             Masonic Ritual From England To New Hampshire
                        by David Crockett, MPS
     (Reprinted by permission of The Philalethes - December 1989)

     You  are in England in the eighteenth century. Workers  in  stone 
have  been engaged in architecture for centuries. They also have  been 
accepting  candidates  into  their Lodges who were  unskilled  in  the 
building trade. The earliest record of such an event is June 8,  1600, 
when  John  Boswell  Laird is mentioned as a member of  the  Lodge  of 
Edinburgh Scotland.

     The  gradual  transition  of  Operative  Masonry  to  Speculative 
Masonry, as we know it today, is taking place. This transition is much 
like  the change of architecture: from the Gothic magnificence of  the 
middle  ages  to  the functional revival of the  Roman  style  in  the 
1600's. In a word it is subtle, but the process is gathering momentum.

     Many Masonic scholars believe that the ritual before 1717 was the 
same  for the Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. After  1717, 
the modern revival of Masonry would change all that. In short, between 
1717  and  1726  the  three rituals of Blue  Lodge  Masonry  would  be 
created.

     There  are  two thematic questions at this point:  What  kind  of 
country  was England at this time? What created the modern revival  in 
1717?

     In  1717 England was experiencing the "age of reason." Sir  Isaac 
Newton was 75 years old. Libraries were packed with new ideas. England 
was  a  virtual  engine  of organizing  and  refining  their  existing 
structure of knowledge.

     At  this time England owned the whole east coast of the  American 
Colonies,  France and Spain owned the rest. The population of  America 
was 1/2 million.

     Masonry  had  declined severely since the  rebuilding  of  London 
fifty  years ago. There were certainly Masons during the  1717  period 
who remembered the great fire of London and the plaque a year later in 
1666. Their faith in God was also strengthened by the fact that  those 
two catastrophic events destroyed 13,000 homes, 84 churches, and  over 
68,000 lives in London alone.

     With  these  thoughts in mind, we will use in this  paper  as  an 
example  of  the 1717 ritual in London, "The Grand  Mystery  of  Free-
Masons  Discovered. Wherein are the several questions, put to them  at 
their meetings and installations: as also the Oath, Health, Signs  and 
Points  to know each other by. As they were found in the custody of  a 
Free-Mason who dyed suddenly. And now published for the information of 
the Publick. London: Printed for T. Payne near Stationer's Hall 1724."

     "The  Catechism,"  as  published in the 'Grand  Mystery'  has  46 
questions,  not including the oath, health, and signs. The  first  six 
questions and answers of this early ritual are as follows:

               1. Peace be hear.
                  (Ans.) I hope there is.

               2. What O'clock is it?
                  (Ans.)  It  is going to six  or  going  to 
              twelve. [alluding to operative working hours]

               3. Are you very busy?
                  (Ans.) No.

               4. Will you give or take?
                  (Ans.) Both or which you please.

               5. How go squares?
                  (Ans.) Straight.

               6. Are you rich or poor?
                  (Ans.) Neither.

     Albert  Mackey  believed  that "The  Catechism"  was  the  ritual 
familiar  to  the  four London Lodges during the first  few  years  of 
Speculative Masonry in the 1717 period.

     The first dramatic event of the 1717 period occurred in February, 
at  the  Apple-Tree Tavern, on Charles Street, Covent  Garden,  London 
England.  In  the  often controversial 250  year-old  words  of  James 
Anderson:

                 "They constituted themselves a Grand  Lodge 
              pro  Tempore  in due form,  and...resolved  to 
              choose a Grand Master..."?

     As  is  commonly known, the initial meeting  at  the   Apple-Tree 
Tavern  prepared  for: an official election of a Grand Master  at  the 
newly scheduled quarterly meeting. Accordingly, on June 24, 1717,  the 
four  London  Lodges met again. This time in the Church  yard  of  St. 
Paul's,  in  the  twenty-two by fifteen foot room  in  the  Goose  and 
GridIron Alehouse. James Anderson recorded the event as follows:

               "...Before  dinner, the oldest Mason  in  the 
              chair,  proposed a list of proper  candidates; 
              and  the  brethren  by  a  majority  of  hands 
              elected  Mr.  Anthony Sayer  Gentleman,  Grand 
              Master of Masons..."

