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What Dr. Mease And Bro. Gould Say About Philadelphia Masonry.
WHAT DR . MEASE AND BRO . GOULD SAY ABOUT PHILADELPHIA MASONRY .
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON . DR . James Mease published , in 1811 , a book , viz ., " The Picture of Philadelphia , " containing Masonic items
about the " Moderns " as well as the " Ancients , " which , as far as I know , were never published before . I shall , however , confine myself to what he wrote about the Moderns , which is as follows : —
" The early records of Masonry in Philadelp hia have been lost , but it is known that a Society of the ' Moderns' was formed at an early date , and that it was composed of several of tbe most respectable and prominent characters of
the day . The gazettes , the only authority existing on the subject , inform us of a Grand Lodge having been held so early as the year 1732 , at , the Tun Tavern , the fashionable
hotel of the time , when William Allen , the Recorder of the City ( afterwards a Chief Justice ) , was chosen Grand Master ; it appears that regular meetings were annually held for several years afterwards .
"In the year 1737 a melancholy event occurred , which gave the brethren much uneasiness . A party of idle men , not belonging to the Craft , with a view of enjoying the fright which they supposed they would excite , either
volunteered their services or acceded to the wishes of a young man to initiate him into the mysteries of Masonry , and accordingly instituted a variety of ridiculous operations at night in a cellar , to all which he submitted with
fortitude , although they were painful and extremely trying to a young mind . Finding that their object was likely to bo defeated , a bowl of burning spirit , into which he had been directed to look for some time , was thrown over him , and his clothes taking fire he was so much burned that he
died in- a few days afterwards . This melancholy event , justly excited the public indignation , and the chief promoter of the mischief , after a legal investigation , was ignominiously punished by being burnt in the hand ; but ,
unfortunately , the scene having been conducted under the impression of a connection with Masonry , a considerable prejudice among those who were unacquainted with the principles of the Craft was excited , and to such a degree
did it extend that the brethren deemed it necessary to come forward , and , after stating the occurrence in the newspapers , to declare tbe abhorrence of all true brethren to
this horrid practice ; ancl that the persons concerned were not of their society , nor of any society of Free and Accepted Masons . "
[ The said declaration was signed by the G . M ., D . G . M . and G . Wardens . ] "On the 23 rd September 1743 , the Right Honourable Lord John Ward , G . M . of England , nominated Thomas Oxnard , Esq ., Grand Master of all North America .
"On the 10 th July 1749 , Thomas Oxnard , Esq ., appointed Benjamin Franklin , Esq ., Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania , with authority to appoint the other Grand Officers , hold a Grand Lodge , issue warrants , & c .
" On the 5 th September 1749 the first Grand Lodge was held , at the Royal Standard , in Market-street , under this warrant : Grand Master Franklin having appointed Dr .
Thomas Bond D . G . M ., Joseph Shippen S . G . W ., Philip Syng J . G . W ., William Plumsted G . Treasurer , Daniel Byles G . Secretary .
"At the same meeting a warrant was granted to James Pogrun and others to hold a Lodge in Philadelphia . The meetings were regularly held until the 13 th March 1750 , when William Allen , Esq ., the recorder of the city of
Philadel phia , presented to the Grand Lodge a commission from the G . L . of England ( signed by William Lord Byron G . M . ) , appointing him Provincial Grand Master , which was recognised , and he appointed Benjamin Franklin D . G . M ., and the other Officers above mentioned according to rank .
" From this time they proceeded in their business , granting new warrants in the city , in various parts of the State and other places , until superseded by the introduction of various Lodges of ' ancient Tork Masons , ' and the ultimate establishment of a Grand Lodge of that Order .
