The New International Encyclopædia/Masons, Free - Wikisource, the free online library (2024)

MASONS, Free. A secret fraternal organizationof worldwide celebrity, and one credited byenthusiastic writers with great antiquity. TheOrder, however, is now conceded to have beeninstituted about the early part of the eighteenthcentury — the pretensions put forth to a datecoeval with the building of the Temple at Jerusalem,with King Solomon as the first grandmaster, being considered by those who havethoroughly investigated the subject as not worthy ofcredit. The attempt also made to establish aconnection between the fraternity and many ofthe secret cults and organizations, such as theEleusinian mysteries, the Pythagoreans, theRosicrucians and others, in the early stages ofits existence, has also failed, the utmostaccomplished in that direction being the detectionof a certain similarity between the symbolsand ceremonies of these older institutions andthe system of ritual and rule observed bythe Masonic Order — circumambulation, the useof aprons, the forty-seventh problem ofEuclid, etc. Another consideration which tendsto discredit any connection between these olderassociations and the Freemasons is the fact thatthe conception of Masonry implies a cosmopolitanbrotherhood, which would have beenimpossible of realization in the earlier ages of theworld's history. The more rational and thegenerally accepted theory regarding the origin of thesociety of Freemasons is, that it is the successorof the building associations of the Middle Agesof which the Steinmetzen or stonemasons ofGermany were a representative. The term Freemason has also been a puzzle to philologists, someclaiming that it is Norman French — Frère Maçon(brother mason) — while others maintain thesecond part of the title to have been derived fromthe German word Metzen, having the samesignification. These early building societies, theprecursors of the Masons, are found to havebeen grouped in the eleventh and twelfthcenturies for the most part around the Benedictinemonasteries, the abbots being the architects whoemployed the masons on ecclesiastical buildingsand repairs. The development of architecturaltaste and the acquisition of greater wealth by theChurch led to the erection of buildings on alarger and more imposing scale, requiring theassociation of craftsmen in the various branchesof construction for longer periods together. Thisled to the formation of societies known as theBauhütten, so called from the wooden booths,where, during the continuance of the work on anyparticular building, the craftsmen kept theirtools, took their meals, and held their meetings.By the latter part of the thirteenth century thesesocieties had increased so in number that ageneral association of the Bauhütten was formed inGermany, governed by one code of craft laws,acknowledging one set of secret signs andceremonies, and working under one central authority,the Haupthütte of Strassburg. That there is acertain connection admitted between thisorganization and the Masonic fraternity may beinferred from the fact that the trade customs andsymbolic forms of the Bauhütten have beendescribed by Masonic writers in Europe and America.(See Fort, Early History and Antiquities ofFreemasonry, Philadelphia, 1887). The requirementmost rigidly enforced from the earliestperiod was secrecy, which was enjoined in themost solemn manner, both journeymen andapprentices being sworn, before initiation, on theBible, Square and Compasses, to preserve inviolatethe secrets of the brotherhood. Membershipwas at this early period confined strictly to theoperative class, who were supposed to preserve theold secrets of Gothic Masonry, but later, in theseventeenth century, it no longer was deemednecessary to restrict membership to craftsmenalone, and, the bars being lowered, gentlemenbecame eligible. The Haupthütte went out ofexistence in 1731.

From the Continent of Europe England derivedmuch of her lodge organization. The earlierEnglish associations of operative builders werefirst called Freemasons in the fourteenth andfifteenth centuries, because of the freedom grantedthem to carry on their occupation. From 1607to 1618 Inigo Jones, under the patronage of LordPembroke, was actively engaged in Masonic work,but the civil wars and the agitation caused bythe Reformation so materially broke up theMasonic connection that it was not until 1663that definite steps were taken to put thefraternity on a permanent basis. A generalassembly of Masons was held in London in thatyear, new rules were formulated and statutesenacted, and a formal resolution was passed thatMasonic privileges should be no longer confined tothe operative Masons. Professional and literarymen, those learned in astrology, or alchemy, aswell as theoretic geometricians and architects,now identified themselves with the fraternity.This class of membership at first was honorary,whence the term Free and ‘Accepted’ Masons.

