MINNEAPOLIS 19 AT 100 YEARS (1858-1958)
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Forward
It is "something" for an individual Mason, or even a lodge of free and accepted Masons, to have seen a century. A centennial year prompts a worshipful master and the brethren to embark on a journey of research and rediscovery. The fruit of this excursion into the past should be in the nature of a rededication to that scheme of morals on which the fraternity is founded and to the ideals which have been held in view through the succession of years. It is this collective steadfastness that has made it possible for the Masons of Minnesota to accord to Minneapolis Lodge Number Nineteen a ranking position in the life of the fraternity in the state and region.
With that in mind, the lodge marks its 100th anniversary year by compiling as comprehensive a record as is possible of its founding, growth and progress. To show the impact of Minneapolis Lodge No. 19 on Minnesota Masonry is not an expression of vainglory. The lodge, like many a brother, has suffered an occasional rupture of the sheath of its pride; but those who have studied its archives, read its records, reviewed its correspondence files and known the worshipful masters of its last sixty or seventy years cherish the authentic facts of its maturing. They take honor and inspiration from its career; they gain self-respect from sharing in its tradition and are gratified that an occasion presents itself to warrant the setting down of a century of high-minded activity which reflects the essential ardor, spirit and vitality of the body.
History of Minneapolis Lodge No. 19, A.F. & A.M.
To those who have never enjoyed fraternal life, a fraternity such as Freemasonry is rather a puzzling expression of our civilization. But in the early days of a community, enterprising men — and especially those who have had some experience in fraternal relationships — join naturally to launch a "lodge"; and, once having organized it, enjoy keeping it going. This is a normal manifestation of men's interdependence. In pioneer days there was a strong inclination toward mutual help; to build; to trust one's fellow citizen who was enduring the same hardships. There is no detailed record of how or when the first Masons living in Minneapolis came to the realization spontaneously that they desired to have a lodge. Somebody had to recognize a fellow Mason and identify himself. One by one others must have made themselves known to one another. Presumably a leader evolved and, as in all activities in which men are called on to rely on each other, it was decided who would be interested and would be acceptable and who would not be.
The first Masonic lodge in Minneapolis was called Cataract, Number 2, with its habitat beside the falls of St. Anthony; the second, Hennepin, Number 4. By the time Minneapolis Lodge No. 19 was founded, making the third in the city, Masonry in Minnesota was in its ninth year.
Life and Times of our Founding Fathers
At that time there was no established uniform work in lodges of Minnesota. It was proper for a master to conduct his lodge in any constitutional work. Communication was difficult, often hazardous. The territory was in the throes of a serious financial panic that had occurred in the fall of 1857. There was no money in circulation. Checks on Minnesota banks were worthless. Debts were paid with script, and "shinplasters" were used as substitutes for small currency. Business was all but at a standstill and optimism a rare commodity. Tension was mounting between the North and the South; and the fact that in the forthcoming congressional election the Know-nothing, or so-called American party, was still able to make a great show of strength and, indeed, in the general election of 1858 was to have 22 electoral votes, attests to the breach between the religious groups of that generation. The year 1858 was a momentous one by reason of the procession of events. Vast changes were taking place in the public domain. Fort Snelling, then nearly forty years old, was regarded as not only of great national value as an outpost bulwarking the area against the unruly Sioux tribe but, by its situation at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, was recognized as the nucleus of a St. Paul-Minneapolis urban center.
Albert Pike, a member of the same distinguished family as Zebulon Pike, the explorer and Mexican War leader, and himself a student of the life and customs of the Indians, and known as their friend, came into the region and committed himself to a legal, military and Masonic career. Having been raised a Mason eight years earlier, he was already the holder of the 33rd degree in Scottish Rite Masonry and on the threshold of election to sovereign grand commander of the supreme council, southern jurisdiction of the United States, an office which he held from 1859, his fiftieth year, until his death.
This was the period of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the year of the Dred Scott decision on a Minnesota situation, one of the most significant jurisdictional determinations in the social and political development of this nation, with consequences that are in the newspaper headlines a hundred years later. The New York Times, assuming national daily-paper leadership, was in process of erecting a building and a journalistic policy that changed the course of American news chronicling. Preceded by the 1857 throwing of the first bridge across the Mississippi River, 1858 witnessed the splicing of the Atlantic cable; and it appeared that man had gone far toward circumscribing the earth in the transmission of ideas. It was the year of Minnesota coming to statehood
At this Juncture Minneapolis Lodge No. 19 Came into Being
Although the times were characterized by stress and men were concerned with great economic problems, the little city of Minneapolis was growing rapidly. Its population at the time has been estimated as being between 2,500 and 4,000. St. Anthony, the town on the opposite bank of the river, was one-third larger; St. Paul nearly twice as big.
Throughout the state Masons were acknowledged as men of stature civically. The membership of Hennepin lodge, five years old, included the leading men of the county. Quoting from the paper read by Brother Ed. J. Forster before the Masonic Veteran Association at the meeting of the Grand Lodge held in St. Paul fifty-six years ago, in
which he calls Minneapolis Nineteen the largest Masonic lodge in the world we learn this:
"In St. Anthony, then in another county, Cataract Lodge No. 2, the 'parent lodge' was a thriving organization of a goodly number of enthusiastic Masons. Practically all the prominent men in the two towns at 'the Falls' were interested in advancing the great principles of our ancient craft. Yet it would seem that one lodge in Minneapolis was sufficient to disseminate Masonic light in a then limited field, but some of the brethren surely possessed the gift of prophecy and appreciated the wonderful destiny of Minnesota and its metropolis.
