HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP 
 
 THE FIRST DECADE. 
 
 JAMES L. RIDGELY, 
 
 HISTORIOGRAPHER. 
 
 HOMO SUM ; HUNjAJA 
 
 Terence. 
 
 SIXTH THOUSAND. 
 
 BALTIMORE, MD.: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY JAMES L. RIDGELY, 
 
 BY AUTHORITY OF THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES I. O. O.F. 
 
 1878 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year One Thousand Eight 
 Hundred and Seventy-eight, by 
 
 JAMES L. KIDGELY, 
 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 ELECTROTYPE!) BY PRINTED BY 
 
 JOHN RYAN & CO., JOHN L. MURPHY, 
 
 Baltimore. Trenton, N.J. 
 
TO THE 
 
 Right Worthy Grand Lodge of the United States, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS, 
 
 TO WHICH, MORE THAN TO ANY OTHER HUMAN AGENCY, MANKIND OWES THE 
 
 GRANDEST SYSTEM OF SECULAR AFFILIATED BENEVOLENCE OF ANY AGE, 
 
 THIS WORK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 
 
 HONOR, PERPETUITY AND BLESSINGS 
 
 ARE FOREVER DUE TO ITS GRAND AND SUBORDINATE ORGANIZATIONS, FOR 
 ZEAL AND DEVOTION IN THE CAUSE; BUT TO ITS PATERNAL GOVERN- 
 MENT AND WISE AND JUDICIOUS ADMINISTRATION, IS THE 
 PRESENT WONDROUS DEVELOPMENT TO BE CHIEFLY 
 ASCRIBED. 
 
 GREAT is THE LEADER OF A FORLORN HOPE TO VICTORY; GREAT THE PILOT 
 
 WHO STEERS HIS PRECIOUS FREIGHT SAFELY THROUGH THE STORM AND TEMPEST; 
 BUT GREATER THE GENIUS THAT EVOKES FROM THE ROUGH MARBLE, THE MASTER- 
 PIECE OF ART AND BEAUTY THE DlVINE IMAGE IN HUMANITY. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This book goes forth as the history of the first decade of 
 American Odd Fellowship, by James L. Ridgely, Grand Corres- 
 ponding and Recording Secretary, and also Historiographer of 
 the Grand Lodge of the United States, I. O. O. F. As its prep- 
 aration has been connected with several other names as State 
 Historiographers, from whom some material has been derived, 
 the extent of such aid will be fully acknowledged. The particu- 
 lar connection of Hon. Henry F. Garey with the publication, 
 deserves special mention, which is now given. 
 
 When this history was first proposed, such was the condition 
 of my health, that in view of contingencies which were obvious, 
 I sought the aid of competent brothers to assist me in the task. 
 My first application was to Bro. Rev. E. H. Chapin of New 
 York, P. G. M.; Reps. Morse of California, P. G. M.; Harmon 
 of California, P. G. M., and Garey of Maryland, P. G. M. 
 These all, at that time, declined the invitation, and I remained 
 alone in the enterprise. Afterwards, Bro. Garey was induced to 
 join me, and has been identified with me in every stage of the 
 book's progress, until its conclusion. Our labor has been 
 joint ; the original text has undergone a revision, in which each 
 has given his personal consideration to the topics discussed. In 
 one particular I have taken no counsel and stand alone. The 
 comments on the men, the policy and the principles of the Order, 
 express my individual sentiments long held on those subjects, 
 and in that sense are entirely my own. My part has been to 
 collect and suggest from the mass of material at hand, and to 
 designate its use ; to correct false history, to bring together new 
 facts, to present the traits and labors of the known historic men 
 of the Order, and to see that the honors should be appropriately 
 awarded. Occasionally, also, in the rendition of legislative texts, 
 to furnish the proper key to the enactments and proceedings, which 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 otherwise were hidden in a dry and barren record. My colleague 
 is the Editor ; I regard such appellation as his appropriate title. 
 He has also supervised the style and language of the whole man- 
 uscript, including my own, although much has been inserted lit- 
 erally as it was supplied by my hand. When it is known that 
 Judge Garey has fully performed his duties in the Court of 
 Common Pleas of Baltimore City, during the whole period of his 
 connection with this work, it will be acknowledged that he has 
 acquitted himself to the history with fidelity. 
 
 Whatever defects or omissions may exist in the volume, will 
 find an ample excuse in the circumstances under which it was 
 written. The whole book so fully expresses my personal views 
 on all the subjects treated, that I accept its authorship without 
 reserve, and for all its contents assume the sole responsibility. 
 It was to me the work was committed. It contains my cherished 
 opinions of the Order and its principles. So far as frail humanity 
 would permit, it is a truthful and complete statement of the 
 great matters of which it treats. It is the depository of my hopes 
 and fears, and of my love for the institution with which my life 
 has been identified since manhood, and my name associated for 
 nearly half a century. I have sought to portray to the brethren 
 the transactions and the men of the first decade, w r ith whom I 
 have been in part contemporaneous, with strict impartiality. No 
 reliable source of information from which light could be thrown 
 upon that eventful period has escaped my research. The manu- 
 scripts of Bro. Kennedy, P. G. S., have been placed at my disposal. 
 These I have found invaluable as the proper oracles of the times. 
 I have used them largely as the public property, giving special 
 credit only w r here special quotations have been made from 
 them. 
 
 The researches of John W. Stokes and William Ellison, re- 
 spectively, in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, have enabled me 
 to present interesting chapters on those States. In so doing I 
 have closely followed them so far as the plan of the work per- 
 mitted. Past Grand Sire Ellison's production was very satisfac- 
 tory, and I hereby tender my sincere thanks to the Board of Grand 
 Officers of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for the generous do- 
 nation of a copy free of expense. The work of Grand Sire Stokes 
 is of great value, and is exhaustive of the subject. As far as was 
 
PREFACE. Vii 
 
 possible his plan of treatment has been adopted. That veteran Odd 
 Fellow has been identified with the leaders in the Order for thirty- 
 five years, having entered the Grand Lodge of the United States in 
 1843. His labors include a full review of the Patriarchal Branch, 
 which few if any were equally competent to furnish. Its history 
 in Pennsylvania is full of interest. But as that branch of the Order 
 grew out of the degrees called Patriarchal, as the higher penetralia 
 of Odd Fellowship, we have been forced to confine its history to the 
 chapter on that subject. His contribution is deserving of special 
 mention, and might well be published as a separate volume, which 
 would be very attractive in that great jurisdiction. 
 
 The chapter on New York would have been unsatisfactory 
 but for the valuable assistance of P. G. Rep. John Medole, of 
 that jurisdiction, and I am greatly indebted to P. G. Sire 
 William W. Moore of the District of Columbia, not only for in- 
 formation about that locality, but for important matter in the 
 chapter on the degrees. 
 
 The illustrations have been obtained at great labor and 
 expense, and but for the aid of zealous friends would be in- 
 complete. As it is, we regret the absence of several which it was 
 not possible for us to obtain. "We gladly return our acknowledg- 
 ments to Bros. Porter and Ford of Massachusetts, G. Sire Stokes of 
 Pennsylvania, Bro. Medole of New York, Bro. Parker of New 
 Jersey, Bro. Havenner of the District of Columbia, and Bro. 
 McKelvey of West Virginia, for their kind attentions in this de- 
 partment of the work. The design for the beautiful emblematic 
 device on the cover of the book, was prepared about a year ago 
 by our lamented Brother Fred. D. Stuart, P. G. Sire, who mani- 
 fested a great interest in this publication. The work has gone 
 to press under the supervision of Bro. Theodore A. Ross, Assis- 
 tant Grand Secretary, whose services have greatly lightened the 
 labors of the author and editor. 
 
 And now, my brethren, having assigned to all concerned 
 proper credit in the production of this work, my task is about to 
 <3lose. One word more and I have done. My days of prac- 
 tical usefulness are passing away ; I cannot much longer 
 mingle in the councils of the Order. Certainly I can no longer 
 write and speak for the institution as in days gone by. This 
 doubtless is my last effort to serve Odd Fellowship. It is my 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 last tribute to that great and good cause my farewell to that 
 loving band of brothers throughout the world, who have so 
 warmly greeted me ever since they learned to honor and revere 
 the Order. In the hope that it may do good service for Human- 
 ity and Fraternity, I commit it to the Brotherhood. 
 
 JAMES L. KIDGELY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION 1 
 
 The Order founded on principles. Its name. Not a borrower. Oppo- 
 sition. Origin of Odd Fellowship, Records. The Manchester Unity. 
 How materials were obtained for the history. The close of the reign 
 of Wildey. Plan of treatment. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WASHINGTON LODGE, No. 1 15- 
 
 American Odd Fellowship. Wildey and Welch. Washington Lodge 
 instituted. The English work. Jackson the rival of Wildey. P. G. 
 Crowder's mission. The original charter from Duke of York's Lodge. 
 John Yates' mission. Finances. The benefit system. Wildey pre- 
 ferred to Jackson. Franklin Lodge to supersede Washington Lodge. 
 Committee of Past Grands. The American Degrees. The P. G.'s of 
 Washington Lodge become the G. L. of Md. and of the U. S. A Con- 
 stitution adopted." The Seven Stars."" The Three Loggerheads." 
 Stillhouse Lane. Matthew Blakeley's May 1822. The Convivial 
 feature. The Maryland Reform. The Host. Odd Fellow's funeral. 
 Columbia Lodge, No. 3. Joshua Vausant. Colvin's Stone Tavern. 
 Wildey's house. Washington Lodge in 1821, and its present condition. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 JOHN BOYD 57 
 
 His nativity. His employments. He joins Washington Lodge. Assists 
 iii establishing the G. L. of Md. and of the U. S. First G. Guardian 
 and G. Treasurer. One of the first to receive the Golden Rule Degree. 
 Assists to organize the G. L. of the U. S. Proxy for Pennsylvania, 
 also Delaware. Is known as The Past Grand. A lover of ancient 
 usage. A Stockholder in the Gay Street Hall. Becomes wealthy. 
 His devotion to Washington Lodge. Last public appearance. His 
 death. The medal presented to him. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE G. LODGE OF MD. AND OF THE U. S. 65 
 
 Its organization and first proceedings. Charter to Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 2. Constitution adopted. Address of Wildey. The Boston let- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ter. Grant of charters to Mass. Wildey's mission. Applications 
 from N. York and Penna. The odes and tunes. Medal to G. Sec, 
 Eutwisle. Constitution of Nov. 1823. Columbia Lodge, No 3. 
 Proxies to form a G. L. of U. S. Financial condition. Report on for- 
 mation of a G. Lodge of U. S. Circular. Death of G. Sec. Entwisle. 
 Constitution for G. L. of U. S. Election for officers G. Lodge of Md. 
 A medal to Wildey. The G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. adjourns 
 sine die. Reflections. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 JOHN WELCH. . . 101 
 
 One of the trio. His history before 1819. One of the original five. 
 First Vice Grand. Wildey's counsellor. First G. Sec. of G. L. of Md. 
 and of the U. S. First D. G. S. of the G. L. U. S. The Mentor and 
 Nestor of the enterprise. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OP MARYLAND 108 
 
 Its charter. The theory of its origin. Charles Common, G. M. Seeks 
 to become a corporate body. Anniversaries. Assets. Degrees and 
 Sunday Trials. Political resolutions afterwards expunged. Reflec- 
 tions. The present flag procured. Thomas Scotchburn G. M. The 
 sitting G. M. to be Rep. to G. L. U. S. This law repealed. 
 The Patriarchal Degree and a crozicr. The new signs. Honorary 
 membership. Charges and degrees in German. The Germans in I. 
 O. O. F. Order and price of Degrees. A common lodge-room. Ori- 
 gin of the Encampment Branch. Reports of Subordinates. Visiting 
 cards. Of a G. Treasurer. Incorporation obtained by Ridgely and 
 others. Resolutions and presentation to Ridgely and Keyser. " Giv- 
 ing the Honors" abolished. Gratitude Lodge, No. 5. An Odd Fel- 
 lows' Hall to be built. James L. Ridgely becomes G. Sec. His part 
 in obtaining the hall. Description of Wildey's Odd Fellows' Hall. 
 The new initiates. Prominent names. Difficulty of procuring an 
 auditorium. Rev. J. V. Bartow. Gratitude. The orators Ridgely 
 and Walsh. The Press. Conclusion. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AUGUSTUS MATHIOT 149 
 
 The Young American. His birth and parentage. His characteristics. 
 He joins the Order. Masonry and Odd Fellowship in 1823. The Ma- 
 ryland reform. Temperance in 1823. D. G. Master and G. Master. 
 G. Secretary and G. Treasurer of G. L. U. S. The second G. Patri- 
 arch. His success in business and liberality. A green old age. His 
 death and the Three Odd Links. 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 RICHARD MAULEY. ^. . . . . , 161 
 
 Introduction. Odd Fellowship a field of labor. His history and work. 
 Initiated in Franklin Lodge. Proxy for N. York. His early failing. 
 Fifth degree members and the spurious lodge. Expelled and returns. 
 His reformation. G. Master and G. Patriarch. His career in the G. 
 L. U. S. Venerable Warden. His devotion and influence. Rare 
 traits of character. Death of a great Odd Fellow. His splendid fune- 
 ral. His Portrait. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES 173 
 
 The unity of the family arrangement. Its constitution. A representa- 
 tive body. Met at Wildey's. Reflections. A question of jurisdic- 
 tion. The order of the degrees. Maryland not to be its permanent 
 seat. Arrival of the Patriarchal Degree. Title of M. W. G. Sire. 
 The price of the degrees. Wildey's report of his visit to England. 
 English charter of 1820. The American degrees in England. Cer- 
 tificates and Cards. New charter to G. Lodge of Pennsylvania. 
 Central Lodge, No. 1, and Georgetown Lodge, No. 2, of the District 
 of Columbia chartered. Old and new signs. Engrossed thanks to 
 the G. Sire for his visit to England. The Movable Committee. The 
 name and initials of the Order. G. Lodge of the District of Columbia 
 chartered. The Order in 1829. Augustus Mathiot G. Sec. Mass, 
 declining. Encampments. Friendly Union Lodge, No. 1, R. Island. 
 John Welch, D. G. Sire, retires. Thos. Scotchburn, D. G. 8. The 
 Order in 1830. The G. L. of Penn. sustained. The Movable Com- 
 mittee a failure Ohio Lodge, No. 1, chartered. Personal govern- 
 ment. Eulogy of the founder. G. Sec. James L. Ridgely as G. Repre- 
 sentative. The devotion of Wildey and Ridgely. The Order in 1831. 
 Funeral ceremonies. The literature of the Order. The G. Lodge of 
 Ohio. The G. Encampment of Maryland. Reflections. Wildey En- 
 campment, No. 1, at N. Orleans. G. Lodge of Louisiana. A libel on 
 the G. Sire. Boone Lodge, No. 1, at Louisville. James Gettys, G. 
 Sire. The Order in 1832. Meeting of the G. Lodge in Philadelphia. 
 Resolutions and presentation to Wildey. How procured. Augus- 
 tus Mathiot, G. Treas. Farewell Address. Reflections. Review of 
 the condition of the Order down to 1833. Twelve propositions. 
 Conclusion. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE 237 
 
 The intellectual and literary member. Entwisle before he found Wil- 
 dey. The deviser of the Representative system. His style. Author 
 of the Covenant and Remembrance Degrees. The Covenant Degree 
 vindicated and analyzed. The second D. G. M. Grand Secretary. 
 Sudden death. The presiding genius of the Order. His fame as- 
 sured. Conclusion. 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE SECRET PRINCIPLE 250 
 
 Introductory. Mystery. The Ancient Mysteries. Antiquity of the 
 secret principle. Doctrines and Rites. The Eleusinian mysteries. 
 The Egyptian school. China, Japan, Britain, Gaul and Scandinavia. 
 Greece. Influence of the mysteries on the moderns. Odd Fellow- 
 ship an original. Ancient mysteries in modern forms. The doc- 
 trines and rites of Pythagoras. Free Masonry. Idolatry and My- 
 thology. Truth will finally prevail. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THOMAS WILDET 275 
 
 How a biography should be written. The central figure of the Great 
 TRIO. Wildey before 1819. He institutes Washington Lodge. His 
 version of the narrative. The founder of Odd Fellowship. Analysis 
 of his character. His boundless devotion. His affecting farewell. 
 As travelling missionary. His tour and his great success. Wildey 
 the Patriarch. His later history and green old age. The death of 
 the founder. Conclusion. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH 29ft 
 
 The early English work. The White, Blue and Scarlet Degrees. 
 Terms. First appearance of the Golden Rule Degree. Upon whom 
 conferred. Ritual of Washington Lodge. The American Degrees. 
 The Royal Purple Degree. The Past Official Degrees. The Grand 
 Lodge Degree. The Patriarchal Degree. An Encampment Lodge. 
 Encampment of Patriarchs. Charter of the first Encampment of Pa- 
 triarchs. Encampments in Penn. New York and Mass. Wildey 
 took the responsibility. Acknowledged by the G. L. U. S. The En- 
 campment Branch. Obtains representation in the G. L. of U. S. 
 Maryland followed by the other States. Great success. Uniformed 
 Patriarchs. G. Encampment Degree and Honorary Degree of P. C. P. 
 and P. H. P. The lectures or ritual. First printed American lecture- 
 book. Successive reprints. The revision of 1835. Revision of 1845. 
 The unwritten WORK. The secret journal. The Hailing Sign, the 
 Sign of Recognition and the Degree of Rebekah. Degree Lodges. 
 The Traveling Password. Anti-Masonry and the obligation. Con- 
 clusion. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS 339> 
 
 Introduction. John B. Barnes. His English Medal Plis coadjutors. 
 Mass. Lodge instituted. Barnes the first N. G. Siloam Lodge insti- 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 FA OB 
 
 tuted. A letter from Md. Barnes' career. His departure for Vir- 
 ginia. Medal and tokens of respect. His death and burial. Bro. 
 Wilson's visit to Baltimore. Wildey delivers a legal charter to Mass. 
 Lodge. Copy of the charter. A G. Lodge instituted. History of 
 Mass. Lodge, No. 1. Siloam Lodge, No. 2. Its charter. James 
 Wood. Thomas Barr. George Ashworth. Good Samaritan Lodge, 
 No. 3. New England Lodge, No. 4. P. G. M. Thomas F. Norris. 
 Simeon Southwick. Joseph Lopez. Washington Lodge, No. 5. 
 Adam Lodge, No. 6. Merriinac Lodge, No. 7. Summary and con- 
 clusion. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OP MASSACHUSETTS 369 
 
 Action of the G. L. U. S. Its charter. Daniel Hersey, first G. M. First 
 general laws. Public procession and installation at Taunton. Mer- 
 riinac Lodge, No. 7. Correspondence with Wildey. William Bishop, 
 G. M. Josiah Robinson, G. M. Visit of the Movable Committee of 
 G. L. U. S. Albert Guild becomes a member in 1831. His history. 
 He restores the Order. Wildey appears. The circumstances of the 
 decadence of the old G. Lodge. Reflections. The grand success that 
 followed the revival. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK 393 
 
 Introduction. The Chambers family. They institute Shakespeare 
 Lodge. Morris and Flanagan. Franklin, Washington, and Co- 
 lumbia Lodges. Columbia Lodge obtains a legal charter. Contro- 
 versy with Franklin Lodge. Charter of Columbia Lodge. Wildey 
 decides in favor of Columbia Lodge. Columbia Lodge accepts a char- 
 ter from G. Lodge of Md. and U. S. Benjamin Downing. Charter of 
 G. Lodge of New York. Jno. B. Robinson, G. M. Friendship Lodge, 
 No. 2. Hope Lodge, No. 3. Strangers' Refuge Lodge, No. 4. Is 
 expelled and becomes a spurious G. Lodge. The ancient members and 
 organization. Philanthropic Lodge, No. 5. Strangers' Refuge Lodge 
 restored. Its singular history. The G. Lodge has its last meeting 
 in 1828. The change in 1836. New York and Albany. Interven- 
 tion of the G. L. U. S. The revival of the Order, and its new organi- 
 zation. James Alcock, G. M. The Order firmly established. Reflec- 
 tion on the new birth. John A. Kennedy. Wilson Small. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA 437 
 
 Introduction. Pennsylvania Lodge instituted. Its officers. It accepts 
 a charter from the G. L. of Md. and of the U. S. John Upton. Dock 
 Street. John Pearce. New Jersey. The case of James Day. John 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 B. Robinson and Samuel Croucher. Penn. Lodge, No. IThe sub- 
 ordinate lodges during the first decade. Washington Lodge, No. 2. 
 Account of an ancient lodge meeting. Wayne Lodge, No. 3. Morn- 
 ing Star Lodge, No. 4. Franklin Lodge, No. 5. General Marion 
 Lodge, No. 6. Hermann Lodge, No. 7. Rising Sun Lodge, No. 8. 
 Mechanics' Lodge, No. 9. Philomathean Lodge, No. 10. Kensing- 
 ton Lodge, No. 11. Jeflerson Lodge, No. 12. Philadelphia Lodge, 
 No. 13. Wildey Lodge, No. 14. Philanthropic Lodge, No. 15. Har- 
 mony Lodge, No. 16. Northern Liberty Lodge, No. 17. La Fayette 
 Lodge, No. 18. Amity Lodge, No. 19, and Miners' Lodge, No. 20. 
 Reflections. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OP PENNSYLVANIA 46S 
 
 The first in national importance. Its charter. Aaron Nichols, G. M. 
 and Wm. H. Matthews, G. Sec. Benjamin Daffin. Aaron Nichols. 
 Thomas Small, G. M. Samuel Pryor. William H. Matthews, G. M. 
 John G. Potts. Official report in 1829 to G. L. U. S., and corres- 
 pondence of Grand Officers. Report at the end of first decade. An- 
 niversaries. The new Hall on South Fifth Street. Its dedication. 
 Comparison between Penn. and the other States. Pennsylvania 
 always led the column. Succeeded without Wildey's assistance. 
 The secret of its success, and the men who have made it triumphant. 
 Conclusion. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. . 484 
 
 Central Lodge, No. 1. Its officers and first initiates. Georgetown 
 Lodge, No. 1 James Gettys and others initiated Rev. Lorenzo Dow. 
 Petition for G. Lodge granted. Thos. M. Abbett, G. M. Concord 
 Lodge, No. 3. James Gettys, G. M. Jonathan Lodge, No. 4. Poca- 
 hontas Lodge. The decline of the lodges, and its cause. A counter 
 movement. Central Lodge resuscitated. A great Hall for the Or- 
 der. Thomas M. Abbett and James Gettys. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE THEORY OP THE DEGREES. (Illustrated). ..... 495 
 
 The secrets of Odd Fellowship. Its doctrines not esoteric. The foun- 
 dation of the I. O. O. F. Analysis of the theory of our secret work. 
 The plan for its exemplification. The rationale of the degrees of the 
 subordinate lodge, and their extension in the Encampment branch. 
 Exemplification of the degrees. The first degree. The second de- 
 gree. The third degree. The fourth degree. The fifth degree. 
 The end of the degrees. The Patriarchal Degree. The Golden Rule 
 Degree. The Royal Purple Degree. The end. 
 
ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 STEEL. 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 I. JAS. L. RIDGELY, G. C. AND R. SECRETARY. . Frontispiece. 
 
 II. THOMAS WILDEY, P. G. SIRE 275 
 
 III. JOHN A. KENNEDY, P. G. SIRE 415 
 
 IV. JAMES GETTYS, P. G. SIRE 49S 
 
 WOOD. 
 
 I. THE SEVEN STARS, BALTIMORE, 1819, 15 
 
 II. THE THREE LOGGERHEADS, BALTIMORE, 1821. . . 37 
 
 ni_pLAN OF WASHINGTON LODGE-ROOM, 1819. . . 45 
 
 IV. COLVIN'S STONE TAVERN, BALTIMORE, 1823. ... 53 
 
 V. JOHN BOYD .57 
 
 VI JOHN WELCH .101 
 
 VIL WILDE Y'S HOUSE, BALTIMORE, 1824 143 
 
 VIII. L O. O. F. HALL, GAY ST., BALTIMORE, 1831-1859. . . 147 
 
 IX. AUGUSTUS MATHIOT 149 
 
 X. RICHARD MARLEY 161 
 
 XL JOHN PAAVSON ENTWISLE 237 
 
 XII. WILDEY MONUMENT, BALTIMORE 294 
 
 XIII. TOMB OF WILDEY, BALTIMORE 295 
 
 XIV. JAMES B. BARNES 33& 
 
 XV. ENGLISH MEDAL PRESENTED TO JAS. B. BARNES. . 337 
 
 XVI. EATON'S HOUSE, BOSTON, 1820 339 
 
 XVII. AMERICAN MEDAL PRESENTED TO JAS. B. BARNES. 341 
 
 XVIII. JAMES WOOD 355 
 
 XIX. THOMAS BARR 357 
 
 XX. MASONIC HALL, ANN ST., BOSTON, 1823 366 
 
 XXL DANIEL HERSEY. . 368 
 
XVi CONTENTS. 
 
 PAE. 
 
 XXII. ALBERT GUILD. 383 
 
 XXIII. I. O. O. F. HALL, WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON, 1864. . . 387 
 
 XXIV. I. O. O. F. HALL, TREMONT ST., BOSTON, 1871. . . .388 
 
 XXV. ECLIPSE AND SIR HENRY, NEW YORK, 1823. . . 392 
 
 XXVI. BENJAMIN DOWNING 395 
 
 XXVII. WILSON SMALL 416 
 
 XXVIII. I. O. O. F. HALL, GRAND AND CENTRE STS., N. YORK, 1849. 422 
 
 XXIX UPTON'S HOTEL, PHILADELPHIA, 1821 423 
 
 XXX JOHN UPTON 425 
 
 XXXI. JOHN PEARCE 436 
 
 XXXII. BENJAMIN DAFFIN 431 
 
 XXXIII. THE NICHOLS MONUMENT, CHAMBERSBURG. . . 4G3 
 
 XXXIV. THOMAS SMALL 464 
 
 XXXV. SAMUEL PRYOR 405 
 
 XXXVI. I. O. O. F. HALL, SOUTH FIFTH ST., PHILADELPHIA, 1830. 477 
 
 XXXVII. I. O. O. F. HALL, SIXTH AND CRESSON STS., PHILA., 1846. . 478 
 
 XXXVIIL I. O. O. F. HALL, BROAD AND SP'G GARDEN STS., PHILA., 1852, 479 
 
 XXXIX. MILBURN'S HOTEL, WASHINGTON, 1827 480 
 
 XL. LIBRARY BUILDING, WASHINGTON, 1828. ... 484 
 
 XLL THOMAS M. ABBETT 486 
 
 XLIL I. O. O. F. HALL, WASHINGTON, 1874 490 
 
 XLIII. THE ALL SEEING EYE .498 
 
 XLIV. THE SUN AND SCYTHE. .499 
 
 XL V. THE BOW AND ARROWS. ..... 500 
 
 XL VI. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT, . . . 501 
 
 XL VII. THE GLOBE AND LAMB. .... 502 
 
 XL VIII. THE BIBLE AND COFFIN. 
 
 XLIX. THE H. P. AND G. OF T 504 
 
 L. THE THREE PILLARS 505 
 
 LI. THE TABLES OF STONE 506 
 
 LIT. SCRIP, SANDALS AND STAFF 507 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But how the subject-theme may gang, \^ J J o t V ) 
 
 Let time and chance determine ; ^ J 
 
 Perhaps it may turn out a sang, / * j ^ 
 
 Perhaps turn out a sermon. 
 
 BURNS. 
 
 " It is the first law of history, that the writer should neither 
 dare to advance what is false nor to suppress what is true ; that 
 he should relate the facts with strict impartiality, free from ill 
 will or favor ; that his narrative should distinguish the order of 
 time, and, w T hen necessary, the description of places ; that he 
 should unfold the motives of men, and in his account of the 
 transactions or the events, interpose his own judgment : should 
 relate what was done, how it was done, and what share chance, 
 rashness, or prudence had in the issue ; that he should give the 
 character of the leading men, their weight and influence, their 
 passions, principles, and conduct through life." 
 
 Cicero w r as never more fortunate than when, with peculiar 
 felicity of diction, he wrote this beautiful canon of criticism. Its 
 conception and expression would seem to defy any later censor 
 to add to or diminish from its scope and substance, and render it 
 worthy to appear with the golden sentences engraved upon the 
 memory of the world. The rule indicates deep insight, and is 
 suitable to any age and every historian. 
 
 As our ability may serve, we shall consult this chart in the 
 work before us, and strive to present it in such lights and with 
 such accessories as will give the reader a true version of the 
 matter. We shall be at pains also to leave the common track of 
 eulogy, and to deal w T ith impartial measure the praise and blame 
 due to prominent individuals ; omitting no incident that may 
 serve to shed light upon the eventful story. 
 
 A growing desire has for some time prevailed on the part of 
 Odd Fellows, that the origin of the Order should be definitely 
 1 
 
2 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 and authoritatively declared, and that its career should be traced 
 from the beginning. Such a desire is natural, and ought to be 
 gratified. True, in many instances this sentiment will be found 
 to be rather the aspiration of a noble pride, than the demand of 
 the mind for a discussion of the principles with which we are 
 identified. To gratify such laudable feelings would at all times 
 be a pleasant task; but such is not our only design. The sine 
 qua. nQ-n^bf ;the Order is not merely that we should indulge in 
 mlitifa^eGRgratulations. The primary demand of the communi- 
 ties^pqn ^ylridi its principles are designed to act, and even of 
 Odd Fellows" themselves, is indeed of far greater moment; the 
 latter require it for their justification and encouragement, and 
 the former for their enlightenment and co-operative favor. These 
 can only be furnished by its character and reliability as an agent 
 for good among men. By the force of circumstances it has 
 already been grandly advertised ; its practical public life and its 
 abundant fruits during the last half century have left but little 
 to present which is really new. The incidents of its origin have 
 been sown broadcast by its orators and its publications, and by 
 the favorable notices of the press ; many of these have been highly 
 colored, and some of them are entirely apocryphal ; yet out of 
 this partial chaos, one may easily perceive a lofty pedestal, with 
 glimpses of an angel hand removing the veil from a statue of 
 exquisite symmetry and beauty. Odd Fellowship, as we know 
 it, is an institution of modern times, grown in our midst and 
 fashioned by our hands. 
 
 Every brother who has been impressed with its principles, 
 who has observed its influence upon men, or has been led to 
 investigate and discover its true character, knows its origin, the 
 manner of its introduction into this country, when, where, and 
 by whom, and also its general career up to this day. He is, 
 besides, thoroughly advised of the changes it has undergone 
 under American auspices. The PRINCIPLES, however, of the 
 Order are of early date, and go back to periods of time when men 
 were under very different guidance religious, moral, and intel- 
 lectual. Indeed, the relation of FRATERNITY, instinctive of human- 
 ity and divinity, was the birth-right of the race ; innate as life 
 itself is the sentiment of a COMMON FATHER and a single family, that 
 we are "of one blood," and that each son of Adam is my brother 
 by hereditary ties. Such also have been the awful and splendid 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 announcements of revelation, by which \ve know the eternal God 
 as the Father of mankind. 
 
 From these sources, Odd Fellowship, as a system of fraternal 
 benevolence and reciprocal aid, comprehending not only its prin- 
 ciples, but its illustrative and theoretical character, is derived. 
 Like many other institutions, it has blended beautiful ceremonies 
 with solid and useful forms ; these, though harmless, may be 
 thought superfluous and of no efficient value. But whether in- 
 dulged in as agreeable ornaments, or relied upon as necessary and 
 improving adjuncts, they are an interesting feature in the sub- 
 stantive administration of the system. This, far from being pecu- 
 liar to Odd Fellows, is characteristic of all delicately organized 
 association, of all classes of people, in fact of nature itself. 
 Nothing in life is presented in its simple and exclusively neces- 
 sary apparel ; everything is decked in engaging colors, so as to 
 combine attractiveness and beauty with utility and value. Some- 
 thing, however, may be necessary, as well to vindicate it from 
 attempted disparagement in other respects, as to a proper enlight- 
 enment of the public mind. Odd Fellowship is sometimes spoken 
 of reproachfully by reason of ks name, on account of the seeming 
 levity it conveys. It is also not unfrequently taunted as a bor- 
 rower, and thus having nothing in its organization which is orig- 
 inal, having derived everything of consequence in its system and 
 ritual from other sources, particularly so from the Masonic Order. 
 For some years during its earlier career, such unjust as w r ell as 
 ungenerous imputations obtained ; but for the most part it has 
 outlived such reproaches, and conquered by its works the general 
 good favor. Touching the name, it may be replied, that if not 
 euphonious, that fact is wholly unimportant so long as the object 
 in view is honorable and worthy, even should such a name not 
 be appropriate as fully indicative of its purpose. An objection 
 on this point is equally wanting in force, for the reason that fit- 
 ness in the mere selection of a name is rather the exception than 
 the rule ; taste, caprice, and sometimes even prejudice, generally 
 determining the choice. That great body of Christians known as 
 Methodists, was so nicknamed by its enemies ; and that valuable 
 class of citizens known as Quakers, was so called in the first 
 instance as a mark of scorn and ridicule. Yet those bodies have 
 turned the tables on their adversaries, by answering to those 
 names as a mark of the honorable circumstances under which 
 
4 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 they were first imposed. In like manner we may point to the 
 first occasion for our name in the good fellowship that has ripened 
 into a blessed fraternity, among boon companions and the 
 fumes of beer and tobacco, in the convivial companionship of 
 homeless tramps and bustling landlords ; but all these have been 
 forgotten. As to our principles and ceremonies, these we are 
 willing to admit rest upon a common basis with those of other 
 secret societies. We have the same grand natural truths and the 
 same splendid revelation. History wdth its magnificent examples 
 and glorious illustrations is the common property of all, and it is 
 only because we have dug in the same mines that the precious 
 jew r els that we wear are so very similar. Having the same base, 
 they are of the same species. All avail themselves of like means 
 of inter-communication and recognition, viz. a language of signs 
 and symbols ; all aspire to an important and moral agency in 
 promoting closer relations among men, and in the elevation of 
 the race ; but it by no means follows that Odd Fellowship 
 derives its character from Masonry, or is a borrower from its 
 ritual. Successive offspring of fraternity, they each bear the 
 stamp of their common origin ; but as well say that brothers by 
 blood are copies of each other because of their resemblance to the 
 common parent, as that Odd Fellowship is a recast of Masonry. 
 Had signs and symbols, or the application of them to language, 
 been originated by our sister Order, or had the Divine Wisdom, 
 in making fraternity obligatory, committed its administration 
 to her, we should at once concede the claims of the indis- 
 creet advocates who assume such a position. But as the fact is 
 far otherwise, we cannot go further in deferring to her claim in 
 this regard, than cheerfully to accord her greater antiquity in the 
 inculcation of universal truth, and of practical benevolence 
 among men as a paramount duty. Odd Fellows recognize Free 
 Masonry as an eminent, honorable and useful institution; but 
 they also claim a just measure of respect at its hands, and press 
 upon it a fraternal challenge for supremacy " in the warfare 
 which they wage against vice in all its forms," and invite it to 
 raise the Masonic standard still higher if it can. True to their 
 lessons, we have every reason to believe that a corresponding 
 sympathy prevails among our Masonic brethren, and that 
 henceforth the only conflict between these two great organiza- 
 tions, enlisted in the interest of HUMANITY, will be an earnest 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rivalry as to which shall achieve the noblest record in so grand a 
 cause. 
 
 But assailants, who are alike inimical to Masonry and to Odd 
 Fellowship, and to all other organizations of men for benevolent 
 purposes, which are secret, still remain. They are of two 
 classes ; the first has neither character nor influence, but drives 
 a mercenary trade by the sale of so called exposures of the rites 
 and ceremonies of these orders. They may well be left to the degra- 
 dation of the lot they have chosen : whether they have swindled 
 the orders or the public is a small matter ; in either case they are 
 swindlers, and from such no possible harm can happen to honorable 
 men. The other class is far different, and is armed with an authority 
 which multitudes acknowledge and obey. We refer to certain 
 portions of the Christian Church. So far as our order was con- 
 cerned, this was originally the greatest obstacle in the way. By 
 reason of a mistaken view of our character and objects, we found 
 in the churches bitter and uncompromising enemies. 
 
 But the Protestant Churches, that live in the light of an intel- 
 ligent public opinion, gradually changed their ground, and made 
 honorable amends for their original position, so that for the most 
 part they now give us substantial aid and comfort. We shall not 
 waste words in discussing the hostility of the Roman. Catholic 
 Church to all secular secret societies. That establishment is so 
 exclusive and dictatorial that it cannot brook apparent oppo- 
 sition, even in the strife of good works. Its system of central, 
 arbitrary and exclusive authority cannot admit our independent 
 efforts ; but the loss is not ours, and confident in our work and 
 destiny, we may well afford to pity a perversity which cuts off 
 its members from one of the greatest lights of civilization. 
 But they do not altogether grope in darkness ; to the contrary, we 
 discover everywhere arising among them almost fac-similes of 
 our secret societies, aiming to borrow our forms and regalia, 
 and scarcely to be distinguished by the public from Masons or 
 Odd Fellows. Such is the compliment paid us by our worst 
 traducers, and surely we can ask nothing more. Secret benevo- 
 lent societies are as old as any Christian Church, and in fact owe 
 their origin to religion. Such associations have never checked 
 or injured any form of goodness. Our order is composed of men 
 of widely differing religious and political opinions, and is acces- 
 sible at all times and in all places to the press and to the people. 
 
6 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Under such conditions its most secret recesses are made bare, and 
 adequate security given, were any necessary, for the public 
 safety. 
 
 An attack, therefore, upon our secrecy is of a piece with the 
 rest, an ebullition of public envy or of private spite. Secular 
 organizations for benevolence, whose mission is to the masses, 
 and w r hose work lies in " visiting the sick, succoring the widow, 
 caring for the afflicted, burying the dead, and educating the 
 orphan," seriously interfere with those who exclusively assume 
 such duties " by divine right," and yet fail fully and properly to 
 discharge them. The citizen organization which enters upon and 
 discharges these duties is a standing menace to infallibility. 
 "Hinc illce lachrymal!" The anathema is therefore not so 
 much aimed at our secrecy as against our good works, and their 
 tendency to interfere with peculiar religious dogmas. But we 
 turn to a brighter side of the picture. The object of this work 
 is to present before the world one of those great organizations as 
 worthy of confidence and respect as an agent of general benefac- 
 tion. We feel assured that by a diffusion of a correct knowledge 
 of its labors and of their fruits during the last half century, its 
 usefulness will not only be greatly promoted, but a new and 
 powerful impulse will be supplied to its increasing growth and 
 resources. Its history will be written under the influence of that 
 sentiment. It will therefore require that we consider and present 
 the true origin, commencing as an assemblage of workmen in 
 England for social enjoyment, and its transition from an inchoate 
 beginning to a formal association ; its continued development to 
 a system having defined objects ; thence the formation of Lodges, 
 and to a combination of these into an affiliated Order, in imita- 
 tion no doubt of kindred existing establishments, the first being 
 known as " The Ancient Order of Odd Fellows," begun in the 
 city of London in the 17th century. We shall also introduce 
 all that is known of the colonization of these principles on 
 our shores: that emigrants from England planted the seeds 
 of the enterprise ; that they were representatives of the various 
 classes or divisions of the Order in the mother country, which, 
 w^ere wholly independent of each other, and differed entirely in 
 their systems of work. 
 
 Such dissimilar elements could not, however, harmonize ; and 
 thus their Odd Fellowship, although of a kindred origin, was, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 when blended, merely patchwork, made up of the ritual of 
 several of those independent societies. But the American Order 
 was fortunate. It will appear that by the accidental visit of a 
 "brother better instructed, they were furnished with later and more 
 complete information, which gave them unity. So far as he could 
 recognize anything among them, he found a singular mixture ; 
 being a jumble and compound of the Union Order, and of the 
 London or Ancient Order. But by his assistance these were 
 discarded for the true and established work of the Manchester 
 Unity. But these accidental lodges will be found to have nothing 
 in common with our Order, which had its' origin in Thomas Wildey 
 in 1819. From this point it will be traced to the year 1833 inclu- 
 sive, showing its gradual change of character, and consequent 
 adaptation to lofty moral results. As a system created under 
 American auspices, it has a record which it will be our effort 
 faithfully to portray. Taking it up in that aspect, on the 26th of 
 April, 1819, the day of its birth in the city of Baltimore, by the 
 institution of Washington Lodge, No. 1, we shall unfold the true 
 story of its first planting. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States has never recognized 
 any besides the four originals, in their natural order, namely: 
 "Washington Lodge, No. 1, of Maryland; Massachusetts Lodge, 
 No. 1, of Massachusetts ; Columbia Lodge, No. 1, of New York, 
 and Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, of Pennsylvania. The first of 
 these succeeded in bringing the others into a common union, and 
 in that way formed the nucleus of the present Order. 
 
 The first movers were of limited education, and in a humble 
 sphere of life. At a later period the Order acquired men of 
 education from every calling in life, many of whom testified their 
 love for the institution by the most valuable assistance of mind 
 and body in its behalf; but these were restrained by a proper 
 delicacy from magnifying their own achievements. They came 
 in generally after the first decade, and to them we are mainly 
 indebted for what may properly be called moral and progres- 
 sive Odd Fellowship. They found it simply a beneficial so- 
 ciety, presenting nothing attractive; and to their sagacity and 
 enlightened judgment is due the combination of the moral and 
 beneficial features of the Order, and the blending of the two into 
 the one great idea of the American system. To accomplish this, 
 it became necessary to engraft higher aspirations upon the orig- 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 inal stock, to widen the scope of its ambition, to amplify the 
 moral area, and to lift it into a higher and purer region, 
 They could not speak of these things but in the first person, 
 and " quorum pars fui" was not their motto. No records of the 
 Grand Lodge of the United States had been preserved for several 
 years after its separation from the Grand Lodge of Maryland, nor 
 had the minutes, after separating from Washington Lodge, been 
 more than a mere skeleton, and that belonged to the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland. Nor had the Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 any printed journal anterior to 1831, and it is only since then 
 that its proceedings have been published. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States was in fact without 
 any authentic manuscript record of its own proceedings, and had 
 no printed minutes, except occasional detached sheets, up to 1 827. 
 The manuscript journals of the earlier period of Maryland, Penn- 
 sylvania, New York, and possibly of Massachusetts, now in exist- 
 ence, have been since collected and printed. It became neces- 
 sary to supply this deficiency, in the best way it could be done, 
 before it was too late. Accordingly the G. L. U. S., whose atten- 
 tion was called to this subject by the Grand Secretary at the ses- 
 sion of 1841, directed that officer to obtain from P. G. Sire 
 Wildey all " documents connected with the early history of the 
 Order in his possession ; comprising ancient charters, pamphlets, 
 magazines and record books of much interest and valuable infor- 
 mation"; also, " to collect all property of this Grand Lodge, now 
 in possession of others, and retain the same in his possession until a 
 depository may be provided, or as this Grand Lodge may direct." 
 It was also further ordered " that the Grand Corresponding and 
 Recording Secretary, be and he is hereby authorized to rent a 
 suitable room as a place of deposit for all the books, documents 
 and property of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and to 
 transfer to said room the said property, after he shall have made 
 an inventory thereof." 
 
 At the session of 1842, it was "Resolved, that the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States approve of the printing of the journal 
 from the commencement, in case any respectable member of the 
 Order shall feel disposed to do so, on his own account ; in which 
 event the Grand Lodge will subscribe for one hundred copies"; 
 and also, "that the Grand Secretary be and he is hereby ap- 
 pointed to revise and cause to be published a correct journal of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 the proceedings of this Lodge from its formation, provided the 
 same be of no expense to the Grand Body." (Journal, 502.) 
 
 These proceedings were all in the interest of progress, and led 
 to the most valuable results ; while the necessity for them indi- 
 cates the very loose manner in which business had been con- 
 ducted, there being at that late day no proper office for the 
 Grand Secretary nor depository for the archives, and in fact no 
 record or account books, and no system of any kind. This 
 measure of reform was indispensable and wise, and was the begin- 
 ning of that system which has caused the subsequent proceedings 
 of the Order to take their present comprehensive and luminous 
 form. In pursuance thereof the Grand Secretary selected Bro. 
 John A. Kennedy of Xew York, then Grand Sire, as his assistant 
 in this interesting business. By their joint labors and persistent 
 research, all of the first volume of the revised journal was ob- 
 tained : that is to say, the record of the organization of the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States, and the 
 detail of proceedings from that initial to the formation of the 
 Grand Lodge of the United States ; also, the pre-history of the 
 several subordinate Lodges out of which it was formed, with the 
 records of the four State Grand Lodges until their union with 
 the present federal system. 
 
 This invaluable record was obtained in detached portions, in 
 part from the manuscript journal of Washington Lodge, No. 1, 
 the minutes of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States, and of the Grand Lodges of Pennsylvania, New 
 York, and Massachusetts. To these were added traditionary 
 data obtained from the leading men who took part in the 
 early movements, and who had not then passed away. This 
 material was woven into the text of the first volume of the 
 journal from 1821 to 1826 inclusive, and furnished the copious 
 notes thereto appended. There seems to have been an utter 
 indifference to the preservation of the early records, so much 
 so indeed that many of the original rninute-books of the first 
 Lodges were permitted to perish. The result of all these in- 
 quiries and of all this research terminated in the book that was 
 reported to the G. L. U. S. at the session of 1814, and was 
 adopted by that body with great unanimity. (Journal, 621, 657.) 
 The effect produced by its appearance was such as the let- 
 tered reader may readily perceive, since it changed chaos into 
 
10 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 order and system. Nor did its advantages stop here ; this example 
 had its influence upon State Grand Bodies and subordinates, 
 which began at once the preservation of their historic possessions. 
 With these scant materials, it has been with diffidence that 
 we assumed the responsibility involved in this production. The 
 beginning is the salient point in all narrative ; when this is 
 properly presented, confidence is inspired, and encouragement is 
 given both to the writer and the reader. An obscure or hidden 
 initial is a difficulty never to be overcome, and never fails to 
 embarrass progress. In early days our orators, after the manner 
 of the mercantile classes, vaunted in glowing colors the value 
 and quality of their wares. It was usual to profess an antique 
 origin, so far back as the first dawnings of the secret principle, 
 and thence through all the ages, the camp of the Roman 
 Legion, into Britain and Gaul, and wherever the Caesars car- 
 ried their victorious eagles. Learning and ingenuity were com- 
 bined to weave fabulous narratives of the olden time in proof of 
 the mysterious origin. But the genesis was too recent to admit of 
 such fables, arid gave positive proof to the contrary. The origin 
 was too notorious to be hidden away in the dreams of a rash 
 enthusiasm, and a very short time was required to dissolve such 
 visions into their native ether. The public mind was irresistibly 
 attracted to Washington Lodge and to Wildey as a starting point, 
 so entirely satisfactory that nothing more w r as required on that 
 subject. The idea was latent in the charter of 1820, which was 
 only a bond of connection with the Manchester Unity ; but its 
 development was American, and it did not need the formal sepa- 
 ration from the Unity in 1843 to give it the character of a 
 national institution. Thus we have no common ritual, no affilia- 
 tion, and nothing of the same form of government. In ours alone 
 we find stirring appeals to the higher nature, and those moral and 
 divine principles which elevate it almost to the dignity of a reli- 
 gion. In England, relief is the chief aim, to which all else is 
 made subordinate. The Manchester Unity, although greatly im- 
 proved, is chiefly a life and health insurance company, with dues 
 and benefits graduated by the scale of risks taken by insurance 
 companies. This is praiseworthy, and should be imitated ; some 
 of the most able of our own brethren are doing good service in the 
 same direction, for which they are entitled to the thanks of all ; 
 but neither they nor we make it our chief aim and highest con- 
 cern. The contrast is great and the difference vital. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 , The written and unwritten work that once united them has 
 been neglected by the Unity, and but few traces of that bond of 
 union are left among us. The link that united us to a common 
 ancestry has been broken forever, and we are so altered and im- 
 proved as to have created a new system. It is firmly believed 
 that no such work as ours, under any of the names known as Odd 
 Fellows, has ever been completed ; and to-day it is the pride and 
 oracle of a body of men who may well rank among the most 
 enlightened on the globe. Thus these annals go back more than 
 half a century. The beginning, as to place, is sufficiently certain ; 
 some dates have also been preserved, and a number of interesting 
 facts of more or less importance to the story. But for the most 
 part, many of the facts detailed have been found after careful 
 searching, and others will be discovered to be fragments picked 
 up here and there among the dust which has settled on much 
 that we would fain discover if we could. Men of action make 
 history, but seldom preserve the materials they have used ; it 
 follows that in many cases it will be found difficult, if not impos- 
 sible, to trace back some of the greatest results of human conduct 
 to the men and the incidents that gave them origin. In our task 
 we occupy a middle ground, so that while We must fail to gratify 
 curiosity in many particulars, yet in others, and those of the 
 greatest moment, we shall be able to let in the light upon impor- 
 tant starting points, show the objects indicated, introduce the 
 actors, in many cases exhibit their motives, and even at 
 times offer a spectator as a witness to some crude effort of 
 beginning. Unfortunately for us, the early records of Washing- 
 ton Lodge cannot be found. They are reported lost, and this 
 compels us to rely more or less on the traditional statements of 
 early members ; the narrowness of which limit will appear when 
 we consider that nearly all who participated in the first decade 
 of the Order have made their final exit. To these few, but a 
 small portion of the events of the early days of that period could 
 be personally known. Joshua Yansant of 1823, and James L. 
 Ridgely of 1829, constitute about all that are left of the Order 
 that date from that period. Ridgely did not come in until just 
 as the first decade was closing and the second opening ; and as he 
 at once inaugurated movements for reforming abuses and for im- 
 proving the condition of the Order, he had but little opportunity 
 to become familiar with details which he had then neither the 
 
12 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 taste nor inclination to appreciate. Could he have foreseen the 
 importance of such facts, and that he would be called upon for 
 their recital, a far different and decidedly more satisfactory pre- 
 paration would have been made for this history. But what man 
 could then foresee this day, and anticipate the fame that would 
 surround that decade ? Who that saw and mingled in those 
 early scenes could realize their romantic interest : that they were 
 rehearsals of dramatic import to unborn generations ; that those 
 obscure names would become household words in many lan- 
 guages and among many nations ; that one of the band of early 
 enthusiasts, himself the earliest and the most laborious of them 
 all, yet a man of but little culture and of slender abilities, 
 should, at his decease, be mourned by a great national institu- 
 tion, and that a monument should proudly rise in grateful mem- 
 ory of his deeds ? Some such events were indeed foreshadowed, 
 and were the theme of ardent minds ; but the probable existence 
 of such a reality was as unassured as the verity of a half awaken- 
 ing dream. At all events, no proper record of the early history 
 attests the faith of the founders in the importance of their work. 
 We are therefore entirely dependent, in many particulars, on the 
 traditions furnished from time to time by "Wildey, Welch, Jack- 
 son, Boyd, Mathiot, Marley, Fennell and others, with whom many 
 of us have had personal relations. These, with certain minutes, 
 narratives and letters which remain, are the sources from which 
 we have drawn. Above and beyond all are w r e indebted to the 
 invaluable manuscript of P. G. Sire Kennedy, in which he has 
 collected a large amount of data., from various directions ; without 
 which, indeed, many vital points in this chronicle must have been 
 omitted. To these, that lamented and distinguished brother lias 
 added some personal reminiscences of an interesting character, 
 which w r ill make their appearance in their proper places in the 
 narrative. 
 
 The history of the first decade cannot be confined strictly 
 within that period, but will of necessity embrace a longer time 
 for the development of the first great era. The retirement of 
 the last of the pioneers, the founder of the Order, will naturally 
 be the resting point; without including that event the story 
 would be imperfect, and no just conception can be had of the 
 reign of Wildey. Around that act the whole interest must center 
 as the starting point of constitutional government. One goal 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 had been reached, and another was rising before the new men to 
 whom was confided the eventful future. At that epoch we can 
 safely leave them, and at the same time complete the narrative 
 which explains the past and the present of Odd Fellowship. 
 To vindicate the Order as a secret society will also require a 
 chapter on the secret principle, the history of the degrees and 
 secret work, and an exemplification and defence of our claims as 
 teachers after the manner of the olden times. In the rich field 
 -of biography we might gather enough to fill a volume ; but our 
 space will require a scanty selection. Boyd must of 'necessity 
 appear ; Marley and Mathiot were fortunate in coming down to 
 our times, and, as men of 1823, cannot be neglected ; Welch, 
 Entwisle and Wildey, as the great TRIO, will be seen everywhere ; 
 but filial duty and grateful reverence will prepare a niche for 
 each of these fraternal heroes in a separate biography. 
 
 We do not propose to furnish a bare recital of Lodge minutes, 
 or a mere statement of the numerical progress made by the Order 
 in this country. Such a work would disappoint just expecta- 
 tions, and serve no good purpose. The public view the world as 
 a theatre, upon which men and institutions appear and disappear 
 in the drama of life. To this stage they not only look for events 
 and characters in chronological order, but also for the display of 
 their relative nature, quality and influence. Especially do they 
 expect from the dra matis personce the exhibition of those attrib- 
 utes w T hich display the passions and principles, the sentiments 
 and actions which have wrought out the story and pointed the 
 moral of the play. In some such way we would delineate the 
 moral qualities and persistent energy which have been displayed ; 
 exhibit the trials which have been conquered through long years 
 of severe struggles ; exalt the heroism and patient toil which 
 never wearied, be the outlook ever so discouraging ; approve the 
 wise foresight which deserved success, and, when obtained, knew 
 how to utilize it ; and especially commemorate the genius which 
 grew up with and as part of the American scheme and gave it 
 vitality. The germ of that now consummate system appeared in 
 1821, since which it has attained a strength, beauty and vitality 
 which are the just admiration of its votaries, and has become a 
 vast element of power in the body politic. But this general 
 statement must suffice. The book after all must speak for itself. 
 One fact will appear in its pages which nothing can alter: 
 WILDEY is the central figure in the history. 
 
14: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Recitals and descriptions naturally arising out of these sub- 
 jects cannot fail to relieve the monotony of lodge proceedings 
 and financial statements, especially if personal allusions and 
 biographical sketches be superadded to the manners, habits and 
 style of the people of the times. This character of treatment 
 will be adopted whenever the subject will admit of such amplifi- 
 cation, without breaking that continuity which must be consulted 
 in the close connection of the narrative. The novelty of the 
 attempt, and the method we have adopted, will discover to those 
 most capable of judging of their merits, the difficulties we have 
 met at every page we have written ; but having done our best, 
 w T e rely upon our brethren and the public for a generous criticism 
 of this first authentic and official history of American Odd Fel- 
 lowship. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 WASHINGTON LODGE, NO. 1. 
 
 I swear 
 
 By the simplicity of Venus' cloves, 
 By that which knitteth souls, and prospers loves, 
 In the same place thou hast appointed me, 
 To-morrow truly will I meet with thee. 
 
 SHAKSPEABE. 
 
 To a vast brotherhood residing in all parts of the United 
 States, in the Provinces of British North America, in Aus- 
 tralia, South America, and Germany, this work will be wel- 
 come. Their intelligence requires no apology for such a publi- 
 cation ; but, to the contrary, the facts and incidents here recorded 
 will be to them of supreme importance. Indeed, we have every 
 reason to believe that they ardently desire this history, to 
 vindicate their adherence to Odd Fellowship, by giving them a 
 .true and connected view of the early days of its obscure but hon- 
 orable origin. The prosperous family naturally turns to its an- 
 cestors for the secret of the merit which has caused its rise, and 
 glows with pride to find it in the sturdy industry and sterling 
 integrity of the fathers. A similar sentiment must stir the heart 
 of a fraternity so great and powerful as that of Odd Fellows. 
 We are irresistibly led to seek out our predecessors, and with 
 filial care to learn all we can of our venerated founders : to gaze 
 
 o 
 
 upon the "rude forefathers" in the costume and with the man- 
 ners and habits of their age and condition ; to view the rise of 
 our Order to its present magnitude, and to know the reasons that 
 exist to cause us to fear nothing in looking backward to the days 
 of its obscurity. But the outside world may not be so easily sat- 
 isfied. It is too busy in church and state to concern itself with 
 the affairs of a secret society. The general reader, too indolent 
 to discover our importance, may dismiss this volume with a smile 
 of incredulity. He may wonder to see so much labor expended 
 on such seeming trifles. What ! a secret society to publish its 
 history ! An imposing publication to recount the deeds of men 
 
 (15) 
 
16 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 unknown in any of the annals of the day ! A journal of the 
 mystic vagaries of wild enthusiasts, or pageant-loving men whose 
 great feat is a procession ! We can imagine some well-disposed 
 reader of the title laying down the book with a smile at the cre- 
 dulity that produced it. And really we can scarcely blame such 
 an one, when we consider the narrow vision of many who ought 
 long since to have been enlightened. At all events, we invite all 
 fair men to peruse the following statement. 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The Independent Order of Odd Fellows has 4 Supreme 
 Grand Lodges, viz. in the United States, the German Empire, 
 Australia, and New Zealand, It has 48 subordinate Grand 
 Lodges in the United States, and 4 in the German Empire ; 39 
 Grand Encampments in the United States and one in Australia. 
 The subordinate lodges are in the United States 6,734, in the 
 German Empire 42, in Australia 63, and in New Zealand 20, 
 making a total of 6,859. In the United States there are 1,818 sub- 
 ordinate encampments, in the German Empire 5, and in Australia 
 and New Zealand 4, making in all 1,827. In the encampment 
 or superior branch there are 87,896 members. There are also 
 870 Ilebekah Degree Lodges, composed of members of the Fifth 
 degree and their wives. During the past year there have been 
 40,578 initiations, and the sum of $1,702,774.82 has been spent 
 for relief of members. The total revenue for the year was four 
 million, five hundred and sixteen thousand, six hundred and 
 sixty dollars and sixty-three cents. From 1830 to December 
 31, 1877, we find the following aggregates: Initiations 
 1,064,928; members relieved 816,882; widowed families re- 
 lieved 108,385 ; members buried 74,226 ; the whole amount of 
 relief was sixty-nine million, two hundred and thirty-five thou- 
 sand, nine hundred and eighty-nine dollars and forty-five cents. 
 What we have paid in charity and for the education of orphans 
 would fill a volume and to-day we number a membership of 465,466. 
 When we speak of the Order in the United States we include the 
 Provinces of British North America. No man can read these 
 figures without being penetrated with an intense desire to know 
 the source of such benefactions. In these pages will be found an 
 answer to all questions worthy of reply, and true men everywhere 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 17 
 
 will rejoice at a spectacle which we fondly hope is already blessed 
 by Heaven. The facts we shall narrate are stranger than fiction, 
 and the whole subject is full of romance. The calendar of good 
 men will have added to its pages names now merely known, but 
 ever after to be held in grateful memory. The story will 
 appeal to national pride, for it is all American ; the scenes are in 
 our own States and cities, and the incidents will show that the spirit 
 of the country inspired them. In all the hundred years since 1776, 
 no more glorious fruit of independence has been gathered from 
 the tree of liberty. In the year of jubilee, 1876, no voices were 
 louder than ours to rejoice, for none had greater reason. No 
 more costly merchandise, no more precious gem, no greater in- 
 strument for the common good, no more beneficent outgrowth 
 of our civilization appeared at the Centennial. We carried to 
 the exhibition our works of charity and benevolence, and on and 
 above them in golden lettering wrote the proud inscription, 
 " These also are American." 
 
 WILDEY AND WELCH. 
 
 The city of Baltimore, the great seaport and entrepot of com- 
 merce of the State of Maryland, is too well known to require 
 description. For many years it ranked the third among the 
 cities of the United States in size and population. In the year 
 1818 its inhabitants were less than sixty thousand, and the whole 
 State was not then more populous than the present city. The war 
 with England had just closed, in which the city had been attacked, 
 and Washington, the capital of the country, but thirty-nine miles 
 distant, was captured and its public edifices barbarously burned. 
 It followed that England was much hated by our countrymen, 
 and nowhere was that hatred more intense than in Baltimore. 
 To be an Englishman was an offence to both pride and patriotism, 
 and all such were considered public and perfidious enemies. It 
 was at this period, say in the winter of 1818, that one Thomas 
 Wildey and a certain John Welch, both natives of England, were 
 residents of that city, and as fellow-countrymen were in the 
 habit of spending much of their leisure time together. Wildey 
 had been initiated into an Odd Fellows lodge in the city of Lon- 
 don about 1804, when he was twenty-two years of age, and sub- 
 sequently took an active part in starting another in the same city, 
 
18 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 under the style of Morning Star Lodge, No. 38. Both of these 
 were subordinate to a body then known as the Grand Lodge of 
 England, but whose authority was little recognized outside of 
 London city. There were then, as there are now, in England, 
 many separate organizations and independent lodges ; they were 
 secret, and the only bond of union was the use of the same form 
 of what was denominated "work." Thus a change of member- 
 ship from one to the other was provided for, and such arrange- 
 ments were made with the utmost facility. Wildey emigrated to 
 this country in 1817 ; the movement which resulted in the forma- 
 tion of the Manchester Unity was so entirely provincial that no 
 knowledge of it had reached the metropolis, and hence he left 
 England without instruction in the work of the Independent 
 Order. During his membership in the two lodges referred to, he 
 had passed through all the offices, having filled the chair of 
 Noble Grand as many as three times. Welch had also been a 
 member of a London lodge, and had passed the chairs before 
 his emigration. 
 
 O 
 
 A LODGE OF ODD FELLOWS TO BE FORMED. 
 
 The two friends, among other souvenirs of the old country, 
 were loud in their regrets that a change of residence had deprived 
 them of the social pleasure of a lodge. Soon an intense desire 
 arose to bring about similar relations, and they mutually resolved, 
 if possible, to form a lodge of Odd Fellows. The first difficulty 
 was to find the proper number for the purpose. Private efforts 
 were made, and every means at hand exhausted to discover other 
 brothers, but in vain. It then occurred to them that a resort to 
 the newspapers might prove more successful, and this happy 
 thought resulted in the following, which appeared in " The Bal- 
 timore American" on the 13th day of February, 1819 : 
 
 "NOTICE TO ALL ODD FELLOWS. A few members of the 
 Society of Odd Fellows will be glad to meet their brethren for 
 consultation upon the subject of forming a Lodge. The meet- 
 ing will be held on Friday evening, the 2d March, 1819." 
 
 At the time and place designated two recruits made their 
 appearance, namely, John Duncan and John Cheatham ; the lat- 
 ter had been initiated in England, and was proficient in the old 
 work; the former claimed to have been initiated in the city 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 19 
 
 of Baltimore seventeen years before, but lie could give no 
 satisfactory account of the lodge in which it was done, neither 
 its name, location nor membership, but he retained an accurate 
 knowledge of the ancient password, sign and grip. As cards 
 were then not in use by the London Order they proceeded by 
 mutual examinations to test one another, and the result was 
 entirely satisfactory. But the further difficulty arose that they 
 were in all but four, and by ancient usage the number of five 
 was necessary to form a lodge. The method they were adopting 
 was known as " self-institution," and they might have been irreg- 
 ular in their preliminaries, but the temptation was not sufficient 
 to affect their fidelity to a fundamental regulation of the Order. 
 Ardently as they desired to organize, they would not violate the 
 organic law. Frequent conferences were held, and new search 
 made for an additional member, but without success. Again 
 they had recourse to the newspaper, and the following advertise- 
 ment appeared in " The Baltimore American " on the 27th day of 
 March, 1819 : 
 
 " NOTICE TO ODD FELLOWS. A few members of the Society of 
 Odd Fellows will be glad to meet their brethren for the purpose 
 of forming a Lodge, on Friday evening, 2d April, at the Seven 
 Stars, Second Street, at the hour of seven P. M." 
 
 WASHINGTON LODGE INSTITUTED. 
 
 This had the effect of bringing to the surface a certain 
 Richard Rushworth, another initiate of the London body, and 
 so the magic number was complete. Not a moment was lost, 
 but all the necessary arrangements were speedily made, so that on 
 Monday, April 26th. 1819, the five brothers met at the sign of 
 " The Seven /Stars" on the south side of Second Street, between 
 Frederick Street and Market Space, at a public house kept by a 
 certain William Lupton ; and then and there, with all the 
 forms of which they possessed any knowledge, they solemnly 
 instituted and opened a lodge, which they named " Washington 
 Lodge of Odd Fellows." Thomas Wildey was installed as Noble 
 Grand, and John Welch as Yice Grand ; the other brothers were 
 also given offices, but it is not certain how they were distributed. 
 In such haste, but also with all due formality and dignity, was 
 the first stone laid in the foundation of American Odd Fellow- 
 
20 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ship ! Five Englishmen separated themselves from a community 
 in which they were already condemned by a national prejudice. 
 The object was one of English origin, and the place and order of 
 their meetings were calculated to increase the feeling of bitter- 
 ness against them : but they were in earnest, and had no thought of 
 failure. Efforts were at once commenced to add to their number, 
 and within two or three weeks they had increased their member- 
 ship to fifteen. 
 
 THE LODGE OBTAINS THE ENGLISH WORK. 
 
 It was at this time that one Henry M. Jackson arrived in 
 Baltimore from Liverpool, and on learning of the existence of the 
 lodge he was much surprised ; for, under the impression that 
 there was no lodge of the Order in the United States, he had 
 come provided with copies of the charges, then recently revised 
 by the still incipient Manchester Unity, as well as the lectures 
 just issued by the same authority ; and he had fondly hoped to 
 become the pioneer of Odd Fellowship in America. He made 
 Ms appearance at the house of Lupton, and without loss of time 
 secured an introduction to the Noble Grand. Wildey met him 
 with pleasure, and gave him a cordial invitation to attend the 
 lodge at its next meeting. At that meeting he was well received, 
 and, as a compliment, was invited by the Noble Grand to occupy 
 the chair of the Warden at the opening of the lodge. This posi- 
 tion enabled him readily to ascertain, before the lodge was opened, 
 that it was not being worked on the reformed plan adopted by 
 the Manchester Unity. Of course he made the point, as he had 
 no doubt come there for that as well as for other purposes ; and 
 so he gravely announced to the astonished Noble Grand, "Nobody 
 in the lodge is correct" The consternation that ensued was fol- 
 lowed by a recess, when all were requested to withdraw from the 
 lodge-room except N. G. Wildey and Y. G. Welch ; Jackson then 
 produced his revised documents, and proceeded to inform the 
 two officers of the manner in which the changeable password 
 was operated in conjunction with the old permanent one, which 
 was then in use by all divisions of the Order. It is presumed 
 that he submitted the whole of the improvements made by the 
 Manchester Unity, so far as they had progressed, which consisted 
 of: 1st. The weekly benefit system, on which the Unity had 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 21 
 
 been formed in 1813 ; 2d. The renewable password agreed 
 upon by the Unity as a body, in 1815, at first ordained to be 
 changed monthly, but in a year or two was made changeable 
 quarterly; 3d. The Code of General Laws, adopted also in 
 1815, but not fully enforced for several years; 4th. The 
 " Funeral Fund" system, adopted in 1816, but not made obliga- 
 tory on the lodges ; 5th. The three original degrees, with 
 their lectures, which were also adopted in 1816 ; 6th. The old 
 charges as revised in 1817, with a new Past Grand's charge 
 adopted at that time. This information having been imparted, 
 the other members of the lodge were recalled, and were duly 
 instructed in the mode of work practised by the " Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows " of the Manchester Unity. The first person 
 initiated in accordance with the revised work was a brother Ire- 
 land. The membership, however, did not seem to increase more 
 rapidly by reason of the change of the work. When Bro. Ireland 
 was initiated, about the middle of May, 1819, he was registered 
 as Number 16 ; and when Brother John Boyd deposited his card 
 in the lodge, in September, he was registered as Number 19 ; so 
 that but three additions were made in that time, and Jackson 
 must have been one of the three, as his was the first card the 
 lodge had received on deposit. It may here be remarked, that 
 the Manchester Unity Lodges were the only ones that at that 
 time issued cards, and we have every reason to believe that they 
 expired only in case of emigration. It is uncertain when or for 
 what cause the lodge ceased to meet at Lupton's. Wildey was 
 used to say that Lupton " tried to overreach them," but gave no 
 further explanation. Jackson insisted that he left the lodge at 
 " The Seven Stars " in June, when he went to Philadelphia, and 
 that on his return in September he was informed that no meet- 
 ings had been held during his absence. This is probably nearly 
 if not entirely correct, as a severe epidemic broke out in Baltimore 
 early in July, 1819, which created great alarm, and undoubtedly 
 had such an effect upon the young lodge as to cause a suspension 
 of its meetings. That sterling Odd Fellow, John Boyd, concurs 
 with Jackson in fixing the time when the lodge was removed to 
 Thomas Woodward's in September, 1819. This testimony en- 
 ables us to estimate pretty accurately the progress made by the 
 lodge in the first five months of its existence. To the first five, 
 such accessions had been made as to reach in all the number of 
 
22 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 nineteen ; of these, Jackson and Boyd were affiliated by the 
 deposit of cards, and the remaining twelve were most probably 
 received by initiation. Under all the circumstances, the condi- 
 tion of its affairs would seem to be of no unfavorable augury. 
 
 JACKSON THE RIVAL OF WILDEY. 
 
 But an element existed among the members which had of 
 necessity to breed a spirit of discord. The ambition of Jackson 
 to supplant "Wildey in the esteem of the brotherhood, and to be 
 recognized as the real founder of the lodge, kept him busy in stir- 
 ring up discontent and controversy. To break down Wildey, who 
 had been elected for a second term, and to take away his leader- 
 ship, all his energies were directed. He claimed above all others 
 to be the oracle of that code of umvritten law called "Ancient 
 Usage," and exerted much ability in misquoting and distorting 
 it into many shapes to suit his selfish purposes. What his argu- 
 ments were is scarcely worthy of mention ; one only may be 
 inserted as a specimen. He contended that by ancient law a 
 Noble Grand was not eligible to succeed himself in office. But, 
 to the contrary, it was shown that it had not been unusual for 
 that officer to be retained in his place for years. This special 
 effort was directed tow r ards defeating Wildey, should he become 
 a candidate for re-election in October. On the other hand, the 
 majority, composed of the friends of Wildey, regarded it danger- 
 ous to make any such change ; and although the other party offered 
 as a substitute that most amiable of men, Vice-Grand Welch, 
 they insisted upon Wildey, and again elected him to preside over 
 the lodge. This produced a crisis, the results of which will be 
 detailed in the course of this narrative. 
 
 PAST GRAND CROWDER's MISSION TO ENGLAND. 
 
 It was when this conflict w T as at its height that P. G. Crowder 
 of Preston, Lancashire, England, made a tour of the United 
 States, and having reached the city of Baltimore, he accidentally 
 obtained information which led him to visit the infant lodge. 
 His appearance and sympathy at this juncture infused new 
 energy into the minds of the perplexed and desponding brother- 
 hood. New hopes were inspired, and new plans were speedily 
 projected for future success. At his suggestion, an application 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 23 
 
 was prepared in suitable form to be presented to any competent 
 authority of the Independent Order in England, for a Dispensa- 
 tion admitting the lodge into the regular fellowship of the Order. 
 At the suggestion of some one present it was added, that said 
 lodge, when so established, should be clothed with power and 
 authority to extend the benefits of the fraternity " throughout 
 the whole land." This large provision, in which lay the germ of 
 the American system, was so little considered at the time, as to 
 provoke neither comment nor debate, and even the name of its 
 mover is unknown. So little are we cognizant of the planting of 
 those potent seeds that have grown to giant oaks and waving 
 forests. On such apparently trivial accidents do many of the 
 great events of history depend. The polished Roman attributed 
 such tilings to the gods, and could not be persuaded that they 
 exist but by the aid of some divinity. Jews and Christians 
 ascribe them to that interposition of the hand of God which we 
 revere under the name of Providence. And certainly we may 
 well believe that some invisible and divine influence shed the 
 light which was destined to produce such an illumination of the 
 moral firmament. Brother Crowd er soon afterwards returned to 
 his country as the willing messenger of the Baltimore brethren. 
 Upon his arrival at Preston he presented the petition to Duke of 
 York Lodge at that place, where he held his membership. This 
 was in accordance with the practice which then prevailed, and 
 that lodge promptly granted the petition, within sixty days after 
 the agent had left Baltimore. This celebrated document reads 
 as follows : 
 
 THE ORIGINAL CHARTER FROM DUKE OF YORK'S LODGE. 
 
 No. WASHINGTON LODGE, 1. 
 Plunbiis Unum. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of Maryland, and of the United States of America, of the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellowship. To all whom it may concern : 
 
 This Warrant or Dispensation is a free gift from the Duke of York's Lodge, 
 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellowship, liolden at Preston, in the County 
 of Lancaster, in Old England, to a number of brothers residing in the City of 
 Baltimore, to establish a Lodge at the house of brother Thomas Woodward, in 
 South Frederick street, in said City: Hailed by the title of "No. 1. Washington 
 Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Man/land and of the United States of America" 
 That the said Lodge being the first established in the United States, hath the 
 power to grant a Warrant or Dispensation to a number of brothers of the Iiide- 
 
24 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellowship in any State of the Union, for the encourage- 
 ment and support of brothers of the said Order when on travel or otherwise. 
 And be it further observed that the said Lodge be not removed from the house 
 of brother Thomas Woodward, so long as five brothers are agreeable to hold the 
 same. In testimony hereof, we have subjoined our names and affixed the seal 
 of our Lodge, this the first day of February, one thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty. 
 
 JAMES MANDSLEY, G. N. JOHN CHOWDER, P. G. 
 
 JOHN COTTAM, N. G. W. TOPPING, P. G. 
 
 [SEAL.] GEO. NAILOR, V. G. SAM'L PEMBEHTON, P. G. 
 
 JOHN ECCLES, Sec. GEO. WARD, P. G. 
 
 JOHN WALMSLIES, P. G. GEO. BELL, P. G. 
 
 It is very evident that this paper was not wholly prepared in 
 England, but that a draft was made in this country and accompa- 
 nied the petition. The several errors of style and deficiency in 
 expression in portions of the warrant, were the result of defective 
 education in all the parties, and the lack of experience by the Pres- 
 ton Lodge in the issue of such instruments; thus they were 
 passed over as immaterial, or it may be without detection. But 
 the correct and precise manner in which the geographical divi- 
 sions of the country are treated, establishes beyond controversy 
 that it was not solely prepared in England, much less in an 
 English inland village. The warrant is dated February 1st, 
 1820, but did not reach Baltimore until October of the same 
 year, and on the 23d of that month it was formally accepted, and 
 the lodge thenceforth regarded itself as duly constituted and 
 began its new career. So slow and uncertain was the transmis- 
 sion of important papers fifty years ago, that it required nearly 
 nine months for the warrant to reach its destination ; the mails 
 could not be trusted, and the package express had not yet been 
 started by Past Grand Hale of New York. Recourse was there- 
 fore had to private hands, as the safest, if not the most expedi- 
 tious mode of transmission. When the document reached the 
 lodge, nearly a year had elapsed since the application had been 
 sent to England. 
 
 In the interim, in the absence of intelligence from Bro. Crow- 
 der, the lodge had determined to avail of another opportunity 
 which had presented itself. Bro. John Yates, a member of the 
 lodge, undertook to visit England on private business, in the 
 early part of October, 1820, and to him was committed an 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 25 
 
 application for a Dispensation, addressed to the authorities of the 
 Order in Manchester. On the arrival of Yates at Liverpool he 
 managed to have the petition forwarded to Manchester; and 
 according to the printed records of the Manchester Unity, it came 
 before a "special committee," January 7th, 1821, and induced 
 the following action : 
 
 "Resolved, That the Washington Lodge, Baltimore, North 
 America, be allowed a dispensation from the Abercrombie Grand 
 Lodge, but the profits thereof to go to the Grand Committee. They 
 are likewise allowed Lecture Books, By-Laws and Articles ; and 
 that John Yates be written to, in answer to the American letters, 
 desiring his attendance at Manchester, from Liverpool, or if he 
 cannot attend, to desire that he will send an answer by return, 
 to know if an officer must go to meet him at Liverpool with 
 them ; and that if an officer be deputed, he be cautioned to be as 
 reasonable in his charges as possible, and not at any rate exceed 
 one pound for expenses." 
 
 This proceeding is evidence that the Duke of York Lodge had 
 failed to report to the Grand Committee at Manchester, to which 
 it was subordinate, that a warrant had been granted eleven 
 months before to the "Washington Lodge at Baltimore ; it can 
 be explained on no other hypothesis. But the documents from 
 some cause failed to reach Bro. Yates, arid he returned to Balti- 
 more, where he found the lodge in full operation under the war- 
 rant issued by the Duke of York Lodge. It is presumed, however, 
 that he received information from Bro. Crowder, or some other 
 brother at Preston, .that a free Dispensation had already been for- 
 warded to Baltimore. This, in those days of poverty and econ- 
 omy, must have been good news indeed ; and Yates was no doubt 
 glad to abandon his application, and so save some money for his 
 constituents. Thus the long suspense was over, and the lodge 
 was no longer in danger from irregularity ; the tie with the 
 mother Order being lawfully and perfectly formed. 
 
 THE FINANCES OF THE LODGE. 
 
 During the first year of the existence of Washington Lodge 
 it had many troubles, in the enumeration of which the first place 
 may be assigned to the lack of money. The ancient practice 
 adopted by it of expending the penny receipts for refreshments for 
 brothers, was the chief cause of weakness. The amounts received 
 
26 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 for initiation and deposit of cards were too insignificant to become 
 the basis of a permanent or available fund ; for the former did 
 not exceed in any case one dollar, or in the latter twenty-five 
 cents. Meanwhile, calls for assistance increased with the mem- 
 bership, to such an extent as to keep the " Warden? s axe" con- 
 stantly on the move during the sessions of the lodge ; and this 
 had the effect of frightening away many of the more prudent or 
 less opulent of the members. A change of plan became neces- 
 sary, and that change was made without delay. " The pence " 
 were at once passed into The Strong _Z?o,T, as the nucleus of a 
 treasury for times of need. The axe was sent around merely for 
 regular dues, excepting only when, as rarely happened, " a tramp" 
 was in attendance for relief, or some extraordinary occasion 
 required it. It was then settled that each member and visitor 
 should be obliged to pay his several bills for refreshments. This 
 step to some extent overcame the difficulty, and was attended 
 with the best of results. It may be proper just here to state, that 
 the "Strong Box" became a part of the lodge-room furniture. It 
 was a substantial chest, well strapped and bound with iron, and 
 very heavily constructed : and as to size in solid measure, from 
 fourteen to sixteen cubic feet ; with three locks of different con- 
 struction, the best that at that period could be procured : they 
 were placed one at each end and the other in the middle. The 
 'N. G., Y. G. and sitting P. G. each had a key of a separate lock, 
 and were held jointly and severally responsible for the safety of 
 the contents. By this precaution all three were required to be 
 present at the opening of the strong box. The lodge funds and 
 the more valuable of the books and papers were deposited here 
 for safekeeping, until it was demonstrated, by two or three expe- 
 riences, that as to this treasury, thieves could break in and steal. 
 
 THE BENEFIT SYSTEM. 
 
 The time when the benefit system was fully adopted by 
 Washington Lodge is difficult to determine. It does not seem to 
 have been understood by either Jackson or Boyd when they 
 joined the lodge, and yet they must have known that this was 
 the chief reliance and regular practice of the Manchester Unity. 
 But it was already in operation, or now went into operation at 
 the change just alluded to. It is believed that the pence were 
 placed in the strong box, not only for safety, but that the money 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 27 
 
 might be at hand for the payment of the ordinary expenses, and 
 in extending relief to the sick and disabled brothers of the lodge. 
 It was probably in existence before N. G. Wildey left the chair 
 in April, 1820, as he was among those most ready to adopt any 
 idea or plan that seemed to favor the success of the enterprise. 
 It may possibly have been promoted by the advice of Brother 
 Crowder during his sojourn, as one of the leading features in the 
 usefulness of the Manchester Unity. If these surmises are cor- 
 rect, it may even have been partially set on foot during the latter 
 part of 1819 ; and, as was formerly the case in Manchester, so at 
 first, the money necessary for the payment of benefits might from 
 time to time have been collected on the Warden's axe. 
 
 WILDEY IS PREFERRED TO JACKSON. 
 
 Another source of trouble and anxiety arose from the jarrings 
 of internal discord. As before related, parties had been formed 
 in this little family ; we have already stated that Bro. Jackson 
 had endeavored to supplant N. G. Wildey as the prime mover in 
 the affairs of the Order. The one was the author of the lodge's 
 
 o 
 
 existence, the other the reformer of its system of operation. At 
 the period of P. G. Crowder's appearance the contest was at its 
 height, and each was supported by zealous and devoted friends. 
 He seemed to be recognized by both parties as the umpire of 
 this dispute, and tacitly accepted the responsibility. All his 
 efforts Avere at first directed to effect a compromise ; but they were 
 of no avail, and he at length proceeded to examine into the nature 
 of the difficulty. It -was not only to fix the relative merits of the 
 work done by the brothers, but to determine, and, as it resulted, 
 to confirm finally to one of them the place of the great leader. 
 By singular good fortune he indicated "Wildey as the man on 
 whom they should rely for the safety of the enterprise. It seems 
 that he refused to consider any other question but that of policy, 
 and was irresistibly attracted to Wildey as the coming man ; and 
 few since that time have ever ventured to impugn the wisdom of 
 his decision. Endorsed by Crowder and aided by his friends, 
 Wildey was re-elected N. G. at the election in October. 
 
 FRANKLIN LODGE TO SUPERSEDE WASHINGTON LODGE. 
 
 Jackson and his most zealous followers were not satisfied, and 
 at once withdrew from Washington Lodge and formed Franklin 
 
28 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Lodge, with a firm resolution to supersede and overthrow the for- 
 mer by the institution of the Order in another form. Jackson, 
 for himself and friends, prepared an application for a dispensa- 
 tion for Franklin Lodge, and addressed it to the Grand Commit- 
 tee at Manchester. This document was also forwarded by private 
 hands ; but the agent was less trustworthy than either Crowder 
 or Yates, for it did not reach the Grand Committee until June, 
 1821, some nineteen months after it had been sent. The receipt 
 of this application by the Committee afforded the opportunity 
 to re-open the question, then becoming important, of extending 
 the Order to foreign lands under the auspices of the Manchester 
 Unity. In considering the petition, the incipient organization at 
 Manchester began to assert prerogatives in a manner that had 
 not been dreamed of by the Duke of York Lodge, nor even by 
 the same Committee in the preceding January. It has been 
 believed, and with good reason, that the average Englishman has 
 but little, if any, acquaintance with the geography of the United 
 States; few therefore would be astonished to learn from him 
 that Pennsylvania w T as a city in Philadelphia, or that Maryland 
 was the chief city in the State of Baltimore. In this instance 
 we have exhibited the phenomenon of the then existing Province 
 of Maryland in which was located the City of Philadelphia. 
 Whatever may have induced the mistake, we are sure that neither 
 Baltimore nor Philadelphia will have much relish for such a 
 doubtful compliment. At all events the Grand Committee had 
 in some manner been informed that the application was from the 
 place whose territory was already occupied, that a Mother 
 Lodge was already in existence there, and thus was led to the 
 conclusion that the prayer of the petitioners could not be granted. 
 But instead of this announcement by them in direct terms, it 
 was couched in a singular resolution then placed upon their 
 record : 
 
 " Special Committee held at the Dog and Volunteer, 
 
 SALFORD, June 21st, 1821. 
 
 "Resolved, That the "Washington Lodge, Philadelphia, be 
 acknowledged No. 1, or Grand Lodge of the Province of Mary- 
 land, in the United States of America, and that they be informed 
 that the usage of Odd Fellowship in England has confirmed a 
 law that each Grand Lodge shall have a District of twelve miles, 
 but that should any Grand Lodge assume an unbecoming prerog- 
 ative, we will interfere, if just cause be shown, and grant further 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 29 
 
 Dispensations to the United States, and that the legality (under 
 these restrictions) be confirmed by the Dispensation granted from 
 the Duke of York Lodge, Preston." 
 
 Notwithstanding the whole of this proceeding had relation to 
 Washington Lodge, and to none other, so far as words can express 
 a purpose, yet notice was never given to the lodge that such a 
 vote had been taken or resolution passed. But on the 25th of 
 June a copy was made, and forwarded by private hands to Frank- 
 lin Lodge, instead of by the post, by means of which precaution 
 its delivery in Baltimore was fortunately secured. The copy was 
 signed by Isaac Hardman, C. S., and in his proper handwriting 
 a note was appended in the words following: "The Franklin 
 Lodge is desired to apply to the Washington for dispensation , 
 <&c." Hardman's communication came into the possession of 
 Franklin Lodge in the early part of August, 1821, and as Jack- 
 son, who had instigated the brothers to revolt, had in the mean- 
 time removed from the city, they were no longer disposed to 
 strike for independence ; they therefore consulted the interests of 
 all concerned, and adopted the suggestion they had received from 
 England. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE OF PAST GRANDS. 
 
 Washington Lodge, in the interval, had been actively engaged 
 in preparing for every emergency. Its first step had been to 
 organize the Committee of Past Grands, a very important and 
 necessary appendage to the Ancient Order. These were called 
 in as the counsellors of the lodge from the moment that it pos- 
 sessed a sufficient 'number who were qualified for that purpose. 
 It is presumed that several of those admitted by card were already 
 Past Grands. Both Wildey and Welch had attained that rank 
 in England, and were the only members who had occupied the 
 -chair of Noble Grand until July, 1820, so that no other person 
 could have passed that chair prior to October of the same year. 
 But the Committee of Past Grands was in operation as early as 
 August, 1820; from which it may be inferred that at least two, 
 namely, Boyd and Couth, must have entered the lodge as Past 
 Grands. It is also asserted that Entwisle entered as a Past 
 Grand, but this is denied ; P. G. Sire Kennedy so asserts, but on 
 the contrary Washington Lodge claims that great Odd Fellow as 
 one of its initiates ; the lost minutes alone could settle the question. 
 
30 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The origin, nature and office of this Committee do not clearly 
 appear; what is known may be briefly stated. Previous to 
 the. organization of Grand Lodges which did not in fact exist in 
 England properly as such, but in a qiiasi manner only, with the 
 name of "District Committees" the business of supervising the 
 Order was imperfectly performed by " Committees of Past 
 Grands," called together whenever their services were supposed 
 to be needed. These bodies do not appear to have been in pos- 
 session of any established powers, extent of jurisdiction, or perma- 
 nent officers, and in convention were destitute of regulations 
 other than such as were reflected by the light of " ancient usage." 
 Matters of grievance composed the principal concerns submitted 
 to them ; but their decisions were in no case final or operative, 
 but merely advisory, and were adopted or rejected at the option 
 of the parties interested. 
 
 . THE TWO AMERICAN DEGREES. 
 
 In the month last named, Aug. 1820, John Pawson Entwisle, 
 the ornament of the lodge, took a step of equal importance 
 in another direction. He had prepared, and now submitted to 
 the Committee of Past Grands, a great improvement in the work 
 of the Order. It consisted of the original drafts of the two 
 degrees, then and now designated " Covenant " and " Remem- 
 brance." The act was as bold as it was successful ; the amend- 
 ments were such as to commend themselves on the first perusal. 
 The Committee did not hesitate to adopt them ; and being brought 
 into the lodge, they were conferred upon the members. This 
 great change was a declaration of entire independence in a mat- 
 ter which was felt to involve important consequences. It was the 
 work of one young in years, but in the estimation of his brethren 
 in many things superior to them all. It will be found in the 
 sequel, that instead of creating disturbance, these degrees, which 
 had their birth in Baltimore, were afterwards gladly received and 
 adopted in the mother country. This member, who appears for 
 the first time in the narrative, will fill but a small space upon the 
 record. His career was short, and his work was of a nature to be 
 unknown and unappreciated until the secret chapters of the his- 
 tory of his time should be written and published. The very few 
 fragments that remain of his composition well attest his intelli- 
 gence, capacity and cultivation. In the proper place Entwisle 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 31 
 
 will again appear, and more particularly when we come to speak 
 of the great trio, in which he will assume, so far as we can ensure 
 it, the station and dignity to which he, above all others, was en- 
 titled. 
 
 THE TAST GRANDS OF WASHINGTON LODGE BECOME THE GRAND 
 LODGE OF MARYLAND AND OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The time was approaching when another step was made in 
 the growing system. It soon became plain to all that the condi- 
 tion of the lodge was anomalous. It was indeed the whole Order 
 in America, but it was composed of incongruous and repugnant 
 elements, and in its details of government was incompetent for 
 the task it had undertaken. It was formed alike of the instructed 
 and uninstructed, and had no rule for the delegation of its author- 
 ity to the wise and able. As a single lodge it was indeed the 
 superior of all others, and the source of their authority. But 
 this was found, on examination, of a nature to destroy its own 
 sanctions, by the manifest injustice which would result from its 
 exercise. The subject became one of serious inquiry. As 
 might have been expected, there was a great diversity of opinion 
 among the membership. On the one side were those who believed 
 in " ancient usage " as against all change, and those who, caring 
 for usage, were unwilling to resign any portion of their power ; 
 and on the other were a numerous class of many shades of opin- 
 ion, but who upon the whole were inclined to the doctrine that 
 the direction of the Order should be assigned to the ablest and 
 most experienced among the membership, that these as a body 
 should be entrusted with the supreme government, and that 
 every new lodge when instituted should in the same manner par- 
 ticipate in the same power,' by the selection of such of its mem- 
 bers as were equally worthy of the privilege. This question was 
 not settled without a serious contest, and about three months of 
 active canvassing were required to achieve success. The Com- 
 mittee of Past Grands were, in the meantime, preparing a plan 
 and educating the minds of the members to receive it. At the 
 termination of their labors, on February 7th, 1821, they held their 
 latest meeting, when they adopted a series of resolutions on the 
 subject as suitable to be presented for the action of the lodge. 
 This important paper was as follows : "Resolved, That it is expe- 
 dient and necessary to separate the legislative from the operative 
 
32 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 portion of the Order, as well to insure system and uniformity as 
 a greater efficiency in conducting the business of Odd Fellow- 
 ship, Resolved, That Washington Lodge, No. 1, be invited to 
 surrender to this body of Past Grands the sole possession of the 
 Charter received by said Lodge from England." 
 
 These resolutions, big with the fate of the enterprise, were 
 submitted to the lodge in due course at the succeeding meeting. 
 The meeting was stormy and the conflict severe ; but the friends 
 of the measure were in the majority, and it was resolved that the 
 lodge would comply with the request submitted by the commit- 
 tee. The final action, as was usual with the leaders, was not 
 long delayed. On February 22d, 1821, a day selected as the 
 anniversary of the birth of Washington, the Committee of Past 
 Grands assembled at the lodge-room in Frederick Street. There 
 were present the five heretofore named, with the addition of P. 
 G. William Larkam. The IS". G. of Washington Lodge, No. 1, 
 then made his appearance, and in a formal manner surrendered 
 into their hands the warrant received by the lodge from the 
 Duke of York Lodge, Preston, England. He then retired, where- 
 upon the committee proceeded to organize as a Grand Lodge, 
 under the style and title of " The Grand Lodge of Maryland and 
 of the United States." The new body was then put in motion 
 by the installation of the following officers : 
 
 Thomas Wildey, of No. 1, Grand Master, Coach-spring Maker. 
 
 John P. Entwisle, of No. 1, Dep. G. M., Printer. 
 
 Wm. S. Couth, of No. 1, Grand Warden, Currier. 
 
 John Welch, of No. 1, G. Secretary, House and Ship Painter. 
 
 John Boyd, of No. 1, G. Guardian, Mahogany Sawyer. 
 
 Wm. Larkam, of No. 1, G. Conductor, Cabinet Maker. 
 
 The session being now open, the Grand Lodge proceeded to 
 legislate, and the first business transacted was the adoption of the 
 following: "Resolved, that a dispensation be presented to Wash- 
 ington Lodge, No. 1, of Maryland, as a subordinate Lodge." 
 Next in order was a scheme of finance for its support. This was 
 arranged by imposing a tax of ten per cent, on the gross receipts 
 of subordinate lodges ; the price to a subordinate for a warrant, 
 including the necessary charges and lecture books, was fixed at 
 thirty dollars. Washington Lodge thus resigned its primary and 
 supreme authority into other hands, and Avas satisfied to become 
 the first of all those subordinate to the supreme power it had 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 33 
 
 created. As No. 1, in the original starting, it could not forfeit 
 the proud claim and title to rank above all the world as the 
 Mother Lodge of American Odd Fellowship. These rest upon 
 the conclusive basis of the possession of the oldest warrant, or 
 dispensation, received from a legal authority in Europe, and by 
 the lineal descent of Odd Fellowship, as now known in America, 
 in a direct line from this lodge and the lodges that took their 
 existence from it. Franklin Lodge existed in posse, but was yet 
 barely an experiment in the same direction ; it followed that the 
 first Grand Lodge had but one lodge subject to its jurisdiction. 
 But, as before related, Franklin Lodge, early in August following, 
 received a communication from the Grand Committee of the 
 Manchester Unity, in which it was desired to apply to the 
 "Washington" for a dispensation. This settled the question of 
 precedence, and left the whole field open to the newly organized 
 Grand Body. No time was lost, but at the earliest opportunity 
 this band of brothers made an application for a warrant. This 
 was gladly met in the same spirit. At the session of the Grand 
 Lodge, held on August 22, 1821, this proceeding was had: 
 " Resolved, that the Grand Lodge receives with entire satisfaction 
 the application of Franklin Lodge, No. 2, and agrees to grant 
 the petition therein contained." "Resolved, that the Grand 
 Lodge, from and after the date hereof, hails and acknowledges 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 2, as a legal Lodge of I. O. Fellows, and 
 that its dispensation shall be dated September 5th, 1821." 
 
 It will be observed that the legal existence of the lodge, prior 
 to this action, was entirely repudiated. But this fact was con- 
 ceded, and gave no cause for complaint. Franklin Lodge, No. 
 2, was instituted under these resolutions on the 5th of September 
 following, and so became the second subordinate. The old jealousy 
 had died out, and the utmost harmony now subsisted between 
 them. That sentiment has ever since prevailed, and each has 
 endeavored to excel the other in mutual kindness, and in sup- 
 porting the dignity and importance of the Grand Lodge and its 
 great successor. It may be proper here to mention, that at the 
 next session, held on November 22, 1821, a committee reported, 
 and after due consideration a constitution was adopted, being 
 the first constitution of a Grand Lodge known to the Order. 
 Heretofore this class of bodies, by whatever name distinguished, 
 whether of Grand Lodge or Grand Committee, had been gov- 
 3 
 
34 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 erned solely by "ancient usage." Even the great power or 
 central authority at Manchester was still groping its way by the 
 dim light of uncertain traditions, its lack of system keeping it 
 busy in finding or manufacturing precedents to meet new cases. 
 It was not until 1822 that the Manchester Unity began to organize 
 an "Annual Movable Committee" on a broad basis, when a few 
 very incongruous and insufficient resolutions were agreed to as a 
 general code for the government of the Order at large by the 
 said committee. But the infant " Grand Lodge of Maryland and 
 of the United States"- for that was now the style of the new 
 head of the Order no doubt inspired by the political forms of 
 the country, boldly adopted a written constitution, containing 
 twenty articles, for its own government and that of the lodges 
 under its jurisdiction. This as a whole is missing, and has never 
 been found. 
 
 "Washington Lodge continued to hold its meetings at the house 
 of Woodward, from September, 1819, until January, 1822, when 
 an unfortunate event made it necessary for the house to be closed. 
 This occurrence was of such a nature as to mortify and disgust 
 the members, and cause the weak to falter or fall oif. The 
 effect upon the public might have been greater if the lodge had 
 had any prominence, but it was unknown, and the fact made 
 little or no impression ; but the closing of the house turned the 
 Order into the street, and put it again in motion to find a shelter. 
 The Grand Lodge had also held its sessions at the same place until 
 the removal of Washington Lodge. The last important business 
 transacted there was the formal presentation to Washington and 
 Franklin Lodges of their dispensations. The warrant had been 
 granted to Washington Lodge, No. 1, on February 22, 1821, but 
 no form for the drafting of such an instrument had been devised, 
 and the inexperience of the officers and membership made 
 delay a necessity. The proceedings of 22d of August preceding 
 seem to imply that they were awaiting instructions from England, 
 although three Grand Officers were directed "to draft the dis- 
 pensations" for the two lodges. The Grand Master, Deputy 
 Grand Master, and Grand Warden, therefore reported a form, 
 which was adopted December 19, 1821, and ordered to be printed. 
 On the 9th of January, 1822, the Grand Committee met, filled 
 up the dispensations, and caused them to be signed and sealed 
 and the colors to be appended. Their delivery took place at as 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 35 
 
 early a day as possible, and was accompanied with due form and 
 ceremony. 
 
 CHARTER OF WASHINGTON LODGE, NO. 1., O. I. O. F. 
 
 Order of Independent Odd Fellows. 
 
 To whom it may concern : 
 
 The Grand Lodge of Maryland, by authority of a Grand 
 Charter granted from the Grand Lodge of the united States, 
 held in the City of Baltimore, State of Maryland, doth hereby 
 grant 
 
 This Warrant or Dispensation 
 
 To a number of brothers of the Order of Independent Odd 
 Fellows, residing in the City of Baltimore, in the State of Mary- 
 land, to establish a Lodge in any convenient place, to be hailed 
 by the title of the Washington Lodge, No. 1, for the encourage- 
 ment and support of brothers of the said Order when on travel, 
 or otherwise. And the said Washington Lodge being duly 
 formed, is hereby authorized and empowered to initiate into the 
 mysteries of said Order, any person or persons duly proposed and 
 approved according to the law of Odd Fellows, and to administer 
 to these Brothers all the privileges and benefits arising therefrom, 
 and to enact by-laws for the government of their lodge ; Pro- 
 vided always, that the Washington Lodge, No. 1, do act ac- 
 cording to the order and in conjunction with and obedience to 
 the Grand Lodge, adhering to and supporting the articles, charges, 
 and degrees delivered with this dispensation ; and in default 
 thereof, this Warrant or Dispensation may be suspended or taken 
 away, at the discretion of the Grand Lodge ; and further, the 
 Grand Lodge (in consideration of the due performance of the 
 above) do bind themselves to repair all damage or destruction 
 of the Dispensation, Charges or Degrees, whether by fire or 
 other accident ; provided, sufficient proof be given, and there is 
 no illegal concealment or wilful destruction of the same. And 
 the Grand Lodge will support the Washington Lodge, No. 1, in 
 the exercise of their duty, and in the privileges and honors of 
 the Order. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have displayed the colors and 
 subscribed our names, and affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland and of the United States, this 22d day of February, 
 Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one. 
 
 THOS. WILDEY, G. M. JOHN WELCH, G. 8. 
 
 [SEAL] J. P. ENTWISLE, D. G. M. JOHN BOYD, G. G. 
 
 WM. S. COATH, G. W. EZEKIEL WlLSON, G. 61 
 
 There seems to be some discrepancy as to the order of time as 
 regards one of the signatures appended to the warrant. Ezekiel 
 
36 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Wilson was a member of Franklin Lodge, and was not admitted 
 a member in the Grand Lodge until November 22, 1821, nine 
 months after the charter was granted. William Larkam was 
 present as Grand Conductor at the meeting of the Grand Com- 
 mittee in 1822, when the warrants were signed, and yet the 
 name of Wilson appears on the instrument as Grand Conductor, 
 an office he had never held. To make it more intricate, the 
 proceedings of the Grand Lodge of February 22, 1822, report 
 him as suspended from the Order for twelve months and a day. 
 He, however, afterwards attained to the office of Grand Master ; 
 he was installed as such, January 15, 1830. 
 
 We have now reached a point at which we may stop and 
 consider many collateral matters which belong to this period. 
 The raw material has now been woven into a new and useful 
 pattern, which needs but a few more improvements to impress 
 with colors of beauty and utility. In a word, order is slowly 
 emerging from the confused elements, and we see a promise 
 upon which men may repose in confidence, looking for a brighter 
 day. The whole Order consists, indeed, of but two subordinate 
 lodges, with a handful of members ; and the Supreme Body of 
 not more than six or seven about the number necessary for 
 filling the chairs. Here we leave them for a time, toiling on in 
 obscurity as an association of very ordinary persons : their tone, 
 indeed, is somewhat lofty, but that is not uncommon among 
 "socials" and those given to the cheerful inspirations of the 
 public-house; there is much appearance of form and dignity, 
 but one might well smile, as spectator of one solitary private 
 member on the floor, of a body composed of six highly decorated 
 officers, each in grave position, and wonder at the business which 
 seems rather to be attempted than done at such a meeting. But 
 we shall meet them again, and find that there was indeed a 
 something among them of deep import to the world ; strange 
 things may yet come to pass, and unborn generations may rise to 
 do them honor and call them blessed. We shall see. This was 
 the beginning of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States. 
 
 THE SIGN OF THE SEVEN STARS. 
 
 In order that we may comprehend the causes that were at 
 work to produce the results we have set forth, a retrospect of 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 37 
 
 several years becomes necessary. An institution whose object is 
 continuity, must have a permanent location. A change of 
 residence is never more injurious than when it befalls a public 
 institution, and the more so if that institution looks to success 
 by constant intercourse with the public. This was in one sense 
 settled by the limitation, in the first charter, to an ordinary or 
 drinking saloon; but such a provision, from its nature, could 
 only be transitory. It follows that no struggles were more 
 severe than those which were made for a " local habitation," and 
 none were more productive of results. We have seen that the 
 first meetings were held on the south side of Second Street, 
 between Frederick Street and Market Space, at the sign of the 
 Seven Stars. The first HOST was William Lupton. The house 
 had two stories and an attic, and was in a part of the city 
 mostly occupied by oyster-cellars and saloons ; as very respectable 
 restaurants were at that time, and for many years afterwards, 
 in basements, called cellars, it is to be presumed that Lupton 
 kept a good house. Such houses had a bar, and furnished their 
 customers with the famous Baltimore oysters. The use of this 
 house by Washington Lodge must have consisted of the occupation 
 of an upper room, furnished with benches and several rush-bottom 
 chairs. There was a rude table, and a number of tin sconces 
 garnished with candles hung around the walls. A few coarse 
 prints of sea-fights and domestic animals, with pictures of 
 Washington, Lafayette, and other great men of the Revolution, 
 were thought to add greatly to the effect. The privacy could 
 only have been secured by a locked door, and the conduct of 
 secret w r ork in whispers; but, as the work was of the most 
 meagre description, it could be speedily despatched. We may 
 here state that the signs of such houses were the ordinary swing- 
 ing sign, yet to be found in many parts of the country. 
 
 THE THREE LOGGERHEADS. 
 
 It has been stated that the lodge was removed from Lupton's 
 to Woodward's, on Frederick Street, in the month of September, 
 1819. A more dismal, out of the way place than the Three 
 Loggerheads could scarcely have been selected, it being near the 
 docks, where sailors and wharf-loungers were wont to assemble, 
 and was mostly given up to the occupancy of boarding-houses 
 for sailors. But it was here that Washington Lodge and the 
 
38 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Order first grew into importance. Here was received the first 
 warrant ever granted to a lodge in the United States, from the 
 Order in the mother country, to conduct the business of Odd 
 Fellowship. Here the Covenant and Remembrance Degrees 
 were first promulgated and first conferred. Here the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland and of the United States was instituted and 
 held its first sessions. Here the Grand Lodge Degree was 
 adopted and first used, and here the Golden Rule Degree was 
 first conferred in America. Here Washington Lodge received 
 its second charter, the warrant issued by the newly organized 
 Grand Lodge ; in fact, nearly all of the main features which mark 
 the progress of the Order in that early day, date from the period 
 when the whole of American Odd Fellowship was confined to 
 " The Three Loggerheads." Headquarters were at Woodward's 
 from September, 1819, until January, 1822, when a sudden 
 removal became necessary. 
 
 STILLHOUSE LANE. 
 
 Much embarrassment followed, as no suitable place could 
 readily be obtained ; but Wildey came forward and proffered a 
 room in his private dwelling, in " Stillhouse Lane," for the use of 
 both Washington Lodge and the Grand Lodge. The offer was 
 accepted, and the lodges continued to meet there until better 
 accommodations were secured. Here everything was in confu- 
 sion, for want of those appropriate arrangements which could not 
 be procured in a private house, especially in one so small and con- 
 tracted in its appointments as this dwelling. Very little business 
 could possibly be transacted there, in anything like a decorous 
 manner ; and indeed it is almost certain that not a single initia- 
 tion took place in that house during their stay, a period of at 
 least four months. Among the efforts made to secure a suitable 
 place, it is related that Bro. Wildey arranged with a woman 
 doing business on Bridge (now Gay) Street, to occupy the second 
 floor, over her store ; but so soon as the workmen began putting 
 the premises in suitable condition for lodge use, her landlord 
 became greatly excited ; he w r as in sympathy with the prevailing 
 prejudice of that day against the Order, and expected nothing 
 but riot and disorder. His threats to turn her out of possession 
 alarmed her, and for the sake of peace the contract was aban- 
 doned. After many failures a place was secured, and the lodges 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 39 
 
 left the abode of Wildey for better lodgings. Bro. Wildey, for 
 some reason, would never converse on the subject of this removal; 
 but Bro. Boyd always referred to it in the most handsome man- 
 ner, regarding it as affording the strongest evidence of Wildey 's 
 disinterested love for the Order. Wildey, he said, had females 
 in his family, and the meetings were to them a fruitful source of 
 inconvenience and embarrassment ; as the men began to assemble, 
 the women would go out and stay with the neighbors until 
 the meeting w r as over; that this was always the case, and in 
 fact had the eifect of turning his household out of doors for 
 the sake of the cause. 
 
 MATTHEW BLAKELEY'S PUBLIC-HOUSE. 
 
 The new situation was a great improvement; the room 
 selected w T as on the second floor of a large house, and was com- 
 fortably and conveniently arranged. There was no lack of any- 
 thing that in those days was thought necessary for lodge w r ork or 
 for lodge use ; mine host was on hand, and was ready to extend 
 with promptness the usual facilities to the brothers, and all 
 things w^ore a more cheerful aspect. This was at Matthew Blake- 
 ley's public-house, on the northeast corner of Marsh Market 
 Space and Water (now Lombard) Street. The place is beyond 
 dispute, but the time of this change is not so certain. After hav- 
 ing consulted all the conflicting testimony, growing out of defects 
 of memory in the witnesses, and compared it with admitted 
 facts and circumstances, it seems proper to fix the time at about 
 May, 1822. The following statement, by P. G. Sire Kennedy, 
 is of interest in this connection : " A few w r eeks before the death 
 of P. G. John Boyd, in a conversation with P. G. M. Mathiot 
 and the writer, he said the lodge remained at Wildey's dwelling 
 for several months, he thought at least six months from the time 
 it left Woodward's, in January, 1822. Mrs. Eliza J. Adams, 
 widow of Brother Win. Adams, who, on April 1st, 1823, suc- 
 ceeded Blakeley as host of the lodge, says the lodge was brought 
 to Blakeley's about a year before her husband took possession of 
 the place. P. G. Secretary Fennell thinks he was initiated 
 in 1821, but knows the ceremony took place at the Market 
 Space room. Of course Fennell is incorrect in time, as at that 
 period the lodge was still in session at Woodward's, and in 
 addition he disavows all knowledge of the meetings being held 
 
40 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 at either Woodward's or at Wildey's dwelling. "When Fennell was 
 initiated lie was registered as No. 122, and when Mathiot was 
 initiated he was registered as No. 177, presenting a difference of 
 fifty-five members between them ; which, at the rate of increase 
 then existing, would require nearly a year to make it up. And 
 in view of Mathiot being somewhat active as a member in the 
 summer of 1823, Fennell must have been initiated about May, 
 
 1822. From all of which it may be deduced that the lodge 
 reached Market Space early in May, 1822." 
 
 CONDITION OF THE ORDER IN MAY, 1822. 
 
 It is difficult to determine with certainty the number of the 
 membership at this time. "We may at least try to estimate it 
 by some instances that were well attested at that period. 
 Fennell was sure that he was one of the early admissions after 
 the removal, and he stood on the register as Number 122; it 
 follows that the whole number admitted by initiation and affilia- 
 tion from the 26th of April, 1819, until this time, a period of 
 about three years, was equal to his number, say one hundred and 
 twenty-two. But we must deduct from these the deaths and 
 the withdrawals, as well as those suspended and expelled. These 
 can only be obtained by comparison of this with other periods 
 of the history ; after doing this, we have concluded that there 
 should be a reduction on gross figures of about one-third for 
 three years. On this basis we have fixed the net membership of 
 Washington Lodge, at the time designated, at about eighty. At 
 the same time we incline to think that our rule for the enumera- 
 tion would have a tendency to increase rather than to diminish 
 the result ; this is made very probable, because the vestiges of 
 extant records indicate a much freer use of the power of expul 
 sion then than has since been exercised; this vigilance anc 5 
 severity was, no doubt, greatly needed in sifting the mixed 
 elements that were brought together under such novel conditionB 
 The meetings of the lodge at this place inaugurated a marked 
 and important progress. It was to Blakeley's that in January , 
 
 1823, Brother James Wilson came as a visitor, and was received 
 in the most cordial manner by the lodge and the members. He 
 claimed to belong to a lodge of Odd Fellows at Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, and he was recognized as a brother. Every attention 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 4:1 
 
 in their power was paid to him ; not content with conferring the 
 three degrees of the Manchester Unity, they also gave him the 
 intermediate degrees that had been originated in Maryland. 
 These fraternal attentions made a profound impression upon 
 Wilson; for, on his return to Boston, he made a report in 
 every way favorable of what he had seen and learned in Balti- 
 more. This was not confined to his personal treatment ; but he 
 also gave such an account of the great superiority of the condition 
 of the brethren in the latter city, as to incline his associates to 
 cultivate the most intimate relations with them. He explained 
 to them the character of the authority which had been vested in 
 the Order at Baltimore for extending the fraternity all over the 
 country ; information appealing to them most forcibly, as a bond 
 of a widespread unity for the common good. These representa- 
 tions induced "Massachusetts Lodge," on March 28, 1823, to 
 make application for a dispensation to be endowed with 
 Grand Lodge powers in and for the State of Massachusetts. 
 Nothing was known by these brethren of the resignation of 
 its charter by Washington Lodge, and the application for the 
 dispensation was accordingly made to it; but this did not 
 change the result. Its successors, having the charter, pro- 
 ceeded at once to act upon the petition. At a session held 
 on April 13, 1823, a dispensation was granted to "Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1," and another to the Past Grands of that Lodge for 
 the " Grand Lodge of Massachusetts " ; thus covering the whole 
 ground, instead of complying literally with the wishes of the 
 applicants. This action was deemed to be of such moment, that 
 G. M. Wildey was deputed to convey the warrants to Boston, 
 and to present them to the brothers in an acceptable manner. 
 This duty he performed in the month of June following. Thus, 
 the performance of the rites of friendship and hospitality to a 
 strange brother secured the adhesion of Massachusetts, but was 
 also the indirect, if not the immediate cause which induced 
 other lodges, then existing in an irregular manner at New York 
 and Philadelphia, to recognize the authority of the "Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland and of the United States"; a result which 
 caused a new union, in the organization of a Sovereign and 
 Representative Grand Lodge of the United States ; substantially 
 the same body which has -ever since guided the eventful career 
 of the now mighty system of American Odd Fellowship. 
 
42 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 But we have been led away from the particular purposes of this 
 chapter, which are not to relate that which is generally known, but 
 those things which were the undercurrent, so to speak, which 
 have come down to us mostly by tradition, and which have no 
 record but in these pages. The extension of the system to Bos- 
 ton has been briefly sketched, more with the object of relating 
 the incident that caused it, than the extension itself; the particu- 
 lars attending upon that act, including the pilgrimage of Wildey 
 to the land of steady habits, and his good fortune by the way, 
 will be reserved for the next chapter. We shall now enter our 
 ancient lodge-rooms, and examine into those habits of the early 
 members which, from their effects upon society in general, must 
 have been potent in their influence upon the struggling Order. 
 
 THE CONVIVIAL FEATURE. 
 
 The drinking of beer as a beverage seems to have been carried 
 to England by its Saxon conquerors, as one of the most healthful 
 and delightful of the habits of the fatherland. Its very name is of 
 Teutonic origin ; and although we have information of such drinks 
 so far back as ancient Egypt, yet a more modern authority, 
 Tacitus, assures us that it was in common use with the Germans 
 of his time. Be that as it may, the habit has been so long and 
 thoroughly impressed upon the people of England, as to cause it 
 to be recognized as a sort of popular institution. Indeed, at cer- 
 tain periods and under peculiar circumstances of national history, 
 fermented malt liquors seem to have supplied large masses of its 
 population with both victuals and drink, so that they in time 
 came to be considered as necessaries of life. Notwithstanding 
 all that has been said and sung of the " lioast Beef of Old Eng- 
 land," beer, for the most part, has supplied its place for six days 
 in the week, and, we may add, the seventh also. It does not, 
 therefore, surprise any one to find that, in the earliest organization 
 of Odd Fellowship of which tradition makes any mention, beer 
 drinking was a necessary part of the proceedings. Such also has 
 been the case with those who have succeeded ; for, in accordance 
 with the habits of the English people, the same practice has con- 
 tinued in all branches of the Order in that country, with scarcely 
 an exception, until the present day. When those people emi- 
 grated, like pious ^Eneas, they carried with them their household 
 gods ; for instance, their Odd Fellowship, and with it the time- 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 43 
 
 honored usage of the drinking of beer, as one of its most indis- 
 pensable features. As such persons formed new associations they 
 imparted the habit, and as such associations became American, 
 beer, in many instances, gave place to more popular beverages. 
 Spirituous liquors soon began to supplant the beer ; and what was 
 before comparatively an innocent indulgence, became a serious 
 and growing evil. Such was the condition of every lodge in the 
 summer of 1823. 
 
 THE MARYLAND REFORM. 
 
 But another element had, in the meantime, begun to appear, 
 and to bring with it habits more in unison with the strange com- 
 munity into which they had come. The Order had found advo- 
 cates among the native population, who were gradually being 
 drawn to examine its claims ; many of whom, by this time, were 
 so well satisfied as to enter the lodges, and became able and influ- 
 ential in their counsels. The novelty and excitement of the neo- 
 phytes soon began to wear off, and with them, the veneration that 
 at first attached to many of the usages. These new men were 
 naturally anxious to impress the moral habits of the locality upon 
 those who preferred others of a foreign and different nature. One 
 of the first usages brought in question, was that of the presence 
 of liquor in the lodge-room during the sessions. This abuse, as 
 is usual with old habits, could not easily be reformed. But a 
 crusade was set on foot for its extirpation, by a young member of 
 Washington Lodge, which, after many contests and successive 
 defeats, was at last successful ; a change so vital as eventually 
 to revolutionize the moral character of the American Order, and 
 which was afterwards known as the "MARYLAND REFORM." 
 Augustus Mathiot, then a member of but a few months' standing, 
 had been very badly treated by another society in which he had 
 been proposed for membership, where his application had been 
 rejected on the sole ground that he was a member of " that Bac- 
 chanalian Club of Odd Fellows." He was notified in writing 
 that if he would withdraw from the Odd Fellows, he would gladly 
 be received among them. But young Mathiot was a man of fine 
 intelligence, and understood the situation too well to accept the 
 proposition, and he returned them an answer in which he indig- 
 nantly spurned their offer. But much as he loved the Order, lie 
 t-ould not shut his eyes to the fact that it had given cause for com- 
 
44 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 plaint., and he was deeply wounded at being singled out to suffer 
 for his brethren in a matter which he could neither approve nor 
 defend. Those who knew Bro. Mathiot were aware of his extreme 
 sensibility to anything which affected his reputation with the public. 
 He did not hesitate a moment, but brought the facts at once to the 
 attention of his lodge ; having told his grievance, he changed their 
 indignation to sympathy, by relating the sacrifice he had made 
 and his election never to desert his brethren. But he was 
 induced to go further, and expostulated against the continuance 
 of a practice which exposed them to insult, and exhorted them 
 earnestly to the observance of a stricter regard for public opinion. 
 Hurried on by the impulse, he wrote and offered the following : 
 " Resolved, That this lodge will hereafter abolish the use of liquor 
 of any kind in the Lodge Room." The boldness and suddenness 
 of the movement was so unexpected, and the feeling for Mathiot 
 so strong, that they did not hesitate to act at once upon it. A 
 very feeble opposition was exhibited ; and, strange to say, when 
 the vote was taken, it was very nearly unanimous for its adop- 
 tion. The lesson taught by this proceeding is honorable to all 
 concerned. The old members were w r edded to a practice coeval 
 with the Order and part of its regular " usage." It had become 
 so much a part of the system as to seem a necessity. No voice 
 had ever been heard, before that night, to utter a word of censure 
 of this indispensable appendage ; but a sense of their responsibil- 
 ity, so strikingly presented, discovered the fact that the principles 
 were gradually gaining an ascendancy, at the expense of the prac- 
 tices. It did not accomplish much at the time, but every one 
 could see, in this action, that a total reformation of Lodge convivi- 
 ality was only delayed, and was something that must at length 
 prevail. 
 
 THE RIGHTS OF A HOST. 
 
 But even this small step could not at once be effected, under 
 the terms of the agreement with the landlord of the premises. 
 Heretofore a Host was regarded as an official personage of the 
 highest rank and influence, and his rights as landlord had been 
 more sacredly respected than any other in the whole range of 
 Odd Fellowship. It cannot be doubted that in early times, 
 warrants were nominally issued to lodges, but were designed 
 more for the protection of the landlord and the promotion of his 
 
SCENE. 
 
 DOOR 
 
 LODGE ROOM AT THE THREE LOGGERHEADS. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 4819 TO JANUARY 1822. 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 45 
 
 business than for any other purpose. They all invariably con- 
 tained the same clause found in the Duke of York's Lodge 
 Charter to Washington Lodge, No. 1, viz : 
 
 "And be it further observed, that the said Lodge be not 
 removed from the house of Brother Thomas Woodward, so long 
 as five brothers are agreeable to hold the same." 
 
 This clause gave the Host a proprietary right in the lodge, 
 not to be overcome by a majority vote ; in addition, it became 
 his personal property in this, that so long as four others agreed 
 with him to that end, the lodge was forced to follow him to 
 every new location where fortune or inclination might lead him. 
 This was submitted to, somewhat ungraciously, and the feeling 
 on the subject was not improved by the fact that a change had 
 been made from Woodward's, under circumstances to show that 
 great injury might ensue from such a relation; so that when 
 the dispensation was presented by the Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 to Washington Lodge, it was made to read: "To establish a 
 Lodge in any convenient place, to be hailed by the title of the 
 Washington Lodge, No. 1." In the case of Brother Mathiot's 
 resolution, nothing could be done without a change in the place 
 of meeting; for Brother Adams, the Host, who succeeded 
 Blakeley, looked upon the whole proceeding as tending to lessen 
 his importance and injure his business; hence, he very naturally 
 felt that he was selected for personal insult on the part of the 
 lodge. He therefore insisted on such of his rights as were 
 usual, even when the liquor was absent from the room, and so, 
 during that part of the business known as "HARMONY," continued 
 to solicit custom, and to bring into the lodge-room such refresh- 
 ments as visitors or members might desire. P. G. Sire Kennedy, 
 a short time before his death, made this note on the subject : 
 "Mrs. Eliza J. Adams, the widow of Host William Adams, 
 still resides in the same house in which the lodge met in 1823, 
 and within the past year, in a conversation witli the writer and 
 Brother Mathiot, she said that she received the information of 
 the vote with much pleasure, as she had previously told her 
 husband it was a pity that a society that had so much in its 
 favor should spoil it all by indulging in drink." Past Grand 
 Master Mathiot continued his membership in Washington Lodge, 
 and his residence in Baltimore, until his death on the 12th day 
 of July, 1872. He will have clue notice of the most honorable 
 
46 AMERICAN" ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 kind, in the proper place in this volume, among the leading spirits 
 of the Order. It is well to note, in this connection, that Mathiot 
 had been anticipated by the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of 
 the United States, which in its Constitution adopted April 13> 
 1823, placed this paragraph : 
 
 " AKT. II. No refreshments shall be allowed in the Lodge 
 Room during its session." 
 
 But we have no reason to believe that it was made known to 
 the lodges in any way ; certainly it was not printed, and no 
 means were devised for the circulation of the instrument of 
 which it was a part. But it clearly indicates that Boyd, who 
 served on the committee with Wildey and Larkam, and who no 
 doubt prepared the paper, was fully alive to the exigencies of 
 the future. True, the prohibition applied only to the sessions of 
 the Grand Lodge; but it is memorable as the first known 
 instance on record, of a restriction of the kind having had an 
 existence in the Order. It is claimed, but we cannot say upon 
 what evidence, that it w T as sent to the Manchester Unity, and 
 caused a slight sensation. At the session held by the "Man- 
 chester Movable Committee," at Hawley, Staffordshire, on May 
 19, 1823, they took this action : 
 
 "Resolved, that no liquor be allowed in the Committee Room 
 before dinner." 
 
 The movement was scarcely perceptible, and never came to 
 anything, and may rather indeed be put down as something 
 accidental and of no serious meaning. No further step by that 
 body has ever been taken, although great efforts have been made 
 with that object. One may judge how they are subjugated to 
 the " old usage " by a late occurrence. At the session of the 
 "Annual Movable Committee," held at Lancaster on May 20, 
 1872, a resolution was introduced to the effect, " that no liquor 
 be allowed during the sittings of this meeting " ; but an over- 
 whelming majority suppressed it, and in the excitement pro- 
 duced by such a daring proposal a motion like to have prevailed 
 for the repeal of the resolution of 1823. 
 
 But, to return to Brother Mathiot's resolution and the results 
 that shortly after followed. It so happened that the Masonic 
 Hall, erected by that body, was soon after completed, or nearly 
 so, and lodges of that fraternity began to remove to its better 
 accommodations on St. Paul's Lane, in a central part of the 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 47 
 
 city. By this rrreans several meeting rooms formerly occupied 
 by them became vacant. A committee was at once appointed to 
 engage and appropriately fit up one of these rooms. The com- 
 mittee, of which Brother Boyd was chairman, selected a room in 
 a locality where no liquor was sold. It was in the second story 
 of an extensive clothing store, at the intersection of Cheapside, 
 Calvert and Water Streets. With great expedition it was 
 suitably fitted up for their uses, and the whole Order in Balti- 
 more took immediate possession ; the Order, of course, consisting 
 only of Washington and Franklin Lodges. But before the 
 lodges were settled in the place, it was discovered that a member 
 of the Order had obtained possession of a store on Calvert Street, 
 and was fitting it up as a drinking place. This discovery caused 
 a change in the original plan, which w T as to have a drinking 
 place on the premises, but at a distance from the lodge-room. 
 So, to disappoint the brother, and put a stop to his business, they 
 hit on the expedient of fitting up an apartment connected with 
 the anteroom, where all demands for refreshments could be 
 supplied. It was gravely claimed at the time, that this was not 
 in violation of the resolution, as they were not spread out in 
 open lodge-room. This arrangement checkmated the brother, 
 but did not do much for temperance. A brother who furnishes 
 these items, says, naively enough : " Under these circumstances the 
 Lodge became reconciled to the arrangement" We should think 
 so. A more bungling attempt at reformation was never made. 
 The lodge now became its own landlord, and actually hired a 
 Host and bought the stock, so that all the profits went into the 
 lodge treasury. This was reform " with a vengeance," and much 
 solid satisfaction was no doubt felt that the lodge was now both 
 landlord and customer. It was with many a smile that they 
 greeted the young brother who had rid them of a Host. 
 Thus Mathiot's reform, w r hich was theoretically a great success, 
 by a single stroke of rather humorous strategy became a practical 
 failure. 
 
 FRANKLIN LODGE, NO. 2, IN 1823. 
 
 But we retiirn to Franklin Lodge, No. 2, which for some 
 time occupied the same room with the Washington Lodge at 
 Host Adams'. According to the then operative theory, nothing 
 less than an extreme necessity could excuse it ; and it must have 
 
48 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 been regarded by every one at the time, as a gross innovation on 
 " ancient usage " ; for that code allowed no two lodges to be 
 located in the same neighborhood, to say nothing of the same 
 house. But Franklin Lodge had also been unfortunate in its 
 place of meeting ; never keeping any location, but holding its 
 sessions first in one public-house and then in another, until by 
 some accident, one cannot say how, it . was found in the early 
 part of 1823, occupant of the same room with Washington Lodge. 
 At this period there was a prosperous turn to its affairs, for it is 
 estimated that it began to number about the same as Washington 
 Lodge. This was the judgment of one who saw it in procession 
 at the funeral of a member of that lodge in the spring of 1823. 
 As this was the first public funeral of the kind in this country, 
 of which we have any knowledge, we furnish its description 
 from an eye-witness well able to describe it. The story is told 
 by Past Grand Sire Kennedy. 
 
 FIRST PUBLIC ODD FELLOw's FUNERAL. 
 
 "In the early spring of 1823, Andrew Wark, a member of 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 2, while engaged in superintending a shad 
 fishery on the shore of Chesapeake bay, was accidentally knocked 
 overboard by the boom of his vessel and drowned. His body was 
 found, and brought for interment to his home in Baltimore, on 
 Bridge (Gray) Street, near High. On the day of the funeral, the 
 widow informed the writer that her husband would be buried at 
 night, as the society of which he was a member buried its dead 
 at midnight. The time fixed for the funeral was ten o'clock 
 P. M., when, with several friends, we were punctually present. 
 The lodge, however, did not appear so early ; but it was there in 
 ample time, with a band of six or seven pieces, which marched 
 in front. The procession came to view as a great glare of light 
 as it was crossing the bridge, illuminating the street through the 
 middle of which it was passing. To an unpracticed eye the pro- 
 cession seemed to be in the utmost disorder, as the column of sev- 
 enty or eighty men took position in front of the late domicile of 
 the deceased. The chief officer, probably the marshal, was the 
 only person of the party of whom we had any knowledge ; Eze- 
 kiel C. Gill, a trunk-maker, was well known to us, but not favor- 
 ably. He was very busy up and down the line, keeping the column 
 in order, as we foolishly supposed. But that was our mistake. 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 49 
 
 We did not know that good order in those ranks consisted in pre- 
 serving the sections in such a way as to have not more than five 
 iiles in each, and in no case to have an even number of files in a 
 section. By such an arrangement, everybody could readily see 
 that they were Odd Fellows. Marshal Gill was kept hard at 
 work preserving the equipoise of the sections ; that is, a front of 
 one, three or five files. Officers and members were in appropri- 
 ate lodge costume ; gowns, caps, sashes, collars and aprons, of 
 white, black, blue and scarlet colors. The gowns, as a general 
 thing, had been made to fit much larger men ; the same was true 
 of the caps, which were fashioned after the forms of crowns and 
 coronets. Each officer bore the emblem of his office in his hand. 
 Six or seven of the members were in deep mourning, and occu- 
 pied the center of the crowd. These were enveloped in narrow 
 strips of black muslin or crape, which hung from their hats almost 
 to the ground. They bore black rods, eight or ten feet long, sur- 
 mounted by spheres of some kind ; the spheres covered with black 
 cloth, with black streamers, three or four feet long, pendant. 
 Every person not provided with an official emblem of some sort, 
 bore a flaming torch. Some of the torches we recognized as 
 belonging to a fire company in the neighborhood ; others of them 
 were extemporized for the occasion ; many of the latter resembled 
 the rope torches said to have been used by the ancients on sim- 
 ilar occasions. At eleven o'clock P. M. the coffin was brought 
 forth and placed in a hearse, which then took position in the cen- 
 ter of the column ; the bearers of the black spheres surrounded 
 the hearse, as if acting as pall-bearers. The line of march was 
 then taken up, with solemn music and slow steps, toward the 
 churchyard ; the distance of half or three-quarters of a mile was 
 accomplished a few minutes before midnight. The remains were 
 then silently lowered into the grave ; not a word was spoken ; but 
 each member then threw one or two shovelfuls of earth upon 
 the coffin, until the grave was filled up. The procession reformed 
 its disordered ranks, the mutes, as before, in the center, and 
 
 departed as it came." 
 * 
 
 COLUMBIA LODGE, NO. 3. 
 
 But we return to the narrative. The active progress of the 
 Order in 1823, w r as evinced by the organization of a third lodge 
 in Baltimore. Several members of Franklin Lodge, Xo. 2, resid- 
 4 
 
50 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ing in the eastern portion of the city, were not pleased with the 
 new lodge location, regarding it as remote and inconvenient. 
 They therefore determined, if they could procure suitable accom- 
 modations in " Old Town," to open a lodge in that part of the 
 city. These they were enabled to procure, through the assistance 
 of G. M. Wildey. The following names appear in the applica- 
 tion for a charter : P. G. Thomas Scotchburn, P. Y. G. Samuel 
 Bickley, and brothers Saunders, Steward, Turnbull, Moore and 
 Winn, all of Franklin Lodge. The petition asks that the lodge 
 may be styled " Columbia Lodge, No. 3," and may be allowed to 
 meet on Wednesday nights. The grant was made as requested, 
 at a session of the Grand Lodge held November 22d, 1823, and 
 the lodge was organized on December 17th, 1823, at Colvin's 
 Stone Tavern. The records of the lodge show that the event 
 was one of no small importance. All the Grand Officers were 
 present : G. M. Thomas Wildey, D. G. M. John Welch, G. W. 
 Thomas Mitchell, G. Sec'y John P. Entwisle, A. G. Sec'y Maur- 
 ice Femiell, G. C. Charles Common, G. G. pro tern., P. G. John 
 Nelson, and Past Grands Williams and Bannister, N. G. Havins, 
 of Washington Lodge, and N. G. Roach, of Franklin Lodge, 
 " together with a very respectable and numerous collection of 
 brothers of the Order." In fact, it was a gala occasion, which had 
 drawn together what was substantially the whole Order in Balti- 
 more. After the lodge had been formally instituted, by virtue 
 of a special resolution of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Officers 
 retained the chairs and received proposals for membership. Re- 
 ports were made and four candidates were unanimously elected ; 
 whereupon Thomas Charters and Joshua Yansant " were brought 
 forward and duly made." The lodge then proceeded to the elec- 
 tion of officers, w^hen the following named were elected " without 
 opposition," and w r ere duly installed: P. G. Scotchburn, N. G.; 
 Brother Steward, Y. G.; and P. Y. G. Bickley, Secretary. The 
 following appointed officers w r ere then also installed: Brother 
 Moore, Warden ; Bro. Yansant, Conductor ; Bro. Saunders, Guar- 
 dian ; Bro. Turnbull, R. H. S. of N. G., and Bro. Charters, R. IL 
 S. of Y. G. It will strike the reader, especially if he be of Mary- 
 land, or a member of the Grand Lodge of the United Sates, that 
 the new lodge was fortunate indeed in one of its initiates. That 
 must have been the opinion of the Noble Grand when young 
 Yansant was chosen as the Conductor. But that preference was 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 51 
 
 only indicative of the fact that he was a youth of promise ; for he 
 was poor and friendless, and was beginning life at the bottom 
 of the ladder. He had just come of age; a humble mechanic, 
 with no prospect before him of rising above the level of the toil- 
 ing masses. Plunging into the wide world, he disappears from 
 our gaze, and even for a time from the Order. But this was 
 owing to the res angusta domi of a young husband and father 
 just entering upon the responsible duties of domestic life. Soon 
 he will be seen emerging from his retirement, a successful work- 
 man, taking place among his fellows, and doing manly and effec- 
 tive service for his lodge and the Order. Henceforth he devotes 
 himself to the cause, as one who never tires in welldoing. 
 A born leader, he makes himself felt in all directions, and as a 
 representative man of the people, is second to none in winning 
 the public favor for the Order in the place of its nativity. By 
 superior talent and vigor he rises to fill high places in the 
 State, sitting in and sometimes presiding over a convention to 
 revise its Constitution, and devising and superintending many of 
 the greatest institutions of his city, with an integrity and capa- 
 city that gained for him the popular sobriquet of " Honest 
 Joshua." In the meanwhile he serves a term in the Congress of 
 the United States, when to do so was a badge of honor ; and now y 
 after three-score years and ten of active life, we see him retiring 
 with applause from his second term as Mayor of the great city of 
 his residence. In this tribute to a Past Grand Master and Past 
 Grand Patriarch and Past Grand Representative to the Congress 
 of the Order, one may recognize the well-known Grand Treasurer 
 of the Grand Lodge of the United States, who has long been one 
 of its most trusted and honored officers. Public duty and per- 
 sonal worth, as well as private friendship, incite us to give him 
 here and now the meed to which he is entitled by the common 
 voice of the brotherhood. 
 
 But we return to the proceedings of the first meeting of the 
 third lodge. At the time of the delivery to the lodge of the dis- 
 pensation under which it was authorized to work, the Grand 
 Master addressed the brethren in fitting words. 
 
 ADDRESS OF GRAND MASTER WILDEY. 
 
 *' Most Noble Grand, Vice Grand, Officers and Brothers : 
 
 " In committing this dispensation to your charge and into 
 
52 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 your safe-keeping, the Grand Lodge executes one of the most 
 pleasing and delightful tasks which fall within the lines of its 
 duty to perform ; and you, in receiving it, lay yourselves under 
 the most serious responsibility you can possibly undertake. 
 Well acquainted as some of you are with the nature of those 
 engagements which bind Odd Fellows together, yet the Grand 
 Lodge deems it neither unnecessary nor inexpedient to remind 
 you of some of them, as well to stimulate to activity and perse- 
 verance those who have already traveled the beaten track, as to 
 diffuse light and impart instruction to the young and inexpe- 
 rienced, though worthy, brothers of the Order. You are now 
 vested with the legitimate authority to admit to the benefits and 
 honors of our institution such persons as may apply, who, after 
 due and circumspect investigation, may be found worthy of the 
 distinguished favor. In so doing, you are admitting members 
 into a family as extensive in its connections, its operations, and 
 its claims as the habitable globe itself. Every person so admitted 
 must become an honor or a disgrace, an ornament and support, 
 or a blemish and burden, to our fraternity. The effect of useful 
 or baneful admissions to membership will not be confined to your 
 lodge alone, but will affect, for good or evil, the whole body of 
 Odd Fellowship. If caution and care are necessary when per- 
 sons are received into societies dispensing ordinary benefits, 
 whose social relations extend no further than to their own indi- 
 vidual membership, how much more should you exercise caution 
 and care, when your admissions are into a fraternity of limitless 
 extent; laying open to those you receive, the privileges which do 
 not belong to us alone, but which are the joint possession of bro- 
 thers in the most distant lands, who are equally interested with 
 ourselves in preserving the dearest and inalienable rights of our 
 fraternity. While exercising this very necessary prudence, we 
 must remember, on the other hand, that no proper exertion ought 
 to be omitted to increase the usefulness and secure the respecta- 
 bility of the Order, by the introduction of such members as will 
 become a credit to our society, and by the careful instruction 
 and promotion of those who may prove themselves worthy of a 
 name and place amongst us. On yourselves depends principally 
 the success of your infant lodge. Regular attendance at its meet- 
 ings, and a personal deportment becoming our laudable profes- 
 sion, will not fail to secure for each of you a favorable position 
 
l:ii ii 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 53 
 
 among your brothers, and have the effect of placing your lodge 
 on the most respectable footing in numerical strength and pecu- 
 niary possessions. By such a course, individually as members, 
 you will enable your lodge to elevate your most useful brothers, 
 and, in due time, to transfer their services to that Grand Body 
 whose more immediate province it is to strengthen, increase and 
 bind together the fraternity, even to its most distant branches; 
 to contrive, deliberate on, arid execute plans of extensive benevo- 
 lence and operative charity, and to cause fragrant incense to 
 rise from the altar of Benevolence to cheer the dreary moments of 
 suffering humanity; that the bereaved and distressed widow 
 and the orphan may thereby be relieved ; whilst the brother who 
 by his mite has contributed to the happy result, can return to 
 his home with the soothing reflection that he has done his duty 
 as a man, and has another claim to the name of an Odd Fellow. 
 It is difficult to enjoy prosperity without going into excess in 
 enjoyments. Odd Fellowship surmounts the difficulty by its pro- 
 visions for disposing out of our abundance a portion for those 
 who may need the overplus. It is also difficult to stand firmly 
 under the iron pressure of adversity. But Odd Fellowship light- 
 ens that evil, and alleviates its crushing force on those in trouble, 
 by attending to the sick, by speaking words of consolation to the 
 dying, and by performing faithfully the last duties the living owe 
 to the dead. You, Most Noble Grand, Vice Grand, Officers and 
 Brothers, commence your career under favorable circumstances. 
 You have before you, as glorious exemplars, the Washington and 
 Franklin Lodges, which have weathered every storm and over- 
 come every difficulty that obstructed their course ; and they will 
 rejoice to see Columbia Lodge, JS r o. 3, in the enjoyment of a pros- 
 perity e<jiial to their own, while united to them as a third link in 
 the Odd Fellowship of Maryland, of the United States, and of 
 the world." 
 
 It seems that all this elaboration was to instruct in the mode 
 to be adopted, to set a lodge of the period at work successfully. 
 
 COLVIN'S STONE TAVERN. 
 
 The place selected for the meetings of the new lodge was at 
 "The Stone Tavern,' 1 at the northeast corner of Bridge (Gay) 
 and Front Streets, where humble accommodations were provided 
 by Mr. Sheppard, the landlord, at the moderate rental of twenty- 
 
54 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 five dollars per annum. The most notable incident which came 
 of this lodge extension, was the revival of the theory of reform 
 on the subject of liquor. One of the conditions on which the 
 apartment had been hired, provided that no refreshment of any 
 kind, except water, should be furnished either in the lodge or 
 anteroom. The low rate of rent, however, clearly indicates 
 that Mr. Sheppard thought he had good reason to believe that 
 what he might lose above stairs would be amply compensated for 
 at the bar below. But the event did not justify his conclusion, 
 for the members avoided the liquor with the utmost fidelity, and 
 drove the landlord to despair. He found he had made a bad 
 bargain, and in the short space of three months he gave 
 them formal notice to quit. This unexpected turn of affairs 
 made it necessary for the members to seek another place where 
 they would be more likely to find greater security. 
 
 From the very beginning, G. M. Wildey had manifested the 
 deepest interest in all that concerned the new enterprise. The 
 lodge had already recognized his devotion by voting him a medal 
 on January 18, 1824, and it was natural that the brothers should 
 seek him for advice in the emergency. He at once made the 
 cause his own, and, just as two years before he had succored 
 Washington Lodge when suddenly deprived of its place of 
 meeting, he now tendered to them the use of rooms in the house 
 he then occupied at the corner of Bridge (Gay) and Jones (Front) 
 Streets. After reflection, the lodge proposed to hire the rooms, 
 and fit them up for its use and occupation. Wildey at once 
 acceded to the offer, and knowing the fiscal inability of the lodge, 
 tendered the loan of funds necessary for putting the premises in 
 order. The money was accepted and the w r ork promptly com- 
 pleted, and on the 21st of April, 1824, Columbia Lodge, No. 3, 
 was permanently located at Brother Wildey 's house, at a rent of 
 sixty dollars per annum. Here the lodge remained until joined 
 by the other two lodges, and this was the central point where all 
 assembled until they removed to the new hall in Gay Street on 
 April 26, 1831. Thus we have traced the Order in Maryland to 
 Wildey's house, where it finds a shelter from the world ; and we 
 can imagine the paternal pride which was constantly gratified by 
 the presence of this loving band of grateful children. What 
 
WASHINGTON LODGE. 55 
 
 house but that of the COMMON FATHER has room for the teeming 
 thousands of their equally grateful posterity ? 
 
 A MEETING OF WASHINGTON LODGE IN 1821. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with a scene not drawn from the un- 
 real, but exhibited in life-like colors in the graphic narrative of a 
 witness whose evidence will assure us that such things have been. 
 Past Grand Sire Kennedy leaves this most interesting fragment : 
 
 " During the summer of 1821, on a very warm evening, the 
 writer, in company with a friend, undertook a ramble through 
 the streets of Baltimore ; those less frequented by night were 
 selected. Passing along the lower part of Frederick Street, their 
 attention was drawn to a crowd in front of a public-house. Its 
 sign was swinging from a projecting beam, upon each side of 
 which were painted two extremely ugly faces, with the legend above 
 them * WE THREE LOGGERHEADS BE.' In answer to an inquiry, 
 we were informed that they were listening to the singing at the 
 Loggerheads. On looking closer, we found a large room in the 
 second story ; it was well lighted, and pretty well filled with people. 
 At the moment a noisy commotion seemed to be prevailing ; but 
 by three vigorous blows of a mallet, an orderly silence was pro- 
 duced. There were no blinds to either of the three windows, 
 and the sash was arranged for the freest circulation ; that is, both 
 of air and sound. All at once the silence w T as broken ; a deep 
 tenor voice rendered ' Old King Cole ' with all the original varia- 
 tions ; the vocal imitations of the four-and-twenty fiddlers, fifers, 
 drummers, &c., were loudly given, amid thunders of applause. 
 This was followed by a soliloquy from Richard III, in imitation 
 of a great actor of that day. This was well received. There 
 was then a hubbub of internal commotion, which lasted until 
 stopped again by the loud-sounding mallet. A sweet, delicate 
 voice then executed i The Poor Little Sweep.' This was ren- 
 dered with a pathos that not only had the loud applause of the 
 inside audience, but also of the delighted listeners on the outside. 
 At this stage, my friend and myself concluded to obtain a more 
 favorable position for the enjoyment of the treat. Accordingly, 
 we entered the bar-room and inquired, ' What is the charge to the 
 free and easy ? ' The barkeeper indignantly replied, ' There is no 
 free and heasy here, it's the Hodd Fellows' lodge that is above.' 
 To our remark that it was all the same, the Bardolph of the bar 
 
56 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 informed us that we knew ' nothing about it.' This was literally 
 true, for we had never heard of such a society before. To our 
 further inquiry, ' Well, how are we to get in?' we were informed 
 that we must be first proposed, and if of good moral character, 
 might be admitted at some future meeting. After this rebuke we 
 returned to the open street, drank in several other Choice pieces- 
 of music, and then, very much delighted, returned to our homes. 
 This was my first introduction to Odd Fellowship; this my first 
 knowledge of Washington Lodge, the Mother of the Order in 
 America." 
 
 This lodge still retains its vitality, and does its first works 
 with energy and success. Its record for 1877 gives 152 con- 
 tributing members, the number drawing dues for sickness 24 ; 
 deaths 6. It has paid during the year $245 to the Grand Lodge ; 
 funeral benefits $500 ; donations $62, and to sick brothers $56L 
 The funeral expenses were $180, and the total receipts $1642. 
 Thus it will appear that Wildey's original lodge has kept its 
 place with unflinching integrity : it has never been suspended, 
 and has always answered the roll-call in the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland. 
 
JOHN BOYD. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 JOHN BOYD. 
 
 We have had occasion to speak of a class of men peculiar to 
 Odd Fellowship Britons of the middle rank, full of national 
 peculiarities and wedded to narrow prejudices. But they had 
 also rugged virtues, were honest, capable and persevering, and 
 always commanded a certain respect and confidence. Of such 
 were the men who came to us with fraternity, arid who were 
 the early fathers of the Order in America. When left to them- 
 selves, these mystic brethren knew nothing beyond the lessons 
 they had learned at home. These were few, but they were good 
 and fruitful. Brotherly kindness and conviviality were to them 
 sacred and indissoluble. If they worshipped after the manner 
 of the ancients, it was to do honor to Harpocrates for his silence, 
 and to Bacchus for the pleasures of the foaming cup. But they 
 knew nothing of mythology. Theirs was the lot of poverty and 
 labor, and the lodge a refuge from the cold neglect which belonged 
 to a humble station. That circle could not be elevated whose 
 centre was a public-house, and its oracle the rubicund and jolly 
 host. Nor could one look for much among illiterate mechanics 
 and laborers, stereotyped by the English system into a stolid mass 
 which could hardly ferment and rise under laws made for 
 their superiors. Of the original colleagues of Wildey in Wash- 
 ington Lodge, but one remained in the Order until after the 
 decade. John Boyd is a name identified with early Odd Fellow- 
 ship in all its stages, until it passed into the hands of Wildey's 
 successors. This canny, sober and grave Scotchman was for 
 many years a sort of fixture. He was seldom absent from the 
 counsels of the pioneers, and his sharp countenance and high 
 cheekbones, lighted up by gray eyes full of penetration, were 
 indicative of the sagacity for which he was noted. He was 
 born in the year 1787, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and came to this 
 country as an ordinary laborer in the year 1817. His first place 
 of residence was in Lovely Lane, situated very near the centre 
 
 (57) 
 
58 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 of Baltimore. He was at that time a sawyer of veneering for 
 cabinetware. Soon afterwards lie turned in another Direction, 
 and the business was dropped. lie then formed a partnership 
 with Duncan McCormick to conduct an eating and drinking 
 house. This arrangement did not long continue; McCormick 
 lost his health and retired ; this was the brother who was after- 
 wards admitted to the Grand Lodge of Maryland and the United 
 States on the 22d of February, 1822. Boyd then set up for 
 himself. He hired a cellar on South near Baltimore Street, and 
 fitted it up for the sale of oysters and liquors. This was the 
 commencement of a prosperous career. He added to this busi- 
 ness that of the bottling of cider, ale and porter, which soon 
 brought a large and lucrative patronage. It was during these 
 transactions that he met the originators of Odd Fellowship in 
 Maryland. The date of his entering Washington Lodge is not 
 known, but it was in 1819, and soon after the society was insti- 
 tuted. It is not certain whether he entered by card or initiation, 
 some supposing him before that time an English brother. At all 
 events he was known in the lodge as Number 19, that being the 
 number which he formed by his accession to the body ; for, in 
 those times, the successive admissions were numbered according 
 to seniority. Nineteen was certainly a place not far from the 
 beginning. He must have been from the first a standard 
 member. At all events we find him on the Committee of Past 
 Grands, and acting with that body on the 7th of February, 1821, 
 when they solicited the English Charter from Washington Lodge. 
 He was at that preliminary meeting elected both Grand Treas- 
 urer and Grand Guardian, and was installed into both offices on 
 the 22d of February, when the first Grand Body was formed. 
 From this time we will find him a part of the official bureau, 
 until the Grand Lodge of Maryland and the United States was 
 dissolved. Whatever other changes were made, Boyd remained. 
 He was constantly made Guardian without any opposition. As 
 Treasurer he was an indispensable adjunct, In those days of 
 lax performance of such duty he was a model officer. His 
 quarterly reports were the only business transacted strictly in 
 due time and with unfailing regularity. He was one of the 
 original five who first received the Golden Rule Degree. In 
 connection with Wildey and Entwisle, he reported the first con- 
 stitution which was adopted. On the 22d of February, 1822, 
 
JOHN BOYD. 59 
 
 the minutes state a singular fact. They say : " G. Guardian 
 Boyd presented two-eighths of tickets of the Washington Monu- 
 ment Lottery, purchased for the use of the Grand Lodge. The 
 numbers were 12594 and 15." This tallies with a tradition that 
 lie had sometimes a penchant for lotteries. It is said that he drew 
 a prize of $2000, and afterwards refused to buy tickets. This 
 sum was invested in stocks, and after some years they rose to the 
 value of $15,000. Be that as it may, this well-intended benefac- 
 tion w r as not fortunate, and Odd Fellowship drew no prize in 
 that wheel of fortune. That lie had education may be inferred 
 from the fact that he was made chairman of the committee to 
 write to Boston in 1S23 when that State was drifting into 
 anarchy. He was a party to every movement up to the eventful 
 meeting which dissolved the body, and transferred Odd Fellow- 
 ship to the separate Grand Lodge of the United States. At the 
 preliminary meeting he acted as Proxy Representative for Penn- 
 sylvania. This honorable position was assigned him in 1825, '6 
 and '7, when he gave way to Representative Pearce, who had 
 been elected to the place. He appears again as Proxy Repre- 
 sentative for Delaware in 1831, when he drops from that record. 
 At the separation of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, when it 
 took a charter from the separate Grand Lodge of the United 
 States, Boyd was nominated for Grand Master, but declined. If 
 he had stood the ballot his election was certain, but he was firm in 
 his refusal. Such offices he had resolved never to occupy. The 
 sturdy Scotchman was averse to all meretricious distinction and 
 display. He loved the Order, and delighted in its work ; but 
 his ideas of Odd Fellowship were mainly confined to its finances, 
 and the benefits which flowed from a full treasury. A good bus- 
 iness man, he aimed at order and lodge system as the true basis 
 of prosperity. In those days of poverty he was the honest guar- 
 dian of the funds the sheet-anchor of all material prosperity. 
 He did not, on occasions, refuse to make advances ; and in his 
 hands the indigence of the Order was made respectable, by the 
 attention he bestowed upon every fiscal arrangement. But he was 
 only willing to be treasurer whilst his services were indispensable. 
 He also served as Grand Guardian because he was thus useful, 
 without being disturbed with ambitious projects. He was, in 
 one respect, an ancient Odd Fellow, who would not be changed. 
 In the old system of independent lodges, the highest rank was 
 
60 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 that of Past Grand. He had won the title, and his aspirations 
 were satisfied. In fact, lie looked npon the new titles as merely 
 ornamental. A Past Grand was, in his eyes, a king of men, and 
 could not therefore rise any higher. He clung to the title and 
 the rights of that place with a peculiar tenacity. Thus he was 
 known as THE PAST GRAND. 
 
