THE BUILDER MARCH 1926

Freemasonry in Kentucky

By Bro. HENRY BAER, Ohio
PART II

THE seed of Masonry had been planted in most fertile ground by the
early pioneer brethren of Kentucky, and with the formation of her
Grand Lodge and continued settlement of the state the Craft took
great forward strides and soon ranked with the leading
Jurisdictions of the land. Lodges sprang rapidly into existence and
from the original five bodies, with a total membership of about one
hundred and fifty, these numbers steadily mounted until by the year
1830 there were sixty-six chartered lodges, with two thousand six
hundred members. In this time and later there was a rapid spread of
Freemasonry throughout the Mississippi Valley, a total of nineteen
lodges being chartered by the Kentucky Grand Lodge in the several
States or Territories of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana and Arkansas, where no
Masonic Governing Bodies yet existed. From the fact that these
earliest lodges of the then known western country were warranted by
Kentucky this State may well claim the title of being the "Mother
of Freemasonry in the Mississippi Valley."

During the early 30's Kentucky suffered heavily in common with all
other Grand Jurisdictions of the United States from the effects of
the fierce anti-Masonic campaign which for years swept the country
following the disappearance from New York State in 1826 of William
Morgan, a renegade Mason, and his alleged murder at the hands of
the Fraternity. Fanned by the high wind of bigotry and fanaticism,
and the slander of political frauds, vicious assaults directed
against it nearly resulted in the collapse of the Masonic
Institution in America. Many lodges surrendered their charters,
some becoming totally extinct while others suspended labor for
several years. Even a few Grand Lodges ceased to function owing to
the fury of fanatical attacks against the Order. This last,
however, was not the case in Kentucky, its Grand Communications
being held each year despite all vicissitudes and losses. That the
representatives of but 13 lodges attended the Grand Lodge meeting
of 1836 is indicative of the force of the fight made in this state.
The number of lodges steadily dwindled during this decade until by
1840 but 37 remained upon the Grand Lodge roll with a loss of
approximately half the Masonic membership. However, with the
recession of the tide Masonry quickly became restored to normally
in Kentucky during the 40's and once again resumed her onward
march. By 1850 there were one hundred and thirty-nine lodges in
operation with a membership that totalled nearly five thousand.
From this time the Order grew in leaps and bounds, these numbers
being more than doubled in another decade and continuing at a
healthy rate in the years following. 

The appendant degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry early made their
appearance in Kentucky and were later placed in a state of
organization. A Chapter of Royal Arch Masons was established at
Lexington by authority of the Grand Lodge in November, 1814, and
within the next two years others were formed at Frankfort and
Shelbyville. These on Oct. 16, 1816, were regularly chartered by
Thomas Smith Webb, Deputy Grand High Priest of the United States,
and were the earliest regular Chapters working four degrees in the
state. While the granting of the authority to Lexington Masons to
organize a Chapter was the first time that this branch of Masonry
appeared by name in the record of the Grand Lodge, the fact of its
adopting "crimson" for its livery as early as 1800 would indicate
the Royal Arch "tendency" of the leading spirits in Grand Lodge,
and the strong influence of Ancient Craft Masonry in Kentucky. On
Dec. 4, 1817, a Grand Chapter for the state was formed at Frankfort
by the three existing Capitular bodies, with James Moore, Past
Grand Master, as first Grand High Priest.

Just when the Council Degrees were introduced into Kentucky is not
known, but the records disclose that on Dec. 10, 1827, a Grand
Council of Royal and Select Masters was organized at Frankfort by
six Cryptic bodies then working in the state, with Robert Johnson,
Grand Master in 1828, as first Thrice Illustrious Grand Master.

As to the formation of the earliest Commanderies, Knights Templar,
there is likewise no information at hand. The Grand Encampment of
Kentucky was instituted on Oct. 5, 1847, at Lexington by
representatives of five Commanderies, Henry wingate, Past Grand
Master and a most distinguished Mason, being elected first Grand
Eminent Commander.

Scottish Rite Masonry was introduced and the Grand Consistory of
the Ancient and Accepted Rite established at Louisville in August,
1852, by Albert G. Mackey 33d, Secretary General of the Supreme
Council for the Southern Jurisdiction. A period of inaction set in
immediately following its inception and it was not until in
November, 1858, that this body was revived and organized anew at
Louisville with Rob. Morris as Commander-in-Chief. Since its
reorganization Scottish Rite Masonry in Kentucky has experienced a
healthy growth, while the Capitular, Cryptic and Templar Bodies
have enjoyed a most prosperous and flourishing existence.

