Origin of Names of Third Arch Councils

By Norman G. Lincoln PM

 

Cincinnati Council No. 1 Chartered Oct. 24, 1827 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County

 

The first White Man to explore the land area of the Third Arch was Christopher Gist who penetrated as far as Piqua as a surveyor for the Ohio Company in 1751. Fort Finney was built at the mouth of the Great Miami River in 1785. George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Samuel Parsons, all Masons, made a treaty with the Indians in 1786. In 1788 John Cleves Symmes, a member of Trenton Lodge No. 5 NJ, obtained one million acres of land from the US government. [Symmes believed the earth was hollow] Matthias Denman, Robert Patterson and John Filson bought and surveyed land in that same year. Filson called the settlement Losantiville meaning the town across from the mouth of the Licking River. After Filson was killed by Indians in 1789, Israel Ludlow took his place. In 1790 Arthur St. Clair, a petitioner for N.C. Harmony Lodge #2, renamed the village Cincinnati because he was a member of the Society of Cincinnati. This was an organization composed of officers who had fought in the Revolution. It was named after Lucius Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus who left his farm in 458 BC to defend Rome against the Aequi and the Volsians. It was said of him: “Omnia relinquit servare republicanum”.

[He gave up all to serve the republic] Cincinnati was chartered a village in 1802 and incorporated a city in 1819. Longfellow called it the Queen City. Its population is 331,000. Also in 1790 Josiah Harmar, [made a Mason in Lodge No. 3 Philadelphia] failed to defeat the Indians; and Hamilton County named after Alexander Hamilton [not a Mason] was organized.

 

Reese Council No. 9 Chartered Oct. 24, 1843 in Dayton, Montgomery County

 

Richard Montgomery was born in Ireland Dec. 2, 1736. He enlisted in the 17^th Infantry Regt. and was raised in its traveling lodge. He helped Bro. James Wolfe capture Quebec. In 1772 he resigned his commission and moved to New York. He married Bro. Robert Livingston’s daughter and led the army which was unable to capture Quebec where he was killed in the unsuccessful assault. The first settler in Montgomery County, which was organized in 1803, was Zachariah Hole who moved there in 1797 and built a tavern. Elias Dayton (1737-1807) was a General in the Revolution and a member of military lodge # 19 PA. He was a member of the Society of Cincinnati. His son Jonathan (1760-1824) also fought in the Revolution, helped write the Constitution and served in Congress. He also bought land from Symmes but did not move to Ohio. He was a member of Temple Lodge # 1 NJ. The city of Dayton was incorporated in 1803. It is called the Gem City and its population is 166,000. William James Reese was born in Philadelphia Aug. 3, 1804. He studied law and moved to Lancaster where he edited the Gazette and married Elizabeth Sherman daughter of Grand Master Charles Sherman. Reese was Grand Master from 1834 to 1843. He was also Grand High Priest 1832 and 1836 to 1838 and Grand Illustrious Master 1834 to 1838. He advanced to Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar. In 1843 his dry goods business failed and he returned to Philadelphia. In 1857 he suffered a stroke and was an invalid until his death in Lancaster Dec. 16, 1883.

 

Hillsboro Council No. 16 Chartered Oct. 1, 1850 in Hillsboro, Highland County

 

The first settler in Highland County, which was named after the high ground between the Little Miami and the Scioto Rivers, was Joseph Van Meter who arrived near what is now Lynchburg in 1797. John Gossett built a gristmill at New Market in 1799. George Barrere settled there in 1801. His son John was an active York Rite Mason. The county was organized in 1805. [The Highlands of Scotland are famous in song and story] Hillsboro was named the county seat in 1807. Anyone who’s been there knows why it received its name! The population is 6,300.

 

Springfield Council No. 17 Chartered Oct 22, 1852 in Springfield, Clark County

 

Clark County was the hunting grounds of the Shawnee Indians. In 1751 Christopher Gist discovered the Mad River. In August 1780 General George Rogers Clark [a Mason] attacked and routed the Indians from Piqua Town. Simon Kenton 1755-1836 was his guide. Twelve year old Tecumseh [said to have been a Mason by the Canadians] watched. David Lowry 1767-1859 and Jonathan Donnel built homes west of Mad River in 1795. Kenton [possibly a Mason] built a fort in 1799 at the fork of Buck Creek and Mad River. Two years later James Demint laid out a town he called Springfield at the suggestion of his wife. Clark County was organized in 1817. Springfield became the county seat and grew to 65,000.