 In the business transacted he was always prominent. In 1826 
 he was on the committees to revise and have the charge books 
 printed, to procure a room for the meetings of the subordinate 
 lodges, and to regulate' the payment of dues. He was the author 
 of the first resolution fixing the order of taking the degrees, and 
 of the letter to Pennsylvania explaining the use of the sign and 
 grip. He also aided in procuring the copper-plate for printing 
 certificates. He was one of those to whom was referred the con- 
 stitution which was approved, and is known as the amended con- 
 stitution of 1829. He, with Marley and Mathiot, drafted the 
 form of visiting card adopted. Above all, he w r as a useful mem- 
 ber of the committee which designed and built the Odd Fellows 1 
 Hall on Gay Street. In that he took 20 shares of stock. In 
 1831 he consented to serve as Grand Treasurer, and was duly 
 elected. This was his last office in the Order. Nothing but the 
 exigency of building and paying for the new hall could have in- 
 duced him to serve. Having adjusted the matter successfully, 
 he, in due time, finally resigned. About this time began the 
 controversy which arose from the admission of Scarlet Members 
 into the Grand Lodge, which will be detailed in the biography 
 of Marley. He was decidedly in favor of the measure, and vigor- 
 ously supported it. There were various reasons which led others 
 to vote for it, but Boyd was actuated by principle. It began by 
 a petition from the subordinates for " a fair representation in the 
 Grand Lodge." This meant that members of the latter body 
 should not be required to be Past Grands. Such a doctrine com- 
 mended itself to Boyd as eminently proper. Under the indivi- 
 dual and independent lodge system, each lodge was both a subor- 
 dinate and Grand Lodge. It was created by a single lodge, and 
 created other lodges in its turn. It was generally both a subor- 
 dinate and Grand Lodge ; a subordinate, as being limited by its 
 charter and by ancient usage, and a Grand Lodge to grant char- 
 ters. It is true that Past Grands were superior to the other mem- 
 bers, but that was only in degree. They all met together for lodge 
 
JOHN BOYD. 61 
 
 "business. The committee of Past Grands indeed met separately, 
 "but not to legislate. That committee could only advise. Its 
 recommendations could be heeded or rejected, at pleasure. All 
 the power was in the body of the membership, and the form of 
 government might be called democratic. The theory of the new 
 men was, to the contrary, one of a separate Grand Lodge, confined 
 to Past Grands alone. The lodges could only send their Past 
 Grands to that body, and thus select their representatives from 
 that superior class alone. To this, ancient usage could not give 
 its assent, and any measure which secured personal representa- 
 tion to members of the subordinate lodge, had the charm of use 
 and tradition to assist it. Past Grand Boyd broke his usual 
 silence to advocate the proposition. Finding that he could not 
 effect the purpose by obtaining a vote sufficient to amend the 
 constitution of the Grand Lodge, he voted with the majority to 
 admit Scarlet Degree members to that body. This was for a 
 time successful, until, as related elsewhere, the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States destroyed this singular anomaly by appropriate 
 legislation. 
 
 When the Gay Street Hall was completed Boyd became one of 
 the board of managers. In another place whe have related the story 
 of the spurious lodge which grew out of the admission to the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland of Scarlet Degree members. In January, 
 1833, Boyd, with four others, one of whom was Past Grand Ken- 
 nedy, afterwards Grand Sire, was appointed to reconcile the diffi- 
 culty. This was not accomplished. A general law was immedi- 
 ately passed, under which the offending members were expelled, 
 and Boyd voted heartily with the majority. The vote stood 59 
 ayes to 31 nays. In 1834 the members expelled, with one accord, 
 sought to return to the fold. Some were received back, but the 
 majority were rejected; Boyd always voting to receive them. 
 This unfavorable action seems to have affected the Past Grand 
 deeply. He was among new men, who were fast forgetting his 
 honorable services, and he found his influence on the decline. 
 His private business had pressing claims upon him, and he turned 
 from the lodges to the congenial business of making money. In 
 fact there was nothing but routine work to be done in the Order ; 
 it was fully established, so that he could leave it to younger men. 
 He had been gradually enlarging his ventures. The courthouse 
 in Baltimore is built on a steep declivity, hence, on the street 
 
62 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 at its foot there was a large space left under the square of the 
 "building. This was fitted up as a very large cellar. He rented 
 and used it for the bottling business on a large scale. His sales 
 brought him excellent profits. He was now possessed of a large 
 capital. He accordingly purchased the well-known Gilmor resi- 
 dence and an adjoining property on South Gay Street. This he im- 
 proved greatly. Here were his offices, workshops and storerooms 
 during the remainder of his life. But this required only part of his 
 capital. He built a malt-house at the foot of Eutaw Street, and con- 
 ducted the business of malting. Everything prospered with him, 
 and he became wealthy. "When the Front Street Theatre was 
 built he became one of the stockholders. In course of time he 
 bought a country-seat in the vicinity of the city, where he lived 
 in ease and plenty, and where his descendants now reside. He- 
 was always highly esteemed in business and social circles. As 
 a Scotchman, he was proud of his nationality. He was for a long 
 time president and vice-president of the Burns Club of Baltimore, 
 and took an active part in its transactions. He was of those 
 whose " word was as good as his money." Although he ceased 
 to attend the Grand Lodge, he never neglected Washington 
 Lodge, No. 1. He was there held in profound respect, as one of 
 the venerated Fathers. His sagacity and prudence were the theme 
 of eulogy. In all financial affairs lie was an oracle. Nor was he 
 unmindful of the courtesies of life. Among his intimates he was 
 cordial and full of interest. He had been a close observer, and 
 was well versed in men and affairs. When friendship called he 
 was always ready to advise and help, and to a tried brother was 
 true as steel. Nor did his caution, industry and money-mak- 
 ing cause him to neglect his duty to humanity. In a good cause 
 he was liberal, and on proper occasions led the way to administer 
 benevolence. As a prudent citizen, whose integrity was beyond 
 question, he was by every one respected. 
 
 On great occasions in Odd Fellowship, Boyd felt a return of his 
 old interest in the cause. His last appearance in public was on 
 the occasion of the death of his great leader. He was present 
 at the Wildey eulogy by Ttidgely, and with deep emotion grasped 
 the orator with both hands in a warm embrace of mingled grief 
 and satisfaction ; grief at his loss, delight to find his countryman 
 upon a pinnacle of world-wide fame. Well might he be proud 
 at the rehearsal of that obscure history to such an audience ! to 
 
JOHN BOYD. 63 
 
 hear the old, half-forgotten names uttered by so many voices, 
 calling them into new life ; to have spread before him the scenes 
 of his early manhood ; to awake to the fact that he had been a 
 contemporary of historical men, and had helped them to make 
 history ! How thrilling was the contrast of the vast theatre with 
 the "Seven Stars" and the "Three Loggerheads"! The old 
 Treasurer and Guardian of the infant Grand Lodge of but five 
 members, saw himself surrounded by a Supreme Grand Lodge 
 from all parts of the continent, a picked senate from a vast con- 
 stituency. His face was radiant with happiness, and his heart 
 solaced with a consciousness that virtue was at length rewarded. 
 He never dropped from the roll of Washington Lodge until he 
 left the world. As the old members disappeared, he stood alone 
 as the senior of the lodge. He loved among his intimates to 
 live over the early days. On snch occasions he forgot his usual 
 reticence, and rehearsed with raised voice and sparkling eye the 
 stories of the early conflicts. In some points he stood among 
 the early laborers with Welch. Like him, he was sober, prudent, 
 and eminently respectable. His energy and perseverance were 
 very marked. As a citizen, he was a man of substance and of 
 weight. His long connection with successful business had made 
 him well-known in such circles, and he was held up as an example 
 to young and rising men. 
 
 As age grew upon him, Boyd gradually retired from active life 
 into the bosom of his family. At London Hill, his fine country 
 seat, he sat down in great peace to await the end. His children 
 had grown up around him in honor, and cheered his declining 
 years. His daughters connected themselves with men of position, 
 and his grandchildren were promising. His grandsons, John 
 Boyd and John Boyd Kicketts, under the firm of Boyd & Rick- 
 etts, succeeded to his business, which they still conduct in a man- 
 ner honorable to themselves and their grandfather. At length 
 frail nature could bear up no longer, and on the 30th day of 
 August, 1871, in the bosom of his family, he peacefully sank to 
 rest. He was at that time in his 84th year, and the oldest living 
 Odd Fellow in the United States the last of the men of 1819! 
 He lies in the same cemetery with Wildey, Marley and Mathiot, 
 arid a fine monument rises over his grave. Peace to his ashes ! But 
 a nobler monument to his memory appears in these pages, where 
 he will be found linked with those who were human benefactors ; 
 
(?! AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 one of that famous band whom the world will cherish as men 
 whose names can never be forgotten. 
 
 Boyd's last day of service in the Grand Lodge of the United States 
 was memorable in his history. When all the business of the annual 
 session was completed, there was a long pause before the final 
 adjournment. The vote had just been taken that made him a 
 charter member of the first Grand Encampment. In the midst 
 of silent expectation, Hep. Birkey arose in behalf of the great 
 State of Pennsylvania. His preface consisted of an able and elo- 
 quent address, full of personal and official compliments to the 
 retiring Representative. He then advanced to Past Grand Boyd, 
 and presented him a beautiful memento of esteem. It was a 
 medal, described as a circular tablet of silver, neatly enclosed in 
 a frame of the same metal, having engraved on one side three 
 columns, terminating respectively in a hand, a heart and a flame, 
 and based on an altar whose panels or tablets w r ere decorated 
 with emblems of the Order ; the whole surmounted with an all- 
 seeing eye, and encircled with the motto of the Order, "Amicitia, 
 Amor et Yeritas." On the opposite side is engraved the follow- 
 ing inscription : "Presented, September 5th, 1831, by the Grand 
 Lodge of Pennsylvania, of the I. O. of O. F., to P. G. John Boyd, 
 late Proxy of this Grand Lodge in the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States, as a testimony of respect and regard for his unremitted 
 attention to the interest of the Order in this State." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND AND OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 FROM ITS ORGANIZATION, IN 1821, TO ITS DISSOLUTION, IN 1825. 
 
 The organization of that duplex body, " The Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States," was consummated on the 
 22d of February, 1821, when the following officers were installed : 
 Thomas Wildey, Grand Master ; John P. Entwisle, Deputy 
 Grand Master ; William S. Couth, Grand Warden ; John Welch, 
 Grand Secretary, and John Boyd, Grand Guardian. Past Grand 
 Larkam was admitted, and the Golden Rule degree was conferred 
 on five Past Grands. A dispensation was immediately presented 
 to "Washington Lodge, 'No. 1, as its first subordinate, in acknow- 
 ledgment of the Grand Warrant ceded by that lodge. The 
 support of the Grand Lodge was then provided for by the 
 adoption of the following: "Resolved, That ten percentnm 
 be paid by the subordinate lodges on their receipts, for the 
 support of the Grand Lodge. That each member pay to the 
 Grand Lodge seventy-five cents for the Golden Rule degree. 
 That thirty dollars be charged for dispensations for opening 
 lodges, viz : Ten dollars for the dispensation, ten dollars for 
 the White, Blue and Scarlet degrees and book of charges ; and 
 ten dollars for the intermediate degrees, called the Covenant 
 and Remembrance." Annual sessions were to be held on the 
 22d day of February, and quarterly sessions on the 22d days of 
 May, August and November. The meeting in May was infor- 
 mally adjourned, but the August session assembled in form ; all 
 the Grand Officers were present ; the office of Grand Conductor 
 was created, and the place filled by the appointment of P. G. 
 William Larkam. Franklin Lodge, which had been called into 
 
 o " 
 
 existence by hostility to Washington Lodge, appeared as a peti- 
 tioner for a warrant as a subordinate. The petition was granted, 
 and a warrant issued under the title of Franklin Lodge, No. 2, 
 dated September 5th, 1821, which day was selected as the one 
 when the lodge should become lawful. A committee, consisting 
 5 (65) 
 
66 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 of G. M. Wildey, D. G. M. Entwisle, and G. W. Couth, were 
 appointed to draft a form for dispensations, and to prepare books, 
 &c., and Entwisle, Bojd and Larkam were directed to prepare a 
 constitution. For the latter there was no precedent, for before 
 that time all such bodies, under whatever name, exercised an 
 undefined authority, with no restraint but such as " ancient 
 usage " imposed. But they had already learned the value of 
 written law to reduce obligation and authority to form, and make 
 rights and duties fixed and tangible. 
 
 At the November session, 1821, Deputy Grand Master 
 Entwisle reported the instrument, which contained twenty pro- 
 positions ; it was unanimously adopted. He also reported several 
 secret articles relative to the signs, passwords, &c., which were 
 also approved. Solomon Winchester, of No. 1, and Ezekiel 
 Wilson, of No. 2, were elected and admitted to membership, and 
 took the Golden Rule degree. It is also stated that Richard P. 
 Petherick was expelled ; as this brother was afterwards restored and 
 became a valuable member, it is but just to state that this action 
 was irregular, and no doubt was ex parte. Brother Petherick does 
 not appear to have been a member of the Grand Lodge, and was 
 not amenable to a sentence of the kind. It was an act in keeping 
 with the rude justice of those times, which was administered in 
 the most summary manner ; thus we know absolutely nothing of 
 the offence, if any, with which Petherick was charged. It would 
 be of interest to insert the initial constitution which was adopted 
 at this meeting, but no copy can be found. The next recorded 
 meeting is entitled " Grand Committee," and was held on De- 
 cember 19, 1821 ; Wildey was absent, and D. G. M. Entwisle 
 presided. The committee on dispensations, &c., reported the 
 form for a subordinate lodge warrant, which was adopted and 
 ordered to be printed, and Entwisle, Welch and Wilson were 
 selected to revise the degrees and charges. The committee on 
 dispensations, &c., also reported having procured a seal suitable 
 to be used on wax, with the following inscription : GB. Lo. OF MD. 
 AND OF THE IT. S. 1820 I. O. F. ; with a hand and heart sup- 
 porting evenly balanced scales. This was the first of a series of 
 meetings held by the Grand Officers and members of the Grand 
 Lodge, styled "Grand Committee," which seem to have been 
 special sessions of the Grand Lodge. At such meetings the 
 business of the regular sessions was continued and new business 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 8. 67 
 
 transacted ; as in the case of receiving the report of the com- 
 mittee on dispensations, and in appointing another to revise the 
 work. The name seems to have been borrowed from the ancient 
 committee of Past Grands, and it is very probable that it was 
 provided for in the constitution. The Grand Committee met on 
 January 1, 1822, when a resolution was passed forbidding the 
 conferring of degrees on any member except in his own lodge ; 
 and an arrangement was made to meet the two subordinate 
 lodges on the tenth of the same month for instruction, and to 
 deliver the warrants before granted. In a special session of the 
 9th day of January the two papers were duly signed and sealed, 
 and the colors of the degrees affixed ; and on the next day, being 
 the 10th of January, 1822, everything being in readiness, and 
 the lodges duly assembled, their respective warrants were de- 
 livered to them with much ceremony. The second annual 
 session took place on February 22d, when, in addition to the 
 officers, the following Past Grands were presented, viz : Solomon 
 Winchester and Ezekiel Wilson ; and two others were duly 
 admitted, viz : Duncan McCormick and James Seed. At the 
 opening, Grand Master Wildey addressed them briefly, in words 
 full of zeal and wisdom. 
 
 ADDRESS OF GRAND MASTER WILDEY. 
 
 "7?. W. Deputy Grand Master, Officers : 
 
 " On the present occasion we meet for the despatch of busi- 
 ness. On the deliberations of our meetings will depend greatly 
 the welfare and eventual success of our ancient and honorable 
 Order. It has become our duty to lay down rules for the control- 
 ment of our future action ; and if the resolutions we ordain shall 
 be in unison with the revealed teachings of the Great Patron of 
 our Order, the God in whom we trust, we shall have nothing to 
 fear for our ultimate welfare. I look upon you as the pillars and 
 supports of the Order. On your precepts and examples rest our 
 hopes; for on them the reputation of the Order is formed. 
 Should they be in conformity with the principles we profess, you 
 will be revered by all good Odd Fellows ; if otherwise, you will 
 disgrace yourselves, injure the Order of which you are members, 
 and damage the cause of benevolence in society at large. The 
 obligations you have undertaken are sufficient to teach you your 
 duties in the Order ; and each one of you is capable of judging 
 
68 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 when these duties are properly performed. I therefore solemnly 
 call on yon this day to give me your joint and individual assist- 
 ance, to aid my endeavors in the formation of such plans as may 
 be most productive of the great object we have in view; the 
 building up of an institution devoted to brotherly love, unity and 
 benevolence." 
 
 This address was ordered to be spread on the minutes. The 
 brevity, beauty and energy of this fragment bespeak the hand of 
 a master ; the voice was that of Wildey, but the diction and sen- 
 timent were from the pen and brain of his intellectual mentor. 
 The reader will here take notice that we do not present this and 
 other productions as Wildey's, but simply as indicative of what 
 was taught by him. When we come to speak of Entwisle and 
 Mathiot, justice will be done ; but especially to the former, who 
 will be found to have given all its literary character to the first 
 decade. After the address, all the Grand Officers were re-elected 
 to fill their offices for another year. Information having been 
 received that lodges of the Order had been organized at New 
 York and Boston, it was ordered that letters be written to the 
 brethren in those cities, and every effort made to open a corres- 
 pondence with them. The importance of punctual attendance 
 having been considered, a penalty was imposed on officers and 
 members for any absence from the sessions of either the Grand 
 Lodge or the " Grand Committee." Franklin Lodge was reported 
 as having very few present at their meetings ; when the members 
 of Washington Lodge were invited to attend and help in its work. 
 Past Grand Ezekiel Wilson was reported by Franklin Lodge, No. 
 2, as suspended from membership during " one year and a day." 
 At the May quarterly session, in addition to the Grand Officers, 
 Past Grands McCormick, Winchester and Seed were present, 
 and Thomas Mitchell, of No. 2, was admitted. The expulsion of 
 Past Grand Humphreys, " for attempting to defraud the treasury 
 of his lodge," was approved. This was more regular than in Peth- 
 erick's case, yet there is nothing to be found showing that the 
 expelled member had ever been admitted to the Grand Lodge, 
 nor in what lodge he held membership. A notice was sent 
 in from Franklin Lodge of the expulsion of Past Grand Ezekiel 
 Wilson, who was then under sentence of suspension ; this was 
 also approved. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE TJ. S. 69 
 
 At the August quarterly session, in addition to the Grand 
 Officers, Past Grands McCormick, Seed and Mitchell were 
 present, and John Nelson, of No. 2, was , duly admitted. The 
 fourth or Golden Rule degree had been previously conferred 
 without charge ; it was now ordered that the fee of one dollar 
 should be paid for the degree. On this occasion the death of the 
 first member was announced in the person of Solomon Winchester, 
 of 'No. 1, and crape was ordered to be worn as mourning for four 
 quarters. Past Grand Couth resigned as Grand Warden, and 
 Past Grand Thomas Mitchell was elected to the place ; and 
 Franklin Lodge applied for and received copies of the inter- 
 mediate degrees of Covenant and Remembrance. The November 
 quarterly session, in addition to the officers, was attended by 
 Past Grands McCormick and Nelson ; Past Grand Thomas 
 Scotchburn was admitted a member. An opinion seemed to 
 prevail at this session that the progress of the Order was retarded 
 by the sentiments and music of the odes of the ritual ; Entwisle, 
 Welch and Scotchburn were therefore deputed to make alterations 
 in the words and music of the odes used in the lodges ; this com- 
 mittee was instructed to report at the next quarterly session, but 
 failed to do so. The third annual session convened on February 
 22, 1823 ; present, the Grand Officers and Past Grands Seed, 
 Nelson and Scotchburn ; Past Grand Anstice was duly admitted. 
 It was enacted that no member of the body should be admitted 
 to its councils unless he could prove himself in the Past Grand's 
 sign and password. The election of officers now proceeded under 
 the following : " Resolved, that the Grand Lodge proceed to the 
 election of .G. Officers to serve for the ensuing two years." The 
 original constitution, now lost, doubtless provided for the annual 
 election of the officers ; the election that preceded it was for the 
 term of one year; and the election under it in 1822 was for a 
 similar term, although not so designated. Without any pretence 
 of an amendment, the term was extended from one year to two 
 years so great a lack of respect still existed in regard to the 
 binding force of law among those new converts to written com- 
 pacts. Under this resolution all the officers were re-elected ; the 
 only change made was in elevating G. Sec. Welch to the place 
 of Deputy Grand Master, -and placing D. G. M. Entwisle in the 
 more congenial office of Grand Secretary, where his peculiar 
 fitness was speedily displayed. During the first year of the 
 
70 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Grand Lodge no detailed fiscal account is preserved ; no such 
 office as Treasurer was provided for, either in the Grand or sub- 
 ordinate lodges. Grand Guardian Boyd and G. M. Wildey 
 usually advanced money as needed, and hence acted in some sort 
 as Treasurers. 
 
 In the second year an account was opened by a statement of 
 the gross receipts and expenditures of the year, thus : receipts 
 from commencement of Grand Lodge to end of first year 
 $102.97 ; expenditures during the same time $100.37 ; leaving a 
 balance of $2.60. During the second year there was received 
 from Washington Lodge, No. 1, $27.58 ; from Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 2, $16.71 ; from members for admission fees, &c., $8.69 ; 
 which, with the balance of the first year, $2.60, made a total of 
 $55.58 ; the expenditure of this year was fifty-six cents, which 
 left a balance at the beginning of the third year of $55.02. Nothing 
 is known of the income of the subordinate lodges previous to 
 this time except as calculated by the percentage paid in ; by 
 which the receipts of Washington Lodge for the preceding year 
 had been $275.80, and of Franklin Lodge $167.10. There are no 
 data by which the expenses of either lodge can be ascertained. 
 The " Grand Committee " w r as assembled on April 1 3, 1 823, with 
 the Grand Officers and Past Grands Seed, Nelson, Scotchburn 
 and Anstice. The meeting was held to consider a letter received 
 by Washington Lodge. 
 
 THE BOSTON LETTER. 
 
 "BOSTON, March 28, 1823. 
 
 "To the Most Noble Grand, Officers and JBrothers of the Wash- 
 ington Lodge, Baltimore : 
 
 " Your favor, through the. hands of brother Wilson, was 
 duly received by Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1. The kind and 
 affectionate manner in which you received our worthy brother 
 Wilson, merits our warmest acknowledgments ; and rest assured 
 such praiseworthy conduct will meet with a reciprocation from 
 us, as we are convinced it will tend more closely to cement the 
 bonds of Odd Fellowship. From brother Wilson's statement 
 we are satisfied your lodge is legally the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States. We do hereby acknowledge you as such, and 
 beg you to grant us a charter as the Grand Lodge of this State, 
 under the title of the Massachusetts Lodge of I. O. F., No. 1 ; 
 giving us power to grant charters to such lodges as may, from 
 time to time, arise in this State, but at all times to acknowledge 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 71 
 
 your lodge as the Grand Lodge of the United States. We feel 
 more anxious on this point, as we have just granted a few of our 
 worthy brothers leave to withdraw from us and form a new 
 lodge, with no other intention but to benefit the Order by 
 spreading it more extensively. We are without the lectures and 
 degrees, and we wish you to state the manner of application and 
 method of receiving them here. We shall at all times be proud 
 of any communication from you, and sincerely hope there will 
 be a free correspondence kept up between the two lodges. All 
 expenses incurred in sending on these degrees, etc., will be paid 
 by us. Yours, with respect, 
 
 " PHILEMON STACY, Secretary. 
 
 " Approved : WM. BISHOP, M. N. G. 
 
 " P. S. You will please send the lectures and degrees on as 
 soon as possible." 
 
 On its receipt the N. G. of Washington Lodge presented it to 
 G. M. Wildey, who offered it for the consideration of the Grand 
 Committee. On learning its contents, all informalities were 
 waived, and the following answer unanimously agreed upon: 
 
 " Resolved, that a Charter be granted to Massachusetts Lodge, 
 No. 1." 
 
 " Resolved, that a dispensation for a Grand Lodge, to grant 
 charters to other lodges in the State of Massachusetts, be given, 
 free of expense, to the Past Grands of those lodges, and to be 
 located at Boston." 
 
 This was supplemented by a resolution deputizing the Grand 
 Master to convey the charter to the petitioners. 
 
 The Grand Committee then ordered the lectures and degrees 
 to be printed ; and D. G. M. Welch and G. Secretary Entwisle 
 were directed to write out the lectures and charges, and to super- 
 vise the printing, which was proposed to be done speedily. A 
 question then arose on amending the constitution, which was 
 finally referred to G. G. Boyd and Past Grands Scotchburn, Nel- 
 son and Anstice. Before the close of the session the members, 
 on the motion of G. Secretary Entwisle, gave formal expression 
 to the obligation of the Order to G. M. Wildey, " for his assidu- 
 ity and perseverance in the service of the Grand Lodge." The 
 Grand Master eloquently responded. The further proceedings 
 upon the Boston application wiH be detailed in their order. The 
 first quarterly session of 1823 was held May 18th, when, in addi- 
 tion to the Grand Officers, Past Grands Seed, McCormick, Nelson 
 and Anstice were present. In opening, the Grand Master stated 
 
72 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 that the regular day of meeting being on Sunday, the 22d instant, 
 he had called them together on another day, to avoid public cen- 
 sure. Past Grand William Tong was admitted a member. 
 The charter of Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, was ordered to be 
 signed by the officers and members, and the seal of the Grand 
 Lodge, with the appropriate colors, affixed thereto. The dis- 
 pensation for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was not in readi- 
 ness, and in order to complete it, a " Grand Committee " was 
 ordered to be held on the 25th. On that day the Grand Com- 
 mittee met ; present, the Grand Officers, except the Grand 
 Master, Deputy Grand Master and Grand Conductor; Grand 
 "Warden Mitchell acting as Grand Master; Past Grands Scotch- 
 burn, Anstice, Nelson, Seed and Tong. Past Grand William 
 Williams, of No. 1, was admitted to a seat. The Grand Dispen- 
 sation for Massachusetts having been engrossed, was signed by 
 the Grand Officers and members present, and subsequently by 
 G. M. Wildey, D, G. M. Welch, G. Con. Larkam and P. G. 
 McCormick. 
 
 Previous to the departure of Grand Master Wildey on his mis- 
 sion to New England, letters were sent to the lodge known to be in 
 existence in Philadelphia, and to one or more of the lodges which 
 rumor had located in New York, apprising them of his intended 
 journey, and asking permission for Wildey to visit them and to 
 commune with the brethren when he was passing through their 
 respective cities. Whereupon the Grand Master left Baltimore 
 on the 31st May, 1823, for Philadelphia, and arrived there the 
 next morning. He found the brethren in that city self-instituted, 
 through the agency of a member of an informal lodge in New 
 York, known at Franklin Lodge, No. 2. To this lodge the bro- 
 thers were looking for authority as a superior, and were not pre- 
 pared to join the movement elsewhere. But Wildey's explana- 
 tion w r as well calculated to arrest their attention. He informed 
 them of his success in Maryland, and that he bore one charter for 
 a working lodge at Boston, and another to enable the Past 
 Grands at that place to form the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; 
 and that his constituents were willing, and even anxious, to make 
 similar grants to the brethren in Pennsylvania. He enforced 
 these topics by presenting the advantages that were likely to 
 result to all concerned, should his plan be adopted ; to individual 
 members, the knowledge of the improvements of the Manchester 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 73 
 
 Unity ; to subordinates, uniformity in the work and a system of 
 finance ; to the Past Grands, the dignity of a State Grand Lodge ; 
 and to all, the importance of a central parental authority in a 
 Grand Lodge of the United States. The brethren were well 
 inclined to his offers, but insisted on such delay as would allow 
 them to learn of the result of an application to what they consid- 
 ered their mother lodge. Wildey remained another day with 
 them, and on the morning of the third day of June left for Xe\v 
 York, and reached that city in time to be that night in session 
 with Franklin Lodge, at the house of Bro. Lovett, No. 279 Grand 
 Street. Here he found two lodges, the one formally and the 
 other informally constituted. The lawful lodge was claiming 
 superiority over all the self-instituted lodges of the city, and the 
 controversy had just reached a crisis. Wildey met the contest- 
 ants and was made their umpire. He found that Columbia Lodge 
 had received a valid charter from a lodge of the Independent 
 Order in England, of the date of the 14th. of November, 1822, 
 and without hesitation decided in favor of the legal body. Co- 
 lumbia Lodge at once agreed to apply to the Grand Lodge at Balti- 
 more, to surrender its charter, and receive a dispensation of the 
 date of June 4th, 1823. The Noble Grand of the Lodge began 
 the correspondence with Maryland, as follows : 
 
 NEW YORK, June 6th, 1823. 
 To the Grand Lodge of the State of Maryland, etc., etc. 
 
 HONORED BRETHREN : Having been visited by Grand Master 
 Wildey on his tour to Boston, he was polite enough to inform us 
 of the method of forming a Grand Lodge of the State. Where- 
 upon we make application to you, by G. M. Wildey's recom- 
 mendation, for a dispensation for a Grand Lodge, so that he 
 will have it in his power to install our officers on his return from 
 Boston. Your immediate compliance with this will give us a 
 great deal of pleasure. We remain in the bonds of F. L. and T. 
 
 K. WATTS, M. N. G. 
 
 On its receipt the Grand Secretary, at a loss what to do, con- 
 sulted several of the members, and then replied : 
 
 BALTIMORE, June 9, 1823. 
 R. Watts, M. N. G. 
 
 DEAR BROTHER: Your esteemed letter of 6th instant is 
 received this morning, and I have lost no time in taking up the 
 sense of a majority of the Grand Lodge, not indeed in formal 
 
74 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 committee, but meeting to give a degree with several, and visiting 
 others, the opinion being unanimous, we must wait another 
 communication from you before we can proceed further. In the 
 first place, the rule of Odd Fellowship has been, from time im- 
 memorial, that there must be an application from five brothers 
 for a dispensation for a lodge, and a Grand Charter can (only) be 
 given to rive Past Grands. 2d. In the application signed by the 
 M. N. G. Watts there is no authority by the lodge he belongs 
 to, and there is no mention made of the name of the lodge. As 
 we have heard of the Shakspeare, No. 1 ; Franklin, No. 2, and 
 Washington, No. 3, it is impossible we should know to which to 
 grant the dispensation. The first subordinate which takes a 
 charter will be denominated No. 1, but the Grand Charter will 
 extend equally to the privilege of the Past Grands of the lodges 
 now formed, or the numerous and respectable lodges which we 
 sincerely hope you will in future form. 
 
 JOHN P. ENTW^SLE, Grand Secretary. 
 
 In three days this had reached New York ; the members 
 were called together, when a formal application was prepared 
 and signed, and enclosed in a letter explaining the reason of the 
 informality in the first instance, viz : that they had personally 
 applied to G. M. Wildey on the 4th of June for the Grand 
 Charter, and relied on his having forwarded the necessary 
 information. 
 
 APPLICATION OF COLUMBIA LODGE. 
 
 NEW YORK, June 12th, 1823. 
 To the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States : 
 
 We, the undersigned, for and in behalf of Columbia Lodge, 
 No. 1, of I. O. F., held at Brother Lovett's, 279 Grand Street, 
 having received a legal dispensation from the Loyal Beneficent 
 Duke of Sussex Lodge, No. 2, Liverpool, for the subordinate 
 lodge, do further petition for a dispensation from your lodge to 
 form a Grand Lodge of the State of New York. We trust you 
 will forward us the necessary documents as early as possible ; as 
 G. M. Wildey intends installing our officers on his return from 
 Boston. Wishing the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 LTnited States every prosperity, we remain vours in the bonds of 
 F. I, and T. 
 
 P. G. JNO. B. EOBTNSON, M. N. G. THOS. TURNBULL, 
 
 P. G. JAMES SIMISTER, Y. G. Jos. BARTON, 
 
 P. G. JAMES CLARIDGE, jSectfy T. BALL. 
 
 P. G. JOHN GRANT, 
 P. G. E. WATTS. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 75 
 
 This was the first formal petition received by the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland and of the United States, for a Grand Lodge Char- 
 ter. It reached Baltimore on the 15th of June, on which day 
 D. G. M. Welch convened the Grand Committee. 
 
 But to return to the brethren in Pennsylvania. So soon as 
 G. M. Wildey received the oral application of the New York 
 brothers, he wrote to Philadelphia and gave information of that 
 fact. The brothers, on receipt of the communication, assembled, 
 and prepared and transmitted what follows : 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, June 6th, 1823. 
 To John P. Entwisle, Grand Secretary, J?sq. 
 
 RESPECTED BROTHER: We have the pleasure to inform 
 you G. M. Wildey arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday, in good 
 health. We assembled a few brothers by two o'clock ; the infor- 
 mation we received from our worthy brother was pleasing and 
 instructive. This Lodge had come to a determination to take a 
 dispensation, charter and degrees; and we hearing that a lodge 
 in New York had received a dispensation from England, we had 
 applied for one from them before the arrival of brother Wildey. 
 Bro. Wildey has written to us from New York, which communi- 
 cation we received this morning. His letter gives us such infor- 
 mation as to enable us to apply to the Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 and of the United States for a charter, etc., and he says he will, 
 on his return, provide us with other documents. Wishing you 
 every blessing this world can afford, we remain, 
 In the bonds of F. L. and T. 
 
 WM. MATHEWS, N. G. 
 
 JNO. STURGIS, V. G. 
 
 THOS. HEPWORTH, P. G. 
 
 AARON NICHOLS, P. G. 
 
 NATH'L LONGMIRE, Sec'y. 
 
 This very informal application was regarded as sufficient. 
 The Grand Committee, as before stated, being called into session 
 on the 15th of June, 1823, these communications were presented. 
 The committee first granted the prayer of the petitioners for a 
 dispensation for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York ; 
 afterwards the application from Philadelphia was considered, and, 
 on motion, its informalities waived, and a charter was granted 
 to Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1 ; after which a dispensation was 
 granted to the Past Grands of said Lodge to form the Grand Lodge 
 of Pennsylvania. The latter grant was made in anticipation of 
 any application therefor; the same as in the case of the grant to the 
 
76 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Past Grands Of Massachusetts. The documents were speedily pre- 
 pared, after the forms used for the Massachusetts bodies, and 
 with the necessary charge and degree books, were forwarded to 
 the address of Thomas Wildey, New York, on the 18th of June, 
 in order to intercept him on his return from Boston. Meanwhile 
 G. M. Wildey had left New York on the 5th of June, by the 
 land route for Boston, which place he reached on the 8th instant ; 
 he found the brethren anxiously awaiting his arrival. On the 
 9th of June he regularly instituted Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, 
 and instructed such members as were eligible in the several de- 
 grees of the Order. He then went earnestly to work preparing 
 the Past Grands for conducting the business of a Grand Lodge, 
 and was enabled on June llth, 1823, at the lodge hall in Ann 
 Street, to institute and organize the Grand Lodge of Massachu- 
 setts. After spending a few days with the brethren, G. Master 
 Wildey began his journey homeward, and reached New York on 
 the 22d of June. He found matters but little changed during 
 his absence ; with the exception of Past Grands Downing and 
 Robinson, every member of Franklin Lodge stubbornly refused 
 to recognize the new arrangement, and ceased to meet as a lodge. 
 The package of warrants and other documents had arrived from 
 Baltimore, and at once the G. M. proceeded to institute and 
 organize the Grand Lodge of the State of New Y^ork, which was 
 done at No. 279 Grand Street, on June 24th, by the installation of 
 the duly elected officers. Having imparted all needful instruc- 
 tions, G. M. Wildey left on the following day for Philadelphia, 
 where he arrived on the same evening. Everything being in 
 readiness, he instituted Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, at No. 66 Dock 
 Street, on June 26th, 1823. On the next day he organized, at 
 the same place, the Grand Lodge of the State of Pennsylvania. 
 After remaining a day or two for the purpose of imparting infor- 
 mation, the Grand Master resumed his journey, and arrived at 
 Baltimore on the 1st of July, 1823. 
 
 But to return to the narrative. A special Grand Committee 
 was held July 7th, 1823, when all the Grand Officers and several 
 Past Grands were present. G. M. Wildey made an oral report, 
 setting forth the difficulties he had encountered, and his final suc- 
 cess in the States of Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. 
 Whereupon a vote of thanks to him was unanimously adopted, 
 and it was ordered that a circular tetter be addressed to the sub- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 77 
 
 ordinate lodges in Maryland, giving information of the incidents 
 of the mission of the Grand Master to the Eastern States, and of 
 
 his safe return. 
 
 CIECULAR. 
 
 SPECIAL GRAND COMMITTEE OF THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND 
 AND OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 BALTIMORE, July 7, 1823. 
 M. N. G., V. G., Officers and Brothers: 
 
 GREETING : The happy return of our highly respected and 
 Most Worthy Grand Master calls us together this day, and sen- 
 sible of the anxiety of our brothers to be informed of the success 
 which has attended his travels, the Grand Committee has in- 
 structed me to announce to you, that the most sanguine expecta- 
 .tions we had conceived have been more than realized. The bene- 
 iicial system we projected, and the honorable terms of united 
 action we proposed, have been so well presented by our Grand 
 Master, as to meet with the approbation of all our brothers here- 
 tofore astray. He has been able to overcome every difficulty that 
 stood in the way, and, by his almost magic power, he has brought 
 under the authority and auspices of the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land and of the United States, three other Grand Lodges, in full 
 operation, in the States of Massachusetts, New York and Penn- 
 sylvania. Grand Master Wildey brings satisfactory proof that 
 the Order, in each of these States, is in the hands of those who 
 fully understand the principles of our honorable fraternity ; and 
 that its honors and benefits will be properly administered, in 
 each, in the same manner as they are here, and that in everything 
 they are acting legally, according to the Order. All brothers 
 bringing cards from these places are recommended to your broth- 
 erly attention, subject to the usual examination. With great 
 deference to the feelings of our Grand Master, it is proper you 
 should know that a unanimous vote of thanks has been accorded 
 to him, with every demonstration in the power of the Grand 
 Lodge to bestow, expressive of its satisfaction at the great service 
 he has rendered to the Order. 
 
 Wishing your lodge all happiness and prosperity, in the bonds 
 of F. L. and T., I am your affectionate brother, 
 
 By order, JOHN P. ENTWISLE, Grand Secretary. 
 
 No better evidence could be presented to show how highly 
 the achievements of the Grand Master were appreciated by his 
 fellow-laborers in the field of benevolence. The Grand Commit- 
 tee was again assembled, July 20th, when all the Grand Officers 
 w r ere present, except D. G. M. Welch. The Grand Master stated 
 that the meeting was held for the purpose of giving sanction to 
 
78 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 a compact he had made with Columbia Lodge, No. 1, at New 
 York, to give it a free charter, bearing date on the day the 
 arrangement was made, on condition that the lodge would sur- 
 render to the Grand Lodge the dispensation it had received from 
 the Duke of Sussex Lodge, No. 2, of Liverpool, England. A 
 charter was ordered to be prepared and forwarded without delay, 
 upon the conditions set forth in the statement. The second quar- 
 terly session was held, August 22d, 1823 ; present, G. M. "Wildey, 
 G. W. Mitchell, G. Secretary pro tern. Scotchburn, G. G. Boyd> 
 G. Con. pro tern. Anstice, and Past Grands McCormick and Nel- 
 son. The proceedings of the several Grand Committees, as was 
 usual at quarterly sessions, were read and approved. Past Grands 
 Maurice Fennell, of No. 1, and Charles Common, of No. 2, were 
 admitted to membership. The sentiment of the odes, and the* 
 style of the music to which they were set, had become distasteful to 
 many of the members. At the November session of 1822, the sub- 
 ject was referred to a committee " to make alterations in the words 
 and music of the ode sung at present in the different lodges." 
 No report had been made, and but one of the committee, P. G. 
 Scotchburn, was present at this session, but a resolution was 
 adopted to dispense with music in using the ode, " and that it be 
 read at the time of making." Another resolution dispensed with 
 the opening and closing odes, and provided " that at the opening 
 and closing of the lodges, two verses of the song of ' Hail Colum- 
 bia ' be sung." This is all very serious, but is rather provocative 
 of mirth on its reading. It was ludicrous to adopt so strange an 
 alteration in " the words and music " as is here attempted. Noth- 
 ing could be more ridiculous than the reading of " Brothers, atten- 
 tive stand," etc., while the action required by the ritual was pro- 
 ceeding. It was odd at best to open and close a fraternal associ- 
 ation with a song which had no kind of relation to the business 
 transacted. It grew out of a crisis which naturally controlled 
 the elements that were so recently thrown together. In England,, 
 both policy and patriotism had caused all odes used officially in the 
 Order, to IDC fashioned to suit the national anthem of " God Save 
 the King." The odes and music in use were imported with the 
 Order, and so long as it was an English society there was no 
 objection to their use. But " times change, and men change with 
 them"; home habits were discarded, new ties and connections 
 were formed, and a total revolution in the old ideas was a neces- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 79 
 
 sary consequence. As is usual with proselytes, the new opinions 
 were held with great zeal and tenacity, and in the haste to get 
 rid of the old-world characteristics, they rushed without any con- 
 sideration in the opposite direction. This was intensified by the 
 native element which had been gradually infusing itself among 
 them. As will be seen hereafter, this movement went still further, 
 until a period of reaction set in and brought it back to the old 
 landmarks. 
 
 It was at this session that, on motion of G. G. Boyd, the fol- 
 lowing was adopted : " Resolved, that a medal be presented to 
 Grand Secretary Entwisle, in respect to the service the Grand 
 Lodge conceives he has rendered." This was the first instance 
 where the Grand Lodge had bestowed more than a vote of ap- 
 proval, and coming from Boyd, who was very practical, denoted 
 that the services rendered must have been valuable. Past Grand 
 Maurice Fennell was made Assistant Grand Secretary. Grand 
 Conductor Larkam was suspended from membership in the Grand 
 Lodge for a year and a day, on the charge of " conduct unworthy 
 of our honorable Order "; but no specifications are given nor 
 report of trial made. P. G. Anstice was appointed to fill the 
 vacancy of Grand Conductor. At the third quarterly session, 
 held November 22, 1823, all the Grand Officers attended, and 
 Past Grands McCormick, Seed, Nelson, Scotchburn and Com- 
 mon. A report from the committee of April 13th, on amend- 
 ments to the constitution, was presented. The articles sub- 
 mitted were modified and adopted, and a committee appointed to 
 have it printed ; but no printed copy of it can be found in 
 minutes or archives. This instrument was found in two manu- 
 script copies ; one in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
 chusetts, and the other in those of the Grand Lodge of New 
 York. As the oldest known Constitution of the Grand Lodge, 
 it is here inserted. 
 
 CONSTITUTION ADOPTED NOVEMBER 22, 1823. 
 
 Grand Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 
 United States. 
 
 SEC. 1. ON THE FORMATION OF THE GRAND LODGE. 
 
 ART. I. The Grand Lodge is composed of the Past Grands 
 of all the lodges within the State that shall be acting under a 
 
80 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 legal charter and in obedience to the Constitution of the Grand 
 Lodge, and must consist of at least five P. G.'s from one or more 
 lodges. 
 
 ART. II. Every legal lodge shall be equally represented in 
 the Grand Lodge, when by-laws are to be made, or when any 
 alteration, repeal or amendment shall be made to the constitu- 
 tion ; but in other business, a majority of all the members present 
 shall decide. 
 
 ART. III. Any motion for an alteration, repeal or amend- 
 ment to the constitution must be sent in writing to the Grand 
 Master or Deputy, at least six months before the annual meeting, 
 at which time alone they can be made, so that the Grand Secre- 
 tary may communicate the same to the P. G.'s of the respective 
 lodges, that they may send deputies or appoint proxies to vote 
 on them; and a majority of three to one shall be necessary to 
 decide. 
 
 ART. IY. Any motion for a by-law to be made, altered, 
 amended or dispensed with, must be sent in writing to the G. S. 
 at least three months before the meeting at which it is to be 
 discussed, and a majority of the delegates or proxies shall 
 decide. 
 
 ART. Y. Any P. G. desirous of entering the Grand Lodge as 
 a member, must send a certificate signed by the elective officers 
 of his lodge, and countersigned by a P. G., or if none else have 
 passed the chair, it must be countersigned by the Warden and 
 Guardian, and must be sealed with the seal of the lodge, to-wit : 
 That P. G. - is clear of the Secretary's books, and under 
 no charges of breach of the general articles or the by-laws, and 
 that he has filled his office \vith honor to himself and with credit 
 and advantage to the Order. Should he not be known to any 
 member of the Grand Lodge, he shall be obligated that the cer- 
 tificate is genuine, and the certificate shall only be admissible on 
 the first session of the Grand Lodge after its date. If the cer- 
 tificate is satisfactory, the P. G. desiring admittance must work 
 his way with the Grand Conductor through the first, second and 
 third degrees, and by the sign of a P. G., and after due examina- 
 tion, shall be conducted to the G. M. and take the obligation ; 
 then to the G. W., who, with the assistance of the G. C., in- 
 structs him in the signs, etc., and explains the situation of the 
 officers, after which he takes his situation as a member of the 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 ART. Yl. The Grand Lodge shall meet annually, on Feb- 
 ruary 22d, and quarterly from that date, on general business, and 
 the G. M. or his Deputy have power to call a special committee, 
 at their discretion, on extraordinary business. 
 
 ART. YIT. The Golden Eule or fourth degree shall be read 
 every quarter, when none but such as have taken it, or do then 
 receive it, shall be present ; and every P. G. who shall receive it, 
 shall pay one dollar towards the support of the funds. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 8. 81 
 
 ART. VIII. P. G.'s entering the Grand Lodge must work 
 their way by the P. G.'s sign and password. 
 
 ART.' IX. No P. G. shall leave the lodge without permission 
 of the G. M. or presiding officer, and password from the G. W. 
 
 ART. X. Every member of the Grand Lodge summoned to 
 attend at an annual or quarterly meeting, and neglecting to 
 attend such meeting without sending a written apology, shall be 
 fined fifty cents ; and on neglect of a summons to attend a com- 
 mittee, without a sufficient apology in writing, shall be fined 
 twenty-five cents. 
 
 ART. XI. No refreshments shall be allowed in the lodge-room 
 during its session. 
 
 ART. XII. The constitution and by-laws shall be read on the 
 annual session, and the brothers of the third degree shall be 
 admitted to hear them, after the previous business is transacted. 
 
 ART. XIII. The Grand Lodge may enact by-laws for the 
 government of the meetings, and for the regulations necessary to 
 the pecuniary affairs, provided they do not interfere with the 
 constitution. 
 
 SEC. 2. ON THE ELECTION AND SITUATION OF OFFICERS. 
 
 ART. XIV. The officers of the Grand Lodge are : the Grand 
 Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Warden, Grand Secretary, 
 Grand Guardian and Grand Conductor. The candidates for G. 
 M. may be nominated by any member of the Grand Lodge, and 
 on being seconded, after three times calling, the nominated can- 
 didates shall be put to the ballot, and the G. M. shall be elected 
 by a majority of tickets. The G. M. elect shall then proceed to 
 nominate three P. G.'s as candidates for the office of D. G. M., 
 one of whom shall be elected by a majority of tickets. The G. 
 W. shall be elected in the same manner as the G. M. The G. S. 
 shall be elected also in like manner. The G. G. and G. C. shall 
 be appointed by the G. M. 
 
 ART. XV. The G. M. shall hold his office for four years, and 
 shall be eligible as a candidate for three years longer, after the 
 expiration of which he shall not be eligible as a candidate till 
 the expiration of four years, if there are sufficient members to 
 fill all the offices ; but it shall be at the option of the G. M. to 
 resign at the expiration of two years, on notice given to the 
 Grand Lodge at least one quarter before the annual meeting. 
 The D. G. M. shall hold his office two years, and shall be eligible 
 as a candidate for re-election as long as the G. M. shall remain 
 in office ; but it shall be at the option of the D. G. M. to resign 
 at the expiration of one year, on notice given to the Grand 
 Lodge at least one quarter before the annual meeting. The G. 
 "W. shall hold his office one year, and shall not be eligible to re- 
 election to that office for two clear years, if there are a sufficient 
 6 
 
82 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 number of P. G.'s in the lodge to fill all the offices. The G. S. 
 shall hold his office two years, and shall be eligible to re-election 
 to that office without limited time, but it shall be at his option 
 to resign, on notice given to the Grand Lodge one quarter before 
 the annual meeting. The G. G. and G. C. shall hold their offices 
 one year, and shall not be eligible to reappointment to the same 
 offices for two clear years, provided there be a sufficient number 
 of P. G.'s. 
 
 ART. XVI. The duty of the G. M. is to preside during the 
 session, preserving order and due observance of the laws; im- 
 partially to put to the vote all propositions, and in case of equal 
 votes to give a casting vote, to administer the obligations to 
 P. G.'s on their admittance as members of the Grand Lodge, and 
 occasionally to visit the working lodges in the State. The duty 
 of the D. G. M. is to examine every P. G. in the Grand Lodge ; 
 to open and close the meetings; to support the G. M. by "his- 
 assistance, and to take his place in his absence. The D. G. M. 
 must read all petitions, propositions, reports, proceedings and 
 communications brought to the Grand Lodge, and on all elections 
 and votes, correctly to report the statement thereof to the G. S. 
 The G. W. is to act as Vice-President. He must cause the com- 
 mands of the G. M. to be respected, take charge of the order 
 and decorum of the meeting when the G. M. may be engaged in 
 the business before the Grand Lodge, and to give the signs, etc., 
 of the Grand Lodge to newly entered P. G.'s. The G. S. must 
 record a just and true account of the proceedings of the Grand 
 Lodge, as well as communications from all lodges in the State, 
 and to transact the writing business of the Grand Lodge. The 
 G. G. is to prove every P. G. before he admits him, to allow 
 none to depart or enter without a password, and to prevent the 
 admission or departure of any during the actual transaction of 
 business without permission of the G. M. The G. C. is to ex- 
 amine and conduct new P. G.'s into the lodge, to assist the G. 
 W. in explaining the signs, etc., to them, and to attend to the 
 comfort and convenience of the Grand Lodge during session. 
 In case of occasional absence of the G. M., when the D. G. M. 
 takes the higher situation, he shall immediately appoint a Deputy 
 pro tern., as that important office must never be left vacant. In 
 case of the death of the G. M. or his removal, so as to be unable 
 to attend, the D. G. M. shall fill his chair until the ensuing 
 annual meeting, and shall nominate three for the office of D. G. 
 M., who shall be voted for as usual, and shall serve until the 
 annual meeting ; but neither one nor the other shall be entitled 
 to the honor of P. G. M. or of P. D. G. M. in consequence 
 thereof. The titles shall be M. W. G. M., E. W. D. G. M., 
 R. W. G. W., R. W. G. S., W. G. G., W. G. C., and W. P. G. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 8. 83 
 
 SEC. 3. ON DISPENSATIONS. 
 
 ART. XVII. On application in writing from five brothers of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellowship, to obtain a dispensa- 
 tion, the G. M. or his Deputy shall appoint a committee to con- 
 sider the same, and if the report of the committee shall be 
 favorable, the G. M. shall take the sense of the Lodge on the 
 same, which the majority shall decide ; but if unfavorable, the 
 G. M. shall, if a motion is made and seconded to that effect, refer 
 the petition to the committee again for revision, and afterwards 
 put it to the vote again, and decide accordingly. 
 
 ART. XVIII. The dispensation, with the charges, and the 
 lectures of the first or white, the second or blue, the third or 
 scarlet, together with the covenant and remembrance degrees, 
 shall be charged at thirty dollars to defray the expenses thereof. 
 The money to be paid or security given on the delivery of the 
 dispensation. 
 
 ART. XIX. When a dispensation is granted, a member of 
 the Grand Lodge shall be deputed to deliver the same ; to open 
 the lodge and give instructions, such as he finds them prepared 
 to receive, and are necessary to have. 
 
 ART. XX. Every lodge acting under the Grand Lodge shall 
 pay to the funds thereof ten percentum on the amount of their 
 quarterly receipts, which must be sent by a P. G. at the quarterly 
 meeting of the Grand Lodge, together with a statement of expul- 
 sions or suspensions (if any), the names and reasons thereof, and 
 any other circumstances of general importance, which the Grand 
 Lodge will cause to be circulated to all the other lodges in the 
 State. 
 
 ART. XXL The Grand Lodge shall forward a quarterly 
 password and explanation to each lodge in the State. 
 
 ART. XXII. Every lodge must give a proof impression of 
 its seal, to be deposited in the Grand Lodge, and all communica- 
 tions must be sealed therewith. 
 
 In connection with this proceeding a resolution was adopted, 
 directing letters to be sent to the several Grand Lodges, request- 
 ing them " to send delegates or appoint proxies to attend a Grand 
 Committee meeting, for the purpose of making arrangements for 
 forming a Grand Lodge of the United States." To this invitation 
 it will be seen that all the Grand Lodges responded as requested. 
 We will here insert a correction, made necessary by an error 
 which has crept into the official minute. The foot-note of page 
 44, vol. 1, of the journal of proceedings of the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States, presents these articles as having been adopted 
 at the November session of 1821. The compiler of the revised 
 
84 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 journal, in his original note, confessed that lie had failed to obtain 
 a copy of the articles. then adopted in Maryland ; but that he had 
 received the one presented from the Boston brethren. Without 
 critical examination, the document was published as the constitu- 
 tion of 1821. It is evident that he was in error, and he takes 
 this occasion to correct it. The proceedings show that all the 
 Grand Officers were elected for a one-year term, during the first 
 two years of the existence of the Grand Lodge ; but that an alter- 
 ation wan made at the February session of 1823, by which they 
 were elected to serve for two years. Of course this constitution 
 could not have been in force during that period. The XIY and 
 XV Articles strongly evince that an apprehension had been 
 awakened of a probable danger to the local government, and that 
 it w r as thought necessary to be more conservative in the funda- 
 mental articles by which the local power might be affected. 
 Hence the provisions for the quadrennial term of the Grand 
 Master, and the limitation of the nomination of the Deputy to 
 the same officer, &c. It should be remembered that at the period 
 when this action was had, no plan for the separation of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States from the Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 had been matured, and a feeling of doubt existed, lest by possi- 
 bility the newly made lodges and Grand Lodges might assume to 
 control the local, as well as the general, powers of the Grand 
 Lodge. This paper, copies of which Lave been found among the 
 archives of the two senior Grand Lodges, Massachusetts and 
 New York, certified by the signature of John P. Entwisle, the 
 Grand Secretary at the time, may, without doubt, be received as 
 the constitution of November, 1823. 
 
 At this session, November 22, 1 823, on the petition of P. G. 
 Thomas Scotchburn, P. Y. G. Samuel Bickley and brothers Saun- 
 ders, Steward, Turn bull, Moore and "Winn, a charter was granted 
 for Columbia Lodge, 'No. 3, to be located in Baltimore. Past 
 Grand Joseph Bannister was admitted a member of the Grand 
 Lodge. The Golden Rule (or fourth) degree was ordered to be 
 conferred on Past Grands after an election by ballot. G. C. 
 Anstice resigned his office and P. G. Charles Common was ap- 
 pointed to fill the vacancy ; and a committee composed of "Wildey, 
 Pennell and Common were appointed on the Entwisle medal. A 
 Grand Committee was held December 7, 1823, when the Grand 
 Officers and Past Grands McCormick, Nelson and Scotchburn 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 6. 85 
 
 were present. An order was made that the scarlet degree 
 members be admitted to the Grand Lodge at the next quarterly 
 session on proving themselves in the degrees. It was also 
 ordered, in deference to the differences of opinion before referred 
 to, that the ode, "All hail, Most Noble Grand!" heretofore sung 
 at the installation of lodge officers, be read instead of being sung. 
 And the following was adopted : " Ordered that the Grand 
 Lodge open Columbia Lodge, No. 3, and do proceed to make 
 those proposed, if found worthy ; after which the officers are to 
 be elected and installed, and they to appoint their subordinate 
 officers." On December 17th this resolution was carried into 
 effect with great pomp, as we have already shown in the second 
 chapter. A letter was read from an officer of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1> Boston, complaining that Grand Master liersey 
 was assuming authority by visiting a lodge of which he was not 
 a member, speaking on questions before the lodge without invi- 
 tation, &c. To this the Grand Secretary was instructed to send 
 an appropriate reply. The following extract from the response 
 of Grand Secretary Entwisle indicates his views on the subject 
 of the rights and duties of a Grand Master of the period : "As 
 individuals of one great body, we ought to be careful whom we 
 elect to offices which give weight and consequence to the incum- 
 bents ; but when so elected, we ought to pay due respect both to 
 the office and the officer ; and we should reasonably expect that 
 brothers who thus pass the post of honor, and are admitted mem- 
 bers of a Grand Lodge, are worthy of trust and confidence in the 
 Order ; and that as a body, their judgment ought to be respected 
 by those who are not so far advanced, and who cannot, therefore, 
 be presumed to have the same experience. The prerogative of 
 the Grand Master is of the greatest consequence ; inasmuch as 
 he is at the head of the Order, and has the most ample opportu- 
 nity for obtaining an extensive and general knowledge of the 
 existing state of affairs, as well as acquaintanceship with the long 
 established rules of the Order, and being required, on many 
 occasions, to act on matters of momentary and instant im- 
 portance, he is necessarily clothed with considerable discretionary 
 powers. But for the undue or imprudent exercise of which, he 
 certainly would be answerable in the same manner as other 
 members. For, although he be Grand Master, he is still an Odd 
 Fellow, and must act with an undeviating reference to the funda- 
 
86 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 mental principles of the Order. But it is not fitting that the 
 brother who has advanced to this honorable station should be 
 reflected on, in his official capacity, by persons of limited acquire- 
 ments, perhaps under the influence of prejudice. And his con- 
 duct as Grand Master can only be brought in question before the 
 Grand Lodge. With respect to his right to visit or attend sub- 
 ordinate lodges, and their special or general meetings or commit- 
 tees, it is certain and inalienable. And not only so, but it is his 
 duty, by personal attendance or by representation through his 
 Deputy, to attend on all extraordinary occasions, w^hen practicable, 
 when it is to the interest of the Order that he should be acquainted 
 with the proceedings of any lodge under his care. And it is 
 desirable that lodges should individually benefit by his counsel and 
 advice. Nevertheless, he can have no vote except in the lodge of 
 which he is an active member." 
 
 The annual session was held February 22, 1824 ; present, the 
 Grand Officers and Past Grands McCormick, Seed, Nelson, 
 Scotchburn, Williams and Bannister. Past Grands Henry 
 Harris, of No. 1, and John Roach, of No. 2, were admitted as 
 members. The Grand Master announced that pursuant to the 
 resolution of the last quarterly session, the Grand Lodges had 
 appointed proxies to aid in the formation of a Grand Lodge of 
 the United States. For Massachusetts, Grand Master Wildey ; 
 New York, P. G. Scotchburn, and Pennsylvania, G. G. Boyd. 
 He then stated that as Grand Master he felt obliged to decline 
 his appointment, but as he was authorized to name a substitute, 
 he delegated A. G. Sec'ty Fennell to act for Massachusetts. The 
 Grand Lodge then sitting as the Grand Lodge of Maryland, pro- 
 ceeded " to an election by ticket, for a member to represent the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland." The vote being had, the choice by 
 a majority was made of G. Sec'ty Entwisle. He was the first 
 elected representative to the Grand Lodge of the United States, 
 and as such, may share with Wildey the reputation due to the 
 father of that great body. A recess was then taken to enable 
 the delegates to assemble ; after which the representatives and 
 proxies of the several Grand Lodges convened in Special Grand 
 Committee. The roll was called with the following result: 
 present, G. Sec'ty Entwisle, representative of Maryland ; A. G. 
 Sec'ty Fennell, proxy for Massachusetts ; P. G. Thomas Scotch- 
 burn^ proxy for New York, and G. G. John Boyd, proxy for 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. B. 87 
 
 Pennsylvania. The committee organized by inviting G. M. 
 Thomas Wildey to preside, and Kep. Entwisle to act as Secretary. 
 G. M. Wildey delivered what was styled " a very appropriate 
 address," which was not preserved. After consultation, the fol- 
 lowing was adopted : 
 
 RESOLUTIONS TO FORM A GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Resolved^ As the opinion of the Representatives assembled, 
 that it is essentially necessary to the success of a Grand Lodge, 
 that it should be established on the most undoubted basis ; and 
 to which end it is advisable to obtain from the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States, the charter under which the 
 said Grand Lodge now operates. 
 
 Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States be invited to convey the charter obtained from 
 England, to the Grand Lodge of the United States, in a separate 
 and distinct capacity, for the exclusive use of that body. 
 
 And then, after instructing each representative to consult 
 with his constituent Grand Lodge on the propriety of carrying out 
 the spirit of the above resolutions, and empowering the presiding 
 Grand Master to convene another meeting of the representatives 
 and proxies, to receive and act on the ascertained views of the 
 several Grand Lodges, the Grand Committee adjourned. 
 
 The plan proposed in these resolutions for eifecting a separate 
 organization of the Supreme Grand Lodge, seems to have been 
 reached by a careful examination of the situation in -which the 
 Order in the State of Maryland stood relatively to the portions 
 operating in the other States. The Maryland brothers desired 
 to extend to their brethren elsewhere an equitable share in the 
 government of the fraternity ; but to allow the representatives 
 of the other Grand Lodges to take seats in the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States, as it was then operated, 
 would be to give them undue control over its local interests. 
 This apprehension caused perplexity in the council of the 
 brethren, and made it necessary to use caution in adopting any 
 measure bearing on the specific matter. This was the cause of 
 the delay that had already taken place, and that still operated in 
 retarding the business. Hence the care taken to induce the 
 several Grand Lodges to become applicants for the surrender of 
 the old charter by the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 
88 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 United States, instead of being merely the recipient of a proffered 
 boon, indicates the caution with which the subject had been 
 weighed. By the arrangement proposed, the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States was not yet committed to 
 any plan, nor would it be required to surrender anything until 
 after the other Grand Lodges had jointly requested it to do so. 
 Then, as we shall see, it was supposed that the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland would be in a position to dictate terms. The MS. 
 marginal notes on a journal of the proceedings of the G. L, 
 of the U. S., Vol. I, page 64, say in regard to the first of the 
 resolutions : " Undoubted basis. That is, that there should be no 
 mistake as to the authority, or the general consent of all the 
 respective jurisdictions." On the second resolution they say: 
 " Impracticable and ridiculous, and a misconception of power " ; 
 and on the third, " Difficult to tell what this resolution means, 
 unless it was supposed that the original so-called charter from 
 England was assignable by the grantees. 1 ' In a certain sense 
 this may be true, but the light afforded by the action of Wash- 
 ington Lodge in 182-1, in surrendering the same document to the 
 P. Grands of that Lodge, enables us to see that the ordinary 
 rules were not to be applied in such an emergency. This prece- 
 dent in overturning ancient usage was the means of leading to 
 the bolder step here projected, of a second assignment which 
 ultimately brought about the re-habilitation of the basis and scope 
 of the whole Order, by the reception of a new and independent 
 charter in 1826 from England. If there was any irregularity it 
 was cured by the last instrument, which was in a legal sense an 
 exchange by which the new charter was given in lieu of that 
 which had been assigned to the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States. 
 
 When the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States 
 resumed its session, the first business announced was a communi- 
 cation from Isaac Hardman, Corresponding Secretary of the Man- 
 chester Unity, in which he stated that the first Grand Annual 
 Movable Committee of that Order was held at Hawley, in Staf- 
 fordshire, on May the 19th, 1823, when, among other proceedings, 
 the following was had : " Eesolved, that the general password, 
 4 upon my honor,' be totally done away with, and general quarterly 
 changeable passwords be substituted for all lodges and districts in 
 compliance, and that the G. M. of the Manchester District be ap- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 8. 89 
 
 pointed and authorized from time to time to give or communicate 
 it." " Resolved, that the password be communicated with the 
 Manchester quarterly minutes, copies of which shall be forwarded 
 to each District Grand Master for all the lodges under his jurisdic- 
 tion, and to lodges separately in strict compliance which have 
 not formed or joined any district." " Resolved, on the report of 
 the deputation to consider the alterations in the lectures and signs, 
 that the lectures and signs now introduced and explained, with 
 the alterations and amendments, be adopted in lieu of the old 
 ones." Owing to the difficulties attending transmission to this 
 country at the time, no special information of the changes which 
 had been effected was then communicated. But the Grand Lodge 
 directed a reply to be sent, expressive of its disapprobation of such 
 alterations, and requiring further information relative to the 
 matter. And then a committee, consisting of D. G. M. Welch, 
 G. Sec. Entwisle, G. Con. Common and A. G. Sec. Fennell, was 
 instructed to prepare a suitable letter, addressed to the brothers 
 in England, showing the progress made by the Order in this 
 country, and to have twelve copies printed in circular form. This 
 circular was not transmitted until April, a copy of which will be 
 found in its appropriate place. The question of the utility of a 
 travelling password, to be used only by members in good stand- 
 ing while on travel, with cards, was considered,, and resulted 
 in the passage of the following : " Resolved, that a T. P. W. be 
 adopted for the protection of the Order in the United States." 
 And then a T. P. W. for the current year was selected. An 
 order was made to hold the meetings of the Grand Lodge in 
 future on the regular days appointed, unless the day of the month 
 should fall on Sunday. It was also ordered that when visitors 
 are present at a session of the Grand Lodge, the order of busi- 
 ness shall be at first confined to local or State .affairs, and when 
 these are disposed of, to proceed to the business of a general 
 character. It was represented in the Grand Lodge that a diver- 
 sity of opinion existed among the membership in Baltimore in 
 regard to annual celebrations, when a communication was di- 
 rected to be sent to the subordinate lodges of Maryland, recom- 
 mending them to adopt the 26th of April as the general anniver- 
 sary. The Grand Lodge arranged to visit each of the subordinate 
 lodges in the course of the next three months, and then adjourned, 
 it having been one of the most laborious sessions of the body. 
 
90 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The Grand Secretary made up a summary of the condition of the 
 Order, which is important, from being the initial effort of that 
 sort of document. It sets forth that there were, subordinate to 
 the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States, three 
 Grand Lodges, having under them three subordinate lodges, and 
 the Grand Lodge itself having also three subordinate lodges, 
 making a total in this country of one Supreme Grand Lodge, 
 three subordinate Grand Lodges and six subordinate lodges. 
 
 The financial affairs during the preceding year presented a 
 more healthy condition, showing largely increased amounts on 
 both sides of the ledger, but a reduced balance. At the begin- 
 ning of the year the balance in hand was $55.02, the receipts as 
 percentage from No. 1, $32.25, and from No. 2, $42.56, for char- 
 ters, $75.00, and from individual members, $29.50, making a 
 total of $234.33. The expenditures w r ere, for printing, &c., 
 $89.42, travelling expenses, $50.00, incidentals, $76.12, making a 
 total of $215.54, and leaving the balance of $18.79. From the 
 percentage paid it would appear that the receipts of Washington 
 Lodge No. 1 had been $322.50, and of Franklin Lodge No. 2, 
 $425.60, which implies a favorable change in that branch of the 
 Order. The Grand Committee was convened March 16th, 1824, 
 w r hen were present G. M. Wildey, G. Sec'y Entwisle, A. G. Sec'y 
 Fennell, G. G. Boyd, G. Con. Common and P. G.'s N.elson, 
 Scotchburn and Roach. The session was occupied in the routine 
 of correspondence with the new Grand Lodges, which required 
 incessant nursing ; orders for printing, which was already begin- 
 ning to show its increasing dimensions, etc., etc. An article had 
 appeared in the Boston press which met the approbation of the 
 committee, and an order was made to have it republished in the 
 Baltimore papers. The tenor of the article is unknown. The 
 Grand Committee was again convened on April 15th, when 
 were present G. M. Wildey, D. G. M. Welch, G. Secretary 
 Entwisle, G. G. Boyd, G. Con. Common and P. G.'s McCor- 
 mick and Nelson. The G. M. stated that the committee 
 had been called together to consider a communication which 
 G. Secretary Entwisle was prepared to present on the subject 
 of organizing a separate Grand Lodge of the United States. 
 Grand Sec'y Entwisle, as the Representative of Maryland, sub- 
 mitted the proceedings had at the Special Grand Committee held 
 February 22d, 1S24, to make arrangements to form a separate 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 8. 91 
 
 Grand Lodge of the United States. He stated that as Acting 
 Grand Secretary he had sent them to the State Grand Lodges, 
 and had received from Massachusetts, New York and Pennsyl- 
 vania an affirmative response ; " and now, as the approved act of 
 the several Grand Lodges," he submitted the proposal formally 
 for the consideration of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States. The whole subject was referred to a committee 
 to report forthwith. It is evident, from the formidable character 
 of the report, that it had been carefully prepared in advance. 
 The committee, consisting of G. M. Wildey, G. D. M. Welch 
 and G. Sec'y Entwisle, presented the following, which was unani- 
 mously adopted : 
 
 ORAND LODGE REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON THE FORMATION OF THE 
 GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Your Committee, while deeply impressed with the delicate 
 nature and great importance of the matter referred to them, and 
 fully aware of the magnitude of the result expected from their 
 labor, have exerted their best endeavor to fulfill the charge satis- 
 factorily, and respectfully submit the following report : 
 
 Your Committee find it necessary to take a view of the whole 
 ground on which Odd Fellowship has operated, while considering 
 the subject before them, being convinced that it is advisable to 
 exhibit all the main historical points which its magnitude so 
 imperiously demands. Your Committee is entrusted to propose 
 a radical change in the form of the government of the Order at 
 large, and to prepare a plan for effecting it in a shape suitable 
 to be submitted to the several Grand Lodges throughout the 
 Union, which, at the same time, will be explanatory of the 
 changes deemed necessary. Your Committee would, in the first 
 place, respectfully recall to the memory of the members of the 
 Grand Lodge the days now gone and past, when Odd Fellowship 
 in its infancy as an Order in these United States had to meet 
 and contend against every obstacle which ignorance of its prin- 
 ciples in some, and jealousy of its presumptive success with 
 others, could throw in its way. And these outside enemies were 
 more than aided in their endeavors by the conduct of professed 
 brothers, who, led by an ambition to appear the greatest, or by a 
 design to impose, under the guise of F. L. and T., on the confid- 
 ing friendship and ready credulity of the brethren, inflicted a 
 damage on the whole fraternity, far exceeding any that could be 
 effected by others. It was at the time the Order was thus suffer- 
 ing, when every faithful brother had been called to his post, their 
 services being needed, that they took a firm stand, although but 
 
92 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 few in numbers, and saved the Order from destruction. This 
 minority, by devoted action, strict attention to duty and unre- 
 mitting zeal, were enabled to become an overwhelming majority, 
 and to save the Order from a premature grave. The circum- 
 stances surrounding that eventful period ought forever to endear 
 to us the champions of the day ; those who sacrificed their time 
 and money, and, in the eyes of the uninformed, almost their repu- 
 tation, for our eventual success ; those Past Grands who, having 
 the interest of the Order at heart, felt bound by the most solemn 
 and sacred ties to act together for the welfare of the whole. They 
 not only took such steps as would tend to preserve the purity and 
 ensure the stability of the superstructure, but also were anxious 
 to add, with proper carefulness, every suitable embellishment 
 offered for its improvement and advantage. 
 
 Your committee w r ill next beg leave to bring to your recollec- 
 tion, among other interesting circumstances, the agreement to form 
 the Past Grands into a separate body, made between them and 
 their fellow-members of .No. 1, "Washington Lodge, the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland and of the United States of America the 
 lirst chartered lodge of Odd Fellows in the United States, and 
 which received its charter according to the usage of the Order 
 in England ; and being the only lodge in America that had at 
 that time received a regular dispensation, it took its rank accord- 
 ingly. Pursuant to usage, the general business had previously 
 been transacted by the committee of Past Grands of the lodge, 
 and the members of this committee made the proposal to the 
 lodge, to deliver over the English warrant to the exclusive custody 
 of the Past Grands of that lodge, and to the Past Grands of all 
 lodges that would unite together in the formation and support 
 of a Grand Lodge composed exclusively of Past Grands. So 
 soon as this proposal was made and explained to the members of 
 No. 1, Washington Lodge, it was acceded to with gladness. The 
 unanimous opinion of the brethren, after a little discussion, set- 
 tled down in favor of the principle that the superior power should 
 be delegated to the most experienced of the membership, that it 
 should result from a free vote of the brethren of all the lodges in 
 the district, that no one individual lodge had a just claim to exer- 
 cise the authority of superintendent over the other lodges, or 
 was entitled to any preference whatever, save the respect always 
 conceded in civil society to seniority. With earnest and sanguine 
 hopes that this measure would lead to a wide increase in lodges 
 and membership, Washington Lodge nobly sacrificed its pride, 
 gave up what are called " chartered rights," and agreed to receive, 
 as a humble subordinate, a dispensation from the body thus cre- 
 ated by the voluntary act of its own members. The unanimity 
 of opinion among brothers displayed on that memorable occasion 
 has seldom been equalled, and lias been followed by a series of 
 successes which could only have been produced by wise and judi- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. . 93 
 
 eious measures. This Grand Charter was received by Washing- 
 ton Lodge, in Baltimore, on October 23d, 1820, and was thus 
 unanimously vested in the body of Past Grands on February 
 22d, 1821, when it was duly organized as the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States. The day was purposely 
 selected, being the birthday of the illustrious Father of his coun- 
 try, the champion of liberty, the mirror of virtue, and in public 
 and private life alike, the ornament of patriotic principle and of 
 social philanthropy. Your committee have digressed for a mo- 
 ment, in order that you may understand that our annual sessions 
 are held on this day in honor of the great man of America. Your 
 committee, with increasing delight, can now proceed toward that 
 period when the crooked paths become comparatively straight, 
 and the rough places smooth ; when the emblem of justice was 
 uplifted by Washington Lodge No. 1 and Franklin Lodge No. 2, 
 being firmly united in the bonds of Friendship, Love and Truth ; 
 when a system of equality had been established under which none 
 <?ould take the lead of the other, except as merit or talent gave 
 the claim. Your committee will now briefly advert to the mis- 
 sion of our worthy Grand Master, Thomas Wildey, and the advan- 
 tages resulting therefrom to our Order throughout the Union. 
 The brethren he visited in Massachusetts, New York and Penn- 
 sylvania all testify, in the most decided manner, to the great respect 
 they entertain for him, and how highly they appreciate the work 
 he has done. And your committee cannot fail to observe with 
 gratification, the friendly exchange of sentiment and sympathy 
 which has ever since been maintained, and regard it as the evi- 
 dence of the formation of the strong bond of a perpetual union. 
 Your committee beg to express their acknowledgments for 
 the honor conferred on themselves, in having been entrusted to 
 perform the duty of preparing the way for a further extension of 
 equal privileges toward the Grand Lodges of the different States 
 of the Union, and respectfully submit for consideration the accom- 
 panying preamble and resolutions. 
 
 TH. WILDEY, 
 JOHN WELCH, 
 JOHN P. ENTWISLE, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 WHEREAS, It is expedient in sound policy that the Grand 
 Lodges of the Order of I. O. F. in the United States should hold 
 a close adherence and a regular correspondence with each other, 
 and it is imperative in strict justice to render the several Grand 
 Lodges in the Union independent of each other, to be equally 
 represented in the Grand Lodge of the United States either by 
 representatives or proxies, and that it is inexpedient, as well as 
 invidious, that the Grand Lodge of Maryland and the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States should act under the same charter 
 
94: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 and be presided over by the same Grand Master, whereby the 
 office of Grand Master would be confined to the State of Mary- 
 land, to the preference of one State and possibly to the injury of 
 the whole. Therefore be it resolved, 
 
 1st. That we highly approve of the city of Baltimore, in 
 the State of Maryland, as the permanent seat of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, being central in situation as well a& 
 senior in order. 
 
 2d. That we hail with grateful remembrance the day when 
 the Grand Charter was vested in the Past Grands ; the death- 
 blow to schism and dissension, and the epoch of prosperity to the 
 Order. 
 
 3d. That the Grand Charter of Maryland and of the United 
 States be vested in the Past Grands of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, and that Maryland shall receive a Grand Charter 
 from the same, and thereupon resign all claim or title to or from 
 it, other than in common with the other Grand Lodges ; which 
 said Grand Charter shall have and contain, in the engrossing 
 thereof, a clause representing the said investment and condition ; 
 and further, that the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States doth give the said charter on condition that they 
 keep the Grand Lodge of the United States in Maryland. 
 
 4th. That the Grand Master and the proxies of the several 
 Grand Lodges do proceed forthwith, and are required to complete 
 the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and 
 have the same brought forward for consideration and adoption^ 
 on or before the second quarterly meeting of the Grand Lodge> 
 the 22d of August. 
 
 5th. That when passed, a correct copy of the Constitution 
 be forwarded to each Grand Lodge within one month after the 
 aforesaid time, in order that the necessary information may be 
 received thereon, previous to the next annual meeting. 
 
 The resolutions were immediately transmitted to the State 
 Grand Lodges for consideration, but did not meet with the gene- 
 ral approval. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania had objection 
 to the expression in the 1st resolution, making Baltimore " the 
 permanent seat of the Grand Lodge of the United States," as well 
 as to the last clause of the 3d resolution, but did not give imme- 
 diate utterance to it. Meanwhile the members designated by the 
 4th resolution applied themselves to preparing the form of a con- 
 stitution in conformity to the plan proposed, so as to be ready to 
 submit it at the August session. The quarterly session was held 
 on May 22d, 1824 ; present, G. M. Wildey, D. G. M. Welch, A. G. 
 Sec'y Fennell, G. G. Boyd, G. Con. Common, and P. G.'s Nelson, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. 8. 95 
 
 Scotchburn, Williams, Roach and Harris. Washington Lodge, 
 ISTo. 1, applied for the privilege to meet " fortnightly " instead of 
 " weekly," as heretofore, which was granted, with a recommen- 
 dation to the other two lodges to adopt the same plan. The com- 
 mittee appointed at the February session for the purpose, reported 
 having interchanged views with the several Grand Lodges, and 
 that they had transmitted in printed form a circular letter to the 
 brethren in England, of which the following is a copy : 
 
 CIRCULAE. 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 To all whom it may concern, in the bonds of F. L. and T. 
 
 GREETING: The brethren of the Order who have passed the 
 presiding Chair, arid now have the privilege of meeting the Grand 
 Lodge, feel a pleasure which it is impossible to describe, in holding 
 a communication with friends and brothers in far distant lands, 
 which many of them never saw, and perhaps never will see. 
 Still the same sentiment pervades the mind and directs the pen, to 
 offer to our unseen brothers the friendly assurance of respect and 
 good will, when distance prevents the exemplification of it by the 
 grip and sign ; by participation in the joys, or sympathizing in 
 the sorrows of this checquered life. Those only who study the 
 principles and act out the part of Odd Fellows, in the true sense 
 of these words, can feel the force of these friendly emotions ; and as 
 there can be nothing more pleasing to the sensitive mind than 
 to give and receive, and thus delightfully reciprocate enjoyment, 
 we have the supreme gratification, in compliance with a resolu- 
 tion of the Grand Lodge, to address the Independent Odd Fellows 
 throughout England. 
 
 Dear and respected brothers, it affords us great joy to learn, 
 through various channels, that the Order is increasing in num- 
 bers and improving in respectability in your part of the world ; 
 but we regret that our intercourse, by correspondence, has 
 been so limited, and it is with the twofold view of cheering 
 you with the account of our prosperity, and of eliciting from 
 you a return of information at once pleasing and instructive, that 
 the Grand Lodge has directed me to communicate with you by 
 circular. As I presume the information will be gratifying, I 
 acquaint you that our Order was established in this city on 
 April 26th, 1819, and from a small and weak beginning, has 
 been increased by the unremitting attendance of the faithful, 
 and has overcome every difficulty which ignorance, prejudice, 
 and unworthy membership have thrown in our path; the 
 hydra-head of Discord has been bruised, and, according to pre- 
 sent appearance, deprived of animation. May the sacred flame 
 
96 AMEKICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 of friendship burn on the altar of the human heart, unquenched 
 "by the waters of adversity, ever fed by the oil of affection, and 
 supported by the noble and unappalled front of truth and honor. 
 We number in the United States at present FIVE Git AND LODGES, 
 viz : I. The Grand Lodge of the United States, which pre- 
 sides over all, and is the centre point of communication and cor- 
 respondence of all the rest, and which meets yearly, on February 
 22d. II. The Grand Lodge of Maryland, which meets once a 
 quarter, in Baltimore, having under its jurisdiction the Washing- 
 ton, No. 1, Franklin, No. 2, and Columbia, No. 3. III. The 
 Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, which meets in Boston, and has 
 under its jurisdiction the Massachusetts, No. 1, and Siloam, No. 
 2. IV. The Grand Lodge of New York, which meets in the 
 city of New York, and has under its jurisdiction the Columbia, 
 No. 1, and Franklin, No. 2. V. The Grand Lodge of Pennsyl- 
 vania, which meets in Philadelphia, and has under its jurisdic- 
 tion the Pennsylvania, No. 1, and another just opened, the name 
 not yet returned. The numbers of the membership are consider- 
 able, and their respectability entirely satisfactory, and from all 
 appearance we shall soon be very widely extended over this vast 
 continent. We shall always have pleasure in seconding any mea- 
 sures calculated to promote the general good, and to that intent 
 we shall be glad to receive and reciprocate any information in 
 your possession or ours. We find but little difficulty, compara- 
 tively, in communicating with our societies here, although the 
 facilities are far less than with you ; having a central and general 
 head, enables all to act in unison, so that we fear no enemy. In 
 answer to a communication we have received from the King 
 George the Fourth, or Victory Lodge, in Liverpool, we have 
 written a long letter, and requested that lodge to make it public 
 to the Order generally. We regret to hear that there should be 
 any misunderstanding in the fraternity, as it will not fail to injure 
 the cause more or less ; but for our views on these subjects I 
 respectfully refer you to the letter before mentioned. In conclu- 
 sion, permit me to renew assurances of the sincere respect and 
 brotherly attachment entertained for you by the fraternity on this 
 side of the Atlantic, and of our best wishes for your present and 
 future welfare, both in your individual and social capacities. 
 Believe me, respected brothers, yours in the bonds of the Order. 
 
 JOHN P. ENTWISLE, Grand Setfy. 
 Baltimore, April, 1824. 
 Approved: THOMAS WILDEY, G. M., JOHN WELCH, I). G. M. 
 
 The above is the last of the documents which appear with 
 the signature of the most useful of the men who counselled with 
 the G. M. during his early career. A Grand Committee was 
 called by the Grand Master on July 6, 1824; present, G. Master 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 97 
 
 Wilde} 7 , D. G. M. pro tern. Scotehburn, A. G. Sec'y Fennell, 
 G. G. Boyd, G. Con. Common, and P. G.'s McCormick, Kelson, 
 Williams and Roach. The G. M. announced that the meeting 
 was held in consequence of the sudden death of the Grand Sec- 
 retary John P. Entwisle ; whereupon it was proposed to pay to 
 the widow of the deceased the amount heretofore appropriated to 
 purchase a medal, intended to be presented to him in recognition 
 of the service he had rendered to the Order ; which was unani- 
 mously agreed to. The second quarterly session was held, August 
 23, 1824; present, G. M. Wildey, D. G. 1&. pro tern,. Scotehburn, 
 A. G. Sec'y Fennell, G. G. Boyd, G. Con. Common, and P. G.'s 
 Nelson, Williams, Roach and Harris. P. Grands Ezekiel C. 
 Gill, of No. 2, and Samuel Bickley, of No. 3, were admitted to 
 membership. After sundry letters were received, read and dis- 
 posed of, it was announced that by the demise of the late Grand 
 Secretary John P. Entwisle, a vacancy had occurred in the 
 position of Representative of the Grand Lodge of Maryland to 
 the Grand Lodge of the United States, when it was resolved to 
 proceed to an election to fill the vacancy, and P. G. Charles 
 Common was duly elected. The committee, as indicated by the 
 4th resolution of April 15, 1824, submitted the form of a consti- 
 tution suitable for the Grand Lodge of the United States in its 
 separate capacity. The Grand Lodge then carefully considered 
 its provisions and approved it, and an order was made that a 
 <;opy of the proposed constitution be forwarded .within one month 
 to each of the Grand Lodges for concurrence. The Grand Lodge 
 omitted to direct the printing of this document, and copies in manu- 
 script consumed much time in the preparation, hence there was 
 so much delay that few, if any, of the Grand Lodges received a 
 copy in time to consider the subject before the period arrived for 
 final action at Baltimore. The copy for the Grand Lodge of 
 New York was not received until January 15, 1825, when a 
 special session was held " to consider the merits of the constitu- 
 tion prepared for the government of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States." This Grand Body met monthly, and had held 
 sessions in the preceding months of October, November and 
 December, so that the copy did not reach' New York until after 
 the December session. The presumption is fair that it was 
 equally late in reaching Massachusetts. A copy, however, 
 reached Pennsylvania in time to be laid before a special session 
 7 
 
98 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 on December 16, 1824, when on the question of approval the 
 following was adopted : " Resolved, That our Representative 
 be informed that in the opinion of this Grand Lodge, the word 
 permanent in the 5th Article of the Constitution should be 
 stricken out, and the word present inserted, and also that the 
 word central, in the same Article, should be expunged." The 
 delay in transcribing the copies, doubtless contributed to the 
 want of harmony that prevailed at the period of effecting the 
 new organization. This constitution was adopted on the 15th of 
 January, 1825, and will be found in the journal, on page 70. 
 
 The third quarterly session was held November 22d, 1824 ; 
 present, G. M. Wildey, D. G. M. Welch, G. W. Mitchell, A. G. 
 Sec'y Fennell, G. G. Boyd, G. Con. Common, and P. G.'s McCor- 
 mick, Nelson, Scotchburn, Roach, Harris and Bickley. Past 
 Grands Freeburger and Arman, of 'No. 2, and Colt, of No 3, were 
 admitted to membership. The record of the proceedings 
 of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United State's, from 
 its organization to the close of the last session, was read by the 
 D. G. Master, and approved. Sundry letters were read and dis- 
 posed of, among which was one from the Grand Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania, relative to the surreptitious admission into the Order of 
 a certain James Day, w r hereupon a resolution was adopted pro- 
 hibiting his admission into any lodge of the Order " throughout 
 the globe." This premature action was afterwards repudiated, 
 when the power belonging to a State Grand Lodge was better 
 understood. The routine business of the Grand Lodge having 
 been performed, Grand Master "Wildey addressed the Grand 
 Lodge, informing the members that his term of office as Grand 
 Master was about to expire, and that pursuant to notice previ- 
 ously given, it now devolved on that body, in its capacity of the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland, to proceed to the election of Grand 
 Master and of the other Grand Officers. Previous to which, 
 however, the Grand Lodge proceeded to consider the amendments 
 proposed to the constitution of the separate Grand Lodge of Ma- 
 ryland ; whereupon, on motion, the amendments to the 14th and 
 15th Articles were adopted, by which the terms of service of the 
 Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master and other Grand Officers 
 were fixed for one year, and that they each should be eligible for 
 re-election. The following amendment to the 6th Article was 
 adopted : " That the annual session of the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MD. AND THE U. S. 99 
 
 land be held on January 15th, in lieu of the 22d of February " : 
 the record says the latter " being the day set apart for the organ- 
 ization of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and also the 15th 
 of January being the birthday of the founder of Odd Fellowship in 
 the United States." The constitution as thus amended, was read 
 and approved. The Grand Lodge went into the election of 
 Grand Master by ballot, and there appearing an equal number 
 of votes for P. G. Common and P. G. Scotchburn, the G. M. gave 
 the casting vote in favor of P. G. Charles Common, of Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 2, and declared him duly elected Grand Master of the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland for the ensuing term. The election 
 was proceeded with, when P. G. Thomas Scotchburn, of Columbia 
 Lodge, No. 3, was duly elected D. G. Master, P. G. John Nelson, 
 of Washington Lodge, No. 1, was elected G. Warden, and P. G, 
 Ezekiel C. Gill, of Franklin Lodge, No. 2, was elected G. Secretary, 
 The G. M. elect then announced that he should nominate P. G. 
 Henry Harris, of Washington Lodge, No. 1, as G. Guardian, and 
 P. G. Freeburger, of Franklin Lodge, No. 2, as G. Conductor. 
 As the business of the Grand Lodge was drawing to a close, the 
 following was submitted and unanimously adopted : 
 
 " Resolved, that G. M. Wildey, after leaving his seat, be pre- 
 sented with a medal, as a small token of our respect for his emi- 
 nent services, his indefatigable and unremitting zeal in spreading 
 the Order of Odd Fellowship throughout the United States, and 
 his unexampled assiduity and attention to its best interests while 
 Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United 
 States." Past Grands Common, Scotchburn and Fennell were 
 delegated to procure the medal. 
 
 After the Grand Lodge had arranged to visit Columbia Lodge, 
 No. 3, on the 29th of the month, as the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land, it closed the quarterly session, to open in annual session on 
 January 15, 1825 ; and the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States, having thus arranged to organize the Grand Lodge 
 of the United States, as a separate body, on February 22, 1825, 
 closed sine die. And thus terminated the first experiment to 
 organize, extend and govern a social and benevolent institution 
 which, divided into many branches, found its way triumphantly 
 into every State. 
 
 The Masonic fraternity in its Blue Lodges of ancient renown 
 has never been united under a central government. It is only 
 
100 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 in its less numerous branches that it has attempted anything of 
 the kind, and that has been since the example set by our Order. 
 The experiment was novel and had no precedent, but the result 
 has shown the greatness of the plan. The means set on foot for 
 our organization extended in their operation from February 22, 
 1821, until November 22, 1824, inclusive; a period of three years 
 and nine months. But the termination of those labors in so 
 grand a manner did not cause a cessation of the undertaking ; it 
 merely changed the nature of the machinery employed. Casting 
 away the clumsy tools of an obsolete antiquity, they invented new 
 instruments, required by new conditions, and boldly produced an 
 organism that has no parallel among moral or benevolent institu- 
 tions. "When the material of which these workmen were com- 
 posed is carefully regarded, our wonder almost deepens into 
 reverence. The Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United 
 States seems but a feeble power to work out such wonders. 
 During its career it received in all but twenty-eight members 
 into its communion ; of whom some ten or twelve had to 
 bear the whole burden of the adventure ; head and heart and 
 hand alike were busy ; and toil worthy of being classed with the 
 labors of Hercules, under the blessing of heaven, had its reward. 
 And thus the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States, 
 that curious anomaly, passed away ; it had done its part and 
 made its own history. The Order was no longer local ; three 
 great States had been brought in to share the labor and responsi- 
 bility, and that which had been conlined to one city was now like 
 an infinite circle, to have its centre everywhere, and its space 
 limitless. But the body, at its dissolution, by a true metempsy- 
 chosis parted with all its divine faculties, its living soul, to the 
 new body to which it gave existence. Or, to change the figure, 
 that which was first in use for the building was not mere scaffold- 
 ing, but sound material, which was only removed to form an 
 essential part of the building about to be constructed. The little 
 band was to assume a new role and play its part on a greater 
 stage ; some would retire, others grow slack and lose their interest 
 in the enterprise, and one master-spirit had just gone down to the 
 grave ; but the leader was alive and vigorous, and was to fulfil 
 his destiny as the hero of the drama. He alone was to see the 
 end and enjoy the victory, and his fame was to be assured 
 ere the curtain should fall upon the splendid spectacle. 
 
JOHN WELCH. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 JOHN WELCH. 
 
 He knows the compass, sail and oar, 
 Or never launches from the shore ; 
 Before he builds computes the cost, 
 And in no proud pursuit is lost. 
 
 GAY'S FABLES. 
 
 WELCH, ENTWISLE, WILDEY, are the names written down 
 everywhere as the primary agents in setting on foot the Order of 
 Odd Fellowship. The first and the last we have not inscribed 
 in the order of their eminence, but rather in the order of the 
 succession of this history; for WILDEY was always first. In 
 these names will be found the master-spirits of the incipient 
 efforts of the first decade. We might indeed add humble instru- 
 ments to this number among worthy brothers of the same era, did 
 the record of the early labors of Washington Lodge remain for 
 our perusal ; but the original minute-book has for many years 
 been missing, and not a single trace of it remains. Hence the 
 career of the early members is unknown, and the transactions of 
 the lodge are buried in oblivion ; the only facts preserved are 
 that brothers Welch and Wildey were presented with silver 
 medals for valuable services rendered. Moving in a sphere 
 above his lodge, Welch was too intimately connected with the 
 origin of the Order and its early history to be passed over with- 
 out honorable mention. Tn fact, he has become a necessary part 
 of those times as a historical character. He and his two associates 
 on all occasions appear as primus inter pares ; and with them 
 he was so fully identified as to have shared all their struggles in 
 the perilous times of the Order's infancy. To these, according 
 to their several faculties and labors, belong the honors fit to be 
 awarded to public benefactors ; a title superior to patents of no- 
 bility. For what merit can surpass that of those who organized 
 an institution second to no secular society, however venerable or 
 honored among men ? This Trio came together by some favor- 
 able conjunction, to unite as one in a work so great as to require 
 
 (101) 
 
102 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 that union, and all the capacity which it concentrated. The 
 part performed by the first person in this order of arrangement 
 will now be related. 
 
 WELCH BEFORE APRIL 19, 1819. 
 
 John Welch was an Englishman, born at Wolverhampton, 
 Lancashire, in November, 1792. His parents were John J. 
 Welch and Sarah his wife ; persons in humble life, but of respec- 
 tability. Nothing is known of his education, but when about 
 twelve years of age he lost his mother, and soon after was ap- 
 prenticed to the business of painting and plumbing, in which he 
 became proficient. Upon attaining his majority he married, and 
 emigrated to the United States as an inviting field for employ- 
 ment. Seeking a home for his young family, he reached Balti- 
 more in the month of May, 1817, and at once sought for work 
 at his trade. His first employer was a James Garni ngham, a 
 fellow-countryman, with whom he worked steadily for several 
 months. Subsequently he formed a partnership with a Mr. 
 Anderson for carrying on his business, but the venture was not 
 successful. He then accepted the position of foreman in the 
 shop of a Mr. Galloway. This proving to be both agreeable 
 and profitable, he continued in the same service for some twelve 
 years. About the year 1829 he returned to England on a visit, 
 where he remained several months with his kindred, but in 1830 
 revisited Baltimore, and concluded to make that city his per- 
 manent residence. An increasing family of children now gave 
 a fresh spur to his exertions ; he entered into business on his own 
 account with great zeal and energy, and soon earned that success 
 which seldom fails to reward industry and integrity combined 
 with reasonable skill. But we return to his first appearance in 
 America, and his connection with Wildey. 
 
 He was made an Odd Fellow in Great Britain, before his emigra- 
 tion, in some independent lodge, about which we can only hazard 
 a supposition that it was an obscure society of the name, many 
 of which were scattered through England. The date of his initia- 
 tion, and even the name of the lodge, are unknown. Soon after 
 his emigration, in 1818, he made the acquaintance of Thomas 
 Wildey, in whose company he spent many pleasant hours among 
 the strangers and strange scenes of a new country. It would 
 seem that he had not much zeal as an Odd Fellow, owing to the 
 
 
JOHN WELCH. 103 
 
 fact that he knew but very little about the Order, and never had 
 been seriously enamored of it. At all events, from Wildey's 
 statement, several conversations on the subject passed between 
 them, in all of which Welch showed little interest, and simply 
 asserted that he was a member. When followed up and pressed 
 on the subject, he at length admitted that he was a P. Y. G. of 
 Birmingham, England. The conclusion is that he had other mat- 
 ters of deeper moment for him that filled his mind ; the duties of 
 a husband and father were paramount, and he did not feel the 
 same desire for company which inflamed the childless Wildey. 
 But his scruples were soon overcome, and we find him as one of 
 the original five who met at the "Seven Stars,'' on Second 
 Street. How they were brought together and by whose exertions 
 has been before related, and need not be repeated. On the organ- 
 ization of Washington Lodge, No. 1, Wildey became ~N. G., and 
 Welch the first Vice Grand. Here the story has a sudden gap, 
 and so remains untold, so far as that lodge is concerned, in con- 
 nection with the services of this brother. That they were valu- 
 able is shown by ample testimony. Wildey, at every period of 
 his life, was wont to speak of Welch in terms of enthusiastic praise. 
 He often, in private circles, delighted to recount his first meeting 
 with Welch, and how soon he began to find him congenial. To 
 refer to the organization of the Order and of the part played by 
 his friend on that occasion, he w^as never tired of stating that 
 his presence and services were such that no one could have supplied 
 his place ; that after his own retirement from the chair of N. G., 
 his faithful coadjutor was the chosen champion of the lodge, and 
 that he was always indispensable in fixing its policy. On the 
 subject of his private efforts he was equally prone to break out 
 in commendation. He held him a counsellor who was equally 
 bold and prudent ; sometimes checking him in his ardor, and at 
 other times suggesting difficulties and the best means of avoiding 
 or removing them. Again, full of hope, and with confidence in 
 his colleague, he gave free scope to his vigor by the \varmest en- 
 couragement. It would seem that he was captivated by the mar- 
 vellous energy of the founder, and studied his nature that he might 
 the better inform his judgment. Thus, he was willing to subordi- 
 nate himself, and exhibit the great leader as author of everything; 
 retaining only the affectionate but responsible post of adviser. 
 Of Duncan, Cheathem and Rushworth, nothing is known after 
 
104 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the 26th of April, 1819; they disappear and never again rise to 
 the surface. We may be tolerably certain that there was good rea- 
 son for this silence. We have no doubt they were migratory par- 
 ties, who did not remain to share the fortunes of the lodge ; or if 
 any remained, they were such material as were not worthy of 
 special mention. 'No doubt the lodge had many accessions from 
 the English, who would naturally seek the society of their coun- 
 trymen; but of these, few would long be stationary, and others, 
 on trial, would be found unw r orthy. 
 
 Of those prior to 1821, we have the names of Couth, Larkam, 
 Boyd and Entwisle; of these, Boyd was a fine acquisition, and 
 Entwisle was of the greatest importance. Then follow Win 
 Chester, Wilson, Mitchell, Seed, McCormick, Nelson, Scotchburn 
 and others, who are only known as members of the body of Past 
 Grands, all Englishmen ; so that a very small minority, if more 
 than three or four, were of the native population. It follows that 
 for several years the institution was British, and an importation 
 not yet made acceptable to Americans. The struggle between 
 the old conservative and the new reformatory elements has been 
 fully set out in other parts of this volume. The difficulty then of 
 a firm foundation for the Order was greater by reason of its being 
 of foreign origin and under foreign auspices. Prudence as well 
 as vigor were requisite ; this was the chief feature in the character 
 of Welch, and it was never found wanting in any emergency. 
 At the meeting of Past Grands held February 7th, 1821, Welch 
 was again at the side of Wildey. The Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 and of the United States was then organized, and Welch became 
 the first Grand Secretary. Here he follows his friend into a new 
 and broader field, requiring all his capacity to give him efficient 
 aid. The duties of this office he performed for the space of one 
 year, a full term. He was, on the 22d of February, 1823, duly 
 elected and installed as Deputy Grand Master, which he held 
 until the 15th day of January, 1825, when the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States was organized. He was then unanimously 
 elected the first Deputy Grand Master (now Sire) of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, the duties of which he faithfully dis- 
 charged ; his last appearance in that character being on Monday, 
 May 4th, 1829, when he refused longer to hold the position. 
 
 From this time he appears no more on the journal, or in any 
 way connected with this history ; but he had carved his name 
 
JOHN WELCH. 105 
 
 upon the foundation, and on each upward layer, until he saw it 
 deeply graven in the last rough ashler which lay upon the sum- 
 mit. It was not his life-work, as it was that of Wildey. He had 
 borne the heat and burden of the day, and the field was won ; 
 henceforth there was much to do, but it lay with others, then 
 present and to come, to build on the foundations. He foresaw 
 that even his great leader must soon retire, or submit himself 
 to others than himself for guidance, and that the new machinery 
 would effectually do the work. Faithful counsellor! he had 
 stood by and advised his friend in every hour of darkness, doubt 
 and disaster ; he had shared all his hopes and all his fears. He 
 had met him at the " Seven Stars," with but three more for com- 
 pany ; he followed him from public-house to public-house, and 
 from one hall to another, until he sat down with him in the first 
 Odd Fellows' temple on Gay Street. He was in the contest of 
 Wildey with Jackson, and clung to Wildey ; and he saw two 
 brawny children, born of their mutual energy Franklin and 
 Columbia Lodges begin a vigorous existence. He devised 
 with him and Entwisle the plan of taking the old charter from 
 Washington Lodge and giving it into hands wiser and abler to 
 maintain it. He saw Wildey starting from Baltimore to go the 
 then great distance to Boston, and after many counsels, bade him 
 God-speed upon his errand ; and he, with Entwisle, received the 
 triumphant trophies of Wildey's prowess in the applications from 
 New York and Pennsylvania, that vindicated their estimate of the 
 coining man. He saw order arising out of confusion, and the 
 native population lending its aid to perfect and carry on the 
 enterprise. A central Grand Lodge of the United States begins 
 to open its arms to embrace a continent. He is there to give his 
 prudence and energy to the first five years of those preparatory 
 movements that were necessary for a final victory ; and now he 
 retires into modest seclusion, before the day when an admiring 
 brotherhood shall give him his meed of gratitude and praise. 
 True to his friend to the very last, and in the very sensitive mat- 
 ter of his own great merit and services, he nobly hides himself 
 away, and leaves Wildey to wear his jewels in his well-won crown. 
 Who, from this narrative, can fail to see the modesty and dignity 
 of this inestimable brother the Mentor of the early days ? 
 
 In all the great events we have narrated he was a necessary 
 agent. He was superior to Wildey in manners, education and 
 
106 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 social position. His thoughts tended to religion, and this ten- 
 dency he impressed on all around him ; in later life he became 
 an ornament and support in one of the Christian churches. 
 Thus he had other associations and other aims, his family, his 
 church, his social relations, outside of the Order. He alone was 
 not given to the convivial bowl or the hilarious song, but in the 
 midst of the motley crowd, furnished the dignity and decency 
 that gave color to all that was done. He saw in it from the 
 first the dawn of a moral movement for the men who came 
 within its influence, and no one more rejoiced than he to see it 
 spurning the public-house and turning the " Host " out of the 
 lodge-room. He it was that helped to inspire young Entwisle 
 with the lofty sentiments that glow in the pages of the gifted 
 Secretary. He left the Order indeed in its prosperity, but he had 
 never faltered or given way when the burden of its success lay 
 upon him. Grand Secretary Kidgely well remembers his atten- 
 dance at the first dedication of the Hall on Gay Street; the 
 deep interest he manifested; his countenance beaming with 
 kindness and good humor; his gentle manner, and his manifest 
 pride and pleasure at witnessing the proud day when the Order 
 took its place among the institutions of the country. Many 
 pleasant hours were spent by the young member conversing with 
 the veteran of the early days, continuing from time to time until 
 the gentle brother, worn out by infirmities more than by age, 
 expired in the year 1851, full of honor, and surrounded by 
 weeping friends. 
 
 THE NESTOR OF THE ENTERPRISE. 
 
 His work more than that of any other will bear analysis. 
 Wildey all energy, Entwisle all imagination and invention, but 
 tempered by a sobriety beyond his years, were his coadjutors. 
 To restrain, direct and counsel, such were particularly the parts 
 allotted him. The difficulties were of great magnitude. Wash- 
 ington Lodge was the first great obstacle. The members were 
 disposed to cling to their precious charter, and retain the honor 
 it conferred upon them ; the disposition of Wildey led him to 
 conceive that it should be demanded for the common good ; but 
 Welch, by showing the effect of such action, induced him to seek 
 it by other and gentler means, which could alone succeed. The 
 same was true when Maryland was called upon for the same 
 
JOHN WELCH. 107 
 
 charter to be given to a federal head. The quiet wisdom that 
 dictated the first cession of the charter again interposed, and by 
 the potent influence of personal solicitation and persistent argu- 
 ment, made the second cession a necessary consequence. In all 
 this no one has questioned that he and the Secretary were the 
 master-spirits who set Wildey on the track that led him to the 
 federal compact. To such a man as Wildey, when left to him- 
 self, moderation was impossible, for his energy was riotous, and 
 sometimes tended to excess ; it was therefore necessary that a 
 bridle should be put upon such reckless tendencies. At times 
 indeed his zeal far outran his discretion, as was illustrated by his 
 support of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, against its rightful 
 superior; when he had to retrace his steps and make a proper 
 submission. These were lessons by which he was not slow to 
 profit. They sent him frequently to his advisers, who thus be- 
 came more necessary to him. On such occasions he leaned 
 upon his early friend with a confidence that was never shaken, 
 and never betrayed. His moderation appears in his official 
 documents as a conspicuous element ; that moderation was the 
 spirit of Welch, infused into the leader by the teachings of his 
 sagacious and unselfish minister. It toned down his roughness 
 and put a finer edge upon his earnestness ; so that often it might 
 be said that the voice was that of Wildey but the matter was 
 that of Welch, the politic and wary pilot who had given him 
 the chart for his discourse. In a word, Wildey was the heart 
 and hand of the undertaking, Welch and Entwisle were the 
 head, and the latter also the executive moral power of the 
 movement. 
 
 Among the select three, Welch stands on the right hand of 
 Wildey, a worthy supporter, who has earned his place and will 
 keep it. On the left of Wildey, as will appear in the succeeding 
 narrative, will be found one as worthy and as full of interest, 
 the intellectual member of the trio, who will be equally entitled 
 to support the central figure of the group Entwisle. But this 
 chapter must come to a close We have extricated a brother from 
 the neglect of many years, and now leave it to a noble Order to 
 greet with fitting honors this portraiture of its first Deputy 
 Grand Sire, the friend of Wildey, virtue and benevolence, a 
 true knight of the great Order of Odd Fellowship. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 By the action taken at the November session of 1824, the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States divided itself 
 into two bodies ; one of them assumed authority over the whole 
 Order, through the several Grand Lodges ; the other subsided into 
 a State Grand Lodge, having only a local authority within the 
 State of Maryland. As previously arranged, the first annual ses- 
 sion of the Grand Lodge of Maryland convened January 15th, 
 1825, at the hall on the corner of Calvert and Water Streets. 
 The members present were Grand Master Wildey, Deputy Grand 
 Master Welch, Grand Warden Mitchell, Assistant Grand Secre- 
 tary Fennell, Grand Guardian Boyd, Grand Conductor Common, 
 and Past Grands Seed, Nelson, Scotchburn, Williams, Roach, 
 Gill, Freeburger, Arman and Colt. After the Grand Lodge had 
 been formally opened in the Grand Lodge Degree, it was opened 
 in the Scarlet Degree, to admit brothers of that rank to witness 
 the installation of the Grand Officers. Several Yice Grands, 
 Past Yice Grands and Noble Grands availed themselves of the 
 privilege. The Grand Master, in a suitable address, set before 
 them the new condition of affairs. He stated that he was in pos- 
 session of a charter for the Grand Lodge of Maryland, granted 
 by the Grand Lodge of the United States ; that he was author- 
 ized to present it, and would do so during the session. The 
 constitution of the Grand Lodge was then read ; when G. M. 
 Wildey announced the arrival of the time when it became neces- 
 sary for him to retire from the office which, by the preference of 
 his brethren, had been entrusted to him during the last four years. 
 He gave a cursory history of the body during his term, and hav- 
 ing commended his faithful associates for the powerful aid they 
 had rendered, did not hesitate to indulge in blame of the Past 
 Grands who had shrunk from the performance of their duty. 
 
 The following Grand Officers were then duly installed : 
 Charles Common, G. Master; Thomas Scotchburn, D. G. M.; 
 
 (108) 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 109 
 
 John Nelson, G. W. ; and E. C. Gill, G. Sec'y. Short addresses 
 were made by the officers. Thomas Wildey, as G. M. of the 
 Grand Lodge of the United States, directed the Grand Charter 
 to be read. This was done by Deputy Grand Master Welch. 
 
 CHARTER OF THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 To all whom it may concern : 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States, held in the city of Bal- 
 timore, in the State of Maryland, doth hereby grant this Grand 
 Charter to five Past Grands of the Order of Independent Odd 
 Fellows, residing in the State of Maryland, to form a Grand Lodge 
 for the said State, for the encouragement and support of brothers 
 of the said Order when on travel or otherwise. And the said 
 Grand Lodge being duly formed, is hereby authorized to grant 
 Warrants or Dispensations to true and faithful brothers to open 
 lodges according to the laws of Odd Fellowship, and to admin- 
 ister to Past Grands all the privileges and benefits appertaining 
 to the Grand Lodge, and to enact by-laws for the government 
 of their lodge. Provided, always, that the said Grand Lodge do 
 act according to the Order, in conjunction with and obedience to 
 the Grand Lodge of the United States ; adhering to and support- 
 ing the constitution thereof, in default whereof this charter may 
 be suspended or taken away, at the discretion of the Grand Lodge 
 of the United States. And further, the Grand Lodge, in consid- 
 eration of the due performance of the above, do bind themselves 
 to repair all damages or destruction of the charter, whether by 
 fire or other accident; provided sufficient proof be given that 
 there is no illegal concealment or wilful destruction of the same. 
 In witness whereof we have displayed the colors of our Order and 
 subscribed our names, and affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States, this twenty-second day of February, A. D. one 
 thousand eight hundred and twenty-five. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. M. WILLIAM WILLIAMS, G. S. 
 
 JOHN WELCH, D. G. M. THOMAS MITCHELL, G. G. 
 
 CHARLES COMMON, Rep. of Maryland. 
 
 MAURICE FENNELL, Proxy of Massachusetts. 
 
 THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, Proxy of New York. 
 
 JOHN BOYD, Proxy of Pennsylvania. 
 
 The Grand Charter having been read, M. W. Grand Master 
 Wildey delivered the following address : 
 
 Most Worthy Grand Master, Right Worthy Deputy Grand 
 Master, Grand Officers and Past Grands of the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland: 
 On this highly important occasion I have the honor to appear 
 
 before you as the bearer of the legal instrument just read in your 
 
110 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 hearing ; which conveys to your respectable body all the rights 
 and privileges of a Grand Lodge of the Order of Independent 
 Odd Fellows. The Grand Charter of the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land and of the United States having been vested solely in the 
 Grand Lodge of the United States, a body composed of officers 
 and representatives of the several State Grand Lodges, has 
 granted this charter to the officers and members of the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland, in consideration of the concession made by 
 that Grand Lodge for the general welfare of the Order, in re- 
 signing all claim or title to the charter under which you have 
 hitherto conducted your business, and in taking rank in common 
 with the other State Grand Lodges. You will find this Grand 
 Charter contains clauses to that effect, and I now deliver it 
 into your keeping as your warrant of authority. It is a source 
 of unfeigned gratification to me, as it is to the Grand Lodge I 
 here represent, to find your body in so flourishing a condition ; 
 which enables me to look forward with the most cheering antici- 
 pations to a successful future; especially so, in view of the 
 unanimity and cordiality which are so strikingly manifested 
 among you. By this charter the pow r er is secured to you to 
 govern the Order in this State ; it places your local affairs at 
 your own disposal, to be acted upon according to your own sense 
 of prudence and discretion, but requiring you always to adhere 
 to the constitution. The Grand Officers having been instructed 
 in their respective duties, will now proceed in the faithful dis- 
 charge of them ; and it will afford me great pleasure, at any time, 
 to render any assistance in my power, by explanation and advice. 
 And now that you have begun so well, it is my wish that you 
 may continue in the same course ; that you may increase in 
 numbers and respectability, and improve in the knowledge and 
 practice of the principles of the Order, and be always the pride 
 of our fraternity, as you w r ill be regarded the corner-stone of its 
 institution. 
 
 The pithy and practical nature of this address commends it 
 as a rare model of force and condensation. These few words, so 
 well chosen, covered the whole ground of the new situation, and 
 left nothing to be added which would have made it more suitable 
 than it was. The lack of the presence of this inestimable quality 
 has often weakened or broken down the interest which naturally 
 belongs to important occasions. This brevity sits well upon a 
 man of action like Wildey, who was of that kind who more 
 often strike than speak. The Grand Lodge of Maryland under 
 the new warrant was then ready for business. Its first action 
 was one of gratitude. G. M. Common arose, and turning to 
 Past Grand Master Wildey, began an address. In words of 
 
THE GEAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. Ill 
 
 eulogy he presented to him a token of the general coniidence. 
 It was a splendid " breast-plate," the gift of the members of the 
 Grand Lodge. The Grand Master in his answer expressed his 
 high estimate of this demonstration. After providing for a 
 Mitre for the Grand Master of Maryland as additional regalia, 
 the session closed. Thus a separate Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 at length rises to our view. Washington Lodge was at first 
 everything ; it was the Grand Lodge of the United States, the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland, and also a subordinate or working 
 lodge. Its first division left Washington Lodge the first subor- 
 dinate, thus dividing the power into two parts ; the next division 
 left three units ; the two last being the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States and the Grand Lodge of Maryland. Independence 
 was secured by orderly rank and relation, and the ONE had 
 become THREE. About six years were required for this elimina- 
 tion. A glance discovers the magnitude of the undertaking ; its 
 delicate nature is apparent. We who live after the event find it 
 all very easy and natural ; but the solution was a discovery ; its 
 originators full of practical genius. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of Maryland held its first quarterly session 
 on April 15th, 1825. It had eight officers : two Past Grands were 
 present, and five were absent, this makes a total of fifteen mem- 
 bers in all. At this meeting P. G. Clements, of No. 2, was ad- 
 mitted by the usual vote. The subordinate lodges were advised 
 to pass a by-law, " that no member shall be eligible to the office 
 of Noble Grand until he has received the degrees in the book." 
 They were also asked to pass a by-law, providing " that any mem- 
 ber who might fall in arrears one quarter, should not be entitled 
 to receive any benefits for one month after the arrears were paid." 
 The quarterly password and explanation w r ere selected, as before, 
 by a vote of the body. Certain amendments proposed to the lec- 
 ture of the Koyal Purple Degree, by P. G. M. Wildey, were 
 adopted. The second quarterly session was held on July 19th, 
 1825, with the attendance of but five members, all officers. It 
 was provided that the subordinate lodges pass a by-law, " that no 
 brother be eligible for the chair of the N. G. unless he has served 
 in the chair of the Y. G." The third quarterly session was held 
 October 18th, 1825. Of twenty members, thirteen were present. 
 Here, for the first time, the minutes recognized the titles of Grand 
 Sire and Deputy Grand Sire. This change of title was infor- 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 mally made ; the theory of the manner of the alteration will 
 appear elsewhere. No authority for it is to be found in any 
 reported action of the Grand Lodge of the United States. KICK- 
 AKD MAKLEY, of No. 2, appeared, and was duly elected and ad- 
 mitted as a member. At this session the Grand Sire announced 
 the reception of the Patriarchal Degree from England ; the new 
 degree was then conferred on four of the Past Grands. 
 
 An adjourned meeting was held on November 18th, 1825. 
 The 19th General Law was up for consideration, when it was 
 decided that, by its true construction, " each member on visiting 
 any subordinate lodge shall pay 6i cents." For some reason not 
 explained, the second annual session did not take place on the 
 day designated by the constitution, but was convened on Febru- 
 ary 14th, 1826. Present, the officers and eight Past Grands ; two 
 of the latter were elected and admitted. During the session P. 
 G. Eoach was promptly fined for " disrespect to the chair." The 
 G. Secretary stated that Columbia Lodge had never made a report, 
 when that officer was directed to call on that lodge for full state- 
 ments from December 17th, 1823, and regular quarterly reports 
 thereafter. The eligibility of a P. G. for G. Master w T as then 
 fully discussed. G. Sire Wildey offered the following, which was 
 passed by a vote of eleven to nine : " Resolved, that all members 
 of the Grand Lodge are eligible to the office of M. W. G. M." 
 But immediately afterwards it was unanimously determined 
 " that no member shall be eligible for the office of M. W. G. M. 
 unless he has served in three elective offices in a subordinate 
 lodge." Several Scarlet Degree members were present as visitors. 
 Charles Common was re-elected G. Master. A committee, of 
 which P. G. Boyd was chairman, was required to procure a suit- 
 able room for the use of the three subordinate lodges. At this 
 time the Grand Lodge and Washington and Franklin Lodges 
 convened at the intersection of Calvert and Water Streets 
 and Cheapside, in what was formerly known as St. John's Hall ; 
 and Columbia Lodge met at the corner of Bridge (Gay) 
 and Jones (Front) Streets, in the parlors of Bro. Wildey ? s dwell- 
 ing, which that lodge had fitted up in 1824. The object was to 
 unite all the bodies at one meeting-place ; this was ultimately 
 effected by the Grand Lodge buying out the interest of Columbia 
 Lodge in its location. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 113 
 
 Pursuant to adjournment, a meeting was held on February 
 28, 1826, when it was agreed to have the future meetings in the 
 room of Columbia Lodge, and the committee was instructed to 
 remove the emblems and Grand Charter to that place by March 
 12th ensuing. Columbia Lodge, No. 3, made a settlement, 
 paying for charter, charge books and lawful percentage, fifty- 
 eight dollars. It seems that before this time some effort had 
 been made to obtain an act of incorporation from the Legislature 
 of the State. G. Sec'y Wilson had visited the General Assembly 
 for the purpose, and his expenses were paid at this session. No 
 doubt the object was to secure the power to make contracts and hold 
 property in the aggregate, and thus to relieve a few persons 
 from the burdens of contracting and being responsible for all ; 
 a very excellent expedient, but one that did not succeed for a 
 number of years, by reason of circumstances beyond their con- 
 trol. The session adjourned to meet the 14th March, in the 
 room at Wildey's, afterwards called the New Hall. It met at 
 that time with the Grand Officers and a quorum of Past Grands. 
 Its first action was summary, and however proper, was lacking 
 in all the elements of a judicial decision. P. G. Williams sub- 
 mitted a motion to expel P. G. William Larkam " for disgracing 
 the lodge and himself." Larkam had been suspended since 
 August 22, 1823, and no other proceedings appear upon the 
 record. There were no charges or specifications, no examination 
 of witnesses in the presence of the accused ; but an ex parte 
 motion was adopted, and the usual notice of the expulsion 
 ordered to be given. 
 
 The advance in the direction of fraternity was evidenced by 
 a novel proposition. The benefit system was the life of the 
 Order, and the secret of the power which held it together. 
 But other and higher objects were sought; the social fea- 
 ture was also an integral, and therefore necessary part ; and 
 above all rose the proud assumption of practices and prin- 
 ciples tending to foster virtue and improve mankind. To meet 
 this view, G. Sire Wildey proposed " that it be recommended to 
 the subordinate lodges to admit honorary members, on their 
 paying the regular initiation fee, but not to be entitled to any 
 benefits from the Order." The action had upon this proposal, 
 and the various modifications from time to time suggested, will 
 subsequently appear. The fiscal business of the lodges received 
 8 
 
114 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 due attention ; the keeping of the accounts and the collection 
 of dues were then, as now, considered with jealous care ; it was 
 therefore recommended that the lodges should choose permanent 
 Secretaries to take charge of their financial affairs, as " highly 
 requisite and beneficial to the Order." Without regarding the 
 previous notice required by its constitution, the Grand Lodge 
 proceeded to alter the Article on the election of Grand Officers, 
 so as to provide that the elections should take place at the third 
 quarterly session in each year ; the officers to be installed at the 
 annual session. A regulation was made on the subject of re- 
 galia, by which a brother was permitted to wear on his apron all 
 the colors of the degrees he had taken ; and an order was made, 
 instructing Wardens when examining those present at the 
 opening of a lodge, not to rely upon the grip alone as proof of 
 membership, but to examine in the password also. Another 
 practical and essential order was that requiring candidates for 
 initiation to be carefully interrogated as to their health, to 
 prevent such as had bodily infirmities from entering and be- 
 coming burdens on the lodge. A suitable strong box wa& 
 ordered to be procured for the use of the Grand Lodge. It was 
 also determined to celebrate in an appropriate manner the ap- 
 proaching anniversary of Odd Fellowship, and each lodge was 
 requested to appoint a committee of three on the subject, It 
 was determined that the celebration should be limited to mem- 
 bers of the Order. 
 
 From the first, much importance was attached to celebrations, 
 but a diversity of opinion existed as to the specific date which 
 should be selected for the purpose. The general opinion tended 
 to the selection of some day as the anniversary. A majority of 
 the members of Washington Lodge urged that lodge's natal day 
 as the most appropriate ; but the minority, and many members of 
 the other two lodges, were much divided. Some wished for the 
 selection of the 15th of January, Wildey's birthday, and others 
 for the 22d of February, the birthday of Washington, after 
 whom the first lodge had been named. The latter urged the 
 further reason that the Grand Lodge of the State and of the 
 United States was organized on the 22d of February. Indeed, 
 there were not wanting those who were averse to the selection 
 of any euch day, contending that such an act would be an inno- 
 vation on ancient usage, a new feature for which no warrant 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 115 
 
 could be shown. But in practice, the first of these suggested 
 days had been already set apart by a kind of general consent. 
 It is asserted that the small band of Washington Lodge, in num- 
 ber not exceeding forty persons, assembled at Woodward's in 
 Frederick Street, on April 26, 1820, and celebrated the first 
 anniversary of that lodge. P. G. Wildey was the principal 
 speaker, as it was at this time he retired from the chair of N. G., 
 which he had filled for four successive quarters. In 1821 the 
 same day was again used for the purpose ; we have no knowledge 
 of any of the incidents, save that there was a banquet and the 
 table was spread at Woodward's. Nothing is known of the 
 proceedings in 1822 and 1823, but there was a celebration on the 
 26th of April 1824, at which time G. Sec'y Entwisle was toasted, 
 and made a reply which has been handed down in these pages. 
 It will be found in the biography of that brother, and seems to 
 settle two points, that there had been four previous celebrations 
 011 that day, and that they were confined to the members and 
 their families. No doubt the latter idea was induced by sound 
 policy, as the Order had neither the prestige nor the capacity for 
 making a respectable appearance before the community. 
 
 At the time when the Grand Lodge of the United States was 
 separated from Maryland, it left whatever it had of property in 
 the exclusive possession of the Grand Lodge of Maryland. This 
 consisted principally of regalia, emblems and books ; no schedule 
 was made, no formal transfer of possession ; but it was retained 
 by its new owners as a matter of course. The cash balance was 
 $16.68|. The accounts of the Grand Lodge of Maryland in 
 the first year of its separate existence were : Balance on hand, 
 $16.681; receipts, $102.50; total, $119.181. Expenditures, 
 $191.06i ; balance due the Treasurer, $T1.87i From which it 
 appears that the first year of the separate Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land was financially a failure. 
 
 The first quarterly session of the second year was held on 
 April 14th, 1826, when the four Grand Officers, G. S. Wildey, 
 P. D. G. M. Welch, and nine Past Grands were present. P. G. 
 Theirle, of No. 3, was admitted. The first business was to order 
 each lodge in the State to procure a suitable seal as soon as pos- 
 sible, and to send proof impressions to the Grand Lodge. It 
 must not be supposed that the subordinates had no seals before 
 that time, but this action was to secure uniformity, and put the 
 
116 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 matter in proper working shape. The resolution offered at the 
 last session, by G. Sire Wildey, to amend the general law r s in 
 such a manner as to permit honorary membership in the lodges, 
 was properly referred. The subject of conferring degrees on 
 Sunday had been brought before the Grand Lodge long before, 
 by Columbia Lodge, No. 3, but the petition which asked the pro- 
 hibition of the practice by that body was intentionally ignored, 
 and excluded from the record. The older members were averse 
 to alteration, and thought that so radical a change would be 
 unsafe and unpopular. But they were mistaken, and the peti- 
 tioners, having more regard for present prosperity than ancient 
 usage, became only the more zealous after their failure. They 
 saw the damaging effect of the practice upon the reputation of 
 the Order. Accordingly, armed with facts and arguments, they 
 presented the same request at this session, and effected their pur- 
 pose. It was promptly determined that the degrees should be 
 delivered every Friday fortnight, in place of every Sunday fort- 
 night ; the hour of attendance to be the same as with the subor- 
 dinate lodges. It was also " ordered that the fourth (G. E.) degree 
 be read " ; surely no very onerous task, when the whole of it was a 
 simple fragment, with so little substance as to be scarcely 
 worth the trouble. 
 
 A special session was called to consider a charge made against 
 P. N. G. Daniel Weaver, of Franklin Lodge, No. 2. It met on 
 May 26th, 1826, P. D. G. M. Scotchburn presiding. The speci- 
 fications were stated, " that the accused had given the quarterly 
 password to a visiting brother from Pennsylvania." The G. M- 
 read the obligations of the first, second and third degrees as they 
 then stood. P. G. Weaver, who was present, was then called on 
 for his defence. He admitted the truth of the charge, but excused 
 himself on the score of his ignorance of his duty in the premises. 
 He then retired. It was moved that the brother do " receive a 
 severe reprimand from the Grand Lodge." G. W. Marley moved 
 to amend, by making the motion to read that P. G. Weaver 
 " should be expelled." There was much discussion, and the vote 
 being by ball ballots, the motion as amended was lost, and the 
 brother was acquitted. This is the first brief record of the an- 
 cient manner of conducting a trial before a Grand Lodge. It 
 would seem that but little form was observed, and the summary 
 proceedings left but a slight chance for escape to the accused 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 117 
 
 party, unless the prevailing sentiment was favorable to his 
 acquittal. 
 
 In this case the accused was tried by the Grand Lodge, of 
 which he was not a member. Nothing could be more irregular 
 or unjust than such n mode of procedure, yet we are assured that 
 this was the usual mode of dealing with such cases. By this very 
 method, Humphreys, Petherick and Larkam were convicted and 
 expelled ; the result might have been different had provision 
 been made either for review or appeal, but there was no such 
 check upon the power of the Grand Body. The specific com- 
 plaint against Weaver, when considered in connection with the 
 manner in which lodge business was then conducted, was simply 
 ridiculous. Some five years afterwards, when P. G. S. Kennedy 
 was initiated, the N. G. instructed him in the quarterly password, 
 from the chair, and in the hearing of all present, members and 
 visitors alike. The experience of others verifies his statement, and 
 such was no doubt the practice in the lodges at that time. This 
 same Weaver afterwards became Grand Secretary. 
 
 On the 26th day of April, 1826, an effort was made to cele- 
 brate the anniversary of the Order. For this purpose the Grand 
 Officers of the Grand Lodge of the United States and the Grand 
 Officers of Pennsylvania were invited and were in attendance. 
 We have no particulars of the occasion save that it was celebrated 
 " in a becoming manner," and that " an elegant and sumptuous 
 collation was prepared and partaken of by the members and vis- 
 itors " ; after the cloth was removed, the Grand Sire concluded 
 his address with the following : " The 26^A of April, our guests, 
 and Odd Fellowship throughout the world" 
 
 The second quarterly session of the second year was held on 
 July 18, 1826. P. G.'s Thomas Baker, of No. 1 ; Joel Wright, 
 of No. 1, and Daniel Weaver, of No. 2, were admitted to mem- 
 bership. In all cases there w r as a vote by ballot, electing or 
 rejecting the candidate. Weaver had two black balls. This 
 led to an inquiry, and there was a discussion upon the 
 legality of the use of ball ballots for such a purpose. To end 
 the discussion, on motion of G. W. Marley, the vote was disre- 
 garded, and the brother admitted upon the faith of his certificate. 
 At this meeting three of the leading members, Marley, Welch 
 and Nelson, w^ere fined for not giving the password to the Grand 
 Warden. A special session was held on September the 5th, 
 
118 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP, 
 
 1826, for the purpose of securing the passage of an act of incor- 
 poration of the Grand Lodge from the State. Present, G. M. 
 Common, D. G. M. Brice, G. W. Marley, G. Sec. Wilson, G. Con. 
 Freeburger, P. G. M. Scotchburn, G. Sec. Williams, of G. L. U. S., 
 and . nine Past Grands. Tired of waiting for the slow action of 
 the Legislature, it was at length concluded to enter the field of 
 politics, and send men who would represent Odd Fellowship and 
 get them an act of incorporation. The object having been 
 stated, the following resolutions were offered and unanimously 
 adopted. 
 
 Resolved, 1st. That we will support those, and those only, 
 who will pledge themselves to make use of their influence and 
 talents in behalf of this society, so that we may obtain a charter 
 from the General Assembly at the next session. 
 
 2d. That we make choice of John S. Tyson and E. Purviance, 
 Esqrs., in whose behalf we will use all fair and honorable means 
 to insure their election, if they agree to the first resolve. 
 
 3d. That the G. M. appoint a committee of five whose duty 
 it shall be to wait on the above named gentlemen, and after 
 putting the question to them, "Will you support or not?" the 
 committee shall report their reply to the G. M. or his Deputy. 
 
 4th. That the committee of five shall have full power to co- 
 operate with other committees that are or may be formed in the 
 city for the purpose of supporting their favorite candidate. 
 
 From these proceedings we may infer an overweening anxiety 
 to procure a legislative charter, and become a corporate body. 
 But whatever the motive for its obtention, the difficulty of pro- 
 curing it was in the ratio of the desire to have it. The candi- 
 dates for the General Assembly, at that time, were men of rare 
 attainments and great experience, but these qualifications were 
 just such as to prevent their urging the matter in the legislature. 
 They could not understand the objects of the association beyond 
 their mere business significance, and felt keenly the ridicule 
 attaching to action with reference to a moral movement which 
 was more than suspected of immorality. The very names of the 
 proposed incorporators alarmed them, associated as they were 
 with oyster cellars and drinking bars; they therefore warily 
 avoided the matter or flatly refused to give it their assistance. 
 It followed that every effort to effect the purpose failed, and in 
 spite of the zeal of Wildey, who gave it his personal attention, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 119 
 
 came to nothing. It was nearly seven years after the passage of 
 these resolutions before the charter was obtained. In the mean- 
 time the moral aspect of the question was changed : Ridgely, 
 who was a lawyer, and George Keyser, afterwards G. Sire, 
 w r ho was an architect, were selected, the former as chairman, 
 and the latter as a member of the committee to draft and 
 procure the passage of the instrument. It w r as prepared 
 and passed, and bears date the 9th day of February, 1833. 
 To effect the result, such phrases and general terms were 
 used as enabled the legislature to pass upon it without 
 going into those questions which, even at this day, puzzle so 
 many of the uninitiated. The names of the corporators were 
 a guaranty of the fitness of the act: not to particularize James 
 L. Ridgely and George W. Williamson, there were Augustus 
 Mathiot, Elijah Stansbury (afterwards Mayor of the city), 
 John A. Kennedy, Andrew E. Warner, and many others, 
 whose names would have given assurance of the respectability 
 of any association. 
 
 But to return to the political action of the special session of 
 1826. It is noticeable that neither Welch nor Wildey attended 
 this meeting, but seemed to be standing back and refusing their 
 aid, though we have no notice of any protest against the resolu- 
 tions. The presumption is that the whole scheme was an empty 
 threat, of no significance, excepting as venting the spleen of the 
 disappointed actors, and as it produced no effect, was allowed to 
 sleep in peace. But the accessions of the next few years included 
 men of a different character, who were differently affected by it. 
 They saw the record and condemned it, and on December 29th, 
 1831, more than three years afterwards, we find the following: 
 
 " P. G. Young moved to expunge from the record the pro- 
 ceedings of the Grand Lodge on the 5th September, in the year 
 1826, which was unanimously determined in the affirmative." 
 
 Accordingly, the Grand Secretary proceeded to expunge the 
 offensive record. He carefully went over each word with his 
 pen, joining, altering, and in fact so defacing the whole as 
 practically to destroy it. Above, on a narrow space, he inserted, 
 " Expunged from the record, by resolution of the Grand Lodge, 
 Dec. 29^, 1831. JAS. L. RIDGELY, G. SeJy." 
 
 In the light of our principles, this solemn act of suppression 
 speaks volumes for the Order. We have always claimed not to 
 
120 AMEEICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 interfere with the religion or politics of our members, be they 
 what they may. But professions are one thing and practice another. 
 The State affects to disregard the religious tenets of the citizen, 
 yet often admits sectarian bigotry to the legislative hall. The 
 churches teach in the words of the Master, " My kingdom is not 
 of this world "; yet, sometimes they have openly avow^ed politi- 
 cal creeds, and winked at the marshalling of sects in the arena of 
 parties. Odd Fellowship is younger than the parties and 
 creeds of the country, and may yet live to betray the prin- 
 ciples of toleration; but so far it has been faithful to its 
 mission, and with inflexible resolution has abstained from inter- 
 ference with either religion or politics. That such may continue 
 to be its action, all good men will devoutly pray. In view of 
 these reflections, the example of the Odd Fellows if Maryland 
 should be hung on the walls of every lodge-room, and recited 
 with joy in every jurisdiction. It was a bold and striking avowal, 
 made in all frankness, that they had been false to principle ; and 
 the mutilated record is to-day a silent witness of their repentance, 
 a beacon to guide their descendants. Honor and praise to the 
 manhood that could assert itself against such an error, to vindi- 
 cate the noble principles against which the Order had offended! 
 The third quarterly session of the second year convened Octo- 
 ber 17th, 1826, when the Grand Officers and thirteen P. G. Offi- 
 cers and P. G.'s were present. G. W. Marley, chairman of a 
 committee, submitted rules of order, which were adopted. Be- 
 fore this time, ancient usage and the dictum of the chair regulated 
 the proceedings. A committee was appointed to prepare an 
 exhibit of the receipts and expenditures of the Order from its 
 beginning, and to have it printed, together with such of the general 
 and benefit laws as they might select, to lay before the General 
 Assembly of Maryland. This was a continuation of the effort 
 to secure a charter, which failed. At the suggestion of Washing- 
 ton Lodge, a resolution was adopted to procure " a banner for the 
 Grand Lodge," to be used in public processions. The matter was 
 placed in the hands of a committee, G. Sire Wildey being the 
 chairman. The flag was procured. Its design was a white silk 
 field embellished with all the emblems of the Order then in use. 
 This was the first standard raised by Odd Fellows in the United 
 States. It has many times floated over vast processions, and is 
 carefully preserved by the Grand Lodge of Maryland. P. G. 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 121 
 
 Charles F. Exe, of No. 1, was elected and admitted to membership. 
 P. G. Gill, of No. 2, sent in a letter containing charges against P. 
 G. Weaver > of No. 2 ; when, on motion, it was " Resolved, that 
 P. G. Gill, as a suspended member, is entitled to no privilege in 
 this lodge or any other of the Independent Order." He had 
 been suspended for the non-payment of dues. P. G. Weaver be- 
 haved so badly on the occasion that he was fined for contempt 
 shown to the chair. This closed the session. 
 
 An adjourned meeting was held November 7th, 1826, when 
 the G. Officers and one P. G. Officer and nine P. G.'s were pre- 
 sent. G. Sire Wildey and G. Sec'y Williams, of the Grand Lodge 
 of the United States, were also present. G. Sec'y Williams read 
 the proceedings of the special G. Committee of the Grand Lodge 
 of the LTnited States, held October 3, 1826. It was a statement of 
 the facts connected with the G. Sire's visit to England the honors 
 paid to him, and the new charter from the Manchester Unity, 
 which gave us independence. It also appeared that the Grand 
 Charter had been formally accepted by the Grand Committee. 
 The election for G. Officers for 1827 resulted in the choice of P. 
 D. G. M. Scotchburn as G. Master, D. G. M. Brice as 
 D. G. M., G. W. Marley as G. Warden, and G. Sec'y Wilson as 
 G. Secretary. It was resolved that a G. Marshal should be annu- 
 ally appointed, and that the G. Master should be ex-officio G. Rep. 
 in the G. Lodge of the United States. The adjournment was to 
 Tuesday, the 14th of November, 1826, when, fourteen in all be- 
 ing present, G. Sire Wildey was very active, and had the follow- 
 ing adopted : 
 
 " Resolved, That the G. Secretary be compensated for 
 writing the by-laws in a book, and that when done it be 
 laid before the presiding officer in open lodge." " Resolved, 
 That brothers having received either of the degrees shall 
 vote in any lodge upon application for such degree." " Re- 
 solved, That the Patriarchal degree be printed." " Resolved, 
 That a crozier be procured for this degree, and that the Grand 
 Lodge pay for and retain it as its property." And also, " That 
 all P. G.'s appointed on committees and accepting the appoint- 
 ment, shall not vacate the office , and all members of committees 
 neglecting the duties assigned them, shall be fined not less than 
 fifty cents nor more than five dollars." 
 
122 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The G. Sire's example was contagions, and it was determined, on 
 motion of P. G. Bickley, " to impose a fine of fifty cents on all P. 
 G.'s who do not attend the adjourned meetings of the Grand 
 Lodge, or send a reasonable apology." And on motion of G. W. 
 Marley, " That all P. G.'s retiring without leave from the chair, 
 should pay a fine of twenty-five cents." G. Sire Wildey also pro- 
 cured the adoption of the following : " Eesolved, That the price 
 of the several degrees be advanced after twelve months from this 
 date." " Eesolved, That the subordinate lodges shall report all 
 P. G.'s suspended for arrearages, every quarter." "Resolved, 
 That the new signs and passwords be put in operation in the 
 State of Maryland." " Resolved, That the Grand Lodge purchase 
 a copperplate for travelling certificates, and that there be an altera- 
 tion in the manner of conferring degrees." To perfect the cer- 
 tificates, it was, on motion of P. G. Weaver, " Resolved, That sub- 
 ordinate lodges be requested to provide themselves with ribbon, 
 sealing w r ax and a seal to stamp travelling certificates." To con- 
 clude the business, G. W. Marley offered the following, which 
 was adopted : " Resolved, That the emblem of the corner-stone 
 and angles be purchased by the Grand Lodge," and then finally 
 it was " Resolved, That the members of the third degree be, and 
 they are hereby invited to attend the yearly meeting of the Grand 
 Lodge of Maryland." 
 
 An analysis of the work of this session will exhibit the con- 
 structive force of Wildey. It is full of his energy, and indicates 
 clearly the best and the worst points in his character. When 
 Marley was asked by P. G. Sire Kennedy what was meant by 
 the resolution allowing a brother to vote in any lodge upon 
 applications for degrees, he was answered " that voting a degree 
 was not a lodge question, but a family question, and that every 
 member of the degree had the right to a voice on the question of 
 admitting a new member." This was certainly an equitable 
 view r , but one of no practical value. The fines to be imposed for 
 non-attention to duty, indicated an inflexible determination that 
 every obligation should be discharged. The smallness of the 
 body made it necessary to enforce the obligations of every member. 
 But after this attempt he carves out work of an important nature. 
 1st. That the price of the degrees should be increased. Before 
 this session, the conditions imposed for conferring the subordinate 
 degrees were various. In some cases they were gratis or lion- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 123 
 
 orary, in others depending 011 duration of membership or upon 
 the passing of certain offices. The money price was nearly 
 nominal. Upon these terms they were but little sought for by 
 the membership. The G. Sire was untiring in his efforts to 
 induce the brethren to take them, but with very little success. 
 This failure was imputed to the ease and cheapness with which 
 they could be had. The remedy lay in the increase of their 
 value, and making their attainment more difficult. The pro- 
 vision for seals "to stamp travelling certificates," was another 
 step in the right direction, giving dignity and authenticity to 
 those valuable documents. Until that time there were no such 
 means devised for the verification of certificates. 
 
 The new signs to be put in operation were those received 
 February 22, 1824, by the G. Lodge of Md. and the U. S., and 
 were at that time repudiated until " further information " should 
 be obtained. The G. Sire during his recent visit to Manchester, 
 was convinced of the necessity of the change. He therefore urged 
 their adoption without waiting for the action of the G. Lodge of the 
 United States on the subject. He also had a resolution adopted 
 to effect a change in the manner in which candidates for degrees 
 should be introduced into the lodge-room. The G. Lodge of the 
 United States at its subsequent session adopted a similar 
 resolution. 
 
 " The emblem of the corner-stone and angles " was purchased 
 as proposed, and was for a long time an object of curiosity. Of 
 what it was emblematic no one has been able to discover, cer- 
 tainly of nothing in the Order. It was a day of wonders, and 
 the G. Sire in his report to the special committee of the G. 
 Lodge of the United States, made October 3, 1826, refers to it as 
 " the foundation-stone laid by our forefather Adam." If such 
 was the fact, it was not apparent without an appeal to the 
 wildest fancy. In form it was a mechanical combination of the 
 crank, pulley and windlass, supported by a three-pole derrick 
 used for raising heavy bodies. It was a small model, mostly of 
 brass, with a stone cube swinging to the pulley, and was a pretty 
 piece of mechanism. But cui lono f 
 
 Washington Lodge gave notice of the expulsion of P. G. 
 David Ramsey, its permanent Secretary, which action was on 
 motion approved. G. Sire Wildey then addressed the G. Lodge 
 on the subject of the improvement of the lodges in the know- 
 
124 . AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ledge of the laws of the Order, and the proper method of con- 
 ducting lodge business. His remedy w T as that the Past Officers 
 should take the chairs and educate the members by instruction 
 and example. To that end he announced himself a candidate 
 for N". G. in Washington Lodge, and urged the P. G.'s of Col- 
 umbia and Franklin Lodges to make the same oifer. This inter- 
 esting session closed with the usual invitation to the Scarlet Degree 
 members to attend the yearly meeting to wdtness the installation 
 of the Grand Officers. 
 
 The third annual session convened January 16, 1827. P. G. 
 J. F. Craig, of No. 1, was admitted to membership, making in all 
 18 members present. The committee to whom had been referred 
 the admission of honorary members, submitted a report, the con- 
 sideration of which was postponed. The honorary membership 
 here suggested was adopted February 20, 1827. It was a sort of 
 roving commission to a brother who did not wish to continue an 
 active member. The regulations were as follows : 
 
 1st. Brothers who shall have obtained the above certificate, 
 may visit any lodge in the State of Maryland, but shall have no 
 claim whatever on the benefit fund, and must conform and be 
 subject to all the law r s and ceremonies of the Order while in any 
 lodge. 
 
 2d. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep a list of all 
 brothers w r ho may draw 7 such certificate, and should such accept 
 of an elective office in the lodge, they shall be charged with the 
 same dues and fines as if they w r ere benefit members while in 
 office. 
 
 3d. Brothers wishing to deposit their certificates and become 
 benefit members, must do the same in open lodge, and six months 
 thereafter they shall be entitled to all the rights of benefit 
 members, provided they w r ere free from all known diseases at the 
 time of depositing the same. 
 
 4. Nothing in the foregoing regulations shall preclude a 
 deceased brother from burial with the honors of the Order. 
 
 Thus the members were divided into two classes beneficial 
 and honorary. Honorary membership w T as at the election of the 
 member if he was in good standing. On the 16th of April, 
 1829, the following was adopted : " Resolved, that an engraved 
 copperplate be procured of the certificate of honorary member- 
 ship, and that a committee of five be appointed to take into con- 
 sideration the propriety of admitting gentlemen over forty-five 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 125 
 
 years of age." At the next meeting held on July 15, 1829, it 
 was unanimously " Resolved, that the subordinate lodges be per- 
 mitted to initiate gentlemen over forty-five years of age, but they 
 shall not be entitled to the benefits of the lodge." " Resolved, 
 that three Past Grands be appointed to investigate the character 
 of all persons proposed for honorary membership." The latter 
 provision was repealed on the loth of October, 1829, and the 
 following substituted : " Resolved by the R. W. Grand Lodge, 
 that the subordinate lodges may initiate candidates at forty-five 
 years of age and upwards, but not exceeding fifty years. For 
 every such candidate, previous to being initiated, a dispensation 
 must be obtained from the Grand Lodge, which shall be read to 
 him at the time of initiation, and he shall be entitled to all the 
 privileges of the Order, the same as honorary members." 
 
 This class of members was restricted by action had August 
 9, 1830, as follows : " Resolved, that Past Grands who are 
 honorary members will not be allowed to hold any office in the 
 Grand Lodge." Applicants over forty-five years of age were 
 afterwards allowed to be initiated by a dispensation obtained 
 from the Grand Master in the recess, or in case of his sickness 
 or absence from the city, by his deputy. 
 
