GRAND RECORDERS FOR FIFTY YEARS. NATHANIEL P. JACOBS, Detroit, 1858 to 1861. JEFFERSON S. CONOVER, Coldwater, 1897 to 1903. To the Grand Recorder of a Grand Jurisdiction falls the lot of preserving the history of the body over which he is called to officiate, and in no small degree is he concerned in successfully placing on record for future generations the important incidents as they occur in the daily life of the body. Many of these incidents and transactions may at the time seem trivial but in later years may prove to have been hinges upon which swung much weightier matters. After a presiding officer is selected, the next in importance is the man to make the records. It is essential that he be observant of all proceedings and record all things proper to be written. Without good Grand Recorders much of the early history of the Grand Council would have been lost to the present generation. Through the aid of Companion James H. Cummins, P. G. M., the writer has been fortunate in securing portraits and biographical sketches of our first two Grand Recorders and the addition of this chapter was thereby made possible. NATHANIEL POOLE JACOBS. GRAND RECORDER, 1858-1861. Nathaniel Poole Jacobs was born at Adams, Jefferson County, New York, October 31, 1821. He was educated at the Boston Latin school where he was prepared to enter the second year at Brown University, but, his father removing to Detroit in 1840, he accompanied him, engaging in business and for many years carried on a wholesale grocery business in that city. He was twice married, first to Susan B. Taylor, who died September 25, 1850, by whom he had three children, two of whom survive, and second to Catherine Mary Huntington, September 5, 1852, who survived him, dying February 26, 1899, by whom he had six children, five of whom are now living. He was alderman of the First Ward of Detroit, 1857 to 1861, and president of the common council, 1859 to 1861. He was appointed by President Lincoln Consul General of the United States at Calcutta, British India, January 15, 1862, and served until early in 1871, when he returned to the United States, and became the land agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad with offices in Tacoma, Washington Territory. He was at home in Detroit on leave of absence when he was suddenly taken ill of rheumatism of the heart and died after three days sickness, April 30, 1874. He became a member of Detroit Lodge, F. & A. M., by initiation, March 30, 1852, serving as Senior Warden from December 9th, 1856, to December 27th, 1858. He was a member of Monroe Chapter, No. 1, of Detroit, receiving the degrees as follows: Mark, September 16, Past, November 18, Most Excellent, December 2, 1852 and Royal Arch, February 10, 1853. Companion Jacobs received the degrees of the Council in 1856, before the organization of the Grand Council and when Monroe Council was operating under the auspices of the Chapter. He was Deputy Master of that Council and present when the Grand Council was organized in 1858, being elected the first Grand Recorder of that body. He held the position until called into consular service of his country. In his last report to the Grand Council which teems with brotherly love and affection for the Rite, he said: "In bidding you, as Companions, farewell, I can but hope that the blessings so abundantly poured forth upon you heretofore, may still be continued. From the midst of my duties in the new field of labor destined to me upon the opposite side of the globe, in spirit I shall still be with you, and my prayers and supplications will still ascend to the great Architect of the Universe for your future prosperity and happiness." He was also a member of Detroit Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, and was the second Grand Commander in Michigan, being elected in 1858 and serving two years. He instituted Jacobs Commandery, No. 10, K. T., at Coldwater, Michigan, March 3, 1860, and that body has since borne his honored name. He received all the degrees of the Scottish Rite in Michigan and April 15, 1869, received from the Northern Jurisdiction, U. S. A., the 33d degree. |