THE MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

THE MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

THE MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI AN ADDRESS BY

HENRY C. CHILES DELIVERED BEFORE THE MASONIC RESEARCH SOCIETY OF MISSOURI

AT ITS ANNUAL DINNER CORONADO HOTEL, ST. LOUIS SEPTEMBER 23, 1934

1935 . PUBLISHED BY THE GRAND LODGE A. F. & A. M. OF MISSOURI

Copyright, 1935, by HENRY C. CHILES PRINTED IN U. S. A.

PRINTED BY THE OVID BELL PRESS FULTON, MO.

AN INTRODUCTION No ONE is better qualified to tell the story of the service rendered by the Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of the State of Missouri through his activities in the realm of higher education than Brother Henry C. Chiles, the present Grand Senior Deacon of the Grand Lodge. His entire life has been spent in Lexington, where from childhood he has been under the influence and tradition left by the Masonic College of Missouri. His zeal in Masonic activities has enhanced his natural interest in the history of this pioneer institution of higher learning which was conducted by the Grand Lodge of Missouri, while his college and university background have provided the understanding mind which has committed to manuscript form the scholarly address delivered by him at the meeting of the Missouri Masonic Research Council at the Hotel Coronado in St. Louis during the 1934 communication of the Grand Lodge.

Not content with compiling the story of the college itself, Brother Chiles has, since the delivery of the address, written brief biographical sketches of the several presidents of the institution, based upon material gathered in connection with research work done by him in preparing the history of the college.

Federal forces occupied the college buildings, ground and adjacent terrain in September, 1861. Some of the photographs illustrating the volume show the entrench[3J

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

ments thrown up by Federal forces and the effects of the bombardment by the Confederate batteries. We regret that the time allotted for the address compelled the author to limit his story to the Masonic College, for we are sure that an account of the battle would have been equally as interesting.

The Fraternity of Missouri is deeply indebted to the author for perpetuating the record of its pioneer work in the field of higher education, not only by means of the spoken words of his address and the printed pages of this volume, but also for his part in the erection of a memorial replica of the main building, the replica being dedicated by the Grand Lodge May 18, 1934, on the eighty-seventh anniversary of the laying of the original cornerstone.

The Masonic College of Missouri has long since passed into history; it was for many years the chief concern of the Grand Lodge of Missouri. That it was an undertaking well worth while, this volume reveals beyond a doubt.

That its influence for good survives even to this day cannot be questioned. But I must no longer detain you from reading this interesting story.

Fraternally, RAY V. DENSLOW, Past Grand Master.

Trenton, Mo., February 6, 1935.

[4]

THE MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

THE MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI THE GRAND LODGE A. F. & A. M. of the State of Missouri for fifteen years owned and operated a real college.

It was known as the MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI, and was the first institution of its kind in A~erica, and, perhaps, in the world. According to the standards of its day, it was a first-class institution of higher education, and, in Missouri, it blazed the way of higher education.

From 1844 to 1847 the seat of the college was in Marion County, near Philadelphia, l\1issouri, and thereafter until the close of the college year 1859 it was at Lexington.

The question ,most frequently asked about the Masonic College of Missouri is: "How did it happen that the Grand Lodge of Missouri undertook the task of education?"

I shall endeavor to answer that question and then give you a brief historical account of the college.

GRAND LODGE APPROVES PLAN The printed proceedings of our Grand Lodge Communications prior to 1841 do not record any discussion of or proposal relative to educational activities or substantial charitable undertakings on the part of the Grand Lodge.

Hence, the reader of the ancient proceedings is startled to find that at the Communication of October, 1841, the first item of new business recorded is the submission of certain resolutions by S. W'. B. Carnegy, P. G.' M., declaring it "necessary and expedient and the imperative duty as well [7J

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

as to the interest of the Grand Lodge to establish . . . an institution of learning for the sons of indigent Masons and such others .as the Grand Lodge may from time to time admit; and also to establish at such place as the Grand Lodge may direct an asylum for the maintenance and education of the female orphans of worthy Master Masons and others" ; and the resolutions also called for the erection in the City of St. Louis of a Grand Masonic Hall. These resolutions were unanimously adopted, notwithstanding the balance in the Grand Lodge treasury was then only $566.09; there were only thirty Lodges (including Lodges U. D.) and the total membership in the State was between seven and eight hundred.

Please note that Colonel Carnegy in his resolutions set forth that the actions proposed were "necessary," "expedient," an "imperative duty," and to the "interest of the Grand Lodge." These expressions are the key to our question.

THE WILLIAM MORGAN AFFAIR

If you visit the cemetery at the town of Batavia, New York, you will see there an imposing monument formed of a towering column surmounted by the figure of a man of distinguished appearance; and on the monument these words: "William Morgan, Murdered by the Masons."

The excitement created by the disappearance of William Morgan of Batavia, New York, in September, 1826, ripened into what is known as the anti-Masonic movement, which was nationwide and extraordinarily bitter. The op(8)

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

posItIon to Freemasonry became so pronounced in' Missouri that in October, 1831, it was actually proposed that the Grand Lodge be dissolved; in October, 1833', at the Communication' held in St. Louis, adjournment was taken to Columbia, and the Grand Lodge continued to hold' its Communications there (except in 1835 when none was held) up to and including October, 1836, at which Com:' munication only four lodges were represented. Communications in St. Louis were resumed in October, 1837.

What the anti-Masonic period was like is graphically described by Dr. J. W. S. Mitchell, P. G. M.:l I have lived through a period made dark by the baseborn efforts of the political schemer and the cowardly desertion of the so-called Mason, uniting to bring derision, and scorn, and ruin upon an institution honored by long ages for its deeds of benevolence and charity and love.

During that same period it had been charged that Freemasons preached charity and benevolence but did not practice what they preached; as is evidenced by the words of the same distinguished Freemason, in his report as Chairman of the Committee on the College, April, 1843: The institution of which you are members professes to practice benevolence, and shall it be said that Masonry consists only in vain boasting and show? Will you tell the world that Freemasonry consists in faith in God, hope in immortality and charity to all mankind, while you withhold from the destitute orphan the gleanings from your plenteous harvests?

I t seems to me that the reasons the Grand Lodge so 1

Proceedings, October, 1848.

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

readily adopted the Carnegy resolutions of October, 1841, which stated that the actions proposed were "necessary," "expedient," an "imperative duty," and to the "interest of the Grand Lodge," may be stated as follow: 'The anti-Masonic crisis had been passed. During that period it had been charged that Freemasons preached charity and benevolence, but failed to practice what they preached. The Grand Lodge in adopting these resolutions in effect declared that never again should it be possible to make these charges in Missouri. The Freemasons of Missouri, now confident. in renewed and growing strength, would show the world by tangible activity, visible to all, that the actual practice of these virtues was their creed.