The historic period of Freemasonry begins withthe formation of what is known as the premierMasonic Grand Lodge of the world in London,England, in 1717. This is generally styled the‘revival’ of Freemasonry. Prior to that time aMasonic lodge was composed of “any number ofbrethren assembled at any place for the performanceof work, and, when so assembled, wereauthorized to receive into the Order brothers andfellows, and to practice the rites of Masonry.The Ancient Charges were the only standard forthe regulation of their conduct. The master ofthe lodge was elected pro tempore, and hisauthority terminated with the dissolution of themeeting over which he had presided, unless thelodge was permanently established at anyparticular place.” Such lodges are known inMasonic history as time immemorial lodges. OnJune 24, 1717, four of the old lodges thenexisting in London constituted themselves into aGrand Lodge, the first Masonic Grand Lodge everorganized, and elected Anthony Sayer their firstgrand master. George Payne succeeded Sayeras grand master in 1718, and Dr. JohnTheophilus Desaguliers followed in 1719. In 1720George Payne was again grand master, andin that year compiled for the first time a setof ‘General Regulations,’ which were subsequentlyrevised by Dr. Desaguliers and Rev. JamesAnderson, a Scotch Presbyterian minister, and werefirst published in 1723, under the title of “TheCharges of a Freemason, extracted from theancient records of lodges beyond the sea and ofthose in England, Scotland and Ireland, for theuse of lodges in London.” After 1717 new lodgescould be created only under a warrant from theGrand Lodge. In 1724 the Grand Lodge ofEngland came into conflict with a time immemoriallodge at York, claiming to have originated at anassembly of Masons in 926. This led to theformation in 1725, by the old Lodge of York, ofthe ‘Grand Lodge of All England.’ The GrandLodge of all England, however, appears to havemaintained friendly relations with the LondonGrand Lodge. In 1751 nine lodges owingallegiance to the Grand Lodge of England secededfrom that body on the ground that the GrandLodge suffered subordinate lodges of its jurisdictionto depart from the ancient landmarks ofFreemasonry, and organized a ‘Grand Lodge ofEngland, according to old Institutions.’ Theystyled themselves ‘Ancients,’ and called themembers of the Grand Lodge of England ‘Moderns.’In 1750 Laurence Dermott, the leader of theseceders, published the “Ahiman Rezon,” or Bookof Constitutions, which he copied from theconstitutions of the original or ‘Modern’ GrandLodge, and addressed it to ‘The Ancient YorkMasons in England.’ The Grand Lodge of AllEngland, at York, died in 1792. There thenexisted in England but two Grand Lodges, the‘Ancients’ and the ‘Moderns.’ After negotiationsextending over a number of years, finally, in1813, through the efforts of the Duke of Sussex,grand master of the ‘Moderns,’ and his distinguishedbrother, the Duke of Kent, grand masterof the ‘Ancients,’ a permanent union was establishedunder the title of the ‘United Grand Lodgeof Ancient Freemasons of England,’ by which thefraternity has since been known. Freemasonryhas always been favorably considered in England.In 1799, when an act of Parliament was passeddirected against seditious societies, an exceptionwas made in favor of Masonic lodges, which werecredited with meeting solely for benevolentpurposes. Jews were admitted to membership onthe same footing as other religious denominations.The growth and progress of the fraternityhas been so marked that there are now in theGrand Lodge of England more than 2000 lodges,a Grand Lodge, sixty provincial Grand Lodges,a Grand Lodge of Mark Masters, a SupremeGrand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, a GreatPriory of Knights Templars, and a SupremeCouncil of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.A few years after the revival a Committee onCharity was formed and since then Masonicschools have been founded for boys and girls andinstitutions for the aged and infirm.