     Anthony  Sayer served as Grand Master until June 24,  1718.  Next 
George Payne was elected, and brother Payne had a new idea:

               "...he  desired any brethren to bring to  the 
              Grand  Lodge  any  old  writings  and  Records 
              concerning Masons and Masonry in order to show 
              the usages of ancient times...and several  old 
              copies   of  the  Gothic  Constitutions   were 
              produced and collated..."

     After  brother  Payne finished his work on June 24,  1719,  enter 
John  T.  Desaguliers.  He  is 34 years old and  he  has  been  giving 
lectures on the physical sciences in Westminister. He also gained  the 
attention  and friendship of Sir Isaac Newton. In the past  300  years 
only Einstein would equal the creative scientific genius of Newton.

     Doctor  Desaguliers, educated in law, science and philosophy,  at 
Oxford,  is the third Grand Master. He is considered one of  the  most 
learned  and distinguished men of his day. He will also be called  the 
father of Speculative Masonry.

     Scholars  in  Masonry have done extensive research on  the  early 
manuscripts,  in  an attempt to better understand  the  early  ritual. 
There are over 50 important manuscripts in existence. For example, the 
Regius  Manuscript is estimated to be dated 1390 and some scholars  in 
Masonry  believe it is a copy of an earlier manuscript that  dates  to 
the  time  of  the  Masonic meeting at  York  England  in  926.  Other 
important  manuscripts include the harleian Manuscript No. 1942  which 
is  estimated  to  be dated prior to 1650. The  Sloane  manuscript  is 
another important early Masonic document.

     As  a brief sample of the early integrity of operative Masons,  I 
submit the first article of the 600 year old Regius Manuscript:

               The first article of this
                 geometry:
               The master mason must be full
                 securely
               Both steadfast, trusty and true,
               It shall him never then rue:
               And pay thy fellows after the
                 cost,
               As victuals goeth then, well thou
                 woste; (knowest)
               And pay them truly, upon they
                 fay, (faith)
               What they deserven may: (may
                 deserve)
               And to their hire take no more,
               But what that they may serve
                 for;
               And spare neither for love nor
                 drede, (dread)
               Of neither parties to take no
                 mede; (bribe)
               Of lord nor fellow, whoever he
                 be,
               Of them thou take no manner of
                 fee;
               And as a judge stand upright,
               And then thou dost to both good
                 right;
               And truly do this wheresoever
                 thou gost, (goest)
               Thy worship, thy profit, it shall
                 be most.

     With  response to an example of the oath prior to 1717, I  submit 
that part of the Harleian Manuscript, No. 1942. It is estimated to  be 
dated in the 1650 period. The oath in that manuscript is as follows:

               I, A.B., Doe in the presence of Almighty god, 
              and  my Fellowes, and Brethren  here  present, 
              promise  and declare, that I will not  at  any 
              time  hereafter,  by any Act  or  circumstance 
              whatsoever,  Directly or Indirectly,  publish, 
              discover,  reveale, or make knowne any of  the 
              secrets,  privileges,  or  Counsells,  of  the 
              Fraternity  or  Fellowship  of  Free  Masonry, 
              which  at  this time, or any  time  hereafter, 
              shalbee  made  knowne unto mee soe  helpe  mee 
              God, and the holy contents of this booke.

     I  personally interpret the Operative Masons as a kind  of  moral 
trade   union,  but  regardless  of  how  one  interprets  the   early 
manuscripts, I think it is fair to state that the Masonic ritual  that 
is  used  today  was derived from the ancient  manuscripts,  and  that 
between  1717  and  roughly  1806, the ritual  in  New  Hampshire  was 
formalized.

     After Grand Master Payne requested the old records and  writings, 
it  is believed that Desaguliers was particularly zealous in  research 
and  that Masons like Payne and Anderson also contributed strongly  in 
organizing the 1723 Constitution of Free-Masons.

     Prior  to  writing  the  1723  Constitution,  one  of  the  early 
developments  was  the  creation  of  the  Fellow  Craft  ritual   for 
Speculative  Masons.  Evidence that this occurred by 1719 or  1720  is 
found in the records of the Lodge of Dunblane. On December 27, 1720, a 
lawyer was passed from Entered Apprentice to Fellow Craft.

