Difference between revisions of "Corinthian"

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CORINTHIAN LODGE

Location: Concord

Chartered By: Paul Revere

Charter Date: 06/12/1797 II-100

Precedence Date: 06/12/1797

Current Status: Active

NOTES

In the History of the Lodge that appears in the 1921 Proceedings, it indicates that the Lodge voted on February 22, 1836 to not surrender the Charter; the Lodge did not meet between December 1840 and February 1845. (Page 1921-92)

This history also contains brief biographies of several prominent members of the Lodge.

PAST MASTERS

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

• Petition for Charter: 1797

ANNIVERSARIES

• 1897 (Centenary)
• 1902 (105th Anniversary)
• 1922 (125th Anniversary)
• 1947 (150th Anniversary)
• 1972 (175th Anniversary)
• 1997 (200th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

• 1865 (Parkman)
• 1872 (Nickerson; hall dedication; see below)
• 1897 (Hutchinson; Centenary; Special Communication)
• 1902 (Gallagher; 105th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1912 (Benton)
• 1918 (L. Abbott)
• 1921 (Prince; Hall Dedication; Special Communication)
• 1922 (Prince; 125th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1947 (Wragg; 150th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1972 (Vose; 175th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1975 (Maxwell)
• 1981 (Berquist)
• 1983 (Berquist)
• 1985 (Richardson; installation; Concord 350th Anniversary)
• 1989 (Ames; Reception for Senior Grand Warden Charles A. Lukas, Jr.)
• 1997 (A. Johnson; 200th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 2004 (Hicks; Concord Award Night)
• 2011 (Stewart; Table Lodge)

BY-LAW CHANGES

1857 1869 1872 1885 1897 1904 1912 1916 1920 1927 1928 1930 1948 1952 1953 1954 1955 1961 1968 1976 1979 1983 1987 2003

HISTORY

• 1921 (History at Hall Dedication, 1921-81)
• 1947 (150th Anniversary History, 1947-158)
• 1972 (1947-1972 History, 1972-158)
• 1997 (Bicentenary History, 1997-53)

EVENTS

MASONIC BALL, MARCH 1857

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 6, March 1857, Page 192:

The Brethren and friends of Corinthian Lodge united in giving a grand Social Ball at Concord, on the 3d of March last. It is said to have been "one of the most pleasant and social assemblies of the season," The W. Master of the Lodge, Bro. L. A. Surette, and Messrs. How, Hosmer, Wilde and Haywood, were the managers, and seem to have acquitted themselves to the great satisfaction of their friends of both sexes.

MASONIC BALL, FEBRUARY 1858

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 5, February 1858, Page 160:

We understand that Corinthian Lodge gave a grand Masonic and civic Ball at the Town Hall, in Concord, on Wednesday evening, Feb. 24th. The hall was handsomely decorated, and the whole thing passed off to the gratification of all present, under the man agement of Messrs. Surrette, (Master of the Lodge,) Howe, Hosmer, Wield and Haywood. The supper was served up at the Middlesex Hotel, and is well spoken of.

GRAND MASTER'S VISIT, APRIL 1865

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly Magazine, Vol. XXIV, No. 7, May 1865, Page 199:

The M. W. Grand Master, with a delegation of his officers, paid an official visit to this ancient Lodge, at Concord, on the 10th of April last, being the fourth visit of the kind made it since its organization in 1797— a fact which perhaps is to be accounted for on the hypothesis that its affairs have ever been so well conducted, and the Deputies for the District have always discharged their duties so faithfully, as to render the immediate presence of the parent body unnecessary. It is one of the few old Lodges in the jurisdiction, that manfully and firmly resisted the torrent of opposition that set with such overwhelming force against the whole Institution in the ever memorable days of antimasonry.

A large number of the members were in attendance, among whom we were gratified to meet several Brethren who had been connected with the Lodge for from thirty to fifty years. The work on the second degree was given by the W. Master, Bro. Louis A. Surette, and his officers, in a very complete and finished manner, affording the highest gratification to all present. At the conclusion of the work, the M. W. Grand Master addressed the Brethren at some length on the satisfactory condition of the Lodge, on its faithfulness in past years, and on the general principles of the Institution, and the duties and obligations of its members. The Lodge was then closed, and the company repaired to the Middlesex House, and together partook of an excellent and bountiful supper, provided by the Lodge. During this interesting part of the ceremonies of the evening, brief speeches were made by the W. M. of the Lodge, by the M. W. Gr. Master, and other officers of the Grand Lodge. As a finale, the company, on the invitation of the W. Master, repaired to his private residence, where they spent an agreeable hour in social chit-chat. The whole affair was admirably well managed, and afforded the highest satisfaction to the visitors from the city. The officers of the Lodge are as follows :—

• Louis A. Surette, W. M.
• L. Willis Bean, S. W.
• Albert E. Wood, J. W.
• Albert Stacy, Treas.
• Benjamin Tolman, Sec.
• Geo. P. Howe, S. D.
• Moses Hobson, J. D.
• Geo. Wheeler, S. S.
• James Garty, J. S.
• Abner Ball, Organist
• Charles E. Snell, Tyler.

