THE BUILDER JUNE 1916

GLIMPSES OF A PRE REVOLUTIONARY MASONIC LODGE
BY BRO. J. EDWARD ALLEN, NORTH CAROLINA

The diary of old Samuel Sewall of Massachusetts has been called "a
window in old Boston," and in the same way the early Masonic
records may be called "colonial views." It is from this point of
view that the writer has been greatly interested in the early
records of Blandford-Bute lodge of Masons, of Bute County, North
Carolina. The early North Carolinians were an interesting people.
That polished gentlemen, William Byrd, of Westover, Virginia, after
appointing a line of division between these and his people, speaks
of them, in his "History of the Dividing Line," as "mere Adamites,"
forgetting that a large part of the Carolinians were Virginians.

We are interested to know that many of these men were Masons, and
in particular, a number of those who came to Bute County. Therefore
we find that on the twenty-ninth of April, 1766, these Bute County
Masons had already organized a Lodge, and were on that date
actually initiating candidates, "at Buffaloe," and were resolving
to call their lodge "Blandford-Bute," probably in honor of the old
Blandford Lodge, near Petersburg, Va., chartered in 1756, and in
honor of their new home-county. They came down the trail which
afterward became the Petersburg-Raleigh - Charleston stage road,
passing through Warrenton, and by Buffalo. Aaron Burr later took
this route on one of his journeys, spending a night in Warrenton.

We do not know what the status of these Masons was in April, 1766.
They seem not to have been completely organized, for at the next
meeting resolutions were passed as follows:

"Resolved, that the Quarterly Meetings shall be held regularly at
Bute court on the first day thereof--

Resolved, that every member shall duly attend the lodges in course
or give a sufficient reason for his absence or pay the sum of two
shillings sixpence for each nonperformance.

Secondly, shall prophanely Swear in the Lodge under no less penalty
than two shillings and six pence for the first offense and five
shillings for each after.

Thirdly, that there shall no member Indecently behave such as
whispering or Laughing in the lodge under the above penalty.

Fourthly, that no member shall disclose the proceedings of the
lodge to any but Masons, and not to them without they intend to
become members or should give such reasons as they should think
they would.

Fifthly, that no member shall speake in the lodge without rising
and addressing himself to the Master.

Sixthly, that Every Member shall pay for his quarterly Payment Six
Shillings and Eight Pence Proct. money to the treasurer that shall
be appointed by the lodge.

Seventhly, that no member shall reflect, or laugh, at any Rules
proposed by any member without, in the lodge, and there to make
their objections in a manner becoming any Mason.

Resolved, that no person be initiated in this lodge except he pay
the money down for his initiation, or give one of the members of
the lodge for his security, to-wit 4-4sh. Virga. currency--

Resolved, that Jethro Sumner Treasurer of this Lodge, bring his
account of the expenses of the same--

Resolved, that the treasurer Prepare a Striped Shirt and a Pair of
Trousers for the use of the Lodge."

This curious commingling of trivial incidentals and important
matters was evidently regarded as the fundamental law for the
government of the lodge, for it is signed by the thirteen members,
and is then concluded with the statement "Then the lodge adjourned
till the Lodge in course."

Just a word personal here about these men will not be out of order.
We must understand that the English language was not then nearly so
firmly fixed in its forms and usages as now; and that therefore
what appears to us to be bad grammar would not have then been
scorned. We must remember also that these men all lived hard
outdoor lives, many of them traveling long distances to find a
lodge or a church, and that therefore schools were almost
inaccessible to the most of these settlers and education was within
reach only of a privileged few who could employ private tutors. And
did not that notorious governor of the neighbor state, Sir William
Berkeley, write concerning the condition of his people: "I thank
God there are no free schools, nor printing, and I hope we shall
not have these hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience
and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged
them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from
both." But in spite of unfavorable conditions many of the members
of this old lodge were men whose names appear on the pages of
history as those of heroes of a great faith or magnificent
champions of liberty. Jethro Sumner, an officer of the lodge, was
one of the great generals of the Revolution. It is said that his
name was seriously considered when a Commander-in-chief of the
American armies was to be chosen. Green Hill, another of the
members of the lodge at this time, was the man in whose house was
held the first conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
America. One part of this one county furnished at one time, later,
both U. S. senators, the congressman, the Governor, and a judge of
the State court of appeals. Here was born and raised Nathaniel
Macon, the greatest North Carolinian, long Speaker of the National
House of Representatives. And, by contrast, hence came Beau
Hickman, the greatest deadbeat, immortalized by G. A. Townsend as
the villain in "Crutch, the Page."

