East Bridge-water as late as 1826.

After Fellowship Lodge moved to Bridgewater it continued to be the home Lodge of East Bridgewater Masons until 1881. Transportation facilities at that time were poor as compared with those now available and, as the time appeared favorable for the establishment of a Lodge here, a Dispensation was granted under date of April 6, 1881, by Most Worshipful Samuel Crocker Lawrence, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, to forty-four Master Masons for the organization of a Lodge in East Bridgewater to be known as Satucket Lodge, and appointing Worshipful Brother Frederick S. Strong, Worshipful Master; Brother Francis M. Kingman, Senior Warden and Brother Joshua Dean, Junior Warden. The applicants to whom the Dispensation was granted were as follows : George Allen. George W. Allen, Charles W. Bennett, Charles Blockhous, Jarvis Burrell, Harvey Chandler, Barry Cole, Joshua Dean, Charles H. Edson, Frank L. Erskine, Wyman C. Fickett, Charles E. Field, Edward F. Field, Theodore Freeman, Leonard F. Gammons,
Charles II. Goss, Benjamin W. Harris, Charles W. Harris,
Fred Hobart, Henry Hobart, George L. Jones, William
 M. Judkins, Robert C. Keith, Simeon C. Keith, Francis
 M. Kingman, A. Harris Latham, E. Austin Latham, Fred G. Lovell, William Lincoln, Philip McBeth, Herman L.
Morse, James Nelson, Edmund W. Nutter, Samuel L.
Seaver, Leonard Selee, Charles W. Siddall, Frank Smith,
Frederick S. Strong, Benjamin Ward, John E. Water
man, George A. Wheeler, John M. Whiting, George A. 
Wright, and Robert Young.

Worshipful Brother Frederick S. Strong, the first Master of the Lodge, was a man of exceptionally fine character, beloved by all his associates. He was the General Manager of the Carver Cotton Gin Co. 's plant here.

The first meeting was held April 12, 1881, at which the Lodge was organized temporarily by Leonard F. Gammons, acting as Marshal, and the Dispensation was read. Worshipful Master Strong named the following appointive officers: Treasurer, Samuel L. Seaver; Secretary, Wyman C. Fickett; Chaplain, Rev. Wm. F. Farrington; Marshal, Leonard F. Gammons; Senior Deacon, George W. Allen; Junior Deacon, A. Harris Latham; Sentinel, George A. Wright; Tyler, James Nelson. Tt was voted to hold the regular monthly communications on the Tuesday on or before the full moon. A vote of thanks was extended to the lady friends of the Lodge for an appropriate and valuable gift, a copy of the Holy Bible, which has since been used whenever the Lodge has met. A petition for the degrees was received from Clarence A. Chandler. He was elected in due course and had the honor to be the first candidate to receive degrees in the Lodge. From this first application the Lodge has progressed conservatively until our membership now numbers one hundred and fifty-nine.

At a meeting February 28, 1882, the Lodge received a present of a silver square and pair of compasses from Brother John Burrell, of Fellowship Lodge, afterwards a member of Satucket Lodge.

Satucket Lodge was constituted May 1, 1882, in Sutton Hall, an apartment in the Masonic Temple which stood upon the site occupied by the present Temple on the corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets, Boston. Most Worshipful Samuel Crocker Lawrence, Grand Master, presided, there being a large attendance of the members of the Lodge.

The officers wore installed, the Worshipful Master by the Grand Master, the Senior Warden by the Senior Grand Warden, the Junior Warden by the Junior Grand Warden, and the remaining officers by the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master. An eloquent address was delivered by the Grand Master.

It is worthy of note that from the institution of the Lodge much attention has been given by the officers to the important matter of perfecting the ritual work. During the earliest years special communications were held almost weekly, solely for the purpose of these rehearsals, and the records show these to have been well attended by the officers and members. As a consequence of this fidelity to the Lodge a high proficiency in the work of the degrees was attained and this brought with it a strong fraternal spirit which has always prevailed.

During the first ten years the Lodge occupied quarters in the building erected by Brother Charles H. Goss. This was on a ten years' lease. Previous to the expiration of the lease a committee from the Lodge attempted to secure from the Trustees of the Goss Estate some slight improvements but, as no satisfactory arrangements could be made, several public spirited members succeeded in the purchase of a lot of land well situated in the centre of the town in order that a lot might be available at some future date for a building for Masonic purposes.