"With continued friendship and brotherly feeling and with no evidence of a breach in their harmonious relations with the other brethren, fifteen members of Hennepin Lodge No. 4 decided that another lodge in Minneapolis would be to the interest of Masonry. . . . With remarkable courage these brethren assumed the responsibilities of organizing a new lodge."
The Grand Lodge Setting
The sixth grand annual communication of Masons of Minnesota convened on Wednesday, January 6, 1858, in the Concert Hall block, St. Paul. This was a new location for the sessions. The premises are described as a new stone building on the south side of Third street, between St. Peter and Market streets. It had been completed only a short time before.
Presiding was Minnesota's third grand master, A. T. C. Pierson, beginning his third year of a nine-year term of office. On this occasion he said, "What is it that induced you, my brethren, to leave your family firesides in this cold and inclement season of the year, some of you traveling hundreds of miles where railroads are not known, through snowdrifts, fording half-frozen rivers, crossing prairies where human habitations are miles apart? Why this exposure? What inducements for this sacrifice of time, money and ease? What but your love of your fellowmen — your desire to counsel together to advance the interests of Freemasonry?"
On Thursday, the second day of the communication, January 7, A. D. 1858, A. L. 5858, grand secretary J. George Lennon read the petition of "certain brethren, Master Masons, Franklin Steele and twenty-two others" asking for a charter for a new lodge at Minneapolis. On motion of right worshipful brother W. H. Mower this was referred to a select committee of three, consisting of brothers the honorable David B. Loomis of St. John's Lodge No. 1, Stillwater, M. W. Getchell and Emanuel Case. There is a record, presumably applying to this action, of "the report on motion of Brother H. Reynolds" being accepted and "a motion of Brother L. E. Thompson" being adopted. While further details are missing, the Grand Lodge voted the charter to Brothers Joseph Dean, Joel B. Bassett, Franklin Beebe(e), Emanuel Case, R. R. Miles, James O. Weld, A. F. McGhee, Oliver Davis, Osmyn B. King, J. H. Thompson, Henry Hill, James Cyphers, Isaac J. Lewis, John Jackins and R. R. Bryant, authorizing them to organize Minneapolis Lodge No. 19.
Brothers Bassett, Weld, King and Cyphers lived to participate in twentieth century Masonry.
Again Quoting Brother Forster
"The instance is worth recording, as being in accord with the tenets of Ma sonry and illustrative of the character of Dr. Alfred E. Ames, our first grand master, then recently elected worshipful master of Hennepin lodge, which election engendered quite likely some feeling of disappointment, that demonstrated that he entertained no feeling of resentment toward the petitioning brethren, although their action was a complete surprise to him. He arose in Grand Lodge and personally avouched that every one of the petitioners was capable of working a Masonic lodge and recommended that a charter be at once granted to them."
On January 23, following, the brethren who signed the petition for the charter held a convention in Masonic hall, vacated by Hennepin lodge about a week before, in the building owned by Brother John Jackins, which stood on the corner of south First street and Nicollet avenue on the premises now numbered 101 and 103 Nicollet avenue. This was the first brick business block built in Minneapolis. It was burned down in June, 1860, when the most extensive fire that had occurred in the state up to that time destroyed the whole row of buildings from First street to Second street.In the convention, Joseph Dean served as chairman and Henry Hill
was secretary. The brethren elected by ballot —
Joseph Dean................. W. M. R. R. Miles.....................Sec'yJoel B. Bassett.............. S. W. James O. Weld...............S. D. Franklin Beebe..............J. W. A. F. McGhee...................J. D. Emanuel Case................Treas. Oliver Davis..................Tyler
Happily, it has been possible to amplify, from directories, histories and other sources, the biographical information gathered by Brother Forster. This picture of personalities comes into view:
The numbers are in the order in which they
appear on the lodge register
1. JOSEPH DEAN, the first master of Minneapolis Lodge, which office he held two years and again in 1861. He was representative to the Grand Lodge from January 8 to October 26, 1858. Born in Ireland in 1826, emigrated to Canada, the family removed to Illinois where he grew to manhood. He came to Minnesota when about twenty-four years of age and, with his wife who had accompanied him, settled at Bloomington Ferry. He was one of the first county commissioners when Hennepin County was organized and served on the first grand jury empaneled in the county in 1853. The next year he was appointed postmaster at Bloomington, it being the first post office in the county outside of Fort Snelling.
At the age of thirty-two he was a member of Cataract Lodge, Minneapolis (to which he removed in 1856) and had been a Mason for six years. He was a carpenter, contractor and builder (and an "architect") and operated the first planing mill and sash and door factory at the Falls. In 1860 and 1861 he was county treasurer, afterwards cashier of the Security bank, for a time its general manager, later vice president; a trustee of Hamline University and a man of the highest integrity and ability. His residence was on Minnetonka street between Washington avenue and Third street. In 1878 he withdrew from the lodge. He died in 1890.
2. JOEL B. BASSETT, first senior warden, was born in 1814. At the distance of one hundred years he looms as a veritable pioneer, having come from New Hampshire in 1850. Two years later he took up a section of land on the banks of the creek named for him, which he cultivated until it became too valuable for farming purposes. In addition to cultivating his farm he pursued the occupation of lumberman; and his business of lumbering, ownership of pine lands, saw mills and lumber yards grew mightily. He was a partner in Pomery, Bates & Co., owners of a steam mill.
His service to his community included a term of office as the first judge of probate of Hennepin County, being an alderman for some years, also county commissioner. In 1855 and for some years thereafter he was a member of the territorial council. At the time of the founding of Minneapolis lodge he had been a Mason for five years and was age forty-four. His place of residence is not exactly established,described in one record as at the corner of Stimpson and Eastman's addition and in another as corner Front and Nebraska streets. His is the first life membership in the lodge. At the beginning of this century he was described as a hale and hearty old man. He died in 1912 at the age of 98.
