Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
How Degrees Were Planted And Took Root In America.
HOW DEGREES WERE PLANTED AND TOOK ROOT IN AMERICA .
Br BRO . JACOB NORTON .
IN my communication to this journal , printed 8 th November 1884 , about "Masonic Degree Pedlers , " I called attention to a group of degrees , variously called "Cryptic Masonry , " or " Royal and Select Masters , "
¦ which Jeremy L . Cross peddled in Baltimore in 1822 . This I gave from hearsay , and it was not quite correct . Bro . Ed . T . Schultz , who is now issuing a History of Freemasonry in Maryland ( from which work I copied Bro . Thompson ' s letter of 1803 , which I communicated to this
paper 11 th July , —I must add that the said work is highly interesting ) . The said author cites various authorities about tho origin of our " Cryptic Degrees . " Thus , according to Bro . Dove , of Virginia , the " Select Degree , "
in conjunction with the Royal Masters' degree , was in the possession of a distinguished chief in the State of Maryland , and by him conferred without fee ; he delegated his
authority to others to do the like , until the year 1824 , when the Grand Chapter of Maryland , with his consent , took charge of the [ two ] degrees , and ordered them to
be given before the "Mosfc Excellent Master" degree . Maekay says : — " The Masons of Maryland and Virginia contend that the Royal and Select degrees were introduced by Philip P . Eckel , of Baltimore , one of the mosfc distinguished and
enlightened Masons of his day , who in 1817 communicated them to Jeremy L . Cross , and gave him authority to confer them in every Royal Arch Chapter which he might visit in his official character . " Bro . Folger says , that there was a very warm discussion
at the General Meeting of fche Grand Chapter in 1816 , caused by Bro . Eckel ' s request for the Grand Chapter to incorporate the Royal and Select Degrees , which the Grand Chapter refused to do . Bro . Folger then continues thus : " Mr . Eckel , the Baltimore delegate , went home and
when Cross , who at that session of the General Grand Chapter had been appointed and confirmed as General Grand Lecturer , started on his lecturing tour . He stopped at Baltimore , and purchased and received the privilege
from Eckel and Niles to erect and establish Councils of Royal and Select Masters . This privilege he carried out pretty effectually ; beginning with New Jersey , and all the
Councils in existence in those States mentioned in his narrative were established by himself , also tho Eastern States , except Rhode Island . "
" From the above quotations ( says Bro . Schultz ) it will be perceived that ifc was the general belief that fche control of the Royal and Select Degrees was vested in Eckel and Niles ; bufc we think Bros . Dove , Mackey , Folger , and
others , make a great mistake in coupling the Royal Masters' degree with the Select degree . . . for there is no evidence whatever to show thafc the brethren ever
exercised or claimed control of the Royal Masters' degree , or that they were even in possession of that degreo afc fche periods named by them . "
After the usual preface , the Warrant Cross received from Messrs . Eckel and Niles is given in the said history , and is as follows : —
. " Whereas the said degree of Select is not so extensively known . . Therefore . . Reposing especial confidence in my beloved and trusty Companion Jeremy L . Cross I do hereby , by the high powers in me vested , authorize and
empower him to confer the said degree , as follows , viz ., in any place where a regular Chapter of Royal Arch Masons is established , the officers or members approving , he may
confer the said degree according to its rules and regulations , but only on Royal Arch Masons who have taken all the preceding degrees , as is required by the General Grand
Chapter . When a competent number of Select Masons are thus made , he may grant them a Warrant to open a Council of Select and confer the degree , and do all other business appertaining thereto .
" Given under my hand and seal at Baltimore , the 27 th day of May , A . D . 1817 , & c . PHILIP P . ECKEL ,
"Ihnce Illustrious and Grand Puissant in the Grand Council of Select at Baltimore and approved as G . G . Scribe . " Approved and attested as 111 . in the G . Council . H . NILES . "
How Degrees Were Planted And Took Root In America.
