The Journal of The Masonic Society, Issue #23 by The Masonic Society

The Journal

Of The Masonic Society

Winter 2014

Issue 23

Winter 2014 THE JOURNAL OF THE

MASONIC SOCIETY WWW.THEMASONICSOCIETY.COM

the meaning behind the myth of Hiram by Robert G. Davis, MMS

The last years of the york grand lodge Part One by David Harrison, Ph. D.

1427 W. 86th Street, Suite 248 Indianapolis IN 46260-2103 Editorial Committee Kenneth W. Davis - Reviews Editor Queries concerning prospective articles should be sent to: Articles@themasonicsociety.com

Standing at the crossroads between heaven and hell: New York’s burned-over district and its connection to anti-masonry by Steven E. McCall Jr.

Design & layout John A. Bridegroom, FMS - Art Director Officers James R. Dillman, President John Palmer, 1st Vice President Clayton J. Borne III, 2nd Vice president Nathan C. Brindle, Secretary/Treasurer Christopher L. Hodapp, Editor Emeritus

The Observant Mason by Andrew Hammer, FMS

Directors Kenneth W. Davis José O. Díaz Andrew Hammer Aaron Shoemaker Gregg Hall Gregory J. Knott Gord Vokes These guidelines apply to the reuse of articles, figures, charts and photos in the Journal of The Masonic Society. Authors need NOT contact the Journal to obtain rights to reuse their own material. They are automatically granted permission to do the following: Reuse the article in print collections of their own writing; Present a work orally in its entirety; Use an article in a thesis and/or dissertation; Reuse a figure, photo and/or table in future commercial and noncommercial works; Post a copy of the article electronically. Please note that Authors must include the following citation when using material that appeared in the Journal: “This article was originally published in The Journal of The Masonic Society. Author(s). Title. Journal Name. Year; Issue:pp-pp. © the Journal of The Masonic Society.” Apart from Author’s use, no material appearing in the Journal of The Masonic Society may be reprinted or electronically distributed without the written permission of the Editor. Published quarterly by The Masonic Society Inc. 1427 W. 86th Street, Suite 248, Indianapolis IN 46260-2103. Full membership for Master Masons in good standing of a lodge chartered by a grand lodge that is a member of the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons of North America (CGMMNA), or recognized by a CGMMNA member grand lodge. (includes Prince Hall Grand Lodges recognized by their counterpart CGMMNA state Grand Lodge): $39/ yr., ($49 outside US/Canada). Subscription for nonmembers: $39/yr., ($49 outside US/Canada). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Journal of The Masonic Society, 1427 W. 86th Street, Suite 248, Indianapolis IN 46260-2103 © 2014 by The Masonic Society, Inc. All rights reserved. The MS circle and quill logo, and the name “The Masonic Society” are trademarks of The Masonic Society, Inc. and all rights are reserved.

Issue 23

FEATURES

ISSN 2155-4145

Executive Editor Michael Halleran editor@themasonicsociety.com

SECTIONS 4 President’s Message 5 News of the Society 8 Voices From the Past 9 Conferences, Speeches, 36 Symposia & Gatherings 14 From the Editor 33 Book Reviews

THE COVER: Photo of the regalia of a Knight Mason, taken during the Annual Meeting of the Grand Council of Knight Masons held during Masonic Week 2014 in Reston, Virginia. The Knight Masons, or Green Degrees, are of Irish origin and are their own distinct body in Ireland to this day. In the United States they are governed by the Grand Council of Knight Masons. Members are called Cousins, and the presiding officer is the Excellent Chief. More information can be found at http://www.knightmasons.org WINTER 2014• 3

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The mission continues... by James Dillman, FMS

n February 14, 2014, at the annual meeting of The Masonic Society in Reston, Virginia, I was elected to serve as your president for the next two years. I could easily fill this entire space with the names of those who are in some way responsible for me being selected for this high honor. I must, however, acknowledge my three predecessors, Roger Van Gorden, Michael Poll, and Bo Cline. All three of these men worked tirelessly and provided outstanding leadership during their terms as President. I am grateful for their service to TMS and I am well aware that I have big shoes to fill. I would also like to acknowledge three of our members who, in accordance with our bylaws, have retired as directors of TMS after serving the maximum three terms. On behalf of the entire organization, I extend a heartfelt thank you to Ron Blaisdell, Jim Hogg, and Mark Tabbert for your hard work and many contributions to TMS. Thank you. In our first five and half years our membership has grown and our Journal has emerged as one of the preeminent Masonic publications in the world. The original mission established by our founders was to encourage and promote Masonic research and offer, via The Journal, a venue for both aspiring and established Masonic scholars. That mission will continue. Moving forward, and after consultations with our officers, directors, and several members, I have chosen six objectives for my term as President. Maintain and further refine the high standards already established for The Journal. Every effort will be made to strike a balance between the historic, symbolic, and esoteric aspects of Freemasonry with a magazine that appeals to a broad audience yet captures the interest of those with a somewhat narrow focus. Be responsive to the needs and desires of our members within the framework of our mission. Many of you are quite content to pay your membership dues, receive your copy of The Journal, and expect nothing more from TMS. But we believe that TMS can be much more than just an organization that publishes a magazine and we remain open to feedback from you. I encourage you to write me at president@ themasonicsociety.com with any comments, questions, or suggestions. Build our membership and increase our member retention. We are steadily adding new members to our roll, but we can do much better. We not only want to promote more Masonic research, we want to vastly increase the number of consumers of that research. There are still too many Freemasons who do not know of our existence. We intend to market TMS more aggressively and ask that you help us grow by introducing TMS to your lodge brothers and fellow members of other Masonic organizations. Loan a brother one of your copies of The Journal or direct him to our website. Improve our communication with the membership and the Masonic community. We will accomplish this by regularly improving and updating the website and by using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to get our message out. The advent of social media has contributed mightily to the demise of many online discussion forums, but we will continue to use the member’s forum to bring you news and provide a venue for quality discussions on Masonic topics. Build relationships with lodges of research and other Masonic research organizations. Despite much hard work on the part of our three former Presidents, the Second Circle program has not been

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as successful as we had hoped. That program is discontinued and we will now direct our efforts toward offering support to the various lodges of research. When the budget allows, we will offer limited financial support for lodge of research events and other conferences and symposiums. Sponsor or co-sponsor Phase II of The Quarry Project in 2015. The inaugural event in Alexandria, VA was well received and we wish to build on that success. One of my first actions as President will be to appoint a study committee to determine how we should proceed. We will announce details in late summer or early fall of 2014. I am very enthused about the team of officers and directors that I will be working with. They are all accomplished Freemasons and leaders in their own right and I am confident that they will each commit themselves to helping make TMS the best that it can be. To each one of you, I personally thank you for being a member of TMS. I will always remember that this organization exists for its members and that we, the officers and directors, are here to serve you. For my part, I am keenly aware of the duty and responsibility that I have assumed by accepting this office. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve TMS and am deeply humbled by the expressions of support. I have never considered myself anything more than just another worker in the quarry and I envision myself not so much as a President, but as a caretaker for a precious jewel that was handed over to me for safekeeping. As such, I offer whatever talents the Grand Architect has blessed me with along with a promise to serve and represent TMS honorably and to the utmost of my ability. As I enter upon this great and important undertaking, I ask that you remember me in all of your applications to Deity as I will remember each of you. Jim Dillman is a native of Royal Center, IN and attended Ball State University. He was raised in Royal Center Lodge No. 575 in Royal Center, IN on March 4, 2000. After relocating to Indianapolis in 2002, he affiliated with Logan Lodge No. 575 in Indianapolis and served as Worshipful Master in 2005. He also affiliated with Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, serving as Worshipful Master in 2011. He is a member of the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research and is a certified Master Ritualist. In May, 2008, he was presented the Grand Lodge of Indiana’s Order of Service to Masonry by Grand Master Duane L. Vaught. Jim is a member of the board of directors of the Masonic Library and Museum of Indiana. In December, 2013 he was reelected to his eighth term as President of the Indianapolis Masonic Temple Association. He is a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Indianapolis, where he currently serves as Senior Warden in the Adoniram Lodge of Perfection. He has also presided over all three York Rite bodies. He is a member of Knight Masons , AMD,Yeomen of York, and the York Rite Sovereign College. In 2011, he was elected to receive the Knight York Cross of Honor. In 2013, he was awarded the Grand Commandery of Indiana’s Distinguished Service Award. Jim is the director of work for Levant Preceptory, a group of Masonic Knights Templar who confer the Order of the Temple in authentic Templar costumes. Jim is a founding member and a Fellow of the Masonic Society. He has written for the Indiana Freemason Magazine, and The Art of Manliness website. He resides in Indianapolis and works as a 911 dispatcher in the Indianapolis 911 Center.

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News of the Society GREGG HALL Gregg is a founding member of The Masonic Society and was raised in Morgan Hill Lodge No. 463 in 2005, serving as Worshipful Master in 2009. Morgan Hill merged in 2012 and is now South Valley Lodge No. 187 (Grand Lodge of CA).

TMS ELECTS NEW OFFICERS The following members will serve as officers and directors for the 2014-2015 calendar years after being elected at the annual meeting at Masonic Week in Reston, Virginia on February 14: Executive Board President: James R. Dillman 1st Vice President: John L. Palmer, PGM 2nd Vice President: Clayton J. “Chip” Borne III, PGM Secretary/Treasurer: Nathan C. Brindle Executive Editor: Michael A. Halleran Editor Emeritus: Christopher L. Hodapp Board of Directors Kenneth Davis, Fellow Director José O. Díaz, Fellow Director Andrew Hammer, Fellow Director Aaron Shoemaker, Fellow Director Gregg Hall, Member Director Gregory J. Knott, Member Director Gord Vokes, Member Director Chip Borne is the new addition to the Executive Board. Kenneth Davis and Andrew Hammer have assumed the position of Fellow Director from their previous positions as Member Director and Fellow Director José Díaz is new to the board. Gregg Hall and Greg Knott are likewise new to the board and will serve as Member Directors. Look for biographies of the new officer and board members elsewhere in this issue. INTRODUCING OUR NEWEST DIRECTORS The Masonic Society is pleased to introduce our three newest directors, Gregg Hall of Morgan Hill, California, José O. Díaz of Columbus, Ohio, and Gregory J. Knott of St. Joseph Illinois, as well as to announce the election of James Dillman as society president and Clayton J. “Chip” Borne III as second vice president.

He has presided over all three San Jose York Rite Bodies and has been inducted into the Knights of the York Cross of Honor. He is also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of San Jose, where he is Master of Kadosh. He is a past presiding officer of the AMD, OES, and Grotto. He is currently serving as Governor of the York Rite College, and is an officer in the Sciots, Knight Masons, and El Camino Research Lodge. He is also a member of the Red Cross of Constantine and SRICF. In 2012, Gregg was appointed to the Grand Line of the Grand Commandery of California and is currently serving as the Grand Standard Bearer. He is also serves the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons as an inspector and is a past inspector for the Grand Lodge of California. He resides in Morgan Hill, California with his wife, Chris, and two Labrador retrievers. They have two grown sons who are both Freemasons. Gregg and Chris are expecting their first grandchild in July. JOSÉ O. DÍAZ An associate professor, curator/librarian, and adjunct professor of history and Latin American Studies at The Ohio State University, José O. Díaz is a specialist in early American history. His research interests focus on the history of the American Civil War, Masonic rare books, the material culture of American and Latin American Freemasonry, and public history. In addition to teaching American and public history he’s taught courses on the history of Freemasonry. José served as Master of York Lodge No. 563 F&A M, Worthington, Ohio in 2006 and is a dual member of Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792 F&A M, Hilliard, Ohio. A thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, he’s a member of the Valley of Columbus, the York Rite, and a 2010 Fellow of The Masonic Society. He’s a member of Congregation Am Brit. He holds a Ph.D. in history from The Ohio State University. A native of Puerto Rico, José resides with his wife and children in Columbus, Ohio. GREGORY J. KNOTT A Founding Member of the Masonic Society, Gregory J. Knott was raised a Master Mason in November 2007 in Ogden Lodge No. 754 of Ogden, Illinois where he is currently Chaplain. Since June 2008, Greg has been a dual member of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 of St. Joseph, Illinois and served as Worshipful Master in 2011-12, helping lead the lodge to earning the Illinois Grand Master’s WINTER 2014 • 5

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News of the Society Award of Excellence in 2011 and 2012. St. Joseph Lodge was also honored with a 2011 Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award, the first lodge in Illinois to earn this distinction.

three terms permitted by TMS bylaws. The contributions of these three brothers were substantial and we offer our sincere thanks and appreciation for their dedication and service to the organization.

Greg is a member of the Valley of Danville Scottish Rite, ANSAR Shriners, GAO Grotto, Champaign-Urbana York Rite, AMD Council No. 356, Scottish Rite Research Society, the Philalethes Society and the National Association of Masonic Scouters. Additionally he is a regular contributor for the Midnight Freemasons, a Masonic blog. In 2012, Greg co-founded the Illini Masonic High Twelve No. 768 and currently serves as secretary.