 

Hamilton Council No. 19 Chartered Nov. 20, 1854 in Hamilton, Butler County

 

General Richard Butler was born April 1, 1743 in Dublin, Ireland. He came to America in 1760. He commanded the right wing in St. Clair’s ill-fated expedition against the Indians and was killed Nov. 4, 1791. Raised in Lodge No. 2, Philadelphia April 27, 1779. He was previously stationed at Fort Hamilton in Butler County. Israel Ludlow [born in NJ 1765] was appointed to survey Symmes’ Purchase in 1787. When Fort Hamilton was abandoned, he purchased land on which it stood. In 1794 he laid out the town of Fairfield which later was named Hamilton. Ludlow died in 1804. Hamilton was incorporated in 1810 and now has 61,000 population. The first mayor and first sheriff of Butler County was James McBride. Butler County was organized in 1803.

 

Kilwinning Council No. 52 existed from 1867 to 1894 in Cincinnati. Its name is derived from a town in Scotland where an Abbey was built in 1140 to St. Winnin. Legend ascribes this as the beginning of Freemasonry in Scotland. No proof exists.

 

Wyoming Council No. 77 existed from 1893 to 1907 in the Cincinnati suburb. The name supposedly derives from a Delaware Indian word “Maugwauwama” meaning large plains. Indians massacred 400 settlers in the Wyoming Valley of PA in 1778.

 

Wright Council No. 96 Chartered October 2, 1906 in Xenia, Greene County

 

George and Amos Wilson settled along Mill Creek in what became Greene County in 1796. Nathaniel Greene was born in Rhode Island June 6, 1742. He fought at Trenton in 1776 and defeated the British in the South in 1781. He is considered a Mason but his lodge is unknown. He died June 19, 1786 at Savannah, GA. Xenia was founded by John Paul who bought 2000 acres of land in Greene County in 1803 the year it was organized. Joseph C. Vance surveyed the site in 1803 and Rev. Robert Armstrong suggested the name which in Greek means hospitality. Xenia was incorporated in 1817 and became a city in 1834. It has a population of 24,000. Lewis Wright was born in Brunswick County VA Feb. 11, 1796. He moved to Ohio when he was 19. He was raised in Xenia Lodge No. 49 Sept. 15, 1847 and served as WM in 1859. He joined Xenia Chapter No. 36 on Nov 11, 1848 and served as Excellent High Priest from 1850 until his death. He was a member of Reese Council No. 9 and a Methodist. He died Nov. 8, 1866. Wright Council No. 53 was chartered in 1867 but went dark in 1888.

 

Blanchester Council No. 114 Chartered Oct. 2, 1917 in Blanchester, Clinton County

 

Wilmington Council No. 116 Chartered Oct. 2, 1917 in Wilmington, Clinton County

 

Clinton County was named after George Clinton who was Vice-President when it was formed in 1810. He was born July 26, 1739 in NY. An uncle of DeWitt Clinton, he was in the Revolution and was Governor of New York. He was a member of Warren Lodge No. 17 NY. He died April 20, 1812. The county was surveyed by Maj. John O’Bannon and Arthur Fox in 1787. The first settler appears to be Morgan Van Meter who erected a tavern in Green Township in 1799. The county seat had three names: in 1810 Clinton, then Armenia and Mt. Pleasant. Eventually it was named Wilmington in 1811. The first settler was Joseph Doan who arrived in 1805. Isaiah Morris erected a tavern in 1810. The Ist Earl of Wilmington, Spencer Compton 1673-1743, was a friend of King George II who named him Prime Minister in 1743. The Earl, who served in Parliament for 45 years, had made his friend Gabriel Johnston Governor of North Carolina. Compton was also a friend of William Penn. Thus cities in NC and DE became known as Wilmington. The Ohio city has a population of 11,900. Blanchester was first settled in 1814 by Jonathan Baldwin who bought land from General William Lytle who surveyed it. Joseph Blanchet opened a grocery store in 1832 shortly before the village was organized. Blanchester is likely named after him. The literal meaning is white/clean town/camp. Population 4,200.