** In the first Warrant issued by Cross under this commission ( says Bro . Schultz ) the Companions were empowered to form ' themselves into a regular Council of Select Masters , ' but in the Warrants issued by him in 1819 , and
thereafter , the * High Powers in him vested by the Grand Council of Baltimore * were enlarged to include the Royal Masters' Degree . In view of the action taken subsequently
by the brethren of Baltimore , thero is every reason to believe that the ' enlarged powers' under which Cross claimed to act wero not granted by Eckel and Niles . "
" At a session of the Grand Chapter held [ in Baltimore ] in 1827 , Jas . K . Stapelton , Grand High Priest [ meaning the Z . ] documents upon the subject of the institution of
the Select degree independent of the G . R . A . Chapter , which were referred to a committee , who recommended that a circular be sent to the several Grand Chapters regarding the matter , and which was adopted . "
The circular is too long for insertion . I shall therefore give the gist of it . Bro . Stapelton complained about the unsettled state of the degree of Select Masons . This degree ( he says )
existed under the authority of a distinguished chief in the State of Maryland . In 1824 , the Maryland Grand Chapter ordered its subordinates to confer the Select degree in its
proper order , immediately preceding the R . A ., and were hence desirous to deprive the independent Councils of the right of conferring the said Select degree , and he goes on to say : —
" But as we are satisfied , through a great mistake or actual abuse of any authority delegated , or meant to be delegated , in relation to the Select Degree . We would therefore beg leave to recommend to your G . C . the consideration of this
degree . . . . With the hope that you will see it to be for the general interest of the Craft to take the said degree under your recognizance and control , to whom it of right belongs , and thereby do away what is felt to be a grievance
by those distinguished chiefs , whose authority , delegated to a limited extent and for special reasons , has been perverted for sordid purposes by Ike creation of an independent order , never contemplated by them , " & o .
Whereupon Bro . Schultz remarks , that " It will be seen that Bro . Cross is charged with having abused the authority ' delegated or meant to be delegated ' to him . "
Now it seems to me that Bro . Schultz misunderstood the meaning of Bro . Stapleton ' s circular , for there is no doubt that Eckel and Niles gave a warrant to Cross to establish Councils for the " Select . " And as Eckel was
alive in 1827 , when the Maryland Chapter issued the circular , it seems to me that the Maryland Chapter took umbrage at Eckel's pretended right to establish independent Councils for the said degree . Stapleton ' s statement
that " This degree existed under the anthority of a distinguished chief in the State of Maryland " could not have referred to Eckel , but to another party . Who that distinguished chief was I shall show hereafter ; and hence
his subsequent reference to " distinguished chiefs , whose authority delegated to a limited extent for special reasons has been perverted for sordid purposes , " was directed against the assumption of Messrs . Eckel and Niles for
selling to Cross the right of establishing independent Councils . True , Cross pretended , in 1819 , to have received enlarged powers from Eckel and Niles to add the Royal Masters' degree to the Select . But Bro . Stapleton
seems to have been ignorant of Cross ' s imposture , or of even the existence of the Royal Masters' degree : his aim was simply to deprive the independent Councils of the
power of conferring the Select degree , and that degree only . Hence , I came to the conclusion that Stapleton directed his censure more against Eckel ancl Niles than Cross .
But where did Eckel get the Select degree from ? Who conferred npon him the power to grant warrants ? and who was the distinguished chief referred to by Stapleton ? Well , the following document , discovered by Bro . Schultz , will explain the subject . It is as follows : —
" Whereas , in the year of the Temple 2792 , our thrice illustrious brother Henry Wilmans , Grand Elect , Select , Perfect Sublime Mason , Grand Inspector General , and Grand Master of Chapter of Royal Arch , Grand Elect and
Perfect Masters' Lodges and Councils , Knight of the East , Prince of Jerusalem , Patriarch Noachite , Knight of the Sun , ancl Prince of the Royal Secret , did , by ancl in
virtue of the powers in him legally vested , establish , ordain , erect and support a Grancl Council of Select Masons in the city of Baltimore , and wrought therein to the great benefit of the Craft and to the profitable extension and elucidation of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
How Degrees Were Planted And Took Root In America.
