IMAGE EVALUATiON TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 U£I21 IIP 2.2 I us II M I- ^ ■mUi. Ill™ M. IIIIII.6 V 'he only picture extant of the original village. ^ jth ng stands to-day except the old church. This picture is unique, for it shows the original elevation of the church with the spire at its east end. In 1829 the church was renovated, the sv're taken down and rebuilt at the west end instead of at the east and the entrance to the church was changed from the east to the west end. Then in this collection I found a picture of Navy Hali, Governor Simcoe's residence at the mouth of the Niagara River, and a capital view of Queenston with the barracks of the Queen's Rangers. This regiment had an early and well worked lodge, when it was stationed at York in 1708. The lodge room was in one of the row cf log houses at the east end of the Fort, which, however, was not burnt in 1812." "What about the Grand Lodge Library in Lon- don?" " The Grand Lodge of England has a good library at Freemasons' Hall, and Bro. Sadler, the Grand Sub-Librarian, has a fine collection of Masonic prints and engravings. Sadler'L woxk ^'n and for that library could not be repaid in golrl. He knows every book, cover to cover, and the MSS. and prints are to him as household words. The old brother is a walking Craft encyclopedia. I shall always ap- preciate his help in my work." •' I heard you say at a lod-e meeting in Toronto some years ago, that you had a lively search after —10- I the faces of some of ^lie early Provincial Grand Masters of Canada?" "Yes, the past rulers of the Craft in Canada from 1759 down to 1845 have in a way been a source of anxiety to me. I have been for years on the look-out for pictures of two or three, like Lieut. Guinnett, of Lodge No. 192, Irish Register in the 47th Regiment— the first Provincial Grand Master at Quebec in 1759— or Col. Simon Fraser, son of old Lord Lovat. Fraser installed the officers of the lodges in the Ancient City, in June, 1760. Then Bro. Spanner of the 28th Regi- ment, acted in 1761, Bro. Milbourne West, followed by Lieut. Turner, both of the 47th. I have never been able to find a portrait of any of these breth- ren, nor of Bro. John Collins (you know John Col- lins? It's popular nowadays, more easily found than the picture of the old Provincial Grand Mas- ters). Another picture that I looked in vain for. was that of Col. Christopher Carleton, a nephew of Sir Guy Carleton. He was in the 29th Foot and was Provincial Grand Master in 1786 at Quebec. He died and was buried there. But my efforts were unsuccessful. The late Lord Dorchester diligently sought, at my request, for his ancestor's picture in the archives and picture rooms of tno Carleton family, but without avail. He said that it never had been painted— certainly it had never been engraved. Bros. Guinnett, Fraser, West, Spanner and Turner were on Abraham's Plains with Wolfe. These were the men who held the Craft together in Quebec from 1759-63. "The most valuable find in connection with Masonry in Quebec about 1761, was the Craft cer- tificate of Lieut. James Leslie, of Select Lodge at Quebec. I have to thank Bro. J. B. McLean, of Montreal, for the tip as to this picture. He knew that I was keen for old Quebec documents, for I had told him of the finding of three sheets of i 4 —11- i the minutes of the Grand Lodge of Quebec of 1781. in the waste paper basket of a bookbinder's shop m Quebec about 1800. Capt. Norman Leslie allowed me to reproduce his ancestor's certificate. Bro. W. J. Hughan says that certificate and the war- rant of the lodge at Detroit in 1764, are two of the most valuable finds ever made in connection with Masonry in America. " In my quests in Britain I had quite an experi- ence, particularly in searching for Bro. Simon McGillivray's portrait. You know he was the brother who came to York (Toronto) in 1822, and by order of the Duke of Sussex, reorganized the Craft in Upper Canada. "All that I knew of McGillivray's life and history could have been written on a ten-cent piece. He was connected with the North-west Company which preceded the Hudson Bay Company, and some one told me that he was a director of the Canada Com- pany. The Hon. Geo. W. Allan, of Toronto, referred me to the Canada Company's office in London, England, for information. But the ignor- ance of the oflicials in that office was most pro- found. They knew but little. They admitted