FREEMASONS CLAIM THEY WERE ‘GAGGED’ IN ROW OVER BELFAST MASONIC HALL

Greg is an Eagle Scout and currently Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 40 in St. Joseph, Illinois where his son Hayden is a member. In 2011 he was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois and in 2013 elected to the board of the Association of Community College Trustees in Washington DC. Greg is Assistant Dean of University Libraries at the University of Illinois and lives on small farm with his wife, Brooke, and children Riley and Hayden. CLAYTON J. “CHIP” BORNE III A Past Master of the oldest lodge in Louisiana, Perfect Union Lodge No. 1, Clayton J. “Chip” Borne III hails from New Orleans. Following his undergraduate education at Loyola University he received his Juris Doctor Degree from the Loyola University School of Law, as well as a post graduate certificate from the Harvard School of Law. Chip has been a practicing attorney since 1967, He now maintains a private practice in Metairie, LA. In 2000, he joined the officer line of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana and progressed through the line until his election as Grand Master of Louisiana in 2006. Chip has numerous affiliations with Masonic appendant bodies, not all of which can be listed here. Active in the Scottish Rite, he currently serves as the personal representative of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General. Among his many other affiliations are all three York Rite bodies, Red Cross of Constantine, SRICF, Shrine, and National Sojourners. He has been coroneted as a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and was inducted into the DeMolay Legion of Honor. In his spare time, Chip enjoys historical and genealogical research, softball, jogging, and golf and he has coached Little League baseball, basketball, and football. He has two grown children and resides in Mandeville, LA. Please join the directors and staff of The Masonic Society in welcoming them aboard. BLAISDELL, HOGG, AND TABBERT RETIRE AS DIRECTORS Bros. Ron Blaisdell, Jim Hogg, and Mark Tabbert have retired as members of the Board of Directors having served the maximum 6 • WINTER 2014

It’s always distressing to learn of disharmony in any lodge and even more so when one of the parties involved decides to seek remedy in the courts. From the Belfast Telegraph: Masonic rules were not properly followed in the suspension of a father and son from the order, the High Court heard today. A judge was told of alleged procedural breaches in the action taken against Stewart and Brian Hood following a disputed proposal to sell the body’s Belfast city center headquarters. The Hoods, who run an electrical, plumbing and heating contractor business, were suspended on a charge of “unmasonic conduct.” They are seeking to have the sanction declared void which could then see them reinstated at their lodge in Templepatrick, in County Antrim. Disciplinary action to suspend the Hoods was first taken in 2009. But they argue that rather than going to the Dublin-based Grand Lodge of Masons in Ireland, the matter should have been dealt with at the provincial level in Antrim. Brian Hood, who brought the case along with his father, claimed in court he was “effectively gagged” after forming part of a retention team which put forward an alternative to selling the Masonic in central Belfast. CRAWFORDSVILLE MASONIC TEMPLE HAS UNCERTAIN FUTURE The brethren of Montgomery Lodge No. 50 in Crawfordsville, Indiana have reached a crossroads regarding the future of their building, which needs major repairs. Montgomery Lodge was the home lodge of Lew Wallace, Civil War general and author of Ben Hur. It was Wallace himself who led the parade at the dedication of the building in 1904. More from the Crawfordsville Journal Review Online: John Phillips, the newly appointed Master of the Lodge, has been asked more than once if the large, brick building at the corner of Washington Street and Wabash Avenue is empty, but the temple is most certainly still open. Phillips, who became a Mason five years ago, hopes to return the temple and the fraternal organization to its former glory.

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News of the Society ith great pride and appreciation, The Masonic Society welcomes the following brethren as our esteemed new members. Peter Galbraith Ballantine Joseph L Barbato Michael Bell Shaun Brookhouse John M. Burchfield Christopher E Chapman Darryl Lynn Chapman Chuck Combi Rodney K Couto Michael E Dempsey Christopher DenBleyker Michael S Dennehe Monte R Ervin Joshua Lee Fisher Dr. John Forster Rev. Tyler C Grossett Donald E. Hale

Henry Hamblin Jr. Joe Harris Dr. Kenneth E Harris Jr. Garrett Hugh Hastings Edward R. Hazelett II Alonzo E. Hill Russell D Howell Jr. James C Hutchinson Jr. Marshall Tyler Joyce Thomas D Kleiner John Charles Kuehn David Jewett Llewellyn Christopher J. Loftus Bryan Thomas Loughney Jonathan Macedon Joseph E Malatia G Andrew Martinez

Richard E. Miller II Robert Raymond Mitchell Joaquin Munoz Claudio Toledo Netto Charles John Odorizzi III Alex Roberto Ortiz Joel D. Ratliff Sr. Juan K. Reyes Alexander Joseph Ripa Henry Rivera Frank Romero Jr. Stephen A. Rubinstein Daniel Rene Ruiz-Isasi Dan Austin Ryals Tomas J. Sanchez Osvaldo Santiago James Matthew Scardelis

Mark T Schmidt Ronald G. Schumacher Noah A Serna Gordon Willis Slimmer Raymond Stuart Swann III Jose Tavera Alexander Towey John H Vivian Tony Ward Jeffery A Watts Karl Albert Wenn Jason S. West Bryan G. Wiggins A. Harry Williams IV Robert Yadouga

Phillips has been in touch with Historic Landmarks of Indiana, but because the organization is not a non-profit group, grants are not readily available to them. “If we don’t start with the outside, then nothing we do on the inside will matter,” he said. TENNESEE LODGE RESTORES HISTORIC HALL From the Associated Press: A group of Freemasons is trying to restore a Masonic Temple in Franklin, Tennessee that they say was the first three-story building constructed in Tennessee. Craig Feldner, who is leader of Hiram Lodge No. 7, told The Tennessean newspaper that he hopes the building’s importance to the city and to American history can drum up enough interest to save it. “When the Masons built this temple they wanted a grand and purposeful place to meet,” Phillips said. “They did it not just for themselves, but for future Masons, and now here we are.” Phillips knows the task ahead will be difficult as the organization considers its options and funding sources. “We are at the point where we must decide whether to remodel the temple or leave it,” Phillips said. “If we keep it, we must figure out how we are going to restore it and maintain it.” The main restoration focus is on the exterior of the 110-year-old building. A large portion of the brick needs tuck pointing, which is costly. Current repair and remodeling estimates top $300,000, of that $108,000 is needed for the tuck pointing alone.

The temple is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the place where President Andrew Jackson met with Chickasaw leaders in 1830 and the Native Americans signed a treaty giving up their lands. “We think there’s as much history here as the Carter House or Carnton Plantation,” Feldner said, referring to well-known Tennessee antebellum homes. The Lodge is trying to raise about $4 million to renovate the entire building, including the third floor, which has been declared off-limits by city inspectors due to concerns about structural soundness. “Our goal with this renovation is not to do patchwork but to make it last another 200 years,” Feldner said.

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RETROSPECTIVE

Voices from the past - Fin de Siécle Edition THE PROGRESSIVE LINE

rand Master Hall took strong ground against the principle of “rotation in office,” which he termed a “despotic innovation” on the democratic principles of Masonry.

“To say that because a Brother is elected Junior Warden of a Lodge, or a brother promoted to the Office of Senior Warden, he should be elected to the office of Worshipful Master, though he may have no qualifications for that Office,” argued the Grand Master, “is but to place a premium upon unfitness, conceit, and arrogance, and to imply that the brethren who elevated either of them to the office of Junior or Senior Warden had no right to judge of their future fitness because of this established but unwarranted rule. Many Brethren in the lodges of West Virginia are thus elected to such positions under such circumstances who, after their installation, demonstrate their utter inability in every particular to be advanced to the exalted office of Worshipful master, not only that they are unlearned in the ritual, but on account of their ignorance of Masonic law. Yet they are elected and installed into office as Worshipful Masters, and sometimes to the grand East, because they are good fellows, well met.” “Rotation in Office,” The Freemason’s Chronicle, A Weekly Record of Masonic Intelligence, 52:1333, July 28, 1900. INVESTIGATIONS

o guard against improper persons entering the Masonic fold is to insist upon a thorough investigation of applicants for membership, and give broad publicity to everyone’s name proposed in a Masonic lodge.

It is better to keep the wolf out of the fold than to draw his teeth after he has entered. For, when the “wolf ’s” true character comes to the surface, his lodge dare not chastise him, fearing publicity. One of our lodges requires, on an intention to propose, the following to be signed by the applicant: What is the nature of the business you are engaged in? Have you ever in any way been engaged in or connected with any unlawful business or occupation? If so, give particulars. Have you ever been charged with a felony?

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If so, when and where and what was the charge? What was the outcome? Are you a married man? If so, are you living with your wife? Are you now living as husband with a woman who is not your wife? Are you, to the best of your knowledge and belief free from all disease, liable to render you incapable of earning a livelihood? Is your income sufficient to permit you to join and maintain membership in a Masonic lodge with injury to yourself an family? Do you know of any Mason who would object to your joining the Fraternity? If so, who? To the best of your knowledge and belief, what are his reasons? How long have you known your proposer? How long have you known [your references]? Should it transpire later that the signer of the foregoing had falsified, he would cease to enjoy further privileges of Masonry. “A Good Idea,” Masonic Northern New Yorker, 1:4, April, 1907. MASONIC PRECEDENCE

ow many quarrels – social, political, and national – have arisen from the infringement or disregard of the strict rules of precedence? Probably in the whole history of the world there is no more trivial matter that has caused more serious trouble, and probably there are few of us [who have not] experienced, at one time or another, the eccentricities of the individual who, armed with an official or recognized position, was forever forcing himself into the place to which he considered entitled by his distinction; and more often than not, has made himself the laughing stock of his companions by his actions. But the good old adage is reversed in this connection, for might is right in so far as precedence is concerned, and he is a very bold man indeed who dares to oppose the dictum of the world in regard to this foible of humanity. Freemasonry, however, should be above such nonsense. In freemasonry we preach equality and we boast that Masonry is universal over the four quarters of the world.... Of course it must be fearfully galling to a Past Grand Sycophant, for instance, to have to play second fiddle to an honorary Past Grand Warden of the Cannibal Isles , or some other unknown corner of the earth; and it must take a little of the conceit out of a Past Grand Officer of England, who can only utter a few “Masonic Precedence,” The Freemason’s Chronicle, A Weekly Record of Masonic Intelligence, 51:1311, February 24, 1900.

Renew your membership now online at www.themasonicsociety.com

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Conferences, Speeches, Symposia & Gatherings April 11, 2014 National Heritage Museum, Lexington, MA, Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism http://www.nationalheritagemuseum.org April 22, 2014 Scottish Rite University Symposium Scottish Rite Valley of Dallas, TX Meets monthly at 6:30 P.M. All Master Masons welcome. http://www.dallasscottishrite.org April 25-27, 2014 Masonic Spring Workshop, Delta Lodge, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada Keynote speaker: John Belton, United Grand Lodge of England, http://www.masonicspringworkshop.ab.ca April 26, 2014 Masonic Symposium, Pleiades Lodge No. 478, Westchester, IL, Speakers: Anthony Mongelli, Charles M. Harper, Sr., Robert Herd, Mir Omar Ali www.pleiadesmasonicsymposium2014.com May 17.2014 Spring 2014 Truman Lecture Missouri Lodge of Research Lecturer: Joseph Wages Topic: Illuminati Fact and Fiction Jefferson City, MO 2:30 P.M. http://www.molor.org

June 13-14, 2014 Fort Degree 2014 Presented by Palmer Lodge 372, Fort Erie, ON Friday 7:30 P.M.: Buffalo, N.Y. Colonial Degree Team exemplifies a degree in Palmer Lodge Saturday 10:30 A.M.: St. Paul’s Anglican Church. “Traveling Warrants” lecture by Bro. Joseph Curry, 2nd Lieut., founding member of Canada Lodge, Kandahar, Afghanistan Saturday 7:30 P.M.: Harmonie 699 exemplifies 1st Degree in the courtyard of Old Fort Erie. www.fortdegree.com

August 28-31, 2014 Austrailian and New Zealand Masonic Research Council Biennial Conference, WHJ Mayers Lodge of Research, Cairns, Far North Queensland http://www.anzmrc2014.com/ September 20-21, 2014 14th Annual California Masonic Symposium: Freemasonry and the Foundation of the American Republic September 20: San Francisco, CA September 21: Pasadena, CA Details forthcoming http://www.freemason.org

July 17-19, 2014 Rocky Mountain Masonic Conference, Atlantis Hotel and Casino, Reno, NV Featured Speaker: Michael Halleran, Grand Lodge of Kansas AF&AM Details: TBA www.nvmasons.org Saturday, August 9, 2014 John L. Cooper III Fellowship of the Northern California Research Lodge Speaker: Bro. Jay Kinney, 2014 Fellow Topic: The Mysteries of High Grade Freemasonry: The Uses of Bafflement San Francisco Scottish Rite Lecture: 6:00 P.M. Reception: 7:00 P.M. Info: Jordan.Yelinek@gmail.com

BROADCAST YOUR EVENT TO THE WORLD! To include your event in our listing, please submit the following information Event Name Event Location Event Date Speaker(s) Short Description Web Address or Contact Info Send these details to: ARTICLES@THEMASONICSOCIETY.COM with “EVENT” in the subject line. WINTER 2014 • 9

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he scene amidst which C

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COMMENT

The Meaning Behind The Myth Of Hiram By Robert G. Davis

lmost every Grand Lodge I have visited has adopted at one time in their history what we know as the “Fundamental Principles” of Freemasonry. These have generally been republished many times in the various editions of their adopted Masonic monitors, and represent what we often think of as the “Ancient Masonic Usages,” or foundational rules of our Fraternity. One of these principles is that Freemasonry must be organized into symbolic degrees, and these degrees must encompass a legend of a

expect a man to embrace an organization which not only focuses on that which is not real, but then brazenly delivers to him yet another tragedy of life in his experience as a Mason? The answer is that the original authors of Masonic ritual assumed every initiate already knew what a myth was and what it was designed to teach before he was initiated. This means that today, when we become Freemasons, we, too, are already to have a certain adeptship with the world of myth when we enter the fraternity.

hy should we expect a man to embrace an organization which not only focuses on that which is not real, but then brazenly delivers to him yet another tragedy of life in his experience as a Mason?

temple tragedy. This is a curious statement because it immediately informs us of two things about the Order: (1) its ritual ceremonies are intended to communicate something to us which was never meant to be real; and, (2) this something is overtly aimed at a tragedy, which implies we are engaged in a dark side of the human experience.