Early in 1892, it being impossible to secure any improvements in the previous quarters, arrangements were made to raise necessary capital for erection of the building. A building association was formed for this purpose and the present building was built, the lower floor being occupied for business purposes, the second floor for a hall, and the third, as well as a portion of the second, for Masonic purposes. The building was dedicated on October 22, 1892, a large number of members and visitors being present, probably a larger number than have been present at any gathering since. This was also an occasion of the annual visit of Right Worshipful Henry A. Belcher, District Deputy Grand Master for the then Twenty-Fourth Masonic District.

In 1918, again with the assistance of public spirited members of the Lodge who in many cases presented their shares in the building association, and in some cases by purchase from representatives of the estates of deceased members, or otherwise, the Lodge secured entire ownership of the building, subject to a moderate mortgage.

At the first meeting, as has been stated, the dates of the regular monthly communications were fixed as the Tuesday on or before the full moon, this being a custom adopted in order to suit the convenience of members who drove in from some distance and who preferred to drive by moonlight. In at least one instance this caused inconvenience. The November meeting was fixed as the Annual Meeting and in the month of November, 1884, there was no Tuesday on or before the full moon, which circumstance made it necessary to apply for a Dispensation to conduct the business of that year's Annual Meeting on the Tuesday before the December full moon. A few years ago this custom was abandoned and the regular communications are now held on the first Tuesday in each month.

During its earlier years the Lodge received much assistance in conducting its social affairs from an organization of ladies known as Satucket Guild and their meetings were held in the parlor, furnished by them, opening off the main Lodge-room. The furniture and piano were donated by the Guild to the Lodge at a later date.

In April, 1900, the Lodge was honored by an informal visit from Most Worshipful Charles T. Gallagher, Grand Master, who expressed his pleasure in the accuracy of the degree work of the evening.

In the spring of 1927 Most Worshipful Frank L. Simpson, Grand Master, paid us a visit accompanied by many officers of the Grand Lodge and presented Brother John Burrell a Veteran's Medal.

The Grand Lodge has honored us by appointing two members of Satucket Lodge as District Deputy Grand Masters, Right Worshipful Charles F. Mann, who served in 1900 and 1901, and Right Worshipful Warren S. Shaw, in 1919 and 1920. The various anniversary dates of the institution of the Lodge have been observed with appropriate ceremonies on each occasion. The tenth anniversary was celebrated by a concert and ball. The thirtieth anniversary was made a Charter members' night and it is interesting to note that, at this event, which occurred during the administration of Worshipful Brother Prescott Washburn, seven Charter members were present, whereas, on this, the fiftieth anniversary, we are honored by the presence of the only surviving Charter member, Worshipful Brother Charles E. Field.

When the steamship Titanic sank, after a collision with an iceberg, one of its best known passengers was an artist of international repute, Brother Francis Davis Millet, formerly a resident of this town, and whose ashes were brought here to be interred in the family lot. By request of his Lodge in New York Masonic services were held by Satucket Lodge in the Unitarian Church on May 3, 1912, and many of us will remember the solemnity of the occasion because of the nation-wide sorrow at the passing of many notable people in this marine disaster.

Nine Brethren of the Lodge served in the United States forces during the World War, Brothers Henry L. Adam, Francis V. Barstow, Mason E. Clarke, Wesley N. Churchill, Harold L. Johnson, Laurence E. Cote, Elbridge B. Curtis, Henry Hudson and Richard H. Dunphe. These Brethren were members of the Lodge during their service. Others have joined since the armistice so this is not a complete list of our service members.

For several years Sachem Rock Chapter, O. E. S., has met in our quarters and has extended valuable assistance to us on many occasions, notably in sharing with the Lodge the expense of installing a steam heating system in the building. The Star Club, an organization affiliated with them, has also assisted us.

These, Brethren, are but a few of the outstanding events in the history of Satucket Lodge. The same fine spirit of fraternity and personal friendship which animated the Charter members still exists in the Lodge. May another fiftieth anniversary find it undiminished.

OTHER

• 1982 (Petition to remove to East Bridgewater, 1982-36)

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

• Chandos L. Bailey, III, DDGM, District 17, 2009, 2010
• Ralph H. Keith, DDGM, District 29 (Brockton), 1951, 1952; N
• Charles F. Mann, DDGM, District 24 (Brockton), 1900, 1901; Memorial
• Arthur H. Richardson, Jr., DDGM, District 29 (Brockton), 1993, 1994
• Warren S. Shaw, DDGM, District 29 (Brockton), 1919, 1920; SN
• George H. Snow, III, DDGM, District 29 (Brockton), 1975, 1976; N
• Edward H. Turner, DDGM, District 29 (Brockton), 1945, 1946; N

DISTRICTS

1881: District 19 (Taunton)

1883: District 24 (Brockton)

1911: District 29 (Brockton)

1927: District 29 (Brockton)

2003: District 17

LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges