Untitled Document

The Beginning to 1850

Freemasonry in England - The origins of Freemasonry are the subject of great debate. That there is a connection with the operative stonemasons who built the great medieval cathedrals and castles is generally accepted by Masonic historians – but whether that connection was direct or indirect is the subject of speculation.

The first record of the ‘making’ of an English Freemason is Elias Ashmole, the antiquarian and herald, whose collections formed the basis of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. He recorded in his diary that a lodge met at his father-in-law’s house in Warrington, Cheshire on 16 October 1646 to make him a Mason. None of those involved was a stonemason. In the later 1600s there is further evidence for the existence of Freemasonry as a separate organisation unrelated to groups controlling the stonemason’s craft.

Organised Freemasonry became established on 24 June 1717 when four London lodges came together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House, St Paul’s Churchyard, formed themselves into a Grand Lodge and elected Anthony Sayer, Gentleman, as their Grand Master – the first Grand Lodge in the world.

From the 1730s lodges were set up in Europe, the West Indies, North America and India.

Excerpts from the book "the History of Masonry in Monroe County" written by the R.W. Herman A. Sarachan...

The year was 1811. Our country with James Madison as President, was in turmoil. England had been for some time at war with France, and had imposed a blockade against all shipping to the enemy country. Our young nation had retaliated by passing the Embargo Act (1807) and the Non-Intercourse Act (1809), prohibiting all trade with England and her colonies. These acts stimulated illegal trading with Canada, and helped build up the economy of the Genesee country.

In that year (1811), a group of twelve brethren residing in the town of Riga, then in Genesee County drew up a petition to the Grand Lodge of the State of New York requesting dispensation to form a Masonic lodge, "to be named Harmony Lodge of Riga." The petition was endorsed by Genesee Lodge 130 at Avon. The dispensation was granted by De Witt Clinton, Grand Master, and John Wells, Grand Secretary on February 7, 1812, and the charter issued on March 6, 1813. The lodge was formally constituted and its officers duly installed by Genesee Lodge 130 on May 22, 1813.

If Harmony Lodge 212 was the first lodge in Monroe County to receive a charter, it was not the first to be organized. That honor goes across the river to the town of Pittsford, then part of a much larger town named Boyle. This area was one of the earliest to be settled, and here a group of 24 Masons met on August 21, 1810 and drafted a petition to Grand Lodge for dispensation to form a Masonic lodge "to be distinguished as the Morning Star Lodge and to be located in the town of Boyle, Ontario County."

De Witt Clinton, then governor of New York, also Grand Master visited the area in 1810 to tour the route that was laid out for the projected Erie Canal. His diary records the following entry on July 27, 1810: "We arrived at Perrin's Tavern, - Boyle. The sign of the tavern contains Masonic emblems. He behaved to me with great civility, conversed about Masonry, and presented me with a Masonic sermon." Soon after Clinton's visit, the petition was prepared. It carried the recommendation of Mt. Moriah Lodge 112, Palmyra, and Zion Lodge 172, Bloomfield.

The Morgan Affair

William Morgan was born in 1774 in Virginia. In 1819 he was married to a girl sixteen years of age and two years later he moved to Canada and became a distiller. Fire destroyed his brewery and reduced him to poverty after which he moved again. In 1823, he was at Rochester, New York and took up residence in Batavia, New York in 1826. While he had visited lodges before this time, there is no evidence to show where (or if) he was initiated, despite his rather complete knowledge of the ritual. He was denied admission to the local Lodge and Chapter (of York Rite Masonry) at Batavia for reasons unknown. (Refusal to admit a Mason to a lodge meeting is quite rare but does happen when a visitor's status as a Mason is in question.) However, it is confirmed that he received the York Rite Royal Arch Degree at LeRoy, New York in 1825.

When a new Chapter was proposed in his own town, his name was on the petition but objection was made to his being included and a new petition was prepared without it. Resenting this action, Morgan apparently became bitter and sought revenge. He entered into a conspiracy with the local newspaper editor to publish a malicious book on Freemasonry.(Some reports indicate that David C. Miller, the newspaper editor, had received the Entered Apprentice - first - degree in Freemasonry but objections arose and he was prevented from proceeding further. This, some Masonic scholars assert, could have given rise to his interest in taking part in the scheme of Morgan's. There was great resentment in the town and the newspaper building was set on fire but no serious damage was done. As a result of this hotheadedness, four Freemasons were indicted and three were sent to jail. In fact, the Masons themselves offered a reward for the guilty party and some assert that Miller set the fire himself. There is, however, no proof as to what actually happened.