In Scotland the early history of the Masonsdiffered in no essential respect from that ofother trade crafts. In 1598-99 the statutes andordinances of the Order to be observed “by allMaster Masons as set down by William Shaw,Master of Work to His Majesty, and generalwardent of the craft” (see Lyon, History ofFreemasonry in Scotland), were published. Theseordinances, however, are largely concerned withtrade relations. The system of degrees was notdeveloped, but a ‘pass-word’ was adopted. In1736 a final effort, set on foot fifteen yearsbefore by Desaguliers, the organizer of the EnglishMasonic movement, to consolidate the variouslodges into a representative body, was successful,and on November 30, 1736, the first generalassembly of symbolical Masons was held and aGrand Lodge for Scotland formed. Therepresentative of the family of Saint Clair, which waspatron of the Masonic Lodge, was elected firstgrand master; provincial grand masters wereappointed, a general adhesion of Scotch lodgesto the new organization was effected, and SaintAndrew's Day was substituted for the day ofSaint John the Baptist, the fête day in England.Freemasonry was introduced into Ireland in 1730,when the first lodge was opened at Dublin. TheEnglish system and ritual were adopted, but,owing to the fact that the religion of the countryis so largely Roman Catholic, Masonry hasnot made a very marked progress. At the closeof the nineteenth century its representationconsisted of one Grand Lodge and about 350 lodges.

The first Masonic lodge in France, accordingto Clavel and other well-authenticated authorities,was established at Dunkirk on October 13,1721, and was styled ‘L'Amitié et Fraternité.’The second was organized by Lord Derwentwaterin Paris in 1725. It was at first largely patronizedby the nobility, but its purpose does not seemto have been of an elevated character, and this,supplemented by the vigorous opposition of theCatholic Church, tended to invest the institutionof Masonry with a very unstable character. In1736 a Grand Lodge was formed, and in 1766a new Grande-Loge Nationale of France wascreated (subsequently altered in title to the GrandOrient), and a representative system adoptedunder which the various lodges were brought into adegree of subordination to the central andauthoritative body. Considerable hostility,however, was manifested toward the new organizationby the original Grand Lodge, and there was,besides, a conflict between the rituals in use, theGrand Orient following the Scottish rite, whilethe original Grand Lodge had adopted a wildlysuperstitious form, fathered by the impostorCagliostro. The Revolution practically suspendedboth organizations, which subsequently wererevived and in 1799 became united in one nationalorganization. Hardly had this union been effectedwhen another entering wedge was inserted bythe introduction of two new systems of ritual,one the Scottish Philosophical Rite, includingthe luminous ring and the white and black eagle,and the other the Ancient and Accepted ScottishRite of thirty-three degrees. Finally, in 1804, aunion was again effected between the GrandOrient and the Supreme Council, but since thatperiod the cause of Freemasonry in France hasnot been as progressive as in other Europeancountries. At the close of the nineteenthcentury the number of lodges in existence was onlyabout 350. The Grand Orient has ceased torequire belief in a personal God as a test ofmembership. The introduction of Freemasonry intoother European countries, notably Spain,Holland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Russia, tookplace between 1725 and 1750, but with varyingresults. In Russia the Masonic lodges have beensuppressed, while in Austria-Hungary they merelypreserve an existence, owing to the ban ofthe Church being placed on them.

The introduction of Masonry into America wasunder the deputation to Daniel Coxe of NewJersey, from the Grand Lodge of England, datedJune 5, 1730, which appointed him provincialgrand master for Pennsylvania, New York, andNew Jersey, ‘for the space of two years.’ WhileCoxe does not seem to have been active inestablishing lodges in his territory, reliable evidencethat Saint John's Lodge was founded inPhiladelphia in the latter part of 1730 or early in1731 is found in a letter written by HenryBell, dated November 17, 1754, in which hespeaks of a charter being granted by DanielCoxe to a number of Philadelphians. The existenceof the lodge in 1731 is further proved by theaccount books of Benjamin Franklin, who soldstationery to and did printing for Saint John'sLodge. The entries bear dates in 1731. Anothercorroborative proof is found in a ledger of thelodge discovered in 1884, which is called ‘LiberB.’ Its entries begin with June 24, 1731, andconsist of amounts paid into the lodge bymembers. Franklin was made a Mason in January,1731. In 1733 the Grand Lodge of Englandgranted a deputation to Major Henry Price ofBoston, as ‘Provincial Grand Master of Freeand Accepted Masons in New England.’ OnJuly 30, 1733, a warrant was granted to formSaint John's Lodge in Boston, Mass. From thisbeginning, Freemasonry spread throughout thecolonies. There also existed a large number ofmilitary and traveling lodges, usually attachedto regiments or battalions of the British Army,and formed under warrants from the GrandLodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