 

Adoniram Council No. 131 Chartered Feb. 1, 1943 in Miamisburg, Montgomery County

 

See Reese # 9 for Montgomery County. The first settler in the Miamisburg area was Zachariah Hole in 1797. The city was laid out in 1818 by Emmanuel Gebhart, Jacob Kercher, Dr. John Treon and Dr. Peter Treon. It was named after the Indian tribe which once lived in the area. The population in 2000 was 19,489. Adoniram is a character in Masonic ritual taken from scripture where he was the tax collector for David and Solomon.

 

Lebanon Council No. 134 Chartered Oct. 10, 1951 in Lebanon, Warren County

 

The earliest settler in Warren County was William Bedle who came from NJ in 1795. Next came the Corwin brothers, Ichabod b. 1768, Joseph b. 1771 and Matthias b. 1761. They settled near Turtle Creek and erected the Black Horse Tavern. Matthias’ son was

Thomas Corwin Governor of Ohio and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge. [Joseph was this writer’s great great great great grandfather] Warren County was organized in 1803 and named after Dr. Joseph Warren 1741-1775 who died at Bunker Hill. Raised in St. Andrews Lodge, he was Provincial Grand Master for Scotland. The city of Lebanon was organized in 1802 and named after the mountain range in Syria where cedar trees for the building of Solomon’s Temple were cut. The early settlers thought that juniper trees were cedar trees. There are no mountains in Warren County. Lebanon has a population of 17,000. Lebanon Council No. 21 existed from 1855 to 1891.

 

Preble Council No. 135 Chartered Oct. 7, 1953 in Eaton, Preble County

 

Fort St. Clair was built west of Seven Mile Creek early in 1792. In November Indians under Little Turtle attacked soldiers led by Major John Adair [later with Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans and a Governor of Kentucky]. Two soldiers and six Indians were killed. In 1806 William Bruce laid out Eaton and constructed a gristmill. The village was named for William Eaton [b. Feb. 23, 1764 in Woodstock CT] who was consul to Tunis and let a motley army and some Marines “to the shores of Tripoli”. He was a member of North Star Lodge, Manchester VT. He died June 1, 1811. Eaton Council No. 6 existed from 1840 to 1858. Eaton’s population is about 8,000. Preble County was organized in 1808 and named for Commodore Edward Preble [b. Aug. 15, 1861 Portland ME d. Aug. 25, 1807]. He commanded the American squadron which fought against the Barbary pirates. He was initiated in St. Andrews Lodge, Boston in 1783.

 

Middletown Council No. 136 Chartered Oct. 7, 1953 in Middletown, Butler County

 

For Butler County see Hamilton Council # 19. The first settler near Middletown was Daniel Doty who was born in NJ in 1765. He settled on the bank of the Great Miami a mile south of Middletown in 1796. Stephen Vail, a Quaker from NJ, laid out the town plat in 1802 and built a log cabin. The name may have been selected by Vail because that was his birthplace in NJ or because it was halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton. Middletown was incorporated in 1833. Paper and steel contributed to its growth to a population of 51,600.

 

Henry A. Weeks Council No. 137 Chartered Oct 11, 1954 in Norwood, Hamilton Co.

 

For Hamilton County see Cincinnati Council # 1. As Cincinnati grew, so did its suburbs. One of these was Sharpsburg named after John Sharp where a tavern was built on the Montgomery Pike as early as 1809. This name did not seem fitting and in 1869 it was changed to Norwood at the suggestion of Sarah Bolles. [Another possible source was the novel by Henry Ward Beecher] At any event the village grew into ‘the gem of the highlands’ to be entirely surrounded by Cincinnati. [A false claim has made this is the only such city completely within another] In 1888 John Uri Lloyd 1849-1936 the famous pharmacist platted the streets. Norwood became ‘the city that industry built’ , notably Fisher Body and US Playing Cards together with United Dairy Farms and Shott Buick.