The business of these old lodges was almost always conducted in the
first degree. Hence the charge for initiation was four pounds four
shillings Virginia currency, equivalent to about fourteen dollars.
This is excessively high, when we think of the fact that the
average fee for the three degrees in North Carolina today is less
than twenty dollars. But when he was initiated, the Mason signed
the by-laws and became an active member. Relatively a small part of
the Masons took all the three degrees, and the Master Mason's lodge
was not opened "on Buffaloe" oftener than three or four times each
year. The Royal Arch work seems to have been done by the same
organization, for we read about twice in each year's record that
"at a lodge of Arch and Royal Arch Masons," somebody was advanced
to the "exalted Arch degree," or to the "superexalted Royal Arch
degree."

At times the lodge met when court was in session, and at night,
actually in the court house. Bute court house was ten or twelve
miles from the nearest town, and when it was afterward removed to
Warrenton, the old records were lost. They were found more than
seventy-five years later, by a non-Mason, an excellent gentleman,
who is said to have sat up all night reading them, and it is
charged that on the following morning his first question was, "What
did those old fellows do with that pair of drawers that the Lodge
bought?" No one was able to advise him.

Quite plainly there has been a change of sentiment toward many
things somewhere in the decades. We read that often this lodge
"repaired to brother So-andso's tavern, where a sumptuous repast
was enjoyed." This was usually paid for by the candidate of the
day, but sometimes there is an entry in the minutes of the next
meeting to the effect that "the secretary read a bill for two
gallons of rum, which on motion was ordered paid." It is possible
that this may have been intended for use as medicine, but we may
safely conjecture that such was not the case. It is a matter of
common knowledge that many of the religious gatherings of the day
in this and other sections were composed to a strikingly large
extent of men who each and all were unwilling to leave home without
their "ticklers," "demijohns," or even "runlets" of the liquor that
cheers and then does some more. The truth is, the history of
Masonry is the history of the morals of its devotees, and as surely
as we can read the signs of the times, just so surely can we see
that the morals of the country are being elevated. Lodges frown on
drunkards today and deal stringently with them.

Do not think, however, that twentieth-century lodges have a
monopoly of the duty of dealing with violators of the Masonic law.
Our eighteenth-century brethren, too, had troubles in that line. At
a meeting of Blandford Bute lodge held on November 20, 1767, the
members seem to have been uproariously hilarious. Christmas was
coming, and they may have been either glad with its spirit or
spirits, or mad with its prospects of paying the bills, for at this
season "everybody works father." Whatever may have been the
trouble, we find that in this meeting Brother Duncan misbehaved
three times and was fined two shillings sixpence each time. It was
a fellowcraft's lodge, and the brother who had just been passed was
next fined 2s.6d. for "a breach of behaviour." He must have had
something more than nerve! Brother William Tabb next was discovered
laughing and received the same dose. Tabb was next soaked 2s.6d.
for going out, and lastly Arch Campbell received the uniform
penalty for misbehaving. At this point it seems that the
lawbreakers must have outnumbered the more sedate brethren, for we
read that at the end of the meeting all the fines were remitted, as
well as the fines of the members who had been absent without excuse
at the last meeting. What a deal of relief there would be to the
Master of many a lodge today if he could by fines force his members
to attend the meetings! It was in the previous August that one
brother was fined for swearing, another for getting drunk, and two
for no less grave an offense against the dignity of the lodge than
singing. This reminds us of the case of the lady who sang so
atrociously in the Methodist church of the nearby town of Warrenton
about a hundred years ago, that she was excluded from fellowship.
The case was carried to the State court of appeals, which restored
her to her former rights and privileges.

