‘Masonic Hall Monitors at The ALR’

    

Thomas Smith Webb by Travis Simpkins.

What better way to commemorate the anniversary of Thomas Smith Webb’s birth in 1771 than to attend your research lodge for a dive into the history of Freemasonry’s ritual literature?

Actually, I guess initiating a candidate with Webb’s ritual might have been better. And passing him would have been good. And, sure, raising him could have been a great commemoration, but we don’t make Masons in The American Lodge of Research. We make ’em think.

The program Tuesday night in the French Doric Room at Masonic Hall was “Masonic Hall Monitors,” for which three experts united for discussion of the history and evolution of ritual ciphers, monitors, and exposures.

In truth, Webb’s birthday was the following day. Regardless, we think we arrived at the reason why exoteric ritual books are commonly called monitors: Because Webb titled his The Freemason’s Monitor; or, Illustrations of Masonry: In Two Parts, and the moniker “monitor” stuck.

etymology.com

The origin of the word “monitor” shows it derives from the Latin for “one who reminds, admonishes, or checks,” also “an overseer, instructor, guide, teacher,” according to etymology.com, so the term is apt, and seems to have become the aptonym many grand lodges use to title their books of exoteric Masonic rituals (charges, funerary ceremony, cornerstone dedication, etc.). Others call them manuals. How boring.

Anyway, we welcomed RW Sam Kinsey, Chairman of Grand Lodge’s Custodians of the Work; RW Michael LaRocco, Executive Director of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library upstairs on 14; and RW Ben Hoff, Past Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 and Past Grand Historian in Jersey. In concert, they gave a thorough review of these books, from Masonry Dissected, printed in London in 1730, and which gives the first known look at a Third Degree, to the forthcoming New York Monitor, due before the Grand Lodge Communication next May, and therefore just in time to provide our lodges the bona fide Installation of Officers ritual.

Wonderbook

1942 GLNY Monitor

In the Grand Lodge of New York, the Custodians of the Work is the team that maintains the integrity of the ritual our lodges use. I’d say the gist of Sam’s presentation is: Ritual changes over time. Sometimes, things need clarification or correction. Other times, the sensibilities of the present day might necessitate an addition or a deletion.

Sam Kinsey

Whatever the case, it is wrong to believe that Masonic rituals are the same from place to place, and that they have not been altered since 1717. Equally important is to view your ritual as more of a script to a performance than as holy writ that demands a rigid, unfeeling delivery. When appropriate, use inflection; watch your timing. Know the vocabulary. Remember you are educating someone.

Michael LaRocco

Bro. Michael followed Sam’s talk, wheeling a booktruck laden with antique and other vintage New York ritual texts into the room for a show-and-tell exhibit—including an original, from 1797, copy of Webb’s Monitor. This and the other books came from the Livingston Library’s archives and stacks; collectively, they illustrated Sam’s talk on how rituals change over time, requiring new printings to impart the ritual to new generations of Masons. The most recent publication of the Standard Work and Lectures came in 2019, shortly after a panicked grand secretary had discovered that the inventory of ritual books had dwindled to a single copy. The latest monitor, however, dates way back to 1989. That book is not current today, and the long anticipated update is coming, as noted above.

Bro. Ben was last to speak on account of his research paper “Monitors and Ritual Ciphers” spanning twenty-six pages. His specialty is forensic examination of Masonic rituals, and he owns an impressive collection of eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century ritual books—official and otherwise—on which he bases his theses.

He started us with a look into the Edinburgh Register House Manuscript from 1696, which shows us how short and simple Masonic ritual had been while also exemplifying how the structure has changed. What we today call a lecture is a long monolog delivered from memory by (hopefully) a gifted orator, but in a seventeenth and eighteenth century lodge, a lecture was a conversation. It was question-and-answer format, which actually lives on today. Think lodge Opening.