The population today is 24,000. Henry Abraham Weeks was born April 28, 1861 in Cherry Valley, Ontario, Canada. He taught for nine years and came to Cincinnati in 1886 as a bookkeeper. He moved from job to job and city to city always progressing in his chosen field of endeavor. He was married twice to Mary Scott and Emma Fowler and belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He was raised in East Liverpool Lodge # 315 May 26, 1899 and served as WM of Pleasant Ridge Lodge # 282 in 1910. He joined East Liverpool Chapter # 100 April 24, 1900 and was EHP of McMillan Chapter # 19 in 1910. He then became a charter member of Acacia # 195 in 1914. He joined Madison Council # 36, Madison IN Nov. 21, 1904 and served as TIM of Cincinnati # 1 in 1910. He joined Madison Commandery # 22 IN Feb. 23, 1906 and served as EC of Trinity # 44 in 1910. He was GM of the Grand Council in 1923 and died Dec. 7, 1925.

 

Silver Trowel Council No. 141 Chartered Oct 12, 1955 in Dayton, Montgomery Co.

 

See Reese Council # 9 for Dayton and Montgomery County.

The trowel is an tool made use of by operative masons. It is an emblem important to Cryptic Masons along with the sword. The symbolism derives from scripture and is familiar to all Council members

 

New Carlisle Council No. 143 Chartered Oct. 21, 1958 in New Carlisle, Clark County

 

For Clark County see Springfield # 19. New Carlisle is in Bethel Township on the banks of Honey Creek near where Clark defeated the Indians in 1780. John Paul 1763-1853 was the first settler in 1790. The village was laid out by William Reyburn in 1810 and called York. It was later changed to Monroe, Pierceville and finally to New Carlisle in 1828.

Carlisle, England, was a Roman outpost near Hadrian’s Wall. The Latin name was Luguvallum but its British name was Caer Luel. The population is 5735.

 

John H. Campbell Council No. 147 Chartered Oct. 4, 1966 in Amelia, Clermont County

 

The father of Clermont County was William Lytle who was born in Fayette County KY in 1770. He became a famous Indian fighter and surveyor and in 1796 platted a village on the East bank of the Little Miami River which was called Lytlestown. When the county was established in 1800 [the name mean clear mountains and plains in French] the name was changed to Williamsburgh. It became the original county seat and lost the final “h”. Lytle move to Cincinnati in 1809; and in 1830 a year before his death was appointed Surveyor General by his friend President Andrew Jackson. His name lives on in Lytle Park and Lytle Tunnel. John Henry Campbell was born Aug. 25, 1879 at Locust Ridge, Brown County OH. He taught school and became a rural mail carrier. In 1901 he married Edna Beacham of Williamsburg. He was raised in Clermont Social Lodge No. 29 Oct. 9, 1908 and served as WM in 1913 1914 1nd 1919. He was also Secretary for 32 years. He joined Batavia Chapter No. 112 July 12, 1943 and served as EHP in 1952. He was a member of the Methodist Church. Strangely enough he was not a Council member. He

died June 22, 1963. His son Calvin was a charter member of the Council named for his father. The Council first met in Williamsburg and moved to its present location in 1987. Amelia was originally named Mill Town. It had been surveyed by John O’Bannon in 1788. Mill Town was shortened to Milton and then changed to Amelia to honor Armillous “Amelia” Bowdoin operator of the Ohio Turnpike toll gate. Incorporated in 1900 it has a population of 2752.

 

Oak Hills Council No. 148 met from 1968 to 1973 in Cincinnati.

 

Hubert O. Auburn Council No. 149 Chartered Oct. 6, 1980 in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co.

 

This Council meets on West Fork Road. See Cincinnati # 1 for city and county details.

Hubert O. Auburn was born Sept. 18, 1907 in Cincinnati. He graduated from Mt. Healthy High School and earned a B.S. in Journalism from Ohio State University where he was the managing editor of “the Lantern”. He then went to work for the Tenacity Mfg. Co. in   Lockland eventually becoming its president. He was raised in McMakin Lodge No. 120 Apr. 20, 1929 and served as WM in 1938. He joined Cumminsville Chapter No. 158 Apr. 28, 1933 and served as EHP in 1940. He joined Cincinnati Council No. 1 Apr. 11, 1941 and served as TIM in 1948. He was knighted in Cincinnati Commandery No. 3 Feb. 26, 1945 and served as EC in 1951. He was Eminent Prior of Ohio Priory No. 18 Knights of the York Cross of Honor in 1961 and Grand Master of the Grand Council in 1965. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite and St. Columba Conclave Red Cross of Constantine where he was Illustrious Sovereign in 1960.