They would provide education and shelter for the orphan and for the indigent.

A further purpose of the resolutions appears to have been this: During the anti-Masonic excitement, the Grand Lodge had been driven from its seat, the City of St. Louis, and had gone homeless to find what shelter it might at Columbia, then an outpost of civilization. The Grand Lodge declared that never again should that occ,ur. It would build its home, its Grand Hall, at its seat, from which no storm of 'opposition could drive it and which would be a visible sign of its numbers and of its power.

THE COLLEGE IN MARION COUNTY

Another que,stion frequently asked is: How did it happen that the Masonic College of Missouri was estab[10J

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

lished in Marion County? Thatquestion is easily answered -because the Grand Lodge acquired the properties of Marion College, which was the first chartered" college in Missouri, and one of the first west of the Mississippi River.

These properties consisted of what was known as the Upper College (the college proper) with about 470 acres of land, and the Lower College (or "prep" school), located about twelve miles away, with about 880 acres of land.

First and last, ~larion College represented the invest~ ment of perhaps as much as one hundred thousand dollars.

It was chartered by the Act of the General Assembly of Missouri, approved the fifteenth day of January, 1831, and was a Presbyterian institution. Marion College became involved in the breach in that denomination which divided into "Old School" and "New School"; it also became involved in the antislavery controversy; and it was" ultimately involved in the unwise financial schemes of Col. William Muldrow. All these involvements, coupled with the nation-wide financial disaster of the late '30's, killed Marion College.

The coIiege properties, and other lands, were acquired by the Rev. Hewey H. Hayes, who had been a member of the college faculty; and among other muniments of title of Mr. Hayes is a sheriff's deed executed following a sheriff's sale under execution held October 18, 1841, and acknowledged in open Circuit Court in Marion" County on January 12, 1842. The sheriff who made the sale" and executed the deed was Col. Jordan J. Montgomery, a Freemason." The [11]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

circuit clerk who issued the execution and certified the acknowledgment was Stanton Buckner, a Freemason. And the circuit judge upon the bench was M. W. Brother Priestly H. McBride, who sat in the East when the Carnegy resolutions were presented in 1841.

Colonel Carnegy was a lawyer, a resident and member of the bar of Palmyra. He and Montgomery and Buckner were members of Palmyra Lodge No. 18. Judge McBride's membership was in Paris-Union Lodge No. 19, at Paris, Missouri.

GRAND LODGE PURCHASES PROPERTY

Mr. Hayes could not utilize the College properties and let it be known that they were for sale. Judge McBride favored their purchase by the Grand Lodge. Colonel Carnegy at first did not favor the plan, but later waived his objections. On September 12, 1842, Judge路 McBride, Colonel Carnegy and fifteen other brethren contracted to buy the properties, subject to the acceptance of the Grand Lodge, for $9,500. It was truly a wonderful bargain-too good a bargain for the Scotchmen (McBride and Carnegy) to pass by. It was a golden opportunity for the Grand Lodge to acquire extensive properties, fitted for its purposes, and embark at once on its program of education.

At its Communication in October, 1842, the Grand Lodge voted unanimously to accept the contract of purchase. It was planned that the Lower College lands be sold and the proceeds used to help pay the purchase price, [12J

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

as the Upper College lands and buildings were all that the Grand Lodge would require for its purposes. The financial side of Masonic College history is a very intricate and involved story. May I dismiss it this evening by saying that the Grand Lodge did not get a deed for the Marion College properties until May, 1852-five years after it had voted to remove the College to Lexington?

The Grand Lodge at its Communication of October, 1842, appointed a committee to apply to the General Assembly of Missouri for a charter of incorporation; this was granted by the Act approved February 17, 1843, which, among other things, empowered the corporation to operate a college.

COLLEGE OFFICIALLY OPENS

All was in readiness by the spring of 1844. The first students enrolled on the twelfth of May. M. W. Brother J. Worthington Smith, A.M., P. G. M. and P. G. H. P. of Virginia, president-elect of the college, arrived on the fourteenth. Prof. Archibald Patterson, A.M., of Fayette, did not arrive until June 6, having been delayed by heavy rains.

Prof. H. W. Hollingsworth was added to the faculty at a later date. By the time the Grand Lodge held its annual Communication in October, 1844, the college was in full operation, and, for so young an institution, in very successful operation.

We learn from the report of President Smith then submitted that the enrollment included 1 sophomore, 14 fresh[13J

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

men and 29 in the "prep" school, a total of 44. Four of these students were "beneficiaries"; that is, they paid no tuition. Under the regulations previously adopted, each lodge was entitled to name one "beneficiary."

It appears from the report that the president ate in truly democratic fashion at the same table with the students in the refectory, and he pronounced the meals "not in any respect inferior to the tables of Yale and Harvard." He alSo set forth the course of study, which he declared was "on a par with the most favored institutions of our country." It has not been possible for me to make the comparison, but I think you will agree with me that the . student who completed this course (and it remained practically the same throughout the life of the college, both in Mario~ County and "at Lexington) was an educated man.

It was as follows: MASON~C

COLLEGE CURRICULUM

Freshman

Cicero's Orations. Horace's Odes.

Greek Testament. Grreca Majora, first volume.

Tyler's Elements of History.

Legendre's Geometry.

Composition in English and Latin.

Declamation every Saturday.

Bible recitation every Sunday morning.

Sophomore

Grreca Majora, second volume.

Horace's Satires, Epistles and Ars Poetica.

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PRESIDENTS HOUSE, MASONIC COLLEGE, PHILADELPHIA, MO.

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

Plain and Spherical Trigonometry.

Mensuration, Navigation and Surveying.

Nautical Astronomy and Application of Algebra to Geometry.

Conic Sections, etc.

Blair's Rhetoric.

Hedges'Logic.

Folsom's Livy Tacitus. Cicero's De Amicitia, De Senectute, and De Natura Deorum.

Greek and Latin Translations and Composition.

Declamation weekly.

Bible Recitation every Sunday morning. ftmior Juvenal.

Homer's Hliad.

Natural Philosophy.

Differential and Integral Calculus (Cambridge course).

Geology.

Mineralogy.

Chemistry.

Latin and Greek Composition and Declamation.

Bible Recitation every Sunday morning.

Senior

Astronomy, including calculation of eclipses, etc.

Intellectual Philosophy.

Moral Philosophy.

Political Economy.

Civil Engineering (Cambridge course with field practice) .

Constitutional and International Law. Practical Botany and Vegetable Physiology.

Declamation and original compositions.

Bible Recitation every Sunday morning.

By way of electives-and it is difficult to see how any student would have time for electives-it was announced [15]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

that Hebrew, French, Spanish and Italian would be taught at any period of the course, if desired.