Between 1696 and today, embellishments were added to give literary depth to the symbolism. Most of these arose in the late 1700s from the books of three English authors. A Candid Disquisition, by Wellins Calcott (1769); The Spirit of Masonry, by William Hutchenson (1775); and, especially, William Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry, various editions of which began appearing in 1772. These authors get the credit for much of what we say today in lodge.

It really is remarkable how much of their prose basically remains intact. I’ve written about these books before, and I urge you to seek them out for your edification.

What we today know of ritual from between the 1720s and 1770s comes from ritual exposures that were printed without authorization (ergo exposures), but were bought anyway by Masons in need of handy ritual references. Masonry Dissected is a great source for seeing how fundamental lodge rituals were in 1730. The candidate is prepared, admitted, introduced, obligated, charged, and fed.

It also was not unheard of for brethren to handwrite their rituals for personal use.

Regarding monitors, Ben explains:

Ben Hoff

The key thing to remember about all Masonic monitors is that they were not exhaustive ritual guides. The two key characteristics of a monitor that distinguish it from a ritual are the absence of any traditionally secret ritual material, and the inclusion of such other supplemental material as would be useful to running the lodge. This supplemental material included items such as procedures for installations, lodge consecrations, funeral services, cornerstone layings, recommended procedures for petitions, interrogatories, and similar matters. As for ritual material, only openly published illustrations included as expansions of the lectures, prayers, and similar non-controversial material are included.

Getting back to Webb, it was he who adapted Preston’s Illustrations for American use, making changes to ritual structure that comprise his Monitor. In his day, grand lodges in the United States didn’t have official standardized rituals, and they definitely were not publishing ritual books (remember what happened with William Morgan in 1826), so Webb made a career of traveling the states and imparting his version of the work to lodges.

Later still came the artistic renderings of our symbols by Jeremy Ladd Cross. His book, True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor, is whence the familiar sketches we know of Craft and Royal Arch symbols came.

In addition to all these, were other authors’ coded ritual books of varying complexity and weirdness.

It wouldn’t be until the twentieth century that grand lodges in America would publish their own authorized ritual texts. In New Jersey, Ben explained, this was because some other guy was profiting from selling such books, so the grand lodge decided in 1967 to make the money for itself.

The hour was late—some of the brethren had to excuse themselves to catch their trains—so I had to end the meeting. I think everyone present got their money’s worth, and I feel good about it all. (I’m a fairly anxious Worshipful Master.)

Macoy Masonic Supply Co.

I had planned on giving a fourth talk on the subject of Macoy Masonic Supply’s reprinting of Robert Macoy’s 1867 Masonic Manual, but it seems the 750-book run has sold out, and I didn’t want to promote something the brethren cannot buy. It’s pretty cool, though.

Under business, we elected to Corresponding Membership a dual New York and California Mason who also has been a professor and lecturer at several universities, including Columbia. He has submitted a paper already!

The American Lodge of Research will meet again in early 2025. We will hit the road on February 19 for a joint meeting with Dunwoodie 863 in New Rochelle. We’ll be back in the French Doric Room on March 31 for a French-themed program involving both Lafayette and Tocqueville. I’m working on arranging Zoom sessions too, but more on that later.

     

‘Rubicon conference: Shapers of Our Ritual’

    

The Rubicon Masonic Society will be back next month for its twelfth annual festive board and conference, this time rallying around the theme “The Shapers of Our Ritual.” Four Masonic educators will take turns discussing the four historical figures who, indisputably, have the most to say about the degrees and other ceremonies in our lodges today.

This will be the weekend of September 27 at Lexington, Kentucky. From the publicity:

➤ William Preston, presented by RW Andrew Hammer

➤ Thomas Smith Webb, presented by RW Timothy L. Culhane

➤ Jeremy Ladd Cross, presented by RW S. Brent Morris

➤ Rob Morris, presented by W. John W. Bizzack

MW Terry L. Tilton, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, will deliver the keynote address at the Festive Board, presenting “The Use of Scriptures in Our Ritual.”