Duelling, as is well remembered, was quite a common occurrence in
this country during the first part of the nineteenth century.
Perhaps in no other state was the practice more indulged in than
Kentucky. A most unusual record is found in the Grand Lodge
Proceedings for 1818. At the annual session Dr. William H.
Richardson, Grand Master, and Dr. Benjamin W. Dudley, Past Master
of Lexington Lodge and an officer in Grand Lodge, were summoned to
appear before the Grand Lodge to answer to charges preferred
against them of having engaged in a duel. After due investigation
by a committee it was reported that a reconciliation had been
effected between the warring Craftsmen. A motion was made,
nevertheless, to expel both members from the Fraternity; this was
tabled Henry Clay then offered a resolution to suspend the
combatants from the privileges of Masonry "during the pleasure of
this Grand Lodge," which was adopted and the unhappy incident
brought to a close. These brethren remained suspended until the
next meeting of the Grand Lodge a year later. Several other
instances of duelling between members came to the attention of the
parent body and in each the participants were severely disciplined.

Upon early rosters are to be noted the names of many men famous in
the public life and Masonic history of the state and several of
national renown: Colonel Joseph Hamilton Daviess, distinguished
soldier, lawyer and Freemason, who while Grand Master of Kentucky,
and having Masonic jurisdiction over the Territory of Indiana, lost
his life while gallantly leading a charge at the Battle of
Tippecanoe on the banks of the Wabash, Nov. 7, 1811; Colonel
Abraham Owen, an officer of the Grand Lodge, was also killed in
this engagement, together with other Masons from Kentucky; John
Allen, brilliant lawyer and Grand Master in 1808-9-10, who was
among those slaughtered in the terrible carnage of the River Raisin
in January, 1813; John Simpson, Deputy Grand Master in 1808-9-10,
likewise killed at the Raisin, as was also Paschal Hickman, a Grand
Lodge officer, and several others of the Craft from Kentucky; Henry
Clay, illustrious and foremost statesman of his time, Secretary of
State in the cabinet of John Quincy Adams, and United States
Senator, first Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky and
Grand Master in 1820; John J. Crittenden, United States Senator and
Governor of the state from 1848 to 1850 ;. John C. Breckenridge,
famous soldier and statesman, Vice-President under James Buchanan
and Grand Orator in 1854, with others of this distinguished family
who won high Masonic honors such as George Breckenridge, Grand
Master in 1839, Joseph C. and Robert J Breckenridge, who served
terms as Grand Orators of the Grand Lodge; William T. Barry,
brilliant states man and Grand Orator; Rob. Morris, Grand Master in
1858, a most eminent Masonic lecturer, poet and historian, crowned
Poet-Laureate of Freemasonry in America, the first to be thus
honored, principal founder of the Order of the Eastern Star and
author of its ritual, and many other names dear to the hearts of
Kentuckians, as Bullock, Pope, Overton, Grundy, Banks, Southgate,
Bodley, Taylor, Wingate, all of whom were prominent in the state as
well as in the Craft.

Strange parallels are to be noted in the Battle of Tippecanoe,
which ushered in the War of 1812 and wherein the gallant Daviess
was slain, and Bunker Hill, the first major engagement of the
Revolution where fell the immortal General Joseph Warren. In each
a Grand Master made the supreme sacrifice for his country on
territory over which he held Masonic jurisdiction, Warren having
been Grand Master of "Ancient" Masons in Massachusetts while
Daviess was Grand Master of Kentucky and the Territory of Indiana.
In the summer following the latter's lamentable death a lodge was
formed at Lexington and styled Daviess. Lodge, No. 22, in his
honor. This was the first instance of a Masonic lodge being named
after an individual in Kentucky.

Herein during the year 1846 was initiated Dr. Joseph S. Halstead.
This estimable Craftsman later removed to Breckenridge, Mo., where
he still resides hale and hearty at the great age of 107 years. (2)
Now rounding out his eightieth milestone as a member of the
fraternity, Bro. Halstead probably has the distinction of being the
oldest Mason in the United states, if not in the entire world. The
last birthday of this venerable centenarian was fittingly
celebrated in Breckenridge, a holiday being declared and the whole
population turning out to do honor to its most distinguished
citizen.