Morgan was arrested several times on various claims, some real and some apparently 'trumped up', possibly at the instigation of the local Masons. In one of these instances, a man came to pay the bail for Morgan and from that day on, Morgan was supposedly never seen again. Some 'eye-witness' reports tell of him being taken away by a group of men carrying torches. Other 'eye-witness' reports indicate that he was given a horse and wagon and rode away alone. There were at least a half-dozen 'eye-witness' reports, all of which were at odds with the other.

Those involved issued the following statement;

"The plan from inception to completion, contemplated nothing more than a deportation of Morgan, by friendly agreement between the parties, either to Canada or some other country. Ample means were provided for the expenses and the after-support of Morgan and his family. This plan had been perfected from the fact that the minds of Masonic brethren had been agitated by rumors that William Morgan was preparing an exposition and was preparing to give it to the public. It was then mutually agreed that Morgan would destroy the document, refuse all interviews with his partner and hold himself in readiness to go to Canada, settle down there and upon arrival he should receive 500.00 dollars with his written pledge to stay there and never return to the States. We also agreed that Mogan's family should be cared for and sent to Canada as soon as a suitable home had been provided for them. What a tremendous blunder we all made! It was scarcely a week until we saw what trouble was before us. Morgan had sold us out as he had sold his friends in Batavia. Within forty eight hours after his arrival in Canada he had gone. He was traced to a point down the river not far from Port Hope where he had sold his horse and disappeared. He had doubtless got on a vessel there and left the country."

The political backlash was profound, " The pressure was so strong that withdrawals by individuals and bodies were numerous. In 1827, two hundred and twenty-seven lodges were represented in the Grand Lodge of New York. In 1835, the number had dwindled to forty-one. Every Lodge in the State of Vermont surrendered its Charter or became dormant; and the Grand Lodge, for several years, ceased to hold its sessions. As in Vermont, so also in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut; and in lesser degrees in several other states. The Masonic Temple was cleft in twain; its brotherhood scattered, its trestleboard without work; its working tools shattered. Thus Masonry endured the penalty of the mistaken zeal of those fearful brethren who thought that the revealing of the ritual to profane eyes would destroy the Order and who hoped to save it by removing the traitor within the camp."

Space here is not sufficient to retell the interesting, often exciting, and always varied story of the political campaigns which were predicated on, and took much of their ammunition from, the anti- Masonic excitement which followed the Morgan affair. It is not to be supposed that the abduction and alleged — never proved — murder of Morgan was the sole cause of this outburst, any more than was the assassination in 1914 the sole cause of the World War. Both were triggers which set off guns which, in turn, caused other explosions. Suffice it here that a wave of hysteria was seized upon by able politicians, fanned by demagogues, increased by the righteous indignation of good men and true who saw not beneath the surface, helped onward by press and pulpit with the best of intentions but little understanding, until the whole east flamed with passion and Freemasons were spit upon in the streets, lodges threw away their charters, and Freemasonry bowed its head to a storm as unjust and undeserved as all religious persecutions have always been.

Like any other hysteria, this passed. Passions wore themselves away. A few sturdy and brave men stood staunchly by a few Grand Lodges with high courage and the strength of the right never ceased to proclaim their allegiance to the principles of the Order. Little by little, Freemasonry raised its head; one by one, lodges took heart; brother by brother, Craftsmen returned to their lodge.

Prior to the Morgan Affair, a number of lodges were developed in every corner of Monroe County; Morning Star in Pittsford, Wells in Gates, Penfield Union in Penfield, Parma, Thomkins in Scottsville, Henrietta, Monroe in Brockport, Brighton, Union in Mendon, Hamilton in Rochester, and Monroe Encampment in Rochester. But by 1830, all Masonic bodies in Monroe County had ceased to exist.

The Next 50 Years - 1850-1900

Rochester was a boom town and became a city in 1834. Numerous mills at the upper and lower falls produced the fine flour which gained it the title of the "Flour City." The Erie Canal was for many years the main vehicle for freight shipments but when the railroads expanded their service beyond the western frontier of Western New York the milling industry began a slow migration into the mid-west challenging Rochester's dominance in the flour industry.

While the milling industry faded slowly, other industries emerged and Rochester flourished both socially and culturally. By the mid-1850's the city streets were being illuminated by gas lamps, the Board of Education supervised a tax based school system, there were fifty-five churces in the city with most all faiths represented.