HALL DEDICATION, FEBRUARY 1872

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 6, April 1872, Page 169:

Corinthian Lodge of Concord, one of the oldest Lodges in this State, after more than half a century in their old hall, have just obtained a new suit of rooms, with a very spacious and handsome hall, for their future use. Thursday, 29th day of February, was selected fur the dedication, and on that day at half-past five o'clock, the Grand Officers of the Grand Lodge left Boston by the Fitchburg Railroad for Concord. They were met at the depot in that town by a committee from Corinthian Lodge, with carriages, and after a short stop at the residence of a past officer of the Grand Lodge, were conveyed directly to the hall, in the business centre of the village.

The dedicatory services were to be public, and previously to the entrance of the Lodge, the ladies had taken possession of the hall, and decorated it with bouquets of flowers, filling it with their sweet fragrance. Just before the entrance of the Grand Lodge, Mrs. William H. Brown, daughter of the Master of Corinthian Lodge, arose and addressed the W. M. in a neat and appropriate manner, and in behalf of the ladies of the members, presented to the Lodge an elegant set of Working Tools, the cost of which was about one hundred dollars. Owing to a pressure for time, a brief response to the address of the young lady was made by the W. M. Bro. W. F. Hurd, in which he returned the thanks of the Lodge for the timely and appropriate present, and hoped the ladies would never have occasion to regret the confidence which had been expressed in their name, in the character and usefulness of the institution.

The Grand Lodge now entered, and after the usual ceremonies of introduction, proceeded at once with the services as expressed in the ritual.

The members of the Grand Lodge present were:

• Grand Master Nickerson;
• Past Grand Masters Winslow Lewis, John T. Heard and W. D. Coolidge;
• Deputy Grand Master Percival L. Everett;
• Senior Grand Warden Charles Kimball;
• Junior Grand Warden Tracy P. Cheever;
• Grand Treasurer John McClellan;
• Recording Grand Secretary, pro tem. Wm. T. Grammer;
• Corresponding Grand Secretary Charles W. Moore;
• District Deputy Grand Master Charles A. Welch;
• Grand Marshal William H. Chessman;
• Grand Tyler Fred. A. Pierce.

Prayer was offered by Bro. Titus, who officiated as Grand Chaplain for the occasion.

The dedicatory exercises were in the customary form, including a brief address by the architect in surrendering the working tools, examination of the apartments, prayer, reading of the Scriptures, dedication, and pouring out of the corn, wine and oil, with the recitations and grand honors—the whole interspersed with appropriate music and singing by a select choir of ladies and gentlemen. All the exercises were impressive and peculiar and very much interested all who were present. They were performed with promptitude and according to the ancient usages of the craft on similar occasions.

BRO. WHEILDON'S ADDRESS.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies of dedication, an address upon the subject of Masonry and Masonic history, with some special references to the organization and history of Corinthian Lodge, was delivered by R. W. Bro. Wm. W. Wheildon, occupying some three quarters of an hour in the delivery. In hi* exordium, in behalf of Corinthian Lodge, he thanked the Grand Master and the members of the Grand Lodge for their presence and the manner in which they had performed the services of the evening in the dedication of the hall to Freemasonry, to Virtue and to Universal Benevolence. He referred to the Charter of Corinthian Lodge, which was issued in 1797, and bore the signatures of Paul Revere, Isaiah Thomas and John Soley; its first meeting in the Grand Jury room of the County Conrt House, and of its first master, Bro. Isaac Hurd, Grandfather of the present Master of the Lodge. He spoke emphatically of the antiquity of the Institution, and its claims to respect on that score alone, and said if there was nothing to be found in Masonry itself to justify its continuance, its past age and preservation was an evidence at least of the countenance and favor of the great Grand Master of the Universe. But Masons do not rest the character of their institution upon its antiquity, nor yet upon the distinguished names of its patrons and supporters in the past ages and modern history of the order. Masonry is a Christian brotherhood, and in its "universal benevolence" has no compeer among human institutions. A mere Mason is not Masonry any more than a mere Christian man is Christianity: the better mason the better man, or man and mason, a brother.

