WILLIAMSBURG. 1773, November 6. No. 457. Williamsburg Lodge. Numbered 364 in 1780, 365 in 1781, and 296 in 1792. Kept on Register until 1813. [? No. 6, G. L. of V.]

YORK TOWN. 1755, August 1. No. 205. At Swan Tavern, York Town. Numbered 167 in 1770, 133 in 1780, 134 in 1781, and 119 in 1792.

Central America.

Erased in 1813.

BLACK RIVER, Musqueta Shore (Nicaragua). 1763, March 8. No. 300. Lodge of Regularity at St. John's Hall. Numbered 240 in 1770, 191 in 1780, 192 in 1781, and 164 in 1792. Erased in 1813.

BELIZE. 1783, September 21. No. 309. Lodge of Amity at the Haul-over-up-theRiver Belize, in the Bay of Honduras. Numbered 246 in 1770, 195 in 1780, 196 in 1781, and 167 in 1792. Erased in 1813.

BELIZE. 1831, June 17. No. 860. Royal Sussex Lodge. Numbered 589 in 1832. Erased June 4, 1862.

HONDURAS. 1820, June 19. No. 723. British Constitutional Lodge, Bay of Honduras. Numbered 470 in 1832. Erased June 4, 1862.

Argentine Republic.

CHAPTER III.

SOUTH AMERICA.

BUENOS AYRES. 1853, June 10. No. 900. Excelsior Lodge. Numbered 617 in 1863. Still on English Register.

BUENOS AYRES. 1859, May 16. No. 1092. Teutonia Lodge. Numbered 790 in 1863. Erased October 11, 1872.

BUENOS AYRES. 1864, August 6. No. 1025.
Register.

CORDOBA (or Cordova). 1878, February 22.

Still on Register.

Lodge Star of the South. Still on

No. 1740. Southern Cross Lodge.

ROSARIO DE SANTA FÉ. 1875, July 5. No. 1553. Light of the South Lodge. Still on Register.

Brazil.

PERNAMBUCO. 1856, April 25. No. 970. Southern Cross Lodge. Numbered 672 in 1863. Still on Register.

RIO DE JANEIRO. 1834, December 17. No. 616. Orphan Lodge. Erased June 4, 1862.

RIO DE JANEIRO. 1841, July 6. No. 703. St. John's Lodge. Erased June 4, 1862.

British Guiana.

GEORGE TOWN. 1813, July 28. (A) No. 358. Union Lodge. Numbered 462 in 1813, 308 in 1832, and 247 in 1863. Still on Register.

GEORGE TOWN. 1827. No. 812. Mount Olive Lodge. Numbered 541 in 1832, and 385 in 1863. Still on Register.

NEW AMSTERDAM. 1839, August 5. No. 682. Lodge of Fellowship. Erased June 4, 1862.

NEW AMSTERDAM. 1867, July 2. No. 1183. Phoenix Lodge. Still on Register.

Columbia (United States of), formerly New Granada.

SANTA MARTA. 1848, February 3. No. 808. Lodge Amistad Unida. Numbered 550 in 1863. Still on Register.

Chili.

VALPARAISO. 1872, June 28. No. 1411. Lodge of Harmony. Still on Register.

Uruguay.

MONTE VIDEO. 1861, September 5. No. 1178. Acacia Lodge. Numbered 876 in 1863. Still on Register.

Venezuela.

ANGOSTURA. 1824. No. 792. Logia de la Concordia Venezolana. Numbered 524 in 1832. Erased June 4, 1862.

Youre paternally
Moihane

DIVISION V.

FIRST MERIDIAN.

History of the Colonial and Revolutionary Period and Atlantic Slope: The Grand Lodges of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

BY CHARLES E. MEYER, P.M.,

Melita Lodge, No. 295, of Pennsylvania.

INTRODUCTION.

Early Organization of the Craft. The difficulty of writing a history of Freemasonry lies in the secrecy with which Freemasonry has, in a great measure, enshrined itself. No man can tell whence it originally came, nor can any man trace accurately the manner in which it was transmitted from one to the other, until it has reached all parts of the civilized world. How came it to America? Who brought it here? The brother who did must have found here, or brought with him, a kindred spirit ready to give and receive. We shall not repeat or reiterate what has already been written as to its early history in the old country. There were no doubt many Freemasons among the early immigrants from England. Prior to the formation of the first Grand Lodge at London, in 1717, Masons assembled annually, at least, at some central point, and met in lodge, selecting the oldest Master present as Grand Master to preside over their deliberations. There were different classes of Masons, - the Operative Mason, the Speculative Mason who was free of the Craft, the Apprentice, the Fellow or Craftsman, the Masters, the Wardens, and the Masters of the Work. Each one had his allotted work to do, and all disputes were settled, intricate problems solved, and the designs on the trestle-board were studied with advantage to all. History is silent as to what led to the coming together of the Masons of the four lodges or assemblies in London, at the Apple Tree Tavern. It may have been that the Operative brethren were