     In  London Masonry was growing in prestige. Anderson  stated  the 
following occurrence in 1719:

              "Several old brothers, that had neglected  the 
              craft, visited the Lodges; some noblemen  were 
              also  made brothers, and more new Lodges  were 
              constituted."

     An  interesting  story has been found by the  American  Lodge  of 
Research that illustrates such an initiation:

              One  day an initiation was taking  place  with 
              the Grand Master present. A young nobleman, or 
              lord,  was  the  candidate  being   initiated. 
              During  the initiation the candidate began  to 
              swear in the Lodge. Dr. Desaguliers was in the 
              chair, but said nothing.

              "At  length  noting  the  disapproval  of  the 
              distinguished leader, the candidate said:

              "I  say  Doctor ________ me,  don't  you  hear 
              ______ I ask your pardon for swearing.

               The  Doctor  replied:  "My  lord,  you   have 
              repeatedly violated the rules of the Lodge  by 
              your unmeaning oaths; and more than this,  you 
              have   taken  some  pains  to   associate   me 
              personally   with  your  profanity   by   your 
              frequent appeals to the chair."

              "Now my lord, I assure you, in answer to these 
              appeals,  that if God Almighty does  not  hear 
              you, I will not tell him."

     With respect to evaluating Doctor Desaguliers as Grand Master  of 
England. I submit: If speculative Masonry means helping men to be fair 
and  prudent in their thoughts, words, and actions...Desaguliers  also 
understood the brotherhood of temperance, fortitude, and justice.

     In three more years, Desaguliers and Anderson would finish  their 
research of the Scottish, Italian, and English Masonic manuscripts. On 
page  seventy-three  of the 1723 Constitution, they stated  what  they 
achieved:

              "...all the valuable things of the old records 
              being  retained,  the errors  in  history  and 
              chronology  corrected,  the  false  facts  and 
              improper words omitted, and the whole digested 
              in a new and better method."

     Desaguliers and Anderson made history in 1723. They published the 
most famous Masonic book in the world.

     Because  this  paper  is primarily based  on  nineteenth  century 
Masonic  scholars,  on the topic of the Master Mason  ritual.  I  have 
chosen   Albert   Mackey's  seven  volume,  2000  page   'History   of 
Freemasonry'. Brother Mackey devoted two chapters of intense scholarly 
research  on the evolution of the Master Masons degree.  He  concludes 
with five statements to summarize the ritual. Statement number four is 
one sentence:

              The third degree, as an accomplished fact, was 
              not  fabricated before the close of 1722,  and 
              was not made known to the Craft or worked as a 
              degree of the new system, until the  beginning 
              of 1723.

     To summarize this paper's theory on the beginning of  Speculative 
ritual:  The  London  Lodges (i.e. the four  old  London  Lodges  that 
participated  in the election of Anthony Sayer in June of 1717)  began 
with the ritual used in the 1724 "Grand Mystery;" then in 1719 or 1720 
the  Fellow Craft ritual was developed by Desaguliers in  consultation 
with men such as Payne, Anderson, and probably others; Last of all  in 
1722 or 1723 the Master Mason ritual was developed by Desaguliers  and 
others.

     I  hasten  to emphasize this is my best theory at  this  time.  I 
welcome suggestions and corrections from members of the fraternity.

     In my search for what specific ritual was used in 1717 (i.e.  the 
one  ritual  used by all Masons), the only information I was  able  to 
locate  was the book published by the very controversial,  William  L. 
Stone,  in  1832 (during the anti-masonry period) in his  'Letters  on 
Masonry and Anti-Masonry Addressed to Honorable John Quincy Adams.'

     I  will not write any further ritual in this or any other  paper, 
however,  for those interested, the book is located at the  Museum  of 
National Heritage in Lexington, Massachusetts. The oath is written out 
in the appendix on Page 3.

     The  rather  stubbon John Quincy Adams, sixth  President  of  the 
United  States,  also published 'Letters on the  Masonic  Institution, 
1847.'  Adams  published  the oaths for the three  degrees,  which  he 
claimed were used by the fraternity in 1730. (Refer to Page 68 of  the 
text and page 275-276 of the appendix.) I do not have any evidence  at 
this  time to believe that Stone and particularly Adams, as  President 
of  the  United  States, would publish an oath  that  was  inaccurate. 
Particularly  interesting from a New Hampshire point of view,  is  the 
fact  that  Adams,  from Boston, would  derive  his  information  from 
sources that could not be refuted in the state that granted a  charter 
to New Hampshire.