He spoke of the Great Light in Masonry, to be found on the altar of every Masonic Lodge in the Christian world, the open Bible, as containing the law and the lessons of the fraternity, and referred to its presence at the earliest Masonic gatherings on the Continent, its constant use through the revolutionary war, where Masons were to be found, and the reverence always and everywhere paid to it by Masonic Lodges.

Having thus, as he believed, established the claims of the. Masonic institution to respectability and respect, however unnecessary to the members of the order, he thought they were justified in desiring more suitable and commodious apartments for the holding of their meetings than those they had occupied for more than a half century. He congratulated the members of Corinthian Lodge upon their position and prosperity, which enabled them to secure such admirable rooms for their use, and was glad to know that these had been furnished by the enterprise and public spirit of one of their own members, Past Master James Garty, who had shown himself not less skillful in operative than he was in speculative Masonry.

Bro. Wheildon then again returned the thanks of the Lodge to the Grand Master and his suite, and trusted that Corinthian Lodge, which for three quarters of a century had been able, amid all the vicissitudes of the times, to maintain its character and preserve its charter, would still prosper and never fail to manifest its respect for and interest in the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Commonwealth.

We have thus given a very incomplete and imperfect sketch of this able address by Bro. Wheildon, which was listened/to with marked attention by the audience and the Grand Officers.

THE BANQUET.

At nine o'clock, at the conclusion of the exercises in the hall, the members of Corinthian Lodge and their guests of the Grand Lodge, and ladies and gentlemen, repaired to the banquet hall. W. M. Hurd presided at the tables, assisted by Bros. Edward C. Damon and Henry F. Smith, Senior and Junior Wardens. The tables were bountifully and elegantly spread and decorated with bouquets of choice flowers. After the generous entertainment had been fully partaken of, the company was called to order by W. M. Hurd, who in a few complimentary words, introduced M. W. Grand Master Nickerson, who briefly expressed his interest in the occasion and in the continued prosperity of one of the oldest lodges in the State. There were present by his invitation in his suite, three of the Past Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge, and a fourth, who had been invited, found himself unable to be present. He then referred to some interesting points in Masonic history and spoke of the patriotic and Masonic services of Paul Revere and Joseph Warren, and complimented the speaker upon the interesting address delivered by him. We regret that we are unable to give a more complete sketch of the appropriate and excellent remarks of the Grand Master.

Past Grand Master Coolidge was next introduced and made an excellent speech concerning Masonry and the deprivations of the brotherhood in the necessary absence of the ladies from the ordinary meetings. His remarks were well received by the fraternity and especially by the ladies, who sympathized with the sufferings of the speaker and the brotherhood!

It was deeply regretted by the company present that time was not at command in which to hear remarks from Brothers Lewis, Heard, Moore, District Deputy Welch, and several others who were present and whom the company were so anxious to hear ; but these gentlemen having other engagements felt compelled to return to Boston by the special train at a quarter before ten o'clock, which they accomplished. The Grand Master and all the members of his suite expressed themselves highly pleased and gratified with their visit and the exercises of the evening. Of the recent Grand Masters, one only, we believe, previous to this occasion, has ever while in office, visited Corinthian Lodge, and that was Past Grand Master John T. Heard, in 1857.

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

• Charles E. Brown, DDGM, District 11 (Lowell), 1884, 1885; Memorial
• Edward C. Damon, DDGM, District 4 (Cambridge), 1876, 1877; SN
• Winslow Johnson Damon, DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1943, 1944; N
• Douglas J. Ellis, DDGM, District 14, 2013
• Kenneth S. Gendall, DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1995, 1996
• Warren B. Goddard, DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1927, 1928; N
• Charles S. Hart, DDGM, District 11 (Lowell), 1902, 1903; SN
• John H. Hart, DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1969, 1970
• Isaac Hurd; Junior Grand Warden 1801-1802; Senior Grand Warden 1803
• Charles A. Lukas, Jr., DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988; Senior Grand Warden 1989
• A. Robert MacLeod, Jr., DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1957, 1958; N
• Lemuel Shattuck, DDGM, District 5, 1830, 1831, 1832; SN
• Charles W. Sylvester, DDGM, District 12 (Lowell), 1919, 1920; Memorial
• William Whiting, DDGM, District 5, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1834; District 3, 1835; SN

DISTRICTS

1803: District 5 (Framingham, West and North)

1821: District 5

1835: District 3

1849: District 3

1867: District 4 (Cambridge)

1883: District 11 (Lowell)

1911: District 12 (Lowell)

1927: District 12 (Lowell)

2003: District 14

LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges

Lodge web site