" As far as the minutes of the modern Grand Lodge go , Dr . Franklin was never absent from a mner / ino- "
Alter reading the above , the first question I thonght of was , who was Dr . Mease ? J consulted the history of Masonry in Pennsylvania , " Compiled and Published by the Library Committee , " which for brevity ' s sake I shall call Bro . Meyer ' s history . Therein , I found the whole
What Dr. Mease And Bro. Gould Say About Philadelphia Masonry.
sketch , as given by Dr . Mease , and some other interesting ntattf r , to which I shall call attention hereafter ; but not a word about Dr . Mease . At last , after consulting several works , I found the following brief notice in Alibone ' s "Dictionary of Authors . "
"Mease James , M . D ., an eminent physician of Philadelphia [ author of ] lst , Geological Account of the United States , Phila ., 1807 , 18 mo , pp 496 , and Index Plates ; 2 nd , Picture of Philadelphia , 1811 , 12 mo ; 3 rd , On William Penn ' s Treaty with the Indians , 1836 . "
The above proves that Dr . Mease was highl y respected , and may therefore be relied on ; and it also proves that he was alive in 1836 . The next thing I wanted to find out
was , where did Dr . Mease pick up bis information about Oxnard having appointed Benjamin Franklin Provincial Grand Master of Pennsvlvania in 1749 , and of Allen ' s
receiving a Deputation from England in 1750 , with all the dates and particulars thereunto belonging ? In the last paragraph above quoted onr Dr . Mease said , " As far as the minutes of the modern Grand Lodge go , " thus proving
conclusively that he was in possession of the minutes of the Moderns at least as late as 1751 . The question is , what became of the said minutes of the Moderns , which were in possession of Dr . Mease in 1811 ? To this question
I could find no answer , but if even the said minutes no longer exist , we have in the first place the authority of Dr . Mease of Franklin ' s appointment by Oxnard in 1749 ;
but the fact is further corroborated by the following entry in the Record of the Grand Lodare of Massachusetts . Under date of Friday , 10 th April 1752 , I find ,
" To the Lodge att Philadelphia , Bio . M . Daniel appeared , ancl paid for their Constitution £ 31 10 s . " I must here explain that in 1752 the paper money in New England was worth very little—Is 8 d was then called
a pound ; hence , £ 31 10 s was equal to £ 2 12 s 6 d only , the sum that Oxnard ' s Deputation required him to pay to the Grand Lodge of England for every new Lodge constituted in his Province . As to why Franklin did not pay
for his 1749 Lodge before 1 . 52—I can no more answer than I could as to why the English Lodge , No . 79 of 1731 , did not pay for its Charter before November 1732 ; and as to why the Boston worthies did not send Franklin ' s
£ 2 12 s 6 d to the Grand Lodge of England , to whom the money belonged . The fact , however , is indisputable that the Philadelphia Masons paid tribute to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for the Lodge chartered by Franklin in 1749 .
The next puzzle I had was , what Lodge did Franklin charter in 1749 ? This question Bro . Gould answers , as follows : —He says , "In the year last named [ 1749 ] July 10 th , Franklin
was appointed Provincial Grand Master by Thos . Oxnard , whose jurisdiction extended over the whole of North America , from which it seems to follow , as a logical deduction , that he eventually obtained in 1749 what he vainl y applied for [ to Henry Price ] in 1734 .
" At the first Grand Lodge , held under this Deputation 5 th September 1749 , Franklin appointed his Grand Officers , and ' at the same meeting a warrant was granted to James Pogreen and others , to hold a Lodge in Philadel phia . '
So far Dr . Mease , whose sketch of the 'Society of Masons ' is given in full in the official history of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , and the latter informs us ( on a later page ) that the charter in question was granted to ' St . John ' s
Lodge , of which , however , the first Master is stated to have been James Pogrew . The same name apparently , though again wo meet with a slight variation of spelling [ which ] occurs in the original document , showing the
debts due for quarterage b y the members of the ' First Lodge ' in June 1752 . Iu this the name of ' Jas . Polgreen ' is given , his liabilities extending to December 1751 , bevond which the record does not go .
" The Lodge of 1749 seems , therefore , not to have been n new creation , but a revival of the body over which Allen presided in 1731 ; and if such was the case , Franklin
himself , in both instances . Grand Lodge and Lodge , served as a conduit pi pe through which his anxiously sought ' authority from home ' was derived . "
But this is not all : for in a later document , to which I referred , it is stated that in 1755 the Pennsylvanian Grand Lodge was represented b y three Lodges . Bro . Gould does not believe it . He says ,
'' lhe first Masonic Hall in America was erected in Philadelphia in 1754 , and in the following year the same Grand ancl Deput y Grand Masters holding office . In 1750
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
What Dr. Mease And Bro. Gould Say About Philadelphia Masonry.