that such a man had been born, yes, had lived, and had had the honour of a directorship in the company, about seventy or eighty years ago, but this was all. They amplified this information with the fact that he was an old bachelor and had passed away with- out kith or kin." _ ^ " And so, Bro. Robertson, you were side-tracked again?" " Yes, but only to switch on to the main line again, as soon as opportunity offered. I admit thai I felt out of sorts at my non-success, but I soon re-built my shattered hopes and started off once more to trace the second Provincial Grand Mn^tpv of old Upper Canada." " What did you do?" —12- I "Well, I did what I should have done at the out- set. I visited Somerset House in the Strand, and with the aid of that most serviceable coin, a British shilling, I read the will of Simon McGillivray, who died at Dartmouth Row, Blackheath, in 1840. I found that he was a son-in-law of his executor. Sir John Easthope, the proprietor of the London Morn- ing Chronicle. But beyond that nothing more." " Did this end your search?" " No, I crossed the Thames, walked for miles in the neighbourhood of Blackheath, to find Dart- mouth Row, but it, like McGillivray, had passed away. After a ten-mile tramp, occupying from early morning until late afternoon, calling at a dozen houses, interviewing postmasters, postmis- tresses and officials, and looking over old maps and plans, I gave up the search for that day." "And did that finish your effort?" "No, it did not. I refreshed myself with an hour's rest and then I picked up the London Direc- tory. I wrote a letter, setting forth my wants, to the only representative of the name of McGillivray to be found in the commercial section of the directory. Then I wrote to the address of every Auldjo in the directory. I knew that McGillivray had had a cousin or relative named Auldjo, who was H. M. Consul at Gene. a for years. I posted my letters and awaited the result. The next afternoon's late post brought me a letter from the cne McGillivray, stating briefly, *I know nothing of the McGillivray you are in search of.' So that on the first round I was knocked out, but I smiled on the second round, for the next post brought me a courteous letter from a Mrs. Auldjo, of Queen's Gate, Kensington, suggesting that if I would call on Messrs. Berkley, Smith & Son. Gray's Inn, my desire for information about McGillivray would be satisfied." " So that you had success in sight?" " Ye^. I visited the firm — a legal one — one that for -13- a century or so had occupied a suite of offices in Gray's Inn. A junior member received me court- eously, introduced me to his father, a Idndly gentle- man of the old school, who listened attentively to my plaint, and, as I finished, said: ' Yes, we know the Auidjo family,' and pointing to an exquisite bust by Tassi in the corner of the room, said: ' That is a bust of Mr. Auidjo, McGillivray's cousin, when he was British Consul at Geneva.' " ' You were fortunate indeed." "Yes, fortunate for the time being, but my troubles were not half over. The firm said that McGillivray was a son-in-law of Sir John Easthope and that by his marriage he had had a daughter, who married sometime in the sixties, Rear Admiral Dawkins, of the British Navy. They did not know his address, but that might be obtained at the Admiralty. Yes, it ' might ' be obtained at the Admiralty. There are many very good things that might be obtained at the Admiralty, but infor- mation as to the addresses of retired British Admirals is one of the articles that are not kept on the bargain counters of that honoured institution." " Surely they did not refuse the information?" " No, they did not refuse. They simply declared that to give the address of a British Admiral might cause such a fracture of the rules and regulations of the Admiralty that the official, who aided or abetted in said fracture, might have to drink super- annuation tea for the remainder of his life." * Well, you surprise me." "Surprise you! Why it nearly took my breath away. I explained to the courteous official — a retired quartermaster — that I was not a summons- server, that I had nothing in the shape of a writ cor^cealed on my person and that my enquiries wore made with friendly, not hostile intent to the Aamii'al aforesaid." "Did he soften?" I —14- I " Yes, he said I had better enquire at the Pay- master's office a few feet away. I did so, but again encountered