EARLY MASONRY

In

MONTICELLO and SULLIVAN COUNTY

                                           

 

HISTORY

of

MONTICELLO LODGE NO. 532 F. & A. M.

 

 

Compiled By

Wor. Bro. Alvin O. Benton

 

With The Assistance of

R...W... Bro. H. Lynden Hatch

(Past District Deputy and Past Master)

 

and

 

Bro. Clarence Maine

(Secretary of Monticello Lodge)

 

Published By

MONTICELLO LODGE NO 532, F. & A. M.

 

© 1942 and 2002

Introduction

 

The settlers who cleared the forests and made Sullivan County habitable were builders and men of vision, according to historians who have recorded many of the deeds of the early pioneers. They were also men of character and determination whose high-wheeled wagons ferried across the Hudson from New England and from old New York town to build new homes and breed a hardy people in these beautiful hills.

One of the guiding spirits behind their success was the good which comes from the teachings of Masonry. Unfortunately, the activities of the Craft were held in strict secrecy in the early days and there is little to be found regarding the early lodges in the county.

As to the individual life of any of the early lodges in Sullivan we know little for the minute books, etc., have disappeared, but, from what records we have we know that Monticello Lodge and its predecessors have made worthy contributions to the success of the fraternity and the growth of the county from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day.

            Speculative Masonry had been practiced since 1725 when the first Grand Lodge in London was formed and its beneficent influence had been realized by the brethren in America for more than eighty years before a Masonic lodge was established in Sullivan County.

Johnathan Belcher, who migrated from England and later became Governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and then Governor of New Jersey, was made a Mason in an English Lodge in 1704. This, however, was an operative lodge which existed before the formation of the first Grand Lodge.

St. John's Lodge of Boston was constituted July 30, 1733, and is the first established in the Colonies. It is argued, nevertheless, that at least one was in existence in Philadelphia in 1730. A lodge meeting is reputed to have been called in King's Chapel in Boston in 1720 by order of the Grand Lodge of England but proof of the meeting never has been satisfactorily procured.

            Masons in the early days are said to have continued the practice of Operative Masonry despite the newer form of Speculative Masonry which was governed by Grand Lodge. Like the early Masons of Sullivan County, they had found a new world far removed from the old -- they had found time to mediate in the stillness of the wilderness, had toiled and fought for their homes, their loved ones and the very things which give life fullness and brings hope and encouragement.

            United they worked for fulfillment of their dreams. They had strengthened their unity through Masonic fellowship and for what they didn't know about speculative they found in substitutes.

            We are told that a regularity of Freemasonry did not begin until June 5, 1730, when the Duke of Norfolk, Grand Master of England, appointed Daniel Coxe, Provincial Grand Master of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Coxe was appointed for a two-year term during which time he made a brief visit to America.

Historians who hold that the first authentic Grand Lodge was erected in Philadelphia argue that this lodge derived its authority from the Coxe deputation.

If this was not the first Grand Lodge (Benjamin Franklin, who was Grand Master in 1734, was not convinced that it was) then the first authentic Grand Lodge came into existence in Boston in 1733, when the Grand Master of England issued a deputation to Henry Price of Boston appointing him Grand Master of "New England and the dominions and territories thereunto belonging."

From centers of Freemasonry such as Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Pa., and Savannah, Ga., the fraternity grew, spreading its influence in every one of the colonies. Lodges were formed by many of the settlers as soon as they arrived and began to carve out new homes in the wilderness. Solomon's Lodge No. 1 at Savannah, Georgia, was the second colonial lodge to be listed on the English Grand Lodge roll. It was chartered in 1736. A lodge at Charleston, South Carolina, was formed the same year.

            The Duke of Norfolk was a Roman Catholic as the members of his family have been from 1483 to the present day, and it is therefore interesting to know that it was a Roman Catholic who granted the first authority to warrant Masonic lodges in America.

            The United States of America owes a great deal to Masonry for Masons and ideals born of Masonic beliefs were largely responsible for a safe steerage through the trying days of Colonial infancy. Likewise, Masonry owes a great deal to the country which has made possible its perpetuation.

            Masonry has had the names of great statesmen on its rolls and statesmen have been influenced to greatness by Masonry.

            George Washington was among the leaders of Colonial days who worked with the foremost men in the Masonic fraternity to launch the new nation. He joined with others, most of whom were Masons, in public assemblies to plan their course in the Revolutionary war.

            They suggested the first Congress in New York and prepared the way for a Continental Congress ten years later.

Included among these Colonial patriots and Masons were Samuel Adams, father of American Revolution; Patrick Henry, the first Republican Governor of Virginia and author of "Give me liberty or give me death." Paul Revere, whose midnight ride and cry of alarm ennobled the Middlesex farmers to prepare for the battle of Lexington; James Otis, William Daws, John Hancock, Peyton Randolf and many others, who sought for independence and a free and powerful land.

            When the writing of a Masonic history of lodges in this vicinity was first undertaken the mention of any facts other than those pertaining to the subject was not considered but in the course of our work many facts, of world-wide Masonic interest, affecting Sullivan County have been unearthed.

In assembling these facts it has been necessary to wander from the subject; it would seem that unless the reader has a knowledge of events which led up to certain incidents we have covered it would be impossible for him to comprehend to the fullest extent the manner of our craft's operation during the past 130 or more years.

            There is much regarding Sullivan County Freemasonry which is still unwritten and, much important Masonic history which never will be written because of a lack of information.

            Every effort has been made to give the reader authentic and reliable information regarding the activities of the craft in this county and in other sections from, Colonial days to the present.

If we have erred it is because old newspaper files and other records, including lodge files and old documents, were inaccurate.

 

 

Preface to 1942 Edition

 

A history of Monticello Lodge No. 532, F. & A. M., would be far from complete if we were to omit several interesting paragraphs about the lodges which preceded it.

According to Grand Lodge records eight lodges have been established in Sullivan County. The earliest recorded lodge in Sullivan was Sullivan No. 272 which was warranted at Monticello, January 2, 1817. This Lodge and Bloomingburgh Lodge No. 310, which was warranted June 24, 1818, both existed during James Monroe's "Era of Good Feeling" and enjoyed prosperous days until the Morgan affair and Anti-Mason groups caused membership to dwindle and interest to wane, to the extent that Sullivan Lodge failed to report to Grand Lodge after June, 1829. Four years before Bloomingburg made its last report.

Grand Lodge was patient, nevertheless, and waited until June 1835 before it passed a resolution for forfeiture of the Sullivan charter and June 1833 before it took similar action with the Bloomingburgh Lodge.

These were the only lodges to exist in Sullivan County until 1858 when Lodge 460, the one to which Monticello Lodge 532 is the successor, was chartered. Callicoon Lodge No. 521; Delaware Lodge 561, Livingston Manor Lodge 791, Mongaup Lodge No. 816, and Fallsburgh Lodge No. 1122 all originated since that time.

 

 

Preface to Electronic Reprint

 

            Copies of the published work of R...W... Alvin O. Benton and the other brethren who compiled this record of the lasting legacy of the impact of Freemasonry in the community of Monticello and Sullivan County are rare. This reprint, posted on the Internet at http://mastermason.com/monticellolodge, is made available with the intention of reinforcing the fellowship and fraternity of the Monticello Lodge #532 and the Sullivan Masonic District.

            R...W... Bro. Benton’s original text was scanned using optical character recognition software and the resulting document divided into two digital files. Part I consists of the history of Early Masonry in Monticello and Sullivan County, and Part II the History of Monticello Lodge No. 532, F&AM. In the 1942 edition, both sections were bound together in one volume. Eventually, it is the intention of the undersigned to create an updated history of Monticello Lodge – taking the interested reader from the point in time at which the text leaves off up to the present time. 

            The present format differs from the original edition in a few respects. Benton’s text was published in two columns, with a soft blue binding, measuring 8.5 x 6.25”. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, but some idiosyncratic spellings (e.g. “Fallsburgh”, as opposed to the contemporary spelling without the terminal “h”), sentence structure and punctuation have been retained.

            R...W... Bro. Benton, who was editor of The Republican Watchman, performed a service to the Craft of the Sullivan District, as well as to non-Masonic local historians, by means of this chronicle.

            Readers are asked to please take note of the following copyright statement:

Although this file may be freely copied and distributed as desired, any reproduction of the contents of this document, without the express written permission of the current elected officers of Monticello Lodge No. 532 F. & A. M. is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 1942 and 2002 by Monticello Lodge No. 532 F. & A. M. All rights reserved.

This book was first published in paper form in 1942. Republication of this book on the Internet was approved by vote of the lodge at a stated communication on Monday, March 11, 2002.

                Scanned by Wor. Thomas S. Rue with HP PrecisionScan Pro OCR software.

                Full text, with photos, is currently available in MS Word and Adobe Acrobat formats, on the web at http://mastermason.com/monticellolodge/

Any donations in appreciation for access to this etext may be made to "Masonic Brotherhood Fund" and are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.

For these and other matters, please mail to:

Monticello Lodge #532, F. & A. M.

5 Bank Street, 3d Floor

Monticello, NY 12701-1718

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Wor. Thomas Rue, Master

Monticello Lodge #532, F.&A.M.

March 17, 2002

 

 

The Masonic Goal

 

It means so much in a distant land

To feel the warmth of a Brother's hand;

Or when weary at the close of day,

To meet a Brother along the way.

 

We strive to meet on common ground,

Where friendship and brotherly love are found,

Where God-fearing men unite and pray

For the coming of a new and better day.

 

And when we make an acquaintance new,

With one who travels the way we do;

Our objectives all we understand

As members of the ancient band.

 

We must travel the road and do our deeds

And liberally give to another's needs,

And do our work with the craftsmen’s tools,

Remembering Him above who rules.

 

The Mason's Guide and tools were made,

To finish work of the higher grade.

Allover the world they've been employed,

To rear up structures by evil destroyed.

 

Today with war and turmoil new,

We Masons have our work to do.

We must help the weary on their way,

And keep our flock from going astray.

 

A comforting word and a little cheer

For the sick and lonely both far and near

Should come from our brethren young and old,

If those valuable tenants we are to hold.

 

We must spread the cement of our ancient band,

And unite as Masons throughout the land.

For we have work that's never done,

Until war and a glorious Peace is won.

 

 

Sullivan Lodge No. 272

 

Members of Sullivan Lodge No. 272 included pioneers, many of whom had served in the Revolutionary and 1812 wars. To them Masonry had shown its beneficent effects during critical times. Their brethren had been largely responsible in the formation of the United States and the drafting of a Constitution, which based on Masonic principles, has remained intact and today stands practically unadulterated.

            The men who petitioned Grand Lodge for a charter had built homes in Monticello long before Sullivan County was erected by an act of the Legislature in 1809. Attending its meetings were war-weary and freedom loving men of a new nation who looked to the dawning of a new day in prosperity and fraternalism. The Tory, against whom they had fought, was welcomed and animosity no longer existed.

Sullivan Lodge members had come to Monticello with Samuel F. and John P. Jones in 1804 to cut through dense growths of underbrush and rhododendron and lay out streets for a village.

These early settlers visioned a future of peace, prosperity and security and the Church and Masonry figured prominently in their plans.

            Methodism was established contemporaneously with the arrival of the first settlers in 1804 and supply Presbyterian preachers were appointed as early as April 25, 1807. Neither of the Jones brothers was a communicant of any church when they laid out their public square and designated sites for a Presbyterian Church and a Court House, but they were Masons and obviously realized the importance of both the Church and Masonry.

Their names were among the ten that appeared on a petition dated May 14, 1811 which was presented to Grand Lodge for the formation of a Masonic Lodge to be known as Sullivan Lodge.

With the petition went the recommendation that Samuel F. Jones be the first Master of the Lodge. Brother Jones served as Master of the Lodge during the greater part of the six years which elapsed before the Lodge was warranted.

            The warrant was signed by Dewitt Clinton who was then Grand Master, and John Wells, the Grand Secretary. Dewitt Clinton had just started the first of three terms he was to serve as Governor when the petition was presented in 1811. He had served in many important state offices prior to 1811 and between that time and the issuing of the Sullivan Lodge warrant on January 2nd, 1817 he was an unsuccessful candidate for president of the United States (1812); served as Mayor of New York City, (1808 to 1810, 1811 to 1815) and was Lieutenant Governor of New York State, (1811 to 1813). He had the honor of serving as Mayor and Lieutenant Governor at the same time. He was one of the few highest Masons in the Union during the Morgan affair, the fury of which threatened the very existence of the craft.

            The traitor of the craft who disappeared after he had divulged the secrets of Masonry is known in history as William Morgan and ironically enough the same name appeared at the head of those who petitioned for the establishment of Sullivan Lodge. The difference in the character of these two men, however, was as great as the similarity of the names. One was resigned to exploit Masonry for the material good it could bring him while the other was endued with its pure principles and sought its furtherance by the establishment of Masonry within the newly inhabited community.

            The William Morgan of Sullivan Lodge was a man of principle rather than wealth and was not related to the William Morgan of Batavia who had neither. He was supervisor of the Thompson Township when the petition was signed and that is probably why his name appeared first.

            The other signers were Caleb Howell, Lewis Rumsey, John Wilson, Samuel Barnum, the Jones brothers, Solomon Royce, Johnathan P. Raymond and Amos C. Brown.

            The petition was endorsed by Edward Ely, Master of Montgomery Lodge. The petitioners had visited the Montgomery Lodge on several occasions and had listened to stories about Military Lodges which General George Washington had attended along the Hudson. Among the signers were men who had attended a session of the American Union Lodge on the banks of the Hudson near Newburgh on June 24, 1782, where Revolutionary soldiers had erected "The Temple of Virtue."

            (The March installment of this most interesting Masonic history will contain a list of the officers and members of the first Lodge together with their biography). [Editor's note: This text, written by Wor. Bro. Alvin O. Benton around 1942, then an officer of Monticello Lodge No. 532, originally appeared as a series of articles in The Republican Watchman.]

            The first Sullivan Lodge officers installed by Benjamin Lewis, a Past Master of Hiram Lodge No. 131 of Newburgh were John Russell, Master; Livingston Billings, Senior Warden; Peter Hunn, Junior Warden; Cyrus A. Cady, Treasurer; and Jessie Towner, Secretary.

            Its members were drawn from the townships of Bethel, Liberty, Mamakating and Thompson and comprised the leading men of the community.

            The Lodge's first return showed a membership of 45 and listed their names as follows: John E. Russell, Elisha Heycock, William Morgan, George Vaughn, Leivi, Barnum, Cyrus A. Cady, Seth Allyn, John P. Jones, Alex Sterret, Joseph Coit, Darius Martin, Samuel Barnum, Thomas Crary, Joseph Pinkney, Asa Baker, Jessie Towner, Asil Hall, Nathan Couth. Solomon Royce, Luther Wood, Richard R. Norris, Moses Stoddard, Livingston Billings, John M. Towner, William Cochran, Peter F. Hunn, Asa McKee, Platt Pelton, Dudley Champlin, Thomas Adgate, Richard D. Childs, Daniel Niven, Lemuel Johnson, William White, Sylvester Wheeler, John W. Osborn, Alpheus Dimmick, Richard Thurston, William Roberson, Isaac Foote, James McCroskry, Robert Nathan, Seymour Armstrong, Andrew Comstock and Isaac Brown.

            John Russell was a merchant of Monticello and was associated in business with William E. Cady a son of Cyrus Cady who was one of the charter members. Russell was one of the first Wardens of St. John's Episcopal Church in Monticello. He and William Thompson, Sullivan County's first Judge, were largely responsible for the organization of the church. The church was organized on November 11, 1816 with Reverend James A. Thompson, a brother of the Judge, the first pastor. Bro. Russell brought honor to Monticello as Presidential Elector and performed the duties of his office by casting his vote for Andrew Jackson, one of the most prominent Masons of the day who had served as Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee during 1822 and 1823. True to his convictions and loyal to his Lodge, Sullivan Lodge's first Master contributed liberally of his time and sound advice throughout the Lodge's prosperous as well as its lean years. He died on September 4, 1830.

            Livingston Billings, the first Senior Warden of Sullivan Lodge was admitted to practice as attorney and counselor of the courts of the county at a session of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions held in October 1809. He served at County Surrogate in 1810 and 1813, as Judge of the Court of Common Please in 1823 as Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in 1824. Billings came to Monticello from Poughkeepsie before Sullivan was a county or Monticello much more than a forest. It is said that he came to Monticello on horse back, expecting to find a thriving village, and that he rode through the Main street and over the westward hill without suspecting that he had passed the place. He opened his office in a building on the site which is now occupied by the Jewish Community Center on Broadway.

            If Sullivan County Masonry ever had a Benedict Arnold it was Peter F. Hunn. As Arnold had saved the country he later tried to ruin, so Hunn had helped Sullivan County Masonry in its infancy only to betray it later.

            Hunn was a lawyer who came to Monticello from Newburgh not long after the organization of the County. He was the first Junior Warden of Sullivan Lodge and later served as its Senior Warden and Master.

When the dark clouds of the Morgan Episode descended over the State in 1826 and a Sullivan County Anti-Masonic party was formed Hunn was one of the first to desert the fraternity.