WHAT DR . MEASE AND BRO . GOULD SAY ABOUT PHILADELPHIA MASONRY .
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON . DR . James Mease published , in 1811 , a book , viz ., " The Picture of Philadelphia , " containing Masonic items
about the " Moderns " as well as the " Ancients , " which , as far as I know , were never published before . I shall , however , confine myself to what he wrote about the Moderns , which is as follows : —
" The early records of Masonry in Philadelp hia have been lost , but it is known that a Society of the ' Moderns' was formed at an early date , and that it was composed of several of tbe most respectable and prominent characters of
the day . The gazettes , the only authority existing on the subject , inform us of a Grand Lodge having been held so early as the year 1732 , at , the Tun Tavern , the fashionable
hotel of the time , when William Allen , the Recorder of the City ( afterwards a Chief Justice ) , was chosen Grand Master ; it appears that regular meetings were annually held for several years afterwards .
"In the year 1737 a melancholy event occurred , which gave the brethren much uneasiness . A party of idle men , not belonging to the Craft , with a view of enjoying the fright which they supposed they would excite , either
volunteered their services or acceded to the wishes of a young man to initiate him into the mysteries of Masonry , and accordingly instituted a variety of ridiculous operations at night in a cellar , to all which he submitted with
fortitude , although they were painful and extremely trying to a young mind . Finding that their object was likely to bo defeated , a bowl of burning spirit , into which he had been directed to look for some time , was thrown over him , and his clothes taking fire he was so much burned that he
died in- a few days afterwards . This melancholy event , justly excited the public indignation , and the chief promoter of the mischief , after a legal investigation , was ignominiously punished by being burnt in the hand ; but ,
unfortunately , the scene having been conducted under the impression of a connection with Masonry , a considerable prejudice among those who were unacquainted with the principles of the Craft was excited , and to such a degree
did it extend that the brethren deemed it necessary to come forward , and , after stating the occurrence in the newspapers , to declare tbe abhorrence of all true brethren to
this horrid practice ; ancl that the persons concerned were not of their society , nor of any society of Free and Accepted Masons . "
[ The said declaration was signed by the G . M ., D . G . M . and G . Wardens . ] "On the 23 rd September 1743 , the Right Honourable Lord John Ward , G . M . of England , nominated Thomas Oxnard , Esq ., Grand Master of all North America .
"On the 10 th July 1749 , Thomas Oxnard , Esq ., appointed Benjamin Franklin , Esq ., Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania , with authority to appoint the other Grand Officers , hold a Grand Lodge , issue warrants , & c .
" On the 5 th September 1749 the first Grand Lodge was held , at the Royal Standard , in Market-street , under this warrant : Grand Master Franklin having appointed Dr .
Thomas Bond D . G . M ., Joseph Shippen S . G . W ., Philip Syng J . G . W ., William Plumsted G . Treasurer , Daniel Byles G . Secretary .
"At the same meeting a warrant was granted to James Pogrun and others to hold a Lodge in Philadelphia . The meetings were regularly held until the 13 th March 1750 , when William Allen , Esq ., the recorder of the city of
Philadel phia , presented to the Grand Lodge a commission from the G . L . of England ( signed by William Lord Byron G . M . ) , appointing him Provincial Grand Master , which was recognised , and he appointed Benjamin Franklin D . G . M ., and the other Officers above mentioned according to rank .
" From this time they proceeded in their business , granting new warrants in the city , in various parts of the State and other places , until superseded by the introduction of various Lodges of ' ancient Tork Masons , ' and the ultimate establishment of a Grand Lodge of that Order .