But most of us don’t. Thus, it wouldn’t hurt if the Masonic educators in our own time would spend a little time helping our new men make this 400 year leap in context while they are experiencing our ritual settings for the first time. Here’s what we need to know about ritual and myth.

We all know there is nothing factual about the central legend of our degrees—the story of Hiram. It is a myth. The events which unfold in our drama never actually happened. But without further explanation, this can represent a problem for twenty-first century men because we live in a world of information. If something is not real, then it has little value to us. And if something we thought was real turns out not to be that way, then it has even less value because we not only no longer believe in it, we also no longer trust it. This is one of the central paradoxes of politics and religion in our time. Then, in Masonic ritual, we compound this problem of what is not real by adding a tragedy to it. On the surface, one might argue that most men see enough of the shadow side of things in their own life experience. Why should we Hiram Abif and a Craftsman from the Temple 12 • WINTER 2014

The function of ritual is to give form to human life in a way that transcends all generations and all time. The role of ritual is to imprint into each man’s psyche the same imprintings of the society in which he grows up. Whether experienced in church, a synagogue, a mosque; a legislative hall or judicial chamber; or even in the rituals played out in a family, the purpose is always the same. The rituals are the means of such imprinting. The form is the medium through which life becomes manifest in its grand style. Ritualized procedures also depersonalize the protagonists in our life; lift them out of themselves so that their conduct now is not their own but of the species, the society, the caste, or the profession. Hence, for example, the rituals of the investiture of judges, or of officers of state; those so installed are to function in their roles, not as private individuals but as agents of collective principles and laws. Without ritualized rules which reconcile confrontation, no society

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could exist. The mere shattering of the ritual form is, for humans, a disaster. Ritual is the structuring form of all civilization. We all need to know the rules of the game. This is the justification for the use of ritual in Freemasonry. Likewise, the myths of our tradition are the mental supports of our Rite; our Rite is the physical enactment of the myth.

Now, the interesting thing about myths is that the teachers in them

This brings us to the meaning of resurrection in the Hiram myth. There is a general misconception within the Craft that the raising of the Master Hiram is a subtle reference to the Christian resurrection. And it is no wonder. The candidate is told before he first enters a lodge that he is going to embark on a journey that is nothing less than that last great change—that transition from time to eternity. He is told when blindfolded for the last time at the altar that he is about to experience the death, burial and resurrection. But it is all allegory. We are dealing here with a different kind of resurrection.

he death to which Freemasonry alludes is the death-in-life of man’s old self. It is over the grave of a man’s lower nature that he must walk before he can attain the real heights of his worthiness.

change over time but the message remains the same. In the earliest period, man’s teachers were the animals and plants illustrating the powers and patterns of nature. Later on, they became the seven heavenly spheres, where the cosmic order became the model of a good society on earth. Of course, we have long since de-mythologized these through our sciences. The center of mystery is now man himself. It is a curious characteristic of our species that we live and model our lives through acts of makebelieve. In fact, we have lived in a man’s world since the Greek tragedies. And this is where the Hiramic legend comes in. In the ritual myths of Freemasonry, the two great tragic emotions of the Greeks--pity and terror--are laid out. With pity, we unite whatever is grave and constant in human suffering with the sufferer. With terror, we unite whatever is grave and constant in human suffering with the secret cause. And the secret cause of all suffering is, of course, mortality itself. It is the pre-condition of life. It cannot be denied if life is to be affirmed. Yet, along with the affirmation of this precondition, there is pity for the human sufferer, who is actually a counterpart of oneself. Our myth empowers us to reconcile our own mortality so that we may overcome ourselves and the fear of our own end. The story of Hiram Abif and the three ruffians plays out the great mythic image of pity and terror as expressed by the Greek Tragedies. The human sufferer is wiped out by our ceremonies, yet everything is done to point out the value of the sufferer. The terrorists who cause the suffering also suffer the same grave and constant reality of life. This is the secret. In the process, the virtues and vices, the ignorance and knowledge, the darkness and the light of all humanity is rediscovered within each man, and these characteristics collectively emerge as the essential character of the latent hero in all of us. It is the Lost Word, that is, it is all the potentialities of life, found; but revealed only to the initiate who understands the form and substance of the journey he makes for himself.

In the case of our candidate, his death is intended to represent another kind of death. Unlike Hiram, the candidate is restored to his personal comforts. His earthly career is not represented as coming to a close at this stage. His rebirth is an entirely different thing. He is reborn into his own life. He has symbolically passed through another kind of striking and dramatic change; a rebirth or regeneration of his whole nature as a man. The death to which Freemasonry alludes is the death-in-life of man’s old self. It is over the grave of a man’s lower nature that he must walk before he can attain the real heights of his worthiness. He is resurrected to a higher life within himself. What this means is that when our selfsacrifice is great enough, when our consciousness has been awakened enough, we are capable of taking on an entirely new quality of life. We all begin our journey in Masonry as the typical guy in a state of ignorance and non-awareness. But we can end it by becoming, in our ceremonial character as well as our innermost being, the perfected man. That is the work before us. It is our labor of a lifetime. To us, this is the meaning of the resurrection of Hiram. It is the Secret Word of a Master Mason. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert G. Davis, 33° G.C., is a fellow of the Scottish Rite Research Society and author of The Mason’s Words and Understanding Manhood in America. He is well known in the areas of Masonic research and renewal and has received numerous honors in Masonic excellence and knowledge. He is secretary of the Guthrie Scottish Rite, a Past Master of three Oklahoma Lodges and serves on the steering committee of the Masonic Information Center of the United States.

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FROM THE EDITOR

@North American Conference #Civility by Michael Halleran, Editor

The Conference of Grand Masters of North America was held last month in Baltimore. Attendance was very good, despite the ferocious snowstorm only days before, with representatives from over sixty jurisdictions. It was very enjoyable to see old friends again and to make new ones. Prior to becoming involved in the executive leadership of my jurisdiction, I had some vague, hazy notions that the conference was a forum – akin to a Masonic League of Nations –you know, where sweeping and concerted actions by the North American Grand Lodges were contemplated and advanced. In this, I was partly correct. It is very much like the League of Nations, in that sweeping and concerted actions by the North American Grand Lodges never even make it to the floor. Joking aside, the parliamentary sessions of the conference have, in my slender experience, been limited largely to ratifying support for appendant (or dependent), quasi-Masonic organizations that benefit from multi-jurisdictional Grand Lodge funding, for example, the Masonic Service Association, or the George Washington Masonic Memorial. These bodies, and others like them, provide reports to the assembled Grand Lodges during the conference session.

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Work to be more civil in all our individual dealings with all people, Masonic and non-Masonic;

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Create tools based on Masonic tenets and values to be made available to every member across North America and eventually to society at large;

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Convene and partner with other entities that share the objective of creating a more civil society.”

Discussion of the initiative was vigorous, but in the end, the measure failed. Doubtless we will hear more of this effort in future. To the extent that Masonry can assist, as we have done for hundreds of years, by example, I am vigorously in favor of it. I am, however, less certain as to whether or not it is proper for us to “teach” the profane world anything overtly. OVERHEARD In other news at the conference, there was brisk discussion about the outcome of a nameless Grand Lodge’s annual communication. Overheard, but not verified: that jurisdiction’s Deputy Grand Master had reportedly announced that – after he was elected – he would move to “close down” all “traditional observance” lodges, and initiate some sort of disciplinary measures against certain prominent members of the same. The response, particularly among the younger members was, by all accounts, overwhelming. A write-in candidate, not previously on the ballot, was elected by a resounding majority for the first time in that body’s history.

o the extent that Masonry can assist, as we have done for hundreds of years, by example, I am vigorously in favor of it. I am, however, less certain as to whether or not it is proper for us to “teach” the profane world anything overtly. I am not suggesting that the Conference is without merit – merely that it is more than it appears at first glance. I happen to agree with the proposition that North American Freemasonry is best left with jurisdictional differences, and I am not put off by the fact that very few major initiatives spring forth from this annual event. But, I have held the view for some time now that we should spot emerging trends in North American fraternalism and discuss them at the session. And this year, the conference did not disappoint. Lead by the California delegation, and ably assisted by historian Margaret C. Jacob, of UCLA, the delegates considered whether or not a resolution emphasizing the fraternity’s role in promoting civility should be adopted. The measure called for the establishment of “the Masonic Civility Effort” by committing to:

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If true, this is both a milestone for twenty-first century North American Freemasonry, as well as an object lesson: esoteric-minded men are vigorous, active, and participatory Masons. In some jurisdictions, they are often discounted as a fringe element in the fraternity. Clearly, if that assertion was ever correct in the past, it is no longer the case now.

The Executive Editor of the Journal of the Masonic Society, Michael Halleran is the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas, A.F. & A.M. A practicing attorney and an active Masonic historian, Halleran has lectured internationally on Masonic best practices and the connection between the military and Freemasonry. He is the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Freemasonry and the American Civil War (2010) published by the University of Alabama Press.

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Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, Reading the article “Reframing the Broken Window Theory” by John Bizzack (Issue 22) really struck a chord. Pride in our beloved Fraternity is not something to be taken lightly, it must be earned.... Masonic education is just not something to do to fill a void, it is the glue that cements us together, makes us stronger and if we pay attention, will indeed make us better people. God knows the world can certainly use more good people.... The Fraternity has many good men, however many of them unfortunately are not paying attention and or have not been given the proper direction in order to be launched into the fabric of the fold. It is the good and worthy work of the Masonic Society that will bring clarity, however it is up to us as Freemasons to work the stone. Thank You.

Sincerely & Fraternally, Lorne Urquhart Nova Scotia, Canada

GOT AN OPINION?

If you can write it in 150 words or less, submit your letter via email to editor@ themasonicsociety.com. We do not accept letters via US Mail. Include name, address, and day and evening phone numbers for verification purposes only. Do not include attachments. All letters are subject to editing for length, accuracy, taste and libel. Anonymous letters, letters to third parties, and letters to other publications will not be considered. Responses to other letters are welcome. Any letter published becomes the property of the Journal of the Masonic Society.

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HISTORY

16 â&#x20AC;¢ WINTER 2014

by David harrison, Ph.D.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In the first of a two-part series, Masonic historian Dr David Harrison documents the demise of the York Grand Lodge, which existed intermittently in eighteenth century England. This article, is an excerpt from Harrison’s forthcoming book The York Grand Lodge published by Arima Publishing.