 But to return to the session of January 16th, 1827. The com- 
 mittee on the subject of suspension for the non-payment of 
 dues, reported in favor of the lodge's being authorized to restore 
 a member on the payment of five dollars when his indebtedness 
 exceeded that amount, provided his character was fair at the 
 time. This law was to continue in force for but six months, 
 but was kept alive until February 13th, 1828, when it was 
 amended and framed into a permanent regulation, to wit : 
 " When a brother applies for re-admission, it shall be the duty 
 of the N. G. to appoint a committee of three to investigate his 
 character, and if the report be favorable, the candidate shall be 
 ballotted for, and if duiy elected, shall be initiated over again, 
 conformably to the general laws. But if a brother making ap- 
 plication be over forty-five years of age, he can only be admitted 
 as an honorary member, and shall be entitled to a certificate to 
 that effect, by paying five dollars and complying with the rules 
 and regulations made and provided for the same." An applica- 
 tion was made by P. G. John F. Exe and others, of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 1, for a dispensation to open a lodge in Baltimore, 
 
126 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP, 
 
 to be styled William Tell Lodge, No. 4, and that it be authorized 
 to conduct its business in the German language. The petition 
 was granted and the lodge instituted ; G. Sire Wildey having 
 drawn his card from Washington Lodge to become one of its- 
 charter members. It is worthy of mention that the G. Sire w r as 
 so well satisfied with his choice that he remained a member until 
 his death, in 1861. The lodge then adjourned to meet on the 31st 
 instant. This was the first German Lodge instituted in the 
 United States, and as such, heads the list of that long line of 
 lodges in which our German brethren have done noble work for 
 the Order. 
 
 At the next meeting, held the 31st of the same month, a com- 
 mittee was appointed to superintend the translation of the charges 
 and degrees into the German language. This was done, and 
 P. G. Santmyer, of that nationality, vouched for the correctness 
 of the translation. Bro. Hanzsche w r as selected to print them, and 
 to qualify him for that duty, the degrees were allowed to be con- 
 ferred upon him by a special resolution. t As the lodge had a 
 mixed membership, permission was granted it, on the 15th of 
 January, 1830, to work in the English and German languages; 
 this practice has been allowed down to the present time, and has 
 been shared by several sister lodges which have been formed out 
 of brethren of mixed nationalities. This appearance of Germans 
 in the Order is noteworthy. They, above all others, are lovers of 
 social life ; for ages they have been founders of associations for 
 social purposes. The convivial feature appealed to their whole 
 nature, and their thrifty habits were in full harmony with the 
 beneficial system. The German element, since that time, has 
 grown to vast proportions ; in every State and Territory it has 
 formed a noble material ; none are truer to our principles, none 
 more laborious or successful in the work. They have a proud 
 record. Not only have they aided in our greatness at home, but 
 they have awakened the masses of the Fatherland to the merits 
 of Odd Fellowship. When the beloved Morse, that noble ambas- 
 sador, offered the Order to Germany, he found the soil ready for 
 the sower. Willing hands and noble hearts were aw r aiting him, 
 and opened up his way to give an empire to our principles. Judg- 
 ing from what we have seen in this country, Germany mav yet 
 rival, or even surpass, us in the growth of the Order. It is to the 
 Teuton a second nature, and its Saxon features w r ill commend it 
 in all the lands of that mighty people. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 127 
 
 On the 31st of January, 1827, the G. Lodge met; twenty 
 members were present. The G. Officers for the ensuing year 
 were installed : Thomas Seotchburn as G. M. ; Charles Price 
 D. G. M. ; Eichard Marley G. W. ; Ezekiel Wilson G. Sec. ; 
 Wm. "Williams G. C., and Samuel Bickley G. G. On proceeding 
 to business, it was agreed that the degrees should be conferred on 
 members in the subordinate lodges in the following order : 1st, 
 the first degree; 2d, the Covenant degree; 3d, the second 
 degree; 4th, the Remembrance degree; and 5th, the third or 
 Scarlet degree ; that no member should receive a degree until 
 he had been a member for one month, and that there should be 
 an interval of one month between the taking of each degree. 
 Subsequently, on the 13th of February, 1828, the price of degrees 
 to be charged in future by subordinate lodges was fixed as 
 follows: For the first degree, one dollar; the second degree, 
 two dollars ; the third degree, three dollars ; the fourth degree, 
 four dollars ; and for the fifth degree, five dollars. These rates 
 were found to be so satisfactory that they remain as the law on 
 that subject to this day. The time at which a candidate might 
 receive the degrees was, March 7,1831, regulated as follows: 
 All applications for degrees were to be made in open lodge, and 
 an applicant, if qualified, should receive the same at the time 
 of his application. 
 
 At the meeting of 31st January, 1827, brothers w r ere made 
 ineligible for the chair of N. G. before they had received the 
 fifth degree, and for Y. G. unless they had received the second 
 degree. G. Sire Wildey offered the following : " Resolved, that 
 all questions in the Grand Lodge shall be determined by ballot." 
 No explanation w r as given, and no good reason occurs to us for 
 such an anomaly. It is recorded on the minutes as "deter- 
 mined," but this was a mistake, as at the next quarterly session 
 a similar motion to apply to the admission of P. G.'s failed to 
 pass. The object might have been to secure an unbiased vote by 
 screening the members from censure by interested parties. Most 
 likely it was to mitigate the existing national jealousy of the 
 old members, and chiefly of Wildey himself; at all events it was 
 calculated to serve no useful purpose, and would have been a 
 fatal drag on the business of the body. It may be that the offer 
 was intended to serve some purpose which was accomplished 
 without the passage of the resolution. A standing committee 
 
128 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 of three was appointed to audit all expenses that should be 
 necessary for the Grand Lodge, and also, that no money should 
 be paid or expenses incurred without a report being first made 
 by that committee and sanctioned by a majority of the Grand 
 Lodge. A special committee was then appointed to examine the 
 accounts of members charged with fines. It was ordered that 
 fifty blank warrants for subordinate lodges be printed, and last 
 of all, a committee of three was appointed to negotiate a loan of 
 one hundred dollars for the Grand Lodge. At the next meeting 
 the committee reported that G. S. Wildey had promptly loaned 
 the money. 
 
 The lodge then adjourned for three weeks, and met again the 
 20th of February, 1827, when, in addition to the legislation with 
 reference to honorary membership, as before recited, another 
 question arose. It seems that Washington Lodge was not satis- 
 fied with the honors awarded to the Grand Sire and Grand Mas- 
 ter, and suggested that they be allowed the privilege of keeping 
 their seats when addressing the chair, but the Grand Lodge had 
 the good taste to pass by the petition in silence. And then the 
 last session of the second year closed. 
 
 The second quarterly session of the third year was held April 
 17th, 1827; seventeen members present. A communication, 
 the first of the kind to this body, was received from the Grand 
 Lodge of Pennsylvania, adverse to changing the signs, &c., when 
 an answer was returned, recommending the use of the new signs. 
 Three months afterwards, the Grand Lodge instructed their rep- 
 resentatives to petition the G. Lodge of the United States to 
 reconsider the resolution requiring both signs to be used, and to 
 provide for the use of the new sign only. On the return of the 
 G. Sire from England, he addressed letters to the Grand Lodges, 
 advising concurrence in the changes made in the work by the 
 Annual Movable Committee of 1823. The G. Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania protested against the change, on the 8th of January, 
 1827 ; the vote standing 4 to 2. 
 
 For more than a year all the lodges had been meeting at the 
 corner of Gay and Front Streets, then called Bridge and Jones 
 Streets. The Grand Lodge now concluded to assume control of 
 the premises, and a committee was appointed to purchase the fix-^ 
 tures and regalia of the subordinate lodges. At the next meeting, 
 held 15th May, 1827, a report of the purchase was made. Colum- 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF MAKYLAND. 129 
 
 bia Lodge had agreed to take four hundred dollars for the fixtures, 
 decorations and regalia, and Washington and Franklin Lodges 
 thirty-four dollars and fifty cents for their regalia and property, 
 reserving a portrait of General Washington to Washington 
 Lodge, and the Odd Fellows' " Coat of Arms " to Franklin Lodge. 
 At the latter meeting a lease of the premises to the Grand Lodge 
 was produced, and the yearly rent to be charged to the subordi- 
 nates was fixed at thirty dollars, to commence on that day. 
 
 It was on this occasion that G. Sire Wildey and seven others, 
 including G. M. Scotchburn, proposed a novel and startling 
 feature which changed the whole organism of the work. This was 
 that a lodge should be chartered for the sole purpose of confer- 
 ring the P., the G. R., and the R. P. degrees, and that the Grand 
 Lodge should resign the right to confer them into the hands of 
 the members of the proposed body. These degrees heretofore 
 had been conferred only upon Past Grands, and that in the body 
 of the Grand Lodge itself. The new lodge was to confer them 
 on members of the fifth degree. Thus the " sublime degrees," as 
 they were afterwards designated, were made to form the basis of 
 & new but brilliant departure. This was the origin of the 
 Encampment branch of the Order. The petition was read and 
 the charter granted at the same meeting, and the charter fee 
 fixed at forty dollars. The history of this movement, its origin 
 and success, and its place in Odd Fellowship, will be fully treated 
 of in the chapter on " The Degrees and Encampments." The 
 meeting closed with the inauguration of a plan for the improve- 
 ment of the work in the lodges. A committee of five P. G.'s 
 was required to examine every !N". G. elect before installation, 
 and if he was found deficient in the first, second and third 
 degrees, he should not have the office and the lodge must elect 
 another. 
 
 ~No matter of moment occurred at the third quarterly session 
 held July 16, 1827. At the special session held August 19, 
 1827, the committee to examine N. G.'s elect had their duties 
 modified, so that they were now to examine the candidates for 
 that office prior to the election. P. G. Harris was elected G. 
 Marshal, and candidates for the other offices were duly nominated. 
 On motion of G. Sire Wildey, the 7th Article of the Constitution, 
 which provided for the reading of the Golden Rule degree every 
 quarter and fixing its price, was repealed, that degree having 
 9 
 
130 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 been parted with to the Encampment. The fourth quarterly 
 meeting was assembled October 16, 1S27, but ten members being 
 present, including the punctual and indefatigable Wildey. The 
 rent to be charged to the Encampment Lodge was fixed at twelve 
 dollars per annum. It was ordered that three copies of the 
 degree books should be furnished to each of the subordinate 
 lodges. An election for G. Officers resulted as follows : Thomas 
 Scotchburn, M. W. G. M. ; John F. Exe, K. W. D. G. M. ; 
 Thomas Charters, E. W. G. Warden ; Daniel Weaver, R. W. G. 
 Secretary. 
 
 One may judge how imperfectly the record was kept, by the 
 silence of the minutes of this meeting upon the subject of the 
 expulsion of P. G. William Williams, which had recently occurred. 
 The records of the Grand Lodge of the United States, of May 1st, 
 1828, show the name of Williams in the table of "expulsions," 
 for breach of trust, &c. The facts are detailed elsewhere. A 
 letter had been written by J. J. Roach, as G. Sec'y pro tern, of 
 the Grand Lodge of the United States, addressed to the Cor. Sec'y 
 of the Manchester Unity, with information that Williams had 
 absconded, after having defrauded G. Sire Wildey and G. M, 
 Scotchburn of a sum exceeding twelve hundred dollars. This- 
 was a severe blow to the G. Sire. Entwisle was his first guide 
 and counsellor, and his death was a great misfortune to Wildey. 
 Williams ingratiated himself into his confidence, and he fondly 
 hoped that he had found a substitute for that able Secretary. The 
 G. Sire considered himself so identified with the Order, that the 
 G. Sec'y of the Grand Lodge of the United States was expected 
 to serve as his private secretary. P. G. Fennell, as Assistant 
 G. Sec'y, acted from July, 182-1, to February, 1825, but his ser- 
 vices were not satisfactory. At the first election of the separate 
 Grand Lodge of the United States, in 1825, the G. Sire nomi- 
 nated Williams, who, of course, was chosen G. Secretary. It is 
 supposed that the nationality of the candidate caused the prefer- 
 ence ; if so, it was a costly prejudice. The experiment was so 
 signal a failure, that the lesson led him afterwards to be more wary 
 in the choice of his confidants. 
 
 The fourth annual session of 1828 began January 16th, and 
 having adjourned after the business of the day, met again on the 
 13th of February. The officers elected were duly installed. 
 There were but fifteen members present, including P. G. John 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 131 
 
 Brannan, of No. 1, who was admitted at the opening. The 
 Grand Lodge had been previously opened in the Scarlet degree, 
 when brothers of that rank were admitted to witness the 
 installation of the officers. P. G. John F. Exe, who had been 
 elected D. G. M., being absent, an election was held, at which 
 P. G. Warden Richard Marley was elected to fill the place, and 
 was installed with the officers previously elected. The annual 
 rent of twelve dollars, to be charged to the Encampment Lodge, 
 was reduced to eight dollars. For the first time we find on the 
 minutes a statement that reports had been made to the Grand 
 Lodge by its subordinates. Only the amount of percentage paid 
 is given. Washington Lodge had paid $5, Franklin $8.50, 
 Columbia $6.40, and William Tell $7.00, making the receipts 
 for the quarter $26.90. At the adjourned meeting eighteen were 
 present, including P. G.'s Frederick Jordan and John Sauerhoif, 
 who were elected and admitted. The expulsion of P. G. J. F. 
 Craig, by Washington Lodge, was approved. The copperplate 
 for printing certificates having been procured, their price was 
 fixed at $4 per hundred to G. Lodges, and at $6 to the subordi- 
 nates. 
 
 A change was made in the mode of introducing a brother into 
 the lodge-room to receive the degrees, but was not much regarded, 
 the lodges having a decided preference for the former practice. 
 A certificate was presented to G. M. Scotchburn, as representa- 
 tive of Maryland in the G. Lodge of the United States. This 
 was under the resolution that the G. M. should also be the Grand 
 Representative, but a brief experience was sufficient to convince 
 the body that a brother might be useful in the one place but not 
 capable of filling the other. The result was, a return to the orig- 
 inal plan of an election, at which the brother most capable could 
 be selected. On the 15th of October, 1829, it was determined 
 that the G. Master, in future, should not be the representative in 
 the Grand Lodge of the United States, but that any member of 
 the Grand Lodge should be eligible for the office. The rights of 
 candidates in the subordinates were then secured by allowing them 
 to be proposed at either of the two last meeting nights previous to 
 the election. It was resolved that any brother who should be in 
 arrears at the time of his death to the amount of two dollars and 
 fifty cents, should not be buried with the honors of the Order. 
 This provision has long since ceased to be law. The finances 
 
132 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 received due attention, and a notice was given that a fiscal report 
 would be made at the next quarterly session. Notice was also 
 received from the G. Lodge of New York, that Strangers' Refuge 
 Lodge, No. 4, of that State, had forfeited its charter. Before the 
 adjournment, the plan of visitation to the subordinates, for the 
 months of March and April, was announced. 
 
 It is proper to state that the officers of the G. Lodge, in the 
 recess of its sessions, were always employed in giving their per- 
 sonal attention to the subordinates. Every lodge was visited and 
 inspected, and was praised or blamed as its conduct merited. 
 Especial attention was paid to the manner in which the WORK 
 was performed, and the Grand Officers were expected not only to 
 instruct, but to help to do whatever w r as necessary. Turbulent 
 and troublesome members were rebuked, incompetent officers 
 shamed, and the worthy and capable publicly complimented. 
 Rising talent was marked, and zealous brethren selected for future 
 promotion and honor. In all this G. Sire Wildey was the mover, 
 and his activity kept the whole Order in motion. 
 
 The first quarterly session of the fourth year met April 17th, 
 1828, and after admitting P. G.'s Philips and Seabrooks, ad- 
 journed to meet on the 21st of April, 1828. On that day fifteen 
 members were present. It was provided that a brother accepting 
 a place on a committee should, for neglect of duty, be fined not 
 less than fifty cents nor more than five dollars; that a P. G. 
 who should leave the lodge-room without the permission of the 
 G. M., should be fined twenty-five cents. On the subject of a 
 change of membership, it was required that a brother joining a 
 lodge by the deposit of his certificate, should obligate himself to 
 support the lodge under its charter. Then followed a tabular 
 statement of the finances, by which it appears that on the 15th 
 April, 1828, there was a total indebtedness, over and above assets, 
 of $580.63 ; of this, $24.38 was due to Franklin Lodge, and 
 $556.25 to G. Sire Wildey. The initiations for the preceding 
 quarter were four, expelled one, suspended for non-payment of 
 dues four, death one, rent collected from the four lodges $30, 
 percentage $12.63. Total amount from subordinates, $42.63. 
 
 The second quarterly session of the fourth year met 16th July, 
 1828. Eighteen were present, with P. G.'s Robert Gott, of No. 
 3, and Jacob Hardtner, of No. 4, who were newly admitted. The 
 proceedings of the Grand Lodge of the United States, of May 1st, 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 133 
 
 1828, together with a proposed new constitution for that body, 
 were received and referred to a committee, of which G. Sire Wil- 
 dey was appointed chairman. The next question considered was 
 one of importance, and its solution was the beginning of a system 
 whose benefits cannot easily be calculated. At that time a bro- 
 ther who wished to travel or to retire from his lodge could take 
 a " certificate." This act relieved him from the payment of dues 
 and made him an honorary member. If he desired, within one 
 year, to resume his membership, he might do so by depositing 
 his certificate and paying the sum of twenty-five cents. The 
 lodge, on the contrary, had no power to refuse to receive back a 
 brother of whom it had certified that he was " worthy, true and 
 faithful." He could not visit a lodge out of his own jurisdiction 
 but by the deposit of his certificate, in which event he became an 
 honorary member of that lodge. This was not only awkward, 
 but was destructive of the rights both of the lodge and the mem- 
 bership. It made membership a transitory tie, and gave no secu- 
 rity for permanence to the subordinate lodges. By this means 
 affiliation was dependent upon the whims of members or the acci- 
 dents of fortune. It was now 
 
 "Resolved, That it be recommended to the subordinate lodges 
 to adopt a card in lieu of the regular certificate, so as to enable 
 brothers going to a neighboring city for a short time, to visit 
 lodges without withdrawing their membership from the lodge to 
 which they are attached." 
 
 This is the first legislation on the subject of visiting cards 
 which we have discovered. The Manchester Unity had adopted 
 a plan upon which the practice we have detailed was founded. 
 A member could at his option draw his card and deposit it in 
 any other lodge he might select. The lodge had no choice but 
 to accept the card and enroll him a member. He was still at 
 liberty again to take the card he had deposited. When a brother 
 drew his card for the purpose of " going on tramp," it was not 
 deposited, but simply shown to the lodges when he had occasion 
 to solicit assistance. "When assistance was rendered, the amount 
 contributed was endorsed upon the card, which was then returned 
 to the wayfarer. But if the brother acquired a residence, there 
 was a limit to the card, beyond which it became invalid. Until 
 that time he was a member at large. 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The visiting card was not a substitute for a " certificate," which 
 still had its place for other purposes. The certificate was used to 
 sever connection with one lodge and to enable the brother to join 
 another. The new card was to protect the lodge in its member 
 and the member in his lodge. Lodges could now allow members 
 to travel and visit anywhere, and continue over them the aegis of 
 their protection. No distance could break the bonds of their 
 union. On the other hand, the member carried his lodge privi- 
 leges wherever he went. True, he could not interfere in the 
 business of the lodges that he visited, but he retained all the 
 material advantages which were proper to be exercised. He 
 could meet his brethren in the lodge-room, mingle in their rites, 
 claim their sympathy and assistance, and give them a suitable 
 return. Above all, he was still a member of that family where 
 he first saw the light of Odd Fellowship; he could claim his 
 place, though absent, and returning, find himself at home. But 
 little has been added to this first idea, which, somewhat amplified, 
 is now a valuable feature of American Odd Fellowship. 
 
 The Grand Lodge next proceeded to nominate candidates for 
 the offices. Before closing, a report was made of the finances; 
 the amount received from the subordinate lodges was nearly 
 doubled, but there still remained an indebtedness of $565.62. 
 This was due to G. Sire Wildey. The visiting card recommended 
 to the lodges was adopted by the Grand Lodge. On the 16th 
 April, 1829, a committee reported a form for a visiting card, 
 which was adopted, and fifty copies ordered to be printed for each 
 lodge. 
 
 The third quarterly session of the fourth year was held 
 October 16, 1828. There were eighteen members present, in- 
 cluding P. G. AUGUSTUS MATHIOT, of Washington Lodge, No. 1, 
 who came in at that session. Bro. O. B. Tyler presented the 
 Oirand Lodge an engraved copy of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence of the United States, with facsimile signatures of the 
 signers, which was accepted with thanks. The election for officers 
 for 1829 resulted as follows: for G. M., John Roach, Sen.; for 
 D. G. M., P. G. Santmyer; G. W., Thomas Cafferty ; G. Sec., 
 John Sauerhoff. The financial report of the quarter showed 
 that the lodges had promptly paid their rent and dues, but there 
 was still the sum of $551.10 due to the G. Sire. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 135 
 
 The fifth annual session was held January 16, 1829 ; twenty 
 members, with P. G.'s Cotteral of No. 2, and Steinman of No. 4, 
 then admitted, were present. The constitution was amended so 
 that a P. Grand having his certificate, who should have charges 
 preferred against him, would not be received until the matter 
 was settled. It was enacted that a Past Grand should not dis- 
 cuss financial affairs in a subordinate lodge of which he was 
 not a member. Past Grands Santmyer and Sauerhoff having 
 declined to serve as D. G. M. and G. Secretary, D. G. M. Marley 
 and G. Sec. Weaver were unanimously re-elected. The following 
 were then installed : John Roach, G. M. ; Richard Marley, D. 
 G. M. ; Thomas Cafferty, G. "W.; Daniel Weaver, G. Sec.; and 
 the following appointed officers : Frederick Jordan, G. Con., and 
 Thomas Charters, G. G. A new charter was granted to Encamp- 
 ment Lodge, No. 1, by the style of " The Encampment of Pa- 
 triarchs." No doubt the anxiety to change the name had much 
 to do with the change of the charter, but the appellation was 
 yet indefinite. It was not until a Grand Encampment was 
 organized by the supreme authority that it assumed a proper 
 title. It then received the name of Jerusalem Encampment, 
 No. 1. The substituted charter was merely an amendment of 
 the original paper, and contained the same date of issue and 
 names of the officers of the Grand Lodge. The debt due was 
 still $517.08. AVe have stated that on 15th May, 1827, the 
 Grand Lodge purchased the furniture, fixtures and regalia of 
 Columbia Lodge, and became the proprietor of its meeting 
 room. G. Sire Wildey, who was acting as Treasurer, advanced 
 not only the $100 referred to in the minutes of April 17, 1827, 
 but the $4:00 which was afterwards paid to Columbia Lodge. 
 These items, with previous advances, made him the creditor of 
 the Grand Lodge for the amount of $660. 
 
 By the statement now made, the principal sum was reduced 
 $113 in one year and eight months, which, under the circum- 
 stances, must be considered a sign of prosperity. It may ho 
 remarked that the constitution did not provide for a Grand Trea- 
 surer. In the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United- 
 States, John Boyd acted as treasurer. At the meeting prelimi- 
 nary to the organization he was selected as G. Treasurer, as well 
 as Grand Guardian, but at the organization, 22d February, 1821, 
 he is only mentioned as G. Guardian. Afterwards he is regis- 
 
136 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 tered only as G. G., until he became proxy Representative of the 
 Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, when he is styled Hep. Boyd. 
 Neither of the constitutions adopted by the joint bodies of 1821 
 and 1823, or those of the G. Lodge of Maryland of 1824 and 1829, 
 had provisions for such an officer, and none such was installed 
 under any of them. John Boyd was the first G. Treasurer in- 
 stalled in the G. Lodge of Maryland. This occurred January 
 loth, 1831, yet it does not appear that he was elected to the office. 
 G. Sire Wildey, until January, 1831, was the fiscal agent of the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland. The position was certainly no sine- 
 cure. The minutes are silent as to who performed the duty of 
 cashier. 
 
 The word " Treasurer " (not Grand Treasurer) occurs no les& 
 than seventeen times in the minutes of the G. Lodge of Md. and 
 of the U. S. from Febr'y 22d, 1821, until Nov. 22d, 1824, and but 
 once with the addition of a name. In that interval there had 
 been four elections for G. Officers, whose names are displayed on 
 the minutes, yet there is no mention of the election of any such 
 officer. On 22d of May, 1824, a paper appears in the minutes, in 
 the handwriting of Assistant G. Sec. Fennell, which certifies a 
 fiscal statement as follows : " The foregoing accounts and pro- 
 ceedings of the G. Lodge of Maryland are all just and correct.' 7 
 This is subscribed by Thomas "Wildey, G. M.; John Welch, D. 
 G. M.; John P. Entwisle, P. D. G. M.; Thomas Mitchell, G. W.; 
 John Boyd, G. G.; Charles Common, G. Con.; Maurice Fennel], 
 A. G. Sec. and five P. G's. A balance of $23.52 is mentioned, 
 but no hint is given as to the holder of that sum. The exception 
 occurs May 18th, 1823, with the following entry : " leaving a bal- 
 ance in the Treasurer's hands this day of $68.83 "; under this we 
 find, in the handwriting of the G. Sec., " John Boyd, Tr." This 
 faint intimation is all that we find on the subject in a record of 
 four years. After the separation, the G. L. of Maryland changed 
 for the better ; at two sessions in 1825, reference is made to " bal- 
 ance in Treasurer Boyd's hands," and April 14th, 1826, the G. 
 Sec. closes his cash account thus : " To balance paid over to G. 
 S. Wildey $14.50." From that time G. S. Wildey acted as banker 
 for the body, as he was continually in advance. When he was 
 paid in full for his advances, P. G. John Boyd was installed as 
 Treasurer. The financial statement closed the annual session. 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 137 
 
 A special session met February 17, 1829. P. G. Samuel 
 Lucas, of No. 1, was admitted, making seventeen members in 
 attendance. The meeting was called to defeat an act of incor- 
 poration from the State Legislature. G. Sire Wildey, in the 
 recess, had so pushed the measure as to induce a city member to 
 offer the bill. The bill was offered, but with a title which was 
 not satisfactory. Fearful that it might pass in the objectionable 
 shape, the G. Sire hastened to defeat it. It was entitled, "An, 
 Act to Incorporate the Mutual Relief Society of Odd Fellows." 
 This title had been inserted without the knowledge of the G. 
 Sire, who was quite indignant. It was unanimously agreed that 
 no charter would be accepted unless it was designated by the 
 proper title, "An Act to Incorporate the Grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows" A committee 
 was appointed to have a proper act passed, but it came to 
 nothing. At length, on the 27th of October, 1832, a final com- 
 mittee \vas appointed, consisting of P. Grands George Keyser, 
 McClintock Young, James L. Ridgely, Thomas Wildey and 
 Robert Neilson. The committee took the matter in hand, and 
 succeeded in procuring this long wished for act of legislation. 
 
 Thus the agitation for a charter, begun on September 5, 
 1826, had a successful result, which was entirely owing to the 
 men who had entered after that date. The gratitude of the 
 Order was boundless. P. G. John A. Kennedy, afterwards G. 
 Sire, submitted the following, which was adopted : 
 
 " Resolved by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, that Bros. George 
 Keyser and James L. Ridgely, for their arduous, devoted and 
 successful exertions in obtaining for this Grand Lodge an act of 
 incorporation, are entitled to the lasting gratitude of every 
 brother. 
 
 " Resolved, that a committee of three be appointed, with power 
 to prepare and present to Bros. George Keyser and James L. 
 Ridgely, on behalf of this lodge, a suitable token, in testimony 
 of the grateful sentiments entertained by this lodge to those 
 brethren, for their valuable services." P. G.'s Kennedy, Blair 
 and Jackson were appointed the committee, which reported as 
 follows : 
 
 " Resolved, that the sum of $80 be and the same is hereby 
 appropriated to carry into effect the resolution of the 15th of 
 February, 1833, to be expended under the direction of the com- 
 
138 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 inittee in procuring suitable pieces of plate, to be presented to 
 Eros. Keyser and Ridgely, as stated in said resolution." The 
 yeas and nays being called, the resolution passed by a very large 
 majority. On November 1, 1833, the presentation was made in 
 open Grand Lodge to each of these brethren, of a beautiful silver 
 cup, which, says the journal, " was accompanied by an able and 
 eloquent address." 
 
 The first quarterly session of the fifth year met April 16, 1829, 
 with the usual attendance ; P. G.'s Wilcox, of 'No. 3, and Knob- 
 lock, of No. 4, were admitted. The committee to revise the de- 
 grees reported a modification, which was agreed to: the change 
 consisted merely in the erasure of superfluous expressions. A 
 resolution was adopted instructing the Grand Rep. to vote for 
 Thomas Wildey for the office of G. Sire for the next term of four 
 years. The lodge then closed after the usual financial report. 
 This meeting preceded the tenth anniversary of the Order but 
 three days, and was the end of the first decade, but the subject 
 would be unfinished should the narrative close before the termi- 
 nation of the current year. We shall, therefore, complete the 
 annals for the year. In conclusion the whole narrative will be 
 summed up in the grand event of that period, the building of a 
 hall by the Grand Lodge of Maryland. The second quarterly 
 meeting of the fifth year was held 15th July, 1829 ; present but 
 14 members. Nominations for Grand Officers were made, when, 
 as the minutes say, " the evening being very warm, and but few 
 members present, on motion the lodge was duly closed." 
 
 The third quarterly session of the fifth year was held October 
 15th, 1829. P. G.'s Charles Wilkins, of No. 3, and Nicholas 
 Prangen, of No. 4, were admitted to membership. A full lodge 
 of twenty members were present. It seems that unworthy 
 candidates, when rejected in one lodge, were sometimes proposed 
 again, until some lodge, ignorant of their antecedents, received 
 them. The remedy was adopted as follows : " Resolved, that no 
 subordinate lodge shall initiate any candidate who has been 
 rejected, within six weeks after his rejection ; and the secretary 
 of every lodge in which a rejection shall take place, shall imme- 
 diately inform the Grand Secretary and all subordinate lodges 
 thereof." This excellent rule, with an unimportant amendment, is 
 still the law, and fully serves the purpose for which it was 
 intended. The election of Grand Officers resulted in the selec- 
 
THE GBAKD LODGE OF MARYLAND. 139 
 
 tion of Ezekiel Wilson, G. M. ; liichard Marley, (for the third 
 time), D. G. M. ; Thomas Cafferty, G. W. ; and Daniel Weaver, 
 G. Sec'y, who were installed into office at the annual session of 
 15th January, 1830. The accounts still showed a balance of 
 $565.83 in favor of G. Sire Wildey. 
 
 Past Grand Samuel Lucas, of No. 1, who had been a member 
 of the body for about eight months, boldly proposed the removal 
 of what was considered a corner-stone of the Order. Long before 
 the Grand Lodges existed, a practice prevailed which dated back 
 to the earliest meetings of Odd Fellows, and was intended to ex- 
 press approbation of certain measures or sentiments, or as a token 
 of admiration of particular persons. The practice was known as 
 " Giving the Honors," and was performed by a boisterous clap- 
 ping of the hands. In early days " the proposition for harmony" 
 was a regular order of business ; under that order it was custom- 
 ary " to give the honors " when a song was well sung, a recita- 
 tion well rendered, or when receiving agreeable information, or 
 on the visit of a distinguished brother. When Grand Officers 
 began to exist, the entrance and departure of these dignitaries 
 were often the occasion of very noisy demonstrations. Brother 
 Lucas proposed to dispense with these attentions, and that 
 honor be accorded them in a different manner ; that on their 
 entrance the whole lodge, except the N. G., should rise and salute 
 them with the countersign, at the time they were saluting the 
 chair. It was laid over for several sessions, but at length, on the 
 20th October, 1830, this ancient landmark was removed by a 
 solemn resolution of disapproval. 
 
 It is impossible to state the exact condition of the Order in 
 Maryland at this time. The report made to the G. S. of the U. 
 S., to May, 1820, omits to state the number of members. The 
 next report was made to September, 1830, being ten months and 
 a half later than this session. In the interval of sixteen months 
 a revolution had occurred ; the membership had grown from 372 
 to 709, by initiations, which numbered 337 ; the 5th lodge had 
 been chartered ; the Encampment contained 20 members ; there 
 had been but one suspension and two expulsion?, and the revenue 
 was $2-127. "When the causes for this prosperity are shown, we 
 must conclude that in September, 1829, there were not more than 
 400 contributing members, and the revenue did not exceed 
 $1200. The lodges were four, besides that curious lodge which 
 
14:0 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was called the Encampment. The undertaking which resulted 
 in this increase was set on foot at the next meeting, it being the 
 15th January, 1830, and the sixth annual session; it was then 
 
 " Resolved unanimously, that the propriety of procuring a 
 suitable lot of ground, in some central part of the city, be recom- 
 mended to the subordinate lodges, to build an Odd Fellows' hall ; 
 the building to cost $3000, to be divided into 300 shares, at $10 
 per share, payable by instalments of one dollar per month." 
 
 This was followed by the grant of a charter to another lodge, 
 March 22d, 1830 : Gratitude Lodge, No. 5, so called as a com- 
 pliment to G. Sire Wildey, was organized by J. T. Woodward, 
 William Edgar, James Cox, James Deveroux, Absalom Han- 
 cock, James H. Warfield, J. B. Bosley, J. S. Merriken, Wil- 
 liam A. SchaefFer, Jonathan Jackson, John Easter and Augus- 
 tus Mathiot. On Tuesday, 30th March, 1830, the lodge was 
 instituted and the officers installed. Contemporaneously we 
 find the execution of a perpetual lease to trustees, of a part of the 
 lot now owned on Gay Street, for the use of the Order. The 
 building of a hall on this lot now became the passion of the mem- 
 bers ; every meeting witnessed some new device to carry out the 
 purpose. But the number interested was few ; there was no capi- 
 tal, and the progress was slow and difficult. It was at this junc- 
 ture, on the 20th July, 1830, that P. G. James L. Ridgely 
 accepted a nomination and was elected Grand Secretary. 
 
 This brother had been initiated in Columbia Lodge, No. 3, 
 on the 27th day of May, 1829, and was elected Y. Grand, Oct. 
 14, 1829, and K Grand the 17th February, 1830. He entered 
 the Grand Lodge at the special session of May 27th or June 
 22d, 1830, and his name appears on the minutes as a member on 
 July 6, 1830. The journal has omitted the names of those 
 admitted at these special meetings. P. G. Eidgely had formed 
 the acquaintance of P. G. Robert Gott, who had been admitted 
 to the Grand Lodge, July 16, 1828. The statements of Gott 
 roused Ridgely's curiosity, and he was particularly struck with 
 the assumption of moral functions, and the anxiety of the obscure 
 society to obtain incorporation. Under these influences, he 
 allowed P. G. Gott to propose and have him elected in Columbia 
 Lodge. He was in his twenty-second year, had been admitted 
 to the bar in Baltimore in June 1828, and one month later had 
 married. It is but justice to him to state that he ranked well in 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 a law class whose members became the great lawyers of Mary- 
 land. His education had been liberal, but his means were 
 limited to the profession which he had just entered. When he 
 became a member, he met all the chiefs of the enterprise. His 
 knowledge of the city members of the legislature drew attention 
 to him, as one who might render valuable assistance in procuring 
 an act of incorporation. Afterwards his advice was taken by 
 those having the matter in hand. His services in procuring the 
 Act have been already recounted. When he entered the Grand 
 Lodge, he found the resolution adopted which recommended the 
 building of a hall by the subordinates. To this he demurred. 
 He saw that the plan was bad and could not succeed, and by 
 proper representations he caused its abandonment. The hall 
 was now to be built by the Grand Lodge itself, and not by its 
 subordinates. This change of plan was magical in its effects, as 
 will appear in the sequel. 
 
 At this point Kidgely fully identified himself with the cause, 
 and thereby fixed his earthly destiny. He did not dream that 
 Mutual Relief would become the object of his life; that the 
 members of those lodge families would be his coadjutors for half 
 a century ; that for them and their successors he would forsake 
 his profession and the friends of his youth ; for them, visit 
 every part of his own country, and seek their kindred beyond 
 the stormy Atlantic. Still less could he foresee the fame of the 
 leaders, or the glory that would crown their work; that this 
 FRATERNITY would assemble her children, and sitting down beside 
 the two great oceans, embrace a continent in her arms. Nor 
 could he foretell this day, when, now past three-score years and 
 ten, he is about to close his career, amidst the love and tenderness 
 of a nation of Odd Fellows. 
 
 But to the narrative. The lot had been obtained, but the 
 enterprise stood still. Some very crude means were devised to 
 obtain the money ; such, for instance, as a tax of one dollar on 
 every initiation. At the meeting at which Eidgely was nomi- 
 nated for Grand Secretary, a draft of a certificate of stock was 
 proposed, and 200 copies ordered to be printed. A stock book 
 was subsequently obtained in which to enter the certificates 
 when issued. The shares, at first to consist of 300, were in- 
 creased to an indefinite number. A building committee had 
 already been appointed, composed of G. Sire Wildey and 
 
14:2 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 P. G.'s James L. Ridgely, Augustus Mathiot, Jolm Boyd and 
 Samuel Lucas. This committee, after many ineffectual efforts, 
 were discouraged, and it became necessary to invoke new 
 measures to insure success. Once indeed the work was stopped, 
 and the prospect was so gloomy that an opponent of the scheme 
 suggested that the unfinished building should be roofed over as a 
 monument of the folly of the enterprise. But this was but a 
 momentary check to the parties interested. It was at once 
 proposed to enlarge the plan, and instead of a cheap edifice, to 
 construct a hall not to cost less than $10,000. This, after some 
 murmuring, was agreed to, and the committee made bolder 
 efforts to secure success. G. Secretary Ridgely, accompanied by 
 P. G. Marley, undertook to canvass the membership in person, 
 and to go through the lodges to procure subscriptions. They 
 everywhere met with substantial marks of favor. Upon a closer 
 view, the individual members became warm partisans of the 
 enterprise ; money came in freely, and the work was rapidly 
 carried on upon the larger plan, which had been adopted. But 
 one more stoppage occurred ; ready money was imperatively re- 
 quired, when G. Secretary Ridgely, whose father-in-law was a 
 director in the Franklin Bank of Baltimore, had his note dis- 
 counted for 2000, and furnished the money. Of this note 
 Ridgely was the maker, and Samuel Lucas, then Grand Master, 
 was the endorser; and on its maturity, Ridgely advanced the 
 money, which was afterwards returned to him by the Grand 
 Lodge. 
 
 And thus, after many discouragements, by indomitable per- 
 severance, personal solicitation, and the use of private credit, 
 the first Odd Fellows' Hall in America was built for the Order 
 in the City of Baltimore. 
 
 One great element of success was found in the enterprise 
 itself. The project awakened attention to the Order, and enlisted 
 the interest of a class of persons who had hitherto looked upon 
 it as of but little importance. When the fact was made known 
 that the Hall would certainly be completed, and that it would 
 be dedicatee! on the 26th of April, 1831, a rush was made to 
 enter the lodges, and to share in the glory of that day. Origin- 
 ally the working classes of the rougher grades constituted 
 almost the whole body; now the case was different. Law- 
 yers, physicians, merchants, skilled mechanics and tradesmen, 
 
* ' 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 engineers, farmers and retired gentlemen, were among the 
 applicants for membership. The lodges had increased to 
 seven, but such was the pressure of work upon them, that it 
 was impossible to perform it at the stated meetings. Accord- 
 ingly special meetings were held for initiations, in the morning 
 and afternoon and at night. The one room at Wildey's was 
 insufficient, and other rooms were improvised for the emergency. 
 The dwelling of Bro. Wildey, at the corner of Front and Gay 
 Streets, was a three-story building of brick ; the entrance was 
 on Front Street, in the rear of the main building, by a gateway 
 in a brick wall, which opened into the yard ; the lodge-room 
 occupied the front of the house. The dwelling was entered 
 through a narrow passage, on the right of which was a small 
 room used as a dining-room, being immediately over the kitchen. 
 On the second floor was the lodge-room, on the left of the plat- 
 form at the landing; this was accessible by passing through the 
 anteroom, a small space cut off from the large room of about 
 by 16 feet. The lodge-room itself was in size about 30 by 16 
 feet. This was the only room occupied by the Order ; but the 
 times were extraordinary, and one after another of the rooms were 
 appropriated, until the whole dwelling was sometimes in tempo- 
 rary use, to the exclusion of the family. The new applicants 
 included many Masons (whose Order had never recognized Odd 
 Fellowship with favor), who stood high in that ancient brother- 
 hood, and who had the best of standing in the community. 
 Among these we may name George Keyser, then Grand Marshal 
 of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Maryland, afterwards Grand 
 Sire with us ; Joseph K. Stapleton ; Thomas Phenix, for many 
 years Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Maryland ; John 
 D. Miller, Abraham G. Cole, Francis Burns and John Coates, 
 the two last for many years Grand Masters of the Masonic 
 Order. Also Edward Spedden, Hugh Devallin, David Martin, 
 Samuel Child, and James M. Buchanan, afterwards United States 
 Minister to Denmark, and others of such position as to be recog- 
 nized as first among the citizens and business men of Baltimore. 
 From this statement, which falls below rather than above the 
 mark, it may be fairly conceded that the forthcoming dedication 
 was preceded by events which foreshadowed, for the 12th anni- 
 versary of the Order, the proudest day which Odd Fellowship 
 had seen since the hour of its origin, and that the celebration 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 would be one of the most brilliant that the city had ever 
 witnessed. 
 
 Difficulty was encountered in securing an auditorium in 
 which to have the oration, and it was not until the city was can- 
 vassed that a church building was allowed to be used for the pur- 
 pose. The struggling Order had neglected no effort to secure the 
 good-will of the ministry and the churches ; it recognized their 
 eminence, and wooed them to assist in its benefactions. On Sep- 
 tember 10th, 1830, the following was adopted: " Eesolved, that 
 ministers of the gospel, under forty-five years of age, be admitted 
 into the Independent Order of Odd Fellows without paying the 
 initiation fee." This invitation was not accepted ; and although 
 we have since counted among our best and noblest, the members 
 and ministers of all divisions of the Protestant family, whose names 
 are forever registered in the red-letter calendar of our greatest 
 men, yet it is true to-day, as it was then, that the church and 
 its ministry are not with us. The causes lie chiefly in the igno- 
 rance that springs from indifference, or perhaps, in our tolerance 
 of creeds, and our public avowal of moral purposes, which many, 
 without reflection, torture into an assumption of religious func- 
 tions. In this direction we take no portion of the blame ; we 
 have never attempted to lay unsanctified hands upon any altar 
 at which Christians worship; the Bible is an indispensable 
 part of the property of every lodge-room, and thousands of the 
 best men of all communions crowd our secret penetralia ; are 
 lovers of our principles and doers of our work. If we, with those 
 who refuse co-operation, are common losers by this antagonism, 
 our skirts are clear, for our hearts have always been open to such 
 a confederation, which would have added to our potency, and 
 given a new impetus to the gospel that " goes about doing 
 good." 
 
 The committee on the celebration found one generous man, 
 a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who took part in 
 the ceremonies. The record is full of gratitude to this good 
 man; the following was offered and was unanimously adopted: 
 ' Whereas, this Grand Lodge entertains a lively sense of grati- 
 tude towards the Eev. J. Y. Eartow, of Trinity Church, in this 
 city, for the use of his church, which was so kindly pr offered to 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, on the occasion of the 
 dedication of Odd Fellows' Hall, 26th April, 1831, and for the aid 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 145 
 
 rendered by him in the ceremonies of that day ; therefore, Ee- 
 solved, that it be recommended to the brethren of the Order to 
 attend the sacred concert on the 22d of December next, at seven 
 o'clock P. M., as a testimony of their gratitude, and that the 
 subordinate lodges be requested to close on that evening for the 
 purpose of attending the said concert, and that a copy of these 
 resolutions be transmitted to each lodge." Not satisfied with 
 this, at a subsequent meeting, G. Secretary Ridgely submitted a 
 motion that the Grand Lodge subscribe for twenty-five tickets to 
 the concert, which was amended, by consent of the mover, to 
 fifty, and in that shape passed unanimously. So heedful were the 
 fathers of the obligations of gratitude; may not this incident, so 
 honorable to all concerned, answer the question as to the moral 
 status of our ancestors, at whose honest record no blush of shame 
 can ever mantle the cheek of the most fastidious of their 
 posterity. 
 
 But this digression, though inviting discussion, cannot be in- 
 dulged ; we return to the new hall, in which the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States met for the first time on the 5th day of Septem- 
 ber, 1831. It cost the sum of $13,267, a large sum at that day. 
 The ground was bought in fee for $1690.42; the debt due on its 
 completion was $3500, and upon a call for new subscriptions, 
 $5050 was obtained, out of which excess the ground was paid for, 
 and no further debt was left to be liquidated. The whole amount 
 due subscribers was represented by certificates, upon which 
 interest was paid until both principal and interest were dis- 
 charged, and all the stock certificates were cancelled. When 
 we consider that this was done by the members of but seven 
 lodges, who, a short time previously, could scarcely obtain 
 lodgings at a public-house, and whose poverty had become 
 a proverb, we are not only astonished, but filled with admira- 
 tion. The general membership through the Lodges and En- 
 campments, had assumed $12,850, and the leading men $1700, 
 making the entire loan $14,550. The payment of this large sum 
 was made by instalments ; no misunderstanding occurred between 
 the parties to the contract, and the burden was neither felt nor 
 complained of; the plan was admirable, and the execution was 
 in every way worthy of the plan. From that day Odd Fellow- 
 ship became a member of the body politic, and was a permanent 
 fixture in the community. 
 10 
 
14:6 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The dedication of the hall, perhaps the greatest event in the 
 career of the young Order, has received but little notice, and has 
 no place upon the minutes of that epoch. The only contempora- 
 neous account is to be found in the daily papers of the time, 
 which is here given ; this is quite barren, considering the novel 
 character and striking effect of the pageant. About six hundred 
 persons appeared in line of procession, with music and banners, 
 under a chief marshal and his aids. The regalia of the members 
 and various symbolic devices being all new, the general appear- 
 ance was respectable and imposing. The exercises at Trinity 
 Church were in charge of a select corps of amateur vocalists, led 
 by Bro. John Welch, who made his appearance for that purpose ; 
 and an ode was prepared by Bro. John H. Hewitt, who is still 
 living. We have often thought of the local effect of this occasion 
 and of its salutary influence upon the career of the Order. We 
 look back to its interesting incidents with pleasure, recognizing 
 it as the initial point of active progress. 
 
 It gave character to the institution, by displaying to public 
 gaze the respectable class of citizens enrolled under its banners. 
 In addition to those before named we mention McClintock 
 Young, afterwards Assistant Secretary of the Treasury of the 
 United States ; George W. Williamson and Jacob Deems, who 
 helped to swell our ranks. Everything was harmonious; the 
 young members took possession of the procession, and the old 
 sticklers for " ancient usage " moved at their side, catching their 
 enthusiasm, and wondering at finding themselves in the broad 
 illumination of so much pomp and publicity. Large sums of 
 money were furnished and liberally expended for flags, banners 
 and regalia. Every prominent emblem was emblazoned with 
 gilding and borne in the line ; such as the Ark of the Covenant, 
 the Serpent, the Rods and Wands, elaborately carved and 
 decorated. Conspicuously elevated was the banner before de- 
 scribed in this chapter, which still remains, a glorious relic of the 
 day. Altogether, as a public pageant, it was a grand display. 
 No such parade was anticipated, and it accordingly took the 
 masses by surprise. Every Odd Fellow in Baltimore was jubilant, 
 particularly the " corporal's guard " of the old membership, who 
 now saw the dawn of a rising future whose light would reveal 
 their principles, and with them illuminate the world. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 147 
 
 The press knew nothing of us ; it was of the old school, 
 which understood nothing but what pertained to grave matters 
 of church or state, and whose news was mostly confined to the 
 advertising column. The sensation-loving reporter had not yet 
 found his way to the editorial sanctum, to enlighten that then 
 sleepy respectability as to " the very age and body of the time." 
 The interviewer was in the womb of the future, and his appear- 
 ance on the occasion would have been as great a matter of aston- 
 ishment as the procession itself. The following extracts speak 
 for themselves : 
 
 FROM THE BALTIMORE AMERICAN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1831. 
 
 " The Grand and Subordinate Lodges of Odd Fellows pre- 
 sented a handsome and imposing appearance in the procession 
 which was formed yesterday, preparatory to the dedication of the 
 beautiful new hall recently erected on North Gay Street. The 
 fraternity moved from the Exchange about ten o'clock in the 
 morning, and after passing through Second, Water, Calvert, 
 Lombard, Hanover, Pratt, Eutaw, Franklin, Howard, Baltimore 
 and High Streets, arrived at Trinity Church about noon, where 
 an oration was delivered by James L. Ridgely, Esq., and a full 
 choir performed the music selected for the occasion. The line of 
 procession was subsequently taken up, and having passed through 
 Exeter and Gay Streets, entered the Hall about two o'clock P. M.,, 
 when the ceremony of dedication took place, and an oration was 
 delivered, we learn, by Thomas Yates Walsh, Esq. The number 
 of persons in the procession exceeded, it is said, five hundred." 
 
 FROM "NILES' REGISTER," APRIL 80, 1831. 
 
 " The < Odd Fellows ' of Baltimore celebrated their anniver- 
 sary in this city on Tuesday last, and dedicated their new and 
 magnificent hall on Gay Street. About five hundred were com- 
 puted to be in the procession, w r ith their banners and other 
 ornaments, and made a very respectable and imposing show. 
 One oration was delivered, in Trinity Church, by James L. 
 Eidgely, Esq., and another, after the dedication of the hall, by 
 T. Y. Walsh, Esq. The number of this association in Baltimore 
 is said to exceed 1500." 
 
 While all this was in progress, the scheme for obtaining 
 articles of incorporation from the Legislature of Maryland was 
 also in motion. The ground for the hall had been conveyed to 
 trustees for the Grand Lodge, but in a short period the legislative 
 
148 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 charter was obtained, and the trustees, who were Wildey, 
 Ridgely and others, conveyed the property, by deed duly executed 
 and recorded, to the Grand Lodge of Maryland. And here we 
 leave the old jurisdiction, having seen her in possession of all her 
 honorable wishes incorporated ; in a hall sacred to Odd Fellow- 
 ship, the only one upon the continent; without strife or con- 
 tention or the shadow of an anxiety, and in the possession of the 
 
 *J s J: / 
 
 men who have maintained her honor at home, and carried her 
 fame wherever on the green earth the I. 0. 0. F. unfurls its 
 banner of Fraternity. 
 
AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 
 THE YOUNG AMERICAN OF THE FIRST DECADE. 
 
 The men of the first decade, of any prominence then or 
 afterwards, have passed away. They were all humble, and were 
 confined to a sphere which gave them no social consideration 
 worthy of mention. They were all of foreign birth save one, 
 and he was little better than the others in position when he 
 joined their company. The common tie led him to them and 
 bound them together : he was a mechanic, and a good one, and 
 in entering a lodge, he but formed a closer union with his brother 
 artisans. But here the similarity ceases; he was a native 
 American, and his habits and education separated him widely 
 from the rest. As the first American who rose to distinction in 
 the Order, he takes his place, in number, the first of that long 
 line who have made an exotic institution native to the soil. 
 
 Augustus Mathiot was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on 
 the 4th day of August in the year 1799. His ancestors came 
 from France, in the emigration of the Huguenots from that 
 country. The family formed connexions with some of the best 
 families in Pennsylvania, and were always considered as among 
 the most respectable of those who fled the persecution. His 
 father was a retiring man, and gave more attention to religion 
 than trade, and becoming reduced in his circumstances, removed 
 to Baltimore. He early lost his father, was apprenticed to a 
 chair-painter, and served his time with fidelity. In this business 
 he became proficient, and on coming of age followed his trade. 
 But soon his talents were recognized, and he began the chair and 
 cabinet business on his own account. It is about this time we 
 find him entering Washington Lodge, where he stands on the 
 record as Number 177. The date is somewhere in the early 
 part of 1823. Some of his contemporaries have furnished us 
 many incidents that illustrate his character at that time. He 
 
 (149) 
 
150 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was a peculiar man, and one apt to provoke notice and considera- 
 tion. His chief trait was a sensitiveness which he never over- 
 came. Of French extraction, politeness and the forms of good 
 society were part of his nature. He loved company, but he 
 required of his companions the observance of all the ordinary 
 amenities. It followed that he asked much more than he usually 
 received, and in fact more than he ought to have expected. The 
 result of this will be seen as we follow him through his career as 
 an Odd Fellow. Of public opinion he had the highest estimate ; 
 honor was his common theme, and it must be confessed that no 
 one had better reason, for he had rare integrity, and was almost 
 romantic in his ideas of what was due to this virtue. Among 
 the rising young men he soon became popular, and his pleasing 
 address added to the impression. Several of those who after- 
 wards became the solid men of Baltimore attached themselves to 
 him, and were his friends through life. Of these no further 
 notice is necessary ; but if it were proper to do so, a list of names 
 the most honored in the city would appear to have been warmly 
 attached to young Mathiot. We who knew many of them 
 have reason to be proud of his first associations. 
 
 But another marked characteristic was his love for reading ; 
 as a reader he was insatiate, and was never weary of perusing all 
 that came in his way. Nor did he confine himself to literature ; 
 his taste for science was remarkable. Natural philosophy, 
 chemistry, but above all, archaeology, were his favorite subjects. 
 Of course his limited education was a great drawback in such 
 pursuits, but this did not deter him. His thirst seemed only to 
 increase with the draughts he so laboriously drew from the wells 
 of learning. His habits of impatience and the quickness of 
 his perception he could not overcome, and he passed hur- 
 riedly from subject to subject, from book to book ; but his 
 information was great, and, for many purposes, of an interesting 
 character. It will be found that in his declining years his chief 
 solace came from this source. 
 
 MASONRY AND ODD FELLOWSHIP IN 1823. 
 
 Mathiot was at once a man of mark, and took high place in the 
 Order. But in a few months he sought entrance into a lodge of 
 Masons, and to his dismay, was rejected on the ballot. To con- 
 done the matter, he was notified that the only objection to his 
 
AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 151 
 
 admission was one easily removed. They informed him that he 
 belonged to " that Bacchanalian Club of Odd Fellows," and he 
 had only to leave it and the Masons were ready to receive him. 
 How he acted in this connection has already been shown. It 
 was just such an incident as would excite Mathiot beyond any 
 other ; the sense of wrong stung him to the quick. It was an 
 open shame, and he was not the man to rest for a moment under 
 any imputation affecting his character. He took no counsel and 
 suffered no delay, but at once notified St. John's Lodge that he 
 spurned their offer. He did not rest here ; there was indeed too 
 much ground for the imputation, and he saw that the Masons had 
 some reason for their act. He appeared before Washington Lodge 
 in a condition which made it easy to attack the cause of his rejec- 
 tion. How he proceeded, and how he at once had a resolution 
 passed to banish liquor from the lodge-room, has been fully de- 
 tailed. 
 
 It does not follow that Mathiot was an advocate for total ab- 
 stinence ; this he never was. His genial qualities were always 
 somewhat convivial, and no one better liked a cheerful glass ; but 
 his nature rose against excess, and indeed against all those lower 
 forms of drinking that lead so soon to vice. By nature he was a 
 gentleman, and he abhorred anything that was low and gross ; 
 one may judge then how his bile rose at the fumes of reeking 
 pipes and the smell of common beer and gin. His opposition was 
 a part of his constitution, and he would have shown it even if it 
 had not been forced upon him. 
 
 A writer in the American Odd Fellow, of May, 1866, has gone 
 to great trouble to establish for him the paternity of the temper- 
 ance reform in the Order. The writer, who disguises himself 
 under the nom de plume of " Dan'l Eenz Meataxk," is well 
 known to us. We recognize at once the graceful and classical 
 pen of P. G. Eep. Alexander K. Mantz, of Maryland, the author 
 of the paper. The contents are creditable both to the head and 
 heart of the brother, but they are beyond the real facts of the 
 case. Mathiot did not propose to remove the lodge from the 
 public-house ; that was a later movement ; but he was the first to 
 denounce its presence in a subordinate lodge, and he was a bold 
 man to do it. Mathiot himself was prouder of this fact than of 
 any other part of his record. The article referred to lias the 
 following passage : 
 
152 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 " Early in 1849 the question was mooted in that (Washington) 
 lodge as to which of its members was the first to denounce the 
 glee 'club, bar system of early Odd Fellowship, and thereby 
 secured its banishment, and per consequence the elevation of the 
 character of the Order. A committee was on motion appointed 
 to investigate the records and traditions, with a view to a correct 
 solution of the question. That committee reported on the 26th 
 of February, 1849, a preamble and resolutions. The first set 
 forth that it had been proven to the entire satisfaction of the 
 committee, that to P. G. M. Augustus Mathiot, of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 1, the credit was due, for having brought about the 
 reform indicated. The resolutions were as follows : Besolved, 
 that P. G. M. Augustus Mathiot, by his unwearied efforts during 
 the infancy of our beloved Order, was the instrument by which 
 the bar and its appendages were banished from the lodge-rooms, 
 and the Order purified from their obnoxious influence. Resolved, 
 that P. G. M. Mathiot was the first who submitted a proposition 
 to the effect named in the first resolution. These were unani- 
 mously adopted by the lodge." 
 
 We have been at pains to copy this paragraph, that we may 
 do justice to all concerned. We have gone over the whole 
 ground in our second chapter, and need not repeat the facts there 
 detailed. Mathiot there and here is given the credit for all he 
 did, and we would rather add to than detract from so proud a 
 record. As the first open advocate of the change, he is alone in 
 the Order. His protest was the beginning of the great reform, 
 but it was feeble, and for the time totally ineffectual. Yet it 
 bore rich fruit at last ; and when Columbia Lodge on its institu- 
 tion pledged itself to water only in the lodge-room, the victory 
 was near at hand. But it must not be forgotten that the cup, 
 the pipe and song, the latter sometimes very loose indeed, were 
 never banished from the lodge building until the Order in Balti- 
 more entered its Hall on Gay Street. " The spirit was willing, 
 but the flesh was weak," and even Wildey, when he kept the Order 
 in his house, had an oyster and drinking cellar below. It was 
 when the Grand Lodge of Maryland occupied its own house 
 that the bar was finally banished, and left " no trace behind." 
 But it does not follow that Bro. Mathiot did not do a great and 
 noble work, or that his effort did not produce lasting and honor- 
 able results. On the contrary, it is a laurel that must always 
 
AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 153 
 
 be his, that lie stood forth as the champion of order and decency 
 when he had no helpers ; that lie never gave it up ; that he was 
 always with the foremost of the later reformers ; that he was 
 superior and more potent than all others at the beginning, and 
 that he was worthy of his position. Bro. Fennell, in a letter on 
 the subject in 1871, says : " I shall never forget Brother Mathiot's 
 manner in advocating the passage of his resolution ; it took us 
 all by surprise. I believe there was but little opposition ; but 
 Brother Mathiot's powerful appeal, and the pleasant manner in 
 which he made it, overcame it easily. I repeat it, I never shall 
 forget it it was irresistible." In another letter he feelingly 
 says : " Brother Mathiot's appeal not only reformed the lodge, 
 but had an equally powerful effect on many of the members 
 individually. I shall never cease to remember it with gratitude." 
 By these extracts we discover that the effect at the time was 
 very great, and no doubt was of a much deeper and more durable 
 nature than is shown in the current lodge history. 
 
 THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION IN 1823. 
 
 Men of this day have no conception of the public opinion of 
 1823 on the temperance question. A glance backwards to that 
 time will shed much light on this incident. It will be found 
 that no total abstinence society existed at that time, or indeed 
 any society which interdicted the use of liquor. True, in 1808 
 u The Temperate Society of Moreau and Northumberland," 
 Saratoga County, New York, began a feeble movement with 
 forty-three members. This was the first known society of the 
 kind, and the pledge is a curiosity: "No member shall drink 
 rum, gin, whiskey, wine or any distilled spirits, or compositions 
 of the same, or any of them, except by the advice of a physician, 
 or in case of actual disease (also excepting wine at public din- 
 ners), under penalty of twenty-five cents. Provided that this 
 article shall not infringe on any religious ordinance." And 
 further, that " No member shall be intoxicated, under the penalty 
 of fifty cents" And again, " No member shall offer any of said 
 liquors to any other member, or urge any other person to drink 
 thereof, under the penalty of twenty-five cents for each offence." 
 Such were substantially the scope and requirements of all the 
 earlier temperance societies until 1836, when for the first time 
 " The American Temperance Union " adopted the principle of 
 
154 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 total abstinence. Mathiot was fully abreast of the reform 
 then in progress, and his influence began in the Order what no 
 other had even thought of in the same connection. Measured 
 by public sentiment, he was a reformer in the first rank, and will 
 be honored accordingly. 
 
 HIS PKOGEESS IN THE ORDEK. 
 
 But at this point he drops from the record, and cannot be 
 traced in his lodge for several years ; but we know that he was 
 active and efficient, and gave it great attention. He was in the 
 minority, and had but few to sympathize with his tastes and hab- 
 its ; he was considered somewhat visionary, and was too much of 
 a reformer to gain the general confidence. Thus, we find him 
 always at work, but subordinately, until 1828, when his merit 
 absolutely forced his passage of the chairs. On the 16th of Octo- 
 ber, 1828, he appeared, was elected and admitted a member of 
 the Grand Lodge of Maryland. Here he at once assumed his 
 true importance, and had full recognition by that body. On the 
 18th of March, 1830, he was among the petitioners for a charter 
 for Gratitude Lodge, No. 5, which was granted. He did 
 this to help in organizing it, and afterwards returned to 
 Washington Lodge. As an indication of the struggle then 
 going on between the old and the new elements, we would 
 state that the name given to this lodge was the result of a 
 compromise. It was to have been called "Wildey Lodge," 
 but the applicants positively refused the name. Wildey 
 was then so wedded to the old element that the new men were 
 deeply offended ; they therefore expressed their feelings by exclud- 
 ing his name; but a sense of justice led them to consider his emi- 
 nent services, and they paid him the compliment of expressing 
 that feeling by the word " Gratitude." Mathiot led this move- 
 ment. To indicate his position, we may state, that soon after, he 
 was made chairman of the committee to submit a code of general 
 laws for the government of subordinate lodges. On the 20th day 
 of October, 1830, he was elected D. G. M., and James L. Ridgely, 
 G. Secretary. Here, at length, he had free scope for his 
 energy, and associates ready to sympathize and assist. Here 
 began also that series of events that kept him from attaining 
 all the honors of the Order. At a meeting held on January 
 22d, 1831, the Grand Master resigned his office, leaving Mathiot 
 in the chair. 
 
AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 155 
 
 Now the peculiarities of this brother at once make their ap- 
 pearance. His romantic sense of honor forced him to decline a 
 position to which he had not been elected ; accordingly, at the 
 close of the meeting, he resigned. But the majority did not share 
 his sensitiveness, and resented such extreme delicacy. The 
 result was, that although nominated for Grand Master, he 
 w r as defeated, but was again elected D. G. Master. This 
 touched Mathiot deeply and sorely ; but he again took the place, 
 and served the residue of the term. At the next election, Octo- 
 ber 15th, 1831, he was again defeated for Grand Master; the 
 members being still provoked by his former declension. On the 
 20th January, 1832, his term expired, and he retired ; the feeling 
 went so far that he was not assigned a place on any committee by 
 the new administration. He was also defeated for Representative 
 to the Grand Lodge of the United States, six months afterwards, 
 by a large vote. He was again defeated for Grand Master in 
 1833 and 1834, and being nominated in 1835, declined to stand. 
 By this time he became better and more favorably known, and 
 a reactionary feeling set in ; so that no one could be induced to 
 oppose him, and on January 22d, 1836, he was elected Grand 
 Master by acclamation. 
 
 All this did not abate his ardor in the cause, or induce him to 
 neglect the Order ; on the contrary, he was never more attentive, 
 never more solicitous for the cause ; he had joined from a sense of 
 duty, and could not be diverted from his purpose. His appreci- 
 ation in other quarters no doubt gave a keen edge to the un- 
 friendly treatment of his Grand Lodge. He entered the body in 
 October 1828, and was singled out by the leaders for special and 
 superior work ; they were in the federal Grand Lodge, where 
 they had a majority, and the young member was at once called 
 to a post of honor. On May 4th, 1829, he was elected Grand 
 Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and held that 
 office until September 2d, 1833. At the end of the term he was 
 elected Grand Treasurer of the same body, and held the office 
 until October 9th, 1835. At the organization of the Grand Lodge 
 of the United States, William Williams became Grand Secretary. 
 Williams absconded in 1827, and John J. Roach and John Stan- 
 had filled the office pro tern., until Mathiot was elected. 
 From Fennell to Starr inclusive, he was by far the best of them 
 all. The place was, at the time, merely a clerk's office for the 
 
156 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 record ; there was indeed much need of some one to give his whole 
 time and energy to the place, but the time was unpropitious. 
 Wildey, at Entwisle's death, had the choice, and he selected Wil- 
 liams, an Englishman. His nationality was his only merit, and 
 his services were more an injury than a benefit ; he betrayed his 
 patron, and absconded with about $1200 belonging to Wildey and 
 G. M. Scotchburn. 
 
 At Wildey 's instance, the several trials were made which at 
 length resulted in the election of Mathiot. But the sensitive 
 and faithful secretary was entirely unfitted to cope with the 
 rugged blacksmith ; his nature was retiring, and his modesty was 
 almost a defect in his organization ; hence he served well and 
 gave a good record, but he did not become Wildey's counsellor 
 or aspire to guide him. The time was not yet when the one-man 
 power should devolve on the many, or when some bold man 
 should challenge Wildey's supremacy. Yet Mathiot was not over- 
 looked by the founder, w T ho turned his talents to a good account. 
 Many an address and resolution bore the name of Wildey, but 
 the hand of Mathiot had furnished them. Sometimes he was 
 quite happy in these efforts, and generally gave great satisfaction 
 in this and all other parts of his work. His whole term of Sec- 
 retary was with Wildey, and he went out on the final retirement 
 of that brother. The office of Grand Treasurer could hardly be 
 said to have existed before this time ; Wildey and Welch, as has 
 been shown elsewhere, being the stewards of the lodge; the 
 former generally furnishing the funds. So that in 1834 Mathiot 
 had no settlement to make as Treasurer, but the settlement was 
 made by Thomas Wildey, acting Grand Treasurer. The books 
 were closed by Wildey's retaining $284.58 for advances, leaving 
 the elected Treasurer a balance of $8.52. Bro. Mathiot then 
 opened an account, and in the next year reported $308.49. In 
 1835 he reported $415.62, and paid over a balance of $78.60 to 
 his successor. As before related, he became Grand Master of 
 Maryland the ensuing year. At the important session of 1840 
 he was a proxy representative in the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States, and did good service in that body for his constituents. 
 But we now turn to his labors in another field. In 1827, mem- 
 bers of the Grand Lodge of Maryland formed an Encampment 
 of Patriarchs, and he was soon a member. He duly passed the 
 chairs, and united with others in procuring a charter for the first 
 
AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 157 
 
 Grand Encampment in September, 1831. "Wildey was the first 
 Grand Patriarch, and he was succeeded by Mathiot, thus securing 
 to him the prestige of having been the second on the roll of that 
 eminent position. 
 
 In the meantime he became known to the whole brotherhood 
 in Baltimore by his presence and services on important occasions. 
 He was a ready speaker, and wrote well ; his stores of information 
 were extensive, and his intelligence on all questions made him 
 acceptable. At home he had nothing to desire, and he had put 
 his name in enduring form among the proceedings of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States. He had reached his acme as to 
 place and influence, but he did not believe it. The ambition to 
 stir in the higher circles of the Order, to sit in the federal Grand 
 Lodge, it may be to pass its chairs, took possession of him. He 
 knew his just value, and that in fitness he surpassed many 
 who had easily passed before him. But this desire was not 
 generally perceived, nor indeed known or guessed at, beyond the 
 circle of his intimates. He was deeply impressed with a sense 
 of the ingratitude which, overlooking so much merit, conferred 
 its honors on inferior men. He was partly right and partly 
 wrong. He was in most things certainly the superior of more 
 fortunate brothers, but not in those qualities that ensure success. 
 His sensitiveness had been growing on him ; his sense of his 
 own importance was increasing, and his rank as a man of 
 business was now assured. But he had, with all his ambition, a 
 modesty rarely found, and shrank from a contest as another 
 might from a blow. He could not solicit votes, even by that 
 honorable implication which is always commendable. It was 
 not merely an election he looked for, but a call to come forward 
 by the common voice ; not a majority, but unanimity. If he had 
 pressed his claims, he would have had much of, if not all he 
 sought ; but he did not. Sometimes his modest reserve was taken 
 for coldness and indifference, sometimes for an assumption which 
 repelled. At length he ceased to expect such honors, but to the 
 very last felt the pang which tells of hope deferred and 
 defeated. 
 
 But no one must conclude that his nature was soured or his 
 energies in the cause relaxed. To Washington Lodge at least, as 
 its old members passed away, he remained to be loved, admired 
 and venerated. The ruling men of the Order had only to meet 
 
158 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 him to give him the full measure of their confidence. Hence- 
 forth he became a model workman in Maryland. His lodge was 
 dear to him as his own flesh, and he gladly sought its shelter as a 
 kindly refuge. There he became a constant attendant for nearly 
 forty years, becoming by his age its father, and by his good 
 deeds its benefactor. At all the sessions of his Grand Lodge 
 and Grand Encampment he sat in the place of honor, and was 
 second to none in the general esteem. 
 
 HIS SUCCESS IN BUSINESS AND HIS LIBERALITY. 
 
 Here another part of his character shone forth conspicuously ; 
 his liberality. His w r as truly an open hand and generous heart. 
 Fortune had come to him in his business, which had now become 
 large and valuable. He began an export business to South Amer- 
 ica, and wealth poured in upon him. His family relations were 
 such as to round the circle of his happiness ; sons and daughters 
 of marked intelligence and refinement made his home-life a holi- 
 day. His social station was high, and he was able to gratify his 
 tastes in company, where his graceful bearing and genial humor 
 made him an ornament. Many of his early friends had, in like 
 manner, won their way, and he stood among them as a friend and 
 citizen of whom all were proud. All this mellowed his nature^ 
 quieted his nervous diffidence, and helped in every way to harmo- 
 nize his life. 
 
 As he was most able to give, so he was ever ready, whatever 
 and whenever the call ; he was indeed a generous giver, and many 
 a family may thank him for its sustenance and preservation. On 
 one occasion a seedy Odd Fellow called on him for assistance. 
 P. G. M. Mathiot, in his usually punctilious way, examined his cre- 
 dentials and listened to his story. The brother was very worthy, 
 but very poor; and as he told his tale, Mathiot gazed upon him 
 with great compassion. Finally he spoke of his dependence 
 upon his brethren, and the P. G. Master began unconsciously 
 to draw off his coat. The tale proceeded, the coat was 
 in the hands of Mathiot, who tearfully besought the speaker to 
 put it on. The brother took it and left ; those who witnessed the 
 act say that the veteran Odd Fellow almost tore the rags from 
 the back of the needy brother to put his coat upon him. 
 
 Another incident of a different character will show his pecu- 
 liar traits. He was, later in his career, much in request to talk 
 
AUGUSTUS MATHIOT. 159 
 
 and lecture to the lodges ; on one of these occasions he sought 
 the writer, to act for him in his absence. The lecture was 
 delivered; the P. G. Master made inquiries if it was sat- 
 isfactory ; and learning that it was, immediately sent a fine office 
 chair to his substitute, as a token of his approval. Noble and 
 generous heart, now at rest forever! In that chair, w r ith all the 
 memories it conjures up sitting and recalling those gentle 
 tones and winning manners, that pure soul of honor, that ideal 
 Odd Fellow he now limns this picture, and hangs it high in 
 this history. 
 
 A GREEN OLD AGE. 
 
 In his old age he had everything to smooth his passage, but 
 his chief delight was in books. We can see him now, as 
 night after night he sat in the Odd Fellows' library, poring over 
 the volumes, or passing through its alcoves, with a very 
 ecstasy of pleasure. We see him, erect and vigorous for his 
 age ; a little over the middle height ; a slender man, with a bright 
 eye and brisk manner, with glass in hand examining the numer- 
 ous titles, and literally gloating over the crowded catalogue. He 
 thought " that none but the wilfully blind could plead darkness 
 in the midst of such light, and he blessed the memory of those 
 faithful servants, the authors, who have left their blood, their 
 spirits, their lives, in these precious papers, and have willingly 
 wasted themselves into these enduring monuments, to give light 
 unto others." Chronology and archaeology were his passion, and 
 what was dry and difficult to others, was to him as absorbing and 
 delightful as the pages of Scott or Dickens. The Grand Kepre- 
 sentatives who were present in Baltimore in 1865, will remember 
 the summons to meet him at his residence ; the banquet, the toasts 
 and the fraternal greetings under his hospitable roof, where they 
 sat as a great family at his fireside, and in gay and grateful terms 
 acknowledged his fraternal attentions. 
 
 
 HIS DEATH AND THE "THREE ODD LINKS. 
 
 Thus Mathiot declined as a summer's day, bright and genial to 
 the close. His religious views and feelings were peculiar ; but 
 nominally he was attached to the German Reformed Church, in 
 the interests of which he expended time and money. His belief 
 in man's immortality and his accountability to a Supreme Being 
 
160 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was strong and unshaken, and in full confidence of a Father's 
 love he was not afraid to die. Suddenly, in the midst of his 
 family, without a sigh or struggle, on the 12th day of July, 1872, 
 he took his departure. He had no previous illness, no confine- 
 ment to the house, no special warning ; but he was waiting for 
 the call, and the old Odd Fellow entered, as was meet and fitting; 
 into the Celestial Lodge. 
 
 One incident in his biography will conclude this memoir. 
 Somewhere about 1822 a secret association was formed, called the 
 " THREE ODD LINKS "; its first members were Wildey, Boyd and 
 Couth. Its origin as to place, manner, time and object, is 
 unknown, except that it had reference to something in the Order. 
 There could be no larger number than three, and upon a vacancy, 
 it was to be filled at once by those remaining. On the death of 
 P. G. Couth, the survivors selected P. G. M. Mathiot as the ODD 
 LINK. The secret, whatever it was, has never transpired. Some 
 thought it a commemoration of the first half decade, others a 
 secret pledge never to desert the Order, others to secure a private 
 celebration of the natal day of Washington Lodge, and again that 
 it was a renewal of the ancient vows of the old members. What- 
 ever color existed for these guesses, it is certain the " Links " 
 privately met on the 26th of April, in every year, and parted 
 with tokens of the fondest friendship. On Wildey's death it fell 
 to Marley to fill his place ; but darker days came on, and old age 
 was upon them. Marley passed away, and before he had a suc- 
 cessor, Boyd also was no more. Mathiot was the last man, " the 
 odd link," but not in a trinity of numbers. He stood alone, and 
 as if the object of the arrangement was completed, left the 
 vacancies unfilled. In the same beautiful cemetery, not far 
 apart, with the roof-tree of the Common Father above them, they 
 have met again. Wildey, Marley, Mathiot the THREE ODD 
 LINKS ; do not the silver aspens that tremble above them whisper 
 of the old fraternity ? 
 
 God's-Acre is a sacred dwelling-place ; how sweetly sleep the 
 household where three such hearts have mingled into one ! 
 
I 
 
 V 
 
 RICHARD MARLEY. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RICHARD MARLEY. 
 
 Honor and shame from no condition rise ; 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies 
 
 POPE. 
 
 We have been dealing, for the most part, with men who 
 were never known among the refined arid educated. Our walks 
 have been among the workshops, where the toiling masses pass 
 weary lives of hardship. True, the scenes have been laid in a 
 favored land, where the poor become rich and the obscure eminent : 
 the paradise of the indigent, where public sentiment extols 
 merit, however clothed, and where no one may despair of rising 
 to any position of which he is worthy. Liberty has diffused itself 
 in all directions ; it is found in social life, in the church, and in 
 the state. It does not astonish us when a tailor becomes Presi- 
 dent, or a shoemaker from Massachusetts presides over the 
 national Senate. It follows that a certain dignity attends every 
 citizen ; a man of merit may ply a trade, and at the same time be 
 a man of mark in the country. The subject of this sketch is an 
 example often met with among us. He began at the bottom of 
 the scale, and in his general circumstances never ascended. But 
 in one direction he moved above his surroundings, with an ease 
 and dignity which were all his own. To the world he died as lie 
 lived, an unpolished workman; respected to be sure, and beyond 
 the reach of calumny, but in few circumstances differing from 
 other hard-working mechanics. But in his special sphere, as an 
 Odd Fellow, he assumes a place so high and honorable that his 
 name has spread over all the land. There he stood for near half 
 a century, a very tower of strength, a trusted counsellor, a digni- 
 fied officer, a model member. In that great family he sat in a 
 grand circle of admiring children ; his words were cherished, his 
 acts venerated, and his walks were among thousands who rose to 
 do him reverence. 
 
162 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The classification of society will show how T varied are the 
 qualities that make up a great character. Some, like Midas, 
 turn all they touch into gold ; others, by speech or with the pen 
 adorn everything they indite or utter ; others, by great power of 
 will bend men to their purposes : some carry everything before 
 them by sheer activity and persistency; and others again, by 
 calm wisdom and consistent conduct, extort from all. the utmost 
 respect and confidence. But further illustration is not neces- 
 sary. Our subject was a person who, under every discour- 
 agement, made himself a record that survives him; his good 
 works will forever praise him, and the lesson of his life will not 
 be lost to the world. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP A FIELD OF LABOR. 
 
 Odd Fellowship is a practical institution. Its whole system 
 is one of labor ; in all its parts it requires constant attention ; 
 its machinery is not self-moving, but regular and patient effort is 
 the law of its existence. A lodge-room is a work-room, and a 
 busy one ; members must be made, degrees conferred, money col- 
 lected and disbursed, the sick reported, children provided for 
 and widows relieved. Its centre is its treasury ; its great con- 
 servative officer the Treasurer. Here means are devised to carry 
 on the plan ; financial ability is recognized, and integrity held at 
 its true value. The lodge-room is the home of the family where 
 the new member first arrives. Here quarrels are settled, crimes 
 punished, and comfort and aid given to the persecuted. The 
 Odd Fellow who does not love his lodge is truly unfortunate. It 
 is the bond of union the secret of our power. The subordi- 
 nate lodges are oases that, fresh and green, furnish the living 
 beauty and fadeless laurels of the Order. Presence at the 
 meetings is a primary duty, and is indispensable. Constant 
 attendance is with us a cardinal virtue. The institution would 
 soon die but for the faithful few who tread from year to year the 
 beaten track, who are present at all seasons and in every station, 
 who keep the work alive and ensure its execution. Such men 
 are the life-blood of the Order ; or, to change the figure, they are 
 the " regulars," and the others but a sort of uniformed militia. To 
 this small but compact army of true and tried brethren, the 
 narrative of a most extraordinary amount of lodge labor will be 
 welcome. Acceptable, because the subject was a veteran, and 
 
RICHARD MARLEY. 163 
 
 above all, because he was the prince of workmen; a steward of 
 the Order, who received and made members, a moulder of lodge 
 policy, a fibre of the nucleus which holds the framework to- 
 gether. 
 
 HIS HISTORY AND WORK. 
 
 RICHARD MARLEY was born in the city of Philadelphia, No- 
 vember 12th, 1791, of poor but reputable parents. He learned 
 the trade of shoemaker, which he pursued all his life. He removed 
 to Baltimore in 1820, and some time in 1823 joined Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 2. His services at once became valuable, and he 
 rapidly passed through every office in the lodge. On the 18th 
 of October, 1825, he was duly elected a member of the G. Lodge 
 of Maryland, on the night of the receipt of the Patriarchal Degree 
 from England. At the February session, 1826, he was made G. 
 Warden, and in April took his seat as Proxy Rep. for New York 
 in the Grand Lodge of the United States. In the G. Lodge of 
 Maryland he was constantly at work. In this year he reported 
 eighteen rules of order for its adoption, which were so complete 
 that they have been substantially in use ever since. He was also 
 on the committee to regulate payment of dues, and the chairman 
 of another to attend the General Assembly of the State, to pro- 
 cure an act of incorporation. His rise in all directions was rapid. 
 At the end of the two years' term of G. Warden he was elected 
 D. G. M., which office he held until January 15th, 1831. During 
 this period he, with Wildey and others, was selected to revise the 
 degrees, and was on nearly every committee of importance. Here 
 he paused in his career in that body. The hall on Gay Street 
 was nearly completed, and he was chosen the janitor and moved 
 into the building. 
 
 But he had not been idle elsewhere; in 1825 he became a 
 member of Encampment No. 1, and afterwards was a charter 
 member of Salem Encampment No. 2. These were the two 
 lodges composing the Patriarchal Order, which were turned over 
 to the G. Lodge of the United States in 1832. The first G. En- 
 campment being formed, these two became its first subordinates, 
 on the 17th January, 1833. Marley served as Proxy Rep. for 
 New York in the G. Lodge of the United States from February, 
 1826, until September 3d, 1832. This was a great compliment. 
 There were others of great prominence, willing to serve, and 
 
164 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 some, like Mathiot, of more apparent capacity. But he was a 
 man to win confidence and retain it, and his selection, at first a 
 mere accident, was persisted in by the constituency. But sud- 
 denly he lapsed from the Order ; his name was reported at the 
 close of 1832 as one of the expelled, and his career came to a dis- 
 astrous termination. The story is one of interest, and at its con- 
 clusion presents a rare picture of the man. Marley was a me- 
 chanic of the earlier type ; on Sunday he rested, after five days' 
 labor, but Monday was sacred to St. Crispin. He was indeed a 
 devotee of " Blue Monday." Sober, grave and industrious on all 
 other days, on this day he gave himself up to the inebriating 
 bowl. The habits of his brethren were ill-calculated to win him 
 from the vice ; they were true boon-fellows, and were ever ready 
 to join him in a carouse. The result was pitiable ; the strong man 
 became a slave, the cautious man imprudent, and the good Odd 
 Fellow but a wreck of his former self. In the midst of this degen- 
 eration he found cause for dissatisfaction in his Grand Lodge. 
 
 FIFTH DEGREE MEMBERS. 
 
 It has been shown elsew T here that the Grand Lodge was origi- 
 nally composed of P. Grands, w r ho came in by the ballot. This 
 was not satisfactory to many ; a feeling sprung up on the subject 
 which caused much trouble in Maryland. On 21st July, 1831, 
 the crisis came. It was then resolved to so amend the constitu- 
 tion of the Grand Lodge as " to open and work exclusively in the 
 fifth degree." Marley voted with the minority, and resented 
 this departure from law and usage. In fact, when the project 
 was first mooted, some voted for throwing the resolution " under 
 the table." It was afterwards proposed, that when admitted, 
 they should take an obligation, but this w r as defeated. Last of 
 all, Marley proposed that when admitted they should " be quali- 
 fied as P. Grands are "; this was decided in the negative, and the 
 fifth degree members were duly admitted. This hasty action fell 
 upon Marley like a thunder-clap. In his ordinary condition he 
 would have reluctantly submitted to the majority ; but his mind 
 had lost its balance, and he would not be reconciled. He 
 attended until the June session, 1832, and as a mere spectator un- 
 til November following, and then came no more. But his was no 
 gentle departure; he took a number in his train, and left behind 
 a large minority who sympathized with him. 
 
RICHARD MARLEY. 165 
 
 THE SPURIOUS LODGE. 
 
 He and his friends at once obtained a charter from the spuri- 
 ous Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, upon petition of Benja- 
 min Daffin, Thomas Hall, Daniel Weaver, Richard Marley and 
 others. It first held its meetings on Commerce Street, afterwards 
 on Lombard Street, and finally at the corner of Hanover and 
 Pratt Streets. On the 13th of January, the matter came before 
 the G. Lodge of Maryland, which adopted a general law, as 
 follows : " Any brother who shall be concerned in organizing, 
 or who shall give countenance and support, or shall visit any 
 lodge or lodges in the State of Maryland, purporting to be Odd 
 Fellows, and not possessing a legal and valid charter, duly 
 granted and presented by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, shall 
 be deemed unworthy of fellowship, and shall, upon satisfactory 
 proof, be suspended or expelled, at the option of the lodge." Under 
 this law Marley was promptly expelled ; and as the reports for 1832 
 were sent in afterwards, he is reported as having been deprived 
 in that year. The Journal says that he was allowed to return 
 on the 15th of October, 1835, soon after the death of the spuri- 
 ous lodge, which lived but one year. Be that as it may, we 
 find no record of him in the Grand Lodge until January, 1836, 
 when he was elected upon the joint standing committee on 
 education. 
 
 HIS RETURN. 
 
 The previous record discloses refusal after refusal to allow the 
 lodges to admit Marley's confederates, but it was far different in 
 the case of the leader. We can only account for it by the tender 
 feeling which existed for him in his folly. He was allowed to 
 return and to re-enter the Grand Lodge by a large vote of his 
 brethren. There was reason for this; he was himself again. 
 He had reformed his life, and was again the manly brother of the 
 past. They met him more than half way, and took him cheer- 
 fully back to the old haunts. He was indeed reformed; the 
 reaction had touched his pride and roused his will. The bowl 
 had alienated him, and he solemnly abjured it forever. That 
 pledge was never broken, and for forty years he neither tasted, 
 touched nor handled the enemy that had caused his downfall. He 
 always professed to have been saved by his love for the Order 
 and by the kindness of his brethren, and no clearer instance is 
 
166 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 on record of the influence of our association upon moral character. 
 To test his resolution he also abjured the use of tobacco, and he 
 never forfeited the pledge. 
 
 From this period he becomes again a leader and an example; 
 again he multiplies himself in the work. At every session he is 
 found on special and standing committees ; such for instance as 
 the committee on correspondence; serving also, from 1838, as 
 chairman of the Board of Managers of the hall, until he declined 
 the position in 1844. On the 18th day of January, 1841, he was 
 at length duly installed Grand Master of Maryland On the 16th 
 day of May, 1845, Maryland, following but slowly the lead of 
 Pennsylvania, opened a degree lodge. Marley was the first 
 Degree Master, and gave the enterprise an impetus which it has 
 never lost. He was also at work in his encampment, filling all 
 its places of trust and honor, until we find him, on the 14th of 
 January, 1839, in the chair of the Grand Patriarch. In 1844 he 
 aided in resuscitating Mechanics Lodge, No. 15, now the most 
 popular lodge in the State. He became at once its Treasurer, 
 and kept the place until his death ; he was also the Treasurer of 
 his encampment for the last fifteen or sixteen years of his life. 
 
 But in another and higher sphere he was known over the 
 whole country. He sat in the G. Lodge of the United States 
 for thirty-three sessions in all, having been absent but ten out of 
 forty-three consecutive sessions of that body. His record there 
 is honorable to all concerned. He was by nature conservative, 
 and no man had a sounder judgment. He was a good legislator, 
 and his votes and reports challenge investigation. As the system 
 grew before him, he saw and loved it as one who had helped it 
 gradually to unfold and crystallize into its present form. He was 
 not such a lover of the ancient usages as to oppose improvements ; 
 but to the contrary, moved on steadily, cheerfully supporting the 
 new men and measures of the later days. Still he was always 
 conservative ; but as fresh features were developed, he embraced 
 them with firm persistency. The journal is his best record, and well 
 attests his judgment and capacity. He was not the proposer of 
 innovations, and no temptation could induce him to depart from 
 uniformity to serve a local purpose or a private end. His motives 
 were public, and his influence for the whole Order, and not for 
 Maryland alone. Hence we have from him no motions for 
 change, no anxiety for experiments. He carefully " tried all 
 
RICHARD MARLEY. 167 
 
 things, and held fast that which was good." One triumph of his 
 early judgment came to him in 1843. At that session of the G. 
 Lodge of the United States the following was adopted : 
 " Resolved, That the committee on the state of the Order be 
 directed to report, at this session, a general law defining the gen- 
 eral qualifications for membership of State Grand Lodges." The 
 committee reported, by Eep. Moore, the following by-law: 
 " State Grand Lodges are prohibited from conferring the Grand 
 Lodge degree for a pecuniary consideration with a view to 
 increasing their revenue, or for any other consideration, except 
 the regular performance of the duties of the Noble Grand's chair ; 
 the said degree having been designed as a reward for faithful 
 service in the subordinate lodges, and cannot legitimately be 
 reached by any other means." 
 
 This was instantly adopted, and a hiotion made to reconsider 
 by Marley's colleague, Rep. Sanderson, was at once voted down. 
 The action was indirect in its terms, but decisive in its effects. 
 It was the death-knell of the appearance of the fifth degree in a 
 Grand Lodge. To effectuate the innovation, the degree of P. 
 Grand had been conferred upon Scarlet Degree members. A fee 
 was charged for it, and thus the honors of the station were bar- 
 tered away for a small revenue to the treasury. Marley had 
 borne with it without a murmur, after his return, for the space of 
 ten years. He entered no further protest, but sat in the mixed' 
 crowd where his Grand Lodge had placed him. He knew that 
 the Grand Lodge degree had been devised for P. Grands alone ; 
 that it was a reward for faithful service ; that it was one of the 
 first American improvements, and that to change the mode of its 
 acquisition was a mockery ; but he bowed before the will of the 
 majority, and did not even complain to the supreme tribunal. 
 Maryland was not alone in trying this rash experiment ; the 
 District of Columbia had done the same thing, and there 
 was but little hope of a reformation. But no witness of the 
 grave and silent representative giving his quiet vote, could sus- 
 pect the secret throb that attested this vindication of his judg- 
 ment by the wisdom of the Order. 
 
 No doubt the form of the by-law was dictated by Rep. 
 Moore, in such a shape as to give as little pain as possible to his 
 constituency in the District of Columbia. But it was effectual ; 
 at once the Scarlet Degree members were excluded, and the local 
 
168 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 senates of the Order were placed on their true ground as the 
 guardians and legislators of the institution. One may judge of 
 Marley's amazement had he lived until the session of 1875, and 
 listened to the discussion for admitting Scarlet Degree members 
 to Grand Lodges during the exemplification of the secret work. 
 He would have heard the old argument of 1831 for making the 
 Grand Lodge more democratic, and wondered at the reappear- 
 ance of the ghost of forty-four years ago. How would he 
 have been startled by the following, from the jurisdiction whose 
 representative brought on the discussion : " Resolved, That the 
 Legislative Committee be requested to consider the propriety of 
 admitting fifth degree members in good standing, to witness the 
 proceedings in State Grand Lodges, and to report what legisla- 
 tion, if any, is necessary in the premises." This w r as brought in 
 at the instance of a State *Grand Lodge whose record is above 
 all praise, but whose experience does not reach back to the begin- 
 ning. It will be seen in this history that such things are not 
 new or untried, and that all the usages, traditions and work are 
 to the contrary. As faithful historians we relate the facts, but 
 on the subject of the proposed revolution we have nothing to 
 say in this place. 
 
 THE VENERABLE WARDEN. 
 
 The most noteworthy part of Marley's record is not to be 
 found in the supreme body. At home he was a model working 
 Odd Fellow, such as can seldom be found. He was, above all, 
 " the Past Grand Master and Past Grand Patriarch of Mary- 
 land." His home was in the chosen family of his brethren, and 
 he had no ambition beyond that circle. After years of toil, he 
 had at length obtained a competency. For very many years lie 
 occupied a humble place of business in a not very desirable 
 locality. Here he drew a large custom as a ladies' shoemaker : 
 far and near they sought him out and gave him their patronage. 
 No mechanic had a better reputation ; his two-story house was a 
 very hive of industry. Above were his humble domestic arrange- 
 ments, and below the workshop and salesroom. Here with 
 apron on he cut and fitted and sold, assisted by his excellent 
 wife. One or two journeymen were busy at the bench, the 
 counter was strewn with polished skins, and carriages at the door 
 were waiting for his fair customers. To newcomers he was a 
 
RICHARD MARLEY. 
 
 grum and silent man, who had nothing to say ; but to his old 
 customers he was the beau-ideal of his trade. His dignity easily 
 unbent itself, and his fatherly kindness won many a kindling 
 smile. To all he was a man of solid worth, by no means 
 ashamed of his business, but always alive to the fact that he was 
 the peer of any one as a man. 
 
 His walks were in but one direction, and he knew no place 
 for his leisure but the Hall on Gay Street. He was a fixture 
 there ; on all nights, save Saturday, he was a constant visitor. 
 He was ready for all kinds of work ; special and standing 
 committees, boards of peculiar work, and meetings for the good 
 of the Order. But the moment the business had ended he left ; 
 he would not lounge a minute, but with sturdy step and solemn 
 mien took his departure. But these were intervals between the 
 meetings of his lodge and encampment, which meetings were his 
 pride and glory. He had no children, and his brethren were 
 everything to him. For nearly half a century he never absented 
 himself from the abodes of Odd Fellowship without serious 
 cause. Indeed we may state, as the literal fact, that he attended 
 both his lodge and encampment constantly for forty years. He 
 seemed indeed to be always present ; punctual to the minute, 
 he assumed his regalia and took his place. Quiet, vigilant and 
 active, he was concerned in all that followed. Thus, in time, 
 he became as it were a part of the lodge ; he was indeed no 
 longer a mere member, but a living embodiment of Odd Fellow- 
 ship. Hundreds of young members found him there on their 
 entrance, and after years of absence would return to find him still 
 at his post. Such devotion naturally moved all observers .; as he 
 grew in their affections, his tones were softened, and his heart 
 went out to them in love. At length his presence was hailed as 
 that of an honored patriarch. They spoke softly of him as of a 
 kind superior his very name would call a crowd to listen on 
 all hands they clung around him, and caressed him with the 
 familiar title of " Pap Marley "; touching indication of their 
 affection. 
 
 RARE TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Several incidents will best illustrate his character. At one 
 time his pocket was picked of several hundred dollars, of which 
 seventy-five dollars belonged to the lodge. The circumstances 
 
170 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 became known, and the brothers promptly offered to release him 
 from the payment of the money. The old Treasurer was much 
 affronted, and was difficult to pacify. "What!" he exclaimed; 
 " offer me a license to be careless of the lodge money never was 
 I more deeply mortified. Besides," said he, " what a precedent ! 
 do you wish to offer such an inducement to defalcations by other 
 treasurers ? " The subject was dropped, but he was never quite 
 satisfied about it ; for he was a strict construer of legal duty, 
 and held himself and others to a literal fulfilment of its pro- 
 Tisions. He was a type of those who live by rule and usage, 
 and cannot be satisfied outside of the wholesome regulations of 
 law. To him order, authority and uniformity w r ere indispensable. 
 The whole man bore the outward stamp of a rigid conservative. 
 Scrupulously clean and neat in his dress, he always moved with 
 a heavy, measured step. His broad figure was surmounted by a 
 massive face, intelligent indeed, but fixed in a firm and severe 
 gravity, which w r as seldom absent. An invisible phylactery 
 seemed to hang around him, on which everywhere was written 
 the one word DUTY. 
 
 Again in 1865 he was inclined to retire from the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, and expressed his expectation of 
 declining a re-election. The time came to elect, and there were 
 two candidates in the field ; to this list Marley was added. The 
 old man, after all, w r as willing to hold the position, and was in- 
 duced to allow the use of his name. The contest was very close, 
 and the ancient representative was beaten by one vote. His near 
 friends were very sore over the matter, and on learning the con- 
 dition of affairs, the winning candidate offered to decline, and to 
 permit Marley to be appointed to the vacancy. But the veteran 
 had resigned himself to the result, and no offers could induce him 
 to seek to change it. This was in the Grand Encampment ; the 
 next year he went by acclamation from the Grand Lodge. Some 
 feeling continued to exist over his defeat, with which he had no 
 sympathy. In April, 1869, when barely able to move about, and 
 suffering from a mortal disorder, he attended his Grand Encamp- 
 ment for the last time. There were three candidates for Grand 
 Representative in nomination, and he remained to vote, and cast 
 it for his opponent of 1865. When, panting and struggling to 
 descend the stairway from the meeting, he was kindly censured 
 for ^nturing to leave his home "Ah!" said Marley, "how 
 
RICHAED MARLEY. 171 
 
 -could I stay away ? I came to vote for , and would do it at 
 
 the risk of my life ; he must not be defeated ! " The envy, the 
 mortified vanity of little souls found no place in his manly bosom. 
 Trivial as this may seem, it was indicative of a rare unselfishness, 
 which others would do well to ponder and to imitate, if they can. 
 
 DEATH OF A GREAT ODD FELLOW. 
 
 This was indeed his last appearance among his brethren ; but a 
 few short days and he dropped from the roll. On the 7th day of 
 May, 1869, he closed his numerous accounts with the Order, by 
 leaving the world. Yes, he had left the scenes of active life ; and 
 a void was created, never to be filled. The old oak, so vigorous in 
 its decay, had given no certain warning of its fall. A dozen vacan- 
 cies, in as many places, were like gaping wounds in the work of 
 the Order others might fill them but alas! who could replace the 
 familiar friend and the ancient and well-tried father and brother ? 
 ^Never, in the same space, was loss more deeply felt and regretted. 
 The Order in Baltimore was stirred in all its lodges and encamp- 
 ments by the common sorrow. They could not bear that strange 
 hands should minister in the sacred rites of his sepulture, but 
 offered at once to take charge of the interment. 
 
 The day broke upon the city in cloudless beauty, for May 
 had set its seal of flowers on the fields, and the breath of summer 
 was warming the bosom of spring. They carried him from his 
 humble, dwelling to the hall on Gay Street. In the Grand Hall, 
 where he sat so often, they laid him gently down. The walls 
 were lined with the mute effigies of the illustrious associates, dead 
 and living, under whose orders he had marched to so many vic- 
 tories. Banners were waving over him, and the low dirge of 
 music lent its mournful notes. The streets were filled with hur- 
 rying crowds the stairways were occupied, and the large hall was 
 packed with a living mass of mourners. In the breathless silence 
 of that hour Grand Secretary Eidgely could not be silent ; when 
 the minister had ceased, he rose, under an influence impossible to 
 control. What he said, or how it matters not. Who can por- 
 tray a scene of tears ? Who, the unspeakable regrets in the utter- 
 ances of one, himself advanced in years, who, in this loss, needed 
 as much as any, comfort and sympathy ? But he was there again 
 in the old hall not much graver than in life with the same 
 -unyielding firmness in his features, but softened, as it were, by 
 
172 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the presence of his weeping friends. In the old hall, for the last 
 time ! They have all adjourned, and as to you, old workman, 
 you may go in peace ! The lights are out, and you are alone 
 but not alone, for your works surround you ! Are not these also 
 angel ministers ? 
 
 They bore him forth in the van of the surging throngs the 
 last of the Old Guard of Wildey the man of 1823 the model 
 workman of half a century and laid him tenderly to rest. But 
 the rugged figure of the stalwart soldier yet lives in the memorial 
 of Marley Lodge, No. 107 ; and his name on the muster-roll, like 
 that of Latour D'Auvergne, is answered toby his living comrades, 
 "Dead on the field of honor." 
 
 The G. Lodge of Maryland, on the 13th day of May, 1869, 
 unanimously passed the following : " Resolved, That as accurate 
 a portrait of the deceased be obtained as may be, from the mate- 
 rial within reach, to be placed in the gallery of the It. "W. Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, and that the Grand Officers carry 
 this resolution into effect." 
 
 A fitting place indeed for the brother who for so long a period 
 was the Father of the Senate of the Order ! He was in the sev- 
 enty-eighth year of his age ; had been an Odd Fellow forty-six 
 years, and had entered that body forty-three years before his final 
 parting and he died a Grand Representative. Brawny work- 
 man, untiring watcher, unfailing toiler for two generations ! the 
 chosen band of each lodge of workmen will do thee honor, and 
 lodges and encampments yet to come will nourish by thy example 
 a race of true Odd Fellows, whose watchwords will be WORK 
 and MARLEY. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Here the architect 
 
 Did not with curious skill a pile erect 
 Of carved marble, touch or porphery, 
 But built a house for hospitality. 
 
 CABEW. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States, as now constituted, 
 arose out of, and as the necessary consequence of, the plan by 
 which all authority was, in the year 1821, vested in the Past 
 Grands of Washington Lodge. By that act those Past Officers 
 became the only body which had any lawful existence in the 
 domain of American Odd Fellowship. By virtue of their sover- 
 eignty, they granted to Washington Lodge a charter as a subor- 
 dinate lodge. These Past Officers constituted in fact a supreme 
 G. Lodge, having no intermediate State G. Lodge under its 
 jurisdiction, and acting directly upon its subordinates. For 
 convenience, and to prevent confusion, it acted separately with 
 regard to its subordinates in Maryland as a quasi State G. Lodge, 
 and extra-territorially as a G. Lodge of the United States. It, 
 therefore, took the double title, when in truth it was only entitled 
 to the latter appellation. 
 
 In 1825, this supreme G. Lodge might well have established 
 a, G. Lodge of Maryland, and by that action have delegated its 
 local jurisdiction ; but as the double authority which it wielded 
 had been conferred by a subordinate upon the P. Grands of 
 Maryland, it seemed reasonable, if not logical, that they should 
 retain their local status, and as the G. Lodge of Maryland, in 
 separate session, confer upon themselves, by the superior name, 
 the supreme functions of the G. Lodge of the United States. 
 When all these divisions had been made, it was still apparent 
 that, however divided, from first to last, all power existed in the 
 Past Officers of Maryland. For up to this time no representative 
 of any other State or body had taken his seat among them. The 
 method of the proceeding was less the matter to be considered, 
 
 (173) 
 
174: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 than the completion of a system which should, by proper delega- 
 tions of authority, divide the functions to be administered, and 
 produce an orderly working out of the objects of the Order. 
 Thus Washington Lodge resigns its charter, and is no longer a 
 lodge, but becomes one under a charter from a new body; that 
 new body, by its own act, also ceases to exist by the resignation 
 of the same charter, and takes life again by a warrant from 
 another new body, the G. Lodge of the United States. The 
 logic which led to these results was based iipon sound principles, 
 and gave assurance of a breadth of judgment and diplomacy 
 which but one man of the number was known to possess. "We 
 cannot determine who is the more worthy of our gratitude, G. 
 Sec. Entwisle, the deviser of the plan, or those who with such 
 docility and zeal adopted it. But who can deny admiration to a 
 movement whose identity is so logically kept up, that what follows 
 seems only to be the natural result of that which had preceded ? 
 
 The unity of this family arrangement was fostered by circum- 
 stances tending in every way to fuse the membership together. 
 The members of the G. Lodge of the U. S. were the members of 
 the G. Lodge of Md., and were also the leading members of the 
 four subordinate lodges ; all being in Baltimore City. All 
 these lodges met in the same room, on such evenings as 
 suited the general convenience. In point of space they were all 
 together, and the subordinate lodge had only to adjourn and open 
 a G. Lodge of Md., and the last in the same manner could open 
 as the G. Lodge of the U. S. This paucity of numbers, and the 
 three-fold capacity of the membership, did not in any manner 
 affect the dignity of the proceeding ; lodge rank and distinction 
 were eagerly sought for and duly honored, and every department 
 took place in the order of precedence without a jar, and with a 
 gravity better becoming the later stages of their history than the 
 insignificance of their early surroundings. It was then, with a 
 solemnity we can little imagine, that the P. Grands of Md., having 
 extended to the P. Grands of Massachusetts, New York and Penn- 
 sylvania, and all others yet to have an existence in the country, the 
 benefits of the free gift of their G. Lodge, met on the 22d of Feb- 
 ruary, 1825, in the first session of the G. Lodge of the United 
 States. 
 
 Its constitution had been already adopted, as we have seen, 
 on the 15th of January, 1825. The first article provided that, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 175 
 
 " The G. Lodge of the U. S. shall be composed of a G. M., a D. 
 G. M., a G. Sec., a G. G., and a Rep. or Proxy of each Grand 
 Lodge in the United States acting under a legal charter." The 
 thirteenth article provided that the term of the G. M. should be 
 four years, and to be eligible for a succeeding term of three years, 
 but then to be ineligible for re-election until after a full term of 
 four years, unless there was no candidate qualified for the office, 
 in which case he w r as to serve until a qualified successor was 
 chosen. To qualify him for the office, he was required to be a 
 P. G. M. of a State G. Lodge. The D. G. M. was to be appointed 
 by the G. M. for four years, and was re-eligible without limit ; 
 service for a full term gave him the past honors of his office > 
 yet notwithstanding this provision, Bro. Welch was elected with 
 the other officers. The G. Sec. was to be elected for a term of 
 four years, was re-eligible, and was entitled to the honors after 
 serving a full term. The G. G.'s term was also four years, and 
 full service was necessary to acquire the past official honors of 
 his office ; his appointment was made by the G. M. This 
 instrument was somewhat vague in its terms, but was an improve- 
 ment upon those previously adopted. 
 
 One vital provision gave character to the whole arrangement ; 
 the second paragraph of Art. 15 reads thus : " The G. M., D. G. 
 M., G. S., and G. G., as officers, shall not vote on any occasion 
 whatever, as the same solely devolves on the representatives or 
 their proxies ; but when the votes are equal, the G. M. shall give 
 the casting vote." This will show by what vote the proceedings 
 in the body were determined, and explain the relative acts of the 
 members of the G. Lodge when in session ; but it also declares the 
 true principle, that power to legislate exists in the subordinate 
 G. bodies alone, to be exercised by their duly elected agents. 
 The constitution is set forth in the Journal, pages TO, 71, and 
 with this chart the G. Lodge of the U. S. was set adrift upon its 
 perilous voyage. The first meeting assembled at Wildey's, at the 
 corner of Gay and Front Streets, on the 22d of February, 1825, the 
 day fixed by the constitution. But two of the officers elected were 
 present, with the Eep. of Maryland, and three P. G.'s as visitors ; 
 when it was resolved to call upon the distant G. Lodges to appoint 
 proxies, and that the installation of the officers be deferred to the 
 30th day of March ensuing, to which day they adjourned. It 
 may here be stated that every meeting of the supreme body after- 
 
176 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 wards held in Baltimore, up to the session of the 5th of Septem- 
 ber, 1831, met at Wildey's; the minutes which read "convened 
 this day at Odd Fellows' Hall, city of Baltimore," until the 
 period mentioned, having reference only to Wildey's, and not to 
 the present site. 
 
 Pursuant to adjournment, the G. Lodge convened on March 
 30th, 1825; present, Thomas Wildey, John Welch, William Wil- 
 liams, Thomas Mitchell, Charles Common, Maurice Fennell, 
 Thomas Scotchburn and John Boyd, members ; and P. G.'s Nel- 
 son, Harris, Freeburger, Gill and Colt, visitors, all of Maryland. 
 Rep. Common presided, and appointed temporary officers, when 
 the brothers who had been elected at the preliminary meeting in 
 January were presented and installed into their respective offices ; 
 this also included the G. Guardian, who had been selected by the 
 G. M. The officers installed were Thomas Wildey, G. M. ; John 
 Welch, D. G. M. ; William Williams, G. Sec. ; and Thos'. Mitchell, 
 G. G. The following Reps, were upon the floor : Charles Com- 
 mon, Rep. of Maryland, and proxies Maurice Fennell, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, Thomas Scotchburn, of New York, and John Boyd, 
 of Pennsylvania ; four votes in all. 
 
 The G. M., on taking the chair, seemed fully aware of the 
 great responsibility which the little band of brethren had assumed. 
 He looked around him and saw but one of the originators of the 
 enterprise Welch. The rest were new men, and as yet untried ; 
 but to his ardent zeal this was only a fresh stimulus to exer- 
 tion. His hopes, always high, rose with the occasion. He ad- 
 dressed them in words full of confidence and assurance of success. 
 " The G. Sire was arrayed in entirely new robes," says the pri- 
 vate journal of Wildey, " and the officers and representatives 
 were on this occasion attired in new sashes." The scene must 
 have been full of interest to all who were present, as it is in 
 the retrospect, a glorious birthday of power and renown to the 
 principles represented by those humble men. It was the con- 
 summation of a federal union of the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows on the American continent. The haughty courage of 
 their chief, his force and his fervor, took the place of all the com- 
 mon incentives of the human mind. The poor accommodations 
 were, in their eyes, a hall ; the insignia and decorations, emblems 
 of a real authority ; their functions supremely important to con- 
 temporaries and to posterity; and some of them might even then 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 177 
 
 Lave believed, with the founder, that by succession they would 
 gather under their segis a very empire of willing subjects. 
 
 The business of the session began with the reading and 
 approval of the proceedings of the preliminary and informal 
 meetings, and also of those of the several State Grand 
 Lodges which had authorized the organization. The order passed 
 at . the preliminary meeting for the printing of the third and 
 fourth degrees and the P. G.'s charge, was considered and ap- 
 proved. The constitution having been submitted to the State 
 jurisdictions for approval, was returned approved, vrith some im- 
 portant modifications. Pennsylvania had suggested that the 5th 
 Article, making Baltimore the permanent seat of the supreme 
 body, be amended, by striking out the word "permanent" and 
 inserting "present." New York wished the same amendment, 
 and further objected to sec. 2 of Article 12, which authorized the 
 G. Master to appoint his Deputy from Maryland. 
 
 A question then arose of a delicate nature, which was difficult 
 of solution, by reason of the absence of a personal representative 
 from Pennsylvania. A petition from Washington Lodge, No. 2, 
 and Wayne Lodge, No. 3, of that State, was read, in relation to 
 a certain James Day, of Philadelphia, who, in the estimation of 
 that lodge, and of the D. G. M. of that State, had been " unjustly 
 dealt with." This is very vague, and is only made clear by refer- 
 ence to the previous proceedings of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania. 
 It seems that Day entered that Grand Lodge without proper 
 qualifications, and in fact had never been initiated. He attended 
 the meetings, served on a committee, ran for an office, and was 
 finally appointed G. G. ; one week afterwards the fraud was dis- 
 covered, and he was suspended until the sitting of the G, 
 Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. The G. Lodge of Md. and 
 of the IT. S., on the 22d of November, 1824, having heard 
 the case, recommended "that the said Mr. Day be excluded 
 from entering any lodge of the I. O. F. throughout the 
 globe." This was concurred in, and Mr. Day was informed 
 of his expulsion. The petition now offered was to obtain a 
 review and reversal of the former action. But the body was 
 better educated in its duties, and disposed of the matter by refus- 
 ing to interfere with the powers delegated to the subordinate 
 G. Lodges. It was therefore resolved, first, that it had no 
 jurisdiction ; secondly, that the G. Lodges alone had the right 
 12 
 
178 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 to bring such matters before the body; thirdly, that the peti- 
 tioners be referred to the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania ; fourthly, 
 that copies of the resolutions be furnished to that G. Lodge and 
 the petitioners. It is only necessary to say that Day was restored 
 by the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, upon condition " that he be 
 instructed and pay for the degrees received." He was then duly 
 initiated. This first exercise of judicial power is of moment, a& 
 indicating more correct views of the relative parts of the system, 
 The new body, sensible of the great trust which it was adminis- 
 tering, took higher ground than before, in asserting the just pre- 
 rogatives of the State G. Lodges which it had created. 
 
 At this session the fact was disclosed that there was a color 
 on the charters of the State G. Lodges for a degree which they 
 had not received. The G. Lodges were ordered to be notified of 
 the fact, and that the degree would be forwarded as soon as possible ;, 
 also that the money to be paid for the degree (the fifth) should be 
 used to pay the expenses of the G. Lodge of the IT. S. and of the 
 G. Representatives. In the previous classification, the first, 
 second and third degrees were White, Blue and Scarlet ; the 
 Covenant and Remembrance were at first designated as " inter- 
 mediate degrees"; that is to say, the Covenant or Pink was 
 placed after the first, and the Remembrance or Green after the 
 second degree, with no appropriate numbers attached : so that 
 the Golden Rule was known as the fourth, and the Purple or 
 Royal Purple the fifth. The degrees, seven in all, with the addi- 
 tion of another color, were at this meeting marshalled in the 
 following order : White, Pink, Blue,. Green, Scarlet, Gold and 
 Purple. It had been customary to display the colors in their 
 order on official papers, such as charters, and these colors, in- 
 cluding that of " Purple," are to be found on the original charter 
 granted to the G. Lodge of New York in 1823 ; but this is error,, 
 as that color was not adopted before the year 1825. The Royal 
 Purple degree was selected as a sublime degree, only to be con- 
 ferred by State G. Lodges, and never upon any who had not 
 become P. Grands. 
 
 The personal influence of the G. M. was acknowledged by a 
 vote that his address should be forwarded to the G. Lodges, with 
 a notice of his intention soon to appear in person among them. 
 The connection with the mother country was evidenced by a 
 communication from the Order in England, and an answer an- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 179 
 
 nouncing the opening of the new programme was prepared and 
 duly transmitted. Before the adjournment, what purported 
 to be a statement or annual report ending February, 1825, 
 from the State G. Lodges, was presented. The number of 
 G. Lodges w^as 4, of subordinates 9, but no return of member- 
 ship, revenue or disbursement appeared. Special G. Committee 
 meetings were held on April 20th and September 25th, 1825 ; at 
 the former a correspondence was authorized with certain persons 
 in New Orleans, to give them instructions as to how they might 
 open a lodge in that city ; and at the latter, the G. Master gave 
 a verbal report of his visit to Massachusetts, New York and 
 Pennsylvania ; his report was highly favorable. He also stated 
 that New York and Pennsylvania insisted on the amendment 
 striking out " permanent," and making Baltimore the " present " 
 place of the sessions of the body ; Massachusetts declined to ex- 
 press its opinion. The amendment was then, on the call of the 
 ayes and noes, unanimously adopted, and the constitution per- 
 fected, by changing the time of meeting, from the 22d of Febru- 
 ary to the 1st of May ; no further changes were made for several 
 years. 
 
 The unanimity displayed in the vote for the permanent seat 
 of the G. Lodge was not shared by the Odd Fellows of Maryland. 
 Rep. Common w r as supposed to vote for that State, and in fact 
 did so, but his constituents were far from satisfied. The proxy 
 representatives of the other three States were also P. Grands of 
 Md., and had to run the gauntlet of the most violent abuse for 
 having, as was asserted, betrayed their jurisdiction. Until Wil- 
 dey brought the new and independent charter, during the next 
 year, from England, everything depended on the charter origi- 
 nally granted to Washington Lodge, No. 1. That was the only 
 warrant of authority, and was held upon a condition which the 
 G. Lodge had no right to disregard. It was impossible, in strict 
 justice, to ignore the consideration expressed in the grant, that 
 Baltimore should be the permanent seat of the new body. But 
 the P. Grands of Maryland, in the G. Lodge of the U. S., were 
 bent upon making it a national council, at the sacrifice of pride 
 and in defiance of every obstacle. They risked their popularity 
 at home to secure foreign alliances, and never ceased to conciliate 
 the distant G. Lodges until they had won their approbation. The 
 charter of 1826 had no such condition annexed ; but the G. Lodge, 
 
180 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 though not confined to Baltimore, naturally gravitated to the 
 G. M. and his residence ; since his time, wherever it may wander, 
 the same attraction for the G. Secretary's office draws it to Balti- 
 more. But in early days, the place of meeting was often cause 
 of contention where none was necessary. Pennsylvania was, in 
 1827, very eager to become the seat of government. In May of 
 that year, G. S. Wildey addressed G. M. Small, of that State, as 
 follows : " So much of your communication as has a reference to 
 moving the seat of the G. Lodge of the U. S. has met my most- 
 cordial approbation ; and should I be spared so long, shall advo- 
 cate its permanent removal to Pennsylvania, at the next annual 
 communication. I do not conceive that the resources would jus- 
 tify me in recommending it to be a movable lodge. I therefore 
 desire to see it permanently located in Pennsylvania; and when 
 it shall have been removed there, I hope you will not feel the 
 burden as heavily as Maryland has. The time and money I have 
 sacrificed for its welfare are more than you would be willing to 
 believe. I rather suspect that Pennsylvania, or any other State, 
 would soon tire of its location among them ; if so, they will always 
 find Maryland at her post." But to return to the proceedings of 
 the session. 
 
 Information having been received of the want of harmony 
 among the brotherhood in New York, a correspondence with that 
 jurisdiction was ordered. P. G. McCormick, who had just 
 returned from England, was present with a letter from the Man- 
 chester Unity, and several copies of the English Odd Fellows' 
 Magazine. He also announced that he had received a degree at 
 Manchester, which he was authorized to confer on G. M. Wildey 
 and D. G. M. Welch ; which duty he had performed. This was 
 the Patriarchal Degree, which was conferred only upon P. G.'s, 
 and in the body of a G. Lodge, as was the Royal Purple Degree. 
 The charge fixed for the degree was one dollar. This degree 
 completed the superior degrees of the Order, and though last in 
 order of time, was put first in the Encampment work. It was 
 conferred on those present, namely, Rep. Common, Proxies Fen- 
 nell, Scotchburn and Boyd, G. Sec'y Williams, and P. G.'s John 
 Roach and Charles Brice. 
 
 The second annual session, which by the constitution was 
 fixed for the 1st of May, convened on the 25th of April, 1826 ; 
 present, Charles Common, Rep. of Maryland ; Proxies Charles 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 181 
 
 Brice, of Massachusetts, and John Boyd, of Pennsylvania, and 
 four visitors, P. G.'s Marley, Eoach, Gill and Santmyer. P. G. 
 Scotchburn, of New York, being absent, was lined live dollars, 
 and P. G. Marley, a visitor, was appointed to act for him ; and 
 the absent G. G. was also fined five dollars, and John Roach, 
 also one of the visitors, appointed to fill his place pro tern. The 
 roll contains for the first time those titles which are now familiar : 
 Thomas Wildey, M. W. GRAND SIRE, and John Welch, R. W. 
 DEP. GRAND SIRE. No reason was assigned for this change of 
 official designations ; the constitution gave no such style, and 
 therefore they must have been assumed and worn by common 
 consent. It is conjectured that the alteration was made at an 
 unrecorded special meeting ; but if so, it must have been done by 
 a simple resolution. This view is confirmed by the fact that 
 when the amended constitution of 1829 was adopted, the new 
 title was made one of its material parts. 
 
 At this point it was announced that G. M. Small and P. D. 
 G. M. Richardson, of Pennsylvania, were in waiting, desiring to 
 visit the G. Lodge. A committee to examine and report upon 
 the qualifications of the visitors, reported that they were qualified. 
 They were admitted and received with the honors of the Order. 
 G. M. Small then arose and presented his credentials as Rep. 
 elect from Pennsylvania, which being found correct, he took his 
 seat as the Rep. from that jurisdiction, being the first elected 
 representative beyond Maryland who took part in the delibera- 
 tions of the body. 
 
 We resume the consideration of the proceedings of the second 
 annual session. The constitution was read by the G. Sire. It 
 was immediately amended without regard to Article 3 of its pro- 
 visions ; the six months' notice was not given, it was not sent to 
 the 'State G. Lodges, and did not pass on a call of the ayes and 
 noes, which was the only test of a vote upon the constitution. 
 The amendments adopted were as follows : 
 
 " Section 4. ARTICLE XXII. All lodges acting under the 
 G. Lodge of the U. S., when having five P. Grands, are at liberty 
 to petition the G. Lodge for a G. Charter, with the different 
 degrees belonging to a G. Lodge, so as to enable them to have a 
 State G. Lodge for the government of their State. 
 
 " ARTICLE XIII. That a State G. Charter, together with the 
 Golden Rule and Royal Purple or fifth degree, be charged at 
 
182 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 twenty dollars, to be paid for on delivery, and all necessary 
 expenses incurred shall be paid for by those who shall apply for 
 the same." 
 
 The price of the Patriarchal degree was changed from one 
 dollar to two dollars and fifty cents, and that of a charter and 
 the degrees for a subordinate lodge fixed at thirty dollars. Rep. 
 Small at this point asked leave of absence, and with his com- 
 panion departed ; but before leaving, they spoke in flattering 
 terms of the state of the Order, and of the gracious manner of 
 their reception. The Rep. having retired, his proxy, P. G. Boyd, 
 resumed his seat in the body. The pleasure of this interview 
 was mutual, and the grateful G. Lodge immediately passed a 
 vote of thanks to Rep. Small, " for his visit and his attention to 
 the duties of his office "; rather a singular idea indeed, but 
 showing the anxiety of the P. Grands of Md. to have the counsel 
 and presence of the distant representatives. Communications 
 were read from Pennsylvania and New York; in the former 
 there had been an accession of one, and in the latter of two 
 subordinates. This made the whole number of subordinates 
 in the United States reach 12. Two special committee meetings 
 were held in the recess before the session of 1827, the first on 
 October the 3d. At this meeting the G. S. submitted the fol- 
 lowing report : 
 
 Officers and Representatives : 
 
 The Grand Sire respectfully reports : That after a passage 
 of twenty-one days, he arrived at Liverpool, and visited the lodges ; 
 but being desirous of reaching Manchester, he took leave of the 
 brethren there, and proceeded on his journey. On arriving at 
 Manchester, he was received with open arms by a few of the 
 brothers. The Corresponding Secretary was ordered to prepare 
 notices for the assembling of the Order. On the following day, 
 at 4 o'clock P. M., and at the appointed time, he met about six 
 or seven hundred of the brethren, and all seemed overjoyed at his 
 arrival. After some preliminary business had been gone through 
 with, the G. Sire delivered an address, which was received with 
 approbation. It will appear in the next number of the English 
 Magazine. For six successive nights during his stay among them, 
 he frequently visited two lodges of an evening ; a conveyance was 
 in attendance to take him from place to place, and at. all of the 
 lodges he explained to them the plan on which the lodges worked 
 in the United States. Several committee meetings were held for 
 the transaction of business with him, during his stay in Manches- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 183 
 
 ter. The G. Sire attended several public dinners, at which much 
 good humor prevailed, and the health of the G. Masters of Mary- 
 land, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, with their offi- 
 cers, were severally drank, confirmed by the honors of the Order. 
 Several alterations have taken place in the work, which the G. 
 Sire is of the opinion may be productive of service to the Order. 
 The G. Sire presented the committee of the Manchester Unity 
 with the Covenant and Remembrance degrees, which were ap- 
 proved of by them, and were left for their adoption. 
 
 Before leaving Manchester, the brethren being desirous of 
 bestowing a mark of respect on the G. Sire, but considering the 
 subject of a delicate nature, they resolved that the same should 
 be intimated to him by the G. Treasurer, privately, which was 
 accordingly done, by suggesting a gold medal as suitable. The 
 G. Sire replied that if it was their wish to present him with a 
 token of their esteem, he would prefer, to anything else, a char- 
 ter for the Grand Lodge of the United States, confirming the one 
 granted by the Duke of York Lodge, Preston. To this sugges- 
 tion they instantly promised compliance, and on his return from 
 London he was presented with a charter, splendidly executed on 
 parchment, through the hands of G. M. Thomas Derbyshire, in a 
 suitable manner ; when the Corresponding Secretary of the dis- 
 trict accompanied the delivery with a highly complimentary ad- 
 dress. From Manchester the Grand Sire proceeded to London, 
 where he was received in a highly gratifying manner. While 
 visiting the lodges there, he observed an emblem representing 
 the foundation stone laid by our forefather Adam, and procured 
 one, which he now presents to the Grand Lodge. After leaving 
 London, he returned to Manchester, and visited the country 
 lodges, where he was met by a very numerous body of the Order, 
 who congratulated him in a highly gratifying manner. 
 
 This record supplies one of the most gratifying pages of the his- 
 tory both of Wildey and of the Order ; honorable to him for his 
 disinterestedness and devotion, and to our English brethren for a 
 rare magnanimity and self-denying fraternity, of which there have 
 "been few examples. The causes which led to the G. Sire's official 
 visit do not appear upon the journal. No doubt the special com- 
 mittee was called to receive his report, as they do not seem to 
 have expressed surprise when he offered it. But there is no pre- 
 vious mention of such an undertaking. We think that the 
 report was expected, and his absence known, but the act was 
 induced by one of those impulses to which this remarkable man 
 was subject. He had witnessed, with grief, the departure of the 
 Order, in England, from the ancient work, and foresaw the blow 
 
184 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 which would sever our friendly relations unless that tendency was- 
 arrested. But, if unable to turn back the English brotherhood 
 to the original landmarks, he felt that he might, by timely action, 
 preserve the unity of the Order on this continent. In Septem- 
 ber, 1825, complaint had been made to the Manchester Unity 
 about changes in the work, but no proposition had been made 
 looking to a remedy. 
 
 The G. Sire, asking for no credentials, but relying upon the 
 character which he had already established in both countries for 
 devotion to the cause, was suddenly impelled to undertake the 
 solution of the difficulty upon his own responsibility. Hence his 
 voyage, his arrival in England, his reception by admiring multi- 
 tudes, his magnetic handling of the subject, which gave no offence, 
 and last of all, his return, with the segis in his hand with which 
 he was able to preserve intact and forever the American 
 Order. The first public notice of this master-stroke was the call 
 of the special committee and his report ; when he presented to his 
 astonished friends the free gift that of Wildey, as well as that 
 of the Manchester Unity an independent charter the charter 
 of independence of American Odd Fellowship. The record says: 
 
 The report of the Grand Sire having been read, 011 motion, the 
 following were adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That the charter presented to this body by the 
 Grand Annual Movable Committee connected with the Manches- 
 ter Unity, dated May 15th, 1826, be, and the same is hereby 
 accepted. 
 
 HesoLved, That the thanks of this Grand Lodge be voted to 
 the officers and brothers of the Manchester district, for the hos- 
 pitable manner in which they received and entertained our 
 worthy G. Sire, during his late visit to England. 
 
 Resolved, That the G. Secretary communicate this vote of 
 thanks, and the same be entered on the minutes. 
 
 Resolved, That the foregoing be forwarded by the G. Secre- 
 tary to the State Grand Lodges. 
 
 ENGLISH CHARTER OF MAY 15TH, 1826. 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 This Dispensation, granted by consent of the Grand Master 
 and past and present Officers from various lodges connected with 
 the Manchester Unity, assembled in Grand Committee. 
 
 In consideration of the Charter formerly granted by the Duke 
 of York Lodge, Preston, to certain Officers and Brothers of the 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 185 
 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Baltimore, in the United 
 States of America, We, the Undersigned, respectively, Officers of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Great Britain, do ratify,, 
 grant and confirm such Charter ; and also hereby grant, author- 
 ize and empower the Grand Sire, Deputy Grand Sire, Represent- 
 atives and Proxies of the Grand Lodge of the United States of 
 America, to conduct the business of Odd Fellowship, without the 
 interference of any other country, so long as the same is admin- 
 istered according to the principles and purity of Odd Fellowship. 
 This charter being granted as a free gift from the Grand Annual 
 Movable Committee, in Manchester, assembled on the 15th day 
 of May, in the year 1826. 
 
 In witness whereof, we have hereunto affixed our seals, dis- 
 played the colors of our Order, and subscribed our names the day 
 and year above written. 
 
 WILLIAM ARMITT, G. M. 
 THOMAS DERBYSHIRE, D. G. M. 
 MARK WARDLE, P. G. and C. S. 
 BEAUMONT HODGSON, Trea. 
 ROBERT NAYLOR, Pr. G. M. 
 B. A. REDFERN, Pr. D. G. M. 
 THOMAS ARMITT, P. G. M. 
 JOHN DUCKWORTH, P. Pr. G. M. 
 E. W. SMITH, Pr. G. M. 
 MOSES LEES, P. Pr. G. M. 
 JOHN TAYLOR, P. Pr. D. G. M. 
 T. ABBOTT, Pr. G. M. 
 
 Seal. 
 Seal. 
 Seal. 
 Seal. 
 'Seal. 
 Seal. 
 Seal. 
 Seal. 
 Seal. 
 Seal/ 
 Seal/ 
 Seal. 
 
 The vote of thanks was transmitted, accompanied by an offi- 
 cial letter, as follows : 
 
 BALTIMORE, Oct. 18th, 1826. 
 P. G. Mark War die, Cor. Sec., Manchester District : 
 
 SIR AND BROTHER You will see by the above resolves that it 
 has become my duty, and it is a very pleasing one, to communi- 
 cate to you a vote of thanks for the honors conferred on us, by 
 the very polite and generous treatment shown our worthy Grand 
 Sire, during the time he sojourned among you. Callous indeed 
 must be my feelings, could I comply with the bare formalities 
 attending my office, without adding a few words of my own on 
 the subject ; and in assuming them as my own,, I trespass on the 
 right of others, for I feel convinced that there is not a member 
 of the Order here, who does not largely participate in them ; and 
 the affectionate manner in which our G. Sire speaks of your treat- 
 ment, leaves not a doubt but that he too feels the full* weight of 
 the obligation you have imposed upon him, and for which neither 
 he nor the lodge can consider ourselves exonerated until we 
 have an opportunity of receiving a deputation from our trans- 
 
186 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Atlantic brethren of the honorable Order of Odd Fellows. Leav- 
 ing an affectionate family and extensive business, which require 
 a vast deal of personal attention, G. Sire Wildey, fully aware of 
 the dangers incident to the voyage, but feeling the great bene- 
 fit that would result to the Order, resolved on the undertaking, 
 tremblingly alive to the reception he might meet with, and the 
 importance of the trust imposed in him. The heavens seemed to 
 prosper our cause, and although he reached you after a very short 
 passage, the thought of home had gathered clouds around his 
 brow, which were removed by the kind reception he met with at 
 your hands. His every hour was made joyous by your unwearied 
 attention, and the sympathy felt for his safe return. All this 
 conspired to render it, as he himself happily describes it, the most 
 agreeably painful period of his life. 
 
 It gives me pleasure to be enabled to state that his voyage 
 Lome, though not as short as the one out, was agreeable ; and 
 though in the gale of the 8th and 9th, when so much havoc was 
 made among the shipping on the ocean, he escaped uninjured, 
 clearly evincing the hand of Providence in support of our cause. 
 The charter granted by you, and presented to the Grand Sire, has 
 T)een received, and is an ornament to our lodge-room. This will 
 l>e spoken more largely of hereafter. In conclusion, let me assure 
 you that the bonds of union subsisting between Odd Fellows are 
 strongly cementing, and that the recent visit of G. Sire Wildey 
 will have a very favorable effect in that respect. Wishing you 
 individually, and the brethren generally, health, happiness and 
 prosperity, and that we may soon have the pleasure of some of 
 your company, I remain, sir and brother, yours fraternallv, in F. 
 L. and T. 
 
 W. WILLIAMS, G. S. of U. S. 
 
 P. S. The G. Sire desires me to present to you, and 
 through you to the officers and brethren of the district, his best 
 respects, and desires me to say, that he will take an early oppor- 
 tunity to acknowledge his obligations to you. 
 
 W. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Approved : THOMAS WILDEY, G. S. of the G. L. of U. S. 
 To which the following reply was, in due time, received : 
 
 MANCHESTER, January 8th, 1827. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother Yours, announcing the safe arrival 
 of G. S. Wildey, gave much pleasure and satisfaction to all those 
 who heard me read it. I am sorry that the letter cannot be cir- 
 culated throughout the Order, by the Magazine, as T have been 
 compelled, for want of support, to discontinue the work. Want 
 of money among the working classes is the principal cause. I 
 have nothing new or of moment to communicate. The Indepen- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 187 
 
 dent Order is in a most flourishing state here, considering the 
 depression of trade, which, I am sorry to say, is as bad as ever. 
 If money were more plentiful, I verily believe we should initiate 
 the whole country. I should have written you sooner, but for 
 the difficulty of getting the parcel sent off. The Liverpool lodges, 
 though in compliance, are not to be depended upon ; G. S. Wil- 
 dey can satisfy you on that head. Brother Sissons (brother-in- 
 law to brother Hodgson) is now at my elbow, waiting to take this 
 to Liverpool ; he belongs to our lodge, and I can rely on his punc- 
 tuality. In requesting you, sir, to present my most sincere con- 
 gratulations to your worthy G. Sire on his arrival, I can safely 
 affirm, that I convey the feeling of the whole district. You could 
 not have sent out a more proper pilgrim. His mild and ready, 
 though always manly answers, the general suavity of his manners, 
 added to his simple and unaffected style of delivery, rendered 
 him justly the admiration of all who saw him. In addition, I 
 must say, that those who, like myself, had the pleasure of being 
 most frequently with him, respect him the most. Accept for 
 yourself, dear sir and brother, my best wishes for your welfare 
 and the prosperity of American Odd Fellowship, and believe me 
 to be, in bonds of F. L. and T., yours truly, 
 
 MARK WARDLE, C. S. 
 To G. S. WILLIAM WILLIAMS, Baltimore. 
 
 The vote of thanks to Manchester w r ill be laid before our next 
 committee, and noticed in the March minutes. 
 
 The G. Sire did not go to England with an empty hand, but 
 bore with him the precious legacy of G. Sec. Entwisle, the degrees 
 of Covenant and Remembrance; also the American G. Lodge 
 Degree, which were approved by the Annual Movable Committee, 
 and left for adoption. The Covenant and Remembrance were 
 afterwards formally accepted and incorporated with the work, 
 but the G. Lodge degree was not suitable to the English form of 
 government and was rejected. When the old English work was 
 almost wholly abolished, the American degrees suffered a like 
 fate, and were excluded. 
 
 At the time of the visit of the G. Sire, the Order in Britain 
 published a magazine, to which reference is often made in the 
 journal of the G. Lodge of the IT. S. It was ably edited, and 
 furnished reading not only for its own membership, but to such 
 as were able to obtain it on this side of the ocean. Its articles 
 were often read in the G. Lodge, and were made the text for 
 many a homily on our distinctive principles. It was in full 
 
188 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 sympathy with the G. Sire, and gave a glowing account of 
 his visit. (See Journal 86 7, 8, 9.) It was a proud day when 
 the founder parted with the English brethren. The great Odd 
 Fellows of the Manchester Unity crowned him in their own 
 language, as " Founder and Father of American Odd Fellow- 
 ship." 
 
 As we have before indicated, the course pursued toward the 
 G. Sire did infinite honor to the Odd Fellows of the mother 
 country. There is no instance in history which we might 
 properly invoke, that manifests more fully the nature and power 
 of the principles they professed. An interchange like this of 
 what is beautiful and noble in the human character, does more 
 for mankind than all the barren systems and " flea-bitten " philo- 
 sophies by which men have so often been deluded and never 
 fraternized. We triumphantly point to these thrilling incidents,, 
 as proof of the practical culture and mighty influence of Odd 
 Fellowship. 
 
 The second meeting of the special committee was called by 
 the G. Sire on the 30th of October, 1826, to consider a letter 
 received from P. G. Benjamin Downing, of New York, requesting 
 a dispensation for Providence, Rhode Island, when the G. Sec. 
 was directed to convey to the writer all the necessary in- 
 formation. 
 
 On May the 1st, 1827, the third annual session was assembled 
 at Wildey's Odd Fellows' Hall on Gay Street. All the G. 
 Officers, excepting D. G. S. Welch, were present, and the fol- 
 lowing reps, and proxies : Reps. Thomas Scotchbum, of Mary- 
 land, and John Pearce, of Pennsylvania ; Proxies John Roach, 
 of Massachusetts, and Richard Marley, of New York. The G. 
 Lodge adopted a resolution, approving of the correspondence 
 with England, and especially of the work of Wildey and the 
 publication on the subject by the Manchester Odd Fellows* 
 Magazine. It was also ordered that the article be entered in the 
 journal, which was afterwards done. The reports from the G. 
 Lodges were favorable. G. M. Hersey had instituted a lodge 
 styled Good Samaritan, No. 3, at Tauiiton, Massachusetts. From 
 Pennsylvania the report was encouraging, and the Order in New 
 York was represented as prosperous. Maryland gave in a good 
 report, with a statement that a lodge had been instituted, named 
 William Tell, No. 4. This lodge was set on foot by G. S. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 189 
 
 Wildey as one of its charter members, who gave it his personal 
 attention, and continued a member in good standing until his 
 death. It was and is the MOTHER GERMAN LODGE in the Order, 
 and continues to this day to work in the German and English 
 tongue. It was also stated that the G. Lodge of Md. was about 
 to have a copperplate engraved for " travelling certificates," so 
 as to suit any jurisdiction or lodge, and to prevent imposition. 
 This is the first official mention of " cards," although " certifi- 
 cates," as they were called, had been in use for many years. In 
 the journal of 1823 it is recorded that " G. Con. Anstice returned 
 his apron to the G. Lodge, having removed to Philadelphia and 
 withdrawn his card from Washington Lodge, No. 1, and honor- 
 ably departed this city." (Journal, 60.) Again, in 1824, com- 
 plaint is made by the N. G. of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, 
 "concerning Bro. Whitehead's leaving Baltimore without his 
 card." (Journal, 69.) 
 
 In the G. Lodge of Md. subsequently, on November 14, 1826, 
 the following was adopted : " Resolved, that this G. Lodge pur- 
 chase a copperplate for travelling certificates." And on the 
 28th of February, 1828, the price of cards was fixed at six dol- 
 lars per hundred to its own subordinates and four dollars per 
 hundred for the subordinates of other States. The subject of 
 ards leads us to narrate the reason for their adoption and the 
 uses to which they w r ere applied. Relief was originally confined 
 to brothers out of work and on tramp. When the case was pre- 
 sented to the lodge, the Warden's axe went round for voluntary 
 contributions; if the brother failed to get employment, the 
 nearest lodge to his temporary residence continued to assist him 
 for a reasonable time until some engagement \vas found. As the 
 dues were small and the treasury w r eak, as was then always the 
 -case, the aid given was at best precarious and insufficient. The 
 lodges were also liable to imposition on the part of those whose 
 habits and character were such that they were seldom or never 
 at work, and in many instances persons who were not members 
 obtained this pittance under false colors. The card placed the 
 \vhole arrangement upon a footing equally beneficial to the 
 member and to the Order, and gave permanent character to a 
 policy which is an integral part of the work. " To go on tramp ' T 
 was in those days a general custom of mechanics out of employ 
 ment ; the phrase was also applied to itinerant tradesmen. 
 
190 AMEEICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The early English lodges had but a small supply of money, 
 and were never prepared to grant adequate relief. The sources 
 of revenue were fines for not singing a song, telling a story, offer- 
 ing a sentiment, or doing some like thing for the common enter- 
 tainment. In this country, up to 1829, it was usual to pass the 
 Warden's axe at the opening of the lodge, for the regular dues, 
 and also for such contributions as might be made by the members ;. 
 in fact, we have it on good authority that the ancient custom is 
 still followed by certain lodges in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
 
 But to return to the proceedings of the G. Lodge of Maryland. 
 The action of that body in assuming to issue blank forms, was an 
 assumption that would not now be tolerated ; but it had so lately 
 held the supreme authority that, under the direction of Wildey, 
 it continued for a short time longer to exercise more than, 
 the ordinary functions of a State G. Lodge. Besides, the new 
 central power was yet nascent, and had no treasury, and was not 
 alive to a sense of its prerogative, which has since been so wisely 
 exercised in furnishing supplies to its subordinates. The result 
 was that Maryland furnished cards until the year 1844, when the 
 G. Lodge awoke to a knowledge of its own interests and import- 
 ance, and took charge of the matter. In that year it was " Re- 
 solved, that the G. Sec. be instructed to cause a suitable plate 
 of the cards of clearance and visiting cards adopted at this session 
 to be engraved, and that the State G. Lodges and Encampments 
 be furnished with said cards at cost ; and than no State G. Lodge 
 or G. Encampment shall have a right to print said cards after the 
 1st of January next." This was an assertion of authority which 
 made way for other reforms in the same direction, whose tendency 
 was to bring about system and uniformity. The cards thus be- 
 came uniform, and under superior sanctions were more solemn 
 and valuable. Imposition became more difficult, and the holder 
 was everywhere under the protection of the G. Lodge of the U. S. 
 
 But to return again to the proceedings of May the 1st, 1827. 
 It was ordered that a vote of thanks to G. S. Wildey be prepared 
 for his exertions in promoting the good of the Order, and for the 
 service rendered by his late voyage to England ; and that the same 
 be handsomely framed at the expense of the G. Lodge. The con- 
 stitution of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania was presented by Rep. 
 Pearce, together with a copy of the work of its subordinates, 
 which was gratefully responded to by the G. Sire. A new G. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 191 
 
 charter was also granted to the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, in lieu 
 of that formerly granted that body. G. S. Wildey then called 
 attention to the change to the new signs which had been adopted 
 in England ; the old signs having been abolished. But the G. Lodge 
 was shocked at this innovation upon ancient usage, and declared the 
 act to be an invasion of the landmarks of the Order, and resolved 
 to adhere to the old entersign, countersign, P. Word and G. It 
 was ordered that brothers should be instructed in both forms, and 
 that the English lodges be requested to follow this example, by 
 imparting both the old and new signs to all brothers about to 
 visit this country. The A. T. P. "W. was then ordered to be 
 placed in the possession of the G. M. and D. G. M. of each State 
 jurisdiction ; when, as the record reads, the session was closed 
 " in friendship and brotherly love." Fourteen subordinate lodges 
 were reported in the several jurisdictions, but no further statistics- 
 of the operations of the year are recorded. 
 
 Two special committee meetings were held on 12th of Nov- 
 ember, 1827, and 15th of January, 1828. At the first a charter 
 was granted to Central Lodge, No. 1, at Washington, District of 
 Columbia, upon the petition of Thomas M. Abbett, Robert Boyd, 
 John Cragg, Thomas Smith and Samuel Knapp. G. Sire Wildey 
 was authorized to open the lodge on the 26th of November, 
 
 1827. At the second meeting a charter was granted to George- 
 town Lodge, No. 2, also in the District of Columbia, upon the 
 petition of "Robert Boyd, T. Wedds, Francis King, John Elvans, 
 John Douglass and John Cragg. The G. S. was directed to insti- 
 tute this lodge on the 23d of January, 1828, and thanks were 
 voted to Thomas M. Abbett for his energy and valuable services. 
 At this meeting information was received of the expulsion of 
 Strangers' Refuge Lodge, No. 4, by the G. Lodge of New York ; 
 the action was confirmed, and notice ordered to be sent to each of 
 the State G. Lodges. This penalty was inflicted for insubordina- 
 tion and persistent resistance to the authority of its G. Lodge. 
 
 The fourth regular annual session took place on May the 1st, 
 
 1828. The G. S. presided, and all the officers were present, ex- 
 cepting the G. Sec., whose place was temporarily filled. The 
 credentials of the reps, and proxies in attendance were examined 
 and found to be correct. It was found that Massachusetts was 
 not in any manner represented ; an unfavorable augury. The 
 reports from the other States gave unmistakable evidence of de- 
 
192 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 cided progress. The yearly report was more comprehensive than 
 heretofore ; there was given, in addition to the number of lodges in 
 ^ach State, the number of expulsions and contributing members, 
 with a column in the table for special remarks. The number of 
 subordinate lodges had reached 19 5 having increased since the 
 first report (1825) by 7 lodges ; and although the aggregate member- 
 ship does not appear, yet in Pennsylvania it had reached 568. 
 The minutes of the session are also more extended than on 
 former occasions, and evince an improvement in the department 
 of the G. Sec. That office being vacant, John J. Roach, P. G., 
 was appointed by the G. S. to fill the vacancy. No reason 
 appears on the journal for this vacancy in the office to which Bro. 
 "Williams had been elected for the term of four years ; the sequel 
 however discloses the fact that Williams had been expelled. 
 Communications were presented from the Manchester Unity, 
 relating to the changes of " the signs." Immediate action took 
 place, to the effect that both should be taught to initiates, 
 but that the new sign should be the proper working sign. The 
 rule was established at this session, that the name and number of 
 a lodge which had been suspended, or which from any cause 
 had ceased to work, should not be granted to any other lodge. 
 This legislation continued in force, and was not repealed until 
 1873 and 1876. (Journal, 5949, 7008, 7064.) A copy of the seal 
 of each G. and subordinate lodge was ordered to be transmitted 
 to the Sec. so that a cabinet of seals should be formed. The 
 amendment by Pennsylvania, laid on the table the previous year, 
 changing the time of meeting from the first of May to the first 
 Monday in May, was adopted. The vote of thanks ordered at 
 the last session to be prepared and tendered to the G. S. was 
 brought in, and the lodge took a recess from business ; when Rep. 
 Small of Pennsylvania made the presentation with appropriate 
 remarks, to which the G. Sire made a suitable reply. 
 
 The following is a copy of the resolutions, which were 
 engrossed, and enclosed in a beautiful frame : 
 
 "But the greatest of these is Charity" 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows : to all lodges and worthy brethren through- 
 out the Globe, these presents in Friendship, Love and Truth, come 
 greeting : Know ye, that taking into consideration the long 
 services and unwearied exertions of our Most Worthy Grand Sire, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 193 
 
 Thomas Wildey, to whom Odd Fellowship in America is chiefly 
 indebted for its rise and progress ; and particularly the sacrifices 
 he has lately made by crossing the Atlantic in search of informa- 
 tion for the welfare of the Order, by which we have been 
 materially benefitted ; and desirous of showing him some mark of 
 our respect for his private virtues and public services, we have on 
 the first day of May, A. D. 1827, at the Grand Annual Commu- 
 nication of the Grand Lodge of the United States, passed the 
 following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, That this Grand Lodge have prepared a vote of 
 thanks to our Most Worthy Grand Sire, for his unw r earied exer- 
 tions in promoting the good of the Order, and particularly for 
 the services rendered by his late voyage to England ; that the 
 same be handsomely framed, and the expenses thereof paid out of 
 the funds of this Lodge. 
 
 In accordance with which resolve, we, the undersigned Offi- 
 cers, Proxies and Representatives of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, have caused the same to be prepared, and now 
 respectfully present the same to our Most Worthy Grand Sire, 
 THOMAS WILDEY, with our best wishes for his future welfare ; hum- 
 bly trusting he will go on and persevere in raising the noble struc- 
 ture, of which he is the father and founder in America ; in the 
 benefits resulting from which many have already largely partici- 
 pated ; and that he may ever so conduct himself to deserve, as he 
 now receives, the warmest admiration of every Odd Fellow. 
 
 In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our respective 
 names, and displayed the colors of the Order, in Grand Lodge of 
 the United States, at Baltimore, this nineteenth day of May, 
 Anno Domini 1827, on which day the Grand Seal of said Lodge 
 was annexed. 
 
 JOHN WELCH, D. G. S. 
 
 [SEAL] JOHN ROACH, G. G. 
 
 JOHN J. ROACH, G. S. 
 
 THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, Rep. of Md. 
 
 THOMAS SMALL, Rep. of Penn. 
 
 The expulsion of Strangers' Refuge Lodge, of New York, for 
 insubordination, was ordered to be published in the newspapers 
 of the several jurisdictions. But the most important business 
 transacted was the adoption of a resolution providing for a Grand 
 Movable Committee, whose duty it should be to move once in four 
 years through the States in which G. Lodges were organized ; the 
 committee to consist of the G. S. and a Rep. or Froxy to be ap- 
 pointed by him. This was an experiment fashioned upon the 
 plan of the English system of government, and, as it will appear, 
 did not prove successful. It was also ordered that the degrees 
 13 
 
194: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 be revised, and thanks were voted to prominent members of the 
 Manchester Unity, whose names are in the journal. Two reso- 
 lutions, however, of general interest were introduced at the close 
 of the session, and passed. First, "that the G. Lodge of the 
 U. S. most strenuously recommends the establishment of Patriar- 
 chal Encampments throughout the different States, as they will 
 prove of considerable use and benefit to the Independent Order." 
 This was responsive to the information communicated at the 
 opening of the session, by Rep. Scotchburn, of Md., that in that 
 State an Encampment of Patriarchs had been formed, " the estab- 
 lishment of which was considered a great improvement in the 
 Order." This movement, which has had such grand results, has- 
 been fully considered elsewhere in this volume. Secondly, 
 that, " Whereas the constitution of the G. Lodge of the U. S. 
 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows is defective in 
 several of its articles, therefore, resolved, that the same be taken 
 up for consideration and general revision." Whereupon Rep. 
 Small, of Pennsylvania, submitted a draft of a new constitution, 
 which was read, and after undergoing various alterations, was 
 ordered to be referred to the several G. Lodges for their approval. 
 This was orderly and in accordance with the existing constitu- 
 tion, and was moreover strictly correct in its designation of the 
 name and style of the Order. Some modifications were made 
 in the mode of conferring degrees ; and after adopting financial 
 regulations, altering the form of the annual reports, directing 
 the list of lodges to be published, and passing a vote of thanks to 
 Rep. Small, the session was closed, in " Friendship, Love and 
 Truth." 
 