tired of their wandering life, and wanted a fixed place of meeting. It may have been that the erection of the old minsters, cathedrals, and abbeys was ended, and that a period of idleness was upon the Craft. Or it may have been that the sun shone brightly on the fame of the great architect, Sir Christopher. Wren, whose sole monument is St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and like our hero-worshippers of the present time, he was selected as the Grand Master of the Craft. Suffice it to say that a wonderful change came over Freemasonry in 1717, and the spinning-wheel of time then began the gathering together of the fibres of old Masonic history; and as it turned slowly at first, these fibres were wound and twisted together, making a homely thread, and these, gathered by cunning hands and constantly expanding minds, in time formed that which. now forms the basis of a beautiful piece of work, the Masonic history of the nineteenth century.

These old Masons were not warranted to meet by any legal paper; they were never duly constituted into a lodge. They were, when assembled, sovereign and independent of one another, yet governed by the "Ancient Charges of Freemasons." We can imagine them meeting on the highest hill or in the deepest valley, where cowans or eavesdroppers could not intrude, and the crude work of the Master, with the roll of the Old Charges of Freemasons in his hand, reading therefrom to the candidate, and his affirmation thereto, and the vow, "So help me God and halidom,” which made him a Freemason.

It was years before the authority or prerogative of a Grand Lodge was understood or recognized. How all is now changed! A lodge cannot bc lawful now unless duly warranted and constituted. At first, the brethren met and agreed to form a lodge, then the power of assembling the brethren as a lodge was vested in a Grand Master, who authorized the meeting; afterward, the Grand Master deputed this power to his Deputy or Provincial Grand Master, and he authorized or recognized the meeting of a lodge. First a deputation, afterward a warrant; this was followed by the solemn ceremonies of constituting into a regular lodge.

CHAPTER I.

THE COLONIAL AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.

Freemasonry's Introduction into the American Colonies. In 1680 there came to South Carolina one John Moore, a native of England, who before the close of the century removed to Philadelphia, and in 1703 was commissioned by the king as Collector of the Port. In a letter' written by him in 1715,

1 This letter is in the possession of Horace W. Smith, of Philadelphia. John Moore was the father of William Moore, whose daughter became the wife of Provost Smith, who was a Modern Mason in 1775, and afterward Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Ancients), and whose son was Grand Master of Masons of Pennsylvania in 1796 and 1797.

he mentions having "spent a few evenings in festivity with my Masonic brethren." This is the earliest mention we have of there being members of the Craft residing in Pennsylvania or elsewhere.

The intention of King James and Queen Anne to unite the American Colonies into three or four separate governments, make them vice-royalties and dependants on the Lords and Commons of England, formed a basis no doubt for the issuing of deputations for establishing Freemasonry in America. Pennsylvania (Delaware, or the lower counties), New Jersey, and New York were to form one province; New England, a second province; Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, the third province. That this intention was known in London by the Grand Masters is evidenced in the issuing of deputations to Daniel Coxe, of Burlington, for New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; Henry Price, of Boston, for New England; James Graeme, of Charleston, for the Carolinas.

Provincial Grand Masters. On the fifth day of June, 1730, the first authority for the assembling of Freemasons in America was issued by the Duke of Norfolk, Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of England, to Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. On April 30, 1733, Lord Viscount Montague issued a deputation to Henry Price, of Boston, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of the Craft in New England. A comparison of these two deputations will show wherein they differ, and also of the powers conferred and jurisdiction involved, as follows:

To all and every our Right Worshipful, Worshipful and loving Brethren now residing or who may hereafter reside in the Provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pensilvania, His Grace, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England, Earl of Arundel, Surrey, Norfolk and Norwich, Baron Mowbray, Howard Seagrave, Brewse of Gower, Fitz Allan, Warren, Clau Oswald, estre Maltravers, Greystock, Furnival Verdon, Lovelot, Straugo of Blackmere, and Howard of Castle Rising, after the Princes of the Royal Blood, first Duke Earl and Baron of England, Chief of the illustrious family of the Howards, Grand Master of the free and accepted Masons of England, Sendeth Greeting:

Whereas application has been made unto us by our Rt. Worshipful and well beloved Brother, Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, Esqr., and by several other Brethren, free and accepted Masons, residing and about to reside in the said Provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pensilvania, that we would be pleased to nominate and appoint a Provincial Grand Master of the said Provinces:

Copy of Deputation to Henry Price.

MONTAGUE, [L.S.] G..M:.

To all and every Our R' Worsh' Worshipful and Loving Brethren now Residing or who may hereafter Reside in New England,

The R Honble and R Worsh1 Anthony Lord Viscount Montague Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of England, Sendeth Greeting:

Whereas Application has been made unto us by Our R. Worsh and well beloved Bro. Mr. Henry Price in behalf of himself and several other Brethren now Residing in New England aforesaid Free and Accepted Masons, that We would be pleas'd to Nominate and Appoint a Provincial Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons in N. England aforesaid.