Brethren, it is through ritual that Freemasonry connects us and communicates with us harmoniously through the hourglass of time to teach us its aim and purpose. Come and greet old friends, make new ones, and engage in an in-depth exploration of our ritual and the men who shaped it.

The festive board and conference are separate events; for tickets, hotel, and the rest, click here.

     

‘The ALR & TSW to meet’

    

Portrait artist extraordinaire Travis Simpkins noted on Facebook this afternoon how today is the anniversary of the publication in 1797 of The Freemason’s Monitor; or Illustrations of Masonry by Thomas Smith Webb.

Thomas Smith Webb by Travis Simpkins.

Royal Arch Masonry’s newly revivified Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research in New York is maintaining an active schedule these days, including a special event next month.

Hope to see you there.

     

Alexandria at labor

MV Thurman Pace, with the fancy apron, is surrounded by the charter members of Alexandria Council No. 478 of Allied Masonic Degrees, which was set to labor Friday night. It is the third AMD council in New Jersey to receive a warrant from Grand Council this year!

That it shares the name of the city in Egypt that was home to the ancient world’s largest depository of knowledge, and the city in Virginia where the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees meets is fortuitous, as Alexandria Council No. 478 of the AMD was set to labor Friday night!

M.V. Thurman C. Pace, Jr., Past Sovereign Grand Master of the AMD, convened an emergent communication of Grand Council, appointing Bro. Moises as Marshal, to constitute this new council. With that legality achieved, it was time to install the council’s officers, which V. Franklin did himself. For the most part, Alexandria’s members are Master Masons at Nutley Lodge No. 25.

Left: the warrant of Alexandria Council No. 478.

Right: V. Suco reads the document aloud for the edification of the brethren.

The ritual formalities accomplished, it was time for dinner. Our appetites had been primed by a round of – well, not exactly aperitifs, but suitable beverages. (You can rely on us to get that right!) Appetizers of lobster and clam bisques, the best calamari I’ve ever tasted, and the house salad with a nice vinaigrette might have been enough to sustain us, but we weren’t about to take any chances with an occasion so auspicious, and we forged ahead to truly wonderful entrées of beef, fish, and pasta.

While dining, the presentation of papers commenced, and it was a full slate worthy of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education itself! Five of the brethren submitted their research work for peer review, with topics varying from history to biography to symbolism to – what I consider to be – the language of the Great Architect of the Universe Himself.

Junior Warden Dave began with a detailed history of the Allied Masonic Degrees, describing the founding of Grand Council and the assimilation of AMD’s many degrees into the large corpus of Masonic rituals worked in the United States. Thurman took the liberty of supplementing Dave’s talk with information on the origins of the AMD in England.

Next, Bro. Moises, of DaVinci Council, discussed the life and times of Daniel Coxe, who is remembered as the first Provincial Grand Master in North America, having received his deputation from the Duke of Norfolk of the Grand Lodge of England in 1730. He was a member of Lodge No. 8, which met at the Devil’s Tavern in London, and went on to receive extensive land grants in what was called West Jersey.

Senior Warden José discussed elements of Craft lodge symbolism. No need to reveal that on-line.

Junior Deacon Hansel, also of the soon-to-be chartered Daniel Coxe Council, gave us a biography of Thomas Smith Webb, the entrepreneurial ritualist of the 18th and 19th centuries who did much of the work toward establishing what we call the York Rite of Freemasonry, within which the AMD is tucked away. He died in 1819; a ritualist to the very end (and beyond!) his remains were buried no fewer than three times over the years. Thurman was present at the dedication of the most recent gravesite monument, an obelisk, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Last, but certainly not least, the new Sovereign Master gave his inaugural presentation, a PowerPoint production illustrating the many fascinating aspects of what is alternately known in Sacred Geometry as the Golden Ratio, Golden Mean, the Fibonacci Sequence, Phi, Golden Number, Divine Proportion, et al.