In these old records we find only one allusion to Joseph Montfort,
of Halifax, "Grand Master of and for America," as he was designated
in his commission from the Duke of Beaufort. On August third, 1767,
Jos. Montfort is recorded as one of the visitors. There is no
record of any recognition of his standing, except in the fact that
at this meeting there was a larger attendance than at any other
which Blandford-Bute ever held. His commission was not issued until
1771.

Trouble between the adherents and supporters of the mistaken policy
of the reigning house in the mother country, and those who stood
uncompromisingly for their liberty, early became acute in North
Carolina. In several sections of the state there were many Scotch
Highlanders and others who were loyal to England to the last stand.
Governor Tryon defeated the ill-trained Regulators in the battle of
Alamance about 1771, and only made these seekers for freedom more
determined. The call of military duty suspended temporary interest
in everything else, probably including Masonic lodge work. If
Blandford-Bute was active from 1768 to 1782, it left no records.

It is probable that many of the Masonic lodges became hotbeds of
Revolutionary spirit. Almost every one of the leaders of the
Revolution in North Carolina was an active Mason, and there is good
reason to believe that many of the Masonic lodges were closely in
touch with the machinery used at this time to ascertain the spirit
and temper of the various sections and communities concerning the
war. This was probably the case with Blandford-Bute, for it was a
household saying around here that there were "no Tories in Bute."
It is probable that there was a close relation between the lodges
and the Committees of Safety, or the Committees of Correspondence.
If the lodges were concerned thus, they met informally and left no
records. One might wonder whether such activities could have
suggested the general plan of the Ku Klux Klan to the sorely
troubled Southern men of Reconstruction days. Do the words which
the writer has italicized in the quotations below possibly suggest
some sort of unrecorded, irregular activity?

The secretary of post-bellum days, in transcribing the records,
possibly for Grand lodge inspection when the North Carolina Charter
was given, says of what he gives up to 1768:

"The foregoing are all the proceedings that can be had from the
lodge while it was held at Buffaloe which is transcribed from part
of the original by J. Macon, Secretary."

Fortunately, we have both the original up to 1768 and the copy. The
reorganization meeting is discussed in the records as follows:

"AT A LODGE OF ROYAL ARCH AND MASTER MASONS Opened and held in due
form the 6th of April, 5782, at High Twelve.

Resolved, that a due record be kept from and after the date of this
lodge together with the reasons it has not been kept up according
to the Constitutions and Rules of the Craft.

TO THIS AND ALL SUCCEEDING LODGES

Be it known unto you

That from the unavoidable necessity of entering into a Cruel and
Unnatural War, with the parent State, the Numerous Calls, Tryalls,
Embarrassments of our fellow Citizens and Brethren Be it not
Dismay'd, therefore, that the Harmony of this as well as many other
Lodges have been greatly disturbed thereby, and only to be restored
but by Unanimity and an unshaken hand of Fidelity which we owe to
each other. So that under these deplorable circumstances we
consider it a sufficient Vindication for our neglect in meeting.
Particularly when we may Justly Add the many Battles, Skirmishes,
Massacres, Robberies, Murders, Conflagrations and many other
Hostile and inhuman acts which this present unnatural war hath
produced. Consequences so destructive to Mankind in general and
Obnoxious to us, and the Harmony of Masonry in particularly. But,
arriving at a period which gives some respite, distinguishing us
from the rest of mankind, then who is the Mason that will not meet
and wheres the hand that denies his brother?

