No. 1 Mason
JUST n little digging into the his¬
tory of Masonry in Carolina re¬
veals quite a bit of information
which may not
1ч*
familiar to many
present-day readers.
To go back to the genesis of Caro¬
lina masonry, we find it in the Right
Worshipful Joseph Mont fort, who was
appointed Provincial Grand Master
on January 14, 5771. These figures
are secret code, but in such a good
cause 1 will take the risk and sav they
stand for January 14. 1771. llis com¬
mission was signed by His Grace, the
Duke of Beaufort, then Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge of England.
Montfort was the first Clerk of the
Court of Halifax County, Treasurer
of the Province of North Carolina.
Colonel of Colonial troops, member of
the Provincial Congress big man
generally. He held the highest Ma¬
sonic office ever held in the Western
Hemisphere, as he was the first, the
last, the only, Grand Master whose
jurisdiction embraced all America.
The Oldest Lodge
St. John's Lodge No. 1 at Wilming¬
ton. is the oldest Masonic organization
in the State, chartered by the Grand
Lodge of England in 1755. It is fol¬
lowed by White Mart bulge No. 2 at
Halifax, which was chartered Novem¬
ber 1, 1704. And in the Lodge room
of Unanimity Lodge No. 7 in the an¬
cient courthouse at Edenton. they can
(ami will, if earnestly requested) show
you the chair in which George Wash¬
ington sat when he was Worshipful
Master of the Masonic Lodge at Alex¬
andria. Just how it cot to Edenton is
a story all in itself.
The Masonic Grand Lodge meets
annually, and ns it dates back to De¬
cember. 17*7. when it was organized
at Tnrlmrn. its roster of Grand Mas¬
ter- reads like Burke's Peerage in the
history of the nobility of North Caro¬
lina. and if VOU include those who were
Master Masons, but not Grand Mas¬
ters. you would bring into the picture
almost everyone from Vance and Ay-
cock on down — all the big figures in
the educational, political, social, in¬
dustrial and agricultural life of the
State -for most of them were entered,
passed and raised. You may not know
just what this means. Ask any Mason:
perhaps lie'll tell you.
Illustrious Grand Masters
Limits of space preclude more than
a bare reference to some of the big
names which adorn the history of
Carolina Grand Masters. The first
Grand Master was Samuel Johnston
of Chowan, whose sent wn« the fa¬
mous Haves plantation near Edenton.
lie was thrice Governor, and president
of both the Hillsboro and the Fayette-
v i 1 1 e Constitutional Conventions.
Johnston County should know some¬
thing almut him. He was followed by-
Richard Caswell, hero of M mire's
< 'reek, who served seven terms as Gov¬
ernor (the record) and was Speaker
of the Senate when lie died. The people
in Caswell may know about him.
The next Grand Master was Gen¬
eral William K. Davie, distinguished
Revolutionary soldier, foremost law¬
yer of his day. Governor and father
of the University. In hi- capacity as
Grand Master of Masons. Davie laid
tin . rner stone of "Old East" at
chapel Hill. The people up in Davie
County may know something of him.
And Still They Come!
Come on quickly through John
Louis Taylor of Cumberland, first
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
as now constituted; Hetijamin Smith
of Brunswick. Governor, patron of the
University, one of its original trustees,
who gave it 20.000 acres of land. Look
at Holier! Strange, of Cumberland.
United State- Senator, grandfather of
Bishop Koliert Strange: Richard
Dobbs Speight. Jr., of Craven. Gov¬
ernor as was his father before him:
(Continued on po'/r twenty-nix)
October 21, 1939
Vol. VII. No. 21
A Weekly Survey of North Carolino
Kct.rtii a* accnnil cl»»« mailer. Jan* 1. 1033. at llio I'ottofflrc at Il«lci«h. North
Carolina under tloi Act of March 3.
187».
lie is John lluskc Anderson, uf ltalci£li. w ho
next week w ill he clcvatcMl to I lit* rank of
the highest Masonic office on this continent
anti, of course, the highest office ever at¬
tained by a Carolina Mason.
By It. C. LAWRENCE