     William L. Stone's claim is that the above mentioned oath:

              "Was the only obligation for all three of  the 
              degrees of ancient Masonry, in the year 1730 - 
              only  102 years ago. At that time  there  were 
              but three degrees known."

     The  claims by Stone and Adams do not exactly fit  with  Mackey's 
and  Gould's  research. Mackey, for example, believed that  the  three 
rituals were formalized by 1723. However, the 7 year difference is not 
significant  when the issue relates to one ritual for all  speculative 
Masons  during that general period. Regarding the evolution of  ritual 
between roughly 1730 and 1772, particularly as it was believed in  New 
Hampshire;  I have chosen the Mason who complied and edited the  first 
two volumes of Grand Lodge Proceedings (7/8/1789-6/11/1856).

     Horace  Chase  of  New  Hampshire  was  Grand  Secretary  in  New 
Hampshire  from 1854 to 1870. He was Grand Master in 1851/2.  I  quote 
from  the  brilliant work by Gerald D. Foss, Grand  Historian  of  New 
Hampshire, 'Three Centuries of Freemasonry in New Hampshire:'

              "Chase  was  born  in  Warner,  New  Hampshire 
              December 14, 1788. He graduated from Dartmouth 
              College  in 1814, studied law under the  well-
              known  Matthew  Harvey...He was  considered  a 
              careful  and  conservative  lawyer,  made   an 
              excellent judge of probate, and was thoroughly 
              honest...He  wrote  that he was  a  friend  of 
              another  lawyer, John Harris, Grand Master  of 
              Grand  Lodge for years 1817-1819, and also  of 
              Stephen Blanchard, Grand Lecturer of the Grand 
              Lodge of New Hampshire at that time. Chase had 
              an ambition to learn the ritual as well as his 
              friends  and apparently he  succeeded...Horace 
              Chase  complied  and  edited  the  first   two 
              volumes  of Grand Lodge  Proceedings...without 
              these   printed  volumes  it  would  be   very 
              difficult  if  not impossible  to  learn  much 
              about  the  work  of the Grand  Lodge  of  New 
              Hampshire in its early years."

     With  regard to ritual between 1732 and 1813, Past  Grand  Master 
Horace  Chase  spoke  the following words in the Grand  Lodge  of  New 
Hampshire in 1857:

              "In  the year 1732, the lectures  of  Anderson 
              and Desaguliers were revised by Martin  Clare, 
              who added a brief allusion to the human senses 
              and the theological ladder. A few years later, 
              Thomas Dunckerly, who was considered the  most 
              intelligent  Mason  of his day,  extended  and 
              improved   the  lectures,  and,  among   other 
              things,  first gave to the theological  ladder 
              its  then  most  important  rounds   (f.h.c.). 
              These  continued to be used until  1763,  when 
              Rev.  William Hutchinson explained  the  three 
              lights  by the three great stages of  Masonry: 
              The knowledge and worship of God of nature  in 
              the  purity  of Eden; the service,  under  the 
              Mosaic Law, when divested of idolatry; and the 
              Christian  revelation.  Again in  1772,  these 
              lectures were revised and improved by Preston, 
              whose system was the standard in England until 
              the union (between the modern and ancients) in 
              1813.  When  Doctor  Hemming  established  the 
              system  now  generally  practiced  in  English 
              Lodges."

     After  the confusion of the Revolutionary War, Masonry, and  more 
specifically the uniformity of Masonic ritual became the focus.

     During  this period, William Preston, in England had organized  a 
society  of  Masonic  scholars  called the  "Order  of  The  Harodim." 
Preston,  having  the  credentials  of Master  of  the  old  Lodge  of 
Antiquity  (originally the Lodge which met at the goose  and  GridIron 
Alehouse  in  St.  Paul's church-yard), and the author  of  the  first 
Masonic Monitor, called "Illustrations of Masonry," published in 1772; 
had taught his lectures in the "order of the Harodim" society.