The lack of official York Masonic records during the 1740s and 1750s has led Masonic historians of the nineteenth century, such as Robert Freke Gould, to suggest that the York Grand Lodge quickly went into decline after the mid 1730s. It has therefore been accepted that the York Grand Lodge became dormant during this period, but was hastily revived in 1761 when it became apparent that the ‘Modern’ Grand Lodge of London had spread its influence and invaded the territory of the old York Grand Lodge. The founding of a ‘Modern’ lodge by a company of actors within York at a tavern called the ‘Punch Bowl’, seemed to have triggered a reaction from a small group of original York Grand Lodge Masons, who quickly ejected the ‘Modern’ lodge, replacing it with their own lodge.1 The revival of the York Grand Lodge was the result of the involvement of six local gentlemen, led by Dr Francis Drake, and it soon began to flourish again, with ten lodges founded under its jurisdiction during the ensuing decades. Indeed, at the official ‘re-launching’ of the York Grand Lodge, a number of brethren were present from the usurped ‘Modern’ lodge, some of whom had actually joined the revived York

will pay all proper respect to any Information that shall be communicated by it...’2 The majority of the new lodges that were to be founded were located in Yorkshire, but an ambitious effort at expansion was conducted during the revived Grand Lodge’s later phase with a lodge and Knights Templar Encampment being established in Lancashire, and a lodge being founded as far away as Macclesfield in Cheshire. The York Grand Lodge practiced five degrees by at least 1779; that of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master Mason, Royal Arch and Knights Templar,3 and this unique Masonic practice may have attracted Masons to lodges under York, aiding its expansion throughout the county and beyond. EXAMPLES OF LOCAL YORK LODGES Indeed, it is at the local level where we can best examine how the York Grand Lodge actually worked and best discuss its legacy; its lodges working a version of the York ritual; termed the York Working. Some lodges vanished without trace after a brief life, others, as we shall see, were replaced by either ‘Modern’ or ‘Antient’ lodges; these new lodges having a number of brethren from the pre-existing ‘York’ lodge, meeting in the same place, using the same furniture and in some cases, practising the York Working.

espite the apparent success reflected in its expansion, the York Grand Lodge did experience some set-backs; especially when a ‘Moderns’ lodge was founded in York itself, and to make matters worse, the lodge was founded by disgruntled York Grand Lodge members.

Grand Lodge. This revival and the events behind the ‘hijacking’ of the ‘Modern’ Punch Bowl lodge can best be seen in the official response to the ‘Modern’ Grand Lodge, which was proposed at a meeting in December, 1767, after a number of letters had been received from London, addressed to the Punch Bowl lodge: ‘That the Grand Secretary do inform the Grand Lodge in London that the Lodge heretofore held under their Constitution No.259...has been for some years discontinued and that the most antient Grand Lodge of All England held for time immemorial in this City is now the only Lodge held therein.’ The letter then continues to state firmly that the York Grand Lodge is back in business, and has marked its territory: ‘That this Lodge acknowledges no Superior, that it pays homage to none, that it exists in its own right, that it grants Constitutions and Certificates in the same manner, as is done by the Grand Lodge in London...and that it distributes its own Charity according to the principles of Masons.’ However, the letter ends with some politeness and respect for their fellow Masons under the Grand Lodge in London: ‘It is not doubted but the Grand Lodge in London will pay due respect thereto and to all Brethren praying Instructions or Relief by virtue thereof, as this Lodge has ever had a very great esteem for that in London and for all Brethren claiming privilege under it’s (sic) authority...In any Thing that may tend to the general Good, or may concern the whole fraternity of Masons this Grand Lodge will readily concur with than in London, and

A very early ‘York’ lodge was a lodge at the Talbot Inn, Halifax, which was constituted on May 22, 1738. This lodge however, did not last long at all; it first met on the fourth of July, but on the 12th of July, just over a week later; the ‘Modern’ Lodge of Probity No. 61 was consecrated, meeting at the Bull’s Head in Halifax. Interestingly, one of the members of the York lodge; James Hamilton, was described as the landlord of the Bull’s Head, so one could assume that the Lodge of Probity, the oldest surviving lodge in Yorkshire today, replaced the local York lodge outright, and one member at least continued dealings with ‘Modern’ Freemasonry. There are no membership lists available for the Lodge of Probity before 1762, but its first lodge history, written in 1888, discusses the conflict between the York Grand Lodge and the ‘Modern’ Grand Lodge during this time, quoting William Preston, who commented that the venturing into the West Riding of Yorkshire by the Grand Lodge in London ‘was considered a third encroachment on the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge in York, and so widened the original breach between the brethren in the north and the south of England, that from henceforward all further correspondence between the two Grand Lodges totally ceased.’ Despite this tension, there is evidence that the Lodge of Probity ‘re-initiated’ members from the ‘Antient’ and possibly the York Grand Lodge as the eighteenth century progressed.4 The French Prisoners of war lodge at the Punch Bowl was constituted on the June 10, 1762, for French brethren only. York was the residence of French prisoners during the Seven Years War; some were granted

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parole and allowed the liberty of walking a mile around the city. However, the lodge was soon to end, as by April the following year, the war was over, the prisoners left, and the lodge closed. The Punch Bowl Tavern however, is still going strong . A ‘York’ lodge in Scarborough was recorded as early as 1705, and though this had been a special lodge to admit six men, a second lodge under York was mentioned meeting there on the August 16, 1762, at the Turk’s Head. This revival of a Scarborough lodge did not last long, despite having established traditions in the coastal town, and seems to have come to an end around 1768. A lodge at the Royal Oak at Ripon was meeting by August 1769. By 1776 however, William Askwith; the landlord of the Royal Oak and Worshipful Master of the Ripon Lodge visited the Apollo Lodge in York - a ‘Modern’ lodge, where he ‘desired to be made a mason under the constitution of England in this lodge’, thus on the June 22, in the same year, the Ripon lodge was replaced by a ‘Modern’ lodge which met at the same Inn; this new ‘Modern’ lodge having four members that had belonged to the previous ‘York’ lodge. This Royal Oak Lodge No. 495 lasted until 1828 when it was erased, but the De Grey and Ripon Lodge No. 837 which was constituted in October 1860, still survives and still claims to work some of the Old York Working.

and pro-actively; Sampson and the York brethren involved in setting up the new lodge had been barred from visiting an existing ‘Antient’ lodge in Macclesfield. It seemed during this period, with three Grand Lodges to choose from, disgruntled brethren could petition the rival bodies in the hope of starting a new rival lodge. The Macclesfield York lodge disappeared and the ‘Antient’ Lodge No. 189 began meeting in the same Inn, being constituted on June 7, 1774, removing to the Golden Lion twenty years later.7 Sampson was next heard from trying to start a lodge in London, promising to send the 3 guineas still owed for the granting of the Constitution for the Macclesfield lodge, and the a further 3 guineas for the London lodge. No money appears to have been sent, and nothing further was done. In March 1773, a petition was made to form a lodge at Hovingham, and a certain Rev. Ralph Tunstall from the village, became central to this lodge and was to be involved in a later lodge at Snainton after he had moved to nearby Malton. The Hovingham lodge seems to have disintegrated, and by 1776, it was no more. However, a lodge to be held at the New Inn at Snainton was constituted at the end of 1778, though there is scant information concerning how long it actually existed. A toll gate had been erected at the small village of Snainton and the New Inn was opened in 1776 as a staging post to accommodate weary travellers on the main road from Malton to Scarborough. The man behind the petition was none other than the aforementioned Rev. Ralph Tunstall, who had been a member of the defunct Hovingham lodge, though this lodge seemed to follow the same fate.

On the 21st of November, 1769, a lodge at the Crown Inn at Knaresborough was constituted. Again, the landlord of the Inn where the lodge was to meet was involved; Robert Revell had been balloted and admitted in the May, and he was raised in the October with two other men; the Rev. Charles Kedar and William Bateson, all three The petition to form the being on the petition for the new Druidical Lodge at Rotherham Knaresborough lodge on the very was presented to the York Grand same evening they became Master Lodge in October 1778, and Masons. By January 1785 however, it became quite a successful the ‘Modern’ Newtonian Lodge No. lodge; lasting at least into the 499 had been constituted, meeting The last known Grand Master of York, Edward Wolley. Wolley was mid 1790s. Its constitution at the Elephant and Castle. Four mentioned as Grand Master in the final minute entry of the Grand was followed by the Masons of of the petitioners for this new lodge Lodge in 1792. the lodge and members of the had been members of the local ‘York’ York Grand Lodge walking in lodge, and it seems that, like the Halifax and Ripon lodges, a number of the brethren had opted for the procession to the parish church on December 22, 1778. This was an official celebration of the new lodge and a very public statement, as the ‘Moderns’. The Newtonian Lodge was erased in December 1851. Grand Master himself was present, and a sermon was delivered by the A petition for a lodge to be held at the sign of the Duke of Devonshire Grand Chaplain, the Rev. John Parker. The sermon was subsequently Flying Childers in Goose Lane, Macclesfield in Cheshire, was published by William Blanchard.8 presented on September 24, 1770.5 This Cheshire lodge however, did not last too long, as an ‘Antient’ lodge was meeting at the same Inn four John Hassall, a wine and spirit merchant, was a founding member of years later, wholly displacing the York lodge.6 It seemed an ambitious Druidical Lodge, and he will be discussed at length later, as his later attempt at establishing a lodge so far away from its administrative centre adventures become important to spreading the influence of the York in York, but, as a warrant was requested to set a lodge up there by a Grand Lodge further afield. Hassall was probably born in Chester and Bro. Abraham Sampson, the York Grand Lodge responded positively had originally been an Irish Mason, being a member of Lodge No. 375, 18 • WINTER 2014

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which was based in Dublin. His fortunes took a downturn when he was imprisoned for debt at York Castle in 1780, Hassall writing a somewhat moving letter to the York Grand Lodge asking for help.9 It appears that the Grand Lodge assisted Hassall, and after his release he moved to Manchester for ventures new. Another founding member of Druidical was Attorney Josiah Beckwith, who had the task of visiting the Earl of Effingham on behalf of the Grand Lodge, approaching him with the offer of becoming Grand Master in October 1779, an offer that the Earl turned down.10

Broadbent was re-initiated into the neighbouring ‘Modern’ lodge, and by 1808, the remnants of Druidical were to be found in the ‘Modern’ Phoenix Lodge, a fate which reflected some of the earlier ‘York’ lodges.

The Druidical Lodge kept excellent records during their first few years, and during a meeting of the lodge on March 26, 1779, an example of the antagonism between the York and Modern Grand Lodges was displayed when it discussed the situation of a Mr James Hamer, who had been proposed as a member, but had since been admitted into the Rose and Crown Lodge No. 277 - a ‘Modern’ lodge in Sheffield. It was ordered that he should be ‘for ever expelled’ from Druidical ‘and excluded from this Society either as a Member or a Visiting Brother’. However, when Hamer was passed in the Rose and Crown Lodge on the 14th of May, 1779, a certain Bro Joseph Antt of the York Grand Lodge actually visited the ‘Modern’ lodge.11 Perhaps away from the watchful eyes of the York hierarchy, friendly interaction between the two Grand Lodges could take place .

Despite the apparent success reflected in its expansion, the York Grand Lodge did experience some set-backs; especially when a ‘Modern’ lodge was founded in York itself, and to make matters worse, the lodge was founded by disgruntled York Grand Lodge members. The Apollo Lodge was founded in 1773, and became somewhat of a haven for various ex-members and prospective initiates who had been rejected by ‘York’. For example, surgeon and ex-‘Yorkite’ William Spencer was a founding member and the first Worshipful Master of Apollo, another recognisable ‘York’ name was jeweller Malby Beckwith, who served as the new lodge Secretary, and merchants Richard Garland and Joseph Braint were also ex-‘Yorkites’. Thomas Clifton was a ‘York’ reject who found a home at Apollo, being proposed as a member in November 1783.15 There may have been a number of reasons why Spencer, Beckwith, Garland and the other members of Apollo who once belonged to ‘York’ had left; Spencer and Beckwith had previously been members of the Punch Bowl Lodge, but despite Spencer having risen to the dizzy heights of Deputy Grand Master of ‘York’, a ‘Modern’ lodge offered a wider networking system, and as there were restrictions on ‘York’ Brethren visiting ‘Modern’ lodges, leaving ‘York’ became the only option for some.16

The Druidical Lodge met at the Red Lion Inn, and though York lodges appeared to have not been officially numbered, this lodge was later given the number of 109, perhaps as a further means of recognition

Spencer became Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Yorkshire soon after Apollo was founded, and the lodge certainly sought prestige; with Provincial Grand Lodge Officers being routinely elected from Apollo.

he earliest colleges in America were founded by various religious denominations. Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, and Princeton were only the first such universities. What is almost totally missing from the standard histories is the influence of Freemasonry in the development of American education.

in a country were all ‘Modern’ and ‘Antient’ lodges had numbers to distinguish them. In its later life, the lodge developed a relationship with the ‘Modern’ North Nottinghamshire Lodge No. 587 (which later reformed into the Phoenix Lodge);12 the Tyler from Druidical bringing the jewels for the use of the constitution of the new lodge in 1785, and there was a letter written in 1792 by the Rotherham brethren requesting them back. Three years after this, a certain Rev. Beaumont Broadbent who had been raised in Druidical, asked to be re-initiated, passed and raised in the ‘Modern’ lodge. The brethren reformed as the Phoenix Lodge in Rotherham in July 1808, and five of its nine members had previously been Druidical brethren, the Phoenix Lodge possessing the original ‘York’ Warrant and a number of other ‘York’ items.13

