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TRINITY LODGE

Location: Clinton

Chartered By: John T. Heard

Charter Date: 09/14/1859 VI-258

Precedence Date: 09/06/1858

Current Status: Active

PAST MASTERS

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

• Petition for Dispensation: 1858
• Petition for Charter: 1859
  • "the previous charter not being granted because it was not surrendered in accordance with the Grand Constitutions." However, by vote (VI-262) they were permitted to retain the original records and physical copy of the charter until called for by the Grand Lodge. (Granted 09/06; constituted 09/21)

ANNIVERSARIES

• 1908 (50th Anniversary)
• 1933 (75th Anniversary)
• 1958 (Centenary)
• 2008 (150th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

• 1859 (Heard; Constitution of lodge and installation; see below)
• 1880 (Welch)
• 1882 (Lawrence; Hall dedication; Special Communication)
• 1890 (Wells; installation)
• 1904 (Sanford; cornerstone laying; Special Communication)
• 1906 (Blake)
• 1908 (Blake; 50th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1910 (Flanders; Ladies' Night)
• 1933 (Chipman; 75th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1958 (A. Jenkins; Centenary; Special Communication)
• 2008 (Pageau; 150th Anniversary; Special Communication)

BY-LAW CHANGES

1878 1906 1916 1920 1923 1924 1928 1941 1947 1949 1954 1957 1959 1966 1972 1984 1993 2008

HISTORY

• 1908 (Historical Address at 50th Anniversary, 1908-96)
• 1933 (75th Anniversary History, 1933-408)
• 1958 (Centenary History, 1958-200)

OTHER

• 1874 (Jurisdictional dispute, 1874-9)

EVENTS

CONSTITUTION OF LODGE, SEPTEMBER 1859

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XVIII, No. 12, October 1859, Page 384:

On Wednesday evening, Sept. 21, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts constituted a new Lodge in the flourishing town of Clinton, by the name of Trinity Lodge. After the ceremonies of consecration, the officers were installed by the Grand Master and his suite, as follows: * Henry Bowman, Master;

• A. A. Burditt and Geo. L. Thurston, Wardens;
• Josiah H. Vose, Treasurer;
• Henry Eddy, Secretary;
• Samuel T. Bigelow and Daniel Marsh, Deacons;
• John P. Buzzell and A. A. Pevey, Stewards;
• Gilman M. Palmer, M.;
• Levi Green, T.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies, the members of Trinity Lodge and their guests supped together at the Clinton House, and enjoyed, with speeches and music, a very pleasant repast.

BIOGRAPHIES

JONATHAN SMITH 1842-1930

• MM 1865, Altemont #26, Peterborough, NH
• WM 1887-1889, Trinity

From Memoirs of Judiciary and the Bar, Vol. III, by Conrad Reno, 1901:

JONATHAN SMITH, of Clinton, Worcester County, Mass., is a son of John and Susan (Stearns) Smith, and was born October 21, 1842, on the old homestead of his great-grandfather, William Smith, in Peterboro, N. H. William Smith was one of the pioneers of Peterboro and a man of strong character and rugged intellect. He was a member of the first Provincial Congress of New Hampshire, which met at Exeter in 1775), and one of the patriotic men who pledged their private property to aid the Colonial cause.

Jonathan Smith, son of William, the pioneer, and grandfather of the present Jonathan, remained on the homestead and passed his active life as a farmer, dying at the age of eighty years. He also was a man of marked character, earnest and active in all affairs relating to the public good, and earned the highest confidence of the community. He was selectman many years, and long a deacon in the Unitarian church. A Federalist and later a Whig, he represented the town in the Legislature nine years. His son John was, like himself, a farmer who lived on the homestead until his death at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife was Susan, daughter of John Stearns, and was born at Waltham, Mass. She lived to the age of sixty years. John Smith reflected credit upon his ancestry in all the walks of life; he was selectman a number of years, was a representative to the General Court, and for forty years served as deacon in the Unitarian church. Of the six children of John and Susan Smith, four are living: John, Jonathan, Caroline and Jeremiah.