When the War of the Revolution came to asuccessful close the American lodges so createdwithdrew their allegiance to the parent lodgesin England and Scotland and created GrandLodges in several of the States, and the Orderthus became deeply rooted in American soil,where it has continued to grow withoutinterruption other than what is known as the greatanti-Masonic movement, which began in 1826 andcontinued for about ten years, during whichperiod the membership was reduced to a verysmall number. (See Anti-Masons;Morgan,William.) The Order is also prospering inBritish America, while in the republics of SouthAmerica, where the Catholic religion is in theascendent, the same influences operate to itshindrance as in the European countries whereChurch influence is powerful.

A system of what is known as Freemasonryexists among the colored people in America,which, while admitted to be regular, is not recognizedby white members of the Order, or theirgrand and subordinate lodges in this country,although receiving full recognition as to theregularity of their organization from some ofthe foreign Grand Lodges. The parent lodge wasopened in Boston, March 6, 1775, through theexertions of Prince Hall, known in the archivesof the Order as the father of Freemasonry amongcolored men. There were fifteen chartermembers and the lodge was known as African Lodge.It received a warrant from the Grand Lodge ofEngland in 1784 and was organized as AfricanLodge No. 429 in 1787, with the rank of aProvincial Grand Lodge and Prince Hall asprovincial grand master. This lodge becamedormant after the death of the charter members,was subsequently revived, but failed to receiverecognition from the Grand Lodge of England.The African Grand Lodge of Boston, now knownas Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts,was organized in 1808, and there are at thepresent time in the United States twenty-eightcolored Grand Lodges, and one in Ontario, Canada.These are distributed as follows:Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado,Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas,Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan,Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, NorthCarolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and WestVirginia. There also exist among the negroesbodies of the higher degrees of Masonry, viz.Chapters of the Royal Arch, Councils of Royaland Select Masters, Commanderies of KnightsTemplars, subordinate bodies of the AncientAccepted Scottish Rite, a Supreme Council ofSovereign Grand Inspectors-General, and Temples ofNobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Concerning the rites, ceremonies, and principlesof Freemasonry it should be said that theunderlying principle is a belief in a SupremeBeing and the immortality of the soul. Next tothat is the recognition of fraternal obligationsamong members of the Order. The duties of aMason are always to be held subordinate tohis duty to his God, to his country, and to hisfellowmen, a fact not generally credited outsidethe fraternity, and ignorance of which has ledto much of the opposition it has encountered,on account of its being a secret institution. Itdiffers from other secret and beneficial societiesin the matter of its beneficiary features, for thereis no obligation expressed in the order ofprocedure set forth as part of its fixed policy. Themeasure of relief to be extended to fellowmembers in distress and the participation in anywork of charity are matters implied rather thancommanded. Some of the lodges voluntarily createfunds for charitable purposes, but this is amatter which rests with the particular lodge,which is independent in any line of action itadopts not antagonistic to the objects orprinciples of the Order. As a rule, the dispensing ofrelief is entirely governed by circ*mstances, andis not circ*mscribed by conditions of membershipin any particular lodge. A sojourning or visitingMason, in any locality where he may betemporarily staying, if in distress, has a claim onhis brother Masons, in accordance with the spiritand teaching of the Masonic fraternity. A systemof benevolence has been adopted in many of theAmerican jurisdictions which is characteristic ofthe fraternity. It is the establishment in differentjurisdictions of Masonic homes and infirmariesfor the needy and distressed of the Order.The first of these homes was established in 1807at Louisville, Ky., as the ‘Masonic Widows andOrphans Home and Infirmary.’ Other institutionshave been founded in Philadelphia, Chicago,Saint Louis, Nashville, Springfield, Ohio, Wichita,Kan., Waterford, Conn., Burlington, N. J.,Richmond, Va., and in Michigan, Texas, andCalifornia. Funds have been established in manyother jurisdictions either to found homes or toprovide a systematic administration of charity.The homes are, like the English institutions,largely supported by voluntary contributions, butin some States a per capita tax is levied uponeach Master Mason within the jurisdiction.