It also attracted high status visitors such as Provincial Grand Master Sir Thomas Tancred and the Grand Secretary James Heseltine. Ex-‘Yorkite’ Richard Garland followed Spencer as Deputy Provincial Grand Master in 1780, but he began to drift into debt and resigned his Provincial Office in 1786 and stopped attending Apollo the following year.17 In 1788 he was accused by the Alfred Lodge in Wetherby of not having passed money onto Grand Lodge that they had been given to him. Scandal was averted when Apollo members reimbursed the money to the Alfred Lodge, but this seemed to mark a turning point for Apollo; money matters had been discussed previously by the lodge and Apollo entered a period of decline. Garland himself became bankrupt in 1795.18

Arthur Edward Waite in his Secret Tradition in Freemasonry discussed how a certain Godfrey Higgins from Doncaster, sometime before 1836, went to York and ‘applied to the only survivor of the Lodge who shewed me, from the documents which he possessed, that the Druidical Lodge, or Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, or Templar Encampment was held for the last time in the Crypt [of the Cathedral at York] on Sunday, May 27th, 1778.’ This last survivor of the York Grand Lodge was quoted by Waite as being Grand Secretary William Blanchard, and the gathering in the Crypt by the Royal Arch brethren did take place. A Chapter at Rotherham was actually petitioned for in 1780, so the Druidical brethren could work the Royal Arch degree in their home town,14 and a Royal Encampment of Knights Templar was also held in Rotherham so the brethren could practise the fifth degree. Druidical may have survived to 1795, the year

As Apollo slowly declined, so did the Yorkshire Province; with Provincial Grand Secretary and Apollo member John Watson virtually working alone to keep the management of the Yorkshire Province running up until the opening years of the nineteenth century. Watson had written to the London-based Grand Lodge in the February of 1802 stating that: ‘The Lodge (Apollo) has not met for some years past. Our P.G.Master is so very infirm, as renders him unable to attend to the Duties of his Office, and the Lodge deserted. I was induced, in the hope of its revival, to take the whole weight upon my shoulders and have for some time back found it too heavy for me, as such, I was under the necessity of resigning.’19 Watson however stayed in the Office for a few more years and was WINTER 2014 • 19

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a regular visitor to the ‘Modern’ York ‘Union’ Lodge, with Watson sometimes being listed as ‘of the Apollo Lodge’. It was only in 1803 when the Lodge of Probity in Halifax corresponded with the York ‘Union’ Lodge in regards to ‘re-establishing’ the Provincial Grand Lodge in Yorkshire.20 By this time, as we shall see, the York Grand Lodge was in terminal decline itself, and the Apollo Lodge seems to have ceased working sometime around 1817, the same year that the large Yorkshire Province was divided in two.21 The York Grand Lodge did however go from strength to strength during the ensuing decades after its revival; it was founding new lodges, it still attracted leading local gentlemen such as Robert Sinclair and Edward Wolley, and they had even courted the Earl of Effingham as a potential Grand Master in 1779.22 The York Grand Lodge was also practising five degrees by the late 1770s, and their unique form of ritual coupled with their boasted ancient traditions certainly played a part in attracting the attention of various Masons to their style of working. The Expansion into Lancashire Certain brethren under the York Grand Lodge however, were keen on expanding its influence into Lancashire. The lodge that established itself in Lancashire, according to Barker Cryer, was perhaps one of the last to survive out of the ‘York’ lodges, and according to new analysis of certain documents, the lodge lasted at least until 1802, though as we shall see, its influence may have lasted much longer. A committed member of the York Grand Lodge, a certain Jacob Bussey, who had served as Grand Secretary, moved to Manchester in 1779, but he died unexpectedly three years later, his death being mentioned in the York Chronicle.23 John Hassall, the ‘York’ stalwart, who had previously been a founder of the Druidical Lodge, had moved to Manchester after imprisonment for debt at York Castle, and it was Hassall who was to spread the influence of the York Grand Lodge west of the Pennines. Hassall first founded a Royal Encampment of Knights Templar in Manchester under the York Grand Lodge, which was constituted on October 10, 1786, Hassall being the first Royal Grand Commander; an Office he held for five years. This Royal Encampment of Knights Templar became extremely successful, though in 1795, it joined the Grand Encampment held in London under Thomas Dunkerley, the existing charter bearing the date of May 20, 1795.24 It seemed that Hassall was spreading the word of a different form of Freemasonry; and the interest in the five degrees of the York ritual was enough for the York Grand Lodge to obtain a tentative foothold in Lancashire. The Knights Templar was of course considered to be a fifth degree by the York Grand Lodge, and the hidden mysteries of this further ‘degree’ would undoubtedly be appealing to the more progressive Masons of Lancashire. To form the Encampment, Hassall appeared to have recruited a number of leading Brethren from Lodge No. 39; a Manchester based ‘Antient’ lodge that was to go through some sort of trouble a few years later. The petition for the Encampment was signed by Hassall on June 11, 1786, along with a certain Joseph Carter and John Watson. Watson was a member of Lodge No. 39, and on the 28th of September, 1788, Watson, along with fellow lodge and original Encampment members John Hardman and James Cooper, and eighteen other members of No. 39, were ‘remade’ as Moderns, and allowed the warrant of No. 39 to lapse. Another original Encampment member was James Ashton - a Manchester-based shopkeeper who was a member of Lodge No. 196, another ‘Antient’ lodge that had recently moved to Bolton. Ashton 20 • WINTER 2014

The renowned actor and theatre manager Tate Wilkinson. He had become a member of the York Grand Lodge by 1770.

had not signed the petition, but had signed the Encampment Bylaws. Richard Hunt was also an original Encampment member and a member of Lodge No. 39. The attraction was obvious; to enter into the mysteries of a higher degree - that of Knight Templar – that was the exclusive province of the York Grand Lodge. Indeed, even today, the members of the Jerusalem Preceptory No. 5, which still meets in Manchester, are called ‘Sir Knight’, akin to some Yorkshire Preceptories, as opposed to ‘Brother Knight’ which is used in the newer Preceptories in England.25 After forming the Encampment, Hassall then tried to get a Craft lodge under ‘York’ off the ground in Manchester, with a petition to form the lodge being forwarded to the York Grand Lodge on December 23, 1787 by four men including Hassall. This came to nothing, but two of the other men who had signed the petition - Thomas Daniel and John Broad - entered into the Knights Templar Encampment.26 Hassall then suddenly appeared as a visitor in the Oldham based Lodge of Friendship on the 17th of August, 1790. Oldham was a cotton producing town to the east of Manchester, and this ‘Modern’ lodge had only been founded the year before . It seems that Hassall had been recruiting members for a new lodge under ‘York’, as the Lodge of Fortitude was founded soon after on the 27th of November, with Hassall and at least six leading brethren from the Oldham based ‘Modern’ lodge being involved, five of them being petitioners. The lodge first met at The Sun, described as being located at the ‘Bottom of Hollinwood’, near Oldham, the landlord of which, a certain James Taylor, had initially joined the Lodge of Friendship on September 2, 1789, becoming a ‘full member’ on February 23, the

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following year. Despite his obvious involvement in the ‘York’ lodge, he still visited his old lodge; with two recorded visits being on March 16, 1791 (as a visitor from the Lodge of Integrity), and on March 20, 1799.27 The five petitioners of Fortitude who came from the Lodge of Friendship included Jonathan Raynor, an Oldham weaver and founding member of Friendship who had been initiated into Lodge No. 354, an Irish lodge attached to the 49th Regiment, on July 7, 1781. Raynor, as we shall see, cannily kept joint membership in both Friendship and Fortitude. Another petitioner; Isaac Clegg, who was a cotton manufacturer, was also a founding member of Friendship, and actually served as Worshipful Master in both lodges at the same time, being the first to take the Chair in Fortitude. Clegg had also been a founding member of the Manchester based ‘Modern’ Union Lodge No. 534 in 1788, along with a number of other future members of the Lodge of Friendship.28 A further founding member of Friendship who was also a founding member of Fortitude was tailor Samuel Brierley, though unlike Raynor and Clegg, he resigned from Friendship. Painter Henry Mills, also resigned from Friendship to serve as the first Senior Warden in Fortitude, but continued to visit his old lodge, as did weaver John Booth, who also resigned from Friendship.29

Friendship intermittently from November 1791, when he was advanced two guineas for the security of his watch, which was repaired and valued by another member. On August 27, 1792, Raynor was again given relief due to his ‘his wife being ill a long time’. His wife subsequently died, and Raynor remarried in 1793, but his hardships continued, and several monthly records appear in the Friendship cash book for his relief in early 1809.32 This closeness between the two lodges certainly gives an insight into the relationship between localised ‘Modern’ lodges and the ‘York’ lodge, reminding us that despite the antagonism between the two Grand Lodges, Freemasons from all backgrounds could still relate to each other at a local level. The visitor’s book of the Lodge of Friendship records regular visitors that had been members of Fortitude up to the end of 1795, and as late as 1811, known members of Fortitude are still referred to; Henry Mills for example serving as substitute Treasurer on August 3, 1808, and Mills again serving as substitute Worshipful Master on January 9, 1811, the year that Jonathan Raynor died. Raynor’s funeral was mentioned by the Lodge of Friendship; a Lodge of Emergency was held on April 14, 1811 ‘for the Procession of our well-beloved Brother Jonathan Raynor’. The lodge also paid £2 6s. for his coffin; Raynor, as a ‘Modern’ and York Mason was greatly missed.33

These visits from Fortitude continued to be indicated in the minutes of the Lodge of Friendship, the minutes referring to a Brother James Whitehead from the ‘York’ lodge attending on the 16th of February, 1791. Another entry on the 5th of June, 1791, indicated that a certain John Scholfield was ‘Renter’d from the Lodge of Fortitude’. Whitehead continued to visit Friendship, next appearing visiting with John Booth and William Fletcher on the 26th of August, 1795, the minutes indicating that they were from ‘Hollinwood’, where of course, Fortitude was based. Whitehead returned later in the year on September 23, 1795 with Fletcher and Michael Gunn, as did Booth, accompanied by Henry Mills on the 28th of October. These visits certainly point to Fortitude still being very active throughout 1795.30 Jonathan Raynor, who had been the Lodge of Friendship’s first Worshipful Master, visited Friendship on December 17, 1791, when he was ‘sencered for his bad behaviour...’31 Despite this behavioural lapse, he remained a prominent figure in Friendship; he had served as Worshipful Master again in 1791 and 1795, and was always proposing candidates, though he seemed to fall on hard times; claiming relief from

The lodge may have gradually faded away a number of years after Hassall’s death in 1795, though with members still being mentioned as late as 1811, his influence may have lived on. A ‘Modern’ Royal Arch Chapter called the Chapter of Philanthropy was founded on September 13, 1791, which met at the White Lion in Werneth; halfway between Oldham and Hollinwood, and there were a number of active brethren from Hollinwood included, one of the founders being none other than Samuel Brierley. This Chapter was finally erased in 1839, and, according to Masonic historian Fred Pick, a notebook was found and presented to the UGLE in 1963 which included the ByLaws of the Lodge of Fortitude, along with the By-Laws of the Royal Arch and a list of members involved in local Mark Masonry from 1790-1793. The list reveals eighteen local Mark members and it presents some recognisable names; such as Samuel Brierley, James Taylor, John Booth and Michael Gunn, all linked to both Fortitude and Friendship.34 One of the other members listed; a certain William Barlow was also a member of the Knights Templar St. Bernard’s Conclave that had Sir Thomas Gascoigne, Grand Master of York from 1771-1773. been founded at Hollinwood on Gascoigne, a supporter of American Independence, was a Roman October 1, 1793.35 The notebook Catholic during his time in the Grand Lodge. WINTER 2014 • 21

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr David Harrison is a Masonic historian from the north-west of England, who successfully defended his PhD on the origins and development of Freemasonry in England at the University of Liverpool in 2008, where he has also worked as a lecturer. Harrison has so far written four works on the history of Freemasonry; The Genesis of Freemasonry – his PhD thesis ( Lewis Masonic, 2009), The Transformation of Freemasonry, (Arima, 2010), The Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge, ( Arima, 2012), and most recently A Quick Guide to Freemasonry (Lewis Masonic, 2013). He has also published many papers and articles on the subject of Freemasonry, in magazines such as Knight Templar Magazine, The Ashlar, Freemasonry Today, and presently writes for The Square. A Master Mason in the Lodge of Lights No. 148 in Warrington, England, Harrison’s forthcoming work on the York Grand Lodge is due to be published at the end of 2014. NOTES 1 R.F. Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol.II, (London: Thomas C. Jack, 1883), 4135, and T.B. Whytehead, ‘The Relics of the Grand Lodge at York’, AQC, Vol.XIII, (1900), 96-7.

