Let there be light: The Grand Lodge of Missouri’s First Hundred Years

By MWB John Hess Grand Historian At the turn of the 19th century, America was expanding at a terrific rate. President Jefferson had just negotiated with the French to purchase a significant part of the North American continent west of the Mississippi River. Freemasons Lewis and Clark led the Voyage of Discovery to explore this vast new land.

Part of that land became the State of Missouri, with the Grand Lodge of Missouri being founded on April 21, 1821 and the State of Missouri founded August 10, 1821.

Early highlights of the first hundred years of the Grand Lodge of Missouri include actions that set the stage for a two hundred year history.

Over the first hundred years, 954 Lodges were organized by the Grand Lodge of Missouri with nearly one-third or 303 Lodges having disappeared during the time period.

At the time of the founding of the Grand Lodge, the Deputy Grand Master was appointed, and it took until the second decade of the Grand Lodge for that office to become an elected office.

In the first half of the century, promotion in line was unknown. Rarely if ever, before the 1860’s, was the Grand Senior Deacon elected to the station of Grand Junior Warden. Even Grand Wardens had no warranty deed on the Grand Mastership.

On April 25, 1825, General Lafayette together with his son, George Washington Lafayette, visited Missouri. The Grand Lodge was called up in a special communication to honor this distinguished Mason. While there was some question that General Lafayette was a regular Freemason, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania appointed a committee to investigate and report on Lafayette’s Masonic regularity. The Committee reported favorably, forever settling the matter. Both General Lafayette and his son were made honorary members of the Grand Lodge of Missouri.

The period from 1836-1840 was the time of the Morgan Affair. A strong anti-Masonic feeling swept over the country. The anti-Masonic movement caused several Grand and Subordinate Lodges to cease to work. In Vermont, not a single Lodge continued to work. The Grand Lodge of Missouri felt its effects severely.

At the end of the Civil War in 1865, Grand Lodge membership was 9,358 with 225 lodges and by 1873 membership was 25,120 with 470 lodges. In six years membership has increased 162%.

In May of 1884, the Grand Commandery of Missouri created a Triennial Committee in preparation of hosting the 1886 Grand Encampment session. On September 21, 1886, on Charity Day, the Grand Encampment raised $35,114.00 to be placed at the disposal of the Grand Lodge to aid in the establishing of a Masonic Home. At the closing of the 1886 Grand Lodge session, Grand Master Boyd expressed the hope that “May the time soon come when her widows and orphans find a Home for their torn and bleeding hearts and a sweet resting place for their tired and weary feet.”

Over the first hundred years, seventy-six Grand Masters were elected, installed and presided as Grand Master. One Grand Master was not present for his election and was never installed. Due to the Morgan affair, no Grand Lodge communication occurred in 1835.

From its beginning, the Grand Lodge of Missouri has faced hardship and prosperity and will continue to do so as it begins its third century of involvement in the lives of Missourians.

» With these historical events over the Grand Lodge of Missouri’s first hundred years, let us take a look at the events that led up to the founding of the Grand Lodge as well as some of the famous and not so famous people who made it all happen. As the fur traders traveled the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to New Orleans, settlements were established along the river. One of these settlements on the west bank of the Mississippi was Ste. Genevieve, about seventy miles south of the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers. Ste. Genevieve’s history dates back to 1763. Merchants from St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve traveled to Philadelphia for supplies and while in Philadelphia were exposed to Freemasonry. They brought that interest back to Ste. Genevieve and eventually requested a warrant to establish a Masonic Lodge in their little hamlet. A Charter was granted to Louisiana Lodge No. 109 by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and the first Lodge west of the Mississippi was established. Due to the advancement of St. Louis in the early 1800’s Ste. Genevieve declined and the Lodge ceased to exist in 1817. One of the early members of Louisiana Lodge No. 109 was Steven Austin, who went on to become the founding father of the State of Texas.

With the growth of St. Louis, Freemasons from that city petitioned the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for a Charter to form a Masonic Lodge in their city. A Warrant was granted to open a Lodge under the name of St. Louis Lodge No. 111 in 1809-1810. As settlers from Tennessee began exploring the new territory of Missouri a dispensation was granted to Joshua Plicher to form a second Lodge in St. Louis, Missouri Lodge No. 12 in 1816. In 1819 the Grand Lodge of Tennessee granted a Charter to William Roberts to open a Lodge at Herculaneum under the name of Joachim Lodge No 25. In the same year, the Grand Lodge of Tennessee granted a charter to Benjamin Emmons to form a Lodge in St. Charles, St. Charles Lodge No. 28. In 1820, the Grand Lodge of Indiana granted a Charter in Jackson, Missouri under the name of Unity Lodge No. 6. Past Grand Master Alexander Buckner of the Grand Lodge of Indiana settled in the Jackson Missouri area and was involved in the formation of Unity Lodge No. 6. The Grand Lodge of Missouri is in debt to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Indiana and Tennessee for its Masonic heritage. It is to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee that we look and consider her as the mother of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee. From her sprang our original three Lodges, Missouri Lodge No. 12, Joachim Lodge No 25 and St. Charles Lodge No. 28 that founded the Grand Lodge of Missouri in 1821.