The teachings of Freemasonry are symbolical,ceremonial, and allegorical. Rites, almost withoutnumber, were formed by degree-makers duringthe past one hundred and fifty years, butmost of them had but a short existence. Thereare now ten Masonic rites or systems in usethroughout the world, all having as their foundationthe three symbolic degrees of EnteredApprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. Thetwo rites that are ranked as universal are theYork or English rite, and the Ancient AcceptedScottish rite of thirty-three degrees. TheEnglish rite comprises the three fundamentalsymbolic degrees, and the Royal Arch degree,appended in 1813. The English rite has beenenlarged and changed in this country and Canadaand is known as the American rite. It consistsof thirteen degrees, grouped as follows: EnteredApprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason,conferred in symbolic lodges; Mark Master, PastMaster, Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch,conferred in chapters of Royal Arch Masons;Royal Master, Select Master, and Super-ExcellentMaster, conferred in councils of Royal and SelectMasters; and Orders of the Red Cross, KnightTemplar, and Knight of Malta, conferred incommanderies of Knights Templars. Of thethirty-three degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottishrite the first three or symbolic degrees arenever conferred, all control of them and rightto use them having been relinquished by theSupreme Councils of the Scottish Rite to theGrand Lodges of the United States and Canada.The degrees from the fourth to the fourteenthare conferred in the Lodge of Perfection; theseare Secret Master, Perfect Master, Intimate,Secretary, Provost and Judge,Intendant of the Building, Knight Elect of Nine,Knight Elect of Fifteen, Sublime KnightElect, Grand Master Architect, Knight ofthe Ninth Arch, and Perfect and Sublime Mason.The degrees Knight of the East or Sword andPrince of Jerusalem are conferred in councils ofPrinces of Jerusalem. The degrees of Knight ofthe East and West and Knight of Rose Croix areconferred in chapters of Rose Croix. Inconsistories of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secretare conferred the following degrees: GrandPontiff, Master ad vitam or Master of All SymbolicLodges, Noachite or Prussian Knight, Knight ofthe Royal Axe or Prince of Libanus, Chief of theTabernacle, Prince of the Tabernacle, Knight ofthe Brazen Serpent, Prince of Mercy, KnightCommander of the Temple, Knight of the Sun orPrince Adept, Knight of Saint Andrew, KnightKadosh, Inspector Inquisition Commander, andSublime Prince of the Royal Secret. The thirty-thirdand last degree, that of Sovereign GrandInspector-General, is conferred in the SupremeCouncil upon Masons who have rendereddistinguished services to the craft. The English andthe Scottish rites are the only two that arepracticed in the United States and are recognized byMasons generally. The Scottish rite in the UnitedStates is controlled by two bodies, the SupremeCouncils of the Northern and Southern Masonicjurisdictions. They are in fraternal communionwith each other and with the Supreme Councilof France as well as those of England, Scotland,Ireland, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay,Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Colombia,Chile, Central America, Greece, Canada,Cuba, Switzerland, Egypt, Tunis, and Spain. Thenumber of subordinate bodies in these jurisdictionsis: Northern Jurisdiction, 239, with amembership of 34,035; Southern Jurisdiction, 267,with a membership of 14.867. There are inaddition to the foregoing a number of societiesin the United States, which, though not in anysense Masonic in character, yet require as aprerequisite to uniting with them membership inMasonic bodies. The largest and most popularis the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of theMystic Shrine. (SeeMystic Shrine, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the.) Minororganizations are the Mystic Order of VeiledProphets of the Enchanted Realm, withheadquarters at Hamilton, N. Y., and the IndependentInternational Order of Owls, with headquartersat Nashville, Tenn. These societies are purelysocial organizations, founded for amusem*nt andrecreation.