Sir Walter Hawkesworth, Grand President of York from 1711-1713, and again from 1720-1723. Only after 1725 did York have Grand Masters, before they were called Presidents.

also includes extracts from the 1802 edition of Thomas Smith Webb’s Freemasons’ Monitor, which could suggest that the Lodge of Fortitude was still functioning at least until that date.36 The lone ‘York’ Craft lodge in Lancashire which Hassall had instigated, certainly continued to have an impact on Masonry in the area; members of the lodge being active in local Freemasonry well into the first few decades of the nineteenth century, and its members influencing the continuation of Royal Arch and Mark Masonry in Oldham and Hollinwood. Further degrees were certainly of an interest to certain members of the Lodge of Friendship, with Thomas Taylor from Friendship for example joining the Manchester based Royal Encampment of Jerusalem in 1790.37 Hassall was poorly educated, and it is a testament to his hard work that this lodge became not only one of the last bastions of the York Grand Lodge, but it firmly bridged the divide between ‘Modern’ and ‘York’ Masonry; Freemasons from different backgrounds working together and exploring and enjoying further degrees. Why did senior Brethren from a ‘Modern’ lodge have a desire to assist in the formation of a ‘York’ lodge? Perhaps it was the interest in the York ritual; a desire by keen Freemasons to search deeper into the hidden mysteries of nature and science, and to delve into a more Antient ceremony and research the higher degrees as practised by York.

eville Barker Cryer, York Mysteries Revealed, (Hersham: Barker Cryer, 2006), N 327, taken from the York Grand Lodge minute book 1761-1774, the proposed letter to the Grand Lodge of London written in December 1767 by the Grand Secretary D. Lambert, Duncombe Place, York.

obert Leslie Wood, York Lodge No. 236, formerly The Union Lodge, the beR centennial history 1777-1977, (York, 1977), 109-110.

erbert Crossley, The History of the Lodge of Probity No. 61, (Hull: M.C. Peck & H Son, 1888).

J ohn Armstrong, A History of Freemasonry in Cheshire, (London: Kenning, 1901), 309.

Barker Cryer, York Mysteries, 362-3.

Armstrong, History of Freemasonry in Cheshire, 309.

J ohn Parker, Vicar of St. Helen’s York, A sermon, preached in the parish-church of Rotherham, before the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the most ancient Grand Lodge of all England ... and the newly constituted Rotherham Druidical Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, December 22, 1778, (York: W. Blanchard and Co., 1779).

S ee Appendix I for a transcription of Hassall’s letter to the York Grand Lodge. REWORK THIS – NO APPENDIX IN THIS ARTICLE

S ee Appendix II for a transcription of Josiah Beckwith’s letter to the York Grand Lodge. REWORK THIS – NO APPENDIX IN THIS ARTICLE

11 G .Y. Johnson, The Subordinate Lodges Constituted by the York Grand Lodge, (Margate: W. J. Parrett, 1942), 50. 12 According to John Lane’s Masonic Records, the North Nottinghamshire Lodge was discontinued c.1803, and the Rotherham based Phoenix Lodge No.533 was consecrated in 1808, being erased in 1838. 13

Johnson, Subordinate Lodges, 74.

rthur Edward Waite, Secret Tradition in Freemasonry, (Kessinger, 1997), 50-51. A See also Barker Cryer, York Mysteries, 380.

Barker Cryer, York Mysteries, 426-9.

TO BE CONTINUED IN ISSUE 24.

22 • WINTER 2014

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Ibid.

I bid., 461-2. Richard Garland was however still in contact with certain Brethren as he attended a Provincial meeting at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in York on August 26, 1789, which included a number of Brethren from Apollo as Principal Officers.

Ibid., 460-465.

Ibid., 463.

orrespondence between the Lodge of Probity and the York ‘Union’ Lodge C mentioned in the Minutes of the Union Lodge, York, No. 236, Book 10, 5th of September, 1803. Duncombe Place, York.

27 List of Members of the Lodge of Friendship, No. 277, 2nd of September, 1789. See also Fred L. Pick, ‘The Lodge of Fortitude at Hollinwood’, MAMR, Vol. LIII, (1963), 32-7. 28

S ee Lane’s Masonic Records <http://freemasonry.dept.shef.ac.uk/lane/> [accessed June 9, 2012]. The Lodge of Union No. 534 was constituted on September 27, 1788, but was named the Union Lodge in 1792.

red L. Pick, ‘The Lodge of Friendship No. 277 With Notes on Some Neighbouring F Lodges and Chapters’, MAMR, Vol. XXIII, (1933), 74-123, on 78-9. See also Fred L. Pick, ‘Lodge of Friendship No. 277; A Link With The Grand Lodge Of All England, At York’, MAMR, Vol.XXI, (1931), 149-154, on 150-1.

ick, ‘Lodge of Fortitude’, MAMR, Vol. LIII, 35. In Pick’s early paper on the P ‘Lodge of Friendship’, in MAMR, Vol.XXI, 153, he uses the 28th of August instead of the 26th as the date of Whitehead’s visit, and on the same page, he uses the year 1803 instead of 1808 for Henry Mills’ Office in Friendship as substitute Treasurer.

21 Th ere are no minute books for the Apollo Lodge after 1788, though there is evidence they continued to meet; Apollo member and ex-‘Yorkite’ Thomas Thackray became Deputy Provincial Grand Master after Garland, and Thackray seemed to hold the Office until his death in 1793, and John Watson - initiated into Apollo in 1783, served as Provincial Grand Treasurer, then as Provincial Grand Secretary, appearing as a frequent visitor to the York ‘Union’ Lodge (though never becoming a member) until his death in 1815. An example of Watson listed as ‘Provincial Grand Secretary’ while visiting York ‘Union’, along with another visitor from Apollo, can be seen in the Minutes of the Union Lodge, York, No. 236, Book 10, 27th of August, 1802. Duncombe Place, York. The Apollo Lodge’s number on the Grand Lodge roll was changed a number of times; its original number was No. 450, becoming No. 357 in 1780, and No. 358 in 1781. In 1792 it became No. 290, and after the union of 1813, it was given No. 368.

Minutes of the Lodge of Friendship, No. 277, 16th of February, 1791. Masonic Hall, Rochdale. Not listed.

Ibid., March & April, 1809.

ick, ‘Lodge of Friendship’, MAMR, Vol.XXI, pp.149-154. See also Burials for St. P Mary’s Church, Oldham, Jonathan Raynor, 14th of April, 1811, Source Film No. 1656225, Ref No. 6.

Pick, ‘Lodge of Fortitude’, MAMR, Vol. LIII, 35-7.

See Appendix II.

35 P ick, ‘Lodge of Friendship’, MAMR, Vol. XXIII, 81-2, and Pick, ‘Lodge of Fortitude’, MAMR, Vol. LIII, 37.

Johnson, Subordinate Lodges, 133.

ould, History of Freemasonry, Vol.II, 431, and see also John Masson, Statutes G of the Order of Masonic Knights Templar 1853, (Kessinger Publishing, 2010), vi, which shows the Knights Templar Encampment named ‘Jerusalem’ based in Manchester.

.C. Shepherd & M.P. Lane, Jerusalem Preceptory No. 5. Bi-centenary History F 1786-1986, (Manchester: Published by the Preceptory, 1986).

I bid, pp.12-13. John Broad entered on April 17, 1787 and Thomas Daniel entered on August 17, 1788.

36 ‘ Rules and orders, discretionary by-laws, laws respecting the R.A. sick fund, rules and orders of the R.A. Chapter, list of marks’ for the Lodge of Fortitude, Hollinwood, UGLE, BE 167 FOR. The note book indicates that the extracts were taken from the 1802 edition of Thomas Smith Webb’s Freemasons’ Monitor. Webb’s Monitor was heavily influenced by Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry, and thus may have been popular with members of Fortitude. 37 S ee the list of members of the Encampment in Shepherd & Lane, Jerusalem Preceptory No. 5, p.54. See also The List of Membership of the Lodge of Friendship, no. 277. Thomas Taylor was a founding member of the lodge.

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ANTI-MASONRY

Standing At The Crossroads Between Heaven And Hell: New York’s Burned-Over District and Its Connection to Anti-Masonry

By Steven E. McCall Jr.

have spoken of cases of intensified opposition to this revival. One circumstance, I found, had prepared the people for this opposition, and had greatly embittered it. I found that region of country what, in the western phrase, would be called, “a burnt district.” There had been, a few years previously, a wild excitement passing through that region, which they called a revival of religion, but which turned out to be spurious.1

There is an area in New York that served as a cross roads for ministers of all types of religious denominations. Nineteenth century American religious commentator, Charles G. Finney nicknamed this area the “burned over district” because of the intensity of the revivals in this area. The region consisted of the area west of Utica, New York extending to Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie. As the population of America began to grow so did the varying degrees of religious sects. All walks of life began to break away from the traditional protestant ideology. The burned over district was a haven for a diverse philosophy of religion. This region provided the early seeds from which AntiMasonry grew. Looking closely at the people of western New York we see that religion was fueled by a unique passion unlike anywhere else in America.

New York Counties (1826), the shaded area marks the burned over district.

Finney noted on his arrival in western New York State that less reputable theologians had passed through the area for a few years. Western New Yorkers desired change for the better socially, culturally, and politically. Religious groups and politicians targeted the less fortunate and the disenfranchised. Preachers pushed for egalitarianism and some type of moral reform.2 CHARLES G. FINNEY AND THE “UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS” Finney eventually became a committed Anti-Mason, but he had a rich history with the fraternity. An uncle convinced him to join Freemasonry in 1813. He explained to the twenty-one year old Finney, he would never be alone while away from home for he would always have friends inside the lodge. Given the fact that Finney was often traveling and spent time away from home, this made good sense. Finney moved back to Adams, and took over as the secretary of the lodge. While serving as secretary Finney noticed what he perceived as a problem. The Master of the lodge, Eliphalet Edmunds, was a devout Deist.3 Finney also noted that several other members of the lodge were in fact “very nonreligious,” and few if any of the men in the lodge were Christian. Finney The great revival preacher Charles G. Finney. Finney coined the name Burned Over District.

24 • WINTER 2014

admitted he spent many hours in earnest prayer over how to deal with the situation inside the lodge. Finally, he came to what was the only possible conclusion for him: Freemasonry was “the unfruitful works of darkness.”4 A new sense of urgency came over him to preach the word of God and against Freemasonry. Finney took his brand of Christianity and art of the revival to western New York and delivered his new message to sinners. Finney was an intensely passionate evangelist, who was notorious for riling up a crowd, and his revival style attracted attention, but he was not alone. A wide variety of religious opportunists moved through the burned over district, claiming to be the next great spiritual trailblazer. Arriving in Utica, New York in 1820, he noted there had been “wild excitement passing through that region, which they called a revival of religion, but which turned out to be spurious.” 5 Finney’s account reveals how deeply religion affected the New York frontier. The loneliness of frontier life and the movement of people across the state, created a region that was unusually sensitive to religion and religious experiences. New York, particularly western New York, had a long tradition of diverse religious practices including, Shakers, Mormons, and New Israelites to name a few. In a period of twenty years, the state developed a climate where the business of religion underwent evolutionary change. The western part of the state witnessed an unusual development of a wide variety of religious doctrines and preaching styles. While many areas of America had a traditional Protestant background, in western New York we see unique diversity of religion. Ideas and interpretations of religious conviction evolved in the burned over district, and in this heightened religious climate, these new ideas provided the right environment for Anti-Masonry to develop.