As to degrees it was announced: Students who shall go through the whole course above mentioned and shall pass a satisfactory examination in all the branches of study will be entitled to the degree of Bachelor of Arts and three years thereafter to the degree of Master of Arts, in course.

To the present generation, the practice of conferring the A.M. degree in course may seem unusual, as the degree is now conferred only after further work following attainment of the A.B. degree. But according to the general custom of the time (and a custom which prevailed in some institutions as late as the '80's), this treatment of the A.M. degree was no departure from the best academic standards.

By way of example it is to be noted that President Adiel Sherwood, who was president of the Masonic College at Lexington during its first year there, was graduated with the degree of A.B. from Union College, New York, and received the A.M. degree in course July 26, 1820. 2 THE COLLEGE YEAR

The college year of the Masonic College had a duration of ten months, divided into two sessions of five months each. The first annual catalogue states that the first session continued from the first Monday in November to the last day of March, and the second from the first Monday in May to the first Wednesday in October; and that the last 2

Memoir of Adiel Sherwood, D.D., (Philadelphia, 1884) p. 188.

[16J

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

two weeks of each session were to be devoted to rigid, public examinations.

After the college had been established in Lexington, the first session continued from the first Monday in October to the last Friday in February, and the second from the first Monday in March to the fourth Thursday in July. This division of the college year continued until the fall of 1854, when the first session began on the first Monday in September and ended the last Friday in January, and the second term commenced on the first Monday in February and ended the fourth Thursday in June, which arrangement continued throughout the remaining life of the college.

PHYSICAL CONDITION OF COLLEGE

In his report President Smith described the condition of the college buildings and grounds at the time of his arrival in the spring of 1844. As these had been unprotected and untenanted since the closing of 11arion College, the picture is one of ruin and desolation: The whole premises did not contain one building fit for human habitation. The only ones that could be used at all were the president's house and the refectory and even those were extremely leaky and uncomfortable. The brick row which contains 28 dormitories was entirely unfit for use. The doors and windows were utterly demolished and many of the rooms had been used as stables and hog-sties. The (college) Hall and recitation rooms were in a similar state of ruin. Every rail of the fence that once enclosed the 160 acres of prairie in front of the college has been abstracted.

Following this, the report indicated that the necessary repairs had been made or were in progress.

[17]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI COLLEGE LODGE NO.

70

Under the charter, no person who was not a Master Mason (servants employed in common labor and females excepted) could have any employment with the college: so, of necessity, there had to be a lodge home for the brethren who taught and wrought in the institution. To this end, College Lodge No. 70 was chartered, October 16, 1844. Professor Patterson represented the Lodge U. D. at the Communication of October, 1844. President Smith was first Worshipful Master, and Professor Patterson was the first Senior Warden. With the closing of the college in Marion County (1847), College Lodge No. 70 was removed to Warren, in that county, and its name changed to Dickerson Lodge No. 70.

GRAND LODGE LAWS FOR GOVERNMENT

In October, 1844, a revised constitution and by-laws were adopted by the Grand Lodge. These by-laws contained provisions relative to the college, and carefully provided for its organization and control. The Board of Curators, elected every two years, was to be composed of not less than seven nor more than fifteen members. The president and members of the faculty were likewise to be elected for terms of two years. They were required to take an oath of office before assuming their duties and to reside on the college premises. They had general charge of the institution, its property and student body, and were given power to enact and enforce rules and regulations, subject (18)

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

to the 'approval of the.Grand Lodge: The Secretary of the Faculty was charged with 'the duty of reporting annually to the, Grand Lodge, the proceedings of the faculty and all rules and regulations adopted.

Discipline of the st'udents ranged from "private admonition" on up the scale through "public admonition," "degradation," "suspension," "private dismission," "public dismission,". "deprivation of honors," and finally.to "expulsion." Fines and damages could be levied by the faculty against any student defacing or damaging the college property.

Each professor ~as required to report in writing to the president each week; the president to the Board of Curators semiannually, and the Board of Curators to the annual Commu~ication of the Grand Lodge. The Board of Curators was required to visit the college twice a year; its officers were a president;vice-president, and secretary. An important committee of the board was that of Superintendence (five members), which was to inspect the college every three mo~ths and report to the board semiannually. The board had power to fill vacancies in the faculty, etc.

The religious life of the student body was amply provided for: The duties of each day were required to be be~ gun and ended with Scripture reading and prayer. And the appointment of four ministers of the Gospel, from as many denominations, called "chaplains," was authorized, each to preach at the College Hall "once a month and not oftener" and "never on sectarian doctrine."

[19]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

The steward of the college was an officer elected by the Grand Lodge annually. He had charge of the refectory, and in addition to providing three meals a day for the students, was charged also with the duty of causing the laundry to be done and with providing fuel, candles or other convenient means of lighting. He also directed the farming operations and 1-90ked after leasing out the farm lands, collecting the rents, etc., and reported to the board every six months.

CONTROL AND COLLECTION OF PERMANENT FUND

There were two important financial agencies connected with the college. One was the Board of College Fund Commissioners (three) appointed annually by the Grand Master, who had charge of the "permanent fund," that is, the endowment fund, in modern parlance. The other was the college agent, or general agent of the college, who was appointed annually by the Grand Master. It was his duty to solicit and collect subscriptions for endowing the institution.

On the whole, the provisions for the control, conduct and organization of the college (and I have given you only some of the more important) impress the reader as being fundamentally sound. Two defects of major importance are apparent, namely; the rule of classification, so often in these days applied to boards, was not applied to the Board of Curators; that is, the entire board was elected every two years, instead of having one-third or one-fourth of the [20)

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

board elected every year. And, further, no provision was made for the payment of traveling or other expenses which would be incurred by chaplains, curators, commissioners, college agents, and others in the performance of their duties. In the case of the college agent, who, it is apparent, had the mightiest task of all, no definite provision was made for either compensation or expenses; the by-laws simplystating he should be allowed "so much as the Grand Lodge may deem those services to be worth."

Fortunately, the Grand Lodge enlisted as college agent Colonel Carnegy, one of the most unselfish, enthusiastic and capable of its members, and he gave unstintingly of his time and his talents in promoting the noble and glorious work of firmly establishing the Masonic College of Missouri. He not only traveled all over Missouri, but he went to Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. He collected more than $11,000, and the Grand Lodge fixed his compensation at $629.68!!! He actually received $229.41, as he waived payment of the difference because the Grand Lodge finances were low in May, 1848, the time when the final settlement of accounts was had.

THE FEMALE ACADEMY

In referring to the Masonic College of Missouri, the History of Marion County (1884) states: "A female department was added in 1844, in charge of Professor Warren A. Reed." In his report to the Grand Lodge, October, [21]

M.A SON ICC 0 L LEG E 0 F MIS SOU R I

1845, President Smith stated, "Brother Warren A. Reed was employed as teacher of mathematics and performed his duties with great ability till the middle of July last, when he was obliged to leave on account of ill-health."