3. FRANKLIN BEEBE (sometimes identified as "Beebee") was the lodge's first junior warden. He was born in 1825 and came to Minneapolis in 1856 from Norwich, New York, in the beautiful Chenango valley where for two years he had been a member of the craft. As a man of brilliant attainments, he became one of the leading lawyers of the state, holding various political offices and being greatly respected. His law office was on the north corner of First street and Nicollet; his residence near Hennepin. He was master in 1860, secretary in 1862, afterwards tyler. He died in 1888.
4. EMANUEL CASE, a stalwart and a Mason of eminence in his day. He was known as "Colonel Case" and was truly one of the founding fathers in that he was a member of the committee of the Grand Lodge to pass on the application of Number Nineteen, then throwing in his lot with the "depression baby" lodge. He was born in 1804 and had lived in California before coming to this area. A farmer and a real estate dealer, he lived first in St. Anthony and then in North Minneapolis in Bassett, Moore and Case addition. He was distinguished as having been a charter member of Cataract, Hennepin and Minneapolis lodges. As treasurer of the last named, he remitted its first payment to the Grand Lodge — $40 for the lodge's charter and $46.80 for the first year's dues, December 1, 1858.
5. R- R. MILES was the lodge's first secretary. He was born in 1830 and was made a Mason at the age of twenty-five in Demming, Indiana, from which community he had gone to Ohio before settling in Minneapolis. He had his shop at Washington and Marcy. Minneapolis lodge is indebted to him for the clarity and comprehensiveness of his records which set an excellent standard for his successors. He
withdrew from the lodge in 1868.
6. JAMES O. WELD, the first senior deacon, was born in 1835 in Vermont. In Minneapolis he was a wood sawyer in the lumber mill and had been a member of Hennepin lodge one year before the formation of Minneapolis Nineteen. He was a member of the city council from the first ward in 1859. He lived at the corner of Washington and Benton. He died in 1888.
7. A. F. McGHEE, the first junior deacon, was born in 1831. He had come from New York and, like brothers Bassett, Case and Weld, left Hennepin lodge to take membership in Minneapolis a year after having joined the former. He withdrew from the lodge in 1868.
8. OLIVER DAVIS (or perhaps "Davies" — both names appearing) was the lodge's first tyler. He, too, was a sawyer, with one year of Masonry in Hennepin lodge which he joined at the age of twenty-two after coming to Minneapolis from Massachusetts. He withdrew in 1865.
Adversity Assailed The New Lodge
The times were indeed out of joint for new enterprises, and lodges were not spared trouble. In the Forster story appears this comment: "During 1859 the scarcity of money was appalling; hard times reigned supreme. Money was so scarce that the school teachers were not paid and resigned their positions. Consternation prevailed. So little currency was in circulation that the town of Minneapolis issued scrip, redeemable in bank notes in sums not less than $5. The county followed suit.
"The landlord of Minneapolis lodge No. 19, in connection with some misunderstanding regarding the rent to be paid, finally made a proposition of settlement. If the lodge would pay $50 a year in money, he would agree to settle on that basis; otherwise, he would stand by his original demand."
Notwithstanding, minutes of the lodge show that April 20, 1859, there was appointed for the first time a committee to purchase regalia.
Charter Members
In addition to the eight officers whose backgrounds, Masonic and profane, have been sketched, the membership of the lodge in its first year of existence shows a healthy roster. First after the officers and registered as number nine on the rolls is OSMYN B. KING. He was born in 1831. A Connecticut man and a sawyer in the lumber mill of Joseph Dean, his Masonic affiliation ran back three years at the time Minneapolis lodge was formed. After serving as senior deacon in 1861 and senior warden
the year after, he became worshipful master in 1863 and succeeded himself as such through 1867.
Brother King was an alderman and at one time the mayor of Minneapolis. He was deputy county treasurer when Brother Dean was treasurer and for several years served the city as superintendent of the poor, a position he was "well qualified to fill, by reason of his charitable and sympathetic disposition." He and Brother R. R. Miles were neighbors. He died in 1912.
10. JOSEPH H. THOMPSON, born in 1835, was destined for a long and useful Masonic career from the time of joining the craft at the age of twenty-one. He was a Maineite, as were many other early Minneapolitans. A tailor, he seems to have had other interests as his place of business, between First and Second streets on Nicollet avenue, was also the address of Brother E. S. Jones, first initiate, who, slightly older and a lawyer, was stage and express agent as well.
Brother Thompson served in various offices in the lodge from 1863, becoming worshipful master in 1868. He was then an alderman and that year moved his shop to the Nicollet House and resided on Hennepin avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets. He was called to be master a second year and again in 1876. Not only was he the treasurer of Minneapolis lodge for twenty years beginning in 1879, but for many years was grand treasurer of the Grand Lodge. He was the builder and owner of a structure at 118-120 Hennepin avenue, opposite the old city hall, where the Gateway park now stands, and rented it to Minneapolis lodge in 1875.
Brother Forster says that Brother Thompson was to have written the first history of the lodge but died before accomplishing it in 1901. Lodges met in his hall for fourteen years before the Masonic temple was built.
11. HENRY HILL was born in 1829 and came to Minneapolis from New Hampshire and had been a Mason one year as a member of Hennepin lodge at the time of the formation of Minneapolis No. 19. He was a lawyer and became a justice of the peace. His office was on Hennepin avenue between First and Second streets. Record shows withdrawal in 1869.
12. JAMES CYPHERS was born in Virginia in 1816 and made a Mason in Cumberland, Maryland. Identified on the lodge register as a "victular", his establishments consisted of a boarding house and an
"ice cream saloon", as it was called in those days, on the north corner of Second street and Hennepin avenue. He withdrew the year of joining but was reinstated and became the first honorary member of the lodge, living until 1902.