On February 22, 1821, a preliminary convention was held in St. Louis in the hall of Missouri Lodge No. 12 on Elm Street between Maine and Second Streets. Representatives from Missouri Lodge No .12, Joachim Lodge No. 25 and St. Charles Lodge No. 28 were present. The Convention was organized with Edward Bates as Chairman. Brothers William Bates, Nathaniel Simonds and Edward Bates were named to the committee to write a Constitution for the new Grand Lodge of Missouri.

Now let us take a look at famous and not so famous Masons who were instrumental in the formation of the State of Missouri as well as the Grand Lodge of Missouri.

First let us look at MWB Thomas F. Riddick, who served as the first Grand Master of Masons of the new Grand Lodge of Missouri. He was born at Suffolk, Virginia June 3, 1781 and moved to St. Louis in 1803. He was a member of St Louis Lodge No. 111 under a Charter from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and at the organization of the Grand Lodge he appeared as a representative of Joachim Lodge No. 25 at Herculaneum. In civil affairs he served as clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and recorder of Land Titles in St Louis as well as a representative of the Territorial Legislature in 1818. He was elected as Grand Master at the age of 40. In later life he served as President of the Board of Directors of the Old Territorial Bank in 1820 and moved to Sulphur Springs in Jefferson County where he died on January 15, 1830 at the age of 49 years.

One of the most famous Masons of the early years was Brother Thomas Hart Benton. Brother Benton first joined the Craft in Tennessee and after moving to Missouri transferred his membership first to St.

» Louis Lodge No. 111 and then to St. Louis Lodge

No. 1. He was elected the first senator from the new State of Missouri in 1821 and served for more than thirty years. He can be placed with such great national leaders such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. He was a supporter of President Andrew Jackson and hard money earning the nickname of “Old Bullion”.

Involved with the formation of the Grand Lodge we find Edward Bates. MWB Bates served as our third Grand Master. He served as private in the War of 1812 and in 1814 came to St. Louis. He studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1816. He was made a Master Mason in Missouri Lodge No. 12 and served his Lodge as Master for eight years. Brother Bates served the Grand Lodge as Grand Master in 1825, 1826, 1827 and 1831. He was elected to the Constitutional Convention and served in the State Legislature after Missouri became a state. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives and Chairman of the Whig Party National Convention in 1856 and served as Attorney General in 1860 under President Lincoln. Due to ill health, he resigned his post after two years. A bronze statue of him stands in Forest Park in St. Louis to commemorate his great work in the early history of Missouri.

Not a common name but one who should be known to all Missouri Masons is RWB Frederick L. Billion. He served at the fourth Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Missouri serving in 1830, 1831, 1832, 1845 and 1846. He also served as Grand Treasurer in 1843. He was made a Master Mason in Missouri Lodge No. 1 December 23, 1823 and served that Lodge as Master in 1828 and 1844. He wrote the annals of St. Louis in its Territorial days in 1888. Later he served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In the Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research Volume 2, 1944 edited by MWB Ray V. Denslow, containing the beginnings of Freemasonry in Missouri, historical accounts written by James E. Stiener used the Masonic Memoranda of Frederic L. Billon as the major source of his research. He stated that it was “the most valuable Masonic record in Missouri.” Billon’s Memoranda was published by the Missouri Lodge of Research in 2016.

The Missouri Masonic Ritual has always been important to the members of our Craft. MWB Stephen W.B. Carnegy who served as Grand Master in 1836, 1837 and 1838 was an integral part of our ritual’s history. He attended the famous Baltimore Convention in 1843 and wrote of his experiences in his seminal book The New Trestleboard published in 1856. He assisted in forming St. Louis Commandery and was the author of the resolution to organize a Masonic College. He died at the age of nine-five in 1892.

The Grand Lodge of Missouri is in debt to MWB John D. Vincil who served two terms as Grand Master in 1866 and 1868 and served as Grand Secretary from 1877-1904. In 1857 he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He received the literary degree of D.D. in 1873 from the University of Missouri. During his last term as Grand Master, Grand Secretary Anthony O’Sullivan died and he appointed George Frank Gouley as Grand Secretary and with the tragic death of Grand Secretary Gouley, John D. Vincil was elected Grand Secretary.

Masons in Missouri owe a debt of gratitude to all those who gave countless hours of service to move our Grand Lodge from its formation to its centennial. The next hundred years saw the same dedication. Because of the quality of our membership there is no doubt that our third century will show the same dedication as the past 200 years.