 We have referred to the correct phraseology used at this ses- 
 sion with reference to the Order, and deem it a subject of suffi- 
 cient importance to examine in detail, as on this point, for many 
 years, all was discrepancy and confusion. In the minutes of the 
 early days, both in England and America, the reader is struck 
 with the want of uniformity in the name and initials which 
 designated Odd Fellowship. The journal of the G. Lodge 
 of the U. S. seemed to contradict itself constantly, in almost every 
 reference made to the name. It was indifferently that of Inde- 
 pendent Odd Fellows, Independent Odd Fellowship, Order of 
 Independent Odd Fellows, and then again, Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, which last was evidently the original, adopted 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 195 
 
 at Manchester at the formation of the Unity, from which the 
 American Order was derived. Attention has been especially 
 directed to the variance in the titular captions employed from 
 time to time in official documents issued by the G. bodies of the 
 Order. For instance, the charter from the Manchester Unity to 
 the G. Lodge of the U. S., 15th of May, 1826, is distinctively 
 headed with the letters " I. O. O. F."; and the fact is set forth 
 that the dispensation in granted in consideration of the charter 
 formerly granted by the Duke of York Lodge, Preston, to certain 
 officers and brothers of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 of Baltimore, in the United States of America. The actual reci- 
 tal in the dispensation here referred to, is " to the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland and of the United States of America, of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellowship." So also in several charters 
 issued by the G. Lodge of the U. S., the initials O. I. O. F. pre- 
 vail, as well as in many official papers. This confusion evidently 
 is chargeable to the incompetency or negligence of the proper 
 officers. After some research, the following appears to us indis- 
 putably to establish the style and title of the Order. 
 
 The name of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was 
 accpired by a movement in the direction of reform, set on foot at 
 Manchester, England, by a few Odd Fellows who had been 
 connected with the ancient Order in London, sometimes called 
 the London Unity. This step was led by a marble mason of the 
 name of Bolton, who in the year 1809 went to Manchester, and 
 there organized a lodge, under a dispensation from the G. Lodge 
 of England ; which title was assumed by the London Unity. 
 This lodge was called Victory Lodge, and was followed about the 
 year 1810, by the change of a beneficial club at Salford, Manches- 
 ter, into a lodge of Odd Fellows, called the " Lord Abercrombie 
 Grand Lodge." This new lodge was founded by one Eobert 
 Naylor, afterwards Grand Master of the Manchester Unity. It 
 introduced an improved financial system, and attracted a decidedly 
 better material. By virtue of its name and paternity it took the 
 lead among the lodges in Manchester. For a time there was a 
 want of harmony, arising out of this assumption of superiority by 
 " Lord Abercrombie G. Lodge," but better counsels prevailing, a 
 convention of the lodges agreed upon a union, on .which the 
 Manchester organization was constructed in 1814, as an "Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows." The various orders of Odd 
 
196 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Fellows in the city of London had, as they severally sprung up, 
 arbitrarily distinguished themselves by special titles or appella- 
 tions. Hence great confusion prevailed as these names multiplied. 
 Several years elapsed before even in the Manchester district the 
 Independent Order adhered uniformly to its distinctive " I. O. O. F." 
 Sometimes the term used was I. O. F., sometimes " Independent 
 Odd Fellowship "; again it was designated I. O. O. F. ; and thus 
 it continued until the administration was directed by more skil- 
 ful officers, who were required to subscribe the name officially. 
 
 A like confusion prevailed in this country in early Odd Fel- 
 lowship. We have seen that the original charter of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 1, contained the style of the " Independent Order of 
 Odd Fellowship." After the acceptance of that charter, and the 
 union with the Manchester Unity, we have no means of ascer- 
 taining by what title the Order was originally known in Mary- 
 land ; but after the formation of the G. Lodge of Md. and the 
 U. S., in 1821, the divergent styles frequently, appear. At a 
 meeting of that body , of August 22,1821, a resolution was adopted, 
 hailing Franklin Lodge, No. 2, as a legal lodge of " Independent 
 Odd Fellows." Again, at a special meeting of the G. Committee 
 of December 19, 1821, the body is characterized as the " Grand 
 Committee of the Grand Lodge of the I. O. F. of Md. and of 
 the U. S. of America." But on the 22d of February, 1822, we 
 find on the journal, in the annual reports of the subordinate lodges, 
 " I. O. O. F.," and so in the reports of 1823. The charter from 
 England to Columbia Lodge, No. 1, New York, uses the phrase 
 of Independent Odd Fellows in the description of the name, 
 whereas the grant therein contained was to establish a lodge of 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Again the application from 
 the same lodge to the American authorities for a charter is in 
 behalf of Columbia Lodge, No. 1, I. O. F. ; whilst the new 
 charter granted sets out as follows : " Order of Independent Odd 
 Fellows," and the grant was to five P. Grands by that name. 
 At page 66 of the journal, at a general committee meeting, a 
 formal report was submitted by Wildey, Welch and Entwisle, in 
 which they use the letters " O. I. O. F.," in styling the Order ; 
 w r hile at page 70, the first restitution which appears in print is 
 of the " In-dependent Order of Odd Fellows." 
 
 The name and style having become a constitutional enact- 
 ment, it would be supposed that erratic appellations would be 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 197 
 
 discontinued. Not so, however, for at page 72 we find reference 
 " to any lodge of the I. O. F.," and at page 73 it is called the 
 " Order of Odd Fellowship." Such culpable indifference appears 
 to have possessed our ancestors upon this subject, that several 
 styles or titles continued to be given promiscuously to the Order 
 in England as well as in this country, notwithstanding, as we 
 have remarked, the Manchester Unity, the parent body, sprang 
 into existence distinctively as an " Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows," and so distinctively declared its name. In this, as in 
 everything else connected with the growth of the Order, uniform- 
 ity was only attained after careful hands were called to the work. 
 The early minutes and records partook of the character of the 
 original men, and the present admirable system is the gathered 
 wisdom of half a century. After the formation of the G. Lodge 
 of the United States, imder its constitution as of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows in 1825, greater care appears in 
 adhering to the constitutional title. Nevertheless, departures 
 from the proper name were not infrequent until 1834, when a 
 remarkable occurrence appears to have set the matter at rest. 
 The constitution of the G. Lodge of Ohio having been submitted 
 for approval, it was referred to a committee, when two reports 
 were submitted. The majority and minority reports agreed in 
 substance as to the error found in the constitution submitted to 
 them, but differed in the resolutions appended. The report of 
 the minority, which was adopted, will be found in Journal 179. 
 The reply of Ohio, presented at the next session, speaks for itself: 
 
 To the R. W. Grand Lodge of the United States. 
 
 The committee to whom was referred the proceedings of the 
 G. Lodge of the U. S., in reference to the title-page of the consti- 
 tution and by-laws of the G. Lodge of Ohio, begs leave to report, 
 that notwithstanding the G. Lodge of the U. S. now chooses to 
 direct this G. Lodge to change its title from " Order of Indepen- 
 dent Odd Fellows," to that of the "Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows," yet it has ever given us the strongest reasons for using 
 the terms that we have employed. We will here state a few of 
 them. The charter of the G. Lodge, derived directly from the 
 G. Lodge of the U. S., is headed in the most conspicuous manner 
 possible. O. of 1. O. F. Thus are we directed by the very fount 
 of our being to use the terms we have, and should we have used 
 others we would have justly deserved censure. And besides, 
 there has never been a charter received in this State from the G. 
 Lodge of the U. S. but which was headed " Order of Independent 
 
198 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Odd Fellows," or simply " Independent Odd Fellows "; the one 
 bearing us out in the whole, the other in the essential part of the 
 title we have used. Again, at the annual communication of the 
 G. Lodge of the U. S., held at the city of Baltimore, commencing 
 on October 6, 1834, we find the report of the G. Lodge of Md. 
 headed, " O. of I. O. F."; and in the report of the G. Lodge of 
 New Jersey, we learn that the " Order of Independent Odd 
 Fellows " is in a flourishing condition. In the report of the G. 
 Encampment of Md., we again find " O. of I. O. F." used in 
 addressing the G. Lodge of the U. S. And further, on page 27 
 of the printed proceedings of the G. Lodge of the U. S., we 
 observe a report addressed to that body by its title and 
 " O. I. O. F.," and signed James L. Ridgely, Charles Mowatt and 
 Thomas Wildey. Tour committee does not pretend to assert 
 that O. of I. O. F. is indisputably right, but it wishes to show by 
 what authority the term has been adopted in this State. We do 
 not therefore think that we have fallen into an error, as is 
 supposed in a report adopted by the G. Lodge of the IT. S. If 
 there is an error, it belongs to those who have preceded us. 
 Your committee would conclude by offering the following: 
 
 Resolved, That James L. Bidgely, our Hep. to the G. L. of 
 the U. S., have the thanks of this G. Lodge for the manner in 
 which he protested against the right of the Grand Lodge of the 
 U. S. to interfere with the constitution of the G. Lodge of Ohio. 
 
 Resolved, That this G. Lodge continue to use the title affixed 
 to its constitution, until the G. Lodge of the U. S. shall pass some 
 resolution settling the style which shall be used throughout the 
 United States. 
 
 It seems that these resolutions were adopted by the G. Lodge of 
 Ohio, but were afterwards reconsidered and sent to the G. Lodge 
 of the IT. S. The communication went to a committee, where 
 it was permitted to sleep. At the same session (1835), the com- 
 mittee on returns reported the G. Lodge of Md. in error in styling 
 itself O. L O. F. instead of I. O. of O. F., and to crown the 
 whole, two forms of reports from subordinates are appended at 
 the end of the journal, one containing I. O. O. F. and the other 
 I. O. of O. F. as the title. But at the session of 1836 the com- 
 mittee of correspondence, which was also a committee on consti- 
 tutions, reported upon a number of such instruments, and cor- 
 rected the style of Wildey Encampment of Patriarchs, No. 1, of 
 Ohio, by adding the true initials of the Order, I. O. O. F. So 
 that the style and title of the Order in this country was settled 
 correctly at last, and has never since been disturbed. (Jour- 
 nal 224.) 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 199 
 
 It may here be remarked that our undoubted genesis from the 
 Manchester Unity, and want of affinity with Odd Fellows of any 
 other style, is so manifest that we can scarcely believe that labored 
 efforts have been made to connect American Odd Fellowship with 
 self-instituted lodges in New York antecedent to Columbia Lodge, 
 No. 1, of that State. All such efforts are futile, and have no color 
 of authority or shadow of force ; such lodges having been self- 
 instituted bodies, called Odd jFellows, having no connection with 
 the Manchester Unity or recognition by it ; and, if having any 
 ritual, most probably had that of the London Order, certainly 
 not ours. But we now resume the narrative at the close of the 
 fourth annual session held on the 1st of May, 1838. 
 
 Three committee meetings were held in the recess ; one of 
 September 28th, 1828, at which a charter was granted for a G. 
 Lodge to be located at Washington, District of Columbia, upon 
 the petition of Thomas M. Abbett and John Wells, of Lodge No. 
 1, and Robert Boyd, James Gettys and James Ash ton, of Lodge 
 No. 2. The numbers in the two lodges which had been organ- 
 ized in the District, were not reported at the last annual session ; 
 so that we have no means of determining whether this movement 
 was a necessary one. At the close of the next year, however, 
 when the report of the new G. Lodge was received, there were 
 but 80 members in the jurisdiction. The erection of this G. 
 Lodge would, therefore, seem to have been premature. But the 
 G. Lodge, notwithstanding, w r as opened by G. S. Wildey, on the 
 24th of November, 1828, when the G. Officers were installed. 
 The second special committee w r as held on March 30th, 1829, when 
 a charter was granted for a lodge to be located at Camden, New r 
 Jersey, to be hailed by the title of New Jersey Lodge, No. 1, 
 upon the petition of brothers George Dare, William A. H. Dare, 
 Howell Stokes, William Middleton and Geo. Roseman. The third 
 meeting, held on the 10th day of April, 1829, also granted a 
 charter for a lodge to be located at Paterson, New Jersey, and to 
 be hailed by the title of Benevolent Lodge, No. 2, on the petition 
 of brothers John Armitage, Abraham Douckersly, William Wil- 
 liams, John Douckersly and James McKim. 
 
 The proceedings of the two last committee meetings were 
 subscribed by John Starr, G. Sec. yyro tern. Brother John Starr 
 had been recently admitted into the Order, had not passed 
 the chairs, and had little or no experience as an Odd Fellow ; but 
 
200 AMEBICAX ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 lie had received a liberal education, was of agreeable manners, 
 and although a very young man, had become a favorite com- 
 panion of G. S. Wildey. When G. Sec. Ridgely was initiated 
 in 1829, he found this brother, to use a figure we all understand, 
 " the right supporter " to the G. Sire. From this time forward 
 he acted as G. Sec. pro tern, until the election of Brother Au- 
 gustus Mathiot at the annual session of 1829. In that interval, 
 and for several years after, he was the private secretary and in- 
 tellectual prompter of Wildey; but unhappily he formed bad 
 habits, rapidly degenerated, w r as dropped from his lodge, and soon 
 afterwards died. 
 
 The fifth annual communication was opened on May the 4th, 
 1829, under the amended constitution, being the first Monday in 
 May. The following were present: Officers, Thomas Wildey, 
 G. S. ; John Welch, his Deputy ; John Starr, G. Sec. pro tem. y 
 and Robert Gott, G. G. pro tern.) and the following members: 
 Reps. John Roach, of Maryland ; John H. Campbell, of Penn- 
 sylvania, and Thomas M. Abbett, of the District of Columbia, 
 and Proxies Charles Brice, of Massachusetts, and Richard 
 Marley, of New York. It will be seen that the G. Lodge of the 
 District of Columbia had sent a member to the body, thus ex- 
 tending the area of the federal union. The constitution was 
 read, and the last year's proceedings of the Movable Committee 
 of the Manchester Unity, together with a letter from the English 
 G. Sec. Wardle, and the reply of the G. Sire, all of which were 
 approved. The reports of the several representatives were then 
 made : Maryland was flourishing ; Massachusetts was in a critical 
 condition, the G. M. was without officers, and discord and jealousy 
 marked the proceedings ; New York was in " a promising situa- 
 tion "; Pennsylvania was increasing rapidly, and the District 
 had an increase in numbers. In the aggregate there were now 
 5 G. Lodges, 31 subordinates, and over 1000 contributing 
 members. 
 
 The constitution was again amended, changing the time of 
 the annual meeting from the first Monday in May to the first 
 Monday in September. The resolution creating an annual 
 movable committee was amended, to allow the G. S. to appoint 
 his colleague from the P. G.'s at large. There being no treasury 
 and no treasurer, the G. S. was invested with the functions of 
 that office, and was authorized to retain one hundred dollars to 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 201 
 
 defray the necessary expenses ; keeping a correct account of his 
 receipts, and making a report at the next session. A vote of 
 thanks was then awarded to the G. M. and D. G. JV1. of the 
 Manchester Unity, for their services in the Order. The lodge 
 proceeded to the election of officers, when the following were 
 elected and installed : Thomas Wildey, G. S. for four years, 
 and Augustus Mathiot, G. Sec. for two years. The G. S. 
 appointed his subordinates, who were also installed, viz : Thomas 
 Scotchburn, D. G. S., and Robert Gott, G. G.; the appointments 
 having been approved by the G. Lodge. The amended draft of 
 another constitution, which had been proposed at the last session, 
 and submitted to the State G. Lodges, was taken up, considered 
 seriatim and adopted. The vote is not known, as no ayes or 
 noes appear upon the journal. These numerous constitutions 
 bear internal evidence of the painstaking effort of the body to 
 perfect a system of fundamental law which is deserving of praise ; 
 we shall not copy this one, which may be found on Journal 99,. 
 100 and 101. 
 
 The principal alterations in the constitution of 1825, as 
 amended, were as follows : The meeting of the annual session 
 was changed from the first Monday in May to the first Monday 
 in September ; the G. S. was to be elected one year before enter- 
 ing on his office for the term of two years, and to be re-eligible ; 
 the G. Sec. and G. G. were 10 be elected each for two years,, 
 but were not entitled to the honors of office unless they served 
 four years ; and subordinates under the immediate jurisdiction 
 of the G. Lodge of the U. S. should pay ten per cent, of their 
 income to that body. The failing condition of the Order in 
 Massachusetts was made known, and the G. S. was instructed, 
 on the occasion of the next visit of the movable committee, to use 
 every effort to revive the Order in that State. The lectures of 
 the subordinate degrees " as revised," says the journal, were taken 
 up and further modified ; no trace of such revision has been 
 preserved. The chief feature of the session was the vote of 
 thanks presented to G. S. Wildey, " for his indefatigable exer- 
 tions in promoting the interest of the Order, and for his general 
 conduct during the past year." The G. S. arose and replied in 
 an elaborate address, which was spread upon the Journal, pages 
 103-4-5-6, as the address made " on his installation for the 
 second term." This production was a brief history of the Order 
 
202 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 in this country, put in strong language, with the inseparable 
 connection of the speaker with all its incidents, and gave evidence 
 of deep thought and strong powers in the writer. So far-reaching 
 a view as the following is full of wisdom : 
 
 " The constitution of our federal government, framed by the 
 wisdom of the sages of the Revolution, wherein twenty-four 
 wheels revolve in one wheel, twenty-four empires in one empire, 
 and twenty-four sovereignties in one sovereignty, acting together 
 in one harmonious concert, the beauty of its symmetry and 
 practical operation has commanded the gratitude of our country- 
 men and the applause of mankind. Upon this system has been 
 reared the government of Odd Fellowship, and by it the Order 
 has been advanced, its interest promoted, and its prosperity 
 secured." 
 
 It is very evident that Encampments were at this time held 
 only as Degree Lodges for conferring the sublime degrees. The 
 idea of making them a separate branch, or in any manner 
 separating them from the G. Lodges, does not appear to have 
 dawned upon the legislators. The report says : " The sublime 
 degrees without the aid of Encampments can only be dispensed 
 by a State G. Lodge, and from its locality the favored few of its 
 vicinity almost exclusively enjoy the privilege it confers. A 
 country like ours, extended as it is, every State having numerous 
 cities and towns, with a large population within its confines, ex- 
 tending in territory to hundreds of miles, should of itself impress 
 the necessity of providing the means wherewith all can partici- 
 pate in the advantages that the Order confers, and which can 
 only be accomplished by annexing Encampments to the sub- 
 ordinate lodges." This address will amply repay perusal, and 
 indicates a new intellectual movement, the precursor of a revolu- 
 tion in the higher walks of Odd Fellowship. After providing 
 for a draft of an improved form of reports for State G. Lodges, 
 and ordering a list of the subordinates to be appended to the 
 minutes, the session was closed. 
 
 Two special committee meetings were held during the ensuing 
 year; the first without date of day or month, 1830, conferred a 
 charter on a lodge to be located in the city of Providence, '.Rhode 
 Island, and to be hailed as " Friendly Union Lodge, No. 1." The 
 petition was by brothers Henry Hobson, Waller McFarlane, 
 John Doran, Francis Chadburn, James Bury and John Bowcock. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 203 
 
 The second special committee was held May 27th, 1830, upon 
 the application of brothers George McFarlane, James McNeale, 
 Thomas Hill, Simon Robinson, John Scott, Joseph Smith, James 
 Platt, Nelson Ball and L. Manchester, praying for a charter for 
 a lodge to be located at Wilmington, Delaware, by the name of 
 Delaware Lodge, No. 1 ; which was granted. 
 
 The sixth annual communication was opened on the 6th day 
 of September, 1830, under auspicious circumstances ; G. S. Wildey 
 taking the chair for the first time in the term for which lie had 
 been re-elected. D. G. S. Welch drops out of the record at this 
 session, and but one of the five that met at the " Seven Stars " 
 remains. Why this faithful and zealous man of 1819 retired and 
 left his early friend and associate, nowhere appears ; the minutes 
 and tradition being both silent on the subject. The constitution 
 being read, the officers installed at the previous session took 
 their seats. The Reps, present were Samuel Lucas, of Mary- 
 land ; John H. Campbell, of Pennsylvania ; and James Gettys, 
 of the District of Columbia ; Proxies Charles Brice, of Massachu- 
 setts, and Richard Marley, of New York. 
 
 Thomas Scotchburn, who filled the seat of D. G. S. Welch, 
 was a new man, who had but recently arrived in the country, and 
 the change was unwise, if it could have been avoided. The sound 
 judgment of his predecessor, and his personal standing in the 
 community, gave him a local influence possessed by no one else, and 
 we feel assured that the reasons must have been imperative which 
 caused him to decline an appointment for a second term. D. G. 
 S. Scotchburn, it will be found in the sequel, did not make his 
 mark in the Order, although we find his name up to 1834; after 
 that time he ceased to have any position or influence. But the 
 loss of Welch was largely compensated by the acquisition of a 
 G. Sec. equal to the demands of the position. Entwisle and 
 Welch had both held the office and had filled it acceptably, but 
 their successors were not fortunately chosen. Augustus Mathiot 
 had both zeal and intelligence, and in this respect the new admin- 
 istration was a decided improvement. The gain also was great 
 in the choice of a G. G.; Robert Gott was a brother of great per- 
 sonal popularity among the lodges, and had done good service 
 for the reform in Maryland. The same may be said of Rep. Lu- 
 cas of that State. The Representatives of Pennsylvania and the 
 District of Columbia were equally exerting all their energies io 
 
204: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 that direction. There was every reason that the session should 
 open under favorable auspices. This reform was the separation 
 of the sale of liquor from lodge-rooms, which was consummated 
 at the building and occupancy of the hall on Gay Street. G. S. 
 Wildey, although at first opposed to building the hall, bowed to 
 the popular sentiment, and subsequently gave the project his cor- 
 dial and powerful support. 
 
 The business of the session was at once entered upon. Rep. 
 Lucas gave a report from Maryland for the year, from which 
 it appeared that there were five subordinate lodges at prosperous 
 work, numbering 372 contributing members, and one Encamp- 
 ment, with 30 members. 337 candidates had been admitted, and 
 the revenue of the lodges had reached $2427. This flattering 
 condition, in comparison with the previous state of this jurisdic- 
 tion, clearly unfolded the material progress which had been inau- 
 gurated ; and is explained by the further statement that the 
 G. Lodge w^as erecting a spacious hall, which would be finished 
 by the close of the year. The increase was wonderful, adding to 
 the Order more members than it had previously numbered, whilst 
 the receipts surpassed those of any former year. 
 
 This may be regarded as the first popular movement toward 
 Odd Fellowship, owing to its greater publicity, which was brought 
 about by the accession of a new element, and the ambitious ven- 
 ture of building a hall to be dedicated to its w r ork and principles, 
 It was the first violent motion upon the surface, which broke in 
 wave after wave upon our peaceful shores, bearing upon their 
 crests a multitude, to rest in our hospitable tents and take refuge 
 in our lodges as a newly discovered Arcadia ; the forerunner of 
 that tidal wave which has borne a nation, in numbers, to sit down 
 with us in fraternal unity. But this was yet in the future, and 
 many struggles had to be made, many slanders and attacks of 
 ignorance and prejudice to be encountered, before the principles 
 of toleration were to triumph over the hatred of the bigot and the 
 narrowness of his creed. 
 
 The Proxy of Massachusetts, Bro. Brice, was without official 
 information from that jurisdiction, in which the Order was re- 
 ported at the last session to be on the wane. The apathy which 
 had caused this condition was on the increase, and the prospect 
 was gloomy. On the other hand, Rep. Campbell, of Pennsylva- 
 nia, gave a thrillingly interesting narrative of the progress of the 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 205 
 
 Order in his jurisdiction, indicating that it was taking the lead, 
 which it has never lost, as the Empire jurisdiction in the Order. 
 He astonished the G. Lodge with the report of 33 subordinate lodges 
 at work, containing 2247 members, full of ardor and ambition. 
 The revenue had reached nearly $13,000, and this announcement 
 must have deeply moved those who had never before computed 
 a revenue but by tens and hundreds. The increase over the pre- 
 vious year was nearly 500 in membership, and over $7000 in rev- 
 enue. He also reported a G. Encampment under his G. Lodge, 
 with 10 members, and one Encampment subordinate to the G. 
 Encampment, containing 80 members, witli receipts amounting 
 to $395.28 ; also 4 Degree Lodges. After these facts and figures, 
 the dullest could see \vhat has since been verified, that Pennsyl- 
 vania would overshadow and surpass every other jurisdiction. 
 The District of Columbia reported an increase of 2 subordinates 
 and 22 members, with an aggregate membership of 83, and 
 of revenue about $400. These figures are small, but one 
 reason for that lay in the small territory to which they were 
 restricted. The reports from New Jersey and Rhode Island were 
 meagre, and of no importance ; and there was none from New 
 York, a very unfavorable sign. 
 
 The reader will observe that Degree Lodges make their 
 iirst appearance at this session, in the report of the G. Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania ; their history and uses are elsewhere detailed in 
 the chapter on the Degrees and Encampments. 
 
 An addition was made to travelling certificates, in requiring 
 the signature of the holder to be indorsed in the proper hand of 
 the brother, for the purpose of identification. It was recom- 
 mended to G. Lodges to keep up a direct correspondence with 
 their proxies, that they might be properly instructed in the wishes 
 of their constituents. These were both salutary provisions ; but 
 the most important measure adopted was the declaration or expo- 
 sition of existing constitutional law touching the pow r ers of the 
 G. S., in the following words : " Resolved, that the powers of the 
 G. S. of the G. Lodge of the United States are contained in the 
 constitution of said G. Lodge." Also, " Resolved, that all the pro- 
 ceedings of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, relative to the late 
 Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, and its several members, be affirmed, 
 and the same is hereby confirmed." These two resolutions stand- 
 ing alone as they do upon the journal, appear, the one as a mere 
 
206 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 abstract declaration, and the other, unaccompanied with explana- 
 tion, conveys no intelligible information. The compilers of the 
 early journal have appended a foot-note, see Journal 108, which 
 gives a clue to their meaning, but the information is vague and 
 unsatisfactory. The whole matter in detail will be found in the 
 chapter on the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania ; a brief outline is all that 
 is here necessary. 
 
 The Order w r as planted in Pennsylvania by the institution of 
 Pennsylvania Lodge, JSTo. 1, which afterwards, upon the forma- 
 tion of a G. Lodge in that State, became its first subordinate. . But 
 the lodge was very uneasy under the new arrangement, and from 
 time to time gave indications, by its conduct, of a disposition to- 
 assume something of its former independence. The crisis soon 
 came. A brother by the name of Field was refused benefits by 
 the lodge, and appealed to the G. Lodge. It seems that Field 
 was, on this occasion, expelled ; the G. Lodge required its 
 subordinate to reinstate him in membership ; but instead of com- 
 pliance, the lodge returned to the G. Lodge its order of reversal. 
 Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, was then summoned to answer the 
 charge of insubordination, and, refusing to recede, was deprived 
 of its charter and formally dissolved. But the subordinate lodge 
 refused to give up its books and papers, and set up as an independent 
 G. Lodge, under its original charter of institution, granted in 1823. 
 There were scandal, confusion and litigation, and the harmony of the 
 whole jurisdiction was threatened. In the midst of this conten- 
 tion, G. S. Wildey visited Pennsylvania Lodge, was received with 
 great honor, and a medal was presented to him. His sympathies 
 were appealed to, and his judgment warped by the statements 
 made ; and on his return to Baltimore, he wrote a letter to the lodge, 
 setting forth in strong language the legality of its course, and the 
 unlawfulness of the action of its G. Lodge. He also sent a simi- 
 lar communication to the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, which was 
 received by that body with astonishment ; they respectfully re- 
 turned it to the writer as beyond his province, and as an inter- 
 meddling which they would not permit. A committee being 
 sent to Baltimore, presented the matter to the G. Lodge of the 
 U. S., which unanimously supported the G. Lodge of Pennsylva- 
 nia in the exercise of its just rights. The G. Sire, on being bet- 
 ter informed, joined the representatives in signing such documents 
 as put the question at rest forever. It was his only great indis- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 207 
 
 cretion, and he nobly hastened to atone for his fault. The 
 two resolutions we have cited are the official action on this sub- 
 ject, denning the powers of the G. S., and approving the heroic 
 conduct of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania in this masterly asser- 
 tion of its sovereign authority. We can, in the light of the previ- 
 ous explanation, fully comprehend the following : 
 
 Whereas, a constitution and by-laws have recently appeared,, 
 purporting to be " The constitution and by-laws of the G. Lodge 
 of Pennsylvania, of the I. O. O. F., established by the authority 
 of the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S., revised and adopted at 
 their new hall, North Fifth Street, Philadelphia, February 23d, 
 1830," which constitution and by-laws are calculated to mislead, 
 inasmuch as the said G. Lodge of Md. and the U. S. has dissolved 
 and became extinct on the 22d day of February, 1825, and no 
 charter has ever been granted to the self-styled G. Lodge ; there- 
 fore, 
 
 Resolved, That the said lodge, claiming to be established by 
 authority above stated, is spurious and unauthorized by any com- 
 petent jurisdiction. 
 
 This is an important episode in the history of the G. Lodge of 
 the U. S.; important, as calculated to strain to its utmost tension 
 the federal system, and evincing its ability to maintain itself 
 under the most trying ordeal. It was the deathblow to the effort 
 to recede to the petty stand-point of the local system, from which 
 it had emerged, and to return to the condition of independent 
 aid societies and convivial clubs, where it had originated. Strange 
 that these facts were not spread upon the journal of that session! 
 The correspondence does not appear in the letter-book of the G. 
 Sire, and but for the care of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, would 
 have been entirely lost. In fact, the records of the supreme body 
 at that day were so meagre and unsatisfactory, that without the 
 assistance of the State journals, it would be impossible to get at 
 the facts with accuracy. 
 
 We pass to the experiment which was entered upon at the 
 session of 1828, and amended in 1829, viz: the Movable Commit- 
 tee, which had been borrowed from the Manchester Unity, under 
 the form of government which it had lately adopted. A report 
 was introduced by the G. S. as " the very able and elaborate re- 
 port of the Movable Committee," detailing its operations minutely 
 in visiting the G. and subordinate lodges in Massachusetts, New 
 
208 AMEEICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which was read and ordered 
 to be filed in the archives, where it was found by the search of 
 the compilers of the journal, and was printed as a foot-note to 
 Journal, 109. 
 
 This was the first and only report of the committee. Its busi- 
 ness w r as to look after the interests of the Order in the general 
 jurisdiction, to give aid and comfort, and to keep the G. Lodge 
 properly advised of every matter affecting the common welfare. 
 In New York and Massachusetts there was abundant field for the 
 labors of such a committee ; for although the Order in the former 
 State was represented as prosperous, the facts, so far as they can 
 be gathered, were otherwise. That G. Lodge barely had an exist- 
 ence ; it had made its headquarters first at New York, but in 
 1828 removed them to Albany. Such was the irregularity and 
 confusion, that in 1829 no less than three brothers claimed to 
 have been elected to the office of G. M. Its subordinates were 
 so much neglected that they lost heart, and all the lodges located 
 in Albany, being numbers three, five and seven, resigned their 
 charters, and united in one lodge, under the name of Union Lodge, 
 No. 8. At the same session, 1829, Lodge No. 2, in Duchess 
 County, also surrendered its charter. This is a decided contra- 
 diction of the rose-colored statements made by the Movable Com- 
 mittee. From this time matters grew worse, and the work of 
 destruction went on until nothing was left of the original Wildey 
 organization. The same was true in the case of Massachusetts, 
 where the Order had gone down until it had no organized exist- 
 ence. The G. Lodge, in aid of the well-meant efforts of the Mov- 
 able Committee, appointed a committee to act jointly in the case 
 of those two States, with plenary power to do all things necessary 
 for their resuscitation. 
 
 The annual reports, to the end of the year 1830. were, after 
 all, encouraging; the whole number of subordinates being 58, and 
 the membership numbering more than 3000. 
 
 Two special sessions were held in 1830 ; the one of the 26th 
 of September, to act upon the application of Nathaniel Estling, 
 C. Harkin, J. Brice, J. W. Holt, T. L. Bedford and J. Gill, for a char- 
 ter for Ohio Lodge, No. 1, to be located at Cincinnati. A propo- 
 sition, in this connection, was made to amend the constitution in 
 Article X., so as to allow any qualified person to open a lodge. 
 The second special meeting was called on the same subject ; the 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 209 
 
 -charter was granted, and Dep. G. Master Paul delegated to open 
 the lodge. This brings the narrative to the close of 1830. Early 
 in 1831, on the 20th of February, a special session was again con- 
 vened, to act upon an application for a lodge at New Orleans, 
 which was granted, upon the petition of P. D. G. M. Joel C. 
 Davis, P. G. Francis C. Davis, and brothers Wm. J. Orr, Joseph 
 Price, William "Willis, John F. Barnes, William Brown, Joseph 
 F. Irish, John Malone and Daniel Buckley; the lodge to be 
 called Louisiana Lodge, No. 1. Two days afterwards a similar 
 meeting was held, to act upon the application of P. G.'s McAnnal, 
 Scott, McNeal, Robinson and McFarlane for a charter for a 
 Grand Lodge of Delaware, to be located at Wilmington ; the 
 charter was accordingly granted. 
 
 The reader, on the perusal of the proceedings of this year, 
 will be struck with the system which the legislation of the body 
 began to assume ; the machinery was found to be in good work- 
 ing order, and the relative positions of all the parties to constitu- 
 tional law was being recognized and protected. It was the 
 beginning of that spirit of subordination and of regard for vested 
 rights which lias since been the bond of our organic union. This 
 respect for obligations will be found henceforth to grow at every 
 step of the history. As the necessary consequence, the one-man 
 power began to decline, and soon became obsolete. The Order 
 in its infancy was nursed into vigor and preserved by the devo- 
 tion of a few men ; notably of one great man, who had saved it 
 from destruction and given it to mankind. These men were 
 foremost to retire and leave the further solution of the problem 
 to other and, under the different circumstances, better hands and 
 larger intellects. At this session the one-man power fell before 
 the constitution, and no one bowed lower before that blow than 
 Wildey, the former dictator. That generous man had but one 
 idea, the diffusion of the Order and its principles ; but one object 
 in life, the triumph and fame of the nursling born to him on the 
 26th of April, 1819. When he saw that the parental power to 
 help was departing, and that his darling institution was about to 
 rise above his authority, some pangs of nature, with which all 
 must sympathize, made their appearance, but the trial left him a 
 better and nobler man. The session of 1830 was the beginning 
 of the era of constitutional government, but it was also the begin- 
 ning of that self-denial and splendid devotion to principle on the 
 14 
 
210 AMEKlCAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 part of the founder which seals his reputation as a man of integ- 
 rity. Before that time he was an organizer, a chief, a wonder- 
 worker, but henceforth we know him by prouder titles ; as the first 
 subject under the new government, the most self-sacrificing of 
 all that bore the name of Odd Fellow. 
 
 The next annual session was held at Odd Fellows' Hall, 
 September 5, 1831. This w r as the first time the G. Lodge of the 
 U. S. had the privilege of assembling in a building erected 
 specially for the Order, and formally dedicated to its exclusive 
 use. The fact that it was being erected by the G. Lodge of Md. 
 was announced by Rep. Lucas at the former session, and its 
 completion and consecration with imposing ceremonies on the 
 26th of April, 1831, had been publicly proclaimed by the Balti- 
 more press. As this event dated an epoch of revival in the Order, 
 an actual revolution in sentiment and action toward it by the 
 public, a new r birth of energy, and what was so much prized by 
 the ancient members, respectability, it deserves special mention 
 at our hands. 
 
 Its appearance on the scene was a landmark superior to any 
 established before that time in the annals of Odd Fellowship. 
 The correspondence of the fathers is full of statements about the 
 growing "respectability" of the membership, whether the refer- 
 ence is to England or to this country. The great difficulty of 
 the elders was to protect the lodges from disreputable per- 
 sons ; the class from whose ranks their enlistments were made, 
 trenched so closely upon the very poor, that a constant anxiety 
 prevailed lest unworthy candidates should intrude upon the 
 worthy. The difficulty was increased by the fact that the road 
 to the lodge had been generally through the public-house, in 
 which so many worthless people were sure to congregate, that it 
 was not easy to separate " the tares from the wheat." The host 
 had a mortgage on the charter and a pre-emption claim upon 
 every foot upon which the rites were performed ; his sign and 
 bar had drawn a line between them and thousands of sober and 
 substantial men, and tainted their good name with the odor of 
 pipes and whiskey. Those who became members obtained no 
 accession of character as citizens, but to the contrary were often 
 on that account marked down p.s inferior men. The G. Lodge 
 itself, and the whole Order in Maryland, had been from the very 
 first lodgers in a public-house and pensioners upon the caprices 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 211 
 
 of a convivial landlord. The whole of these outward circum- 
 stances of suspicion and moral inferiority had passed away. The 
 reality of the change was shown by the result, in a manner and 
 to a degree which no one could have anticipated. At the very 
 idea of leaving the public-house, the community reached out to 
 meet them and to welcome them as they had never before been 
 welcomed. 
 
 The " Maryland Reform " was now an event of history, and 
 the bar had been forever divorced, not only from the lodge-room, 
 but the Order ; the movement slowly but surely obliterated that 
 ancient landmark, and for the first time our practices tallied with 
 our principles, and the new, and we hope everlasting, era of 
 moral influence and power took its beginning. 
 
 Attended by such favorable auspices, the G. Lodge assembled ; 
 present, the G. Officers Thomas Wildey, Thomas Scotchburn, 
 Augustus Mathiot and William Hall ; Reps. James L. Ridgely, 
 of Maryland ; William J. A. Birkey, of Pennsylvania, and James 
 Gettys, of the District of Columbia ; Proxies, Charles Brice, of 
 Massachusetts ; Richard Marley, of New York, and John Boyd,, 
 of Delaware. 
 
 The reader will here see, for the first time, a name which has- 
 not only been wholly identified with Odd Fellowship, but which 
 has always been inseparably associated with the supreme body,, 
 under every vicissitude, down to this day. We refer to the hon- 
 ored and aged brother who for so many years has been the G. 
 Cor. and Rec. Sec. of the G. Lodge of the U. S. Rep. Ridgely 
 was gathered into the fold in July, 1829, rapidly passed the chairs,, 
 and having entered the G. Lodge of Md., became its G. Sec. on 
 the 16th of January, 1831. He was immediately elected a rep- 
 resentative, and took his seat at this session. He had formed the 
 acquaintance of Wildey, and though dissimilar in many traits, each 
 had found in the other a congenial soul. They were mutually 
 attracted, and before long began that devotion to each other and 
 to the work, which attended the founder to his grave, and yet 
 burns in the heart of the survivor. This intimacy led to results 
 which neither of them could have contemplated. The one was- 
 fresh from a college curriculum, and the other was the keeper of 
 a public-house ; the one was a professional man, the other a lodge- 
 maker and reformer in the cause of benevolence ; the one the 
 founder of an Order, the other a beginner in life. One could 
 
212 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 scarcely dream that two such men would meet and clasp hands ; 
 that the younger man would become the beloved disciple ; that 
 by this union great events would follow, and that 'these two would 
 be one in life, and by nearly fifty years of mutual labor would 
 forever link their names in a cause of world-wide fame. 
 
 The business began with the report of the movable committee 
 upon certain differences between the body and its G. subordinates 
 in Massachusetts and New York ; these arose out of the non-pay- 
 ment to the G. Lodge of the assessments made upon those juris- 
 dictions for its support. Rep. Brice, of Massachusetts, reported 
 in that State 4 subordinate lodges and an Encampment, and Rep. 
 Marley, of New York, presented the report of his G. Lodge, 
 claiming 20 P. Grands and 4 subordinate lodges. This was illu- 
 sive in both instances, and could not deceive any one conversant 
 with the Order in those sections ; equally so was the report of the 
 movable committee, made the year before, in which both juris- 
 dictions were represented as prosperous, when it was far other- 
 wise. They were certainly sadly mistaken, and were, no doubt, 
 led into the delusion by a sanguine disposition, which took no 
 account of the true situation, for the real condition of things was 
 to the contrary. The G. Lodge of New York, if in being, 
 barely survived, and the G. Lodge of Massachusetts had ceased 
 to exist. 
 
 Rep. Eirkey, of Pennsylvania, made a splendid report of pro- 
 gress, from which it appeared that his G. Lodge contained 224 
 P. Grands ; the G. Encampment, of 16 members, had two subordi- 
 nate encampments, with 32 contributing members ; the subordi- 
 nate lodges were 38, and there had been an addition of 7 lodges, 
 one subordinate encampment and one degree lodge. 1282 per- 
 sons had been initiated ; there were 21 honorary members and 
 2753 who contributed. Four lodges had failed to report, and yet 
 the amount of receipts had grown to the round sum of $15,822.42. 
 No report came from Delaware ; in consequence of the death of 
 one member and the absence of another, there was no quorum for 
 a G. Lodge. By reason of this defunct condition of the G. Lodge, 
 Delaware Lodge, No. 1, demanded the vacation of the G. Lodge 
 charter, and the return, to the subordinate, of the charter under 
 which it was originally instituted. In reply, the following was 
 adopted: "Resolved, 1st. That the G. Lodge of Delaware be 
 directed to deliver forthwith to the G. Lodge of the IT. S. its 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 213 
 
 G. Charter, the same being forfeited by a disability to work, to 
 wit : the want of five P. Grands. 2d. That the G. Lodge of the 
 State of Delaware be directed to return to Delaware Lodge, ~No. 
 1, the charter granted by this G. Lodge, it being the only charter 
 by which said Delaware Lodge, No. 1, can legally work ; the said 
 Lodge, No. 1, being amenable only to this Grand Lodge. 3d. 
 That the G. Sire return the charter to the G. Lodge of Delaware 
 so soon as there shall be an application received from five legal 
 P. Grands of said State of Delaware." 
 
 Nothing was received from Friendly Union Lodge, Providence, 
 Ehode Island. No report was made from Maryland, but in the 
 tabular statement is shown a return of 12 lodges, 789 initia- 
 tions, one suspension ; contributing members, 1500, and revenue, 
 $9438.77 ; thus marking an increase in that State, over the last 
 report, of 452 initiates, 7 lodges, 791 members, and $7011 of rev- 
 enue. The total increase of the Order was, of initiates, 2166 ; of 
 membership, 1415 ; of subordinate lodges, 11 ; and of revenue, 
 $10,737 ; the two feeble jurisdictions not reporting. The Mary- 
 land gain was thus far in excess of all the other bodies combined ; 
 of the 11 new lodges she had 7 ; of the 2166 initiates she had 789 ; 
 of the 1415 increase in membership she had 791, and of the 
 $10,737.04 of increase in revenue, she had $7011.77. We make 
 this comparison to prove that we have not overstated the impulse 
 imparted by the building of the Odd Fellows' Hall, and the grand 
 celebration of the 26th April, 1831. 
 
 The G. Sire presented a gratifying report of the increase of the 
 Order in England, in numbers and "respectability." It was 
 then determined to forward, in reply, a copy of the resolutions 
 passed May 1st, 1828, respecting the working signs of the Order. 
 This referred to the use of the old and new signs. It was also 
 " resolved that a G. Treasurer should be appointed." This seems 
 to have been so construed that an election was held, and P. G. 
 "William Hall, of Maryland, was elected. This was an empty 
 compliment in the absence of a treasury, and the election was 
 treated as a nullity. The following were then adopted : " Ke- 
 solved, 1st. That all communications to this G. Lodge be ad- 
 dressed through the medium of the G. Sec., and not the G. S., as 
 heretofore. 2d. That each State G. Lodge furnish, annually, the 
 name of the street and number of the house wherein its respective 
 subordinate lodges hold their meetings. 3d. That it shall be the 
 
214 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 duty of the G. Sec. to furnish every State G. Lodge, annually, 
 with the name of the street and the number of the house wherein 
 every lodge is held, acting immediately or mediately under the 
 jurisdiction of the G. Lodge of the U. S." The first of these 
 resolves was an open and direct attack upon the irresponsible and 
 unlimited exerciso of power by the executive officer; which at 
 first was necessary, but was now forbidden by law. But the new 
 authority was yet young, and had not been able to turn the atten- 
 tion of the membership sufficiently to the fact that the sole power 
 to be obeyed was the constitution. This declaration then was 
 necessary as an assertion of sovereignty, and as a publication of 
 notice that all the business was now to be conducted through the 
 channels made by the law. 
 
 The other resolutions were intended to furnish a directory by 
 which the subordinates could be visited ; that travelling brothers 
 might be able to find and take cheer wherever their business or 
 pleasure might lead them. This in some places was of the very 
 liighest importance, especially where the Order was weak and 
 "but little known. It was also "Resolved, That the present G. 
 Sire's official term be prolonged until the ensuing annual meeting 
 of the G. Lodge." This was an exercise of power of doubtful 
 constitutional authority, but there was no objection, and it was 
 agreed to and carried into effect nem. con. At this stage Rep. 
 Ridgely moved two resolutions introducing fundamental consti- 
 tutional provisions. First, that the Royal Purple degree should 
 "be a necessary qualification for representatives in the G. Lodge 
 of the U. S.; secondly, a declaration that the G. Lodge of the 
 TJ. S. was the only depository for granting charters to open 
 lodges and encampments in foreign States, and in the districts or 
 territories in America. They were adopted, and thus another 
 A r ital change was made by the vote of a mere majority, a juris- 
 dictional question was settled and a new qualification required of 
 representatives. 
 
 A committee was appointed to remodel the funeral ceremony. 
 This has always been a fruitful source of vexation ; the difficulty 
 was to make the form sufficiently liberal and free from sectar- 
 ianism. The present is a compromise between the last and its 
 inn nodi ate predecessor, with the provision that either may be 
 used or none. The blind prejudices of many of the clergy have 
 led them to deny our right to any such ritual. Their objection 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 215 
 
 takes the form of a protest against the form of prayer adopted, 
 and many have gone so far as to claim a burial service as a re- 
 ligious ceremony in which the laity, excepting in cases of necessity, 
 cannot decently officiate. There are instances of rudeness, and 
 even of insult, to the brotherhood on these solemn occasions, by 
 certain bigots who have been associated in the services. That 
 we have never struck back and put such intolerance to shame, is 
 the best comment upon our professions of toleration. But we 
 have other and most honorable reasons for our sufferance, when 
 w r e behold that great array of Gospel ministers \vho gladly join 
 us and unite their prayers with ours at the grave. These so fully 
 vindicate the cause of 'religion from ignorance and bigotry, that 
 we find it easy to excuse their narrow and uncharitable brethren. 
 When it is considered that we are not a religious body, and 
 have no form of religious service ; that prayer for the blessings of 
 heaven is as proper for the " poor publican " as for the " haughty 
 pharisee"; and that our prayers are made as individual persons 
 asking a boon from the Common Father ; we are amazed to find 
 that we are charged with trenching on ground dedicated to the 
 Church. Such persons would reject that divine petition, "the 
 Lord's Prayer," and refuse to use the form provided by inspira- 
 tion itself. When the Church shall realize the fact that burial 
 services are not sectarian ; that tears and sorrow for the loved 
 are a divine ceremony written in the hearts of mankind : that 
 such an occasion is not a sacrament, but a tribute ; not a religious 
 offering, but a wail of nature for the departed; not so much an' 
 act of worship as a mournful elegy of regret, then our true 
 position on this point will be fully comprehended. We do not 
 in our fraternal offices refuse the presence of the minister of 
 religion ; we respect his ritual, and join with devotion in what- 
 ever he may do ; at any grave, much more at that of a brother of 
 the Order, Odd Fellowship requires us to unite with all good 
 men, and especially with such as have been set apart for such 
 services, in whatever may improve the living and do honor to 
 the dead. What difference does it make as to which is the leader 
 in the rite, the man in orders or the man of business, if decorum 
 be observed ? But we are as usual liberal on this point : our 
 ceremonies are never intended as a substitute for the rites of 
 others, and in no case do we insist upon them ; it is our duty 
 " to l)ury fhe dead" and when we have tendered our offices, our 
 duty is discharged. 
 
216 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 But to return to the record. The English magazine was 
 encouraged by a subscription for a sufficient number of copies to 
 distribute among the G. Lodges. There never was a class of 
 men more ardently desirous of diffusing information than the 
 Odd Fellows of the United States. The Order has a literary 
 history of which it may well be proud. The early laborers were 
 found constantly aiming to disseminate intelligence on every 
 point of general interest, and their successors have inherited this 
 quality. It would require a volume to narrate the means devised 
 for the diffusion of our principles by means of the press. From, 
 the " Covenant," originally published at Baltimore in 1836, down 
 to the present periodicals, which supply til the jurisdictions, the 
 publications of the Order would fill a respectable catalogue. 
 Among the other public services rendered by Odd Fellowship, the 
 cultivation of letters will be found to fill an honorable place ; one 
 without a rival in this or any other country in any similar insti- 
 tution. 
 
 The next business in order was an application from P. Grands 
 Nathaniel Estling, J. G. Joseph, Richard G. Cheavens, Jacob AV. 
 Holt, and Jas. W. Brice, praying for a charter to open a G. Lodge 
 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was granted on the condition that the 
 G. Sec. was satisfied of their legal competency. This charter 
 was issued and that body was instituted on January 28th, 1832. 
 The following G. Officers were installed : David T. Stewart, G. M.; 
 Samuel Peel, D. G. M.; Hiram Marks, G. W.; Samuel Cobb, 
 G. Sec., and William W. West, G. Treas. A petition was also 
 received from brothers John W. Peterson, J. S. Hedges, Zena& 
 B. Glazier, James S. White, Jacob M. Garretson, William Ford, 
 and Jesse Starple, praying for a charter for a lodge to be located 
 at Wilmington, Delaware, and to be hailed by the title of Jefferson 
 Lodge, No. 2, which was granted. Zenas B. Glazier here men- 
 tioned was afterwards a G. Sire. A charter was also granted to 
 Patriarchs James L. Kidgely and others to open a G. Encamp- 
 ment in Baltimore, Maryland. As will elsewhere appear, the G. 
 Lodge of Md. in a solemn resolution resigned its authority over 
 the subordinate encampments in the State to the new G. body. 
 This G. Encampment, the first in the world, was duly instituted 
 in the city of Baltimore on the 31st of December following,. 
 when the subjoined officers were installed : Thomas Wildey, G. 
 Patriarch ; Samuel Lucas, G. High Priest ; John II. O'Donovan, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 217 
 
 G. Warden; McClintock Young, G. Scribe; John Boyd, G. 
 Treasurer; John N. Murphy, G. Janitor, and "William Hall, 
 Assistant G. Janitor. 
 
 This action gave form and legality to the patriarchal degree 
 lodges, and was the beginning of that division of the Order into 
 two branches which sundered its unity in the States. Hereto- 
 fore, as has been elsewhere explained, the encampments were 
 adjuncts of State G. Lodges for conferring the so-called " sublime 
 degrees/' This was their origin in Maryland, and the same idea- 
 prevailed also in the more complex system formed in Penn- 
 sylvania. But after a short period the possessors of these degrees 
 began to aspire to a separate independence, and in every quarter 
 met with sympathy and support. The G. Lodge of the U. S. 
 was first passive, then active, in their encouragement, and here 
 we find at last the creation of a co-equal department with that 
 represented by fifth degree members and P. G.'s, without even 
 the forms of a discussion or a division on the vote. This was not 
 singular, as the representatives were the parties most interested, 
 and it was not yet the period when the body began to take 
 account of its own organization and to criticise its different parts. 
 The next step was therefore easy. It was already necessary for 
 a G. representative to have received the Royal Purple Degree, 
 and therefore when it was proposed to admit the G. Encamp- 
 ments to a separate representation, it was immediately allowed. 
 In those days when representatives were few, this seemed to be 
 sound policy ; now when they are many, some inconvenience ha& 
 arisen from their rapid increase, which alters the question. 
 
 At the close of the session, Rep. Birkey, of Pennsylvania, on 
 behalf of the G. Lodge of that State, presented to P. G. John 
 Boyd, its late Proxy, a beautiful medal. The journal says that 
 it was prefaced by an able and eloquent address by Rep. Birkey, 
 which w^as highly complimentary to the subject of this agreeable 
 episode. The G. Lodge then adjourned. 
 
 An adjourned session took place March 5th, 1832, when a 
 charter was granted to Wildey Encampment, No. 1, at New 
 Orleans, upon the application of brothers Joel C. Davis, Francis 
 C. Davis, T. Lossing, William Colliston, Thomas Yernon, Mel- 
 ville Grossman, A. W. Scates and D. Siddle. A charter was 
 also granted to P. G.'s Joel C. Davis, Francis C. Davis, Melville 
 Grossman, T. Lossing and A. W. Scates for a Grand Lodge of the 
 State of Louisiana. 
 
218 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The eighth annual communication convened Monday the 3d 
 of September, 1832, in the Odd Fellows' Hall in Baltimore. 
 Present, Thomas Wildey, G. S.; William Hall, D. G. S. pro tern.; 
 Samuel Pry or, G. Sec. pro tern., and Robert Gott, G. G.; Reps. 
 George Keyser, of Maryland, and Howell Hopkins, of Penn- 
 sylvania, and Proxies Charles Brice, of Massachusetts, Richard 
 Marley, of New York, and John Brannan, of the District of 
 Columbia. It is on the minutes that the credentials of the 
 members were examined and found correct. This could scarcely 
 be true of those accredited to Massachusetts and New York, for, 
 as before stated, the Order in those States was almost, if not 
 entirely defunct. Massachusetts by courtesy continued in this 
 "way to have a voice at the next session, but has no more mention 
 until after the revival in that State in 1842. But New York 
 "was apparently present by proxy every year until 1834, when an 
 elected representative was in attendance. A communication 
 was received from the G. Sec. of Ohio, enclosing a petition 
 from Patriarchs William West, David T. Stewart, P. Fuel, and 
 brothers Samuel Cobb, A. A. Pruden, Hiram Marks and Samuel 
 Peel, for a charter for Wildey Encampment, No. 1, to be located 
 at Cincinnati, Ohio ; which w r as granted. No reports from the 
 jurisdictions were presented, none having been forwarded. A 
 resolution to proceed to the election of G. S. was laid on the table ; 
 the resolution was afterwards taken up, and after an animated 
 debate, was decided in the negative. 
 
 The G. Sec. stated that by order of the G. S. he had issued a 
 circular to the State G. Lodges, informing them that in conse- 
 quence of the prevalence of Asiatic cholera, the G. Lodge would 
 meet in annual session pro forma only, and adjourn to meet at a 
 more suitable time. It was then resolved that the G. Officers 
 should hold over in the interval, and that the adjourned session 
 should be held on the first Monday in March, 1833. Rep. Hop- 
 kins, of Pennsylvania, dissented, and filed his protest, as follows: 
 
 " I, the Representative of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, to 
 the Grand Lodge of the IT. S. of the Independent Order of 
 Odd Fellows, do solemnly protest against the proceedings of the 
 G. Lodge of the U. S. in postponing the election of G. S., at this 
 time ; because it is a violation of the constitution of this G. Lodge, 
 which declares that a G. S. shall be elected one year before tak- 
 ing upon himself the duties of his office ; and if not elected now. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 219 
 
 there vail be no G. S. after the first Monday in September, 1833." 
 The G. Lodge then adjourned until March 4th, after thanking 
 Samuel Pryor, the G. Sec. pro tern., for the able and obliging 
 manner in which he had discharged his duty. 
 
 The adjourned session met at Baltimore on March 4th, 1833. 
 Present the following members : Thomas Wildey, G. S.; Thomas 
 'Scotchburn, D. G. S.; Augustus Mathiot, G. Sec., and Thomas 
 Morse, G. G. pro tern.; Reps. George Keyser, of Maryland, and 
 James Gettys, of the District of Columbia ; Proxies James L. 
 Ridgely, of Ohio, and Robert Neilson, of Louisiana, the latter 
 being deputized to act by the real Proxy, Samuel Lucas. Neil- 
 soii w r as also appointed by the G. Lodge Proxy for New York, 
 and II. S. Sanderson, Proxy for Massachusetts, and took their seats. 
 The curious exercise of authority by a Proxy in the appointment 
 of a Proxy, was matched by the entirely unauthorized appoint- 
 ment of Proxies by the G. Lodge ; the non-existence of G. Lodges 
 in the latter case seeming to make no impression upon the body. 
 The reports of the subordinates and State G. Lodges were made 
 and put on file. The G. S. made a detailed report of the work 
 done in the recess. He opened his report by stating that by rea- 
 son of press of business he had not been able to visit New York 
 and Massachusetts, to settle the differences existing between those 
 jurisdictions and the G. Lodge, but had communicated with them 
 on the subject by letter. For this document see Journal 122, 
 3, 4 and 5. The record here says : " The Rep. from Pennsylva- 
 nia not having arrived, but being hourly expected, the G. Lodge 
 adjourned to meet at half-past seven o'clock this evening." 
 
 The G. Lodge met accordingly in the evening. Rep. Ridgely, 
 of Ohio, produced a newspaper containing a charge, said to have 
 been copied from a Pennsylvania paper, namely : " That Thomas 
 "Wikley, G. Sire of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, had 
 absconded with the funds of the Order." A committee was im- 
 mediately appointed to take the matter into consideration. Rep. 
 Ridgely made a report which, after a very scathing preamble, 
 branding the slanderer with deserved infamy, concluded as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Resolved, That the charges against Thomas Wildey, G. Sire 
 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of having absconded 
 with the funds of the Order, is a base, malignant and unblushing 
 slander, and justly excites our regret for the degradation of human 
 nature, and our contempt for its authors. 
 
220 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 "Resolved^ As the unanimous wish and desire of this G. Lodge,, 
 that Thomas Wildey, G. Sire, institute legal prosecution against 
 its authors and promulgators. 
 
 "Resolved, That this G. Lodge will sustain and support our 
 G. Sire in all legal prosecutions which he may institute against 
 the originators or propagators of the said slander." 
 
 This was one of the scandalous efforts made to prejudice the 
 Order, by striking down its leader ; similar attempts were made 
 to obtain, notoriety, but all died where they were born, with the 
 malignant enemies who could find no other way in which to 
 exhibit their hostility to the aspiring organization. In this case 
 the prompt action of the G. Lodge was met by ample apologies,, 
 and a recantation of the article on the part of the editor of the 
 Pennsylvania Telegraph, published at Harrisburg, who also 
 revealed tne name of the author of the falsehood. The author 
 w r as found, on inquiry, to be as worthless in a pecuniary sense as 
 he had shown himself to be as a man ; so that the vindication 
 being complete, no process was issued against him. The assault 
 was inspired by the anti-Masonic party, which at this time was 
 " moving heaven and earth " against secret societies. No further 
 business was transacted ; but an invitation was accepted to visit 
 the subordinate lodges in Baltimore, in full regalia, which was 
 accordingly done. 
 
 The G. Lodge having adjourned to the next day, March 5, 
 met at 9 o'clock A. M. Reps. Keyser, Ridgely and Gettys, from a 
 committee to report amendments to the constitution, reported these 
 amendments: First, changing the meeting of the annual session 
 from the first Monday in September to the first Monday in Feb- 
 ruary ; secondly, in place of the provision that the G. Lodge 
 shall meet at present in Baltimore, that it shall meet at such 
 place as the G. Lodge shall from time to time determine; 
 thirdly, that the G. S. must be a P. G. M., and possessed of the 
 Royal Purple Degree, and must be elected at the annual meeting 
 by a majority of the whole number present, by ballot ; and that 
 he could hold no other elective office ; fourthly, provision w r as 
 made in the absence of a G. Encampment for the institution of 
 subordinate encampments directly by the G. Lodge itself. The 
 record is not clear on the subject, but as far as we can learn all 
 the amendments were adopted. A charter was authorized for 
 Boone Lodge, No. 1, at Louisville, Kentucky, upon the petition 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 221 
 
 of Bros. X. Estliug, S. Lyoii, S. Waters, T. II. Bruce, G. G. 
 Wright, J. Barclay, J. J. Roach and T. Mayberry. The G. 
 Lodge then on motion returned the charter of the G. Lodge of 
 Delaware to certain P. G.'s whose names do not appear on the 
 journal. 
 
 A funeral ceremony, that interminable subject in later 
 legislation, was brought up, and an effort was made to adopt 
 a form used without authority in one of the States, but the 
 attempt was a failure. Rep. Neilson, not discouraged, introduced 
 the ceremony into Maryland, where it was used under State 
 authority. G. Sec. Ridgely was the author of the first, and one 
 of the last of the several forms of Funeral Service adopted by the 
 Supreme Body, yet he has for many years been opposed to these 
 movements, for the reason that in such solemn hours the family 
 usually prefers its church and clergy; and for the additional 
 reason, that our broad and tolerant principles render it extremely 
 difficult to frame anything sufficiently general and free from 
 objection, yet specially meeting all the wants of such an exigency. 
 But he firmly maintains the right to the use of a funeral service 
 on the part of the Order. The G. Lodge then adjourned to the 
 evening, and again to the next morning, and then again to the 
 evening of that day, doing no business. On the last occasion, 
 March the 6th, the minute is as follows : 
 
 " The G. Lodge met pursuant to adjournment ; but no Repre- 
 sentative from Pennsylvania appearing, on motion, it was resolved 
 that in consequence of the continued disappointment in the non- 
 arrival of the Rep. of Pennsylvania, this G. Lodge, ever anxious 
 to consult the wishes of so great a body as works under the juris- 
 diction of that G. Lodge, deem it proper to adjourn until Monday, 
 the 18th inst., at ten o'clock A. M., unless the Rep. from Penn- 
 sylvania should sooner arrive ; in which case the G. Sire lias the 
 power to convene the G. Lodge." 
 
 This is proof that the good- will and hearty co-operation of that 
 great State had become indispensably necessary to give character 
 to the proceedings. Her numbers, wealth and efficiency were 
 aided by the strong men sent as representatives, and no measure 
 of importance was now adopted without the counsel of that pow- 
 erful constituent. These repeated adjournments and the final 
 refusal to continue in session in the absence of Pennsylvania, were 
 a graceful recognition of the power and dignity of that jurisdic- 
 tion. 
 
222 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The G. Lodge convened on March 18, 1833, pursuant to 
 adjournment. Present : Thomas Wildey, G. S., Thomas Scotch- 
 burn, D. G. S., Augustus Mathiot, G. Sec., and Thomas Morse, 
 G. G.pro tern.; Reps. George Keyser of Maryland, and Howell 
 Hopkins of Pennsylvania ; Proxies Henry S. Sanderson of Massa- 
 chusetts, John Pearce of New York, John Brannan of the 
 District of Columbia, James L. Ridgely of Ohio, and Robert- 
 Neilson of Louisiana. The G. Lodge having been formally 
 opened, on motion of Rep. Hopkins, it was resolved that when 
 the credentials of a G. Representative were presented, his certifi- 
 cate should go to a committee, w r ho should examine into its 
 authenticity and also into the qualifications of the brother. A 
 committee was thereupon appointed, who reported that Proxy 
 Rep. Pearce of New York was entitled to his seat ; afterwards 
 the proxies from Ohio and Louisiana were also admitted. The 
 following was then adopted : " Resolved, that a committee be 
 appointed to take into consideration the constitution of the G. 
 Lodge of the U. S. of the I. O. of O. F., and report what altera- 
 tions or amendments, if any, are necessary ; and that the said 
 committee be instructed to ascertain the means necessary to 
 establish a uniform system of working in the several State G. 
 Lodges, and their subordinate lodges throughout the United 
 States." The committee appointed consisted of Reps. Keyser, 
 Hopkins and Brannan. This resolution was important, as 
 its labors resulted in the adoption of an amended constitution on 
 the 4th of September following ; the latter clause, with some 
 changes in the personnel of the committee, led to the adoption of 
 what is known as the revision of 1835. 
 
 In conformity with instructions from his State, Rep. Hopkins 
 of Pennsylvania offered the following, which was sent to the 
 committee just appointed : " Resolved, that the representation 
 in the G. Lodge of the U. S. be apportioned with reference to the 
 number of members working under each State G. Lodge ; allow- 
 ing one representative for each State G. Lodge containing one 
 thousand or less members, and one additional representative 
 for every additional thousand" This proposition in its last 
 clause was very objectionable, and, if adopted, would have made 
 the G. Lodge the most unwieldy of bodies. As it was, the first 
 clause fixing the apportionment for one representative, and the 
 amendment which gives the second representative to jurisdictions 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 223 
 
 having more than one thousand members, became part of the 
 constitution of 1833, and remains unchanged to this day. See 
 Article 10, constitution of 1833, and Article 9, Section 2, of con- 
 stitution of 1854 ; Journal 150 and 2375 respectively. 
 
 Rep. Keyser offered a resolution to have the O. B. K of the 
 first degree so altered as to dispense with the last clause ; which 
 was referred to the same committee. The G. Lodge then pro- 
 ceeded to the nomination of G. Officers, when the following were 
 named and elected: G. S., P. G. M. Gettys, of the District of 
 Columbia; G. Sec., Samuel Pryor, P. G. M. of Penn.; G. Treas., 
 John Brannan, P. G. of Md ; G. G., Thomas Morse, P. G. of Md. 
 Keps. Kidgely, Hopkins and Pearce were appointed a committee 
 to inform P. G. M. Gettys of his election, and to request his pre- 
 sence in the G. Lodge on the next day, at 7i o'clock P. M. The 
 newly elected chief officer appointed Robert Xeilson, of Md., D. 
 G. S. At the hour designated, the G. Lodge assembled. There 
 being no new business the lodge adjourned, to meet in Philadel- 
 phia on the 7th day of June ensuing Appended to the minutes 
 is a statement, without signature, which shows $501.64 due to the 
 G. Lodge by the several G. and subordinate lodges. 
 
 It is evident that Massachusetts and New York, which had 
 failed to report, were about to succumb to the ill-fortune which 
 still pursued them. The proceedings indicate one thing very 
 plainly, that the right of G. Lodges to instruct their representa- 
 tives was fully claimed and exercised. 
 
 A new G. Sire was elected who had no prestige but that 
 which attached to the office itself ; the Order, by this election, had 
 assumed to stand alone ; the individual was merged into the asso- 
 ciation ; separate, and even joint efforts were now to be super- 
 seded by the magic power of a corporate name and the potent 
 authority of a vast confederation. The great leader was about 
 to lay down the sovereignty which had its official and personal 
 existence in him alone. The past was glorious, but the present 
 was not less so ; for the reign of law and order was commencing, 
 when many men, organized and welded into one, should wield an 
 influence to which even that of Wildey was child's play. 
 
 The organization was completed, and the organizer retired ; 
 the machinery was cunningly contrived and in motion, but the 
 power to drive it was not in the inventor, but in mightier forces, 
 harnessed for the work. The glamour of a magnetic soul, which 
 
224 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 had kindled a flame of benevolence never to be quenched, had 
 done its office, but a consecrated throng had set that flame upon 
 a golden candlestick in the temple of Fraternity. 
 
 The adjournment of the G. Lodge was to meet in Philadel- 
 phia ; but in the interval a special meeting was held on May the 
 4th, at Baltimore, for the purpose of acting on a petition to char- 
 ter Virginia Lodge, No. 1, at Harper's Ferry, by brothers James 
 Crawford, L. W. Bowman, William Compton, Seth Pollard and 
 "William Bailey. This application was granted, and the special 
 session closed. 
 
 The contemplated adjourned session, at Philadelphia, took 
 place on June 7th, 1833. Present, Thomas Wildey, G. S.; Thos. 
 Small, D. G. S. pro tern.; Augustus Mathiot, G. Sec.; Reps. Geo. 
 Keyser, of Maryland ; Howell Hopkins, of Pennsylvania ; James 
 Getty s, of the District of Columbia ; and Proxies John Bran nan, 
 of Massachusetts ; John Pearce, of New York ; James L. liidgely, 
 of Ohio, and Eobert Neilson, of Louisiana. Brother H. S. San- 
 derson, Proxy of Massachusetts, was allowed to name P. G. 
 Brannan as his substitute, and the latter acted as proxy for that 
 State. The G. Lodge being duly organized, all Odd Fellows, 
 members of G. Lodges and in possession of the Tloyal Purple 
 Degree, when vouched for by their representatives, were admitted 
 to witness the proceedings. The important committee on amend- 
 ments to the constitution and on the secret work, was enlarged 
 by the addition of two members, Eeps. Ridgely and Pearce. The 
 following preamble and resolutions were then submitted and laid 
 upon the table : 
 
 Whereas, The untiring zeal, devoted labor, and cheering suc- 
 cess of P. G. Sire Thomas Wildey, in the business of Odd Fellow- 
 ship, entitles him to the approbation and favor of every Odd Fel- 
 low. And whereas, his indefatigable industry and unceasing 
 efforts to unite this country, from north to south, from east to 
 west, in one common brotherhood, manifested from his earliest 
 establishment of this Order, and more especially by his recent 
 disinterested and laborious visit to the Western and Southern 
 States, and the glorious success resulting from his tour, by the 
 establishment of Odd Fellowship in the great States of Ohio, 
 Kentucky and Louisiana, invoke our gratitude, and imperiously 
 demand a lasting perpetuation of his merits: Therefore, 
 
 Jtesolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare and pre- 
 sent, on behalf of this G. Lodge of the United States, to P. G. S. 
 Thomas Wildey, a token of the high respect which this Grand 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 225 
 
 Lodge entertains for these distinguished services to the Order, and 
 the affectionate regard which we cherish for his private worth. 
 
 These resolutions were taken up at the evening session and 
 adopted ; and Reps. Ridgely, Brannan, Pearce, Keyser, Hopkins, 
 Gettys and Neilson were appointed to carry them into effect. That 
 is to say, every representative present was put on the committee, 
 a singular instance of a whole body forming itself into a special 
 committee as a guard of honor. 
 
 At the afternoon session Rep. Keyser, from the committee on the 
 constitution, reported a form of constitution, which, being consid- 
 ered by articles, was amended and adopted. The constitution of 
 1833 continued to exist, with amendments, until 1854, and is 
 the basis on which the present one was constructed. Columbia 
 Encampment No. 1, of the District of Columbia, was chartered 
 upon the petition of brothers "Win. AY. Moore, Jas. Gettys, Geo. M. 
 Davis, Robert Boyd, William H. Mauro, Thomas Stelle, Joseph 
 Borrows and William L. Bailey, of Washington City. By-laws 
 to accompany the constitution were proposed and adopted, and pro- 
 per order was taken for printing and distributing those important 
 documents. James McAnnal having appealed from a sentence of 
 expulsion by Delaware Lodge, No. 1, the lodge had been required 
 to give him a new trial. The lodge refused him another hearing, 
 and it was resolved that it deserved censure. It was also resolved 
 to suspend the opening of the G. Lodge of Delaware till such 
 time as Delaware Lodge should return to its duty. The G. S. 
 was authorized to investigate the matter, and as his judgment 
 might dictate, restore the brother or confirm his expulsion, and to 
 report his action in the premises to the G. Lodge. All unfinished 
 business having been referred to the committee on the constitu- 
 tion, the thanks of the body were voted to the G. Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania " for the use of their splendid hall " during the session, 
 and the G. Lodge adjourned the first meeting held out of Balti- 
 more, to meet again in the latter city at the regular annual ses- 
 sion. 
 
 Before proceeding to the next session, which closes this 
 chapter, and which also terminates the official career of the 
 founder, we stop to narrate the manner in which the resolution 
 w r as carried out, which proposed that some token of regard and 
 affection should signalize the retirement of the chief. It was 
 15 
 
226 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 " Resolved, that a committee be appointed to procure and 
 present to P. G. Sire Wildej a piece of plate, of at least five 
 hundred dollars value, as a mark of the respect and regard in 
 which the Grand Lodge holds his services for the Order." This 
 was immediately adopted, and the following committee appointed : 
 Reps. Hopkins, Keyser, Pearce, Skinner, Ridgely and Lucas. 
 
 This was a great venture, when at the last report the treasury 
 contained only the sum of $97.10. But the subordinates came 
 to the rescue; Maryland paid $102.90, New York $40.38, Penn- 
 sylvania $150, Louisiana $40, Ohio $10, the District of Columbia 
 $17, Virginia $30, New Jersey $10, Kentucky $8, and Delaware 
 $5, making in all $413.28. The service cost $505, and the 
 balance of $91.72 was paid by the G. Lodge of the U. S. The 
 plate was bought through the agency of Bro. Andrew E. Warner, 
 of Baltimore, afterwards G. Treas. of the G. Lodge, and no pains 
 were spared to have it of the finest quality and of exquisite 
 design. At length it was brought into the body of representatives, 
 and the veteran was called up to receive it in the presence of the 
 assembled membership. The doors of the G. Lodge were thrown 
 open, and the P. Grands in full regalia filled every seat. The 
 record tells us that Rep. Hopkins, of Pennsylvania, made the 
 presentation " in the name of the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows in the United States of America." 
 
 This service of plate was preserved by Brother Wildey with 
 great regard, and continued to adorn his household during his 
 life, and since his decease, with many jewels and medals received 
 by him from lodges and encampments, together with his regalia, has 
 been obtained by the Order in Maryland, as a sacred memorial 
 to be preserved and transmitted to posterity. They are all now 
 on exhibition in the library room of the Hall in Baltimore. 
 
 The ninth annual session convened at Baltimore on Monday 
 the 2d day of September, 1833. Present, Thomas Wildey, G. S.; 
 Thomas Scotchburn, D. G. S.; Augustus Mathiot, G. Sec., and 
 Thomas Morse, G. G.; Reps. George Keyser, of Maryland ; 
 Howell Hopkins, of Pennsylvania, and Simon Robinson, of 
 Delaware ; Proxies John Pearce, of New York James L. 
 Ridgely, of Ohio, and Samuel Lucas, of Louisiana, The G. 
 Lodge having opened for business, a committee was appointed to 
 examine the credentials of Rep. Robinson, of Delaware, which 
 were found correct, his G. Lodge having been restored in the 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 227 
 
 recess. No other credentials were passed upon; a singular 
 omission of the precedents which had before been followed. The 
 minutes of the previous annual and special meetings were read 
 and approved, and the reports of the jurisdictions and the sub- 
 ordinates were presented. The G. Sire then submitted his 
 annual report Journal 139-40 1, 2, 3. A petition was re- 
 ceived from Bros. John M. Wolfe, John Spalding, Smith Rock- 
 well, T. W. Hays, Richard Eno, William P. Dunton and John 
 Wilson, praying for a charter for a lodge to be located at Norfolk, 
 Virginia, and to be hailed by the title of Washington Lodge, 
 No. 2 ; to be attached to the jurisdiction of Maryland. The 
 charter was granted. A letter was received from Bro. Gettys, 
 G. Sire elect, excusing his absence on account of indisposition. 
 
 On the 3d September, 1833, a meeting was held of the same 
 persons. P. G. Brannan, G. Treas. elect, resigned that place, 
 and P. D. G. M. Augustus Mathiot was unanimously elected to 
 fill the vacancy. P. G. S. Wildey before leaving the chair he 
 had so long filled, delivered the following : 
 
 FAREWELL ADDRESS OF THE FOUNDER. 
 
 BRETHREN : The period has now arrived when the long and 
 arduous relations existing between us are about to be dissolved, 
 and the duties of the high office you have called me to discharge 
 for the last eight years are to be surrendered to that authority 
 from which it emanated. It is indeed, my brethren, with mingled 
 feelings of pleasure and pride that I retire from office the 
 pleasure which the retrospect affords, and pride at the un- 
 paralleled prosperity which our beloved Order exhibits. Pro- 
 foundly sensible of the distinguished honor you have conferred 
 upon me, and penetrated with a lively sense of gratitude, I 
 should be callous to the best feelings of our nature did I permit 
 this occasion to pass without thus publicly giving vent to the 
 emotions of my heart. 
 
 In the long official career which your confidence has been 
 pleased to mark out for me, many things, I doubt not, have 
 occurred, perhaps irregular or indiscreet. Such, my brethren, 
 you may rest assured, have been errors of the head, and intended 
 in good part by your first officer such errors as have not, hap- 
 pily, worked any injury to the gigantic march of our devoted 
 institution. It is needless for me to recount to you, who are so 
 well acquainted with the facts, the brilliant history of our Order, 
 during the last eight years, in these United States. It has earned 
 for itself its own monuments, and attained its long denied rank 
 
228 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 in the scale of human charitable institutions. And I trust 
 nothing shall occur to oppose its onward march to still greater 
 pre-eminence and distinction. Friendship, Love and Truth are 
 its animating principles, and should be deservedly cherished by 
 us as the great pillars of social intercourse and human happiness. 
 
 To you especially, my brethren, the Representatives of the 
 States, am I indebted. To your friendly counsel, salutary ad- 
 monition, and useful instruction, much is due by the fraternity, 
 and to your vigilance and industry for the welfare of the Order 
 at large. To your unceasing labors, and judicious legislation, 
 the Order is indebted for a wise and liberal Constitution, which, 
 whilst it protects and maintains the authority of this body, gives 
 to every subordinate jurisdiction its just and legitimate rights. 
 Your recent sessions have been attended with more than 
 ordinary labor, and I doubt not that they will be crowned with 
 success. 
 
 Permit me, before I close these remarks, to beg you all most 
 earnestly to believe that I have been directed with an eye single 
 to the prosperity and well-being of our Order in my official 
 course ; and to ask of you to do me the justice to attribute the 
 many errors I may have committed, to over and ill-judged zeal, 
 rather than to caprice or bad design. 
 
 And now I beg leave to surrender my office to my successor ; 
 returning the homage of a grateful heart to the Supreme Being 
 for the guardian care with which he has nursed our beloved 
 Order for banishing discord and disunion from among us, and 
 putting the seal of disapprobation upon those who would pull 
 down an institution created for purposes revered by the good 
 and respected by the virtuous. Let me invoke a continuance of 
 His blessings; may He guide and direct your counsels, and 
 temper your deliberations with wisdom and judgment ; so that 
 you may preside over the destinies of this institution with re- 
 ligious and watchful care. May He inspire my worthy successor 
 with a due sense of the high responsibilities which await him, 
 and give to him that clearness of judgment and firmness of 
 haracter, integrity of purpose and brotherly love, so necessary 
 in the office with which you have honored him ; and may He 
 finally have Odd Fellowship throughout the globe in his holy 
 keeping. 
 
 Brethren, I thank you for your attention ; and although it be 
 painful to part with those with whom we have so long and inti- 
 mately been associated, by common ties, in unity of counsel, and 
 in joint efforts to rear and sustain an institution inferior to none 
 on earth, (whose fruit is peace and good-will to man) yet the 
 consciousness of honest effort to discharge my duties, and the 
 cheering success which has crowned our labors, soothe the bitter 
 recollection, and sustain me. Farewell, my brethren and 
 permit me to tender to you individually my most affectionate 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 229 
 
 regard and best wishes for your continued health, happiness and 
 prosperity. 
 
 P. G. M. James Getty s was then duly installed Grand Sire, 
 and the Grand Sire appointed D. G. M. ROBERT NEILSON D. 
 Grand Sire. Whereupon, on motion, the appointment was 
 unanimously approved, and the D. Grand Sire and P. G. M. 
 Samuel Pryor, G. Secretary ; P. D. G. M. Augustus Mathiot, 
 G. Treasurer ; and P. G. Thomas Morse, G. Guardian, were sev- 
 erally installed. 
 
 And thus closes the story of an official life which began in a 
 humble hostelry among convivial associates, and ended in a 
 spacious hall among a band of the best and noblest of the land. 
 The man of a few boon companions was now sought by the grave 
 and wise ; the humble mechanic with a single WORD and a simple 
 GRIP had become the author of a system whose secret rites, of 
 manifold beauty and scenic power, attracted the sympathies of the 
 most cultivated persons ; the rude beginner of a club had become 
 the revered founder of a mighty Order ; the illiterate coach-spring 
 maker had surrounded himself with a senate of learning and 
 intelligence ; the foreigner, a stranger by birth to the country's 
 traditions, had established an institution which, of its kind, was 
 the pride of his adopted country ; the five men of " the Seven 
 Stars" had under his guidance increased to thousands of the best 
 citizens of the greatest cities and States ; and the obscure denizen 
 of Still House Lane, and such like abodes, was welcomed to 
 banquets of honor in public halls, and was the cynosure of every 
 eye. The childless and brotherless man had become the father 
 of a mighty family, and shared the aiFections of a glorious brother- 
 hood. But above all, the name of WILDEY, before unknown, had 
 been borne by his exertions and merits upon the w r ings of fame, 
 until England and America, in their most virtuous citizens, rose 
 up to do him reverence, and dwelt with joy upon the utterance 
 of that, now, celebrated name. 
 
 A review of the situation will show the Order's numerical 
 and financial condition at this time. The G. Lodge itself had 
 no money and but little credit. Its constitution, adopted Janu- 
 ary 15, 1825, had two provisions looking to a revenue; thus 
 Article 9: "Each State G. Lodge shall pay equal proportions 
 toward defraying the expenses that shall occur in the G. Lodge 
 
230 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 of the U. S.; and each G. Lodge shall bear the expenses of its 
 Kepresentative." And Article 17 : " The charter, with the 
 charges and lectures of the first or White, second or Blue, third 
 or Scarlet, together with the Covenant or Remembrance Degrees, 
 shall be charged at thirty dollars to defray the expenses thereof, 
 the money to be paid immediately on the delivery of the same ; 
 but provided, if the lodge so forming has not the means to pay 
 that amount, the degree books will be detained until it can 
 comply with the whole charge. It must also defray all travelling 
 expenses." 
 
 At the second meeting after the body was organized, the 
 Royal Purple Degree was produced and sent to the G. Lodges, 
 and its price required to be returned to pay the expenses of the 
 G. Lodge of the U. S. and of the Representatives. This was a 
 very slight addition, and was not much helped by the coming of 
 the Patriarchal Degree in September following, and requiring 
 one dollar from every brother who should receive it. The price 
 of the latter degree w r as afterwards increased to two dollars and 
 fifty cents. These were very inadequate means of revenue, and 
 small as they were, not easy to collect ; this was notoriously the 
 fact with reference to the payment of the current expenses by the 
 G. Lodges provided for by Article 9. Therefore on the 1st day 
 of May, 1828, it was, " Resolved, that at each annual meeting of 
 the G. Lodge, it shall be the duty of the representatives or 
 proxies of each State, to estimate the current expenses of the 
 ensuing year, and draw on each State G. Lodge for the same, 
 which must be immediately paid, to enable the G. Sire to pay 
 the necessary and essential expenses that may occur, and that he 
 keep a regular account of the same, and present it to the G. 
 Lodge at the annual communication." 
 
 This last resolution admits the fact that G. S. Wildey was 
 acting as Treasurer, and was receiving and paying out the money 
 without special orders, and that the whole matter was left in his 
 hands. When we discover that he was spending his own money 
 to eke out the slender income, and was the largest creditor, the 
 reason for such acquiescence is apparent. The same action was 
 kept up in 1829, Journal 99, when it was provided, " that of 
 moneys received by the G. Sire for charters, as well as the per 
 centage from subordinate lodges, acting under the jurisdiction of 
 the G. Lodge of the IT. S., the sum of one hundred dollars be 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 231 
 
 retained to defray all incidental expenses ; and that the G. Sire 
 keep a correct account of the same, and present it to the G. 
 Lodge at its next annual meeting." This was somewhat more 
 specific, as an account was now to be kept and to be duly presented 
 for the action of the body ; but no such statement was made, for the 
 obvious reason that no funds were on hand, and the G. Lodge 
 was pleased, on the 5th of September, 1831, to elect a Treasurer, 
 when as before stated, there was no treasury, and the election was 
 treated as a nullity. Meanwhile the prosperity of Maryland, and 
 more largely that of Pennsylvania, had reacted on the G. Lodge ; 
 the percentage from those States satisfied the G. Sire and he w r as 
 no longer a creditor. Accordingly in that year he states an 
 account, the first to be found upon the records ; see Journal 117. 
 After charging himself with cash received from subordinates to the 
 G. Lodge to the amount of $201.47, he claims credits for $114.25, 
 leaving a balance in his hands of $87.22. The Secretary was, by 
 the constitution, entitled " to reasonable compensation," and one 
 item of the credits was $30 paid that officer. His next report 
 was made in 1832 ; see Journal 132. This is rather a curious 
 account ; he admits the balance of the last year, the receipt of 
 $47 from Maryland and Pennsylvania, and of $180 from the new r 
 lodges in Louisiana, Ohio and New Jersey, making in all $314.22. 
 From this gross sum he deducts $66.87 advanced in various 
 amounts to Massachusetts, New T York, Rhode Island, Delaware 
 and the District of Columbia, and a further amount for general 
 expenses, leaving $97.10 in the treasury. This settlement shows 
 that the salary of the G. Secretary was thirty dollars per annum. 
 Here for the first time we find the account of the State G. 
 Lodges with their superior detailed. 
 
 The difficulty which the G. Sire could never settle between 
 the G. Lodge and Pennsylvania and New York, stands out prom- 
 inently on the journal. The trouble was about money ; Massa- 
 chusetts was yet owing her quota of expenses from 1824 down to 
 and inclusive of 1832, and New York was charged with owing 
 for the sessions of 1830-31 and 32. The District of Columbia 
 was also in arrears for two years ; the subordinates in New Jersey 
 owed for charter fees $60 ; the Delaware subordinates, for per 
 centage and advances, $72, and the lodge in Rhode Island, on the 
 same account, was in arrears $45 ; a total of debts of $501.64 due 
 to the G. Lodge and only $97.10 in the treasury. 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 These figures tell with great accuracy of the fearful struggle 
 for life which the young iodges encountered, and which, for a 
 time, had a crushing influence upon the Order. The members 
 were poor, the expenses were great, and were daily increas- 
 ing ; rent, regalia, lodge furniture, not to mention constant calls 
 for relief upon an empty exchequer, were unceasingly making 
 their importunate demands, until the whole membership was 
 crushed under the weight of the intolerable burden. But when, 
 to crown their misfortunes, the distant and insolvent parent lodge, 
 which was already in debt to its presiding officer, came, like an 
 inexorable creditor, demanding its quota and expenses, they were 
 in despair, and in the cases of Massachusetts and New York, were 
 driven from the field. 
 
 The final account of the G. Sire was rendered down to Sep- 
 tember, 1833, (see Journal, 163), in which, of $476.10 received, 
 he had, after paying expenses, a final balance of $8.52. Here he 
 ceased to act as G. Treasurer, having paid the balance on hand 
 to Augustus Mathiot, the first who held and performed the duties 
 of that office in the G. Lodge. These facts will exhibit clearly 
 how completely the G. Sire was an embodiment of the whole 
 movement during his terms of office ; in which, to use a current 
 phrase, he held both " purse and sword "; when he absorbed in 
 himself the vital force of the whole, and was in all but name the 
 Grand Lodge itself. 
 
 The Order had fared better than its finances w r ould seem 
 to indicate. In 1825 there were 4 G. Lodges, those of Maryland, 
 Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania ; attached to these 
 were only 9 subordinate lodges, of a membership so small that 
 the aggregate could not have exceeded a few hundreds. In 
 1826 there was an addition of but 3 subordinates, 2 of them in 
 New York and one in Pennsylvania; while in 1827, of the two 
 new lodges opened, one was in Maryland and the other was in 
 Massachusetts, making in all 14. In 1828 the District of Colum- 
 bia furnished 2 subordinates, and each of the other States, except- 
 ing Maryland, a single accession, and the gross number had risen 
 to 19. For the first time we find a notice of expulsions, which 
 amounted to 20, and Pennsylvania reported 568 members. 1829 
 gave better indications. Maryland, indeed, was stagnant ; Massa- 
 chusetts and New York had but a meagre increase of 2 each ; but 
 Pennsylvania began to exhibit vitality, and instead of 5, reported 
 
THE GKAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 233 
 
 13 subordinate lodges, which made the respectable number of 31 ; 
 but five expulsions appear. 
 
 The year 1830 was still more encouraging; 27 new lodges had 
 been formed, and the whole number had reached 58. But the 
 prosperity was due, for the most part, to Pennsylvania, which had 
 gathered in 20 lodges, which, added to 2 instituted in New Jer- 
 sey and one in Rhode Island, left but 4 for the other localities. 
 There was this year, indeed, a fifth Grand Lodge, but it was an 
 anomaly in the system, having but eighty members under its rule. 
 The District of Columbia, with its 4 lodges and $395.28 of reve- 
 nue, was indeed of the size only of an ordinary subordinate. 
 For the first time we have the numbers of the membership in 
 more than one jurisdiction ; the District counted 80, Maryland 
 709, and Pennsylvania, having more than doubled its number, 
 reported the very satisfactory number of 2247. The others were 
 silent, and could not have been numerous, but the admitted 
 total of 3036 members was a tangible something of the greatest 
 promise. 
 
 The next year, 1831, witnessed the revival in Maryland, when 
 the numbers were more than doubled ; Pennsylvania was rapidly 
 growing, and brought in an addition of 506, and the Order was 
 planted in Delaware, Rhode Island, Ohio and Louisiana ; but the 
 cause was waning in Massachusetts and New York. The number 
 of lodges was 69, and there were 4451 contributing members. 
 The table of the year gives 2166 initiations, 20 suspensions, 7 
 expulsions, and $26,464.52 of revenue, against the sum of 
 $15,727.48 of the previous year. The year 1832 was still favorable ; 
 there were 93 subordinates, 5956 members, and a revenue of 
 $35,324.78 ; the initiations were 2549, suspensions 4, and expul- 
 sions 29. 
 
 At the close of Wildey's administration the Order was respect- 
 able and vigorous, and foundations were strongly laid in Mary- 
 land and Pennsylvania, upon which a solid building could safely 
 be erected. Kentucky and Virginia had been added, and there 
 were now 8 Grand Lodges subordinate to the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, omitting Massachusetts, which had fallen away. 
 Surely the needy Grand Lodge, though suffering for the want of 
 money, had much to console it in the prosperity of the member- 
 ship. Maryland and Pennsylvania had passed the crisis, and the 
 seed sown in other States gave everywhere indications that in due 
 
234 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 time it would produce a goodly harvest. In September, 1833, 
 a total of 100 lodges, 6349 contributing members, and a receipt 
 for the year of $22,718.92, were an earnest of final triumph. The 
 ordeal was over, the principles and the organization were approved, 
 and a nucleus for a national institution firmly impacted, and dedi- 
 cated to that future which has always smiled upon the cause. 
 
 We may now pause and reflect upon the narrative which has 
 brought us down to such an auspicious hour in the history ; a 
 period when the original laborers were dead, or had retired from 
 the sole responsibility. In so doing, many things will occur to 
 the reader, some of which could not be amplified in the space 
 allotted for this work. 
 
 I. We must admit that the causes hereinbefore set forth for 
 the* wonderful effects that followed, w r ere apparently greatly out 
 of proportion to these effects, and of a singularly composite nature 
 and quality. 
 
 II. That the actors who set the enterprise on foot were not 
 such as we would ordinarily select to found and build up a per- 
 manent and splendid beneficial and moral institution. 
 
 III. That the founders, although they ultimately furnished 
 the fundamental plan for the edifice, began with none of those 
 consultations w r hich usually precede great undertakings. For it 
 is plain that the Order grew upon them, and took form according 
 to the exigency of each particular incident in the history. 
 
 IY. That but one of the original few who began the work 
 took part in all the successive movements, and enjoyed the full 
 measure of final success Entwisle having died in 1824, and Welch 
 having retired in 1829. 
 
 Y. That the first movers were strangers and foreigners 
 where they labored and broke ground, in a hostile city, and there- 
 fore could not and never did by personal influence commend it to 
 the native population. 
 
 YI. That the first efforts were, for the most part, failures, 
 and no great success was achieved by the originators, until new 
 men and measures were supplied by later accessions. In this 
 connection all will at once recur to the literary member, John 
 Pawson Entwisle. 
 
 VII. That the original secrets were greatly altered and 
 added to by other work more satisfactory and better adapted to 
 the purpose, although in the main the first basis was retained. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 235 
 
 Here notably appear the American degrees, and especially the 
 degree of the Covenant, which again brings forward Grand Sec- 
 retary Entwisle as the greatest acquisition to the cause. His 
 career as the organizing mind that produced the whole plan, and 
 especially as connected with these degrees, will appear when we 
 speak of him as the third in the great Trio. 
 
 VIII. That a marked indication of the early period was a 
 recognition of the patriotic feeling which then existed in this 
 country. This was partly voluntary, but also necessary, gro wing- 
 out of the antipathy toward Englishmen then prevailing in 
 Baltimore. But it was also sound policy ; hence Washington 
 Lodge, named for the father of his country ; Franklin, after the 
 American patriot and philosopher ; and Columbia, which was 
 the patriotic cognomen by which this country was described. 
 Hence also the banishment of " Rule Britannia " and the loud 
 call for " Hail Columbia " in the lodge-room and at the convivial 
 board. All these were creditable alike to their heads and 
 hearts ; we do not therefore wonder that the first sentence in the 
 general laws of 1821 or 1822 was as follows: 
 
 " SEC. 1. This fraternity will meet to assist every brother 
 who may apply, through distress or otherwise, who is well attached 
 to the government and faithful to the Order." 
 
 IX. That fraternal and social motives were chiefly relied upon 
 at the beginning, and, whatever may have been the case after- 
 wards, the beneficial feature did not cause the success of the first 
 decade. 
 
 X. That the system of charity as distinguished from benefits, 
 now grown to such immense proportions, is modern and Ameri- 
 can, and is the outgrowth of the principles as distinguished 
 from the benefit system. The names of such as have been con- 
 spicuous in this direction would include all our Past Grand 
 Sires, living and dead, with those of brothers now living who are 
 well known to the Order. 
 
 XI. That the plan finally proposed was modeled after the 
 State and general governments of this country, and was intended 
 to be a system well compacted and balanced, and not to be dis- 
 turbed but for the gravest reasons. Many years of experiment 
 and toil have given us such a system, and we should leave no 
 means untried to preserve it from innovation. 
 
236 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Last of all, we must perceive that there are " Ancient 
 Landmarks," so well established and rooted in our system that 
 they do, and forever ought to remain as " fixed facts " and un- 
 written law. An Order like ours should, in coming years, have 
 some claim to antiquity and uniformity, and this will be best 
 secured by adherence to ancient usages, where they are as 
 valuable and interesting as many which any intelligent brother 
 will be able to indicate. 
 
 But other reflections will occur of the most gratifying nature. 
 The reader will remember with pride that no stain rests upon 
 any of our honored names; that if unknown and unregarded, 
 they were good men, who rose by personal merit to distinction ; 
 that the early lodges, were never under the ban of virtue or the 
 la\v of the land ; that they never disturbed the public peace ; 
 never interfered with religion or party politics, and thus did not 
 become the tools of sect or faction : but that they inscribed on 
 their banners TOLERATION and BROTHERLY LOVE; memorable 
 and prophetic watchwords, destined yet, " like the drum-beat of 
 England," to go round the world. 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 
 
 He drew his light from that he was amidst, 
 As doth a lamp from air, which hath itself 
 Matter of light, altho' it show it not. 
 
 BAILEY'S "FESTUS." 
 
 THE INTELLECTUAL AND LITERARY MAN. 
 
 We do not know of any association which has cultivated 
 literature as have the Odd Fellows of the United States. At an 
 early day the call was for a magazine to defend and proclaim its 
 principles, and now we are pre-eminent in the solidity, talent, 
 power and numbers of our publications. From the first every 
 struggle was for light to illuminate the public mind ; each move, 
 ment of the fathers had a separate chronicle, an appropriate 
 statement, a formal address. This habit became constitutional, 
 and descended to the children ; however secret the rites, yet no 
 satisfaction is felt until the exoteric doctrine is made public by a 
 suitable oration. A lodge-room is a school of instruction not to 
 be surpassed by academy or college. Here order is taught ; the 
 order of intelligence, rank, and service respectively. Here 
 symbol and allegory amuse, inform and edify ; here scenic effects 
 excite astonishment and elevate the fancy ; here models and 
 examples inspire the loftiest emulation of the highest excellence ; 
 here eloquent sentiments, set to beautiful language and adorned 
 with truthful imagery, stimulate to virtue ; and here conflicting 
 creeds and platforms, banished beyond the ante-room, are replaced 
 by brotherly love and unity. "What wonder then that the 
 grateful brother would share his treasures with mankind ; that he 
 should magnify his hours of pleasure and improvement, and in 
 the happiness of a full cup, seek to share the glorious libation with 
 the w r orld. 
 
 To reach the great public with such an institution as ours, 
 many and diverse qualities are requisite in its exponents. Its 
 plan must be feasible, to be sure, and its promises inviting in the 
 vital matter of pecuniary aid. But this settled, other requisites 
 
 (237) 
 
238 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 are demanded ; there must be the prudent adviser, the able 
 expositor, and the arm of a strong executive. Welch was the 
 conservative actor, Entwisle the literary, and Wildey the execu- 
 tive ; the three came together as one man, and exerted all these 
 powers at once and in the same direction ; hence the result was 
 one, but in it are found all the elements that entered into the 
 composition of the fruitful trio. Our w r ise heads and lovers of 
 the landmarks represent the characteristics of Welch ; our dashing 
 pioneers and workers, of Wildey ; but the philosophic and moral 
 element, which lives in the spirit of the doctrines as the Neophyte 
 in the sacred secrets of the inner sanctuary, are lineal descendants 
 of the cultivated and thoughtful genius who gave a charm to the 
 rough outline and made it beautiful. 
 
 ENTWISLE BEFORE HE JOINED WILDEY. 
 
 John Pawson Entwisle, like most of the early members of the 
 Order, was a native of England ; but of what part has never 
 been disclosed. The silence of his contemporaries on the subject 
 of his personal history can be accounted for by the ignorance of 
 all of the importance of the special services of each of the parties ; 
 another reason is apparent in the absence of that culture among 
 his coadjutors which could alone detect his excellence. But the 
 best and true reason, we suppose, was that the arch-worker Wildey 
 by his splendid energy obscured all other merit, or had the good 
 fortune to have it reflected in himself. Wildey had nothing to- 
 communicate that was not already known, and never spoke of 
 Entwisle as he did of Welch, Boyd and others, who were his 
 acknowledged favorites. This is certainly remarkable; several 
 of those that knew Entwisle survived him for more than forty 
 years, and two of them are now living, yet they retain no impres- 
 sion of his eminence. It may be that the superior traits we find 
 in this brother were entirely overlooked ; perhaps their standpoint 
 was too close and his presence too familiar for accurate and 
 dispassionate criticism. Envy may have drawn the veil around 
 him when he sunk suddenly out of sight, and left no cultivated 
 brother to gather and preserve his laurels. It may even be that 
 serious or fatal defects of character had made him obnoxious to 
 the brotherhood. 
 
 Wildey's silence might have been caused by Entwisle's fatal 
 prominence and masterly importance in a common field. It will 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 239 
 
 be found in another chapter that we have not imagined the 
 founder worthy of apotheosis ; we present him as we find him, with 
 his appetites and habits as well as his " blushing honors." It 
 was not in his nature to brook a rival, nor his fault if he was true 
 to his nature. Wilde} 7 loved reputation, such as he attained, as 
 only such men can love it. He left Boyd and the rest behind 
 and below him. Welch retired and gave him the w T hole field, but 
 not so of the Grand Secretary. He had gone down in his harness 
 as the first medal was preparing to adorn his bosom. He had 
 clothed the rude figure with graceful drapery as the originator of 
 the American degrees. His was the correspondence that in 
 weighty words moulded others to the common policy ; his the pen 
 that in polished diction and with flowing periods gave the poetic 
 impulse ; above all, his hand wrote those reports, resolutions and 
 addresses by which the great leader signalized each successive 
 step to victory. 
 
 To such as have studied human nature, it is not new to hear 
 of " the fears of the brave, and the follies of the wise," nor that an 
 unlettered man should pride himself upon his literary merits. It 
 is not strange then if Wildey, everywhere receiving the applause 
 due to the papers, of which by the record he was the writer, 
 should have hesitated to give the credit to another. Besides, 
 Entwisle was dead and forgotten, it could do no good ; he was a 
 stranger, and left no friends to keep his memory alive. This day 
 was not anticipated, when softer hands and, if not kinder, yet 
 kindred hearts should hunt him out and bear him to the light, 
 when his work should praise him, and the Order he served so 
 well would hail him as worthiest of all in what adds lustre to 
 these later days, the reign of the lofty moral principles of w r hich 
 he wrote so well. We have no patience with the trifling details 
 of a meagre record full of trumpery, which cannot even tell us 
 one fact of a life and death of such importance to the Order. If 
 he was forgotten in the expectation of his predictions, we can only 
 deplore with Pliny : " Ea sub oculis posita negligimus ; prox- 
 imorum incuriosi, longinqua sectamur" 
 
 In what manner then we may, and with the meagre materials 
 at hand, we shall proceed. We know that he was married, that 
 he was young, that he left a widow, who may for what we know r 
 be now living. We only see him in the year 1821 flashing 
 meteor-like in the twilight of that era, and in 1824 suddenly 
 
240 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 disappearing below the horizon. Persistent inquiry has discovered 
 or started certain traditional stories of him, some of which may 
 have good foundation. All say that he was the son of a Christian 
 Minister ; one makes the father a Presbyterian, and another an 
 Episcopalian. Again, the father \vas a Wesleyan Minister; but 
 all agree that he was intended for the sacred calling, but after 
 receiving the proper education, refused to enter on the ministry. 
 An early marriage is cited as the reason that had the most weight 
 with him in his decision ; that necessity drove him from home to 
 obtain sustenance for his family. " And thus," says G. Sire 
 Kennedy, " he became estranged from his family ; and before 
 many years, with his young wife and child, emigrated to 
 America." 
 
 Taking up his abode in Baltimore, he procured employment on 
 one of the newspapers of the day ; as he signed himself printer, he 
 may have learned that gentle craft and practiced the art " pre- 
 servative." Here, of course, he was supplied with general infor- 
 mation, as well as opportunity for study and improvement. 
 While thus situated, his social nature led him among his country- 
 men, and at an early day, to join with them to build up the Order 
 of Odd Fellowship. He took an active part at once, for he seems 
 to have been better instructed in the progress of the Order in 
 England than his companions. P. G. Sire Kennedy says, " he 
 was a Past Grand in 1820, while John Welch was Noble Grand ; 
 he doubtless passed the chairs before leaving home ; no person 
 having at that time been IS". G. in Washington Lodge but Wil- 
 dey." We doubt this, and incline to believe he w r as made and 
 passed in Washington Lodge ; P. G. S. Kennedy may have had 
 information to the contrary, but we are of the opinion he was 
 mistaken. At all events, we find him a P. G. in the earliest 
 record which we have been able to put upon the journal. What- 
 ever may be the fact, he is claimed by Washington Lodge as one 
 of its early initiates. The lost minutes could alone settle the 
 question. 
 
 The education of Entwisle gave him a leading position, espe- 
 cially in regard to improvements in the work of the Order, or in 
 any reform that might be projected. Entirely devoted to the Wil- 
 dey interest, he led the way to improve its intellectual condi- 
 tion ; his ability in that way may be judged by the design and 
 execution of the Covenant and Remembrance Degrees, prepared 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 241 
 
 by him as early as 1820 ; which, in substance and structure, were 
 altogether superior to the degrees adopted by the Manchester 
 Unity in 1816. He even made an effort to improve the old ritual, 
 but was forced to desist ; the veneration in which it was held 
 made its bad grammar and faulty style its greatest merits ; indeed, 
 the awkwardness of its diction was generally esteemed among its 
 distinguishing beauties. When afterwards, in 1831, the effort was 
 made by the Grand Lodge of Maryland to correct some of its 
 glaring errors in style and composition, some who are yet living 
 know how grudgingly it was done ; the mark of the knife could 
 scarcely be detected. And when again, in 1835, a bolder attempt 
 was made in the Grand Lodge of the United States, how suddenly 
 it shrank before the angry glance of " ancient usage." It was 
 not until 1845, when the Order had become fully American, that 
 the representatives found courage to disregard the past. The 
 effort was then successful ; all of the old essentials were retained, 
 and the ancient ritual made to speak pure English. That great 
 reform did not stop here, but introduced new features of refine- 
 ment, which gave us the noble ritual of to-day. 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM. 
 
 To Entwisle is especially due the credit of devising the rep- 
 resentative system, on which the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States is organized. The original purpose of those who drafted 
 the warrant which came back from Preston, was to establish a 
 central supreme authority, vested in a local working lodge. To 
 his superior discernment, endorsed by Welch, the Order is in- 
 debted for the discovery of the fallacy of this plan, and especially 
 of its unntness for this country. He pointed out a certain failure 
 on the one hand, and indicated the true policy, by which Mary- 
 land would lose nothing, and the Order would spread over the 
 nation. He and Welch found their model in the political frame- 
 work of the government of the United States. First, subordinate 
 lodges in the several States, and their Past Grands in a State G. 
 Lodge to govern and defend them ; then, over all, a general G. 
 Lodge, composed of representatives from the State G. Lodges, 
 as the supreme head of the Order. It is not contended that he 
 saw all this at once, or that he fully comprehended its tendency ; 
 but he certainly looked and worked always in that direction. 
 His masterly report from the committee on the organization of 
 16 
 
242 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the G. Lodge of the U. S., is sonorous and full of matter. That 
 paper, having no precedent, goes over the whole ground in a 
 manner that at once bespeaks the gifted member of the family. 
 
 To examine his writings and subject them to critical investi- 
 gation would vindicate our estimate, and show how w r ell and 
 forcibly he held the pen and supplied the brain-work. In one 
 matter he had a choice, but it was not gratified. He expected 
 that the clause in the constitution making the city of Baltimore 
 the permanent seat of the body, would meet with no opposition. 
 He had set his heart upon this feature ; his sudden demise saved 
 him from a painful disappointment. He did not foresee that 
 two of the four Grand Lodges would insist on striking out 
 " permanent " and inserting " present." For he had made calcu- 
 lations on the foreign jurisdictions ; that gratitude would move 
 them to adopt Baltimore as the home of the Order. His regrets 
 would have been greater, because in his advocacy of the plan he 
 had one argument that put down all opposition. He pointed to 
 the clause securing the Grand Lodge to Maryland as the special 
 reason for wishing to have it rise to power. He thought that 
 human nature, in common gratitude and justice, would make it 
 acceptable to all. But Maryland has no cause to complain of 
 the supreme body, which has always been her firmest ally and 
 tower of defence. 
 
 Some two months before his death, on April 26th, 1824, at 
 the annual anniversary, he was toasted, and made a response 
 worthy of the occasion ; it was pithy and scholarly, brief and 
 pointed, a model for windy speakers. But he shone best in 
 composition, when he sat down to instruct, persuade or encourage. 
 In the old copy of the General Laws of Washington Lodge, he 
 introduces them in these words : 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The cultivation of friendship, the pleasures of good company, 
 and the improvement of morals are the primary objects ; lor the 
 attainment of which a number of gentlemen of the highest 
 respectability, belonging to the several societies, who are faithful 
 within the limits of this terrestrial globe, have formed themselves 
 into a fraternity of Independent Odd Fellows. The members of 
 this fraternity do therefore bind themselves under the most 
 solemn obligations, firmly to unite, sincerely to love, and in- 
 flexibly to stand by each other, in sickness or in health, in pov- 
 erty or in competence, in prosperity or in affliction. 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 243 
 
 Regarding their lodge as a family of brethren, among whom 
 the welfare of the whole constitutes the happiness of the indi- 
 viduals, each conceives himself bound to contribute his share, 
 proportioned to his abilities, toward the general fund of enjoy- 
 ment. Every ODD FELLOW cheerfully subscribes his wit to 
 enliven the meetings, as well as his money to defray the expenses 
 of the lodge ; and entertains with a song or instructs with advice 
 his brethren assembled. Good humor and good-will are the 
 characteristic features of the fraternity ; honesty and Odd Fellow- 
 ship ought never to be separated. " Friendship, Love and 
 Truth " is the motto of the fraternity. Truth ought therefore 
 to reign on his lips ; Love in the affections ; Friendship in the 
 heart of every Odd Fellow. 
 
 How easy, unaffected and graceful the style, and how rich the 
 vein of humor, pathos and eloquence ! One rises from the perusal 
 as if from a bath of generous wine. Dick Steele might in some 
 happy hour have sent it to the Spectator as one of those Attic 
 essays that made him famous. It is but rarely, if ever, that the 
 most eminent talent has condensed in so small a compass 
 the whole object of the Order and the duties of its members. 
 Macaulay says that young Somers, on the trial of the Bishops,, 
 made the reputation of the first constitutional lawyer in England 
 in a speech of but fifteen minutes ; such samples as we have 
 from the literary Secretary are sufficient to stamp him a rare 
 genius, and to put the seal to his claims as the intellectual centre; 
 of early Odd Fellowship. 
 
 But his chief legacy to the Order was the Covenant and Re- 
 membrance Degrees ; of the latter we say nothing, as it has not 
 been the subject of special commendation, nor of much criti- 
 cism : its merits however have been sufficient to preserve it. 
 Some change of apparel was made in it in 1845, but the sub- 
 stance remains; and by general consent it is retained as a 
 worthy part of the written work. 
 
 THE COVENANT DEGREE. 
 
 The Covenant Degree demands at our hands a far different 
 notice, and under the scrutiny of criticism becomes the most beau- 
 tiful, instructive and consistent part of the ritual. It is but just 
 to remark, in limine, however, that for many years the authorship 
 of this degree has been disputed ; but, as we believe, with no 
 reasonable show of probability. In 1844 a committee on. revision 
 
244 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was engaged in a thorough reconstruction of the ritual ; its great 
 design was to prune away every vestige of Masonic work ; arid 
 when detected, to substitute in its place original and suitable 
 material. The Covenant Degree was the main object of attack 
 and inquiry in that direction. Brothers Chapin, liidgely, McCabe, 
 Moore and Kennedy were charged with the investigation, which 
 was entered upon and diligently pursued. The committee sat in 
 New York, and consulted every Masonic work they could find in 
 the metropolis, and advised with Masons recognized as eminent 
 in that work, but could find no trace or foundation for the impu- 
 tation. The nearest approach to suspicion w r as an expression of 
 opinion, that in some respects it resembled a side degree of the 
 Masonic Order. 
 
 All of the committee were Masons in good standing, and left 
 no stone unturned to find the suspicious coincidence, but in vain, 
 and they concluded that its origin was not Masonic. They therefore 
 laid the hand of revision tenderly upon it, and retained it as the 
 sole property of our Order. Brother McCabe was on the commit- 
 tee, but did not take part in the revision, and of course did not 
 attend this scrutiny. But knowing all the facts, he signed the 
 report, and gave in his adhesion to what the others had done. 
 Bro. McCabe was outspoken in his opinion of the fallacy of the 
 charge, and his long standing and superior rank in the Masonic 
 body ought to be conclusive on that point. It had a final trial 
 before the Grand Lodge of the United States, when the report of 
 the revision committee was considered ; at least one-half of the 
 representatives were Masons. The same objection was then 
 made and fully discussed, and yet the report of the committee 
 was unanimously adopted. It was thus fully acquitted of having 
 been filched from the Masons. But its great merit still continued 
 to invite assault ; a publication by Bro. E. P. Nowell, formerly 
 of the American Odd Fellow, of the ritual of the Patriotic Order 
 of Odd Fellows, has caused the assertion that this degree, as well 
 as the Patriarchal Order itself, had been borrowed from their 
 ceremony. We have carefully read that ritual, and find a very 
 slight similitude between a part of it and this degree, but nothing 
 to justify the charge of plagiarism. This will appear beyond 
 controversy by an analysis of the degree itself. 
 
 The Covenant or Pink Degree, as it is indiscriminately called, 
 combines two ideas, or rather a twofold illustration, drawn from 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 245 
 
 distinct and .independent sources; one profane, and the other 
 sacred history, but each teaching the same lesson. The scene of 
 one is laid in Judea, that of the other comes to us from Home. 
 The love of Jonathan and David, as related in the book of Sam- 
 uel, is the burden of the former, and the Fasces, or its emblematic 
 model, the latter. The symbolic Fasces were constantly in view in 
 the Senate house, and were always borne aloft by the Lictors in the 
 procession of a triumph, as an allegory of union, or strength and 
 power as the fruit of union. It was composed of single sticks, 
 which, in the bundle, formed an integer of many parts, thus indi- 
 cating weakness in the parts and consolidated power in the 
 whole. 
 
 The Roman legend was equally adapted to the purpose ; the 
 plebeians deserted the aristocracy, and the revolt threatened to 
 bring in the reign of agrarianism. Shakspeare has admirably 
 dramatized the incident in his Coriolanus, in which he portrays 
 with admirable skill the danger of division, and that the safety of 
 the whole depended upon a union of all the parts. These furn- 
 ished the material which the young author has put to such valu- 
 able use. Of course the stories were not of his invention ; but he, 
 like Shakspeare, has caught the ideas and put them in dramatic 
 form ; giving them practical development as moral lessons to 
 mankind. 
 
 But we may be asked, what did he supply in the weaving up 
 of that so well furnished to his hand. The answer is ea.sy ; his 
 fertility and creative power are shown by his application of the 
 incidents narrated. He bends them to perform auxiliary but 
 effective duty in the cause he served ; adorning them with rich 
 mosaics of his invention, which sparkle like diamonds in the set- 
 ting of the story. Thus the QUIVER, the ARROWS, the STONE 
 EASEL, the YOICE OF WARNING and the FASCES are the substance 
 and power of the degree; supplying, as they do under his skilful 
 touch, a rare combination of scenic effect and moral force. If 
 Entwisle had done nothing more than this, his fame would be as 
 sure and lasting as the life of the Order. Its place in the theory 
 of the degrees will be set forth in the chapter on that subject. 
 
 But this was but a small portion of the services that have been 
 so ill requited. His was the brain and genius that gave life to 
 the conceptions which he alone had projected ; and his the con- 
 summate skill to bring about that union which gave the Order its 
 perpetuity and power. 
 
246 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 His official services appear upon the record ; whatever his pre- 
 vious history as a member, the first known minute puts him next 
 to Wildey. He was, by acclamation, made Deputy Grand M aster 
 at the organization of the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. on 
 the 7th of February, 1821. He was thus the first to fill the 
 second place to the founder of the Order. This office of labor and 
 responsibility he held for two years, when he gave place to Welch. 
 His services with his pen were imperatively called for in the Sec- 
 retary's office, and be obeyed the call. At the election held on 
 the 22d of February, 1823, he was elected and installed Grand 
 Secretary, and at once entered on the duties of that great office. 
 Here he organized the designs of his colleagues, and became the 
 mainspring of all that followed. 
 
 HIS SUDDEN DEATH. 
 
 But suddenly, in his vigorous manhood, and in the midst of 
 arduous labor, he died. He had no after recompense ; he had 
 toiled without reward, and he fell almost unnoticed in the confu- 
 sion of the events then occurring. It is true that in life the 
 Grand Secretary w r as duly esteemed. To him was awarded the 
 first medal ever granted by the Grand Lodge ; to him was awarded 
 the position of first Grand Representative ; in him, next to Wil- 
 dey, were bound up the hopes of all. But he died at a period 
 when most of them thought the whole work was done, and that 
 the great workman might be spared or give place to feebler men. 
 When the shout of victory was heard over the great birth of a 
 federal union, its champion, with arms crossd upon his breast, 
 was left to his silent funeral. His sudden departure was soon 
 felt to be a calamity, and the void in the administrative branch 
 of the Order was not filled for many years; many efforts to 
 supply his place were signal failures. 
 
 The record may be to blame, but the following is not at all 
 satisfactory : 
 
 BALTIMORE, July 6th, 1824. 
 
 The Grand Committee met pursuant to a call of the Grand 
 Master, and opened in regular form. Present : 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, M. W. G. Master. 
 
 THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, R. W. D. G. M. p. t. 
 
 MAURICE FENNELL, ~R. W. A. G. Sec. 
 
 JOHN BOYD, W. G. Guardian. 
 
 CHARLES COMMON, W. G. Conductor, and 
 P. G.'s Nelson, McCormick and Williams. 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 247 
 
 D. G. M. Welch, G. W. Mitchell, and P. G.'s Koach, Seeds 
 and Harris were each fined 50 cents. 
 
 The Grand Master stated that the object of the meeting was to 
 take some action relative to the death of the Grand Secretary, 
 JOHN P. ENTWISLE. On motion, it was unanimously 
 
 Resolved, That the sum of fifteen dollars be and is hereby 
 appropriated to the widow of our Grand Secretary, John P. 
 Entwisle, being the amount intended to purchase the medal voted 
 him by the Grand Lodge, for his services rendered to the Order 
 in general. 
 
 The proceedings of the committee of Franklin Lodge, No. 2, 
 respecting the funeral of our Grand Secretary, were presented and 
 approved. When, on motion, it was 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of three, viz : one from each 
 lodge, be appointed to draw up a communication to be sent to 
 the subordinate lodges, approving of the proceedings of the com- 
 mittee of Franklin Lodge, No. 2. 
 
 The Grand Committee then closed. 
 
 MAURICE FENNELL, A. G. Secretary. 
 
 His illness must have been brief, for he was at the quarterly 
 session in May. How inadequate the proceedings in view of the 
 loss incurred ! But when we consider the assembly he had left, the 
 wonder is not so great. There were but eight present at the meet- 
 ing on the occasion of his death, and five were absent and were 
 fined for non-attendance ; making in all a show of thirteen persons 
 nominally interested. As the 10th article of the constitution re- 
 quired all to be present at " annual, quarterly and special sessions," 
 under penalty of a fine of fifty cents, the whole body was composed 
 of thirteen in all. In such a body the individual was everything, 
 and the aggregate representatives, on ordinary occasions, merely 
 cyphers. Whatever might have been the feeling at the time, it is 
 remarkable that Wildey, after stating the object of meeting, did 
 not deliver the usual " address." 
 
 THE PRESIDING GENIUS OF THE ORDER. 
 
 It is a work of pleasure to portray the character of this 
 favorite brother, who, in a limited circle, has made a great im- 
 pression upon our leading men. All who have gone back 
 patiently to the beginning, whatever their previous opinions, 
 return with enthusiasm for this early laborer. Among others, 
 P. G. Sire Kennedy, who had deeply studied the first decade, did 
 him a sort of homage as its presiding genius. He had formed in 
 
248 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 his mind an ideal of the man that was both striking and affect- 
 ing. He thought him a young man full of promise, and above 
 his associations, yet held to them by the bond of a common pur- 
 pose, and living in a future and brighter sphere, of which his 
 hopes gave sure augury ; that he was a student and a scholar, 
 transforming the dull prose of his surroundings into the poetry of 
 a mind of taste and a heart of sensibility ; that when among the 
 early band he was above them, and in his soaring thoughts 
 found no sympathy among the ruder workmen. It may be so ; 
 we confess the spell, for we have felt it from the first hour we 
 traced him adorning the foundations with the chaplets fitting to 
 crown the edifice. 
 
 We have imagined him reticent, grave, yet gentle and winning 
 in his manners ; a reader of the classics, and well acquainted with 
 the rich stores of English literature. A man not yet fully assured 
 of his own faculties, because he wrote and thought with the ease 
 of superior men. A hero-worshipper also, looking upon Wildey 
 as a very prodigy of energy, and readily yielding the palm to a 
 kind of power which he had no faculty or desire to wield. A 
 gentleman, in fact, of rare wit and fancy, struggling in eclipse 
 among the clouds of poverty ; a stranger who never was fully at 
 home among his fellows ; whose aspirations and whose genial in- 
 fluence would better suit these days of opulent prosperity than 
 the narrow limits of his time. We have resented as something 
 personal that he was not the beloved disciple of the founder. 
 
 HIS FAME IS ASSURED. 
 
 That such, to some extent, will be the sentiment of our 
 readers, our experience leads us fully to expect. Kindred spirits 
 will be excited by his story, to pay him the tribute which 
 has been so long and ungenerously withheld. The G. Lodge of 
 the II. S., so quick to seek out merit and reward it, may devise 
 some means of exalting a name so glorious. It may yet become 
 as wide-spread as Wildey's, and the whole Order give him their 
 applause. Encampments and lodges may yet seek his record for 
 a charter name. Degree lodges may rise to perpetuate Entwisle, 
 as they have others of the olden time ; above all, our orators shall 
 hang upon him their richest eloquence, to point the morals they 
 have learned from him, and a vast brotherhood shall mourn over 
 the early death of this MAN and BROTHER. 
 
JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE. 249 
 
 Wildey, in surviving all his early friends, had his full reward, 
 and now wears the chaplet he so well deserved; but his good 
 fortune has been the means of concealing the merits of 
 other men, who, in a large degree, gave his greatness its existence 
 and its final triumpi . In energy, in enthusiasm, in executive 
 ability, Wildey was truly great ; but in no way was he greater than 
 in the selection of the counsellors by whom he was guided. His 
 earliest advisers were Welch and Entwisle ; to them, and es- 
 pecially to the latter, his hopes and fears were confided, and upon 
 his sagacity he relied upon all occasions. The early reforms, as 
 before stated, sprung from Entwisle's brain, and the iron will and 
 matchless activity of the founder put them in motion. 
 
 He sleeps, but his spirit yet walks among us and inspires the 
 work ; he sleeps, but he shall no longer be neglected and forgotten. 
 
 u Yet what if no light footstep here 
 In pilgrim love and awe repair? 
 
 So let it be. 
 
 He sleeps in silence, but his sod, 
 Unknown to man, is marked of God." 
 
 We cannot point our readers to his grave, for it is nameless; 
 nor to his epitaph, for none such, to our knowledge, did 
 he have ; but in these pages w r e inscribe the name of JOHN 
 PAWSON ENTWISLE, as upon a princely cenotaph, as his fit me- 
 morial. In the twelfth chapter we shall place on the column, 
 between Welch and Eutwisle, the old chieftain, WILDEY. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 
 
 Say from whence 
 
 You owe this strange intelligence ? or why 
 Upon this blasted heath you stop my way 
 With such prophetic greeting ? 
 Speak, I charge you. 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 The subject of this chapter is both delicate and difficult. In 
 its preparation, a vast number of authorities have been consulted : 
 history, general and special, of the ancient knowledge known as 
 the " Mysteries "; chronicles of secret societies and of their 
 arcana, such as signs, symbols and words, and the designs which 
 gave them vitality ; with many books of various titles and 
 objects, containing facts or suggestions available for our purpose. 
 We may mention standard works on Masonry, essays and anony- 
 mous contributions, and above all, that great storehouse, the 
 encyclopedias. Careful and continuous study has revealed but 
 little that is certain, save only that we were treading among 
 shadows and upon uncertain ground. The solutions were often 
 as mystic and difficult as the secrets they attempted to reveal ; 
 dates of important eras were often guessed at; societies and 
 sects ruthlessly confounded; and origins, principles and results, 
 though given in a form the most exact, were for the most part 
 sketches more creditable to the novelist than the historian. In 
 such a medley one is soon lost and confounded. We found 
 indeed, what was absolutely necessary, the existence of the prin- 
 ciple and its ample exercise, w r ith results of an amazing char- 
 acter, which answer the question of its importance to mankind. 
 
 The first intention was to give the history and development 
 of the secret principle somewhat in detail. But this would 
 require elaborate treatment, and a whole library of books. A 
 glance will show the vastness of the subject ; thousands of vol- 
 umes have been devoted to it, and it will be found to affect every 
 race and country, every form of knowledge, and the whole prac- 
 tical framework of society. The investigator will discover its 
 
 (250) 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 251 
 
 traces among all nations, and its outgrowth has shaped the faith 
 and practice of the world. Its history would be the history of 
 man from the beginning. But even within narrow limits, the 
 difficulty of anything like a true outline is insuperable. For 
 instance, Egypt is the oldest land of chronicles, and held in its 
 bosom the most celebrated mysteries. Yet the origin, nature 
 and secrets of her rites are buried in her catacombs. Greece 
 became the heir of Egypt, and improved upon the mystic inheri- 
 tance ; but even here uncertainty alone is certain. If the secrets 
 of the Grecian rites have been revealed, where and to whom 
 shall we look for the revelation ? The historians give us one 
 version, the philosophers another, and the poets one entirely 
 different. Either all the exposures are false, or the true one can- 
 not be indicated. Of the three, one may choose which he may, 
 and yet come short of the true solution. May we not then infer 
 that much of mystery was buried in the ruins of Delphi, or lost 
 before the printing press could give it circulation ? 
 
 But, after all, secrets are nothing save as they embody a tan- 
 gible something. Take the case of the Christian religion : when 
 type and allegory were embodied in the Messidi, they were cast 
 aside. Hence Christianity is ignorant of Jewish rites, and cannot 
 explain the mystery of the Shekinah. The substance supplants 
 the shadow, and the fulfilment the prophecy. It follows that the 
 old secrets are but little known and cannot be fully pointed out. 
 When the effect ceased, the cause had first ceased ; so that we 
 have no firm reliance on any secrets save such as have been pre- 
 served in some formal organization. For all such were more or 
 less arbitrary, and took their significance from their connection 
 with natural relations and conditions. The relations remain, 
 but for the most part the forms of their progressive conditions 
 have been dropped. In a w r ord, the secret or formula is absorbed 
 by the substance it has clothed ; or having served its purpose, is 
 thrown aside for others more suitable for the later stages of the 
 same process. But the need for the secret principle is coeval and 
 co-extensive with- the race as part of the world's spiritual heritage. 
 As such, it will prevail everywhere, and everywhere work its 
 mighty influence, undeterred by the scientist or his philosophy. 
 
 MYSTERY. 
 
 The region of the mysterious is enchanted ground. On all 
 sides the real is bounded by clouds and darkness, among whose 
 
252 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 boundless recesses the imagination disports itself on the wings of 
 a wild and exuberant curiosity. Its territories have been mapped 
 by the fancy, and invisible inhabitants made to appear and play 
 their role in fictitious annals. To furnish motives for these in- 
 habitants, human passions have been invoked, human relations 
 have been assigned them ; they have been given a genealogy and 
 divided into families. Invisible agents have been sketched in 
 the pages of biography, and history has aspired to furnish the 
 events of an unseen world. Nor are the invisibles confined to 
 the outer world, but in every zone we greet them as visitors 
 among earthly dwelling-places. As they become familiar to us, 
 we claim them as denizens ; they inhabit the ocean, and roam the 
 valleys and the mountains ; they murmur in the streams and 
 speak loudly in the winds. Nor are they careless of the human 
 race ; to the contrary, they are its masters or its slaves, and mix 
 in all that concerns it from the cradle to the grave. 
 
 But in a specific manner the common curiosity undertakes the 
 solution of far different phenomena. Nature is a mystery ; ori- 
 gins, first principles, simple elements are all unknown, and man, 
 the curious inquirer, is the greatest mystery of all. A restless 
 desire to know awakens all the activities of the human mind ; 
 science ever toils to discover and philosophy to explain. Thus 
 arise theories of creation and development, and the secrets of the 
 globe arc sought in cosmogonies of every variety. The crucible 
 is ever heated, the telescope and microscope ever pointed, the pick 
 and the hammer ever plying ; facts are compared with facts, exper- 
 iments with experiments, theories with theories, until we are 
 bewildered in the effort to invade the sanctuary of the unknown. 
 This passion has ruled the race, and will continue to do so to the 
 end of time. 
 
 THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES. 
 
 So universal a principle could not fail to exert a mighty influ- 
 ence among all peoples and in every age. At all times and in 
 endless forms it has been invoked, for the worst as well as the 
 best of ends. Its grand appearance was under the style of the 
 ancient mysteries. When first known, this was already the type 
 of all that was great and wonderful. It comes to us from the 
 earliest antiquity, claiming even then to be ancient, and having 
 already obtained sovereign ascendancy. Out of it sprung young 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 253 
 
 science and philosophy. Its central idea was the analysis of the 
 unknown, chiefly in the domain of nature ; that physical structure 
 with its indescribable garniture, and its invisible but certain sym- 
 pathy with the inquirer. But it also embraced all known phe- 
 nomena, spreading out in all directions ; wherever a secret was 
 found, it was made the foundation of a system to which a temple 
 was dedicated. Man, in the primitive state, could not fail to be 
 impressed by his moral and physical dependence, and instinctively 
 reached out for n higher and stronger support. The theology of 
 the mysteries taught him the unity of God, and the doctrine of a 
 future state of rewards and punishments. Its morality taught 
 the law of love, and its science, in some sort, unveiled a portion 
 of the arcana of the material world. Upon these and the theory 
 of an eternal life, "as universal, all-powerful and all-sustaining," 
 did they repose, as unfailing oracles. 
 
 Of these first origins we know absolutely nothing beyond the 
 genesis of the Jewish history. Some over-zealous writers upon 
 Free Masonry provoke a smile when they make that institution 
 to antedate the human family. The argument is simple, " light 
 was before man, and light is the symbol and scope of that Order." 
 We are inclined to class them with some of our own visionaries, 
 who date Odd Fellowship with the creation of man "because 
 Adam was the first Odd Fellow." But as we are not dealing 
 wholesale in fable, we merely mention these suggestions as in- 
 dicative, at least, of the zeal of those who have made them. 
 
 ITS ANTIQUITY. 
 
 The secret principle preceded the earliest empires, and was 
 coeval with Indian mythology and the Magi or priests of Persia, 
 and flourished, says Aristotle, " for many years before the rise of 
 the kingdom of Egypt." But its antiquity does not rest alone 
 upon external evidence ; it was embodied in formal initiatory 
 ceremonies and august symbols. Indeed, we have no record of a 
 people among whom the knowledge on which it was founded was 
 not taught " as the ground and genesis of all things : the whole 
 state ; the rise, the workings and the progress of all nature ; 
 together with the unity that pervades heaven and earth." Reli- 
 gion as the primal element in man, and that by which he was 
 most influenced, was chiefly considered. But the hidden princi- 
 ples of belief were seldom, if ever, communicated to the people ; 
 
254 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 they were confined to the priests, and the favored few who were 
 admitted to their confidence. Thus arose the division of the 
 doctrines into the exoteric and the esoteric, the former consisting 
 of those outward forms and fables which were current among all, 
 and the latter embodying the principles underlying them and 
 from which they sprung. These were committed only to such as 
 by their rank, influence, wealth, or intelligence were the natural 
 heads and rulers of the multitude. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE AND KITES. 
 
 The first step was usually considered the entrance by the can- 
 didate upon a new life ; a word, therefore, significant of that fact 
 was used by all nations. This word in Latin is initia, from 
 which we have derived the word initiation. The ceremonies 
 consisted, in general, of rites of purification and expiation, of sac- 
 rifices and processions, of ecstatic songs and dances, of nocturnal 
 festivals fit to impress the imagination, and of spectacles designed 
 to excite the emotions of terror and trust, sorrow and joy, hope 
 and despair. The principal subjects of the representation were the 
 legends of particular divinities, their abode and passion on the 
 earth, their descent into Hades, and their return and resurrection ; 
 thus symbolizing both human destiny and the order of nature. 
 The rites were chiefly symbolic acts and spectacles, yet sacred 
 mystical words, formulas, fragments of liturgies or hymns w r ere 
 also employed. There were also certain objects with which 
 occult meanings were associated ; these were carefully imparted 
 to the initiate, or w r ere used in the ascending scale of after pro- 
 motion. Such as Phallus j Cteis, Cyceon, Cistus, Calathus, Thyr- 
 sus, according to the different mysteries ; which severally mean 
 the male organ of generation, the serpent, the drum of the ear or 
 tympanum, a rock rose, a basket made of osiers or reeds, and a 
 staff" entwined with ivy, but whose mystic significance no one has 
 been able to explain. Whatever their symbolic meaning, their 
 use was manifestly as drapery for deeper things, or as the keys to 
 more precious possessions. 
 
 THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES. 
 
 The study of the profound fascinates the mind and leads to 
 invention and discovery. The inspiration of such themes touches 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 255 
 
 the deeper nature and develops the nobler powers. "What wonder 
 then that the able and historic ancients, who have given us the 
 most, if not all, of our firmest bases of science, were devotees of 
 the mysteries ? " Happy/' says Pindar, " is lie who has beheld 
 them, and descends beneath the hollow earth ; he knows the end, 
 he knows the divine origin of life." Thus the Eleminian, the 
 most venerable of Grecian rites, was greeted with universal 
 homage. Among its brotherhood assembled the most distin- 
 guished poets, philosophers, historians, and statesmen, whose 
 names have survived the mystery itself. The fundamental legend 
 on which the ritual was founded, was the search of the goddess 
 Ceres for her daughter Proserpine, her sorrows and her joys, her 
 descent into Hades, and her return into the realm of light. 
 Again the legend dwells on the changes of the seed of corn under 
 the figure of the loss of Proserpine, and her ultimate return to 
 her searching mother ; vicissitudes which symbolize the course 
 of nature and the destiny of the soul. These are matters of sig- 
 nificance worthy the attention of such master-spirits. To them 
 nature, in its sublimity, w r as the mirror of the infinite Creator, 
 and of His attributes of wisdom, power and goodness. They felt 
 a craving for a higher destiny, and the spiritual wants of their 
 nature led them to every oracle and every altar to appease the 
 appetite. The very language, so beautiful and gorgeous, was full 
 of dreamy allegorical expressions, well calculated for secrecy. 
 This was peculiarly true of the eastern nations ; among whom 
 the parable and the prophecy were indigenous, and the mind rioted 
 in metaphor and symbolic imagery. The transition to mystic sys- 
 tems was natural and easy. Among these the earliest seems to 
 have been that of the Magi, the disciples of Zoroaster, to which may 
 be added the Brahmans and Gymnosophists of India. These had 
 a regular initiation, and a graduation from the lower to the higher 
 degrees. 
 
 THE EGYPTIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 The Egyptian school, however, which followed, surpassed all 
 its predecessors in the influence it exerted and the light which it 
 generated and dispersed. The authorities fix the origin of the 
 mysteries anterior to this time, which, according to the ordinary 
 chronology, was about 1900 years before Christ. Their original 
 design, as we have stated it, is generally conceded. Entering 
 
250 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Egypt from Media, Assyria, Persia and contemporaneous peoples, 
 they seem to have found a congenial soil. Here they attained 
 power and influence, and reached the zenith of their greatness. 
 Egypt, before that time of but little estimation, soon began to 
 rise to distinction, and its fame tilled the then known world. The 
 chief men from contiguous nations swarmed to a land so renowned 
 for wisdom, and which, by its laws and religion, had begun to 
 give civilization to the vast Delta of the Nile. From that time 
 it acquired a name, not less illustrious among the nations of anti- 
 quity than now, at a distance of thousands of years. Such w r as 
 the height to which it reached in the arts and sciences, that some 
 believe that it had all the essential knowledge now possessed by 
 mankind. Others have argued from such proficiency, the singular 
 doctrine that more learning has been lost than the world at pre- 
 sent contains; in other words, that the modern civilization is but 
 a modification of the ancient civilization. Certainly we may 
 agree with them in many particulars, for civilization is an ideal, 
 which no generation can realize ; and yet so much progress was 
 made by our predecessors, that indeed it seems, on inquiry, as if 
 there was " nothing new under the sun." "We cannot stop to 
 discuss so grave a theory. But it must be confessed that the 
 works and attainments of the Egyptians can only be explained 
 by placing them in the front rank of nations. To this day their 
 very ruins are the wonder of the world. Temples, obelisks and 
 pyramids remain to attest their greatness and shame the littleness 
 of succeeding generations. They not only challenge admiration, 
 but awaken profound regret that the secret of such skill and sci- 
 ence should have been lost in the decay of that Colossus of ancient 
 history. 
 
 Thebes, Memphis and Heliopolis were citie.s of regal splendor, 
 where learning had its seats, where royalty held its court, and 
 where the mysteries were installed as oracles of wisdom. Egypt 
 arose in the life-time of Peleg, and reached its zenith within a 
 hundred years of the death of Abraham. Institutions soon be- 
 came popular whose arcana were only attainable by special ini- 
 tiates. Their theology and philosophy were in full accord, and 
 combined to teach the unity of God and the immortality of the 
 soul. Their mysteries were of two kinds, the greater and the less, 
 the former being those of Osiris and Serapis, the latter those of 
 Jsis. Those of Osiris were celebrated at the autumnal equinox, 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 257 
 
 those of Serapis at the summer solstice, and those of Isis at the 
 vernal equinox. The doctrines taught were divided into the 
 two classes of the exoteric and the esoteric. Osiris symbolized 
 the sun as the image of the great ruler, and was afterwards 
 in the Greek mythology represented by Apollo. Isis was 
 the moon, symbol of the universal mother. According to Plu- 
 tarch and Tacitus, Ptolemy, warned by a dream, sent to Sinope 
 for a colossal statue, which, on its arrival at Alexandria, was de- 
 clared to represent the god Serapis. The temple of Serapheum 
 was built at Alexandria for the reception of the statue, and was 
 the last hold of the Pagans in that city after the introduction of 
 Christianity. Gibbon describes it as magnificent : "the conse- 
 crated buildings were surrounded by a quadrangular portico; the 
 stately halls and exquisite statues displayed the triumph of the 
 arts ; and the treasures of ancient learning were preserved in the 
 famous Alexandrian library, which had arisen with new splendor 
 from its ashes." In the year A. D. 389, the grand statue was 
 involved in the ruin of his temple and religion. 
 
 Isis was the first, Serapis the second, and Osiris the third 
 of the Egyptian rites. The theory of these rites, if we may so 
 speak of them, is shadowed forth by Apuleius in his " Golden 
 Ass," which describes them under the disguise of a fable. " Be- 
 hold, Lucius, I, moved by thy prayers, am present with thee ; I, 
 who am nature, the parent of things, the queen of all the elements, 
 the primordial progeny of the ages, the supreme of divinities, the 
 sovereign of the spirits of the dead, the first of the celestials, the 
 first and universal substance, the uniform and multiform aspect 
 of the uncreated essence ; I, who rule by my nod the luminous 
 summits of the heavens, the breezes of the sea, and the silence of 
 the realms beneath, and whose one divinity the whole orb of the 
 earth venerates under a manifold form, by different rites and a 
 variety of appellations. Hence the early Phrygians call me Pes- 
 sinuntica, mother of the gods ; the Attic aborigines, Cecropian 
 Minerva ; the floating Cyprians, Paphian Venus; the arrow-bear- 
 ing Cretans, Diana Dictynna ; the three-tongued Sicilians, Sty- 
 gian Proserpine ; and the Eleusinians, the ancient goddess Ceres. 
 Some also call me Juno, others Bellona, others Hecate, and others 
 Rhamnusia. The Ethiopians, the Arii and the Egyptians, skilled 
 in ancient learning, honor me with rites peculiarly appropriate, 
 and call me by my true name, Queen Isis." 
 17 
 
258 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 THE INITIATION. 
 
 The place of initiation was a pyramid erected over subterra- 
 nean caverns, the great pyramid being considered the tomb of 
 Osiris. The candidate, conducted by a guide, was led to a deep r 
 dark well or shaft in the pyramid, and, provided with a torch, he 
 descended into it by means of a ladder affixed to the side. Arrived 
 at the bottom, he saw two doors, one of them barred, the other 
 yielding to the touch of his hand. Passing through it, he beheld 
 a winding gallery, whilst the door behind him shut with a clang 
 that reverberated through the vaults. Inscriptions like the fol- 
 lowing met his eye : " Whoso shall pass along this road alone, and 
 without looking back, shall be purified by fire, water and air ; 
 and overcoming the fear of death, shall issue from the bowels of 
 the earth to the light of day, preparing his soul to receive the 
 mysteries of Isis." Proceeding onward, the candidate arrived at 
 another iron gate, guarded by three armed men, whose shining 
 helmets were surmounted by emblematic animals, the Cerberus of 
 Orpheus. Here the candidate had offered to him the last chance 
 of returning, if so inclined. Electing to go forward, he under- 
 went the trial by fire, by passing through a hall filled with inflam- 
 mable substances in a state of combustion, and forming a bower 
 of fire. The floor was covered with a grating of red-hot iron bars, 
 leaving, however, narrow interstices where he might safely place 
 his feet. Having surmounted this obstacle, he had to encounter 
 the trial by water. A wide and dark canal, fed by the waters of 
 the Nile, arrested his progress. Placing the flickering lamp upon 
 his head, he plunged into the canal and swam to the opposite 
 bank, where the greatest trial, that by air, awaited him. He 
 landed upon a platform leading to an ivory door, bounded by two 
 walls of brass, into each of which was inserted an immense wheel 
 of the same metal. He in vain attempted to open the door, 
 when, espying two large iron rings affixed to it, he took hold of 
 them ; but suddenly the platform sunk from under him, a chilling 
 blast of wind extinguished his lamp, the two brazen wheels 
 revolved with formidable rapidity and stunning noise, whilst he 
 remained suspended by the two rings over the fathomless abyss. 
 But ere he was exhausted, the platform returned, the ivory door 
 opened, and he saw before him a magnificent temple, brilliantly 
 illuminated, and filled with the priests of Isis, clothed in the mys- 
 tic insignia of their offices, the hierophant at their head. 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 259 
 
 But the ceremony did not end here. The candidate was 
 subjected to a series of fastings, which gradually increased for 
 nine times nine days. During this period a rigorous silence was 
 imposed upon him, which if he preserved, he was at length fully 
 initiated into the esoteric doctrines of Isis. He was led before 
 the triple statue of Isis, Osiris and Horus another symbol of 
 the sun w T here he swore never to publish the things revealed to 
 him in the sanctuary. He first drank the waters of Lethe, pre- 
 sented to him by the high priest, to forget all he ever heard in his 
 unregenerate state ; and afterwards the water of Mnemosyne, to 
 remember all the lessons of wisdom imparted to him. He was 
 next introduced into the most secret part of the sacred edifice, 
 where he was instructed in the meaning of the symbols there 
 contained. Last of all he was publicly introduced as a person 
 wfco had been initiated into the mysteries of Isis, the first degree 
 of the Egyptian rites. 
 
 From this we may obtain some idea of the nature of the 
 forms by which the ancient mysteries were explained. 
 
 In the third degree the candidate received a name taken from 
 that of Deity, and the dogma of the unity of God was imparted to hi in . 
 It was not indeed a personal God, but in the sanctuary all forms 
 were reduced to unity, and the many idols to the one divinity, 
 primeval power and intelligence. 
 
 CHINA, JAPAN, BRITAIN, GAUL AND SCANDINAVIA. 
 
 L * U -Y -I -fa. XI JJ J.V 1 J. J V J. -L> 
 
 These mysteries spreading through Greece, Phoenicia and 
 Asia Minor, descended to Rome, and were greatly refined in their 
 passage. Thence they went to Britain, and in the decline of 
 Rome spread in a modified form over modern Europe. The 
 object of the latter organizations was to subvert polytheism and 
 to vindicate the unity of God. It is to Greece that we owe the 
 perfection of the system ; but w r e will first dispose of those which 
 were auxiliary, or independent of Egyptian origin. 
 
 The Chinese at the beginning had no system of mystery. 
 This continued until Confucius, and for a long time afterwards. 
 Their form of doctrine was philosophical, and they worshipped 
 an invisible God. But becoming idolatrous, this simplicity was 
 lost in a metaphysical mystery. The chief end of initiation was 
 an absorption into the deity O-Mi-To Fo. Omito meaning " im- 
 measurable," and Fo only another name for Buddha. Buddha 
 
260 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was a wise and great teacher, who at his death received divine 
 honors, and whose legend forms the whole body of the doctrine. 
 The last sentence of the founder was, " All compounds are per- 
 ishable," a positive truth capable of demonstration. The final 
 object is the deliverance of the soul from pain and illusion. The 
 endless rotation of metempsychosis is broken, by preventing the 
 soul from being born again. This is attained by purification 
 from even the desire of existence. 
 
 The Japanese have a mixed philosophical and religious 
 system. Their philosophy is founded on astronomy, and their 
 religion the worship of an incarnate God. The Grand Lama is 
 that God, but the true doctrine refers simply to the origin of the 
 world. Thus none of these had the scope of the ancient mys- 
 teries of Egypt. 
 
 To the Druids alone has been given the name of the Magi of 
 the West. They had much the same meaning as the Brahmans and 
 the Persian Magi. They had also the esoteric and exoteric religious 
 doctrines. Their rites were practiced in Britain and Gaul, the 
 Island of Anglesea being their chief seat. The system embraced 
 all the philosophy and religion then known in those localities. 
 The periods of initiation were fixed by the course and position of 
 the sun. It was a maxim with them that water was the first 
 principle of all things, and existed before the creation in unsullied 
 purity. They also taught one Supreme Being, a future state of 
 rewards and punishments, the immortality of the soul, and a 
 metempsychosis. They seem to have possessed much scientific 
 knowledge, and plainly followed the doctrines of Pythagoras. 
 The final secret was that of death and a resurrection ; the candi- 
 date was first placed in the pastes or coffin, where his symbolical 
 death represented the death of Hu, or the sun ; and his restoration, 
 in the third degree, symbolized the resurrection of the same 
 luminary. 
 
 Their temples were generally situated on an eminence and in 
 dense groves of oaks : circular, because a circle is emblematic 
 of the universe ; oval, in allusion to the mundane egg, from which, 
 according to the traditions of many nations, the universe, or ac- 
 cording to others, our first parents issued ; serpentine, because a 
 serpent was the symbol of Hu, the Druidical Osiris ; cruciform, 
 because the cross is an emblem of regeneration. Their only canopy 
 was the sky, and they were constructed of unhewn stones, their 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 261 
 
 number having reference to astronomical calculations. The 
 three principal temples of this description in Britain, were those 
 of Stonehenge and Abury in the south, and that of Shap in 
 Cumberland. Where stone was scarce, rude banks of earth were 
 substituted, and the temple was formed of a high vallum and 
 ditch. The adytum or ark of the mysteries was called a cromlech, 
 and was used as the sacred pastas, or place of regeneration. It 
 consisted of three upright stones as supporters of a broad, flat 
 stone, laid across them on the top, so as to form a small cell or 
 stone coffin. The place was often subterranean ; the immense 
 grotto at Castleton in Derbyshire, called by Stukely the Stygian 
 Cave, as well as the giants' caves at Luckingtoii and Badminster 
 in Wilts, certainly were used for this purpose. 
 