This is the ratio of 1:1.618, and it figures into so much of nature – from the shape of human DNA to the shells of snails, and the petals of marigolds – that it is not unreasonable to see this irrational number as a code or language with which God endeavors to communicate with man. When Plato said “God forever geometrizes,” he was talking about this, and it is essential for the thinking Freemason to possess a working understanding of this aspect of geometry. And in the works of man, our art and architecture, this mathematical wonder delivers designs that are the most pleasing to the eye. Whether we realize it or not, when we enjoy the fine arts, and even certain performing arts, we behold the Divine Proportion.

V. Franklin Suco, inaugural Sovereign Master of Alexandria Council, gave a PowerPoint presentation on one of the most important, yet rarely discussed, topics in Freemasonry: the Golden Ratio.

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From left: Don, Mark, José, and John are just about to set upon their entrées. The food at Bloomfield Steak and Seafood is exceptional in quality and abundant in flavor.

The building the restaurant calls home is a historic site dating to 1670. The wall behind the brethren here is a buttress attesting to architecture of that era. Originally a private residence, it is one of the oldest buildings in New Jersey.

Bloomfield Steak and Seafood House is an ideal choice of venue for Masonic meetings, not only because it returns us somewhat to our roots in the taverns, but the story of this particular building is amazing, and even involves some notable Freemasons.

Here is how the Township of Bloomfield describes the site in its literature:

Back in the 1600s, they built for longevity. Take for instance the Joseph Davis House, now the Bloomfield Steak & Seafood House, at 409 Franklin Street. The house was built long before the introduction of cement and yet, “it will likely last 1,000 years,” said Ann Hardy, chairperson of the Historic District Review Board. The main walls are two feet thick at base and the cellar walls measure eight to 10 feet thick.

The Davis house is a monument to the early history of Bloomfield, the oldest of the town’s pre-Revolutionary War homes. It is listed on both the state and national historic registers, which do not dictate uses of listed properties. The home is used as a restaurant and no part of it is open for touring, but, “externally, you can still tell it is a very old house,” said Hardy. “It’s one of many houses in Bloomfield that have become different things over time.”

Built by Thomas Davis in 1670, the house was occupied by his descendants until 1903. It has been associated with many historic events:

• During the Revolution, a tunnel in the cellar ran to the foot of Orange Mountain and was used by women and children to escape the British.

• A wounded English soldier was taken in by the Davis family and nursed back to health. To show his appreciation, the soldier built the well that still remains on the property, and hewed the stone wash basin that sits next to the well.

• General George Washington and General Henry Knox stopped at the homestead for directions to Morristown and were entertained for dinner. (Magpie Note: Both were Freemasons.)

• In the late 1700s, when the home was occupied by Deacon Joseph Davis, worship services were regularly held in the house. Otherwise, the closest churches were in Newark or Orange. In 1796, when the First Presbyterian Church on the green was built, Deacon Davis, a founding member, provided, for the sum of eight pounds, the land on which the church still stands.

• The charter of Bloomfield was signed in the house’s “beam ceiling room” by General Joseph Bloomfield in 1796. A group of citizens meeting at the home named the town after Bloomfield, who was a New Jersey governor and Revolutionary War officer.

During the past two centuries, the Davis Homestead has been a farmhouse, hospital, church and restaurant. Only a handful of property transfers has occurred since Revolutionary War times, but what a tale the building tells from its early days!

There had been a Masonic lodge in Bloomfield for generations. Bloomfield Lodge No. 48 was chartered on November 9, 1824. It surrendered its charter exactly six years later, a victim no doubt of the Morgan scandal, but was revived in January of 1856 as No. 40. It no longer exists (it is part of the lineage of Essex Lodge No. 7), but it had been located on the corner of Broad and Liberty streets, practically right across the street from this restaurant.

Bro. Joseph Bloomfield of Trenton Lodge No. 5, was among the founders of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, serving as its fifth Grand Master. During the Revolution, he was a major in the Third New Jersey Regiment. After the war, he served the state as attorney general (1783-92) before resuming military service as a brigadier general of militia. He served as governor of New Jersey for most of the time between 1801 and 1812, but upon the outbreak of war with Britain again, he served as brigadier general in the U.S. Army.