 

Works Consulted:

Dates Chartered-Roster of Grand Council 2004

Extinct Councils-Proceedings of Grand Council 2004

History of Hamilton, Montgomery, Highland, Clark, Butler, Greene, Clinton, Warren, Preble and Clermont Counties.

History of Grand Council 1930 for Henry A. Weeks

History of Grand Council 1980 for Hubert O. Auburn

Proceedings of Grand Chapter 1867 for Lewis Wright

Paper by Pat King Ohio Chapter of Research 1980 for William J. Reese

Typescript biography of John H. Campbell by Robert Prewitt [Courtesy of Bobby Campbell]

Article by Norman G. Lincoln Knight Templar 1979 for William Eaton

10,000 Famous Freemasons for Clark, Butler, Greene, Clinton, Warren, and Preble

General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution 1994 by Hal T. Shelton

Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Encyclopedia

Websters New Collegiate Dictionary

History of the Grand Lodge of Ohio 1912

History of the Grand Chapter of Ohio 1966

Internet articles on biography and history

Coil’s Encyclopedia

Mackey’s Encyclopedia

 

The Cryptic Rite

Research is the quest for fact; not truth. In our search for fact we can divide history into two distinct time frames; Historic and Pre-Historic, with Historic representing those claims which can be supported by written evidence, and Pre-Historic as those based solely upon tradition or legend alone. Sadly, a great many of these claims are supported only by tradition. The absence of records, however, is no proof either for or against a tradition. Such absence should place us on guard and warn us not to blindly accept the tradition as an established fact, but however, it does not prove the tradition false.

I offer the following as my belief relative to the origins of our Cryptic Rite.

I am of the opinion that the germ of the Rite was developed in the English Royal Arch of the 1700’s.

Bro. Mitchell, in his History of Freemasonry, Vol I, page 667, asserts that the Select Degree was formerly a part of the Royal Arch system. While he offers no authority for the statement, there is much circumstantial evidence that can be adduced in support of the theory.

About 1724 the Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay was selected by James III, the Old Pretender, to tutor his two sons, Charles Edward, also known as the Young Pretender, and Henry. Ramsay in 1737 as the Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of France delivered the celebrated oration which acted as the incentive for the multiplication of Degrees that followed. It is believed that in France alone several hundred such degrees sprang to life.

The Stuart Theory puts forth the idea that the Cryptic Degrees were used as a cover under which the adherents of the House of Stuart could meet and plot to recover the Throne of Great Britain on behalf of that royal house. Under this theory the Select Master Degree symbolizes the plan of Charles Edward Stuart, also known as the Young Pretender, under the title of James VI. He and Louis XVI, the current King of France are the two Kings represented by Solomon and Hiram of Tyre, together with the Earl of Mars and Nithsdale, and 23 others from Gaul forming the 27 that composed the Conclave. These were the men who were laying the foundations of the return and subsequent reign of the Young Pretender in secret. Remember that the word “select” was applied primarily to the individual Mason and not to the Degree itself, it is the individual that is choice or select. The Select Masters were the true and tried Companions of the Young Pretender and his cause.

According to this theory, the Royal Master is the claimant to the throne of Great Britain. The Lost Word is the Lost Cause, the Secret Vault the Secret place in which they carried on their work for the revival of their cause. Within this vault the Word, symbolizing the Cause and efforts for its revival, was to remain hidden until the time was ripe for it to be revealed.

It may be interesting to note that there is evidence which indicates that the adoption by the Stuarts of the Bee-Hive as a symbol of their resurrection caused the Masons of England to drop the emblem, though its use is still retained in this country as a symbol of industry.

I am inclined to believe that if there was any connection at all, between the House of Stuart and Freemasonry, it was the adoption by the Stuarts of symbols and legends already in use by the Fraternity, rather than the invention, or creation of them by the Stuarts or their supporters.

The Scots degrees seem to have sprung up about 1740 in all parts of France. In 1741 we can find evidence of its reach as far as Berlin, Germany. The Chevalier de Bouneville in 1754 established a Chapter at Paris, France in the Jesuit College of Clermont. The system of Freemasonry practiced by this Chapter became known as the Rite of Perfection or the Rite of Heredom. By the year 1758 the original 7 Degrees had grown to 25 and by 1801 were expanded to some 33 separate Degrees of the Scottish Rite. During this expansion the Select Degree was first included, then dropped, later reclaimed as a detached Degree, and finally dropped once again. One possible reason for the Rite of Perfection in dropping the Select Degree is that its substance is already contained in the 13^th and 14^th Degrees of that Rite.