            The Anti-Masons, led by Hunn and others including former Mason and County Sheriff David Hammond became a powerful political body in the County. They elected their candidate, Hiram Bennett, to Foster for County Clerk [sic], and Nathan W. Horton for Sheriff in the Fall of 1831. [Editor's note: At this point in the text, a line of type appears to be out of place, which states: "the Assembly, their nominee Jesse M."]

            Following the election Anti-Masons Hiram Bennett, Harley B. Ludington and Daniel B. St. John were satirized in the columns of the Republican Watchman for their conduct in a celebration which followed the election. The Watchman's editor Frederick A. Devoe continued his attacks during the next Winter and Spring disturbing them to such an extent that the wealthier Anti-Masons provided funds sufficient to organize the Anti-Masonic Sullivan County Herald Hunn became the first editor and demonstrated his intellectual culture and acknowledged talent in reply editorials directed at Devote. The latter, however, held to Masonic principles rather than the anti-Masonic fanaticism championed by Hunn and emerged the victor. Devoe's editorials were so convincing to Hunn that he deserted the Herald in 1838 as hastily as he had the Masonic fraternity more than a decade before.

Hunn realized his grave mistake and wanted to help restore that which he had attempted to destroy but the bitterness he had shown for the fraternity while an Anti-Mason could not be forgotten by those who had remained loyal to the craft through the trying days.

The Charter of Hiram Lodge 131 in Newburgh was seized in September 1842 and its number was changed to 92. Hunn was well acquainted with members of Hiram Lodge and it was on his invitation that Benjamin Lewis, a Past Master of the Newburgh organization came to Monticello and installed Sullivan Lodge's first officers.

Hiram Lodge had suffered a great loss in membership during the Morgan period and became inactive. In 1842 Masonry was experiencing brighter days that had not fully recovered from the setbacks it had experienced during the ten years which followed 1826.

Hunn was installed Master of Hiram Lodge under its second charter and worked diligently for two years ton continue the old Lodge. His efforts bore no fruit, however, and in 1844 the charter was surrendered.

Although he had no Lodge to call his own from 1844 until his death in 1847 during this brief period he lived as an upright man and Mason doing good whenever possible and left a pleasant memory to his associates.

            Hunn served in Sullivan County as Master and Examiner in Chancery, Surrogate of the County, Clerk of the County Board of Supervisors, and as Justice of the Peace. He died in Newburgh during the summer of 1847 leaving a wife and several children.

Cyrus A. Cady was a practicing physician when he became the Lodge's first Treasurer. He had been a resident of the town since 1810 and was the father of William E. and Henry V. Cady. The first was a merchant who was associated in business for several years with John Russell.

Sullivan Lodge's first secretary was Jesse Towner who for many years was Treasurer of the County. Hew as very accurate and careful in his work as secretary of the Lodge as well as the County's chief financial officer. A deficit in his predecessor's accounts, amounting to a large sum had escaped the close watch by the Board of Supervisors but it was detected by Mr. Towner and a full investigation resulted.

            Petitioning for a Masonic Lodge was not the only important step taken in 1811. Prior to that time the settlers who lived in the interior of Sullivan County were obliged to travel or send to Montgomery, Orange County, to mail or receive mail. There was no a mail route or a post office in the County.

James Madison was serving his first term as President of the United States when the Jones Brothers asked for a Post Office in Monticello. On his order a post route went into operation from Newburgh to Ithaca through Monticello. On request of Monticello residents a post office was established in the mountain community with Bro. Samuel Jones the first postmaster.

            As Sullivan Lodge members had taken the lead in blazing the trails in the mountain wilderness they likewise continued in its development. Brothers John Russell, Cyrus A. Cady and Levi Barnum helped organize St. John's Episcopal Church. William Morgan and others of the Craft were instrumental in the founding of the Presbyterian Church as well as active in various important civic functions.

 

The community's first school was established in 1807. The second teacher was Bro. Asa Hall, whose knowledge of Masonry not only assisted him greatly in his Lodge work but also gave him a substantial background for the task of instructing the children of the forests. Bro. Hall taught the first school in this section of Bridgeville.

The Lodge had three physicians among its members. They were among the early settlers and had come to Monticello for the purpose of bettering their financial conditions by making real estate investments rather than to practice their professions. Other than Bro. Cyrus Dady, mentioned in Chapter 3, they were Malachi Foot, who came to Monticello about 1809, and Bro. James Coit, who came here about the time the Cochecton-Newburgh turnpike was completed.

            Bro. Foot came from Connecticut and brought a tract of land about one mile west of Bridgeville where the County alms house was once located.

            Bro. Coit was a native of Litchfield, Connecticut, the early home of the Jones Brothers. He became the owner of considerable land North of Monticello which he bought from the Joneses for ten dollars an acre. He served as Sullivan Lodge's secretary and his name was signed as such under a notice advertising the laying of a cornerstone for the Masonic Temple at the corner of Pleasant Street and Broadway in 1819. This was the year before Monticello was incorporated as a village.

            Coit was well educated in his profession but was considered too infirm in health to practice. He erected a store on the site now occupied by the National Union Bank but never opened it for trade. About 1835, with health failing, he joined the Revolutionary Army of Texas as a surgeon and was bitten soon afterwards by a poisonous reptile and died.

            Bro. Coit served as Junior Warden but there is no record of his ever having served as Master.

Bro. Elisha Heycock, who was Justice of the Peace in the Lumberland Township in 1809 was Senior Warden. Sometime during the nearly eighteen years Sullivan Lodge existed it is more than likely he served as Master.

            Bro. Nathan Couch commenced work carding and cloth dressing in 1810. Sheep not only supplied wool for clothing but also provided mutton when the early settlers desired to change from wild game which was found in abundance by the hunters. Most of the settlers kept a flock which required constant guarding from blood-thirsty panther, wolves and bear.

            A prize ewe was among the flock yarded behind a barn nearly opposite the house of Bro. Andrew Comstock. One morning Bro. Comstock was saddened to learn that a bear had entered his fold during the night and killed and partly devoured the prize of his flock.

            He was colonel of militia and displayed all the brilliancy and gayety of his rank as he mounted his steed to pursue the culprit. Tinseled in lace and feathers he was said truly to have the martial bearing when at the head of his regiment.

            In making his exit from the sheep pen the bear took with a large steel trap and the log to which it was fastened. The Colonel accompanied by some neighbors who joined in the hunt did not go far before Bruin was discovered. With a well-charge "horse pistol" in either hand the Colonel took careful aim and fired. The bear dropped, apparently dead, and with a jubilant shout the Colonel jumped astride the carcass. Although careful with his aim he was not careful in his diagnosis of the creature's ability to revive.

            Wit a snort and a grunt the bear arose with Bro. Comstock on its back. All military bearing so conspicuous at the beginning of the hunt was immediately substituted by soiled and torn clothes, disheveled hair and great disorder. His companions then dispatched the bear.

            While the tanning bark industry provided income for most of the Masons who belonged to Sullivan Lodge, fur trapping and logging occupied the time of others.

            Logs were taken to Thompsonville or to the mill of Bro. John W. Osborn. Bro. Osborn operated the mill in partnership with a man named Baker. The mill was located in the Clark and Grassy Brook road at Katrina Falls and is believed to have been erected immediately after the opening of the Sackett road. If this is true a Mason established the first mill in the Town of Thompson.

            The mill was on the table rock of the falls and slabs from it were thrown into the gulf below.

            Bro. Samuel Barnum erected another mill in 1802 or 1803 on the farm now occupied by William Fitzsimmons. Town records show this was the third mill in the town. Bro. Barnum was elected supervisor in 1807 and 1808, was preceded in that office by Samuel F. Jones, the Town's first supervisor and succeeded by Bro. John P. Jones.

            While Sullivan Lodge members were among the first to start mercantile and other business in Monticello, Bro. Richard D. Childs was not far behind in Thompsonville. He was the second merchant there having succeeded David Reed. He was succeeded by others including Johnathan Stratton, an ancestor of Wor. Bro. Earl Stratton. Bro. Johnathan Stratton is believed to have been a member of Sullivan Lodge but unfortunately there are no records to verify it. But whether he was or not, he was highly respected and an asset to the community, having been honored by President John Quincy Adams with an appointment which made him Thompsonville's first postmaster.

            Among the few buildings constructed of saw mill lumber was constructed at Bridgeville in 1806-1807 by Bro. Caleb Howell and his brother, Peter. The building was situated on the west side of the bridge. The old hotel was destroyed in 1871.

            Men in supervisoral and other offices of trust in the town, county and state figured prominently among Sullivan Lodge membership.

 

 

 


Sullivan Lodge prospered during first ten years

 

Monticello was founded at the beginning of a new century which also was the beginning of a new era for both political and Masonic history.

            Those figuring most prominently in the early days of the Colonies were Masons and in no less a degree were Masons conspicuous in the early days of Monticello. As George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Peyton Randolph, DeWitt Clinton, John Sullivan and others had been made history in Colonial days so did the Jones Brothers. William Morgan, Platt Pelton, John Russell, Cyrus A. Cady, and other members of Sullivan Lodge 272 find places in Sullivan County history.

            Descendants of a number of these early Masons are living in the county today.

            Monticello's early population consisted mostly of Connecticut Yankees, the majority of whom were members of the Masonic Fraternity before they came here. Most all of the brethren of Sullivan Lodge either had taken an active part in the early conflicts in which this Country had been engaged or were the sons of Revolutionary Patriots.

            When the first Lodge meeting was held in Monticello there were fewer than twenty log houses in the community. The forests were so dense that workmen engaged in the tanning bark industry, cabin builders and other residents often lost their way along Broadway while traveling along the tree-blazed trail which led to North Settlement and to the intersection of what was later Route 17 and 17-B.

            Wolves, panther, bear and wildcats roamed over the countryside to add to their hardships. Few of the crudely constructed bark thatched log cabins had cellars but all of them had ample fireplaces where pioneer families gathered after days of toil in the wilderness of the cabins were primitive affairs with no windows. During the summer light was admitted through the door, when the weather was pleasant enough to leave it open. In the winter the cabins were not lighted at all except for the fire necessary to warm them and by a few stray beams that found their way down the chimney through the smoke.

            Wages then were from four to six shillings per day. In Winter horses slowly plodded through the wood-lanes with snow up to their bellies, sometimes plunging over the sides of a cradle hole or the concealed trunk of a tree.

            The Delaware-Hudson Canal was not yet in existence and supplies were hauled from Newburgh and Montgomery.

            When food stuffs and other essentials finally reached their destination the former, including potatoes and other vegetables were stored in holds in dirt cellars close by the cabins. A goodly mound of earth was heaped over these depositories, which usually were favorite resorts for the wolves which were often observed on moonlight nights.

            The wolves were a great terror to women and children especially when they broke the still of the wilderness by their howling.

            It was under these trying conditions that the members of Sullivan Lodge practiced Masonry. They braved the dangers of the wilds to walk at night guided by the stars and an occasional tree marking to their crudely constructed meeting place. Here by candlelight they found courage and devotion for their fellow-men and swapped yarns of their hunting and other every day as well as war time experiences.

            Bro. John P. Jones often met with the brethren and related the story of how he an his brother, Samuel F. Jones, had discovered the mountain community while exploring the forests west of the Mamakating Valley in 1802 for a feasible route for the newly chartered Cochecton-Newburgh turnpike. Natives of Litchfield County, Conn., the Jones Brothers left their father's farm there to settle in Monticello in 1804. Expecting a great influx of settlers with the completion of the road the brothers purchased 1,415 1/2 acres of land in Great Lot 14 and 445 1/2 acres of land in Lot 13.

            Samuel engaged in construction of the turnpike while John P. set out to establish a capitol for the newly opened country. He came to Monticello with eleven men, most all of whom were Masons.

            No less devoted to Masonry was Platt Pelton, whose descendants have worked faithfully for the craft until the present day. Bro. Pelton is credited with building Monticello's second house. He showed his devotion to the fraternity not only by giving wise council, time and effort but he also gave the fraternity the lot at the corner of Pleasant Street and Broadway upon which Sullivan Lodge laid its cornerstone in 1829 and built its own temple.

            Bro. Pelton was a useful and respected citizen who was one of Monticello's most distinguished residents until his death in 1858. Bro. John P. Jones had distinguished himself as the first Clerk of the County after its erection in 1809, was Supervisor of the Town of Thompson, postmaster for 38 years, a State Senator and a Presidential elector and Platt Pelton also was honored with several offices of trust, including that of County Judge.

            Before Sullivan Lodge erected its temple the brethren met at the Curtis Lindley Tavern. In the early eighteenth century in both England and America taverns and inns were used generally as social centers by all manners of groups. The Old Lindley Tavern was crudely constructed, drafty and poorly furnished but nevertheless it was modern when compared to the average Monticello residence. The main part of the structure was built in 1805, but a growing need for a place to hold Court and Supervisoral sessions induced Lindley to modernize the structure by adding a dining room on the first floor and an upper story for meeting rooms. The Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions held the first terms in the old tavern in October, 1809, with William A. Thompson and Samuel F. Jones presiding. On the same day and place the Board of Supervisors, including Brother John P. Jones, of Thompson; Darius Martin, of Liberty, and Br. Livingston Billings, the Board Clerk, held their first session. Only five towns had at that time been organized. They were Thompson, Liberty, Neversink, Mamakating and Lumberland.

            Mr. Pelton was one of the Charter members who had worked hard and long for the success of the Lodge and did not wish the fruits of his labors to fall into other hands even the Grand Lodge, so he exercised care in preparing his deed to the Lodge. It is obvious that he conceived the possibility of something happening which could cause the lodge to lose its charter. In the event of such an occurrence the possessions of the Lodge would automatically become the property of Grand Lodge. His better judgment told him to hold the deed in trust for the Lodge.

 

Six years later the charter of Sullivan Lodge was declared forfeited and Sullivan Lodge was no longer existent but nevertheless under the covenants of the deed Mr. Pelton was the rightful owner of the temple.

            Up to 1835 Masons, who had given financial and physical aid, had received little use of the structure's rooms and in order to validate their interests chose to hold the Lodge's charter for presentment as their certificate of authority as far as Mr. Pelton was concerned.

            Platt Pelton died in May, 1859, still holding in trust the deed for the plot upon which the temple was built. Twenty-four years had elapsed since the old Lodge had authority to convene in the Lodge rooms. In a legal sense there was no organization to own the building and to occupy it in accordance with conditions under which use of the property was granted. Court and other records give no mention of litigation over the sale of this property by the executors of Platt Pelton's will but it is more than likely that failure to return the Lodge's charter in 1835 when it was declared forfeited was not unintentional. Records of Monticello Lodge 460 instituted in 1858 would indicate that this question was settled before Mr. Pelton's death for this Lodge held none of its meetings in the old quarters. It is therefore obvious that the Masons had no rights to the building at that time.

            On October 19, 1859, Charles M. and George Pelton, of Poughkeepsie, and Eli S. Pelton, of Monticello, the executors of the Platt Pelton estate sold the property to Mary Mapes and Charlotte Sherwood for $1,100. Shortly thereafter the women contracted to sell it to Thomas Curley, a forty-niner, who received his deed in 1866. Extensive remo0deling and reconditioning began immediately after Mr. Curley contracted to purchase the property. Upon removing the upper floor the workmen discovered that the space beneath was filled with tan bark to a depth of about fifteen inches. Mr. Pelton, the tanner, is believed to have supplied this material which, in 1829, was worth $3,000 a cord. The bark had been placed between the ceiling of the room beneath and the Lodge floor to prevent cowans and eavesdroppers from overhearing and learning the secrets of the Craft.

            Man has come and gone since the old cornerstone was laid and the temple erected, and ravages of fire and weather have laid waste to the structure of yesteryear. Modernization and improvement of what remained of the temple after the fire of 1874 have created a new building bearing little or no resemblance of the old meeting place. But through the storm and tempest and fires which have laid waste to the Village of Monticello itself, the old cornerstone still remains intact. It is now in the prized possession of Bro. Herman Albrecht the present owner of the Victoria Hotel which is now operating on the old Temple grounds.

            Just before erection of the present Masonic Hall [at 5 Bank Street, Monticello], an effort was made to remove the old cornerstone for the purpose of placing it under the new structure. Owing to the immense weight of the large stones above the block which was the main support of the Victoria Hotel, the owner would not consent to its removal at that time on the ground that it would have a tendency to weaken that corner. The project was abandoned and the old stone kept its original resting place until Bro. Albrecht became owner of the premises. It was he who consented to removal of the historic cornerstone.

 

Little is known about the Hanfords whose name appear on the deed given to Mr. Pelton but the Streets were very prominent in the early days of Monticello. Randall S. Street, district attorney of the Third District under the Constitution which was in force in 1821, was a Mason, and a charter member of the Old Sullivan Lodge, who attended an early Grand Lodge session. He was educated and a leader in his day. General Street came to Monticello in 1825 and established a law practice. He was the father of the famous poet, Alfred B. Street, who immortal passages were born by the natural beauties of Sullivan County by which he was inspired in his early days.

            If the struggle for existence of Sullivan Lodge could have continued for another five years it is quite possible that the lodge would have been able to weather the lodge would have been able to weather the storm and reawaken the Masonic spirit then latent because of the Morgan and anti-Masonic issues.