HOW DEGREES WERE PLANTED AND TOOK ROOT IN AMERICA .
Br BRO . JACOB NORTON .
IN my communication to this journal , printed 8 th November 1884 , about "Masonic Degree Pedlers , " I called attention to a group of degrees , variously called "Cryptic Masonry , " or " Royal and Select Masters , "
¦ which Jeremy L . Cross peddled in Baltimore in 1822 . This I gave from hearsay , and it was not quite correct . Bro . Ed . T . Schultz , who is now issuing a History of Freemasonry in Maryland ( from which work I copied Bro . Thompson ' s letter of 1803 , which I communicated to this
paper 11 th July , —I must add that the said work is highly interesting ) . The said author cites various authorities about tho origin of our " Cryptic Degrees . " Thus , according to Bro . Dove , of Virginia , the " Select Degree , "
in conjunction with the Royal Masters' degree , was in the possession of a distinguished chief in the State of Maryland , and by him conferred without fee ; he delegated his
authority to others to do the like , until the year 1824 , when the Grand Chapter of Maryland , with his consent , took charge of the [ two ] degrees , and ordered them to
be given before the "Mosfc Excellent Master" degree . Maekay says : — " The Masons of Maryland and Virginia contend that the Royal and Select degrees were introduced by Philip P . Eckel , of Baltimore , one of the mosfc distinguished and
enlightened Masons of his day , who in 1817 communicated them to Jeremy L . Cross , and gave him authority to confer them in every Royal Arch Chapter which he might visit in his official character . " Bro . Folger says , that there was a very warm discussion
at the General Meeting of fche Grand Chapter in 1816 , caused by Bro . Eckel ' s request for the Grand Chapter to incorporate the Royal and Select Degrees , which the Grand Chapter refused to do . Bro . Folger then continues thus : " Mr . Eckel , the Baltimore delegate , went home and
when Cross , who at that session of the General Grand Chapter had been appointed and confirmed as General Grand Lecturer , started on his lecturing tour . He stopped at Baltimore , and purchased and received the privilege
from Eckel and Niles to erect and establish Councils of Royal and Select Masters . This privilege he carried out pretty effectually ; beginning with New Jersey , and all the
Councils in existence in those States mentioned in his narrative were established by himself , also tho Eastern States , except Rhode Island . "
" From the above quotations ( says Bro . Schultz ) it will be perceived that ifc was the general belief that fche control of the Royal and Select Degrees was vested in Eckel and Niles ; bufc we think Bros . Dove , Mackey , Folger , and
others , make a great mistake in coupling the Royal Masters' degree with the Select degree . . . for there is no evidence whatever to show thafc the brethren ever
exercised or claimed control of the Royal Masters' degree , or that they were even in possession of that degreo afc fche periods named by them . "
After the usual preface , the Warrant Cross received from Messrs . Eckel and Niles is given in the said history , and is as follows : —
. " Whereas the said degree of Select is not so extensively known . . Therefore . . Reposing especial confidence in my beloved and trusty Companion Jeremy L . Cross I do hereby , by the high powers in me vested , authorize and
empower him to confer the said degree , as follows , viz ., in any place where a regular Chapter of Royal Arch Masons is established , the officers or members approving , he may
confer the said degree according to its rules and regulations , but only on Royal Arch Masons who have taken all the preceding degrees , as is required by the General Grand
Chapter . When a competent number of Select Masons are thus made , he may grant them a Warrant to open a Council of Select and confer the degree , and do all other business appertaining thereto .
" Given under my hand and seal at Baltimore , the 27 th day of May , A . D . 1817 , & c . PHILIP P . ECKEL ,
"Ihnce Illustrious and Grand Puissant in the Grand Council of Select at Baltimore and approved as G . G . Scribe . " Approved and attested as 111 . in the G . Council . H . NILES . "
How Degrees Were Planted And Took Root In America.