13 I. J. LEWIS, another Connecticut Yankee, was born in 1825 and had six years Masonic background as a member of Cataract lodge when he threw in his lot with the baby lodge, Minneapolis. His business was real estate, and he was known also as a merchant with residence on the corner of Second street and Howard. After a membership of seven years he withdrew.
14. JOHN JACKINS was born in 1813 and came to the northwest from Maine. A member of Hennepin lodge and evidently a very regular attendant at the communications of No. 19, he was owner of the first Masonic hall and sponsored one of No. 19's first petitioners. He lived at the corner of Sixth and Minnetonka — he withdrew in 1870.
15 R. R. BRYANT was born in 1818. A Kentuckian who had been raised to the master's degree in an Indiana lodge and had enjoyed the rights, lights and benefits therefrom for eight years when Minneapolis lodge was chartered, and retained membership for nineteen years. He was a merchant. He lived in a house in "E. Murphy's addition of Lower Town".
16. W. R. McFARLAND was born in 1806, thus the second oldest of the founders. He came to Minneapolis from Pennsylvania by way of Stillwater, Minnesota, where he was a member of St. John's lodge No. 1. He died in 1866.
17. IRA P. NUDD — Little is known of this New Hampshire man who operated a hotel in Minneapolis. His was the first name ever to be stricken, in 1860.
18. J. G. SHERBURN was a lawyer whose previous history is unknown. His name was stricken in 1860.
19. FRANKLIN STEELE was born in 1813 in Chester, Pennsylvania. He may be regarded as the founder of Minneapolis lodge. When a youth he was advised by President Andrew Jackson to go West. He came into the territory some time in the thirties. About the time that Wisconsin attained statehood and after the Indians had concluded a treaty by which St. Croix falls were ceded to the United States, he made a claim and commenced to build mills. Following that he secured for himself appointment as sutler at Fort Snelling and moved to St. Anthony where he joined Cataract lodge. He forsook that lodge to gather twenty-one kindred spirits and petition the Grand Lodge of Minnesota for a charter; he had then been a Mason six years. He at one time bought Fort Snelling from the government, later selling it back. He was a man of foresight, commercial courage and enterprise and successively operated a ferry, engaged in lumbering and set up the first sawmill in the area. He is memorialized by one of Minneapolis' first cultivated squares, now expanded into a recreation center and bearing his name. He withdrew from membership in 1870 and died ten years later.
20. SWEET W. CASE was born in 1820. A former resident of New York State, he was a Mason in Brooklyn as well as of Hennepin lodge for a total of five years before the founding of Number 19. He was suspended in 1860.
21. E. S. JONES was born in 1829 and had come to Minneapolis from Connecticut. As will be later noted, he was the first initiate of the lodge. Moreover, he was the first lawyer admitted to the bar of Hennepin county. Like his office-mate, past master Thompson, he was an alderman, and, at one time, judge of probate. Besides engaging as a transportation agent, he represented the Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company of Philadelphia.
He was the first president of the Minneapolis Athenaeum, long part of the public library and still identified as such. (From the Athenaeum files came some of the material included in this compilation.) The Athenaeum was organized in 1860. In 1861 Brother Jones served on a committee for the relief of the stricken people of Kansas, raising $1,000 which, considering the times and the limited means of the community, was regarded as a significant sum.
"During the war he attained the rank of major. One of the organizers of the Hennepin County Savings Bank, he was chosen its first president. The Jones-Harrison home for the aged is a monument to his bounty and labor. He was a donor to many charitable and educational institutions and at the time of his death, late in the nineties, left only a moderate estate."
His Masonic services extended over three years — junior warden in 1860, senior warden in 1861, tyler in 1862. In 1876 he withdrew from the lodge.
22. DR. W. H. LEONARD was born in 1827. His residence was in Connecticut before coming to Minneapolis, and he was a young practicing physician when he became the second initiate of Minneapolis lodge. Originally he lived on Hennepin avenue between First and Second streets, later on Twelfth street and Third avenue south and in his later years on Portland avenue at Eighteenth street. The city directory of 1859 showed one of his name engaged in a business of drugs, medicines, paints and oils; but though members of the lodge now living remember him well and with affection after fifty years (he died in 1907), his having ever been a merchant has not been established. He was a man of intense loyalties, profound in his thinking, respected in his profession, liberal, genial and domestic.
23. CHARLES E. JACKINS; born in 1837 in Massachusetts, he was the son of Brother John Jackins in whose store he was a clerk and whose place of residence has been noted. In contrast to his father's lifelong devotion to the lodge, Charles withdrew the same year he was admitted.
24. J. D. KYLE; born in 1833; he was the lone educator of his class of initiates, being a school teacher. He was from Maine and withdrew the year following his being raised to the degree of Master Mason.
25. H. B. WRIGHT; born in 1825; he was a merchant and the first member brought to light within the lodge who became a life member. He outlived most of his contemporaries, dying in 1911.
26. A. D. WILLIAMS; born in 1826, was last of the five applicants voted into the lodge as a charter candidate and the first representative of the cloth to join. He was pastor of the Free Will Baptist Church. He was a native of Pennsylvania and withdrew in 1868.
27 J. J. COULTER was born in 1836 and came to Minnesota from Maine. He was a blacksmith and withdrew in 1906.
28. B. S. BULL, who was born in 1833, came from New York State. He withdrew in 1875.
29. M. R. GREELEY was born in 1826. He was a physician whose associate was one Doctor Gray, with offices at Washington avenue, between Nicollet and Minnetonka. He withdrew in 1868.
30. J. A. MILES was born in 1828. He came to Minneapolis from Ohio and engaged in business as a cabinet maker. He withdrew in 1860.