Alive and progressive from its very beginning the Grand Lodge of
Kentucky quickly took rank with the leading Grand Jurisdictions in
the land, at one time, about the middle of the eighteenth century,
standing second in respect to total membership. Likewise did she
keep pace with the foremost in the pursuit of Masonic knowledge and
become a pioneer in construction and educational work and the care
of her widows, orphans, indigent members and their wives.

Her Book of Constitutions was published in 1808 when not more than
five other Grand Bodies had done so; several periodicals were
distributed from the year 1821, Tannehill's Manual was issued in
1840, and her Code of Masonic Law was published in 1857, the
earliest work on Masonic Jurisprudence in the United states. Then
there was the renowned Universal Masonic Library and the History of
Freemasonry in Kentucky, by Rop. Morris, which is claimed to be the
first true and accurate account of its kind in America.

CONSTITUTIONS ARE ADOPTED

The early Masons in Kentucky had all been instructed under the
Ahiman Rezon or Constitutions of Virginia (1792). This closely
followed that of Lawrence Dermott, long the leading spirit of the
"Ancient" Grand Lodge in England which professed to recognize only
Ancient York Masonry. Kentucky's Book of Constitutions, published
in 1808 and again ten years later, was patterned upon these
"Ancient" regulations. Like other Ancient York jurisdictions the
rule forbidding any member visiting a lodge of so-called "Modern"
Masons under penalty of Masonic discipline was rigidly enforced in
the State. This provision remained in effect until the union of the
warring Grand Bodies in 1813. While the initiatory work has always
been "Ancient" in character the Thomas Smith Webb, or "Prestonian
Lectures" of England, which were disseminated in Kentucky between
the years 1815 and 1818 (and became with a few unimportant changes
the standard of all Grand Jurisdictions in the country excepting
Pennsylvania) were found easily adaptable by the more skillful
Masons of that period. (3)

The instructing of candidates in the "work" or lectures, by the
traditional mode from "mouth to ear," as well as the conferring of
degrees, is still done in the ancient style which came from
Virginia 150 years ago. These methods will doubtless continue in
the State as under its Constitutions any written record, ritual or
cipher code is strictly forbidden. In the conferring of degrees
there is no other guide than a monitor which gives but the barest
outline of the work with many gaps and deleted passages. Naturally
in the process of so many years there has crept in variations of
style and changes in phraseology in the exemplification of the
work. This has been a matter of concern to Grand Lodge officers for
some time and a plan is being evolved to secure more uniformity in
this regard. The best suggestion offered thus far, and one that is
receiving favorable consideration, is to form Masonic districts in
the state and assign the best ritualists from the ranks of Past
Grand officers to properly instruct the various lodges in each
district and in this manner secure more uniformity in the
conferring of the degrees.

MASONIC HALL BUILT

As early as the year 1813 steps were taken toward the erection of
a Masonic Hall for holding the sessions of the Grand Lodge in the
town of Lexington. With money received from donations and by the
aid of a lottery that the Grand Lodge conducted under its auspices
throughout the state a fund was eventually established. Delays were
encountered and through various reasons it was not until ten years
later that the Temple was completed at a cost of nearly $30,000
(considered quite a sum in those days) and dedicated with
appropriate ceremonies on Oct. 25, 1826, the first Masonic edifice
of its kind in the land.

When General Marquis de LaFayette made a tour of this country in
1825 he visited Lexington and was cordially welcomed by the Masons
of that city. A grand ball was given in honor of their
distinguished guest and the party with him in the new hall, which
was attended by a brilliant assemblage of the brethren and their
ladies. At another time two Indians visited Masons' Hall where a
lodge meeting was in progress, one of whom was the celebrated
Colonel Ross. After being duly examined and found worthy they were
admitted and introduced to the members. This was the only instance
of full-blooded Indians ever being received in a Lexington Lodge.

The first home of the Grand Lodge, however, had but a brief term of
usefulness, being destroyed by fire in the year 1837. In this
conflagration the original charter of Lexington Lodge, No. 1, and
also that of Daviess Lodge, No. 22, was lost, as well as many
valuable records and archives of the Grand Lodge. A new building
was immediately proposed and soon erected at a cost of about
$25,000. This second Temple was built upon the site of old Masons'
Hall, the ground having been presented to Lexington Lodge near the
close of the eighteenth century by William Murray, later first
Grand Master, as has been noted above. After meeting in Lexington
for over fifty years the seat of the Grand Lodge was in 1858
removed to Louisville, where its sessions have since been held.