            Thrown into the abyss of the problems the order had faced for nearly a decade, brethren failed to rally their support to the dying lodge. Today we cannot imagine the difficulties the brethren had to contend with. They were boycotted, denied employment and church rights and their rights as citizens were prejudiced.

            Shortly after Sullivan Lodge's charter was declared forfeited the politicians and churches began to modify their attacks and throughout the country brethren were experiencing a new era in Masonry. Although there was no lodge in Monticello from 1835 until 1858 old documents reveal that Masons met quietly and patiently awaiting the day when they would emerge publicly from the seclusion in which they had been kept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Settlement and Independence

 

Sullivan County is a section of the state which is rich in romance and Indian lore and it would be remiss of the author if incidents leading up to the establishment of the County were not touched upon briefly. Sturdy pioneers who had migrated Westerly in quest of riches and the opportunities of establishing homes in Sullivan County's fertile lands and virgin forests were among those who converted a wilderness into a place of habitation and made Old Sullivan Lodge possible.

The Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1801 with a capital of $125,000, and as their superficial enterprise progressed through nearly 50 miles of wilderness inhabited by a few scattered pioneers, eyes turned westward. A heavily-traveled toll road was superceding the winding wagon trail to Monticello, described in those days as hazardous as the Indian trail which Manuel Gun Sallus, a Spaniard, and his Dutch wife from Rochester, Ulster County, had followed in 1732 when they came to Mamakating to erect their house and be the first permanent white settler.

Wurtsboro had begun to boom and the Indian stories about great riches which brought Dutch trading post in 1614 and a careful search for metals by the Delaware Swedes in 1638, had been thoroughly investigated many years before. (Their efforts did result in discovery of the Minisink mine and the "Lost Mine of the Mamakating" from which large quantities of lead were extracted, but long before the beginning of the nineteenth century when the Mamakating Valley had lost its popularity from the viewpoint of previous metals.)

            Maurice and William Wurts, for whom Wurtsboro was named were the first to see the possibilities of the valley and their farseeing intelligence resulted in the opening of rich coal fields near Carbondale, Pa., and the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal through which many boatloads of Sullivan County produced tanning bark as well as Pennsylvania Coal was transported to the seaboard. Platt Pelton and a number of the early Masons earned a livelihood in the bark enterprise.

The canal, as well as a railroad, was commenced in 1826 and completed in 1828. On December 3, 1828, a fleet of six boats laden with 120 tons of coal passed through Mamakating Hollow, now Wurtsboro on their way to the Hudson. The cheering Dutch families and the more recent Yankees witnessed the great spectacle. At last the gloom which reigned along the westward slopes of the Shawangunk mountains was broken by the busy din of commercial enterprise. Millions of tons of coal and other merchandise were transported through the artificial channel during its years of activities.

Early Masonry

Granting of land tracts including the Minisink patent on August 20, 1708, did a great deal to attract the write man's attention to Sullivan County as did the Indian and Revolutionary Wars, and Masonry had shed its beneficent influence in the land of wilderness even before the narrow and dangerously winding trail over the Shawangunks was abandoned in 1808 for the newly opened Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike, now known as Route 117 [sic], to Monticello through Liberty and to the West and 17B to Cochecton.

            Masonry had progressed rapidly from 1733 when the first warranted lodge was established in American until the Revolutionary period when there were warranted lodges in each of the thirteen colonies and in seven of them, including New York State, there were provincial Grand Lodges. Some of Sullivan's early settlers were members of lodges in America while others had become Masons in lodges across the sea. Among the latter was Daniel Niven. He had become a Mason in Scotland at the age of 21. Niven was born on the west coast of Scotland in 1767. He left his native land in a sailboat and landed in New York in 1791 after a rough voyage across the Atlantic ocean.

            After engaging in the business of farming at Wurtsboro from 1812 until 1816 he moved to Monticello and continued to help in the organization of Sullivan Lodge. He was strongly attached to the Fraternity until his death at the age of 100 when he was the oldest Mason in the United States.

            Niven had been a Mason only three years when he reached the land of opportunity. George Washington, the Mason, leader and advocate of religious and political freedom, was then completing his first term of office under a constitution born when clouds of political adversity had gathered over the colonies in 1774. The dark days when the light of happiness and security began to dim, had been brightened by the light of Masonry and one time bewildered people now saw the fulfillment of their hopes under a government headed by a Mason and based upon Masonic ideals which had been born in the minds of a congress of delegates in Philadelphia.

            These men, strangers to each other but facing the common dangers and the difficult purpose for which they were met, realized the necessity of a unity of action.

            Many of the patriots were Masons, whose deeds and actions found prominent places in the history of our country.

            Presiding over the Philadelphia convention was Peyton Randolf, the Provincial Grand Master of Virginia.

            The outcome of this congress was the beginning of a new era which was to make Niven the Mason emigrant as well as Washington the Mason leader of a new nation, conscious of their mystic ties. Washington was raised in Fredericksburg Lodge as Master Mason on August 4, 1753. He saw his Revolutionary Comrades die for the ideals of a freedom-loving people and witnessed ceremonies in which their graves were wet with Masonic tears and decorated with sprigs of acacia. These experiences, though sad, had demonstrated the importance of unity and brotherly love during the Revolutionary war and the conflicts which preceded it.

            Washington had gathered around him stern and determined men who had left their peaceful avocations to defend their hearthstones. Some of these men manned forts and blockhouses at Mamakating and Westbrookville in Sullivan County. Others joined wearisome marches with the Continental Armies. They experienced defeat, sickness and privations but their miseries in cheerless camps and their toils and hardships were forgotten when wearisome tramps through the wilderness of uncharted country ended and the Military Lodge opened. Their hearts lightened and their courage and determination again revived. Washington was not slow to realize that the good effects of Masonry had been reflected wherever military lodge communications were held. This realization and the influence of Masonic fellowship aided him to weather the 1777 military campaign which gave history the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, the evacuation of Philadelphia by Congress, the occupation by British troops and the retirement of the American Army to winter quarters at Valley Forge. Washington watched his shoeless and inadequately clothed army march in on snowy trails splotched with blood and remarked, "Poor fellows." The reply came in true Masonic spirit, "God bless Your Excellency, you are the poor soldier's friend."

            Such was the courage and determination of Sullivan's hardy pioneers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


New York Masonry in 1811

 

All warranted American Lodges existing before the French and Indian War had operated under the supervision of both the Grand Lodge of England and the Ancient Masons which in 1738 arose independently beside the regular Grand Lodge of England. The Ancients have been classed under the name of Free and Accepted Masons and the Moderns under the name of Freemasons.

            These two separate bodies were formed when a number of brethren in London became dissatisfied with certain transactions of the Grand Lodge of England and began to hold meetings and initiate candidates without the sanction and authority of the Grand Lodge.

            Dissension between the two Grand Lodges lasted until the year 1813 when the two bodies consolidated under the name and title of the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England. Four years later the Grand Lodges in America united under the same name. At this time Sullivan Lodge 272 had been in operation under a charter for one year. Old Sullivan Lodge was in its formation while the Provincial Grand Lodge of the State of New York was operating as an ancient body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Sullivan Lodge During Last Years of Activity

 

Sullivan Lodge No. 272 experienced its brightest days during most of the first decade it was warranted and then suffered three years of continual attack by those opposed to Masonry but nevertheless its lights continued to burn and on June 25, 1829, with appropriate ceremonies the cornerstone was laid for a new Masonic Hall. In June of the same year Sullivan Lodge made its last return to Grand Lodge. Its charter was declared forfeited by Grand Lodge in 1835.

            Long before this eventful day many Masons had withdrawn from Sullivan Lodge to join the ranks of the Anti-Masons and as such looked with disdain upon the activities of the craft. With depleted ranks and darkness spreading over the Masonic world members of Sullivan Lodge carried on, however. They had faith in their hope and in their future. Generosity of those who could give and the willing hands of those who possessed health, strength and ambition but little of the world's goods, soon made the new Masonic temple a reality.

            Perhaps the cornerstone never would have been laid or a temple erected had not Platt Pelton become interested in the Lodge and its progress. Mr. Pelton, a Putnam county tanner, came to Monticello in the summer of 1804 and built the second house in this village. He was an energetic, useful and highly respected citizen who had held several offices of trust and responsibility. At one time he was County Judge. Guided by his intellectual background and remarkable foresight the Lodge had weathered many storms. Mr. Pelton conceived the idea of establishing for the Lodge a meeting place of its own and to start the project purchased a plot 55 feet long and 24 feet in width. The grounds on which the Victoria Hotel now stands were then presented to the Lodge.

            The description of the plot which he purchased; and the instrument conveying the rights of this property to the Lodge were recorded in the County Clerk's office as follows:

            "This indenture made the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, between Randall S. Street and Cornelia, his wife, and Apollos B. Hanford and Maria, his wife, of the Village of Monticello and County of Sullivan, parties of 'the first part and Platt Pelton of the place of the second, WITNESSETH, that the said parties of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars to them in hand paid, by the said party of the second part the receipt whereof is hereby confessed and acknowledged, hath devised, released and forever quit claim unto, the said party of the second part, in his actual possession now being and to his heirs and assigns for ever all that tract of land situate in the, Village of Monticello in the Town of Thompson beginning at the intersection of the North side of the village street at present laid out with the Westerly side of the road leading to Pleasant Pond settlement, thence running Northerly along said West line fifty-five feet, thence westerly and parallel to said Village street twenty-four feet thence Southerly and parallel to said North line of said road fifty-five feet to the North line of said Ville street thence Easterly along the same twenty-four feet to the place of beginning.......

 

"To have and to hold the said lot to the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns., to the sole and only proper use, benefit and behoof of the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, for ever. In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals the day and year first, above written. A.B. HANFORD, L. S., MARIA HANFORD, L.S., RANDALL S. STREET, CORNELIA STREET. Sealed and delivered in the presence of Peter F. Hunn.

            "State of New York, Sullivan County, on this first day of January, 1828, before me, Peter F. Hunn, a commissioner to perform certain duties of a Judge of the Superior Court personally appeared Randall S. Street and Cornelia, his wife, Appollos B. Hanford, Maria, his wife, known to me to be the persons described in and purposes herein mentioned and the said Cornelia and Maria being examined by me in private and separate and apart from their husbands declared that they executed said indentures freely and without fear of or threats or compulsion from their said husbands. There being in said indenture no alterations I allow it to be recorded. P.F. Hunn, Sullivan County Clerk's office recorded at seven o'clock P. M. on the first of January, 1828, "The within described premises having been purchased for the purpose of erecting thereon a Masonic Hall I, Platt Pelton, the grantee within named, do hereby declare that the within deed and the premises therein described have been recorded by me in trust for Sullivan Lodge No. 272, deed also in trust to Mortgage the same for the purpose of raising money to build and complete a Masonic Hall on said premises, in case a loan of money for that purpose shall become necessary, and the same be authorized by the said Lodge and also in trust to suffer and permit Sullivan Chapter No. 65 to receive an equal benefit and advantage from the use and occupation of the said Masonic Hall and said Sullivan Lodge.

            "Witnesseth my hand and seal this first day of January one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, P. Pelton, L.S. In presence of P. F. Hunn, State of New York, Sullivan County: on this first day of January 1828 before me personally appeared Platt Pelton, well known to me to be the person described in the above in denture and who executed the same as his voluntary act and deed for the uses and purpose therein mentioned. Let it be recorded, P. F. Hunn, Comm. to perform certain duties of a Judge of Superior Court, Sullivan County Clerk's Office Recorded at 7 o'clock, Jan. 1, 1828."

 

If moving picture cameras were in existence in those days and if it were possible to flash the pictures of the recording of these instruments in the County Clerk's office you would probably see Platt Pelton, an ardent Mason, devoted to and fighting for his Lodge, presenting a paper to further its success to Peter F. Hunn, a lawyer, once loyal to the craft, but then its arch-enemy, who by virtue of his office as Master and Examiner in Chancery was compelled to take the instrument and guarantee its validity by making it a public record. We might well add that Pelton presented the document with a twinkle in his eye while puzzled Peter Hunn did his bidding with a mixed feeling of regret and revenge.

            Mr. Pelton was one of the charter members who had worked hard and long for the success of the lodge and did not wish the fruits of his labors to fall into ather hands, even the Grand Lodge, so he exercised care in preparing his deed to the lodge. It is obvious that he conceived the possibility of something happening which would cause the lodge to lose its charter. In the event of such an occurrence the possessions of the lodge would, automatically become the property of Grand Lodge. His better judgment told him to hold the deed in trust for the lodge.

            Six years later the charter of Sullivan Lodge was declared forfeited and Sullivan Lodge was no longer existent, but nevertheless under the covenants of the deed Mr. Pelton was the rightful owner of the temple.

            Up to 1835 Masons, who had given financial and physical aid, had received little use of the structure's rooms and in order to validate their interests chose to hold the lodge's charter for presentment as their certificate of authority as far as Mr. Pelton was concerned.

            Platt Pe1ton died in May 1859, still holding in trust the deed for the plot upon which the temple was built. Twenty-four years had elapsed since the old lodge had authority to convene in the lodge rooms. In a legal sense there was no organization to own the building and to occupy it in accordance with conditions under which use of the property was granted. Court and other records give no mention of litigation over the sale of this property by the executors of Platt Pelton's will but it is more than likely that failure to return the lodge's charter in 1835 when it was declared forfeited was not intentional. Records of Monticello Lodge 460 instituted in 1858 would indicate that this question was settled before Mr. Pelton's death for this lodge held none of its meetings in the old quarters. It is therefore obvious that the Masons had no rights to the building at that time.

            On October 19, 1859, Charles M. and George Pelton, of Poughkeepsie, and Eli S. Pelton, of Monticello, the executors of the Platt Pelton estate, sold the property to Mary Mapes and Charlotte Sherwood for $1,100. Shortly thereafter the women contracted to sell it to Thomas Curley, a Forty-niner, who received his deed in 1866. Extensive remodeling and reconditioning began immediately after Mr. Curley contracted to purchase the property. Upon removing the upper floor the workmen discovered that the space beneath was filled with tan bark to a depth of about fifteen inches. Mr. Pelton, the tanner, is believed to have supplied this material which, in 1829, was worth $3.00 a cord. The bark had been placed between the ceiling of the room beneath and the lodge floor to prevent cowans and eavesdroppers from overhearing and learning the secrets of the Craft.

            Man has come and gone since the old cornerstone was laid and the temple erected, and ravages of fire and weather have laid waste to the old structure of yesteryear. Modernization and improvement of what remained of the temple after the fire of 1874 have created a new building bearing little or no resemblance to the old meeting place. But through the storm and tempest and fires which have laid waste to the Village of Monticello itself, the old cornerstone still remains intact. It is now the prized possession of Herman Albrecht, the present owner of the Victoria Hotel, which is now operating on the old Temple grounds.

            Just before erection of the present Masonic Hall in 1910, an effort was made to remove the old cornerstone for the purpose of placing it under the new structure. Owing to the immense weight of this large stone above the block which was the main support of the Victoria Hotel, the owner would not consent to its removal at that time on the ground that it would have a tendency to weaken that corner. The project was abandoned and the old stone kept its original resting place until William Albrecht became owner of the premises. It was he who consented to removal of the historic cornerstone.

            Little is known about the Hanfords whose names appear on the deed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Military Lodges

 

Ten American military lodges were instituted during the Revolution in the American army in the following order and by the following authorities:

            1st. St. John's Regimental Lodge, in the United States Battalion, July 24, 1775, by the old Provincial Grand Lodge of New York (Moderns).

            2nd. American Union Lodge, in the Connecticut line, February 15, 1776, by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (Moderns).

            3rd. No. 19, on the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge Registry, in the first regiment of Pennsylvania artillery, May 18, 1779, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients).

            4th. Washington Lodge, in the Massachusetts line, October 6, 1779, by the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, (Ancients).

            5th. No. 20, on the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge registry, in a North Carolina regiment, 1779, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients.)

            6th. No. 27, on the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge registry, in the Maryland line, April 4; 1780, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients).

            7th. No. 28, on the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge registry, in the Pennsylvania line, July 27, 1780, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients).

            8th was No. 29, formed on July 27, 1780, on the same registry and by the same Grand Lodge as No. 7.

            9th. No. 31, on the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge registry, in the New Jersey line, March 26, 1781, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients).

            10th. No. 36, on the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge registry, in the New Jersey line, September 2, 1782, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients). Although a military lodge warrant had been granted by the Provincial Grand Lodge of New York for the establishment of St. John's Regimental Lodge in July, 1775, the American Union Lodge Is said to be the first organized in the Continental army. It was organized by troops of which Washington had command and held its meetings along the Hudson, in New York City and on Long Island. On September 13, 1776, its officers were either killed or taken prisoners by the British with the result that no further meetings occurred until March, 1777. In the meantime its Master, Joel Clark, died in captivity. American Union and the other military lodges were at work at Morristown and every other place of Revolutionary activity.

            The Military lodges convened at various places throughout the thirteen colonies and the names of many prominent Revolutionary War figures were among those recorded on the attendance listed.

            Washington attended lodge at New Winsor [sic], Newburgh, Poughkeepsie.. Kingston and other places along, the Hudson river and military lodge convened in the military camp of Major General John Sullivan, the patriot in whose honor the county is named. Sullivan was the first to conduct a Masonic meeting in Delaware Valley.