But President Smith does' not confirm the statement just quoted from the county history, nor is the female academy mentioned in any of' the president's reports. But, certain items bf expense, such as hauling a piano and repairs and house rent for' teacher 'in female academy, which appear in financial reports submitted to the Grand Lodge in October, 1846, and. other bits of information all indicate that a fema1e academy was for a time operated by the Grand Lodge'it;l the properfy of Colonel Muldrow in the village of Philadelphia. Whether this phase of educational activity on the' part of the Grand Lodge had anything to do with the'sudden suspension of the Masonic College in Marion C0U11ty .is a路 question which the printed record does not answer.: In fact,the printed record does not indicate any reason for such suspension.

In the October 1, i846, issue of the Freemason's Monthly Magazine (Boston); edited by Brother Charles W. Moore, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of 'Massachusetts, was published a lengthy letter from Brother S. T. Glover of Palmyra, dated August i, 1846, in which he speaks in the most glowing terms of the progress and success of the Masonic College of Missouri, and describes conditions at the college as seen by him on a recent visit. Yet at the Communication of the Grand Lodge, October, 1846, this [22]

AN EX PER I MEN TIN ED U CAT rON'

same brother submitted a resolution calling' for a: change of location of the college.

REMOVAL FROM MARION TO LEXINGTON

As a result of this a~tion,. an,adjb~rned Communication was held in March, 1847, at :vhich time, it ,was decided, to locate the college at Lexington, and to discontinue the college in Marion County upon the termination of the session then in progress.

The selection of Lexington was a perfectly natural one, inasmuch as its citi,zens had raised by subscription $30,000 to provide grounds and buildings (more than any other community considered); and for the further reason that Lexington was the seat of the largest Lodge in the State, there being then, 62 subordinate lodges and Lafayette Lodge No. 32 was the largest of them alL Gauged by present-day standards, however, it was not a large Lodge, as it had only 54 members on its rolls.

DEDICATION OF BUILDINGS

As a campus for the Masonic College at Lexington a tract of 6.46 acres in a square was acquired, the land lying about one-half mile from the courthouse square, on a high bluff overlooking the Missouri River. The cornerstone of the college building was .laid May 18, 1847, and President Smith路 was the orator of the occasion. The building was dedicated on July 11, 1848, and the college opened in October of the same year. The Rev. Adiel Sherwood, D.D., [23]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

was president during that year. He was succeeded by the Rev. C. G. MacPherson, who served one year. He was succeeded by the Rev. Ferdinand LaBoma Shaver. In July, 1853, President Shaver declined reelection, and Professor Patterson became president pro tellZ. At commencement time, June, 1855, Prof. William T. Davis was promoted to 'the presidency, an office in which he remained until the institution closed.in June', 1'859. In the year 1852 there was built what is referred toin the proceedings ,'as' the "boarding house"-in fact, a refectory and dormitory. , DESCRIJ>TION OF MAIN BUILDING

The mairi building was 81 feet long, 52' feet wide and 34 feet high from the ground to the eav.es, ,and 38 feet from ~he:' floor of the first story to the eaves. ' The, three-story building was of brick with a stone foundation, and in the Grecian-Doric style., There were foufstately fluted columns at the front with appropriate caps and entablatures. In the center of the tympanum was the letter "G," on either side of which 'was a sprig of. acacia and other Masonic emblems.' The first, or basement floor, was the chapel. In each of the other two stories' there were rooms for classes and other collegiate purposes, separated by a wide hall running the length of the building.

The boarding house, or refectory and dormitory, was of brick, two stories high, 50 feet square, with an ell 30 feet by 20 feet. A third story was added in 1854. This build(24}

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

ing was practically destroyed during the battle of Lexington in September, 1861. , _. , An eye-witness .whose account of the dedication in 1848 was published in the Masonic Signet (St. Louis, September, 1848,) tells ,us that "at 10:0.0 o'clock, th~ fraternityhav'ing assembled. at the courtho.\lse, were joined by the Mayor and. city authorities, three division~ of the Sons of Te~per颅 ance, and the Sunday School children of the various schools, numbering about 650. The fraternity; of whom about 200 were in the procession, with their splendid regalia and jewels, the neat white dresses ,of the children; their handsome bann.ers, together with the simple ba.dges of the Sons of Temperance, with their appropriate banners, made altogether a very interesting procession; .' . . while the whqle population of town and country, in carriages of all sizes and descriptions, were hastening on to secure. for themselves'a location within seeing or hearing distance of the dedicatory services." .

REMINISCENCES BY COLONEL ALLEN

During the year' 1855-'56; Dewitt路 Clinton Allen, of Liberty, a graduate 'of: Willi~m Jewell College, was principal of the "prep". schooL Writing for The Lexington News, in 1909, Colonel Allen contributed s'ome interesting reminiscences of the Masonic College and the golden days i~ Lexington "befa' the war." These' reminiscences were in five and one-half columns, and there is opportunity tonight for o1)ly a few quotations from them.

[25T

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

Of the college, Colonel Allen said: From all that I ever knew of the Masonic College, both before and after 1855-56, the institution was one of. the most valuable in Missouri.

His accounts of路 the college life, go to indicate that life at the Masonic College' was no exception to the general rule: For example, -he says: "The placing of pins at inconvenientpoi~ts on my chair in chapel began at the very beginning of the year. Past experience in that line of mischief made me wary from the outset and they never caught me." And he goes路 on to relate how they did catch the president of the college (Brother William T. Davis, a .large, fleshy man). .

Another quotation: The college authorities required me to take a 'room in the college路 edifice. This was for the purpose of路 keeping the peace 0' nights and stopping the nightly ringing 'of the college belL . : .

From my window I could look across to the boarding house ~ .. and at all times survey the bell . . . [which] was mounted' on a large, heavy post, twenty-five feet from the ground.. It was put in motion by a rope tied to it and which hung to the ground. [One moonlit'night he heard tile bell ringing, although the bell rope had been secured and locked and no one cou III be seen near the post] the ringing was not the rolling of a peal, but the sharp, jerky clang of a firebe11. . . . I went quietly into the library room and there caught Fitzhugh Alexander and others ringing the bell in great glee [by means of a cord tied to the clapper arid passed through the library window). I politely asked them to "letme ring some."

They fled precipitately.' Deeming it the best policy to say nothing of the matter for the time; I made no report to the faculty. The "boys" appreciated this course and the bell rang no more 0' nights.