my Nemesis. The clerk whom I addressed said that to accede to my request was the unpardonable sin of that particular office, that to give the required address meant official decapi- tation, if ' hari kari ' on the part of the offender did not intervene, but that if I addressed a letter to the Admiral it would be duly forwarded." " You did that, of course?" " No, on the contrary I did not do it. I told the clerk that I was a Canadian, that I wanted the Admiral's address for historical purposes and that, as I was leaving for Canada immediately, he might oblige me. He said, 'You had better let me for- ward your letter; the sooner you do so the quicker you will get an answer.' I said: 'No.' 1 had thought of another way out. I could make no impression on the official. He was most civil — not a bad sort at all — but firm as a well-set anchor. I thought I saw the glint of a smile on his face as I turned away. Back again went I to the old quar- termaster and I quickly enlisted him in my service — for the time being anyhow. The old gentleman was quite a connoisseur in coins. He looked with the eye of an expert on a piece of gold which had been rendered valuable by the impress of the Queen's head. I went over the situation with him; opened my mind to him, and finally he suggested a letter to the Paymaster-General, adding that it would be his special care to see that I received a speedy answer. I acted as prompted. I penned my request, enclosed my card, told the old quarter- master that in my opinion he should be an Admiral, and that my influence was at his service if he would but get me the coveted answer, and that I would be back in an hour. " ' 111 do my best for you 3ir. I cpn't do more — but give me an hour and a half.' 1. —15— 1. 1 " I readily agreed and awaited results. I passed an hour and a half in the gallery of the House of Commons, listening, I remember, to an impeTtinent Scotch member baiting a Government postoffice ot- ficial about the 'wretched mail service in the north of Scotland.' The Scotchman made the official promise a better service. This was on a Wednesday and I had to leave for Liverpool at midnight on Friday to catch the steamer— and if successful 1 wanted to have a reply from the Admiral." "I fancy you got what you wanted?" " I did, but not as readily as you might suppose. " Why, didn't your letter bring a reply ? " "Yes, 'it did. but not at the first call. I went back to the Admiralty and found that no answer had arrived, that I must call later in the day, and even then there was no certainty of a favourable reply, for my first effort and non-success were well-known to the old quartermaster. linally, I made a last call. It looked like a forlorn hope to me, but it would never do to give up." " Did you go back the same day?" " The same day— yes, within the appointed time. My naval friend said that no letter had yet arrived, but that he expected one shortly. He called one of half-a-dozen old seamen who were acting a?5 messengers in the waiting-room and sent him off to the Paymaster's ofiice— but without result. A second man was posted off ten minutes later, but he too, came back empty-handed. Then after a second interval of ten minutes a third was sent out with an extra special order whispered in his ear. This veteran, who wore medals, had luck on his side— luck for both of us. He brought back a dozen letters- -surely one was for me. The old quartermaster examined them and finally picked out one and handed it to another seaman-messen- ger directed him to a room leading off the waiting- room Back carne the messenger with the informa- I —16- tion that the official named was not in his room and that the behest of the quartermaster could not be attended to. The old gentleman was my friend. He gave another order — to the same man — but to another room, and in less than two min- utes he returned smiling as if he had received an increase in his pension. The letter had evidently passed before the proper official eye, for the envelope bore marks of an official pen, and in a moment I slipped from the envelope a sheet of official blue foolscap decorated at its head with the official seal and containing the brief, but emi- nently satisfactory information that * Rear Admiral Richard Dawkins resided at Maisonette, Stoke Gabriel, Devon, England.' Thus ended the first act in my search. The next was to hear from the Admiral." " That was np trouble, was