31. R. J. MENDENHALL, who was born in 1829, had held mem bership in a lodge in North Carolina, later going from there to New Hampshire. He had been a Mason since 1854. He was one of the banking firm of Eedee & Mendenhall whose bank was on First street near Hennepin, Erother Mendenhall living between Nebraska and Dacota (sic). His name was stricken in 1877.
32. O. M. LARA WAY, who was born in 1833, came from Ohio and became a grocer in Minneapolis, with a place of business on Hennepin at First street. His Masonic service began in 1862 as senior deacon, after which he was junior warden, secretary for two years and senior warden. As he lived until 1909, there are those now members who sat in lodge with him.
33. CHARLES FISK — born in 1833; he was a resident of Maine prior to residence in this region. He was a surveyor and his name was stricken in 1860.
34. J. P. PLUMMER was born in 1813- A New Hampshire man, he was raised in Stratford of that state and became a member of No. 19 by affiliation, the last such of the year. His name was stricken from the rolls in 1860.
35. G. B. MARTIN was born in 1830. He also was from New Hampshire and was a hotel keeper at the time of admission to the lodge. His name was stricken in 1860.
36. JOHN VANDERWARKER, New Hampshire born, gave his occupation as a merchant and is classified as being "with Alex Moore". With his initiation the ritualistic labors of the year were concluded. He remained a member for ten years, when he withdrew.
It will be seen that of the original thirty-six members on the GrandLodge's rolls as of December 31, 1858, first year of the existence of Minneapolis Lodge No. 19, ten had withdrawn within ten years, another seven during the next ten, so that at the lodge's coming of age in 1879 its roster of "old timers" had been reduced by nearly half.
These statistics may or may not be significant. The times were full of stress. The minutes disclose that a fine bond existed between the lodge and its members; but, as in all families, many excellent men withdrew to join in the formation of other lodges in the growing community.
This, as a matter of course, has continued through the years. The shoots from the stem of Minneapolis Lodge Number 19 are eleven in number: University lodge, Richfield lodge, Bryn Mawr lodge, Zarthan lodge, Paul Revere lodge, Khurum lodge, Ark lodge, Minnesota lodge, Albert Pike lodge, Wayzata lodge and Excelsior lodge. (The last four were organized by Dr. Kilvington, past master of Number 19.)
Grand Master from Minneapolis No. 19
Minneapolis lodge has contributed three to the line of grand masters of Minnesota. In 1903 Henry R. Adams was grand master. Incidentally, he was born in the lodge hall of Monticello, Minnesota. He was master of No. 19 in 1896. In 1920 Edmund Alexander Montgomery became grand master. He was judge of the district court in Minneapolis and had served his lodge as secretary in 1909, 1910 and 1911 and as master in 1914. His brother, Charles P. Montgomery, who passed away this year at the age of eighty-seven, was a past grand assistant secretary; and it was he who in his report on returns from lodges for 1894 said, "The largest lodge in this jurisdiction has 674 members, which is the largest in the United States." He referred to Minneapolis lodge No. 19.
Albert Fenderson Pray, who served as master of Minneapolis lodge in 1906 and was a member of the board of the Minnesota Masonic home when the cornerstone was laid, became grand master in 1926.
Minneapolis No. 19’s First Communication
The new lodge was to have the customary lively infancy. "On the evening of January 26" (1858) reads Brother Forster's account, "in the same hall which was to be the permanent meeting place of the lodge, the grand master, A. T. C. Pierson, assisted by G. W. Prescott and E. A. Hodgdon, as senior grand warden and junior grand warden respectively, officiated and declared Minneapolis Lodge No. 19 duly constituted and its officers duly installed. Several brethren from Hennepin lodge graced the occasion with their presence.
"It being the evening of the first stated communication the lodge proceeded to the dispatch of business and received and referred five petitions for the degrees. The applicants were C. E. Jackins, Dr. W. H. Leonard, E. S. Jones and Reverend A. D. Williams. Candidates were required to be balloted upon for each degree."
The First Degree Conferred
The first time the Entered Apprentice degree was conferred was at the second communication, February 3, 1858; the first four mentioned of the applicants were the initiates. At this same meeting the by-laws were read and adopted.
There was a called communication of the lodge — its first — held February 15, at which time A. D. Williams was initiated. On the final meeting of that month, February 17, entered apprentices Jones, Leonard, Jackins and Kyle, following a "highly satisfactory" examination, were passed to the degree of F. C.
The first communication of March, 1858, on the third of the month, was followed three days later by one which was the first at which brethren were raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. They were E. S. Jones and Dr. W. H. Leonard.
Subsequent communications during the first season were on March 8, 12, 22 and 27; April 7, 12, 21 and 27; May 1, 3 and 17. Brethren from Hennepin lodge — including Past Grand Master Ames — Cataract lodge and Monticello lodge No. 16 were frequent visitors; and on the last named occasion there is a record of fifteen. They were: Worshipful Master H. Reynolds and Brother Pach Hollender of Cataract lodge; nine brothers of Hennepin — Worshipful Master A. E. Ames, Brothers D. N. Daniels, A. Clark, E. H. Bates, J. G. Bascom, A. B. Kingsbury, G. A. Savory, H. A. Partridge and D. M. Anderson. From other lodges came these: Chambers, Gates, Woodward and Clark. Of the host lodge, in addition to officers, there were present Brothers Cyphers, Lewis, J. Jackins, Bryant and Crafts, the last a lumberman living at 4th and Minnetonka streets. Dr. M. R. Greeley was initiated. Lodge communications for the balance of the year were four in June, three in July, two in August, one in September, two in October, four in November and three in December.