In 1802 the newly organized Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite issued a Manifesto setting forth its claims, and listing the degrees over which it claimed jurisdiction; of which the detached Degree of Select Master was one.

The value of a degree is oftimes measured by the character of the men who propagate it or of the organizations which sponsors it. Being ‘Detached Degrees’, those of the council degrees were free to be peddled about as side degrees of the lodge, the chapter, and the consistory.

Select Master Degree

Stephen Morin

Morin was named as Inspector General of the Rite for the New World in 1761, and arrived in the West Indies in about 1762. He communicated his powers to Francken in Kingston, Jamaica at about the same time. There is no record that Morin ever set foot upon the shores of North America.

Henry Andrew Francken

While Francken was responsible for the establishment of a Lodge of Perfection in Albany, New York in 1767, no mention of the degrees of either Royal or Select Master can be found among its records. Francken imparted the Scottish Rite Degrees to one Moses Hays of Massachusetts.

Moses Michael Hays

He received his degrees at the hand of Francken and in 1788 appointed Joseph Myers as Inspector General of the Rite for the State of Maryland.

Joseph M Myers

Myers while in Virginia taught and practiced the degrees of Royal Arch, Holy Royal Arch, Select Master, and Royal Master as the fancy or taste of the Brethren induced them to take an interest. He is also said to have conferred the Select Degree in Rhode Island. Aside from Myers’ activity in the Scottish Rite we know little more about him. However, it is on account of the alleged deposit by him of Rituals of the Cryptic Degrees, at Charleston, South Carolina in 1788 that he has acquired his prominence in Cryptic Masonry. After which time he is not heard of again and it is supposed that he returned to Europe.

It is here that any direct linkage of the Scottish Rite Degrees and/or the Cryptic Degrees ends. However from these 4 men we could conceivably account for the possible existence of the Cryptic Degrees in such diverse locations as the states of New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and Rhode Island.

. Abram Jacobs

Jacobs received from Moses Cohen in Jamaica the Scottish Rite degrees as well as the Select Mason of 27 Degree on November 09, 1790. Jacobs immediately began to exercise the authority given unto him by Cohen. Jacobs came to New York in 1804, where he continued to confer degrees. Thomas Lownds being one of the candidates on which Jacobs completed conferring the degrees.

It is at this point that we venture from the Pre-Historic time frame and into the Historic period as relates to the development and promulgation of the Select Master Degree.

Henry Wilmans

He was a native of Bremen, Prussia where it is supposed that he received his lodge degrees in Silver Key Lodge located in the city of Bremen; but the destruction of the records of this Lodge by fire, prior to 1800, prevents any further verification. He first settled in Charleston, South Carolina about 1788. We do not know how long he lived in Charleston, but he moved to Baltimore in 1792. He established a Lodge of Perfection in the city of Baltimore in 1792 as well as a Grand Council of Select Masters.

The Royal Master and Select Master Degrees seem, originally, to have had no connection with each other and first became known through entirely different instrumentalities in widely separated parts of this country. A union being effected through the efforts of Jeremy L Cross in and about the year 1820. From Schulz’ History of Freemasonry in Maryland, Vol I, page 343 we find the following; Henry Wilmans in the year 1792 erected at the city of Baltimore a Grand Council of Select Masons. By lawful succession the powers so exercised by Wilmans became vested in Philip Eckle and Hezekiah Niles. Where Wilmans obtained his degree or from what source he derived his powers is not known. He seems to have been a man of considerable Masonic standing, and in 1794 was Grand Master of Masons of Maryland.

Philip P Eckel

Eckel, like Wilmans, was a native of Germany. He received the Select Master Degree from Wilmans previous to 1795. Eckle did not receive the degree of Royal Master until 1819 while in New York.

 

Hezekiah Niles

He received the Select Master Degree from Wilmans.

Thus to Henry Wilmans is generally attributed the recognition of inventing the Select Degree, and its subsequent elaboration to Philip P Eckle.