It is within the realm of possibility that Masons who attended the old Sullivan Lodge may have attended, before the Revolution, one of the Loyalist Military Lodges frequented by Sir John Johnson. Colonel Guy Johnson and their Indian ally, Brant, the latter a war chief who was protégé of Sir William Johnson, an Ulster man, appointed superintendent of the Nations of Indians.

            Although Brant, a full-blooded Mohawk Indian, traveled extensively through this section, and has been the object of considerable comment in the history of Sullivan County, he nevertheless possessed redeeming qualities. On many occasions he is said to have endangered his safety to rescue a fellow-Mason from Indian tomahawk.

            Brandt was just one of the Mohawks until the widowed Sir William Johnson took the Indian's sister as his mistress. Had it not been for the meeting of Johnson and this Indian girl Brant might never have traveled the wilds of Sullivan and its adjoining counties to destroy property, murder and also to identify himself as a Mason.

            It is equally as conceivable that he would not have been educated or initiated into Masonic membership had Johnson the Mason not come into his life.

            Brant's sister, Molly, possessor of rare beauty, was present one day at a military review and playfully asked an officer riding on parade to allow her to ride with him. He consented without realizing she would have the courage to attempt it, but she quickly mounted and, with her dark hair streaming in the air, rode around the parade ground to the amusement and admiration of the spectators. Among those who witnessed the spectacle was Sir William who was so impressed by her that he took her to his home as his wife in a manner consistent with Indian customs. They later were married at an Episcopal church ceremony.

            Brant took up abode with the Johnsons and he and several children which issued from his sister's union were educated at Dr. Eleazer Wheelock's school at Lebanon, Connecticut, the town from which John P. and Samuel F. Jones emigrated to Monticello. In 1770 Dr. Wheelock removed his family and school consisting of 18 whites and six Indians' to Hanover, N.H., to establish Darthmouth College [sic] where children of Brant were later educated.

            Brant was educated for the Christian ministry but never joined the ranks of the clergy, as did Samson Occom, the famous Mohegan Indian preacher. Many times when one of his captured and seemingly doomed enemies was identified as a Mason Brant is said to have affected his release.

            Sullivan Lodge No. 272 is said to have been named in honor of the County but it is more than likely that the county's first Masons, who conceived the idea of organizing a lodge in Monticello in 181.1, had attended a military meeting with Major General Sullivan when his military Lodge met along the Delaware and the lodge may have been named for him.

            Major General Sullivan took Masonry seriously. He was honored by Masons of his home state, New Hampshire, where he was elected its first Grand Master. He had been raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason before the Revolutionary war.

            General Sullivan's expedition against the Loyalists and Indians brought about a situation resulting in clashes between the forces of the General and those of the Johnsons and Colonels' Butler and Claus, which were led by Brant. Very often Brant was paid tribute for his remembrance of Masonic vows but the eyes of Johnson and Butler had become blind to the Mason's sign and their ears deaf to the Mason's word.

 

Grand Lodge Troubles

 

SULLIVAN LODGE enjoyed an era of prosperity and had a crowded trestle board which attracted the county's leading men. Other lodges throughout the state had experienced similar conditions through the post-war year period. Only once during this era does history record an event which threatened the harmony of the craft. This interruption occurred in 1823 when Grand Lodge became divided and there resulted the formation of the City Grand Lodge and the Country Grand Lodge, Sullivan Lodge No. 272 coming under the jurisdiction of the latter.

            Upstate lodges were desirous of moving the Grand Lodge to their city, among those most commonly considered being Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Kingston and Albany. There also arose questions relative to Grand Visitors and the collection of Grand Lodge dues by the same; the paying of Proxies or Representatives to the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge in June of each year; and the withdrawal of the right of Past Masters to a voice to vote in Grand Lodge.

            The Grand Lodge took a firm stand in this crisis and was loyally backed by country lodges, which included those from Sullivan Lodge. Just as determined were the delegates from the city district. They convened the day before the Grand Lodge opened and selected their Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer from the upstate districts.

            At the opening of the Grand Lodge on June 3rd, 1823, the following day, resolutions were offered in an effort to modify the situation. A heated debate ensued with the result that City Grand Lodge adopted a resolution* which provided that there should be two Grand Lodges, one in the city and one in the country districts. Finally, in 1826, before the full fury of the Morgan incident broke out, a reunion was accomplished and Past Masters were granted the right of vote and voice in Grand Lodge.

 

*Not agreed to by the regular (country) Grand Lodge.

 

 

 

 

 


Anti-Masonic and Morgan Factions

 

On September 11, 1826, while internal affairs of the lodges were still unsettled, William Morgan, a traitor to the Craft, mysteriously disappeared from a Batavia, N.Y. jail where he was confined because of debt. Masons were charged with abducting him and inasmuch as no trace of him could be found politicians, anti-Masons, and zealous clergymen lost no time in assuming that he had been murdered by members of the fraternity whose trust he had violated.

            The Morgan incident brought about a crisis which for a time seemed to threaten the very existence of Masonic fellowship. The spark from the Batavia, incident kindled a flame which spread allover state, the nation and even to England.

            Morgan had gained entrance to Batavia Lodge No. 433, after inducing a man by the name of Warren to vouch for him. Although not a qualified Master Mason he became well versed in its secrets and set about to divulge them.

            Historians vary as to his character but generally agree that he was born in Virginia about 1776. He is said to have served as captain with General Andrew Jackson at New Orleans during the War of 1812. Later he returned to Virginia, married and settled down to pursue his trade of bricklayer and mason. In 1821 he moved to York, Canada, where fire burned a brewing business he had established and reduced him to poverty. He then moved to Rochester, N.Y., and again engaged in his old trade. Although not a member of record at the Batavia Lodge or any other lodge he was successful in joining the Royal Arch Masons in LeRoy in 1825. Shortly afterwards he is said to have become an, extremely intemperate man and soon lost the fine appearance and oratorical ability he had possessed before his bankruptcy and inebriety. Later he attached his name to a petition form a Royal Arch Chapter at the Batavia, N.Y., village but being suspicious of him being a pretender the request was denied. Not allowed to sign a second petition, regarded as an imposter and then denied financial support of the Masons, Morgan's mental and physical sufferings increased. He needed money and was ready to take desperate risks in obtaining it, so he conceived the idea of preparing a book for the purpose of disclosing the secrets of Masonry. David C. Miller, an Army Colonel and printer who had received the Entered Apprentice Degree, took Morgan's manuscript and set his idle presses to work, in hopes that he too might receive some much needed cash.

            While upon jail "limits" in Batavia on September 11, 1826, Morgan was arrested on a Canandaigua County warrant for petty larceny. He was arraigned on this charge and after dismissal of the case was arrested again on a debt charge and jailed.

            He was released the same night after Masons had satisfied the debt judgment to which he had confessed. He was then driven away in a carriage, first to Rochester and then to Niagara, where for several days he was confined. He was then lost to sight.

            Different theories have been advanced as to Morgan's later years. The Republican Watchman, Sullivan County's leading newspaper, expressed a general belief that Morgan was removed from Batavia for the purpose of taking him from under the influence of Miller. The eventual disposition of Morgan has remained a mystery throughout the years. He was reported to have been settled on a farm in Canada.

            It was also reported that Morgan had gone abroad. Newspapers devoted extensive space to articles about his going with Brant to the Northwest settlement. In most of the Morgan articles which appeared in those days there rang a note of Masonic condemnation.

Spread to Sullivan

These releases brought retaliating replies from Sullivan County residents, faithful to the Craft. Heated controversy which took place in the newspaper columns sometimes wandered from the real a issue and able penmen unhesitatingly blended it unfavorably with politics and other issues suitable to their own selfish gains.

But all through this trying period all but one of the first officers of Sullivan Lodge, and most all of its members, maintained loyalty and not once attempted to conceal their identity as Masons.

            Others of Sullivan Lodge were more timid, however, and either ceased to remain active or declared themselves anti-Masons. Men who had joined the Sullivan Lodge inspired by the good it had brought during Washington's life and during the time that Masonry had flourished were openly accused of being "Sunshine Masons" (men who had joined the Craft for their own political advantages).

            Sheriff David Hammond attacked Masonry with all the venom early penmen could muster in the Sullivan County Herald, which he and the anti-Masonic party established in the Fall of 1831. Hammond was presidential elector and cast his vote for James Monroe when the latter was re-elected President in 1820. Hammond, too, had been a Mason but anti-Masonic forces became his master.

He served as the fifth sheriff of Sullivan County in 1815, and built the Mansion House, now a part of the Monticello Inn. Hammond was one of several who backed the Herald financially.

            The present-day Mason will find it almost impossible to realize what the brethren of Sullivan Lodge No. 272 and Bloomingburgh Lodge No. 310 endured during the ten-year period dating from 1825 to 1835. They were boycotted in business, severely criticized and attacked in public and in print and even deprived of worship in several of the various religious sects with which they were identified. However, in most every group or society they had their friends and all was not criticism. The newspapers were divided in opinion and the Masonic topic supplied a reservoir of news which was popular and interesting to readers, some of whom enjoyed a lampooning style and others who enjoyed notes of praise for the fraternity. The issue was confused with politics, religion and plain jealousy for the fraternity.

            Of Masonry in general, Peter F. Hunn, editor of the anti-Masonic Sullivan County Herald wrote, "We are in favor of sustaining the laws as expounded by the Democracy; a protective tariff; the United States Government; and measures embraced in what was then known as the American system of Henry Clay. "Freemasonry", he continued, ["]was seen in the days of prosperity and glory, we believe it to have been a useless, frivolous and pensile institution. As such we should never wage war upon it; but it is in our opinion as mischievous as it is useless. It is calculated effectually to destroy that confidence which should exist between the different members of the same community." This comment in the first issue of the Herald appeared on September 19, 1832, and is typical of the warped and fancied ideas of political opportunists such as Hunn and others who had tried but failed to usurp the fraternity's rights, teachings and privileges for political betterment.

            Commenting at length, Hunn set forth his objections which were adduced from the case of Morgan and declared that he "would labor to attain an entire suppression of the order."

But the average sound-minded and thorough thinking reader or those day found it impossible to follow the Hun theory, neither did they find it possible to follow it in print with the result that they gradually sought substitute and more authentic reading. Finding insufficient patronage publication of the Herald ceased in 1837. Hunn had rightfully considered the Herald's fate and had ceased his employment as editor a year or so before. He had helped the enemies of Masonry to prolong their unwarranted attacks but failed miserably in fulfilling his boast.

He had been a Mason prior to becoming possessed with anti-Masonic beliefs. He was given an opportunity to view Masonry as its enemy but like many others of his calibre his eventual side was with the fraternity he had so bitterly attacked. His fantastic beliefs while editor of the Herald no doubt had enabled him and many others to determine he was wrong and in the end Hunn and his fiends belatedly attempted to right their wrongs by working with and for the fraternity and its principles.

            Hunn was persuasive and commanding in his literary and oratorical work and had gained a number of recruits for what he promised would be a more prolific group. He was helped in his work by religious groups and politicians who saw opportunities as "Anties". The timid group he failed to convert to his way of thinking but nevertheless they discontinued their membership rather than to live under the fear of being shunned as the believers in something that was "harmful". E.C. Wood, a member of Bloomingurgh Lodge No. 310, was a well known Bloomingburgh resident who deserted the fraternity in 1827 but respected it enough to ask for a discontinuance of his membership.

An account of the controversy which followed his action appeared in the Republican Watchman on October 26, 1830; over the signature of the "Vulcan". The "Vulcan'" pointed out that Wood had particularly distinguished himself in the political anti-Masonic excitement which was raised in the county and more especially in a series of resolutions, reported by himself and others to a meeting held in Monticello on October 25, 1830, in which the whole Masonic fraternity was denounced as a band of criminals guilty or every crime. "It may not be uninteresting to your readers," wrote the "Vulcan", "to learn the real character of the pretended pious patriot," For this purpose I send you the following literal copy of a note addressed by him to the Bloomingburgh Lodge, on the occasion of his withdrawal from the same as an evidence or his opinion of the institution at that time:

 

"Bloomingburgh, Dec. 29, 1827,

"To the Master and Wardens of

Bloomingburgh Lodge No. 310:

"I do hereby petition the Lodge, for

a certificate of my membership and

standing in said Lodge, and I wish to

discontinue my membership.

Respectfully yours,

C.E. WOOD."

 

In commenting on Wood's request[,] the "Vulcan" said, "The reader will observe that up to the 29th of December, 1827, Mr. C. Wood set so much value upon the institution that he actually petitioned the Lodge to which he belonged for a "certificate of his membership and standing." Why do this, if it was as corrupt and depraved as he now represents it? What! Petition "a band of midnight conspirators, kidnappers, and murderers" for a certificate of his fellowship with them in their dark scenes of human depravity? Ask from them written evidence of his participation in those horrid deeds which crimsoned the earth with the blood of the innocent and perverted the ends or justice on the most important occasions, by the dark mysteries of the order? And all this, too, while he was an ardent professor of our bold religion, and mingling in sacred communion around the table of his Master? If the sense or feeling could be communicated to the paper on which I write, it would blush at the very thought! The fate of Morgan had long before this date been sealed, and if his death was, as Mr. Wood now says, the "result of a systematic arrangement or the order," and if by the term order he means to incriminate the whole institution, as the language evidently implies, then he was an associate actor in the infernal deed, and the hand which raised the broken emblem of his crucified Savior to his lips, was stained with a "brother's" blood! If, Mr. Wood dares come out and plead guilty to this charge which he had deliberately preferred against the order, a discerning public will judge what credit ought in justice to be awarded to him who could carefully conceal his guilt until confession became popular! and if he refuses to do this, and disclaims ail participation in the affair, the same public will award the measure of reliance which is due to the assertions of one who employs himself in picking up the common reports of the day and charging them as facts, against an institution of which, although a member in full communion, he was entirely ignorant. It is a matter of Some doubt, whether the ignorance, or the depravity of this man ought to be the more sincerely pitied.

 

"VULCAN."

Mamakating, Oct. 21, 1830

― ● ―

Mr. Editor:

I send you inclosed some' extracts from the last part of the third chapter of the second book of the Chronicles of the Anti-Masons, which book contains the acts of the political Anties, since they become fully Anti-Jackson, and wholly Anti-Republican, having received from Daniel Webster & Co. a transfer of ail the Adams men, including the leading Masons, and placed them safely under the cloak of Anti-Masonry.

            And it came to pass on the 19th day of the tenth month, of the year Anti-Masonry, that the anties assembled themselves' together, at the Anti-Masonic hotel of Stephen the Publican (Stephen Hamilton, early innkeeper in Monticello).

            And of those that came from the North and the East and the West, there were the Luddingtonites, the VanTuylites, the Woodites, the Schofteldites, and the Bennettites, and all the different clans, we numbered and of the whole were a full score and three men.

            And they essayed to name a man for one of the rulers of the people; and the arose a strife amongst the different clans, for lo there were many that had joined themselves to the Anties through the hope of office.

            And there was amongst them a valiant man called Harley, a leader of the Luddingtonites, who stood boldly forth the midst of them and lifted up his voice and proclaimed that he had already look out a wise man by the name of James of the numerous race of Jacksonians, who inhabited the North, all of whom would follow after James and bring great numbers to the Anties.

            But Otto and Cornelius, and many other wise men seemed to doubt the truth of the sayings of Harley, and alleged that when James and his kindred and followers, discovered that the Anties were aiming to remove Andrew, the ruler of the nation, and to place Henry the man of Clay, in his stead, they would return again to Andrew, for all the Jacksonian race loved Andrew for his valiant deeds and nothing short of office could have induced James to turn against Andrew and his old friends.

            And it came to pass whilst they were yet contending, that there appeared amongst them a wise man, a very great Magician, from the land of Ulster, whose business it was to devise and publish marvelous tales to deceive the people and draw them unwittingly from the support of Andrew.

            And be said unto them, "Men and brethren, ye must curb your lust for office yet a little longer. Know ye not, that all the Anties, including the Adams men, the anti-Republicans and all the opponents of the Jacksonians number not their strength, and unless we can devise means to draw off part of their strength by selecting those who have been partisans of Andrew, none of ye can hope for office?

            Therefore, I pronounce the wisdom of Harley to be greater than all of ye - he is a modest man, wants no office, serves for the good of our cause, and shall henceforth be the leader of all the Anties In Sullivan.

            So the Luddingtonites prevailed and James turned against his old friends; rent his garments and put On the cloak of the Anties for the sake of being named for ruler amongst the people.

And it came to pass that the wise man from Ulster proclaimed that Hiram, the Schofleldite, had also consented to be named for another ruler.

But when he had departed and was afar off, Hiram returned from walking up and down upon the earth, and said he had found that the good people of Ulster had found out the tricks of the Anties and set their faces against them; and forsooth he had been a politician too long to be deceived; consequently that he, Hiram, had repented his promise and should not be named as the ruler of the Anties.

Liberty, October 23, 1830.