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AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

The Fitzhugh Alexander who rang the bell is no less a person than our Worshipful Brother, the erudite lawyer whom I remember as a boy, one of the most learned of the profession in Western Missouri, and typical of the small group who were graduates of the Masonic College of Missouri. The Masonic College had few graduates, the requirements for graduation being too strict for it to pile up a long roll of alumni, but those graduates were outstanding in the communities in which they lived and were known as educated gentlemen. In the old days in Lexington to say that a man was a graduate of the Masonic College of Missouri, was to place upon him a mark of distinction, and left nothing more necessary to be said. Of this type, were "Fitz" Alexander, Judge John E. 'Ryland, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri in 1872, and, although the war came along and the college was closed before he could graduate, Judge Xenophon Ryland, who in 1876 was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri.

I mention these, as it was my privilege to know them and to be impressed as a youth with their dignity, their graciousness, and their high mentality.

REASONS FOR FAILURE

The Masonic College of Missouri was never a success in a financial way. It was a shining example of a worthy enterprise entered into with more enthusiasm than capital -"on a shoe string," so to speak. But for the uncertain conditions of the pre-Civil War period, however, it is safe [27]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

to say that the college would have overcome the financial handicap under which it labored." But that period, in Missouri as well as elsewhere, was not one in which to overcome such handicaps". There w"as a lack of harmony even in the Fraternity. Byway of example, it may be pointed out that as early as 1855 the Masons in Lexington had divided and in that small community there existed" two lodges, old Lafayette' No. 32, and Lexington No. 149.

When the Grand Lodge held its annual Communication in Lexington in May, 1856, thOese two lodges appointed committees to act together on arrangements, with the proviso on the part of the older Lodge that "it will not incur any expense for a public .celebration or procession." Condilions, generally,' were "in a very disturbed state. For instances in the summer of 1856, the proslavery forces closed the Missouri River" to boats carrying men from the North bourid "for Kansas;" and one company from Chicago, all armed, was taken off a boat at Lexington, disarmed and sent back down" the river and to Alton, Illinois. These men had been paid $100 each to "go to Kansas.

"In these trying years the Masonic College was being conducted at a loss and the deficit was mounting higher year by year. It appeared to many that the Grand Lodge had a "white elephant" on its hands. At the Communication of May, 1859, after a battle royal on the floor of the Grand Lo"dge, on a roll call of lodges, it was voted to sustain a minority committee report and close the college at the end of the session then in progress.

[28}

BATTLEFIELD, MISSOURI RIVER IN THE DISTANCE, OLD ENTRENCHMENTS IN THE FOREGROUND

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

This action of the Grand lodge brought a storm of opposition from Lexington and the friends of the college.

Both lodges at Lexington united in the ,common object of bringing about a reopening of the institution. A Masonic "Convention" was held in Lexington on the twenty-fourth of June, 1859, to devise ways and means. The lodges and Masons of the State were circularized in a style which might in these days be called propaganda. Another and more largely attended convention was held in Lexington on the twelfth of October, 1859, and resolutions were then adopted denouncing the action of the Grand Lodge in closing the college, and plans were made to carry the matter to the floor of the Grand Lodge at its next Communication, May, 1860. At that Communication, however, the Grand Master, M. W. Brother Marcus Boyd, in his address characterized the conventions as irregular and un-Masonic and the Grand Lodge sustained him and thus no action favorable to reopening the college as a Masonic institution was taken.

PROPERTY GIVEN TO STATE

As a matter of fact, the Grand Lodge ~ppointed a committee to attend to the matter of transferring the college property to the State of Missouri for school purposes. For a short time a sort of military school was conducted there by the State, but in 1871 the State transferred the property back to the Grand Lodge, which, in the same year, conveyed it to the predecessor of the Central College for [29)

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

Women, a Methodist institution, which became defunct in 1925, after many thousands of dollars had been expended in improving andi expanding the property and endowing the institution. In 1928, by virtue of conveyances from the Grand Lodge and from the Central College for Women, the property was conveyed to the City of Lexington for a public park. In August, 1932, the college building and Murrell auditoriurn were destroyed by fire.

THE MEMORIAL

In 1933 and 1934, by virtue of Civil Works Administration projects, and the cooperation of the City of Lexington, the debris was cleared away, and on the original site was built for use as a shelter house a replica of the original building of the Masonic' College of Missouri, half-scale.

The replica is a faithful one, even to the letter "G" and the sprigs of acacia. This replica and four memorial columns, which mark the four corners of the original building, were dedicated by the Grand Lodge on the eighteenth of May, 1934, the eighty-seventh anniversary of the date on which the original cornerstone was laid.

The memorial at the northeast corner consists of three stone steps, surmounted by a brick column capped with stone, and was erected by Lexington Lodge No. 149. The stone used is from the original building. On the east side of this memorial is the Grand Lodge memorial tablet. 3 On the north side is the memorial tablet placed by Lexing3

See page 31.

[30]

~7""';.ao;"I.;~" •.

"',..

c:.;~ .~

f.·..'::'

•••~:-.'!~. ~_.

I" ._ .14.,

MAP OF THE BATTLEFIELD, SHOWING LOCATION OF COLLEGE BUILDING

~'J'

AN. EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

ton --Lodge.~ -These' two . tablets :fully cotninemor-ate .the M~~on~c College~o拢 Missoud. - _. ,- 'The other irierri6rial~colu~ns,we~e' ~r~cted by t~e City of Lexington. " _The one at路 the northwest corner' commemorates the Battle of- Lexington,September-12-20, '1861', as the Masonic -College: buildings and grounds v.rere part' of the'strongty fortified position of the forces of Colonel Mulligan, U. S. Army, during the engagement. The one at the southeast' corner colIlIiiemorates路 the presidents and former' students. of. the Masonic, College, and its capstone路 is an original stone of the college struck by cannon balls, during t4e battle and has imbedded in it a cannon ball used in the battle. The memorial column at the southwest corner c6mmemor~tes the Central College for Women,' its pres,idents, graduates and chief benefactor, the Rev. Dr. Wil~iam_ B. Palmore. Appropriate memorial tablets and enlarged photographs provided by the City of Lexington have been placed on each of these columns.

GRAND LODGE MEMORIAL TABLET

The following inscription appears on the tablet erected by the Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of Missouri: Here, on May 18, 1847, the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of. the State of Missouri laid the cOfnerst0t:le of the Masonic College of Missouri, which it dedicated July 11, 1848.

Here, the Grand Lodge provided higher education for young men until June, 1859.

Here, by virtue of a gratuitous conveyance from the Grand 4

See page 32.

[31]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

Lodge higher education for young women was made possible until June, 1925; and by virtue of a like conveyance of March 19, 1928, this rn~morial park was assured to the City of Lexington for the perpetual enjoyment of the public. ,In commemoration of these services, the Grand, Lodge has ~rec,ted this memorial tablet, this 18th day of May,_ 1934. ' F.-C. ~ARNJ.ULL/ ' , Grand Master.

ARTHUR MATHER}

'Grand Secretary.