 The Scandinavian mysteries had their empire in the vast 
 forest regions of the north of Europe. Their whole doctrine and 
 ritual bear marks of the influence of a rude, but correct astronomy. 
 From this source the Druids learned to erect the huge monu- 
 ments of rock which still remain, to form the gloomy pastos 
 of stone, to hew caverns out of the solid rock for the rites 
 of their mystery, and to use natural grottoes for the purposes of 
 initiation. The candidate personated the sun ; being asked his 
 name, he replied, " Gangler," that is, the wanderer, or he that 
 performs a revolution, distributing blessings to mankind. In the 
 palace, with a boundless roof, he discovers three seats ; on the 
 lowest is the King, called Har, sublime ; on the central one, Jafu- 
 har, the equal of the sublime ; on the highest, Tredie, the number 
 three. These personages are those the neophyte beheld in the 
 Eleusinian initiation, the hierophant, the daduchus or torch- 
 bearer, and the epibomite or attendant on the altar ; these he sees 
 in Freemasonry, the Master and the Senior and Junior Wardens, 
 personifications of the sun, the moon, and the Demiurge or 
 Master of the Lodge. In the instruction the candidate was told 
 that the greatest and most ancient of the gods is called Alfader 
 (the father of all), and has twelve epithets which recall the twelve 
 attributes of the sun, the twelve constellations, the twelve superior 
 gods of Egypt, Greece and Rome. The priests were called 
 Drottes ; their number also was twelve, who were alike priests 
 and judges ; and from this order proceeded that bulwark of the 
 citizen, a trial before twelve men, by the name of a jury, under 
 the common law of England. 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The grand periods of initiation were quarterly, and determined 
 by the course of the sun, and his arrival at the equinoctial and 
 solstitial points. But the time of the annual celebration was 
 May-eve, when fires were kindled on all the cairns and cromlechs 
 in the island, which burned all night to introduce the sports of 
 May-day ; whence all the national festivity still practiced on that 
 day dates its origin. But the festival of the 25th of December 
 was celebrated with great fires, lighted on the tops of the hills, 
 to announce the birth-day of the god Sol. This festival was not 
 kept by the Druids only, but throughout the ancient world, from 
 India to Ultima Thule. The festival of the summer solstice was 
 kept on the 24th of June. Both days are still kept as festivals 
 in the Christian church, the former as Christmas, the latter as 
 St. John's Day, but of course with another and a deeper mean- 
 ing. The use of evergreens in churches at Christmas-time is the 
 perpetuation, with a holier meaning, of an ancient Druidical 
 custom. 
 
 None of their doctrines had general diffusion, and have left 
 no living trace among Christian nations. 
 
 GREECE. 
 
 We will now return to Greece, whose influence has affected 
 every phase of modern civilization. Greece, as before stated, 
 borrowed from Egypt, but added richly to the original stock. To 
 give an index to Grecian mysteries would require volumes. But 
 we have selected the pride and glory of that system as an ex- 
 ample of the whole. Of all the mysteries, the Eleusinian was the 
 greatest. It was a religious festival, in honor of the goddess 
 Demeter or Ceres, the patroness of agriculture, and the represent- 
 ative of the procreative power of nature. It is thought to have 
 been intended to give an ideal meaning to the coarse fancies of 
 the popular religion. 
 
 To the mystery of Eleusis we must add the Dionysian myste- 
 ries, as the former, in its rites, seems always to have included the 
 latter. They also came from Egypt, and were in honor of Bac- 
 chus. The legend of the murder of Bacchus or Dionysius by the 
 Titans, can easily be identified with Osiris, who was slain by his 
 brother Typhon. In these rites the initiate was duly prepared 
 and properly clothed. He was then delivered to the conductor, 
 who gave the mystic warning, "Depart hence, all ye profane!" 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 263 
 
 He then made " a rude and fearful march through night and 
 darkness." In this state of terror he long remained. Here was 
 enacted the funereal part of the rites the death of the god, the 
 search for his body, and the discovery of the remains. The mourn- 
 ing is now turned into joy, amid shouts of " We have found it 
 let us rejoice together!" The candidate was then shown the tor- 
 ments of the wicked and the rewards of the righteous. The rites 
 were explained, and he was furnished tokens of recognition. The 
 whole concluded with the pronunciation of the mystic words, 
 J^onx Ompax, whose meaning has never been explained. 
 
 Here we may perceive the primitive belief that men are the 
 offspring of the earth and the heavens, and the worship of the 
 sun, the personal presence of the heavens as Savior Lord, and of 
 the earth as sorrowing Lady and Mother. The whole pantheon 
 seems to have been organized about these two central shrines. We 
 think we can show the same idea detached from symbols, in the 
 connection of one form of Christianity with the worship of the 
 Virgin. The Greeks gave a profound spiritual meaning to the 
 Eleusinian, as also to the mystic connection of Demeter with 
 Dionysius. She gave them bread, but they never forgot that she 
 gave them also the bread of life. " She gave us," says the ancient 
 Isocrates, " two gifts that are the most excellent : fruits, that w r e 
 might not live like beasts, and that initiation, those who have 
 part in which have sweeter hope, both as regards the close of life 
 and for all eternity." So Dionysius gave them wine, not only to 
 lighten the cares of life, but as a token, moreover, of efficient deliv- 
 erance from the fear of death, and of the higher joy which he 
 would give them in some happier world. And thus it is, that 
 from the earliest times, and in all the world, bread and wine 
 have been symbols of sacramental significance. In the end we 
 shall find that the whole world organizes about its centre of faith. 
 Thus, under three different religious systems Jerusalem, Delphi 
 arid Mecca were held to be, each in its turn, tjie omphalos or 
 navel of the world. It follows inevitably that the main move- 
 ment of the world must always be joyous and hopeful. By rea- 
 son of this joy it is that every religious system has its feast ; and 
 the sixth day the day of lacchus is the great day of the festival. 
 The inscription which rises above every other is, " To the Savior 
 Gods." 
 
264 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE MODERNS. 
 
 Having thus passed the mysteries in brief review, let us exam- 
 ine their final influence. Originally they contained everything 
 science, art, government and religion. Knowledge was power, and 
 it extended over all things. But in Greece a separation was soon 
 effected. She gave us the science of government, and emancipated 
 art from mystery. Government took the forms of monarchy, 
 aristocracy and democracy, and art had for its priests the sculp- 
 tor and the painter. Of science, out of the regions of pure math- 
 ematics, but little was known. It followed that the mysteries be- 
 came exclusively religious. True, indeed, the Roman Pontiff 
 did, for a time, unite all under his priestly sceptre. Kings were 
 his subjects and nations his slaves. He became the Grand Lama 
 of the Christian world. This ignorant vicegerent of omniscience 
 forced Galileo to deny the revolution of the earth, and even Friar 
 Bacon, in his laboratory, was branded a magician. But the Refor- 
 mation divorced Church and State, and the thunders of the Vat- 
 ican became harmless to science and government. Religion is 
 again the mystery. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IS ORIGINAL. 
 
 Thus it will appear that Odd Fellowship did not originate 
 from the sources we have investigated. We are not in any sense 
 a religious body. Neither are we the teachers of philosophy or 
 science. It follows that we must seek some other and far 
 different origin. Our Order is founded upon a rock of truth. It 
 began within the memory of man, and we know its origin. Pass- 
 ing by its initiatory rites, it owes nothing to the /past. There are 
 certain elements in man that are generic ; there are conditions 
 in his lot that are common to all, and Odd Fellowship is merely 
 a development of certain of these conditions. Poverty was the 
 motor force of its beginning mutual relief the object social en- 
 joyment its first result. From this root it spread out and grew 
 up as the greatest of beneficial societies. It is to-day THE BENE- 
 FICIAL SOCIETY. In England it is nothing more ; but here it is 
 not merely a beneficial society. A class of men have ruled it who 
 have wedded benefits to charity and dues to beneficence. Hence 
 we are many-sided. As a beneficial institution we insist on the 
 receipt of dues and the payment of benefits ; but as a moral and 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 265 
 
 spiritual force we deal with the higher motives and minister to 
 the finer nature. The whole edifice glows with the light of a 
 splendid humanitarianism. Its dome, like the visible heavens, is 
 on fire with the guiding stars of a moral universe. Thus all the 
 aspects of men are met and gratified. 
 
 In our secret work the same duality appears. Each degree 
 is a workman's lesson, or the work itself. Poverty is again the 
 motor. In the higher wants, such as Friendship, Love and 
 Truth, we still inculcate the remedy of mutual relief. It is still 
 the workshop, but its walls are the visible horizon ; still the 
 workman, but his task the regeneration of the world. Our 
 mysteries then are as old as man ; but their forms, like modern 
 science, borrow little or nothing from the past. They were a 
 discovery like that in California; the gold was already there, 
 but the man and the hour had never before met to open up its 
 treasures to the world. 
 
 The Masons are not legitimate descendants from this stock, 
 although they bear many marks of a similar paternity ; for that 
 body is certainly original in its legends, its moral and its secret 
 work. It is a system too practical in its theory and universal in 
 its teachings to have sprung from an original which had no land- 
 marks, but took new forms in every country where it found a 
 domicil. But operations of the human mind, in their limited 
 sphere of action, cannot in the very nature of things be entirely 
 original ; in the sense of entire originality no system can for a 
 moment maintain the claim, however much it may be asserted. 
 But Masonry is an original in the qualified use of that term, and 
 a mighty original, hoary with antiquity and rich with the spoils 
 of a thousand conquests. Yet the similarity in some features of 
 Masonic aims to those of these ancients, establishes the fact that 
 one portion, at least, of that mystic system is sacredly protected 
 by the Masonic body We refer to art, science, especially that 
 of numbers, and that intellectual ornamentation which is the 
 noblest object of Masonic aspirations. These are crystallized into 
 other and more subtle forms, and those who teach and those who 
 learn at that point within a circle, may \vell be considered as 
 conserving these noble traits of the Ancient Mysteries. When, 
 therefore, we speak of Masonry as a form of Ancient Mystery, it 
 is always in the accommodated sense in which it is here explained. 
 
 A work published in London, in 1875, entitled " The Secret 
 
266 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Societies of all Ages and Countries," by Charles William Hecke- 
 thorn, in two volumes, is remarkable for this, that the Order 
 of Odd Fellows has no chapter in the volume, nor even so much 
 as a single word of mention. This may be explained by 
 the author's theory, when he says, introduction, sec. 2, " We may 
 therefore more conveniently range secret societies in the two 
 comprehensive divisions of religious and political." As our Order 
 is neither political nor religious, but simply beneficial and moral, 
 he naturally supposed that we were not teachers of esoteric 
 doctrine. In the study of the rule he did not find the exception, 
 and his neglect is strong proof that we are original, not capable 
 of being classified under any of the generic forms of secret 
 societies. For such is our claim, which we are ready and able at 
 any time to maintain against all comers and every odds. 
 
 THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES IN MODERN FORMS. 
 
 In many striking traits the Roman Catholic Church of to-day 
 contains the fundamental features of the ancient mysteries. Its 
 faith in traditions and its descent from ancient Rome, the pupil 
 of Greece, account for this. The whole ritual of its worship 
 revives the pageantry of pagan antiquity. A late drawing of 
 Brahma, made by William Simpson, a learned Hindoo pundit, is 
 curiously suggestive in this connection. It represents Brahma 
 supreme, who in the act of creation made himself double, namely, 
 male and female. The original figure, as copied, is far too gross, 
 for the public eye. Thus the male priest puts on female or 
 flowing garments, to represent the double sex or the creative 
 power in unity. The Catholic surplice is the figment of a 
 woman's dress ; it can be traced back to the Egyptians, Assyrians, 
 Phoenicians, and others who worshipped Isis, Astarte, Venus, Is- 
 wari and others in that garb. The female garb was a compliment 
 considered most pleasing to the goddesses. But the most singular 
 similarity of all exists among the Japanese. It is said that 
 Zavier, on witnessing their practices, was filled with astonishment 
 and terror. " Diabolo ecclesiam Christi imitante" exclaimed 
 the saint. " The devil imitates the Church of Christ." The 
 Papal religion is essentially feminine and built on the ancient 
 Chaldean basis. It clings to the female element in the worship 
 of the Virgin Mary. In modern theosophy, the Indian mirror, 
 Maja, from which we have the word " magic," is called the 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 267 
 
 Eternal Mirror of Wonders, the Virgin Sophia, ever bringing 
 forth, yet ever a virgin, the analogue of the Virgin Mary. But 
 our limits preclude more on this interesting and fruitful topic. 
 
 To betray the mysteries was everywhere considered infamous, 
 and the heaviest penalties were attached to it ; hence, in all in- 
 itiations, the candidate had to take the most terrible oaths that 
 he would keep the secrets entrusted to him. We all remember 
 that Alcibiades was banished and accursed for having revealed 
 the mysteries of Ceres. 
 
 THE DOCTRINES AND RITES OF PYTHAGORAS. 
 
 But we turn to other manifestations of the secret principle, of 
 less antiquity indeed, but potent in their influence upon mankind. 
 Of these, the teachings of Pythagoras were certainly great. He 
 was born in Samos, about 580 years before Christ, and died 
 probably about 504 B. C. He is said to have traveled thirty 
 years collecting knowledge, especially the secret doctrines of the 
 priests concerning the worship of the gods. Egypt, Arabia, 
 Phoenicia, Judea, Babylon, and even Gaul and India, are men- 
 tioned as among the countries in which he traveled. He is said 
 to have returned to Samos, with religious zeal the predominant 
 element in his character. He afterwards settled at Crotona, 
 where he was honored as a person favored by the gods, and as a 
 revealer of divine secrets. His doctrine was mainly founded on 
 the mysticism of numbers, and was long afterwards recognized 
 in alchemy and in the symbols of mystical architecture. Those 
 adopted by him were principally derived from geometry. The 
 Tight angle was an emblem of morality and justice. The equi- 
 lateral triangle was a symbol of God, the essence of light and 
 truth. The square, like the tetractys, referred to the Divine mind. 
 The cube was the symbol of the mind of man after it had been 
 purified by piety and acts of devotion, and thus prepared for 
 mingling with the celestial gods. The point within a circle, and 
 the dodecahedron, or figure of twelve sides, were -symbols of the 
 universe. The triple triangle was an emblem of health, and the 
 letter Y a representation of the course of human life, in which 
 there are two diverging paths : the one of virtue, leading to hap- 
 piness, and the other of vice, conducting to misery. He believed 
 in the universal influence of numbers, which he supposed to be 
 the controlling principle of all things. Numbers were of two 
 
268 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 kinds, intellectual and scientific. Intellectual number existed 
 before creation, and became, in the plans of Deity, the producing 
 cause of all things. Scientific number is the generative cause of 
 multiplicity, which proceeds from and is the result of unity. 
 Scientific numbers are equal or odd. Equal numbers are said to 
 be female, and odd ones male ; because even numbers admit of 
 division or generation, which odd ones do not. Odd numbers, 
 however, are the most perfect. ONE, the Monad, represented 
 the central fire or God, and was the symbol of existence and univer- 
 sal preservation and harmony. Two was unlucky, and denoted 
 darkness and the evil principle. Hence the Romans dedicated 
 the second month of the year to Pluto, the god of hell, and the 
 second day of that month to the manes of the dead. Four was 
 the divine number, and referred to Deity ; so that many nations 
 gave to Him a name of four letters, as the Hebrews, A L O A. 
 So we have A D A D among the Assyrians, A M M M 
 among the Egyptians, S Y R E among the Persians, D E U S 
 among the Latins, and T-H EOS among the Greeks, T-H 
 being a single or compound letter in that language. Five rep- 
 resented light, and a triple triangle, forming the outline of a five 
 pointed star, was an emblem of health. Among the Cabalists 
 the game figure, with the name of God written on each of its 
 points and in the centre, was considered talismanic. Among 
 Free Masons, five is symbolical of the five orders of architecture, 
 the five human senses, and the five points of fellowship. 
 
 But of all the numbers after unity, seven was the greatest. 
 Pythagoras called it " venerable," because it referred to the crea- 
 tion, and was made up of two perfect figures, the triangle and 
 the square. The Hebrew bible is full of illustrations of the sacred 
 character assigned to this number. In six days the earth's cre- 
 ation w r as perfected, the seventh w r as consecrated to rest. If Cain 
 be avenged sevenfold, Lamech seventy and sevenfold. Abra- 
 ham pleaded seven times seven for Sodom ; he gave seven ewe 
 lambs to Abimelech for a w r ell of water. Jacob served seven 
 years for Rachel, and also another seven years. Joseph mourned 
 seven days for Jacob. Laban pursued after Jacob seven days' 
 journey. The seven years of plenty and the seven years of fam- 
 ine were foretold in Pharaoh's dream, by the seven fat and lean 
 beasts and the seven cars of blasted corn. The children of Israel 
 were to eat unleavened bread seven days. The young of animals 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 269 
 
 were to remain with the dam seven days, and at the close of the 
 seventh to be taken away. By the old law man was commanded to 
 forgive his offending brother seven times, but the meekness of the 
 Savior extended his forbearance to seventy times seven. On the 
 seventh month a holy observance was commanded to the children 
 of Israel, who fasted seven days and remained seven days in 
 tents. Every seventh year was directed to be a year of rest for 
 all things, and at the end of seven times seven years commenced 
 the jubilee; they were to observe a feast seven days after they had 
 gathered in their corn and wine ; seven days they were to keep a 
 solemn feast, as they had been blessed in the work of their hands. 
 Every seventh year the land lay fallow. Every seventh year there 
 was a general release from all debts, and bondsmen were set free. 
 Every seventh year the law was directed to be read to the people. 
 If they were obedient, their enemies should flee before them seven 
 ways; if disobedient, their enemies should chase them seven 
 ways. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in her thanks, says that 
 the barren hath brought forth seven, and some Jewish writers say 
 that his name answers to the value of the letters in the Hebrew 
 word which signifies seven. Seven of Saul's sons were hanged to 
 stay a famine. Jesse had seven sons, the youngest of whom 
 ascended the throne of Israel. The number of animals in sundry 
 of their oblations was limited to seven. Seven days were ap- 
 pointed for an atonement on the altar, and the priest's son was 
 appointed to wear his father's garment seven days. A reference 
 to a concordance will swell the number of these instances. 
 
 Among the heathens this number was equally sacred. There 
 were seven ancient planets, seven Pleiades, and seven Hyades ; 
 seven altars burnt continually before the god Mithras; the 
 Arabians had seven holy temples; the Hindoos supposed the 
 world to be enclosed within the compass of seven peninsulas ; the 
 Goths had seven deities, viz : the Sun, the Moon, Tuisco, Woden, 
 Thor, Friga and Seatur, from whose names are derived our days 
 of the week ; in the Persian mysteries were seven spacious 
 caverns, through which the aspirant had to pass ; in the Gothic 
 mysteries, the candidate met with seven obstructions, which were 
 called "the road of the seven stages"; and finally, sacrifices were 
 always considered as most efficacious when the victims were seven 
 in number. 
 
270 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The school of Pythagoras was not unlike the social systems 
 of the last century, for the member was required to deposit his 
 property in the common fund of the society. The degrees were 
 three ; the Acousmatici, the Mathematici and the Pythagoreans, in 
 the last of which the initiate was clothed in white, and fully 
 instructed in the secret doctrine. Silence and secrecy were the 
 fundamental lessons taught to the disciples, and, after these, devo- 
 tion and brotherly love. We have all read the wonderfully pa- 
 thetic and noble story of Damon and Pythias, who were disciples 
 of this splendid school. They adopted a system of signs of recogni- 
 tion of the most perfect character, by which, at first sight, they 
 became at once intimate and familiar. To serve brothers in dis- 
 tress no sacrifice was too great ; they crossed seas and traveled to 
 the most distant lands to succor them. 
 
 Masonry has been charged w r ith borrowing much of its theory 
 from the Pythagorean, and certainly their similarity in the mat- 
 ter of numbers is remarkable. Yet we cannot say that there is 
 more than a similarity, as the legends of Masonry are far differ- 
 ent from those of Pythagoras. Three is, for instance, a sacred 
 number in Masonry. Thus we find it pervading the whole 
 ritual. There are three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry three 
 principal officers of a lodge three supports three ornaments 
 three greater and three lesser lights three movable and three 
 immovable jewels three principal tents three rounds of Jacob's 
 ladder three working tools of a Fellow Craft three principal 
 orders of architecture three important human senses three an- 
 cient Grand Masters three recreant F.\ C.\ and, indeed, so 
 many instances of the consecration of the number that it would 
 exceed the limits of this chapter to record them. The number 
 nine, or three times three, is scarcely less sacred. It derives its 
 value from being the product of three multiplied by itself. For 
 a similar reason 27, which is 3 times 9, and 81, which is 9 times- 
 9, are esteemed as sacred numbers in the higher degrees. 
 
 Thus we have seen that the secret principle, whether envel- 
 oped in religious or scientific forms, had a secret initiation : its 
 objects were gradually unfolded by DEGREES ; it had its signs, 
 tokens and uniform ; it imposed solemn obligations of secrecy, 
 and its devotees were banded together for the noblest purposes. 
 It kept alive the knowledge of a divine unity and of human re- 
 sponsibility. It gave, in a limited sphere, a code of pure moral- 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 21 
 
 ity, and drew men gradually together as the offspring of a com- 
 mon father. 
 
 ANCIENT MYSTERIES CORRUPTED: IDOLATRY AND MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 But by the very nature of things these principles were cor- 
 rupted. If, as many believe, they were traditional from Noah, 
 the original knowledge was soon lost to all but a very few. 
 Eusebius is clear on this point. " That man," says he, " in the 
 first and earliest times never dreamed either of erecting temples 
 or idols, having neither painting at that time, nor the potter's 
 art, nor sculpture, nor masonry, nor architecture, is, I suppose, 
 what every thinking man evidently sees ; but over and above all 
 these, they had not so much as heard of those gods and heroes 
 so renowned since." But the multitude were not satisfied, and 
 soon began openly to adore the sun and moon. From these they 
 bowed down to the stars, especially the planets, and in a word, 
 worshipped the whole host of heaven. This, called Sabism, was 
 the most ancient sect of the pagan world. But idolatry did not 
 long remain in this simple state. It soon extended to all the 
 objects of the physical and animal world, with the elements, 
 the rivers, the mountains on the one hand, and various living 
 animals down to the meanest insect, and the souls of the de- 
 parted on the other. Thus far their ideal divinities were founded 
 upon objects that had a real existence. But they did not stop 
 here. They not only bestowed divine honors upon the most 
 dignified of human functions, but extended those honors to the 
 most degrading offices, till at last it assumed the form of a uni- 
 versal system. Ignorance in philosophy, and especially in 
 physics, gave rise to many fables. By gross and sensible repre- 
 sentations they gave life to every physical thing. In process of 
 time they proceeded to deify those objects, which they represented 
 in human form. Thus the rainbow, that token of reconciliation, 
 became the beautiful IRIS, the messenger of the gods and of 
 Juno, because the rainbow declares the disposition of the air, 
 which that goddess represents. 
 
 The religious portion of the system was hedged round with 
 an awful sacredness. Thus Anaxagoras was punished with 
 death for having taught that the sun was not animated, but was 
 a mass of red-hot iron about the size of the Peloponnesus. 
 Many curious parallels have been drawn to show that their wor- 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ship was derived from a corruption of the Hebrew scriptures ; but 
 although the analogies are striking, they are not conclusive. 
 Some of their errors arose from a defective chronology and their 
 ignorance of history. Certainly their ideas of the deluge are 
 clear and unmistakable. But nothing misled them more than 
 their ignorance of geography and the marvellous stories told 
 them by travelers. The ocean was a place overspread with 
 darkness. The rocks that form the straits of Scylla and 
 Charybdis were two monsters that swallowed up their ships. 
 The Cimmerians were supposed to be a people buried in eternal 
 darkness; the Arimaspians and Issedonians as men that had 
 but one eye. Here was a people covered with feathers ; there 
 man monsters without heads, as the Acephali ; or having dog's 
 heads, as the Cynocephali ; some whose ears reached down to 
 their heels, and yet others that had but one foot. As the action 
 proceeded, new ideas were added. Hence the hero became the 
 demi-god, and new prodigies added new subjects for apotheosis. 
 Poets arose to embody these marvels into verse and to add im- 
 measurably to their number. Painters and statuaries also put 
 poetic creatures into such perfect form that they at once became 
 part of the system. At length the gods condescended to sit for 
 their portraits, and were presented in bodily presence to the 
 world. Soon the superior gods introduced a host of tutelar 
 deities, who sat at every hearthstone and became attached to 
 every household. They now became universal ; every crime as 
 well as every virtue had divinities assigned it. The adulteress 
 owned Jupiter ; the ladies of gallantry, Venus ; jealous wives, 
 Juno ; and the pickpockets, Mercury and the goddess Laverna. 
 They overruled every act of the life. Over marriage presided 
 Juno, Hymen aeus and others; Momus was the god of raillery; 
 for jollity they had Yetula, and for pleasures Yolupta. The 
 great talkers invoked Aius Locutius, while Harpocrates and 
 Sigalion were the gods of silence. Pravor, Timor and Pallor 
 were those whose invention was owing to terror, fear, and pale- 
 ness which accompanies them. The poets invoked Apollo, 
 Minerva and the Muses ; the orators Suada and Pitho ; the physi- 
 cians Esculapius, Meditrina, Consus, Hygeia and Telesphorus ; 
 the servants and maids Ancula and Ancutae ; shepherds the god 
 Pan, cowherds the goddess Bubona, horsemen Castor and Hip- 
 pona. They had a god of ordure named Stercutius, and one 
 
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE. 273 
 
 for other conveniences, Crepitus ; while for the common sewers 
 they had Cloacini. But we must stop in an enumeration which 
 is wellnigh endless. Varro reports them as thirty thousand, but 
 we have no difficulty in believing the statement of Pliny that 
 " the number of gods surpassed that of men." 
 
 All this, and more of like import, was the exoteric or public 
 doctrine held by the mass of mankind. To deny it was impious 
 and a capital offence. Hence the contrary was imparted in 
 whispers, and by signs and tokens, and in secret. Who does 
 not remember the fate of the illustrious Socrates, w r ho knew the 
 secrets without initiation, and whose proclamation of the Divine 
 unity led to the grand tragedy of his execution ? Had not Salem 
 also its Melchisedec, the Idumeans their Job, and the Chaldeans 
 their Abraham ? 
 
 TRUTH WILL FINALLY PREVAIL. 
 
 But the end was approaching. The priests turned into verse 
 what was delivered by the Priestess of Delphos in her fury, and 
 their poetry was often wretchedly bad. The Epicureans, 
 especially, made it their open jest, and said, in raillery, it wa8 
 surprising enough that Apollo, the god of poetry, should be a 
 much worse poet than Homer, whom he himself had inspired. 
 Soon these railleries, and those of the Cynics and Peripatetics, 
 obliged the priests to cease turning the responses into verse, which, 
 according to Plutarch, was one of the principal causes of the 
 decline of that oracle. 
 
 One after another the idols fell, the temples were in ruins, the 
 oracles were dumb, and the vestal virgins no longer fed the 
 sacred flame. The awful reverence of brutish ignorance gave 
 place to indifference and disgust. With stealthy tread, led on 
 swiftly by panic terror, the countless multitudes of deities fled 
 away. Keality uprose, stern and majestic, and sat upon the 
 seven hills ; the heavens went further off, and became astronom- 
 ical, and Iris, last of the departing train, melted into heaven. 
 Thence issuing, she broke forth again in unclouded splendor, the 
 zone of the new covenant, in the radiant bow under whose lofty 
 arches trooping angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest; on 
 earth peace, good- will to men. 1 ' 
 
 The Pantheon was suddenly deserted, and though yet haunted 
 by the old traditions, became the monumental temple of a grander 
 18 
 
274 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 mystery. Many uncouth relics and tatters of the old mythology 
 remain, but we are gradually dropping the gross forms of an- 
 tiquity. The Jew, despite the Talmud and the Cabala, never 
 lost his knowledge of Jehovah ; the Moslem utters the mighty 
 cry, " There is but one God !" and Christianity will yet teach the 
 lesson of spiritual devotion to the world. Gross superstition 
 enshrouds numerous nations, and there are many modern Cim- 
 merians. But truth, like the sun, will shine upon all lands and 
 illuminate mankind. YET TRUTH WILL NEVER ENTIRELY EMERGE 
 
 FROM MYSTERY. THE UNKNOWN WILL NEVER BE FULLY DISCLOSED. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF A 
 
 DIVINE ARCANUM, BUT THAT ARCANUM WILL BE THE TRUE WISDOM. 
 
&tf 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY. 
 
 Within the oyster's shell uncouth 
 
 The purest pearl may hide : 
 Trust me, you'll find a heart of truth 
 
 Within that rough outside. 
 
 MRS. OSGOOD. 
 
 Of all tasks, that is the most difficult which proposes the re- 
 production of an individual who has left the world. Supposing 
 such a feat possible, it is after all not the man himself, but 
 only the image he made in the mind of the producer. Art may 
 copy his features and his form ; eye-witnesses may testify to his 
 w r ords and actions ; even the interior may be indicated by the 
 sentiments and motives which he professed, or the manifest ten- 
 dency of his actions ; his " works that follow him " would seem 
 to be the surest test, but these may be fallacious, unless one 
 could know why he did them. Pride, vanity, prejudice, envy, 
 bigotry, or the half insanity of eccentricity, may have been the 
 producing causes. Man is an enigma when seated at our fire- 
 sides and eating at our tables : how much more so when he is 
 absent and only presents himself at second hand ! Besides, there 
 are but few artists who, like Boswell, devote a life to the subject 
 and thus produce a masterpiece. It follows that of all produc- 
 tions, biographies are the worst. They are mostly written by 
 friends who are naturally partial ; and a blind preference is some- 
 times more injurious than an open enmity. Eulogy is often so 
 recklessly applied as to form a mask which any person might 
 wear, and is nowise indicative of the individual beneath it. 
 Such things have been, and will be ad nauseam. But readers 
 now require some attempt at literary photography, and critical 
 exposition is the demand of the age. It insists upon knowing 
 who and what was the man ; his gifts, whether natural or ac- 
 quired ; his dispositions, habits, forms of thought and motives, 
 and all those things that go to exhibit the living person. The 
 time is passing when one can dress up a human being as an 
 
 (275) 
 
276 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 allegory, and present him as a mere collection of physical and 
 moral attributes. Flesh and blood are now necessary to form a 
 man, even in the pages of biography. It will not do to say he 
 was wise, without a specimen of his wisdom ; that he w^as good, 
 without the visible tokens of goodness ; that he was great, unless 
 his claim to the title is made good by actions worthy of the 
 name. Headers expect to be told why such things are asserted, 
 and especially to be informed of that in which his eminence con- 
 sisted, as distinguished from his weaknesses or his vices; for they 
 no longer look for perfect character, but expect to see, when the 
 veil is lifted, where the clay in the image is joined to the superior 
 material. 
 
 In the central figure of the TRIO in our picture we hope to 
 be successful in presenting a living man, of mixed and curious 
 wwkmanship indeed, but in his lineaments a man of character 
 and capacity, who required but the place and the motive to 
 develop qualities which have always made leaders of mankind. 
 
 WILDEY BEFORE THE 19tll APRIL, 1819. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was a personage of such a charac- 
 ter as to require peculiar treatment. Curiosity has been busy 
 with him, and cannot be said to be in any manner even tolerably 
 gratified. His station was so little elevated, and his private life 
 so uneventful, as to leave him much in shadow. True, he was 
 known to many now living ; but even they were not admitted to 
 the knowledge of his private w r alks, or to witness those home 
 scenes which more than any other indicate the man. He was at 
 all times reticent, or entirely silent, about himself, and his solitary 
 life gave no glimpse into the obscurity of his domestic secrets. 
 He was manifestly of humble extraction, and might be ranked 
 one remove above a common laborer. He signed himself " Coach- 
 Spring Maker," but his fellow-craftsmen knew him better by the 
 name of " Blacksmith." His early years were passed in England, 
 and at his maturity we find him in Baltimore. His appearance 
 was striking as a specimen of a true John Bull, with the bluff- 
 ness, sincerity, and pluck of that nation. "With a mellow voice 
 and a hearty grip, he never failed to win all comers in a jovial 
 company. The man was restless and full of vitality, and nothing 
 could repress the animal vivacity which was always breaking out 
 in frolic and humor. At times, indeed, he was serious, and that 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 277 
 
 was always when he saw human suffering, and he ran eagerly to 
 relieve it. It is said, when the yellow fever raged in Baltimore, 
 Thomas Wildey was constant in his efforts to assist the sufferers. 
 He gave medicines and money, and nursed and watched the 
 victims when many fled from the contagion. 
 
 His friendship was rarely given, but when granted, became a 
 sacred thing to which he bowed with lowly reverence. Of educa- 
 tion he had little or none, save what came to him by social inter- 
 course ; his knowledge of books was scanty, but no one in his 
 station had better discernment of men. His judgment was quick 
 and excellent, and his ready mind grasped a good suggestion 
 and never failed to make it his own. In his sphere he was 
 always the arbiter, holding sway over his equals by his will and 
 humor, and even among his superiors passing for a man of vigor 
 and capacity. Such was Thomas Wildey when he had just 
 attained his 37th year, in the early part of 1819. 
 
 Thomas Wildey was born in the city of London, on the 15th 
 day of January, 1782, in the reign of George III, at the close of 
 our Revolutionary War. At five years he went to a parish school, 
 and left it at the age of fourteen, to learn a trade. Judging from 
 his attainments, the school must have been inferior or the scholar 
 dull and negligent. His indentures called for the trade of a 
 " coach-spring maker," at which he served his time, and came 
 forth a skilled workman. He pursued it as a journeyman for a 
 number of years, in many of the towns of England. In the year 
 1817 he married, and soon after embarked at Liverpool for the 
 United States, and arrived at Baltimore early in the month of 
 September. But before leaving home he had been prominent 
 among mechanics, not only as a workman, but in their class en- 
 joyments. Among these, perhaps, none ranked higher than those 
 which were pursued by the so-called Odd Fellows. On his com- 
 ing of age he became an initiate of Lodge No. 17 of that Order, 
 in the city of London, and served in every capacity, from the 
 humblest to the highest office ; at an early day he was presented 
 by his brethren with a silver medal, as a token of regard for valu- 
 able services. After three years devoted to No. 17, his zeal led 
 him to enlarge the sphere of the Order. He found a distant su- 
 burban locality, and in a short period caused the institution of 
 Morning Star Lodge, No. 38. He was unanimously chosen its 
 first presiding officer, and during his membership of ten years, 
 
278 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was called upon twice afterwards to fill the same chair. It will 
 thus be seen that the first thirteen of the years of his majority 
 were spent in the active work of Odd Fellowship. 
 
 The Manchester Unity was not formed until 1809, and Wil- 
 dey became an Odd Fellow in 1804; so he must then have been 
 connected with some one of the independent organizations which 
 afterwards formed the Unity. The particulars of his labors in 
 England have never been given, beyond what we have detailed. 
 
 On the 30th day of July, 1817, he bade adieu to his native 
 land and embarked for America ; he reached the city of Balti- 
 more on the 2d of September following, and sought and obtained 
 employment. Business was stagnant and money scarce ; the war 
 just over, had crippled all kinds of trade, but he was master of 
 his craft, and found work when many others were neglected'. 
 Subsequently he is found on Harrison Street, Baltimore, with a 
 partner, as coach-spring makers ; afterwards he was on one of the 
 wharves, a coal dealer; off and on he kept an eating-house, to 
 which his love of company disposed him ; and latterly he was a 
 market gardener, and last of all a farmer with a capital. In 1818 
 he made the acquaintance of John Welch, a house and ship pain- 
 ter, an Englishman, who had preceded him to this country. 
 These two w r ere naturally much together as fellow-countrymen, 
 and never tired in recurring to men and scenes in the old world. 
 A year had cemented this intimacy, when a new feature was 
 added to it. They discovered that each of them had been an 
 Odd Fellow, and the mutual surprise was quite agreeable. 
 
 WILDEY INSTITUTES WASHINGTON LODGE. 
 
 The story is told by Wildey in a fragment of three written 
 pages, which is too rude in structure for general perusal. We did 
 intend to insert it exactly as he set it down, but on reflection have 
 concluded to improve it by the necessary revision. Speaking of 
 himself, he says : " In the year 1818 he made many acquaint- 
 ances ; among these he was familiar with a Mr. John Welch, 
 with whom he was afterwards intimate until his death. Wildey 
 often spoke to his new friend on the subject of beneficial societies, 
 and was surprised to learn from him that no such association ex- 
 isted in Baltimore. In reply, Wildey suggested that he knew of 
 a society which would suit this country, and mentioned the name 
 of the Odd Fellows. Welch carelessly remarked that he had 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 279 
 
 "been a member of that Order, but had never met with one, or 
 heard of such a society since his emigration. By mutual admis- 
 sions, it was found that Welch had been a P. Y. G. in Birming- 
 ham, England, and Wildey had been initiated in that country in 
 the year 1804. "Wildey often thought on the subject, and finally 
 concluded to publish a notice for a meeting of such Odd Fellows 
 as might be residing in the city. For this purpose he sought 
 Welch and induced him to join in the call." 
 
 He then details the subsequent proceedings and the incidents 
 of the first informal meeting. He says : " Pursuant to notice, 
 the preliminary meeting took place on the 13th of April, 1819. 
 Four gentlemen were present, with Thomas Wildey, making five 
 in all. He examined them, and was satisfied that they had been 
 regularly initiated into the Order. Wildey then informed them 
 of his intention to establish the society of Odd Fellowship, and 
 craved their assistance for that purpose. He also stated that no 
 such society was known in the city, and of course there was no 
 organized arrangement to relieve the distressed, or to care for the 
 widow and orphan. And further, that the citizens to whom he 
 had presented the subject did not wish any such society. That 
 the name of the lodge should be Washington. This was consented 
 to, and it was agreed that the lodge should be opened on Monday, 
 the 26th of April, 1819. The 26th of April arrived, and at 7 
 o'clock P. M., Thomas Wildey proceeded to open the lodge. 
 He, first of all, took his obligation in the presence of the other 
 four, and then obligated them ; calling the society the Washing- 
 ton Lodge, No. 1, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 
 the United States, the Father of our country, God bless him ! a 
 day which will long be held in grateful remembrance by every 
 Odd Fellow." 
 
 We have given the substance of the paper, including its gen- 
 eral arrangement and statements, but the original indicates an 
 entire want of literary cultivation. Yet, as good-natured critics, 
 we have found much to praise in the strong common sense which 
 pervades the article. We particularly notice his use of the 
 English aspirate of the middle and lower classes. But we have 
 inserted these memoranda for a special purpose. We wish to do 
 equal justice to all. Wildey spent ten years in making addresses 
 and writing letters, many of which are of acknowledged excel- 
 lence. We wish to give honor to the authors of these productions ; 
 
280 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 to award their due share of merit to those without whom the 
 matchless force of Wildey would have been exerted in vain. For 
 they fixed the principles and gave color to the movement, and 
 sowed the seeds of the modern era, with its lofty purposes ; pur- 
 poses then daringly uttered, but now the current annals of 
 history. 
 
 Wildey's anxiety to be known to posterity by a separate and 
 distinct narrative, was undoubtedly great. Such a memoir would 
 have gratified him above measure. With his usual decision he 
 began the task, with the assistance of a certain John Starr, who 
 is elsewhere mentioned. He did not seek better help, which he 
 might have had ; but with a timidity unusual with him, sought 
 to have it done without consulting his ordinary advisers. This 
 attempt is engrossed in a bound blank-book, whose back bears the 
 printed title, "History, &c., of the O. I. O. F. in U. States, from 
 1819 1834." The contents are in a clerkly hand, and in good 
 English, but the matter is condensed, and in form without special 
 interest ; with an addendum of copies of letters, rough sketches of 
 his medals, &c. But he was not satisfied ; hence he began a sort 
 of autobiography, by his own hand, a rude fragment of which 
 only remains. Before writing a single chapter he desisted. 
 
 WILDEY THE FOUNDER OF ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The enterprise made little progress for several years. Like 
 all such efforts by humble and obscure beginners, it had to 
 struggle against disfavor, apathy, and a want of confidence. 
 Wildey, the leader, could bring to its aid no friends in high 
 places, no collateral influence or patronage. It was self-depen- 
 dent and alone, and had to rely upon its intrinsic excellence. But 
 its success was to be found in the daring energy of the unlettered 
 blacksmith. When he met with associates to form a lodge of Odd 
 Fellows, it was his opportunity. It appealed to an irresistible 
 passion of his nature. He saw his favorite pursuit about to be 
 reduced to the regularity of a duty ; his select comrades secured 
 to him, his irregular rambles replaced by a fixed habitation for 
 his pleasures, his strange landlords for a responsible and respon- 
 sive HOST ; and above all, the petty headship of an accidental 
 meeting, by the chair and leadership of a permanent society. 
 He loved excitement, and was easily warmed into a glow of 
 feeling ; no ordinary misfortune could affect his spirits, which 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 281 
 
 were always hopeful. He lived in constant motion, and was 
 never quiet, unless when sick or asleep ; his appearance was the 
 signal for activity, and dullness and stupidity never could exis^ 
 in his presence. It was always bustle bustle and a kind of 
 perpetual motion wherever he went, and yet it was in form 
 orderly. His sense of a certain kind of decorum w r as very keen ; 
 order was the rule of his life, but it was the order of precedence 
 rather than of manners. He had the English idea of class and 
 degree engrafted on his character so firmly that it was a passion ; 
 thus his devotion to lodge rank and degree, which could never 
 brook either question or censure. 
 
 He had another incentive ; an instinct, yet undeveloped, led 
 him to enjoy mystery. The Order had given him a grip and 
 password, and these affected his imagination as giving dignity to 
 the proceeding. At bottom he was a devotee of secrecy ; it had 
 a charm that led him on, as will be shown, step by step, until it 
 overcame in that strong nature the inferior appetite itself. As 
 the society slowly advanced, he rose with it, and always as the 
 leader. As it took on solemn form and affecting ceremony, no 
 man was more captivated by their charms than the bluff chair- 
 man. His rugged nature was large, and found ready room for 
 new impressions. His worship of mystery made him a fit priest 
 to preside at the decorated altars. No boy was more bewildered 
 and delighted with fancy's story than this man, who was as natural 
 as a boy in his love of the marvellous. To him the crowns and 
 mitres of the officers were real, and the gavel and title of Noble 
 Grand and Grand Master gave full assurance of splendid rank 
 and supreme authority. The legends of the ceremonies were to 
 him veritable history, and thus a kind of supernatural impor- 
 tance was attached to the doctrines and duties they enjoined. 
 He came to believe in them with the simplicity of a child, but 
 with the will of a giant ; and here we may find the secret of that 
 devotion which made him great. Thus he was sincere ; he never 
 doubted the enterprise, or that it was worthy to succeed. Those 
 who saw him in the lodges were always impressed by his earnest- 
 ness and enthusiasm. He was every inch a presiding officer ; 
 full of courtesy, but commanding implicit deference. In the 
 performance of his duties he was full of dignity ; his face was 
 lighted up with intelligence, and he was deft and precise in every 
 arrangement. All who met him in public were satisfied that he 
 
282 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 was in love with his work, and had undying faith in his mission. 
 That mission in his mind was twofold. First, to become the 
 founder of a great Order ; secondly, by that Order to spread fra- 
 ternity over all the world : the former was fully born, the latter 
 beyond mere assertion was but nascent. Yet as supplementary 
 of the former he gave it every endeavor, but we are assured that 
 the result was astounding even to him. Yet not so of the initial 
 idea, for in fancy he was in 1822 a famous man. His own im- 
 portance he never underrated, but from the first day was the 
 father and the founder. 
 
 This idea possessed him to the exclusion of ordinary motives : 
 for this he recrossed the ocean, and strove for and obtained a 
 separation from the Unity; for this he painfully travelled by 
 slow coaches and over bad roads, a visitor to states and cities, 
 seeking for proselytes; for this he spent laborious days and 
 sleepless nights devising plans, and wasting his small property 
 for means to sustain the enterprise. Subjugated by that idea, 
 even his strong will could become supple, and allow him to use 
 the arts of diplomacy. He often felt himself unequal to the 
 intellectual wants of the rising institution ; and new demands 
 came in the need of additional mental aliment in the system. 
 Around him were men his superiors in that direction, but he 
 did not hesitate ; his haughty spirit bent to ask assistance, and 
 lie sat at their feet for the lessons he should impart to others. 
 And in this he was fortunate, for his fellows were workmen un- 
 known indeed in literary circles, but more than able for the 
 task. 
 
 Again the same idea bow r ed his iron will, and stayed his 
 despotic energy at every stage where change and strategy were 
 required by the changing times and events of the period. In all 
 critical junctures his sure eye found the counsellor for his pur- 
 pose, and once found, all his imperial faculties were united to 
 drive on in the new direction. He was never wasteful of his 
 money, but when he saw the Order in want, it stirred his very 
 bowels and made him sick at heart. At such times he came 
 forward with his all, and his credit in the bargain. If the Order 
 lacked a place of meeting, he turned out his household to give it 
 shelter. If it wanted a messenger, his response was, " Here am 
 I." On all sides he spread around it his protection and affection 
 as the child of his very soul. This was the more intensified, 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 283 
 
 localise he gave himself to no other fixed employment. This 
 was his business all else but temporary expedients. No wonder 
 his associates gazed on him with astonishment and gave him the 
 pre-eminence. He had purchased it with his money, deserved it 
 by his labors, conquered it by his zeal, held it by his prudence, and 
 indeed owned it as such men are the natural owners and chief- 
 tains among others ; for in him was that native force that defies 
 and subdues all competition. 
 
 We have not detailed the personal affronts put upon him by 
 press and people, which were numerous, and often full of vindic- 
 tive malice, One notable instance will serve as a sample. The 
 whole matter is set forth in the report of the committee of which 
 G. Secretary Ridgely was the chairman, and may be found in 
 the Journal 127-8. This action overwhelmed the slanderer; he 
 inserted in his paper a full retraction and ample apology, and the 
 matter was dropped. But we shall not proceed further in the 
 relation of that which sheds no light upon Wildey's character. 
 Further details are unnecessary; his name was beyond the 
 reach of calumny, and all such efforts recoiled upon his per- 
 secutors. 
 
 When he retired from office in 1833, he saw that success was 
 certain. At that period he had instituted four lodges in Mary- 
 land, organized the " Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United 
 States," and originated the Patriarchal Order; he had extended the 
 institution to Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and the 
 District of Columbia, Ohio, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Delaware, 
 and saw them all united under the present Grand Lodge of the 
 United States. The Order was no longer in the hands of one 
 man, or of a few men ; but the vigorous offspring, obeying the law 
 of nature, was escaping from paternal control, and entering upon 
 a life of self-reliance and independence. The dominion he had 
 gained and the power he had exercised, in the very nature of 
 things, were slipping from his grasp. The hour of his official 
 abdication had arrived, when he should resign the sceptre, and 
 place the crown on the brow of a successor, in the line of those 
 great Odd Fellows who were to spread the fame of the Order over 
 the whole earth. There was no decay of his faculties, and no 
 diminution of his activity or zeal ; but the day of personal govern- 
 ment and single efforts had passed away, to give place to an era 
 of organization and associated effort, far beyond the capacity of 
 
284 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 any single individual, no matter how greatly assisted by personal 
 magnetism or upheld by sympathizing confederates. 
 
 This point in his history he could not foresee ; but when he 
 realized it he bowed to the necessity, and with a dignity worthy 
 of the occasion, and a solemnity which truly reflected the emotions 
 of his soul, he uttered a " Farew r ell Address," and descended from 
 the chair of Grand Sire to mingle in the ranks of the brotherhood 
 at large. This scene rises before us as a great event in the 
 life of Wildey, then but fifty-one years of age, and in the 
 prime of a manhood which but few could match. Of all his 
 pioneers* of 1819, not one was at his side: Entwisle had died 
 early, Welch had sought other associations, and of his later 
 helpers, Williams had deceived him, and the rest were scattered 
 and gone. Two alone were present who sat in the early councils : 
 Scotchburn, of his own nationality, who entered the G. Lodge of 
 Md. and of the U. S., November 22, 1822, and Mathiot, who 
 was initiated early in 1823, and who was now G. Secretary. All 
 the others were new men to him, and of far other sort than his 
 first companions. These were the organizers who had come in 
 to take up the work where he should lay it down, and gratefully 
 writing his name upon it as upon a precious cornerstone, build 
 thereon a World's Temple to Fraternity, which would alike per- 
 petuate his labor and his fame. In that celebrated assembly 
 there were in all ten persons, including the G. Sire, viz : Thomas 
 Wildey, M. W. G. Sire ; Thomas Scotchburn, R. W. D. G. Sire ; 
 Augustus Mathiot, R. W. G. Secretary ; Thomas Morse, W. G. 
 G. ; George Keyser, Rep. of Maryland ; John Pearce, Proxy of 
 New York ; Howell Hopkins, Rep. of Pennsylvania ; James L. 
 Ridgely, Proxy of Ohio ; Samuel Lucas, Proxy of Louisiana, and 
 Simon Robinson, Rep. of Delaware. 
 
 We may imagine the eifect of an adieu delivered by such a 
 man to such an audience, and even at this distance of time, be 
 sensible of a feeling that he was speaking to us also in that 
 touching peroration : " Farewell, my brethren, and permit me to 
 tender to you, individually, my most affectionate regard and 
 best wishes for your continued health, happiness, and prosperity." 
 Of all who heard that farewell of the Founder, but one, the 
 youngest of the group, survives, and he alone can say how deeply 
 it stirs his soul when he looks first at that and then at this the 
 men of 1833 and the men of 1878 the trust committed to the 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 285 
 
 former by Wildey, and the grand result of to-day in the splendid 
 spectacle of American Odd Fellowship. 
 
 WILDEY THE TRAVELLING MISSIONARY. 
 
 It will appear elsewhere in this history that Wildey did not 
 confine himself to Maryland. We have already told of his first 
 travels in 1823, when in a few months he planted the Order suc- 
 cessively in Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. With 
 the charter for Massachusetts in his hands, he passed through 
 Philadelphia and New York, and having instituted Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1, and the G. Lodge of Massachusetts, he returned to 
 put the same machinery in motion in New York and Pennsyl- 
 vania. For his expenses he received but a trifling sum, and paid 
 into the treasury seventy-five dollars as the charter fees of the 
 new Grand bodies. The expenses could not have been less than 
 three times the amount awarded him, the balance coming out of 
 his own pocket. From that hour he assiduously labored until he 
 saw those bodies united with that of Maryland, in a separate G. 
 Lodge of the United States in 1825. But this did not satisfy him 
 so long as his Order was only in name independent. He was 
 present as G. Sire at the session of April, 1826, and presided over 
 the body with his usual capacity, in which but one elected Rep- 
 resentative had, as yet, found his way. To this meeting came a 
 message from the parent body 'in England, with the present of 
 the Patriarchal Degree. It was thankfully received, and the G. 
 Lodge adjourned. Wildey was no doubt reminded by this inci- 
 dent of the relations of the American to the English brotherhood, 
 and an idea big with consequences flashed into his mind. With 
 him, to see an advantage was at once to improve it. Suddenly, 
 he, who never missed a meeting, was absent, rumors were afloat 
 that he was doing something for his brethren at some distant 
 place. But July came, and with it came the G. Sire, fresh from 
 a trip to the mother country. 
 
 It seems that he reached Manchester on the 17th June, 1826, 
 having had a passage of twenty-one days from Baltimore to 
 Liverpool. With his usual good fortune he obtained all that he 
 wished, and was the subject of astonishment at his daring by the 
 English brethren. They hailed him \vith enthusiasm as the 
 father of trans- Atlantic Odd Fellowship. He again embarked, 
 and, after many hardships, landed in his adopted country. As 
 
286 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 soon as he could recover from his fatigue and pass around among 
 the lodges, inspecting the work and cheering the brethren with 
 his presence, he assembled his associates and told them the story 
 of his visit. He had in the interim effected the diplomatic success 
 of his life. He produced and read to them the new charter, 
 which gave them independence, character and power. He alone 
 had made the venture, and he had succeeded. With no creden- 
 tials but the reputation which preceded him, and no endorsement 
 from his Order, or petition from his Grand Lodge, he grasped the 
 prize, and laid at the feet of the G. Lodge of the United States, 
 not yet twenty months old, the crown by whose authority the 
 whole of America w r as rendered independent. It was a free gift 
 from the Manchester Unity to Wildey, and it was a free gift 
 from Wildey to his brethren ; he did not insult their poverty by 
 speaking of expenses, but paid out of his own purse every dollar 
 of the outlay. 
 
 When G. Sire he had also improvised the annual movable 
 committee, and although but one report of its labors was made 
 and it utterly failed of its purpose, yet it no less called out his 
 personal exertions, which again led him to Massachusetts and 
 New York, where he did all that man could do to prop up those 
 falling jurisdictions. We find him afterwards in 1832 making a 
 pilgrimage to the Mississippi valley and planting the Order in 
 New Orleans. He stops by the way to cheer his brethren in 
 Pittsburg, and in a few days is found in Cincinnati, visiting and 
 instructing the lodges, and providing for opening an Encamp- 
 ment. He stops also at Louisville, and arranges here to open a 
 lodge on his return. After ten days' passage from Louisville he 
 reaches the Crescent City, and in that far distant locality accom- 
 plishes the object of his journey. He forms a G. Lodge and 
 opens an Encampment on the 15th of January, 1833, for Louis- 
 iana. He then turns back and opens the first lodge of Odd 
 Eellows in Kentucky ; still returning, he institutes the G. Lodge 
 of Ohio on the 7th of February ; and having left behind him as a 
 fiery train the burning enthusiasm he had borne to the brethren, 
 he returns with happy alacrity to Baltimore. 
 
 Again, in 1833, he visited New York, and left no effort un- 
 tried to rouse that jurisdiction from its apathy. On the 4th of 
 July he visited New Jersey, and having reconciled every differ- 
 ence in that State, he located its G. Lodge and opened an En- 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 287 
 
 carnpment. Still yearning for Massachusetts, lie again treads her 
 soil and invokes all his energies to overcome her apathy. Re- 
 turning, he finds the Order in Rhode Island disbanded, but 
 zealously infuses new life into the brethren and brings them to- 
 gether. Having granted a charter to New Jersey, he is again 
 among them, and on the 31st of August opens the G. Lodge of 
 that State. These were his missionary labors when he held the 
 office of G. Sire; we are here confined to the outlines, the par- 
 ticulars would fill a volume. 
 
 In 1835, by the request of his successor, he again visited 
 Boston, to revive, if possible, in that noble city, the expiring 
 embers of the Order. There, with P. Grand Wood, afterwards 
 the heroic pioneer of Ehode Island, he again called together the 
 Spartan band yet in the field to retrieve the fortunes of the day. 
 But the hour of that splendid jurisdiction was not yet, and it 
 was not until 1842 that Massachusetts began her present career 
 of greatness. Having visited and labored at all the intermediate 
 points, including New York, he returns again to work in his- 
 subordinate lodge and in the G. Lodge of Maryland. In 183T 
 he was sent to Richmond, and on the 16th of August he opened 
 an Encampment in that city, having on the 20th instituted the 
 G. Lodge of Virginia and installed the officers. 
 
 On the 3d of October of the same year, on motion of Rep. 
 Ridgely, he was made Travelling Agent of the G. Lodge of the 
 United States, and accepted the appointment. In March, 1837, 
 we find him again at Pittsburg ; he passes thence to Wheeling, 
 and through the interior of Ohio, and again makes his way to 
 Cincinnati. Accompanied by the G. Lodge of Ohio, with a 
 band of music, he embarks and makes a triumphant entry into 
 Louisville. In his progress he reaches Natchez on the 25th of 
 April, establishes a lodge and forms an Encampment. Before 
 leaving he also institutes the G. Lodge of Mississippi. He again 
 enters New Orleans and imparts instruction to the lodges. 
 Afterwards, entering Alabama, he opened an Encampment in 
 Mobile, and provided for the institution of Mobile Lodge, No. 2. 
 When at New Orleans he granted a charter for a lodge to be located 
 in Houston, in the republic of Texas ; the first lodge opened in a 
 foreign land by authority of the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States. On his return he institutes a lodge and an Encampment 
 at St. Louis, and opened the G. Lodge of the State of Missouri. 
 
288 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 From St. Louis he goes to Alton, opens there a lodge and En- 
 campment, and in a few days institutes the G. Lodge of Illinois. 
 Still moving on, he visited Mineral Point in Wisconsin, and added 
 to the Order a subordinate lodge and an Encampment. But why 
 particularize ? He multiplied himself in every direction as a very 
 apostle of fraternity, building up the cause, and imparting new 
 life to every aspiration of the new-born organizations. 
 
 All his acts in the premises were duly confirmed by his prin- 
 cipals, as marked by a wise discretion and in every way for the 
 good of the Order. By this time the Order had spread so widely 
 and had grown so rapidly, that it was no longer necessary to 
 travel into the States; application followed application and 
 lodge followed lodge in so many directions, rising up to crown 
 his labors, that even he was satisfied to sit down and witness the 
 grand uprising. 
 
 Although he had now attained to and passed all the honors 
 and distinctions which the Order could confer, and was no 
 longer invested with the robes and prerogatives of office, he did 
 not, as men generally do, throw off as a worn garment his 
 interest and regard for his early love, although, in so far as the 
 continued prosperity of the Order was concerned, he might thus 
 li-ve done. There still remained a few of his early co-laborers 
 in the vineyard, and he had raised up spirits kindred to his own, 
 whose character, talents, and devotion to the institution offered 
 the amplest security for its safety. But no ephemeral ambition 
 for momentary fame or popular applause had supplied incentive 
 to his love for the Order ; self had no agency in giving impulse 
 to his generous heart : on the contrary, all his efforts, all his 
 offices and toil, were self-sacrificing from first to last. Through- 
 out his whole career as an Odd Fellow, private interests, health, 
 comfort, and worldly advantage in all its forms, were surren- 
 dered freely and nobly upon the altar of the Order he loved and 
 cherished with a devotion that never wavered, and which, as age 
 advanced upon him and infirmities crept on, became more and 
 more intense. By virtue of his honors, as P. G. Sire, he was 
 under the constitution a member of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, but, representing no particular constituency, he 
 ^enjoyed no vote. He was nevertheless ever at his post, per- 
 forming active service upon committees, and during a period of 
 thirty-six years was never absent from his seat in that body, how- 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 289 
 
 ever distant its place of meeting from his home, except on three 
 occasions, on each of which he was confined by severe illness. 
 In 1840 the Grand Lodge of the United States ordered the full 
 length portrait of Bro. Wildey, which now graces the walls of 
 the Egyptian saloon in Baltimore, and in 1841 again deputed 
 him upon official business to the East and North. From this 
 period the Grand Lodge of the United States, which had hitherto 
 been for the most part composed of proxy representation, began 
 to consider plans for assembling the State jurisdictions by 
 proper personal representatives. In 1842 the measure was set 
 on foot, and consummated in 1843. The effect of this wise act 
 of legislation upon the prosperity of the Order it is almost im- 
 possible to value. It assembled Representatives in 1843 from 
 twenty States, and in September, 1860, assembled Representa- 
 tives from every State in the Union, not excepting Oregon, and 
 from the District of Columbia and the Territory of Nebraska. 
 
 This body, thus constituted, has since 1843 been the soul of 
 Odd Fellowship, and under its auspices the Order has covered 
 this continent. Stretching on the north from the British Pos- 
 sessions, it reaches to the Gulf, and from the Gulf to the Pacific 
 shore ; sweeping beyond the Continent, it rests upon the Ha- 
 waiian Isles, and thence careers still onward, making its abode 
 among the teeming hills and golden sands of distant Australia. 
 Notwithstanding the affairs of the Order were now committed 
 to competent and zealous hands, and Odd Fellowship under their 
 direction was everywhere expanding and prospering, Bro. Wildey 
 did not cease to cherish the liveliest interest in its administration, 
 and continued to be present at each Annual Communication of 
 the Grand Body, no matter where convened. 
 
 WILDEY THE PATRIARCH. 
 
 His crowning good fortune lay in this, that when the work 
 was done, he knew and accepted the issue. For such a man to 
 cease to lead was almost to cease to live. He recognized it, but 
 was satisfied ; his fame was secure, and he foresaw that new 
 leaders were the necessary programme of the future. 
 
 Thus we have drawn one after another the subtle threads 
 comprising the character of this eccentric man. Many of them 
 are of little worth, but others that give color to the fabric will 
 be found to be of gold. He rose above the level of early asso- 
 
 10 
 
290 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ciations, to teach wholesome truths, to confer a great boon upon 
 his fellow-men. How sweet his lessons, how like the cheerful 
 sunshine! how superior that philosophy which makes life a 
 blessing and death a victory, whose origin is benevolence and its 
 end philanthropy ! 
 
 Wildey did not rise with the modern progress of the Order ;. 
 the most that can be said of him is, that he did not seem to 
 descend. His work had not added grace to his manner, or led 
 him to improve his education. The frank, almost abrupt, address 
 that was native to him, always remained, and to the very last his 
 habits were peculiar. Those who knew him in later years, won- 
 dered at his prominence, and saw nothing in the man to explain 
 it. Measured by the standard of his work when expanded, he 
 seemed feeble and insignificant. His appearance and conduct 
 were not calculated to impress the observer with the opinion that 
 he was in the presence of more than a very ordinary man. In 
 fact, some natural emotions of concern would at times arise, as to 
 whether indeed it was proper to look to him as the source of so 
 much that gratified the pride and taste of so great a number of 
 cultivated persons. The emotion was natural, and all the appear- 
 ances of the object warranted its existence. He became, to a 
 great extent, a solitary man, and lived much in the past. Of 
 social life outside of the Order, he had but little or none ; although 
 successful in business, that business was not of a kind to give him 
 much credit with his fellow-citizens. At the last he was left 
 behind by the master-minds who had become the guardians of 
 the Order. If he had improved himself to meet the demand 
 upon him, it might have been different ; but he never inclined 
 that way. 
 
 His mind was unconsciously always recurring to the old 
 scenes and his first companions. His heart was with the modern 
 era, but his memories, made sacred by a thousand recollections, 
 were most faithful to the older times. The new names that had 
 sprung up, and the new men who were leading the enterprise, 
 seemed to confuse him, and inspire a sort of wonder that such 
 things should be. The difficulty of reconciling his apparent cir- 
 cumstances with his real place in the Order, was as great to him 
 as it was to others. Inaction had come upon him, to relax his 
 energies and blunt his sensibilities. He was the ancestor among 
 his heirs already in possession the magician whose arts had been 
 
THOMAS WILDE Y. 291 
 
 improved upon, and himself supplanted by those more skilful. 
 His day's work was done and the night came on apace, and 
 he had nothing to fill up the interval. Strange multitudes 
 came to look upon him, and spoke kind words of greeting ; 
 but they were not his familiars, and in many cases he saw 
 that they were rather surprised than satisfied. His work, 
 indeed, was done, but it was well done, and the hardest task- 
 master could exact no more. 
 
 Age also with its train of evils was upon him a cheerless 
 old age for one so fond of physical enjoyment. His early com- 
 panions had fallen away, and later associates could not answer 
 to his yearnings, or fill again the vacant seats. The old land- 
 marks were disappearing one after another, until he felt strange 
 and uncomfortable even in his favorite haunts. He might 
 well weep that no such world as he had contended in, remained 
 for further conquest. His native force, almost without parallel, 
 had led him to a life of boundless activity : all this was spent, 
 and he had to wrestle with the inclination when the power to 
 execute had departed. It was only left to him to leave a world 
 in which he could no longer work his will as a potent force 
 in the aifairs of men. There w^ere times indeed when the old 
 flame burnt brightly in the socket, and at some festival his 
 gaiety returned. Then, age forgotten, he rehearsed the story of 
 the early days, and made his auditors the confidants of the hopes 
 and fears of the pioneers. He was young again, and for a mo- 
 ment the lapse of years vanished from his memory. On such 
 occasions he sat, a noble wreck of enjoyment laughing with 
 true philosophy at ills he could not avoid. True to his old 
 instincts he sought out new mysteries, and gave his approbation 
 to the rising secret societies of the later time. Everywhere he 
 was respected ; his locks had fallen away and his brow was 
 wrinkled, but his heart was young. Youth gathered around 
 him as a relic of the happy past, and joined with glee in his 
 ancient minstrelsy ; while age and experience could scarce repress 
 a sigh of envy that time was so tender of him. But this was 
 not often, and he slowly yielded to the days that sapped his 
 strength and hurried him to meet his conqueror. It might have 
 been otherwise ; if he could have kept pace with his advancing 
 reputation he might have presided among his successors as a 
 patriarch, blessed and honored by his children. No man in 
 
292 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 America had such an opportunity as he to wear the hard-earned 
 laurel in his lifetime and win fresh plaudits on his final passage. 
 But this by nature as well as by circumstances was denied him, and 
 he did not enjoy the double triumph. Yet after all, his shade may 
 well rest satisfied with the continuous reputation and glory which 
 every year adds to his renown. 
 
 THE DEATH OF THE FOUNDER. 
 
 The great Odd Fellow was now out of office, and to all appear- 
 ances was henceforth free from its cares and anxieties, and might 
 joyfully hasten to the otium cum dignitate of private life. 
 But in laying down his official rank he merely disrobed himself 
 of regalia, of formal apparel ; the real life of the man illuminated 
 him with a halo which no arbitrary distinction or blaze of repu- 
 tation could bestow. In his lodge and encampment, and in his 
 State Grand Lodge, he was again the brother of 1819 and 1821, 
 and in the Grand Lodge of the United States had eagerly served 
 as proxy, representative, or filled as actively as ever positions of 
 special trust by the appointment of his successors. The retro- 
 spect rose before him in bold and vivid outline : the London boy 
 3iad crossed the ocean, and for himself and others had founded a 
 reputation which was hailed with delight in England. We may 
 imagine his reflections when he traveled in memory over the 
 scenes of his life in America : first, a stranger, poor and neglected ; 
 then a well-to-do but obscure mechanic ; then the beginner of a 
 club, with a grip and a sign to keep intruders away. He looks 
 again : the club has become a society, and the motto, " mutual 
 relief" indicates the progress of his labors. Now his path is 
 more defined, as written law shapes the rude elements into har- 
 mony, and drills into compact form the band which has chosen 
 him its commander. The scene shifts : he is in many States and 
 among great populations ; strangers seek him and enlist under 
 his banners ; and those ensigns, fresh from the battles of HUMAN- 
 ITY, have other and prouder mottoes, honorably won : Friendship, 
 Love, Truth. The curtain again rises upon his leaguers in coun- 
 cil and their now distinguished chief; he is presiding over coun- 
 sellors fit for senate chambers, and with potent sway rules 
 a rising empire of benevolence and charity. All this 
 was history, and the curtain might have, and indeed did, reveal 
 more than we can well describe ; and having so much more to 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 293 
 
 disclose to him and to us, with God's blessing it will never fall ; 
 for the panorama of such a life will pass and continue, and freshly 
 enter, to fill us with astonishment and joy, until the influence of 
 that life shall fail, or the legacy he left to posterity shall perish. 
 The Grand .Representatives who were present have doubtless 
 a vivid memory of his unexpected appearance in his seat at the 
 annual session held at Nashville in 1860, pressed beneath the 
 weight of years and disease, with infirm and tottering step, but 
 his heart still true to its youthful instincts ; and again at the 
 session in 1861, at Baltimore, when they looked upon him in the 
 Grand Lodge chamber for the last time, receiving the congratu- 
 lations and greetings of his grateful brethren, with a counte- 
 nance, although furrowed and stricken, yet radiant with joy at 
 the consciousness that his mission had not been in vain. 
 In a few weeks after the adjournment, his body sunk to its 
 final rest, ere perhaps some of them had reached their distant 
 homes. In the Wildey eulogy at Front Street Theatre, Grand 
 Secretary Ridgely told the story, which even now unseals the 
 fountain of his tears. He said : " It was my fortune to witness 
 his last few days of life, to have received, as it were from his 
 own lips, his parting words for his brethren. Amid the suffer- 
 ings of the body and general prostration his mind never wan- 
 dered ; it was clear and unclouded, and dwelt almost exclusively 
 upon that subject which had engrossed it for more than forty 
 years. His worldly affairs gave him no concern, and he declined 
 all notice of them. The great effort of his soul was now to bid 
 adieu in some formal way to us all, to assemble us in his mind 
 before him, and to pronounce a blessing upon our labors. Look- 
 ing him earnestly in the face as it mirrored this noble sentiment, 
 I expressed a readiness to commit his thoughts to writing, 
 6 To-morrow ! ' he feebly uttered, i to-morrow ! ' Alas ! that 
 morrow never came to him ; the gorgeous sun, which was then 
 pouring his golden flood of light upon his pillow, his eyes never 
 again beheld. As I left him I grasped his hand, overwhelmed 
 by the gushing memories of the past : we had been long com- 
 panions ; when but a boy comparatively, he admitted me to his 
 confidence and to his counsels; he had honored me with his 
 friendship, which had never been interrupted during a period of 
 more than thirty years ; I had been his contemporary in the 
 Order, and a witness of his labors and their splendid reward : 
 
294: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 these thoughts came fresh and unbidden as I looked upon his 
 familiar and still serene countenance ; I felt that I should not 
 see him here below again. I was right ; I never did, and never 
 shall." 
 
 " To-morrow ! " he feebly whispered " to-morrow ! " but 
 to him that morrow never came. That night he crossed the 
 gulf and sailed out upon the boundless and unknown. Did he 
 mean to fix the day of final parting and of his last farewell to 
 his brethren? It may be so; but if it is given to the dying to 
 have the gift of prophecy, this may have been a prediction. To- 
 morrow ! yes, a long and glorious to-morrow. Did he see that 
 grave assembly of the magnates of the Order, listening to the 
 panegyric that was the first loud echo of his fame ? Did he 
 read the inscription on the marble to be reared by his lodges in 
 Maryland ? Did he witness the splendid procession that with 
 waviftg banners thronged the streets of Baltimore to do homage 
 to his memory ? Did he see them the uncovered representa- 
 tives of a nation of brethren unveiling his monument with 
 paeans? Did he see TEMPLAR LODGE of California sending a 
 MORSE to plant his Order among the millions of Germany? 
 Did he see this history written to record his deeds and ensure his 
 full meed of reputation to the latest generation ? And did 
 there in that dread hour burst upon his vision the triumph of 
 fraternity throughout the world ? " To-morrow ! " yes, hero of 
 humanity, that is the legacy thou hast left thy children! 
 He died in the very arms of his Order : they were pleasant in 
 their lives, and in his death they were not divided. 
 
 Thus fell the last and greatest of the Trio he who was 
 primus inter pares ; and the roll of public benefactors had one 
 more added to its illustrious catalogue. The land was full of 
 his successors, for, having no offspring, mankind was his adopted 
 family. His last utterances should become household words 
 with orphans and widows, the sick and the suffering, for they 
 were spoken by the tongue of a philanthropist and patriarch 
 whose life was a boon to the poor and sorrowing. With all the 
 pomp and ceremony that befitted the occasion of " funeral 
 honors," and a mourning train that filled the thoroughfares of 
 his adopted city, he was laid in Greenmount Cemetery, where 
 his early disciples, Mathiot and Marley and Boyd, afterwards lay 
 down beside him ; three marked men in our history, illustrating 
 the three cardinal virtues of FRIENDSHIP, LOVE and TRUTH. 
 
WILDEY MONUMENT, BROADWAY, BALTIMORE, 1863. 
 
THOMAS WILDEY. 
 
 295 
 
 The Founder had outlived two generations, and was in his 
 eightieth year when lie passed away, on the 19th day of October, 
 1861, leaving 42 jurisdictions and 200,000 Odd Fellows as his 
 pyramid : a prouder tribute than ever rose to Egyptian greatness 
 by the sacred waters of the Nile. 
 
 nl 
 
 ; 
 
 GREENMOUNT CEMETERY, BALTIMORE, MD. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 
 
 Friendship above all ties does bind the heart, 
 And faith iii friendship Is the noblest part. 
 
 LORD OKKERY. 
 
 Didst thou but know the Inly touch of love, 
 Thou vouldst .as soon go kindle fire with snow, 
 As seek to quench the fire of love with words. 
 
 SHAKSPEARE. 
 
 This above all, to thine own self be true; 
 And it must follow, as the night' the day, 
 Theu canst not then be false to any man. 
 
 SHAKSPEA.RE. 
 
 The scattered lodges of England in the earliest times had 
 but simple ceremony ; it was limited to " making " the term 
 for an initiation, and the formula for opening and closing a 
 lodge. In January, 1814, the Manchester Unity formed a federal 
 independency. Its first step was in the direction of a secret 
 work. Before that time the beneficial feature was the distinctive 
 trait, and ritualistic elements were but little known or considered- 
 It was about two years before it took a form which led to any- 
 thing like practical results. A committee was appointed with 
 instructions to prepare a series of suitable lectures, with appro- 
 priate signs, passwords and grips ; and to spare no pains to make 
 them interesting and instructive. Although deficient in literary 
 capacity, they assiduously wrought out a scheme, and in Hay,, 
 1816, reported the result. It consisted of three degrees and ac- 
 companying lectures, afterwards known as the First or White, 
 the Second or Blue, and the Third or Scarlet Degree. They 
 were printed, adopted, and furnished to the Order. As may 
 readily be supposed, they were of rude construction ; but the in- 
 elegant diction that subsequently grated harshly on educated 
 ears deeply impressed the simple men who then constituted the 
 larger element interested. 
 
 It does not follow that degrees were at this time devised ; to 
 the contrary, no claim for such an origination was then set up. 
 
 (296) 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 297 
 
 The Manchester Unity separated from the London Order, called 
 the Grand Lodge of England. Before that separation it had all 
 the work, if any, of its superior. We do not know its nature or 
 extent, and cannot pass judgment, therefore, upon the respective 
 claims of each. From what we can gather, it appears that 
 this was a revision and introduction, and not an origination on 
 the part of the L T nity. The degrees were only conferred on 
 those who had proved themselves by regular attendance upon 
 lodge duties for stated periods. In 1818 the conditions were as 
 follows : for the White Degree, faithful membership during three 
 months ; for the Blue Degree, six months ; and for the Scarlet 
 Degree, twelve months. No money charge was exacted, and 
 each candidate was subjected to the ballot. The lectures were 
 not confined to candidates, but were to be read at regular periods 
 in each district for the common benefit. This was the law until 
 1830, when the White Degree was given at any time after the 
 pay merit for initiation ; the Covenant three months afterwards, 
 and so at intervals of three months for all the degrees. 
 
 The date of the production of the fourth or Golden Rule De- 
 gree cannot be fixed, or w r hether it preceded those of Covenant 
 and Remembrance. No records attest its origin or history. It 
 first appears at the organization of the G. Lodge of Md. and of 
 the U. S. on February 22, 1821. Six P. Grands only were 
 present on the occasion ; one of them had the degree and con- 
 ferred it upon the other five. Wildey was certainly not the in- 
 structor, or the faithful minutes which never forgot him would have 
 set it down. The minute is suggestive : " P. G. Larkam having 
 been duly admitted to membership, the Golden Rule Degree was- 
 then conferred on five P. Grands." This seems to settle the 
 question of an English origin, and that Larkam brought it over 
 and gave it out. There has been a surmise that it was not 
 imported, and was in fact Entwisle's work, but there is no foun- 
 dation for the theory. Until 1827 the honor of receiving this 
 degree was limited to P. Grands, w r ho had been admitted by 
 vote to membership in the G. Lodge. It was conferred in the 
 body of the G. Lodge, until, with the Patriarchal and Purple 
 Degrees, it was transferred to the Encampment branch of the 
 Order. It then took its present place, of the second in that 
 ritual. It was conferred on the first eleven as complimentary; 
 after which the fee of one dollar was required to be paid, and 
 applicants were subjected to the ballot. 
 
298 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 RITUAL OF WASHINGTON LODGE. 
 
 At the beginning, Washington Lodge had no ritual. As 
 stated elsewhere, its first members were of different sections of 
 the Order ; they had no common lesson to receive or to impart. 
 : ;Such property could not be lawfully in their possession. They 
 were entirely ignorant of the work of the Manchester Unity until 
 instructed by Henry M. Jackson. He brought the subordinate 
 lodge degrees, the initiatory form, and the opening and closing 
 ceremony. At the institution they had absolutely nothing, except 
 perhaps a grip, a password, and an obligation. That the Man- 
 chester Unity had the White, Blue and Scarlet Degrees is fully 
 verified. A printed book with the imprint of Mark Wardle, 
 Manchester, 1824, is now in our archives. It contains these 
 degrees in full, as they then existed. Washington Lodge had 
 "them in manuscript as the foundation of the system afterwards 
 completed. When the two American, or intermediate degrees, 
 .appeared, the five constituted the subordinate degrees of the 
 Order. The origin of these latter is honorable to all concerned. 
 
 THE AMERICAN DEGREES OF COVENANT AND REMEMBRANCE. 
 
 Previous to 1821, when Washington Lodge was ruling by its 
 committee of P. Grands, a remarkable occurrence gave a great 
 impulse to the secret work. One of the P. Grands, John Pawson 
 Entwisle, was carefully devising two degrees with suitable lec- 
 tures, to be used with the three already adopted. When prepared, 
 they were submitted to the committee and were approved ; and 
 on the 25th of November, 1820, the lodge was duly notified of 
 their acceptance and adoption as intermediate degrees. They 
 were designated "the degrees of the Covenant and Remembrance." 
 The impression made by them must have been very great. On 
 February 22, 1821, when the G. Lodge was formally instituted, 
 provision was made for its pecuniary support. The regulations 
 for that purpose fix a great value on the new work. The charges 
 were " ten dollars for the dispensation ; ten dollars for the White, 
 Blue and Scarlet Degrees, and books of charges, and ten dollars 
 for the intermediate degrees, called the Covenant and Remem- 
 brance." These items make up the amount of the charter fee, 
 thirty dollars. It is clear from this that they were relatively 
 more greatly valued than the old work. When G. Sire Wildey 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 
 
 made liis visit to England in 1826, he presented them to the 
 Manchester Unity. The Annual Movable Committee of Not- 
 tingham, on June 6, 1827, gratefully accepted the gift; thus our 
 first G. Secretary enriched the ritual of the mother country. 
 
 THE PAST OFFICIAL DEGREES. 
 
 The next accession were the P. Official Degrees. Tho min- 
 utes of the Unity are as silent about them as about the Golden 
 Rule. They came to us from that body ; the date of their arrival 
 is not fixed, but it must have been soon after the English charter 
 was granted. Their charge-book, issued by Mark Wardle, 1824, 
 was a new edition, revised and corrected. They are set out in 
 that book as part of the work. These degrees are unwritten 
 instructions, in symbolic language, without lectures, and 
 designed simply as rewards for official service in a subordi- 
 nate lodge. They are known as P. K G., P. Y. G., and P. Sec.'s 
 degrees. Their original form remains unchanged ; but by special 
 provision the P. Y. G. and P. S. degrees may be conferred out of 
 the usual order. The G. L. IT. S., in 1856, (Digest 444 a), pro- 
 vided, " In case of a vacancy in the office of N. G. or Y. G. of a 
 subordinate lodge, and all qualified members refusing to accept 
 cither of said offices, the lodge may, by dispensation, elect a Scar- 
 let Degree member thereto, who shall be entitled to the honors, 
 as in the case of constituting a new lodge." Also, in 1874, (Digest 
 445 a), that, " the G. Lodges of the several jurisdictions, subordi- 
 nate to this R. W. G. L., are hereby authorized to cause to be 
 conferred the honorary degree of Past Secretary on any P. Grand 
 in good standing, who has served a lawful term as Y. Grand and 
 N. Grand in a subordinate lodge." 
 
 The first notice of these degrees is found in the Unity proceed- 
 ings held at Manchester on September 5th, 1822, as follows : " Re- 
 solved, that no elective officer be entitled to his signs as a Past 
 Officer until he has passed the office for which the sign is intended, 
 in a meritorious manner." As some irregularities had crept into 
 their proper administration, on June 25th, 1824, further legisla- 
 tion was resorted to : " Resolved, that the G. Master, or D. G. M. 
 in his absence, (tall quarterly, (or as often as they see fit or neces- 
 sary) general lectures, at which the lectures of P. Officers, the signs 
 and passwords, may be given to those entitled to the same, to pre- 
 vent such mistakes as have had frequent occurrence." Neither of 
 
300 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 these resolutions would seem to refer to something just introduced,, 
 but rather to what had been already practiced. They could only 
 apply to work already generally adopted ; and some considerable 
 time must have elapsed, in which the evil had crept in for which 
 they were the remedy. Hence, these degrees had been known 
 and imparted before that time. As early as February 22d, 1823, 
 it was enacted by the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. " That 
 each member of the G. Lodge be required to give the P. Grand's 
 sign and password before they can be admitted into the G. 
 Lodge." Thus, the Past Officer's degree was already in use, and 
 was at that time made the test of membership in that body. It 
 continued to furnish the working sign and password of the G. 
 Lodge in both its singular and dual conditions, until the adop- 
 tion of a special G. Lodge degree. 
 
 THE ROYAL PURPLE DEGREE. 
 
 The next in order of time was that degree now known as the 
 Royal Purple. It was first designated as the Fifth Degree, after- 
 wards the Past Grand's or the Mazarine Blue Degree ; purple at 
 last became the color, as indicative of its order of succession. It 
 is clearly an American production, but there has been no special 
 claim of authorship ; it is one of the mysteries we have not been able 
 to unravel. It came personally from G. Sire Wildey, but he could 
 never be induced to give the particulars. It was submitted in 
 fragments to his associates, until all the parts were furnished. 
 He never claimed to be the author, and no one believed in his 
 ability to produce it. But as he alone stood for it, for conveni- 
 ence it was assumed that it was his work. In this anonymous con- 
 dition it found its way into the G. Lodge of the United States on 
 the 30th day of March, 1825. On its presentation the following 
 action was had : " Ordered, That the G. Lodges be informed that 
 there is a color on their charters for a degree which they have not 
 received, and that it will be forwarded as soon as possible." 
 " Resolved, that it is the opinion of this G. Lodge that the benefit 
 arising from the said fifth degree, shall be forwarded to this body, 
 to defray the expenses of the same, and likewise that of the rep- 
 resentatives of each State." It would seem that the whole matter 
 had been previously matured the degree, its order, and its use 
 for fiscal purposes. It was in this manner adopted, and sent to 
 the G. Lodges under the instructions agreed upon. 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 301 
 
 It reached the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, April 14th, 1825, 
 when it was postponed to await " more information on the 
 subject." It was again considered June 3, 1825, on the occasion 
 of a visit from G. M. Wildey ; his presence gave rise to the fol- 
 lowing : " Resolved, that the G. Master of the G. Lodge of the 
 United States be requested to give the Mazarine Blue Degree to 
 such brothers as may apply to him for it, before leaving the city ; 
 upon his being satisfied that they are entitled to receive it." 
 " Resolved, that the G. Lodge will pay her proportion of the 
 expense necessary to complete the said degree in the United 
 States." 
 
 A copy of a letter, of the date of May 8, 1825, from New 
 York, addressed to the G. Officers of the G. Lodge of the United 
 States, says for that jurisdiction that the fifth degree was very 
 much approved. At an adjourned meeting of its G. Lodge, held 
 June 6, 1825, at which G. M. Wildey was present, the fol- 
 lowing was adopted : " Resolved, that the fifth degree be, and 
 the same is hereby, received and accepted as part of the work of 
 the Order." " Resolved, that all moneys received for conferring 
 the fifth degree shall be paid over to the G. Lodge of the United 
 States, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the represen- 
 tatives that may be sent to that body." In New York as in Phila- 
 delphia, several brothers received the honors of the Purple 
 Degree from G. M. Wildey. The records of the G. Lodge of 
 Massachusetts are not accessible ; but G. M. Wildey was at its 
 session in June 1825. It is presumed that body readily assented 
 to the new degree, and received it from his hands. It had been 
 already submitted 15th April, 1825, to the G. Lodge of Maryland, 
 and it was at once fully approved by that body. In due time, 
 after the payment of the prescribed fee, a number of its P. Grands 
 also received the new instruction. 
 
 And thus was the fifth degree, successively known as the 
 Past Grand's Degree, the Mazarine Blue Degree, the Purple 
 Degree, and the Royal Purple Degree, established as a portion 
 of the work of the Order. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE DEGREE. 
 
 The Go Lodge Degree is also American ; growing naturally 
 out of the creation of State G. Lodges. It began with their or- 
 ganization. It has no lecture, but is left to the moral to be found 
 
302 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 in its peculiar password. It has never been changed since its in- 
 troduction. When G. Sire Wildey was in England in June, 1826,, 
 he submitted to the authorities of the Manchester Unity the 
 American degrees. They were the degrees of the Covenant and 
 Remembrance, the Purple or Past Grand's, and the G. Lodge de- 
 gree. The G. Committee in special session took charge of them for 
 submission to the next session of the Annual Movable Commit- 
 tee. The committee met at Nottingham, June 4, 1827, and 
 had these proceedings : " On a report of a sub-committee, the 
 degrees brought by G. Sire Wildey from America, were disposed 
 of as follows: Reso-lved, that the Covenant, Remembrance, and 
 the degree for Past Grands be adopted ; and that all degrees be 
 printed in a size corresponding with the American Lecture book, 
 except the P. Grand's degree, w T hich shall be printed pocket-book 
 size, for the use of P. G.'s; the color for the Remembrance 
 lecture to be green, the Past Grand's purple." 
 
 No reference was had to the G. Lodge Degree ; it could have 
 been but of little use in their system ; as their form of govern- 
 ment did not need it, no notice w r as taken of its offer. It was 
 passed by them informally, as an unobjectionable mode of its rejec- 
 tion. The Purple degree lecture after some delay was printed, 
 and in December, 1827, was ready for delivery in the jurisdiction 
 of the A. M. C. It w T as only conferred upon P. Grands of ap- 
 proved standing as a special mark of esteem and confidence. 
 
 THE PATRIARCHAL DEGREE. 
 
 About the time the brothers in Baltimore were constructing 
 the Purple degree, P. D. G. M. Smith, of the Duke of Norfolk 
 Lodge (now No. 55) Wigan, was employed in preparing another 
 degree, which has been of great service as an appropriate introduc- 
 tion to the ceremonial of the Royal Purple degree. Bro. Smith 
 submitted his work to the officers at Manchester in the early part of 
 1825, in advance of the regular meeting of the A. M. C. The ses- 
 sion of that body was held at Huddersfield, May 23, 1825, when 
 the production was referred to a committee of eight. This com- 
 mittee having reported favorably, the degree was adopted as the 
 Patriarchal; it was also resolved that "the dipthipiiphing badge 
 for the Patriarchal Order be Gold" Thanks were also bestowed 
 on P. G. Smith for " his exertions in bringing forward the newly 
 adopted degree." An order to print it was passed, and it was at 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH, 303 
 
 once disseminated through the Unity. The original Patriarchal 
 degree of P. G. Smith was not without merit, being mainly de- 
 signed to test the proficiency of its candidates in the previous 
 degrees. 
 
 In the summer of 1825 P. G. McCormick, of Maryland, was 
 a visitor in England. The officers at Manchester at once availed 
 themselves of his presence. He was entrusted with the new 
 degree and its lecture, to be delivered on his return, in person, to 
 G. M. Wildey and D. G. M. Welch. On his return, at the 
 session of the G. Lodge of the United States held September 
 25th, 1825, he presented his credentials to that body, and an- 
 nounced that he had duly presented the degree. Whereupon 
 the Patriarchal degree was conferred upon all the G. Officers 
 and members of the G. Lodge who were present. On October 
 18th, 1825, it was announced to the G. Lodge of Maryland, and 
 was conferred on a number of its P. Grands. It does not appear 
 to have reached the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania until May 12th, 
 1826. No doubt the G. Lodges of Massachusetts and New 
 York received the information about the same period. 
 
 Thus three new degrees of kindred character, but of some- 
 what different tendency from ordinary lodge work, were intro- 
 duced. Their candidates were limited to the small band which 
 composed the membership of a G. Lodge. The original design 
 was to help consume the time of the session and add to its 
 attractions ; thus they filled up the intervals between the 
 ordinary business and helped to sustain a feeble treasury. 
 
 AN ENCAMPMENT LODGE. 
 
 Such was the inside view of the work in the year 1827. But 
 in that year it had an extension. The G. Lodge of the United 
 States was already a successful experiment. It had four G. 
 Lodges to support its dignity, embracing four of the States of 
 the Union. Maryland had four working subordinates, one of 
 them operating in German ; Pennsylvania was a great success, 
 and the other Grand Lodges were promising. The leaders felt 
 that more extended views regarding the secret work would b<* 
 correspondingly beneficial. It began in a consultation amon^ 
 eight of the most active and useful members in Maryland. 
 After numerous suggestions, they met on May 6th, 1827, and 
 took final action ; it was then determined to organize a new 
 
30-i AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 and select branch of the Order open to Scarlet degree members 
 only. For this purpose they applied to the G. Lodge of Mary- 
 land for a warrant to establish an " Encampment Lodge," in 
 which the three new degrees could be conferred on brothers of 
 the Scarlet degree. It was at the meeting held May 15, 1827, 
 that the charter was granted. The application for the first time 
 .gave to the new work the distinctive appellation of " Encamp- 
 ment degrees." It will be noticed that this was an extension of 
 these degrees. Not only w T as the G. Lodge relieved from ritual- 
 istic work ; the degrees were diffused among the Order : the 
 Past Grands parted with an exclusive right and gave it to the 
 brotherhood. 
 
 The subject of these degrees had already received the atten- 
 tion of the G. Lodge. They were quite barren and naked, and 
 had much need for dress and decoration. At the November session 
 of 1826 a crozier was devised as insignia for the Patriarchal 
 degree, and it was then informally determined that the system 
 of procedure for all of them needed reformation. It was plain 
 that much was necessary for their proper exemplification ; a full 
 set of emblems and a set of Appropriate regalia were indis- 
 pensable to give effect to their lectures and charges. Special 
 implements and fittings were required, and a separate place and 
 organization for their administration. So that when the move- 
 ment was made, the members were ready to give it their approval. 
 The petition was signed by Thomas Wildey, John Boyd, Thomas 
 Scotchburn, John Roach, Ezekiel Wilson, John F. Exe, Thomas 
 Charters and Richard Marley. It was on the same night re- 
 ferred, reported upon, and the petition granted ; the charter fee 
 was forty dollars, and ten per cent, of its receipts was to 
 be paid to the G. Lodge. The G. Lodge relinquished the right 
 to confer the degrees so long as they should be properly given by 
 the new body, and Encampment Lodge, No. 1, was alone author- 
 ized to impart them to the Scarlet members. There was great 
 enthusiasm and the usual energy for working the new machinery ; 
 an encampment room was fitted up, emblems, implements and 
 suitable regalia were procured, and the " Encampment" was 
 duly instituted in the G. Lodge Hall on the 6th of July, 1827. 
 The first officers installed were : John Boyd, C. P.; Thomas 
 Wildey, H. P.; Thomas Scotchburn, S. W.; Richard Marley, 
 Scribe ; John J. Roach, J. W., and Ezekiel Wilson, Guardian. 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 305 
 
 The other members at the organization were John Welch, Wil- 
 liam Williams, Henry Harris, Charles Brice, Samuel Bickley, 
 George Freeburger, David Eamsey, Abraham Sanders, and 
 brothers Santmyer, Pitts, Clements and Richardson. 
 
 These eighteen, at a preliminary meeting on the 27th of May, 
 had fixed the price for the degrees ; for the first or Patriarchal 
 three dollars, for the second or Golden Rule four dollars, and 
 for the third or Purple degree five dollars. No charge, of 
 course, for those who had already received them. By this ar- 
 rangement they were able to begin with something in the 
 treasury. The precise period of this arrangement of the degrees 
 is not known ; the order was completely inverted, the last degree 
 prepared being the first conferred. One or more of the number 
 prepared the initiatory ceremonial, but no statement of the facts 
 has ever been made. Yery soon afterwards the degree, until 
 then known as the Purple, was designated the Royal Purple, 
 which name it still retains. We have stated the tradition on 
 this subject, but have nothing of our own to offer. But no one 
 should mistake the old for the new work. We cannot allege 
 any identity between the first Patriarchal degrees and the 
 present WORK. They did not seem to have any distinctive 
 degree character : substance w r as lacking to enable them to stand 
 alone ; hence when conferred in the G. Lodge they w r ere treated 
 as quasi side degrees. 
 
 The Golden Rule degree, as before stated, was introduced as 
 the fourth degree, February 22d, 1821. It was a barren sketch 
 without drapery. It is supposed to have taught the golden rule 
 of Christianity, with simply a sign and password. It had no 
 lecture. But its point and brevity made it popular; for, of the 
 forty-five Past Grands admitted to the G. Lodge in the first six 
 years, forty-one took the degree. Before being transferred to 
 the Encampments it became a little tangible. Article 7 of Con- 
 stitution of 1823 provided that it should be read every quarter 
 in the G. Lodge, and the G. Lodge of Maryland in April, 1826, 
 " Resolved, that the Fourth (G. R.) Degree be ordered to be 
 read." Of course there was something to read, but it was 
 barely " something," unless aided by oral teaching. 
 
 ENCAMPMENT OF PATRIARCHS. 
 
 After eighteen months' work under the charter it proved un- 
 satisfactory, and another was sought for in its stead. At the 
 
 9,0 
 
306 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 session of January 16th, 1829, the G. Lodge of Maryland adopted 
 the following : " Resolved, that Encampment Lodge, No. 1, be 
 allowed a charter in lieu of the one they have, that being defec- 
 tive in orthography." The original paper is not in existence, 
 and cannot be consulted. The new charter may be better, but it 
 is not a model of careful composition. The style was entirely 
 changed; it was no longer an Encampment Lodge, but an "En- 
 campment of Patriarchs." The new warrant has the original 
 date of the old one, and the names of six of the original charter 
 members. Other changes as to names occurred, but they were 
 not important. For some reason a sort of reform of the same 
 character was extended to the lodges. At the annual session of 
 the G. Lodge of 1830 the following was adopted : " Resolved, 
 that the charters of the subordinate lodges be taken from their 
 frames and others placed in, with the original dates and officers 
 who were the original signers of said charters, with the exception 
 of those who may have been expelled since that period." The 
 last clause seems to explain the whole matter, for a natural 
 aversion must have been felt to keeping the names of expelled 
 members upon such sacred instruments. William Williams, an 
 original encampment charter member, was one of the expelled. 
 The following is the substituted charter : 
 
 CHARTER OF THE FIRST ENCAMPMENT OF PATRIARCHS. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS. 
 To all whom it may concern : Know ye that an application 
 being made to the Grand Lodge of Maryland by the following 
 Past Grands, viz : Thomas Wildey, John Roach, Senr., John 
 Boyd, Thomas Charters, Thomas Scotch burn and Richard Marley ; 
 being all members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and 
 residing within the State of Maryland, to establish an Encamp- 
 ment of Patriarchs. We, the Grand Lodge of Maryland, by the 
 authority of a charter granted us by the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States of America, held in the city of Baltimore, hereby 
 grant this charter, and we, the Grand Lodge of the State of 
 Maryland, do empower the aforesaid Encampment of Patriarchs 
 to grant dispensations for opening an Encampment to all faithful 
 Odd Fellows throughout the globe ; and we, the Grand Lodge 
 of Maryland, do furthermore cede to the said Encampment of 
 Patriarchs the exclusive power of conferring the degrees apper- 
 taining to the Encampment of Patriarchs, viz : The Patriarchal 
 Degree, the Golden Rule Degree, and the Royal Purple Degree. 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 307 
 
 And we, the Grand Lodge, also privilege them to make such 
 laws as they may think expedient for their good government : 
 Provided, at all times, such laws be not at variance with the 
 constitution of the Grand Lodge of the United States, nor 
 that of the Grand Lodge of the State of Maryland. But 
 should the said Encampment infringe or violate the consti- 
 tution of the Grand Lodges, either of the State of Maryland, 
 or of the United States, or act in any manner derogatory 
 to the principles of Odd Fellowship, the Grand Lodge do retain 
 the power of suspending this charter ; but in case of a faithful 
 observance of the above stipulation, we do further bind ourselves 
 to repair all accidental damage or destruction of this charter. 
 In witness whereof, w r e have subscribed our names and affixed 
 the seal of the Grand Lodge of the State of Maryland, together 
 with the colors, hereby transmitted to the said Encampment of 
 Patriarchs, this the thirtieth day of May, A. D. 1827. 
 
 THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, G. M. 
 Black. CHARLES BRICE, D. G. M. 
 
 [SEAL] Gold. RICHARD MAULEY, G. W. 
 
 Purple. EZEKIEL WILSON, G. Sec. 
 
 JOHN ROACH, G. G. 
 
 DAVID RAMSEY, G. C. 
 
 But six grantees appear in the body of this instrument instead 
 of the original number. The name of P. G. Wilson, who sub- 
 scribed the original as G. Secretary, is also omitted. But the 
 hasty action of the body was particularly manifested in the name 
 given to the new organization. An Encampment of Patriarchs 
 is a generic name, and it was authorized to institute others of the 
 same class. But it should have been more specific. To be sure, 
 the G. Lodge twice designates it in its minutes as Encampment, 
 No. 1, but that was no more a distinctive name than Lodge, No. 1. 
 In fact it was out of the system a mere fragment, afterwards to 
 be put in a more tangible form. However, it existed until a G. 
 Encampment took its place in 1832, when a regular warrant was 
 issued to it as Jerusalem Encampment, JSTo. 1. It was simply an 
 experiment, having no precedent in England, and never thought of 
 in America until 1827. But a short trial was sufficient to show 
 its value ; one year's experience induced its projectors to perse- 
 vere until it became a permanent feature of the Order. G. Sire 
 Wildey led here as elsewhere, and invited the other G. Lodges 
 to participate. 
 
BOS AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ENCAMPMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 The G. Lodge of Pennsylvania was the first to respond. The 
 invitation reached them 011 June 9, 1828 ; on September 29 of 
 that year it ripened into action. At that time a petition was 
 offered to that body from ten members of the Patriarchal Degree, 
 praying for a warrant to " form an Encampment of Patriarchs." 
 The prayer was granted, a draft reported 27th October, and on 
 December 20, 1828, the warrant and charge books W T ere formally 
 delivered to the petitioners. But it seems that no organization 
 then took place. On June 16, 1829, G. Sire Wildey being 
 present, a motion prevailed to reconsider the whole matter. The 
 petition was recommitted, and a report made as follows : 
 
 The committee appointed to consider the propriety of forming 
 the petitioners for an. Encampment of Patriarchs into a G. Encamp- 
 ment, respectfully report that they have given the business that 
 serious consideration its importance merits, and are convinced 
 the interests of the Order will be promoted by forming said G. 
 Encampment: subject to the following resolutions, which your 
 committee recommend to your consideration : 
 
 Resolved, That the original jurisdiction and government over 
 all Odd Fellowship in Pennsylvania, is of right and necessity 
 vested in this G. Lodge. 
 
 Resolved, That this G. Lodge will grant a warrant for the 
 opening of a G. Encampment ; and that the recommendation of 
 said G. Encampment shall be necessary, at all times, to all peti- 
 tions that shall be oifered to this G. Lodge for warrants for 
 subordinate Encampments that hereafter may be applied for, by 
 Odd Eellows, properly qualified to receive the same. 
 
 Resolved, That ten per cent, of all moneys received by the 
 G. and Subordinate Encampments shall be paid to the G. 
 Lodge quarterly ; and that they will conform to such laws as 
 shall be hereafter dictated by this G. Lodge. 
 
 Resolved, That the warrant of each Encampment shall 
 embrace the principles and requisitions in this report. 
 
 The preamble and resolutions were concurred in, and the 
 plan at length took practical form in that State. 
 
 The whole action in Pennsylvania was characterized by 
 prudence and sagacity. The project was new and the form of 
 its execution somewhat revolutionary. A Grand Lodge was su- 
 preme in its State the sole fountain of local authority. All Odd 
 Fellows in the State of whatever degree were subject to the one 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 309 
 
 master. But here was the anomaly of a class of members seeking 
 to break away from the governing power and to set up for them- 
 selves. Certainly there w r as wisdom also in the desire for a 
 separation. Those having the superior degrees outranked all the 
 rest, and in that relation had nothing in common with them. A 
 separate association was necessary where equals in rank only 
 could legislate on those degrees. It was not proper that mem- 
 bers should be called upon to determine questions they did not 
 comprehend. The resolutions applied the remedy, and at the 
 same time secured the dignity and authority of the G. Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania. The G. Encampment provided for was organized 
 on June 19th, 1829, and began to give the degrees until a sub- 
 ordinate Encampment was instituted. A petition for that pur- 
 pose was granted on the 13th of August, 1829, and on the 16th 
 the lirst subordinate opened ; success was assured and thus the 
 new branch of the Order was firmly established in Pennsylvania. 
 This Encampment was distinguished simply as No. 1, but after- 
 wards assumed the style of Philadelphia Encampment, No. 1. The 
 journal of the G. Encampment does not give it the title until 
 April, 1838 ; in the meantime four other subordinates had been 
 formed with appropriate names. The report of the proceeding 
 says, " Your committee also opened an Encampment of Patri- 
 archs, which organization was received with the greatest appro- 
 bation. 1 ' The G. Encampment was opened by G. Sire Wildey, 
 who installed the G. Officers in due form. The report referred 
 to was that of the movable committee of the G. Lodge of the 
 United States, of which G. Sire Wildey was chairman. 
 
 NEW YORK AND MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 On visiting the G. Lodge of New York, the committee found 
 its members fully alive to the new departure. They had taken 
 with them an engrossed warrant for an Encampment, with blanks 
 for names, date and signatures ; the form being modeled after 
 that granted the preceding January in Maryland. It differed in 
 confining it^ jurisdiction in granting warrants to the State of 
 New York, instead of giving the globe for its theatre. This doc- 
 ument is preserved among the archives of that State. No history 
 of the new movement in Massachusetts is accessible, but the 
 report of the committee shows that they were at Boston ; here 
 
310 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 they met some delay, but before leaving they formally opened an 
 Encampment in that city. 
 
 WILDE Y TOOK THE RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 This was all done without the authority of the supreme 
 body. The excessive energy of Wildey could not bear inaction ; 
 his plan was to see and to perform. He had so long been master, 
 that he never gave thought to anything but the work in hand. 
 The advantages of a separation of the work, the propriety of 
 offering new inducements to Scarlet brothers, were manifest. 
 He did not hesitate, and his old cohort moved in line at his call. 
 Eut it was not the less revolutionary. To be sure, it succeeded, 
 and the end in this case seemed to justify the means. The G. 
 Lodge of Maryland acted with great spirit and put the plan 
 properly on foot. These degrees were no longer toys, but tools ; 
 the practice that confined them to P. Grands was abolished, and 
 a great engine for good set in motion. The charters of 1827 
 were simply nullities ; irregularity bred confusion, and the ex- 
 ample was of a nature to cause alarm. But the novelty gradu- 
 ally merged into the system, and at length the new movement 
 became the pride of the Order. 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE G. L. OF TJ. STATES. 
 
 The G. Lodge of the United States accepted the situation, 
 and indirectly gave aid and comfort. It went further, and 
 declared the Royal Purple degree a necessary qualification for 
 Grand Representatives, contenting itself with the assertion that 
 " it was the only legitimate depository for granting charters to 
 open lodges and Encampments in foreign States, or in the Dis- 
 tricts or Territories in America "; leaving it to be inferred that 
 what had already been done was legal. 
 
 THE ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 
 
 But this irregular proceeding had a short career. Steps were 
 taken to bring this comet-like emanation into the regular system, 
 and to make it directly subject to the central authority. At the 
 same session of 1831 a charter was granted to James L. Ridgely, 
 Joseph Bannister, John Boyd, Augustus Mathiot, Samuel Lucas 
 and Thomas Scotchburn to open a G. Encampment in Maryland. 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 311 
 
 But the G. Lodge of Maryland was already exercising sole juris- 
 diction in the same field. That body gracefully yielded at once 
 to the demand of its superior, and on the 17th of January, 1832, 
 passed the following: "Resolved, that for the purpose of vesting 
 undisputed and absolute jurisdiction to charter subordinate En- 
 campments, and all rights necessary thereto, in the G. Encamp- 
 ment, this G. Lodge doth hereby relinquish to said G. Encamp- 
 ment and vest therein all the rights, if any, the said G. Lodge 
 now possesses over Encampments in this State." The G. En- 
 campment had already been instituted on the 31st of December, 
 1831, and set up its tent in the city of Baltimore. It. will be at 
 once seen that the Patriarchal branch as to its mode of govern- 
 ment was formed upon the model of the State G. Lodges. By 
 this adjustment it assumed a position of entire State indepen- 
 dence as an integral part of the Order, was admitted to repre- 
 sentation in the Grand Lodge of the United States, and soon 
 rose by its sublime degrees and its select membership to the 
 apex of the system, becoming the superior grade in the Order. 
 
 MARYLAND FOLLOWED BY THE OTHER STATES. 
 
 But all this was the work of time. The same irregularity had 
 occurred in Pennsylvania ; the example of Maryland was fol- 
 lowed, and notwithstanding the manifest absurdity of the act, 
 that G. Lodge delegated its sovereignty to a G. Encampment, 
 which granted charters under its authority up to 1840, the 
 legislation of the G. Lodge on the subject being disregarded. 
 In the interval (1833) the G. Lodge of the United States so 
 amended its constitution as to require the recognition of its 
 jurisdiction over the Patriarchal branch, with " the exclusive 
 right to authorize Encampments in States or Districts where no 
 G. Encampments existed," and also making the R. P. degree a 
 qualification for the office of Grand Sire. The conflict of juris- 
 diction in the meantime continued not only in the States we 
 have named, but also in New York. The following statement, 
 taken from the columns of that late able publication, " The 
 Heart and Hand," gives a truthful version of the difficulty and 
 of its final adjustment : 
 
 In 1834 Patriarch Frederick Liese and others petitioned the 
 G. Lodge of the United States for a charter to open an Encamp- 
 
312 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ment in the city of New York, to be hailed as Mt. Hebron En- 
 campment. The committee reported that the G. Lodge had no 
 authority to grant the charter, inasmuch as the charter granted 
 to the G. Lodge of New York gave it the power to confer En- 
 campment Degrees; that the G. Lodge of New York, in 1829, 
 granted a charter to open an Encampment in Albany, which 
 charter invested in said Encampment the exclusive power to- 
 grant charters for Encampments in the State of New York. The 
 petitioners, perceiving the fallacy of obtaining a charter from a 
 body of co-ordinate operation, were desirous of receiving one from 
 an authority competent to guide as well as create. Their appli- 
 cation being refused, they subsequently applied to the Encamp- 
 ment at Albany and received a dispensation. The members of 
 the parent Encampment having seceded from the authority of 
 the G. Lodge of the United States, the powers relative to En- 
 campments in the State of New York reverted again to the 
 supreme G. Lodge, by the recall of the original charter of the 
 G. Lodge of that State in 1837, and a new charter was granted 
 to Mt. Hebron Encampment, No. 2, of New York, in lieu of the 
 dispensation under which it had existed. In August, 1839, the 
 G. Encampment of the State of New York was instituted in the 
 city of New York, assuming jurisdiction of all subordinates in 
 the State. 
 
 In 1840 the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania adopted a resolution 
 to relinquish all jurisdiction over Encampments in that State to 
 the G. Lodge of the United States, and an informal application 
 was made to the G. Sire to change the relations of the G. En- 
 campment from the State G. Lodge to the G. Lodge of the United 
 States, as tendered in the resolution. It was apparent to the G. 
 Sire that there were no legal means of attaining so important an 
 object, during the recess, as becoming possessed of jurisdiction 
 over the Encampments of any State. At the annual session in 
 1841 the G. Lodge of the United States accepted the surrender 
 of jurisdiction by the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, recognized the 
 existence of the G. Encampment, recalled the charter under 
 which it was constituted, granted a new one in lieu thereof, and 
 confirmed the charters of all existing subordinates throughout the 
 State. 
 
 This ended the authority of State G. Lodges over the Patri- 
 archal Order, and rid the Order of the anomaly heretofore exist- 
 ing, of the independence of the Encampments of the control of 
 the G. Lodge of the United States. At the period when Encamp- 
 ments were organized under the several G. Lodges, it was deemed 
 advisable to confer on them powers similar to those formerly con- 
 ceded, under like circumstances, to Lodges that is, to permit 
 the senior body to exercise the limited authority of establishing 
 co-ordinates. All the charters issued for the first Encampments 
 in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, being 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 313 
 
 alike in tenor, recognized the same incongruity. The impro- 
 priety of such assumption, and the well-being and perpetuity of 
 this branch of the Order, led to the organization of G. Encamp- 
 ments, properly constituted to exercise superintending authority 
 as well as that of giving existence thus relieving the Encamp- 
 ments in those States from all embarrassment incident to an un- 
 digested organization. 
 
 Since passing that ordeal, in which it stood alone and took 
 deep root in the hearts of the membership, it has never retro- 
 graded, but by its own prestige and the favor of the G. Lodge of 
 the United States, is now assured of permanent life and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 UNIFORMED PATRIARCHS. 
 
 Whatever may be said of the Encampment Branch by those 
 who do not seem to appreciate its value, everything points to its 
 popularity and perpetuity. No better indication of its vitality 
 can be found than in the favorable legislation of the G. L. IT. S. 
 Of this the most important was that which gave to Patriarchs a 
 street uniform in lieu of the ordinary regalia. The movement 
 began in 1870, when, at the instance of Rep. Perkins, of Massa- 
 chusetts, it was resolved " that subordinate encampments, when 
 they appear in public, may wear such uniform style of head- 
 dress as may be approved by the G. Patriarch of the jurisdiction. " 
 Under this resolution, chapeaux were at once adopted in certain 
 localities, to be worn in processions, as well as swords, belts, and 
 gauntlets ; and the matter being brought to the notice of the G. 
 Sire, he issued his proclamation forbidding their use. G. Sire 
 Stuart, though very favorable to a street uniform for Patriarchs, 
 had no alternative. G. Sire Farnsworth, before the passage of 
 this resolution, had decided " that no regalia is legitimate except 
 that prescribed by law chapeaux, crooks, swords and belts, and 
 all military paraphernalia not so prescribed, are accordingly in- 
 admissible." This decision was affirmed in the very words in 
 which it was made, and of course was decisive of the question 
 that a chapeau worn in procession was regalia. But G. Sire 
 Stuart's proclamation, although supported by a report from a 
 standing committee, was amended by striking out " chapeaux " 
 as part of the interdicted costume. This was the entering 
 wedge, and was done on the motion of Rep. Stokes, of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
314: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The friends of the new movement were greatly encouraged, 
 and came up in fine spirits to the session of 1872. Rep. Rand, 
 of Massachusetts, brought the subject before the body, and was 
 appointed chairman of the committee to which it was sent. The 
 committee reported as follows : " Resolved, that Encampments be 
 permitted to wear such style of street uniform, on parade, as 
 may be sanctioned by the G. Encampments of their respective 
 jurisdictions ; but under no circumstances shall the funds of an 
 Encampment be appropriated to meet any expense incurred 
 thereby." By this time there had been a revolution of 
 sentiment; New England was particularly anxious for the 
 change, and the conservative members were disposed to ac- 
 quiesce. The resolution was passed almost unanimously and 
 with great enthusiasm. In 1875 the indulgence went further, 
 and the G. L. U. S. sustained G. Sire Durham in his decision 
 that a Patriarch might enter his Encampment in street uniform, 
 provided he also assumed his Encampment regalia. 
 
 By this time the new arrangement was everywhere adopted 
 with beneficial results, and had assumed such proportions as to 
 become a matter of grave importance. A committee, of which 
 Rep. Ticknor, of Illinois, was chairman, had already reported the 
 style of the uniform to be worn, and after amendments severally 
 proposed by Rep. Porter, of California, and Rep. Innis, of 
 Ohio, it was adopted (Journal 6243). At the session of 
 1877 a uniform street dress was provided for members of subor- 
 dinate lodges, upon the report of a committee of which Rep. 
 Hickok, of Pennsylvania, was chairman, and a special committee 
 is now preparing a street dress for Patriarchs who do not prefer 
 the uniform. This last committee consists of Reps. ShafFner, 
 Ticknor, Given, Kidder and Johnson, who will no doubt make 
 a satisfactory report. Of course, the use of any of these costumes 
 will in any case be optional. Thus it will be seen that the 
 Patriarchal branch has introduced a feature, which has conquered 
 prejudice and given a new impulse to the whole Order. A 
 system of drill will no doubt be adopted which will harmonize 
 the action of the drill associations, and we may soon expect to 
 see the Patriarchal branch one of the best disciplined bodies in 
 the country. They are already recognized as the leaders in our 
 public demonstrations. This brilliant array of Odd Fellows 
 have already added to our processions a dignity and beauty 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 315 
 
 which cannot be surpassed. This picked body of noble men 
 who have attained to the superior degrees, and overflow with 
 .zeal and energy, now compose the hope as well as the body-guard 
 of the Order. 
 
 ORAND ENCAMPMENT DEGREE AND HONORARY DEGREES OF C. P. 
 
 AND H. P. 
 
 At the session of 1841 representation was accorded, by a 
 constitutional provision, to G. Encampments precisely upon the 
 same terms as G. Lodges. A committee was at once appointed 
 to prepare an appropriate degree for the G. Encampments, and 
 honorary degrees for the Past Offices of Chief Patriarch and High 
 Priest : it consisted of Reps. Kennedy, Yan Sickell and Marley. 
 The committee reported the degrees on the 21st of September, 
 1842, and on the next day they were adopted. They were then 
 by resolution granted to the members of the body, and were 
 duly conferred. In 1844 the G. Lodge abolished these honorary 
 degrees, but as some of the jurisdictions continued to confer 
 them, the G. Lodge in 1850 directed G. Encampments to destroy 
 the copies, which was done, and the work was suppressed. The 
 Encampments as a separate branch have, notwithstanding their 
 success, met with determined opposition. But in vain have pro- 
 positions been made again and again, either to abolish their 
 degrees or to merge them with the subordinate degrees; the 
 G. Lodge of the United States has always in the most decided 
 manner refused to make any change whatever looking to the 
 merging of the degrees or of the two branches of the Order. 
 
 THE LECTURES OR RITUAL. 
 
 Having witnessed the spread and establishment of the new 
 "branch throughout the jurisdictions, we may now the more 
 readily consider the system on which it was grafted. Before pro- 
 ceeding, it will be necessary to explain certain technical terms in 
 common use in this connection. The word LECTURE is of this 
 class, and had a twofold meaning. First, the addresses, collo- 
 quies, charges and special modes of a degree were denominated 
 a lecture. The same name was also given to a meeting held for 
 the purpose of conferring or giving instructions in a degree. The 
 latter definition has not met with much approval in tin's country. 
 
316 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The lecture, properly speaking, is the written work of the degrees. 
 Several of them had no formal lecture ; as the G. Lodge degree,, 
 and those of the P. Officers, these last consisting only of un- 
 written work. Recently the word lecture, with reference to the 
 ceremonies, is becoming obsolete. It is now regarded in better 
 taste to designate the work by the word " ritual." This term 
 is the latest, and will most likely remain unchanged. The degree 
 lectures, as at first prepared, were not elaborate; the constant 
 alterations and additions were not sufficient to make them lengthy ; 
 yet, although brief, there was substance enough to allow of print- 
 ing. Each edition seems to have been modified more or less 
 until 1823. In that year the charges and general work were 
 " revised, altered and improved " by the Manchester Unity. This 
 edition took the place of the old lecture-book. A copy preserved 
 in the archives of the G. Lodge of the United States, has the im- 
 print of Mark Wardle, Manchester, 1824. The lecture of the 
 "White Degree was amended in 1826 ; again, in 1827, the whole 
 of the lectures, including the Covenant and Remembrance degrees, 
 were published to conform to the American Lecture-Book. 
 
 Washington Lodge, No. 1, at Baltimore, received the lecture- 
 books of the three degrees by the hands of P. G. Henry M. Jack- 
 son, in 1819. The G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. was natu- 
 rally very anxious about the secret work. At its session held 
 22d August, 1821, the minutes show an impatient expectation of 
 the arrival of "the new lecture-books." The copies came and 
 were distributed. The Covenant and Remembrance Degrees 
 were also furnished to the lodges. A copy of the first edition 
 printed by American authority is now in the archives of the 
 Order. The three original degrees, with the two intermediates, 
 are in proper position, but there is no date to the volume. It was, 
 no doubt, printed under the resolution of April 13th, 1823, passed 
 by the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. It was an ambitious 
 venture by the indigent fathers, to whom a few dollars was a seri- 
 ous burden. But they were reaching out to embrace a larger area> 
 and had to make a decent appearance before the world. They 
 therefore put themselves in literary uniform before making the 
 conquest of the States. But little alteration was made from the 
 standard manuscript. It was just in time to supply the three 
 G. Lodges erected in June of the next year. 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 317 
 
 FIRST PRINTED AMERICAN LECTURE BOOK, CERTAINLY PRINTED IN 
 
 1823. 
 
 ITS TITLE. 
 
 " Lectures and Charges of the Degrees of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellowship ; Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States, Baltimore." 
 
 TITLE OF THE COVENANT DEGREE. 
 
 " The Degree of the Covenant, instituted and introduced into 
 Odd Fellowship by the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States, Baltimore, November 25th, 1820, and there noti- 
 fied as ready by Grand Master WILDEY, written by Deputy 
 Grand Master JOHN P. ENTWISLE." 
 
 This was followed by the G. Lodge of Maryland ; which in its 
 separate capacity had the volume translated into the German 
 language. 
 
 On the 16th of January, 1827, certain brothers of Washington 
 Lodge applied for a charter for a lodge to work in German. It 
 was granted under the name of William Tell Lodge, No. 4. This 
 rendered a translation of the work a necessity ; it was begun at 
 once, and was printed and issued in October of the same year. 
 Pennsylvania, which was always alive to progress, was start- 
 ing in the same direction. In 1826 the revision of " the charges 
 and workings " had much of their attention. On September 25, 
 1826, the proposed changes were adopted, and in October were 
 ordered to be printed. At the session of July 14, 1828, provision 
 was also made for the translation of the charge-book into the 
 German language. It was forthcoming on December 15, 1828, 
 and was properly distributed. The other G. Lodges made no 
 effort to improve or print any part of the work. This was fol- 
 lowed by a small pamphlet of the initiatory rite, printed in 1831, 
 now in the archives, which somewhat modifies the original ; the 
 degree lectures having been further revised in 1829, (sec Journal 
 101). 
 
 When all authority vested in the G. Lodge of the United 
 States, no immediate steps were taken for furnishing copies of 
 the degree lectures and charge-books. The supply held by the 
 G. Lodge of Maryland was the sole reliance. But in 1828, the 
 former body assumed control, and provided for a revision of " the 
 
318 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 subordinate lodge degrees." The alterations were merely nomi- 
 nal arid were scarcely worthy of the name. No change followed 
 until the very partial revision of 1835. 
 
 THE REVISION OF 1835. 
 
 On March 18th, 1833, a committee was appointed "to ascer- 
 tain the means necessary to establish a uniform system of 
 working in the several State G. Lodges and their subordinate 
 lodges throughout the United States"; it consisted of Reps. 
 Keyser of Md. and Hopkins of Penn., and Proxy Eep. Brannan 
 of the District of Columbia. This was followed by the appoint- 
 ment of a committee, of which Rep. Hopkins of Penn. was 
 chairman, on whom was devolved the revision of the WORK. In 
 no other way C9uld there be uniformity, for, while the ancient 
 and new work were in the lodges, it had been so altered by 
 pruning and addition that it existed in no two jurisdictions alike. 
 The report was made at the session of 1834 (Journal 173-4), 
 postponed to the next session, and after much debate and many 
 amendments was adopted. (Journal, 192-4). Some of the 
 alterations were important, but none were so radical as the 
 change of the obligation to a parol of honor. It was printed 
 by Sands and ISTeilson, Baltimore, 1836, and distributed with 
 the following appendix : " Adopted by the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at 
 its regular annual session held in the city of Baltimore on the 
 9th day of October, 1835." This, although a decided improve- 
 ment upon the former edition, did not satisfy the demand of 
 the increased intelligence of the Order. A very general dis- 
 satisfaction prevailed, but its open expression was restrained 
 from time to time by temporizing legislation. The growth of 
 the Order and the gradual development of its moral aspects 
 were far in advance of the ritual. Its lodge-rooms were crowded 
 with initiates gathered from every class and calling ; merchants, 
 mechanics, and professional men. The old element w r as sup- 
 planted or put in the minority, or, as in many well-known 
 instances, heartily joined in the cry for reform. In process of 
 time the new and more refined element succeeded to the control 
 of the State jurisdictions ; revision and a better administration of 
 the whole system followed. State constitutions were amended 
 and digested, and the laws more strictly enforced and obeyed* 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 319 
 
 The proxy system of the G. Lodge of the United States fell 
 before it, and the present splendid body sprung into a vigorous 
 existence. 
 
 REVISION OF 1845. 
 
 At the session of 1844 there came to Baltimore a demand, 
 general, earnest, irresistible, for an improved work ; a moral more 
 distinctive and didactic, a sentiment more elevated and inspiring, 
 a principle of deeper significance, a purer and truer tone, and the 
 embodiment of all these in a literature worthy of a cause so 
 noble and a work so great. This demand intimidated and over- 
 came the opposition to reform. That opposition was not without 
 specious arguments for its existence. It extolled the policy of 
 uniformity and adherence to the past, and dwelt with much em- 
 phasis upon the expense incident to the preparation, printing and 
 distribution of the change. These objections served only to awaken 
 distrust and increase the desire for a revision of the work. The 
 majority was in no humor to be foiled, and took every precaution 
 to ensure success. To this end it was determined, with great 
 unanimity, that the committee should be appointed by the ballot. 
 The election took place, and the following were chosen : Rep. 
 Chapin of Massachusetts and G. Sec. Bidgely, Reps. McCabe of 
 Yirginia, Moore of the District of Columbia, and P. G. Sire 
 Kennedy. All the members of the committee were not present 
 at the preparation of the revision, which was done at a meeting 
 called in the city of New York ; Rep. McCabe having failed to receive 
 notice of the time and place of meeting. It thus unfortunately 
 happened that this able gentleman took no part in the reforma- 
 tion of the subordinate and G. Lodge work. Chapin, Ridgely, 
 Moore, and Kennedy therefore acted in his absence, and made 
 ready for the session to which their labors should be submitted. 
 The G. Lodge, impatient and zealous, had provided for a 
 special session to be called whenever the committee should give 
 notice of their readiness to make their report. The notice was 
 given, and G. Sire H. Hopkins, by proclamation dated 30th day 
 of May, 1845, called a special session of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, to meet in Baltimore on the 9th of September, 
 1845, " to take into consideration the report which shall be made 
 by the committee appointed to revise all the lectures and charges 
 of the Order." The special session met, and Rep. McCabe 
 
320 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 having carefully examined the work of his colleagues, concurred 
 with them and signed the report. This revision, known as that 
 of 1845, was at once adopted. The changes made were funda- 
 mental and thorough, and left but little more to be done in the 
 way of progress. It is worthy of mention that the work of the 
 committee was accepted as a whole. It is now in print in the 
 archives of the Grand Lodge, and a comparison with the revised 
 work as adopted will show an approval almost literatim et ver- 
 batim. 
 
 This constituted the ritual of the Order from 1845 to 1873, 
 without change, and is virtually the present ritual, not having 
 been disturbed in substance by the later revision, which mainly 
 addressed itself to transpositions from the secret work to the 
 lecture and charge books, to enable officers of subordinates to 
 become more familiar with it. It also corrected the deficient 
 syntax and language, which had from time to time been left 
 untouched. "With no purpose to point out the changes made in 
 1845, it may be stated generally that the initiatory and degree 
 work were not only improved in literary style, but were absolutely 
 changed both in the moral and the sentiment by which they w T ere 
 enforced. The latter was elevated and made to conform closely 
 to the cardinal feature of Odd Fellowship. A system w r as for the 
 first time introduced with a basis upon which the whole structure 
 was made to rest. This was done by building the entire fabric 
 upon the P. Grand's charge. The old charge was formal, un- 
 meaning, and Masonic ; this was at once abolished, and never 
 afterwards referred to. Its substitute begins at the threshold and 
 follows the brother to the Royal Purple Degree. As a curious 
 document, Grand Sec. Ridgely has preserved the rough draft of 
 the Past Grand's charge, as offered by him in committee, with 
 all its erasures and interlineations ; by comparison one may dis- 
 cover to what extent his original contribution was used by the 1 
 committee. A fac-simile impression of the document has been 
 produced, by photographic process from the original, upon type 
 metal, and the engraving is in every way a faithful copy. 
 
 This paper is now on file in the G. Secretary's office as a 
 minute of one of the most interesting events in the history of 
 the Secret Work a memorable period, when our arcana took new 
 form and significance, and presented itself in glowing colors to 
 the new intelligence that had found its way to our temples. 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 321 
 
 P. G. Sire Moore has furnished, as his memoranda of the in- 
 cidents attending the revision of 1845, the following: 
 
 " The committee, with the exception of Bro. McCabe, who was de- 
 tained at home by professional duty, first met in Baltimore, in the 
 month of March, at the office of the G. Secretary. They then pro- 
 ceeded with the business assigned them. Bros. Chapin and Kennedy 
 suggested and argued for an important alteration in the ceremony 
 of initiation ; to this radical change Bros. Eidgely and Moore 
 dissented, and the subject was not further pressed at that time. 
 The degrees of the subordinate lodges were then taken up seria- 
 tim. After the first reading of the White Degree, it was again 
 read and thoroughly amended. Then the Covenant Degree was 
 considered, and it was determined that the narrative therein 
 should be retained, and, with some modification of the formula, 
 this degree was passed. The Royal Blue, Remembrance, and 
 Scarlet Degrees were then successively read, and it was concluded 
 that they would require more thorough amendment than could 
 be creditably performed at that meeting ; and thereupon Bro. 
 Kennedy moved to divide the duty of amending the remaining 
 portion of the work of subordinate lodges among the members of 
 the committee then present, with instructions to report at the 
 next meeting, and that when the committee should adjourn for 
 that day, it should be to meet in New York in the ensuing month 
 of May. This motion was adopted. It has already been 
 mentioned that there existed a difference of opinion concerning 
 the emblem ; but both sides recognized the fact that, whatever 
 the emblem might be, it could not affect an appropriate exposi- 
 tion of the principles and objects of the Order. To Ridgely 
 was assigned the preparation of the Past Grand's Charge, to 
 Moore the Royal Blue Degree, to Kennedy the Remembrance 
 Degree, and to Chapin the Scarlet Degree ; the work of each to 
 be submitted to the committee at its next meeting. With the 
 exception of the Past Grand's Charge, devolved upon Ridgely, 
 there was no allotment of the initiatory ceremony, but it was 
 agreed that the adverse parties should submit their respective 
 views of its modification in their own way. 
 
 " The committee met in May, as agreed upon; Bros. Chapin, 
 
 Ridgely, Kennedy, and Moore being present. The papers of 
 
 Ridgely and Moore having been submitted to and approved by 
 
 the committee, these brothers were greatly disappointed on 
 
 21 
 
322 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 learning that their colleagues had neglected to prepare the 
 degrees committed to them. They had a form of initiation com- 
 plete, according to their views, and, in addition to this, Chapin 
 had some sheets of paper on which were jotted down, in uncon- 
 nected form, but in beautiful and eloquent language, some excel- 
 lent ideas, of which the committee were proud to avail them- 
 selves in the course of their deliberations, by adapting portions- 
 of them to particular parts of the work; and Kennedy had some 
 notes of changes deemed necessary in the ceremonies of installa- 
 tion and other formalities pertaining to the subordinate work of 
 the Order. 
 
 " It has been already stated that the committee, at their meet- 
 ing in Baltimore, had satisfactorily arranged the White and Cov- 
 enant Degrees, and, on the resumption of their labors at New 
 York, had adopted the Royal Blue Degree, as presented by 
 Moore. They then proceeded to consider, as in committee of the 
 whole, the Remembrance Degree, in the same manner as the 
 White and Covenant Degrees had been considered at Baltimore. 
 The first question presented was as to the retention of the cita- 
 tions from Holy Writ which graced that degree and formed the 
 largest portion of it. This question having been decided in the 
 affirmative, the remainder of the degree gave but little trouble. 
 Chapin's manuscripts afforded nearly all other matter that was 
 desired to perfect it. The eloquent opening lecture of the Noble 
 Grand was his production, and the concluding charge of the same 
 officer was derived, probably with some amendments, from the 
 old work. Then, taking up the Scarlet Degree, recourse was 
 again had to the beautiful conceptions of moral duty embodied 
 in the manuscripts of Chapin, from which were selected the open- 
 ing charge of the Yice Grand, and also the first paragraph of the 
 lecture of the Noble Grand. At that point Ridgely inserted the 
 explanation of the colors of the Order, by Bro. Bradley, of Con- 
 necticut, and what follows is a continuation of Chapin's lecture, 
 down to and including the paragraph next to the last one. At 
 that place Moore inserted an allusion to the symbol of mortality, 
 which he obtained from a letter of Bro. Williamson ; and the 
 last paragraph of that lecture was a further continuation from 
 Chapin's papers. Thus ended the most important of the labors 
 of the committee in the preparation of the degrees of subordinate 
 lodges. Of course some changes of phraseology were necessary to 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 3l:3 
 
 unite and harmonize different parts of the work in preparing it 
 for the press, which duty was allotted to Moore. 
 
 " Three or four days had now been spent in New York, and the 
 Encampment work, though repeatedly alluded to in conversation, 
 had not yet been reached in the formal deliberations of the com- 
 mittee. But, being at length taken up, Kennedy proposed that 
 its different parts should be referred to members of the committee 
 then present, with instructions to submit their report at an ad- 
 journed meeting of the committee, to be held in Baltimore on 
 the day preceding the convening of the special session of the? 
 Grand Lodge, required to be called to consider the report of the 
 committee; and, this proposition having been accepted, the En- 
 campment degrees were allotted as follows : To Bro. Chapin, the 
 Patriarchal ; to Bro. Kennedy, the Golden Rule ; and to Bros. 
 Moore and Ridgely, the Royal Purple. The committee then ad- 
 journed, having first directed that the Grand Sire should be noti- 
 fied of their readiness to report. 
 
 " The G. Sire called the special session of the G. Lodge 
 to meet at Baltimore on Tuesday, the 9th of September, 
 1845, six days prior to the time prescribed for the annual meet- 
 ing of that year. The Representatives, generally, were prompt 
 in attendance, and of those composing the Committee on Revision 
 there w T ere present Bros. Ridgely, Kennedy, Moore, and McCabe. 
 Bro. Chapin was absent, and his absence was the more regretted 
 when it was found that the degrees of the Patriarchal branch of 
 the Order, which had been referred to him and to Kennedy, had 
 not been prepared, and that this failure would necessarily prevent 
 a decision on the entire work of the Order at the special session. 
 All of the degrees for subordinate lodges, however, had been 
 printed under the supervision of Bro. Moore ; and the same pam- 
 phlet contained, in addition to the degrees, the regulations for 
 opening and closing lodges ; the order of their business ; the forms 
 of installation for and the obligations of officers, and the charges 
 to be delivered by the installing officer ; also, the ceremony of 
 installation for Grand Officers, and their respective obligations and 
 charges, together with the regulations and charges for constitut- 
 ing lodges, making in all eighty-six octavo pages. On the after- 
 noon of the first day of the special session copies of this pamphlet 
 were distributed among the members, and were received with 
 general expressions of approbation, but the Grand Lodge did not 
 proceed to consider the report until the next morning. It was 
 
324: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 then determined, in order to afford the greatest latitude to debate, 
 that the report should be considered in committee of the whole, 
 and the privilege of debate extended to the officers of the lodge. 
 
 " The G. Lodge then resolved itself into a committee of the 
 whole, and called to the chair P. G. M. Richard Marley, of Mary- 
 land. The ceremonies of initiation were first taken up. Of this 
 part of the work the Committee on Revision had, with perfect har- 
 mony, presented two forms, representing their respective views. 
 Form No. 1 was the favorite of Chapin and Kennedy, and form 
 No. 2, prepared by Moore, represented the views of himself and 
 Ridgely. The peculiar feature in the first form consisted of a 
 radical change in the manner of initiation, as has been above 
 alluded to. This had but few supporters, and, having been dis- 
 agreed to, the entire production failed. But of this form Moore had 
 transferred the most attractive passages to form No. 2, and also 
 Ridgely's Past Grand's charge, so that by the rejection, as an 
 entirety, of form No. 1, the Order did not lose the benefit of such 
 parts of it as it was desirable to retain. Form No. 2, however, 
 prior to its adoption, received several amendments, made at the 
 instance of Bro. Moore, the chief of which was the introduction 
 of the present Warden's charge in lieu of the charge reported. 
 This charge was suggested to the mover by Bro. Williamson. The 
 Past Grand's charge of Ridgely underwent two verbal amend- 
 ments. These were the only changes made in that comprehen- 
 sive and impressive charge. The ceremonial pertaining to initia- 
 tion, as amended, was then agreed to ; and, as indicative of the 
 scrutiny exercised by the Grand Lodge, it may be stated that, 
 independently of several verbal amendments, twelve distinct 
 votes were taken on different parts of this ceremony, all of 
 which were decided in the affirmative without a division. 
 
 " The regulations proposed for opening and closing lodges, pre- 
 scribing the order of their business, and for the installation of 
 officers, were next considered, and a separate vote taken on each. 
 They were all adopted without amendment. 
 
 "The degrees of subordinate lodges were then considered. 
 The only alteration made in the White Degree was the omission 
 from the dialogue of one question and answer, viz : ' Do our laws 
 forbid the use of wine?' * No, they only forbid the abuse of it.' 
 No alteration was made in the Covenant Degree except near the 
 close of the obligation. The phraseology of the Royal Blue 
 
THE DEGBEES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 325 
 
 Degree was amended at the close of the opening charge, and near 
 the close of the concluding charge. In both cases several sen- 
 tences deemed to be superfluous were stricken out. The Re- 
 membrance Degree was adopted with but a single verbal 
 amendment; as prepared by Bro. Chapin the opening charge of 
 the Noble Grand read, ' and bids us do unto others as we would 
 be done by.' The quotation was corrected by making it read, 
 4 and bids us do unto others as we would that they should do 
 unto us.' This was the only alteration in that degree. And 
 the Scarlet Degree was adopted without amendment of any kind. 
 
 " The general instructions for conferring the degrees were then 
 taken up, amended, and adopted; and, after these, came the 
 ceremony for the installation of Grand Officers, together with 
 their respective charges, and, finally, the regulations for consti- 
 tuting Lodges, in the revision of all of which Bro. Kennedy had 
 performed efficient service. They were all adopted after having 
 received some trivial verbal amendments ; and this concluded all 
 of the work then reported by the Committee on Revision. 
 
 " The committee of the whole then rose, and by its chairman re- 
 ported favorably on the report of the committee as amended, in 
 which form they recommended to the Grand Lodge its adoption, < as 
 the proper work of the Order '; and the recommendation of the 
 committee of the whole was agreed to, yeas 32, nays 13. 
 
 " During the sitting of the special session, on Saturday, the 
 day succeeding the adoption of the new work, it was unanimously 
 resolved, ' that the thanks of this Grand Lodge be and are 
 hereby tendered to the committee on revision of the work of the 
 Order, for the very able report they have made, and for their in- 
 defatigable exertions in the cause of Odd Fellowship '; and on 
 the same day it was further resolved, that the revised lectures 
 and charges of subordinate lodges should be used by such lodges 
 from and after the first of January, 1846. 
 
 " There was manifest disappointment, both at the special and 
 regular sessions of the Grand Lodge, that the Patriarchal De- 
 grees had not been submitted with the other work ; and, before 
 proceeding further with this narrative, it is proper here to state 
 that the prominence acquired by Bro. Moore in the procurement 
 of those degrees was purely accidental. It resulted as a conse- 
 quence from his preparation of the Royal Purple Degree prior 
 to the meeting of the special session. This degree had been 
 
326 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 referred to himself and Bro. Ridgely ; but at that time Ridgely 
 had no clerical aid in his office, except what was rendered by the 
 messenger, and his official duties exclusively engrossed his atten- 
 tion. In view of this situation of his colleague, Bro. Moore ven- 
 tured to prepare the degree ; and after it had been finished, not 
 wishing to rely upon his own judgment, he got a member of his 
 Encampment to put the degree in type, and strike off a number 
 of ' galley proofs,' one or two copies of which were transmitted 
 to each member of the committee, that they might be the better 
 qualified to improve and amend it at the meeting of the commit- 
 tee directed to be held on the day preceding the convening of the 
 special session of the G. Lodge. This degree having been by 
 some means disclosed, Bro. Moore, on appearing at the annual 
 session, after the G. Lodge had been opened, and at a moment 
 when it was proposed to continue the committee on revision, was 
 met in the principal aisle of the hall by half a dozen or more 
 members, who invoked his efforts to have the other Encampment 
 degrees prepared during that session. Then proceeding to his 
 seat and addressing the chair, he stated that if the proposition 
 then pending should be withdrawn, and the committee be per- 
 mitted to retire, it was possible that the Patriarchal work might 
 be completed before the close of the session. This suggestion 
 met with approval, and the committee having retired to the 
 office of the Grand Secretary, Bro. Moore proposed that the 
 subjects previously agreed upon for the Patriarchal and Golden 
 Rule Degrees be changed. The subject selected by Bro. Chapin 
 for the Patriarchal Degree was a general review of the subordi- 
 nate degrees and of the moral duties therein inculcated, and the 
 subject selected by Bro. Kennedy for the Golden Rule Degree 
 was, after the model of the old work, a history of the Order. 
 Bro. Moore moved that in lieu of these subjects those of the 
 present degrees be adopted, which motion having been agreed to, 
 the committee returned to their seats in the Grand Lodge and 
 reported that they hoped to be able to supply the degrees at that 
 session. Bro. Moore would not have ventured upon this rash 
 proceeding but for the fact that he knew there were present two 
 ^ learned and able brothers, who, in the course of private conver- 
 sations with him, in previous years, had advanced ideas on the 
 newly proposed subjects which he and they supposed might be 
 wrought into appropriate degrees. One of these brothers was 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 327 
 
 the Kev. James D. McCabe, a Representative from Virginia, 
 who had been elected a member of the committee on revision, 
 but was prevented from attending the meetings of the committee 
 by pressing duties of his clerical office ; and the other was the 
 Rev. Isaac D. Williamson, of Maryland, who had repeatedly 
 served as a Representative and as Chaplain of the Grand Lodge. 
 The seats of Moore and McCabe were adjacent, and as soon as 
 they had been seated after returning from the committee, Moore 
 communicated his design to McCabe, and requested him to retire 
 to his room at the ' Fountain Inn ' and prepare the Patriarchal 
 Degree, so that it might be presented the next morning. Thus 
 taken by surprise, McCabe remonstrated and protested that it was 
 impossible ; but his genial and accommodating spirit soon yielded 
 to the solicitations of his colleague, and he left the hall. Moore 
 then crossed over to Williamson, and, after reminding him of 
 former conversations, and informing him of the subject adopted 
 for the Golden Rule Degree, requested that he would retire and 
 prepare it, which office was accepted with the complaisance char- 
 acteristic of that estimable brother. The result was the produc- 
 tion on the next morning of both degrees, which, together with 
 the Royal Purple Degree, were formally submitted to the Grand 
 Lodge by the committee, and in the afternoon of the same day 
 were taken up, considered, and adopted, the only votes in the 
 negative being those of Past Grand Sire Hopkins of Pennsylva- 
 nia, Rep. Holden of Maryland, and Rep. Gilley of New York. 
 This prompt approval of their work by the Supreme Grand 
 Lodge of the Order happily terminated, amid joyful and enthusi- 
 astic congratulations on all sides, the labors of the Committee on 
 Revision of 1844-5." 
 
 The new Encampment work was founded on the old, that is to 
 say, upon the three degrees originally conferred upon P. Grands only 
 in the body of the G. Lodge, and which w r ere afterwards given to 
 Scarlet Degree members by means of the Encampment. The 
 abolition of the oaths was but a very small part of the change 
 effected by these successive revisions. That, with other forms of 
 the English system, were found not suitable to this country, not 
 to speak of the alterations in design, tone, and literary finish. 
 This will particularly appear by an examination of the fifth 
 degree, and especially of its theory and application of the colors, 
 a fine contribution of Rev. C. W. Bradley, an Episcopal clergy- 
 man, and G. Rep. from Connecticut. 
 
328 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The substantial changes in the rituals, or more properly the 
 degrees as they originally existed, and as they appear in the 
 several editions, of which copies are preserved in the archives,, 
 cannot of course be set forth in these pages. An examination of 
 these relics would repay the curious, as successive proofs of the 
 growth of Odd Fellowship, from its crude state to its present 
 beautiful system. Such an inquiry would exhibit a striking 
 instance of the success which attends co-operative eifort. 
 
 THE UNWRITTEN WORK. 
 
 In what we have said of the degrees, we wish to be under- 
 stood as speaking exclusively of the written work, lectures and 
 charges ; the secret or unwritten work of the degrees demands- 
 a brief consideration. This is substantially the same as when 
 received by Washington Lodge from the Manchester Unity,. 
 except in so far as modified by Bro. Wildey in concert with our 
 English brethren in 1826. The best known modification con- 
 sisted of the "hew signs" of initiation, which had been intro- 
 duced in England in consequence of the exposure of the originals. 
 Bro. Wildey reported to the G. Lodge of the IT. S. that this- 
 alteration would, in his opinion, "be productive of good to the 
 Order "; but that body decided that the change of " signs " was 
 an innovation upon the ancient landmarks of the Order, and 
 that it would adhere to the " old signs." At the same time it 
 was ordered that all brothers should be instructed in both the 
 new and ancient signs, to the end that should any of them visit 
 England or meet with one who had only the new signs, he might 
 be able to prove or to be proved by him. The Manchester 
 Unity was also requested " to give the ancient as well as the 
 new signs to all brothers about to visit this country." (Journal 
 85.) Of course the recommendation had no effect, as the aboli- 
 tion of the old signs had been fully consummated by the Unity. 
 But the eifort to adhere to ancient usage on our part was of 
 short duration ; the ancient signs were nominally continued in 
 the initiatory, but both signs were allowed to be used : ultimately 
 the new sign was fully established. (Journal 93.) 
 
 This may be considered the original departure of the English 
 Order, which, in spite of all our appeals and remonstrances, was- 
 allowed to widen and deepen until a separation was forced upon 
 us. These deviations were unnecessary, and eventually caused 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 
 
 the division of Odd Fellowship into English and American^ 
 Thus the unwritten Work, as we received it with the English 
 ritual, continued during the first decade unchanged ; excepting, 
 of course, the additions made by the two intermediate and other- 
 American degrees. True, it had no existence save in the mem- 
 ory of the brethren, or in brief and curious manuscript elucida- 
 tions contained in the lecture and charge books. These exposi- 
 tions were sometimes obscured by asterisks or by mystic letter- 
 ing ; sometimes they were written in cipher or hieroglyphics for 
 the enlightenment of dull officers. Nevertheless, it was pre- 
 served with sufficient accuracy for the preservation of general 
 uniformity throughout all our jurisdictions up to 1848. 
 
 We will close this interesting subject with a brief remark 
 upon the secret work of the Patriarchal Order. Whether this- 
 unwritten language is the same as that originally introduced 
 with the three degrees into the G. Lodge of Maryland, or was-- 
 changed at or after the time of their incorporation into the En- 
 campment system, we cannot say. Certainly it is the same now 
 as when used with those degrees in the first Encampment, with 
 the exception of the distinctive sign of the initiatory degree, 
 which was abolished by the revision of 1845. 
 
 THE SECRET JOURNAL. 
 
 At the session of 1847 a committee, consisting of P. G. 
 Sires Wildey, Hopkins, Glazier and Kennedy, and G. Sec. 
 Ridgely, was appointed " to prepare and report full and complete- 
 instructions in the secret work of the Order." The report wa& 
 made by Bro. Hopkins, P. G. Sire, at the next session (1848), and 
 was adopted. From that time a Secret Journal has beer, kept, 
 in which a special record has been made of the secret work. The 
 identity and security of this journal have been secured by the 
 aid of strong constitutional supports. Since then the G. Lodge 
 has reviewed this work from time to time and enriched it with 
 diagrams taken from living subjects, but it remains for the most 
 part as in the original report of 1848. The history of the pre- 
 servation of the secret work is worthy of mention. In 1846,. 
 a resolution " that the unwritten work of the Order shall in no- 
 wise be altered or amended except by a unanimous vote of thi& 
 Grand Lodge," was adopted. In 1847, this proceeding was de- 
 clared " null and void," and an amendment to the constitution 
 
330 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 embodying the provision of the resolution, was submitted, laid 
 on the table, and at the session of 1848 adopted by a unanimous 
 vote. (Journal 964, 1093, 1101, 1123, 1241, 1278). The aim was 
 not only to secure permanency, but to ensure, if possible, actual 
 certainty and correctness. But this object was liable to be de- 
 feated by a habit w T hich had grown up, of applying to G. Sires in 
 cases of real or supposed necessity for decisions upon the un- 
 written work. Some of the G. Sires assumed and others refused to 
 construe this code, the latter more wisely referring every inquiry 
 to the " ita lex scripta." By these constructions it was seriously 
 feared that the text would in time become dangerously impaired. 
 To remedy constantly recurring difficulties of this nature, recourse 
 was had to various expedients, and G. Sires were prohibited 
 from deciding upon such questions. 
 
 The Secret Journal before referred to was at length made its 
 own interpreter, and its diagrams speak and teach with no need 
 of an instructor. The first diagrams were executed by P. G. 
 Rep. Woolford, of Kentucky. But, in spite of prohibitions, a 
 commentary has found its way into the secret journal. The 
 work, composed of a few pages of foolscap in 1848, had multi- 
 plied to four times that volume in 1856, when it was reported 
 with a digest of the decisions upon it, and in that form was 
 adopted. New diagrams were, under the supervision of Bro. 
 Stuart, P. G. Sire, subsequently obtained, and at the present time, 
 with the code, sacredly perpetuate the unwritten work as originally 
 constructed. 
 
 THE TWO NEW SIGNS AND THE DEGREE OF REBEKAH. 
 
 The subject may be dismissed by the statement that the 
 greater part of our Work is fully entitled to be called American. 
 We may enumerate the Covenant and Remembrance, the Grand 
 Lodge, the Royal Purple and Grand Encampment degrees. To 
 these we may add the degree of Rebekah. Two signs have also 
 heen added in this country, namely, the hailing sign and the 
 sign of recognition. The Rebekah degree was adopted at the 
 session of 1851, and was the production of Schuyler Colfax, G. 
 Rep. of Indiana. (Journal 1793). It was intended as an hon- 
 orary degree for Scarlet members and their wives (Journal 1841), 
 but has since taken a much wider scope. In many jurisdictions 
 it has assumed great importance, and may yet carve for itself a 
 history. 
 