 

A forerunner to the meeting on October 25, 1830, to which the "Vulcan" alludes, was held in Monticello on July 17, 1810. A notice of the meeting was printed in the Republican Watchman on July 12, 1830 as follows:

 

NOTICE

A county convention of the citizens of Sullivan County opposed to Masonry, and secret society, will be held at the house of Stephen Hamilton in Monticello on Saturday the 17th of July, inst. at 4 o'clock P. M. for the purpose of appointing a delegate to attend the anti-Masonic convention to be held at the village of Utica on the 11th day of August next, and for other purposes. The citizens of the different towns are requested to send two or more delegates to represent them at said meeting. –

Thompson, 5th day of July, 1830.

 

The notice did not appear without editorial comment, however. Frederick A. Devoe, editor of the Republican Watchman, was believed to have been a Mason and proof of his loyalty to the fraternity is evidence in the following comment:

 

JULY 13, 1830

It is due to our Republican friends and patrons to state that the notice which will be seen in another column, calling an anti-Masonic meeting, is inserted as an advertisement, and as such alone. Had it been presented to us in any other shape we should have refused to give it an insertion, for we never could consent to make our paper a vehicle of intelligence for a party which seems to be destitute of everything like honest principles.

            So far as anti-Masonry had for its object the detection and punishment of those who violated the laws of their country in the Morgan affair, we could not censure such of our fellow-citizens as partook of the spirit of anti-Masonry. But when the proper object was lost sight of altogether, and was followed by the attempts of a few designing politicians to elevate themselves, making use of the anti-Masonic excitement as a lever, we could not withhold our disapprobation. We unhesitatingly repeat what we have often said, that political anti-Masonry possesses nothing to recommend it to an honest man, and wherever an honest anti-Mason is found, he will be seen opposing any attempts to connect political or religious topics with the anti-Masonic question. The avowed purpose in calling the meeting in this county, is political, and we cannot but I believe that the attempt will meet with that unqualified reprobation which it merits, and that those base politicians who wish to glide into office through the influence of this excitement will find that they have made erroneous calculations upon their own sagacity. We are not disposed to quarrel with our neighbor because he opposes the national and state administrations, for nothing is more natural than that people should honestly differ on these questions; but we have no charity for such as are anxious to convert the anti-Masonic question into a political machine. If we do not quarrel with these, it is because we choose rather to pity or despise them.

 

Devoe was not content to allow the anti-Masons to proceed with plans to destroy the fraternity without further comment and reported the activities of the secret gathering as follows:

 

July 20, 1830

Last Saturday, as our readers must have observed from the advertisement in our paper and which we very obligingly noticed under our editorial head, was the day appointed for the anti-Masonic convention in this county, to choose a delegate to represent the political anties of Sullivan in the State Convention. The public ear was wide open and the public eye stuck out with the expectation for some days previous, and the redoubtable editor of the anti-Masonic paper in our neighboring county of Ulster, elevated his ears and brayed out in rapturous exclamation, at the sight of the notice, "Well done, Sullivan." In view of the approaching event, some of our honest citizens gazed at each other with the most anxious phizzes as if inquiring who were the agents of Southwick, Weed & Co., in Sullivan; others like Sancho's mule, seemed extremely dubious as to the result, whilst a few with lengthened faces looked forward with horror to the moment when our devoted county was to be completely revolutionized, and "firebrands, arrows and death" scattered among its hitherto peaceful citizens.

            The day at length arrived when the process of gestation having been gone through with, and the mountain having labored, was to bring forth. Accoucheurs - "with nurses wet and dry" stood in readiness to catch the bantling who was to represent us at Utica. The hour arrived; but, "tell it not in Gath," there was an outright abortion, and the nurses went away as wet and dry they came. The faces that had been awfully drawn out, contracted to their natural shape, and some unbelieving varlets began to suspect that our political anti-Masonic conjurers, as the auld Scotch woman said of his Satanic majesty and his imps, "ware but poor devils after all."

            So three or four fellows, with whiskers pointed a-la-mode de Morgan, and clean shirted and shaved, together with one or two who we had almost said were neither shirted nor shaved, constituted the interesting assemblage.

They sauntered about for an hour or more and not being able to increase their numbers beyond seven (we'll send their names to Thurlow Weed) they drew off without organizing their meeting or doing any business. We venture this assertion, because we cannot believe that these fellows, so strenuously opposed to secret societies, etc., would do their business in public. If, therefore, Sullivan is represented at all in the Utica Convention it will be by self-created delegate.

We have seriously thought of offering some good advice to two or three of these anti gentlemen, but perhaps it will be time thrown away, for as the old couplet says:

 

"Fools will be fools say what you will,

And rascals will be rascals still."

 

Devoe sought to bare the political misdoings of anti-Masons and to make clear their intentions with the following letter, which was signed "Mamakating".

           

Mr. Croswell – The anti-Masons of Sullivan County were called together a few days since to send a delegate to Utica. After much exertion, six persons were gathered together, but being chagrined by the paucity of their numbers, the conclave separated without doing anything.

The head man of the anti-Masons in Sullivan, is the person who touched the cash ($10,000) which was procured from the state for the Neversink Navigation Company. There is a report on this subject made to the last legislature, which I understand exposes this transaction in its true light, and if you will send me a copy, I will endeavor to make this man better known to the people of his county, than he was to the Legislators whose credulity he imposed upon. This arch imposter may volunteer to go to the convention, even without an appointment, as he is anxious to lay his case before Myron Holley, and get his professional opinion, as to the process of converting the public money to his own use, and at the same time producing the required vouchers a to balance his accounts. Holley knows how the thing is done, and could of course aid in transferring a few thousand dollars more from the state treasury to the pockets of his fellow laborers in anti-Masonry. I am quite confident, that this disciple of anti-Masonry, who,

has evidently taken a leaf from Myron Holley's book of problems, will effect as little in making proselytes to anti-Masonry in Sullivan, as he had in improving the navigation of the Neversink river. No discreet man will trust his ark to such a pilot.

"MAMAKATING"

 

The man referred to was O.E. VanTuyl, who unsuccessfully undertook make the Neversink river navigable for rafting. Considerable money was extended on the project; it was abandoned after several rafts were dashed against rocks and destroyed.

 

Letters and editorial comment continued and on August 24, 1830, an interesting editorial, entitled "The Cat Let Out of the Bag," appeared in print:

 

THE CAT LET OUT OF THE BAG

Since the proceedings of the State Convention at Utica on the 11th inst. we think there can no longer be a doubt upon the mind of any person as to the ultimate object intended by the opponents of the Republican party.* We invite our readers who feel the slightest degree of interest in the political concerns of the State to view the course which has been pursued by the Frank Granger part, from the period of its organization, until the grand development which took place at their convention; when an alliance was formed between political workers led by Stevens.

――――

 

*The Republican party referred to was actually the Republican-Democratic party of Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, George Clinton, James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. Other parties were the Whigs, with whom William Henry Harrison was associated, and the Federalist party of George Washington and John Adams.

            The Republican party of today was not organized until 1854. Abraham Lincoln was the first President elected under their banner.

            Originally, nothing connected with politics or religion was intended by anti-Masons. The first anti-Masons were undoubtedly operated upon and excited by an honest and laudable feeling. They believed that a violent outrage had been perpetrated against the rights of the community and the liberty of a fellow-citizen. They believed (erroneously as we think) that the commission of this offense was justly chargeable against the Masonic institution, and they engaged with more zeal than prudence in a warfare against it. The excitement continued to rage-men suffered their angry passions to get the upper hand of their selfish views. They accordingly continued to add fuel to the flame which was already burning with violence, and by every means within their reach continued to pursue their object. They succeeded in duping many honest people into the belief that Masonry, where it existed, infected religion and politics, that the ballot boxes afforded no security against Masonic intrigue, and that the courts of justice and the halls of legislation were the scenes of corrupt influence proceeding from the Masonic institution. By means thus specious and plausible, and representations thus false, they finally succeeded in bringing the enemies of Freemasonry to say that they would support no man for office who was a Mason, or who was not an avowed enemy to that institution. The necessary result of this step was the organization of a new political party, the cardinal principle of their creed being self-elevation. In every county where the mania existed, some two or three individuals more noisy and, more sagacious than the greater part of those who participated in the excitement, procured themselves nomination to office, and were in many instances elected. Thus the original motive of anti-Masonry was completely lost sight of.

            The success of the schemes of those who cared nothing more about anti-Masonry than to make it a stepping stone to once, depended mainly upon keeping the unnatural feeling alive which had pervaded many of the western counties. Consequently, a short time, previous to the election, and about a year after the abduction of Morgan, the following singular and extraordinary transaction took place: A corpse was found near the mouth of Oak Orchard creek, and a coroner's jury having been summoned and heard testimony, gave the verdict of accidental death by drowning and the body was buried. The leading anties, however, were determined that the dead man should be a "good enough Morgan," till after the election, and the body was dug up, a new jury summoned, and by the perjury and deception a verdict was procured pronouncing it the body of Morgan. About this time a Mrs. Monroe made claim to the corpse as the body of her deceased husband, Timothy Monroe, who had been drowned a short time previous in the Niagara river. She swore to the clothes of the deceased with exactness, and to the identity of the body. Some evidence was also given by other relatives and acquaintances of the deceased, but to no purpose. The managers would have Monroe to be Morgan till after the election. A grand funeral procession was got up, and the members of the Lewiston convention, the blackness of their hearts shading their faces with the gloom of a mock sorrow, as chief mourners, and every tag, rag, and bob tail who was either a great knave or a fool, joined the procession and traversed about 40 miles of country to give an imposing effect to the base transaction. By such and similar means and by gathering in a mass every disaffected politician whose claims no respectable political party would recognize, they made a show of some thousand votes at the last election for Governor, and had some twenty or thirty members in our Legislature.

            The breaking up of the Adams party presented another glorious opportunity for the enemies of the Republican party to exercise their ingenuity and pursue their darling object, which Was no other than the prostration of every party except that which would recognize them as leaders, Accordingly in those sections of the State where the machinery of anti-Masonry could not be put in motion, a party calling themselves by the specious name of "Working Men" was organized under the direction of certain politicians, whose lives had been marked by political intrigue and chicanery, and who never performed a day's work in their lifetime, except that kind of work which our readers will understand if we use the every day phrase, of head work. That is, they are trying to work themselves into office, but are not inclined to work for the benefit of those who are in reality working men. In cities and populous towns, the mechanics and laborers form a very large proportion of the voters, and the name of "working-men's party" was assumed by the managers in the hope that the deception would not be discovered, and with the belief that a sufficient number would be drawn off from the Republican party, which, when united with the political anti-Masons would form a majority.

            This plan is completely developed by the proceedings at the Utica Convention, where the interests of the honest part of the anti-Masons and working men have been bought and sold with as little feeling as any article of traffic would be disposed of. The anti-Masons are called on to support Stevens, who no anti-Mason, for Lieutenant Governor; and the "working-men" are called in return to support Granger, who is no working man, for Governor: what consistency!!! A working-men's party, led by Granger and Stevens, two lawyers, who never have belonged to the Republican party, and who are willing be everything and anything for the sake of the loaves and fishes.

            While on this subject we cannot but give credit to Mr. Granger for what he has done for our own county, and while we feel gratified that Sullivan was not scandalized by a representation at this convention of

 

"Black spirits and white,

Blue spirits and gray,"

 

It is well that we should offer a reason why anti-Masonry and workeyism has not taken deeper root among us than it has.

            First then - Our people are honest, and honestly and firmly attached to Republican principles. Secondly - Those who are not Masons find that their neighbors who are Masons are no worse than other men; and therefore they are not disposed to join in the persecution and proscription which is elsewhere carried forward. Thirdly - We are all working-men but ONE. He has worked the State (we suspect) out of about $110,000, and "thereby hangs a tale". We will tell it:

The president of the Neversink Navigation Company made application to our Legislature for a loan of $15,000. Frank Granger was chairman of the committee to whom the application was referred, and Mr. Granger reported a bill in favor of granting a loan of $10,000. The president of the company returned from Albany a flaming anti-Mason, loaded with Giddins' Almanac, Morgan's Illustrations, Southwick's Oration, etc., and as extravagantly lavish in praise of honest Frank Granger. From the Neversink Navigation Company, therefore, has proceeded all of political anti-Masonry which disgraces Sullivan County. But the sequel of this tale is yet to be told. The $10,000 having been expended, during the last session of the Legislature this same anti-Masonic president of the navigation company, finding his funds as well as the waters of the Neversink getting low, applied for a further loan of $6,000 to make a slack water navigation. There had been, however, so much slackness in this matter already, that it seemed necessary to make a little inquiry as to the expenditure of the former loan - and the president was accordingly sworn before the committee of the Senate. His evidence is thus given in the report of that committee:

            "Mr. VanTuyl, who appeared before the committee to urge his petition, on being sworn, testified, among other things, in substance, that he could not speak with confidence as to the amount of work which he had done in improving the navigation of the Neversink river, since the Spring of 1828; but believed it to be to the value of about two thousand dollars - $1,000 in each year. These payments were made principally in goods. He further testified, that of the money loaned he had paid, in the purchase of a lot of land and erecting buildings thereon, about two thousand five hundred dollars; in the purchase of a store of goods, between two and three thousand dollars; and in the payment of old debts between five and six thousand dollars."

            The above, we think, will convince any man that if, through the defection of a portion of the Republican party, the Utica Convention nomination and district and county nominations of the same character should prevail, the people have no security for the appropriation of their funds to legitimate purposes, but must be content to look silently upon its distribution among those who have worked the hardest to put themselves up, and to put the Republican party down. We would say to every honest, well-meaning man to guard against being imposed upon by names: ― "Look, before you leap,"

In the Fall of 1831 the Morgan issue seemed to have been given more newspaper space, and on November 1, 1831, anti-Masons were accused of the Morgan outrage in the following article:

 

ANTI-MASONS THE AUTHORS OF

THE MORGAN OUTRAGE

The Guilty Shielded by the Anti-Masonic Party

We have on a former occasion stated the fact that the original author of, and prominent actors in, the Morgan outrage, are now leading members in the anti-Masonic party. We referred then more particularly to the, notorious Giddeis, who, by his own testimony in a court of justice, was the stern, unfeeling jailor, if not, the murderer of Morgan. He visited him for the purpose of "stopping his noise", with a loaded pistol, and threatened to shoot him. In company with five or six others, he concerted the murder of Morgan, and went towards the fort for that purpose, the execution of which was prevented by the relenting of one of the party, not himself.

It was in this man's possession, Morgan was last seen; yet for his final fate he was entirely ignorant! And has this Giddins, thus guilty by his own confession, been punished. Has he been even indicted? No! He was the first to renounce Masonry, the principles of which and of humanity, he had under a false pretense, violated, and was among the first in organizing an anti-Masonic party for political objects. By this party he has been cherished, honored and shielded from punishment, and is receiving large emoluments from his anti-Masonic Almanac, and other services which he has rendered the party of which he is a leading member.

Nor is Giddens the only person, as unquestionably if not equally guilty, who has been shielded from obloquy and punishment. In the county of Genesee, the plans for the abduction of Morgan were concerted, and by residents of that county they were put in motion. Have these prime movers been convicted or have they escaped punishment? A late able writer in the Genesee Republican throws some light on this subject. He, indeed, discloses the truth, and defies contradiction. He states that in the town of LeRoy (where the author resides, and most of the persons implicated reside) "there is not a single, individual who was concerned in any of the outrages connected with the abduction of Morgan excepting, seceding Masons - of them there are some ten or twelve residing in this town, a number of whom took an active part in those outrages." He adds, "We pronounce the undeniable fact that the guilty perpetrators of these outrages in this, town, are exclusively seceding Masons, all of whom have escaped punishment through the favor and management of political anti-Masonry!" He mentions the names of Haecall, Read, Gates, Knight and others in the county of Genesee, and also of Giddins and of Shed, and asks, "Why have not these men been punished? Let the elders of the anti- Masonic party, (who claim exclusive credit for whatever is done towards bringing the guilty to justice,) answer the question. Any man who will be at the trouble to look over the Morgan transactions, will find some of the most prominent characters, especially in the closing scene of the tragedy, to have escaped punishment through the management and favor of political anti-Masons."

 

In a subsequent and concluding number, devoted principally to remarks and facts of a local bearing, the writer says:

 

"It has been my object to state facts which the public good, as well as justice to a large portion of proscribed and persecuted citizens, in my opinion, require to be made known. Every exertion has been made to divert the public attention from these facts. What are they? - That in the town of LeRoy, the cradle of anti-Masonry, every Mason who was guilty of the Morgan and Miller outrage, is now a seceder and a violent political anti-Mason. That of these seceders, two who have been named and distinctly charged as guilty, were at the time indicted, but have escaped punishment by the favor of political anti-Masonry. That these two individuals were far more guilty than either of the three who were tried and convicted in this county. That of the twenty or thirty (I have since been told that there are near forty) adhering Masons in this town, most of whom, at least, are among our most respectable citizens, not one is guilty of those outrages, but many refused to join in them. If there are any guilty among them, why have they not been named? That of those who last had Morgan in custody, and who kept him several days a prisoner in Fort Niagara, with a knowledge, as they say, that he was to be murdered, two only are surviving, viz.: the wretched Giddins and Shedd. That these two are seceding and warm political anti-Masons – that all these men have escaped punishment, and notwithstanding their crimes, are cherished and supported; by the anti-Masonic party-held forth as patterns of virtue, and worthy of the 'unbounded confidence of the public'."

 

An article entitled "War, Pestilence and Famine" seemed to have ended the fight for no further comment is to be found in the old newspaper files.