MEMORIAL TABLET ERECTED BY LEXINGTON LODGE 'NO.,149

The following inscription appears on the tablet erected

by Lexington Lodge No. 149, A. F. & A.'M.: , 'This memorial to the Masonic College of Missouri, built with stones taken from the college walls, has been placed by Lexington Lodge No. 149, A. F. & A. M., over the original cornerstone in which was deposited May 18, 1847, a copper plate bearing these inscriptions: ' Masonic College of Missouri, cornerstone laid May 18, A.1. 5847.

M. W. John Ralls, Grand Master M. W. J. W. Smith, President of the College James K. Polk, President of the United States John C. Edwards, Governor of Missouri Engraved by R. S. Wentworth The original copper plate is in the archives of Lexington Lodge No. 149, A. F. & A. M.

The speaker counts himself fortunate' to have ~~en_ officially connected with the Civil Works Administration [32}

MEMORIAL TABLET AND COLUMN ERECTED BY GRAND LODGE OF MISSOURI

REPLICA OF MASONIC COLLEGE ON SITE OF OLD BUILDING

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

project which memorializes the outstanding service rendered by the Grand Lodge of Missouri as a pioneer in the work of higher education in the West; and he also appreciates the opportunity afforded this evening to appear before you and recount in an abbreviated way the history of the Masonic College of Missouri.

[33J

ADDENDA On the tenth day of January, 1934, a CWA worker, clearing away the debris and rubbish at the northeast corner of the old Masonic College building, came upon the original cornerstone which had been covered with another slab of路 rock that he had removed. This cornerstone was not taken from its place; in it had been bored a circular cavity and in that he discovered the tablet or copper plate previously referred to. This plate is semicircular (so made to fit in the cavity) and is about seven by five inches, and the inscriptions upon it are set forth on the memorial tablet erected by Lexington Lodge No. 149 as previously stated.

Later in the year the Masonic Memorial was erected over the ancient cornerstone, but before it was put up another deposit was made to take the place of the copper plate.

This deposit consisted of a bronze cylinder, waterproof, in which was enclosed a parchment; on the parchment was a lengthy exposition of the significance of the cornerstone and the memorial. With appropriate but simple ceremonies, the deposit was made on the twentieth day of April, 1934. The text of the parchment follows: ((THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS MAY DISCOVER THE RIGHT!!

The cornerstone of The Masonic College of Missouri, in whose original position this scroll is placed, was laid May 18, 1847, by M. W. George H. C. Melody, Acting Grand Master, assisted by M. W. ]. W. Smith, the President of the College. The Grand [34]

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

Master of Missouri; M. 'w. John Ralls,. was absent from the State, serving in the Mexican War as' Colonel' of the' Third Regiment of Missouri Mounted Volunteers, in, command of the post at Santa Cruz de les Rosales.

The building was 81' feet long, 52 feet in width, and three stories high, constructed of brick and stone, with four tall columns supporting the Greek front, decorated across the fa<;:ade with the Masonic "G," sprigs of acacia, and other symbols appropriate to Freemasonry.

It was dedicated July 11, 1848, by M. W. Joseph Foster, Grand Master of Missouri, the orator 'of the occasion being Alexander 1.

Slayback. The first term of college work began in September of that year, and the college continued until June, 1859, at which time the institution closed.

The building was occupied by Colonel James A. Mulligan as Federal headquarters during the siege and battle of Lexington, September 12 to 20, 1861, and was scarred by shot and shell as a consequence.

After the war, the State of Missouri used the college property as a military school for a short time, but the project was unsuccessful, and it was turned back to the Grand Lodge, which in 1871 conveyed the property, containing 6.46 acres, to Marvin Female Institute, the predecessor of Central College for Women, under whose supervision higher education for young women was offered until June, 1925. A reversion clause in the deed provided that the property should go back to the Grand Lodge in the event of failure to maintain a school thereon. All interest of the Grand Lodge ,in the college property was conveyed to the City of Lexington by deed of March 19, 1928, thus assuring the use of the historic property as a public park forever. ,. , On August 20, 1932, the buildings were entirely destroyed by fire. Since that time the officials of the City of Lexington naming

t

[35]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

them] have worked out a comprehensive plan for the beautification of the grounds and the preservation of historic memorials. A replica of the Masonic College, one-half scale, has been designed

by Hugh C. Rogers, City Engineer, for use as a shelter house, and has been erected as a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project, with the cooperation of the City of Lexington.

For the information of the future, this explanation is recorded of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which as one of its projects erected the replica on this site of the original building of the Masonic College of Missouri: Among the measures set up in the year 1933 to combat the effects of economic distress and disaster, the Congress of the United States authorized the expenditure of public moneys to provide employment and relief in every state, county and community in the United States. That part of the program having to do with providing employment included the Civil Works Administration (CWA), under whose direction public funds were expended on various projects so as to afford employment to the unemployed.

This program of the CWA, along with other measures, were controlled in each state by directors, and in each county by a county relief and reemployment committee.

In Missouri, the two directors were: Wallace Crossley and Harry S. Truman (both Freemasons) .

The Lafayette County Relief and Reemployment Committee were: Henry C. Chiles, Chairman (Freemason), 1. Irwin Morris (Freemason), W. R. Journey, Jack B. Hereford (Freemason), Dr. E. 1. Johnston (Freemason), and John Gausman. No CWA project could be undertaken in Lafayette County without the unanimous approval of the county committee.

The four corners of the original building have been appropriately marked by brick and stone pillars, memorializing the history of the site; this the NORTHEAST corner, under the supervision of [36]

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

the following committee of Lexington Lodge No. 149, A. F. & A. M., appointed to plan and erect this memorial over the original cornerstone: W. Bro. John K. Leiter, Chairman, R. W. Bro. Henry C. Chiles, W. Bro. Ernest J. Fegert, W. Bro. Walter A. Dunford and Bro. Burtis M. Little.

DONE IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF

Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States (Freemason ) , and of Guy B. Park, Governor of the State of Missouri (Freemason), and of the Judges and Clerk of the Lafayette County Court [ naming them], and of the Officers of the Grand Lodge A. F.& A. M. of the State of Missouri [naming them], and of the Officers of Lexington Lodge No. 149 A. F. & A. M. [ naming them].

This sketch of the park's history is placed in the old cornerstone this the 20th day of April, 1934. (Inscribed by Bro. H. J. Rand.)

Deposited by Henry C. Chiles, Grand Junior Deacon of the Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of the State of Missouri, by authority of M. W. Bro. Frank C. Barnhill, Grand 'Master, who was unable to be present.

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

PRESIDENTS OF THE MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI; BIOGRAPHICAL DATA COMPILED BY HENRY C. CHILES 1. J. Worthington Smith, 1844-47.