A number of changes had taken place in the Grand Lodge after the Morgan Affair. Many of these changes were implemented to help ensure that the fraternity would not be breached by imposters. Members carried "Dues Cards" with the proper seals and identifications. "Test Oath of Secrecy, " and a "Test Word" which was a special password imparted to the members who remained faithful. In 1854, inter-communication was improved by the development of the District Deputy system.

In 1846, the Monroe County lodges begin to emerge again beginning with Valley lodge receiving their charter on June 6, 1846. Within months lodges again emerge in Brockport, Penfield, and Rochester.

In Honeyoye Falls Union Star Lodge was organized in 1857 and in that same year, Northfield at Pittsford also received their charter Within two years Fairport and Etolian of Spencerport were chartered followed by Henrietta and Webster Lodges.

In 1859, the mood of the nation was tense, debates were many, opinions were strong, and sides were being taken, dividing friends and even families. Abolition was strong in this area. But caution was quickly giving way and stumbling towards a confrontation that would test our young nation. And in 1859, the whole world waited and watched. It wouldn’t be long before the forces collided.

Close to home, a great deal of sympathy was found for those escaping the bonds of slavery. They traveled from the south to the north and finally the west to the east through our own back yards where a light for freedom stood secretly shining. And in our midst there were many that would grow famous for their stands… Frederick Douglas, Susan B. Anthony, and others, others who worked hard for the Abolitionist's cause.

Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860. While most people still hoped that a compromise could be worked out, when the Abolitionists arranged to hold a mass-meeting in January of 1861, the crowd that gathered in the hall booed and shouted and would not permit any of the speakers, including Susan B. Anthony, to be heard.

Within a few months, Lincoln would pass through the Rochester area on February 18, 1861 on his way to his inaugural. Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederate States the very next day. Lincoln would return on those very same tracks four years later in his funeral car.

There are many recorded stories of Masons who encountered each other on opposite sides of the field of battle and how they were able to see through the ferocity of war and show brotherly bond.

Perhaps the best example of these ties of brotherhood occurred on the battlefield at Gettysburg. This battle, the turning point of the War, saw 93,000 Federal troops doing battle with 71,000 Confederates. Of those numbers, more than 35,000 were killed or wounded in the three days of fighting from 1 July to 3 July, 1863. Of the men who fought, 17,930 were Freemasons, including the roughly 5,600 who became casualties.

While the end of the war brought joy to the Monroe communities as it did everywhere else, the fine spirit shown by Grant and Lee was shortlived when President Lincoln was assassinated in April, 1865.

As the nation recovered from its terrible losses, Rochester and the surrounding area continued to evolve. Once considered the nations breadbasket because of the many flourmills along the Genesee, the nation’s expansion westward into the mid-west slowly eliminated the flour monopoly Rochester and the surrounding area once enjoyed.

The industrial age was taking hold of Rochester and the boys returning from the war found less and less work on the farm so they turned to the factories that were expanding rapidly in the city. Over the next 20 years, Rochester’s population would triple to almost 160,000 people.

Rochester had slowly changed from the flour city to the flower city, its nurseries and seed industry becoming second to none. But the real growth had taken shape in the many clothing and manufacturing businesses sprouting up everywhere. There were over 60 shoe factories alone and the clothing industry was second only to New York City. George Eastman’s Kodak was revolutionizing the use of the camera and he built the first of his factories at Kodak Park in 1889. And the list of entrepreneurs goes on, Bausch, Lomb, Ritter, Gleason, and Strong, names that would become synonymous with the success of Rochester.

Rochester’s borders seemed to perpetually flex outward; the number of city lodges also grew, tripling during that same period - Churchville, Oatka in Scottsville, Corinthian, Corinthian Temple, Fame Lodge and more. Many of the lodges would develop and grow with the factories that their members worked in. The lodges would be associated to where their members worked and many of the lodges became synonymous with local factories, Corinthian Temple the "RG&E lodge," Germania Lodge with Bausch & Lomb, and so on.

Rochester , June 1893

As the 1800's were coming to a close the “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show was taking place at the Driving Park and all of Rochester had flocked to see the great show. The show finished and departed just in time to miss the terrible storm of June 29 when four inches of rain fell on Rochester causing major flooding everywhere. On June 22, 1893 sometime between the show and the rain, a Charter was issued to Corinthian Temple Lodge 805 on Lake Ave. the last lodge of the 19th century to receive a Charter in the Monroe District.