 

WAR, PESTILENCE AND FAMINE

On Friday evening last, we were visited with these in a tangible shape. It appears our member-elect gave a supper to his hirelings at the anti-Masonic Hall at the upper end of the village of Monticello. We are informed that much "good feeling" prevailed at the table. The member was complimented with the following toast:

 

"Hiram Bennett, our worthy representative -

'Six feet high and well proportioned'.

Six cheers."

 

Mr. Bennett then rose and made a respectful bow to his guests: ― "Gentlemen, you do me great honor-I am unable to express my feelings-language fails, and sentiments-I have none. I will take my seat at Albany, as your representative-and should the Chemung canal bill not have passed, I shall probably finish the speech I commenced on this subject, when last you honored me with a place in the Legislature. (Cheers) Gentlemen, I pledge myself to bring in a bill to relieve the president of the Neversink Navigation Company, who illuminates this night in honor of my election, and also to procure the passage of an act regulating 'pedlars,' (Hear him). The member sat down evidently much eased. After enjoying "this feast of reason and flow of soul", and devouring the substantials and delicacies of the table, a military escort was formed under command of Major St. John of the Infantry, and Captain Hamilton of the Cavalry. - The honorable member was escorted home in due form, but we enter our solemn protest against the selection of the music for the occasion.

The "Rogues March" was appropriate enough for the gang that marched or rather staggered through our village, stoning houses and insulting individuals who belonged to the party opposed to them, but to march the honorable member home to such roguish music, was not in accordance with our views. However, we have no right to dispute the question, presuming it was done by order of the committee of arrangements of this "War, Pestilence and Famine" celebration.

 

"Hail Columbia, happy land!"

Sullivan Lodge Last Nine Years

 

In a Masonic notice which announced that Sullivan Lodge would celebrate St. the Baptist's Day in the Village of Monticello in conjunction with Royal Arch Chapter No. 65, then active in Monticello, Coit signed as secretary. The celebration took place on June 25, 1828. The notice also stated that the cornerstone of Sullivan Lodge would be laid at that time. Each year thereafter similar notices appeared and' St. John the Baptist Festivals were held until June 5, 1835, when the Grand Lodge declared the warrant of Sullivan Lodge No. 272 forfeited.

            Peter F. Hunn, referred to in an earlier chapter as a traitor to the craft, also wielded a mighty pen and furnished' leading editorials for the Sullivan County Herald, together with persuasive anti-Masonic letters to the other county newspapers. His efforts undoubtedly had a great effect upon the welfare of Old Sullivan Lodge.

            It might also be remembered that there are many other conditions which may have made the Sullivan Lodge warrant invalid.

            The strict requirements for visitors laid down by the Grand Lodge kept many good sons from the inner rooms and prevented enjoyment many visitors looked forward to.

            On March 17, 1829, a resolution went by the Grand Lodge reading, "That it is recommended by this Grand Lodge all subordinate lodges under its jurisdiction, that the practice of receiving visitors not vouched for as Master Masons by a member of the lodge to which the visit shall be made, be discontinued". During this period the number of candidates fell and payment of dues likewise fell off. A dark future was indicated. Many lost interest because of the Morgan incident and others were dropped because of non-payment of dues.

            To add to their misery the Grand Lodge had issued an edict forbidding public parades without its sanction. Feeling that permission to celebrate St. John the Baptist Festival on June 24, in 1835, an event it had yearly looked forward to, would be denied because of anti-Masonic feeling in Sullivan County, the lodge, no doubt, held as many others did, that the Constitution and Land Marks did not forbid such processions and paraded despite objections by the higher body.

            Warrants of other lodges were declared forfeited because of similar disobedience and it is likely that the Sullivan Lodge was similarly affected.

            While Masonry had its good effects in Sullivan County during the existence of Sullivan Lodge the ties of brotherhood became so strong at times that it became aligned with politics and unless those seeking appointment to office were members of the craft they would be overlooked in favor of a brother.

            Observing this favoritism with considerable malice, non-Masons were ready to act when news of the Morgan affair came to their attention.

            Non-Masons had made drastic protests to Masonic leaders regarding their activities, but with little result. Masonic favoritism was the hue and cry of the day but in those days one Mason could trust another and as a result of this many Masons were office holders.

George Washington had set a precedent when he delegated Masons only for the positions of responsibility. Others wishing to acquire the same degree of success as Washington continued the custom despite the fact that other non-Masons could have successfully executed the duties of the office to which appointments were made.

Until 1826 it was generally popular to be a Mason and decidedly unpopular not to be one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Grand Lodge Again Divided

 

The brethren of old Sullivan Lodge had no charter which would give them authority to convene but they watched with interest the progress or failure of the lodges, in other sections of the State as they faced the panic of 1837 and other troubled times, including internal issues between 1837 and 1858 which split the then existing Grand Lodge and resulted in the organization of the Phillips and the St. John's Grand Lodges. These issues, although serious, were considered minor as compared with the Morgan and anti-Masonic troubles and if Sullivan Lodge had not succumbed in 1835 the old lodge would probably be in existence today and birth of two other Monticello lodges would not have occurred.

            The rumblings of the Morganic volcano it became less audible just prior to the beginning of the second half of the nineteenth century but its furious flames were by no means under control until the abolitionist movement started in 1831 and not very active until ten years later offered a new topic for discussion.

Lodges throughout! the country had begun to enjoy a modified reprieve from its most trying decade when in 1837 a serious panic presented itself to the country.

            The panic brought about business failures on a scale unprecedented in the history of the country. Most banks refused 'to accept specie payments and held with the Democratic theory that gold and silver were the only legal tenders. As a result brethren found it impossible to pay dues and because of depleted treasuries many lodges found it impossible to carry on.

            If still active Sullivan Lodge would have faced another crisis but if its members planned the organization's finances as carefully as they conducted their own businesses the effects of the panic would not have registered, sufficiently to make it necessary to suspend. Through the storm the sailing would have been smooth until 1849 when internal affairs of Mason demanded attention.

            The old question which had split the lodges in 1823 had been debated quietly since the organization of the Grand Lodge in New York and in 1848 plans were adopted for an amendment of the Constitution which would deprive Past Masters of a vote and voice in Grand Lodge. The lodges which had been reunited in 1827 after four years of wrangling had renewed the issue. Up-state lodges gathered the representatives at Geneva, N.Y. Masons from the country were desirous of an amendment denying Past Masters the right to vote on the ground that city lodges through their Past Masters, had from seventeen to nineteen votes, while up-state lodges only had four or five.

City lodges called a convention of Masters and Past Masters on October 31, 1848, at the Howard House in New York City and adopted a resolution recommending that representatives in Grand Lodge and Past Masters be instructed to use the utmost endeavors to prevent the passage of the amendment proposed by the upstate lodges.

            No sooner had Grand Lodge assembled in June 1839, when trouble commenced. The city lodges left the hall and organized the Phillips Grand Lodge while the up-state lodges remained. Their Grand body (the regular one) was generally known as the Willard Grand Lodge. The division in the Masonic Fraternity continued until 1858, when both factions were merged into the present Grand Lodge.

Those who had been past Masters prior to December 1849 were to retain their seats in the Grand Lodge and enjoy the privilege of voting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Bloomingburgh Lodge No. 310

 

Bloomingburgh Lodge No. 310 was the only other Masonic organization to exist in the county of Sullivan before the turbulent years of the Morgan affair. The Lodge was warranted on June 24, 1818, and conducted its meetings at Wurtsboro, then known as Mamakating, for about four of the seven years it operated in good standing with Grand Lodge.

            Its original membership totaled seventeen and its first Master was Abram I. Hardenbergh. Three of these Masons, Lemuel Jenkins, Alpheus Dimmick and John W. Osborn were also charter members of Sullivan Lodge No. 272. Other members of the lodge had been affiliated with Montgomery Lodge.

            Bro. Jenkins was Bloomingburgh Lodge's first Senior Warden; the Junior Warden was John Jordan, Jr., and James Sloan, Secretary. The names of the Treasurer and other elective officers are unknown but according to the lodge's first return its members were: Abram I. Hardenbergh, Lemuel Jenkins, John Jordan, Jr., James Sloan, James McCroskry, Alpheus Dimmick, Lebbius Godfrey, John W. Osborn, Charles Baker, Adonijah Brown, William Clark, Charles Winfield, William Gillespie, James Wright, Isaac Schultz, Joseph Miller and Daniel Gillis.

            In these early days of Sullivan County Masonry the trail blazers, men of character and leadership, were found on the membership rolls of not only the Sullivan Lodge but also were included among those appearing on the Bloomingburgh roster.

The name Hardenbergh historically rings in the affairs of Sullivan County; Lemuel Jenkins represented Sullivan and Ulster in Congress from 1823 to 1825, was a practicing attorney at Bloomingburgh, and Jordan and Sloan were among the early settlers in the Orange-Sullivan area who distinguished themselves in the promotion of civic and moral good. McCroskry, Godfrey, Brown,: Clark, Winfield, Gillespie, Wright, Schultz': and Gillis had settled in the area with all influx of Yankees which commenced about the year 1790. Most all of them had come to this section of the country for the purpose of buying furs of the frontier-trappers and hunters but finding the unoccupied land cheap and fertile they decided to settle on it.

            Miller was one of the white hunters who followed Indians for days at the risk of his life to discover the place where the red men obtained lead near Wurtsboro; Baker, a graduate of Dartmouth, was one of the first college lawyers to practice in Sullivan County. He was a personal friend of Alexander Hamilton. Dimmick was the third to be appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was the first elected County Judge., served as District Attorney in 1836 and was a member of Assembly in 4829. A hamlet near Orange-Sullivan line still bears the name of Godfrey.

The fact that Bloomingburgh Lodge made no return after 1825 was by no means an indication that it became inactive after that period. Its members who had been given inspiration to promote the prosperity and growth of the section were not desirous of seeing Masonic fellowship end without a struggle. Their failure to make returns was not voluntary on their part but anti-Masonic groups already active before the Morgan affair and economic and other hardships imposed upon the brethren at that time had forced them to fall into default.

            For a while the lodge continued its activity despite conditions but finally with numerous other lodges throughout the country it went into oblivion without ever regaining lost membership and the prestige it once enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Monticello Lodge No. 460

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRO. H. R. LOW

 

Unfortunately history tells us little about Sullivan County Masonry from the Grand Lodge sessions on June 5. 1835, when the charter of Sullivan Lodge No. 272 was declared forfeited and the events leading up to the formation of Monticello Lodge No. 460. We may rest assured, however, that Masonry did not die in Sullivan County during that time.

            Masons had long awaited a new Masonic era which would end the Morgan excitement, years of depression and the rift which split the craft into the Phillips and Williard Grand Lodge factions. So with internal matters settled and the anti-Masonic storm calmed the future of Masonry looked brighter at the beginning of the second part of the nineteenth century.

            On September 25, 1858, Sullivan Masons who had long yearned for Masonic fellowship in the county made known their wishes to Grand Lodge. Dispensation for forming a new lodge in Monticello had been recommended by Hoffman Lodge No. 412 of Middletown. H. R. Low was recommended as Master, Alfred J. Baldwin, Senior Warden and Joseph B. Cook as Junior Warden.

            Among the charter members of Monticello Lodge No. 460 were Masons who had convened in Old Sullivan Lodge when it was in its heyday. These old-time Masons included N. W. Rumsey, a Monticello farmer, Stephen Sweet, an hotelman, and James C. Curtis, an assessor, Member of Assembly from 1831 to 1832, a judge of the Court of Common Pleas by appointment in 1844 and a State Senator in 1850 and 1851. Although a resident of Cochecton, Mr. Curtis spent considerable time in Monticello where, he often visited old Sullivan Lodge in which he was raised in 1821.

            These brothers lived and practiced Masonry. Men such as they were the backbone of Sullivan County Masonry in those days, but their spirits would probably have been broken if it had not been for a newer generation which was beginning to realize that Masonry could play an important part in the lives of men.

            The petition for forming a lodge in Monticello was received favorably by Grand Master John L. Lewis, Jr., and acted upon by Grand Lodge at its annual session held in June, 1859. The lodge was to be known as Monticello Lodge U. D. from September 25, 1858, until the charter and number would be assigned according to a document received from the office of James M. Austin, the grand secretary.

            The first meeting of Monticello Lodge U. D. was held on November 3, 1858, in the upper rooms of a structure which quartered the Watchman newspaper office and a saloon (Jewish Community Center site). The property was then owned by George Wiggins, H. R. Low and O. T. Perry. Their bill for rent from Feb. 1, 1860, to February 1861, was $100.00.

            Present were H. R. Low, Master; A. J. Baldwin, ST. Warden; J. B. Cook, Junior Warden; George Wiggins, Senior Deacon; Stephen Sweet, Junior Deacon; Eli Pelton, Treasurer, and J. B. Strong, Secretary.

            The meeting was short and was devoted principally to the reading of a petition for membership of A. J. Bush, who gave his occupation as a lawyer.

            At the lodge's next meeting, which was held seven days later, the secretary read a petition of Ayres B. Serry which was referred to a committee for investigation. At the same meeting a favorable report was returned on the petition of Bro. Bush, who was elected to membership by ballot. Receipt of $5 was noted by the secretary.

            The warrant of Monticello Lodge No. 460 was dated June 17,1859. According to the by-laws the Tiler received $20 per annum. He was responsible for the lodge property and subject to a fine of $1.00 when absent. The initiation fee was $16.00 far men from twenty-one to fifty. The affiliation fee was fixed at $3.00. Dues for members except the secretary and Treasurer were $4.00 annually plus fifty its for Grand Lodge fees.

            Although Monticello Lodge No. 460 was formed while the Civil war clouds were gathering and continued to operate during the first year of the war until December 1862, the secretary recorded little of the conflict. This omission, however, does not indicate that members of the lodge re not interested and eager to serve their country.

Members of Lodge No. 460 and No. 532 which was to follow answered the call to arms and distinguished themselves as soldiers with the 52nd and 143rd regiments.

            Monticello Lodge No. 460 was actually the nucleus of Monticello Lodge No. 532. It took an active part in Masonry and maintained a crowded trestle board which contained names of candidates throughout its existence. It surrendered its charter December 1862, and during that same year and month Monticello Lodge 532 held its first meeting under dispensation. Therefore only a short if any interruption Masonic intercourse occurred after Monticello Lodge No. 460 was formed in 1858, the successor to Sullivan Lodge No. 272.

            The reason why Monticello Lodge No. 460 enjoyed only a short existence has not been explained with any degree of satisfaction by either Grand Lodge records or the minute book of the lodge but it hinted in the latter that harmony and good management were lacking.

When Lodge No. 532 was formed many of the names on the rolls of Lodge No. 460 were not carried over but the new lodge did assume responsibility for indebtedness incurred by the old lodge, and recorded a motion to "stand by the officers and masters of Lodge No. 460 who are threatened with a lawsuit".

            The page in the minute book which probably explained the difficulties of Lodge No. 460 is missing.

            It is interesting to note that Monticello Lodge No. 460 surrendered its charter contemporaneously with the institution of Monticello Lodge No. 532. These Masonic events can rightfully be interpreted to mean that several important problems were ironed out in 1862. During the same year the old dust-covered charter of Sullivan Lodge No. 272 was taken from its hiding place where it had been safely kept through the craft's most difficult years and turned over with the charter of its successor.

            The twenty-eight who became members of Monticello Lodge No. 460 during the period which elapsed from its first meeting on November 3, 1858, U. D. to December 1862, were Henry R. Low, Alfred J. Ba1dwin, Joseph B. Cook, George Wiggins, Stephen Sweet, Eli S. Pelton, Jarvis B. Strong, James Matthews, Orrin B. Smith, Edward C. Howard, Johnathan Fisk, Avis LeRoy, Ira Dorrance, John D. Hammond, John A. Thompson, Albert J. Bush, Bradley Hall, Fraser Marcus, Roft LeCompte, William H. Murphy, William A. Rice, P. T. Perry, Frederick A. Field, Charles R. Kelton, D. A. Crandall, A. Hoagland, A. B. LeRoy, and A. J. Wood.

H. R. Low acted as Master for 27 of the lodge's 119 regular and nearly as many special communications. He was succeeded by Alfred J. Baldwin, who had acted as Senior Warden until that time. The next Master elected was James Matthews, who was succeeded by Edward C. Howard.

            The first officers were elected under dispensation pending the granting of a charter to Bro. Alfred J. Baldwin.

Names appearing on the petition for the new lodge other than those of the office were Stephen Sweet and George Wiggins Bros. Low, Pelton, Baldwin and Strong were the only original officers to serve under the charter. Bro. Cook, a member of Kingston Lodge No. 10, who became an affiliate of Monticello Lodge on April 8, 1864, was replaced as Junior Warden by James Matthews, a banker. George Wiggins, as Senior Deacon, was replace by Jonathan Fisk and Stephen Sweet was succeeded as Junior Deacon by Edward Howard.

Trustees elected at the December 19, 1860, meeting were Bros. H; R. Low, Eli S. Pelton and Robert LeCompte. Bros. A. J. Baldwin and J. W. Hammond were named as members of the finance committee.