it?" " No, not only no trouble but a great deal of pleasure. I wrote to the Admiral that night, and by the return mail I received a kindly letter, stat- ing that both he and his wife would be pleased to do what they could to further my desires. He added that he was an old mem"':>er of the Craft and that in his dining-room at Maisonette hung an oil by Renagle, R,A., of Simon McGillivray, his father- ir-law, in Masonic regalia, as Provincial Grand Master of Upper Canada, when in York in 1822." " And we have his portrait in Toronto?" " Yes, I had it copied in oil and it now hangs with those of Bros. Jarvis, Fitzgibbon, Beikie, Dr. Kerr, Ziba Phillips, McNab and Ridout, all past rulers of the Craft, presented by me to the Masonic Hall Trust in the Temple building." " It must hav'e gratified the Admiral and his wife?" " Yes, and all their family. I spent some pleas- ant days at Maisonette every year after that of my find. The Admiral was a courteous old gentle- —17— man, hospitable and entertaining— a true type oi' Uie iiiiusn sailor. He piedeceased his wife. Mrs. Dawkins, Simon McGiliivray's only child, died three years ago. bhe was a devoted wiie and moiher, and one ot my delights during the few years 1 had the pleasure oi her acquaintance, was to hear her recount all that she had heard of her father from members of the family who sur- vivea him,' for Mrs. Dawkins was born seven months after her father's death. McGillivray was a highly educated and travelled man. Hundreds of pages of his writings, accounts 0^= his travels and incidents of his life may be seen in his late daughter's home, now the residence of two grand-daughters and two grandsons, one of whom, a bright boy of twelve, is proud of his name, John McGillivray Dawkins. That is how I found McGillivray. It is just sixty years ago next Satur- day, the 9th of June, since Simon McGillivray was put away in the family vault of the Easthope family, in Norwood Cemetery, near London. He was comparatively young— fifty-five years of ago. Mrs. Dawkins told me that very often the Duke of Sussex would drive down to the city and spend an evening with her father in Suffolk Lane." " What about Canadian pictures? Did you have as much trouble in securing them as English ones?" " Nearly — but I never had such a hunt as I had for McGiliivray's. I found a capital oil of Bro. Jarvis, the first Provincial Grand Master, in the possession of his grandson, Bro. yEmilius Jarvis, of Toronto. It is a good example of the work of some English painter. In this oil Jarvis is garbed as an officer of the Queen's Rangers. There is also a pencil sketch of him as he sat in the Grand Lodge at York (Toronto) in 3 804. That has been en- larged and is now in oil in the Craft room of the Temple building in Toronto. This find came to I —18- hand at first call — not so Dr. Kerr's picture. Dr. Kerr was the rival of Bro. Jarvis. When the latter was P. G. M. at Niagara, Kerr was his deputy, and when in 1800-01 the Niagara brethren revolted at Jarvis' rule, Kerr grasped the gavel ot the schis- n:atic Grand Lodge in the old capital and ruled it well. Dr. Kerr was one of the best-known men at Niagara. He was surgeon of Sir John Johnson's 2nd Battalion and was surgeon to the Indian Department of Upper Canada. To find a clue to Dr. Kerr's identity was a pleasant enough, though prolonged, task. Old military documents were unearthed in the Archives Department at Ottawa. The records of St. Mark's church at Niagara were read line upon line; the civil records were scanned, but the results were confined to a statement of offices, both military and civil, held from 1792-1823. " I found that his wife, who was a daughter of Sir William Johnson, by his second wife, Molly Brant, died in 1794, and was buried in St. Mark's churchyard. Her tomb is there to this day. But of Dr. Kerr, old Niagarians knew little if anything. One old lady, who passed away some years ago, said that Dr. Kerr used to come to her father's house in 1820, when she was but seven years of age, and she thought a daughter of Dr. Kerr had married a Gillespie, but where he lived or what he did she knew not, but he had left Niagara in 1823. This was a clue, slight indeed, but of value. I knew that there was only one family of the name of Gillespie in Canada likely to be connected with Dr. Kerr and that was the Gillespies of Montreal. The first post carried a letter to M. W. Bro. A. A. Stevenson, of