At the October 20 communication the Grand Master of Minnesota was present, his first occupancy of the chair. Two weeks later, at the next communication, was the first time that a charge was preferred against a member of the lodge. On the last communication of the year occurred the first suspension of a member for non-payment of dues.
Before the lodge was a half-year old it had acquired a chart. The committee appointed to buy one reported the cost would be $22. The idea was abandoned. Shortly afterward a newly-made brother, a printer, paid his fees for degrees by making a chart such as the lodge needed.
In the tradition of past master Joseph H. Thompson of the sixties and seventies, Minneapolis lodge No. 19 has at present two living grand lodge members who have served as grand treasurer — past master R. W. Cyril, L. Lamm and past master, R. W. Louis K. Thompson, present grand treasurer.3
Resuming the Chronological Story of the Lodge
In the summer of 1860 the building in which the lodge was then meeting burned. While the fire was in progress the furniture was moved and the lodge suffered no material loss. "Almost the most cherished article of the paraphernalia owned by the lodge was the aforementioned chart. It was a massive implement, all that two or three men ordinarily could handle and much too large to be carried down the stairway. But in the excitement Brother O. B. King took it alone through a large window in the rear and on to a shed adjoining the building from which, with the assistance of other brethren, he got it to the ground in safety."
The first stated communication of Minneapolis lodge in 1860 was held April 20. The second and only other was on October 17. Both were held in the office of Brother E. S. Jones for the transaction of necessary business. This business involved the first granting of a demit for an officer, Brother Miles, secretary, removing to Indiana. In 1860 the lodge acquired one member by affiliation, in 1861 one by initiation. Between June and October, 1860, due to the fire, the lodge was without a home.
Then the lodge fitted up a hall over the Falls City Bank in the frame building on First street north, later known as the "Wilbur House"; and prior to the meeting of October 17 the furniture from the old hall was moved over to make the place fit for lodge use.
Those were before the days of the dog catcher and thereby hangs a tale. The stove from the old lodge room had been left outdoors during the long summer days. When a fire was lighted in it the odor was so overpowering that opening the windows afforded but little relief. The lodge closed at an earlier hour than it would have under other conditions.
Two months later No. 19 was so comfortably situated that it tendered to Hennepin lodge the use of Nineteen's room. Apparently a year later business was still in the doldrums, for in October, 1861, a brother in lodge explained that he had lost an order for a small amount on the treasurer. He requested that a duplicate order be issued. The secretary was instructed to draw two orders to aggregate the amount. The misfortune proved a benefit as the brother was enabled to get at least part of his money more promptly.
"In 1862 and 1863 the fortunes of the lodge gradually revived and the grand master in several instances exercised a prerogative used rarely, to grant dispensations to receive petitions, ballot and confer degrees upon candidates at the same communication. As a patriotic measure this was done to enable those who desired the degree to go to war."
April, 1864, Minneapolis lodge for the first time conducted the funeral of an out-state lodge member dying in Minneapolis.
"In September, 1864, the lodge made arrangements to join Hennepin lodge in the use of their rooms and the regular communication of No. 19 on the 21st of the month saw the two lodges happily domiciled in Woodman's block on the corner of Helen street (Second avenue south) and Washington avenue. When the building was built in 1857 the hall was capable of holding more people than any other room in Minnesota."
The first election to honorary membership in Minneapolis No. 19 was October 15, 1865- January 3, 1866, Brother E. S. Jones received reimbursement for money he had advanced eight years before to buy officers' jewels. That year, February 4, occurred the first conducting of a funeral for a member of Minneapolis lodge.
Minneapolis Lodge Makes a Move
As has been noted, from the fall of 1864 the lodge had been a joint occupant, with Hennepin lodge, of Woodman's hall. "January 9, 1887, the Grand Lodge of Minnesota consecrated the 'New Masonic hall' in Brother Loren Fletcher's stone building on Bridge Square at numbers 109 and 111 Nicollet avenue and installed the 'officers elect.' " This was three doors south of where the petitioners for a charter for the lodge had met nine years before to elect the first officers of the lodge. Brother Loren Fletcher was congressman from Minnesota. A banquet followed the proceedings.
First Adjudication by Grand Master
August 10, 1867, Minneapolis lodge was forced to invoke the good offices of the grand master in connection with a dispute between a member of Minneapolis lodge and a member of Hennepin lodge. “The brother of Hennepin objected to the other visiting his lodge and the brethren of the two lodges tried to settle the contention, but without avail. The matter was finally laid before grand master Nash, who personally interviewed the two brethren. The brother of Minneapolis No. 19 knew of no wrong that he had committed but was willing to make amends if he had. Nevertheless, the brother of Hennepin No. 4 refused to give any reason for making his objections, which he continued to maintain; and the grand master could prevail nothing towards an amicable settlement between them." The grand master then gave what probably was the first official decision in this state upon the declaration in our grand lodge constitution that "the right to visit Masonically is an absolute right and the duty of Masons", holding that in his opinion a Mason "can" visit if there is no objection by the lodge or any of its members.
The second decade in the history of Minneapolis Lodge No. 19, while not especially dynamic, has many highlights and the interested Mason sees significance in the names and the events.
March 17, 1869, at the regular communication of the lodge, the members listened to an address by Brother Robert Morris, nationally prominent in Masonry, upon the subject of his travels in the holy land. In this enterprise Minneapolis lodge and Hennepin lodge No. 4 cooperated.
April 6, 1870, the lodge welcomed as a visitor one who later contributed immeasurably to the picturesqueness and attractiveness of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine — Alfred M. Shuey, a competent musician, originator of Zuhrah's patrol, now recognized as the first uniformed body in Shrinedom.
March 15, 1871, Minneapolis No. 19 appropriated money for the purchase of a bed to be kept at the charity hospital of the Brotherhood of Gethsemane, to be used when required "by the direction of the worshipful master.