When Colonel Low acquired the interests Perry and Wiggins had in the hotel he showed his affections for the lodge by paying for and donating the furniture to the brethren. Perry was raised to the Sublime Degree of Masonry during [t]he February 1861, meeting, when the rent  bill of Low and his partners was read.

            On April 1, 1861, two men who later were to become Masters of Monticello Lodge No. 532 were raised. One was David S. Starr, the first Master of Monticello Lodge No. 532, who was a Monticello attorney. The other was Fred W. Field, whose father owned the Rosary Hotel just below Weiss Motors Garage on East Broadway. Fields [sic] was drowned in Shin Creek near Willowemoc while he was Master.

Others who were raised during the year included Solomon W. Royce and George H. Kelton, both of whom also served as Masters of Monticello Lodge No. 532. Royce was raised shortly after F. W. Johnson and Naman W. Rumsey during a meeting held under special dispensation which was attended by the District Deputy Grand Lecturer, George E. Simons.

Kelton had petitioned the lodge for membership with the understanding that the lodge charge nothing for conferring the degrees. Kelton was to perform the duties of Tiler if elected. He was raised but proved to be such extraordinary officer timber that he did not serve as Tiler.

The name of James C. Curtis was recorded in the minute book on September 4, 1861, as a visitor from Ancient Sullivan Lodge, "now extinct". Attending this meeting was the Assistant Grand Lecturer Bro. Simons. Bros. Isaac Anderson, Adam Sander and William Rice were raised that evening.

 

The lodge had no summer recesses and held meetings frequently. The last meetings of 1861 were held on August 21, 28, September 4, 4, 5, 9, 9, 11, 18, and 24. During that period five were raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason.

Bro. Fields offered a resolution requesting W. Bro. George W. Simon to continue to instruct the lodge in the standard work until Friday, September 13, 1861. The resolution was adopted and on September 18th Bro. Simon's bill for $33 was approved.

The last officers elected to serve Lodge 460 were James Matthews, Master; Edward C. Howard, Senior Warden; Charles R. Kelton, Junior Warden; J. W. Hammond, Secretary; H. R. Low, Treasurer, and O. B. Smith, Tiler.

            Their last recorded meeting was held in September 14, 1861, with A. J. Baldwin, Master; David G. Starr as Senior Warden; C. R. Kelton, Junior Warden; O. E. Crandall, Treasurer; James Matthews, Secretary; F. A. Fields, Senior Deacon; W. H. Murphy, Junior Deacon, and O. B. Smith, Tiler.

Bros. Matthews and Howard had answered the call to the colors and many times during their absence Bro. Simons acted as Master. Later both Baldwin and Simons engaged themselves in the service of their country along with other members of the lodge, leaving only a few who would call the lodge to order. This task fell mainly on the shoulders of Bro. D. S. Starr but despite his organizing ability and careful planning finances and other conditions imposed by the war would not permit the lodge to function. Inactivity for several months and failure to make Grand Lodge returns had placed it in a position beyond reviving. The next best substitute was a new lodge and Monticello Lodge No. 532 came into existence.

An attempt to revive the old rather than to form a new lodge is indicated by the following letter which was forwarded to Grand Lodge on May 20, 1863:

 

To the M. W. Grand Lodge of the State of New York:

The undersigned petitioners being Ancient Free and Accepted Master Masons having the prosperity of the fraternity at heart and willing to exert their best endeavors to promote and diffuse the genuine principles of Masonry respectfully represent that they are desirous of forming a new lodge in the Village of Monticello to be named Monticello Lodge No. 460.

They therefore pray for letters of dispensation or a warrant of constitution to empower them to assemble as a legal lodge to discharge the duties of Masonry in a regular and constitutional manner according to the original forms of the Order and the regulations of the Grand Lodge. They have nominated and recommend Brother David G. Starr to be the first Master, James Matthews the first Senior Warden and Eli S. Pelton to be the first Junior Warden of said lodge.

            If the prayer of the petition shall be granted they promise a strict conforming to the Constitution, Laws and Regulations of the Grand Lodge.

Monticello, Sullivan County, N. Y., Dec. 9, 1862.

JOHN A. THOMPSON

JAMES MATTHEWS

SOLOMON W. ROYCE

LEWIS DICKINSON

ELI S. PELTON

D. G. STARR

BRADLEY HALL.

 

Their reason for desiring to reorganize the defunct Lodge 460 rather than to form a new lodge was mainly for financial reasons which was explained in a letter to Grand Lodge just before its June, 1863 session:

 

Monticello, May 20th, 1863.

To the M.W. Grand Lodge of the State of New York:

            On behalf of the members of Monticello Lodge U. D. the undersigned fraternally beg leave to petition your Most Worshipful Body to remit to Monticello Lodge U. D. the amount of the feel for Dispensation and grant us the original warrant of Monticello Lodge No. 460 without fee, said warrant having been surrendered since the last session of the Grand Lodge.

In addition to, the necessary expenses attending the organization of our lodge, we have been obliged to pay the sum of One Hundred Dollars in order to satisfy those to whom the said Monticello Lodge 460 was indebted; and which said amount has entirely paid the indebtedness due by the said Monticello Lodge 460, it has also depleted our treasury and as the present Monticello Lodge is not in reality a new lodge, but rather a reorganization of an old one we trust that you will grant us this relief.

            W. Bro. Geo. W. Simmons is fully acquainted with the facts in regard to our lodge; we would refer to him.

Respectfully submitted,

D. G. STARR, W. M.

F. M. ST. JOHN, Secy.

 

Grand Lodge refused to grant their request to retain the same lodge number but there is no record which indicates that the Dispensation fee was remitted.

According to the present Grand Lodge Secretary, Charles Johnson, “there were no important adjustments made in 1862 which affected the charters of all lodges. The difficulties or adjustments leading to the formation of' the new lodge in Monticello must have been local ones in Monticello.

“The Charter of Sullivan Lodge No. 272 was declared forfeited along with those of a great many others who were in financial or other difficulties during the time usually known as the Morgan period. This charter was and remained invalid from the time it was duly declared forfeited.

“Monticello Lodge No. 460 surrendered its charter in 1862 and Monticello Lodge No. 532 was warranted June 11, 1863.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Callicoon Lodge

 

Each generation of men has found Masonry furnished something to its liking and the changing years seem to merely emphasize the fundamental virtues of the lodge. That men of the Civil War period in Sullivan County were very much alive to the Masonic influence is proven by historical facts.

In Callicoon, where Lodge No. 521 was getting its start at the beginning of the Civil War, it was especially evident that troubled times and war conditions only served to bring out more fully the underlying brotherhood of Masonry. And how sound were the convictions of these Civil War brothers is evident from the fact that the foundations they laid so well in the 1860's have endured down through the years, and Masonry has enjoyed a full measure of prosperity and success.

In 1942 as the draft calls its millions into the service of the country it is easily, understood how those men of 70 years ago felt as they answered the call. From their farms and country hamlets they went away. these Civil War Masons, but war, that mighty instrument of change in the affairs of mankind, did not make them any the less devoted to their Order when they came back. Masonry; went on where it had left off. The brothers who remained behind continued the work and when those who had been at war returned they found welcome and refreshing incentive to take up their affairs in their communities by renewing their Masonic ties in the return of peace.

Callicoon Lodge No. 521 is the oldest lodge in the county by number, and the pages of its minute books, yellowed with age, record a story of great brotherly love, sacrifice and devotion.

The movement for establishing Callicoon Lodge was inaugurated in the little hamlet of Thumansville (now Callicoon) by Aaron Hoagland, of the firm of Fraser and Hoagland, tanners and merchants, and Marcus Fraser, Jr., boss tanner for the firm. These two men were charter members of Monticello Lodge 460 and it was the communion with brethren of this lodge which inspired them to foster Masonry in, the western section of the county. Hoagland had been elected to membership in Lodge No. 460 on January 5, 1859, and the Frasers on August 10, 1859.

The first regular meeting of Callicoon Lodge under dispensation was conducted in the Thuman Hotel at what is now known as Callicoon Center on Saturday evening, November 16, 1861.

The Master was Marcus Fraser, Jr.; the Senior Warden, Frederick Thuman, proprietor of the hotel which bore his name. W. B. Buckley was the Junior Warden; Adam Sander, Treasurer; William Hill, Secretary; Aaron Hoagland, Senior Deacon; John Best, Senior Master of Ceremony; J. D. Schemerhorn, Junior Master of Ceremony, and Thomas Delaney, Tiler. Other members present were Charles Lamb and Lemuel L. Pendell.

Sander and Hill were also members of Monticello Lodge No. 460. When the lodge received its charter there were 22 names on its membership roll. On June 20, 1862, the lodge assembled in its rooms over the Hessinger store at Callicoon Center, formed in procession and proceeded to the German Lutheran church, where it was duly consecrated and constituted by the Grand Treasurer, John W. Simons, acting as Grand Master.

Assisting in the ceremonies were George E. Simons, Deputy Grand Master, and William G. White, Grand Marshal.

Marcus Fraser, Jr., the first Master presided over the lodge for the last time on September 20, 1862, when, like E. C. Howard, the Master of Monticello Lodge, No. 460, he went to the war. He mustered in as a first lieutenant of Company F, 143rd Regiment of Volunteers. Stricken with typhoid fever, he was taken to St. Aloysius Hospital in Washington, D. C., where he died on November 20, 1862.

            Hoagland went to the war with Fraser as orderly sergeant, followed the fortunes of the regiment and participated in all its battles. He was killed in action at Peach Tree Creek, near Atlanta, Ga.

            Callicoon Lodge furnished more than its full quota in defense of the Union. There were six in all. Callicoon Lodge was removed from Callicoon Center to Jeffersonville in the year 1885 for better quarters for its meetings. The last stated communication was held at Callicoon Center on May 23, 1885, and the first communication was held in Jeffersonville on July 25, 1885. The meetings at Jeffersonville were first held over the store of Henry Krenrich next to the Mansion House. In the Fall of, 1886 the Masonic Hall was built, the first in the county. The upper floor was used for lodge purposes while -the lower floor was leased to Bro. Krenrich. Krenrich was elected Master in 1875 and served for ten years. It was through him that the lodge was moved from Call1coon Center to Jeffersonville in 1865.

            The lodge celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in June, 1912, with a six-day fair and carnival. The net proceeds were $1,100 and all this without the employment of a single game of chance.

            For years, particularly during the period from 1916, when the lodge conducted a motion picture theatre in their building, Callicoon Lodge was the most prosperous organization of its kind in the county. The erection of another theatre in the village and a loss of revenue from rentals have deprived the lodge of a great many of the material things but its Masonic record still stands and the will to continue is still manifest in William Lieb who was first elected Master when 25, re-elected at the age of, fifty and now, more than two-score years later, is serving for the third time. He was first elected in 1895 and served one term, then again in 1920, serving through that year and the three succeeding years.

            During the early years of the lodge the Frasers, Thuman and Wenzel, were the lodge's leading spirits. Then came Lieb, Krenrich and Valentine Scheidell, the latter of whom served eighteen years, of which 17 were consecutive.

Bro. Krenrich was appointed District Deputy of the old Tenth Masonic District, which comprised the counties of Orange, Sullivan and Rockland. Bro. Lieb served as District Deputy of the Delaware-Sullivan District in 1930. Among his proud possessions is a Fifty-year Grand Lodge service medal.

 

 

Delaware Lodge

 

Delaware Lodge, the first to be mothered by Monticello Lodge, received its a charter on June 30, 1865, after operating nearly a year under dispensation.

            The move to form this lodge was inaugurated by J. Howard Beach, a member of Honesdale Lodge No. 218, and a group of Masons including Charles E. Beach. of Milanville, Pa.; L. Dow Tyler, James C. Curtis, Charles T. Curtis, Tobias Van Gelder and E. M. Calkins, of Cochecton; William Roper and John Barwig, of Fosterdale, and Dr. Isaac Forshay, of Fremont Center. Those who did not belong to the Pennsylvania Lodge claimed membership at Monticello and Callicoon, where the county's only other lodges were then located. As Beach lived in the State of Pennsylvania he did not become the lodge's first Master. An excellent substitute in the person of Tobias R. Van Gelder became first Master. Charles T. Curtis was elected Senior Warden and L. Dow Tyler, Junior Warden.

            The formal dedication took place at the Cochecton House, on July 7, 1865. Masons from Monticello, Thumansville, Hancock and Middletown attended the ceremonies.

In December, 1885, the lodge was transferred to Callicoon, where it has since enjoyed a prosperous and worthy existence.

Of the lodge's three District Deputies Charles T. Curtis, the son of a member of old Sullivan Lodge No.. 272, was the first to be appointed. He served during the year 1898, when William A. Sutherland was Grand Master. His son, Charles G. Curtis, was appointed District Deputy by Grand Master Harold J. Richardson in May, 1927.

            This year (1942) Leonard E. Bock was appointed District Deputy by Grand Master William F. Strang. B6ck was raised on February 17, 1917, served as Master during 1922 and 1923, was appointed Assistant Grand Lecturer in 1928 and served in this capacity until 1933. He was elected secretary of the lodge and has ably served in this office since.

Among the brethren of Callicoon Lodge who served as assistant Grand Lecturer was James H. Curtis, a Past Master, who was appointed in 1903 and served until 1905.

Raymond C. Tate was appointed to the office by the Grand Lecturer Henry C. Meacham, who also appointed Bock. Edwin S. Kelley, a past Master of the lodge is the present Assistant Grand Lecturer.

In June, 1931, the Grand Master, Charles H. Johnson, appointed Guernsey T. Cross, a Past Master, Grand, Representative of the Grand Lodge of Nevada, near the Grand Lodge of New York. That fall the Grand Master visited Delaware Lodge and presented Bro. Cross with his official apron.

            In 1936 the lodge Historical Committee completed a detailed history of the lodge. Credit for this work is given John E. Straub, William V. Dexter and Past Master J. Vance Hunt, Guernsey T. Cross and Fred Stabbert.

            Throughout its existence a friendly Masonic feeling has existed between the Delaware and Monticello lodges. The bonds of friendship were-made stronger in 1925 when John H. Hess, a Past Master of Monticello Lodge, was elected to honorary membership in the Delaware Lodge.

 

Livingston Manor Lodge

 

Livingston Manor Lodge No. 791 was organized by nine members of Callicoon, Lodge and received its charter on June 10, 1887.  The territory mapped out for this lodge was taken from a section most of which was within the jurisdiction of Callicoon Lodge.

Formation of the lodge resulted in a loss of about eighteen members to Callicoon Lodge and a few from the Monticello and Downsville lodges. The territory governed by this lodge was rich in Masonic material and its membership, comprised largely of farmers, increased rapidly under learned and enthusiastic Masons.

Following closely on the membership roll, where the names Doll, Sprague; Mott, Ellsworth, Seeley and Davis appear as charter members, are the names of the brothers William G. and John P. Johnston, the former, who is a Past Master and the father of Past Master and County Treasurer Roy C. Johnston.

Honor came to the lodge as early as 1900, when William B. Voorhees was appointed District Deputy Grand Master of the 16th District.

Bro. Voorhees distinguished himself not only among the brethren of this district but so capably executed his duties that he was reappointed for a second term.

Again in 1918 when the appointment came to Livingston Manor Jay Dreher was elevated to the Deputyship. He moved, away during the year, however, and the Grand Master named J. Wm. Davis as his successor.

The third District Deputy named from Livingston Manor Lodge was Donald L. Albee. He was among the lodge's youngest members and had served as Master In 1931. His thorough knowledge of Masonry and understanding of Masonic principles placed him high above other members of the lodge for this appointment and when it came in 1933 he received the unanimous support and endorsement of the brethren.

            One of its members most recently honored by Grand Lodge is C. H. Reynolds, who is now serving as Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of New York, near the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. This reward came in recognition of years of loyal service to the craft which includes outstanding work as district service man for lodges in Sullivan County.

Livingston Manor Lodge now has the distinction of a membership roll which includes the names of four Masons who possess fifty-year Grand Lodge service medals. The Johnston brothers received the medals two years ago. The last to be honored thusly are William Voorhies and M. R. Reed.

 

Mongaup Lodge

 

Mongaup Lodge No. 816 of Liberty received its charter on June 4, 1896. Its charter members were C. L. Beaumont, Frank Gotter, John A. Darbee, E. R. Dosenberry, George Gildersleeve, Richard Gildersleeve, John M. Hall. William B. Hand, J. N. Hardenberg, T. H. Houlihan, Henry Intermann, John H. Kilbourne, Jacob L. Matzinger, Roswell A. Monroe. Jacob Newkirk, S. W. Parsons, Charles S. Payne, John Reiner, Solomon A. Royce, and Rogers W. Sears.

These Masons transferred their membership from Monticello, Jeffersonville, Livingston Manor and New York City. John Reiner was the only member of Monticello Lodge who was a charter member of this lodge. There were other members of Monticello Lodge who transferred after the charter was, granted.

The lodge was formally constituted on June 23, 1896, with W. M. Combs, District Deputy of the Tenth Masonic District, in charge of ceremonies.

Charles L. Beaumont was the first Master and under his leadership the brethren became interested in the work and built a firm foundation upon which to rest in future years. Beaumont had received his Masonic knowledge in Albion Lodge No. 26 of New York City, where he had served as Master prior to coming to Liberty, where he had engaged in the insurance business.