2. Wilkins Tannehill, elected but did not accept.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Adiel Sherwood, 1848-49.

C. G. MacPherson, 1849-50.

Ferdinand LaBoma Shaver, 1850-53.

Archibald Patterson, 1853-55.

William T. Davis, 1855-59.

J. WORTHINGTON SMITH, A.M. This brother from Virginia was the first president of the Masonic College of Missouri and held that post during the entire time the college was located in Marion County, 18441847. He arrived at the college on the fourteenth day of May, 1844. He was elected Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Virginia in 1840.

He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia on the thirteenth day of December, 1842. He was still Grand Master when he came to Missouri, as the Virginia records state that he served for two years. As Grand Orator and President of the Masonic College, he delivered the address at Lexington upon the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone of the main building of the college at that place on May 18, 1847. This address was published in the Grand Lodge Proceedings of the Adjourned Communication held at Lexington, May, 1847, and a proof of the notable character of that address and of the scholarly attain[38]

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

ments of the orator is the fact that 44 years later, in 1891, that address was "reprinted fot the use of libraries" by James W. Staton of Brooksville, Kentucky.

The selection of Most Worshipful Brother Smith as, President of the Masonic College was made no doubt on the recommendation of Grand Secretary John Dove of Virginia, whom Colonel Carnegy and other Missouri Masons had met at the Baltimore Convention" in 1843. President Smith became first Worshipful Master of College Lodge No. 70 located at the Masonic College, chartered October 16, 1844. It is highly regrettable that more data are not obtainable about this outstanding figure in our college's history.

WILKINS TANNEHILL

\Xfilkins Tannehill was a Past Grand 1faster and Past Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, a resident of Nashville and he was elected President of the Masonic College of Missouri on July 12, 1848, at an Adjourned Communi~ation of the Grand Lodge of Missouri held at Lexington. The other nominee for the post was Brother C. G. MacPherson, who af~erw~rds became president of the college. Most Worshipful Brother Tannehill did not accept the post. He was one of the foremost Freemasons of his time and the scho~arly author of many Masonic works, among them a Monitor which was standard in its day. He died at Nashville on June 2, 1858, seventy-one years of age.

Most Worshipful Brother Tannehill has a particular (39)

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

appeal to Missouri Freemasons because of the fact that, as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, he signed the charter of Missouri Lodge No. 12, located at St. Louis, dated October 8, 1816. This Lodge is now Missouri Lodge No.1, under the Grand Lodge of Missouri.

ADIEL SHERWOOD, D.D.

Brother Sherwood was selected as President of the Masonic College of Missouri by the Board of Curators when it was ascertained that the President-elect, Wilkins Tannehill, had declined to accept the post.

Dr. Sherwood was born at Fort Edw~rd, New York, on October 3, 1791. His father was Colonel Adiel Sherwood, a soldier of the Revolution, and member and Worshipful Master of Washington路 Lodge No. 11. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Sherwood, was his father's second COUSIn. He was graduated from Union -College, New York, in 1817, with the-degree of A.B. That college conferred upon him, in -course, the degree ()f A.M. three years later (according to the practice of the time) in 1820. His degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him in 1844 by Granville College (now Denison University), Ohio.

Dr. Sherwood throughout his life was an educator and a minister of the Gospel. Denominationally, he was a Baptist. In his youth, because of poor health, he went to Georgia, where he spent many years preaching and teaching. While in Georgia he was also a planter, and owned [40]

ADIEL SHERWOOD, D.O.

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

and operated a large plantation in Greene County. In 1828, he recorded in his diary, that he preached 333 sermons and traveled Inore than three thousand miles in reaching the various congregations to which he preached.

In 1829 he was preaching to four congregations, Eatonton, Greensboro, Milledgeville (then the capital) and Macon, respectively distant from his plantation home 35, 15, 55 and 75 miles.

In 1836 he became a member of the faculty and college agent of Columbian College, Washington, D. C. (now George Washington University), and as college agent raised the funds which saved the life of that celebrated institution. In 1839 he returned to Georgia to organize the Theological Department of Mercer University (an institution which he had been instrumental in establishing), and became Professor of Sacred Literature and Moral Philosophy. In 1841 he became President of Shurtleff College, at Upper Alton, Illinois. His service at Lexington followed that in Illinois, but he remained in Lexington only one college year, just long enough to give the Masonic College, in its new home, a good start.

The Memoirs (referred to in the preceding address on the Masonic College) from which the facts of this sketch are largely taken, consist of copious extracts from a journal or diary kept by Dr. Sherwood, and from letters, as well as portions written by his daughter, Miss Julia L. Sherwood.

But nowhere is recorded路 anything to indicate when or where he became a Freemason. He did not affiliate with [41J

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

Lafayette Lodge No. 32 at Lexington, but the minutes of that ancient Lodge record the fact that he visited it on March 12, 1849, and that he was then a member of Friendship Lodge No. 25, located at Upper Alton, Illinois.

Dr. Sherwood returned to Georgia in 1857, and the spring of 1865, at the close of the Civil War, found him plowing his field at the age of 74, on his plantation near Indian Springs, in Butts County. "Marching Through Georgia" was a grim reality to Dr. Sherwood, for his plantation lay awaste. That fall he returned to Missouri, where, at first, he was barred from preaching by the infamous "test oath" of reconstruction days in Missouri; but later he served various Baptist churches in St. Louis County as pastor. His last sermon was preached at Park Avenue Church, St. Louis, only a short time before his death, which occurred on August 19, 1879. His remains were buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

The first marriage of Dr. Sherwood was to Mrs. Anne Adams Early, relict of former Governor Peter Early, of Georgia, and was solemnized May 17, 1821. She died in November, 1822. She was a sister of General Thomas A. Smith, of Virginia, but later of Old Franklin, Missouri, one of whose daughters, Lucy Ann Smith, in 1830, became the second wife of Nathaniel Beverly Tucker, second Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri.

Dr. Sherwood was a man of national reputation as a scholar, an educator and a divine. He had met all of the Presidents of the United States from John Adams to John [42]

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

Tyler, inclusive, and had vi·sited·in the homes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madi~on .. He was a great and a good man; a man of many and outstanding accomplishments; but at the same time he was a· man of remarkable humility and democratic simplicity, which probably accounts largely for his successes in ·such widely.·varying fields as Georgia, Illinois, Washington,·D. C.; and Missouri, in .very trying times.. He was survived by his widow -(his second wife), the former Miss Emma -C. Heriot,· of Charleston, South Carolina, whom he had married ·May 6, 1824, and by five children by that union-four daughters, and a son, the latter Thomas A. Sherwo?d, once Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri.