RESOLVED that a summons be issued to all the late members of our
lodge to repair to our room at this place the first Saturday in May
next by ten o'clock.

And the remnant of the once flourishing lodge accordingly came,
true to that Masonry which had made its place in their lives in
times of peace, and which had helped make life worth living in time
of war. Only six battle-scarred veterans were left. But, strange to
say, we find among them a number of members whose names we have
never seen before. They must have been doing some work during the
war sub rosa, without keeping any records of meetings. Their
sources of income, their relatives, their homes, their health, all
sacrificed for freedom, once more these old men in tears rekindled
the fires on the altars of their homes and placed the Rule and
Guide to Faith on the altar of their Lodge. It is interesting to
note that the Masonic soldier thought of Masonry as having a
definite place in the protection of his home. The wife left behind
was sometimes placed in possession of some kind of secret by
imparting which she might, and sometimes did, invoke the aid of
Masons. The writer does not know what this was, but many of us have
heard stories of the preservation of a home by means of this kind.
It was afterwards done again in 1861-65.

All the old Masons "on Buffaloe" were dead, and the remnants voted
to move the lodge to Warrenton. At the first meeting there the
Secretary read an address one sentence of which was as follows:

"Whereas our ancient lodge room has lately been brought to ruin by
the soldiary, and therefore rendered unfit for our purposes in
meeting, So that under these circumstances we are exposed to much
difficulty in our new designs, . . I recommend that a plot of
ground be purchased in Warrenton. . ."

The plot of ground thus purchased adjoined the lot of Emmanuel
Episcopal church, within whose walls Horace Greeley was married. It
is interesting to note in passing that near the scene of the
lodge's early labors was kept later one of the most famous pleasure
resorts in the country, Jones' or Shocco Springs, which had its
thousands of guests each season, and near which, almost within
calling distance of the old lodge, were laid away the remains of
Anne Carter Lee, beloved daughter of the great Hero of the Lost
Cause, "there to await the Resurrection Morn."

Peaceful and uneventful was the later history of the old lodge, for
after the storm of war always peace is most beautiful. In quiet did
the old fellows meet and confer the degrees or dispense sweet
charity, occasionally having a little celebration all their own. In
the minutes of June twelfth, 1784, we notice that the secretary
presented a bill for supplies, and it was "ordered, that the
treasurer pay Wm. Campbell 29s.4d (about five dollars) for a loaf
of sugar." For what could this have been bought, unless because
there was here and there one of their members who "took sugar in
his'n" when the drinks were passed?

Rarely did they in this period digress from the even tenor of their
way, but once or twice we find them coming in contact with affairs
outside before the Grand Lodge of North Carolina was formed. Once
we find that Jethro Sumner moved, "that inquiry should be made
respecting the appointment of a Grand Master for the United
States." Sumner and Jos. Montfort had been close friends, and by
this motion we understand that Sumner acknowledged the genuineness
of the old Montfort commission and was looking to having his place
filled after his death. Nothing came of this, as of similar moves
in present times.


And this resolution, poorly written and almost unintelligible
though it is, at length explains to us darkly the source from which
Blandford-Bute lodge had for these many years derived its authority
to work:

"Resolved, that if the State of Virginia has made choice of a Grand
Master, that the proceedings of Blandford lodge of 23 Dec., 5766,
for a copy of the Deputation given this lodge in order that a
charter be had from that date."

It would appear from that crude and badly written resolution, that
Blandford lodge, near Petersburg, Va., on December 23, 1766, gave
these men some sort of dispensation under which to work. It is
probable that this was asked for before April of that year.

Here let us leave the old lodge. Its hundred and thirty odd years
of further history have not been without interest, but, the pioneer
days past, by degrees it approaches our modern system.

The writer hopes in concluding, that he and the reader may imitate
the example of these good brethren, of whom their faithful
secretary records that they "PARTED LOVINGLY ON THE SQUARE."