Royal Master Degree

Stephen Morin

Morin was named as Inspector General of the Rite for the New World in 1761, and arrived in the West Indies in about 1762. He communicated his powers to Francken in Kingston, Jamaica at about the same time. There is no record that Morin ever set foot upon the shores of North America.

Henry Andrew Francken

While Francken was responsible for the establishment of a Lodge of Perfection in Albany, New York in 1767, no mention of the degrees of either Royal or Select Master can be found among its records. Francken imparted the Scottish Rite Degrees to one Moses Hays of Massachusetts.

Moses Michael Hays

He received his degrees at the hand of Francken and in 1788 appointed Joseph Myers as Inspector General of the Rite for the State of Maryland.

Joseph M Myers

Myers while in Virginia taught and practiced the degrees of Royal Arch, Holy Royal Arch, Select Master, and Royal Master as the fancy or taste of the Brethren induced them to take an interest. He is also said to have conferred the Select Degree in Rhode Island. Aside from Myers’ activity in the Scottish Rite we know little more about him. However, it is on account of the alleged deposit by him of Rituals of the Cryptic Degrees, at Charleston, South Carolina in 1788 that he has acquired his prominence in Cryptic Masonry. After which time he is not heard of again and it is supposed that he returned to Europe.

It is here that any direct linkage of the Scottish Rite Degrees and/or the Cryptic Degrees ends. However from these 4 men we could conceivable account for the possible existence of the Cryptic Degrees in such diverse locations as the states of New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and Rhode Island.

Abram Jacobs

Jacobs received from Moses Cohen in Jamaica the Scottish Rite degrees as well as the Select Mason of 27 Degree on November 09, 1790. Jacobs immediately began to exercise the authority given unto him by Cohen. Jacobs came to New York in 1804, where he continued to confer degrees. Thomas Lownds being one of the candidates on which Jacobs completed conferring the degrees.

It is at this point that we venture from the PreHistoric time frame and into the Historic period as relates to the development and promulgation of the Royal Master Degree.

Thomas Lowndes

During the Cerneau controversy, Lownds took the Cerneau side, and affiliated with Cerneau’s Supreme Council. In 1810 Lownds, along with John E Ruckles, and a number of other Brethren met and organized Columbian Council.

Thomas Lownds in 1810 organized in the city of New York a Council of Royal Masters under the name of Columbian Grand Council. Where Lownds obtained his degree is as little known or even less so than where Wilmans received his. In 1806 an Abraham Jacobs conferred several Scottish Rite Degrees upon Lownds, but there is no record to show whether or not either of the Cryptic Degrees was numbered among them.

The first record of Columbian Council, which was organized in September of 1810, uses Scottish Rite Titles and Scottish Rite dates, with the York Rite dates not appearing until August of 1818. While the records of Columbian Council indicate a Scottish Rite connection in the beginning, there seems to have been a growing tendency to establish a close affiliation with Royal Arch Masonry of the York Rite.

In all probability the Royal Master Degree may have been fabricated by Lownds and his associates, and while there have been some prominent changes the spirit of the degree remains intact. To this body of Royal Masters also is ascribed the invention of the Super-Excellent Degree, as it seems to have been first conferred by them about 1825.

To Lownds and Wilman we may directly trace all of the Cryptic Masonry now in use in either hemisphere.

The evidence for the foregoing statement is derived from an old document without any date over the signature of Eckle and Niles. It is generally conceded that Eckle believed himself to be the sole and rightful custodian of the degree of Select Master after the death of Wilmans in 1795. It was in the fall of 1816 that Eckle conferred the degree upon Jeremy L Cross, who had just been appointed as Grand Lecturer of the General Grand Chapter. Cross was so struck with the beauty of the degree, as well as its utility as a complement to the Royal Arch, that he asked for and received permission to disseminate it among Royal Arch Masons. This permission was given by a warrant under the hand of Eckle by the title of ‘Thrice Illustrious and Grand Puissant in the Grand Council of Select at Baltimore’. This warrant was attested to by ‘H Niles as Ill. In the G. Council’. These Councils established by Cross at that time were all assemblies of Select Masters only. In 1818 Cross, in some manner, became possessed of the Royal degree, and he thereupon enlarged ‘the high powers’ in him vested by Eckle to grant charters for Councils of Royal as well as Select Masters.