Steady Progress of the Lodge
By 1870 Minneapolis lodge No. 19 had, as the saying goes, "found itself" and had settled into a pattern for the dispensing of charity, diffusion of brotherly cheer and demonstration of excellent ritualistic work.
May 1, 1872, during a period of business and financial depression, the lodge voted to give the year-old Masonic board of relief "20% of receipts from fees for degrees as long as the lodge shall deem proper." Currently the lodge was enjoying the benefit of a series of capable masters.
Paul Fitzgerald served during 1870 and 1871. He was succeeded by John H. Noble, five-term holder of the highest office that the lodge could confer. He was regarded as "a man of strong natural force." His first mastership was for 1872 and 1873- After him came John Furness during 1874 and 1875- In 1876, centennial year of the republic, James Thompson returned to the office. George M. Hunt was master of No. 19 in 1877, and past master Noble returned for further leadership during 1878, 1879 and 1880. Succeeding the experienced John Noble was T. M. Slossen. His was a two-year tenure. In the Forster summary he is memorialized as "a man of excellent character" who "met a mysterious death in Chicago."
James M. Williams served as master in 1883 and 1884. He was "a student of Masonry, in every phase of philosophy and practice; conscientious and methodical, quiet and observing. He chose his intimates and those he loved he 'grappled to his heart with hoops of steel'. To his inspiration and counsel No. 19 owes much of its later success. He inaugurated an admirable system of records and accounts. His death was much regretted."
Under Charles C. Brand in 1885 the lodge took in its five hundredth member and the next year, with S. S. ("Doc") Kilvington as master, registered the greatest accrual of members to date and what was to be the most impressive gain for five years. The Kilvington period of leadership was for 1886 and 1887. This master is described as "indefatigable, earnest, aggressive and sincere; and though misunderstood
by some, perhaps, none could help admiring his zeal and ability and large heartedness."
Adolph G. Schlener performed the duties of the master's office creditably during 1888. In 1889 the post of master was occupied by an excellent ritualist, James Smith. Horace M. Myers, master during 1890, 1891 and 1892, came back to be secretary of the lodge from 1893 to 1908. As master he is said to have done "most excellent work, with the faculty of associating enthusiastic brethren in furthering the prosperity of the lodge, entitling him to great credit."
In 1893 William B. Hixon became master and in 1894 Bartlett F. Holbrook. His successor, Edwin J. Hodges, master in 1895, like several predecessors, later held another office — that of tyler, beginning in 1897 and extending to 1920. The next master, Henry R. Adams, whose year of office was 1896 is distinguished as having later become grand master of Masons of Minnesota. His successor, Horace D. Dickinson, was perhaps the most dramatic of the lodge's leaders. His year was 1897. In 1898, Charles D. Ovenshire, later to become illustrious imperial potentate of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, came into office. He was followed by Thomas D. Bell for the year 1899. At the turn of the century Lannes D. Condit took office.
August 25, 1871, was the first occasion on which the lodge participated in the funeral of a past grand officer. The deceased, past grand treasurer Emanuel Case, had given much to the creation and maintenance of the lodge. The most worshipful grand master of the Grand Lodge directed the procession.
May 1, 1871, represents the first occasion of Minneapolis' contributing to the then recently formed Masonic board of relief, money being transferred from one treasury to the other.
June 10, 1872, Dr. Hannibal Hamlin Kimball, recognized in later years as one of the most renowned physicians of his generation and a valued citizen of the community, was raised to the degree of a Master Mason in Minneapolis lodge No. 19. During the year 1872 Minneapolis and Hennepin lodges sponsored the Masonic service board of Minneapolis.
February 19, 1873, is the first instance of record of the lodge taking a vote to create an honorary membership, this being conferred on James Cyphers, twelfth signer of the lodge's charter fourteen years before and the lodge's sixth junior deacon.
December 17, 1873, Minneapolis lodge held a convocation of past masters at which time two past grand masters and two past masters conferred the degree of actual past master.
July 1, 1874, an attempt was made by petition of Brother A. E. Ames and others to secure a recommendation for a new lodge. By vote this was not granted.
August 5, 1874, Minneapolis lodge received an invitation from Cataract lodge No. 2 to participate in the laying of the cornerstone of the latter's new lodge. The lodge was present and was present also at the dedication which took place December 28.
December 15, 1876, the Eastern Star chapter requested that it be allowed the use of the lodge room of Minneapolis lodge two Mondays a month; it was granted.
January 5, 1876, a committee from Minneapolis lodge was appointed to confer with a like committee from Hennepin lodge on the leasing of the lodge hall for chapter and commandery use.
December 20, 1876, a report was made to Minneapolis lodge of the operations of the Masonic board of relief.
December 19, 1877, it was voted by Minneapolis lodge that Hennepin lodge No. 4 and Khurum lodge No. 112 (its first mention in the records of No. 19) be invited to participate in a public installation of officers.
May 29, 1878, Minneapolis lodge contributed its support to a Masonic directory of the city of Minneapolis by the purchase of one hundred copies. By that time the lodge had initiated, or taken in by affiliation, a total of three hundred members.
July 17,1878, Brother C. H. Birtsolle of Alexandria, Egypt, addressed Minneapolis lodge.
August 21, 1878, past master John Furness, who had been raised in the lodge in 1870 and became its master four years later, presented No. 19 with two volumes on Freemasonry by J. S. W. Mitchell. At the same meeting a communication from the grand lodge appealing for funds for yellow fever sufferers in the South was met with money.
December 4, 1878, the membership of Minneapolis lodge No. 19 was 166, it had held 22 communications since January 1 and had $1,231-21 in assets. Its meetings were held in the Masonic hall at 118 Hennepin avenue.