THE DEGKEES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 331 
 
 The hailing sign, originally called the Hailing or Sea sign, 
 formerly supposed to have been adopted in 1845, was the pro- 
 duction of G. Rep. Charles Whitall, of Louisiana. From the 
 fact that this sign nowhere has mention in the report of the 
 committee of revision of the work made in September, 1845, 
 and does not appear in the charge-book printed in 1846, it is 
 inferred that it was adopted at the session of 1846. The sign of 
 recognition was adopted at the session of the Grand Lodge held 
 in 1870. It was reported by a committee consisting of Reps. 
 Porter, of California ; Stokes, of Pennsylvania ; White, of New 
 York ; Maris, of Delaware ; Perkins, of Massachusetts ; Barry, 
 of Indiana ; Escavaille, of Maryland ; Curtis, of Michigan, and 
 Andrews, of Texas. G. Rep. Nathan Porter, of California, 
 has been credited with the suggestion, and no one has ever 
 -claimed to divide the honor with that lamented Odd Fellow, 
 who has been removed by death from the sphere in which he 
 moved with so much usefulness to the Order and honor to 
 liimself. 
 
 DEGREE LODGES. 
 
 Formerly it was a general practice for the members to 
 assemble at their " Lodge House " on the Sabbath day, and for 
 the N. G. of the lodge, or such person as he might select for the 
 purpose, " to deliver lecture," as it was termed. Afterwards the 
 day was changed to some convenient evening in the week, but 
 there was no regularity aboiit it. The organization for this pur- 
 pose was very loose, incompetent persons being often selected to 
 officiate, or members were forced to wait until proper persons to 
 act made their appearance. The regular officers at a much later 
 day were seldom competent for the undertaking; consequently 
 that duty was performed by such Past Officers as could be pre- 
 vailed upon to attend. Looseness, irregularity and confusion 
 were everywhere characteristics of degree work, until more 
 suitable arrangements were effected. The honor of the reform 
 belongs to Pennsylvania. The G. Lodge of that State as early 
 as August 27th, 1827, granted a charter to Philadelphia Degree 
 Lodge, No. 1, for the purpose of " the more effectually conferring 
 the degrees." Never was device more successful. The secret 
 work took new life from that hour, and the whole interior was 
 illuminated by the light dispensed by the new machinery. The 
 
332 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 example was contagious and the effect permanent. The Degree- 
 Lodge became a high school of instruction ; its graduates, teach- 
 ers and workers among the subordinates. The value of the work 
 was more than doubled : initiates began to aspire, and refused to 
 linger at the threshold ; and the Order took stronger hold upon 
 its membership. To-day degree lodges are necessary adjuncts: 
 in all the great centres of Odd Fellowship they adorn and magnify 
 the ritual. These are indeed our temples ; here awe and mys- 
 tery hold court ; here robe and emblem are respectable ; in this 
 inner sanctuary profane haste is avoided, profane inattention 
 cured, the candidate satisfied and the rites exalted. 
 
 The charter members of the first degree lodge were P. G. M, 
 Thomas Small, Dep. G. M. William H. Matthews, G. W. John 
 G. Potts, and P. Grands Isaac Brown, James Day and Benjamin! 
 Buckman. The example of Pennsylvania was not at once fol- 
 lowed, even in Maryland. It was not until three years after wards- 
 that P. Grands Ridgely, Marley and Mathiot, acting as a com- 
 mittee, recommended the establishment of a degree lodge in that 
 State, but without success. Ancient usage was against it, and 
 the older members refused it a trial. At length, on the 12th of 
 May, 1831, the G. Lodge of Maryland agreed to form a degree- 
 lodge, by a vote of 12 yeas to 10 nays ; Ridgely, who offered the 
 motion, having secured 'the approbation and vote of G. Sire 
 "Wildey. 
 
 THE TRAVELING PASSWORD. 
 
 The Traveling Password and its use do not compose a degree,, 
 but, as a part of the secret work, must have some mention. It 
 came in with the system of cards for travel. The quarterly pass- 
 word was of too short duration for the card, which was usually 
 for a longer period. Thus an annual word was provided to meet 
 the exigency of a card for a year. Its first official notice was on 
 February 22d, 1824, by the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. 
 It was then "Resolved, that a T. P. W. be adopted for the pro- 
 tection of the Order in the United States "; it proceeds : " When 
 a T. P. W. for the current year was selected." This was neces- 
 sary, because the password differed in each State ; whereas, in 
 England every district had the same word. It is not known 
 when the M. Unity began the use of this test. Its minutes in 
 1826 recite an elaborate resolution about Traveling Cards ; pro- 
 
THE DEGREES AND ENCAMPMENT BRANCH. 333 
 
 Tiding that the brother was entitled to benefits from his lodge for 
 six months, and authorizing other lodges to pay him and collect 
 from his lodge. But no mention is made of any test of his right 
 to draw the money. But, at the session of 1827, the omission was 
 supplied. They then adopted the following: "Resolved, That 
 the traveling password be divided between the relieving officer 
 and the traveler, and that officer begin by syllables." As this 
 was an explanatory, and not an originating act, it is presumed 
 that the T. P. "W. had been introduced previously, and was omit- 
 ted from the minutes. From this period a card was good for 
 twelve months, unless a shorter time was expressed upon its face. 
 
 ANTI-MASONRY AND THE OBLIGATION. 
 
 The obligation, as at first administered, was, in its nature, 
 Masonic. But in 1826 a storm burst upon that institution, which 
 for a time caused a general prejudice against secret societies. In 
 the village of Batavia, situated in Western New York, lived a 
 -certain William Morgan. He was a mechanic and a Mason. A 
 rumor was rife that he was about to expose, in print, the secrets 
 of Free Masonry. This report caused deep feeling, in the midst 
 of which the man disappeared. Terror fell upon the community ; 
 some said he had been abducted, and one account placed him in 
 Asia ; others did not scruple to charge his murder on the Masonic 
 fraternity. Newspapers took it up pulpits thundered, and half 
 the country was electrified with excitement. Politicians eagerly 
 seized the opportunity, and States became arenas for a heated 
 conflict. Anti-Masonry became the watchword of a powerful 
 party in the Union. Its candidate for Governor of New York, 
 in 1828, received 33,000 votes ; the vote rose to 70,000 in 1829, and 
 to more than 100,000 in 1830. The new party was in all the then 
 free States. 'Vermont then took the lead, and Pennsylvania, so 
 late as 1835, elected Ritner, an Anti-Mason, Governor. In 1832 
 it was so powerful as to put forth Presidential candidates. Wil- 
 liam Wirt, of Maryland, was the nominee for President, and 
 Amos Ellmaker, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-president. Among 
 its leaders were to be found such men as William H. Seward, of 
 New York, and John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts. This 
 fury of faction lasted for nearly ten years, when it at length sub- 
 sided. 
 
334: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The Masons came out of the conflict with the honors of war; 
 their ability was more than equal to the emergency ; confidence 
 was restored and their enemies utterly routed. But the interval 
 was a time of peril and a day of threatening calamity. Odd Fel- 
 lowship suffered the most. The Masons were backed by the whole 
 world ; we had not even the sympathy of that brotherhood. 
 Massachusetts, the first adherent to Maryland, was in the midst 
 of the contention. To the Order in that State it was a mortal 
 blow ; the body, already weak, fell before it, and for years that 
 light that now glows so steadily and brightly was extinguished. 
 But hostile legislation had done lasting injury. Bro. Paul, of 
 Massachusetts, presented the grievance to the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States on August 16th, 1834. His communication 
 contained a copy of a law aimed at the existence of secret socie- 
 ties. It was passed 13th March, 1833, by the legislature of Mas- 
 sachusetts, and made it penal, extra-judicially, " to administer or 
 take an oath, affirmation or obligation in the nature of an oath." 
 Advice and action were demanded ; if they violated the law, in- 
 dictment and punishment would follow ; if they obeyed it, the 
 Order was effectually suppressed. The subject was referred to 
 Reps. Hopkins and Ridgely; they concluded their report 
 as follows : " Your committee have examined the ancient work 
 of the Order they ascertained that the administering of oaths is 
 of recent origin ; that formerly the candidate pledged his honor 
 to perform what was enjoined on him ; this is, to most men, as 
 binding as the most solemn form of oath. Your committee, there- 
 fore, recommend the following : Resolved, That so long as the 
 law of Massachusetts, relating to illegal oaths, &c., remains in 
 force, the lodges in Massachusetts be authorized to admit mem- 
 bers, confer degrees, install officers, &c., on the pledge of honor, 
 and that the oath be dispensed with." This was found so accept- 
 able that in the revision of 1835 oaths were abolished, and the 
 present parole of honor was adopted. 
 
 We here close this interesting subject by referring the reader 
 to the last chapter of this history for our theory of the degrees, 
 and their profound significance. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Then let \is throw all care aside, 
 
 Let's merry too and mellow ; 
 May Friendship, Love and Truth abide 
 
 With every true Odd Fellow. 
 
 ODD FELLOW'S SONG. 
 
 There seems to have been a general emigration of Odd Fel- 
 lows to this country in the beginning of the century ; to be sure r 
 their number was small, and, in many cases, was confined to a 
 single individual. They were men of humble origin, and for 
 the most part were expert mechanics and worked at a trade. 
 Their settlements were in the seaport cities, to which they had 
 been attracted by the hope of bettering their condition. Odd 
 Fellowship had nothing to do with their emigration, but they 
 had severally been in some way connected with an independent 
 lodge in England, and were invested with the then known secret 
 work by which such lodges had been attempting to illustrate and 
 enforce the lesson of fraternity. They were strangers in a strange 
 land, fighting for existence and seeking to form new associations. 
 Under such circumstances they naturally missed the life they 
 had left behind them, and when they met as fellow-countrymen, 
 recounted with regret the good time they had spent in the com- 
 fortable inns and ale-houses of the mother country. The Order 
 of Odd Fellowship was of all others the most prized, as having 
 been the source of both social pleasure and pecuniary benefit ; it 
 was composed of men of their own class, and claimed to be 
 formed for the purpose of aiding sons of toil, and binding them 
 closely together for the common advantage. When such men 
 recognized each other by the rude formula of that period as 
 members of the Order, they at once were led to revive such 
 pleasant intercourse, and for that purpose to plant the institution 
 in American soil. Boston, that great entrepot of commerce, was 
 one of the points so visited, and the results that followed will 
 compose the materials of this chapter. 
 
 (335) 
 
336 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 JAMES B. BARNES. 
 
 James B. Barnes came to this country in the same year with 
 Wildey, 1817. He was born in Plymouth, England, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1792, of parents of the middle class, who were in moderate 
 circumstances. When he was a young Child his father removed 
 to Portsmouth. But his education was not neglected ; such 
 ordinary schools as were accessible furnished him with a good 
 education in the rudiments, which was improved by a fondness 
 for books and study, which was a marked trait in his character. 
 In this way he became an apt scholar, and in course of time was 
 a proficient in many branches of knowledge. His first employ- 
 ment was in the dockyard at Plymouth. The custom of the 
 country required that a boy of his station should be apprenticed 
 at an early age to learn a mechanical trade. Young Barnes 
 evinced a great fondness for works on mechanics, and he was 
 accordingly put to the trade of what was then called a " white 
 smith." Among his companions he found many who were Odd 
 Fellows, and as soon as he came of age (in 1813) he was admitted 
 and made a member in a lodge originally organized under what 
 was called "the Bolton Unity." In 1814 he removed to London, 
 and took membership in an independent organization known as 
 "the Eoyal Charlotte Lodge." 
 
 Barnes was a good type of the reading and thinking working- 
 man, and was full of theories for the elevation of his class. The 
 institution in its rough outlines seemed to him a powerful ally to 
 the laboring poor, and he was soon active and zealous in the 
 duties of his lodge. He became prominent, and by successive 
 steps rapidly rose to the place of presiding officer. This was a 
 great compliment to a man from a provincial city, and indicated 
 the meritorious nature of his services. In fact, his term of N. 
 <r. was looked upon as a great success, and on his retirement 
 from that chair, in 1814, he was presented with a beautiful 
 jewel, the badge of his rank as Past Grand. A letter of 
 thanks was granted at the same time in the shape of a diploma, 
 in which his brethren recorded in glowing terms their unani- 
 mous estimate of his worth and services. The jevel was 
 a silver medal of an oval form, exquisite in workmanship, 
 and ornamented with appropriate designs. Around the border 
 is this inscription : " ROYAL INDEPENDENT CHARLOTTE LODGE, 
 
JAMES B. BARNES. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 337 
 
 ODD FELLOWS," enclosing two male human figures on opposite 
 sides, leaning upon an elevated shield, highly decorated, the 
 whole surmounted by a lifted curtain or canopy. On the obverse 
 side are the words: "P. N. G. BARNES, 25th December, 1815." 
 Bro. W. P. McKelvey, to whom we are greatly indebted in this 
 connection, thus describes it : " The pictorial emblems on the 
 English medal are in oil colors on ivory. The device is a shield 
 containing many emblems of the Order, with two figures on 
 either side representing mechanics in the style of dress worn in 
 1815. On the back of the medal is a small casket containing 
 some of the hair of the deceased." 
 
 Before this time he married, and three daughters were born 
 to him in London, where he was endeavoring to gain a permanent 
 foothold. But his efforts were not rewarded, and he began to 
 turn his attention to a more suitable place; after much consider- 
 ation he concluded to emigrate, and seek in this country that 
 success which he could not find in England. He landed in 
 Boston in 1817, and found no difficulty in procuring employment 
 at his trade. At the end of a year he entered a glass factory, 
 arid soon became expert in making clay pots for smelting glass, 
 and invented a process for manufacturing bricks for glass furnaces. 
 Early in 1821 he entered the service of the New England Glass 
 Company, located at East Cambridge, as a master workman, and 
 held the position until February 1845. In the winter of that 
 year, he and a fellow-workman moved to Wheeling, Virginia, 
 and purchased an old established glass factory in that city. They 
 carried on the business until January 8, 1849, at which time 
 Brother Barnes died, leaving a widow and six children. His son, 
 James F. Barnes, was born in this country in 1818, and is now a 
 merchant in Wheeling. 
 
 The son was initiated into the Order in 1845, on the eve of 
 the departure of the family from Massachusetts, but did not con- 
 tinue a member. He has furnished us with photographs of his 
 father's medals, which, for artistic finish and coloring and appa- 
 rent fidelity to the originals, are beyond praise. He succeeded 
 his father in business, but is now engaged in the queensware trade. 
 The family left by Bro. Barnes is numerous, and are all in good 
 circumstances. They are scattered over the country, some resid- 
 ing in New Orleans, some in Massachusetts, and others in West 
 Virginia. In a letter of April 4th, 1878, James F. Barnes says, 
 22 
 
333 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 with honest pride : " My father was an able man, a first-rate 
 mechanic, and above all, an honest man in every sense of the 
 word." We are indebted to him for the plates with which we 
 have produced the fine medals of his father, which are kept by 
 him as sacred mementos of that father's eminent services in the 
 cause of humanity. 
 
 But let us return to the part assumed by Bro. Barnes in tile- 
 organization of a form of Odd Fellowship in Boston, which finally 
 became the starting point of a connection with the Order estab- 
 lished in this country by Thomas Wildey. Immediately after 
 his arrival in that city he began to inquire diligently for other 
 Odd Fellows. His plan was to go on board of passenger ships 
 from England, and to visit the taverns and other public places in 
 the hope of meeting some of the brethren ; but his efforts in these 
 directions were of no avail. In the autumn of 1818 he was more 
 successful ; for in passing up State Street he met one "Wilson, the 
 town crier, w r ho, in his usual manner, was announcing the sale of 
 a cargo of fruit at public auction on the next day. A crowd sur- 
 rounded the crier, and from some passages of rough wit between 
 them, Barnes began to think he had discovered an Odd Fellow, 
 He therefore followed Wilson, and was informed by him that his 
 surmise w T as correct. Wilson also invited him to his ale-house,, 
 No. 23 Cornhill, where he went on the same evening and met 
 several English Odd Fellows. These were Jacob Myers, Thomas 
 Kennedy and H. D. Fregere. Of these Myers was of Jewish 
 parentage and kept a clothing store on Fleet Street, afterwards- 
 Ann Street; he came to the country in 1818. Fregere had em- 
 igrated with his father's family to Montreal, Canada, in 1816, 
 and was in Boston seeking employment. Nothing is known of the 
 antecedents of Kennedy, except that he came over in the same 
 ship with Fregere. 
 
 It seems that no steps were taken to form a lodge, as 
 these new acquaintances were well pleased to meet and pass 
 social evenings together, with no intention beyond that of present 
 enjoyment. This continued so long as to give rise to the report 
 that a lodge was in operation under their auspices in the latter 
 part of 1819. But the tradition, while claiming a lodge existence, 
 speaks only of informal meetings, without officers, and that no 
 minutes were kept until the formal organization, which occurred 
 on the 26th of March, 1820. It seems that by-laws were in 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 339 
 
 readiness, an indication of previous preparation which could 
 only have existed for a brief period. It was also asserted that 
 they had the work of the Manchester Unity, though claiming no 
 connection with that Order. This may have gained circulation 
 from the probability that one or more of the members came from 
 the west of England and knew something of the changes made in 
 the work. The master-spirit, Brother Barnes, was from London, 
 and was hostile to the provincial innovations which gave birth to 
 the Unity. Early in 1820 they found another brother in James 
 B. Eaton, and were in point of numbers ready for the first time 
 to open a lodge ; for, as before stated, five was the least number 
 which by " ancient " and invariable " usage " could form an Odd 
 Fellows' lodge. 
 
 It was at Eaton's house on Federal Street that the brothers 
 met in conformity to a resolution passed at an informal meeting, 
 held on the 20th day of March, 1820, and then and there opened 
 a lodge. The process of course was by self-institution. The 
 first officers were, James B. Barnes, Noble Grand ; H. D. Fre- 
 gere, Vice Grand ; Jacob Myers, Warden, and Thomas Kennedy, 
 Secretary; and the name assumed was that of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1. Its numbers began at once to increase, and with 
 them arose the necessity for a removal ; other removals followed, 
 until a more permanent location was found in the old Masonic 
 Hall near the head of Ann Street. It was at the house of Bro. 
 Humber in Ann Street, in 1821, that Daniel Hersey was initiated ; 
 this brother was the first member of American birth, and fills a 
 large space upon the record. Owing to the fact that no record 
 was kept for the year 1821, we find his name for the first time 
 on March 29, 1822, when he w r as unanimously elected Noble 
 Grand. It appears that the funds of the lodge on the 2d day of 
 April, 1822, amounted to the sum of $103, which in the next 
 year increased to $441.70. 
 
 Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, was thus on the road to prosper- 
 ity, when on the 4th day of March, 1823, leave was granted to cer- 
 tain of its members to form another body, styled Siloam Lodge 
 of Independent Odd Fellows. The lodge was instituted on the 
 llth day of March, 1823 ; the officers having been elected at an 
 informal meeting held on the 6th day of the same month. Mas- 
 sachusetts Lodge met on the occasion, and by its Noble Grand 
 installed Daniel Hersey, Noble Grand, who immediately assumed 
 
340 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the chair and installed his associates as follows : James B. Barnes, 
 Vice Grand; Charles Mountfort, Treasurer; Edmund Badger, 
 Secretary ; Henry Fowle, Warden ; John C. Bradler, Guardian. 
 The whole number composing the new lodge was twelve, and 
 included the two leading spirits, Barnes and Hersey. 
 
 But the most important event in the history of the young 
 lodges was the receipt of a letter dated February, 1822, from the 
 G. Lodge of Maryland and of the United States, with reference 
 to the opening of a lodge of Odd Fellows in Boston under its 
 authority. This was probably the first positive information 
 which the Massachusetts Odd Fellows had received that they 
 were not alone in the United States, and that they had perhaps 
 been forestalled by brethren in Maryland in planting the Order in 
 this country. 
 
 Before narrating the incidents attending the introduction of 
 the Order into Massachusetts in a legal manner, by the regularly 
 chartered authorities, we propose to mention several matters 
 which seem necessary, in justice to the New England Odd Fel- 
 lows. Bro. Barnes, the first leader, was undoubtedly a man of 
 enterprise, and was worthy of all the honors which were awarded 
 to him. He was always foremost in activity, and was untiring in 
 his efforts to extend the benefits of the Order. We have seen that 
 he and Hersey led the band of twelve which withdrew to forin 
 Siloam Lodge, of which he was the first Vice Grand. He after- 
 wards assisted in forming New England Lodge, No. 4, at East 
 Cambridge, 'to which place he had removed his residence. Here 
 he performed faithful labor, and never ceased to be full of zeal 
 through all the struggles which terminated in the disastrous over- 
 throw of his entire jurisdiction in 1832. The Anti-Masons 
 indeed had seized upon the legislative power and prostrated the 
 cause for the time, but he never despaired, and lived to see the 
 persecuted Order triumph over all its enemies. 
 
 At his departure for Wheeling, his brethren manifested their 
 respect and affection for him by many tokens. They presented 
 him with a medal in open lodge, with all due ceremony, and 
 in an informal manner, at Porter's hotel in Cambridge, gave 
 him the parting hand and many wishes for his prosperity. The 
 medal was properly inscribed, to indicate the nature of the compli- 
 ment intended. On one side it read : " I. O. O. F. Presented by 
 the members of New England Lodge, No. 4, to P. G. Bro. James 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 341 
 
 B. Barnes, the founder of Odd Fellowship in Massachusetts, as a 
 testimony of their high estimation of his services as an Odd Fel- 
 low, and of his integrity and usefulness as a man." On the 
 reverse, " In God we trust. Odd Fellowship established in 
 Massachusetts, March 26th, 1820. This medal presented to its 
 founder, March 26th, 1845. Friendship, Love and Truth." We 
 have been furnished with two cards granted him by New Eng- 
 land Lodge, No. 4. The first is in due form, dated March 1st, 
 1845 ; on its back appears the following : 
 
 BOSTON, April 1st, 1845. 
 To the Fraternity of Odd Fellows : 
 
 We commend to your kind attention our honored and beloved 
 brother, James B. Barnes, the founder of Odd Fellowship in the 
 State of Massachusetts. The brethren of the Order may rely 
 upon him as a man of honor, integrity and usefulness, and as pos- 
 sessing an enviable reputation in the Order and in the commu- 
 nity. 
 
 THOMAS F. NORRIS, 
 
 M. W. G. Master R. W. G. Lodge of Mass. 
 WM. E. PARMENTER, 
 
 Grand Secretary R. W. G. Lodge of Mass. 
 
 This did not sever his connection with the lodge ; at all events 
 he was a member in 1848, for we have his visiting card of the same 
 lodge for one year, dated 14th April, 1848, signed by John Hamilton 
 Leighton, N. G., and Jas. Wallace, Secretary. In fact, he never 
 severed his connection with his lodge. When he died, the Order 
 in Wheeling furnished an escort for his body on its way to Mas- 
 sachusetts. He loved that section, and wished to lie in the soil 
 where he had planted Odd Fellowship. In due time his 
 remains reached his friends in New England. His Lodge had 
 notice, and met to prepare to receive the body of the great Odd 
 Fellow. The members came forth to do him the last service, and 
 with solemn ceremonies laid him in the earth. And thus the fra- 
 ternal emigrant, who brought over from England so large a stock 
 of energy and manly virtue, returned, never again to leave the 
 scenes of his early trials and triumphs. He never fell ; he never 
 faltered ; but was faithful to the last. His adopted country had 
 recognized his worth and paid him honor ; and to-day, in that 
 land of Athenian culture, in that old mother of States, Ma?- 
 
342 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 sachusetts, and in all her fair sisters on the eastern seaboard, he 
 is held in memory as the Father of New England Odd Fellow- 
 ship. 
 
 The following was enacted at a meeting of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1, held on the 22d July, 1822: " Kesolved, That the 
 Secretary be directed to write to the lodge of Odd Fellows in 
 Providence, congratulating them on opening a new lodge." We 
 have the authority of P. G. M. James Wood, the great Odd Fel- 
 low of that State, that prior to 1820 there were three lodges of 
 the Order in Rhode Island, located at Providence. They were 
 only, in fact, convivial gatherings, and were in no sense lodges. 
 
 But we return to the letter of February, 1822, from the Odd 
 Fellows of Baltimore. No reply was made to the communication ; 
 but during the year brother James Wilson, of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, sailed for Baltimore in a packet ship, and took with him 
 letters of recommendation to such Odd Fellows as he might find 
 in that city. He was cordially received by the brethren, and on 
 his return to Boston, carried with him full information of the 
 history and position of Washington Lodge. We have narrated 
 elsewhere the story of the visit of this brother to Baltimore, his 
 reception by Wildey and his followers, and the application that 
 followed by the Boston brethren. The report of Wilson was 
 eminently satisfactory. The facts presented were such as to 
 magnify the importance of the movement in Baltimore. No 
 member in Boston, before that time, knew anything of a change- 
 able password, of lodge warrants, lectures or degrees, and this 
 was the first information received on this subject. Even the 
 intelligent Wilson did not seem to understand the action of 
 Washington Lodge in its delegation of Grand Lodge powers to 
 its Past Grands, although on the ground and the matter had 
 been fully explained to him. His associates in Baltimore were 
 members of Washington Lodge, and, under the influence of old 
 ideas, he looked to that subordinate alone as the chief authority. 
 
 The application from the Boston brethren speaks for itself; 
 they say : " We are without lectures and degrees, and we wish 
 you to state the manner of application and method of receiving 
 them here." The letter will be found in the Journal, page 53. 
 It seems that Wilson bore a letter to his informal lodge, to which 
 a cordial reply was returned, recognizing Washington Lodge as 
 the Grand Lodge of the United States, and asking for a charter. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 343 
 
 The petition was dated the 28th day of March, 1823, and the 
 charter was granted on the 13th of April ensuing ; and being 
 signed, sealed and colored, was placed in the hands of Grand 
 Master Wildey, as the messenger to the brethren in Massachu- 
 setts. Wildej left Baltimore on the 31st day of May, 1823, but 
 did not reach Boston until the 8th day of June following ; the 
 delay being caused by stoppages at Philadelphia and New York, 
 to confer with the members of the Order in these cities. The 
 charter had been sent on in advance, accompanied by a fraternal 
 letter from Washington Lodge. On its receipt, Massachusetts 
 Lodge met on the 15th day of May, and took the following 
 action : " Yoted, that the copy of a charter received from the 
 Washington Lodge, Baltimore, be read. A letter was also 
 read from Washington Lodge. On motion, a committee was 
 appointed with full powers to answer the letter ; the M. ]ST. Grand, 
 Secretary and Bro. Gamage were appointed the committee." 
 It is very evident, from this extract from the minutes, that no 
 idea prevailed of any power superior to Washington Lodge, and 
 this may be explained by the fact that, after all, the Past Grands 
 of that lodge were the rulers of the Order. 
 
 The arrival of G. M. Wildey was an event of more than ordi- 
 nary importance. Noble Grand Hersey, of Siloam Lodge, met 
 him, and after many courtesies, escorted hirn to the hall in Ann 
 Street, where Massachusetts and Siloam Lodges held their meet- 
 ings. Massachusetts Lodge was in session, and William Bishop, 
 the K G., occupied the chair. As soon as the lodge was opened 
 .a committee, consisting of Brothers Eaton and Johns, were ap- 
 pointed to introduce the visitor; they immediately retired and 
 -ushered in the ambassador from Maryland, who was warmly 
 received and most earnestly welcomed by the K G. and brethren 
 G. M. Wildey desired the N. G. to call a special meeting, to be 
 convened on Monday evening following, when he would make a 
 formal presentation of the charter. The special meeting was 
 ordered, and Siloam Lodge was invited to be present. On the 
 evening of Monday, the 9th of June, 1823, Massachusetts Lodge 
 opened in due form; G. M. Wildey took the chair and admin- 
 istered the obligation to the assembled members, and handed over 
 the charter to them, in the name and by the authority of the 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States. The origi- 
 nal paper is lost, but the following is a true copy 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 CHARTER OF MASSACHUSETTS LODGE, No. 1. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 To all whom it may concern, these presents come greeting : 
 Know ye that the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United 
 States doth hereby grant this warrant or dispensation, on the 
 application of a number of brothers of the Order of Independent 
 Odd Fellows residing in Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, 
 to establish a lodge to be hailed by the title of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1, to be held in Boston, for the encouragement and 
 support of brothers of the said Order when on travel or other- 
 wise. And the said Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, being duly 
 formed, is hereby authorized and empowered to initiate into the 
 mysteries of the said Order, any person or persons duly proposed 
 and approved according to the laws of Odd Fellowship ; and to 
 administer to true brothers all the privileges and benefits arising 
 therefrom ; and to enact by-laws for the government of their 
 lodge : Provided, always, that the said Massachusetts Lodge, 
 No. 1, in Boston, do act according to the Order, and in conjunc- 
 tion with and obedience to the Grand Lodge, adhereing to and 
 supporting the Articles, Charges and Degrees, delivered with 
 this Dispensation ; and that the said Massachusetts Lodge, No. 
 1. shall not be removed from the place where it is now held, 
 without the consent of the Grand Lodge. In default thereof this 
 Warrant or Dispensation may be suspended, or taken away, at 
 the decision of the Grand Lodge. And further: the Grand 
 Lodge (in consideration of the due performance of the above) do 
 bind themselves to repair all damages or destruction of the Dis- 
 pensation, Charges and Degrees, whether by fire or other acci- 
 dent ; provided sufficient proof be given that there is no illegal 
 concealment or wilful destruction of the same. And the Grand 
 Lodge will support the Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, in the exer- 
 cise of their duty and in the privileges and honors of the Order. 
 In witness whereof, we have displayed the colors of our Order,, 
 subscribed our names, and affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States, this twenty-second day of 
 May, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, M. W. Grand Master. 
 
 JOHN WELCH, R. W. D. G. Master. 
 r -, THOMAS MITCHELL, R. W. G. Warden. 
 
 JOHN P. ENTWISLE, R. W. G. Secretary. 
 
 JOHN BOYD, W. G. GUARDIAN. 
 
 WILLIAM LARKAM, W. G. Conductor. 
 
 Past Grands. 
 
 DUNCAN McCoRMiCK, THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, 
 
 JAMES SEED, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 
 
 JOHN NELSON, WILLIAM ANSTICE, 
 
 WILLIAM TONG. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 345 
 
 This paper having been read, G. M. Wildey declared the 
 lodge to be legally constituted under the name of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1. He also stated that he was clothed with authority 
 to open a Grand Lodge for the State of Massachusetts ; and he 
 desired the P. Grands of the two lodges to assemble on Wednes- 
 day evening, June 11, 1823, to enable him to perform that duty. 
 Whereupon, it was " Kesolved, that the Past Grands be notified 
 to attend the forming of a Grand Lodge, and that the members 
 of Siloam Lodge be cordially invited to attend." It was also 
 "Kesolved, that notice of the Dispensation to Massachusetts 
 Lodge be put in the public prints." At a special meeting of the 
 lodge, held on June 13th, provision was made, by the aid of 
 Siloam Lodge, to pay eighty-six dollars on account of the expenses 
 of the G. Master. The P. Grands having assembled as had been 
 requested, Grand Master Wildey read the charter and organized 
 them into a Grand Lodge. 
 
 The addresses of the founder, at the opening of these lodges, 
 must have been quite emotional. He was now in the bosom of 
 a family of brethren, after a long and protracted journey from 
 his home. He was presiding at the baptism of the first-born to 
 his Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States ; the soil 
 was historical, and the centre of refinement and intelligence ; the 
 people second to none in any country, and the city the acknow- 
 ledged head of the New England States. No doubt he dwelt com- 
 placently upon these topics, and felt greater pride in this accession 
 than when, in after years, he saw the whole country rising to- 
 receive his institution. In this case, as in all others of early 
 organization, the condition of things was, in many regards, con- 
 fused and irregular. Massachusetts Lodge was not only the first 
 lodge in Boston, but was the only lodge considered in forming- 
 the tie with the Order in Baltimore. Siloam Lodge was the cre- 
 ation of Massachusetts Lodge, and although consisting of its best 
 members, seemed scarcely to have a separate existence from its 
 parent. Having been instituted on the llth day of March, 1S23, 
 but three months previously, no time had been permitted for a 
 proper organization of its lodge functions. Its P. Grands had 
 passed the chairs in Massachusetts Lodge, and although invited 
 as Siloam Lodge members to unite to form a G. Lodge, did not 
 acquire any right to do so by reason of their new relations. Nor 
 was Siloam Lodge officially included in the new arrangement 
 
346 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Tin til the 2d day of December, 1823, six months afterwards, when 
 upon petition, a legal charter was granted by the G. Lodge of 
 Massachusetts to Siloam Lodge, No. 2. In the meantime the 
 two lodges acted in a manner to indicate that they believed 
 themselves to occupy an equal position towards the G. Lodge and 
 towards each other. Nor did Massachusetts Lodge take a new 
 charter from its G. Lodge, but continued to act under its original 
 .authority from the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. No peti- 
 tion of five P. Grands had asked for a Grand Charter, and there- 
 fore no charter members appear in that instrument. These omis- 
 .sions, which were elsewhere strictly insisted upon, in the cases of 
 New York and Pennsylvania, indicate the anxious haste of the 
 Baltimore brethren to win those of Boston to the newly consti- 
 tuted Order in the former city. 
 
 Before setting forth the early history of the Grand Lodge of 
 Massachusetts, we shall briefly narrate the story of the two origi- 
 nal lodges of that jurisdiction. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS LODGE, NO. 1. 
 
 Having shown how the tie was legally formed between the 
 Wildey organization and Massachusetts Lodge, we now proceed 
 to relate the other most important events in its history. Joseph 
 Batson was, in the early part of the year 1822, the favorite of the 
 lodge ; for services of merely nominal value he had two medals offi- 
 cially conferred upon him. But these favors turned his head, and 
 his subsequent conduct was so very troublesome and ridiculous as 
 to render him justly odious to his former admirers. It is said that 
 he divulged the secrets to the uninitiated, persisted in wearing 
 regalia to which he was not entitled, and having obtained posses- 
 sion of the ritual of the then second and third degrees, in use in 
 the lodge, refused to deliver them up, and in this way prevented 
 the degrees from being conferred. On October 18th, 1822, a com- 
 mittee to investigate these matters was appointed ; this and other 
 like committees continued to act, with no apparent result, until the 
 28th of April, 1823, when Batson was prohibited from wearing 
 certain regalia, and on May 23d ensuing he was unanimously 
 expelled. This action was published in the newspapers, and no- 
 tice was also sent to Siloam Lodge and to Washington Lodge, Bal- 
 timore. Batson, it seems, found his way to Baltimore, and was 
 well treated by the brethren there ; this gave such offence to 
 Massachusetts Lodge that it issued a circular, reflecting in severe 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 347 
 
 terms upon the Baltimore brethren for harboring a disgraced 
 Odd Fellow. The correspondence to which this gave rise will be 
 set forth when we treat of the G. Lodge of Massachusetts. 
 
 The first record of degrees having been conferred in Massa- 
 chusetts Lodge, was on the 4th of October, 1822, when notice 
 was given that there would be a special meeting of the officers 
 for the purpose of receiving the first and second degrees. On the 
 9th these degrees were also conferred upon nine members 
 of the lodge. The so-called degrees came from New York, and 
 these were the only instances in which they were conferred. On 
 March 28th, 1823, as before stated, application was made to Bal- 
 timore for the lectures and degrees ; they were duly forwarded, 
 but did not arrive until October, 1823, when the lawful degrees 
 of the Manchester Unity were adopted in Massachusetts. In this 
 month Siloam Lodge was instituted, and was invited by the par- 
 ent lodge to become a tenant at the hall in Ann Street, and on 
 May 2d, 1823, went in under a sub-lease for one year. The 
 younger lodge, on the 24th of June, applied for a charter from 
 the G. Lodge, which was not granted until December following. 
 In the meantime, on the 26th of August, Siloam Lodge conferred 
 the first of the so-called degrees upon ten of its members. This 
 roused the anger of Massachusetts Lodge, which, on Monday, 7th, 
 by its vote, protested against the degrees being given out by Sil- 
 oam Lodge before it had obtained a charter from the G. Lodge. 
 This was sent by letter to that Lodge, and was returned with 
 a rougli message, which gave still greater offence, and the amity 
 before existing between the lodges was temporarily destroyed. 
 But the lodges met again in peace early in 1824. Yet the truce 
 was badly kept on both sides, and especially so on the part of the 
 senior lodge. The next disagreement was concerning the lease 
 which each held on the hall in Ann Street, which was not joint, 
 as was at first intended. Massachusetts Lodge, in fact, had a 
 lease from year to year ; Siloam Lodge held a sub-lease from Mas- 
 sachusetts Lodge. In obtaining a renewal of the sub-lease, Siloam 
 Lodge appealed to the G. Lodge before the matter was adjusted. 
 But as soon as that was settled, Massachusetts Lodge had a con- 
 troversy with Mr. Stetson, its landlord, and on the evening of the 
 8th of November, 1824, removed precipitately from the premises. 
 This was a sad blow to Siloam Lodge, which had an interest in 
 the property removed, and whose members had no mind to sub- 
 
348 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 mit to such arbitrary proceedings. Its officers protested without 
 avail against the measure, and finally seized upon two brass 
 lamps and a table, which were in transit, and kept them for the- 
 use of their lodge. 
 
 Massachusetts Lodge next met on the 12th of November, 
 1824, at the house of Bro. "William Johns, No. 33 Union Street. 
 Here they were met by the officers of the junior lodge, but no 
 terms of accommodation were settled. On November 19th the 
 lodge met at Joy's Building, when the members refused to confer 
 with the officers of Siloam Lodge, who were again in attendance. 
 At length-- Siloam Lodge brought the matter before the G. Lodge r 
 which summoned both lodges before it, and after much difficulty 
 the matter was adjusted. Massachusetts Lodge was now (Feb- 
 ruary, 1825) badly demoralized and utterly bankrupt. After 
 leaving the hall on Ann Street the lodge was in constant motion ; 
 as we have seen, it met November 12th at the house of "William 
 Johns, No. 33 Union Street, on December 3d at the Tontine 
 Hotel, on December 8th and 10th again at 33 Union Street, on 
 December 17th and 24th at Tontine Hall, on December 31st and 
 January 7th, 1825, at Bro. William A. Rees, Ann Street, on 
 February 20th at the Tontine Coffee House, on February 28th 
 again on Ann Street, and after that again at the Hall in Ann 
 Street. 
 
 Of course, with the lodge " on travel," it had no increase, and 
 was growing weaker every day. But it was not unmindful of 
 duty, and the members several times subscribed money to assist 
 indigent brethren, when there was not a dollar in the treasury. 
 Having no work to do, the meetings were taken up with bicker- 
 ings and debates, that had no result but to make the prospect 
 still more gloomy. We have stated that Joseph Batson was ex- 
 pelled in May, 1823, and having wandered to Baltimore, became 
 the cause of trouble between Massachusetts Lodge and Washington 
 Lodge of that city. Batson returned to Boston, and found ready as- 
 sociates among the members of his former lodge. Chief among 
 these was Secretary Stacey, who, on being found in the company of 
 Batson, was deposed from office. Bro. Myers, another one of 
 them, had a quarrel with the lodge about a bill, and having be- 
 haved indecorously, was expelled. Still another, Bro. Boden, for 
 acting in a disorderly manner at the expulsion of Myers, was 
 himself expelled. In the last case, upon suitable siibmission oa 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 349 
 
 the part of the brother, he was reinstated. Soon afterwards he 
 died, and the contrite brethren assisted his widow and children, 
 -and were full of sympathy and grief. But the situation grew 
 .gradually worse. On the 16th of May, 1825, the finance com- 
 mittee reported that there was a balance due the Secretary of 
 seven dollars and thirty-three cents, and that there was in the 
 treasury the sum of six dollars and thirty-eight cents. 
 
 On November 7, a committee was appointed to wait on the 
 Orand Lodge and remonstrate against the conduct of Noble 
 Grand Carnsel, in proposing to give up the charter without the 
 approval of the members, and also to find that officer and request 
 him to hold lodge meetings. He was found on the 14th of No- 
 vember, but refused to attend, for the reason that he preferred the 
 theatre to going to the lodge. He was then deposed, and Bro. 
 James Yates was duly installed as Noble Grand on November 
 28, 1825. In the meantime Carnsel had the charter, and a com- 
 mittee was appointed to get it out of his possession. The charter 
 was obtained, but lodge meetings were only held about once in a 
 month. In this way was passed the year 1826; in 1827 and 
 1828 there was a spasmodic appearance of vigor which was de- 
 ceptive. The price of initiation was increased from two to five 
 dollars, and the by-laws were amended to allow initiations in the 
 lodge, of brothers intending to hold their membership in other 
 lodges. Under this law many were initiated, and the two lodges 
 held joint regular meetings on Sunday evenings to confer the 
 degrees. At a meeting of Massachusetts Lodge, held on Monday 
 evening, July 9, 1827, Grand Master Hersey read a circular from 
 the G. Lodge of the United States, detailing the events of 
 Wildey's visit to England, his return, and the condition of the 
 Order in both countries. But the struggle for existence was 
 nearly at an end. At the election for officers, in October, 1827, 
 the whole number of votes cast was six, and there being no bus- 
 iness on hand, the lodge adjourned " for refreshment." On June 
 9th, 1828, seven votes were cast on the application of P. G. 
 Joseph Lopez, " to become a full member," and it was then voted 
 " that we will hold the charter of the lodge, and not give it up 
 as long as five members stand by to hold it." The record of the 
 last meeting reads as follows : " Sunday, August 10th, 1828. At 
 a special meeting of the lodge, held at Bro. Thompson's, for the 
 purpose of attending the funeral of brother Edward Magher, 
 
350 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 voted that brother Thompson be a committee to see him de- 
 cently interred, and the lodge do pay for the same ; and that he 
 also cause six feet of wood to be sent to his widow. At 10 o'clock 
 closed in due form. Attest: EBER SMITH, Secretary." 
 
 And thus ended the recorded existence of Massachusetts 
 Lodge, No. 1. Five members could not be assembled for busi- 
 ness ; there were no meetings, and all the machinery for conduct- 
 ing a lodge \vas wanting. No formal surrender of the charter was 
 made until 1832; but vitality had departed, and in due time the 
 name was officially dismissed from the list of lodges in Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 We have received from Bro. Samuel B. Krogman, P. G. M., 
 the following : " Massachusetts Lodge was reinstated June 22d, 
 1841, and has continued its good work to the present day. 
 Number of members admitted March 26th, 1820, to August 
 10th, 1828, 92; June 22d, 1841, to January 1st, 1878, 1039; 
 total, 1131. Withdrew to form other lodges, 321 ; members in 
 good standing January 1st, 1878, 208; Past Grands since organ- 
 ization, 109; Past Grands remaining January 1st, 1878, 38^ 
 members elected Grand Master, 3, of whom Daniel Hersey died. 
 The others, Joseph L. Drew and Samuel B. Krogman, remain 
 members of the lodge. Keceipts from March 26th, 1820, to 
 August 10th, 1828, $524.93 ; June 22d, 1841, to January 1st, 
 1878, $64,065.48 ; total, $64,590.41. Paid for relief from March 
 26th, 1820, to August 10th, 1828, $56.00; June 22d, 1841, to 
 January 1st, 1878, $32,874.98; total, $32,930.98. Amount of 
 funds and property January 1st, 1878, $11,563.26." 
 
 SILOAM LODGE, NO. 2. 
 
 We have before stated that the leading spirits in the first 
 movement became the original members of Siloam Lodge, No. 2. 
 It followed that its meetings were more regular and its member- 
 ship more active and efficient than those of the parent lodge. 
 Its original founders were Daniel Hersey, James B. Barnes, 
 Charles Mountfort, Edmund Badger, Samuel L. Knapp, John 
 Minott, James Frost, Abel Wheelock, Henry Fovvle, John C. 
 Bradley, William C. Jenkins and John Campbell. The first 
 meeting of Siloam Lodge occurred, as before stated, on the llth 
 of March, 1823, when the officers were duly installed. It was- 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 351 
 
 agreed that the lodge should adopt the "by-laws, rules and regu- 
 lations " of Massachusetts Lodge. The first initiation took place 
 at the next weekly meeting. 
 
 Many members were obtained in those early days, whose 
 names in later years were quite familiar to Bostonians, as among 
 the most efficient laborers in the cause of Odd Fellowship. Pro- 
 minent among these was Doctor William Ingalls, who was initi- 
 ated in Siloam Lodge, April 15th, 1823, arid during a somewhat 
 protracted life, remained a firm friend of the Order. From his 
 social position he exerted a powerful influence in support of the 
 institution, and was one of the petitioners in February, 1842, to 
 have Siloam Lodge reinstated. When the petition was granted 
 he took an active part in setting the lodge to work, becoming its 
 representative to the Grand Lodge. In one particular it took 
 front rank, and stood abreast with Columbia Lodge, ~No. 3, of 
 Baltimore. On January 13th, 1824, it was voted "that we will 
 dispense with having any liquor brought into the antechamber 
 in future." This may account for the fact that its accessions 
 were numerous, and were drawn from the more substantial class 
 of citizens. We have detailed the fact of its institution on the 
 llth of March, 1823, that it began its meetings at the Hall in 
 Ann Street on May 2d, and that its charter was granted by the 
 G. Lodge of Massachusetts on the 2d of December, 1823. Its 
 hospitality was illustrated by a collation provided at the expense 
 of the lodge, at an installation on the 13th of July, 1824, when 
 it was voted " that Massachusetts Lodge be invited to attend on 
 that evening." It was a great matter in those days "of small 
 things " to appropriate twelve dollars for this entertainment. In 
 the absence of financial system the treasury was soon embar- 
 rassed, so that on March 7th, 1825, the standing committee 
 reported an indebtedness of two hundred and forty dollars. At 
 this time there were seventy members who were thought able to 
 contribute, and they were each assessed the sum of one dollar. 
 On December 27th, 1825, brothers Southack, Barnes, Conner and 
 Dorr were appointed a committee to petition the legislature for 
 an act of incorporation, but nothing came of it. On January 
 5th, 1826, the by-laws were dispensed with, so as to allow the 
 initiation of Rev. Thomas F. Norris and all other clergymen free 
 of expense. Bro. Norris was afterwards regularly initiated in 
 Massachusetts Lodge for Siloam Lodge. 
 
352 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 On Monday, January 9, 1826, the lodge had a public instal- 
 lation of its officers. The record says : " The. lodge opened in due 
 form in the presence of a very large and respectable company. 
 Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Dean. An elegant address was then 
 delivered by Bro. Yates in eloquent and masterly style, for which 
 he deserves great credit. The Grand Master of the State then 
 proceeded to install the officers for the next three months, and 
 deserves thanks for the style in which he delivered his charge. 
 The whole concluding with a prayer by Rev. Mr. Dean, and ex- 
 ercises by the amateurs of the Columbian Club." This was cer- 
 tainly a good programme, and the whole incident exhibits the 
 superior morale which prevailed in this lodge. On the 7th of 
 February it was voted, " that the 6th of April be dispensed with 
 as the day of our anniversary, and that the 22d of February be 
 observed in its stead." Why a lodge born in March and char- 
 tered in December should have its anniversary in February, has 
 not been explained. 
 
 So far there had been harmony among these brethren, but 
 dissensions began to arise which in their effects were utterly 
 disastrous. At the meeting held on the 7th of July there was an 
 election, at which Lyam Gilbert was chosen Noble Grand. The 
 evening was one memorable for the lodge. It w r as voted, " that 
 Bro. Robinson be fined five dollars for making use of profane 
 and indecent language, disturbing the peace and harmony of the 
 lodge, dissuading Mr. McNair from being initiated in the Siloam 
 Lodge, and violently opposing, by word and action, said person 
 from becoming an Odd Fellow, and disobeying the orders of the 
 Most Noble Grand." The G. Master was not present, and the 
 Warden proceeded to install the officers, who took their seats. 
 Grand Master Hersey was deeply offended and took measures 
 accordingly. He attended the lodge meeting of July 25, 1826, 
 and at the opening took the N. G.'s chair, and appointed two 
 members a committee to examine Bro. Gilbert as to his qualifi- 
 cations for the place. Bro. Gilbert refused to submit to an ex- 
 amination, and the whole evening was spent in a quarrelsome 
 debate between the members and the Grand Master. Before 
 closing, the exasperated members voted, unanimously, " to declare 
 this lodge independent of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts : 
 that we will acknowledge the members of the same only as equal 
 to our own Past Grands ; and that a committee be appointed to 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 353 
 
 draft a memorial and resolutions explanatory of the same." A 
 committee consisting of Bros. T. H. Bennet, "Win. C. Bazin, 
 John Eaton, Bro. Campbell and J. L. Sargent was then appointed 
 to draft laws for the government of the lodge. 
 
 But this did not last long ; on the 29th of August the G. 
 Master and his officers again made their appearance and were 
 very welcome. He made an able and eloquent speech, in which 
 he declared that all the proceedings hereinbefore recited were 
 illegal. This was sanctioned by the lodge by a v.ote of eleven in 
 the affirmative to three in the negative. The G. Master then 
 took the chair, and the lodge was opened in due form by his R. S. 
 Bro. Badger. Several ineffectual attempts were made to elect a 
 Noble Grand, and after a long debate, the G. M. was requested 
 to occupy the chair during the remainder of the term. The 
 lodge then proceeded to " Harmony," and was entertained with 
 a ditty from Brothers Barnes, Wheelock and Slade, and the 
 evening was passed very harmoniously. The meetings were 
 held in this informal way until in April, 1829, when a sale was 
 made of the regalia and fixtures. On September 28th Bro. N. 
 Brigham was elected JST. G. for the second time ; seven members 
 were present. On the evening of October 20th, 1829, the hall 
 was lighted up, but no quorum was present ; there was some 
 random conversation, when the lights were extinguished, and 
 Siloam Lodge, No. 2, was defunct. As in the case of its parent 
 lodge, its charter was not surrendered until 1832, when the sur- 
 viving members looked on in hope of a resurrection which has 
 since been signally fulfilled. 
 
 The lamented P. Grand Sire Ellison, from whose pages as 
 historiographer of Massachusetts we have gleaned these inci- 
 dents of early Odd Fellowship, breaks forth as follows : " Go 
 forth then, O Siloam, with thy historic and poetic name ! Let thy 
 living waters attract the fainting and weary soul to thy blessed 
 fountain, as beneath the burning sun of Syria the poor and 
 friendless sought shelter beside thy crystal spring. As the Naz- 
 arene said to the sightless wanderer, < Go wash in the pool of 
 Siloam'; as the youthful David tuned his harp by thy healing 
 waters, so may thy virtues raise up the down-trodden, open the 
 eyes of the blind that they may see earth's loveliness, and utter 
 praises to Him beneath whose outstretched arm all philanthropic 
 efforts will ever find a refuge and a support." This euphemistic 
 
354 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 outburst, so very different from the usually terse and practical 
 style of the Past Grand Sire, indicates in a quaint but most 
 striking manner his enthusiastic feelings on the subject of this 
 favorite lodge. We here insert a copy of what we believe to 
 have been the charter granted to this lodge, it being the first 
 issued by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. 
 
 CHARTER OF SILO AM LODGE No. 2. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. 
 
 To all whom it may concern : Know ye that the Grand Lodge 
 of Massachusetts of the Order of Independent Odd Fellows, re- 
 posing especial trust and confidence in a number of brethren of 
 the Order of Independent Odd Fellows residing in Boston, 
 Suffolk county, in the State of Massachusetts, doth hereby grant 
 this Warrant to establish a lodge in Boston, to be hailed by the 
 title of Siloam Lodge, No. 2, for the encouragement and support 
 of brothers of said Order when on travel or otherwise. And the 
 said Lodge No. 2, being duly formed and constituted, is hereby 
 authorized and empowered to initiate into and confer the several 
 degrees according to the constitution and general laws as estab- 
 lished by the Grand Lodge, upon such person or persons duly 
 proposed and lawfully qualified to receive the same, according to 
 the laws of Odd Fellowship, and to administer to true brothers 
 all the privileges and benefits arising from the Order. And the 
 said Lodge No. 2 is hereby authorized to enact by-laws for the 
 government of said lodge. Provided, always, that said by-laws 
 be in conformity to the constitution and general laws of the 
 Grand Lodge. And the said Lodge No. 2 doth solemnly 
 promise to act according to the laws of the Order, and in obedi- 
 ence to the commands and enactments of the Grand Lodge. In 
 default whereof, this Warrant may be suspended or taken away 
 at the pleasure of the Grand Lodge. In witness whereof we 
 have hereunto displayed the colors of the Order and subscribed 
 our names, and affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge of Massachu- 
 setts of the Order of Independent Odd Fellows, this second day 
 of December, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. 
 
 DANIEL HERSEY, Grand Master. 
 r n HENRY SOLOMON, Deputy G. Master. . 
 
 WILLIAM BISHOP, G. Sec'ty. 
 
 JAMES B. BARNES, G. Warden. 
 
 On the llth of December, 1826, Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 
 3, was instituted at Taunton by the Grand Officers. It was. 
 
JAMES WOOD. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 355 
 
 composed of mechanics and other workingmen, who were suc- 
 cessful in building up a substantial lodge. Among the most 
 prominent of those who were initiated, or joined by card, were 
 James Wood, Thomas Barr, and George Ash worth, names that 
 became historical in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. "We 
 would gladly give a large notice to them, and especially to Bro. 
 "Wood, but we are limited by the very scant materials we have 
 been able to obtain. 
 
 JAMES WOOD. 
 
 James Wood was born in the town of Disney, England, in the 
 year 1802, and on reaching his majority, was initiated into a lodge 
 working under the Manchester Unity. His early life was one of 
 toil, but he had a taste for reading and study, and became well 
 acquainted with the English poets. In his mature years he wrote 
 a number of verses, some of which gave evidence of decided talent 
 in that way. When he entered the lodge, he took such an active 
 interest that he was chosen to fill all the places of responsibility, 
 including that of Noble Grand. But, like many others of his 
 class, he was not satisfied with his business prospects in the old 
 country, and turned his attention to America, as a field of better 
 promise. Landing in Boston, in May, 1827, he soon found em- 
 ployment at Taunton, where he met several of his countrymen, 
 who gave him a cordial greeting. On inquiring for Odd Fellows, 
 he found Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 3, in full operation, and 
 having applied for admission, was duly received as a member. 
 Here he was full of energy, and, having passed all the chairs, was 
 admitted a member of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. By 
 his advice a number of the members of Good Samaritan Lodge, 
 residing at Cranston, near Providence, Rhode Island, were in- 
 duced to apply for the institution of a lodge in that State. The 
 following letter will show the part he took in this important 
 movement : 
 
 TAUNTON, April 25th, 1829. 
 
 To the M. W. Grand Master ^ Officers and Brethren of the Grand 
 Lodge of Massachusetts. 
 
 DEAR BRETHREN: I am deputed by the Good Samaritan 
 Lodge, Taunton, to write to you for instructions under the fol- 
 lowing circumstances : The brethren belonging to our lodge, resid- 
 ing at Cranston, near Providence, to the number of ten or fifteen, 
 have come to the resolution of forming themselves into a lodge, 
 
356 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 and holding their meetings in Providence, provided they can ob- 
 tain a charter. And to that end, with our advice and consent, 
 they have withdrawn their names from our books, and intend to 
 commence meeting immediately in some convenient place, to pre- 
 pare themselves for future events. We have promised to render 
 them all the assistance in our power, and to obtain for them a 
 lodge-book, (for practicing lodge business) if possible, from the 
 Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. We wish to know whether you 
 can grant them one (a book), and what steps they will have to 
 take in order to obtain their charter. Whether you can grant 
 them one as the first lodge of the I. O. F. in the State of Rhode 
 Island, or whether it must be obtained from Baltimore. In short, 
 we wish for all necessary information upon the subject, as you, of 
 course, know the nature of these things better than we do. A 
 speedy answer will greatly oblige yours fraternally, in bonds of 
 F. L. and T. In behalf of Good Samaritan Lodge. 
 
 JAMES WOOD, P. G. 
 
 Grand Master Isaac T. Dupee wrote a reply advising an ap- 
 plication to the G. Lodge of the United States. In October, 
 1826, P. G. Benjamin Downing of New York wrote to Balti- 
 more, requesting a warrant for a lodge in Providence, but nothing 
 came of it. But at this time Bro. Wood prepared the necessary 
 petition, and a charter was granted by the G. Lodge of the 
 United States in the month of June, 1829. The charter mem- 
 bers were Henry Hobson, Waller McFarlane, John Doran, 
 Francis Chadburn, James Bury and John Bowcock, to form 
 Friendly Union Lodge, No. 1, to be located at Providence, 
 Ehode Island. On the 20th of that month the lodge was insti- 
 tuted by Grand Sire Wildey, assisted by Rep. Small, of Pennsyl- 
 vania. The G. Sire in his report says : " After leaving Massa- 
 chusetts, your committee proceeded to Providence, Rhode Island. 
 They here opened Friendly Union Lodge, No. 1, whose charter 
 had been previously granted. Their officers were installed and 
 duly instructed." On this occasion Bro. Wood delivered an able 
 and eloquent address, which was favorably noticed by the news- 
 papers. Subsequently, his brethren, in consideration of his 
 valuable labors in planting the Order in that State, gave him 
 the proud title of " Father of Rhode Island Odd Fellowship." 
 
 In 1834 Bro. Wood removed to Rhode Island, and was gladly 
 received into Friendly Union Lodge. Upon the institution of 
 the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island he was elected its first Grand 
 Master ; he had also the honor of being chosen the first Grand 
 
THOMAS BARR. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 357 
 
 Patriarch of that jurisdiction. He also represented his State in 
 the G. Lodge of the United States in 1846, 1851, 1852, 1864, and 
 1865. He continued in close communion with Friendly Union 
 Lodge- until his death, which occurred on the 17th of January, 
 1867. Grand Sire Wildey in one of his reports says : " On my 
 return from Massachusetts I called at the village of Cranston, 
 Rhode Island, and had a pleasant interview with Past Grand 
 Master Wood, one of the most devoted and persevering Odd 
 Fellows in the eastern part of our country." His sudden death 
 was a great blow to Odd Fellowship, and an irreparable loss to 
 Rhode Island. He was a man of such sterling qualities as to 
 ensure his usefulness in all his undertakings. His merits were 
 all of that practical sort w r hich enabled him to serve in any 
 capacity with credit and success. His principles were deeply 
 founded in those primary truths which underlie all true charity 
 and fraternity, and his life was a beautiful illustration of his 
 principles. In the circle where he was best known he is yet 
 remembered for his virtues, and held up as a model to the rising 
 brethren of Rhode Island. We have not the space to speak as 
 they deserve of Thomas Barr and George Ashworth, who filled a 
 large place in the operations of Good Samaritan Lodge. 
 
 THOMAS BAER. 
 
 Thomas Barr was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 17th of 
 August, 1792. The date of his emigration is not given, but we 
 find him at Taunt-on in 1828. On March 8th of that year he 
 \vas initiated in Good Samaritan Lodge. He now found himself 
 in congenial company. To a certain class of men, lodge life is 
 exceedingly pleasant. It was so to him. He at once became 
 what is called " a worker." In and out of season he was on hand, 
 serving his brethren. In due course he was pressed into the 
 chairs, and soon completed the routine of official duty. He was 
 admitted a member of the Grand Lodge in October 1831. He 
 never faltered or fell away, but clung to the Order until the gen- 
 eral wreck. The year 1838 found him at Lowell. Here ho 
 found the remnants of Merrimac Lodge, No. 7, which had lost- 
 its charter in 1836. He assembled these few in several meetings, 
 and finally induced them to send for Wildey to put the lodge 
 again in operation. The lodge was reopened on the llth of 
 
358 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 October, 1839. Wildey did not reach the State until June, 1841. 
 On the 3d of August, 1841, he reinstituted the Grand Lodge of 
 Massachusetts. Of those found faithful and alive to the situation 
 was Thomas Barr. He had the rare distinction of being made 
 the first Deputy Grand Master at this revival, with Hersey as 
 G. Master, Guild as G. Secretary, and Norris as G. Treasurer. 
 He was again elected to the same office in 1842, and did not 
 retire until the next year, when Chapin and Hilliard came in, 
 the former as G. Master and the latter as G. Secretary. The 
 work was now in readiness to pass to other and newer men. 
 It was far different when he came with Ashworth to Boston for 
 the G. Lodge Degree in 1831. Then there was no hall, no bodv 
 of membership, and no organization, and a few members were 
 drummed together at a private house. But now all was changed, 
 and Odd Fellowship was safe and prosperous. 
 
 He joined Monomake Encampment, No. 4, in 1843, and has, 
 since that timej assisted in obtaining charters for Lowell Encamp- 
 ment, No. 17, and Lawrence Encampment, No. 31. He passed 
 the chairs in his Encampment, and became a member of the 
 Grand Encampment, on its institution in 1844, and was elected 
 G. Senior Warden. " He was a man of marked individuality 
 and great energy of character, a genuine Odd Fellow, who never 
 spared time, money or muscle to advance the interest of the Order. 
 He has hardly ever failed of being present at each session of the 
 Grand Lodge." So says that sterling Odd Fellow, P. G. Eep. 
 Porter, of Massachusetts. He is still alive at the advanced age 
 of eighty-six, and resides at Lawrence, in that State. To the last 
 he has preserved his integrity. In the language of Past Grand 
 Sire Ellison, " Massachusetts Odd Fellows will mourn his loss 
 with a deep sorrow, when he shall be called upon to exchange 
 the jeweled regalia of an Odd Fellow for the robes and crown of 
 the immortal life." 
 
 Bro. George Ashworth was born in Lancashire, England, in 
 1803, learned the trade of calico printing, and in the year 1823 
 was initiated in Prosperity Lodge, No. 44, of the Manchester 
 Unity. He came over in 1826, and found employment at Tann- 
 ton, Massachusetts. It was here he met Bro. Barr, and the two 
 Odd Fellows formed one of those intimacies peculiar to our Order, 
 which only death can interrupt. He joined Good Samaritan 
 Lodge by deposit of card, and in 1829 was elected Noble Grand. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 359 
 
 He entered the Grand Lodge, October 8th, 1831. Removing to 
 Lowell, he became a member of Merrimac Lodge, and was asso- 
 ciated with Bro. Barr in all the details of the Order in that city. 
 He was, when last heard from, living with a married daughter 
 in Lowell, and, like his zealous coadjutor, was seldom absent 
 from meetings of the subordinates and of the Grand Lodge of the 
 State. 
 
 Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 3, continued to increase and 
 prosper for several years. Past Noble Grand Wood, of the date 
 of March 26th, 1829, wrote to the Grand Lodge as follows : " The 
 concerns of our own (Good Samaritan) Lodge are in a very flour- 
 ishing condition ; our prospects grow brighter every day, and we 
 hope to hear of the general increase of the Order. Our lodge 
 consists of just seventy members, all worthy and respectable men ; 
 thirty-two of whom have been initiated since last March, and 
 there is a prospect of the same ratio of increase next year. "We 
 are sorry to say we have not yet procured a seal ; if we can get 
 one we will send you an impression before you send to Baltimore. 
 "Wishing you all health and happiness, and especially unanimity 
 and brotherly love, we strongly recommend you to exert your- 
 selves for the welfare and advancement of the best interests of 
 our Order. Trusting to your zeal and fidelity, we remain yours 
 fraternally in bonds of F., L. and T. In behalf of Good Samari- 
 tan Lodge, JAMES WOOD, P. N. G. Approved : GEORGE ASH- 
 WORTH, N. G." 
 
 A large portion of the members of Good Samaritan Lodge 
 were operatives in the Taunton Factory, and when the business 
 panic of 1832 came on, the factory was forced to partially sus- 
 pend operations, which, of course, caused many hands to be dis- 
 charged and to seek employment elsewhere. By this means the 
 numerical strength of the lodge was reduced ; whilst the action of 
 the legislature imposing penalties for administering extra-judicial 
 oaths prevented the making of new members. In his report of 
 1833, G. Sire Wildey says : " On the 14th of August I arrived at 
 Taunton ; I visited the brothers of Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 3. 
 Owing to the neglect of the Grand Lodge, it had fallen into an 
 unprosperous condition. Nearly two years had elapsed since any 
 communication had been received from it, and many of the mem- 
 bers having left that section of the State, the lodge has been 
 reduced to eight members only ; but those eight worthy, zealous, 
 
360 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 persevering Odd Fellows have determined not to suffer the Order 
 to become extinct in the town of Taunton. To enable them the 
 better to carry into effect their resolution of cherishing the Order 
 among themselves and brothers of the town, they are anxious to- 
 be taken under the immediate jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States. After promising to visit them on my return, 
 I again departed for Boston." This was the last effort to keep 
 the organization together, and shortly afterwards the lodge was 
 disbanded and closed up its business sine die. 
 
 Next in order was New England Lodge, No. 4, whose career,, 
 though short, was full of interest. Its first preliminary meeting 
 was held at the house of Past Grand Joseph Lopez ; at the second,, 
 held on May 17th, 1827, the name of the lodge was selected. 
 Bro. Lopez presided at the meeting. Bro. S. Southwick was 
 chosen Secretary, and continued to hold that office until the last 
 meeting prior to the surrender of the charter, which was held on 
 the 13th of February, 1829. Among the charter members were 
 those already mentioned, and Thomas F. Norris, who was well 
 known in the Order. 
 
 The Rev. Thomas F. Norris was initiated in Massachusetts 
 Lodge for Siloam Lodge, as before stated, on the 2d of January, 
 1826. He was installed as Noble Grand of New England Lodge, 
 July llth, 1828. Bro. Norris was editor of the Olive Branch^ 
 a weekly newspaper published in Boston. It was conducted 
 with ability, and had a large circulation. The editor was a gen- 
 tleman of many excellent qualities, and was an enthusiastic Odd 
 Fellow. The influence of his paper was always given to the 
 Order, and he never failed to give it his valuable assistance. He 
 entered the G. L. on the 14th of July, 1829. At the resuscita- 
 tion of the G. L. of Massachusetts lie was made Conductor, in 
 1843 Deputy Grand Master, and at the August session of 1844 
 succeeded the eminent Rev. E. H. Chapin as Grand Master. 
 
 Simeon Southwick was made an Odd Fellow in Massachu- 
 setts Lodge, No. 1, in October, 1820 ; he served as Secretary of 
 that lodge, and became Noble Grand, April 1st, 1826. In 1828- 
 he became Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge. Bro. South- 
 wick was a native of this country, having been born in Danvers y 
 Massachusetts, in 1795. He came of an excellent family, and at 
 fourteen years of age was apprenticed to the pottery business, at 
 which he worked until 1819, when he removed to East Cam- 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 361 
 
 bridge, where he set up the business. He did not succeed, and 
 in 1821 was engaged by the New England Glass Company, and 
 with a short interval, remained in that employment until his 
 death, in February, 1S33. He left a widow and five children, 
 four of them daughters. These latter were all married, and lat- 
 terly became Daughters of Rebekah. The eldest daughter had 
 four girls, all of whom joined the " Daughters." Another had 
 two sons and one daughter, all members ; another a son, who be- 
 came a member, and the last, a daughter, who became a " Rebe- 
 kah." "We challenge the world to produce such a family record 
 in all the annals of Odd Fellowship. 
 
 Joseph Lopez was initiated in Massachusetts Lodge in March, 
 1825, and was made N. G. on the 1st day of July, 1827. In 
 1828 he withdrew, and was one of the petitioners for Adaia 
 Lodge, No. 6, and on its institution, on the 31st of December,. 
 1828, was elected Warden; he had passed the chairs, and was 
 admitted into the G. Lodge, January 3d, 1828, and on the 5th of 
 June was elected G. Treasurer. Although one of the petitioners 
 for New England Lodge, No. 5, he never became a full member, 
 by reason of the fact that he failed to get the necessary vote for 
 that purpose. He was born in Cadiz, Spain, and in early life fol- 
 lowed the sea. He sailed from Boston for several years, and was 
 one of the many acquaintances made by Bro. Barnes, who in- 
 duced him to join Massachusetts Lodge. In 1828 he abandoned 
 the sea and settled down in East Cambridge, where he w r as em- 
 ployed by the New England Glass Company, where he remained 
 about twenty-five years. He was of unsocial habits, and so very 
 reticent that members of New England Lodge, who worked by 
 his side for more than twenty years, could not penetrate his mys- 
 tery or become his intimates. But he loved Odd Fellowship, and 
 was always ready to assist a lodge or brother in distress. He 
 removed to Lawrence in 1855, and died there in December, 
 1859. But to return to the narrative. 
 
 In August, 1828, the finance committee reported that the 
 funds of New England Lodge had not assumed a distinct form, 
 consequently the duties of the Treasurer had been very light ; 
 the cash receipts were $32.74 and the expenditures $39.75,. 
 leaving a balance due by the lodge of $7.01. After this the 
 meetings were not well attended ; the membership grew less, 
 and no money came into the treasury, until the crisis came, on 
 
362 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Friday evening, February 13th, 1829, when its last meeting was 
 lield. No business of importance had been performed in the 
 interval, and no preparations were made for shutting the doors 
 of the lodge ; an adjournment occurred, and no meeting was 
 afterwards convened. 
 
 Washington Lodge, No. 5, was instituted at Roxbury in 
 June, 1828. The original members were poor, and a note of 
 $30 was taken for the charter fee ; but they were zealous and 
 devoted to the Order. In September, 1830, Grand Sire Wildey 
 says : " Your committee visited the lodge at Eoxbury, and were 
 received with unusual honor ; and they are happy to report that 
 the lodge is in a very prosperous condition, and its members 
 worthy the honorable appellation of Odd Fellows. They were 
 -disposed to do everything in their power to promote the interests 
 of the Order." But these appearances were fallacious, and 
 leaving no record by which to trace its history, it passed away in 
 1832. 
 
 Adam Lodge, No. 6, was chartered in November, 1828, and 
 so far as we can learn was prosperous for the first two years. 
 But in the latter part of 1830 it began to decline, and was evi- 
 dently tending to dissolution. On April 7th of that year the 
 rent was in arrear, and paid by a subscription among the mem- 
 bers. Of the sum of $22.92 collected, Bro. Andrews gave ten 
 dollars ; Bro. Robinson five dollars and fifty cents ; Bro. Arthur 
 five dollars and forty-two cents, and Bro. Albert Guild two 
 dollars. On June 2d, 1830, the lodge elected John Cleaveland, 
 Noble Grand ; Albert Guild, Vice Grand ; E. Whitaker, Secre- 
 tary ; J. L. White, Treasurer, and Aaron Andrews, Warden. 
 On the 30th of June a Mr. Israel Gates applied for membership, 
 but the committee having reported unfavorably, he was allowed 
 to withdraw his petition. This was dignified and honorable on 
 the part of the lodge, at a time when it was about to dissolve for 
 want of numbers. About this time it was voted, " that at the 
 expiration of the third quarter, the furniture be stored in some 
 convenient place until the lodge shall be ready to make use of 
 it." This was the situation when a special meeting was held 
 November 23d, 1830, at which certain visiting brethren agreed 
 to become members and help the lodge to resume work. On 
 the 1st of December, 1830, Bro. Cleaveland was installed as 
 Noble Grand and Albert Guild as Vice Grand. On January 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS. 363 
 
 5th, 1831, Bro. Arthur was expelled by a unanimous vote. At 
 the meeting of February 3d, 1831, Albert Guild was elected 
 Noble Grand ; E. H. Whitaker, Vice Grand ; Bro. Hay ward, 
 Secretary; Bro. Cleaveland, Treasurer, and Bro. Wilde, Warden, 
 and they were all duly installed. The lodge lingered on until 
 its last meeting, held March 21st, 1832, when ineffectual efforts 
 were made to get np a revival, and having conferred the first 
 Degree on Bro. Isaac Baldwin, finally closed. 
 
 Merrimac Lodge, No. 7, was the last chartered during the 
 first decade; we have nothing to say of this lodge more than 
 has been incidentally mentioned. Its closing scenes will be de- 
 tailed in the history of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. 
 
 The Patriarchal Degrees did undoubtedly reach Massachu- 
 setts, but there is no record of their having been organized into 
 an Encampment. True, a petition was sent to the G. Lodge for 
 a charter for an Encampment, but on the 14th of July, 1829, it 
 was voted that the petition lie over until a final settlement is 
 made with this Grand Lodge. On the 16th of July the petition 
 was taken up and granted. But a single trace of an Encamp- 
 ment has been discovered ; among a file of papers received from 
 the Grand Secretary's office in Baltimore we find the following : 
 
 u Bro. - , there will be an Encampment of Patriarchs 
 
 on Thursday evening at 8 o'clock at the Hall on Ann Street. 
 By order of the Grand Patriarch. 
 
 J. D. YATES, Scribe. 
 
 "Wednesday 16th, 1829." 
 
 We have followed the lamented Ellison in his notes of the 
 story of early Odd Fellowship in Massachusetts a narrative 
 dry and barren, but gathered together by him with the most 
 painstaking care, and by research into obscure nooks and corners 
 hard to find and yet harder to explore. We only wonder how 
 he could have brought so many minute circumstances to light 
 which had been neglected and forgotten for half a century. 
 
 Nearly all subordinate lodges of the first decade still exist. 
 Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, has 208 members ; its revenue for 
 last six months was $1270.74; relief for same period $1039.25. 
 
 Siloam Lodge, No. 2, ranks next to the highest in Massachu- 
 setts in point of numbers. We have been able to obtain, through 
 the kindness of P. G. Representative Wm. E. Ford, an extended 
 
364 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 statement of its condition. This lodge was closed for 12 years 
 and 7 months, but opened again on the 16th day of May, 1842. 
 The officers were Solon Jenkins, N. G.; Win. Ingalls, Y. G.; 
 Joshua Davis, Sect'y ; and Nahum Brigham, Treasurer. Bro. 
 Brigham is now a hale man, and the last relic of the old mem- 
 bers, as he entered the lodge in 1827 ; he has passed the chairs 
 several times, and after a membership of 52 years, still continues 
 to attend the meetings. Siloain Lodge has, since May, 1842, 
 received 1570 members, and has now the large number of 556 ; 
 853 sick brothers have been paid $34,321 ; widows to the number 
 of 70 have been paid $16,000; paid for funeral expenses, $6015,, 
 and donations, $8039, making a total for benefit and relief of 
 $64,375. One member is still sick and has already received 
 $2100. It has furnished the following G. Masters : Eev. E. M, 
 P. Wells, Jno. R. Multin, E. H. Tucker, Wm. E. Ford, Thos. (1 
 Porter and Fred. C. Davis, and can furnish many more compe- 
 tent to fill any position in the Order. 
 
 Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 3, and Adam Lodge, No. 6, are 
 defunct, and their numbers now represent modern lodges. New 
 England Lodge, No. 4, of East Cambridge, is the owner of a fine 
 building, which is partially rented ^and contains an excellent halL 
 It numbers 265 members, and its P. G. Masters are Rev. Thomas 
 F. Norris and Hon. Wm. E. Parmenter. This lodge had the first 
 public installation in the State. Washington Lodge, No. 5, Bos- 
 ton, is in a prosperous condition. Merrimac Lodge, No. 7, of 
 Lowell, now numbers 336 members. This has always been a 
 staunch and hard working lodge, and has Thos. Barr and George 
 Ashworth on its roll. It has united with other lodges in the owner- 
 ship of a beautiful building, which is a good investment and an 
 ornament to that city. 
 
 We gladly recognize our obligations to P. G. Reps. Porter 
 and Ford, of Mass., for their valuable services, especially in get- 
 ting up the illustrations for this and the succeeding chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE GEAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 We have detailed the irregular and unfortunate career of the 
 -subordinate lodges in Massachusetts during the first decade. 
 Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, was the mother lodge, being self-in- 
 stituted on the 20th day of March, 1820. This organization stood 
 alone for about three years before bearing fruit, but on the llth 
 of March, 1823, gave birth to Siloam Lodge. It was about this 
 time that the Baltimore movement made its first effort for an 
 extension of legal Odd Fellowship. We have given, in the chap- 
 ter on the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S., a copy of the letter 
 of Philemon Stacy, Sec. of Massachusetts Lodge, to Washington 
 Lodge. The date was March 28th, 1823, and the contents, while 
 covering the whole ground sought for, were far short of indicating 
 a true idea of the workings of the American order by the breth- 
 ren of Massachusetts. The application was made to Washington 
 Lodge instead of to the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. The 
 petition was by a lodge, and not by five brothers, and the request 
 was not for a subordinate, but for a G. Lodge. But the object 
 was easily understood, and the G. body did not hesitate to over- 
 look every irregularity, and at once joyfully responded to Massa- 
 chusetts Lodge. We have seen the result in the institution of 
 Massachusetts Lodge, No. 1, under a charter from the Supreme 
 Body, on the 9th of June, 1823. As before stated, G. M. Wil- 
 dey was also authorized to open a G. Lodge for the State. This 
 was in accordance with the following, adopted by the Baltimore 
 authority on the 13th day of April, 1823 : 
 
 " Resolved, That a charter be granted to Massachusetts Lodge, 
 No. 1. 
 
 " Resolved, That a dispensation for a Grand Lodge to grant 
 charters to other lodges in the State of Massachusetts, be given 
 free of expense to the P. Grands of those lodges, and to be located 
 at Boston." 
 
 We have already related that Wildey was unanimously de- 
 puted to convey this charter to the brethren and open the new 
 lodges. He arrived at Boston on the 8th of June, and hav- 
 
 (365) 
 
366 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ing opened Massachusetts Lodge, he assembled the P. Grands at 
 the old Masonic Hall, near the head of Ann Street, on the even- 
 ing of June llth, 1823. On that occasion he took the chair, and 
 read in their hearing the first Grand charter issued by the G. 
 Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. 
 
 CHARTER OF THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSA- 
 CHUSETTS. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 To all whom it may concern : The grand Lodge of Mary- 
 land and of the United States, by authority of a Grand charter, 
 granted by the Duke of York Lodge, held in the borough of 
 Preston, County Palatine of Lancaster, England, doth hereby 
 grant this Grand Charter to five Past Grands of the Order of In- 
 dependent Odd Fellows, residing in the State of Massachusetts, 
 to form a Grand Lodge for the said State, for the encouragement 
 and support of brothers of the said Order when on travel or other- 
 wise. And the said Grand Lodge, being duly formed, is hereby 
 authorized and empowered to grant Warrants or Dispensations 
 to true and faithful brothers to open lodges according to the laws 
 of Odd Fellowship, and to administer to the Past Grands all the 
 privileges and benefits appertaining to the Grand Lodge, and to 
 enact by-laws for the government of their lodge. Provided, 
 always, that the said Grand Lodge do act according to the Order, 
 and in conjunction with and obedience to the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States, adhering to and supporting the constitution 
 of the same. In default thereof this charter may be suspended 
 or taken away, at the decision of the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States. And further, the Grand Lodge (in consideration of the 
 due performance of the above) do bind themselves to repair all 
 damages or destruction of the charter, whether by fire or other 
 accident, provided, sufficient proof be given that there is no ille- 
 gal concealment or wilful destruction of the same. In witness 
 whereof we have displayed the colors of our Order, and sub- 
 scribed our names and affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge of 
 Maryland and of the United States, this 13th day of April, A. D. 
 one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. M. 
 JOHN WELCH, D. G. M. 
 r -, THOMAS MITCHELL, G. W. 
 
 JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE, G. Sec. 
 JOHN BOYD, G. G. 
 WILLIAM LARKAM, G. C. 
 Past Grands. 
 
 DUNCAN McCoRMiCK, THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, 
 
 JAMES SEED, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 
 
 JOHN NELSON, WILLIAM ANSTICE, 
 
 WILLIAM TONG. 
 
MASONIC HALL, ANN ST., BOSTON, 1823. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 367 
 
 In September, 1833, this charter was recalled ; but when the 
 G. Lodge of Massachusetts was reinstated in December, 1841, it 
 could not be found in the archives, and a new charter was granted 
 in lieu thereof. The original paper was afterwards discovered 
 in the manner detailed by P. G. Rep. Porter to the G. Lodge of 
 Mass., at its February session, 1873. He says: "It is probably 
 well known to many of the representatives, that at the time of 
 the re-establishment of the G. Lodge of Massachusetts, the origi- 
 nal charter signed by P. G. S. Wildey could not be found, and 
 we were furnished with another charter. Last year, (1872), P. 
 G. S. J. A. Kennedy, in his researches among the archives in 
 search of historical material, found the original charter, of which 
 he kindly informed our G. Sec., and your representatives were 
 requested by the Board of G. Officers to procure the document, 
 if possible. At an early stage of the session, upon the circum- 
 stances being stated to the G. Lodge of the U. S., the R. W. G. 
 Sec. was directed to deliver to your representatives the desired 
 paper ; and we are happy to report that it is now in the office of 
 the G. Lodge of Massachusetts." 
 
 The original charter being accepted, the following officers 
 were duly elected and installed : Daniel Horsey of Siloam 
 Lodge, G. M.; Henry Solomon of Massachusetts Lodge, D. G. 
 M.; James B. Barnes of Siloam Lodge, G. W.; William Bishop 
 of Massachusetts Lodge, G. Sec.; John Snowden, G. G.; James 
 B. Eaton, G. Con. Proclamation was then made by G. M. 
 Wildey of the formal opening of the Grand Lodge, and after a 
 session spent in mutual congratulations, the new body adjourned. 
 Thus the Order was legally organized in the State, with every 
 means for conducting its business and spreading its principles. 
 At a special meeting held on Monday evening, June 16, 1823, 
 there was a full attendance to take leave of G. M. Wildey. The 
 G. M. made a very appropriate address, setting forth his satisfac- 
 tion with the fraternal treatment he had received, and urging 
 them to the faithful performance of the duties they had assumed. 
 Whereupon the G. Lodge unanimously passed a vote of thanks, 
 and ordered it to be engrossed on parchment and presented to 
 Wildey. G. M. Hersey replied, thanking the distinguished visi- 
 tor for his services; and thus ended the first mission of the 
 founder to the Odd Fellows of New England. This visit gave 
 an impetus to the Order far beyond what appears on this record. 
 
368 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Tiiia was caused by Wildey's social qualities, his burning zeal, the 
 interesting account of the movements of the Order in England, 
 and his prophetic visions of its future greatness in this country. 
 During his brief stay he endeared himself to the brethren, and 
 left many pleasant memories behind him. 
 
 DANIEL HERSEY. 
 
 G. M. Daniel Hersey was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, 
 on December 14, 1786. He was but six years old when his 
 father died, which deprived him, a few years later, of the educa- 
 tion which a country school might then have imparted. Young 
 Hersey was called to work on a farm, and obtained the rudiments 
 in the winter time, after the day's toil was over, in an evening 
 school. But he was fond of books, and the most of his leisure 
 was occupied in reading and study. At the age of fourteen 
 years he was sent to learn the trade of a bookbinder, but 
 the sudden change from outdoor employment injured his 
 health and he was obliged to seek some other employment. 
 After several visits to Boston he entered a wholesale West India 
 goods store, where he remained several years. Business getting 
 dull the firm had to curtail expenses, and in so doing dispensed 
 with his services. The young man immediately conceived the 
 idea of selling West India goods at auction. Having made the 
 suggestion to his employers without effect, he resolved to try the 
 experiment on his own account. He obtained pecuniary assist- 
 ance from several business friends and made a beginning. Being 
 the first to sell such goods at auction, the novelty of the attempt 
 attracted a large attendance. He persevered with indomitable 
 energy until he established a paying business, which he con- 
 tinued successfully down to the time of his last illness. 
 
 It was at the instance of Bro. James B. Eaton, the second N. 
 G. of Massachusetts Lodge, that Bro. Hersey was initiated in 
 1821. In April, 1822, he was elected K G. of that lodge, and 
 was re-elected to that office on the 5th of July, 1822. No name 
 stands higher on the roll of early Odd Fellowship than that of 
 the first G. M. of the G. Lodge of Massachusetts. He gave to 
 the Order in its infancy his time, his money, and his infiuence, 
 and was always in the front among those who understood and 
 cherished the principles of the institution. It was by his courage 
 
DANIEL HERSEY, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 36l> 
 
 and faithfulness that the little band of the early lodges were encour- 
 aged, and by his persuasive and magnetic words they were filled 
 with zeal in the cause. To him, above others, has been awarded 
 the honor of divesting lodge meetings of the convivial feature, 
 and imparting to the proceedings an elevated tone of moral ex- 
 cellence. He continued to manifest the most ardent attachment 
 to the brotherhood to the close of a protracted life ; and lived to 
 see the Order emerge from poverty and obscurity to wealth and 
 fame. During his career he was the recipient of several substan- 
 tial tokens of the esteem in which he was held by his brethren. 
 He died in Boston, on the 26th of May, 1858, at the ripe age of 
 seventy-one years and five months. His remains were followed 
 to the grave in Mount Auburn by almost the entire brotherhood 
 of the State and a large concourse of mourning friends. 
 
 We must not fail to record that Bro. Hersey, at the revival of 
 the Order in 1841, was made G. Master and afterwards was elected 
 a Rep. to the G. L. U. S. He served during the session of 1843, 
 and was an active member of the body. He had also the honor 
 of being nominated for D. G. Sire at that session, and was com- 
 plimented with a respectable vote for the position. 
 
 But little is known of the personal history of the Grand 
 Officers during the first decade; what we have been able to 
 learn of James B. Barnes has been already detailed. P. G. 
 William Bishop was an Englishman and followed the business 
 of a gunsmith. He was a man of observation and industry, and 
 Avas prompt in the discharge of duty. In June, 1827, he was 
 elected G. M., but resigned at the next meeting. P. G. James 
 B. Eaton was a valuable member and gave much assistance to 
 the early lodges. He was one of the originators of the Order in 
 the State, and his residence on Federal Street was the place 
 where Massachusetts Lodge held its first meeting. He was its 
 second N. G., and continued to fill many official positions for 
 several years. 
 
 The first regular session of the G. Lodge of Mass, was held 
 on the 20th of July, 1823, when the G. M. announced the death 
 of P. G. James Encill ; and the lodge adjourned to attend the 
 funeral. The record says : " The lodges having accompanied 
 him to the place of interment, the funeral obsequies, according to 
 the rules of the Order, were performed by the G. M. of the 
 State." On the 29th of August, 1823, a special session was called 
 24 
 
370 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 to consider a communication from the G. Lodge of Md. and of 
 the United States. The subject of the letter was Joseph Batson r 
 who has been referred to as an expelled member of Mass. Lodge, 
 No. 1. It seems that Batson had found his way to Baltimore, 
 and was loud in complaints of the brethren in Massachusetts. 
 His stories seem to have made some impression, as John P. Ent- 
 wisle, the G. Sec. of the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S., wrote 
 to the G. Lodge of Mass, and suggested that Batson might not 
 
 o oo o 
 
 be deserving of such severity, and recommending that his case- 
 should receive further consideration. The G. Lodge of Mass. 
 returned a harsh reply, upon the receipt of which, Batson was 
 precluded from participating in the privileges of an Odd Fellow 
 whilst in Baltimore. G. Sec. Entwisle then replied to the letter 
 from Mass., with the official sanction of G. M. Wildey. This let- 
 ter is full of gentleness, and bears every mark of a disposition to 
 make any concession for the sake of peace. G. M. Wildey also, 
 on the 25th of July, 1823, added his efforts to those of Entwisle 
 to heal the breach. But these advances were not met in the 
 same spirit ; to the contrary, the ignoble quarrel with this worth- 
 less man was visited iipon the Baltimore brethren by studied neg- 
 lect to make reports, and a stubborn refusal to answer any letter 
 which came from* the supreme authority. 
 
 The meetings of the G. Lodge were irregular, and the sessions,, 
 when held, were almost entirely occupied with the consideration 
 of disputes between the subordinate members and between the 
 subordinate lodges. Thus charges were preferred by Bro. Jacob 
 Myers against G. 'A. Gamage, P. N". G. of Mass. Lodge, for de- 
 taining the book of lectures and degrees. Instead of dealing 
 with the matter as a local question, the G. Lodge notified the G. 
 Lodge at Baltimore of the facts. Acting G. Sec. Fennell replied 
 in a letter, dated Baltimore, March 25, 1824, as follows : " With 
 respect to the aifair of Bro. Gamage, the G. Committee, without 
 hesitation, declare it to be an occurrence the most inconsistent 
 and entirely contrary to the laws and constitution of Odd Fel- 
 lowship. Should Bro. G. persist in refusing to give up the 
 degree book hereafter, he will hear from us expressly to that effect. 
 Concerning the balloting for the high chair, the candidates for 
 the same are by no means entitled to a vote, and in the same 
 manner with regard to the N. G. and Secretary. Instances have 
 occurred in our subordinate lodges where the presiding N. G. has, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 371 
 
 had the casting vote, and the N. G. after his quarter expires is 
 obliged to remain twelve months before he can be re-elected, 
 unless no other brother is qualified for the place. G . M. Wildey 
 requests you to bear in mind his conversation with you about the 
 propriety of having a chest with three locks, in order to have the 
 degree books deposited therein, together with other documents, 
 belonging to each subordinate lodge." As might have been 
 supposed, the suggestion of the strong box was an irresistible 
 temptation to the primitive Odd Fellows to whom it was made. 
 The box was at once constructed, and the old chest with its 
 three different locks still remains in the possession of the G. Lodge 
 of Mass. On September 5, 1824, the sudden death of G. Sec. 
 Entwisle, at Baltimore, on the 1st of July, was announced ; and 
 in respect for his memory the G. Lodge immediately adjourned. 
 In October, 1824, Bros. Watts and Lopez preferred charges 
 against Siloam Lodge, and on December 9th, Siloam Lodge made 
 charges against Mass. Lodge, of stripping the hall on Ann 
 Street of its furniture and regalia, in violation of a contract sub- 
 sisting between the two lodges. The G. Lodge was in a compro- 
 mising spirit, and, after many efforts, referred all these matters 
 to a committee for adjustment. After much tribulation a satis- 
 factory settlement was made, and the following letter closed the 
 controversy : 
 
 BOSTON, Feb'y 17, 1825. 
 
 G. M. Hersey, Sir : I am directed by the Siloam Lodge to 
 inform you that the letter of apology received from the Mass. 
 Lodge, as respects their former misconduct, has been unanimously 
 considered and accepted by a vote of the lodge, and now remains, 
 for you to act upon. Your obedient and humble servant, 
 Approved A. HALL, N. G. J. S. SLADE, Sec. 
 
 On the 9th of June, 1825, the announcement was made of a 
 second visit from G. M. Wildey, and on the 15th we find that 
 officer present with the G. Lodge of Mass. Before leaving he 
 presented the P. G.'s with a brief code of laws which had been 
 devised by the Grand Committee. 
 
 GENERAL LAWS. 
 
 u 1st. No brother is entitled to the Password of any particular 
 chair but the one he has Ijond fide filled. 2d. A brother who is 
 a member of the G. Lodge has a right to express his opinion in 
 
372 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 any subordinate lodge, but has no right to vote except he be a 
 member of the lodge. 3d. All subordinate lodges are to pay ten 
 per cent, of all moneys received into each lodge, for the support 
 of the G. Lodge for the use and good of the Order, and each ]SL 
 G., before becoming a member of the lodge, must bring his per- 
 centage, with his books, for the inspection of the G. Lodge, 
 and one dollar for his initiation fee. 4th. Each and every ~N. 
 G., on leaving the chair, after having duly and legally filled 
 the same, shall take his station on the right of the &. S. of the 
 "N. G. elect, so that he may be ready to give any information 
 to the ~N. G. of anything he may wish to know ; and the N. G. 
 who has just vacated the chair is entitled to the privilege of 
 one hour after the lodge is opened, without being subject to a 
 fine." 
 
 This code was submitted in writing, and subscribed, " By 
 order of the G. M. of the United States," and signed Thomas 
 Wildey." Where G. M. Wildey obtained the authority to pre- 
 sent this paper, so endorsed, it is impossible to say. It was 
 not in his power, or that of the G. L. U. S., to dictate the 
 adoption of these resolutions, under any law then or since in 
 existence. His action could only be advisory, and must have 
 been so understood. Yet they were not formally adopted, but 
 taken as imperative regulations and of binding force. At 
 all events they were submitted to as the only rules binding 
 upon the brotherhood, in connection with the existing un- 
 written ancient usages. The third section was strictly adhered 
 to, and was the means by which a treasury came into existence. 
 It is very apparent that the G. Lodge was in no condition to 
 press the claims of the Order in Mass, or elsewhere in New 
 England. Although in operation since June llth, 1823, no con- 
 stitution, general laws or by-laws seem to have been adopted in 
 the interim. The organization remained stationary, and no effort 
 had been made to perfect it or to adapt it to the growing num- 
 bers of members and lodges. No appearance of aggressive action 
 anywhere exhibits itself, and the arrangement, loose in all its 
 parts, never rises to the dignity of even attempted system. Wil- 
 dey's " general laws " were indeed a very godsend, and gave to 
 the G. Lodge a position and influence which it had not before 
 
 At a meeting held on the 15th of August, 1825, a petition 
 was submitted from fourteen members of Siloam Lodge, No. 2, 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 373 
 
 dated July 18, asking leave to form a lodge under the name of 
 the American Lodge of Odd Fellows ; but as there was some dif- 
 ficulty in satisfying the G. Lodge of the proper qualifications of 
 the applicants, the petition was withdrawn. It was signed by 
 Isaac T. Dupee, Ellis B. Green, Win. C. Jenkins, E. W. Baxter, 
 T. K. Hurlburt, J. S. Slade, Levi Whitney, Stephen Titcomb, 
 Isaiah Stoddard, Samuel B. Meacham, Daniel Prowse, Edmund 
 Longley, William Stearns and E. B. Nichols. 
 
 But a more effective effort was made on the 2d of November, 
 
 1826, when, on the petition of Richard White and others, a char- 
 ter was granted to form a lodge at Taunton. On the llth of De- 
 cember the G. Lodge met at that place and proceeded to the 
 " Meeting House "; a sermon was preached by G. Chaplain Rev. 
 J. D. Yates, and the charter was presented to the brethren of the 
 Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 3. The following officers were 
 elected and installed: Richard White, N. G.; Robert Jackson, Y. 
 G.; Jos. G. Charnley, Sec. The warrant was in the usual form, 
 with eight colors displayed after the seal of the G. Lodge; 
 the sixth and eighth colors now appear to be the same (maza- 
 rine blue), though possibly the latter is purple, but they are 
 both so faded that they cannot be compared. The seal is 
 stamped and pasted on, and the device is not sufficiently legible 
 to be deciphered. Tha Covenant and Remembrance degrees were 
 conferred upon Bros. White, Jackson, Charnley and Gannon, of 
 Taunton. 
 
 On the 31st day of May, 1827, the G. M. issued a dispensa- 
 tion to open a lodge in Cambridge, to Theodore Keating, Thomas 
 F. Norris, Simeon South wick, Asa Davis, James B. Barnes, George 
 Johnston, E. H. Wheelock, Enoch Robinson, Thomas Thompson, 
 William Hobson, Joseph Lopez and Richard Dascomb. These 
 brethren worked under this authority until Friday, July 21st, 
 
 1827, when they convened at Kendall's hotel, at 6 o'clock I*. M., 
 for the reception of the G. Lodge, on an official visit for the pur- 
 pose of investing them with a charter and installing their officers. 
 A procession was formed at 6? o'clock, under Bro. Jenkins, chief 
 marshal, assisted by Bros. Rice, Andrews and Reynolds, and 
 proceeded to the Methodist Chapel in the following order: 
 Band of music, members of other lodges and their officers, mem- 
 bers and officers of the G. Lodge and their banner, the New 
 England Lodge with two banners (the most ancient one of which 
 
374 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 is now hanging up in its lodge-room). On arriving at the chapel 
 an appropriate anthem was snug by a choir, prayer made by 
 Thomas F. Norris, Chaplain of the G. Lodge, closing with a 
 hymn ; after which Edmund Badger, G. Sec., read the charter, 
 and the G. M. installed the officers of the New England Lodge, 
 No. 4, in ample form. The whole ceremony terminated by the 
 singing of a hymn, an oration by G. M. Hersey, and a prayer and 
 benediction by the G. Chaplain. The procession returned to the 
 hotel for slight refreshment, and after another inarch partook of 
 a formal collation. After the cloth was removed, a number of 
 toasts were drank, interspersed with songs, until half-past eleven 
 o'clock, when, without further ceremony, each one retired in good 
 order. The following is a list of the officers installed on the occa- 
 sion : E. H. Wheelock, N. G.; Theodore Keating, V. G.; James 
 B. Barnes, W.; Simeon Southwick, Sec.; and Thomas Leighton, 
 Treas. This was the first public installation in the State, and 
 when we consider the growing opposition to secret societies, then 
 so openly expressed, was a bold vindication of the Order before 
 the public. It was also the first public procession of the Order 
 in Massachusetts, and as such excited a great deal of comment 
 from the townspeople. The newspapers were very complimen- 
 tary of the respectable numbers and appearance of the gathering. 
 Under such auspices, applications for membership came in from 
 some of the best inhabitants of the town. 
 
 On the 5th of June, 1828, a dispensation was granted to M. M. 
 Staniels, John Newhall, Aaron Andrews, Edward Leeds, William 
 A. Wild, John Cleveland and John Reed, to open a lodge at 
 Roxbury. The G. Lodge held a special session at that place on 
 the evening of June 28th, 1828, when a charter was delivered to 
 these brothers for Washington Lodge, No. 5. The subordinate 
 lodge was then opened and the officers were installed and put to 
 work by the G. M. This was followed by a dispensation, granted 
 November 10th, 1828, to P. G.'s Josiah Robinson, John Thom- 
 son and Joseph Lopez, and brothers Samuel Harris Hayward 
 Charles Euller and others, to open a lodge in Boston, to be styled 
 Adam Lodge, No. 6. The charter was duly presented on Wed- 
 nesday evening, December 31, 1828. The lodge convened at the 
 hall on Ann Street, where G. M. Dupee and his officers were re- 
 ceived by the members rising on their entrance. The G. M. took 
 the chair, and was furnished with a list of the officers elected. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 375 
 
 whereupon he ordered them to retire to the anteroom, with the 
 G. Marshal, for examination. Being found qualified, they were 
 hrought in and duly installed, as follows : P. G. James 1). Yates 
 as N. G. ; Charles Fuller, Y. G. ; Louis Pelouze, Sec. ; Josiah 
 Robinson, Treas. ; and Joseph Lopez, Warden. 
 
 In the same manner a dispensation was granted, on the 18th 
 of July, 1829, to P. G.'s William Paul, John Bates, William 
 Howcroft, and certain other brothers, to open a lodge in Lowell. 
 After a number of preliminaries, growing out of the poverty of 
 the petitioners, who, in the first place, wished to be furnished 
 with regalia and have all the expenses paid by the G. Lodge, 
 the following notice was inserted in a newspaper : 
 
 LOWELL, September, 1829. 
 
 Odd Fellowship. A lodge of the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows will be opened on the 19th inst., (Sept.) at the Merrimac 
 Hotel, at 5 o'clock P. M., when a suitable address will be de- 
 livered by the G. M. of Mass., and the officers elect will be in- 
 stalled, and the lodge set out in due form, agreeably to ancient 
 usage and the principles of the institutiion. By order of the 
 Committee of Arrangements. 
 
 On 'the day appointed, the G. Officers, at the Merrimac Hotel, 
 formally instituted Merrimac Lodge, No. 7. An election being 
 held, the following officers were duly chosen and installed : Wil- 
 liam Paul, !N". G.; John Bates, Y. G.; and William Howcroft, 
 Sec. This Lodge had the misfortune to lose its books and 
 papers, and we cannot, therefore, furnish the details of its history. 
 The facts here related were obtained from other sources. It sus- 
 pended work in 1832, and was reinstated by Wildey, July 19th, 
 1833. The G. S., in his report in 1833, says: " On the 17th of 
 September I arrived at Lowell, and had the pleasure of meeting 
 with many of the old members of Merrimac Lodge, as well as 
 some brothers from other lodges. Their lodge was defunct, but 
 they stated that they would be much pleased to be again re- 
 opened, could they only get such information as was needed from 
 the G. L. U. S. to preserve their existence and connection with 
 other lodges. Their complaint in regard to their State G. Lodge 
 w^as similar to that of the brothers of Taunton. I cannot here 
 omit noticing the feelings of affection and respect evinced by 
 the brothers of this lodge towards our beloved Order. They had 
 used every effort to preserve themselves as a lodge, but, finding 
 
376 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 their existence no longer possible, they determined, as their last 
 sacrifice to Odd Fellowship, in one funeral pile to destroy 
 every vestige of the Order which was not convenient for them to 
 preserve. Finding them, though thus disbanded, still zealous 
 for the welfare and advancement of the Order, I used my efforts,. 
 and, assisted by some of the brothers, obtained a meeting of 
 twenty members, to whom I promised the protection of the G. 
 L. U. S., and over whom I installed officers. I left the lodge in 
 effective operation, and from the unremitted perseverance of the 
 officers and members, I think we may anticipate prosperity to 
 the lodge." 
 
 This lodge, under the impulse given by "Wildey, went on 
 working for about three years, when it again suspended its oper- 
 ations. In the meantime the charter of the G. Lodge of Mass, 
 had been recalled. No doubt the final blow which subverted 
 the Order in the State, came from the legislature, which, on the 
 13th of March, 1833, enacted a penal statute against the taking 
 of extra-judicial oaths. This was the act of the anti-Masonic 
 party, which, originating in 1826-7, had now become the ruling 
 element in many of the States. The leading details of this party 
 madness have been set forth in the chapter on the Degrees and 
 Encampment branch. Public sentiment was turned against secret 
 orders, and what dissension had left, was now scattered and dis- 
 heartened and ready to perish. Under this cloud the sun of Mass. 
 Odd Fellowship seemed to have set forever. But Lowell was yet 
 alive, and, as the story is told by "Wildey, was making a desper- 
 ate struggle for self-preservation. Under these circumstances,. 
 IS 1 ". G. William Paul wrote two letters to the G. L. U. S. of the 
 dates of May 14 and July 13, 1834, stating the legal dilemma 
 and asking the advice of that body. This was furnished, and 
 the following was promptly sent in reply : " Resolved, that so 
 loiiir as*the law of Mass, relating; to illegal oaths remains in 
 
 c5 O O 
 
 force, the lodges in Mass, be authorized to admit members, confer 
 degrees, and install officers, &c., on the pledge of honor, and that 
 the oath be dispensed with." The letters of Bro. Paul had an 
 enclosure of $'20.00, representing the percentage of $237.40 for 
 the quarter ending April 14, 1834, the real amount due being 
 $23.74. But in spite of zeal and energy on the part of Paul and 
 others, the lodge was discontinued, and did not reorganize until 
 October 11, 1S39. From that hour it has been a vigorous 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 37T 
 
 lodge, and yet holds its name and rank in Massachusetts Odd 
 Fellowship. 
 
 Thus seven subordinate lodges were in successful operation 
 during the first decade. All had a period of prosperity, and 
 some were full of promise, but the evil days came when they 
 went down in a common wreck. We now turn to the career of 
 the G. Lodge itself, which, by reason of many causes, to be set 
 forth, was not only totally inefficient, but on trial proved to be 
 the weakest point in the whole system. It is true the taxes and 
 percentage were not paid by the lodges, and a spirit of insub- 
 ordination was rife among the brethren ; but these will be found 
 to be for the most part the fault of the G. Lodge itself. In 1824r 
 complaint was made to the G. L. U. S., to which G. S. Wildey 
 replied to G. Sec. Bishop as follows : 
 
 BALTIMORE, October 17, 1824. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother : I have sent to G. M. Hersey, by 
 the " Two Sons of Portland," a package of documents, among* 
 which you will find some remarks for your two subordinate 
 lodges, (Mass, and Siloam). Let nothing be wanting from the 
 G. Lodge of your State to the subordinate lodges. But they 
 must understand that they must not make laws to suit their own 
 purposes, but must obey the orders of their G. Lodge. They 
 must also understand that they must pay their tenth part, else 
 how can the expenses of the G. Lodge be paid ? Each P. G. is- 
 required to pay the subordinate lodge to which he belongs, and 
 in consequence the G. Lodge must receive the tenth part. Your 
 G. Lodge ought to have had money enough to pay for everything 
 necessary for conferring the degrees and for the emblems of the 
 Order. In short, it ought to have money in funds that it might 
 assist a lodge to open in an adjoining town as you increase nu- 
 merically. But the spirit of the Order seems to be lost with you. 
 I hope and trust that some persevering character will be found 
 who will endeavor to make the Order flourish in your State, and 
 not let it dwindle away, as it has the appearance of doing. You 
 must do away with partisan feelings and stick firmly to Odd 
 Fellowship alone. 
 
 If the brothers would only study the degrees and act accord- 
 ingly, there would be fewer disputes, and the lodge would not be 
 turned into a debating society. I visited your State with the 
 hope of finding everything going on in a comfortable manner, and 
 my disappointment was very great. My expenses and my trouble 
 I think nothing of; I only wish to see the Order flourish on 
 this side of the Atlantic. It is all I crave before I depart this- 
 life. The next thing is my visiting England, which I intend do- 
 
378 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ing if possible. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to 
 hear of your State going on amicably, and increasing in member- 
 ship and brotherly love. You have a great future before you, if 
 you will only harmonize your conflicting elements. I have noth- 
 ing more to add at present. Give my best respects to G. M. 
 Hersey and all the members belonging to your State, of the Inde- 
 
 endent Order of Odd Fellowship, and accept the same yourself. 
 Vom your humble servant and brother. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. M. of the U. S. 
 
 In June, 1825, Wildey again visited Mass. The great leader 
 seemed for a time to have imparted a new vitality. The conflict- 
 ing elements were harmonized by the presence of this self-denying 
 zealot in the cause. But on his departure the discordant elements 
 broke out with still greater violence, and disorder reigned supreme. 
 The G. L. had only a spasmodic existence, with intervals in which 
 it seemed utterly defunct. It would institute lodges, indeed ; but 
 beyond that, seemed to have no settled plan or object. On Feb- 
 ruary 1st, 1827, a letter was received from Baltimore, to which a 
 reply was returned by G. Sec. Badger. On June 7th, 1827, an 
 election of officers was held, w r ith the following result : William 
 Bishop, G. M. ; Josiah Robinson, D. G. M. ; Isaac T. Dupee, G. 
 Sec. ; Edmund Badger, G. Warden ; and B. Simon, G. Treas. On 
 the 5th of July William Bishop resigned as G. M., and Daniel 
 Hersey was elected to fill the vacancy, and on the 12th he 
 was installed by the Warden and Sec. The G. Lodge did not 
 meet again until December 6th, when Bro. Yates occupied the 
 chair. The next meeting was on the 3d of January, 1828, when 
 Bro. Dupee was installed G. Sec. The D. G. M. elect was not 
 installed, as he had not settled up his accounts as G. Treasurer. 
 This election was so unsatisfactory that the members refused to 
 .attend in numbers sufficient to form a quorum. 
 
 This deplorable state of affairs was set forth in a letter from 
 G. Sec. Dupee to G. S. Wildey, of the date of April 28th, 1828. 
 He says : 
 
 Your letter of March 7th came safely to our M. W. G. 
 Master. At a meeting of the G. Lodge on Wednesday, 
 April 9th, it was read. You express sorrow at the misunder- 
 standing among the members of our G. Lodge. The cause, in 
 part, I will briefly state. At our yearly meeting Bro. Hersey, 
 the then G. M., declined being ti candidate. Bro. Bishop was 
 elected G. M. ; Bro. llobinson, D. G. M. ; and myself, G. Sec 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 379 
 
 For some unknown reasons Bro. Bishop, at the next meeting, de- 
 clined to be installed, and resigned. Bro. Hersey was then elected, 
 and the next week was installed. The D. G. M. was not installed, 
 no settlement having been made with him as Treasurer. The 
 year for which they were elected is drawing to a close. Several of 
 our very small number stay away, some holding the opinion that 
 one of the officers was not legally chosen ; others are vexed to 
 think he is not installed, and this is in part the cause of our trou- 
 ble. The package, by the " Two Sons of Portland," was never 
 received. We have, in Boston, two lodges, by name Massachu- 
 setts and Siloam ; the Mass, is rather reduced, and is anxious to 
 give up its charter. The Siloam has about 120 members, but sel- 
 dom gets more than from twelve to twenty together. There are 
 one hundred and fifty, or more, Odd Fellows in Boston who belong 
 to no lodge, many of them among our most respected citizens. 
 They took their discharge at different times, in consequence of 
 the continued quarreling among the members of the subordinate 
 lodges. The new lodge at Taunton is doing very well, and likewise 
 the New England Lodge at East Cambridge. A dispensation 
 has been granted for a lodge in Iloxbury, by name Washington 
 Lodge, No. 5; its officers will be installed in about a month. A 
 petition has been presented for one in Charlestown, by the name 
 of Adam. Your letter bearing date March 8th has just been 
 received, likewise the one with the package by the "William Wal- 
 lace." Since we have commenced receiving the percentage, 
 which is about two years, our receipts have been small, as there 
 Lave not been many initiations. The amount now in our Trea- 
 surer's hands may be twenty dollars. We have notes against the 
 Taunton and Cambridge lodges, which will probably be paid as 
 soon as they feel able. l T ou mention nothing in your last 
 about visiting us ; we hope you have not given up the idea, your 
 presence here might be of immense use to us. 
 
 Yours, &c., in . 
 
 P. S. From the above communication you will perceive that 
 we are at a loss to know upon what principle our present G. 
 Lodge now acts. We wish to have your opinion respecting the 
 legality of the present officers, and especially the G. M. At 
 pn.sent all is confusion. The proceedings of the G. Lodge during 
 the four years of Brother Hersey's office were not regularly kept, 
 and but a few of them during the last year. The papers and 
 letters belonging to the Order are in the hands of every one, 
 scattered throughout the jurisdiction. It would be well to send 
 direct to the G. Lodge here and require a copy of its annual 
 report, or any other proceedings you may think proper; in fact, 
 they have none. It is high time something should bo done, for 
 the G. Lodge cannot stand upon its present footing. You must 
 be decisive in what you do, and require prompt answers to your 
 letters. You know with what silent contempt they have always 
 treated vour communications. 
 
380 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 To this very plain statement of the case the G. S. replied as 
 follows : 
 
 BALTIMORE, June 18th, 1828. 
 To P. G. Josiah Robinson : 
 
 DEAR SIR AND BROTHER. I received the letter which you 
 sent through the hands of Mr. J. L. Darn. I am sorry to be 
 obliged to make so many complaints, but what else can I do ? 
 Unless I can be on the spot, it is plain to be seen that there is no- 
 one who will act. I have done more for your State than for 
 either of the others, and it would give me pleasure to do as much 
 more. You will please let my communications to your G. Sec. 
 be read in open G. Lodge. If they do not open the eyes of your 
 refractory members, I do not know what will. It is impossible 
 for me to visit your State at present. My visits to your State and 
 the other States were made at my own expense. My visit to 
 England was at my own expense ; all of which I should not mind 
 if I was a wealthy man. But that is nothing to the time I have 
 sacrificed for the good of the cause. I have been for nearly ten 
 years a complete slave, and I feel that it is time for me to rest. 
 The brother that succeeds me will give up before the first year 
 expires if he does the work I have done. I desire to see the 
 States all right and prospering before I retire from office. I hope 
 you will endeavor to spur the minds of those who ought to come 
 forward ; if they will only take a little trouble, one year will 
 settle all your difficulties, and you cannot help but nourish. I 
 will do all in my power to assist you. Please accept my earnest 
 wishes. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. Sire. 
 
 The situation was indeed worse than has been yet depicted. 
 Quite a number had before this time concluded to withdraw and 
 Bet up an independent G. Lodge. This was evidenced by a 
 solemn paper duly signed by the parties ; but they were soon dis- 
 couraged, and having signed an equally solemn renunciation of 
 the project, they dropped back again into their seats without 
 question or censure. Nothing could more decisively prove the 
 utter helplessness and hopelessness of the G. Lodge than the per- 
 mission granted to commit such daring acts of stupidity and re- 
 bellion. On June 28th, the package by the " Two Sons of 
 Portland" came to hand, of which notice was given to the G. S.,. 
 and he replied as follows : 
 
 BALTIMORE, July 2d, 1828. 
 
 To the G. M., D. G. M., Officers and Brothers of the State of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 RESPECTED BRETHREN. I received your last letter-, dated 
 June 21st, which gave me great satisfaction. I hope by this time 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 381 
 
 my letters have given every satisfaction to the subordinate 
 lodges. Don't lay them aside, but keep them in the archives, 
 and let them be read more than once, so that the members may 
 have their contents firmly planted in their minds. It was with 
 feelings painfully acute that I was under the necessity of stating 
 the nature of the conduct of those who were looked up to for in- 
 formation. They cannot be so destitute of feeling as to forget 
 the sacred nature of the obligations they are bound to obey. I 
 entertain the hope that they will hereafter apply themselves to 
 the business of our institution, adhere to its principles, and obey 
 its laws, and thereby regain the confidence of the brethren and 
 the esteem of all good Odd Fellows. It affords me great joy that 
 you have chosen your officers, and I hope ere this they are in- 
 stalled. I trust they will do their duty. Those only who study 
 the principles and act their part in the true sense of the word 
 -can feel the same friendly emotions. As to the Mass. Lodge, it 
 must meet only in the place at which the charter was granted, 
 unless permission is given by the G. Lodge ; the charter must 
 not be taken from place to place. If the membership falls so low 
 in numbers that they are obliged to resign the charter, they had 
 better do so and join the Silo am. I am of the opinion of Bro. 
 Robinson that a visit to Boston again would be worth the 
 expense ; if the delinquents should hear that an officer was 
 coining on they may pay up their arrearages, especially the 
 members of Mass. Lodge. Send me word when you write again 
 about the Encampment. In conclusion, permit me to assure you 
 of my sincere respect and brotherly attachment for your members, 
 and my best wishes for your present and future welfare. Believe 
 ine, respected brothers, yours, 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. Sire. 
 
 But these efforts were of no avail, so that on the 7th of May, 
 1829, arrangements were made by the G. Lodge to purchase the 
 effects of Siloam Lodge, and also to receive all books, papers, and 
 keys belonging to Mass. Lodge. The committee to settle with New 
 England Lodge had not been able to find the lodge in session, and 
 were informed that no settlement would be made while the present 
 Grand Master held the chair. But the G. Sire was not idle, and 
 by a letter of the 9th of May urged the G. Lodge to pay some 
 attention to what was passing in the G. L. IT. S. He also gives 
 directions for the expected application for a lodge in Rhode 
 Island, and requests at least seven names to be sent to him for 
 insertion in a charter for an Encampment for Mass. 
 
 In June, 1829, the G. Lodge elected and installed the follow- 
 ing officers : Josiah Robinson, G. M. ; Edmund Badger, D. G. 
 
382 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 M. ; John Thomson, G. "W. ; J. D. Yates, G. Sec. ; and Daniel 
 Hersey, Treas. In July a great event occurred, in the arrival of 
 the Movable Committee, composed of G. S. Wildey and P. G. 
 M. Small of Pennsylvania. On the 8th of July the distin- 
 guished visitors were received, with the honors, in the body of 
 the G. Lodge. Under their direction meetings were successively 
 held on 10th, llth, and 14th July, and everything was harmoni- 
 ous. The members mutually agreed to live in peace ; the feud 
 with the G. Master was apparently settled, and provision was 
 made for paying what was due to the Supreme Body. The re- 
 port of the Movable Committee was not made until September, 
 1830 ; it says : "Your Committee then visited Mass., and on their 
 arrival, found the State in great confusion and disorganization. 
 There was no G. M., and no meetings of the G. Lodge, and ap- 
 parently no person to give information. In this aspect of affairs 
 your Committee waited on P. G. Robinson, whom we ascertained 
 had been elected G. M. some .months previously. The Grand 
 Lodge was convened the next day, when your Committee in- 
 formed them of the object of their mission, and spoke at large 
 upon their condition ; having discovered it to be of a nature that 
 required the most urgent consideration. Every regulation of the 
 Order had been neglected and nothing enforced. There was no 
 money in the treasury, nor in those of the subordinate lodges in 
 the vicinity of Boston. A large sum remained due for rent, and 
 almost every member appeared as Treasurer, or as having acted 
 as such. Your Committee waited on as many as they could find, 
 and discovered that some had given and paid away more money 
 than they had received. Others were of the opinion that they 
 had money in their hands, but did not know how much, as no ac- 
 counts had been kept and the books could not be procured. 
 Confusion existed in every department ; and, in sending to Taun- 
 ton for the percentage, the expenses of the person sent to collect 
 it amounted to more than was due. No person was acting as 
 head, nor was any willing to unite in enforcing the regulations 
 of the Order. In this state of things your Committee determined 
 to place every member on an equality in station, and leave them 
 to select such as would attend to the duties required. A resolu- 
 tion was adopted, requiring those who had money in their posses- 
 sion to pay it over to the G. Lodge, and that in future the per- 
 centage should be required to be remitted with the necessary 
 
ALBERT GUILD. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 383" 
 
 report. It was requested that the G. M. and members should 
 zealously co-operate in advancing the interests of the Order. They 
 promised your Committee to retain all moneys that should be 
 received by the G. Lodge, to send to the G. S. to liquidate the 
 debt due by them to the G. L. U. S. A bond for the amount of 
 the debt was taken by your Committee, who received every assur- 
 ance that it would be speedily paid. They pledged themselves 
 to sustain the interests, and to secure the approbation of the Order 
 at home and abroad. Your Committee opened an Encampment, 
 which was received with the highest satisfaction. They would 
 give it as their opinion that no State presents a more ample field 
 for the cultivation of Odd Fellowship than Mass., and by proper 
 exertions an abundant harvest might be gathered in. The evils 
 existing are to be attributed entirely to neglect, no State having 
 more excellent members or better men." 
 
 The G. Lodge was very liberal on the occasion of this visit r 
 having paid the expenses of the Committee, and at a special ses- 
 sion, held August 13th, 1829, voted the thanks of the member- 
 ship to the pacificators. This effort of reconciliation seems to- 
 have exhausted the vitality of the brethren to such an extent 
 that no record appears of another meeting until November, 1830, 
 when Bro. Dupee was elected G. Sec. in an informal way, and 
 he and Bro. Andrews were deputized to look up the effects of the 
 G. Lodge. These were reported to be contained in a trunk in the 
 possession of Bro. James Yates, and the trunk being brought, it 
 was opened, and no lodge property found. Subsequently charges 
 were brought against Yates for this spoliation, and he was ex- 
 pelled. In the midst of this decadence P. G. Albert Guild en- 
 tered the body, on the 12th of May, 1831. 
 
 ALBERT GUILD. 
 
 Albert Guild was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on the 30th 
 of August, 1798. When an infant, his parents removed to Ohio, 
 and took up a permanent residence in Trumbull county. The 
 State was then but a Territory, not being admitted until 1802. 
 At twenty-one years of age he had obtained the rudiments of an 
 education, and improved upon it by studious habits and a love 
 for books. The spirit of adventure was abroad, and young 
 Guild was full of the energy which was characteristic of the 
 
384 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 pioneers of the West. Having conceived the idea of visiting 
 Massachusetts, 'he set out on foot to make the journey, with a 
 bundle of clothing on his back and twenty-five cents in his 
 pocket. His journey through a wild and rough country was 
 marked by many adventures and was sometimes full of peril. 
 He eked out his expenses by farm-work, and by prescribing for 
 simple diseases, as he had acquired a superficial knowledge of 
 the healing art. Thus, in course of time he reached Boston, 
 having increased his cash capital from twenty-five cents to one 
 dollar by the way. Here he studied medicine, and managed to 
 live until he obtained a practice sufficient to pay his current ex- 
 penses. During six years so spent he was quite successful, but 
 was obliged to retire from business by the failure of his health. 
 He then became a dental doctor, and followed that occupation 
 for five-and-forty years. Several of his patients were members 
 of Adam Lodge, No. 6, and easily persuaded him to become an 
 Odd Fellow. Among those whom he knew in the Order was P. 
 G. M. Hersey. 
 
 He entered Adam Lodge somewhere between June and De- 
 cember, 1829; his name first appears on the minutes on the 2d 
 of December of that year. Bro. Guild on the 23d of December 
 was elected Sec. of the lodge, and was installed on the 6th of 
 January, 1830. On the 2d of June he was elected V, G., and 
 was chosen K. G. on the 3d of February, 1831. But as no one 
 could be found to act as Sec. he resigned his office, and took that 
 place on the 6th of April. He faithfully discharged this duty 
 until the lodge ceased to exist, on the 21st of March, 1832. As 
 before stated, he became a member of the G. Lodge on the 12th 
 of May, 1831. In September he was named Sec. pro tern., and 
 on the 19th of October was elected G. Sec. He held this place 
 until the charter of the G. Lodge was resigned, in September, 
 1833. On the happening of that sad event, the property and 
 effects of all kinds of the Order were gathered as sacred relics, 
 and transferred to his residence, 58 Hanover Street. Here as- 
 sembled the last of the old guard, and a division by lot was 
 made of the fragments among Brothers Albert Guild, Aaron 
 Andrews, and Eben Smith, to be held in trust until the Order 
 should again require them. Under these auspices this faithful 
 brother did not despair, but above all others believed in the res- 
 urrection of the cause. In the nine years of darkness that set- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 385 
 
 tied down upon the Order, he alone kept up a correspondence 
 with the G. L. U. S. and the great leader, waiting patiently for 
 the hour when Mass, should kindle afresh the fires of fraternity 
 and scatter the light over all New England. 
 
 In April, 1811, Bro. Guild would wait no longer, but called 
 in P. G. Aaron Andrews to confer with him for the restoration 
 of the Order. A petition was drawn up for the reinstatement of 
 Mass. Lodge, No. 1, signed by these two brothers, who, after 
 much difficulty, obtained the signatures of Bros. Barnes, Hersey 
 and Smith. A room was engaged at the Shawmut House, on 
 Hanover Street, where the five met on the llth of June, 1811. 
 While in session, they were astonished to learn of the arrival of 
 P. G. Sire Wildey in the city. The great leader was again 
 on the soil of Mass, with the firm design of replanting the 
 institution among the survivors of the pioneers in that State. 
 The five might well be excited, and delighted also, at such a coin- 
 cidence ; and we do not wonder, when Wildey entered the room, 
 .at the exclamation of Guild, " There is the finger of Providence in 
 this, and we shall succeed." Massachusetts Lodge was in this way 
 revived on the 22d of June, 1811, which was followed by the re- 
 establishment of the G. Lodge by G. S. John A. Kennedy, on 
 December 23d in the same year. 
 
 Bro. Guild was not unrewarded ; he was made G. Sec., and 
 became, by election, the first Rep. from his jurisdiction who ever 
 ;sat in the G. L. IT. S. G. S. Kennedy does not forget this brother 
 in his report of the late events in Mass. He says : " The course 
 of the G. Lodge is deserving of special notice, for the commend- 
 able spirit in which they have reinstated Daniel Hersey in the 
 office of G. M., and Albert Guild in that of G. Sec. The long 
 and valuable services of these brethren in the cause, fitted them 
 peculiarly for those important stations in a jurisdiction destined 
 to be second to none." G. Rep. Guild was the sole member 
 from his State in 1812, and had Hersey for his colleague the next 
 year. In the latter year he was a member of the Committee on 
 the State of the Order, and ranked well in his influence upon leg- 
 islation. On retiring he was appointed District D. G. S. for 
 Mass., Rhode Island and New Hampshire. After he accepted 
 this dignity he did not continue to act as G. Sec. As D. D. G. 
 S., Bro. Guild spared neither time nor money in the cause in New 
 England. To him particularly is due the new birth of 1811, and 
 25 
 
386 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Mass, has not been ungrateful for his services. Those who knew 
 him at this time and afterwards, will bear testimony to his energy 
 and perseverance, his easy and kindly manner, his dignity and 
 purity of character, which impressed all observers with his sin- 
 cerity as a man and his usefulness as a brother Odd Fellow. 
 
 But we turn from this digression to the history of the original 
 G. Lodge of Mass., where we left it in 1831. At this time Bro. 
 Hersey, being Treasurer, made himself individually responsible 
 for the rent of the hall, and had legal process served on him for 
 its collection. Under these circumstances he took possession of 
 all the property belonging to the G. Lodge until he was secured 
 against the debt he had incurred. This continued until March 
 8th, 1832, when Hersey was superseded as Treas. by Eben Smith. 
 After this there was but one meeting, on the 5th of April follow- 
 ing, at which nothing was done. And so the sad scene of gra- 
 dual extinction was enacted, and when the charter was taken 
 away, in September, 1833, it was only the formal act indicative 
 of a long-past cessation of lodge existence. The effort made by 
 Wildey in reinstating Adam Lodge, No. 6, and Merrimac Lodge, 
 No. 7, in this year, under the immediate jurisdiction of the G. L. 
 U. S., was a mere ripple on the surface, as they passed away again, 
 in a few short months. Odd Fellowship, as an Order, was extinct,, 
 and no power could then more than galvanize it into a semblance 
 of vitality. 
 
 The failure of Odd Fellowship in Mass, was a foregone con- 
 clusion. The theory of its working was totally inconsistent with 
 success. It never was, during its first period, more than a loose 
 collection of individuals, and lodges with no common bond of 
 union. The membership was heterogeneous, but among them 
 were many of nature's noblemen. But these were confronted and 
 beset by some of the most troublesome and mischief-making men 
 in the State. This was the fact everywhere at that time, and 
 Mass, was not alone in the possession of unworthy Odd Fellows. 
 In Maryland they were held in check, and whenever they became 
 troublesome were at once excluded. Wildey, located in Mass., 
 would have built up the Order on a basis too firm to have been 
 shaken. His magnetism would have united the better elements, 
 and his popularity made it easy to discard the marplots, who 
 ought to have been expelled in the first instance. Maryland was 
 saved by the personal rule of Wildey, under the guidance of the 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 387 
 
 most intelligent of the membership. By consent of all he became 
 the common arbiter. Without him no step was taken. He was 
 also wellnigh ubiquitous. Every lodge was visited by him con- 
 stantly, and every member looked to him for instruction. Dis- 
 sension was frowned down as the blackest treason, and but little 
 mercy was shown to those who were forgetful of solemn vows. 
 Under such influences, opposition was crushed out, and such as 
 would not be harmonious were forced ignominiously to retire. 
 Again, Baltimore w r as the centre of the growing system of organ- 
 ization. Every movement was in furtherance of the plan which 
 had Maryland for its ulterior object. Here was the great 
 charter of American Odd Fellowship, as well as the great Odd 
 Fellow from England. It followed that law and order were the 
 subjects of the profoundest concern, and the assembled wisdom 
 of the best men gave importance and dignity to the laws en- 
 acted. Maryland, so favored, could not fail. But Massachu- 
 setts had no such advantages. No one man rose so high as to 
 master the situation and control the experiment. The coun- 
 try had but one such man THOMAS WILDEY. Nor did Massa- 
 chusetts, like Pennsylvania, organize into system, and by inflexible 
 adherence to written law, lay deep foundations for their struc- 
 ture. 
 
 We read nowhere of the adoption of a G. Lodge constitution, 
 of general laws, or of efforts to improve the code of ancient 
 usage. There was no fealty to the G. L. U. S. by the G. Lodge, 
 and none by the subordinate lodges to their G. Lodge. The 
 whole effort was that of individuals, and the G. Lodge was treated 
 more as an expedient than the supreme power in the State. It 
 was the old English plan on American soil, and met the fate of 
 that plan wherever tried, in disintegration and confusion. The 
 true men knew not what to do, and instead of combining for self- 
 protection, for the most part retired. Such as remained were 
 harassed, and at length worn out and defeated by the arrogance 
 of conceited upstarts. They also at length retired, bearing the 
 tattered ensigns of the Order, and holding fast the confidence of 
 good and valiant men. 
 
 At least one hundred and fifty of such, in Boston alone, were 
 silently biding their time ; and when the better day dawned, 
 came forth to place the Old Bay State in the van of American 
 Odd Fellowship. At the revival, the Order was reduced to sys- 
 
388 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 tern, and that system was well-known and practised. Personal 
 government and individual effort were supplanted by a potent 
 organization. The G. Lodge of the U. S. had become a power in 
 the land, and the working of the institution was confined within 
 the limits of wise and useful legislation. Massachusetts entered 
 again upon her work, as a partner in a constitiitional arrangement 
 which at once appealed to her heart and head. She needed no 
 training, but at once took her place as the head of the New Eng- 
 land family. How she did this, is written on the pages of her 
 career, which has been proud and prosperous. Emerging from 
 the obscure contentions of her early efforts, she has since moved 
 on in unbroken harmony, and nowhere, in Odd Fellowship, is 
 there a purer record or a brighter future for the principles of 
 
 FRATE-RiUTY. 
 
TREMONT AND BERKLEY STS. AND WARREN AV., BOSTON, 1871. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 
 
 The history of Odd Fellowship in New York, during the first 
 decade, is not easy of narration. What is known is, for the 
 most part, taken from the writings of Past Grand Sire John A. 
 Kennedy. This eminent brother appears in this book in the 
 chapter on the Grand Lodge of Maryland. But he is only inci- 
 dentally introduced in that chapter, as he belongs to a later period 
 than that embraced in this work. Led by him, we begin the 
 story of Odd Fellowship in New York, with the independent 
 efforts made at an early day to plant the institution in that State 
 by the process of self-institution. Odd Fellows' lodges had their 
 origin in England, and their idea was no doubt borrowed from 
 the ancient "guild." The congregation of workmen in cities 
 during the middle ages, to escape military service, and to find 
 safety from feudal tyranny, led to associations of tradesmen and 
 mechanics for mutual advantage and protection. These in time 
 obtained permanent charters, securing their rights and granting 
 them peculiar immunities. Each mechanical trade had its sepa- 
 rate charter, and these, organized into one, formed powerful 
 bodies. The city or town hall of London, as the seat of these as- 
 sociations in that great capital, is to this day called " Guild Hall." 
 These guilds have each its system of dues and benefits and laws, 
 for the succor of brother workmen on travel or in distress. It 
 seems very probable that in a later day the tradition of these 
 guilds yet lingered among workmen, and that Odd Fellowship 
 sprung from a rude imitation of such institutions. 
 
 But another element organized the movement. The -early 
 lodges were organized by the landlords of beer-houses, and mainly 
 in^their interest. The Hierophant or high priest was known as 
 mine HOST, who, in return for the revenue furnished, made his 
 disciples happy with refreshments. These consisted of beer and 
 tobacco. The revenue was made up by a small sum collected on 
 the Warden's axe at the opening, or by the Secretary, before the 
 
 (389) 
 
390 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 member was seated in the lodge. Visitors also paid their share, 
 and a newly initiated member had to pay a score for all who 
 were present. These extras enabled the host to furnish the 
 meeting room and to supply light and fuel. The business was 
 mostly conducted under the proposition of "harmony." This 
 consisted of a recess from lodge work, in which singing and reci- 
 tations were in order, and the mug and pipe gave zest to the con- 
 vivial hour. The benefits of the Order were limited to giving 
 temporary aid to a brother on tramp. At every meeting the 
 formal question was asked, " Is there any tramp in waiting ?" 
 If a traveler w r as present, he was admitted and relieved. There 
 was no treasury, but each brother placed his small tribute on the 
 Warden's axe, and made the stranger welcome. 
 
 This was what came to this country with the emigrant Odd 
 Fellows. Prior to the year 1800, some of these meetings had as- 
 sumed the name of " Independent." What meaning this had we 
 do not know, but suppose it very proper to call any or all of them 
 " independent," for they were isolated and had no organic rela- 
 tions with each other. The first known Odd Fellows in this 
 country consisted of Solomon Chambers and his sons, John C. 
 and William E. Chambers, who landed in New York in the year 
 1805 or 1806. They came from Southwark, London, England, 
 and w T ere builders of row-boats, in which the sons were successful. 
 The father returned to London in 1808, and died soon afterwards. 
 Solomon and his son John were members of the Loyal Westmin- 
 ster Independent Lodge of Odd Fellows, held at the tavern on the 
 Broad Sanctuary, near the Abbey, known as the Westminster 
 Arms, kept by a certain Robert Cuthbertson. Both the father and 
 son passed the chairs in this lodge, the former being Noble Grand 
 in 1801 when his son William was initiated. John was a fine vo- 
 calist, and was presented by the brothers with a silver medal, which 
 descended to his son Thomas, now residing in New York city. The 
 first lodge in this country was instituted on the 23d of December, 
 1806, by Solomon and his two sons, John Meyer, Thomas 
 William Heelas, William Twaites, Benjamin Warry, William 
 Westphall, and Thomas Hodgkinson, the last named being 
 the HOST. The lodge was named " Shakspeare," after the 
 tavern No. 17 Fair (now 135 Fulton) Street, of which the host 
 was the proprietor. The chief officers were Solomon Chambers, 
 N. G.; John C. Chambers, Y. G.; John Meyer, Secretary ; 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 391 
 
 Thomas Win. Heelas, "W. The office of Conductor was not men- 
 tioned. This self-instituted lodge, after many changes, was dis- 
 continued after the meeting of September 20th, 1813, at the 
 dwelling-house of William Moore, No. 59 Yesey Street. The 
 property of the lodge was taken possession of by P. G. William 
 Moore, who retained it until the lodge was re-opened on the 23d 
 of December, 1818, by Past Grand William Moore, and Brothers 
 Thomas Hilson, Hopkins Kobinson, and James Pritchard of the 
 old membership, and Robert C. May wood and George Singleton. 
 Each of these was connected either as actor or vocalist with 
 the Park Theatre, except William Moore. 
 
 About the second week in January, 1819, George P. Morris 
 and Adam C. Flanagan were initiated. Both of these were 
 young journeyman printers and under age, but the usage in force 
 allowed members to be received at eighteen years of age, and 
 sometimes earlier. Morris soon passed the chairs and became a 
 member of the Committee of Past Grands, which was but a feeble 
 body. But he was ambitiously inclined, and induced the lodge to 
 take a larger title. The young printers brought in a pamphlet with 
 the imposing title-page of, "Constitution and By-Laws of the 
 Shakspeare Grand Lodge of Odd Fello\vs. Instituted December 
 23d, 1806 ; Kevived, December 23d, 1818. New York : Printed 
 by G. Singleton. 1819." The name and the new laws were 
 adopted, but' no improvement was perceptible by reason of the 
 -change. Shakspeare Lodge continued in operation until 1821, 
 when its meetings finally ceased. Before its extinction, Morris 
 and his friends withdrew, and opened a lodge on the 27th of 
 January, 1821, at the house of Edmund Mahaney, No. 89 (now 
 No. 156) Nassau Street. The new society was called Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 2, of Independent Odd Fellows, and Bro. Morris 
 became the first Noble Grand. This lodge worked very well for 
 about two years, and started two others, one by the name of 
 Washington Lodge, No. 3, at No. 37 Bowery, in November, 1821 ; 
 and the other, in Brooklyn, on the 3d of January, 1822, at No. 
 49 Main Street, styled Columbia Lodge, No. 4. The former of 
 these closed up in six months, the latter continued to exist, and, 
 in time, obtained the authority for a legal organization. 
 
 Early in 1822 there were two irregular lodges in existence, 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 2, and Columbia Lodge, No. 4. Columbia 
 Lodge had the advantage of a number of members from the 
 
392 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 "West of England, who had been instructed in the work, which 
 was then being improved by the Manchester Unity. These were 
 not long in seeking a legal affiliation with the mother Order. At 
 their instance a suitable application was sent to Liverpool, where 
 it was presented to the Duke of Sussex Lodge, Xo. 2, of " Inde- 
 pendent Odd Fellows," and, on November l<th, 1822, a dispen- 
 sation was duly granted. The instrument was received by the 
 lodge in January, 1823, with the number in blank, which they 
 filled with the unit 1, instead of the number 4 by which they 
 were previously known. Before the paper had reached the 
 brethren, they had removed the lodge from Brooklyn to the house 
 of Bro. James Lovett, sign of "Eclipse and Sir Henry," Xo. 270 
 Grand Street, New York. It was here that the lodge accepted, 
 and began to work under the charter received from Liverpool. 
 This done, they at once claimed supremacy as the only legal 
 lodge in the State. A contest at once arose between the two 
 lodges, which was both acrimonious and persistent. This wa> in 
 the early part of June, 1823, when Benjamin Downing was X. 
 G. of Franklin Lodge, and Russell Watts X. G. of Columbia 
 Lodge. It was in the midst of this angry controversy that 
 Grand Master Wildey, on his route to organize the Grand Lodge 
 of Massachusetts, made his appearance among the brethren. 
 
 'CIIABTER OF COLUMBIA LODGE. 
 
 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 This Dispensation and these presents, granted from the 
 Loyal Beneficent Duke of Sussex Lodge, of Independent Odd 
 Fellows, Xo. 2, of the Liverpool District, held at the house of 
 brother James Whittaker, Regent Tavern, Scotland Place, in 
 the town of Liverpool, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, 
 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to five 
 brothers of the said Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to enable 
 them to open and establish a lodge, under the title of the 
 Columbia Lodge, iXo. , to be held at the house of brother 
 James Claridge, X~o. 49 Main Street, Brooklyn, Long Island, Xew 
 York, United States. This Dispensation and these prer-ents are 
 not to be altered or amended without the consent of the officers 
 and brothers of the Loyal Philanthropic Liverpool District Grand 
 Lodge, Xo. 1, of Independent Odd Fellows, as well as of the 
 officers and brothers of the above mentioned Loyal Beneficent 
 Duke of Sussex Lodire. Xo. 2. of the Liverpool District. It is. 
 hereby enjoinfed that tho brothers of the Columbia, Lodge meet 
 


ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 39$ 
 
 at such times, and upon such conditions, as are expressed in the 
 by-laws of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and that they 
 do, upon oath, see that this Dispensation and these presents be 
 not altered or destroyed ; that they do not initiate a person into 
 this our Order, for a less sum than the laws (presented to them 
 with this Dispensation, by the said Beneficent Duke of Sussex 
 Lodge) express, so that the lodge and Order may be kept truly 
 respectable ; that they do not open any other lodge of this Order 
 without the Consent of the aforesaid Grand Lodge ; and that 
 they do appoint officers in the said lodge to execute these pres- 
 ents. In consideration of the sum of two pounds and two 
 shillings, to be remitted to the said Beneficent Duke of Sussex 
 Lodge, for this Dispensation. It is agreed, that the officers and 
 brothers of the Columbia Lodge shall not deviate from the prin- 
 ciples of the Grand Lodge; and that, should any dispute arise, 
 so as to cause a matter in question, in said Columbia Lodge, 
 which they cannot conveniently settle, they shall refer the same 
 to a Committee of Past Grands to settle and do justice to the 
 parties concerned in the said matter in question ; and that the offi- 
 cers and brothers of the said Columbia Lodge shall comply witk 
 this Dispensation and these presents, and observe and conform 
 themselves strictly to the laws of the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows, according to the purport, principle, true intent and 
 meaning thereof. It is also agreed, that the brothers of the said 
 Columbia Lodge, by and with the consent of the Liverpool Dis- 
 trict Grand Lodge, (hereby given) shall elect, appoint and 
 authorize, (from time to time), fit and proper persons as officers, 
 to put in execution and enforce a due observance, (as aforesaid)^ 
 of the laws and regulations of the Independent Order ; and, 
 should they, (the brothers of the said Columbia Lodge), hereafter- 
 wish to remove the Lodge, they shall show sufficient cause for 
 such removal. Lastly, it is agreed, that if at any time hereafter 
 it should happen that the said Columbia Lodge should be de- 
 stroyed by fire or otherwise, the said Beneficent Duke of Sussex 
 Lodge, or any other lodge of the Independent Order, shall relieve 
 their distress in case of necessity. Granted the fourteenth day 
 of November, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, by 
 the parties concerned in these presents, who have hereunto sub- 
 scribed their names and affixed the seal of the Liverpool District, 
 as witness: 
 
 N. G., John Dodgson ; Y. G., Eobert Buhner ; Sec., John 
 Ackers ; G. M., James Clarke ; C. Sec., George Bradgate ; and 
 thirteen P. G. M.'s and P. G.'s. 
 
 Wildey, as before narrated, found Franklin and Columbia 
 Lodges engaged in a vigorous contest for the supremacy. The 
 situation reminded him forcibly of the condition of the Order in 
 Maryland during the first two years of its existence. He arranged 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 to meet the members of the two lodges on the following day (June 
 4th), at the house of Bro. Grover, No. 147 Grand Street, where 
 Franklin Lodge held its meetings. At the time indicated, repre- 
 sentatives of both lodges were present, but there was no regular 
 lodge meeting, by reason of the mutual jealousy of the parties. 
 Finally it was agreed that Wildey should preside over them as an 
 informal meeting of Odd Fellows. He took the chair, and made a 
 similar statement to that made by him in Philadelphia. Although 
 he enforced his suggestions by suitable arguments, they were 
 of no avail. The members of both lodges refused to treat with 
 the chairman until he should express an opinion of the validity 
 of the dispensation granted to Columbia Lodge. As a question 
 of policy it was well calculated to test the capacity of a man of 
 more experience than the Grand Master; if he decided against it 
 he, in effect, brought his own charter in peril, which had been 
 granted in the same way ; if he decided for it, he might raise up 
 a rival with as valid a claim as his own. But he did not regard 
 the consequences, and at once saw where the merit of the ques- 
 tion lay. After calm consideration he pronounced the document 
 " a legal and authorized charter." The members of Franklin 
 Lodge left the room for consultation, and it was arranged to meet 
 again in the same place that evening ; but when the time came, 
 only one member of Franklin Lodge, Benjamin Downing, theN. 
 G., appeared. He announced, in behalf of his members, that 
 they would neither consent to a reconciliation nor enter into any 
 arrangement of compromise ; they were determined never to re- 
 cognize as valid the charter of Columbia Lodge. The N. G., 
 however, remained at the meeting. It was then decided to ap- 
 ply to the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States 
 for a dispensation for a Grand Lodge of the State of New York. 
 The Grand Master thereupon received the application, and an- 
 nounced that the warrant would bear date from that day (June 
 4th, 1823). He then instructed the qualified members who were 
 present, in the degrees of the Order. This was so satisfactory 
 as evidence of the advanced proficiency of the Order in Maryland, 
 that they were easily induced to go further in the same direction. 
 Columbia Lodge, therefore, agreed to surrender its dispensation to 
 the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States, and to 
 receive a free charter in lieu thereof, bearing even date with the 
 'Grand Lodge warrant. The Grand Master omitted to give in- 
 
BENJAMIN DOWNING 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 395 
 
 structions with regard to the formal application to be made to 
 Baltimore, and in the excitement the matter was referred to the 
 Noble Grand of the Lodge. We shall narrate the further pro- 
 ceedings by these brothers when we shall have given particular 
 attention to the N. G. of Franklin Lodge. 
 
 BENJAMIN DOWNING. 
 
 As before stated, this brother was the only member of Frank- 
 lin Lodge who remained after Wildey had given his decision in 
 favor of Columbia Lodge. He was born at Stamford, Connecti- 
 cut, March 10th, 1781. At the age of 11 he was put as an ap- 
 prentice to a man named Tillou, in New York, and remained 
 with him three years, when, in consequence of ill usage, he left, 
 and found his way to Newport, Rhode Island. From that and 
 several other places he made voyages to foreign ports. During 
 the embargo in 1807 he was in England, and there made the 
 .-acquaintance of Odd Fellows. It was at Harwich, in the south- 
 east part of England, that he was initiated in the Duke of 
 York Lodge, on the 10th of January, 1808. His reception as 
 a member indicates the loose manner in which the affairs of the 
 Order were at that time conducted. He was simply a denizen 
 of the country, and had no fixed residence ; but this was no ob- 
 stacle. He afterwards wandered over the country, supporting him- 
 self by chair-making, which was his trade. His story, as related 
 by himself, was eventful. Sometimes he was wretchedly desti- 
 tute, and had no place in which to lay his head. His greatest 
 peril was from the press-gangs ; once he was captured, but found 
 means of escape. To avoid them he was compelled to hide away 
 and seek shelter in the most secret places. In all his troubles 
 he had the countenance and aid of the brotherhood. Sometimes, 
 when hungry and foot-worn, he entered a provincial city a home- 
 less tramp. On such occasions he rarely failed to find a lodge of 
 Odd Fellows, and in his woful plight sought their assistance. His 
 testimony is conclusive as to the fraternal conduct of the brethren. 
 They placed him in the most comfortable chair and made him 
 welcome. The foaming mug was always presented, and his body 
 refreshed with the invigorating beer. He was then usually re- 
 quested to retire for an interval, and when recalled, was presented 
 with a fraternal donation, which had been collected on the War- 
 
396 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 den's axe. At times they went further ; a committee found him 
 supper and lodging, and in the morning paid his fare on the stage 
 to his next stopping place. At length he found the means of leav- 
 ing that country. He shipped on board a vessel bound for St. 
 John's, New Foundland, and in due time reached that port. Here 
 he was again in danger of impressment, but was protected by the 
 owner of the vessel, who was an Odd Fellow. He did more, for 
 wishing to visit Boston, and finding the embargo raised, he char- 
 tered a vessel, and, taking Downing on board, in due time arrived 
 at that city. Here, presenting him with some money and a suit 
 of clothes, they parted, and Downing found his way to New York, 
 after an absence of eight years. Surely this narrative, even if 
 somewhat overstating the facts, is strong in its evidence that the 
 early Odd Fellows were loyal and true to each other in a remark- 
 able degree. We doubt not that a history of the early lodges 
 would be found full of such incidents, and that the Order was 
 then, as now, a blessing to the poor and afflicted, as well as a. 
 bond of unity. 
 
 Downing' 8 return was in the year 1809. In the same year 
 he married and settled in Rhode Island. Here he engaged in 
 the coasting trade, and was often in New York city. He had 
 not been able, after many inquiries, to find Odd Fellows in his- 
 rambles, although he had often heard them spoken of as existing 
 in the country. What he did hear was not by any means to their 
 advantage. But at length he met with more success. He wa& 
 sitting in a bar-room in New York, when he heard some person use 
 the phrase, " Noble Grand.'' He was at once attentive, and soon 
 learned of the existence of the Order in that city. He applied, and 
 was admitted to membership, and took a leading part in his lodge. 
 When Wildey arrived at New York Downing was Noble Grand 
 of Franklin Lodge, and was the only member who submitted 
 to the decision which proclaimed his lodge irregular. He did 
 not join in the application to Baltimore for a charter, but was- 
 present at the opening of the G. Lodge of New York as one of its 
 members. His memoir, published in the American Odd Fellow,. 
 7th vol. 127, does not state the facts correctly. He asserts that it 
 was Franklin Lodge and its members that organized the Wildey 
 movement, when the contrary appears, see Journal 57. The fact 
 is that Franklin Lodge at first held aloof, but finally surrendered 
 its organization and was merged in Columbia Lodge. On the 5th 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 397 
 
 of November, 1825, he joined Columbia Lodge, and when in the 
 city was a regular attendant upon its meetings. Here he remained 
 until 1830, when he was often absent, and gave but little atten- 
 tion to the Order until 1840. In 1872 he was a member of Co- 
 lumbia Lodge, and resided at Yonkers, New York. "We believe 
 that he afterwards went to the "Western country, and may yet be 
 living. He is once mentioned in the proceedings of the G. L. 
 U. S., Journal 83, as requesting a warrant for Providence, R. L, 
 and the Secretary was authorized to instruct him how to proceed 
 to obtain it. This seems to explain a statement in his memoir, 
 that G. S. Wildey, when at Boston, gave him an irregular warrant 
 to institute the Order in that State. At all events he was of the 
 old stock of sterling, yet wandering mechanics, who never un- 
 derstood the new movement. 
 