In the year 1843 the Grand Lodge of Kentucky instituted measures
for the establishment of a Masonic School in the state for
educating the orphans of deceased members as well as the children
of indigent Masons. Eventually an institution of this character was
opened at La Grange. It did not long survive as proved a heavy
drain upon the Grand Lodge resources and was in later years
abandoned. But in 1867 plans were laid in Grand Lodge for the
construction of Widows' and Orphans' Home in Louisville, the money
for its erection and maintenance to be raised by taxation of every
member in the State. Within a few years the Home was completed and
opened its doors, the first Masonic Institution of its kind, and
the finest for man years, in this country.

In addition to giving the wards of the Home a thorough schooling,
the boys and girls were taught trades or other occupations for
which they may have been fitted. When arriving at the age for
leaving the Institution a course of higher education was opened to
those qualified, the Board of Trustees appointed by the Grand Lodge
arranging to place them in outside high schools or colleges at its
expense. The Home, which is still existence, now has about seventy
of its former wards scattered over the State of Kentucky in
advanced institutions of learning. One of its industrial features
is a printing establishment wherein job work and general printing
for the outside trade is done by the boys. The Home prints and
publishes the "Masonic Home Journal," believed to be the only
Masonically owned and operated newspaper in the world, a copy of
each issue being sent to every Mason in the state.

In 1871 the Old Masons' Home at Shelbyville was built with funds
similarly acquired by the Grand Lodge, Kentucky again leading all
others and erecting a place of abode where veteran members of the
Craft and their wives may find real kindness and love in their
declining years.

While Masonry in the Blue Grass state has always been in a live and
flourishing condition, in respect to membership there has never
ensued a greater period of prosperity than in late years. In 1918
with the close of the World War there were approximately forty-two
thousand names upon the Grand Lodge Register. At present with a
total of more than six hundred active lodges the Craft in the state
can boast a membership which is rapidly approaching the
seventy-five thousand mark. This is a phenomenal increase and
presage of a greater triumphant march of the Institution than ever
before in what was once the "dark and bloody ground of Kentucky.

The most important matter now occupying the attention of the Grand
Lodge and interesting the Masons of the state is the erection of a
new Widows' and Orphans' Home at Louisville. Although the present
edifice is valued at one million dollars the need of a larger and
more modern structure was foreseen several years ago. A committee
was appointed which after examination named $1,000,000 as the
amount necessary to build the Home. Individual subscriptions and
donations were then received which has netted more than half of
this sum. Later, however, when plans and specifications were
submitted it was seen that the original estimate had been too low
and in consequence $600,000 was added thereto. In order to raise
the entire amount a plan was evolved whereby every Mason holding
membership in the state was assessed the sum of twenty dollars,
payable in four equal installments, this to apply to all but those
who had already subscribed or given at least that amount. Ground
was secured just outside of the corporate limits of Louisville and
actual work has already begun upon some of the more important
buildings. A feature in the new Home will be a large auditorium
wherein the meetings of the Grand Lodge are to be held, its present
quarters now having become inadequate.

The officers of the Kentucky Grand Lodge for the year 1925 are:
Bros. H. M. Grundy, Grand Master; G. A. Holland, Deputy Grand
Master; C.S. Rankins, Grand Senior Warden; Hanson Peterson, Grand
Junior Warden; James Garnett, Grand Treasurer; F.W. Hardwick, Grand
Secretary; T.W. Pennington, Grand Senior Deacon; J.J.T. Hourigan,
Grand Junior Deacon; Rev. R.B. Grider, Grand Chaplain; G.B.
Spencer, Grand Marshal; J.T. Linebaugh, Grand Sword Bearer; C. W.
Homan, Grand Pursuivant, and W. H. Hawes, Grand Tyler.

NOTES

(2) Since this article was written Bro. Halstead has been called to
the Grand Lodge above. He passed away at his home at Breckenridge,
Mo., Sept. 13, 1925.
(3) This is the generally accepted pedigree of the "lectures"
generally in use in the Jurisdiction of the U.S.A. Bro. Kress of
Pennsylvania, who has devoted much time to the subject, is
emphatically of the opinion that Webb not only did not use
Preston's lectures, but that it is most improbable that he had the
least idea of their real form and character. What Webb undoubtedly
did do was to use much of the matter in Preston's openly published
Illustration of Masonry in compiling his Monitor.