Jonathan Smith remained at the family home in Peterboro until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Keene, N. H., to learn the printing trade. In the summer of the same year (1861), when the first guns of the Civil war were still echoing in the South, he enlisted in the 6th New Hampshire Infantry, went to the front and loyally served his country until in 1863, when he was discharged on account of disability caused by sickness. In the following year he re-enlisted in the 1st New Hampshire Cavalry in which he served to the close of the war.

Returning home Mr. Smith determined to obtain further education and entered the NewHampton Institution, where he prepared for college. He was graduated from Dartmouth in 1871, following which he taught for a time in the Lancaster Academy and subsequently edited the Coos Republican. Resolved toadopt the profession of law, he began study in Manchester, and in 1875 was admitted to the bar. He practiced in that place until 1878, when he removed to Clinton, where he is now the oldest practicing lawyer.

Mr. Smith was married December 13, 1876, to Tirzah, daughter of Levi and Hannah (Drake) Dow, a native of New Hampton, N. II. She died in 1881, leaving one daughter, Susan D. He married, second, in 1886, Elizabeth C. Stearns.

In his profession Mr. Smith has achieved a large measure of success and has been called by his fellow-citizens to fill responsible positions. He served three years as city solicitor in Manchester and occupied the same office two years in Clinton. In 1882 he was appointed special justice of the Second District Court, which office he still holds. He is a consistent and loyal Republican and has ever been willing as a ready speaker and a fluent writer to uphold his political principles. In 1886 he was elected to the State Legislature in which he served one term. He wrote and published a valuable history of the old Trinity Lodge of Masons, in Clinton, which was organized in 1778 and became extinct in 1832. He wrote, also, a series of biographical sketches of the members of G. A. R. Post No. 64, in Clinton, of which he is adjutant, and has other historical publications in view. He has written and delivered a number of orations on public occasions, which have always been listened to with pleasure. Mr. Smith stands high in the Masonic order, having been past master of Trinity Lodge, past high priest of Clinton Chapter, past grand king of the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts, and president of the Twenty-five Associates.

He has been a member of the Clinton Historical Society since it was founded and is president of the Unitarian Society. He has been for many years president of the Worcester Conference of the Unitarian churches.

The personal character of Mr. Smith is marked by a high sense of professional and business honor and integrity, purity in public and domestic life, and unfailing courtesy towards his fellows. He possesses a large fund of general information and is thoroughly equipped professionally.

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

• Charles A. Bartlett, DDGM, District 12 (Fitchburg), 1890, 1891; Memorial
• Clifford P. Bohnet, DDGM, District 22, 2013
• Alfred A. Burditt, DDGM, District 6, 1866; District 11 (Worcester), 1867; SN
• Allan G. Buttrick, DDGM, District 12 (Fitchburg), 1907, 1908; SN
• Frank O. Collins, DDGM, District 13 (Fitchburg), 1993, 1994
• Charles D. Greene, Jr., DDGM, District 13 (Fitchburg), 1967, 1968; SN
• Calvin H. Hastings, DDGM, District 24 (Marlborough), 1919, 1920; Memorial
• Daniel B. Ingalls, DDGM, District 7 (Lowell), 1879, 1880; SN
• Arthur E. McLean, DDGM, District 13 (Fitchburg), 1981, 1982; SN
• George M. Rogers, Jr., DDGM, District 13 (Fitchburg), 1959, 1960; N
• Arthur S. Rollins, DDGM, District 13 (Fitchburg), 1931, 1932; N
• Harold J. Toole, DDGM, District 13 (Fitchburg), 1945, 1946; N

DISTRICTS

1858: District 6

1867: District 11 (Worcester)

1872: District 7 (Lowell)

1883: District 12 (Fitchburg)

1911: District 24 (Marlborough)

1927: District 13 (Fitchburg)

2003: District 23

LINKS

Lodge web site

Massachusetts Lodges