     John  Hammer  had  been a member of this society, as  well  as  a 
member  of the old Lodge No. 1 of antiquity, over which  Preston  also 
presided.  Hammer  learned the 7-8 hour Preston lectures and  came  to 
America in 1793 or 1794. Hammer also had credentials in the form of  a 
document from the Grand Lodge of England, stating that:

              He  was, "skilled in the ancient lectures  and 
              modes  of  work as approved and  practiced  in 
              England."

     What occurred next was the transfer of English Masonic philosophy 
to  American Masonic ritual. Hammer taught the lectures  to  America's 
premier ritualist, Thomas Smith Webb.

     Webb is considered the inventor and founder of the Masonic system 
as practiced in the United States.

     What Webb did was this: He immediately recognized that  Preston's 
lectures  were too long to be practical in the Untied States. He  then 
condensed  the lectures into 2-3 hours for the three  degrees.  Albert 
Mackey explained Webb's work as follows:

              "The  truth is, that Webb never did adopt  nor 
              promulgate  the  true  Preston  lectures.   He 
              selected out of that system those points which 
              pleased him, omitted a great deal, and gave  a 
              meagre abridgment of the whole. And it is well 
              that  he did, for if he had adopted the  whole 
              course of lectures as arranged by Preston,  we 
              are  sure that not one man in ten-thousand  in 
              this  country  would have  committed  them  to 
              memory,  and the whole system would have  been 
              lost or abandoned."

     New  Hampshire  is of course very proud of the fact  that  Thomas 
Smith  Webb  was  initiated into Masonry at the Rising  Sun  Lodge  in 
Keens,  New Hampshire. William Todd was the Worshipful Master  of  the 
Lodge,  and  he was also the Mason who proposed Webb as  a  candidate. 
Webb  was  balloted for, admitted, initiated, and paid his  fee  of  3 
Pounds, 6 Shillings; all on December 24, 1790. He was passed to Fellow 
Craft, raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, and served as one 
of the stewards of the Lodge all on December 27, 1790.

     It  is  known  that Webb moved to Albany, New York  and  that  he 
published his famous 'Freemasons Monitor' in that city, 1792.

     From  records  of the Rising Sun Lodge, March 7, 1792, it  is  my 
belief  that Webb left Keene in late 1791 or early 1792. The March  7, 
1792 record reads as follows:

              "Brother William Todd in behalf of T. S.  Webb 
              desired  he might be discontinued as a  member 
              Voted   to   discontinue  him  on   book   any 
              quarteredges due from him and he is discharged 
              the same accordingly.

              Brother William Todd presented to the  Members 
              of  the  Rising Sun Lodge as  a  present  from 
              Brother Webb a Bible bound in Morocco  Leather 
              neatly gilt and lettered. Voted, to accept the 
              same and that Brother Webb receive the  Thanks 
              of   the  Lodge  this  vote  to  be   recorded 
              agreeably to the bylaw."

     Webb, born October 13, 1771, was a young man on the move when  he 
left  Keene. It was not uncommon to be initiated before the age of  21 
at that time.

     New  Hampshire ritual was on a roll. First they formed their  own 
Grand  Lodge, 68 days after Washington became President of the  United 
States  and  next  they presented Thomas Smith Webb  to  the  American 
fraternity.

     New  Hampshire  ritual  created more light 16  years  later.  The 
fourth  Grand Master of New Hampshire was a man by the name of  Thomas 
Thompson.  Thompson,  who resided in Portsmouth,  was  initiated  into 
Masonry at St. John's Lodge in that city. He also was the sixth  Naval 
Captain  to  be assigned to the Continental Navy  by  the  Continental 
Congress  in  1776.  Thompson  was Captain  of  the  32  gun  frigate, 
"Raleigh," built in Portsmouth New Hampshire.

     Grand  Master  Thompson was a  no-nonsense,  tough,  independent, 
conservative, straight talking, New Hampshire Mason.