Montreal, with a request that he would enquire of the Gillespies of that city and report. Bro. Stevenson performed ^''' mission promptly. But then the Colonel is alwixj^s prompt and obliging. Do you know that Bro. Alex. Mitchell and Bro. Stevenson are really the only —19— living links left between the present genera- tion of Craftsmen and those who took an active part in Quebec at the time of the union of the Grand Lodges in 1858. The return mail brought word that Dr. Kerr was the son-in-law of Sir William Johnson, but that no picture of him existed. If so, it was not on this side of the Atlantic; it might be on the other side. Sir Edward Gillespie, of Lombard street, London, Eng- land, was written to. He replied that his aunt was a daughter of Dr. Kerr, but that a picture of him had never been made. Shattered hopes again— the most energetic Mason of 1792-1822— all of his work but nothing of his form. It seemed as if the Craft would never view the face of the Masonic master mind of the first quarter of the century. But fortune favoured me, as it often has, and the next mail brought the welcome news that a miniature on ivory had been discovered by Sir Edward Gillespie. So the picture was found and its replica in oil, life size, hangs on the walls of the Blue Room in the Temple building, Toronto." "I suppose you had many other experiences m securing engravings to illustrate your book?" "Yes, many; about a legion. The coin chapter gave me no end of trouble. Many of the coins were out of the * boxes ' of the old lodges. Some came from a chest of one of the Niagara lodges, as for instance, the half-penny of George III. and the U. S. dollar of 1799. The French ecu or crown given, belonged to the Merchants' Lodge, of Que- bec, 1764-70. It was one of the reign of Louis XIV. The army bills and bills of exchange are from the collection of Bro. Dr. Neilson, Surgeon-General of Canada. The Pretended Bank of Upper Canada bills are also his. But I had one belonging to tUe Grand Lodge of 1822-26, which had been paid to Bro. John Dean, Grand Secretary, by some of the Kingston lodges. I have reproduced two beautiful I —20— views of the old city from the five and ten dollar bills of the Pretended Bank of Upper Canada, which are owned by Bro. Neilson. The U. S. cent of 1790 belonged to lodge No. 12, Stamford. The Bank of England dollar belonged to Bro. William Jarvis. By the way, the early bills of exchange drawn by Jarvis were unique. The French franc of 1806 belonged to a French trader who was a member of Adoniram Lodge In Amherstburg, and the Brock half-piece of 1816, and the same coin of Upper Canada, 1812, yes, and I think the same coin of 1816, were picked up from the family of a descend- ant of an old treasurer of Rideau, the lodge at P.urritt's Rapids, which met as early as 1815-22. The table I have given in that chapter I compiled when I was on a trip to the West Indies in 1896. I frave a couple of hours a day to it for nearly two weeks. I had it revised by Mr. Scott and Mr. Haydn TTorsey, of the Dominion Bank, Toronto, who were also on that trip. The table shows the value of all fhe coins in sterling, Halifax, New York and Canadian currency from 1777-1899." "What a rare set of plates you have of the Goose and Gridiron Tavern." " Yes, I have to thank Messrs. Searle & Hay, the architects, of Ludgate Hill, for those elevations, and Bro. Arthur Greenwood, of Bermondsey, S.E., the contractor who pulled down the old tavern and built the new warehouse on the site. He it was who gave me the bits of timber from the rafters which supported the floor of the room where the Masons met in 1717. I actually found in the cellar under the bar Indian coins of about 1400 or 1500, and a half-nence of 1717-19. dropped through some hole in th lor by a not over careful barmaid. I failed to fii 'ictures of all the taverns where the Grand Lodp:* ' England mot. but of the Turk's Head in Greek St.. Soho, I found a sketch of part of the public room. There are no pictures of the Rummer ■ I -21— 1 I street, Grand and at and Grapes Tavern, Canon Row, Westminster, ex- tant; nor of the Crown, in Parlter St., Drury Lane, nor of tlie famous Apple Tree Tavern, in Charles Covent Garden. At the Turk's Head the Lodge of the Ancients was formed in 1751, the others the ' Four Old Lodges ' mot. In my seal chapter I had quite a time to find the first seal of the Grand Lodge of Canada, 1855. I forget where