" As far as the minutes of the modern Grand Lodge go , Dr . Franklin was never absent from a mner / ino- "
Alter reading the above , the first question I thonght of was , who was Dr . Mease ? J consulted the history of Masonry in Pennsylvania , " Compiled and Published by the Library Committee , " which for brevity ' s sake I shall call Bro . Meyer ' s history . Therein , I found the whole
What Dr. Mease And Bro. Gould Say About Philadelphia Masonry.
sketch , as given by Dr . Mease , and some other interesting ntattf r , to which I shall call attention hereafter ; but not a word about Dr . Mease . At last , after consulting several works , I found the following brief notice in Alibone ' s "Dictionary of Authors . "
"Mease James , M . D ., an eminent physician of Philadelphia [ author of ] lst , Geological Account of the United States , Phila ., 1807 , 18 mo , pp 496 , and Index Plates ; 2 nd , Picture of Philadelphia , 1811 , 12 mo ; 3 rd , On William Penn ' s Treaty with the Indians , 1836 . "
The above proves that Dr . Mease was highl y respected , and may therefore be relied on ; and it also proves that he was alive in 1836 . The next thing I wanted to find out
was , where did Dr . Mease pick up bis information about Oxnard having appointed Benjamin Franklin Provincial Grand Master of Pennsvlvania in 1749 , and of Allen ' s
receiving a Deputation from England in 1750 , with all the dates and particulars thereunto belonging ? In the last paragraph above quoted onr Dr . Mease said , " As far as the minutes of the modern Grand Lodge go , " thus proving
conclusively that he was in possession of the minutes of the Moderns at least as late as 1751 . The question is , what became of the said minutes of the Moderns , which were in possession of Dr . Mease in 1811 ? To this question
I could find no answer , but if even the said minutes no longer exist , we have in the first place the authority of Dr . Mease of Franklin ' s appointment by Oxnard in 1749 ;
but the fact is further corroborated by the following entry in the Record of the Grand Lodare of Massachusetts . Under date of Friday , 10 th April 1752 , I find ,
" To the Lodge att Philadelphia , Bio . M . Daniel appeared , ancl paid for their Constitution £ 31 10 s . " I must here explain that in 1752 the paper money in New England was worth very little—Is 8 d was then called
a pound ; hence , £ 31 10 s was equal to £ 2 12 s 6 d only , the sum that Oxnard ' s Deputation required him to pay to the Grand Lodge of England for every new Lodge constituted in his Province . As to why Franklin did not pay
for his 1749 Lodge before 1 . 52—I can no more answer than I could as to why the English Lodge , No . 79 of 1731 , did not pay for its Charter before November 1732 ; and as to why the Boston worthies did not send Franklin ' s
£ 2 12 s 6 d to the Grand Lodge of England , to whom the money belonged . The fact , however , is indisputable that the Philadelphia Masons paid tribute to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for the Lodge chartered by Franklin in 1749 .
The next puzzle I had was , what Lodge did Franklin charter in 1749 ? This question Bro . Gould answers , as follows : —He says , "In the year last named [ 1749 ] July 10 th , Franklin
was appointed Provincial Grand Master by Thos . Oxnard , whose jurisdiction extended over the whole of North America , from which it seems to follow , as a logical deduction , that he eventually obtained in 1749 what he vainl y applied for [ to Henry Price ] in 1734 .
" At the first Grand Lodge , held under this Deputation 5 th September 1749 , Franklin appointed his Grand Officers , and ' at the same meeting a warrant was granted to James Pogreen and others , to hold a Lodge in Philadel phia . '
So far Dr . Mease , whose sketch of the 'Society of Masons ' is given in full in the official history of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , and the latter informs us ( on a later page ) that the charter in question was granted to ' St . John ' s
Lodge , of which , however , the first Master is stated to have been James Pogrew . The same name apparently , though again wo meet with a slight variation of spelling [ which ] occurs in the original document , showing the
debts due for quarterage b y the members of the ' First Lodge ' in June 1752 . Iu this the name of ' Jas . Polgreen ' is given , his liabilities extending to December 1751 , bevond which the record does not go .
" The Lodge of 1749 seems , therefore , not to have been n new creation , but a revival of the body over which Allen presided in 1731 ; and if such was the case , Franklin
himself , in both instances . Grand Lodge and Lodge , served as a conduit pi pe through which his anxiously sought ' authority from home ' was derived . "
But this is not all : for in a later document , to which I referred , it is stated that in 1755 the Pennsylvanian Grand Lodge was represented b y three Lodges . Bro . Gould does not believe it . He says ,
'' lhe first Masonic Hall in America was erected in Philadelphia in 1754 , and in the following year the same Grand ancl Deput y Grand Masters holding office . In 1750