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At its core, the Anti-Masonic movement was a religious effort to combat the perceived evils of the Masonic institution. Religious leaders saw the benevolent fraternity as having a darker, more sinister side. The time had come, it seemed, for someone to stand up against this wicked organization. Religious Anti-Masonry started in New England and moved westward as people migrated toward the frontier in search of opportunities. MORSE AND ANTI-MASONRY Anti-Masonry’s first real push to prominence was through Jedidiah Morse, a Boston minister, in the closing years of the eighteenth century. In 1798, Morse began preaching a series of Anti-Masonic sermons. Morse also drew connections between the Masons and the Bavarian Illuminati.6 He insisted secret societies, slaves, and the French were involved in a massive cabal to overthrow the newly formed American republic. Morse believed the French had “hostile designs toward this country (the United States),”7 and his sermons Morse gave Jedidiah Morse began one of the earliest Antian account of how the Masonic campaigns in Boston, MA in 1799. French – with the aid of the Freemasons – plotted the overthrow the American government. Morse wrote: The French Directory sent to St. Domingo their principal West-India possession, an agent of the name Hedouville. This man on his arrival you may recollect, made some professions of justice and amicable conduct towards the United States; …Hedouville was preparing to invade the Southern States from St. Domingo with an army of blacks; which was to be landed with a large supply of officers, arms, and ammunition to excite an insurrection among the negroes, by means of missionaries previously sent, and first to subjugate the country by their assistance, and then plunder and lay it waste… It has long been suspected that secret societies, under the influences and direction of France, are holding principles subversive in this country. This suspicion was cautiously suggested [by an official Morse did not name] from his desk, on the day of the last National Fast, with a view to excite a just alarm and to put you on your guard against their secret artifices.8 Morse’s sermons struck a resonant chord, coming at a time of heightened political factionalism in the United States, and Morse was himself a Federalist who feared the Jeffersonian-Republicans because they supported the French. He lamented the fall of the clergy in the United States through secret societies, noting, “the destruction of the Clergy in all countries is evidently a part of the French system, and all their engines are now at work to accomplish it.”9 To this complaint, Morse added the fear of slave

rebellions. In his colorful sermons Morse wove a conspiracy of how the Illuminati and its invisible arm – the Freemasons – planned to armed slaves and provoke an insurrection somewhere in the south where they could encourage other slaves to take up arms in their cause. Morse’s sermons and the connections between the Illuminati, Freemasonry and Anti-Masonry is the starting point for what American historian Richard Hofstadter termed the paranoid style in American Politics. Morse and his parishioners, after all, saw the world as punctuated by conflict and revolution, not only the recently concluded rebellion in American, but the French revolution, and its subsequent perversion under Napoleon, and the revolution in the French colony in Haiti, as well.10 Morse exemplified the paranoid style through his sermons. He represents one of the earliest bridges between Anti-Masonry as a religious crusade to a political movement. However, the Reverend’s message deteriorated rather rapidly and by the turn of the nineteenth century it had floundered altogether. We have no way of knowing why the Anti-Masonic rhetoric fizzled out so quickly, but perhaps the recent deaths of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, reminded people that good men were associated with Freemasonry.11 THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING But Morse was by no means alone in his alarmist views. As America underwent a changes in the early Antebellum period, people began moved westward in search of jobs and greater opportunity. Many discovered those opportunities in western New York, and trekking west they developed a new set of social values. People sought ways to find a new and sometimes drastically different path to heaven. As these ideas began to manifest they erupted into what historians have called the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening affected politics, religion, and people. This awakening did not target the rich or the pious, but aimed to scare people into submission of God’s will. Ministers targeted the far reaches of society along the frontier, specifically the lower classes, and those attempting to scratch out some form of sustenance. Preachers like Finney and Lyman Beecher saw a moral decline in America. Drinking and gambling were commonplace, they observed, and something or someone had to correct the path America was on. The Second Great Awakening was led by men and women like

This 1839 American engraving illustrates a Methodist revival during the Second Great Awakening. WINTER 2014 • 25

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Detail from John Hagerty’s 1791 engraving “The Tree of Life,” showing divinely inspired treasure seekers.

Finney, Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Lucy Wright, leader of the Shakers, who were uneducated in traditional theology.12

known sects of religion. Many of the lower strata of society moved to the western part of the state, which explains why less traditional religions were drawn there and thrived.14

The lack of traditional theological training not only transformed the religious landscape, but the manner in which preachers organized their craft. Religion in America underwent serious change as did the methods used to deploy this doctrine to the people. No longer did minsters hide behind their pulpits and preach. They went out into the world to find the lost in the hopes of saving their souls. Protestantism as a whole centered on the idea of God’s grace and true repentance of sin. This philosophy was a drastic change from the strict Calvinistic ideology in the latter part of the eighteenth century. This new interpretation of God’s relationship to mankind was received extremely well in places like western New York.13

No group embodies the mentality of the burned over district better than Joseph Smith and the Mormons. In 1819, after settling into Palmyra, in the heart of the burned over district ,Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of the future prophet noted that there was a serious yearning for the people in Palmyra to join a church because “most were desirous of uniting with some church but undecided as to the particular faith which they would adopt.”15

THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT IN CONTEXT The burned over district was unusually receptive to various religious sects. The principal reason for this is that religious denominations mirrored class distinctions and social attitudes. The more traditional Protestant faiths such as Congregationalist, Methodist, and Baptist were regarded and respected by the more conservative members of society. The lower echelon of society felt excluded by traditional religion and often turned to groups like the Shakers, Mormons, and other lesser 26 • WINTER 2014

The people of Palmyra were like the rest of the settlers in the burned over district. They were deeply affected by spiritualism and superstition. This is evident by the number of people spending time with alchemists, rodsmen, treasure seekers, and other professions associated with the occult. Smith claimed to have discovered a stone hidden at the bottom of a water well, a stone that allowed him to see into the future. The son often used the stone to help his father search the country side for buried treasure. Smith’s father, Joseph, Sr., told people in Palmyra how to dig for buried treasure: “the best time for digging money was in the heat of the summer, when the heat caused the chests of money to rise to the top of the ground.” Thurlow Weed, a New York newspaper editor, political advisor, and a founding member of the Anti-Masonic Political Party, recounted times when he spent hours by moonlight digging for

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buried treasure. Typical of the superstitious beliefs encountered in this period, there was a persistent belief in the power of precious metals, and seers, diviners and rodsmen were held in high esteem.

Church elders all came from poor or destitute backgrounds. Even Oliver Cowdery, one of Smith’s closest confidants in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement.19

These seers were not only regarded for their faithfulness, they had the ability to lead men.16

Cowdery was the first witness and helped transcribed Smiths’ interpretation of the gold plates that established the Book of Mormon. He like Smith came from a near destitute background, yet rose to prominence within the early Mormon Church. Smith did not see a need to educate himself or his followers until public opinion began to turn against him. Temperance issues of the period forced Smith push for some type of education program. In 1833, Smith developed a school to educate his church members. He called his program The School of the Prophets. This system of primitive education was put into place to teach elders who in turn taught others. This was certainly not an institution for higher learning by any means. This school was set up to do nothing more than stress and reinforce Smith’s principles upon the elders, and develop a clear line of leadership.20

ANOTHER PRODUCT OF THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT Joseph Smith was such a man – the typical frontier figure. His father, Joseph Smith Sr., and brother Hyrum were both Freemasons and Smith also joined the lodge where he was deeply interested in the Masonic ritual. He thought of himself as a great builder, and as church elders joined the fraternity, so did Smith. The Anti-Masonic hysteria began to subside in Nauvoo, Illinois, and Smith now found it beneficial for him to join the society. Smith became a Master Mason in March of 1842 and remained a member until his death in 1844. Zina Jacobs, one of Smith’s wives Joseph Smith the founder of the Latter Day acknowledged Smith’s Saints movement. Masonic connections, later writing, “I am the widow of a Master Mason, who, when leaping from the window of Carthage jail, pierced with bullets, made the Masonic sign of distress.”17 Smith discovered his calling as a prophet in a new religious order he called the Latter Day Saints. He lacked formal education and theological training which embodied the very nature of the antebellum preacher. Smith represented the anticlerical minister as well as anyone else. The Book of Mormon represents this anticlerical rhetoric as well. A constant theme throughout the book is that God punishes the learned and successful. This testament of Jesus Christ often characterizes the successful as those who are prideful and worldly. God has no choice but to punish these types of people. Joseph Smith translated this message from the golden plates: … I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of every fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.18 From the Prophet Joseph Smith to his elders, they all ascended to the hierarchy of the church from the lowest possible economic situations. Smith easily rose the farthest in terms of class as he came from parents considered destitute even by antebellum standards. The Mormon

The church leadership employed a rather clever marketing strategy when trying to sell The Book of Mormon. Martin Harris, one of the founding members of the Mormon Church and one of the few men who actually had seen the golden plates, proclaimed their new religious material “the Anti Masonick Bible and all who do not believe in it are damned.”21 This shared language between Anti-Masons and Smith’s book provided enough proof to some that Mormons were in fact AntiMasonic. Readers were able to draw parallels between what AntiMasons had said and what Smith had written in The Book of Mormon. References within his book were made of how the devil was the leader of all evil things and how he steered evil by the aid of a cord. This was all conducted under the guise of “secret combinations,” the same message expressed in Anti-Masonic rhetoric. 22 The fervor this book produced among Anti-Masons was as powerful as the movement itself. At the height of the Anti-Masonic hysteria it was an excellent strategy to market the book as an Anti-Masonic bible. Whether this portrayal was true or a ploy to sell more copies of Smith’s book is still unclear. However, Bishops acting on behalf of the church did sell the book as Anti-Masonic. There is one other notable feature between Smith, Freemasons, and Anti-Masons. Smith’s second plural wife, a Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris, was the wife of the infamous William Morgan of the Morgan Affair. Regardless, newspaper reporters sought interviews with these new Mormons to understand them and the Book of Mormon. Anti-Masonic newspapers covered the rise of the Mormons extensively because of the enthusiasm of new converts to the faith. Smith’s book targeted secret societies and spoke out against them. All of this fit well with the AntiMasonic movement, so well in fact that the initial 5,000 copies sold reasonably well.23 CONCLUSION Religious leaders using Anti-Masonic propaganda quickly grasped power across New York. By using every available means at their disposal theologians rallied dissenters into a small but formidable group of crusaders. The wretchedness and loneliness of the frontier created an environment that enticed people into non-traditional religious sects. The desire for attention and companionship led people from one faith to the next. This type of environment left little social stability for people. The lack of a philosophical structure amidst the extremes of frontier life allowed for a mob like mentality to develop. The burned over district WINTER 2014 • 27

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offered a unique place where religion fueled Anti-Masonry. The district might have remained a curious corner of the American theological landscape but for a small group of talented lawyers, newspaper men, and politicians understood the gravity of the situation, and merged the religious crusade with their own political ambitions, combining religious fervor with the volatile social issue of Anti-Masonry. These easily excitable people became focused when politicians united with the clergy to form the Anti-Masonic Party in 1828.

Ibid, 14-16.

illiam G. McLoughlin, Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform. (University of W Chicago Press, 1978) 98-112.

athan O Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity. (Yale University N Press, 1989),11-13. Charles G. Finney, Memoirs of Charles G. Finney (Fleming H. Revel Co. 1876), 300-303.

Paul Goodman, Towards A Christian Republic: Antimasonry and the Great Transition in New England 1826-1836 (Oxford University Press, 1988), 61-63 75-77. Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History (Random House, 1995), 14-16.

L ucy Mack Smith, The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by his Mother, Scott Facer Proctor and Maureen Jensen Proctor ed. (Desert Book Co, 1996), 94.

J ohn l.Brooke, Refiners Fire, 31-33. Adam Wallace, The Parson of The Islands: A Biography of the Rev. Joshua Thomas (Thomas and Evans Printing Company, 1906), 133-135. Hatch, The Democratization American Christianity, 57-59. Whitney R. Cross, The Burned-Over District The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800-1850. (Cornell University Press, 1950),31-35, 80-83.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steven E. McCall Jr. is a History Instructor (Adjunct) at Valdosta State University located in Valdosta, Georgia where he received his Master of Arts in History. Steven’s area of interest is Antebellum American History particularly, Anti-Masonry in 1830s New York. He is a member and Past Master of Moody Lodge No. 719 located in Valdosta. NOTES 1

Charles G. Finney, The Autobiography of Charles G. Finney (Bethany House Publishing, 1977), 67.

Finney, Autobiography, 67.

eism is the belief in the existence of a god on the evidence of nature and D reason, it rejects all supernatural revelation.

Finney, Autobiography, 288.

harles G. Finney, The Character Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry C (Cincinnati: Western Track and Book Society, 1869), 3-8.

T he Illuminati was a secret society of freethinkers, intellectuals, and progressives formed by a Bavarian named Adam Weishaupt in 1776; the group was modeled after the Freemasons.

Jedidiah Morse, Dangers and Duties of Citizens of the United States (Samuel Etheridge, 1799), 13-16. Paul A. Gilje, The Making of the American Republic 1763-1845 (Prentice Hall, 2006), 160.

Morse, Dangers and Duties, 13. John Robison, Proofs of a Conspiracy Printed for T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, Strand, W. Creech, 1798), 15-19.

Morse, Dangers and Duties, 15.

I bid, 14-17. Richard, Hofstadter, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Harpers Weekly (April 1970), 77-80.

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17 Andrew Jenson, Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, vol 1 (Desert News, 1941), 698. Brooke Refiners Fire, 268-69. 18

ttp://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/bofm-title?lang=eng The Book of Mormon h Chapter 8:35-36, (accessed February 23, 2013). Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity. (Yale University Press, 1989), 51-32. Cross, The BurnedOver District, 146-150.

Brodie, No Man Knows, 37-39, 166-169 Lucy Mack Smith, The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. ed. by Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor. (Deseret Book Co, 1996), 305-309. Hatch, The Democratization American Christianity, 116-122. Beecher, Lyman, Sermons Delivered on Various Occasions (T.R. Marvin, 1828), 244-253. Rowland Berthoff, An Unsettled People (Harper and Low, 1971), 155-159, 154-157.

Brodie, No Man Knows, 35-41, 166-169. Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 302319. Hatch, The Democratization American Christianity, 116-122. Beecher, Sermons Delivered, 244-253. Rowland Berthoff, An Unsettled People, 153-159.

Geauga Gazette, Witness: March 15, 1831.

J oseph Smith, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (Random house, 2004), 2 Nephi 26:22.

eauga Gazette, Witness: March 15, 1831.vol. 3 no. 124. Brodie, No Man G Knows, 459-460.