I found it, but I think it was on a document issued to either No. 20 or No. 209a in London by Bro. T. B. Harris, the Grand Secretary of the period. " It would take too long to tell you of the chase which Bro. Ehlers, the Grand Secretary of New York and I had for the warrants of the Detroit lodges of 1764 and 1794. Bro. EUlers used to de- clare to me that he never had had the document, but Bro. John Barker and Bro. Herman Carter both declared that it was in the archives of New York. One day a literary Mason called on Ehlers. They chatted about Masonry and its history. No one can talk on that subject better than Ehlers. Well, in the course of the conversation Ehlers told his literary caller that the Grand Lodge of New York was the only organization of the kind that could show a provincial warrant. ' Indeed,' said thn bvother. ' wheve is it?' Off Ehlers posted to the snfe and opening an envelope took fro"^ it the pro- vincial warrant of New York of about 1785. and a« he opened it to dif^^nlay it. out dronned the Detroit warrant of 1764. Tt was months before the srallant colonf=!l recovered from the surprise. Th<^ old war- rant had been there for many years. \ -^ Grand Lod^e of New York has sent the venerable docu- ment to Zion Lodge at Detroit, and also the Lower Canada warrant of 1794, which had been qrranted in 'hat vear by Thoma^, A.iii^lie, the D G.M. of Lower Canada when Prince Edward, father of our Queen, was G.M. I -22— " The fart is that there is some incident con- nected with every one of the Ave hundred pictureti In the two volurues of my history. In some in- Btances I failed to find other pictures that 1 wanted. For instance, I have searched the world over for a portrait of General Simon Eraser, who led the Highlanders at Louisbourg and was with Wolfe at Quebec. He was the eldest son by the first wife, of Lord Lovat, who was beheaded in 1747. The picture of his half-brother, Archibald, is offered for sale freiiuently as that of Simon Fraser. There is another picture that I wanted, that of Col. ChristoDher Carleton. nephew of Sir Guy Carleton. He was in the 2Dth Foot and died at Quebec in 1785. Then another face I would like to have had is that of Bro. Thos. Carleton, the first Governor of New Brunswick and also that of the Hon. Edwnrd Cornwallis, uncle of Lord Corn- wallis, who surrendered at Yorktown. These three pictures will not, I suppose, ever bo found. We have those of all of the P. G. M.'s of Upper Canada, but only of one Grand Secretarv, Bro. Turquand, who held that office from 18224830. That of Bro. Sylvoj^ter Tif- fany of 1792 I cannot find, although his direct des- cciio .nt, Bro. E. H. Tiffany, of Alexandria, Ont.. has made every search for it. Neither has the picture of Bro. Davenport Phelps been found, but T have some hope-^ of it turnins: up some day. Phelps was the first Grnnd Srr- retary under Jarvis. The Hon. Robf^-rt Hamilton's picture is not to the fore. He wp,s the G. S. W. under Jarvis. Thanks to Bro. Duns^^an of the Bell Teipnhone Com- pany, I have a fine picture of R. W. Bro. Thomas AdDm"^. a ver;"- worthv man. who was the last of the Provincial Grand Marters ot the Niagara Grand Lods;o. Bro. Dunstan's wife is a Adams. Bro. Geor.^e For- one missing from the list. i 1 / \ granddaughter of Bro. syth's face is another —23— i \ Kio. ii. E. Charlton, of Hamilton, gave me an excel- lent drawing of Smith's Tavern in Barton in 1830. We have looked all over England for a picture oC the Kev. Robt. A.ddisou, oi Niagara, tlie hrst Grand Chaplain. Miiss Janet Carnochan, the hiatorian oi: St. Mark'B Church, Niagara, can't find it, so I'm afraid there is not much chance for me. " Some (>mer day I will tell you of my search for MSS. and old documents. It puzzles me how old MSS. come one's way. You are on the lookout but don't find ; then some day you get a hint and follow up a trail, just as I did late one winter night when I found in a farmhouse some miles from Toronto the Jarvis warrant of 1792, and the minute books of the Niagara .ges from 1795-1822. Yes, I called on Bro. George Bennett the next morning at two o'clock and wakened him up to show him the warrant and MSS. for which we had searched all over Canada, England and the United States for nearly twenty years. The warrant and the MSS. had been locked away ever since 1817 when Jarvis died— just eighty-three years ago in 1900." 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