He returned to government service after that war, representing New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives.


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The chartering of Alexandria Council is a wonderful occurrence, but it marks the end of something else that was very special. Since August of 2007, some of these brethren and I met as a private Masonic study group called Quadrivium. Inspired by the mission and the structure of the Dormer Masonic Study Circle in the United Kingdom, our Quadrivium was an invitational group that would meet in different locations every couple of months to hear the members’ research work and enjoy dinner together. Why Masons must meet in near secrecy to do the work they should be doing in lodge is beyond the maw of my ken.

Anyway, part of me had hoped that this group would evolve eventually into a special lodge that would adopt some of the traits of European Concept and/or Traditional Observance lodges. Select membership, excellent ritual, meaningful education in both esoteric and exoteric matters, fine dining, and other aspects that raise the bar to make Masonry a worthy pursuit of serious men.

“It is great to be among friends and brethren in Masonic work,” said V. Suco. “If you don’t know, we have been meeting in private for more than two years. That, plus, Royal Arch, [Cryptic] Council, Commandery, Pennsylvania, Alexandria [Virginia], and New York – we’ve traveled a lot!”

MV Pace echoed that. “It’s great to see a lot of friends here!” he said. “We need a council in this area.”

It was a busy night that exceeded even The Magpie Mason’s endurance, as after the festivities a number of the brethren retired to the bar for drinks. It was a perfect evening of Masonic Light and fellowship and dining. The air was nearly electric with what the brethren at Sons of Liberty call “The Bond,” that hard-to-define essence of group friendship rooted in something that is simultaneously ethereal yet deeply substantial. Or substantially deep.

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s Freemasonry, but you don’t see it everywhere. I do not sense its presence in lodges that might as well trade their aprons for funny hats.

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Magpie readers, I point this out to show what it is that confronts the thinking Mason, and the fundamental reason why the “education Mason” feels the need to retreat from his lodge to have an intelligent conversation with like-minded brethren. (That certainly is not the case at Nutley 25. I am speaking generally.)

The following is a mass e-mail circulated last week.

Brethren

Have we lost ourselves in the pursuit of historical research and lost touch with our professed love of our neighbor?...

Let us stop looking within our history and concentrate on DOING UNTO OTHERS! Help someone see the LIGHT OF OUR BROTHERLY LOVE and return those feelings threefold! ACT AND GIVE OF OURSELVES to receive the realization of others that we give of ourselves without thinking of a return. EXCEPT maybe a HUG or a joyful handshake.

History, Books, and the internet are inward thinking and will always be with us. The thought of my old music teacher Mrs. Jones who propounded the idea of G D A E B F = Good Deeds are Ever Beaxring Fruit.

Please do not ask me why so many Masons are so afraid of learning, or why this one believes a man is incapable of reading books and helping others during the same lifetime, but I cite the above to illustrate what thinking Masons are up against. There are those who do not want you wasting time learning about the huge ideas and great men that comprise Masonic history and philosophy when you ought to be limiting yourself to upholding the 1960 model of Masonry as cute, bland service club.

The mantra I repeat to all of the new AMD councils in New Jersey is Guard the West Gate!

Royal Arch Research

Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research in New York has called a meeting during the weekend of the Grand Chapter of NY’s Annual Convocation in Albany.

From the Secretary:

Companions, you will shortly be receiving your meeting notice/summons for Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research’s annual meeting on Thursday, March 5 at noon at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road in Albany. Among the items to be discussed are changes to our by-laws, You’ll get a copy in the mail with your meeting notice.

I need RSVPs from our appointed/elected officers as to their attendance at this SUMMONED meeting.

Also, we are sending a request for papers. Please consider delivering a short paper or discussion at the meeting. Notify me of your interest in presenting, and I’ll send you some additional information.

Zealously,

Bill Thomas, Secretary
Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research
BillThomasNYC (at) earthlink.net