The lodge held the first and several, of the succeeding meetings in Toni Hall. During this period Pierson and Cotter were rushing to completion a building with the second door planned for lodge purposes.

Frank Dodge, our Deputy County Treasurer, was one of the class of five who were the first initiates. He served as Master during the years 1906 and 1907.

Outstanding among the lodges of the district, Mongaup Lodge now enjoys a membership of more than 300.

Five of its members have served as District Deputy, the first of whom was William B. Hand. He is one of the lodge's life members and served as District Deputy in 1911. The following year Joseph Rosch served in the same capacity. Others to be likewise recognized by Grand Lodge were Joseph Rosch, Nial Curry, James B. Mance and J. O. Newkirk.

 

Deputy Grand Master and Charter Officers

of Fallsburg Lodge

 

 

Officers of the new Fallsburg Masonic Lodge are pictured above with Grand Lodge officers who had dedicated and consecrated the lodge a year before.

            From left to right are: Front row, Harry C. Resnick, master; Ira E. Terry, past district deputy Grand Master of Margaretville, under whose guidance the lodge was formed; Henry C. Turner, then deputy Grand Master of New York State Masons; Clarence Glass, who at that time Was deputy Grand Marshall and Charles Farrow, the lodge's first senior warden.

            In the rear, from left to right are: Louis Rozofsky chaplain; Emanuel Feldman, tiler; Morris Heller, junior warden; Louis Halprin, junior deacon; Isaac Siliberman, senior warden; Samuel Kronenberg, treasurer; Samuel Sprayregen, senior master of ceremonies and Anthony Salzman, junior master of ceremonies.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

 

In the Fall of 1937 Louis Halprin conceived the idea of organizing a Masonic lodge in South Fallsburgh and after discussing the proposition with several prominent residents of South Fallsburgh and Monticello at the Flagler Hotel in South Fallsburgh a Masonic club was organized for the sole purpose of bringing Brother Halprin's idea to reality.

            After the club was organized, meetings were held with the brethren of Monticello Lodge, who recommended the formation of a lodge at South Fallsburgh to be known as Fallsburg Lodge.

            At a meeting of the club on December 31, 1937, it was announced that Bro. Milton H. Henderson, who was then District Deputy, was in favor of the organization of a lodge at South Fallsburgh and that he would take up the matter with Grand Lodge.

            A conference was then held with the officers and Past Masters of Monticello Lodge at which the organization of Fallsburg Lodge was discussed and decided upon favorably. Immediately thereafter W. Bro. Harry C. Resnick prepared the necessary petition and other papers for procuring a dispensation from Grand Lodge and sent them to the various lodges in the Delaware-Sullivan Masonic District for action.

            At the meeting of February 16, 1938, it was announced that Monticello Lodge, at its meeting on February 11, 1938, had unanimously voted its consent to the organization of Fallsburg Lodge and it was also stated that the officers and Past Masters of Monticello Lodge had been most cooperative. By March 9, 1938, fourteen of the lodges in the district had given their consent to the formation of Fallsburg Lodge.

            In the meantime, through the courtesy, cooperation and assistance of Monticello Lodge, the exemplification of the three degrees was rehearsed and the work put on by the brethren of Fallsburg Lodge.

            The first degree was exemplified on April 14, 1938; the second degree on April 22, 1938, and the third degree on May 20, 1938. In August of 1938 the petition and other papers for the dispensation were filed with Grand Lodge. On November 16, 1938, which was the last meeting of Fallsburg Club, it was announced that the dispensation of Fallsburg Lodge had been granted on November 9, 1938. Immediate arrangements were thereupon made for the institution of Fallsburg Lodge on November 22,1938, in the Masonic Temple of Monticello Lodge. At the appointed time and place Fallsburg Lodge was instituted by R. W. Henry C. Turner, who was then Deputy Grand Master of Masons of the State of New York. The officers were then installed and Fallsburg Lodge commenced to function. Candidates were admitted and degrees conferred.

            On March 29, 1939, a special communication was held after a dispensation was duly procured from the Grand Master and the Master Mason Degree conferred upon a class of five at the Masonic Temple of Monticello Lodge.

            On April 12, 1939, the last meeting of Fallsburg. Lodge under dispensation was held, at which time all reports and papers were made ready for submission to the Grand Lodge and petition was made for the granting of a charter to Fallsburg Lodge, U. D.

            At the Grand Lodge convention held in May of 1939, Fallsburg Lodge as duly granted its charter and became officially known as Fallsburg Lodge No. 1122, F. & A. M.

            On November 8, 1939, Fallsburg Lodge was duly constituted by R. W. Henry C. Turner, who was then Deputy Grand Master of Masons of the State of New York. Bro. Harry C. Resnick was duly installed as the first Master. Under his capable leadership the lodge continued to function. Bro. Charles Tarrow was the second Master and Bro. Isaac Silberman was the third and present Master of Fallsburg Lodge No. 1122.

            The names of 44 appear on the charter roll.

            The lodge now has a membership of 66. Since the lodge was organized two members have died.

            The lodge’s six members who are serving in the armed forces are Daniel Birnbaum, Arthur Tarrow, Nathan Tanzman. Seymour Karow; Emanuel Feldman and Jack Hechtman.

 

District Deputies

Year

Name

Lodge

Masonic District

1865

David G. Starr

Monticello No. 532

7th

1866

David G. Starr

Monticello No. 532

7th

1867

L. S. Straw

Newburgh No. 309

7th

1868

L. S. Straw

Newburgh No. 309

7th

1869

G. Fred Wiltsie

Hudson River No. 607

7th

1870

G. Fred Wiltsie

Hudson River No. 607

7th

1871

A. Edward Suffern

Hoffman No. 412

7th

1872

A. Edward Suffern

Hoffman No. 412

7th

1873

A. Edward Suffern

Hoffman No. 412

7th

1874

Charles B. Gray

Port Jervis No. 328

10th

1875

Andrew S. Weller

Wawarsing No. 582

10th

1876

Andrew S. Weller

Wawarsing No. 582

10th

1877

George Dickey

Newburgh No. 309

10th

1878

George Dickey

Newburgh No. 309

10th

1879

George Dickey

Newburgh No. 309

10th

1880

George Dickey

Newburgh No. 309

10th

1881

Nicholas Demarest

Standard No. 711

10th

1882

Nicholas Demarest

Standard No. 711

10th

1883

John E. Kraft

Kingston No. 10

10th

1884

Oscar L. Eastman

Rondout No. 343

10th

1885

Mervin E. Deyo

Wawarsing No. 582

10th

1886

Mervin E. Deyo

Wawarsing No. 582

10th

1887

Cornelius S. Gibb

Hudson River No. 607

10th

1888

Cornelius S. Gibb

Hudson River No. 607

10th

1889

Benjamin B. Odell

Newburgh No. 309

10th

1890

Benjamin B. Odell

Newburgh No. 309

10th

1891

Edward D. Woodhull

Monroe No. 173

10th

1892

Edward D. Woodhull

Monroe No. 173

10th

1893

John B. Allegier

Rondout No. 343

10th

1894

Henry Krenrich

Callicoon No. 521

10th

1895

Wilbur M. Combs

Monroe No. 172

10th

1896

George W. Peck

Hudson River No. 607

10th

1897

Walter G. Edgerton

Delhi No. 439

16th

1998

Charles T. Curtis

Delaware No. 561

16th

1899

Matthew W. Marvin

Walton No. 559

16th

1900

William B. Voorhees

Livingston Manor No. 791

16th

1901

William B. Voorhees

Livingston Manor No. 791

16th

1902

Elbridge L. Hitt

Delhi No. 439

16th

1903

William B. Hand

Mongaup No. 816

16th

1904

John W. Telford

Margaretville No. 389

16th

1905

Valentine Scheidell

Callicoon No. 521

16th

 

District Deputies

Year

Name

Lodge

Masonic District

1906

George L. Hubbell

St. Andrews No. 289

16th

1907

Frank W. Hartman

Downsville No. 464

16th

1908

H. Hynden Hatch

Monticello No. 532

16th

1909

J. Henry Arbuckle

Walton No. 559

16th

1910

Arthur F. Bouton

Coeur de Lion No. 571

16th

1911

Joseph Rosch

Mongaup No. 816

16th

1912

George F. Sullard

Franklin No. 562

16th

1913

Delos Eichenberg

Hancock No. 552

16th

Later

Edward O. Harkness

Delhi No. 439

16th

1914

Nial C. Curry

Mongaup No. 816

16th

1915

Nial C. Curry

Mongaup No. 816

16th

1916

A. Lindsay O’Connor

St. Andrew’s No. 289

16th

1917

Frank H. McKinnon

Sidney No. 801

16th

1918

Jay Dreher

Liv. Manor No. 791

16th

Later

J. William Davis

Liv. Manor No. 791

Del.-Sull.

1919

J. Frisbie Bouton

Coeur de Lion No. 571

Del.-Sull.

1920

Samuel H. Fancher, Jr.

Margaretville No. 389

Del.-Sull.

1921

George D. Pelton

Monticello No. 532

Del.-Sull.

1922

Hector S. Marvin

Delhi No. 439

Del.-Sull.

1923

Andrew C. Fenton

Walton No. 559

Del.-Sull.

1924

James B. Mance

Mongaup No. 816

Del.-Sull.

1925

John B. Warner

Mongaup No. 816

Del.-Sull.

1926

Norman G. Ostrander

Masonville No. 606

Del.-Sull.

1927

Charles G. Curtis

Delaware No. 561

Del.-Sull.

1928

Vincent N. Elwood

Hancock No. 552

Del.-Sull.

1929

William H. Perry

Sidney No. 801

Del.-Sull.

1930

William Lieb

Callicoon No. 521

Del.-Sull.

1931

Archie S. Holmes

Downsville No. 464

Del.-Sull.

1932

Ralph A. Hoyt

St. Andrew’s No. 289

Del.-Sull.

1933

Donald L. Albee

Liv. Manor No. 791

Del.-Sull.

1934

Ira M. Clearwater

Deposit No. 396

Del.-Sull.

1935

Adelbert Kingsbury

Walton No. 559

Del.-Sull.

1936

Charles G. Burns

Monticello No. 532

Del.-Sull.

1937

Milton Henderson

Delhi No. 439

Del.-Sull.

1938

Ira Terry

Margaretville No. 389

Del.-Sull.

1939

Jay O. Newkerk

Mongaup No. 816

Del.-Sull.

1940

Harry A. Ward

Franklin No. 562

Del.-Sull.

1941

Jay F. Hager

Masonville No. 606

Del.-Sull.

1942

Leonard Bock

Delaware No. 501

Del.-Sull.

 

Masonic Lodges In The Delaware-Sullivan District

 

No.

Name

Location

County

Chartered or Instituted

289

St. Andrews

Hobart

Delaware

4-12-1896

6-08-1853

389

Margaretville

Margaretville

Delaware

8-01-1855

 

396

Deposit

Deposit

Delaware

6-26-1856

 

439

Delhi

Delhi

Delaware

6-15-1908

 

464

Downsville

Downsville

Delaware

6-22-1859

1879

521

Callicoon

Jeffersonville

Sullivan

1861

 

532

Monticello

Monticello

Sullivan

1862

 

552

Hancock

Hancock

Delaware

6-09-1965

 

559

Walton

Walton

Delaware

6-17-1865

 

561

Delaware

Callicoon

Sullivan

1864

 

562

Franklin

Franklin

Delaware

9-07-1864

 

571

Coeur de Lion

Roxbury

Delaware

6-15-1865

 

606

Masonville

Masonville

Delaware

6-11-1866

 

791

Livingston Manor

Livingston Manor

Sullivan

1887

 

801

Sidney

Sidney

Delaware

July, 1891

 

816

Mongaup

Liberty

Sullivan

1896

 

1122

Fallburgh

South Fallsburg

Sullivan

1938

 

 

NOTE: Lodges with two dates are those which became inactive. Latest date is the one which appears on charter under which they are now operating.

M...W... WILLIAM F. STRANG

GRAND MASTER

 

            M...W...William F. Strang, Grand Master of Masons, State of New York, has been a member of our fraternity since I 1905, and his experience in Masonic work over a long period of years has provided for him an excellent background for the important and honored position he now holds.

            M...W... Bro. Strang was initiated, passed and raised in Seneca Lodge No. 113 at Waterloo, N. Y. but dimitted from this lodge on October 26, 1914. During the same year he became one of the charter members of Seneca Lodge No. 920 at Rochester, Monroe county, N.Y. He served as master of the Rochester Lodge in 1926; was district deputy Grand Master of the First Monroe District during the 1928-1929 term.

            So outstanding was his work as district deputy that he won the appointment of Grand Lodge Commissioner of Appeals. In this capacity he served from June 29 to June 1932. In 1934 he was appointed to serve with the committee on constitutions. In 1939, a year before he retired as committeeman on constitutions he was appointed to the committee on Masonic Refugees.

            Our Grand Master served as Junior Grand Warden from the Grand Lodge session in 1932 until 1936 when he was elected Senior Grand Warden. He served in the Grand West until Grand Lodge elected him Deputy Grand Master in 1940. The Master of Monticello lodge, several of our brethren had the pleasure of attending the Grand Lodge session in June 1942 when M...W... Bro. Strang was elevated to the high station of Grand Master.

            M...W... Bro. Strang was born September 14, 1883 at Junius, Seneca County, N.Y. He was graduated from Waterloo High School in 1899; from Cornell University, with an A. B. degree, in 1904 and received an L. L. B. at Albany Law School in 1906. He is an attorney at law at Rochester with the firm of Strang, Bodine. Wright and Combs.

            He is a member of Rochester, New York State and American Bar Association, was president of the Rochester Bar Association in 1928 is a member of the University Club, of Rochester, the Genesee Valley Club the Monroe Golf Club, Society of the Genesee, Empire State Society and Sons of the American Revolution. At present he is a member and Second VicePresident of Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

 

M...W... CHARLES JOHNSON

GRAND SECRETARY

 

            There is perhaps no Mason in the state who is more widely known or more revered by members of the craft than M...W... Bro. Charles Henry Johnson, our Grand Secretary.

            Although we have no record of when M...W... Bro. Johnson was raised in Ancient City Lodge No. 452 at Albany or his affiliation with Holland Lodge No. 8, of New York City we are told that he served as Chaplain as far back as 1911. The following year he was appointed senior deacon and after serving as junior and senior wardens in 1913 and 1914 he was elected Master.

            A graduate of both Boston and Harvard Universities he is not only well educated but also possesses unusual oratorical and business ability. These unusual requisites were not overlooked when the Grand Master appointed him deputy for the 17th district in 1917.

            From his appointment as district deputy until he became Grand Master in 1930 he served In many capacities of responsibility which include that of trustee of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund, 1918-1920; Junior Grand Warden, 1920-1924; Senior Grand Warden, 1924-1926; Deputy Grand Master, 1928-1930; Chairman, Grand Lodge Committee on Unemployment; Chairman, Grand Lodge Committee on Publication; Chairman, Grand Lodge Board of General Activities; Grand Representative to Massachusetts, 1929; Grand Master, 1931-1932; Grand Secretary from 1932; elected Past Grand Master A.F.&A.M., Idaho, September, 1937.

            In public life he served with distinction as Commissioner of Social Welfare of the State of New York and is still a member of the State Board for the First Judicial District. He also served as member of the New York State Commission for Mental Defectives and was a member of the New York State Commission to examine laws relating to child welfare until it was discontinued on July 1, 1925.

            He is a past president of the American Prison Association, 1924, past president of Albany Rotary Club, member of New York Rotary Club and past president. Central Y.M.C.A., Albany, N.Y.

            Dr. Johnson served in Russia and the Near East in 1922 representing the American Relief Administration, of which Herbert Hoover was chairman. He was appointed by President Coolidge and Governor Smith to represent this country and New York State at the International Prison Congress held in London, August 1925, also by President Hoover to the International Prison Congress held in Budapest, 1930.

            He has written many articles on institutions and work in the field of charity. He served as deputy warden of Sing Sing prison.

            He has also been Supt. of State Reformatory. Cheshire, Conn.; Supt. of Albany Orphan Asylum, Albany; Supt. of Leake and Watts Orphan House, Yonkers, N.Y. He is a Past President of the National Conference of Juvenile Agencies; Past President of New York State Conference of Charities and Corrections; Past President of the Board of Visitors, State Training School for Boys and a member of the New York Committee on Child Labor.

            Dr. Johnson is a leading authority on the care of the defective, dependent and criminal classes and widely known as a lecturer on such topics.

            Masonic organization affiliations other than the Symbolical Lodge, mentioned, have been: Capital City Chapter, No. 242, R. A. M., Past High Priest, 1913; Past Grand Representative of Tennessee; Dewitt Clinton Council, No. 22, Past Master, 1922-1923; Grand Master of Grand Council, 1929-1930; 'Grand Representative to England and Wales; Temple Commandery, No. 2, K. T., Past Commander 1925, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 33, 1921, Past Master of Grand Lodge of Perfection, 1925. Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of Mystic Shrine, Cyprus Temple, Albany, Past Potentate, 1926.

            St. Paul's Conclave, New York City, Knights of Red Cross of Constantine, Past Sovereign, 1927. Grand Council Royal and Select Masters, Grand Master General Grand Council, R. S. M.; General Grand Conductor, and at present is Master of the American Lodge of Research.