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Alas, Poor Hiram:

The Use of the Skull and Crossbones in Masonic Symbolism

by Andrew Hammer, FMS

n most Masonic jurisdictions in the world, the use of the skull and crossbones as an emblem of the Master Mason degree is simply obvious, for obvious reasons. At times, one finds only the skull used, without crossbones, but by mere observation, its employment in the ritual and art of the Symbolic Lodge cannot be disputed. In the United States, however, the notion of that emblem being used openly seems to strike fear in the hearts of many good brothers, who have a concern that it is either inaccurate, sends the wrong message, or somehow belongs to some other organization that came after the Craft. Perhaps this misconception arises from Mackey, who states rather emphatically that ‘the skull as a symbol is not used in Masonry except in Masonic Templarism’. Yet all around him in England, Scotland, and Ireland, before his time and to this day, in those lodges throughout the world who work under those constitutions, the Master Mason is explicitly informed that the skull and crossbones do indeed have a relevance to that degree. They are arguably the most prominent symbol on the most commonly used tracing boards of that degree. However, let’s not be unfair to Brother Mackey; he does state that the skull and crossbones together are used in the French Rites, and even alludes to their use before initiation. But this only serves to prove wrong his previous statement about the skull as an outlier when everyone else in the Masonic world is using this emblem as a matter of fact. How then, should we understand the skull? To every Mason is conveyed the idea that we must come to terms with the inevitability of our own death. We must learn to cope with it, as the other end of life’s journey. If we look at that self-evident point alone, we can see how a supposedly scary emblem like the skull has a perennial and unavoidable meaning to all mortals, no matter how much one might want to look the other way. Despite that rather simple justification, some Masons might respond that the skull gives an ominous, perhaps even negative image of

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the fraternity to the general public. Respectfully, such Masons are greatly removed from the reality of what is going on in the world around them. Eight year-old girls are wearing skull and crossbones socks that anyone can buy from Target. No initiation is required. But what if the concern is that such an image invokes a sense of the occult or some alien belief system? In that case, it has to be said that the simple emblematic use of the skull in Masonry is nowhere near as horrifying as, let us say, a tribal ritual where a fragment of a child’s skull is taken in the night, and hidden away as an offering to a mythical creature, in a primitive and superstitious attempt to gain some kind of favour from the gods. God forbid that Masons should ever introduce their children to the cultish horror of the Tooth Fairy. While Masons worry like busybody aunts, society is busily putting a skull on almost any item that can be sold, which begs the question: if an eight year-old girl is not afraid of a skull, how can Masons possibly look at each other with straight faces and worry that the use of a skull might be sending the wrong message? What is that message we send anyway? That Masons should, out of fear, deprive themselves of a symbol of ultimate meaning, to ward off the possible misunderstanding of a profane world which is printing that same symbol on everything from t-shirts to toys? The Skull is not merely an emblem of death. It is also an emblem of life, and the evidence thereof. As it frames the human head and face, it is also a part of the image of God in which we are made. When a man sees the Skull, he sees a reminder of himself, and as he reflects, his mind will inevitably go to the concept that he also has a skull, and that this is a part of him. But it doesn’t end there. Every human being reading this has a skull, right now, and if we were to see each other’s skulls, we would understand a deeper, living representation of the Level amongst us. We would not

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readily be able to tell the difference between each other on this basis alone. So in this sense, what we have symbolically in the Skull is far more consistent than the Trowel, in that as the Fellow Craft degree gives us the practical application of the Level in our temporal life, the skull— as it applies to the Master Mason degree throughout the world—is a reminder of a more profound awareness of the Level given to us by our Creator. As the Master Mason degree takes the lessons of the Fellow Craft from the physical to the spiritual, the skull provides us with a spiritual understanding of that internal Level before both God and man, which is with us throughout our lives and beyond. The skull is also an emblem of God’s Creation; this intricate container of all of our senses is the case to protect the Almighty’s gift of consciousness. Therefore, as we ponder the role of the skull in the Symbolic Lodge, it becomes clear that it is never something to be utilized by Masons because it might be seen as being ‘cool’, or as a device to instill any kind of sophomoric sense of fear in a man. It is a solemn and dignified

indication of the seriousness of all that Freemasonry has to teach. This is precisely why we find it used as a symbol in Masonry Universal. For many brothers, especially those who have served in the military, this awareness is already close in their minds. The presence of the skull as a symbol in our Craft demonstrates to them, as it has for those who served in ages past, that this fraternity is not a trivial engagement, but rather takes the questions of life and death with the utmost seriousness and reverence. It is, without a doubt, a most sublime and appropriate symbol for the most sublime degree. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Hammer is Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, in Alexandria, Virginia. He is author of Observing the Craft: The Pursuit of Excellence in Masonic Labour and Observance, and regularly speaks to lodges on that theme, as well as philosophical aspects of the Craft. He is a board member of the Masonic Society, the Masonic Restoration Foundation, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association. WINTER 2014 • 31

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IN PRINT

Book Reviews: Current The Dark Side of the Enlightement: Wizards, Alchemists and Spiritual Seekers in the Age of Reason. by John V. Fleming “…the very term “Enlightenment” as used by scholars is elastic if not protean…. It is not going too far to say that many scholarly definitions of the Enlightenment have been designed in part to exclude important phenomena uncongenial to the definer.” — from the Introduction In The Dark Side of the Enlightenment: Wizards, Alchemists and Spiritual Seekers in the Age of Reason, noted Princeton University scholar and professor emeritus John V. Fleming, has produced a rich and fascinating exploration of key personalities, movements, and occult arts representing a purported “dark side” of the cultural, political, and historical phenomenon that swept up Europe and America in the late eighteenth century. Fleming admits early on, to this reader’s approval, that his title was chosen in a spirit of good humor and lightheartedness, as it becomes clear that his treatment of the subject matter is scholarly and respectful throughout, even sympathetic in key areas. The Dark Side is organized into nine information-packed but highly readable chapters, with occasional tangents not central to the book but interesting garnish to the story of the times. Three of the chapters center on individuals: on the life, influence, and significance of faith healer Valentine Greatrakes, magician Count Cagliostro, and writermystic Julie de Krudener. Three other chapters focus on important and influential esoteric orders: the Convulsionists, Rosicrucians, and the Freemasons. And a middle chapter explores the practice and significance of specific “occult arts” that were among the central interests of many of the groups listed above during these unique times, arts such as the kabbalah and alchemy. Though by a scholar, the book is not written for scholars, but for the educated general reader. To this point, readers with familiarity with eighteenth-century European cultural history will be at decided advantage and will likely find it a more rewarding (or certainly quicker) read. There is little new for those already deeply versed in the history and mystery of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, kabbalah, and other traditions, but Fleming’s work serves as an excellent exegesis for those unfamiliar with the topic or those generally familiar but seeking more, dare I say, light. It is not breezy, popular fare to be sure. Yet despite the rather heady and serious subject matter, Fleming’s writing style and periodic editorializing are tremendously witty. It is uncommon to describe writing on such subject matter as both erudite and crackling with wit, but I indeed found it so.

The chapter on Freemasonry is but one wide brush stroke in the broader canvas the author is painting, but he does admirably capture the impossibility of getting a “silver bullet” answer to Freemasonry’s genesis and adeptly charts the movement’s rapid development and, ultimately, its tremendous influence on men and events of the time. Fleming is also on mark in noting Freemasonry’s dramatic appeal to human nature as a moral, intellectual, social, and spiritual movement, as well as its variegated vastness. While on the subject of Masons, the reader may be struck, as I was, at Fleming’s fairhanded, even sympathetic, treatment of Count Cagliostro, a man most historians consider one of the greatest charlatans of modern history. Fleming presents a credible historical picture that paints Cagliostro in as favorable light as has been seen in literature since Philippa Faulks’s and Robert L. D. Cooper’s Masonic Magician. For those brethren with a bent towards the esoteric or the occult or those with general interest in the fecund history of the so-called Age of Reason, Fleming’s work will be a rewarding addition to their libraries. Reviewed by Kerry D. Kirk W. W. Norton & Company (2013), 433 pages Harback US$27.95, Kindle US$14.99 Schism: The Battle that Forged Freemasonry by Rick Berman In his book Masonic Facts and Fictions, first published in 1887, Henry Sadler argued against the contemporary notion “that the founders of this body [Ancient Grand Lodge] were originally seceders from the Mother Grand Lodge of 1717, and they are invariably referred to as ‘the schismatics.’” Sadler states that there is no evidence available to conclude that a considerable number of the founders of the Ancients Grand Lodge actually owed allegiance to “the regular Grand Lodge of England.” In his current book, Schism: The Battle that Forged Freemasonry, Ric Berman (author of The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry) argues that Sadler’s contention that no schism had occurred, since “by definition, one cannot leave or fracture an organization of which one has not been a member,” “was a nonsense.” Berman points to a socioeconomic schism which existed between the upper and middling progenitors of the “Premiere” Grand Lodge (the Moderns) and the lower middling and working class, primarily Irish émigrés, who founded the rival Antients Grand Lodge as the chief cause of the rift. Touted by the publishers as more accessible to the average reader than Berman’s previous work, Schism provides an objective view of the social and economic environment surrounding the formation WINTER 2014 • 33

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of the Antients Grand Lodge during the mid-eighteenth century in England. Berman describes the various factors that fostered the development of the Antients to the detriment of the Moderns, factors which included ·

Social indifference and a greater accommodation of all who wished to participate

Focus on Masonic ritual during meetings, which for some, more especially expatriate Irish, became a substitute for Christian liturgy

Patronage by English aristocracy

Masonic charity accessible to all through creation of the world’s first “friendly society”

Official recognition by the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland

Dysfunction of the Moderns Grand Lodge during the mid-eighteenth century, and more particularly

The marketing skill of Laurence Dermott (Antients grand secretary and author of Aihman Rezon).

All of this on the backdrop of England’s onerous mercantilist policies which subjugated the British colonies, especially Ireland and the Anglo-Irish, during the eighteenth century. Understanding the past and the conditions that existed during the formation of Freemasonry provides a lens by which to view the Craft and understand its relationship with the world today. Schism: The Battle that Forged Freemasonry provides such a lens and is an excellent addition to Berman’s The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry. Reviewed by Bo Cline Sussex Academic Press (2013), 321 pages Hardback £55.00/US$74.50 Paperback £25.00/US$39.95, Kindle US$19.24

Book Reviews: Classic George Washington’s Rules of Civility by John T. Phillips, II There is a renewed interest among the Craft in what it means to be a true gentleman, an indispensible requisite for being an exemplary Freemason. One of the best examples of a gentleman is George Washington, the Father of our Country and a preeminent Freemason, who at the age of thirteen adopted a set of guidelines he called “The Rules of Civility.” These rules originated in Roman times and were refined in Italy and France in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

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George Washington’s Rules of Civility, published in its present form in 2006, contains a history of the development of these rules and a listing of them, including for each rule a slightly edited version of the rule as transcribed by Washington, the French language text of the rule, a revised modern English translation of the French text from the 1600s, and a commentary elaborating significant sources and alternate interpretations. The rules are numbered and presented in eight groups such as “General Precepts,” “Conversation, Public and Private,” “Table Manners,” and “Spiritual and Moral.” It also contains a comprehensive subject index and an extensive bibliography. Although some of these rules are archaic and not really applicable in our current culture, most of them represent precepts and behaviors we should all be practicing. This little book gives us insight into the thoughts of the men who brought us chivalry and would be a useful guide to keep on the bedside table and consult each night as a tool for self improvement. Reviewed by John L. Palmer Goose Creek Productions Various years, editions, and prices MEET THE REVIEWERS: John R. “Bo” Cline, president of the Masonic Society, is a past grand master, twice past master of Matanuska Lodge No. 7 in Palmer, Alaska, and a member of various Masonic research groups. He is very interested in the study of Masonic history and symbology. Kerry D. Kirk is lodge education officer of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia. He holds a BA from Virginia Military Institute and an MBA from the University of Virginia. He is a managing director of the global investment consultancy Cambridge Associates, LLC. John L. Palmer is past Grand Master of Masons of Tennessee, second vice president of the Masonic Society, and managing editor of the Knight Templar magazine. He can be contacted at ktmagazine@comcast.net.

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Masonic Treasures

Knights Templar Triennial Trophy San Francisco, 1883

Skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson... Freemasonry is full of treasures that are scattered across our long history. One of the more remarkable aspects of these are the Triennial Trophies that were awarded to commanderies for their drill competitions. This is one such piece, awarded to Raper Commandery No. 1 of Indianapolis Indiana in 1883 at the 22nd Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment held in San Francisco, California. The competition, held in Golden Gate Park, featured performances by commandery drill teams from across the United States. For their superior exhibition, Raper Commandery was awarded this imposing monument. The pillar is marble, with stunning brass sculpture and accent elements. It stands nearly seven feet tall atop its wooden pedestal and exhibits a craftsmanship from a long-lost era. Pieces such as this are monuments to the zeal once held for our ancient craft, and to the splendor once afforded our institution by its members.