     A year before he died, Thompson created a fuss among followers of 
Webb  with  his valedictory address in 1808. Today the  speech  is  an 
interesting curiosity, and is an insight into the mind of the old time 
Masons  during the last stages of only three degrees in Masonry.  Some 
of the milder statements made by Thompson at that time are as follows:

                  "About  forty  years ago (1768)  I  passed 
              through   all  the  degrees  then   known   in 
              England...but  what  were  then  termed   high 
              degrees,   now   sink  into   nothing...I   am 
              convinced  that the three first  and  original 
              degrees,  alone are, universal  Masonry,  they 
              have  and  forever  will  stand  the  test  of 
              time..."

     Aside  from brother Thompson's resistance to Webb working on  the 
Royal Arch degree since 1797, Thompson was also a progressive  leader. 
We  in  New Hampshire are indebted to him for the ritual that  we  use 
today.

     In  order  to  understand  Grand  Master  Thompson's  (1801-1808) 
problems,  and  the  ritual in New Hampshire during  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  it is interesting at this point to  consider  the 
March 4, 1795 minutes of St. John's Lodge, Portsmouth, N.H:

              "The  reversion of St. John's Lodge  from  the 
              Modern to the Ancient form being introduced by 
              the  M.W. Hall Jackson (G.M.  N.H.  1790-1797) 
              and some others of the Brethren, the minds  of 
              the  Brethren  being separately taken  by  the 
              R.W.  Nath. Adams (Master of St. John's  1792-
              1795,   and   later   G.M.N.H.),   they   were 
              unanimously in favor of the Ancient...and  the 
              Lodge  for the evening closed in  the  Ancient 
              form."

     Having  established  that  late  eighteenth  century  ritual  did 
alternate  between the ancient form and the modern form at the  oldest 
Lodge in New Hampshire (St. John's No. 1 in Portsmouth celebrates  its 
birth  as 1736). Let us now focus on Thompson's era  (1801-1808),  and 
identify how that problem was resolved. According to Thompson's  Grand 
Secretary,  Lyman  Spaulding,  (who participated  in  stabilizing  New 
Hampshire ritual at the later 1806 meeting in Newburyport) writing  in 
the  first  Masonic  Journal in the United  States,  "The  Freemason's 
Magazine," of 1811; Thompson was forceful in the effort to:

              "exterminate the petty distinction of  ancient 
              and modern Masonry" (Ref. Pg. 181)

     Spaulding continues to provide an insight into the lectures  that 
were used at that time in New Hampshire:

              "In  1805 he (Thompson) commissioned  a  grand 
              deputation to visit all the subordinate Lodges 
              in   the   State,  to   inquire   into   their 
              proceedings and to exemplify the  'Prestonian' 
              lectures in each Lodge." (Ref. Pg. 181)

     I  repeat The 'Prestonian' Lectures exemplified in New  Hampshire 
in 1805.

     It  is  my  belief  that New  Hampshire's  use  of  the  "Preston 
Lectures"  was  short-lived.  I  have before  me  a  39  page,  'seven 
section',   hand-written,   'Entered   Apprentice'   ritual   entitled 
"Preston's Lectures" (A copy of this undated ritual book purchased  in 
Granville,  N.Y.  is  forwarded to the Editor of  The  Philalethes.  I 
estimate  its age as 1840-1860). At 3 minutes per page, (question  and 
answer format) the entered Apprentice ritual would be roughly 2  hours 
in  length.   That is the first problem with Preston's  Lectures:  The 
second  problem is the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) more than  likely 
prevented  Preston's work, which was written in England in 1772,  from 
being  introduced into this country before 1783. The third problem  is 
that  John  Hammer, according to Chapman writing in  the  'History  of 
Freemasonry  and Concordant Orders' brought Preston's work to  America 
long after the war:

              Hammer was skilled in the Ancient Lectures and 
              Mode  of work practiced in  England...came  to 
              America in 1793-1794...Clearly, Hammer was the 
              ritualist at the outset..." (ref. Pg. 600)

     The  fourth  problem  is that Thomas Smith Webb  was  the  Senior 
Warden in the same Lodge that Hammer was the Master: Temple Lodge  No. 
5,  Albany New York: and Webb wrote his Masonic Monitor in  1797,  (in 
which  he  stated that "Preston's distribution of lectures  not  being 
agreeable  to  the  mode  of work in  America,  they  are  differently 
arranged in this work.") His ritual was written in 1797, the same year 
that  he was installed as High Priest in the Royal Arch Degree  rather 
than Hammer.

