A Short History
Of The Craft
Early Freemasonry In America
Freemasonry
in the United States of America occurs on this side of 1717, and so
its history is much clearer than that of England, though not without
hazards. The greatest pitfall, because the records are scant and incomplete,
seems to lie in trying conclusively to establish one state for the first
appearance of Masonry in America. Nonetheless, we can easily find evidence
of Masonic activity in the American colonies shortly after 1717.
The account book of a St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia,
known as "Libre B," has its first entry dated June 24, 1731, just fourteen
years after the formation of the premier Grand Lodge in London. It is
not known where St. John's Lodge met, but the earliest known meeting
place of a Pennsylvania Lodge was at the Tun Tavern. The first lodge
in Boston was constituted July 30, 1733, at the house of Edward Lutwych,
an inn at the Sign of the Bunch of Grapes in King Street. In 1736, Solomon
Lodge No. 1 of Charleston, South Carolina, held its first meeting; by
1738 there is evidence of Masonry in Savannah, Georgia, and New York
City, and 1739 saw the meeting of the lodge at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Very quickly Masonic lodges spread throughout the colonies and established
themselves as accepted adjuncts of civic responsibility.
In 1776 a group of African-American Masons in Boston
began meeting as a lodge; they were formally chartered by England in
1784 as African Lodge No. 459. African Lodge and its descendants developed
a separate Grand Lodge system, known as Prince Hall Masonry (after the
first Master of African Lodge) which continues today. Prince Hall Masonry
has all of the usual collateral Masonic Bodies: Eastern Star, York and
Scottish Rite, Shrine, and so on.
To appreciate the character of early American Masonry,
it is instructive to consider the formation of the Grand Lodge of Rhode
Island. On May 27, 1791, following the lead of other recently freed
colonies, the Masons of Rhode Island decided to form their own Grand
Lodge. After installing their Grand Officers, note what the Proceedings
of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Rhode Island show were the first
two official actions of the new Grand Lodge:
....the Brethren walked in Regular
Procession to Trinity Church where an Excellent discourse was delivered
by the Reverend William Smith, Rector thereof, & a collection
made of œ11.9.4 Law. Money, to be invested into Wood & distributed
to the Poor of this Town the ensuing Winter.
Worship and charity were of central importance not
only to the Masons of Rhode Island but also to their brethren throughout
the new nation.
In the development of social services in the emerging
nation, the Masonic definition of charity diverged sharply from that
of many states. Dorothy Ann Lipson captured this idea clearly in her
book Freemasonry in Federalist Connecticut.
Masonic charity differed in its
underlying assumptions and in its style from civic charity. In Connecticut
charity was available to the settled members of a town, regulated
by law, and invoked in times of extreme need and as a last resort.
Persistent vestiges of the older Puritan ethic, which associated misfortune
with divine retribution, made appeals to civic charity a painful necessity.
Masonic charity, more broadly defined than its civic counterpart,
was available to its members in times of personal crisis wherever
they were. (p. 213)
Masonic charity was secret unlike civic charity
whose administration made the entire town privy to the needs of each
recipient. The derogation of character implicit in acknowledging poverty
must have compounded suffering. In contrast the Masons asked, "What
has the world to do with private transactions whether a widow, an
orphan, or a pilgrim has obtained relief?" (p. 207)
A touching example of this private, compassionate relief
during personal crisis is cited by Professor Lipson (pp. 208-209). Federal
Lodge in Watertown, Connecticut, purchased a cow for the use of a widow
and her children, and the cow was carried on its books for several years
as a lodge asset, presumably to spare the family the embarrassment of
accepting charity.
May 29th, 1777
Ordered that a sum of money
not exceeding £24 be sent to Brother Samuel T. Wright, a distressed
prisoner at New York.
Lodge No. 17, held at Queen's-Town,
Queen Ann's County, Maryland
History of Freemasonry in Maryland,Vol. I, p. 65
Edward T. Schultz, 1884
This is believed to be the
earliest record of American Masonic support to the Armed Forces.
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