 His story is instructive, telling us of the old methods and of 
 the singular men who used them. Of these he was a good type. 
 True and firm to his colors, he never resigned the Order, but held 
 fust his confidence, and became an honored veteran in the cause. 
 In his life he was tried by every form of poverty and distress, and 
 always found help in Odd Fellowship. No taint ever attached 
 to his character, and we may well name him as one of the ancients 
 of whom none need be ashamed. 
 
 But we return to the action of the New York brethren, which 
 followed their interview with G. S. Wildey. A correspondence 
 was at once opened with the Baltimore brethren, which resulted 
 in a formal application for a Grand Lodge charter. The Grand 
 Committee met on the 15th of June, 1823, and resolved unani- 
 mously, " That a charter be granted as prayed, and that the Grand 
 Lodge be located in the city of New York." This instrument 
 was immediately prepared and transmitted to New York, to await 
 the return of Wildey from Massachusetts. In due time he made 
 his appearance, and on the evening of June 24th, 1823, met the 
 Past Grands at the house of Bro. James Lovett, at No. 279 Grand 
 Street. Those present were John B. Robinson, James Simister, 
 James Claridge, John Grant, and Russell Watts. The Grand 
 Master then read the following : 
 CHARTER OF THE GRAND LODGE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 To all whom it may concern : The Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 and of the United States, by authority of a Grand Charter, granted 
 
398 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 by the Duke of York Lodge, held in the borough of Preston,, 
 County Palatine of Lancaster, England, doth hereby grant thi& 
 Grand Charter to five Past Grands of the Order of Independent 
 Odd Fellows, residing in the State of New York, to form a Grand 
 Lodge for the said State, for the encouragement and support of 
 brothers of the said Order when on travel or otherwise. And 
 the said Grand Lodge, being duly formed, is hereby authorized 
 and empowered to grant Warrants or Dispensations to true and 
 faithful brothers, to open lodges according to the laws of Odd 
 Fellowship, and to administer to the Past Grands all the privi- 
 leges and benefits appertaining to the Grand Lodge, and to enact 
 by-laws for the government of their lodge. Provided, always, 
 that the said Grand Lodge do act according to the order, and in 
 conjunction with and obedience to the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, adhering to and supporting the constitution 
 thereof. In default thereof this charter may be suspended or 
 taken away, at the decision of the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States. And further, the Grand Lodge (in consideration of the 
 due performance of the above) do bind themselves to repair all 
 damages or destruction of the Charter, whether by fire or other 
 accident; provided proof be given that there is no illegal con- 
 cealment or wilful destruction of the same. In witness whereof, 
 we have displayed the colors of our Order, and subscribed our 
 names and affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and 
 of the United States, this fourth day of June, A. D. one thous- 
 and eight hundred and twenty-three. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. M. 
 
 JOHN WELCH, D. G. M. 
 r -, THOMAS MITCHELL, G. W. 
 
 JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE, G. S. 
 
 JOHN BOYD, G. G. 
 
 WILLIAM LARKAM, G. C. 
 
 Past Grands : 
 
 DUNCAN McCoRMiCK, THOS. SCOTCHBURN, 
 
 JAMES SEED, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 
 
 JOHN NELSON, WILLIAM ANSTICE, 
 
 WILLIAM TONG. 
 
 After the reading of the charter, G. M. Wildey proceeded to- 
 obligate the Past Grands in due and ancient form. The follow- 
 ing officers were then elected and installed : John B. Robinson, 
 Grand Master ; James Simister, Dep. Grand Master; John Grant, 
 Grand Warden ; and James Claridge, Grand Secretary. Russell 
 Watts was appointed and installed as Grand Guardian. The 
 charter was then delivered into the possession of the Grand Lodge. 
 A committee was immediately appointed to report a constitutioa 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 
 
 and by-laws, but no such documents have been found. It is pre- 
 sumed that they were never reported. The immediate effect of 
 this action was the dissolution of Franklin Lodge. The Grand 
 Lodge, therefore, commenced operations with but one subordi- 
 nate^ to which there was no addition for the space of two years 
 and a half. In December, 1825, a charter was granted to Friend- 
 ship Lodge, No. 2, located at the small manufacturing village of 
 Pleasant Valley, in Duchess County. This lodge, however, never 
 amounted to such importance as to be at any time represented at 
 a session of the Grand Lodge. The membership was limited to 
 operatives in a cotton mill, to which class the lodge seemed to be 
 closely restricted. The charges for institution and the lecture 
 books for this lodge were not paid for in the first instance, a lib- 
 eral credit being granted. But within eighteen months after the 
 opening, the leading members solemnly protested against this 
 debt, and in the name of ancient usage, questioned the right of 
 the Grand Lodge to the exercise of its just authority. The lodge 
 not only failed to contribute to the support of the Grand Lodge, 
 but by a singular inconsistency appealed from the payment of 
 taxes to the Grand Sire. This appeal was an able paper, which 
 must have been prepared by some one superior to those whom it 
 represented. The answer to this paper was a strong defence of 
 legitimate authority, but it failed to impress the membership with 
 a sense of the false position they had taken. 
 
 LETTER FROM MEMBERS OF FRIENDSHIP LODGE, NO. 2, TO GRAND 
 
 SIRE WILDEY. 
 
 PLEASANT VALLEY, DUCHESS COUNTY, K. YORK, June 29th, 1827. 
 Sir : We, the undersigned, in our private capacity, address 
 you, fully confident, from your high standing and private 
 worth, that an answer will be extended. We are members of the 
 same Order as yourself, have the same fellow-feelings for our 
 brethren, and are strenuous supporters of the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, are members of the Friendship Lodge, at Pleas- 
 ant Valley, in the State of New York. Our lodge has been organ- 
 ized about 18 months, has been truly successful, and is still doing 
 well. Our present communication is for the purpose, if possible, 
 of aiding and assisting in the re-establishment of our Order in its 
 original purity, and in accordance with its name, viz : the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows. We have been very lately sub- 
 jected to an impost which we think does not in any way corres- 
 pond with the title " Independent," we mean the subjecting of 
 
400 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 our lodge and others to an annual tax of ten per cent, on our 
 receipts to the Grand Lodge for the support of the same. Your 
 late visit to England has convinced you, no doubt, that no such 
 impost is there exacted. Why, therefore, is it here ? Are we, as 
 American Odd Fellows, less independent than our brethren in 
 Britain ? Why then should our Grand Lodge assume the right 
 to collect this tax ? seeing that it is altogether inconsistent with 
 the very spirit of the Order, which, if conducted on true first 
 principles, is likely to stand second, nay first, in the estima- 
 tion of the citizens of these States. But for us to be independent, 
 we should be really so, without the idea of being tributary to any 
 lodge whatever. That the co-operation of every member is ne- 
 cessary to support the laws of the Grand Lodge, we grant ; pro- 
 vided the Grand Lodge be formed of delegates from the lodges of 
 the State in which they may be located. But for a Grand 
 Lodge, in its strength, without the assent of the lodges within its 
 jurisdiction, to assume to dictate law, collect tenths, and do other 
 business, without even the presence or concurrence of the repre- 
 sentatives of our lodges, is, in our opinion, derogatory to the true 
 interests of the Order ; and unless our Order, in its wisdom, makes 
 such alterations and amendments for the satisfaction of the fra- 
 ternity (or a majority), we are fearful it cannot attain the full 
 measure of its worth. We do not express these views with the 
 design of creating divisions, strifes, &c., among us ; bat we believe 
 that a crisis is not far distant, when the steadfastness of every 
 member will be required to prevent division and discord in the 
 Order. Another subject we wish to bring to your attention, viz : 
 the right of subordinate lodges, by the consent of the Grand 
 Lodge of the State or district (as the case may be), to grant char- 
 ters and open lodges, they, the subordinates, receiving the emol- 
 uments. 
 
 We perceive, by our charter, that we are not allowed to open 
 lodges, and that the Grand Lodge assumes the right, exclusively, 
 of opening lodges and retaining the fees. If we are correctly 
 informed by a visiting European brother, charters, such as are 
 held by the Grand Lodges in the United States, are given to 
 every lodge in Europe, and therefore cannot give the powers ex- 
 clusively claimed by the Grand Lodge of the United States, or 
 of the different States. We therefore presume that the construc- 
 tion which retains the sole power in the different Grand Lodges, 
 is unconstitutional and inconsistent with the spirit of our institu- 
 tion. A reference to your charter from the Duke of York 
 Lodge at Preston will, we presume, convince you that what we 
 here state is correct. 
 
 On the subject of communications between the Grand Lodge 
 of the United States and those of the different States, something 
 is wanting. We have only one notice from our Grand Lodge 
 for more than six months, (except the one relating to the tenth), 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 401 
 
 and are entirely ignorant of the progress of the Order. Some- 
 times we hear of a lodge, here and there, but even that is acci- 
 dental. A. system of interchange between our lodges, for the 
 information and prosperity of all, is of importance. As before 
 stated, we are determined supporters of the laws, and wish for 
 the co-operation of every independent Odd Fellow. Thus, 
 having s'tated some of our opinions, having in view the wel- 
 fare of the fraternity, and hoping for the promotion of the in- 
 terests of the Order generally, and of every member in particu- 
 lar, we subscribe ourselves respectfully yours, 
 
 BENJAMIN OWEN, JEREMIAH CLEARWATER, 
 
 JAMES BEAD, JOHN ATKIN, 
 
 JAMES KAY. 
 
 As before related, this letter was promptly answered. It was 
 signed by William Williams, Grand Secretary, and was instruc- 
 tive upon all the points in which these crude Odd Fellows were 
 defective. It closed by turning them over to the Grand Lodge 
 of New York, and disclaiming any power to interfere on the 
 part of the Grand Lodge of the United States. At the same 
 time a letter was written to the Grand Master of New York, 
 calling attention to Friendship Lodge and the complaints of its 
 members. The letter reproves the Grand Master for not having 
 forwarded information to the subordinates, so that no occasion 
 should be given to trouble the supreme authority on the part 
 of the lodges. It closes with a request that special information 
 be sent at once to the Pleasant Yalley brethren. The tone of 
 the letter appears by the following : " there is no other State 
 that we have such trouble with as yours." 
 
 On the 24th of April, 1826, a charter was granted to Hope 
 Lodge, No. 3, to be located at the city of Albany. A notice 
 of what is known of this lodge will hereafter appear. The next 
 charter was to Strangers' Eefuge Lodge, No. 4, located in New 
 York city, early in 1827. The original members were five or six, 
 who had all been initiated in England. These Englishmen very 
 soon became dissatisfied and rebellious. They had been organ- 
 ized without the payment of any of the expenses, and yet they 
 promptly refused to pay the revenue of ten per cent, to the Grand 
 Lodge. The Grand Lodge then demanded the amount due for 
 the charter, and degree and lecture books, but this was repudiated, 
 and the Lodge dissolved the connection and set up on its own 
 account. The Grand Master expostulated, and offered terms of 
 
402 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 compromise, which were all rejected. Last of all, the lodge and 
 its members were threatened with the coercive power of the law. 
 At this juncture Grand Sire Wildey wrote them, imploring their 
 return to reason, and pointing out the dangerous tendency of 
 such conduct ; but it did not avail. They wrote him an insolent 
 reply, and claimed the honor of expulsion. The Grand Lodge 
 of New York gave them due notice to conform to their obliga- 
 tions, and, meeting no response, inflicted upon the lodge the 
 extreme penalty. This action was accepted as a boon of inde- 
 pendence. The lodge assumed Grand Lodge powers, and pro- 
 ceeded to issue a, so-called, dispensation to several persons in 
 Paterson, New Jersey. The act was not only unlawful, but 
 dishonest, as they furnished lectures and degrees, with the pre- 
 tence that, thus armed, the members of the spurious lodge could 
 obtain admission into any lodge of Odd Fellows. The Movable 
 Committee, however, claimed and received the charter fee, and 
 proceeded legally to organize Benevolent Lodge, No. 2, of New 
 Jersey. 
 
 These two mutinies sorely tried the patience of Grand Sire 
 "Wildey, and well they might. The Englishmen who formed them 
 were no doubt imbued with the traditionary lore of the Order. 
 They saw in the lodges mere appendages to a public-house, and 
 in each of them a separate and independent organization. A 
 lodge was a supreme power in itself, and was a Grand Lodge to 
 such as were by it chartered, and only partially subordinate to the 
 originator of its own existence. The central idea of the Ancient 
 Order was independence, and hence it was composed of frag- 
 ments, with no cohesive power to keep them together. The infant 
 Manchester Unity was an innovation on independent action, and 
 a protest against separate and generally jarring interests. Hence 
 a union of several independent lodges, under one government, 
 was properly styled the Unity. Wildey knew this, but did not 
 put it in as strong a light as he might have done. The Order 
 in England had not yet been absorbed in the Manchester move- 
 ment, which was yet to be fully understood by its movers them- 
 selves. The organization there was far behind its theory, and 
 "ancient usage" had more authority than recent legislation. 
 He therefore tried to excuse the system in this country by its 
 analogy to the Manchester arrangement, and we cannot, there- 
 fore, wonder that he failed to convict the recalcitrant of thei* 
 absurd position. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 403 
 
 The disloyalty of these lodges to the American system, 
 indicates very plainly the infirmity of the early efforts in this 
 country. The first members were English Odd Fellows, saturated 
 with the idea of lodge independence. The word independent 
 was a snare and delusion to these simple minds. As the dis- 
 tinctive epithet by which they were recognized, they held the 
 idea it conveyed in deepest reverence. The self-assertion of the 
 old traditions upheld this sentiment. No doubt the name was 
 taken on some occasion when lodge freedom was invaded, or 
 when efforts were being made to consolidate, as in the case of 
 the London Unity. They therefore felt that, in parting with 
 supreme power they were losing their independence, and aiding 
 in the destruction of Odd Fellowship. This was the spirit which 
 at first prevailed in Maryland ; which sowed dissension in Massa- 
 chusetts, and finally overturned the Grand Lodges of both the 
 latter States. The whole of their policy was confined to indi- 
 vidual influence, and that without any well-known rules of 
 action. In one thing they were true men, and in that were in- 
 dividually united. They were lovers of good fellowship, and 
 were kind to each other in misfortune. Although the lodges 
 were scenes of brawling and heated discussions, fed by strong 
 drink, yet in all the disorder there was a heedful ear to the 
 cry of a brother in distress. The life of the principles was 
 indeed present, but in a body so defective that there was no 
 healthful exhibition of its workings. With them it was im- 
 pulse without principle, good intentions without method, fra- 
 ternity without a common bond, a body without a head, and a 
 loose collection of men without the cohesive power of law and 
 order. Wildey deeply sympathised with their sentiments, their 
 habits and their policy ; he had been one of them, and always a 
 chief; but better counsels led him to higher aims, and new asso- 
 ciates employed his powers in the nobler task of fraternal organ- 
 ization. 
 
 In September 1827 a charter was granted to Past Grand Rus- 
 sell Watts and Brothers John Snyder, John Osborn, Isaac L. 
 Welsh, and Peter H. Snyder, to open a lodge in Albany. The 
 organization was completed on the 7th of November, 1827, by 
 the opening of Philanthropic Lodge, No. 5. There is no authen- 
 tic knowledge of the financial condition of the lodges at this time. 
 The half-yearly receipts of Columbia Lodge are reported as 
 
404 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 $59.50, and no other return appears to have been made. On the 
 16th of December, 1827, final action was taken for the expulsion 
 of Strangers' Refuge Lodge, No. 4, which was extended to all 
 who were its members on the 22d of August ultimo. This was 
 duly confirmed by the Grand Lodge of the United States in May, 
 
 1828. In the meantime a singular scene was being enacted in 
 New York. Strangers' Refuge Lodge was dissolved, but on the 
 20th of January, 1828, paid for its dispensation and degree books, 
 and seemed to be quite in favor with the Grand Lodge. This 
 state of things continued until the Movable Committee, in June, 
 
 1829, adjusted all differences and reinstated the lodge. 
 
 The hot blood and quick temper of this lodge descended to 
 the successors of the original mutineers. When nearly every 
 lodge had dispensed with " Harmony," this lodge would not agree 
 to its abolition. The Grand Officers visited the session and 
 urged conformity to the new rule, and were rewarded for their 
 persistency with personal violence. This was in defence of 
 " ancient usage," but the Grand Lodge punished the outrage by 
 a sentence of expulsion at the August session of 1835. The best 
 of its members then opened a new lodge, but on the 4th of No- 
 vember, 1846, the lodge was again revived, and was prosper- 
 ous for twenty years. But misrule and confusion came again, 
 resulting in an unlawful division of the lodge property among 
 the evil disposed. Accordingly the lodge was again expelled on 
 the 15th of August, 1866. The members who had not partici- 
 pated in this act of spoliation again revived the lodge, and it has 
 since been a true and loyal member of the Order. The Grand 
 Lodge, on the 16th of May, 1828, resolved that the subordinate 
 lodges be allowed to fix the fee to be charged for initiation. This 
 seems to be the first mention in the early records of the price for 
 initiation. When prices are named they always refer to the 
 -degrees. The price in Washington Lodge, Maryland, 1823, was 
 one dollar ; when Past Grand Sire Kennedy was initiated on the 
 18th of February, 1831, the price in Maryland was five dollars. 
 
 In July 1828, Past Grands were allowed to vote for Grand Offi- 
 cers by proxy. This was the last recorded meeting of the Grand 
 Lodge of New York which is extant, until the subsequent revi- 
 val of the Order. It began its career with but one subordinate, 
 which had increased to five. Its membership was not of that 
 sort which ensures success. To the contrary, it was composed of 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 405 
 
 elements which made failure certain. Its Past Grands were fit 
 representatives of the English and Scotch operatives who brought 
 Odd Fellowship across the Atlantic. These were singers, toast- 
 ers, reciters, drinkers and smokers, who elected officers and con- 
 ducted fraternal meetings. The chief of such a company was 
 usually a favorite brother who was a tavern-keeper, and by virtue 
 of such distinction, the host. This body of men were, without a 
 total reformation, an absolute hindrance to the work of Wildey. 
 They were his personal admirers and followers, and he was their 
 natural leader. Yet Wildey, without losing his convivial mag- 
 netism, was wedded to a new system, of which these simple souls 
 knew little, and which they could scarcely tolerate. Nothing 
 but Wildey's name arid influence brought them under these new 
 conditions, and in his absence they spurned them as fetters upon 
 the Order. 
 
 The connection of New York Odd Fellowship with the supreme 
 head was in the meantime merely nominal. In 1S25 the Grand 
 Lodge objected to Baltimore as the permanent seat of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, but did nothing further. During 
 the rule of Wildey, which terminated in 1833, it had no elected 
 representative, but was present by proxies. Thomas Scotchburn 
 was its proxy in 1825, and Richard Marley for the years 1826-7- 
 8-9 and 1830-1 and 2. In 1833 John Pearce, of Pennsylvania, 
 was the proxy. The first representative elect was Charles 
 Mo watt, who took his seat October 6th, 1834, and served also in 
 1835. In 1836 Frederick Leise was the representative. In 1837 
 no one appeared, and in 1838 John A. Kennedy made his appear- 
 ance and put the State foremost in the legislation of the Order. 
 No reports were made until in 1828, when the table shows num- 
 ber of lodges four, expulsions thirteen, and the other items blank. 
 In 1829 the number of lodges reported was six, and expulsions 
 one. In 1830 the Movable Committee reported having opened 
 an Encampment in New York, and the table contains seven 
 lodges. In 1831 the number of lodges was four, in 1832 and 
 1833 six each ; in 1834 we find the first detailed report : number 
 of lodges 9, initiations 136, suspensions 25, expulsions 4, con- 
 tributing members 348, and revenue $1622.78. 
 
 The lowest point of decadence was reached in 1833. At that 
 time eleven lodges had been opened, of which but six remained. 
 The Grand Lodge had before this time become a sort of nullity. 
 
406 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 In 1828 and 1829 a controversy arose about its location, and so 
 feeble was the voice of the membership, that the Grand Master 
 by his own act removed the seat of the Grand Lodge from New 
 York to Albany. This was without the sanction of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, and in defiance of the brethren of 
 New York city. Charles Mowatt was by this body elected 
 Grand Representative in 1834-5, and Frederick Leise by the 
 New York brethren in 1836-7. During this time the Grand Sire 
 recognized the Albany organization as the Grand Lodge of the 
 State. On October 10th, 1835, he reports: "On my arrival in 
 New York I was hurried off to Albany, accompanied by G. M. 
 Leise and other members of the Grand Lodge about to assemble 
 in that city. On my arrival there was a meeting of the Encamp- 
 ment, and I assisted in installing their officers, furnishing them 
 with necessary information, and receiving an assurance that no 
 exertion would be wanting on their part to ensure success. The 
 Grand Lodge assembled next day, being better attended and re- 
 ceiving more full reports than at any previous session. I made 
 the requisite inquiries, and found them conforming, in every par- 
 ticular, to the usages of the Order. Harmony and prosperity 
 exist among the members, presenting a flattering prospect, and a 
 guarantee of a greater increase than heretofore. I assisted in in- 
 stalling the officers of the Grand Lodge, and was much pleased 
 with my reception. On my return to New York city I visited 
 the Encampment, and was received by the brethren in the most 
 cordial manner, and found the Order flourishing in that city." 
 
 This condition of things seems to require further explanation. 
 The first Grand Master was John B. Robinson, who had the 
 honor of originating Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1. He was suc- 
 ceeded by Thomas E. Smith, Alexander Tulloch, and Russell 
 Watts. Ennion Hussey, until this time, (July 1828), was the 
 Grand Secretary. Watts on June 23d, 1823, was installed the 
 first Grand Guardian. He was a tailor by trade, but became a type- 
 caster, as the more remunerative employment. He afterwards 
 found his way to Albany, and is supposed to have aided in the 
 institution of Hope Lodge, No. 3, in April 1826. It is related 
 by Past Grand Sire Kennedy that Watts, being sent by an em- 
 ployer to New York, in 1828, to buy copper, returned without the 
 funds entrusted to him ; but the money was not thrown away, 
 for he had given a grand entertainment, and had been elected 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 407 
 
 Grand Master. He brought back with him the regalia and books 
 of the Grand Lodge, and immediate preparations were made for 
 transferring that body permanently to Albany. This was not 
 difficult, as the members in the city of New York were utterly 
 demoralized, and those of Albany a picked body of excellent men. 
 We mention John Y; N. Yates, John O. Cole, Joseph Barton, 
 William L. Osborn, Daniel P. Marshall, Charles Dillon, Jacob 
 Henry, Richard Starr, Alexander Cameron, William Lelachure, 
 Malcolm McPherson, and P. H. Snyder. These gentlemen were 
 incomparably superior to the membership in New York, and 
 formed a Grand Lodge to which that before held was notably in- 
 ferior. What wonder then that Wildey should hail the change as 
 an augury of good, and that a mind which mainly sought for 
 results should have been little careful of the means ? 
 
 But in 1836 there was a great change. The Order began to 
 look up again in New York city and to claim a voice in the 
 Grand Lodge. Its Past Grands pointed to the constitution which 
 seated it in that city, and claimed three-fourths of the members, 
 etc. A protest was presented to the G. L. U. S. against the elec- 
 tion of P. G. M. Leise as a representative in the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States. This protest was presented and referred to a 
 select committee with the credentials of Bro. Leise. This com- 
 mittee was composed of James L. Ridgely, James Gettys, Henry 
 Wolford, Chas. A. Zeitz and Thos. Wildey. The report declared 
 the special meeting at Albany unlawful, and that Bro. Leise 
 was not entitled to his seat. It was then, on motion of Rep. 
 Pearce, " Resolved : that a committee be appointed by this 
 Grand Lodge, to examine into the situation of affairs in the 
 State of New York, and to make an effort to adjust the dif- 
 ficulties existing in its Grand Lodge, and that said committee 
 proceed, if necessary, forthwith in discharge of the duties as- 
 signed them." And the following members were elected, 
 D. G. Sire Pearce, P. G. Sire Gettys, and P. G. Sire Wildey. 
 These brothers, on the 17th of May, 1837, reported that 
 they had failed to reconcile the difficulty, and were dis- 
 charged, and another committee was appointed, " to inquire into 
 the expediency of forfeiting the charter of the Grand Lodge of 
 New York." On the same day the committee reported the facts 
 herein recited, and that they had been treated with neglect and 
 contempt by the Albany brethren, who had expelled P. G. M. 
 
408 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Leise, and suspended the subordinate lodges in New York city,, 
 without waiting for the action of the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States. They reported two resolutions, which were adopted. 
 First, That the New York Grand Lodge Charter was forfeited, 
 and authorizing the Grand Secretary to demand its charter and 
 effects ; and, secondly, appointing a committee to meet at Pough- 
 keepsie, and summon Bro. Van Yetchten of Albany and Bro, 
 Leise of New York, and such of the Past Grands as could bo 
 assembled, to re-organize the Grand Lodge of the State. The 
 committee consisted of P. G. Sire Wildey, and Heps. Gettys, 
 Pearce, Lucas, Sanderson and Ridgely. 
 
 This committee was met by the parties interested, but had no 
 success. They say : " The members from the city of Albany 
 persist in demands which, (in the opinion of the committee), are 
 not made in the spirit of Odd Fellowship, and are such as the 
 brothers of the city of New York cannot assent to ; that the 
 members residing in the city of Albany still refuse obedience to 
 the decisions of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and still 
 claim to act as a Grand Lodge, and as such have recently elected 
 Grand Officers." The committee reported a resolution, which 
 was adopted, providing for calling the Past Grands of the State 
 together and forming a new Grand Lodge. The result appears 
 in the minutes of the session of October 1st, 1838 Journal 263. 
 The committee of the Grand Lodge of the United States, I. O. 
 O. F., appointed by resolutions of October 3d, 1837, convened 
 for the purpose of their appointment in Newburgh at 10 o'clock 
 A. M., November 21st, 1837, pursuant to notice from the Chair- 
 man. Present, Andrew E. Warner, proxy .Representative of the 
 District of Columbia, and P. G. Sire Thomas Wildey, in place 
 of the Representative of Virginia. Bro. J. A. Kennedy was 
 appointed to act as Secretary. The committee immediately pro- 
 ceeded to business by announcing their readiness to receive 
 applications from the lodges ; when the following lodges made for- 
 mal application for a Grand Charter, namely, Columbia Lodge, 
 No.l; New York Lodge, No. 10; Gettys Lodge, No. 11; Germania 
 Lodge, No. 13 ; Teutonia Lodge, No. 14; and Perseverance Lodge, 
 No. 17. There being no other application, the committee ordered 
 that a charter be granted to them. Previous to the election of 
 Grand Officers, the following credentials were presented : From 
 Columbia Lodge, No. 1, for twenty-four Past Grands ; from New 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 409^ 
 
 York, No. 10, for fourteen ; from Gettys, No. 11, for thirteen ~ 
 from Germania, No. 13, for eight ; and from Perseverance, No. 
 17, for eight ; making in all seventy-five Past Grands. 
 
 On the call of the roll the following answered to their names : 
 From Lodge No. 1, C. McGowan, J. Booth, Jr., Wm. H. Colyer, 
 Wm. A. Taylor, Joseph D. Stewart, Wm. Y. Clark, Joseph Pat- 
 terson, M. Kelly, Sam. McDonald, E. Seaborne, W. Charlick and 
 James Cole. From Lodge No. 10, W. Small, C. W. Riddell, J. 
 R. Young, J. Bale, E. Wainwright, S. D. Alexander, C. P. Van 
 Norden, C. Ashmead, P. H. Green, T. Frost and Wm. Thompson. 
 From Lodge No. 11, J. Alcock, el. A. Kennedy, F. H. Macy, J. 
 Marrener, S, J. Pooley, J. C. Pooley, M. Nutting and J. B. Yan- 
 dusen. From Lodge No. 13, Jos. Bayer, J. M. Eisenmann, G. 
 Chatillon, F. Hartig, C. Kinkele and H. Bosheit. From Lodge 
 No. 14, C. Nordrneyer and F. Muhlmeister. From Lodge No. 
 17, Wm. H. Youngs, J. Naylor, P. Glover, Wm. Carew and J. 
 Wilkinson. Forty-four Past Grands being present a ballot was 
 had, resulting as follows : For Grand Master, James Alcock of 
 No. 11 ; for Dep. Grand Master, Willet Charlick of No. 1 ; for 
 Grand Secretary, Charles McGowan ; and for Grand Treasurer, 
 George Chatillon of No. 13. 
 
 The question of location being submitted, the vote stood forty- 
 three for the city of New York and one for the town of Pough- 
 keepsie. Whereupon the blank in the charter was filled with the 
 words, " City of New York." The committee then adjourned 
 the meeting, for the purpose of opening the new body in 
 legal form. The adjourned session was held at Masonic Hall, in 
 New York, on the 23d of November, 1837. Past Grands Ken- 
 nedy and Ashmead presented the officers for installation, and 
 those elected at Newburgh were inducted into their respective 
 chairs. After this ceremony, Past Grand Sire Wildey delivered 
 to Grand Master Alcock the charter dated the 21st of November, 
 1837, and a constitution and by-laws for the Grand Lodge, which 
 were accepted. The Grand Master then appointed his officers, 
 who were also installed, namely : Wilson Small of No. 10, 
 Grand Warden ; Samuel McDonald, Grand Marshal ; Marcus 
 Hurd, Grand Chaplain ; E. Wainwright, Grand Conductor, and 
 Wm. H. Youngs, Grand Guardian. Past Grands Green of No. 
 10, Wilkinson of No. 17, and Nordmeyer of No. 14, were ap- 
 pointed the committee of election and returns ; P. Grands Stewart,, 
 
410 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Youngs, and Eisenmann, committee on finance, and P. Grands 
 John A. Kennedy, Theodore Frost, and William A. Tyler, com- 
 mittee of correspondence. On motion, the committee of corres- 
 pondence was directed to notify the subordinate lodges of the 
 organization of the Grand Lodge, and to instruct them to submit 
 to the proper authority. 
 
 And thus again, and we hope forever, was Odd Fellowship 
 firmly established in that State whose boundaries reach from 
 Canada to the Atlantic. The Order had gone down in disorder be- 
 cause it had no great leader or system of digested law. As in Mas- 
 sachusetts, subordination and authority were wanting. The head 
 was sick, and the heart in consequence was faint. A Grand 
 Lodge without constitution or by-laws, standing committees, or 
 rules of order, was simply a mockery of the name. There was 
 no wisdom in council or concert of action. It was a collection 
 of a few Past Grands who had no hold upon the membership. 
 True, there was sometimes a spirited show of boldness and single 
 acts of legitimate authority, but these were only the exceptions. 
 The scanty minutes indicate no attempt to crystallize into a 
 working body or to enlarge the scope of the effort. There were 
 good intentions without prudence and zeal, but idle controversy 
 took the place of action. The result was inevitable, confusion, 
 and for the time, ruin. But w r hile the leaders and the Grand 
 Lodge were falling together, the subordinates were gaining 
 strength and influence. Good and true men came to the front. 
 Better and wiser counsels prevailed. 
 
 It was not the Grand Lodge of the United States which saved 
 the Order, nor was it Wildey. The Grand Sire had retired. 
 His visits to New York were beneficial indeed, but not effectual. 
 In fact he was helpless in such a crisis. But the hour had come, 
 and with it the men. Chief among these was John A. Kennedy, 
 a man soon to be honored from the St. Lawrence to the ocean, 
 a name which became historical in the Order, wherever Odd 
 Fellowship was known and practiced. His education for the 
 work was singularly complete. Fresh from association with 
 Wildey and Ridgely, the old and the new guard of Maryland Odd 
 Fellowship ; a Past Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, 
 and a leader in that body, he was fitted, above all others, to lay 
 deep foundations for the great revival. It is to his hand that we 
 must trace the systematic beginning of the resuscitated Grand 
 

 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 
 
 Lodge. Hence a constitution and by-laws and regular commit- 
 tees. Those who knew his executive power and administrative 
 skill will recognize at once the mind of a master. Wildey reached 
 New York when the subordinates were without a head, and the 
 Grand Lodge was in the throes of dissolution. Wildey was in 
 despair unless the Albany junto could control the discordant ele- 
 ments. This was his only remedy. Tradition tells the story, 
 which was quite dramatic. When the Grand Sire visited Albany 
 in 1829, he was, as before related, delighted with what he saw. 
 When he was returning to Baltimore, he met the Past Grands of 
 New York City at the Bull's Head, in the Bowery. They were 
 utterly disorganized, and had nothing to propose. He was 
 equally helpless and had no remedy. But the great leader could 
 not hear of failure with meekness or patience. We see him now 
 as his burly form quivers with indignation ; he confronts them 
 with upbraiding looks, and in his blunt and crushing manner 
 exclaims, " I have tried you for six years, and find that you are 
 not fit to work a Grand Lodge." 
 
 The new birth came from another direction. It came from 
 the body of the Past Grands of the subordinate lodges that yet 
 held the Order together. Kennedy had cast in his lot with them 
 and inspired the movement. The Grand Lodge of the United 
 States and its committee had been deceived in their expectations 
 from Albany. In this dilemma the New York city lodges, with 
 closed ranks, came to the rescue. The committee was captured 
 and gladly helped the effort. Ambition and personal rivalry 
 were laid upon the altar of fraternity. Law was at length su- 
 preme. The Order, at one stroke, ceased to be local, for the tie 
 with the head of the Order was intelligently knotted with the three- 
 fold cords of a common interest, a common government and a com- 
 mon mission, and the Empire State was saved to them and us, 
 and to humanity. 
 
 JOHN A. KENNEDY. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was born in Baltimore, on the 
 9th day of August, 1803. His parents were of Irish descent, and 
 their condition was humble ; they were therefore not able to give 
 their son the advantages of an education. At a proper age he 
 was apprenticed to a trade, and in due time became an excellent 
 house and sign painter. G. Secretary Ridgely made his ae- 
 
412 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 quaintance at an early day. He was just entering professional 
 life as a lawyer, and having need of a sign, called upon Kennedy. 
 He found the young mechanic much disposed to conversation, 
 and full of information ; it followed that the sign was neglected. 
 Much as the young attorney desired to see his name displayed, 
 he was diverted from that subject- by the interesting discussions 
 that followed. Kennedy was a Jackson man and Ridgely a 
 Henry Clay Whig, and each was delighted to find in the other 
 an eager and enthusiastic disputant. From politics they passed 
 to other matters, and Ridgely, who had just entered the Order, 
 naturally introduced the subject of Odd Fellowship. The young 
 painter was prejudiced against the Order and did not spare his 
 censure, while his customer was full of laudation. The sign was 
 at length completed, but the young men still continued to meet 
 for conversation. Ridgely not only urged the principles of the 
 new society, but produced such publications in its favor as he 
 could find. The painter was dogmatic in the highest degree, 
 a trait which afterwards became a ruling element in his char- 
 acter. His self-reliance and the bold assertion of his views- 
 gave him great force of expression. All this was intensified by 
 his knowledge of facts which were not creditable to the new 
 Order. The intemperance and boisterous mirth which character- 
 ized the meetings were particularly the objects of his sarcasm. 
 In the meantime the enterprise was assuming better shape. The 
 reform element was beginning to rule, and the objectionable 
 features were gradually passing away. Above all, an Odd Fel- 
 lows Hall was projected, whose completion would divorce the 
 Order from the public-house. When the programme for the 
 dedication was announced, Kennedy was greatly struck with the 
 proceedings contemplated. He called upon Ridgely and ex- 
 pressed his surprise, and made many inquiries. He seemed par- 
 ticularly pleased at finding so many of the best citizens entering 
 the Order in advance of the day fixed for the final ceremonies. 
 A sudden impulse seized him, and at Ridgely 's instance he 
 allowed himself to be proposed as a member. He was accord- 
 ingly initiated by Gratitude Lodge, No. 5, on the 23d of Feb- 
 ruary, 1831. 
 
 That he was an active member may be judged from the 
 fact that he filled five offices during the next fifteen months, and 
 entered the G. Lodge of l!d. on the 19th of May, 1832. Here 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 413 
 
 te became a leader in every reform. He was particularly active 
 in organizing a plan for the education of orphans, and was Sec- 
 retary of the Board from May, 1832, to March, 1834. On 
 the 20th of January, 1834, he was elected G. Sec., and his friend 
 Ridgely, G. M. on the same ticket. This office he resigned on 
 the 15th of April following, preparatory to his removal from the 
 city. During his career in Maryland he was never idle. His 
 services in adjusting the hall debt and placing it on a stable 
 basis were invaluable, and no one exerted a greater influence 
 in organizing the G. Lodge into a working body. His practical 
 mind left its impress in every direction, and gave a fresh energy 
 to the struggling cause. He did not neglect the higher degrees, 
 but attached himself to Salem Encampment, No. 2, where he 
 performed valuable labor. With the best wishes of his Maryland 
 brethren he left that State in the spring of 1834. 
 
 The aspiring young mechanic felt that his ambition could be 
 better gratified in New York than in Baltimore. He was al- 
 ready a leading spirit among his companions, and was conscious 
 of great powers, and desired the opportunity for their exercise. 
 Immediately on reaching his new home he joined Getty s Lodge, 
 No. 11, which had been instituted only a few months. Through 
 his agency Mount Hebron Encampment, No. 2, (now No. 4), was 
 soon after chartered and he became its first High Priest. Early 
 in 1835 he organized the Odd Fellows' Hall Association of New 
 York. He was its first Secretary, and on its incorporation was 
 chosen President, and continued in that position until his death. 
 It is due to him that the enterprise was successful and the edifice 
 constructed ; it is a monument to his prudence and energy. On 
 the 19th of September, 1838, he was elected G. Representative, 
 and took his seat in October in the G. L. U. S. At the annual 
 session of 1839, he became G. Master, and aided in August of that 
 year in opening the G. Encampment of the State. In 1841 he 
 returned to the G. L. U. S. as proxy for Delaware, and at the 
 annual session of that year was elected G. Sire. This was a great 
 compliment, as Kennedy had performed but one year's service in 
 the body. 
 
 It is only necessary to examine his administration to see the 
 wisdom of his choice. Whatever separate qualities existed in 
 his predecessors, he possessed in the aggregate. His character 
 was stern, and inflexibility was his chief characteristic. The sys< 
 
414 AMEEICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 tern was being slowly formed, and the routine of uniformity was 
 the necessity of the hour. To his other qualities were added a 
 zeal and energy unusual, and a clear comprehension of every 
 question. The result was a marvel of attention to duty under 
 the existing laws. Such was his interest in the Order that it 
 seemed to be his only concern. In every part of his great office 
 he was proficient. He presided ably, and was cognizant of every 
 movement and its tendency. When he took a position nothing 
 could move him, and no man, alive or dead, more deeply impressed 
 his personality upon everything that he touched. But this did 
 not detract from the genial nature which underlay the firmness 
 of his exterior. Among his intimates he was not only kind, but 
 tender, and no Odd Fellow was more faithful than he to the obli- 
 gations of fraternity. A perusal of his reports will exhibit the 
 vigor of his talents and his laborious attention to his duties. 
 These documents are masterly performances, in which his busi- 
 ness capacity appears in every paragraph. In fact they are 
 models which have never been surpassed by his able successors. 
 It was during his term that the question of a reform of the 
 ritual was agitated, and he was one of its leaders. It followed 
 that in 1845 he was on the committee whose able and thorough 
 revision was unanimously adopted. 
 
 But he had a public history outside of the Order. He began in 
 New York as a journeyman painter, but subsequently entered into 
 business on his own account. In the meantime he devoted much 
 of his time to politics, with marked success. His first public po- 
 sition was that of a member of the convention to revise the State 
 Constitution in 1848. In 1854 he was Councilman from th^ 
 Ninth District, and at the close of his term was appointed Super 
 intendent of Castle Garden. Here his courage, in the protection 
 of emigrants from imposition, made him many enemies, and often 
 put his life in jeopardy, but his capacity became the more con- 
 spicuous to the public. In 1858 he was elected to the Board of 
 Supervisors, but resigned in 1860, to become Superintendent of 
 the Metropolitan Police. In this arduous position he won golden 
 opinions from all classes of citizens. It is well known that such 
 a position is one requiring the highest executive qualities. The 
 great force under his control was in fact a military organization, 
 requiring a leader of decided capacity to insure its efficiency. 
 The J. Y. Herald said : " The changes effected in the Police 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 
 
 Department by Mr. Kennedy in his new sphere are numerous,. 
 and it can be fairly said that he has brought the force to an admi- 
 rable state of discipline." His services were such as will not soon 
 be forgotten. The Herald, in speaking of them, says : " The 
 courageous conduct of Mr. Kennedy during the 1863 riots is a 
 tradition among the police, and how he and his friend, Thomas 
 C. Acton, rushed into the thickest of the fray, regardless of 
 whether they lost their lives or not. To his dying day Mr. Ken- 
 nedy was never free from suffering, caused by the murderous 
 shower of stones thrown at him in Forty-Fifth Street and Lexing- 
 ton Avenue, when he was about addressing the rioters, who, upon 
 learning who he was, pelted him with stones and brickbats, and 
 one of his legs was so injured that it remained, after splinters had 
 been taken out of it, an open sore for years. The men under his 
 command knew that his only ambition was to have the force made 
 as effective as possible, and that his judgment was good and his- 
 bravery unquestioned." After nine years of indefatigable work 
 he resigned this position and became President of the Avenue C. 
 Railroad, and more recently was appointed Collector of Assess- 
 ments, which office he held at the time of his death. 
 
 But to return to his connection with Odd Fellowship. It 
 will be seen in our history of the degrees that he was an active 
 agent in the revision of 1845. He had deeply studied the subject 
 and was a zealous reformer. His part of the work was well done, 
 and to him we owe the installation and other forms now in use. 
 In one department he stood alone. No Odd Fellow was as so- 
 licitous as he for the preservation of our early history. It was- 
 his special work for years to commune with the pioneers and 
 learn from them the events which controlled the destiny of the 
 infant Order. In connection with G. Sec. Ridgely he explored 
 the hidden past of the Order in Maryland, and but for him our 
 chapter on Washington Lodge would have been entirely unsatis- 
 factory. His researches into the history of the degrees were par- 
 ticularly exhaustive, and the first portion of that chapter has been 
 framed upon the model of his notes on that subject. Much of 
 his work was not suitable for our use, but as a whole it affords 
 the^ strongest evidence of his persistent zeal and energy. His 
 desire for the possession of facts shedding light upon any matter 
 pertaining to the Order, was a passion which never forsook him. 
 In fact, he was not only foremost, but alone in this important 
 
416 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 matter. His relations to the Order were intimate and absorbing 
 to the last. He kept up a large and varied correspondence with 
 most of the old leaders, and was generally present in the G. L. 
 U. S. so long as he was able. His subordinate lodge and En- 
 campment were always dear to him, and their members were as 
 part of his own family. By the Order in New York he was held 
 in esteem and reverence as its greatest leader. He found it 
 scattered, poor and weak, and left it united, rich and powerful. 
 Aided by a faithful remnant, he entered the contest with an ac- 
 tivity and judgment that assured success. But his reputation 
 was national ; and of all the men after the first decade, not one 
 has made a deeper impression upon his contemporaries. His 
 fame as an Odd Fellow will increase with years, and no man better 
 deserves the wreath that he so nobly wears. 
 
 But our limits and plan do not allow more than a brief sketch 
 of this great Odd Fellow, as he did not belong to the first decade. 
 One of his last letters was to G. Secretary Ridgely. It was full 
 of vitality and of the spirit of the Order. A few days afterwards, 
 on the 20th of June, 1873, he died. His funeral was an ovation 
 from the leading men of his adopted city, and his brethren fol- 
 lowed him to the grave in the deepest mourning. The address 
 by Bishop Janes did full justice to his memory, and all felt that 
 a noble spirit had departed. Yery recently a monument was 
 erected over his tomb by a committee of the G. Lodge of N. Y., 
 of which George W. Dilks, P. G. M., was the efficient chair- 
 man. And thus a great man in the Order has, /passed away, 
 a representative of the Grand Sires who have so ably presided 
 over our institution. G. Sec. Ridgely has lost a deeply attached 
 and venerated friend, and Odd Fellowship a member whose name 
 is deeply engraven in the annals of fraternity. The announce- 
 ment of his departure cast a pall over the G. L. U. S. of 1873. 
 That body hung with grief and pride upon the words of Medole, 
 Fitzhugh, Ellison, and Ridgely, who in turn uttered his pane- 
 gyric. A reference to Journal 5863 to 5871 will repay the reader 
 in furnishing a memorial which is more enduring than brass or 
 marble. We shall close this chapter with a memoir of an able 
 coadjutor of Kennedy, furnished by P. G. Rep. John Medole, of 
 New York. 
 
 WILSON SMALL. 
 
 It often happens that extirpating the love of glory, which is 
 observed to take the deepest root in noble minds, tears up several 
 
WILSON SMALL. 
 

ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 417 
 
 virtues with it ; and that suppressing the desire of fame is apt to 
 Teduce men to a state of indolence and supineness. But when, 
 without any incentive of vanity, a person of abilities is zealous 
 for the good of mankind and as solicitous for the concealment 
 as the performance of noble and generous actions we may be 
 sure that he has something more than ordinary in his composi- 
 tion, and has a heart filled with goodness and magnanimity and 
 loving kindness. Such may be said of the subject of this memoir. 
 
 Wilson Small was born in the City of New York on the 13th 
 of February, 1810. In consequence of the narrowness of his 
 father's fortune, being a gentleman of small estate, Wilson was, 
 in his youthful days, deprived of the benefits of a liberal educa- 
 tion, and progress in his studies was terminated at an early age ; 
 for in 1822, being then only 12 years old, he entered the estab- 
 lishment of Roswell White, manufacturing jeweler in Dey 
 Street, and served a"n apprenticeship faithfully and creditably. 
 He adhered to this business for a livelihood until 183T, when 
 very mechanical pursuit and mercantile interest was pros- 
 trated by financial depression and disaster. Shortly afterward 
 he entered public life, and has continued in it nearly ever since. 
 
 Drifting from one position to another, and gaining in political 
 popularity, in 1847 he was elected to serve the city in the State 
 Legislature, and was returned in 1848, and again in 1849. In 
 1850 he was selected to represent the tenth Ward in the Board 
 of Assistant Aldermen ; and, although the Board stood politically 
 8 and 8, he was elected as its President, and presided to the satis- 
 faction of both parties. He was subsequently tendered the nom- 
 ination for Alderman of the same Ward, but declined its accept- 
 ance, and again turned his attention to the legitimate channels of 
 trade. An opportunity offering, he united his services with the 
 West Street Foundry, an establishment then famous for its 
 production of boilers and engines for steamboats. This led to 
 his connection with the ferry established between Canal Street, 
 New York, and Fort Lee, about nine miles distant, on the west 
 bank of the Hudson, and his acceptance of the position of cap- 
 tain of the old steamboat " Boston," then running on this line. 
 As this business did not prove to be either profitable or suited to 
 his taste and ambition, he finally disposed of his interest in the 
 ferry to Messrs. Hogg & Delamater, and again entered the field 
 of political service and preferment, and was assigned to the 
 o/r 
 
418 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 responsible position of Water Purveyor, under the control of the 
 Croton Aqueduct Department. In 1856 he was appointed Court 
 Clerk, and in 1857-8 served as Receiver of Taxes in the Depart- 
 ment of Finance. His next appointment was that of one of the 
 Deputy Collectors of Assessments, by the Street Commissioners,, 
 which he filled in 1860-1. He was then made Deputy Superin- 
 tendent of Eepairs and Supplies, and subsequently promoted to 
 Superintendent, under the immediate control of the Department 
 of Public Works, which office he held until 1873, when a change 
 in the dominant politics of the city government gave him a leave 
 of absence of several months' duration. In 1875 he was ap- 
 pointed Judgment Clerk in the Superior Court, which position 
 he occupies at the present time. 
 
 He was a member of the old Volunteer Fire Department for 
 about 16 years, and was one of the assistant engineers under 
 Chief Engineer John Hiker, and afterward tinder Cornelius Y. 
 Anderson. He served in the force until reorganized as a paid fire 
 department in 1865. He was also selected as one of the Trustees 
 of the Fire Department Benevolent Fund for the care of aged and 
 disabled firemen, and the protection of widows and orphans of 
 deceased members ; which joint trust he still maintains with effi- 
 ciency and honor. 
 
 He was one of the incorporates of the Odd Fellows' Hall 
 Association of the city of New York, and has been on the Board 
 of Managers since its organization in 1844. At the death of P. 
 G. Sire Kennedy, Wilson Small succeeded him as President of 
 the Board, an office he now holds. 
 
 In the Public School Department he served as School Trustee 
 and Commissioner from 1843 until about the year 1868, and made 
 an excellent and efficient officer in either capacity. 
 
 In 1843 he united with the Order of Druids, and was a, 
 member of Sylvan Grove. In 1846 he joined Manitou Lodge, 
 No. 106, F. & A. M., in which he still retains membership, and 
 has attained to the 33d Degree in that fraternity. 
 
 In politics he has ever been a consistent Democrat, and a 
 zealous and influential member of the Tammany Society ; of 
 which he was a Sachem for many years, and also its Treasurer. 
 In the past few years he has occupied the office of Sagamore. 
 
 When a young man he was strongly prejudiced against secret 
 societies, and avoided association with them, until induced to join 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 4:19 
 
 the Order of Odd Fellows in 1833, when his narrow-minded views 
 gave place to more liberal sentiments, and he at once became 
 deeply interested in the humanitarian work of the Order, and 
 has been a faithful and zealous co-worker in this field ever since. 
 He was initiated in New York Lodge, No. 10, on the 3d of 
 July, 1833 ; which then held its meetings in Timolat's Bath 
 House, a* small two-story yellow building, on the south side of 
 Pearl Street, between Centre and Elm Streets. On the night 
 of his initiation he was appointed L. H. S. of N. G., and at the 
 commencement of the ensuing term he was made R. H. S. of 
 N. G. He then succeeded to the chairs of Y. G. and N. G. in 
 successive order, and was admitted to membership in the Grand 
 Lodge of New York in August, 1834. As the constitutional 
 provisions of the Grand Lodge at that time required all sessions 
 to be held in the city of Albany, P. G. Small manifested no 
 general interest in the workings of that body beyond an occa- 
 sional visit, prior to the removal of its seat of government to the 
 city of New York, August 24th, 1836, when it met in Masonic 
 Hall, then on Broadway, second building south of Pearl Street. 
 The first appointment of P. G. Small was that of G. Guardian, 
 into which office he was inducted on the 26th of September, 1836. 
 The disaffection in the Order growing out of the removal of 
 the Grand Lodge from Albany to New York, led Bro. Small 
 into active participation in the exciting transactions that ensued, 
 and brought him into intimate relations with John A. Kennedy, 
 that were only terminated by the death of the last named. That 
 the interest of the subject of this notice in the Order never flagged 
 for a moment, the pages of its recorded history furnish abundant 
 evidence. At the reorganization of the G. Lodge by a committee 
 of the G. L. U. S., under a charter dated November 21st, 1837, the 
 officers were installed by P. G. S. "Wildey among whom was 
 "Wilson Small as G. Warden. At the annual session of 1839 he 
 was chosen as Representative of. the G. Lodge to the G. L. IT. S., 
 as the successor of John A. Kennedy, who was elected G. Master 
 of the jurisdiction. As the supreme body failed to hold a session 
 for want of a quorum in that year, Rep. Small did not perform 
 any service in that capacity until the session of 1840, when he 
 was made chairman of the Finance Committee. On the 5th of 
 August of the same year he was elected to succeed John A. Ken- 
 nedy as Grand Master of New York, and was installed on the 7th. 
 
AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 His administration was a remarkable success, as may be inferred 
 from the increase in lodges, 16 ; in initiations, 2833 ; in contrib- 
 uting members, 4147 ; and in lodge receipts, $30,450.17. This 
 rapid stride will be better understood when it is stated that the 
 previous fiscal year closed with 28 lodges, 3912 members, and 
 $16,259.34 lodge receipts. At the annual session in 1842, he was 
 again honored by the G. Lodge to represent it in the G. L. U. S. 
 for the term of one year, during the administration of his friend 
 John A. Kennedy as G. Sire, to whom he was bound by stronger 
 ties than those of ordinary friendship. Singular to relate, he 
 again succeeded Kennedy, as chairman of the Committee on Pe- 
 titions. On the occasion of the re-establishment of the Grand 
 Lodge of Massachusetts, in the city of Boston, on the 23d of De- 
 cember, 1841, P. G. Small rendered valuable assistance to Grand 
 Sire Kennedy, of which he made honorable mention in his annual 
 report. In April, 1843, Grand Sire Kennedy issued a special 
 commission to P. G. Rep. Small to open and institute a Grand 
 Encampment in and for Connecticut, which duty he performed 
 in New Haven, on the 20th of that month. Early in the same 
 year he deputized Bro. Small to proceed to Boston and institute 
 Massasoit Encampment, No. 1, the duties of which trust he dis- 
 charged on the llth of February, 1843. At the opening of the 
 annual session in 1843, his friend Kennedy made him Grand 
 Marshal pro tern, of the G. L. of U. S., in recognition of personal 
 aid and valuable services during his administration. Shortly after 
 Bro. Kennedy's advent into New York, he conceived the neces- 
 sity for an Encampment to be located in that city, and was 
 among the applicants to No. 1, at Albany, for the charter for Mt. 
 Hebron, No. 2. On the night of its institution, in 1834, he pro- 
 posed his co-laborer, Bro. Small, who was duly initiated at the 
 same meeting. In 1839 Bro. Kennedy induced Bro. Small to 
 withdraw from No. 2, and become one of the petitioners for a 
 charter for No. 3, to be known as " Mt. Sinai Encampment," 
 which was instituted in Shakspeare Hall, Duane and "William 
 Streets, New York, July 13th, 1839, with the requisite number 
 of subordinates. Bros. Kennedy and Small immediately inaugu- 
 rated measures for obtaining a charter for a Grand Encampment, 
 as a new field in which to exercise their labors and interests in 
 the Order. The dispensation was accordingly applied for, and 
 the Grand Encampment of New York was duly instituted in the 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK. 421 
 
 rooms of Knickerbocker Lodge, Shakspeare Hall, New York 
 City, on the 18th of August, 1839, when Bro. Small was elected 
 and installed Grand Senior Warden. In 1840 he passed the 
 chair of Grand High Priest, and in 1841 was made Grand Patri- 
 arch. In December, 1840, he withdrew from Mt. Sinai, No. 3, 
 and became a petitioner for Mosaic, No. 6, which was instituted 
 in the same month, at the corner of Grand and Clinton Streets. 
 He subsequently reunited with Mt. Hebron, No. 2 (now No. 4), 
 in which he still retains membership. While his aims and ser- 
 vices and judgment toward the Order were not measurably co-or- 
 dinate with those of Kennedy, they were, to a large degree, coad- 
 jutant. He was a sincere admirer and an earnest supporter of 
 Kennedy and all his plans for the elevation of the institution and 
 the spread of its principles and benefits. From the day they first 
 met, their attachment to each other was deep and lasting their 
 confidence unshaken their manly regard untarnished. In the 
 demise of Kennedy, they parted as they lived friends and 
 brothers. 
 
 Thus has Bro. Small served the Order for nearly half a century. 
 His love and admiration for the institution and its noble prin- 
 ciples are as fervent and sincere to-day as in the past. Although 
 in the 69th year of his age, he is, to all appearance, in the prime 
 of life. He occasionally visits the annual sessions of the G. 
 Lodge, but seldom participates in the debates or legislative pro- 
 ceedings. Whenever an occasion arises that makes it necessary 
 for him to come forward, it is invariably with reluctance, to per- 
 form a duty, not to court applause, which has no charms for his 
 pure and noble mind. His addresses are always distinguished 
 by their brevity, compression and close application to the point. 
 His life has been set off with that graceful modesty and reserve 
 which make even virtue more beautiful. His humanity appears 
 in the minutest circumstances of his conversation. You find it 
 in the benevolence of his aspect, the complacency of his beha- 
 vior, and the tone of his voice. As a devout and devoted 
 member of the Episcopal Church, his religion is sincere, not 
 ostentatious and affected. In acknowledging God he finds the 
 purest satisfaction in walking in His fear. He recognises a re- 
 ligion of practica as one which teaches light and truth, love and 
 charity. His faith has never deserted him in all the vicissitudes of 
 existence, and he has shown in his life how a well-founded trust 
 
422 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 may "bring happiness to the human heart. In his political career 
 he has contributed much to the establishment and propagation of 
 educational and industrial interests, and to the prosperity of his 
 native city. He has always been true to this great aim. His 
 character as a citizen, an official and an Odd Fellow, is uniform 
 and consistent with itself, and has ever been held in the highest 
 estimation and appreciation. His sense of honor is lofty and 
 keen, his integrity stern and inflexible ; his principles are founded 
 in reason and supported by virtue ; and, therefore, are not at 
 the mercy of ambition, avarice or resentment. His views are no 
 less steady and unshaken than just and upright. 
 
 In private life he has ever excelled in those qualities that 
 render a man worthy of all honest praise, love, respect and emu- 
 lation. May the remembrance and contemplation of his many 
 good traits of character inspire others with a desire to imitate 
 them. 
 
UPTON'S HOTEL, DOCK ST., PHILADELPHIA, 1821. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 We can scarcely find language in which to record onr pride 
 in reviewing the early history of Odd Fellowship in Pennsylva- 
 nia. It lacks the incidents of peril and failure and resuscitation, 
 but has in lieu of them a growth and expansion which is so 
 :great as to furnish boundless dramatic material. When we look 
 into the origin and subsequent career of its lodges, the other 
 parts of our territory seem to be comparatively barren. In some 
 States Odd Fellowship is tolerated, in others encouraged, and in 
 others is a potent force; but in Pennsylvania the Order is a part 
 of the body politic, and is enthroned in the afiections of a great 
 people. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA LODGE, NO. 1. 
 
 This lodge was formed in the City of Philadelphia, State of 
 Pennsylvania, December 26th, 1821, at the public-house of a 
 certain John Upton, No. 66 Dock Street, west of Second Street, 
 south side. John B. Robinson, of Franklin Lodge, No. 2, of 
 JX"ew York, being in Philadelphia on business, in company with 
 John Upton, invited a meeting of Odd Fellows at Upton's house, 
 through the newspapers, for the purpose of forming an Odd 
 Fellows' lodge. The meeting accordingly took place, the lodge 
 was formed, and appropriately named Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 
 1. Out of the persons present, the following were selected as 
 the first officers of the lodge, viz : John Pearce, N. G. ; James 
 Day, Y. G. ; John B. Robinson, Sec. ; John Upton, Treas. ; and 
 Samuel Croucher, Guardian. The lodge, thus formed, has sur- 
 vived through varied fortunes, until the present time, evincing 
 through its extraordinary career a wonderful energy of adminis- 
 tration and tenacity of life. The first member admitted was 
 Thomas Hepworth, who w r as substituted as Sec. in place of John 
 B. Robinson, the latter being a resident of New York, thus con- 
 stituting the lodge of five resident members. The lodge, now 
 
 (423) 
 
424 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 fully officered,. continued to meet at Upton's, and transacted busi- 
 ness after the original convivial style of English lodges under 
 the jurisdiction of the Manchester Unity. Success resulted ; 
 the members rapidly increased, the accessions chiefly being Eng- 
 lish and Scotchmen. Gratified with the prosperity which had 
 rewarded their efforts, they began to look about for some legal 
 connection for the lodge. The members were aware that properly 
 chartered lodges existed in the United States, and were desirous- 
 of forming a union with such. To this end a correspondence 
 was first opened with the Maryland organization of Odd Fellows. 
 This proved to be unsatisfactory. Subsequently application was- 
 made to Columbia Lodge, No. 1, of New York. This lodge had 
 received a charter from Duke of Sussex Lodge, No. 2, of Liver- 
 pool District, Manchester Unity. Pending this application, Co- 
 lumbia Lodge, No. 1, united with the G. Lodge of Md. and of 
 the U. S., and became a subordinate to the G. Lodge of New 
 York, which the former supreme body had created. Pennsyl- 
 vania Lodge, No. 1, thus frustrated in its purpose, and aware 
 that the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. had, through Thomas 
 Wildey, consummated the plan of uniting the scattered lodges 
 of Odd Fellows under its jurisdiction, by adding Columbia 
 Lodge, No. 1, of New York, and Massachusetts Lodge, No. l r 
 of Massachusetts, to its subordinates, at once listened to the pro- 
 posal on that subject, and accepted a charter from G. Lodge of 
 Md. and of the U. S., and also a charter for the G. Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania. These two charters bear date respectively 13th of 
 June, 1823. The charter for Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, was 
 delivered by G. M. Wildey, without form ; but the presentation 
 of the charter for the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, and its institu- 
 tion, were somewhat formal, on 27th June, 1823. Some historic 
 discrepancy occurs touching this date, but it is of no material 
 importance. (See Journal G. L. of U. S., Yol. 1, page 58.) 
 
 JUNE, 1823. 
 
 This month forms a memorable epoch in the history of Odd 
 Fellowship in America. Previously the Order was scattered 
 through the chief cities of the Union ; in Baltimore, Boston, New 
 York and Philadelphia, and possibly in some cities in the South, 
 wholly disintegrated and unaffiliated .; the lodges having no rela- 
 
JOHN UPTON. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 425 
 
 tions whatever with each other ; little, if any, standing in the 
 community, and less promise in the future. A union was now- 
 formed of all into a systematic body, having one law, one ritual 
 and one language for its guidance. The transition was extraor- 
 dinary and thorough; from confusion and chaos to order and 
 uniformity ; from obscurity to publicity, subject to general ob~ 
 servation and responsibility. Under such an ordeal, by the- 
 wonderful skill and energy of the master spirit, Thomas Wildey,. 
 was a federal union formed in Odd Fellowship, on the model 
 of our national system ; a moral temple, than which the world 
 can boast none greater. But we return to Pennsylvania Lodge,, 
 and proceed to consider the personnel of which it was formed. 
 
 JOHN UPTON. 
 
 This name is intimately associated with early Odd Fellowship 
 in Pennsylvania. We pass him down to posterity accordingly in 
 his original character, plain and unpretending, and distinguished 
 only by his just claim to respect as a citizen, and to zeal, energy 
 and devotion as an Odd Fellow. It is due to him and to his as- 
 sociates, as the originators of the lodge, that their early transac- 
 tions and successful movements in the cause should be recorded ; 
 that those who have lived to enjoy the blessings which the Order 
 confers, should know and appreciate the source from which they 
 were derived. John Upton was born in the county of Cheshire, 
 England, July 28th, 1772, and was a hatter by trade. Early in 
 his boyhood his taste and inclination led him to adopt a nautical 
 life. He passed twelve years in the British navy, five of which 
 were on board ship with Admiral Nelson ; during Nelson's cruise- 
 on the Nile, and in his celebrated battle, near Trafalgar, Oct. 
 1805, with the combined fleets of France and Spain, in which he- 
 won the victory but lost his life. Upton retired from the sea as 
 he increased in years, when he worked at his trade. During this 
 period he united with the Order of Odd Fellows, under the Man- 
 chester Unity. He emigrated, after the war of 1812, to the 
 United States, and is found in Philadelphia in 1816. He fol- 
 lowed his trade in that city industriously, being a skilled me- 
 chanic; success crowned his labors, and he was Boon rewarded 
 with a competence. He intermarried with an American lady 
 about 1820, when he opened the hotel referred to, where he lived- 
 
42G 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 until his death, Aug. 12th, 1853. His success in his new calling 
 soon enabled him to purchase the premises, and to otherwise 
 enlarge his estate. His widow survived him for several years, 
 and one son, named James L. Upton, a highly respectable and 
 wealthy citizen, still resides in the city of Philadelphia, a 
 part of whose estate consists of the Upton House, No. 66 Dock 
 Street. John Upton sustained during his entire life the charac- 
 ter of an honest and honorable man, who was prompt and punc- 
 tilious in business. He enjoyed the esteem and respect of his 
 brethren and fellow-citizens. For the picture from which the 
 accompanying engraving was made, we are indebted to his son, 
 Mr. James L. Upton. 
 
 Dock Street is the exception to "William Penn's right-angled 
 plan for the streets in the Quaker City, and mars the cheequer- 
 board arrangement Dickens describes as " distressingly regular." 
 Upton's Hotel was located on this street, a few doors west of 
 Second Street, south side, within one square of the Custom- 
 house, then in Second Street, one square from the Pennsyl- 
 vania Bank, and the old Coffee House, used as a Merchants' 
 Exchange, in Second Street, north of Walnut Street, and one 
 square from the Girard Bank, at the head of Dock, on Third 
 Street. It was in the centre of business, surrounded by the 
 best of buildings and offices. It was a popular first-class house, 
 and commanded a large patronage. As far as our researches 
 have extended, we have no evidence of the existence of any 
 records of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, up to March 8th, 1826. 
 Occasionally we meet with a gleam of light in that direction, 
 from the barren minutes of the G. Lodge of the State, and some 
 fugitive scraps of history, in the form of detached reports and 
 decisions, which have survived by accident or good fortune. 
 Some memorials of that period also have been preserved as tradi- 
 tions from contemporaries and faint surviving recollections. 
 There are, however, on the roll, names which are imperishable. 
 They have left upon our annals such an impress, that the history 
 would be incomplete were we to ignore them. Such of this class 
 as we shall distinguish, are representative men, and specimens 
 of the average early membership. 
 
 JOHN PEABCE. 
 
 John Pearee, born in England, was a master mechanic. He 
 oarne to this country, and began business as a plumber, at No. 12 
 
JOHN PEARCE. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 427 
 
 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, under the firm of John Pearce 
 & Co.; afterwards, at No. 76 South Fourth Street, below Walnut 
 Street. He was a Manchester Unity initiate, and earnestly 
 wedded to his form of Odd Fellowship. He was a man of de- 
 cided character, positive and unyielding in opinion. He repre- 
 sented his countrymen literally in his nature and disposition. He 
 was emphatically a leader in his day. He has left behind him 
 many evidences on the record of an enlightened mind, as well as 
 of a discriminating judgment. His proclivity to self-will and 
 obstinate adherence to his opinions, were his chief peculiarities, 
 and in a great degree limited his influence in the Order. He was 
 successful in his business pursuits, but was altogether too inde- 
 pendent in his course as an Odd Fellow to be personally popular. 
 He often displayed a peculiar diffidence, by avoiding personal 
 advancement, although his services and special fitness eminently 
 pointed him out as the proper man for the distinction. 
 
 For more than twenty years the journal of the G. Lodge of 
 the U. S. presents him as an earnest, active and efficient member. 
 He was a leading spirit in many valuable enterprises, and always 
 looked forward with lively hope to the future as fraught with the 
 success of Odd Fellowship. When the Order, in its severe trial, 
 needed bold, persistent and true friends, Bro. Pearce acted out 
 his true character, as an earnest, firm and fearless Odd Fellow. 
 No danger, however alarming, nor threat, however portentous, 
 deterred him from a just defence of the Order, whose firm advo- 
 cate he ever continued to be. The bitter assaults of the Anti- 
 Masonic party in Pennsylvania, where it held high carnival, 
 slandering, denouncing and persecuting secret associations and 
 their friends, had for him no terrors, and did not relax for a 
 moment his zeal and devotion for Odd Fellowship. His charac- 
 teristic nature well fitted him for this kind of w-arfare, and he 
 indulged it to his heart's content. He was what the world es- 
 teems a good-looking man, always neat and tidy in his apparel, 
 and pleasant spoken. His stature was small, but his frame was 
 square and solid ; he usually wore gold spectacles, and altogether 
 presented a fine appearance. His conversational powers were 
 good ; he was an agreeable companion, and was remarkable for 
 his taste and general information. He was among the most val- 
 uable and useful Odd Fellows of his day, and continued to be 
 a lifelong friend of the Order. 
 
428 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 At first he did not develop much energy as N. G. of Lodge 
 No. 1, but this was soon exchanged for great activity, and for a 
 ceaseless devotion to the Order. In the G. Lodge of Pennsylva- 
 nia, up to May, 1825, he was a quiet member. He then, it 
 appears, received the Golden Rule Degree. In temperament 
 Pearce and Upton resembled each other, but they did not har- 
 monize. This discordance probably arose from Pearce's uncom- 
 promising opposition to the convivial feature of the Order. Thia 
 element of dispute was a growing one, arraying the members on 
 different sides, until it eventually subsided, after the removal of 
 the lodge to Seventh and Chestnut Streets, in March, 1826, when 
 this feature was abolished. Pearce always denounced these in- 
 dulgences in plain English, which rendered him unpopular with 
 his countrymen. He was elected D. G. M. of Pennsylvania, June 
 13th, 1826. He was also the second G. Representative from the 
 G. Lodge of Pennsylvania to the G. Lodge of the U. S., appearing 
 there at the May session, 1827. From June, 1827, when he was 
 an unsuccessful candidate for G. Master, his name does not ap- 
 pear on the journal, until April 27th, 1829, when he was appointed 
 chairman of a committee to contract for fixing up the Fifth Street 
 hall, and at the same session his name appears on other impor- 
 tant committees. In June, 1831, he was again nominated for the 
 office of G. M. and defeated. In 1832 he removed to New Jer- 
 sey, and joined, by card, New Jersey Lodge, No. 1, at Camdeiu 
 Upon the institution of the G. Lodge of New Jersey, Aug. 3d, 
 1833, he was elected and installed the first G. Master of that 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 Bro. Pearce represented New York, as Proxy in the G. L. of 
 U. S. in 1833, and the G. Lodge of New Jersey in 1834 and 1835, 
 at which last session he was chosen D. G. Sire. He presided 
 over that Grand Body at the October session, 1836, and at the 
 May session, 1837, in consequence of the sickness of the then G. 
 Sire, G. Keyser, who died September 19th, 1837. Bro. Pearce, 
 in virtue of his official position as D. G. Sire, would, under the 
 present constitution, have succeeded to the office of G. Sire for 
 Bro. Keyser's unexpired term, but such was not the provision of 
 the then constitution ; in consequence of which G. S. Wildey was 
 chosen M. W. G. S. p. ., until the installation of the G. Sire elect. 
 At the October session, 1836, and May session ? 1837, Bro. Pearce 
 was a Rep. from the G. Lodge of Pa. to the G. L. of the U. S., 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 429 
 
 and at the October session, 1838, when he was an unsuccessful 
 candidate again for G. Sire. In 1839, at the session of the G. L. 
 of the U. S. in Philadelphia, Bro. Pearce was D. G. Sire p. t., 
 and at the annual session in 1840 he made a report from the 
 special committee on the New York controversy, which had met 
 in Albany, and at the session of 1841 he again reported from a 
 special committee upon the subject of a diploma form. Since 
 that period his name does not appear on that Journal. He sub- 
 sequently removed to New York city. In the latter part of his 
 life he became a Methodist minister, and as such, G. Sec. Ridgely 
 met him at a camp-meeting near the city of Baltimore, and had 
 the pleasure of passing a pleasant evening with him. He had at 
 that time fond memories of his early love for Odd Fellowship, 
 and discoursed pridefully of its magnificent mission. This was 
 about the year 1865. He died in 1869. His death was an- 
 nounced at the session of the G. L. of U. S. of that year, by Rep. 
 Boss of New Jersey, as Rev. Bro. John Pearce, P. G. Rep. of 
 New Jersey. 
 
 This brief biographical sketch presents a representative man 
 of his times, who, in co-operation with his compeers, toiled 
 earnestly for Odd Fellowship when its laborers were few and in- 
 experienced. It covers a period of twenty years, during all of 
 which time he was a zealous, active, and devoted brother to an 
 unpopular cause, but which, in his opinion, was full of good promise. 
 He was called to fill many offices of the Order, from that of N. 
 G. of the first lodge in Pa., to that of D. G. Sire of the G. Lodge 
 of the U. S. John Pearce's name will go down to posterity as 
 the honored cotemporary of and co-laborer with Thomas Wildey, 
 and it will be ever cherished as that of a high-toned and honor- 
 able citizen and enlightened Odd Fellow. 
 
 His connection with the Order in New Jersey is our apology 
 for a short notice of its introduction into that locality. 
 
 NEW JERSEY. 
 
 But four States united in forming a G. Lodge of the United 
 States. No new States came in until 1827 and 1829. It was in 
 the latter year that New Jersey was invaded, by the organization 
 of a subordinate lodge. The petition came from brothers George 
 Dare, William A. II. Dare, Ho well Stokes, William Middleton, 
 
430 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 and George Roseman. The G. Committee granted them a 
 charter for New Jersey Lodge, ~No. 1, to be located at Camden. 
 This was on the 30th day of March, 1829, and at the close of 
 the first decade. The Movable Committee say, "We visited 
 Camden in New Jersey, and opened New Jersey Lodge, No. 1. 
 We installed their officers, furnished them with necessary infor- 
 mation, and left them with a good prospect of success." The 
 early history of this mother lodge has not been preserved. It 
 continued until the year 1835, when its charter was surrendered. 
 It lay dormant until 1847, when the charter was reclaimed. 
 Since that time there has been no interruption to its prosperity, 
 and it is now strong and flourishing, as becomes the first on the 
 roll of the State. 
 
 The next movement was made in Paterson. The traditions- 
 claim that ancient Odd Fellowship had been already planted in 
 that city. It seems beyond dispute that such was the fact. 
 These informal meetings began in 1828. It is even contended 
 that a regular lodge was instituted under a charter from the 
 Manchester Unity, but no such document has been found. To 
 the contrary, P. G. S. Kennedy attributes the first movement at 
 this place to quite a different cause. We have, in the chapter on 
 New York, told the story of the erratic course of Strangers' 
 Refuge Lodge, No. 4, of that jurisdiction. The lodge was ex- 
 pelled for insubordination. It then set up as a G. Lodge, but 
 had no success in that direction, and was glad to return. A dis- 
 pensation was granted to open a lodge in Paterson by this 
 spurious body, and the document, dated October 18th, 1828, pur- 
 porting to be " granted by the Strangers' Refuge Lodge of the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 1, of the City of New 
 York, to five brothers residing in Paterson, in the State of New 
 Jersey, to form a lodge under the name and title of the Benevo- 
 lent Lodge, No. 1, of the Paterson District," is preserved in the 
 archives of the G. L. U. S. In June, 1829, the Movable Com- 
 mittee healed the breach between No. 4 and its Grand Lodge. 
 On learning of the outstanding dispensation, they gave notice of 
 its invalidity, and requested the grantees to ask for a legal exist- 
 ence. The record of the G. L. of the U. S. is somewhat contra- 
 dictory of this story. That record as made up, is two months 
 earlier than the narrative. It reports a meeting of the G. Com- 
 mittee on the 10th of April, 1829, to receive a petition. It was 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 431 
 
 from Brothers John Armitage, Abraham Donokersly, William 
 "Williams, John Douckersly, and James McKim, praying for a 
 charter for a lodge to be located at Paterson, New Jersey, and 
 hailed by the title of Benevolent Lodge, No. 2. The prayer was 
 granted, and the lodge opened. Kennedy says the original char- 
 ter fee which was to have been paid to the expelled lodge, was 
 turned over to Wildey for his G. Lodge. It is probable that the- 
 P. G. Sire was correct, as the lodge was not opened nntil 1830. It 
 was not until August 3, 1833, that the G. Lodge of New Jersey 
 was established. G. S. Wildey presented the charter. The fol- 
 lowing were elected and installed : John Pearce, G. M. ; Cris- 
 pin Taylor, D. G. M. ; William Thompson, G. W. ; S. Button, G. 
 Sec. ; J. R. Graham, G. Treas., and John Pearce, G. Hep. to the 
 G. L. of the U. S. 
 
 John Pearce had the high honor of being the first elected 
 Representative of New Jersey, and the second of Pennsylvania, 
 He represented the latter body in 1829. 
 
 But to return : James Day, the first Yice Grand of Lodge- 
 No. 1, was born in England, and was a dry goods trader, at No. 
 221 South Second Street, Philadelphia. He was an active 
 member of Pennsylvania Lodge, was highly respected by his- 
 fellow-members, and occupied a very respectable standing in the 
 business community. He was chosen first Y. G. by common 
 consent, and was regarded with general favor in the organization 
 of the lodge. By some strange perversity, for a man of his posi- 
 tion in society and of his education, it turned out, upon his own 
 confession, that he had attended the first meeting at Upton's to 
 form a lodge of Odd Fellows in Philadelphia, and had participated 
 therein, passing himself off as an English Odd Fellow, when in 
 fact he had never belonged to the Order in England or elsewhere. 
 This fact was promptly communicated to the G. Lodge of the 
 State, where, as may naturally be supposed, it gave rise to morti- 
 fication, mingled with indignation and a general spirit of resent- 
 ment. The character of the offence awakened unanimity of 
 feeling, which resulted in the following peremptory action, 
 November 22d, 1824 : 
 
 " Whereas Bro. James Day, by his own confession, has been 
 guilty of imposition and fraud upon the Order, and whereas 
 such imposition and fraud is deserving of censure and punish- 
 ment, Therefore, be it ordered, that the said James Day be sus- 
 
432 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 pended from the rights and privileges of the Order, until the 
 sitting of the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S., and his case can 
 be decided upon. Resolved, that a copy of these proceedings 
 be sent to each lodge in this State, and to the G. Lodge of Md. 
 and of the IT. S." The case thus found its way to the supreme 
 tribunal of the Order, at an adjourned session of that body, 
 held at Baltimore, Nov. 22d, 1824. This being also the precise 
 date of its presentation in the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, 
 error and discrepancy exist which we cannot reconcile ; it is 
 however by no means material. The order adopted in the 
 premises in the supreme body was also peremptory, and in the 
 following words : " Resolved, that it be recommended, that the 
 said Mr. Day be excluded from entering any lodge of the I. O. F. 
 throughout the globe." This order was considered at a special 
 meeting of the G. Lodge of Pa., held Dec. 16th, 1824, concurred 
 in, and the G. Sec. instructed to inform Mr Day of his expul- 
 sion. Subsequently Washington Lodge, No. 2, of Pa., of which 
 Mr. Day had previously become a member by deposit of his 
 card from Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, moved by sympathy in 
 Mr. Day's behalf, which his personal popularity and active ser- 
 vice as an Odd Fellow had awakened, appointed a committee 
 to petition the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania to reconsider its deci- 
 sion. This proceeding failed. The lodge was informed that the 
 Supreme Grand Body had confirmed the expulsion. 
 
 The lodge was not to be so easily disposed of, but at once 
 addressed a further appeal to the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. 
 S. To this appeal a response was received declining jurisdiction 
 in the premises, and recommending the presentation of the 
 .subject to the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania. These facts being 
 made known to the G. Lodge of Pa., accompanied by a petition 
 from Day for restoration to membership in the Order, March 
 14th, 1825, the following resolution was adopted: "Resolved, 
 that the said James Day be admitted to the rights and privi- 
 leges of the Order, on condition that he be regularly initiated, 
 provided the concurrence of the G. Lodge of Md. and of the 
 U. S. be had thereto, and that a committee of three be appointed to 
 confer with that Grand Body on the subject." At a special 
 session of the G. Lodge of Pa., held June 14th, 1825, official 
 information was communicated to that Grand Body, of the con- 
 currence of the Supreme Grand Body in the re-admission of 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 433 
 
 James Day to the Order, upon compliance with the condition 
 imposed, when it was "JZesolved, that James Day shall be initi- 
 ated by this G. Lodge, and be entitled to the degrees he has 
 received, upon payment of the amount of fees charged by the 
 subordinate lodge, and that a committee be appointed to convey 
 the above resolution to James Day and receive his answer." At 
 a future day, specially assigned, August 1st, 1825, James Day 
 ivas regularly initiated into the Order by the G. Lodge of Pa., 
 upon payment of the usual fee, and by special permission was 
 readmitted a member of Washington Lodge, No. 2. He con- 
 tinued for many years thereafter to be a zealous Odd Fellow, 
 highly esteemed and respected by his brethren. The wonder 
 remains, how such a man could have been tempted to this de- 
 parture from good morals. Thus ends this singular episode in 
 the history of Pennsylvania Odd Fellowship. 
 
 The name of John B. Robinson appears on the record as 
 that of the leading spirit, in conjunction with John Upton, in 
 the formation of the first lodge of Odd Fellows in Pennsylvania. 
 After he had witnessed the accomplishment of this purpose, he 
 returned to New York, of which city he was a resident. At the 
 institution of the G. Lodge of New York by Thomas Wildey, 
 G. M., June 24th, 1823, he was installed as the first G. M. of 
 that jurisdiction. We judge rather by the services which he 
 performed in the two jurisdictions than by any special facts noted 
 on the record, that Bro. Robinson was an intelligent and useful 
 member, and one to whose influence and character the Order is 
 largely indebted. 
 
 Samuel Croucher was also of English origin, and carried on 
 the business of cooper and gauger at No. 125 New Street, after- 
 wards at No. 22 Sugar Alley. He was the Guardian of the 
 first lodge, otherwise we have no mention of him by tradition or 
 on the record. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA LODGE, NO. 1. 
 
 This lodge continued to prosper ; the existence of a State G. 
 Lodge had not diverted the attention of the members from the 
 subordinate. No other lodge had been instituted, nor was any in 
 contemplation. Washington Lodge, No. 2, was the next projected, 
 'but was not chartered till February 2d, 1824. Little change, there- 
 28 
 
434 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 fore, was produced in the Order by the formation of the G. Lodge- 
 of the State. The all-absorbing interest still centered in the 
 subordinate. There the convivial spirits met, and built their 
 social altar, around which they nightly worshipped, practicing Odd 
 Fellowship literally, as was their wont in England. Pennsyl- 
 vania Lodge, 'No. 1, under such auspices, became a success,, 
 socially, numerically, and financially, although the jurisdiction 
 was convulsed with the anti-masonic delusion, from circumfer- 
 ence to its very center. Odd Fellowship nevertheless maintained 
 its position in spite of this deluge of popular fury. The greater 
 the persecution directed against the Order, the greater the per- 
 sistent devotion and heroism of the members ; thus the severe 
 trials of the lodge strengthened its love for the Order and its 
 tenacity of life. This experience entered into its education and 
 guided its career, adding to its members, resources, and useful- 
 ness. Ultimately the lodge rode out this great storm and sur- 
 vived it. It continued to prosper until the end of the first de- 
 cade of the Order, maintaining its position, filling its ranks with 
 new recruits, and furnishing abundant material for forming new 
 lodges, in which way its greatest depletion of membership arose. 
 As new lodges increased, the spirit of emulation and jealousy 
 appeared among them and disturbed their harmony. The G, 
 Lodge began to increase and to attract interest, and Lodge No. 
 1 found its influence, in a great degree, offset by younger lodges. 
 Ultimately, suspecting adverse counsels in the Grand Body, it 
 became unfriendly to it ; which alienation increased under the 
 encouragement of a young leader in the lodge, who led it to in- 
 subordination. As here begins an important epoch in the history 
 of the Order in Pennsylvania, threatening collision of jurisdic- 
 tion and endangering its union, the narrative will be given with 
 sufficient detail to render its salient points intelligible. The 
 facts in the matter of the insubordination of Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1, and the ultimate vacation of its charter by the 
 G. Lodge of Pa., cover quite an extended area, and embrace 
 various complications, but the essential issues lie in a nutshell. 
 "We present them condensed only so far as they may be, without 
 the suppression of anything material, or the omission of any 
 principle or practice adjudicated. We have already stated the 
 case generally in the chapter on the G. L. of the U. S. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 435 
 
 Thomas P. McMahon, a member of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 
 1, was a candidate for the office of N. G. of the lodge. He had 
 not served in the office of Y. G. for a regular term, as the law 
 required. To enable the lodge to overcome this objection, it 
 passed a resolution to suspend the law requiring service as Y. 
 G., and elected and installed him N. G. Exception was taken 
 to this illegal proceeding, which the G. Lodge promptly sustained. 
 Contemporaneously with this, an appeal came before the G. Lodge 
 from one P. G. Field, who had been arraigned, tried and expelled 
 from Lodge No. 1 for unbecoming conduct. The state of irrita- 
 tion produced upon Lodge No. 1 by the very decided action of 
 the G. Lodge, in enforcing a general law coeval with the exist- 
 ence of the Order, was highly inflamed by the counsels and influ- 
 ence of Bro. McMahon. The revolutionary state into which the 
 lodge was plunged, awakened a corresponding purpose in the G. 
 Lodge to vindicate its authority. Thus the issue was at once 
 raised and the conflict set on foot. The loyal and conservative 
 minority of the lodge protested in vain, and ultimately sixty-nine 
 of the membership of Lodge No. 1 presented formal charges 
 against T. P. McMahon, their N. G. Subsequently a second 
 charge was preferred against Bro. McMahon. 
 
 These charges were referred to a committee, who reported 
 unanimously, that the charge " of subverting the G. Lodge was 
 fully and incontrovertibly established." A communication was 
 received from Bro. McMahon, of Lodge No. 1, accompanied by 
 a protest, which was, for want of time, postponed. This commu- 
 nication was considered at a subsequent day, and being regarded 
 as indecorous, an order was passed requiring from Bro. McMahon 
 an apology to the G. Lodge. A suitable apology was accordingly 
 presented and accepted. At a subsequent meeting of the G. 
 Lodge, the following communication was received from Lodge 
 No. 1 : " Resolved, that the G. Lodge be requested to furnish 
 this lodge a copy of the charges preferred against P. G. Thomas P. 
 McMahon, by some brothers of this lodge, so that we may ascer- 
 tain whether he is guilty or not, and if not guilty, that the said 
 charges may be not recorded against him." This communication 
 was postponed for the time being. Meanwhile, the committee 
 to whom the appeal of Bro. Field had been referred, made a re- 
 port, reversing the decision of expulsion against him by Pennsyl- 
 vania Lodge, No. 1, and ordering his restoration to membership. 
 
436 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Upon the reception of this decision by Pennsylvania Lodge, 
 a perfect tempest of passion carried away the majority, who 
 passed a resolution peremptorily to return the paper to the G. 
 Lodge. This was accordingly done ; whereupon the G. Lodge 
 took proper order to vacate the charter of the lodge. The execu- 
 tion of this order was referred to a special committee. Their 
 report, accompanied with the following resolution, was made to 
 the G. Lodge, and was adopted, yeas 38, nays 7 : " Resolved, 
 that the Warrant or Dispensation of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, 
 be vacated, and the said lodge be dissolved, for a violation of the 
 rules and regulations of the Order and of this G. Lodge." The 
 G M. accordingly proceeded to carry into effect, as far as was 
 practicable, the order of vacation ; but in the effort to get the 
 charter of the lodge, it was found that it had been clandestinely 
 removed. Bro. McMahon, meanwhile, having apologized to the 
 G. Lodge, after his apology had been declared satisfactory, pre- 
 sented a certificate of election as a P. N. G. of Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1. A ballot took place, and it was found that four 
 black balls had been deposited; the ballot was thereupon renewed, 
 with the same result. Thus ended this senseless, stubborn and 
 wholly unjustifiable conflict of authority between a subordinate 
 and its superior. But the struggle on the part of No. 1 did not 
 end here. Upon the refusal of the G. Lodge of Pa. to admit P. 
 G. McMahon to membership, an informal appeal was made by 
 Lodge No. 1 to Bro. Thomas Wildey, then G. Sire, which he in- 
 cautiously, and without authority of law, entertained, and thus 
 unwisely gave " aid and comfort " to that lodge. His decision, 
 had it referred exclusively to the abstract question as to whether 
 a G. Lodge could go outside of a P. G.'s certificate of proper 
 service in the chair under the seal of his lodge for a full term, 
 and had he been authorized by law to take cognizance of the 
 appeal, might have been sound and conformable to our laws ; but 
 under the circumstances was wholly unwarranted. 
 
 The G. L. of Pa. so held, and firmly insisted on vindicating 
 its authority, to which Bro. Wildey and the G. L. of the U. S. in 
 the end gracefully yielded. Thus ended the unfortunate conflict. 
 The loyal material of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, was subse- 
 quently re-chartered, and with various fortunes still survives. 
 To avoid detail we have omitted the quotation of official pro- 
 ceedings, authorities and correspondence. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 437 
 
 The disloyal element continued a bitter rebellion for some 
 year or two, claiming to be the true G. Lodge of the State, and 
 struggling for the funds of the lodge. Receiving no countenance 
 or encouragement from the legitimate Order anywhere, it ulti- 
 mately submitted to inevitable collapse and disappeared. A 
 considerable portion of the funds was recovered by the newly 
 chartered lodge. There are some fugitive memorials of this early 
 and serious rebellion against the G. Lodge of Pa., but they rather 
 interest the local jurisdiction than the Order at large ; we accord- 
 ingly pass them, remarking only, that the defence of the disloyal 
 lodge is presented in a printed pamphlet, entitled " The Testi- 
 mony of Truth," published in Philadelphia during the contro- 
 versy, to which the reader is referred. 
 
 After passing this severe ordeal, the reorganized Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1, maintained its former good standing, and con- 
 tributed its full share of materials for new lodges, which were 
 now springing up, when suddenly and unexpectedly, at a meeting 
 of the lodge, July 5th, 1843, when but few members were present, 
 without notice, a resolution was passed to surrender the charter 
 of the lodge, its books and funds, to the G. Lodge. So soon as 
 this information was generally diffused among the brotherhood, 
 it awakened a general sentiment of mingled surprise and sorrow. 
 The prompt and decided course of the G. Master of the State soon 
 checked this movement and preserved the life of the lodge. 
 Upon the application of a constitutional number of the members 
 for a restoration of the charter, it was, on July 24th, 1843, re- 
 stored, and on July 26th, 1843, the lodge was re-instituted by G. 
 M. John C. Yeager, after an interregnum of two meetings. 
 Thus, with the loss of official life, by surrender of charter in 
 1829, making altogether four omissions of regular meetings in 
 54 years, this lodge presents a career of official life most extra- 
 ordinary. 
 
 It has earned a proud record. It is still a great and flour- 
 ishing lodge, with a hundred and twenty-four members, three 
 thousand dollars in the treasury, and a resolution fixed in the 
 hearts of its members to hold its proud position as the pioneer 
 lodge of Pennsylvania. Few lodges or societies of men have 
 passed through the ordeal to which this lodge has been subjected. 
 Such appears to have been the experience of every pioneer 
 effort in social organization, moral reform, science, art or general 
 
4,38 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 philosophy, in none of which has ultimate success been accom- 
 plished without an arduous struggle. Extraordinary circum- 
 stances produce extraordinary men, who are developed and 
 brought to the front by them. Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, is an 
 illustration of this principle ; for in every one of its many 
 trials, during its battle for life, it could always rely upon the aid 
 and co-operation of the best and most reliable material. It is to 
 be hoped that this spirit of devotion to our Order will never die, 
 indeed that it may never slumber, in the good old commonwealth 
 of Pennsylvania, and that Lodge 'No. 1 may be perpetual. 
 
 SUBORDINATE LODGES DURING THE FIRST DECADE. 
 
 Washington Lodge, No. 2, the second lodge instituted in 
 Pennsylvania, was located in Philadelphia ; it was also the first 
 chartered by the G. Lodge of the State, No. 1 having derived 
 its charter from the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. The 
 charter of No. 2 was granted February 2d, 1824, upon the pe- 
 tition of R. H. Bartle, David Perry, R. Travellers, Henry Cross, 
 Thomas Weatherby, James Clark and John Sturges. The lodge 
 was instituted March 23d, 1824. Its career since that day has 
 been a fortunate one. Its progress has been onward in an un- 
 broken line of official life. No check or hindrance of any kind 
 has interrupted its good fortune. Nor has it ever entirely sus- 
 pended payment of weekly benefits to its sick, for over a half 
 century. None of its founders now survive, and many of their 
 cotemporaries have also passed away. The minutes of the lodge 
 have been well kept, and are carefully preserved. These valu- 
 able memorials indicate that no one lodge in the jurisdiction 
 has contributed more liberally, from its ranks and from its 
 treasury, for the diffusion and welfare of Odd Fellowship. 
 
 Lodges Nos. 3, 8, 9, 13, 22 and 23 were chiefly recruited from 
 this lodge. The last two, Nos. 22 and 23, were liberally 
 assisted by a money contribution, amounting to $377.88. It has 
 had a great tenacity of life, considering the heavy drafts made 
 upon it for the formation of new lodges, as well as the natural 
 losses from death, during its continued career. Superadd to 
 this heavy drain the fearful and ceaseless loss arising from non- 
 payment .of dues, w r hich surpasses the mortality of the member- 
 ship, and we may well pause and admire the spirit of devotion 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 4:39 
 
 and love for Odd Fellowship which has so bravely sustained 
 Washington Lodge, No. 2, especially when we consider that all 
 the early lodges set out upon the prevailing erroneous system of 
 " dues and benefits," without regard to the just proportion of 
 the one to the other, arising out of the character and nature of 
 the risk, the circumstances of age, health, and such other con- 
 siderations as in a greater or less degree control the situation. 
 
 Here it may be appropriately remarked, for the benefit 
 of existing lodges, that if proper consideration had been given 
 to the subject of " dues and benefits " in early years, and to 
 the proper and just relation between them in regulating, 
 -according to scientific rules, the ever-increasing and varying 
 risks of human life, instead of persistently and recklessly defy- 
 ing their daily monitions, our lodges would be as young and 
 vigorous, financially, as when in the meridian of life and 
 crowded with members. The records of this lodge are full of 
 experience, and demonstrate forcibly the value of such organiza- 
 tions. Instances are shown of relief to confirmed and chronic 
 invalids, who have been pensioners year after year until death ; 
 during all which period the lodge has faithfully discharged its 
 duty. In 1862 the funds of the lodge were so reduced that it 
 had to appeal for aid to the sister lodges of the State. This 
 appeal was promptly and generously responded to. Washington 
 Lodge, No. 2, was thereby enabled to maintain its position and 
 standing in the Order. It is at this time in a flourishing condi- 
 tion, with 232 members, and $2574.37 in its treasury. In March, 
 187,4, it celebrated its semi-centennial anniversary. On that 
 occasion an interesting address was delivered by Thomas M. 
 Armstrong, P. G. The statements made by the orator were 
 chiefly of interest, by reason of their recital of memorials of early 
 Odd Fellowship in Pennsylvania. From this address we find 
 that its financial condition, at the close of the first quarter, was 
 .as follows : Received from members, $48.09 ; from bar, $41.37 ; 
 from the proceeds of a ball, $7.67 ; making a total of $97.13. 
 The expenses were $84.18 ; leaving a balance in the treasury of 
 $12.95. The initiation fee was $2.00, weekly dues 6 cents; 
 fines, which appeared to be an important item of revenue, were 
 large and embraced a wide field. The by-laws provided that 
 every brother should pay 6i cents per week, whether he attended 
 the lodge or not. 
 
440 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Originally, in. England, tradition says, there were no regular 
 dues assessed, but only those present were required to pay 6i 
 cents on the Warden's axe. This by-law would appear to confirm 
 that tradition. The early minutes also enforce this idea, and 
 show that visiting brethren were required to pay 6i cents. 
 Visitors were frequently invited to occupy the officers' chairs, and 
 to participate in the discussions and business of the evening. 
 Relief was also extended, as the demand arose, proportionately 
 to the state of the treasury and the necessities of the case. Can- 
 didates under 21 years of age were eligible to membership up to 
 September, 1826, after which, and for a considerable time after 
 the first decade, the G. Lodge exercised the prerogative of grant- 
 ing dispensations to lodges for such a purpose. At the beginning 
 of the beneficial system, the amount generally allowed was $2.50 
 per week. The initiation fee varied from two to three dollars, 
 until it ultimately reached $7.50, which last amount created a 
 decided opposition among the lodges, resulting in the establish- 
 ment, by law, of a minimum rate of $5.00, leaving the maximum 
 to the discretion of the lodge. Another article of the by-laws 
 which suggests the English system of membership, was the pro- 
 vision of 25 cents for a deposit of card. 
 
 The withdrawal card used in Pennsylvania during the latter 
 part of the first decade, when each lodge supplied its own cards, 
 contained the following proviso : " The brother who holds this 
 certificate must deposit the same in a lodge, after getting employ- 
 ment, provided he is within five miles of where a lodge is held." 
 As it was obligatory upon the brother to deposit his card, under 
 such circumstances, it must have been correspondingly obligatory 
 upon the lodge to receive it. This loose system, with many other 
 illy devised schemes, was superseded by the necessity of proper 
 protection to the lodges and of their treasury. It was wholly 
 abandoned, and the wise and prudent system adopted, giving the 
 lodge the right of investigation of character, of ballot, and the 
 payment of proper fees. It was in fact the main source of diffi- 
 culty between the American Order and the Manchester Unity, 
 at Wigan, England, in 1842, on arranging for visitations to 
 lodges by their respective members, to each other's lodges, and it 
 ever will continue to be a difficulty in that direction, when that 
 question shall, if ever, be again seriously considered. The term 
 of office, at the time referred to, was for three months, or a 
 quarter. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 441 
 
 As the Order grew numerically, the contest became active 
 among the members, the P. Grands frequently opposing the K 
 G. for the K G.'s chair, and several candidates running for each 
 chair. The zeal and activity of the members of this lodge was a 
 matter of observation and remark. In 1828, the lodge initiated 
 109 candidates; in 1829, 152 were initiated. The record also- 
 shows that many were rejected. To contrast Odd Fellows' lodges 
 in early days, as then conducted, with those of the present day, 
 we present the following account of a lodge meeting, furnished 
 by P. G. M. Pryor, of this jurisdiction, who was initiated April 
 13th, 1824. 
 
 There was, says Bro. Pryor, in one corner of the lodge- 
 room a regularly fitted up and furnished bar, under charge of 
 an officer called the Host, who conducted it for the benefit of the 
 lodge, the receipts, as we have seen, being a part of the revenue 
 of the lodge, kept open, however, only during lodge hours ; the 
 seats or benches, occupied by the members, being supplied with 
 shelves for the glasses, mugs and pipes. After the lodge was 
 opened, the first step in business, by the N. G., was to direct the 
 members to make their calls upon the Host for what they wanted 
 to drink, and to pay for it ; this being done, and the supply forth- 
 coining, the N. G. would rise and offer a sentiment, to which all 
 present drank. He would then call first on the V. G. and on 
 each officer in turn, who would in like manner offer a sentiment. 
 After the various sentiments and toasts of the officers had been 
 drank, the lodge business would proceed by reading the minutes- 
 of the last meeting. If a candidate was in waiting for initiation, 
 which was usually the case, that ceremony was dispatched, 
 when the "N. G., at the conclusion of it, would offer the usual 
 toast, to wit : " The health, wealth and prosperity of our newly 
 initiated brother, with the honors of the Order," which were 
 given with vim, and his health drank with corresponding zest. The 
 members would now renew their calls upon the Host during 
 the business hours of the lodge, but were always orderly, none 
 becoming intoxicated, or in any manner disturbing the harmony 
 of the proceedings. Strict moderation was enjoined, and all ex- 
 cesses discouraged and punished. The N. G., in the absence of 
 other subjects of interest before the lodge, would during the 
 evening occasionally call upon some member or visitor for a toast, 
 sentiment or song, which, was generally responded to. When the 
 
442 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 tiour arrived for closing, which was punctually observed, the 
 cabalistic phrase of " closed in Ancient Form " was recorded on 
 the minutes with the general transactions of the night. 
 
 The following is a copy of the minutes of one of those meet- 
 ings, taken from an historical sketch prepared by Bro. T. N. 
 Armstrong, P. G. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, April 13th, 1824. 
 
 At a stated meeting of "Washington Lodge, No. 2, 1. O. O. F., 
 held this evening in ' Bread Street, the following passed : 
 '-(videlicet) Toast by N. G. Bartle, " The President of the United 
 States." Toast by the same, " Odd Fellowship throughout the 
 Globe." Minutes of the preceding meeting read and adopted. 
 Committee of inquiry in the case of S. Pryor reported favorably. 
 Y. G. Weatherby appointed Bro. Gravenstein R. Supporter, 
 Bro. Childs, L. Supporter. A ballot was taken, and S. Pryor 
 was unanimously elected. The dispensation was presented to 
 Lodge No. 2, with a hope that it will be used with discretion, 
 and become an ornament to the Order. Mr. Pryor was duly 
 initiated into the mysteries of the honorable Order, and paid 
 two dollars. Bro. Cross sang, "Far, far removed from noise and 
 smoke." Bro. Craycroft proposed for membership, Win. J. Bur- 
 niston, turner, Cresson Alley, near Fifth Street, aged 32 years. 
 Toast by K G. Bartle, " Unity." 1ST. G. Bartle proposed A. 
 McDowell as a candidate. Song by D. G. M. Small, " Ben 
 Bob Stay." Toast by V. G. Weatherby, "Union among Odd 
 Fellows throughout the Globe." IS". G. Bartle suggested the 
 propriety of having a ball on Monday evening ; and upon 
 taking the yeas and nays, the yeas had a majority. A committee 
 -consisting of Brothers Richardson, Cross, Gravenstein, Pryor 
 and Parry were appointed to make arrangements. The Investi- 
 gating Committee reported favorably on S. Whittle ; when upon 
 ballotting he was duly elected and initiated into the mysteries of 
 the Order, and paid $1.50. K G. Bartle and Bros. Thackera, Gra- 
 venstein, Childs, Cross, Weatherby, Craycroffc Parry and Gilmore 
 paid each 6i cents. Toast by K G. Bartle, "The health, wealth and 
 prosperity of the Grand Lodge," (with the honors of the Order). 
 Toast by D. G. M. Small, " May you prosper and never know 
 want." Toast by IS". G. Bartle, " Health, wealth and prosperity 
 to our newly initiated brothers, may they live long and die 
 happy," (with the honors of the Order). Resolved: That the 
 books brought this evening by P. G. Richardson, be accepted 
 and the bill paid. Bro. Cross sang, " Lango Lee." Toast by 
 P. G. Day, "May you meet more numerously and never less 
 respectably." N. G Bartle proposed G. Cornwell as a candi- 
 date, residence High Street, above Eleventh. Bros. Parry and 
 "Gilmore were appointed a committee of inquiry. Amount col- 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 443 
 
 lected $5.18. Amount collected from bar, $2.25. Total, $7.43. 
 IS". G. Bartle sang " Auld Lang Syne. " Toast by Y. G. 
 Weatherby, " Odd Fellows, may they ever enjoy an independent 
 spirit." After which the lodge was closed in Ancient Form. 
 
 J. AIKEN, JR., Sec. pro tern. 
 
 Wayne Lodge, No. 3, was chartered December 16th, 1824, 
 upon the petition of R. H. Bartle, M. G. Carlin, Samuel Pryor, 
 Samuel Whittle, Jesse Childs and William Fowler. It was in- 
 stituted on the fifth anniversary of the Order, Dec. 26th, 1824. 
 From the experience and peculiar adaptation of Bro. Bartle as 
 a presiding officer, it may be taken for granted that No. 3 fol- 
 lowed in the footsteps of Nos. 1 and 2. The minutes of No. 2 
 record the fact, that social visitations from sister lodges were no 
 uncommon thing, and, whilst they had abandoned recording the 
 convivial transactions, the payment of a grocery bill, and the 
 postponement of the hour of adjournment, are items suggestive 
 of the peculiar business indulged in on such occasions. The 
 lodge for some reason was obliged to surrender its charter, Oct. 
 -8th, 1827. The Order was now moving slowly, the lodges gen- 
 erally doing but little business. With the exception of Lodge 
 No. 4, which was located in the upper part of the county, no new 
 lodge was chartered for over three years. On September 29th, 
 1828, the charter of Wayne Lodge, No. 3, was restored. It was 
 immediately reinstated, and resumed its work, together with the 
 six new lodges which had been chartered during the year. Re- 
 juvenated by a new impetus, it at once moved off prosperously, 
 and has since never flagged, having upon its roll, March 1st, 
 1875, 232 members, and $1617.44 in its treasury. 
 
 Morning Star Lodge, No. 4, situated in Kensington, near 
 Philadelphia, was instituted March 13th, 1826, under a charter 
 from the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, granted Feb. 13th, 1826. 
 When instituted, Kensington was in the county of Philadelphia, 
 north of the city line, and the location was known as the suburbs 
 of the city. The G. Sec. Samuel Pryor, in a letter to the G. 
 Sire, dated Nov. 22d, 1826, as a reason for an early supply of 
 degree books, remarked that this lodge was located a consider- 
 able distance from the city. The first place of meeting provided 
 for this lodge was on the Frankford Road, opposite to Bedford 
 Street, the name of which had been changed to Wildey Street. 
 The place selected was over a tavern kept by one Taylor Brandt. 
 
444 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 For a short time, the practice of having drinks ordered up to the 
 lodge was indulged, after lodge hours, and also of enjoying 
 song, toast, and sentiment, after the English style. We are in- 
 debted to Bro. John Devlin, one of the most active members of 
 the Order, now a member of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 26, and 
 of Siloam Encampment, No. 17, boarding at this house when the 
 lodge was instituted, for some interesting and rather amusing in- 
 cidents connected with Odd Fellowship of that day. The forma- 
 tion of the fourth Lodge was the first movement to extend the 
 Order beyond the city. It became the pioneer lodge in build- 
 ing an Odd Fellows Hall. The magnitude of the undertaking in- 
 volved the lodge, and although its experience was depressing and 
 embarrassing, it succeeded in erecting, and occupying for a time, 
 a substantial, handsome and imposing edifice on Richmond Street, 
 This building was formally dedicated to the purposes of the 
 Order in May, 1831. Bro. Howell Hopkins, P. G. Sire, delivered 
 the dedicatory address, in his usual happy and eloquent style. 
 
 The G. Lodge of the State undertook to assist the lodge in. 
 this indiscreet enterprise, by creating a loan for the aid of the 
 hall debt, but the scheme failed, and the building was sold by the 
 creditors on Nov. 20th, 1833. It was purchased at Sheriff's sale 
 for $4300, by Bro. H. Hopkins, P. G. Sire. Bro. Hopkins 
 offered the property to the G. Lodge at its cost, which was quite a 
 low figure. Efforts were again made by the G. Lodge to inter- 
 pose, but without success. This building remained the property 
 of Bro. Hopkins until his death ; it was then sold by his legal 
 representatives, and was purchased by Kensington Lodge, No. 
 211, of the Masonic Order, by which it was altered at a heavy 
 expense, and adapted to their convenience and taste. It is now 
 one of the handsomest Masonic Temples in the State outside of 
 the city of Philadelphia. Thus ended the premature attempt of 
 this lodge to erect a hall for its accommodation, a result which 
 reasonable calculation might have justly predicted. Morning 
 Star Lodge, No. 4, was staggered by this serious experience ; 
 nevertheless it struggled through the darkest days of the Order,, 
 until August 17th, 1840, when it succumbed to the necessities of 
 its position, and surrendered its charter. Its suspension of work 
 was of comparatively short duration. On March 22d, 1841, the 
 charter was restored upon a constitutional application, and the 
 lodge was reinstated, March 26th, 1841, and is now in a highly 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 445 
 
 prosperous condition. Such was the ordeal through which most 
 of the pioneer lodges of the State had to pass. The struggle and 
 sacrifices incident to such fearful experiences, to enable them to 
 maintain their existence, displayed a heroism and zeal worthy of 
 the great cause which animated them. This lodge has now 266 
 members, and $6868.56 in the treasury. 
 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 5, was applied for by Lawrence O'Con- 
 nor, Ezra T. Garrett, Benjamin Bates, Jr., Stephen Child, James 
 L. Harris, John Brook, and William Stratton, and was chartered 
 January 14th, 1828. It was instituted soon thereafter, nearly 
 two years having elapsed since the charter was granted for No. 4. 
 During this interval a great change had taken place. The bar 
 and all convivial practices had been formally abolished, and the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows had been thoroughly Ameri- 
 canized. Franklin Lodge, No. 5, was the first new lodge opened, 
 under the auspicious promise, and nobly did the lodge in its 
 career of life respond to the just expectation foreshadowed by the 
 new era which had been entered upon. The early minutes of 
 the lodge have been lost, a misfortune which appears to have 
 been frequent in the Order. Diligent search has been made 
 for the book, but without success. This misfortune may deprive 
 us of some incidents connected with the reformed order of lodge 
 work, and of its manner of introduction. We are not in doubt, 
 however, of the important fact that Franklin Lodge, No. 5, was 
 a perfect, success, nobly fulfilling its mission as a prosperous and 
 zealous subordinate lodge under the jurisdiction of the G. Lodge 
 of Pennsylvania. It now numbers 255 members, with a fund of 
 .$12,076.50. 
 
 General Marion Lodge, No. 6, was authorized by the G. 
 Lodge of Pennsylvania upon the application of John Cross, 
 James McMullin, J. H. Wilson, Isaiah Quig, Win. Graham, 
 Lewis Huntsman, Chalkley Baker, and Peter Frank, on March 10, 
 1828, upon the condition that it should be held in Kensington, 
 or in the city. The lodge was instituted in the hall at Seventh 
 and Chestnut Streets, and has continued to meet in the city since, 
 with a reasonable success. It has had the good fortune to possess 
 among its members enough active and attentive material to 
 maintain its organization in proper health, and to always meet 
 its just obligations to its membership. It has now 126 members, 
 with a fund of $1534.59. 
 
446 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Hermann Lodge, No. 7, was instituted upon the petition of 
 Henry Heiser, John B. Schambaugh, John Diddlebouch, Israel 
 Gardey, Charles H. Leigh, Michael Freid, Abraham Kniauros and 
 Lewis Hnrilson, presented to the Grand Lodge, June 9th, 1828, 
 for a charter for a lodge to be located in Kensington, to work in 
 the German language, to be called Herman Lodge, No. 7. The 
 charter was granted July 14th, 1828. The lodge was instituted 
 July 28th, 1828. This was the second German lodge chartered 
 in the United States ; William Tell Lodge, No. 4, at Baltimore, 
 Maryland, having been chartered Jan'y 16th, 1827. By 
 the authority of the G. Lodge of the U. S., the G. L. of 
 Pennsylvania appointed a committee to have the work trans- 
 lated into the German language. This was done, and was the 
 first translation of the ritual into a foreign language. It after- 
 wards become the property of the G. Lodge of the U. S. The 
 uninterrupted harmony and prosperity of the German lodges, 
 up to the present time, confirms the wisdom of this action of the 
 G. Lodge. Associations for the encouragement of provident 
 foresight and proper protection of their families in case of sick- 
 ness or misfortune, seem to be in sympathy with the German 
 character. The effort of the Germans appears very generally to 
 be put forth in securing a home and refuge for their sick and 
 suffering. The German lodges are among the most successful 
 in the Order throughout the general jurisdiction. This lodge 
 has now 371 members and $6225.69 in its treasury. 
 
 Rising Sun Lodge, No. 8, was chartered July 14th, 1828 r 
 upon the petition of Joseph Burroughs, Robert Tomlinson, 
 Thomas Pendlebury, James W. Charlton, and others. It was 
 instituted July 28th, 1828. It was designed at first to be located in 
 Rising Sun Tillage, about three miles from the city and two miles 
 from Frankford, but, from some cause not now known, it was 
 instituted at the General Pike Hotel in Frankford, where it is still 
 located, being a part of the 23d ward of the city. The members 
 generally were Englishmen, engaged in the various manufactures 
 located in the neighborhood, but gradually citizens joined it 
 from all nationalities, and its career began to brighten. It has 
 had for many years good fortune, and fulfilled its mission suc- 
 cessfully. Of late years, however, it has been sustained chiefly 
 by the most persistent efforts of its members. An appeal to the 
 other lodges in the State for assistance, met with a prompt and 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 447 
 
 liberal response. The members are comparatively few in num- 
 bers and advanced in years, affording an example which should 
 be a timely warning, for a proper adjustment by lodges of their 
 scale of dues and benefits. The membership numbers 57, and 
 the funds amount to $665.78. 
 
 Mechanics' Lodge, No. 9, was located in the city of Pitts- 
 burgh. The charter was granted December 29th, 1828, upon 
 the petition of James "Wright, P. G. of Washington Lodge, No. 
 1, of Baltimore; Wm. Creacey and Joseph Charles of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 2, Philadelphia ; James Paul and John Byers, of 
 Morning Star Lodge, No. 4, of Philadelphia. The name of 
 Wm. Creacey was stricken from the petition. The lodge wa& 
 instituted January 6th, 1829, by Thomas Small, P. G. M., as a 
 special deputy. This was the first lodge instituted in Pennsyl- 
 vania outside the city and county of Philadelphia, and the first 
 Odd Fellows' lodge instituted west of the Alleghany Mountains^ 
 In view of this important fact, the G. Lodge adopted proper 
 legislation to guard and protect it, as a pioneer lodge in a dis- 
 tant county, and to maintain a proper supervision over its ope- 
 rations. Accordingly the following proceeding was had : "Re- 
 solved : That the G. Master be authorized to appoint a D. G. 
 M. to reside in Pittsburgh, who shall hold his office during the 
 remainder of the term of service of the present G. M., and may 
 again be appointed by his successor, subject always to removal, 
 by the G. Lodge. His duty shall be to see that the ancient 
 rules and customs of the Order are adhered to, and that the con- 
 stitution, charges, regulations and laws of the G. Lodge be 
 obeyed. He shall transmit to the G. Secretary quarterly reports 
 of the lodge, together with the percentage of their income, and 
 all communications to the lodge shall be made through him.. 
 He shall from time to time inform the G. Lodge of the situa- 
 tion and progress of the lodges under his charge. He shall be 
 permitted to wear* the same regalia as is worn by the elected 
 D. G. M., and shall be treated with the same respect as if he 
 were present." 
 
 In the month of May, 1829, soon after the organization of this 
 lodge, the house in which it was located took fire and burned 
 down, the lodge losing severely in fixtures, regalia and lodge 
 paraphernalia. The G. Lodge regarding the loss as a severe ca- 
 lamity to the whole Order, involving, as it did, the success of the- 
 
-448 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 movement in diffusing the system westward, appointed a com- 
 mittee to lay the subject of assistance to the lodge before the 
 Order in the city and county of Philadelphia. This committee 
 subsequently reported that the following lodges had contributed 
 the several sums affixed to their respective names, to wit : Penn- 
 sylvania Lodge, No. 1, $15.00 ; Washington Lodge, No. 2, $15.00 ; 
 Morning Star Lodge, No. 4, $5.00 ; Franklin Lodge, No. 5, $10.00 ; 
 Gen. Marion Lodge, No. 6, $5.00 ; Herman Lodge, No. 7, $5.00 ; 
 Kensington Lodge, No. 11, $5.00 ; Jefferson Lodge, No. 12, $5.00 ; 
 Philadelphia Lodge, No. 13, $5.00. The contribution, consider- 
 ing the magnitude of the loss, was light ; but the Order, at the 
 time, was, comparatively speaking, poor and feeble in resources, 
 each lodge being actively engaged in providing for its own imme- 
 diate necessities, and at times struggling for its own existence. 
 Nevertheless, the amount was gratefully received and wisely 
 applied. This act of fraternal kindness soon brought the Order 
 in Pittsburgh into favorable notice and made it popular. With 
 the encouragement thus received, it soon re-established its lodge, 
 and began to prosper. 
 
 The Order has continued to prosper in Alleghany County, 
 being the second county, as Pittsburgh is the second city, in the 
 State, in which the Order was established, maintaining the same 
 relative position in Odd Fellowship, ranking next to Philadelphia 
 in the number of lodges, members and wealth. This was an 
 important point at which to repair the loss sustained, as well as 
 to strengthen the position. At that day the tide of emigration 
 was active, and mainly directed westward, through this growing 
 manufacturing city. Long before the advent of railroads, this city 
 was the great highway to the west. There was no place on the 
 American continent better adapted for facilitating the diffusion 
 of our Order, and none, it is believed, which contributed more in 
 that direction than Pittsburgh. It was the central point of trav- 
 ellers and emigrants going west and returning east. The lodge 
 wisely instituted at this point, rapidly recovered from its severe 
 trial and increased its numbers. Many instances are related of 
 timely assistance rendered to weary and afflicted brethren and 
 their families who were seeking new homes in the west, as well 
 as on their return in disappointment and distress. Certain it is 
 that this was the germ of our present magnificent western juris- 
 dictions. The spirit of emigration to the west, in those days, was 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 449 
 
 epidemic ; it was universal, it was the common sentiment. Tho 
 number who had sought homes in that country had described it 
 in letters to their friends as a paradise. Many, however, as a 
 matter of course, returned sadly disappointed. The discovery 
 made was, that labor and toil are not the less the heritage of the 
 race, westward than eastward, and that the bread of life is the 
 reward of the sweat of the brow only. 
 
 Yet the course of this immense procession was through Pitts- 
 burgh generally, and thousands of Odd Fellows were added to 
 the Order through the instrumentality, directly or indirectly, of 
 Lodge No. 9 of that city. JSTo. 9, in addition to its individual 
 loss arising out of the fire which destroyed its lodge-room and 
 furniture in May 1829, was a severe sufferer by the great fire 
 which laid waste a large portion of the city of Pittsburgh in the 
 summer of 1845. On that occasion, by authority of the Grand 
 Lodge of the State, it made an appeal to the sister lodges in the 
 United States. This appeal was promptly and generously re- 
 sponded to by a contribution of $7601.46, being an excess over 
 the loss sustained of $1358.44. The surplus was invested for 
 the relief of the widows and orphans of Odd Fellows in the city. 
 We are happy to say that Lodge No. 9 continues to be a pros- 
 perous lodge, notwithstanding its several trying ordeals. This is 
 the only lodge in Pittsburgh which belongs to the first decade of 
 the Order. 
 
 This lodge being originated by members of the English type 
 of social Odd Fellows, which imposed but few restraints upon the 
 membership, did not meekly acquiesce in the authority claimed 
 by the D. G. M. appointed to supervise them, who was not re- 
 ceived very cordially by it. This feeling did not improve with 
 the increase of the lodge. The opposition did not appear at first 
 to be so much against the man appointed by the G. Master, as 
 against the officer. The great difficulty in giving general satis- 
 faction induced G. M. Joseph Brown to allow the P. G.'s of the 
 district to select the officer, to be recommended to him for ap- 
 pointment. This course on the part of the G. Master was con- 
 ciliatory and wise. It had the effect designed of superinducing 
 a corresponding spirit. It did not, however, render the office of 
 District Deputy G. M. a desirable one. The regulation, how- 
 ever, was a good one under the circumstances, and at the time 
 it was introduced was a politic device. It was continued until 
 29 
 
450 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 1847, when G. M. Joseph S. Sanger, for some satisfactory reason,, 
 refused to appoint the P. G. selected, and exercised his constitu- 
 tional prerogative independently. He appointed a brother 
 named W. C. Meredith, D. D. G. Master for the Pittsburgh 
 District. The lodges, then numbering six in the district, re- 
 fused to receive or recognize him as D. D. G. M. The appoint- 
 ment was reported to the G. Lodge, and was approved by that 
 body. The refusal of the district to receive the District Deputy 
 G. M. was also reported to the G. Lodge, which had no alterna- 
 tive but to enforce obedience to the law. Charges were preferred 
 against the offending lodges, which were referred to a committee, 
 by which they were investigated and sustained. The result was 
 the forfeiture of the charters of Nos. 9, 24, 45, 64, 182, and 241, 
 on Oct. 18th, 1847. 
 
 These lodges remained out of the Order for the official term 
 of the D. D. G. M. whom they had rejected. At the expiration 
 of his official term, they petitioned the G. Lodge for reinstate- 
 ment. The lodges offending had not surrendered their respective 
 charters and effects. The G. Lodge, when informed of this fact, 
 on the 25th of August, 1848, authorized D. D. G. M. Geo. R. 
 McFarlane, of Blair county, to demand and receive in its behalf,, 
 from said lodges, their respective charters and property required 
 by the laws. The several lodges promptly complied with this 
 requisition, when an immediate restoration of the charters of all 
 the lodges to their former standing was authorized by the G. 
 Lodge, on the 18th day of October, 1848. Their funds and all 
 other property surrendered, were also restored. It is due to the 
 truth of history and to the preservation of important facts, that 
 the circumstances and agencies through which this happy ad- 
 justment of an unfortunate conflict between the G. Lodge and 
 this important subordinate district was effected, should be set 
 forth. In justice to the lodges, the following extracts have been 
 taken from D. D. G. M. McFarlane's report to the G. Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania on the subject, Yol. 2, page 252, Journal G. L. 
 of Pa. 
 
 The D. D. G. M. remarks that, " The charters and property 
 declared forfeited a year since, were never actually or legally 
 demanded, until demanded by me, and then they were promptly 
 surrendered. Bro. Meredith, D. D. G. M., attempted to carry off 
 the charter of Iron City Lodge by force, and did carry away 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 their charge books. The charters and property of the other 
 lodges he demanded by letter, which, as a matter of course, he 
 did not receive. A demand made in the name of the G. Lodge 
 for these charters and properties, by any Odd Fellow not per- 
 sonally objectionable, would have been complied with at any 
 time since the suspension. I have every reason to believe that 
 the work of the Order has been faithfully adhered to during the 
 suspension, and the brethren have been careful to avoid giving 
 additional cause of offence to the G. Lodge ; that the members 
 of the suspended lodges, as a body, are men to whose keep- 
 ing the interests and the honor of the Order may be safely 
 confided, notwithstanding their past delinquency, the result 
 rather of impulse and thoughtlessness than of deliberation or 
 mature judgment. I have met them all, with the exception of 
 Gomer Lodge, No. 64, at their lodge rooms; while my inter- 
 course with the members of No. 64, personally, has satisfied me 
 that they are no exception to the general rule. I can confi- 
 dently say, that nowhere have I sat in better conducted lodges, 
 or met with Odd Fellows with whom I could more readily fra- 
 ternize ; nowhere have I witnessed a more elevated attachment 
 to the Order, a greater interest in its prosperity, or a more 
 ardent desire to participate in its privileges and benefits.. 
 Most sincerely do I wish that you, my brethren, could have been 
 present at the surrender of the charters and final closing of the 
 lodge rooms in Pittsburgh and Alleghany City; could have 
 witnessed, as I did, the sincere regret, the unaffected sorrow, the 
 manly grief with which they saw the portals of the temple 
 where they had been used to worship together at the shrine of 
 Friendship, Love and Truth, closed upon them, for a brief, yet 
 uncertain period. You would have felt, as I feel, ardently desirous 
 for a re-opening of their hall, and a speedy restoration of our 
 erring brethren to a full and free participation in the privileges 
 of our beloved Order." 
 
 After the reading and adoption of this report, the petition 
 asking for a restoration of the charters was referred to a special 
 committee. The committee was judiciously selected, and was 
 composed of some of the best members of the Grand Body. 
 Bro. A. B. Grosh was the chairman. As an evidence of the 
 spirit of conciliation which animated the committee, the follow- 
 ing closing paragraph of their report is annexed. After rebuking 
 
452 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the request to have the honors of office, claimed to have been 
 obtained by the service of officers during their suspension, which 
 they ignore out and out, the committee remark, " All else is freely 
 forgiven, cheerfully granted, joyously concurred in. Let the past 
 be but as a troubled dream, and mother and daughters unitedly 
 awakening from the darkness of this long night of sorrow and 
 sadness, arise and put on their beautiful garments, and shine 
 forth once more in the glorious light of Odd Fellowship, mutu- 
 ally rejoicing in each other's affection and prosperity." 
 
 As a remarkable and highly commendable incident of this 
 Pittsburgh experience, the fact is worthy of publicity, that the 
 lodges continued their work uninterruptedly, and all applications 
 to them for relief were promptly and liberally met. They never 
 availed of their difficulties to excuse themselves when a needy 
 and deserving brother asked for relief. This lodge, No. 9, con- 
 tinued, after its restoration, to prosper, until 1860, when it sur- 
 rendered its charter. Afterwards, in 1862, a proper application 
 was made for a restoration of charter, which was granted, and 
 the lodge is now highly prosperous. Number of members, 92. 
 Funds, $3331.23. 
 
 Philomath ean Lodge, No. 10, was chartered December 29th, 
 1828, upon the petition of Charles Eowand, "W. M. Tonner, 
 Henry Birchall, James Giiford, Win. Witworth, Robinson Law- 
 son, Wm. Batton, John Hart, and Ebenezer Forsyth. The 
 name of W. M. Tonner was stricken off before the grant was 
 made. The lodge was instituted Feb'y 14th, 1829, by G. M. 
 Isaac Brown and P. G. M. Thomas Small, in Germantown, in 
 the county of Philadelphia, about six miles from the city, now 
 the 22d ward. No. 10 has been one of the most successful lodges 
 in Pennsylvania, never failing for a moment in its career since 
 its organization, in the discharge of its obligations to its mem- 
 bers, or in its duty to the Order. It has not been more true 
 and faithful to its practical illustration of the principles of Odd 
 Fellowship, than it has been a just source of pride and congratu- 
 lation to the membership for its prosperity aud decided success 
 as an Odd Fellows' lodge. This lodge owns a large and commo- 
 dious hall, and has also an invested fund of $17,530.48. Its 
 membership numbers 573. It was the first lodge which carried 
 through, without embarrassment, its undertaking to build an Odd 
 Fellows' Hall for its exclusive occupancy. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 453 
 
 Kensington Lodge, No. 11, was located in Kensington Hall, 
 with Nos. 4 and 7, and its charter bears date February 25th, 
 1829. The names of the petitioners do not appear in the minutes 
 of the G. Lodge. There is some discrepancy between the minutes 
 and the charter itself. The date of the charter ought to be 
 satisfactory evidence of the time it was issued, but the proceedings 
 of the G. Lodge of February 23d show otherwise. The record 
 in the G. Secretary's office fixes Feb. 27th, 1829, as the time it 
 was instituted. The original minutes book has been lost, it is 
 therefore impossible to harmonize these dates. It is, however, 
 unimportant, as the dates are sufficiently close to avoid any con- 
 flict of material character. The career of the lodge has been 
 uninterruptedly prosperous and fortunate. It has always 
 promptly met its engagements as a lodge, has been financially 
 strong and able, and has with a liberal and magnanimous spirit 
 always heard the appeals made to its bounty. And what perhaps 
 is the great secret of its success, it has been managed well by 
 brothers who have watched its welfare and studied its interests. 
 It has a capital fund of $10,047.39, and its membership reaches 
 380. 
 
 Jefferson Lodge, No. 12, is located in the Kensington District 
 with Nos. 4, 7, and 11, and was chartered February 23d, 
 1829. The exact date of its institution does not appear on the 
 minutes, nor can it be precisely ascertained. It was, however, 
 about the time it was chartered. The lodge had a fortunate 
 career for several years. It had to encounter the anti-Masonic 
 crusade against secret societies, which reached its height in 
 Pennsylvania about this time, as well as the financial crisis of 
 1837, which oppressed beneficial societies as well as individuals, 
 carrying general bankruptcy in its train. No. 12 was compelled 
 to succumb to this storm, and surrendered its charter. After 
 several years of suspension, the charter was restored April 20th, 
 1846. The lodge was re-instituted April 26th, 1846, on the 27th 
 anniversary of the Order in the United States. It has since 
 continued in successful operation. Its treasury amounts to 
 $5457.23 ; membership, 312. 
 
 Philadelphia Lodge, No. 13, was chartered upon the petition 
 of Anson Jones, B. Buckman, George "W. Twibill, Charles Oak- 
 ford, Wm. S. Hathaway, J. E. Erwin, Aaron Oakfbrd, Kobert 
 Allen, John Simmons, "William L. Norton, Anthony Seybert, 
 
454 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Samuel Brick, A. B. Lockwood, Geo. Jeffries, James Bolland, C. 
 Corral, Win. Sullivan, A. Gaskill, Eobert Scott, Wm. E. Tatum, 
 Nathaniel W . Miller, John Brooks, Stephen H. Simmons, George 
 W. Burgess, John Faeira, J. E. James, Thomas Pettit, James Rei- 
 meck, Geo. Neilson, William Torrance and Rudolph H. Bartle, 
 P. G. M., all members of Washington Lodge, 3STo. 2. These 
 names have been obtained from the original withdrawal cards, 
 which have been preserved in a scrap-book. The lodge was lo- 
 cated at Seventh and Chestnut Streets, and was instituted March 
 28th, 1829. It has been a success from the beginning. Its records 
 iind the preservation of its official papers have been most com- 
 pletely cared for, which example is worthy of imitation. The 
 lodge has generously placed at the disposal of the historiographer, 
 through its honored Secretary, P. G. P. Geo. Sligo, all of its 
 archives, including the 31 cards of the original applicants. By 
 special resolution of the lodge, some valuable manuscripts have 
 also been placed in our possession, for which we tender grateful 
 acknowledgments. 
 
 Wildey Lodge, No. 14, was chartered June 29th, 1829, upon 
 the petition of a number of members of Rising Sun Lodge, 
 No. 8, to be located at Frankford, a village then in the county of 
 Philadelphia, containing about 1500 inhabitants. The names of 
 the petitioners do not appear in the G. Lodge journal. It was 
 instituted July 2d, 1829, by P. G. Masters Small and Pry or, and 
 has prospered ever since. This lodge testified its high sense of 
 appreciation and gratitude to the founder of Odd Fellowship in 
 the United States, by assuming his name, and was the first " Wil- 
 dey " Lodge in the United States. It was chartered about the 
 time Bro. Wildey, then G. Sire, visited Philadelphia, for the pur- 
 pose of organizing the G. Encampment of Pennsylvania, which 
 was accomplished on June 17th, 1829. On this occasion Bro. 
 Wildey was entertained by the G. Lodge of Pa. by a public 
 dinner. Many of the first members being Catholics, Wildey 
 Lodge did not work with harmony. Finally, the Catholic Church, 
 under a general anathema against secret societies, enforced its 
 discipline, by denying to its members who belonged to them, its 
 favor and spiritual rites in case of death, the effect of which 
 was to gradually withdraw all the members of that Church from 
 the lodge, s'o that but few of that denomination were left to the 
 lodge and to the Order. This lodge continues to prosper, having 
 at this time 317 members, and a fund of $4825.15. 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 455 
 
 Philanthropic Lodge, No. 15, has had an eventful career of 
 now nearly a half century, during which period it has experi- 
 enced severe trials of adversity as well as prosperity. It is diffi- 
 cult to say whether the former is greater than the latter ; but it is 
 <mite certain that the experience of life demonstrates that adver- 
 sity makes people wiser and better generally than they were, 
 and awakens a sense of dependence upon the Creator, which im- 
 proves and elevates the heart. The lodge was chartered July 
 13th, 1829, upon the application of Andrew Anderson, - - Ham- 
 mer, Amos Matthews, Albert G. Bird, Isaac Holden, Henry P. 
 Hopkins, Joseph Haas, John Cochran and Horatio Gr. Jones, to 
 be located at Seventh and Chestnut Streets, in the city. It has 
 stood up firmly against its trials, having paid all its obligations, 
 except for the short period of six months, during which it was 
 compelled to suspend the payment of sick benefits, in consequence 
 of the failure of the United States Bank of Pa., in 1810, which 
 swept away its funds, and embarrassed it for several years. The 
 following extract from an address before the lodge, by Wm. C. 
 Flanigan, a member of the same, in 1870, entitled " A retrospect 
 of thirty-six years' membership in Philanthropic Lodge, No. 15," 
 is worthy of a place in this connection. It will inform the pre- 
 sent members of the Order, from a reliable source, what have 
 been the trials and struggles of early Odd Fellows in building 
 up the Order, and how dearly, therefore, they ought to prize that 
 rich heritage which they now enjoy. " Our lodge," he remarks, 
 *" continued to grow in favor and usefulness for some time, but it 
 has not always been blest with seasons of sunshine and of growth. 
 She has had her dark days, as well as some others ; seasons of 
 poverty, when it required the energies of stout hearts and willing 
 hands to sustain her; when it was not always convenient as now, 
 to < draw orders for the brothers entitled,' but when the little knot 
 of brothers would gather in a circle, out with their wallets, and 
 each contribute his mite for the sustenance of the sick brother. 
 You who have come here within the last fifteen or twenty years, 
 to find a full treasury sufficient to meet all wants, little know of 
 the sacrifices of those who were before you, in order to erect the 
 foundation for this comfortable ' PILE.' Some of us have been 
 schooled in those days of trial, and know the value of our pre- 
 sent possessions. Do not then look disdainfully upon us, when 
 we, knowing the past, are jealous of the future, and desire to 
 protect that future from want in all time to come." 
 
450 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 These words of wisdom were like the seed of the husbandman 
 sown upon good ground, they fell upon willing and grateful 
 hearts, germinated and brought forth an abundant harvest, 
 No. 15 has for the last thirty years steadily increased in funds 
 and membership, and is now one of the best lodges in the State. 
 It has 339 members, and $20,142.71 in its treasury. 
 
 Harmony Lodge, No. 16, was chartered on the petition of 
 Wm. C. Rudman, Wm. Wilkinson, James Goodman, James S. 
 Taylor, Wm. Fox, Kichard G. Lanning, and John Graff, on July 
 27th, 1829, and located in the Grand Lodge room, Seventh and 
 Chestnut Streets, city. It was instituted August 5th, 1829. 
 Although located in the city, the membership was generally 
 drawn from the Northern Liberties, a densely settled district ad-, 
 joining the northern boundary of the old city limits. In examin- 
 ing the roll of members of the lodge from its minute book, we 
 find that they were drawn from the best classes of society, con- 
 sisting of the most active professional and business men in that 
 locality. It subsequently changed its place of meeting to the hall 
 in that district, where it continued its lodge work until January 
 31st, 1838, when, under the pressure of the memorable financial 
 depression, it was compelled to surrender its charter. This was 
 done, however, in good order ; for although its treasury was de- 
 pleted, the members were celebrated for punctuality and regularity 
 of attendance upon lodge duties. Desirous of continuing their 
 membership in the Order, they submitted a proposition to Phila- 
 delphia Lodge, No. 13, to unite with that lodge. Philadelphia 
 Lodge was financially better off, but was sadly deficient in active 
 and zealous members. The attendance was meagre, and the in- 
 terest in lodge meetings was consequently dull and declining. 
 The proposition was accepted, and No. 16, after issuing cards to 
 its members, surrendered its charter ; the cards were deposited 
 in No. 13. Thus the two lodges were consolidated. Bro. John 
 C. Yeager, afterwards G. M. of the State, was the N. G. of No. 
 16 at this time, to whose diplomacy and management most pro- 
 bably was due the success of this measure, which preserved both 
 lodges to the Order. No. 16, in 1S46, was re-instituted, its 
 charter restored, and since has had an uninterrupted career of 
 success. It now numbers 252 members, and has $8576.05. 
 
 Northern Liberty Lodge, No. 17, was chartered August 13th, 
 1829, upon the petition of William A. Ennis, John Saunders, Na- 
 
ODD FELLOWSHIP IN PENNSYLVANIA. 457 
 
 thaniel Estlin, James Wilson, and Thomas R. Baird, to meet in 
 the Kensington Hall. It was duly instituted by D. G. M. Isaac 
 Brown, August 24th, 1829. The lodge from the start seemed to 
 have a precarious existence, indeed the times were unfavorable 
 to success ; besides, it soon got into difficulties with the G. Lodge 
 in reference to the payment of the percentage, producing insub- 
 ordination, which resulted in the suspension of the Y. G. of the 
 lodge and five other members for three months. This is another 
 evidence of the summary manner in which the G. Lodge then 
 enforced obedience and respect for its authority. Yol. 1, Journal 
 G. L. of Pa., page 156. An unsuccessful effort was made at the 
 next meeting of the G. Lodge, to have the resolution of suspen- 
 sion reconsidered. On the 25th of November, 1833, the G. M. re- 
 ported that Lodge No. 17 had suspended meeting as a lodge. 
 This report was referred to the past and present G. Lodge Offi- 
 cers. At the meeting of the G. Lodge, held February 17th, 1834, 
 the G. Sec. William Skinner reported that he had received the 
 charter and charge books of Lodge No. 17. The charter was 
 subsequently restored May 13th, 1846, and the lodge re-instituted 
 June 3d, 1846. It has been in successful operation since then to 
 the present time, with 228 members, and $3517.07 in the 
 treasury. 
 
 La Fayette Lodge, No. 18, was chartered August 13th, 1829 t 
 upon the petition of Jesse R. Burden, Jacob Hubeli, John Oak- 
 ford, Marshal Sprogel, James Boon, and Samuel O'Conner, to 
 meet in the G. Lodge room, Seventh and Chestnut Streets, City. 
 It was instituted 1829, and at once took high rank in the Order, 
 Its extraordinary success excited the envy of some of the older 
 lodges, which feeling was exhibited in characterizing it as the 
 "silk stocking lodge." It was composed of determined and 
 energetic men, a material not easily discouraged or driven from 
 a good purpose, and which never steps aside to avoid or shun 
 opposition from prejudice or envy. Success was the result. No. 
 18 has maintained its prosperity to the present time. P. G. M. 
 Peter Fritz has been a member of this lodge for many years, 
 always active and attentive at its meetings. It has 101 members, 
 with a large fund, $7709.80, in the treasury. 
 
 The last four lodges, Nos. 15, 16, 17 and 18, opened almost 
 simultaneously, owing to the excitement growing out of the diffi- 
 culty with Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, which was then agitating 
 
458 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 i 
 
 the Order in Pennsylvania, or rather in the city of Philadelphia, 
 (for there was but little of the Order at that time beyond the 
 city), and to the impetus given to it by the prospect of new and 
 commodious accommodations in the new hall in Fifth Street 
 below Walnut, which was then nearing completion, and into 
 which the several city lodges moved June, 1830. Among the 
 petitioners for these charters will be found many honored names 
 still familiar to Philadelphians. Only a few of them survive; 
 the organizations, however, which they set in motion are their 
 lasting monuments. 
 
 Amity Lodge, No. 19, was chartered Oct. 12th, 1829, on the 
 application of Win. E. Tatem, John Dull, B. E. Evans, T. 
 Lochrari, and Geo. W. Burgess, to be located at Seventh and 
 Chestnut Streets, and was instituted Oct. 31, 1829, by D. G. M. 
 Isaac Brown. It has had a prosperous career, and continues in 
 . successful work, never failing in the discharge of duty and obli- 
 gations to its membership. Its members now number 255, and 
 its treasury exceeds $5000. 
 
 Miners' Lodge, No. 20, the last chartered in the year 1829, 
 was authorized by law, December 14th, 1829, and was instituted 
 immediately, by G. M. John G. Potts, and was located in Potts- 
 ville, Schuylkill county. The lodge was organized by men en- 
 gaged in mining anthracite coal, as the name indicates. It 
 has passed through severe trials, but weathered every storm, 
 and maintained its organization without a break in its offi- 
 cial life. The membership is nearly 100, and though the trea- 
 sury is light, the Lodge owns a beautiful cemetery, valued at 
 $40,000. 
 
 And thus we complete a roll which has no parallel in Odd 
 Fellowship. These are the lodges which grew up on their own 
 roots, without waiting for the grafting process of later times. To 
 them Peniisylvanians must ever look with honest exultation as 
 the mother lodges of the State, and rejoice that they have never 
 soiled the banners which they have borne for half a century. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Pennsylvania was the third State to unite with the Wildey 
 organization ; but as all three were obtained in June, 1823, it may 
 "be assumed that Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania 
 came in simultaneously. At all events, Pennsylvania, which 
 came in the last as to the day, was, and always has been, the first 
 in importance. The G. Lodge of Pennsylvania I. O. O. F. was 
 chartered by the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. on the 15th of 
 June, 1823. It was opened in Philadelphia, June 27th, 1823, by 
 G. M. Thomas Wildey, who installed the following officers: 
 Aaron Nichols, G. M.; Thomas Small, D. G. M.; Benjamin Rich- 
 ardson, G. W.; William H. Matthews, G. Sec.; Joseph Richard- 
 eon, G. Treas. The G. Charter was formally delivered to the G. 
 Master after the installation ; and thus the G. Lodge of Pennsyl- 
 vania, which covers a mighty area of Odd Fellowship, sprung 
 into existence. 
 
 CHARTER OF THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYL- 
 VANIA. 
 
 ORDER OF INDEPENDENT ODD FELLOWS 
 
 To all whom it may concern : The Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 and of the United States, by authority of a Grand Charter granted 
 by the Duke of York Lodge, held in the Borough of Preston, 
 County Palatine of Lancaster, England, doth hereby grant this 
 Grand Charter to five Past Grands of the Order of Independent 
 Odd Fellows, residing in the State of Pennsylvania, to form a 
 Grand Lodge for the said State, for the encouragement and sup- 
 port of brothers of said Order when on travel or otherwise. And 
 the said Grand Lodge, being duly formed, is hereby authorized 
 and empowered to grant Warrants or Dispensations to true and 
 faithful brothers to open lodges according to the laws of Odd 
 Fellowship, and to administer to the Past Grands all the privi- 
 leges and benefits appertaining to the Grand Lodge, and to enact 
 by-]aws for the government of the lodge. Provided, always, that 
 
 (459) 
 
460 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the said Grand Lodge do act according to the Order, and in con- 
 junction with and obedience to the Grand Lodge of Maryland 
 and of the United States, adhering to and supporting the Consti- 
 tution of the same. In default thereof this charter may be sus- 
 pended or taken away, at the discretion of the said Grand Lodge. 
 And further, the Grand Lodge (in consideration of the due per- 
 formance of the above) do bind themselves to repair all damage 
 or destruction of this charter, whether by fire or other accident, 
 provided evidence be given that there is no illegal concealment 
 or wilful destruction of the same. In witness whereof we have 
 displayed the colors of our Order, and subscribed our names and 
 affixed the seal of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the 
 United States hereto, this thirteenth day of June, A. D. one 
 thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. 
 
 THOMAS WILDEY, G. M. 
 
 JOHN WELCH, D. G. M. 
 r gEAL -i THOMAS MITCHELL, G. W. 
 
 JOHN PAWSON ENTWISLE, G. S. 
 
 JOHN BOYD, G. G. 
 
 WM. LARKAM, G. C. 
 
 Past Grands. 
 
 DUNCAN McCoEMiCK, THOMAS SCOTCHBURN, 
 
 JAMES SEED, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 
 
 JOHN NELSON, WILLIAM ANSTICE, 
 
 WILLIAM TONG. 
 
 The G. Lodge of Md. assumed its position as a State G. 
 Lodge after the session of Nov. 22d, 1824, and the G. Lodge of 
 the U. S. was preliminarily organized Jan. 15th, 1825, and for- 
 mally installed 30th of March, 1825. This Grand body, now 
 appropriately titled and organized, having received a new charter 
 from the Manchester Unity in England, dated May 15th, 1826, 
 granted a new charter to the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, dated 
 May 1st, 1827, under which it now acts, in lieu of the original. 
 
 We have ventured to contradict the printed journal, which 
 contains the name of Benjamin Daffin as the first G. See* 
 of the G. Lodge of Pa., and proceed to assign our reasons for so 
 doing. First, Bro. Benjamin Daffin, who is recorded in the 
 printed journal as first G. Sec., was initiated into the Order June 
 24th, 1823, only three days before the G. Lodge of Pa. was insti- 
 tuted by Thomas Wildey, G. M. It is not therefore probable 
 that an initiate would be taken for a Grand Officer, who was 
 necessarily required to be a Past Grand. Secondly, there has. 
 
BENJAMIN BAFFIN. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 461 
 
 been discovered in the G. Secretary's office, evidence of a corres- 
 pondence addressed to the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. 
 dated December 16th, 1823, signed by Wm. H. Matthews, 
 Secretary. Third, other evidence exists in the Secretary's office, 
 in the form of a pocket manual, published in October 1829, in 
 I which the names of all the first G. Officers appear, among which 
 lis that of "William H. Matthews, G. Secretary. The evidence 
 places the fact beyond doubt. In addition to which we have the 
 confirmatory impression of Bro. Daffin himself of the error, and 
 his cordial acquiescence in its correction. 
 
 BENJAMIN DAFFIN. 
 
 Benjamin Daffin was undoubtedly the second G. Secretary, 
 by election, which took place November 15th, 1824, and he so 
 attests the minutes. He served out the regular term of his 
 office, and gave general satisfaction. He was a zealous member 
 of the Order at that early day, and continued to be a valuable 
 acquisition until the McMahon controversy in Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, when he unfortunately sympathized with the disloyal 
 members. As a consequence, he was expelled with his refractory 
 associates. In the meantime, in 1830, having made his arrange- 
 ments to that effect, he removed to Baltimore, Maryland. He 
 was out of the Order in that State for several years, in conse- 
 quence of the penalty he had incurred in Pennsylvania. With 
 the aid of G. S. "Wildey and G. Sec. Eidgely, he made his peace 
 with the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, by which he was reinstated 
 and granted a card. He was thus enabled, by permission of the 
 G. Lodge of Md., to join Marion Lodge, No. 8, of that jurisdic- 
 tion, of which he was an active and useful member until his 
 death. He died in 1877, beloved by his lodge and Encamp- 
 ment, and revered by all who knew him as a venerable Patriarch 
 of that jurisdiction. He was not only a member of Marion Lodge, 
 No. 8, but also of Jerusalem Encampment, No. 1, of the jurisdic- 
 tion of Maryland, at the time of his death, in the 74th year of his 
 age. We are indebted to a friend for a good likeness of him, 
 taken a year before his death, which presents him as a well pre- 
 served man. He was greatly respected by all who knew him, 
 and was for many years, during the decline of life, in comfortable 
 circumstances. In company with P. G. S. Stuart and G. Sec. 
 
462 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Ridgely, G. Sire Stokes called at his dwelling on North High 
 Street, Baltimore, to confer with him on the subject of his posi- 
 tion on the printed record as first G. Sec. of the G. Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania. He found him in apparent good health and 
 spirits. The circumstances of the case, when brought to his mind, 
 readily impressed him with the error of the record, to the correc- 
 tion of which he gave his cordial acquiescence. At the instance 
 of G. Sec. Ridgely, it was deemed advisable that the facts should 
 be brought to the attention of the G. Lodge of the State, and that 
 its official assent should be had to the correction of this error of 
 record. Accordingly, the following proceeding was had in that 
 Grand Body on the subject : 
 
 " In Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, May Session, 1876. 
 "Whereas, by reference to the first proceedings, Vol. 1, page 1 to 
 4 inclusive, of the journal of the G. Lodge, from December 
 13th, 1823, to November 8th, 1824, the minutes are attested by 
 B. Daffin as Secretary. And whereas, research has disclosed 
 the fact that one William H. Matthews was chosen the first 
 G. Secretary of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania. Therefore, Re- 
 solved, that in order to correct what appears upon the face of 
 the record to be a glaring inconsistency, and for the purpose of 
 preserving and maintaining the truth of history, that this G. 
 Lodge is satisfied, from the evidence furnished, that William H. 
 Matthews was the first G. Secretary of the G. Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania, elected at the institution thereof, June 27th, 1823. Re- 
 solved, that in making this correction, this G. Lodge disclaims 
 all intention of disrespect to the worthy brother whose zeal and 
 devotion in the early struggle of the Order prompted him to 
 volunteer his assistance in maintaining an organization, in which 
 the officer entrusted with that duty seemed to exhibit such evi- 
 dent indifference and lukewarmness." 
 
 It does not follow that Bro. Daffin has lost credit of any kind 
 by this correction. Matthews was G. Secretary indeed, by 
 election, but Daffin was in constant performance of the duties 
 of that place. He was the de facto G. Secretary, attending the 
 meetings and keeping the minutes. The fact is that Matthews 
 was only the nominal officer, and although he may have signed 
 one or two papers in that capacity, had nothing to do with the 
 performance of a Secretary's duty. To Daffin then belongs the 
 honor of performing the duties of G. Secretary of the G. Lodge 
 of Pennsylvania during its first two terms. This recollection 
 always gave him pleasure, as it linked his name with the begin- 
 ning of the greatest local Grand Body known to the Order. 
 