The only society allied to Masonry thatreceives women into membership is the Order ofthe Eastern Star. It is not a Masonic body, norhas it ever been recognized by the Masonicfraternity, but its members are composed of MasterMasons in good standing, their wives, daughters,mothers, and sisters, together with the widows ofsuch Master Masons. The system whichadmitted women to membership in bodies allied toFreemasonry originated in France about 1730.The bodies were called ‘Lodges of Adoption,’because each organization was required to beadopted by a Masonic lodge and was under itscontrol. Lodges of adoption are said to havebeen introduced into this country about 1778, butthey never flourished to any extent. As early as1793 there was an ‘Order of the Eastern Star’ inexistence in this country. This organizationdisappeared early in the last century. The systemat present prevailing in the United States wasfounded in 1868 by Robert Macoy of New York,upon the basis of a ritual developed by RobertMorris, an eminent Masonic writer. There arenow in the United States thirty-two Grand Chaptersand over 250,000 members.

The Sovereign College of Allied Masonic andChristian Degrees of America is a body ofMasons clothed with power to confer academic aswell as ritualistic degrees, the former being givenfor honorable cause. The highest academicdegree conferred is that of Doctor of UniversalMasonry, which has been conferred on only fivedistinguished members of the Order. The ritualof the college comprises the degree of ArkMariner, Secret Monitor, Tylers of Solomon, SaintLawrence the Martyr, Knight of Constantinople,Holy and Blessed Order of Wisdom, TrinitarianKnight of Saint John of Patmos. The Order isin fraternal communication with the GrandCouncil of the Allied Degrees, and the GrandArk Mariners Council, both of England.

The following table gives the Grand Lodges inthe United States and British America, withtheir respective and total membership broughtdown to a recent date:

Masonic Grand Lodges in the United States and
British America, with their Respective
Membership at the Close of 1902

The above American and British AmericanGrand Lodges maintain fraternal relations with theGrand Lodges of Belgium, Costa Rica, Cuba,Denmark, Eclectic Union (Frankfort-on-the-Main),England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, New SouthWales, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Porto Rico,Royal York (Berlin), Saxony, Scotland, SouthAustralia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, ThreeGlobes (Berlin), Victoria (Australia), ZurEintracht (Darmstadt), and Zur Sonne (Bayreuth).

Besides what may be called orthodox Masonrythere are two other bodies operating in theUnited States known as those of the Cerneau riteand the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis,which differ in ritual from the older Orders. TheCerneau Masons, or Sovereign Grand Consistory,founded in 1807 by Joseph Cerneau in affiliationwith the Grand Orient of France and enrolledunder the Scottish rite, has two consistories inNew York City, and a ‘Supreme Council ofSovereign Grand Inspectors-General of the Thirty-thirdand Last Degree.’ It is not in affiliationwith Masonic bodies generally in America andCanada, owing to its connection with the GrandOrient of France, which does not require foradmission to membership the necessity of abelief in the existence of a Supreme Being. Ithas jurisdiction over seventy subordinateconsistories of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret,which are subdivided into Lodges of Perfection,Councils of Princes of Jerusalem, Chapters ofRose Croix, and Consistories. The Ancient andPrimitive Rite of Memphis was established inMontauban, France, in 1814, by Jacques EtienneMarconis and others. On November 9, 1856, thefirst organization of the Ancient and PrimitiveRite in America was created in New York underthe title of ‘A Supreme Council Sublime Mastersof the Great Work Ninetieth Degree’ by JacquesEtienne Marconis. On March 1, 1857, he organizeda ‘Sovereign Grand Council-General Ninety-fourthDegree’ and granted a charter with fullauthority for the administration and governmentof the Order, and on June 21, 1862, a ‘SovereignSanctuary Ninety-fifth Degree’ was created inand for the continent of America in affiliationwith the Grand Orient of France. The ‘MysticTemple Grand Council-General Ninety-fourthDegree’ has charge of the State of New York. Thereare branches in existence for the government ofother countries under titles of Sovereign Sanctuaries,viz. for Great Britain and Ireland, Egypt,Rumania, Naples, Palermo, and India.