Record of the Last 60 Years
On April 20, 1898, Minneapolis lodge No. 19 initiated a series of transactions that indicate a keen recognition of the economic pressures on the organization. A committee was appointed to negotiate with St. John's chapter of Royal Arch Masons and Zion Commandery of Knights Templar, looking toward the purchase of one-third interest in the furniture and fixtures of the sixth floor of the eight-story Masonic temple. At this time meetings were being held on the second floor.
The Masonic temple, situated on the northwest corner of Hennepin avenue and Sixth street (later to be given the name of the Merchandise building) has been the home of No. 19 since its erection in 1890, the Masonic bodies occupying having acquired control of the building stock when the structure was ten years old. Minneapolis lodge occupied the same rooms with Hennepin and Khurum lodges. But "Nineteen" was experiencing a gratifying growth and the second floor space was inadequate. May 4 it moved into the larger hall on the sixth floor with the chapter and the commandery and sold its interest on the second floor to Minnesota lodge for $500 with which to purchase the one-third sixth-floor interest.
July 20, 1898, to complete the business affiliation, a committee was appointed to appraise and sell to the chapter and commandery Minneapolis lodge's two-thirds interest in the silverware, cupboards and other appurtenances of the second floor. Shortly after, September 7, past master William B. Hixon and Brother William C. Allen, who had removed to Minneapolis from South Dakota, presented Minneapolis lodge with a set of ashlars and wardens' columns.
From time to time equipment was purchased and improvements ordered for the sixth and seventh floors of the temple in partnership with the two fraternal bodies before mentioned and Zuhrah Temple of the Shrine, including one item on November 5, 1902 — the purchase of an organ costing $1,400. The lodge was prospering. A few years later, in 1906, the chattels of the lodge were estimated to be worth $3,200, and in 1909 and 1910 an equal amount was laid out for new equipment of that nature.
Minneapolis 19 and the Washington Memorial
December 2, 1914, the lodge received a letter from the most worshipful grand master, R. E. Denfield, giving notice of the plan to memorialize George Washington the Mason with a monument, to be erected at Alexandria, Virginia, and asking that honorary memberships in the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association be subscribed to a charter roll of honor at $100 each. Upon motion, duly carried, it was voted that a committee of three be appointed to consider the lodge's participation and report back to the lodge.
May 8, 1921, Brothers Edmund A. Montgomery, Edwin M. Sunne and Harry O'Hearn were appointed to formulate plans for raising funds for the Washington Masonic Memorial Association. On December 21, by resolution proposed by Brother E. A. Montgomery, it was voted that a warrant in the amount of $1 000 be drawn to apply. On January 31, 1923, $1,000 was appropriated for this purpose and check issued. On October 3, 1923, a communication was received from the grand master of Minnesota relating to the laying of the cornerstone of the George Washington Memorial on Thursday, November 1, 1923.
Minneapolis 19 and the Masonic Home
As in all general Masonic causes, Nineteen assumed its share of responsibility in the establishment and development of the Minnesota Masonic home. At its founding in 1906 the grand master of Minnesota, Thomas Morris, appointed Brother Frank H. Carleton of Minneapolis lodge a member of the committee to build the home. Brother A. F. Pray, worshipful master of the lodge that year, as noted, was a member of the board of directors of the home when the cornerstone was laid.
Minneapolis lodge subscribed and paid for a Class-A $5,000 membership in the home, the only blue lodge in the state so doing; and in addition the lodge gave the home from its own funds another $5,000 to cover the cost of the original decorating. Throughout the half-century of the home's existence individual contributions by the members of this lodge have been many, timely and generous, bequests numerous, gifts of $1,000 or the like not infrequent, capped by the legacy left by Mrs. Martha C. Capen, daughter of the lodge's tenth enrolled member, past master J. H. Thompson. On her death in California in 1955 she bequeathed $227,227.70 to the home, the largest bestowal ever received by the home. Individual members have paid assessments totaling $53,499.45.
The post office address of the home is 11400 Normandale Road, Minneapolis, Zone 20. This is the location of the home's executive office. The secretary of the Minnesota Masonic Home Corporation is Minneapolis lodge's past master, John G. Maclean.
Other Benefactions of the Lodge
During World War II No. Nineteen members as individuals gave $6,200 to the Masonic Service Association with headquarters at Washington, D. C, to be used for the comfort and help of members in the armed forces of the United States. In the cause of youth Minneapolis Nineteen has made contributions to two groups. When Minneapolis Chapter Order of DeMolay for boys was organized, the lodge presented to the chapter some of its first furnishings. To Job's Daughters it has given free rental of lodge room and facilities since the inception of the chapter.
The most recent "call to the colors" for Masons in this area is that made by the Minnesota Masonic Cancer Relief Committee for funds for the Masonic Memorial Hospital at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. "Nineteen" members as individuals have contributed in excess of $31,000.
Period of the Lodge’s Growth
Shortly after World War I, and through 1921 and 1922, Minneapolis lodge No. 19, always large and favored by reason of its location, personnel and excellent work, experienced a great upsurge of membership volume. In 1921 the number raised in the lodge was 369. Worshipful Bro. William Twenge was then master. In 1922, at the end of the year, the last candidate's progressive number was 4274, and there were 2,558 members in good standing. Membership at centennial year is 1810.
Naturally, the lodge is proud of its record. Its continuing ambition is to excel in the practice of the peculiar Masonic virtues. Minneapolis lodge's latest undertaking is the organizing and furthering of the Masonic Foundation of Minneapolis, incorporated July 6, 1955, during the mastership of past master Robert M. Ferris, who is now secretary of the Foundation.
The Lodge is indebted to Bro. Maurice I. Wolff,
a fifty year member, for com-piling the interesting
information about the history of No. 19.