The popular fallacy that the Cryptic Rite arose out of or formed a part of the Scottish Rite system, either in course or detached, was undoubtedly created by the fact that all of the earlier custodians were ‘Inspectors General’. The Rite of Perfection was introduced into this country by a Stephen Morin, thru

Henry Andrew Francken. Soon after Morin’s removal to St. Domingo, he appointed a number of deputies under the same name, and those in turn appointed others. The subsequent political troubles on that island caused a large exodus to the United States and many of these ‘deputies’ were numbered among them. Upon their arrival here a few settled and permanently remained at Charleston, S.C., while others went on to New York and other cities. They carried with them in some very vague form the elements of the Rite of Perfection and in a limited and rather imperfect manner diffused them to an eager audience. There was neither system nor government of the Rite at that time, and thus every individual Inspector was practically a law unto himself. No effort at organization ever seems to have been made at any place save Charleston, where tradition says a Lodge of Perfection was established, and this city may justly be regarded as the Mecca of the Scottish Rite.

It was not until after the Council degrees had become established in their present forms that the Scottish Rite jumped up and claimed authority of the Royal and Select Master Degrees. But the Charleston body could show but a doubtful title to the Select Degree and was positively without any in respect to the Royal. Finally the Scottish Rite during its session held in Baltimore in1870 formally relinquished all control over the Select Master Degree.

Jeremy L Cross

He knew nothing at all of the history of Masonry, and cared nothing for it. To all questions outside of simply performing the ‘work’ and ‘lectures’, his honest answer was – ‘When you memorize what I am teaching you, then you will know as much about Masonry as I do!’ In 1819 Cross published both his “True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor”, borrowing largely from that of Webb along with a pamphlet monitor of the Council Degrees.

John Barker

Received the Degree of Royal Master on December 15, 1818 in the Council at New Haven, Connecticut, of which Cross was a member.

A few years after Cross had started upon his work a rival appeared upon the field in the person of John Barker, who claimed to be the accredited ‘agent’ of the Southern Supreme Council, A.A.S.R., an authority that has never been substantiated.

Philip P Eckel

He received the degree of Royal Master in 1819 by Ebenezer Wadsworth of New York.

High sounding Masonic titles were easily acquired in those days, and just as easily maintained, as there were none to say nay. The Inspectors assumed the power of creating others at their pleasure, and this power was freely exercised, while still others assumed dignity upon themselves and an assertion of superior knowledge concerning the ‘high grades’. As a rule, the degrees so held, or controlled by each man were imparted in the most informal manner by oral and individual communication. These early vendors of Freemasonry conferred the degrees sometimes for gold and sometimes for glory; actuated by the highest and best of motives on occasion and in the most selfish and sordid in others, yet at all times rendering a most important service for the generations which were to come in the preservation and perpetuation of the old traditions, rites and ceremonies.

Barker, like Cross, was actuated mainly by motives of personal gain. Both sowed the good seed for hire and both made merchandise for the conferral of the degrees. Joseph Meyers, who was the founder of the Charleston Council Princes of Jerusalem, was an itinerant vender of miscellaneous Masonic wares-for a consideration. He traveled extensively, in some kind of mercantile pursuit, carrying his Masonic degrees as a side line. He by no means confined himself to the Rite of Perfection, as his overflowing store would furnish almost anything that was called for.

And so it was with all the high degrees practiced in this country prior to the 1800’s. At that time organization commenced and has since been steadily perfected thereby taking from the itinerant vendor the ability to promote his ‘higher degrees’ and transferring that practice to constitutional authority.

On the whole the evidence seems to point to a French origin based on the English Royal Arch, in common with but earlier than the Scottish Rite. It would appear that the Cryptic Degrees went from France to Germany, and then back again to France, when all trace of it was lost until it re-appeared in America.

By thus considering our origins and tracing our descent, we may safely assert that our extraction is honorable and compares favorably with any of the bodies that came into existence contemporaneously with us. Our growth and development has been upon the lines of freedom that characterizes the York Rite and distinguishes it from all others. Our government is based on the cherished principles of democratic equality first practiced by the Masonic guild, while our symbolism, allegories and moral teachings complete and fully perfect the Masonic system of the American Rite.

Bob S Jones

Chillicothe, Ohio

Fall 2009