C. G. MAcPHERSON, A.M.

Brother MacPherson was a 1?inister of the Gospel, and was President of the Masonic College of Missouri during the college year 1849-50.. He came to Missouri from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, about 1847, and was principal of the Chapel Hill Academy, at Chapel Hill, Lafayette County, Missouri, until the academy was turned over by its founder, Archibald W. Ridings, to the Missouri Synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and incorporated as Chapel Hill College by Act of the General Assembly of Missouri, approved January 16, 1849. The academy and the college were named for the seat of the University of North Carolina by Mr. Ridings, the founder, who was a native of North Carolina, and who was a former [43]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

student, if not a graduate of that distinguished institution of learning. Chapel Hill College was burned March 26, 1863, during the Civil War. Brother MacPherson affiliated with Lafayette Lodge No. 32, at Lexington, on December 10, 1849, but the records do not indicat~ from what Lodge his membership was transferred. He demitted October 10, 1853. He came to Lexington as the first路 President of the Lexington Female Collegiate Institute (incorporated, 1851), the predecessor of the Baptist Female College (incorporated, 1855).

FERDINAND LABOMA SHAVER, A.M.

Brother Shaver first became connected with the Masonic College of Missouri as a teacher in the "prep" school. At the meeting of the Board of Curators, held in May, 1850, he was elected President of the College, and continued as such until he declined reelection in July, 1853.

He affiliated with Lafayette Lodge No. 32, at Lexington, on April 14, 1851, but the rec.ord tails to show from what Lodge his membership was transferred. "He appeared frequently in the Grand Lodge of Missouri, with a proxy from No. 32. He was Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, from 1850 to 1853, inclusive; he was Chairman of the Committee on Fraternal Correspondence in 1851, and Chairman of the Committee on Grievances in 1853.

His wife, Jane Crawford Shaver, who died on September 30, 1851, at the age of 44 years 6 months, is buried in Machpelah Cemetery, at Lexington, Missouri, Lot 7, [44]

FERDINAND LABOMA SHAVER

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

Block F, as is also a son, Edward M. G. Shaver, who died November 21, 1850.

From a granddaughter, Miss Elva Goodhue, of Columbia, Kentucky, it has been ascertained that Brother Shaver was born in 1808, at Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia, and that he died in Fort Deposit, Alabama, on January 4, 1880. As was frequently the case in his day, in addition to being an educator, Brother Shaver was also a minister of the Gospel. He was first affiliated with the Protestant Episcopal Church, and later with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was active in his ministry as late as 1874. He was a man of fine scholarly attainments and was an orator of great power. Many of his addresses and sermons were published in pamphlet form.

On leaving Lexing~on, he removed to Alabama where he served as pastor of churches at Montgomery, Clayton and Fort Deposit. He was a Knight Templar, a member of DeMolay Encampment No.4, located at Lynchburg, Virginia. Brother Shaver was one of the founders of the I. O. O. F. Lodge at Abingdon, Virginia.

ARCHIBALD PATTERSON, A.M.

"Old Euclid," as he was lovingly called by his students, pioneer, minister of the Gospel, educator, Freemason, Professor of mathematics and natural science in the Masonic College of Missouri fron1 its inception in 1844 until the close of the college'year in 1855, was, no doubt, the wisest and most generous and faithful friend and servant the Ma[45J

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

sonic College ever had. He was acting President or President pro tem of the College from the close of the service of Brother Shaver until June, "1855.

Worshipful Brother Patterson came to Missouri from Ohio at an early day and was a pioneer Baptist preacher.

He helped organize a Baptist Church four miles south of Paris, Missouri, on May 7, 183l.

He was initiated, passed and raised in Fayette Lodge No. 47, Fayette, Missouri, January 18, 24 and 30, 1843.

At that time he was principal of the Fayette Academy, which he had established in 1834. He was thetfirst Senior Warden of College Lodge, No. 70, located at the Masonic College, in Marion County. When the College was established at Lexington, he became a member of Lafayette Lodge No. 32 (by affiliation July 9, 1849), which Lodge he afterwards served as Worshipful Master. He also served Lexington Chapter No. 10, Royal Arch Masons, as High Priest. He was elected Deputy Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Missouri, in May, 1850, and represented the Grand Chapter of Missouri in the triennial convocation of the General Grand Chapter, at Boston, September, 1850.

While in Boston, he purchased for the Masonic College its laboratory equipment, and as the appropriation ran short, with his own credit he bought part of the outfit (to make it more complete), and he also purchased 350 volum~s for the college library on his own credit. He was also the owner of a $300 scholarship in the college, and the [46]

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

old records show that he helped many a student by advancing money for tuition fees. Almost from the very beginning of his service as professor the college was indebteded to him for arrears in his salary, and the account was not finally balanced until the close of the eleven years he was connected with the institution. The record shows that, with his consent, others were paid in full for their services while he waited for his compensation.

Professor Patterson was one of the nine Past High Priests who organized the Convention of Anointed High Priests of Missouri, in May, 1854. He demitted from Lafayette Lodge No. 32, on September 10, 1855.

On leaving Lexington he removed to Platte City, Missouri, where he was principal of the Platte City Male Academy until his death, from an accident, which occurred May 23, 1857, at the age of 57 years. Paxton's Annals of Platte County speak of him as "a scholar and a learned Mason." A memorial page (49) in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, May, 1857, commemorates the worth and works of "Old Euclid," naming him "Alexander" Patterson. Another memorial page, on which he is correctly named, is page 139 of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge, May, 1858. In all the history of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, "Old Euclid" is the only Freemason who achieved the distinction of having a memorial page in two of the annual Proceedings; a distinction which the writer fervently believes was more than earned by long, faithful and invaluable service.

[47]

MASONIC COLLEGE OF MISSOURI

WILLIAM T. DAVIS, A.M.

Brother Davis was the last President of the Masonic College of Missouri, serving from his election in June, 1855, to the closing of the college in June, 1859.

In 1847-48, Brother Davis became associated with President William T. Lucky, the organizer of Howard High School (1844), at Fayette, Missouri, the forerunner of both Central and Howard Payne colleges. He was principal of the male department and continued as such until the close of the session in June, 1852. He was an elder of the Presbyterian Church organized at Fayette, in 1848.

His first connection with the Masonic College was as principal of the "prep" school, beginning with the opening of the session in the fall of 1852.

He was a'member of Lafayette Lodge No. 32 at Lexington, with which he affiliated on November 14, 1853. He was still a member of that Lodge when he died at Glasgow, Missouri, in October, 1864.

In his sketch of the Masonic College (1909), Col. D. C. Allen refers to him as "Reverend William T. Davis, President and Teacher of Moral Science," etc., and says he was from Howard County, Missouri, and that his wife was a niece of Alfred W. Morrison, a former Treasurer of the State of Missouri. Colonel Allen describes him as a large, fleshy man, and refers to him and other members of the faculty as "accomplished men and admirable instructors.

They were thoroughly conscientious in their work."

[48J