     In summary, I submit the thesis that New Hampshire Masons, of the 
1800  period, found the Preston lectures to be long, impractical,  and 
controversial. Thomas Smith Webb would correct those problems, and men 
like  Benjamin  Gleason, Henry Fowle, John Barney,  and  Jeremy  Cross 
would  take Webb's work and spread it throughout the United States  by 
1824.

     Let  us  now  return to Thomas Thompson,  New  Hampshire's  Grand 
Master, (1801-1808). Thompson was born in England in 1739, and he  was 
determined  to  unify  Masonic  ritual, even  if  he  had  to  abandon 
Preston's marathon lectures.

     In  1806  Thompson  wrote to the Grand  Master  of  Massachusetts 
requesting   that  a  committee  be  chosen  by  New   Hampshire   and 
Massachusetts,  to  meet  and  confer  upon  historic  subjects,   and 
especially upon the subject of uniformity of work and lectures.

     Thompson's  idea was favorably received, the committee of  George 
Richards   (editor   of  Preston's  "Illustrations  of   Masonry"   in 
1804/Portsmouth  N.H.), Lyman Spaulding (Grand Secretary in N.H.)  and 
John  Harris  (High  Priest of second chapters of  York  Rite  in  New 
Hampshire  in  1807); met with Henry Fowle (famous ritual  student  of 
Webb),  Benjamin Gleason (The first Grand Lecturer  in  Massachusetts) 
and Stephen Bean (no information?) of Massachusetts. The committee met 
in  Newburyport  and  the Grand Lodges of  each  state  adopted  their 
report. The following extract is taken from that report:

                  "The     respective     committees      of 
              Massachusetts and New Hampshire are also fully 
              agree,   perfectly  decided,  and   positively 
              unanimous  in their opinion, that the mode  of 
              work  as  exemplified  by  Brothers   Gleason, 
              Fowle, and Bean as practiced in Massachusetts, 
              and  adopted in New Hampshire...is as  correct 
              as  can  (D.C.)  possibly  be  expected  under 
              existing circumstances..."
     The  modern  revival in America was over.  Since  1805,  Benjamin 
Gleason  had  been  the Grand Lecturer of Massachusetts,  and  he  had 
traveled  extensively  to teach the Webb lectures.  In  New  Hampshire 
there  would be two more significant events in the ritual: The  famous 
New  Hampshire lecturer, Jeremy L. Cross, received the  lectures  from 
the  Newburyport committee, shortly after being raised at  St.  John's 
Lodge  in  Portsmouth.  Cross  was  a  nationwide  lecturer.  He  also 
published the 'Masonic Chart', in 1819, which was approved by all  the 
Grand Lodges in the U.S. in 1824.

     The  second  event in New Hampshire ritual occurred on  June  10, 
1851 after the Morgan excitement:

                  "At the annual communication held on  June 
              10, 1851, the ritual committee gave its report 
              on  a uniform system of lectures and work  for 
              the  State.  As a result  of  their  extensive 
              efforts,  the Grand Lodge adopted  the  ritual 
              and mode of work recommended."

     In conclusion to this paper there is a famous Masonic poem  about 
an  old  man who builds a bridge for the new men of  the  world.  This 
paper is dedicated to those bridge builders of the past who built  the 
bridges that we use today.

     I  realize that many modern Masonic scholars are  rather  caustic 
regarding  the  myths  created by the pioneers  of  Masonic  research, 
however,  the purpose of this paper has been to understand  the  times 
and  the Masons who built the bridges that we use today. With  respect 
to  those  Masons, who loved Masonry no less than any of us  today.  I 
submit  that  we  study  those  men  for  good  reasons...for  without 
understanding  the  Masons  of  the  past...Masons  like  Desaguliers, 
Preston, Webb, Cross, Gleason, Chase, Hammer, Mackey, Gould, Foss  and 
literally  hundreds of other great thinkers of the craft...we  in  the 
present, who have a lot to improve on...have nothing to build on.

     I  welcome, from members of the fraternity, any information  that 
would improve my paper. For those who have information or questions on 
the information in this paper, please address your responses to:

                         David Crockett, MPS
                               Box 331
                         Stoddard, N.H. 03464


                                                           

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