** In the first Warrant issued by Cross under this commission ( says Bro . Schultz ) the Companions were empowered to form ' themselves into a regular Council of Select Masters , ' but in the Warrants issued by him in 1819 , and
thereafter , the * High Powers in him vested by the Grand Council of Baltimore * were enlarged to include the Royal Masters' Degree . In view of the action taken subsequently
by the brethren of Baltimore , thero is every reason to believe that the ' enlarged powers' under which Cross claimed to act wero not granted by Eckel and Niles . "
" At a session of the Grand Chapter held [ in Baltimore ] in 1827 , Jas . K . Stapelton , Grand High Priest [ meaning the Z . ] documents upon the subject of the institution of
the Select degree independent of the G . R . A . Chapter , which were referred to a committee , who recommended that a circular be sent to the several Grand Chapters regarding the matter , and which was adopted . "
The circular is too long for insertion . I shall therefore give the gist of it . Bro . Stapelton complained about the unsettled state of the degree of Select Masons . This degree ( he says )
existed under the authority of a distinguished chief in the State of Maryland . In 1824 , the Maryland Grand Chapter ordered its subordinates to confer the Select degree in its
proper order , immediately preceding the R . A ., and were hence desirous to deprive the independent Councils of the right of conferring the said Select degree , and he goes on to say : —
" But as we are satisfied , through a great mistake or actual abuse of any authority delegated , or meant to be delegated , in relation to the Select Degree . We would therefore beg leave to recommend to your G . C . the consideration of this
degree . . . . With the hope that you will see it to be for the general interest of the Craft to take the said degree under your recognizance and control , to whom it of right belongs , and thereby do away what is felt to be a grievance
by those distinguished chiefs , whose authority , delegated to a limited extent and for special reasons , has been perverted for sordid purposes by Ike creation of an independent order , never contemplated by them , " & o .
Whereupon Bro . Schultz remarks , that " It will be seen that Bro . Cross is charged with having abused the authority ' delegated or meant to be delegated ' to him . "
Now it seems to me that Bro . Schultz misunderstood the meaning of Bro . Stapleton ' s circular , for there is no doubt that Eckel and Niles gave a warrant to Cross to establish Councils for the " Select . " And as Eckel was
alive in 1827 , when the Maryland Chapter issued the circular , it seems to me that the Maryland Chapter took umbrage at Eckel's pretended right to establish independent Councils for the said degree . Stapleton ' s statement
that " This degree existed under the anthority of a distinguished chief in the State of Maryland " could not have referred to Eckel , but to another party . Who that distinguished chief was I shall show hereafter ; and hence
his subsequent reference to " distinguished chiefs , whose authority delegated to a limited extent for special reasons has been perverted for sordid purposes , " was directed against the assumption of Messrs . Eckel and Niles for
selling to Cross the right of establishing independent Councils . True , Cross pretended , in 1819 , to have received enlarged powers from Eckel and Niles to add the Royal Masters' degree to the Select . But Bro . Stapleton
seems to have been ignorant of Cross ' s imposture , or of even the existence of the Royal Masters' degree : his aim was simply to deprive the independent Councils of the
power of conferring the Select degree , and that degree only . Hence , I came to the conclusion that Stapleton directed his censure more against Eckel ancl Niles than Cross .
But where did Eckel get the Select degree from ? Who conferred npon him the power to grant warrants ? and who was the distinguished chief referred to by Stapleton ? Well , the following document , discovered by Bro . Schultz , will explain the subject . It is as follows : —
" Whereas , in the year of the Temple 2792 , our thrice illustrious brother Henry Wilmans , Grand Elect , Select , Perfect Sublime Mason , Grand Inspector General , and Grand Master of Chapter of Royal Arch , Grand Elect and
Perfect Masters' Lodges and Councils , Knight of the East , Prince of Jerusalem , Patriarch Noachite , Knight of the Sun , ancl Prince of the Royal Secret , did , by ancl in
virtue of the powers in him legally vested , establish , ordain , erect and support a Grancl Council of Select Masons in the city of Baltimore , and wrought therein to the great benefit of the Craft and to the profitable extension and elucidation of