THENICHOLS MONUMENT ERECTED BY THEGRANQ& SUBORDINATE LODGES OF PENNSYLVANIA I.O.O.C 
 CHAMBERSBURGH. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 AARON NICHOLS. 
 
 Aaron Nichols, the first G. Master of the G. Lodge of Penn- 
 sylvania, was of English origin, was born in 1778, and was a 
 saw-maker by trade. At what time he emigrated to the United 
 States, and when or where he united with the Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows, is unknown. The G. Lodge having been instituted in June, 
 1823, it follows that Bro. Nichols, who was then 45 years of age, 
 must have been initiated several years previously. He died in 
 Chambersburg, in 1856, after a well-spent life. He lies in the 
 beautiful cemetery near Chambersburg, by the side of his 
 wife. His brethren have marked the place of sepulture by a 
 beautiful brown-stone monument, which has been appropriately 
 inscribed and is preserved with religious care. The Order is in- 
 debted for this memorial chiefly to the persevering exertions of 
 J. H. McCauley, P. G. M., and the Grand and subordinate 
 lodges of the State caused it to be erected. Columbus Lodge,- 
 No. 75, in . Chambersburg, takes pride in keeping it in order r 
 and visiting brethren are often taken by its members upon a 
 pilgrimage to the grave. This is a just tribute to one whose 
 memory is held in great veneration, as the first G. Master of the 
 State. 
 
 Bro. McCauley, P. G. M., furnishes the following sketch of 
 him: "Bro. Aaron Nichols, P. G. M., resided in Chambersburg 
 many years, and worked at his trade as a saw-maker. He was 
 an industrious, honest and upright man, universally respected 
 and esteemed. He was an Englishman, and although somew T hat 
 brusque in manner, was as well behaved as his countrymen 
 generally. His vice, if it may be so called, was his fondness for 
 the social glass at lodge meetings. In this habit his fellow 
 members generally indulged while the practice prevailed. In 
 personal appearance Bro. Nichols resembled Bro. Wildey, and 
 was large and corpulent." We have inserted an engraving of 
 his monument, but have not been able to obtain a likeness of the 
 brother. 
 
 The annual meeting of the G. Body was first fixed for the 
 first Monday of February, 1824. Subsequently, in adopting the 
 constitution of the G. Lodge, the 13th day of June, which was- 
 the accepted anniversary of the Order, was fixed by law as the 
 period of the annual meeting. There had been during the first 
 
464 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 year of Bro. Nichols' official life, but little movement in the G. 
 Lodge. Such was the want of interest felt by the officers and 
 members, that no election of officers took place at the end of the 
 year, nor had any constitution been adopted. Steps were accord- 
 ingly taken in that direction. A constitution was adopted Oct. 
 llth, 1824, and an election for Grand Officers took place on Nov. 
 15th, 1824. Thomas Small was elected G. M. to succeed Ero. 
 Nichols, and Benjamin Daffin, G. Secretary. 
 
 THOMAS SMALL. 
 
 Bro. Small was re-elected at the end of his term of office, 
 serving until June 13th, 1826. He was popular, and de- 
 servedly so, as his zeal, industry and devotion to the cause were 
 characteristic of a general business habit. He was D. G. M. 
 under G. M. Nichols, and succeeded him in office. Like most 
 of his contemporaries in the Order, he w^as an Englishman, and 
 was engaged in the trade of a cabinet-maker. He was the father 
 of Gen. W. F. Small of Philadelphia, who is generally and favor- 
 ably remembered. Bro. T. Small was the intimate personal 
 friend and companion of Thomas Wildey, and was his colleague 
 on the Annual Moveable Committee of the G. L. of the U. S. in the 
 official visitations of that body to the several State jurisdictions. 
 He was a man of excellent judgment and intelligence, and was 
 sought out by G. M. Wildey as an acquisition, when the Order 
 greatly needed such men. Thomas Small had faith in the future 
 of Odd Fellowship, and was impelled forward in his zeal by this 
 incentive. He had also faith in "Wildey, whose wish was a law 
 with him, and faith in his mission as the father of a great brother- 
 hood ; he was also a zealous laborer. He was the first G. Repre- 
 sentative of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania in the G. Lodge of the 
 U. S., appearing in that G. Body at the April session of 1826, 
 whilst G. Master of the State. John Boyd of Maryland had been 
 the very acceptable proxy Representative of the Grand Lodge of 
 Pa., up to the appearance of G. Rep. Small, on this occasion. 
 This session of 1826 was memorable, from the fact that it was the 
 first at which the title of Grand Sire appears to have been assumed. 
 
 Bro. Small was chosen G. Secretary in June, 1827, in which 
 position he served until June, 1829. He was again returned as 
 G. Representative to the G. L. of the U. S. at the session of 1828. 
 
THOMAS SMALL. 
 
SAMUEL PRYOR. 
 
THE OB AND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 465 
 
 The G. Lodge of Pennsylvania has always appreciated her right 
 of representation in the Supreme Grand Body, not only for the 
 high privilege it enjoys as an integral member of the federal 
 union, but for the honor of contributing her experience to the 
 counsels of that legislative Grand Body. Thus it has from 1826 
 to the present time, now nearly fifty years, never failed to be 
 represented in that honorable body. The subject of this memoir 
 as G. Secretary, contributed much to the proper organization of 
 that important arid responsible office of the Order. In the grow- 
 ing condition of an institution such as ours, there is no more 
 useful officer than a G. Secretary, and when he is competent and 
 faithful, the body which he serves is fortunate in having placed 
 the right man in the right place. G. Sec. Small served out his 
 term with honor and credit, and continued to be an active and 
 useful Odd Fellow, until advancing age required his gradual 
 retirement from active life. He died in Philadelphia, honored 
 .and revered as one of the contemporaries of Father Wildey. 
 
 Rudolph H. Bartle succeeded Thomas Small, as G. M. He 
 ivas elected June 13th, 1826. He also was of English origin, and 
 was a master builder and contractor by occupation. He was a man 
 of peculiar energy of character, firm and decisive in his opinions, 
 and of clear, discriminating and intelligent conclusions. He was 
 social and hospitable in his nature, and enjoyed lodge conviviality 
 when properly disciplined and controlled. He was highly re- 
 spected as a citizen, and stood well in his business. He took 
 great interest in the military organizations of the city, holding 
 the rank of Colonel among the State soldiery. His name is well 
 remembered in the Order, and his memory is highly cherished as 
 one of our noble and worthy P. G. Officers. 
 
 SAMUEL PBYOB. 
 
 Samuel Pry or is the sole surviving P. G. M. of the first decade 
 in Pennsylvania. His administration of the office of G. Master 
 marked a new and important era in the Order in the State. He 
 was born in Philadelphia, July 25th, 1796. He has exceeded 
 the ordinary length of life, and still lives, a well preserved man, 
 with the exception of his sight, which fails him. His mental 
 faculties are good, and his memory is vigorous, especially con- 
 cerning the annals of early Odd Fellowship. His recital of the 
 30 
 
466 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 early history of the lodges and their trials and struggles, is ex- 
 ceedingly entertaining ; his narratives of the incidents and sur- 
 roundings of the " Harmonies " indulged seem to rekindle his 
 early manhood and make him forget his weight of years. He was 
 initiated in Washington Lodge, No. 2, Philadelphia, April 13th, 
 1824, which held its meeting at that time in Bread Street above 
 Arch. He was one of the charter members of Wayne Lodge, 
 No. 3, instituted Dec. 26th, 1824, in which Lodge he three times 
 passed the chair of N. G. He afterwards became a member of 
 Kensington Lodge, No. 11 ; returned to No. 3, and subsequently 
 joined Philadelphia Lodge, No. 13. He became a member of the 
 Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, November 2d, 1825, in which 
 body he acted as G. Sec.^>. t., from Dec. 7th, 1825, to June 13th,. 
 
 1826, when he succeeded to that office. He served in this posi- 
 tion until June llth, 1827, when he was elected G. Master of the 
 State to succeed Rudolph H. Bartle. The journals of the times, 
 present him as an active and useful member. 
 
 He was by birth and education a Quaker, a man of culture^ 
 of easy and affable manners, and of good address. He was pop- 
 ular and highly esteemed in the G. Lodge. Under instructions 
 from that body, its G. Representatives nominated him for Grand 
 Sire, at the May session of the G. L. IT. S., 1829. He received 
 the complimentary vote of his State ; Bro. Wildey being re-elected 
 for a second term of four years. He was afterwards, June the 8th, 
 1829, elected G. Secretary of the G. L. of IT. S., and served in that 
 capacity until June 13th, 1831. He acted as G. Secretary p. t. 
 of the G. L. of the U. S. at the September session, 1832, which, 
 in consequence of the prevailing epidemic, continued but for a 
 single day. He was the first native who occupied the G. Master's 
 chair in Pennsylvania, and his election was considered a triumph 
 of the moral over the social element of the Order. Soon after 
 the convivial practice lost its predominance, and its fall followed. 
 In 1842 Bro. Pryor removed to the city of New York, engaged 
 in the plumbing business in co-partnership with P. D. G. Sire 
 John Pearce. He joined Siloam Lodge, No. 210, of that city. 
 He also attached himself to the G. Lodge of the State, and took 
 a deep interest in the Order in that jurisdiction for several years. 
 Siloam Lodge surrendered its charter in 1851, and P. G. M. 
 Pryor now holds a withdrawal card from that lodge. 
 
 The minutes of Washington Lodge, No. 2, of August 24th, 
 
 1827, contain the following resolution : " Resolved, That Wash- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 467 
 
 ington Lodge, No. 2, disapproves tlie continuance of the bar, and 
 that it be recommended to lodges Nos. 1 and 3 to pass a similar 
 resolution." The minutes of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, of Au- 
 gust 15th, 1827, contain a like resolution. Wayne Lodge, No. 3, 
 surrendered its charter October 8th, 1827. Thus ended convi- 
 viality in the Order in Pennsylvania. G. M. Pryor had now but 
 two subordinate lodges in Philadelphia, from each of which the 
 bar was excluded by resolution. It had been patiently endured 
 for several years in Philadelphia, and found wanting. The moral 
 element was now in the ascendant, and was rapidly gaining. 
 The abolition of the bar inspired the Order with new life, since 
 which Odd Fellowship has never ceased to prosper in the juris- 
 diction, gradually increasing in numbers, wealth and usefulness. 
 It has addressed itself to the popular mind as an effective plan of 
 affording relief, reliable and undoubted, and applied under cir- 
 cumstances which do not humble manhood or the natural pride 
 of the sufferer. 
 
 William H. Mathews, the successor of Grand Master Pryor, 
 was elected June 9th, 1828. He was English by birth ; by occupa- 
 tion the proprietor of bath-houses, on South Second Street, below 
 Dock Street, near the custom-house. Bath-houses at that day 
 were highly appreciated in Philadelphia as hygienic institutions, 
 being almost unknown in private residences, when now the 
 smallest houses are regarded as deficient and incomplete without 
 bathing facilities. Odd Fellowship has, in like manner, become 
 developed as a social and benevolent need, and society has applied 
 it as a necessary adjunct to the moral forces of the age. From 
 one lodge, with five members, in 1821, we have increased in Phila- 
 delphia to 134, and in the State of Pennsylvania to 880 lodges, 
 with nearly one hundred thousand members ; and from a nom- 
 inal revenue, at the same period (1821), to the grand aggregate 
 of $903,767.96, with a relief expenditure of $448,136. Such 
 fruits demonstrate the character of the tree which has produced 
 them, and the progressive growth of the Order with the popula- 
 tion, wealth and resources of the State. Bro. Mathews, M. W. 
 G. M., was highly esteemed by his brethren, and was generally 
 reputed as an honest, honorable and intelligent citizen. He was 
 N. G. of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, when that lodge petitioned 
 the G. Lodge of Md. and of the U. S. for a charter, and the first 
 G. Sec. of the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania. Like many of his con- 
 
468 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 temporaries, after a life of zealous devotion to the Order, and 
 active citizenship, he dropped out of line and ceased his member- 
 ship. 
 
 John G. Potts succeeded Grand Master Mathews. He was 
 a member of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, and was elected G. M. 
 June 8th, 1829. He was an American born, successfully en- 
 gaged in the hardware business in the city of Philadelphia. His 
 official term of office closes the first decade of Odd Fellowship, 
 during which period there was no break or interruption in the 
 succession of G. Masters of the State. Bro. Potts was G. M. at 
 the time of the conflict between Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, and 
 the G. Lodge of the State. It was fortunate for Odd Fellowship 
 that so sterling and high-toned a citizen was then the chief officer 
 in that jurisdiction. He was a popular member of Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1, but was nevertheless unable to control the disloyal 
 element, which directed the proceedings to its unhappy disrup- 
 tion. The rise and progress of that unfortunate controversy 
 has been already minutely narrated, and will not be repeated. 
 G. M. Potts was in the chair when the G. Lodge decided to va- 
 cate the charter of No. 1. He immediately left the chair, and 
 with all the P. Grands of that lodge, except two, retired from 
 the room. The G. Lodge invited G. M. Potts to return to the 
 lodge-room, and, in compliance with his obligation, to resume 
 and fulfil the duties of his office until the end of the year. This 
 invitation was conveyed to him by a special committee, who 
 returned with him and presented him to the lodge. He resumed 
 the chair, and was authorized to take and hold the charter of 
 Lodge No. 1, so soon as it could be obtained. Unfortunately it 
 had been surreptitiously removed, and was never afterwards re- 
 covered. A new charter was in a few days granted to Pennsyl- 
 vania Lodge, No. 1, since which time it has had a career" of 
 reasonable prosperity. P. G. M. Potts, at the expiration of his 
 official term, was elected G. Treasurer for two successive terms, 
 in which office he proved to be faithful and efficient. 
 
 He joined in that immense caravan which, in 1835, took up 
 its line of march for the West, and settled in Galena, Illinois, 
 where he resided until death, at an advanced age, on January 
 18th, 1874. He was an active, zealous and working Odd Fellow 
 for nearly half a century, having been initiated in Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1, Sept. 25th, 1825. Having done yeoman service 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF rENJSSYLVANIA. 469 
 
 for the Order in the West, we take pleasure in referring to the 
 record, for the many testimonials it contains of his official life 
 and services as a D. D. G. Sire of the Order. See journal G. L. 
 of U. S., annual session of 1874, page 6292 ; address of G. Rep. 
 John C. Smith, of Illinois, and reports of Grand Sire and G. 
 Cor. and Rec. See's of the same session. 
 
 No report appears to have been made from the G. Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania to the G. Lodge of Md. and of the United States, 
 for the year ending February, 1824, the first year of its existence, 
 at which time there was but one lodge in the State, but one in 
 Massachusetts, one in New York, and but three in Maryland. 
 There was no detailed report from any of these jurisdictions, 
 and no systematic returns appear until 1828, when Pennsylvania 
 reports 568 members. We have already furnished the substance 
 of the annual reports made by the subordinate jurisdictions to 
 the G. L. of Md. and of the U. S., as they appear on the journal 
 of that G. body. It will be concluded from an examination of 
 these reports, that from the meagreness of the material out of 
 which they are formed, in comparison with the progress which 
 had been made in the subordinate Grand jurisdictions, the 
 Supreme Grand body was illy advised of the condition of the 
 Order. Bro. Wildey, from June, 1822, when he had consum- 
 mated the contemplated federal union of the self-instituted 
 lodges, was unremittent in his visitations of the several jurisdic- 
 tions, and earnest in his correspondence with the lodges. No 
 effort was left unemployed by him to conciliate and harmonize 
 and strengthen the Union. Some of this correspondence with 
 the authorities in Pennsylvania will be presented, showing that 
 Odd Fellowship in America was no small undertaking, but has 
 been achieved by persistent effort and by untiring ambition ; 
 and if it is to be perpetuated, requires a like industry and per- 
 severance in the chosen administrators of affairs. Thomas Wil- 
 dey, as we have already said, made the month of June, 1823, 
 memorable in the calendar of the Order, and we trust that this 
 fact may find its just place in the history of the advancing 
 civilization of our country, and that no authentic or reliable his- 
 toric memorial of the times will be ventured without the incor- 
 poration of this fact into its text. 
 
 The following is a copy of the official report of the Grand 
 Lodge of Pa. to the G. L. of the U. S., made up to December, 
 1826, by Samuel Pryor, G. Secretary : 
 
470 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 YEARLY EFFORT OF GRAND LODGE OF PA. I. O. O. F. FOR THE TEAK 
 ENDING DECEMBER, 1826. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of Pa. is composed of the following mem- 
 bers, to wit : Rudolph H. Bartle, G. M.; John Pearce, D. G. M ; 
 Wm. H. Mathews, G. Warden ; Samuel Pry or, G. Secretary; 
 Emor T. Weaver, G. Treasurer ; Isaac Brown, G. Guardian ; Jas. 
 Day, G. Conductor; Aaron Nichols and Thomas Small, P. G. 
 Masters ; John Upton, John H. Campbell, Thomas Y. Blakemore, 
 Robert Thomas, John G. Potts, Benjamin Houseman, Benjamin 
 Daffin, Robert Dean, honorary member, Benjamin Richardson, 
 Joseph Weatherby, Samuel Craycroft, Thos. Johnston, Wm. 
 Richardson, John Cross, Westall Richardson. The G. Lodge 
 meets at the hall corner of 7th and Chestnut Streets, annually, 
 on the second Monday in June, and quarterly on the second 
 Monday of the ensuing month, and on its own adjournments. 
 It has under its jurisdiction Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, 135 
 members, 13 P. Grands; Washington Lodge, No. 2, 111 mem- 
 bers, 7 P. Grands ; Wayne Lodge, No. 3, 75 members, 1 P. Grand ; 
 Morning Star Lodge, No. 4, 25 members, 3 P. Grands. Odd 
 Fellowship in this State has for the last 12 months flourished in 
 an unprecedented manner. Union and good feeling towards 
 each other have generally prevailed among the brethren. 
 
 This is accompanied by the following from the G. Secretary : 
 
 We herewith enclose the report of the G. Lodge of Pa, for the 
 year 1826. I am directed to request you to send to the Grand 
 Lodge of Pa. one copy of all the books from Europe and other 
 places that you have to dispose of, relative to Odd Fellowship, 
 and we will pay for them. The amount of dues received by these 
 four lodges for the last twelve months is $1211.70. You will ob- 
 serve that No. 4 has been in existence but 3 quarters. The three 
 lodges that meet in the city charge $5 initiation fee. The lodge 
 in Kensington charges $3. One member of Lodge No. 2 was 
 expelled for intoxication, Sept. 11, 1826. 2 candidates were 
 rejected by Lodge No. 1, and one by Lodge No. 2, June 27, 1826. 
 The G. Lodge has, during the year, passed many salutary laws, 
 among which is a law regulating the regalia worn by the officers 
 and members ; also a law to prevent any person from becoming a 
 member under 21 or over 45 years of age, except by permission 
 from the G. Lodge ; also a law to prevent the charge-books from 
 being taken out of the lodge-room, and a law to regulate the 
 manner of conferring degrees, and providing for degree officers. 
 The G. Lodge has revised and printed the G. L. Constitution, 
 also the charge, work, &c., for the subordinate lodges, and has 
 provided forms for quarterly reports. I am also directed to re- 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 471 
 
 quest a copy of the constitution and laws of the G. L. of U. S. 
 In examining our yearly report you will no doubt be gratified to 
 find this portion of your charge in prosperity. The G. Lodge, in 
 requesting the books, &c., from Europe, is actuated by a wish to 
 obtain all the light in their power for itself and for those under its 
 charge. Aware of your recent visit to Europe, we suppose you 
 must be in possession of many valuable works relative to Odd 
 Fellowship. If you have them to spare, we would be happy if 
 you send them to us. 
 
 The 'G. Secretary also transmitted the following to Bro. John 
 Boyd, in the same connection : 
 
 We have enclosed to your care three letters ; also one from a 
 subordinate lodge, directed to G. M. Wildey ; also one letter di- 
 rected to the Grand Master of the State of Maryland, which we 
 will be much obliged if you will deliver. We have sent you a 
 copy of the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. 
 We have requested G. Sire Wildey to send us a copy of any book 
 received from Europe or elsewhere that he may have to spare, 
 for which we will promptly pay, also to send us a copy of the 
 -constitution and by-laws of the G. L. of the U. S. If you will 
 interest yourself to procure the above we will esteem it a great 
 favor. The G. Lodge will hold an adjourned stated meeting on 
 the 3d Monday of February, and we will be happy to hear from 
 jou previous to that time. 
 
 G. Secretary Pry or also sent the following to Bro. John Boyd, 
 of the date of March 17th, 1827 : 
 
 We addressed a letter to you, dated January 10th, enclosing 
 to your care sundry letters to the Grand Sire and also to the 
 Grand Master of Maryland. No answer has yet been received. 
 We would be glad to have the receipt of them acknowledged as 
 far as in your power, and to have your replies addressed to the 
 G. Secretary. The G. Lodge will meet in about a week, and we 
 hope your answers will be in our possession by that time, that 
 we may be enabled to inform it touching the books requested 
 from the Grand Sire. Trusting confidingly in your zeal for our 
 interest, we remain in F. L. & T., yours fraternally. 
 
 These two letters will be explained by the fact that John Boyd 
 was the Proxy Representative of Pennsylvania in the G. L. U. S. 
 
 The subjoined from Thomas Small, G. Sec., to G. M. Wildey, 
 of the date of July 1st, 1827, speaks for itself: 
 
 Your communication of May 18th was duly received, together 
 with a copy of the constitution of the G. Lod-e of the U. S., 
 
4:72 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 also a vote of thanks presented to D. G. M. Pearce in open Grand 
 Lodge ; the book containing the Patriarchal Degrees, and the 
 printed minutes of the late sessions of the G. Lodge of the U. S. 
 The last we very much approve the form of, and hope they will 
 be continued in the same style. We have distributed one copy 
 to each lodge. The second Monday in May being our annual 
 election, the following Grand Officers were duly elected : Samuel 
 Pryor, G. M.; Win. H. Mathews, D. G. M.; John G. Potts, G. 
 Warden; Thomas Small, G. Sec.; Joseph E. Manuel, G. Treas.; 
 who were duly installed into their respective offices. We perceive- 
 by your communication, that you have decided to adhere to the 
 old signs as well as to the new ones. We would be obliged if 
 you would cause us to be instructed in them. Do you intend to 
 give the old ones first or last ? Do you enter with one, or both ; 
 if with one, indicate which ? We have not acted on them yet. 
 We wish as much uniformity as possible. A resolution passed 
 in the G. Lodge of the U. S. granting the G. Lodge of Pa. a new 
 charter, in lieu of the one delivered to you by our Grand Eepre- 
 sentative. One of our brethren, P. G. Wampole, has volunteered 
 to engross it for the Grand Lodge, free of expense, in handsome 
 style of penmanship ; we will thank you for the form of the 
 charter, that the brother's generous offer may be accepted, and 
 that it may be returned to you for the proper signature and at- 
 testation. Our portion of the current expenses of the last year 
 has been placed to your credit, and is payable to your order. 
 We were much gratified in reading that part of the printed com- 
 munication relative to the visit and reception of the Grand Sire 
 in England. The spirit of liberality and good feeling evinced 
 by the English lodges, we trust will be reciprocated in its fullest 
 extent by the lodges in the United States. We tender to your- 
 self and the brethren in Maryland our best wishes for their health 
 and prosperity. We remain yours in the bonds of F. L. and T_ 
 
 In transmitting the annual report for the year ending May, 
 1828, G. Secretary Small reports five subordinate lodges at work,, 
 to w r it : Pennsylvania, 'No. 1, with 267 members ; Washington, 
 No. 2, with 130 members ; Morning Star, No. 4, with 110 mem- 
 bers ; Franklin, No. 5, with 30 members ; Gen. Marion, No. 6, 
 w r ith 31 members ; making in all 568. Revenue, $2410.76. Ini- 
 tiated, 250. He remarks that on 27th August the G. Lodge 
 granted a warrant, upon application, for a degree lodge, for con- 
 ferring the subordinate degrees and the P. O. degrees. This 
 experiment, after eight months' trial, answered the most sanguine 
 expectations. He congratulates the Order upon the prosperity 
 of the new lodges, as well as the whole Order in the State. He 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 473 
 
 complains that notice and copy of the amendments proposed to 
 the constitution, by the G. Lodge of New York, was not sent to 
 them, and expresses a concurrence of opinion with that G. body, 
 that " the constitution needs revising and amending." The 
 wishes of the G. L. of Pa. are also communicated touching the 
 proper amendments to the constitution, a copy of which is 
 sent. They also recommend the appointment of a competent 
 G. Secretary of the G. L. of the U. S., which office is now vacant, 
 and the payment to him of such compensation as may command 
 a brother adequate to the position. 
 
 At the end of the first decade the G. Lodge of Pennsylvania, 
 made its report for the year ending May, 1829, as follows: 
 
 SUBORDINATE LODGES. 
 
 Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, Philadelphia; Washington Lodge,, 
 No. 2, Philadelphia ; Wayne Lodge, No. 3, Philadelphia ; Morn- 
 ing Star Lodge, No. 4, Kensington ; Franklin Lodge, No. 5, 
 Philadelphia; Gen. Marion Lodge, No. 6, Philadelphia; Her- 
 man Lodge, No. 7, Kensington ; Morning Star Lodge, No. 8, 
 Frankford; Mechanics' Lodge, No. 9, Pittsburgh; Philoma- 
 thean Lodge, No. 10, Germantown; Kensington Lodge, No. 11, 
 Kensington; Jefferson Lodge, No. 12, Kensington; Philadelphia. 
 Lodge, No. 13, Philadelphia. Total membership, 1009. 
 
 Pennsylvania appears to have set the example which has ever 
 since been followed, of making detailed statistical reports to the 
 G. L. of the U. S. This good example has been greatly improved 
 by time and experience, and has led to the present elaborate sta- 
 tistics of the Order. It is to be regretted that Massachusetts- 
 and New York appear to disadvantage at the close of this decade, 
 giving decided indication of a rapid decline and suspension, whick 
 soon overtook them. 
 
 ANNIVERSARIES. 
 
 It has been an old and revered custom of established institu- 
 tions, which have more or less experienced severe ordeals inci- 
 dent to their career, to pause at the annual recurrence of their 
 birth-day, to review the past, to husband the treasures of knowl- 
 edge which it supplies, and to apply them wisely, as the rapid 
 transition of the old year into the new one passes it onward to 
 the great future. No period is more full of interest in the 
 
474 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 chapter of human life. Beside the season of reflection and grave 
 thought which it summons, it encourages recreation and refresh- 
 ment around the generous board, where friends mingle in sym- 
 pathetic union. Such a practice prevails the world over, and 
 commends itself to the good and moral of all communities. The 
 journal of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania records the fact 
 that the anniversary of the Order in that jurisdiction, 26th De- 
 cember, was observed during the first decade, sometimes by a gen- 
 eral celebration, sometimes in a social way by a public dinner, 
 sometimes by public addresses, or by lodge festivals and enter- 
 tainments. At the meeting of the G. Lodge of Oct. 27th, 
 1828, a petition was received from Bros. Geo. McFarlane, James 
 Boon, James McMullin, T. Y. Blakemore, L. O'Connor, and An- 
 drew Anderson, asking that a general procession of the lodges 
 might take place on the next anniversary, 26th December next. 
 This application was approved, and a special committee ap- 
 pointed to carry the same into effect. Subsequently the subor- 
 dinate lodges were invited to co-operate, and a committee com- 
 bining the Grand and subordinate lodges was appointed, to which 
 all details were referred. Invitations were extended to Grand 
 Sire Wildey and to the Grand Masters of the several Grand 
 Lodges of the Union. 
 
 The celebration was accordingly held on the 26th December, 
 1828, and proved to be a decided success. The address delivered 
 on the occasion, which gave general satisfaction, was by the noted 
 T. P. McMahon, who figured so unfavorably in the memorable 
 conflict between the Grand Lodge of the State and Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1. The G. Lodge, in rendering its thanks to the 
 various committees for the occasion, to the clergymen, and to the 
 orator of the day, requested a copy of the address of Bro. 
 McMahon for publication, but it was never received or published. 
 The experience of this celebration, it appears, led to a change in 
 the anniversary. It was by common consent deemed appropri- 
 ate that the 26th December, the anniversary of the institution 
 of Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, by Bros. Upton, Robinson, and 
 others, should be changed, and that June 27th should be substi- 
 tuted as the more appropriate day, the last named day being 
 the anniversary of the institution of the Grand Lodge of Pa. 
 
 THE NEW HALL ON SOUTH FIFTH STREET. 
 
 The Order having outgrown its accommodations in the city 
 of Philadelphia, took measures, early in 1829, to provide more 
 
THE GRAND LODGK OP PENNSYLVANIA. 475 
 
 appropriate and commodious quarters. The discussion and in- 
 terchange of opinions among the members commenced in the 
 lodges, and ultimately found its way into the Grand Lodge. 
 After the suggestion of several schemes, and the examination of 
 various plans and projects, the subject was referred by the G. 
 Lodge to a committee, which reported at an adjourned meeting, 
 held April 30th, 1829. 
 
 The committee on building submitted the following : 
 
 We, your committee, appointed to make a definite contract 
 with Mr. James McMurtrie for the erection of a hall, beg leave 
 to report that we have contracted definitely with Mr. McMurtrie, 
 upon the following terms : Mr. McMurtrie agrees to erect, on 
 his own lot, in Fifth Street near Walnut, a hall, in front or 
 breadth 35 feet, or (in case he can purchase the right of an alley 
 adjoining on the north, for which he is now in treaty,) 38 feet, 
 and extending in length or depth 75 feet ; the building to be four 
 stories high, with an elevation of 54: or 56 feet. The whole of 
 the 2d, 3d and 4th stories shall be under the direction of a com- 
 mittee of suitable trustees, to be appointed by the Grand Lodge, 
 and shall be finished in such manner as the said committee may 
 direct, for the more perfect accommodation of the lodges which 
 may hereafter meet therein. The G. Lodge to have the use of 
 the large concert room on the first floor to meet in upon any 
 public occasion, when not otherwise engaged. The hall shall be 
 called by any name the G. Lodge may be pleased to adopt, and 
 the corner-stone laid under their superintendence, and with any 
 -ceremonies they may choose to perform, and the building, when 
 completed, dedicated by the G. Lodge. Mr. McMurtrie also 
 agrees that in case any of the lodges have funds which they wish 
 to invest, to take $2000 at six per cent., and give them a mortgage 
 on the building for the amount. Your committee have agreed 
 to pay for the same the annual rent of six hundred dollars, pay- 
 able quarterly, and to take a lease for years, with the privi- 
 lege of extending the same 5 years more. 
 
 The time appears to have come when, by almost the unani- 
 mous voice of a large portion of the Order, some place seems to 
 be required for their use more spacious and convenient than the 
 one they now meet in. The subordinate lodges which meet in 
 this place have generally expressed such a desire, by the appoint- 
 ment of committees for the purpose of making inquiry on the 
 subject, and your committee believe that their views and interests 
 will be fully promoted and best protected by the definite contract 
 now respectfully submitted. John Pearce, Anson Jones, Sarri- 
 iiel Pryor, John H. Campbell, William Weir. 
 
 A motion was made that the proposals specified be approved, 
 which was decided in the affirmative, and the yeas and nays 
 
476 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ordered to bo inserted on the minutes, as follows : Yeas Bros, 
 Potts, Pearce, Campbell, Jones, Douglass, Buckman, Weir r 
 Brown, Oakford, McFarlane, Blakemore, Boileau, Hathaway and 
 Small, 14. Nays Bros. Manuel, Wright, Boon, Bartle, Post- 
 hill, 5. On motion it was " Resolved, that the above report be 
 placed in the hands of the Host for one week, and that it be 
 handed by him to each of the lodges meeting in this hall, to be 
 read therein for their information, and that at the expiration of 
 the week it be returned to the G. Secretary." On motion, it was 
 also " Resolved, that the G. Master nominate five brothers, who 
 shall be approved by this G. Lodge, to act as trustees, to super- 
 intend the building, and furnish such information to the architect 
 as may be necessary." The G. Master made the following nom- 
 inations, which were unanimously approved by the G. Lodge,. 
 viz : John G. Potts, Anson Jones, John Pearce, Wm. Weir, and 
 Samuel Pryor. 
 
 This proceeding having been sanctioned by a majority of the 
 lodges meeting in the hall, was carried into effect, according to 
 the provisions of the contract it authorized. For the purpose of 
 fitting up and furnishing the building, the G. Lodge authorized 
 the trustees to borrow a sum not exceeding $2500, in shares of 
 capital stock to be issued in its corporate name of not less than 
 $50.00 each, at 6 per cent., payable semi-annually, upon such 
 conditions as the trustees might deem fit to adopt, pledging 75 
 per cent, of the revenue of the G. Lodge for the payment of the 
 principal and interest of the loan, and directing the said trustees 
 to devise a system of finance adequate to the object contemplated. 
 This loan was subsequently increased to $4000. The stock was 
 disposed of, the new hall was finished and furnished ready for the 
 use and occupation of the Grand and subordinate lodges. At 
 the meeting of the G. Lodge held March 22d, 1830, the following 
 brethren were appointed a committee of arrangements for dedi- 
 cating the new hall, viz : Anson Jones, John Pearce, Joseph 
 Fontayne, Joseph Cobb, W. J. A. Birkey. The dedication took 
 place under favorable circumstances, Tuesday, May 18, 1830. 
 The new hall was immediately thereafter occupied by the Grand 
 and subordinate lodges. Incidental to the ceremony of dedica- 
 tion a public dinner was given, of which a large number of the 
 Grand Officers and brothers partook. On Monday, May 24th, 
 1830, the G. Lodge held its first meeting in the hall, South Fifth 
 
ODD FELLOWS' HALL, SOUTH FIFTH ST., NEAR WALNUT ST., 
 PHILADELPHIA, 183O. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 477 
 
 Street, below Walnut. At a session of the G. Lodge, held Oct. 
 25th, 1830, proper steps were taken by the Grand Lodge to 
 provide a detailed record of the ceremony of dedication for pres- 
 ervation, and to have the same framed. The subject was referred 
 to P. G.'s Wright and Pry or. The following is a copy of the 
 record of dedication, which was transcribed on parchment in 
 good style of penmanship, and hung in the hall, South Fifth 
 Street, during its occupancy by the Order. It is now preserved 
 among the historical records of the Order, in the office of the G. 
 Secretary. 
 
 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 This Record witnesseth; That on Tuesday, the 18th day 
 of May, Anno Domini 1830, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania 
 of the I. O. O. F. having assembled with the members of the 
 Order in general, for the especial purpose, THIS HALL, erected 
 on South Fifth Street, near Walnut, Philadelphia, was, in the 
 presence of us whose names are hereunto subscribed, duly set 
 apart and dedicated to the great purposes of Odd Fellowship, 
 Friendship, Love and Truth, and to the diffusion of Benevolence 
 and Charity, in the fullest extent, to all its worthy members. 
 
 This interesting paper was signed by G. M. Potts and his 
 G. Officers, by Thomas Wildey, G. S., and the majority of the 
 officers of the G. L. IT. S., by all the leaders in Pennsylvania, 
 .and by many distinguished visitors. A poetical address by Bro. 
 L. W. Ryckman was delivered at the new hall, South Fifth 
 Street, Philadelphia, May 18th, 1830, but the plan of this work 
 will not allow its publication. 
 
 The history of the Order in Pennsylvania gives rise to many 
 reflections, not the least of which is, that the brothers of that 
 jurisdiction have prouder claims to personal merit than those of 
 any other in America. Maryland had Wildey, the matchless 
 enthusiast and wonder-worker ; Entwisle, the genius and organ- 
 izer ; Welch, the prudent and staid ; and Marley and Mathiot, 
 the young Americans, the latter a man of rare promise and use- 
 fulness, to form a band which, like that of the Tenth Legion of 
 Caesar, was well-nigh invincible. But more than this, they 
 added organization to personal effort, and the fealty of other 
 States to increase the interest and promote the enterprise. Wil- 
 dey himself w^as a host, and his personal efforts were alone suffi- 
 cient to account for the success in Maryland. 
 
478 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 But in Pennsylvania the facts were otherwise. Wildey in- 
 deed sowed the seeds, but they fell in good soil, and needed no 
 foreign immigration or labor to cause them to spring up and bear 
 abundant fruit. The material which composed its first lodges* 
 was a power in itself. As lodge after lodge was instituted and 
 members came flocking in, the old landmarks of self-government 
 were neglected for a better system. Pennsylvania Lodge alone, 
 representing the old element, was refractory, and adhered to 
 the traditions of ancient usage. Her membership was yet 
 wedded to a personal government, and was hard to bring in 
 under the safe rule of subordination to superior authority. 
 
 But this feeling ended where it began, and took no hold upon 
 the new membership. Reverence for law and faith in systematic 
 effort was the ruling passion of the first decade, as it has been the 
 bulwark of the Order in that State down to the present hour. For- 
 tunately for those brethren, as they had no man as a rallying point, 
 they chose the better part of ruling by the collected wisdom of 
 the whole. Hence the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was 
 organized by good and true men, whose object from the first was 
 to evoke order from confusion, and erect an establishment which,, 
 by its own vigor, would not only command respect and obedi- 
 ence, but form the potent center about which the whole scheme 
 should harmoniously revolve. With what admiration do we 
 witness the proceedings of that infant body, when Pennsylvania 
 Lodge, No. 1, its darling first-born, defied its authority ! It did 
 not matter that the Order was yet weak and the system new and 
 untried, that the sitting Grand Master was a member of the 
 offending lodge, that McMahon ? the favorite of the subordinate, 
 was a man of promise. None of these things moved them ; the 
 law was the master and the king, and before its majesty they 
 not only bowed themselves, but forced every other knee to bend. 
 With rare calmness they used every fraternal art to mend the 
 breach ; but when every effort failed, how firmly and with what dig- 
 nity did the Grand Lodge depose the offender and assert the prerog- 
 atives of a supreme body ! It is of such stuff that men, and the 
 strongest men, are made. The love and reverence for Wildey was 
 also profound among them, and none went farther to do him honor ; 
 but when he appeared in the arena as the defender of the sinning 
 lodge, the whole Grand Lodge was roused to indignation. The 
 Grand Sire himself fell before the majesty of the law, and the 
 
ODD FELLOWS' HALL, SIXTH AND CRESSON STS., PHILADELPHIA, 1846. 
 
THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania had the honor of bringing him, 
 and the Grand Lodge of the United States itself, to the observ- 
 ance of written law ; thus setting the first example of that con- 
 stitutional government which has made Odd Fellowship the fore- 
 most secular institution of the kind of its day. 
 
 Pennsylvania has the glory of having stood alone from the 
 first. To her we owe Grand Lodge reports, Degree Lodges, and 
 many fundamental elements, without which the working of the 
 great plan might have been an inglorious failure. It was her 
 example and influence which gave the Order power and fame, 
 both within its portals and over the whole country. But great 
 names are not wanting in her wonderful history. What names 
 are more deeply engraven on the Order than those of Pearce, of 
 Small, of Perkins, of Hopkins, of Kneass, those grand contempo- 
 raries of Wildey, or of those later names known and loved in all 
 the large household of Odd Fellowship ? Need we in such con- 
 nection refer to Nicholson, Stokes, Lamberton, Simpson, Curtis, 
 Hickok, and many others, who in the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States have linked themselves and that great jurisdiction to im- 
 perishable fame ? 
 
 Every Odd Fellow's heart is moved at the spectacle of the 
 royal procession of the multitude of lodges and members in Penn- 
 sylvania, who with even steps and serried ranks, file on file, bat- 
 talion on battalion, carry the banner of Odd Fellowship at the 
 head of the mighty columns of American Fraternity. As the 
 crowned Queen of the Order, may she reign forever, by the un- 
 disputed title of numbers, benevolence, and a mutual relief so> 
 great as to outvalue the richest gem in a monarch's diadern ! 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States was organized in 1825, 
 having for its basis four Grand Lodges only. The Order had 
 taken organic form as a national institution, and was nominally 
 in occupation of the whole area represented by its name. Yet 
 but little actual progress had been made outside of Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania. It numbered in all only nine subordinate lodges, 
 in February, 1825, when the Supreme Body had its first meeting. 
 In the next year the subordinates had reached the number of 
 twelve, and in 1827 were but fourteen. This was the condition 
 of affairs until near the close of that year. Wildey made his visit 
 to England in 1826, and vitalized the movement by obtaining a 
 new charter from the Manchester Unity. But after all, no imme- 
 diate effect had followed. After an interval, in which the G. 
 Lodge had simply a doubtful existence, and could scarcely sus- 
 tain a feeble life, it was called upon to make its first effort to 
 extend its authority to new territory. On November 12th, 1827, 
 that body met in special session, and granted a charter to Thomas 
 M. Abbett, Robert Boyd, John Cragg, Thomas Smith and Samuel 
 Knapp, for a lodge to be located at Washington, District of Co- 
 lumbia, " to be hailed as Central Lodge, No. 1, I. O. Fellows." 
 Provision was made for the institution on the 26th day of the 
 same month, and Grand Sire Wildey was deputed to perform 
 that ceremony. On that day he visited Washington, accompa- 
 nied by Thomas Scotchburn, Grand Master of Maryland, Past 
 Grands Richard Marley, John Boyd, John J. Roach, Thos. Char- 
 ters, Daniel Weaver, and brothers Robert Gott and others. They 
 met the petitioners in the evening at Milburn's Tavern, where a 
 room had been prepared, and formally opened Central Lodge. As 
 soon as the organization was completed, the visitors were gratified 
 to find that ten persons had applied for membership. The appli- 
 cations were immediately considered and the candidates elected. 
 They were then admitted and initiated. These first initiates were 
 
 (480) 
 

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 481 
 
 Arthur Mclntyre, John "Wells, Jr., George D. Spencer, George 
 M. Davis, Thomas Stelle, John N. Moulder, John Douglas, John 
 Elvin, B. Hurley, and Milburn, the host. Brother John Farrar 
 was admitted by card. It seems that this occurred before the 
 officers were elected. That important business was next per- 
 formed, and resulted in the election of Thomas M. Abbett, Noble 
 Grand ; Thomas Smith, Vice Grand, and John N. Moulder, Sec- 
 retary. The subordinate positions were filled as follows : Robert 
 Boyd, "Warden ; George M. Davis, R. S. to E". G.; George D. 
 Spencer, R. S. to K G.; Thomas Stelle, Conductor ; B. Hurley, 
 R. S. S.; Arthur Mclntyre, R. S. S., and John "Wells, Guardian. 
 All of these officers were duly installed by Grand Sire Wildey, 
 who, afrthe close of the ceremonies, delivered an appropriate and 
 impressive address, which elicited an eloquent response from 
 Bro. Samuel Knapp, and a unanimous vote of thanks from the 
 brethren. 
 
 The lodge was thus launched on its mission of benevolence, 
 and continued to hold regular weekly sessions. The first ques- 
 tion that was mooted outside of routine business, was the neces- 
 sity of procuring a more suitable place of meeting, which resulted 
 in the renting of two rooms in the City Hall, which were fitted 
 up for the purpose. The lodge occupied this place at the first 
 meeting in January, 1828, The business transacted in the first 
 decade was strictly that of the ordinary work of a lodge, with no 
 striking incident worthy of mention. As early as the 15th of 
 January, 1828, a committee was appointed to inquire into the 
 expediency of revising the ceremony of initiation. On the 22d of 
 January, 1828, Grand Sire Wildey transmitted a vote of thanks 
 by the Grand Lodge of the United States to Thomas M. Abbett, 
 N. G., for his energy in the advancement of the Order, which 
 was responded to by a grateful resolution on the part of the 
 lodge. On the 16th of September, certain changes made by 
 Pennsylvania in the work were adopted. The first loss of a 
 member occurred in the latter part of October, 1828, by the de- 
 cease of Bro. George Walker; the brothers, in regalia, attended 
 his remains to the cemetery and interred them with funeral hon- 
 ors. In this sad office they were joined by the brothers of George- 
 town Lodge. The funeral took place on Sunday, and this first 
 public procession of the Order attracted general notice, and 
 the subject of favorable comments. 
 31 
 
482 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Starting from the second night of the meeting of the lodge,, 
 the following appear to have been received and initiated ; Benj. 
 L. Beall, John Eddis, Richard Barry, John Carothers, Solomon 
 Drew, James Green, John N. Alford, George Tennison, Y. Car- 
 ter, L. S. Tsehefely, John Foulkes, Wm. Serrin, Thos. Sandiford, 
 Thos. Wilson, Wm. McDonald, Chas. W. Boteler, Wm. E. Spauld- 
 ing, J. P. Fonde, Wm. Langton, Benj. O. Tyler, Joel Downer, 
 John Wilson, Philip Hines, A. K. Arnold, John M. Clohey, Geo. 
 W. Eay, Chas. Irvin, Geo. Walker, Thos. Conner, J. G. Willyss, 
 Wm. H. Mauro, Wm. Cooke, Jr., Wm. Cooper, James Crawford, 
 Geo. Umbangh, Uriah Maddox, B. Hurley, H. Maddox, Jacob 
 Kline, John A. Brightwell, W. W. Key worth, Richard Eno, Jos. 
 Beardsley and E. T. Washington. From the names here? given 
 it may be inferred that the personnel of the lodge was good, in- 
 cluding members of nearly every business pursuit, and affording 
 a fair representation of the worth and intelligence of an assembly 
 of American citizens. 
 
 Thirteen months subsequently to the inauguration of Central 
 Lodge, !N"o. 1, several members withdrew with a view to the es- 
 tablishment of a lodge in Georgetown, to be known as George- 
 town Lodge, No. 2. For this purpose they addressed a petition 
 to the Grand Lodge of the United States, signed by Eobert Boyd, 
 John Eddes, Francis King, John Elvin, John Douglas, and John 
 Craig. The petition w r as presented to the G. L. U. S. on the 15th 
 of January, 1828, and a charter was granted. It was arranged 
 that the lodge should be opened on the 23d of the same month, 
 and G. S. Wildey was deputized to perform the ceremony. He 
 accordingly met the petitioners on the evening of that day at the 
 house of Sedley Woodward in Georgetown, and there formally 
 instituted the new lodge. He was assisted by N. G. Abbett and 
 Y. G. Mclntyre of Central Lodge. As soon as the organization 
 was completed, on the same evening, James Gettys, John B. 
 Gray, Levi Washburn, Thomas Orme, Henry B. Eobertson, James 
 Belt, John D. Clark, Southey Parker, Peter Callan, and Sedley 
 Woodward, were elected and initiated into the mysteries of Odd 
 Fellowship. The officers elected and installed were, Eobert 
 Boyd, !N". G.; John Douglas, Y. G., and James Gettys, Secretary. 
 The subordinate offices were filled by John Elder, Warden; 
 Francis King. Conductor ; John Craig, E. S., and John B. Gray, 
 L. S. of K. G.; and by John Elvin, E. S., and Thomas Orme, 
 
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 483 
 
 L. S. of Y. G. Henry B. Robertson was made R. S. S. and John 
 D. Clark, L. S. S.; Peter Callan, I. G., and Sedley Woodward, 
 O. G. The G. Sire enlightened the brethren by the delivery of 
 a fraternal address, which was responded to by a resolution of 
 thanks for his services and valuable counsel. 
 
 It was but a short time afterwards that the following named 
 were initiated : John K. King, Sam'l Cunningham, Wm. S. Owens, 
 Thos. Kaltzman, Edward B. King, Grafton Powell, Louis F. 
 Joucherez, Jno. F. Goodrich, Wm. Brownell, Jno. Lewis and 
 Jno. Price. Of this lodge, James Gettys was elected Y. Grand 
 on the 8th of February, 1828, and N. Grand on the 18th of April 
 ensuing. There were no incidents of a remarkable nature con- 
 nected with this lodge during the decade. A procession was at 
 one time suggested, but did not occur, and an ineffectual effort 
 was made in May, 1829, to form an Encampment. In May, 1830, 
 the lodge was visited by Rev. Lorenzo Dow, an earnest and 
 eccentric itinerant preacher. Bro. Dow was a member of a lodge 
 in Albany, New York, and was an earnest Odd Fellow. By in- 
 vitation, he delivered a fine address upon the principles and 
 objects of the Order. Concord Lodge of the District made him 
 an honorary member and gave him the degrees. Subsequently 
 he died at Georgetown, and was buried by the Order with ap- 
 propriate honors. 
 
 Early in the autumn of 1828 the two subordinate lodges made 
 a movement for a G. Lodge, by requesting their P. Grands to 
 solicit a charter for that purpose. Thereupon, Thos. M. Abbett, 
 Jno. Wells and Alex. L. Mclntyre, of Central Lodge, and James 
 Gettys, Robert Boyd and James Ashton, of Georgetown Lodge, 
 met in Washington, on the 19th September, 1828, and addressed 
 the following petition to the G. L. of U. S. : " We, the under- 
 signed, P. Grands of Central Lodge, No. 1, and Georgetown 
 Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., in the District of Columbia, having 
 'been authorized by our respective lodges to unite in the formation 
 of a G. Lodge, respectfully petition the G. L. U. S. to grant us a 
 charter, to meet in the city of Washington and transact all busi- 
 ness pertaining to a Grand Lodge, and to exercise jurisdiction 
 over all lodges now established, or that maybe established, in the 
 District of Columbia, according to tl;e present laws and land- 
 marks of the institution." This was signed by five of the Past 
 Grands; Bro. Mclntyre having refused to join in the application 
 
484 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 because it did not require the proposed G. Lodge to meet exclu- 
 sively in Washington. P. G. Abbett, who presided, immediately 
 forwarded the paper to G. S. Wildey, with the request that he 
 would attend and open the G. Lodge. The petition was submit- 
 ted to the G. L. U. S. on the 28th of September, 1828, and its 
 prayer granted. On the 24th of the ensuing month of Novem- 
 ber the G. Sire visited Washington, accompanied by P. G. John 
 Boyd, the Proxy of Pennsylvania ; P. G. Augustus Mathiot, G. 
 Sec., and P. G. Jordan, of Maryland. In the meantime Thomas 
 M. Abbett had been selected as G. M.; James Gettys, as D. G. 
 M.; Robert 'Boyd for G. Warden, and John Wells for G. Sec. 
 The petitioners assembled on the evening of that day at the 
 rooms of Central Lodge, in the City Hall, when the elected offi- 
 cers were installed, as well as those appointed, viz. Francis King, 
 G. Conductor, and James Ashton, G. Guardian. The ceremony 
 was concluded by the delivery of the charter to the G. M., and 
 an impressive address by G. Sire Wildey, which was much ap- 
 plauded. 
 
 The next meeting of the body was on the 16th of December, 
 1828, when preparations were made for the adoption of a consti- 
 tution and by-laws, and for providing suitable regalia, a seal and 
 other essential articles. On the 21th of May, 1829, it adopted 
 the Pennsylvania charges for initiations and the opening and 
 closing of lodges. On the 18th of October, 1829, a charter was 
 granted to Win. Serrin, John N. Moulder, Philip Hines, Levi 
 Washburn, Thos. Sandiford, T. Conner, Thos. Smith and John 
 Wells, for Concord Lodge, No. 3, to be located in the first (west- 
 ernmost) ward of Washington City. This lodge was opened on 
 the 29th of the same month, at Usher's Tavern. The officers 
 installed were John Wells, Jr., N. G.; Wm. Serrin, V. G.; Levi 
 Washburn, Sec., and John N. Moulder, Warden. The term of 
 the G. Officers having expired, an election was had on the 26th 
 of November, 1829, which resulted as follows : James Gettys, 
 G. M.; John Wells, Jr., D. G. M.; Henry B. Eobertson, G. War- 
 den ; Francis King, G. Sec.; and John Eddes, Treas. These 
 brothers were duly installed by G. M. Abbett, who, on the 10th 
 of May, 1830, was elected an honorary member of the G. Lodge ; 
 he had previously received a similar compliment from Central 
 Lodge. 
 
 On the 8th of November, 1830, another annual election took 
 place: James Gettys, G. M.; John Wells, D. G. M.; and John 
 
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 485 
 
 Eddes, were re-elected, with John B. Gray as G. W., and Henry 
 B. Robertson, Sec. On the 3d of December, 1829, a charter was 
 granted for Jonathan Lodge, No. 4, to be located in Georgetown. 
 It was instituted on the 21st of the same month, at the house of 
 John Douglas, on Bridge Street. The elective officers installed 
 were John Douglas, N. G.; Grafton Powell, Y. G., and John B. 
 Gray, Sec. On the 18th of November, 1830, a charter was 
 granted to Pocahontas Lodge, No. 5, to be located in Alexandria, 
 which then formed a part of the District of Columbia, and on the 
 15th of Dec. the G. Lodge met at that place and opened the lodge. 
 The officers installed were John W. Smith, N. G.; B. F. Spencer, 
 Y. G.; L. Kipkins, Sec., and Win. Thomas, Treas., upon all of 
 whom the degrees of the Order were conferred before the instal- 
 lation, they having been but recently initiated by Washington 
 Lodge. These brothers, in connection with Obadiah Moss, were 
 the petitioners for the new lodge. Pocahontas Lodge was the 
 first lodge instituted south or west of the Potomac River. It 
 seems to have been committed to unpopular or indifferent hands, 
 and never reached maturity. Like a hot-house plant transferred 
 to a cold and barren soil, it gave no sign of enduring vitality, and 
 became extinct early in the second decade, leaving no accessible 
 record of its acts. 
 
 This was the natural result of a too hasty organization, of 
 which we have had many examples. This has been too often the 
 case in this jurisdiction, where zeal, in many instances, was un- 
 tempered by discretion. At an early period in the second decade 
 this cause was exhibiting its natural effect; Central Lodge having 
 been reduced to some twenty-five or thirty members, passed a 
 resolution at the close of 1830 for its own dissolution. Concord 
 Lodge ceased to work about the middle of the year 1831. George- 
 town Lodge suspended business at the beginning of 1832, and 
 Jonathan Lodge continued its operations only three or four years 
 longer. 
 
 But on the 10th of January, 1832, a counter movement began, 
 A few of the most efficient members of Central Lodge met on that 
 day, and petitioned the G. Lodge for a charter to form a new 
 lodge, with the name and number of old Central. This meet- 
 ing included Bros. Geo. M. Davis, John A. Brightwell, Peter 
 Callan, Geo. D. Spencer, Thos. Stelle, John Douglas, Wm. W. 
 Key worth, John C. Rodgers, Geo. ITiribaugh and Uriah Maddox. 
 
486 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 The G. Lodge granted the petition on the 13th of February, 1832, 
 at the same time affirming that it was a revival of the old lodge. 
 On the 16th of the same month the following officers were in- 
 stalled: Peter Callan, K G.; E. T. Washington, Y. G.; Thomas 
 Stelle, Sec., and John Douglas, Treas. Thus resuscitated, the 
 lodge resumed work, and became so prosperous as to be able to 
 furnish material for new and successful lodges, 'which have never 
 faltered in spreading the principles and doing the work of the 
 Order. These, to the number of fifteen, are now potent and flour- 
 ishing, and represent at the capital of the country the distinctive 
 virtues of Friendship, Love and Truth. 
 
 In 1845 the Order in the District concluded to build a hall 
 for its use ; the board of trustees appointed by the lodge to con- 
 duct the enterprise were Wm. W. Moore, John G. Robinson, 
 John Sessford, Jos. Beardsley, Wm. Lloyd, Wm. G. Deale, John 
 W. Galley, Sam'l Stettinius, Washington Lewis, Wm. B. Magru- 
 der, John L. Pascoe and A. G. Herold. The brothers had such 
 success as to complete the building at a cost of $25,000, and it 
 was occupied by the Order in the month of May, 1846. Sev- 
 eral years afterwards the structure was enlarged to accommodate 
 the Encampments, at an additional cost of $12,000. The debts 
 incurred outside of the Order for the ground, building and im- 
 provements, were paid in full prior to the close of 1864. Many 
 additional improvements have since been made, which have 
 not been paid for, but the property is now estimated to be 
 worth from $100,000 to $150,000. Its principal owners are 
 the G. Lodge, and Central, Washington, Columbia and Beacon 
 Lodges, and Columbia Encampment. 
 
 THOMAS M. ABBETT. 
 
 Thomas Middleton Abbett, the son of Henry and Elizabeth 
 Abbett, was born in Philadelphia, March 21st, 1806. His pa- 
 rents being Quakers, he was educated at Friends' School in 
 his native city, and at West-Town, Chester Co., Pa. Soon 
 after his majority he removed to Washington City, and found 
 employment in one of the Government departments. Here he 
 made the acquaintance of a daughter of Dr. Appier, of that 
 city, a lady of great personal attractions, well educated and a 
 great favorite in society. This lady he married. Later in life 
 
THOMAS M. ABBETT. 
 
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 487 
 
 lie engaged in commercial business in Lancaster County, Ya., 
 and was successful, but the malaria of that region was so detri- 
 mental that he was forced to remove to a more healthful local- 
 ity. He therefore disposed of his business and removed to Bal- 
 timore City, where he became receiving teller in the old Citizens' 
 Bank, then on Baltimore Street. Here he remained until the 
 bank closed its doors and retired from business. As an officer 
 in the bank he was quite popular; his urbanity and business 
 capacity were specially noteworthy, and greatly commended him 
 to the corporation and its customers. 
 
 On leaving he was chosen Secretary and Treasurer of the 
 Susquehanna and Tide Water Canal Co., where he remained 
 during the remainder of his life. A capable judge, and his life- 
 long friend, P. G. John H. Barnes, says of him : " The mental 
 endowments of T. M. Abbett were of a high order, and as an ac- 
 countant he had no superior. He was a profound thinker and 
 cogent reasoner. He seldom gave public utterance to his views, 
 but when he did speak he was brief and to the point, and always 
 carried great weight with his audience." In stature he was 
 above the average height, and a fine and commanding presence 
 had the added charm of a bland and smiling countenance beam- 
 ing with good humor and philanthropy. The President of the 
 Canal Co., Hon. Geo. W. Dobbin, now Judge of the Superior 
 Court of Baltimore, says : " He had an evenness of temper and 
 sincerity of manner which made intercourse with him always 
 agreeable. When these attributes are blended with strong nat- 
 ural ability and general cultivation, controlled by high moral 
 convictions, we may well look for a noble character. Such an 
 expectation was in his case not disappointed. He was an active 
 and powerful friend of public education, and as a citizen was 
 always at his post of duty. His services as Commissioner of the 
 Public Schools were of the greatest value. No one labored more 
 assiduously to perfect the system, and none were more attentive 
 to the duties which his position enjoined." 
 
 Broi Abbett was initiated in Philadelphia by one of the early 
 lodges, and continued a member until his removal from that city. 
 Soon afterwards he settled in Washington, and finding no lodge 
 there, undertook the introduction of the Order into the District. 
 On inquiry he found four others of a like disposition, and with 
 them he obtained a charter for Central Lodge, as has been before 
 
488 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 detailed. One of these was Robert Boyd, a brother of John 
 Boyd of Maryland, who was conspicuous in the first decade. 
 Abbett was the first K G. in the new lodge, and the first G. M. 
 of the G. Lodge of the District of Columbia. In these positions he 
 laid deep and strong the foundations of our principles. He it 
 was who first gave character to the Order in the new locality, 
 and his zeal and counsels were of lasting influence. But he 
 removed from Washington, as before stated, to Virginia, and 
 afterwards to Baltimore. Before leaving the District he be- 
 came its first G. Representative in the G. L. U. S. and served 
 during the session of 1829. In Baltimore he attached himself to 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 2. In this lodge and in the G. Lodge of 
 Md. he became at once a leading spirit. He had no taste, and 
 in fact no time for the duties of oifice, and uniformly declined all 
 personal distinctions, but no member excelled him in devotion to 
 our distinctive principles. 
 
 To his wise counsels and personal influence are owing many 
 great reforms in the G. Lodge ; notably, in ridding the body of 
 petty controversies, and fixing the matter of grievances and trials 
 on their present basis. In 1850-1851 he represented the G. 
 Lodge of Md. in the G. L. U. S., and in his second year had Bro. 
 Joshua Yansant as his colleague. He stood well in that body at 
 a time when it was full of able men. He had before that time,, 
 in 1845, drawn up a petition for a Degree Lodge, which was 
 granted, and that lodge was organized under his direction. Re- 
 fusing offices of emolument, he often assisted as a citizen in works 
 of benevolence. His services as a Manager of the House of 
 Refuge were very valuable, and he was full of zeal for its noble 
 objects. 
 
 His death was sudden and after only a few days' confinement 
 to his house ; it occurred on the 17th day of July, 1866. He 
 left behind him one son and four daughters, his wife having 
 died in 1848. And thus another of the early pioneers passed 
 away, but with a record second to none. The loss was felt in 
 a large circle, and was deeply mourned by all who had been his 
 associates. In the Order the honorable distinction of being 
 the Father of Odd Fellowship in the District of Columbia will 
 be his lasting monument ; and so long as that organization shall 
 continue, his memory will be held as a sacred memorial of its 
 birthday anniversary. He lies with kindred dust in Greenmount 
 

 
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 4:89' 
 
 Cemetery, where so many of our famous dead have found the 
 rest of the good after the weary toils of a well-spent life. Requi- 
 escat in pace. 
 
 JAMES GETTYS. 
 
 James Gettys was second only to Abbett in his influence in 
 the District of Columbia, His early history is unknown. We 
 first hear of him in 1827, as the agent for a large brewery located 
 in Washington. His business required him to travel in the inter- 
 ests of his firm, and when he visited Baltimore he naturally made 
 the acquaintance of Wildey and John Boyd, who became his cus- 
 tomers. When Abbett established Odd Fellowship in the Dis- 
 trict it soon came to the knowledge of Gettys. His residence 
 being Georgetown, he was initiated into Georgetown Lodge, No. 
 2, on the occasion of its institution. On the same night he was 
 installed as Secretary, and at once took the chief place as leader. 
 On the institution of a G. Lodge he was made the first D. G. M. r 
 and at the next election became G. M. Such was the estimate 
 of the value of his services as G. M. that he was continued in that 
 office for four successive terms. He was the second Rep. of the 
 District in the G. L. U. S., and served for 1830-1831 and 1833. 
 In that body he took part in every important movement, and was- 
 a valuable member. A glance at the journal of those years will 
 present him in a very favorable light. 
 
 It was during his term, in 1833, that the second term of 
 G. M. Wildey expired. We of this day can scarcely con- 
 ceive of the difficulty of finding a successor for the founder. 
 No man in the Order could fill his place as he had filled it,, 
 nor was it necessary that such an one should be chosen. Per- 
 sonal government and personal influence were about to be sup- 
 planted by law and associated effort. It was then only neces- 
 sary that the successor should be a lover of the law arid a 
 faithful administrator. These qualifications were conspicuous 
 in Gettys, and he was unanimously chosen as the second G. 
 Sire. The election occurred on the 18th of March, 1833. On 
 the 3d of September following, Wildey delivered his farewell 
 address and retired, and James Gettys was duly installed as 
 the first Odd Fellow in America. His officers were strong 
 men, Samuel Pryor having been chosen as G. Sec., and Augustus 
 Mathiot G. Treas. His term of service discloses nothing of spe- 
 
490 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 cial interest, except as showing the working of the body under 
 the constitution and by-laws of 1833, which had been framed by 
 the new men who had now taken charge of the enterprise. It 
 was entirely satisfactory, and met the wishes of the body 
 over which he presided. In 1836 he again appeared as a G. 
 Representative. Here he was prominent in aiding the settle- 
 ment of the difficulty then disturbing the harmony of the Order 
 in New York, and was very active in the business of the session. 
 At this point he drops from that record. 
 
 In the District he was always an active Odd Fellow. He 
 with Abbett gave tone to the first movements, and on Abbett's 
 removal he became the leader of the Order. He was well known 
 to the public in mercantile life as a magistrate, a conveyancer, 
 and general agent, and exerted all his influence for our institu- 
 tion. He was also connected with the City Council and Levy 
 Court, but never allowed any position to cause him to neglect his 
 brethren. Some five or six years before his death, on the decline 
 of his lodge, he deposited his card in one of the Washington 
 lodges. P. G. S. Moore says of him : " It is only his former asso- 
 ciates in the G. L. U. S. and the senior brethren of the District 
 who can appreciate the extent of his services and do full justice 
 to his memory. The latter especially can bear testimony to his 
 unremitting efforts to give stability to the institution, as well in 
 Washington as in Georgetown and Alexandria, at which last 
 place he aided to establish the first lodge south of the Potomac. 
 He died in the arms and under the protection of the brotherhood, 
 who paid his remains appropriate and imposing funeral honors. 
 The malady with which he was afflicted, and which opened the 
 way from this to a better life, was a pulmonary affection." 
 
 The traits of this brother were unusually attractive ; he was 
 affable and obliging to a remarkable degree, and generous to a 
 fault. He was master of the art of conciliation, and that potent 
 weapon was never placed in purer hands or directed by greater 
 .benevolence and goodness. 
 
SEVENTH ST. r WASHINGTON. 1874. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 Though round him numerous tribes, 
 
 Sworn foes to Heaven's dread Ruler, pitch their tents, 
 
 No wayward doubts or coward fears appal 
 
 The Patriarch's soul. SAMUEL HAYES. 
 
 Give me my scallop-shell of quiet, 
 My staff of faith to walk upon; 
 My scrip of joy, immortal diet; 
 My bottle of salvation; 
 My gown of glory, (hope's true gage), 
 And thus I'll take my pilgrimage. 
 
 SIB WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 As has been elsewhere set forth, truth has always been taught 
 In a mystery: a word closely connected with the old English 
 Mister, a trade or craft, the learning of which was something 
 occult and mysterious. Odd Fellowship does not in the ordinary 
 sense seek to teach truth ; it has no abstract or esoteric doctrine, 
 but is in every way concrete and practical. It has not the same 
 root as Masonry, which undoubtedly is nearly related to the 
 ancient mysteries. A system of that kind takes the form of the 
 ancients, which had one method for the elect and another for the 
 multitude. A glance at Masonry will disclose the similarity. Its 
 lectures and symbols have a scientific basis. Geometry is the 
 science on which it is founded, as architecture is the art from 
 whicli it borrows its symbolic language. It is therefore claimed 
 that " more than a superficial knowledge of the principles of ar- 
 chitecture is absolutely essential to the Mason." Thus we find 
 the five orders of that art, the Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, 
 the Tuscan, and the Composite, a part of its fundamental know- 
 ledge. The same may be said of the liberal arts, which its degree 
 of Fellow Craft mainly illustrates. That great Masonic author- 
 ity, Mackey, says: "The seven liberal arts and sciences are 
 illustrated in the Fellow-Craft's Degree. They are Grammar, 
 Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy. 
 Grammar is the science which teaches us to express our ideas in 
 appropriate words, which we may afterwards beautify and adorn 
 
 (491) 
 
492 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 by means of rhetoric ; while logic instructs us how to think and 
 reason with propriety, and to make language subordinate to- 
 thought. Arithmetic, which is the science of computing by num- 
 bers, is absolutely essential, not only to a thorough knowledge of 
 all mathematical science, but also to a proper pursuit of our 
 daily avocations. Geometry, or the application of arithmetic to 
 sensible quantities, is of all sciences the most important, since by 
 it we are enabled to measure and survey the globe that we inhabit. 
 Its principles extend to other spheres, and, occupied in the con- 
 templation and measurement of the sun, moon and heavenly 
 bodies, constitute the science of astronomy ; and lastly, when our 
 minds are filled and our thoughts enlarged by the contemplation 
 of all the wonders w T hich these sciences open to our view, music 
 comes forward, to soften our hearts and cultivate our affections 
 by its soothing influences. The preservation of these arts as a 
 part of the ritual of the Fellow-Craft's Degree, is another evidence 
 of the antiquity of Freemasonry." 
 
 We fully agree with the author that the ritual of his Order 
 proves its antiquity, in the same manner that the absence from ours 
 of the peculiar elements he has enumerated, is evidence 
 against its claim to a similar antiquity. Symbolic Masonry, in 
 fact, has no existence but in the regions of art and science. 
 Every act has its scientific symbol, so that every Mason meets on 
 the level and parts on the square. This is the foundation, but 
 the building is still more spacious. The edifice, or speculative 
 Masonry, is so called to distinguish it from operative Masonry, 
 which is engaged in the construction of edifices of stone. " The 
 operative Mason works according to the designs laid down for 
 him on the trestle-board by the architect; the speculative is 
 guided by the great trestle-board on which is inscribed the re- 
 vealed will of God, the Supreme Architect of heaven and earth." 1 
 This last is the lesson of Masonry as now universally understood^ 
 and is the key to the secrets of that institution. Odd Fellowship 
 also claims an antiquity, but it is comparatively recent, and has 
 no valid claim to be called " ancient." It has no pretensions to 
 art or science in any way, and does not seek the education of the 
 intellect. The reason is obvious. It is a select class, or select 
 persons in the various classes of mankind, to whom such know- 
 ledge is possible or its types interesting. It follows that Masonry 
 does not invite the multitude to its temples, and in fact invites- 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 493 
 
 no man to its secrets. It is a light set upon an eminence, which 
 the worthy and well qualified may indeed approach, but no dull 
 clod that cannot reflect its brightness is brought within its radius. 
 The seeker must also be a learner, and must voluntarily seek 
 the light. FRATERNITY indeed is the bond of its lodges, but not 
 a common fraternity. Mackey says, " Freemasons are brethren, 
 not only by common participation of the human nature, but as 
 professing the same faith, as being jointly engaged in the same 
 labors, and as being united by a mutual covenant or tie ; whence 
 they are also called, ' Brethren of the Mystic Tie.' J: 
 
 To such as know Masonry, it is only necessary to remark that 
 the distinction between the two institutions is best shown by 
 their terms of membership. But three conditions are required 
 by Odd Fellowship : belief in the existence of God, good health, 
 and good moral character. The terms of the other are not nearly 
 so liberal, and are not intended to be so. Odd Fellowship, unlike 
 its ancient sister, is not conservative, but in every sense is aggres- 
 sive. The one is a philosophic school, the other an army ; this a 
 nursery of sound principles and grand designs, that an active and 
 philanthropic workshop ; one seeks to furnish light to the seeker, 
 and the other to reflect it over all the world. The Odd Fellow 
 then is a missionary his mission to bring mankind into one 
 brotherhood : he is a crusader his crusade a war with vice ; he 
 is a nurse, an educator, a reliever of suffering hence his primary 
 objects include the sick, the infant, and the widow. And as these 
 are the main purposes, it follows that a treasury is the very centre 
 of the system. This is fed and drained by the beneficial feature, 
 which is the life of the Order ; and so the distinction between the 
 two Orders is complete. Odd Fellowship then is all plain sailing 
 without the charts of science. The whole foundation rests upon 
 one brief but immortal paragraph : 
 
 " THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD, THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN." 
 
 Hence our ritual covers but the one ground, HUMANITY, and 
 works always under the blessing of the Providence that cares for 
 man : DIVINITY. Masonry, upon the other hand, is not a benefi- 
 cial society. True, one of its landmarks is charity, and that has 
 never failed when occasion demanded its exercise ; but that virtue 
 is not its chief characteristic. Its benevolence is not organized into 
 
494: AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 a system, and its dues do not represent a fund whose chief design 
 is benefits. Its benefits are intellectual, social, and refining, and 
 its tendency as the great mystic body is to seek its proselytes in 
 the higher walks of life, and in the select circles of men of influ- 
 ence and note. Its foundations were laid in an obsciire anti- 
 quity, and the building of its temple was completed by a race 
 which has left it with conditions that no vandal hand shall alter 
 so much as a hair's-breadth of its original design and symmetry. 
 Thus of necessity the work is ready to the hand, and the work- 
 man but reproduces from the model whose design was written 
 on the ancient trestle-board. The vital point then in Masonry 
 is its SECRET, beautiful, and instructive and universal in its ten- 
 dency the mother mystery of the modern world. 
 
 Our degrees have never been classified into their true rela- 
 tions. They seem at first blush to be merely accidental; no 
 outward link connects them, no backward glance groups them 
 together. They are apparently a mass without general shape or 
 outlines. To speak of them as a system would seem a kind of 
 mockery. What a confusion of tongues is here, speaking such 
 opposite if not contradictory things ! what a wealth of emblems 
 without coherent meaning ! what multitudes of lessons without a 
 plan ! what significant WORDS unconnected and never joined in 
 a pregnant sentence ! what diversity of forms to express an idea ! 
 what deviations to arrive at a common goal ! All this and more 
 swells the note of interrogation. But we are not dismayed by 
 the apparent difficulties, but rather delighted that we may turn 
 on the light upon our secret treasures. As we have no official 
 sanction to a plan, no one will be bound by our elucidation. But 
 we shall not hesitate for that, but give our solution, leaving to 
 others the grateful office of improving on our theory. 
 
 THE ANALYSIS OF THE THEORY OF THE SECRET WORK. 
 
 It is only in our initiatory service that we embody the secret* 
 of the ancient mystics : the old story of mortality and its lesson, 
 grief, fear and doubt, slavery and chains, followed by the epopee 
 of immortality, hope, joy, liberty and love. In the degrees pro- 
 per we have abandoned the Egyptian and Dionysian methods. 
 We no longer aspire to know, but to do ; we seek knowledge only 
 for its principles, and learn principles only for the value of their 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 495 
 
 results. We are not seekers for light, but assume that we are 
 already enlightened. In the anteroom, as on an altar, we in- 
 scribe our belief in Deity; having invoked the Divine favor 
 and providence, we have only to learn our duty. The initiation 
 prepares us for the lesson, and that lesson is always practical. 
 Hence, our degrees aim, by successive steps, to form a workman, 
 and to put him to appropriate labor. The treatment is pictorial, 
 by example, and didactic. The neophyte beholds the world as the 
 field of his labors ; he sees it lying in wickedness, the poor neg- 
 lected, the weak downtrodden, and the many the footstools of 
 the selfish few. Here are the unemployed, but industrious, who 
 are shunned, the sick untended, the orphan ignorant and desti- 
 tute, the widow in penury, and the very dead almost unhearsed 
 to a dreary funeral. The degrees disclose these evils and the 
 remedy ; that remedy is FRATERNITY. It has but one form : asso- 
 ciation ; but one principle, benevolence ; but one doctrine, tolera- 
 tion / but one order, equality. Thus all the workmen are one, 
 and the work itself is a unity. It follows that the end is to unite 
 all mankind into a vast and loving brotherhood. 
 
 But the degrees take a yet higher range. As skilled and sci- 
 entific workmen precede all others in device and workmanship, 
 so we educate ours in the deep secrets that underlie their work. 
 Union, integrity and zeal are inculcated ; virtue and honor are 
 set as their mirror, and truth erected as the common standard. 
 FRIENDSHIP is linked to benevolence, and love to charity. A 
 common language makes them sui generis, and a common obliga- 
 tion binds them in a lasting covenant. 
 
 With this explanation we have nothing to fear from compari- 
 son with others. We have our theatre, they have theirs ; our 
 object dignifies the means, and no other means would suit our 
 purposes. The Odd Fellow, then, should be proud of his ritual, 
 both as an original, and because it is fruitful. We are not among 
 dry roots, but in the clear sunshine, among the waving forests ;, 
 all is natural and beautiful. Here are shade and protection, there 
 cooling springs and verdure. Orchards smile in full blossom, 
 and golden fruits reward the laborer. The popular theory of such 
 things has misled us as to the value of our work. Hence it is 
 common to depreciate it, and in many instances to consider it as- 
 merely a loose collection of emblems and allegories. To the con- 
 trary, all are parts of a symmetrical and completed whole. True, 
 
496 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 they were not produced upon a prepared model, and did not come 
 together at the same time. But this is their chief merit. Odd 
 Fellowship is not a creation, but a growth; no man devised it 
 and put it before the world ; but many men, at different periods, 
 and under the pressure of its growth, have added, subtracted and 
 improved until every fragment has been bound together in a sys- 
 tem. This has been most true of the ritual. Similar, and for 
 the most part the same, sentiments were always the producing 
 causes. The demands of the work and the ambition of the work- 
 men have called for liner tools and advanced machinery ; but 
 always to the same end. It is the old story of demand and sup- 
 ply ; but the demand was of the same nature, and the supply of 
 the same material. It is the old argument, but urged by superior 
 reasoning and greater motives. Similar examples, but of a larger 
 number and variety; the same character of emblems, but indi- 
 cating a wider range of illustration ; the same grand lesson, but 
 taught for loftier purposes, and with, if possible, divine sanctions. 
 The connection and order of sequence are not always apparent; 
 there are gaps and sudden transitions which appear incongruous ; 
 in a word, it is not logical. But considered as moral and practi- 
 cal lessons, the difficulty disappears. In that view all is harmo- 
 nious. When the object is to bind men together for benevolence 
 and charity, severe logic is not required. It. appeals to the nobler 
 instincts of the soul, to awaken sympathy, to create a common 
 interest, and above all, to invoke the presence of heaven-born 
 charity. Call it the development of the better feelings, if you 
 please, and we are satisfied, for these are all combined in the 
 master passion of LOVE. 
 
 We defy any careful study of our ritual which does not mani- 
 fest its excellence and power. The seeker for amusement and 
 intellectual excitement will soon be satisfied. But the philan- 
 thropist will roam through it with increasing wonder and su- 
 preme delight. The uncultured will find the refinement no let- 
 ters can bestow, an elevation of purpose no philosophy can 
 furnish ; the poor, the road to help and contentment, and the sor- 
 rowing and desprate, friends and comforters. It is an equipment 
 with which a man becomes a more valuable citizen, a better 
 father of a family. In a word, no mere human arrangement has 
 been formed by which man may more certainly attain his true 
 altitude by the regeneration of the race. We shall essay a vin- 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 497 
 
 dication of this opinion by the degrees themselves. They will be 
 produced in their proper sequence, as necessary parts of the plan; 
 the lesson will be gradually unfolded, the curtain drawn ; each 
 successive portion will be assigned its place ; the apparent gaps 
 shown only to be proper intervals ; distant parts will be brought 
 together until the whole, as a grand panorama, will be presented 
 in a single picture. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE DEGREES OF THE SUBORDINATE LODGE. 
 
 The initiation consists of a dramatic form, after the manner 
 of the ancient mysteries. The difference, and as we think, their 
 superiority, consists in the theory of human regeneration and the 
 practical lesson of mutual sympathy and relief. All this in gen- 
 eral terms. But the degrees are specific. They are five steps of 
 a ladder that reach a lofty summit. But each step is a necessary 
 one in the ascent. Or, to change the figure, they form a system 
 of mystic teaching linked together by natural logic ; theory and 
 practice invoked to form principles and habits worthy of man- 
 kind. Thus the 1st Degree is an allegory of the theory of human 
 happiness, both in sentiment and action. The 2d Degree shows 
 that this is to be attained only by association; that the only 
 basis of such a union is a covenant. The 3d Degree forms that 
 covenant upon the virtue of friendship. The 4th Degree makes 
 it more binding by the cement of love. The 5th Degree is the 
 acme of all, making the condition of that bond, universal love 
 the reign of truth. 
 
 These are intensely practical and profound. What are they 
 but training for a better life among a band of brethren ? The 
 centre of all this teaching is the LODGE the object of all this love 
 is the BROTHERHOOD. It forms a family, and brings each member 
 in harmony with the whole. The degrees then make a man a 
 good Odd Fellow. But the Encampment has a further and dif- 
 ferent object. It deals with the subject in a different aspect. 
 It has no concern with itself in a lodge capacity, none with its 
 members as a single family. It turns to the world as its lodge, 
 to all men as its membership, and the union of all men as its 
 mission. Hence the Patriarchal Degree exhibits abstractly IN- 
 TOLERANCE even among brethren. The Golden Kule Degree 
 gives us the same lesson on a broader scale the intolerance of 
 32 
 
498 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 the world to its benefactors. Both of them show by contrast the 
 tolerance of Odd Fellowship, and most grandly prove that no fate 
 is so hard but that brotherly love will share and relieve it. Thus 
 it deals with all mankind and realizes every promise made to the 
 initiate. For each Encampment of the Order is a missionary of 
 toleration to the world, The Koyal Purple Degree speaks for 
 itself as the chief of all. Scenic, didactic, alarming, consoling 
 no theory can compass it. It is the dream fulfilled, a life's vic- 
 tory, and beyond it nothing lies but the boundless horizon of the 
 infinite. 
 
 EXEMPLIFICATION OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 THE INITIATION. 
 
 The applicant is now a brother ; he is in the retreat of Odd 
 Fellows ; the world is shut out ; he is beyond the threshold, and 
 
 the voice of the Past Grand discloses the broad scope of his future 
 usefulness. He here finds that five interior recesses lie before 
 him, each with its mystery and its lesson. The candidate ad- 
 vances under the guidance of the Conductor, having confidence 
 that all will be well with him. In this frame of mind he begins 
 his lesson. 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 4:99 
 
 THE FIRST DEGREE. 
 
 He knocks at the first portal and it slowly opens. Here he 
 shuts his eyes before the glowing splendor of the full-orbed sun. 
 Light brighter than noonday envelopes him the light of many 
 worlds. When he can bear the blinding glory, he looks around 
 him. On a shifting cloud the emblem of death is reposing. 
 
 The two extremes are meeting, day and night, mortality and im- 
 mortality. Every golden arrow fixes a sentiment, which life's 
 instability rivets in the mind. On a lofty scroll he finds his lesson, 
 " Benevolence, Brotherly Love, and Charity." Personified, they 
 usher him to the inner door, on which are written respectively, 
 " TEMPERANCE, SOBRIETY, and CHASTITY." These significant 
 words sink deep into his soul. Temperance, which forbids noth- 
 ing that is good, and which is the true law by which all things 
 should be done and enjoyed, leads, by a natural succession, to 
 sobriety of character. In that soberness of sentiment and judg- 
 ment one may see all the virtues coming forth beautiful as the 
 flowers of spring. Above all, does it not produce that queen of all 
 goodness that white garment of the soul that lovely bud from 
 which all spotless flowers burst forth full blown CHASTITY ? 
 
500 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 THE SECOND DEGREE. 
 
 He is now beyond the next portal ; in an ancient crypt he 
 stands before two objects : first, a bundle of sticks, and secondly, 
 a bow and arrows. In each separate rod he sees his weakness ; 
 in the bundle, union and strength. That strength is now ex- 
 
 erted. The bow is placed in his hands and a quiver at his side. 
 Neophyte ! thou art now in armor. Firm in thy principles and 
 invincible, thou canst enter the lists. This union is " one for all, 
 and all for one." Invisible hands grasp thine with friendly 
 pressure ; neophyte ! those hands are joined to others, and they 
 again to others, until taking the circuit of a continent, they return 
 in the last to form the circle. It is a solemn hour, for it records 
 a solemn COVENANT. It is the compact for MUTUAL RELIEF, for 
 a common defence. But having thus formed our union in an al- 
 legory, we must place it in firmer keeping. For what are obli- 
 gations but contracts, which may or may not be executed ? It is 
 not sufficient that one shall promise, but that he shall fulfil his 
 agreement. To do this he must prepare himself, by careful fore- 
 sight and the husbanding of his resources, to meet the demand he 
 has created. In this new field of action he thirsts to know how 
 he may measure up to the terms of his covenant. 
 
THEORY OK THE DEGREKS. 
 
 THE THIRD DEGREE. 
 
 501 
 
 The candidate therefore enters a temple as his next proceed- 
 ing. Here, in ample folds, is the serpent ; there an open hand 
 whose palm is a human heart ; between them rises the Jewish 
 
 Ark of the Covenant. How suggestive and inspiring ! What & 
 combination ! the wise serpent, the uncovered heart, the taber- 
 nacle of Jehovah. Learn, my brother, that the living tie of 
 FRIENDSHIP is the bond of unity. No device of wisdom can find 
 a better, no impulse a stronger ; such a union is a seat of mercy, 
 and above it with extended wings do angels minister. The em- 
 blems that surround him are but the picture language which tells 
 him how he may discharge the duties of his new relations. The 
 winding serpent has always been the emblem of wisdom, which 
 acts with caution, and slowly but surely compasses its ends. But 
 there is also the open hand of charity and a kindly heart ; hence 
 all the devices which are here inculcated have but the one object 
 of doing good. But these human traits, thus carefully combined, 
 might fail, unless some higher motive and more solemn sanction 
 were vouchsafed to us from heaven. Hence he looks upwards to 
 the Eternal Father as the common parent who instructs and in- 
 spires his children, and makes these vows that are registered .in 
 the Eternal Archives. 
 
502 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 THE FOURTH DEGREE. 
 
 Confidently lie advances into a larger space. Here scenic 
 power exalts his zeal. A larnb in its innocence ; scales balanced 
 and supported by a sword ; and in the deep blue a revolving globe. 
 " Be just and fear not," says his monitor, " innocence and purity 
 
 will give the victory." Take this potent weapon, irresistible as 
 the sword of Solomon, more effective than artillery ! Such only 
 are found in Heaven's armory ! LOVE is the power to conquer : 
 LOVE, which is immortal, for it is stronger than death. This 
 master passion is the ruler of both heaven and earth, and enters 
 into the entire order of things as the binding and universal har- 
 mony. But innocence alone can sanctiiy the passion. It is in 
 pure souls, that have been washed in pellucid streams, that love 
 burns as the eternal flame which vestal virgins fed in ancient 
 fanes. In that revolving globe appears the majestic signature of 
 the ETERNAL LAW, which tells us of the judgment-seat beyond, 
 where that law will be administered ; the omnipotent law of love. 
 At the eternal throne the balances are hung, in which motes and 
 worlds and men are truly weighed. Innocence is the mother and 
 the sister of purity, producing and nurturing all those modest 
 virtues that adorn the character, as robes and jewels and crowns 
 beautify the body. 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 503 
 
 THE FIFTH DEGREE. 
 
 Deeply impressed and pondering these things, he, last of all, 
 ascends to an upper chamber. All here is significant. An hour 
 glass is rapidly exhausting its sands, and a coffin stands ready for 
 
 the bier ; but above them, with illuminated pages, is the open 
 book of the oracles of God. Disciple, you can go no further ! 
 Your lesson is complete. You see a UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD, 
 united by golden chains of RELIEF and SYMPATHY; FRIENDSHIP 
 and LOVE triumph in works of CHARITY, and TRUTH, severe and 
 beautiful, asserts dominion. For time flies rapidly away and the 
 grave has its victory ; but TRUTH never fails, and will endure forever. 
 The march of time is the revolution of all mundane things. On 
 the great dial of history we may see the slowly moving fingers 
 that overturn and build up, and again cast down all human hopes, 
 as the solemn bell tolls out the coming of some epoch then gone 
 forever. But time has one minister whose works follow as the 
 mighty retinue of so great a power. Death is the prime minister 
 of time, and executes his edicts and works his will among the 
 people. Death also has his emblem blazoned on his black and 
 blood-stained shield ; but the coffin, by God's mercy, is also the 
 emblem of immortality. 
 
504 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 THE END OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 Thus we have hurried through the subordinate degrees to 
 their noble climax. Here is no science, no tinsel rhetoric, no 
 speculative philosophy. It is the eloquence that leads to action. 
 How every string of passion vibrates under touches that deal 
 with the godlike nature ! What wonder then at the beneficence 
 that crowns the work ! Here we pause ; the citizen has become 
 a brother ; the brother a workman ; the workman a philanthro- 
 pist ; the philanthropist is seeking to save ; the workman labors 
 in the family workshop ; the citizen discharges his duty to the 
 State, and the brother sits in the circle of his brethren, devising 
 the elevation of mankind. The work, indeed, "goes bravely on." 
 
 But the Odd Fellow, when he has time for contemplation, 
 starts at finding himself yet ignorant of some higher mystery. 
 He has been told that he is already furnished ; why then this 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 505 
 
 superfluity ? True, the workman is skilled and able, and in FRA- 
 TERNITY his lesson is completed. If he is not yet fused into the 
 general sympathy and in love with practical goodness, no further 
 enlightenment can avail. He is an Odd Fellow indeed in his 
 lodge arid among his brethren. But a broader field of action 
 awaits him. The WORLD requires his ministry. Other, and if 
 possible, profounder knowledge is necessary in that field. Hence 
 he enters on the last stage of preparation. 
 
 THE ENCAMPMENT. 
 
 Ascending to a lofty outlook, he gazes on a scene both new and 
 attractive. A multitude of brothers, of many lodge families, are 
 met in council. They enter in throngs an edifice of peculiar 
 beauty. Banners are waving and shouts of triumph fill the air. 
 He rushes forth to join them, but they have entered and the doors 
 are closed. 
 
 THE PATRIARCHAL, DEGREE. 
 
 He does not hesitate, but knocks loudly at the entrance. On 
 learning that a brother awaits, the door is opened. He enters, a 
 brother among brethren ; erect and confident, he expects a wel- 
 come. But he halts in confusion and dismay; darkness over- 
 whelms him ; his struggles are vain. Why this terrible captiv- 
 
506 
 
 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ity ? "Are we not brethren ? " he cries ; but no answering sym- 
 pathy responds to his appeal. He is a strange brother an in- 
 truder hence these horrors of INTOLERANCE. 
 
 But ]amps are flashing in the gloom ; he shouts aloud the 
 sacred WORDS ; he flings broadcast the SIGNS and TOKENS of his 
 fellowship. A voice is cheering him how assuring ! " Prejudice 
 may impose bonds and fetters, but justice will award the greet- 
 ings of a brother." Help is at hand ; the darkness flies, the fet- 
 ters fall away. He stands in the shadows of three pillars 
 FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY and his trust ascends in the cloud of 
 an ALTAR OF INCENSE. His trial is over, and in the desert waste 
 the TENT receives him to its rites of HOSPITALITY. But a second 
 ordeal awaits him. 
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE DEGREE. 
 
 Again he approaches, and they bid him enter the same scene 
 of darkness; but lo ! as if smitten by lightning, the darkness van- 
 ishes. What means this vast assemblage ? Surely it is the day 
 of doom. It is Father Adam, with his mighty family. The 
 zones are here with their inhabitants, and every longitude has 
 sent a representative. Now, philanthropist, behold the subjects 
 
 of thy mission ! Delightedly he enters on the work, but alas ! one 
 wide, loud-resounding rage of BIGOTRY assails him. Every nation 
 of the family contends for priority in his execution as a male- 
 
THEORY OF THE DEGREES. 
 
 507 
 
 factor. The African draws his club and hatchet, the Asiatic his 
 scimitar, the European erects his gibbet and builds his pyre, and 
 the American stands ready to hurl his tomahawk. Dreamer of 
 universal goodness, behold the reality ! But again he shouts forth 
 the potent WORDS, displays his SIGNALS ; when thousands of a 
 common brotherhood dash away the hateful weapons and instru- 
 ments of wickedness. The subjugated nations hasten to repair 
 the injury. The cross and crescent wave upon the same standard, 
 and Moses, in the seat of judgment, utters the grandest lesson of 
 UNIVERSAL TOLERATION. But he is yet to pass a last barrier ere 
 he emerges into the fullest liberty. 
 
 THE ROYAL PURPLE DEGREE. 
 
 Again he enters ; his nerves are strong, his faith firm for no 
 trembler can endure the test. Now the candidate becomes a 
 wanderer; he knows not which way to turn ; pitiless storms beset 
 him ; darkness, as a pall, envelopes heaven and earth, with no 
 guiding stars to illuminate his pathway. He knows not whither to 
 
 fly ; human tigers lurk by the wayside, tempters, in goblin shapes, 
 lure him to ruin ; assassins are abroad with deadly purposes ; he 
 gropes and stumbles helplessly under a bleak sky and in a biting 
 wind. His guides are rude and cruel ; precipices line the path ; 
 abysses yawn, and ghastly terror threatens on every side. But 
 
508 AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 joy comes, the morning breaks, and the traveler is safe. Smiling 
 pastures lie at his feet, golden harvests are waving, and gleaming 
 rivers sparkle in the sunshine. TENTS with white walls and 
 glittering ensigns crowd the landscape. Rosy children are at 
 play ; caravans display their costly merchandise. Peace and 
 contentment are dwellers in this valley, and over all a venerable 
 PATRIARCH holds his gentle sway. 
 
 Pilgrim, thou hast exemplified the journey of human life t 
 How dangerous, how seductive, how environed by destruction ! 
 Invincible, with thy principles, go forward ! Behold the prepa- 
 ration ! the Scrip, with humble but sufficient sustenance ; the 
 Sandals that w r ill soon be worn away, and the Staff to guide thy 
 tottering footsteps. Away, then, away ! Time is passing away I 
 Death is coming away ! God is calling, and but a little while and 
 HUMANITY shall rise from ten thousand seats to praise thy work 
 and do thee reverence ! Upon the plains where Abraham was 
 blessed, in the midst of blooming oases, behold the ENCAMPMENT. 
 Patriarch, you are behind and in the front of all the civilizations ! 
 Gold has lost its gilding ; empires are but human families ; but 
 one blood cements the race ; and on the throne of earth, supreme 
 and eternal, forever reigns the FATHERHOOD OF GOD ! 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 ABBETT, THOMAS M., of District of Columbia. 
 
 Early history of 486 
 
 Tributes to , 487 
 
 Career in the Order ,487-8 
 
 1st Rep. to G. L. U. S. from District of Columbia 488 
 
 Removes to Baltimore 488 
 
 G. Rep. from Maryland , 488 
 
 Death and funeral 488-9 
 
 ALABAMA. 
 
 Wildey opens a lodge and encampment in - 287 
 
 ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Discussion upon fixing day of 114 
 
 26th April and early celebrations 115, 117, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 
 
 In Massachusetts 352, 373-4 
 
 In Pennsylvania 473, 474 
 
 ASHWORTH, GEORGE, of Massachusetts. 
 
 Sketch of 358 
 
 BANNER. 
 
 Of Grand Lodge of Maryland. 120 
 
 Of Grand Lodge of Massachusetts 373 
 
 Of New England Lodge No. 4, Massachusetts 373 
 
 BARNES, JAMES B., of Massachusetts. 
 
 Early life of , 336 
 
 Middle life of. 337 
 
 Early efforts of 338-340 
 
 Medals presented to 336-7, 340-1 
 
 Tribute to , 341 
 
 Death in Virginia and funeral in New England 341 
 
 BARK, THOMAS, of Massachusetts. 
 
 Joins Good Samaritan Lodge No. 3 .....357 
 
 Deputy Grand Master 358 
 
 Grand Warden of Grand Encampment 358 
 
 Still living , 358 
 
 BARTLE, RUDOLPH H., of Pennsylvania. 
 
 . Grand Master, notice of 465 
 
 BENEFITS. 
 
 System adopted by Washington Lodge No. 1 26 
 
 Funeral 131 
 
 BOYD, JOHN, of Maryland. 
 
 19th member initiated in Washington Lodge No. 1 58 
 
 Grand Treasurer and G. G. of G. L. of Md. and U. S 32, 58 
 
 Refuses to be Grand Master 59 
 
 Known as "THE PAST GRAND" 60 
 
 Services of 60-1 
 
 Characteristics of 62 
 
 Last public appearance of 62-3 
 
 Medal to , 64, 217 
 
 Close of life, and death of...- 63 
 
 (509) 
 
510 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Box, STRONG, of Washington Lodge No. 1 26- 
 
 of Grand Lodge of Maryland ,114 
 
 of Grand Lodge of Massachusetts... 371 
 
 BRADLEY, Rev. C. W., of Connecticut. 
 
 Author of theory of colors in 5th degree 322, 327 
 
 CARDS, VISITING. 
 
 In Manchester Unity 21, 133 
 
 Of Grand Lodge of Maryland 122', 133 
 
 History of , 189 
 
 Price of as supplies 131, 139 
 
 Furnished by Maryland 190 
 
 Furnished by Grand Lodge of the U. S ......190 
 
 To be endorsed by holder 205 
 
 CARDS, WITHDRAWAL. 
 
 In Pennsylvania 440 
 
 CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 Hostility of ..... 5. 
 
 Borrowers of our Regalia, &c 5 
 
 Its ritual borrowed from the ancients 266 
 
 Why worshippers of the Virgin Mary , 266 
 
 CERTIFICATES. 
 
 Use of ...133 
 
 Cards in lieu of , 133 
 
 CHAPIN, Rev. E. H., of Connecticut. 
 
 Of Committee on Revision , 319-326 
 
 CHARTED, GRAND. 
 
 Five P. G.'s to petition for , 181 
 
 Charge for, and degrees 181-2, 226- 
 
 COLFAX, SCHUYLER, of Indiana. 
 
 Author of "Degree of Rebekah" 330 
 
 COLORS. 
 
 Author of dissertation on 327 
 
 Royal Purple, first mentioned 178 
 
 Order and names of the 178- 
 
 CONVIVIALITY. 
 
 In England 42' 
 
 In Ancient Lodges of I. O. O. F 389-390 
 
 Prevailed in every Lodge in U. S. in 1823 .... 43 
 
 In Manchester Unity in 1823 ., 46 
 
 In Washington Lodge No. 1 (Maryland) in 1821 55- 
 
 In Pennsylvania in 1824 441 
 
 In Washington Lodge No. 2 (Pennsylvania) in 1824 442 
 
 Welch the only one of founders temperate 106- 
 
 Temperance question in 1823...., 153 
 
 Temperance action of G. L. of Md. & U. S. in 1823.... , 4& 
 
 Temperance reform of Augustus Mathiot 43, 47, 150, -153 
 
 Resolutions of Augustus Mathiot 44 
 
 Record of and claim by Augustus Mathiot 151-2: 
 
 History of corrected 152 
 
 Mathiot's great services in 153 
 
 Mathiot' s, Tribute of Hostess Adams to 45- 
 
 "With a vengeance" 47 
 
 By Siloam Lodge No. 2 (Massachusetts) in 1824 351 
 
 A Cold Water Lodge 54 
 
 COUTH, WILLIAM S., of Maryland. 
 
 First G. W. of G. L. of Md. and U. S 32 
 
 One of " The Three Links " 160 
 
 CROWDER, JOHN, P. G., of Preston, England. 
 
 His Mission to England .... 22 
 
 Signature to Charter of Washington Lodge 24 
 
INDEX. 511 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 DAFFIN, BENJAMIN, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Sketch of 461 
 
 First de facto G. Sec. of Pennsylvania 462 
 
 Second G. Sec. of Pennsylvania by election - 461 
 
 Services in Maryland 461 
 
 DAY, JAMES, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Case of 177, 431 
 
 V. G. of Penn Lodge No. 1 431 
 
 A spurious Odd Fellow .431 
 
 Initiated and admitted 433 
 
 DEGREES 
 
 English 21, 296 
 
 Conditions for conferring 127, 297 
 
 American 30 
 
 Price of. 122-3, 127, 305,404 
 
 Not to be conferred on Sunday 116 
 
 Order of, fixed 127, 178 
 
 Revised 305 
 
 Colors of , < 178 
 
 Apparent confusion of 494 
 
 Object of 264, 265, 494-5 
 
 Lectures of. 315 
 
 Unwritten Work of. 328 
 
 Translated into German 126, 446 
 
 Partial Revision of 138 
 
 Revision of 1835 318- 
 
 Revision of 1845 '.319-328 
 
 Theory of the 491-494 
 
 Of I. O. O. F. and Masonry 491-2-3 
 
 Of I. O. O. F. explained 495, 496, 497 
 
 Exemplified. 498-508 
 
 Qualifications for office 127 
 
 First or White, came from England 21, 298 
 
 Exemplified 499 
 
 Second or Covenant, American.. .. 30 
 
 Attacked and vindicated .... 244 
 
 Origin of 298 
 
 Analysis of. 244-5 
 
 Carried to England ......... 187, 299 
 
 Exemplified 500 
 
 Third or Royal Blue, English 21, 298 
 
 Modern, by Moore , 322 
 
 Exemplified 501 
 
 Fourth or Remembrance, American 30 
 
 Origin of 298 
 
 Adopted in England .... 187, 298 
 
 Exemplified 502 
 
 Fifth or Scarlet, English 21-298 
 
 History of. 300-301 
 
 Exemplified 503 
 
 Patriarchal, first appearance of. - 180, 230 
 
 Crozier ordered for and Degree printed - 121 
 
 Trice of fixer? 182, 230, 305 
 
 History . : f 302 
 
 Modern, by McCabe 326-327 
 
 Ew> m p1?*cG 505-506 
 
 Golden Rule, hi a toi> of 297, 305 
 
 First appearance of - 297 
 
 Price for. 69, 297, 305 
 
 Originally limited to Past Grands 84-297 
 
 Modern, by Williamson , 327 
 
 Exemplified 506-50T 
 
512 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 D EGREES Continued. 
 
 Royal Purple, produced .230, 300 
 
 History of. 300-301 
 
 "The Sublime Degree" 178 
 
 Price for 305 
 
 Confined to Past Grands 178 
 
 Adopted in England 302 
 
 Modern, by Moore 322 
 
 Exemplified , ,507-508 
 
 See Colors and Degrees. 
 
 Grand Lodge, origin of, 301 
 
 Refused by Manchester Unity 302 
 
 Grand Encampment, honorary of C. P. and H. P 315 
 
 Of Rebekah, author of, 330 
 
 Past. Official, history of 299 
 
 See Colors, Emblems, Encampment, Entwisle, Initiation, Masonry, Moore, 
 Mysteries, Obligations, Odes, Password, Ridgely, Ritual and Secret 
 Principle. 
 
 DEGREE LODGES. 
 
 First appearance of 205 
 
 History of and effect of , 331-332 
 
 In Maryland and Pennsylvania 332 
 
 DELAWARE. 
 
 Lodge No. 1 of, charter granted to 203 
 
 McAnnal's case in ...225 
 
 Grand Lodge of, chartered 209 
 
 Charter of, vacated ..212-213 
 
 Charter of, restored , 226 
 
 See Pearce. 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 First accession to G. L. U. S 480 
 
 Meeting places in 480-486 
 
 Petition for Grand Lodge by , 483 
 
 Hall for I. O. O. F. built and dedicated 486 
 
 Central Lodge No. 1 of, chartered 191 
 
 Instituted 480 
 
 Organization of 481 
 
 Adopts work of Penn 481 
 
 First funeral in ...481 
 
 List of early members of 412 
 
 Dissolved and reinstated ....485 
 
 Grand Lodge of, institution and address to 484 
 
 Adopts work of Penn 484 
 
 Grand officers of 484-485 
 
 Georgetown Lodge No. 2 of, instituted 482-483 
 
 Early initiates in. 483 
 
 Lorenzo Dow and 483 
 
 Is dissolved 485 
 
 Concord Lodge No. 3 of, instituted 484 
 
 Is dissolved 485 
 
 Jonathan Lodge No. 4 of, instituted 485 
 
 Is dissolved , 485 
 
 Pocahontas Lodge No. 5 of, instituted 485 
 
 First Lodge south of the Potomac 485 
 
 Became extinct 485 
 
 Columbia Encampment No. 1 of, chartered 225 
 
 See Abbett, Gettys, Hall. 
 DOWNING, BENJAMIN, of New York. 
 
 Early history of 395-396 
 
 N. G. of Franklin Lodge No. 2 392, 396 
 
 Petition to G. L. U. S 188, 356 
 
 Later account of,... 397 
 
INDEX. 513 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 EATON, JAMES B., of Massachusetts. 
 
 Massachusetts Lodge instituted at his house 339 
 
 Second N. G. Massachusetts Lodge No. 1 .368 
 
 Sketch of .368, 369 
 
 ELLISON, WM., P. G. Sire of Massachusetts. 
 
 Contribution to the History, Preface VI 363 
 
 Tribute to Siloam Lodge No. 2, Mass 353 
 
 EMBLEM OF CORNER-STONE AND ANGLES 123 
 
 EMBLEMS OF THE ORDER. 
 
 First publicly displayed ..146 
 
 ENCAMPMENT BRANCH , 310 
 
 Origin of 129, 303-304 
 
 Theory of the 211 
 
 Early history of 311 
 
 Unwritten Work of. ... 329 
 
 Ritual of the Revision of. 325-326-327 
 
 Wildey's Report on 202 
 
 Recommended by G. L U. S 194 
 
 Legalized by G. L. U. S 214, 310 
 
 To be controlled by G. L. U. b 220 
 
 In Pennsylvania ....... 308 
 
 In New York and Massachusetts 309 
 
 ENCAMPMENT. 
 
 Lodge, chartered by G. L. of Mel 129, 303-304 
 
 Of Patriarchs 135,305 
 
 Charter of 306 
 
 First Grand, chartered and organized 216 
 
 Had only two subordinates 163 
 
 See Degrees, McCabe, Moore, Patriarchs Uniformed, Ridgely, Wil- 
 . liamson and Wildey. 
 
 ENTWISLE, JOHN PAWSON, of Maryland. 
 
 Before he jjined Wiidey 238 
 
 The literary member , 68, 239 
 
 Second of ''The Great Trio " 102 
 
 Neglected and traditions of 239-240 
 
 Author of American Degrees 30, 240 
 
 Author of Representative System 241 
 
 Author of Report on Representative System 91 
 
 First Medal voted to. 79 
 
 First D. G. M. of G. L. of Md and U. S 65 
 
 Grand Sec'y o r G. L. of Md. and U. S 69 
 
 First elected G. Rep. to G. L. of Md. and U. S 86 
 
 Correspondence of G. L. of Md. and U. S. by 73, 75 
 
 Reports first Constitution of the Order 66 
 
 Circulars by 71, 95 
 
 On duties of Grand Master 85 
 
 Beautiful Essay by -242 
 
 Death of, announced .... 97, 246-247 
 
 The Presiding Genius of the Order 247-248 
 
 Eulogy of 248-249 
 
 See Degrees, G. L. of Md. and U. S., Washington Lodge No. 2. 
 
 FORD, WILLIAM E., of Massachusetts. 
 
 Contributor to the History 363-4 
 
 FUNERAL. 
 
 First Odd Fellows' public 48 
 
 First Odd Fellows' in District of Columbia 481 
 
 First Odd Fellows' in Massachusetts 369 
 
 Ceremony, Defence of. 214-215 
 
 Further considered .221 
 
 Benefits , 131 
 
 33 
 
514 INDEX. 
 
 GAREY, HENRY F., of Maryland. 
 
 Editor of the History. Preface V. VI. 
 
 GERMAN. 
 
 Mother Lodge 126, 189 
 
 Wildey charter member of, and dies in... 126 
 
 The Second Lodge 446 
 
 A grand element in I. O. O. F. 126 
 
 Work translated into , 126,446 
 
 GETTYS, JAMES, of District of Columbia. 
 
 Second G. M. of District of Columbia 489 
 
 G. Rep. to G. L. U. S .. 489 
 
 Second Grand Sire 223,489 
 
 Reflections on election of. 223 
 
 Characteristics and death of , 490 
 
 GRAND See Charter. 
 
 GRAND COMMITTEE. 
 
 Meeting of... , 66 
 
 Proposes a G. L. of U. S 90 
 
 Movable Committee, constituted 193 
 
 Reformed ...200 
 
 Duties and Report of 208 
 
 GRAND CONDUCTOR. 
 
 Office of, created in Grand Lodge of Md 05 
 
 GRAND GUARDIAN. 
 
 John Boyd, the first 58-65 
 
 Thomas Mitchell 176 
 
 Robert Gott 201 
 
 Thomas Morse 223 
 
 GRAND LODGE See several named States. 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Organization of. 32,65 
 
 Had one Subordinate 33 
 
 Plan of finance 32, 65 
 
 First Constitution of 33, 66 
 
 Property of 115 
 
 Finances of. 7<>, 90 
 
 Members and appearance of 36 
 
 Officers of 65, 69 
 
 Forbids refreshments - 46 
 
 Closing scenes of -.,. . . 98 
 
 Provides for organizing G. L. U. S., and adjourns sine die 99 
 
 Reflections upon career and work of ,.... .100 
 
 See Maryland, G. L. of Mass., N. Y. and Penn. 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Arrangements for forming 83,86,90 
 
 Resolution to form, and report 87, 91 
 
 First members of .... - 86 
 
 First G. Rep. elected to 86 
 
 Theory of 87, 88, 111, 173, 174 
 
 First Constitution of, adopted > 98 
 
 Constitutions of. 174, 175, 201, 225 
 
 Amendments to 179, 181, 220 
 
 Permanent seat of 94 
 
 Sought by Penns}lvania 180 
 
 First meeting and organization of 175, 176 
 
 Dignified and impressive opening of. 174, 175, 176 
 
 Not confined to Maryland 179 
 
 English Charter to * 184 
 
 How obtained 182, 183 
 
 Journals of, first printed 9 
 
INDEX. 515 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES Continued. 
 
 Officers of 176, 201, 223 
 
 Session of 1825 , 176,180 
 
 Of 1826 , 180, 188 
 
 Of 1827 - 188, 191 
 
 Of 1828 191, 194, 199, 200 
 
 Of 1829.. 200, 203 
 
 Of 1830 203, 209 
 
 Of 1831 210, 217 
 
 Of 1832 218 
 
 Of 1832 in Philadelphia 224, 226 
 
 Of 1833 226, 229 
 
 G. Rep. Small of Pennsylvania appears in , 181 
 
 Action by, in Day's case 177-8 
 
 Statistics of 179, 182, 188, 192, 200, 204, 205, 208, 212, 213 
 
 Review of, in 1833 , 229 
 
 Expenses of, how to be paid 229, 230 
 
 Wildey Treasurer of . 230 
 
 Mathiot Treasurer of 156 
 
 Rcommends Encampments 194, 202 
 
 Massachusetts absent from \ 218 
 
 Statistics and finances of, to 1833.. , 229, 234 
 
 Tribute to 223, 289 
 
 Scarlet degree members excluded from Grand Lodges by 167 
 
 Reflections upon Order in 1833, 12 propositions 234-236 
 
 GRAND MARSHAL. 
 
 Office of, created in Grand Lodge of Md 121 
 
 GRAND MASTER. 
 
 Duties of, denned... 85 
 
 Honors to 128 
 
 GRAND REPRESENTATIVE. 
 
 Provision for 175 
 
 To have R. Purple degree 214 
 
 Grand Lodges to pay 230 
 
 Retiring G. M. of Md. to be, repealed -....131 
 
 Of Maryland blamed 179* 
 
 Policy of . 179 
 
 John P. Entwisle 86 
 
 Charles Common 97, 180 
 
 Thomas Scotchburn ....188 
 
 John Roach 200 
 
 Samuel Lucas 203 
 
 James L. Ridgely , 211 
 
 George Keyser .218, 219, 222, 224, 226 
 
 Richard Marley 166, 172 
 
 Of Pennsylvania, Wilson Small 181 
 
 John W. Campbell 2uO, 203 
 
 Wm.J. A. Birkey 211 
 
 Howell Hopkins 218, 222, 22^ 226 
 
 Of District of Columbia, Thomas M. Abbett. 200 
 
 James Gettys 203, 211, 219, 224 
 
 Of Delaware, Simon Robinson 226 
 
 GRAND SECRETARY. 
 
 John Welch the first '. 65 
 
 John P. Entwisle 69, 246 
 
 William Williams 176 
 
 Expelled 130,192 
 
 John J. Roach 192 
 
 John Starr, pro tern 199- 
 
 Augustus Mathiot 155,156, 201 
 
 Samuel Pryor. 223 
 
 Salary of , 231 
 
516 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 GRAND SIRE. 
 
 First mention of Title Ill, 112, 181 
 
 Honors to 128 
 
 Wildey, the first, 176 
 
 Re-elected as 201 
 
 Term of, prolonged 214 
 
 Gettys, the second k 223 
 
 GRAND SIRE, DEPUTY. 
 
 John Welch the first 104 
 
 Robert Neilson the second 223 
 
 GRAND TREASURER. 
 
 John Boyd t 58, 135-136 
 
 Thomas Wildey ,,. 230-232 
 
 Wm. Hall nominally , 213 
 
 John Brannin refuses to serve as 223, 227 
 
 Augustus Mathiot 155-156, 229 
 
 GUILD, ALBERT, of Massachusetts. 
 
 Early history of 383-4 
 
 Services of c. 384-5 
 
 Restores the Order in Massachusetts .385 
 
 Grand Secretary 385 
 
 Representative in Grand Lodge U. S 385 
 
 District Deputy G. Sire 385 
 
 HALL. 
 
 First in the U. S. of the I. O. O. F. in Baltimore 140, 142 
 
 Dedication of. 140, 147 
 
 Cost of: 145 
 
 Grand Lodge U. S. meets in 210 
 
 South 5th Street Philadelphia 475 
 
 Built and dedicated 476 
 
 Record of dedication ,,.. 477 
 
 In District of Columbia 486 
 
 HARMONY. 
 
 Order of 45 
 
 HERSEY, DANIEL, of Massachusetts. 
 
 First American initiated in Massachusetts 339, 368 
 
 N. G. of Siloam Lodge, No. 2 339 
 
 Early history of 368 
 
 Services of 369 
 
 G. M., and Representative to G. L. U. S 369 
 
 Winds up affairs of old G. L. of Mass ,...386 
 
 HONORS. 
 
 Giving the, abolished -139 
 
 HOPKINS, HOWELL, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 G. Representative... 218, 222, 224, 226 
 
 Protest in G. L. U. S 218 
 
 G. L. U. S. adjourns for 221 
 
 Presents service of plate for G. L. U. S. to Wilcley 226 
 
 HOST. 
 
 Rights of a 44, 210, 441 
 
 Duties of a 389-390 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 Grand Lodge of, instituted by Wildey 288 
 
 INITIATION. 
 
 Derivation of the word 254 
 
 Theory and foim of, in I. O. O. F 497 
 
 Exemplification of, in I. O. O. F 498 
 
 In Egyptian rites 258 
 
 In Scandinavian rites ;.26l 
 
 In Dionysian (Grecian) rites 262 
 
INDEX. 517 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 I N ITI ATIO N Continued. 
 
 In Persian and Gothic rites 269 
 
 By Pythagoreans ..270 
 
 In Ancient Mysteries 2*70 
 
 In Masonry. See Secret Principle. 
 
 JACKSON, HENRY M., of England. 
 
 Brings Work of Manchester Unity to Washington Lodge 20, 21 
 
 Wildey's rival as founder of I. O. O. F 22, 27 
 
 Institutes a rival Lodge 27 
 
 Retires from the field - 29 
 
 JERUSALEM ENCAMPMENT No. 1., of Maryland. 
 
 The first in the world as successor to Encampment of Patriarchs 135 
 
 JOURNAL. 
 
 Beginning of, and how obtained , 89 
 
 KENNEDY, JOHN A., of Maryland 
 
 Early history of ,...411 
 
 Ridgely and ,, 412 
 
 Initiated 412 
 
 Services in Maryland 412, 413 
 
 Removes to New York 413 
 
 Services in 413 
 
 G. Representative to G. L. U. S t 413 
 
 Grand Master , 413 
 
 Grand Si r,e , 413 
 
 Characteristics of ,.. 413, 414 
 
 Public history of 414, 415 
 
 On Committee of Revision of the Work 415 
 
 As a historian 415, 416 
 
 Contributions to the history. Preface VI 12, 389, 415, 416 
 
 Singular incidents as related by 48, 55-56 
 
 Corporator of Gnand Lodge of Maryland 119 
 
 Reports in favor of presentation of silver cups to Ridgely and Keyser 137 
 
 Revives the Order in New York , 410 
 
 Death of, and honors to 416 
 
 KENTUCKY. 
 
 Boone Lodge No. 1 of, chartered. 220 
 
 Wildey's visits to 286-7 
 
 LEISE, FREDERICK, of New York. 
 
 G. Representative from New York, afterwards D. G. Sire 407 
 
 LODGES. 
 
 Duties in, described 162, 237 
 
 Convivial proceedings in < 42, 55, 441, 442 
 
 Visitors to, to pay a fee 112 
 
 Name and number of 192 
 
 Encampment , 303 
 
 Spurious 165, 207,402 
 
 Ancient, in England , 389, 390, 440 
 
 Financial system of. .... 190 
 
 Meeting places of early, in U. S 19, 36, 37, 38, 39, 53, 54, 112, 339, 343, 
 
 348, 390, 391, 392, 423, 426, 443, 444, 445, 446, 455, 456, 457, 458 
 
 LOPEZ, JOSEPH, of Massachusetts. 
 
 Sketch of, and services of. 361 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 Louisiana Lodge No. 1 of, chartered , , 209 
 
 Grand Lodge of, chartered , 217 
 
 Visit and Work of Wildey in 286, 287 
 
 Wildey Encampment No. 1 of, chartered 217 
 
 MANCHESTER UNITY. 
 
 Origin of 195, 402 
 
 Style or title of .... 196, 197 
 
518 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 MANCHESTER UNITY Continued. 
 
 Degrees of 296, 298, 299, 302 
 
 Conditions for obtaining 297 
 
 Work and system of. 20, 21 
 
 Refreshments allowed by , 46 
 
 Adopts American Degrees , < 298, 299 
 
 Circular letter to 95 
 
 Charters Washington Lodge No. 1 23 
 
 Charters G. L. of U. S. in 1826 184, 185 
 
 Charters Columbia Lodge, New York 392 
 
 Thanks to, by G. L. U. S 185 
 
 Wildey not a' member of , 18 
 
 MARLF.Y, RICHARD, of Maryland. 
 
 Entered Grand Lodge of Mel... 112 
 
 Earlylifeof 163 
 
 Grand Warden and Deputy Grand Master 163 
 
 Expelled 164 
 
 Returns and reforms 164, 165 
 
 Grand Master and Grand Patriarch 166 
 
 Grand Representative and characteristics as 166 
 
 Rare traits of character 169, 170 
 
 Fifth degree members and .164, 167, 168 
 
 One of " Three Odd Links' 1 160 
 
 Portrait of 172 
 
 Death of, and splendid funeral of 171 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 'Baltimore in, in 1819 17 
 
 Reform of Lodge conviviality in ,.. 43, 211 
 
 Plan of Lodge Room in 45 
 
 Disappointment at not being made permanent seat of G. L. U. S 179 
 
 Great revival of the Order in 142-143 
 
 First I. O. O. F. Hall in U. S. dedicated in .... 146, 147 
 
 See Banner, Boyd, Couth, Crowder, Entwine, G. L. ot Md. and of the 
 U. S., Marley, Mathiot, Ridgely, Welch, Wildey and Vansant. 
 
 MARYLAND, GRAND LODGE OF. 
 
 Plan for separate ,,., ., 87 
 
 Separate charter to 32 
 
 Elects a G. Representative to G. L. U. S 86 
 
 Last meeting; before being separately organized 98 
 
 Separate officers elected by 99 
 
 First meeting of, and Wildey's retirement from G. M 108 
 
 Separate charter of, and address of Wildey 109,110 
 
 Presents a " breast-plate " to Wildey Ill 
 
 Seals ordered by 115 
 
 Qualification for N. G. adopted by Ill 
 
 Qualification for G. M. adopted by 112 
 
 Action on anniversaries 114 
 
 Celebrations 117 
 
 Property and funds of 115 
 
 Irregular trial by 116 
 
 Political action of , 118 
 
 Expunged 119 
 
 Reflections on, and tribute to 119, 120 
 
 Procures first banner of I. O. O. F 120 
 
 Adopts " Crozier " for Patriarchal degree 121 
 
 Franklin Lodge No. 2, instituted by Jackson. ., 27 
 
 Action on, by Manchester Unity 28, 29 
 
 Chartered by G. L. of Md. and U. S 33, 65 
 
 In 1823 47 
 
 And Washington Lodge No. 1 33 
 
 Columbia Lodge No. 3, Chartered 84 
 
 Institution and grand opening of 40, 50 
 
INDEX. 519 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 MARYLAND, GRAND LODGE OF Continued. 
 
 William Tell Lodge No. 4, Chartered 125-6 
 
 Wildey a charter member of 126 
 
 Mother German Lodge 126, 189 
 
 Gratitude Lodge No. 5, chartered 140 
 
 Action on " New Signs " by 123,128 
 
 Honorary Membeiship allowed by .... ......124 
 
 Fixes order and price of degrees 127 
 
 Purchases lease and fixtures of Columbia Lodge .. .' 128, 129 
 
 Charters an Encampment Lodge .129 
 
 Officers of 130, 134 
 
 Activity and work of ....c... 132 
 
 Retiring G. M. to be G. Representative (Repealed) 131 
 
 Finances of, and statistics of 131, 134, 135, 136, 139 
 
 Charters an Encampment of Patriarchs ... 135 
 
 Wildey acting Treasurer of - 135 
 
 Fifth degree members in 164 
 
 Procures a Charter from the State 118, 137 
 
 Presentation by, to Kidgdy and Keyser 137, 138 
 
 " Giving the Honors" abolished by 139 
 
 Proceeds to build a Hall of I. O. O. F , 140, 141 
 
 James L. Ridgely as G. Sec. of, and efforts in building the Hall 140, 142 
 
 Cost of the Hall 145 
 
 Dedication and celebration by 140, 147 
 
 See Washington Lodge No. 1 and G. L. of Md. and U. S. 
 
 MASONRY. 
 
 No Central Government in 99, 100 
 
 I. O. O. F not borrowed from 4 
 
 False origin attributed to 253 
 
 Traits of Ancient Mysteries in 265 
 
 Traits of the Pythagoreans in 270 
 
 Doctrines and rites of 491, 492,493 
 
 Nature of former obligation of I. O. O. F. same as 333 
 
 Hostile to early I. O. O. F 43, 150, 151 
 
 Tribute to, as sister Order 4 
 
 William Morgan and .,.. 333 
 
 Sketch of Anti-Masonic party 333 
 
 Persecution of I. O. O. F. by Anti-Masonry 219, 220, 334, 376, 427 
 
 Triumphant in the contest - 334 
 
 See Secret Principle and Odd Fellowship. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Early Odd Fellows in , 335 
 
 James B. Barnes founder of I. O. O. F. in 338 
 
 Two Lodges instituted in ... 339 
 
 Correspondence with Wildey organization ... 70, 342i 
 
 Wilson's visit to Baltimore, and consequences of. .40, 41 
 
 Wildey's mission to , 72, 76, 343 
 
 Hatson's case in 346, 347, 370 
 
 Encampments in. .363 
 
 Wildey's subsequent visits to 365, 366, 367, 368, 371, 378, 385 
 
 Wildey's correspondence with 377-381 
 
 First 1. O. O. F. procession in 373, 374 
 
 Report of Movable Committee on. 382 
 
 Revival in, and striking incident of 385 
 
 Reflections on I. O. O. F. in, in the decade 386-388 
 
 See Ashworth, Barr, Barnes, Eaton, Ellison, Ford, Guild, Hersey, Lopez, 
 Norris, Paul, Porter, South wick and Yates. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS LODGE No. 1. 
 
 Instituted , 339 
 
 Wilson of, visits Baltimore 342 
 
 Letter from, to Washington Lodge No. 1 70 
 
 Charter voted to 71, 343 
 
520 INDEX. 
 
 1'AGK. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS LODGE No. 1 Continued. 
 
 Organized by Wildey , 330 
 
 Finances of 339, 349 
 
 Charter of 344 
 
 Institutes Siloam Lodge No. 2 330, 340 
 
 Has a difficulty with Siloam Lodge No. 2 347 
 
 Places of meeting 348 
 
 In 1825-6-7-8-9 ;-;4<>, 381 
 
 Price for initiation in 349 
 
 Meetings for conferring degrees 349 
 
 Final proceedings of, and surrender of charter 349, 350 
 
 Revival of, in 1841 385 
 
 Present condition of 350, 363 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS, GRAND LODGE OF. 
 
 Chartered .71, 72, 365 
 
 Charter of 366 
 
 Recalled and reissued. ...367 
 
 First organization of, by Wildey 345, 365, 366, 367 
 
 First members of 345 
 
 Officers of 378, 381, 382 
 
 Strong Box for 371 
 
 General laws of. 371 
 
 Good effect of 372 
 
 Property of 383-386 
 
 Revived and reorganized 385 
 
 Reflections on original failure of .386-388 
 
 Siloam Lodge No. 2, instituted 339 
 
 Early members of 351 
 
 Temperance resolution of 351 
 
 At Wildey's visit 345 
 
 Conflict with Massachusetts Lodge No. 1... 347 
 
 Collation by 351 
 
 Finances of 351 
 
 Public installation by 352 
 
 Independence of 352 
 
 Charter, and surrender of. 353, 354 
 
 Tribute to, by P. G. S. Ellison 353 
 
 In 1828 and 1829 381 
 
 Present condition of.. 363, 364 
 
 Good Samaritan Lodge No. 3, chartered 373 
 
 Flourishes in 1829 359 
 
 Decadence of, in 1833 359 
 
 New England Lodge No. 4, publicly instituted 373, 374 
 
 First procession of I. O.O.F. by, in N. E. 373, 374 
 
 Sketch of, and dissolution of 361 
 
 Present condition of.- 364 
 
 Washington Lodge No. 5, instituted 374 
 
 Its membership, and Wildey's notice of. .. 362 
 
 Its extinction 362 
 
 Adam Lodge No. 6, Formal opening of , 374 
 
 Sketch of, and dissolution of 362, 365 
 
 Merrimac Lodge No. 7, chartered 375 
 
 Formal opening of 375 
 
 Wildey's eulogy of 375, 37& 
 
 Noble efforts, and restoiation or 376, 377 
 
 Present condition of 364 
 
 MATHIOT, AUGUSTUS, of Maryland. 
 
 The young American uf first decade 149 
 
 Parentage and early history of 149- 
 
 No. 177 in Washington Lodge No. 1 149- 
 
 Characteristics of 150, 151 
 
 Rejected by Masonry as an I. O. O. F 150, 151 
 
INDEX. 521 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 MATHIOT, AUGUSTUS, OF MARYLAND Continued. 
 
 Author of Temperance Reform , 151, 152 
 
 Fennell's tribute to 153 
 
 Refuses to become G. M. by death of G. Master .,..155 
 
 Deputy G. Master and G. Master 155 
 
 G. Secretary of G. L. U. S Io5, 156 
 
 G. Treasurer and G. Representative to G. L. U. S 156 
 
 Second G. Patriarch...., 157 
 
 His eminence and popularity 157 
 
 His prosperity and liberality 158 
 
 His green old age 159 
 
 His death and "The Three Odd Links." 159, 160 
 
 MATTHEWS, WILLIAM H., of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Sketch of 46T 
 
 N. G. of Pennsylvania Lodge No. 1, in 1823 46T 
 
 First elected G. Secretary in Pennsylvania 467 
 
 McCABE, REV. JAMES D., of Virginia. 
 
 Author of present Patriarchal Degree 327 
 
 McCoRMicK, DUNCAN, of Maryland. 
 
 Brings Patriarchal Degree from England 180 
 
 McKELVEY, WILLIAM P., of West Virginia. 
 
 Contribution to the history 337 
 
 McMAHAN, THOMAS P., of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Conflict with G. L. of Pennsylvania 435,436 
 
 Address at dedication of Hall 474 
 
 MEDOLE, JOHN, of New York. 
 
 His contribution to the history, Preface VII 416 
 
 MEMBERS. 
 
 Honorary , 113, 124, 125 
 
 By certificate 133 
 
 How to apply to become, after rejection 138 
 
 Difficulty about "respectability" of 210 
 
 Reinstatement of suspended for N. P. Dues 125 
 
 Composed originally of Mechanics .... .161 
 
 MISSISSIPPI, GRAND LODGE OF. 
 
 "Wildey institutes ,.- 287 
 
 MISSOURI, GRAND LODGE OF. 
 
 Wildey institutes 287 
 
 MOORE, WILLIAM W., P. G. Sire, of the District of Columbia. 
 
 His contribution to the history 321-327 
 
 Author of present Royal Blue Degree 322 
 
 Royal Purple Degree 325-326 
 
 Ridgely and, authors of present Initiatory 324 
 
 MYSTERIES, ANCIENT. 
 
 Egyptian 255, 256 
 
 Osiris, Serapis and Isis 256 
 
 Theory of rites of. 257 
 
 Initiation and degrees of 258, 259 
 
 Chinese, philosophy of. ..259, 260 
 
 Japanese, philosophy of 260 
 
 Druidical, philosophy of.. .260 
 
 Temples of. 260, 261 
 
 Scandinavian philosophy of .. 261 
 
 Initiation 261 
 
 English jury from 261 
 
 May Day, Christmas and St. John's Day from 262 
 
 Grecian, Eleusinian Legend, and object of. 254, 255, 262 
 
 Dionysian Legend and initiation 262, 263 
 
 Spiritual meaning of 263 
 
 Pythagorean, founded on numbers and geometry 267, 268, 269 
 
522 INDEX. 
 
 PAGK. 
 
 MYSTERIES, Ancient Continued. 
 
 Pythagoreans, as communists 2*70 
 
 Secret work and degrees of 270 
 
 Hebrew, regard for numbers 2G8-9 
 
 See Secret Principle. 
 NAME 
 
 And Initials of the Order 3, 194-8 
 
 NEW JERSEY. 
 
 Introduction of the Order into 429 
 
 New Jersey Lodge No. 1 of, chartered and sketch of 199, 430 
 
 Benevolent Lodge No 2 of, chartered and instituted 199, 431 
 
 Previous history of. 430 
 
 Grand Lodge of, opened by Wildey 287 
 
 See Pearce. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Ancient Odd Fellowship in , 389-90, 403 
 
 Chambers family in 390 
 
 Morris and Flanagan 391 
 
 Condition of, in 1833 208,405 
 
 Albany movement 406-7 
 
 G. L. of U. S., on 407-8 
 
 Order reestablished in 409 
 
 Reflections on history of Order in, and new birth 410-11 
 
 Shakspeare Lodge No. 1 of, self-instituted and dissolved 390-1 
 
 Franklin Lodge the rival of Columbia Lodge No. 2 392-3 
 
 Merged in Columbia Lodge No. 2 396 
 
 Washington Lodge of, self-instituted and closes 391 
 
 Columbia Lodge No. 4 of, self-instituted 391 
 
 English charter granted to 392 
 
 Contention with Franklin Lodge 393 
 
 Wildey's decision and the result to 394 
 
 Correspondence with Baltimore by 73-4 
 
 Chartered by G. L. of Md. and U. S 78 
 
 Grand Lodge of, chartered 75 
 
 Instituted by Wildey . .. 76, 398 
 
 Charter of , 397 
 
 Had but one subordinate 399 
 
 Contest with Friendship Lodge No. a 399-401 
 
 Contest with Strangers' Refuge Lodge No. 4 401-2 
 
 Character of Pa>t Grands of 405 
 
 Representatives in the G. L. U. S 405 
 
 Condition of 208, 405 
 
 Removed to Albany - 406-7 
 
 Grand Masters of 406 
 
 Last recorded meeting of 404 
 
 Case of, inG. L. U. S 407-8 
 
 Grand revival of the 408-10 
 
 Reflections upon and tribute to 410-11 
 
 See Downing, Encampment Branch, Kennedy, Leise, Robinson, Small 
 and Watts. 
 
 Friendship Lodge No. 2 of, instituted and sketch of 399 
 
 Able attack on American system by 399101 
 
 Answer to 401 
 
 Hope Lodge No. 3 of, instituted 401 
 
 Fine membeiship of 407 
 
 Strangers' Refuge Lodge No. 4 of, instituted 401 
 
 Mutinies, and is expelled K>3, 401-2 
 
 Character of members of 402-3 
 
 Institutes a Lod^e in New Jersey 402 
 
 Reinstated by Grand Lodge 404 
 
 Singular history of. - 404 
 
 Philanthropic Lodge No. 5 of, instituted 403 
 
INDEX. 523 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 NICHOLS, AARON, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Sketch of, and monument to 463 
 
 First Grand Master of Pennsylvania 463 
 
 NORRIS, THOMAS F., of Massachusetts. 
 
 Initiated 351 
 
 Services of, and Grand Master 360 
 
 OBLIGATION. 
 
 At first Masonic 333 
 
 Changed to " Parole of Honor " 334 
 
 ODD FELLOWSHIP. 
 
 Name of 3, 195 
 
 American, true origin of. 7, 199 
 
 Statistics of, in 1878 16 
 
 Incidents in beginning of. 18, 19 
 
 Founder of ,.. 19 
 
 Twelve fundamental observations on 234-6 
 
 First movers in 7, 335 
 
 And the Church 144, 214, 215 
 
 And Masonry 3, 4, 43, 150, 151 
 
 Literary character of.... 187, 216 
 
 Epoch of June 1823 ,..,424, 469 
 
 Foundation of degrees of., 493 
 
 Ancient, false origin attributed to 10,253 
 
 True origin of ... 389 
 
 System of. 403 
 
 System of, ably defended ..399-401 
 
 Relief by 390, 395 
 
 Character of members of 335, 405 
 
 See Anniversary, Benefits, Cards, Certificates, Hall, Harmony, Honors, 
 Host, Members, Manchester Unity, Masonry, Name, Obligation, Odes, 
 One Man Power, Past Grands, Politics, Ritual, Traditions, Tramps, 
 Warden's Axe. 
 ODES. 
 
 Not sung, but recited 78 
 
 Installation, to be read..... 85 
 
 OHIO. 
 
 Ohio Lodge No. 1 of, chartered ., - 208 
 
 Grand Lodge of, chartered 216 
 
 On style of Order 197 
 
 Triumphal visit with Wildey 287 
 
 Wildey Encampment No. 1 of, chartered..... 218 
 
 ONE MAN POWER. 
 
 Reflections on 209 
 
 PASSWORD. 
 
 Annual Traveling, adopted 89, 332 
 
 To be given to G. M. and D. G. M. of each State 191 
 
 History of.. 332 
 
 PAST GRANDS. 
 
 Committee of 29 
 
 Rights of. 135, 178 
 
 PATRIARCHS. 
 
 Uniformed 313-15 
 
 PAUL, WILLIAM, of Massachusetts. 
 
 On Anti-Masonry in Massachusetts , 334, 376 
 
 PEARCE, JOHN, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 History and character of 426 
 
 As an Odd Fellow 427 
 
 N. G. of Pennsylvania Lodge No. 1 428 
 
 D. G. Master and G. Representative to G. L. U. S 428 
 
 First G. Master and G. Representative of New Jersey 431 
 
 Death of .429 
 
524 INDEX 
 
 J. -rt.ljr.Ci, 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Compliment to , 221 
 
 Translates Work into German 446 
 
 Anniversary in 473_4 
 
 Hall on South Fifth Street 474-476 
 
 Building and dedication of 477 
 
 Reflections and eulogy on 477-9 
 
 Pennsylvania Lodge No. 1 of, visited by Wildey 72 
 
 Chartered and instituted ...75, 70, 424 
 
 Defection of 206, 207, 434-437 
 
 Founded by John L>. Robinson 423 
 
 First initiate of 423 
 
 Charter of, vacated 436 
 
 Wildey sustains 436 
 
 Present condition of 437-8 
 
 Reflections on, and tiibute to 437-8 
 
 See Bartle, Baffin, Day, Encampment Branch, Hopkins, Matthews, 
 McMahan, Nichols, Pearce, Potts, Pryor, Robinson, Small, Stokes 
 and Upton. 
 
 Grand Lodge of, chartered and instituted 459, 460 
 
 First Grand Secretary of 460-2 
 
 First Grand Master of. 463 
 
 Officers of.... 4u4, 465, 468 
 
 Constitution of, adopted 464 
 
 Correspondence with G, L. U. S 470 
 
 Reports to G. L. U. S 470, 472, 473 
 
 Washington Lodge No. 2 of, chartered 433, 438 
 
 Noble conduct of 438 
 
 Recruits and aids Numbers 3, 8, y, ]3, 22, 23. ..438 
 
 Condition of, in 1862 and 1874 439 
 
 Interesting meetings and minutes 441-2 
 
 Disapproved of Bar (1827) 466-7 
 
 Wayne Lodge No. 3 of, history and present condition 443 
 
 Morning Star Lodge No. 4 of, instituted 443 
 
 Pioneer in building I. O. O. F. Hall 444 
 
 Present condition of 444-5 
 
 Franklin Lodge No. 5 of, chartered, and its present condition 445 
 
 General Marion Lodge No. 6 of, organization and its present condition 445 
 
 Hermann Lodge No. 7 of, instituted, audits present condition 446 
 
 Rising Sun Lodge No. 8 of, instituted .... 446 
 
 Members of and its present condition 447 
 
 Mechanics Lodge No. 9 of, first Lodge instituted west of the Alleghanies...447 
 
 D. G. M. appointed for, and duties of 447 
 
 Hall and property burned 447, 449 
 
 Noble contributions to 448, 449 
 
 Refuses to obey the D. D. G. M 449-50 
 
 Charter of forfeited and returned 450 
 
 Interesting proceedings on return of. .450-1 
 
 Surrendered in 1860 452 
 
 Restored and prosperous 452 
 
 Philomathean Lodge No. 10 of, instituted 452 
 
 First Lodge to pay for I. O. O. F. Hall 452 
 
 Present condition 452 
 
 Kensington Lodge No. 11 of, institution, career, and present condition 453 
 
 Jefferson Lodge No. 12 of, institution, career, and present condition 453 
 
 Philadelphia Lodge No. 13 of, chartered 453 
 
 Interesting career of, 454 
 
 No. 16 unites with 456 
 
 Wildey Lodge No. 14 of, instituted , 454 
 
 First of the name in the United States 454 
 
 Career and present condition .454 
 
 Philanthropic Lodge No. 15 of, chartered 455 
 
 Career and present condition 455 
 
INDEX. 525 
 
 PEN N SYLVAN i A Continued. 
 
 Harmony Lodge No. 16 of, instituted, career, and present condition 456 
 
 Northern Liberty Lodge No. 17 of, chartered, and present condition. ..456, 457 
 
 La Fayette Lodge No. 18 of, instituted, and present condition 457 
 
 Amity Lodge No. 19 of, chartered, career,and present condition 458 
 
 Miners Lodge No. 20 of, chartered, and present condition 458 
 
 POLITICS IN GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 Resolutions adopted and expunged 118, 119 
 
 Reflections upon the noble act 120 
 
 PORTER, NATHAN, of California. 
 
 Author of Sign of Recognition 331 
 
 PORTER, THOMAS C., of Massachusetts. 
 
 Contribution to the History 364 
 
 On Grand Charter of Massachusetts 367 
 
 POTTS, JOHN G., of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Grand Master and Grand Treasurer of Pennsylvania, and later history of.. .468 
 PRYOR, SAMUEL, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Sketch of , 465 
 
 First native Grand Master of Pennsylvania , - 466 
 
 Grand Secretary of G. L. U. S.... .. ..466 
 
 RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 Odd Fellowship in, before 1820 342 
 
 James Wood, lather of. 356 
 
 See Wood. 
 
 Friendly Union Lodge No. 1 of, chartered 202 
 
 Correspondence with and institution of 355-6 
 
 RIDGELY, JAMES L., of Maryland. 
 
 Enters the Order and early career in 140 
 
 Identifies himself with the Order 141 
 
 Incorporates Grand Lodge ofMd 137 
 
 Presentation to 137-8 
 
 Secures first Hall in the U. S 142 
 
 Wildey and 211, 212 
 
 Author of funeral ceremonies 221 
 
 Description by, ofWildey's Farewell and Death 284, 293 
 
 Author of P. G.'s charge 320, 324 
 
 RITUAL, OR LECTURES. 
 
 Brought to United States , 20 
 
 Meaning of " Lecture " '. 315 
 
 First book of, by Manchester Unity 316 
 
 In United States, English and German 316, 317 
 
 Maryland furnishes books of 317 
 
 G. L. U. S. assumes control of 317 
 
 Revision of in 1835, 1845, 1873 318, 319, 320 
 
 G. Secretary Ridgely author of P. G.'s charge.... - 320 
 
 P. G. Sire Moore's incidents of revision of 1845 321-327 
 
 See Degrees. 
 
 ROBINSON, JOHN B., of New York. 
 
 Founder of I. O. O. F. in Pennsylvania 406, 423, 433 
 
 Ross, THEODORE A., of New Jersey. 
 
 Connection with the work. Preface VII. 
 
 SECRETARY. 
 
 Permanent recommended - 114 
 
 See Grand Secretary. 
 
 SECRET JOURNAL. 
 
 Text and Diagrams 329, 330 
 
 SECRET PRINCIPLE. 
 
 Philosophy of the ...< 251 
 
 How anciently imparted 270 
 
526 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 SECRET PRINCIPLE Continued. 
 
 Derived from mystery ,. 251-2 
 
 Not ascribed to I. O. O. F 265-6 
 
 Of I. O. O. F. original .... 264-5 
 
 Of Masonry ,...265 
 
 Ancient Mysteries , 252-3 
 
 Antiquity of 253-4 
 
 And the number SEVEN 269 
 
 Name of Deity in .....268 
 
 Doctrines and rites of. .254 
 
 Influence of on the Moderns 264 
 
 In modern forms 266 
 
 Degenerates into mythology 271-2-3 
 
 Ancient Mystics 273 
 
 Oracles cease in, and reason triumphs 273-4 
 
 See Catholic, Initiation, Mystery. 
 
 SIGNS. 
 
 Old and new 89, 328 
 
 New repudiated .... 123 
 
 Action on 128 
 
 New and old to be imparted 191, 213 
 
 New adopted 192 
 
 HAILING, and author of 331 
 
 RECOGNITION, and author of 331 
 
 SMALL, THOMAS, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Sketch of .. 464 
 
 Career as G. Secretary 465 
 
 G. Representative in G. L. U. S 181 
 
 Member of Movable Committee and report. - 207-8, 382 
 
 Death of ..465 
 
 SMALL, WILSON, of New York. 
 
 Early history of 416 
 
 History of, in the Order 419 
 
 G. Representative and G. Master 419 
 
 Successful administration of 420 
 
 Later history and characteristics of 421-2 
 
 SOUTHWICK, SIMEON, of Massachusetts. 
 
 Notice of o 360 
 
 STOKES, JOHN W., of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Contributes to the History. Preface VI. VII. 
 
 On Uniformed Patriarchs 313 
 
 STUART, FRED. D., P. G. Sire, of the District of Columbia. 
 Author of device for History. Preface VII. 
 Supervised Diagrams in Secret Journal 330 
 
 SUNDAY. 
 
 Degrees not to be conferred on 116 
 
 TEXAS. 
 
 First Lodge opened in foreign land, by Wildey 287 
 
 TRADITIONS. 
 
 For the History, who obtained from 12 
 
 TRAMPS. 
 
 Relief to 189, 390 
 
 UPTON, JOHN, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Early history of 425 
 
 House of, in Dock Street, Philadelphia 426 
 
 Pennsylvania Lodge No. 1, instituted at 423-4 
 
 VANSANT, JOSHUA, of Maryland. 
 
 Sketch of 50, 51 
 
INDEX. 527 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 Virginia Lodge No. 1 of, chartered 224 
 
 Washington Lodge No. 2 of, chartered 227 
 
 Grand Lodge of, instituted 287 
 
 WARDEN'S AXE. 
 
 Dues collected on 190, 394 
 
 WASHINGTON LODGK No. 1 (Maryland). 
 
 When and how instituted 18, 19 
 
 Wildey first N. G. of 19 
 
 Obtains the English work 20 
 
 Celebrated English Charter to 23 
 
 Finances the first year 25 
 
 Benefit system adopted by 26 
 
 Franklin Lodge to supersede 27 
 
 Meeting places of. 19, 21, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 143 
 
 Chartered by G. L. of Md. and U. S 35 
 
 Condition of in 1822 40 
 
 Visit from a Massachusetts brother to 40 
 
 Convivial Meeting of, in 1821 55 
 
 First secret work and ritual of. 298 
 
 Founders of 104 
 
 Mother Lodge 32-3 
 
 Its present condition 56 
 
 See Box Strong, Boyd, Conviviality, Crowder, Entwisle, Jackson, Mathiot, 
 McCormick, Welch, Wildey, Yates. 
 
 WATTS, RUSSELL, of New York. 
 
 N. G. of Columbia Lodge, N. Y 392 
 
 Applies forCharter for the Lodge 73 
 
 Grand Master of New York 406-7 
 
 WELCH, JOHN, of Maryland. 
 
 Association with Wildey ~ IT 
 
 First V. G. of Washington Lodge No. I 19, 103 
 
 First G. Secretary of G. L. of Md. and U. S 32, 104 
 
 First D. Grand Master and D. G. Sire 104 
 
 Before April 1819 102 
 
 Third in " The Great Trio " 101 
 
 The Nestor of the enterprise 103, 106-7 
 
 Survey of his character and services 104-5 
 
 Characteristics 105-6 
 
 Analysis of work of, with the Trio. 106-7 
 
 G. Secretary Ridgely and 106 
 
 Retires 203 
 
 Death of 106 
 
 WHITALL, CHARLES, of Louisiana. 
 
 Author of Hailing Sign 331 
 
 WILDEY, THOMAS. 
 
 Before 1819 17, 276, 277, 278 
 
 Welch and 17, 18 
 
 Washington Lodge No. 1, self-instituted, Wildey's narrative of. 19, 278-9 
 
 First N. G 19 
 
 Jackson the rival of 22, 27 
 
 Grand Master ofG. L. of Md. and of the U. S . 32, 65 
 
 His mission in 1823 72-76 
 
 Founder of I. O. O. F. and anxiety to be so known 280 
 
 Analysis of character of 280-2 
 
 In old age 289-92 
 
 Retires as Grand Master of Md , 98, 108 
 
 Founds Encampments 129, 310 
 
 First Grand Patriarch 216 
 
 As Treasurer 136, 230-1 
 
 Member of first German Lodge 126, 189 
 
528 INDEX. 
 
 \VILDEY, THOMAS Continue^. 
 
 Ridgely and 211 
 
 First Grand Sire and installation 176 
 
 Mission to England 182-3, 188 
 
 Reasons for and proceedings upon 184 
 
 Carries American Degrees to England , 187 
 
 Movable Committee and 2u7, 208 
 
 Re-elected Grand Sire 219 
 
 Slander of 219-20, 283 
 
 Breast-plate presented to ,, Ill 
 
 Thanks voted to 71, 76, 190, 192, 201, 224 
 
 Service of plate presented to 226 
 
 Medals, jewels, &c 99, 226 
 
 Gives place to new men 209,223 
 
 Condition of Order on retirement of. 233, 283 
 
 Farewell address of 227 
 
 Affecting notice of, by Ridgely 284 
 
 Eulogy on official career of 229 
 
 As Travelling Missionary i 285 
 
 Closing labors of. ...288 
 
 Grand retrospect of life of , 292 
 
 Last appearance of 293 
 
 Death and prophetic words of. v 293-5 
 
 Addresses of 51, 67, 98 
 
 WILLIAMSON, REV. ISAAC D., of Maryland. 
 
 Author of present G. Rule degree 327 
 
 \VooD, JAMES, of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 
 
 Early history of ~ 3-55 
 
 Father of Rhode Island Odd-Fellowship 356-7 
 
 Correspondence of 355-9 
 
 First Grand Master and Grand Patriarch of Rhode Island 356 
 
 G. Representative from Rhode Island. 357 
 
 YATES, JOHN, of Maryland. 
 
 His mission to England 24 
 
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