The Pretended Dormancy Of The African Lodge.

THE PRETENDED DORMANCY OF THE AFRICAN LODGE .

To the Editor of the FUEEMASON ' S CrmoNicr . K . DEAR SIK AND BROTHER , —As yonr article on Coloured Masonry , of 21 st August , attracted attention , and a desire for more light upon the subject , I ant pleased therefore at having anticipated the desire of yonr correspondent "Q . " ( see page 196 ) , and shall now proceed to famish full evidence of the continued activity of the African Lodge

between 1807 and 1824 , the period of its alleged dormancy . But I rnnst first state that this alleged dormancy was deduced in 1870 by Bro . W . S . Gardner from a document issued by the African Lodge in 1827 , signed by John T . Hilton W . M ., Thomas Dalton S . W ., Lewis York J . W ., and J . H . Purron Sec , and the deduction was made from the following words : —

" In consequence of tho decease of the above-named Bro . [ Prince Hall ] the institution was for years unable to proceed , for the want of one to conduct its affairs agreeably to what is required in every regular and well-educated Lodge . " " Unable to proceed , " Bro . Gardner construed into dormancy . In reality , however , Hilton simply meant to say that the institution

could not progress , or ^ o onward , or " go ahead , " as we say in America . That is all that Hilton and tho other signers meant to convey by " unable to proceed . " Usui Bro . Gardner , in his address in 1870 , given his authority for his dormancy theory , I would probably have noticed it , and disproved it in my review of the said address ; but

Bro . G . referred to it merely as follows : — "Under tho direction of Prince Hall the Lodge prospered ; but after his death , which occurred 4 th Dec . 1807 , it became dormant , and ceased to have any actual existence . " This was all that Bro . Gardner said , and it somehow escaped my attention in 1871 , when I reviewed tho said address .

When my attention was called to the subject of dormancy last winter , by " The Voice of Masonry , " I called upon Bro . Hayden P . G . M . of Prince Hall G . L . ; and he reasoned with me thus : First , said he , " In 1869 we possessed original records of tho first quarter of this eentnry , which records Bro . John T . Heard P . G . M . of the G . L . of Massachusetts then examined ; and if the Lodge had been dormant ,

he would have noticed it . " And , second , he , Bro . Hayden , belonged to the African Lodge over thirty years , but never heard about its dormancy . Unfortunately , the records were burnt with the Prince Hall Temple in 1869 , and this mishap deprived us of the testimony which the records would have supplied . I next requested Hayden ' to obtain , if possible , some documents of the period , such as certificates

of deceased members , or other scraps written during tho period of the alleged dormancy of the Lodge . Bro . Hayden then showed me " Tho Massachusetts Eegister , " an annual , containing the names of various societies in Boston , among which it gave all the Boston Masonic Lodges , Chapters , & c . The African Lodgo appeared roguhrly in the said publication from 1797 to 1813 . It is highly probablo

that the omission of the African Lodge from the said Register , after tho above year , was due to the influence of a white brother who mny have been connected with the said publication . The wlrte Mason-, ' institutions wero dropped from the Register after 1819 . Aa too white Masons continued to meet after 1819 , the coloured brethren doubtless also continued their meetings after 1813 .

I next questioned Bro . Gardner about his authority for the alleged dormancy of the coloured Lodge . He told me that he got the information " from somewhere , " and that he would hunt it up in abont a week . I had no doubt that Bro . Gardner got it somewhere , but I assured him that he made a mistake , and gave him my reasons for my belief . I did call next week , and next , upon Bro . Gardner , and

on my fourth call Bro . Gardner said , " I have searched everywhere bub could not find it , " but he was sure , he said , that ho got it from some of the Proceedings of the Coloured Grand Lodges . In the meantime , I learned , from a member of the African Lodge , that an old member of his Lodge , who lived in New Hampshire was in possession of an old Record , that the possessor would not part with it ,

and that I would hare to go to New Hampshire to see it . I , however , urged my informant to do his best and get the Record brought to Boston . A few days afterwards I once more called upon Bro . Gardner , and informed him that I had at last discovered his authority about the dormancy theory , in Bro . MacCalla ' s article in the " Voice of Masonry , " and when I explained to him , the true definition of tho

word " proceed , my friend seemed to enjoy a hearty laugh at his own blunder . Soon after this conversation I visited England . About two or three weeks after my return from Europe the aforesaid Record was handed to me . But before I proceed to describe it , I will state , though at the risk of being considered egotistical and tedious , that I examined the earliest Record of the G . L . of

England in 1869 ; but as Bro . John T . Heard saw tho same Record in 1870 , and reported here that it was not an original one , I subsequently re-examined it , and satisfied myself that he was mistaken . In 1869 I examined the Colonial Record of the G . L . in Boston , extending from 1733 to 1792 , and within a quarter of an hour , I pronounced that , from 1733 to 1750 , the said Provincial Grand Lodgo Record

was manufactured by Charles Pelham . Indeed , the document was not written before 1751 or 1752 . The Record of St . John ' s Lodge , Boston , extending from 1733 to 1754 , I demonstrated to have been compiled by tho said Bro . Pelham from pre-existing memoranda and from hearsay in 1754 . I also examined our Boston St . Andrew's Lodge Record from 1760 , and am satisfied that it is original from its beginning . The earliest African Lodge Record , still

in existence , which begins with the initiation of Prince Hall and others in 1775 , I demonstrated to Bro . Lewis Hayden papers was not written before 1784 . These , and other documents which I have examined , make mo sceptical about the genuineness of early Masonic Records . When , therefore , such a document is submitted to my examination I subject it to every possible test ; first , in order to ascertain whether it is original . If I find it not to be so , 1 endeavour to ascertain whether it i 3 a true tranaoripfc of a pre-existing Record .

The Pretended Dormancy Of The African Lodge.

whether it is a compilation , or whether it is a mere manufacture from hearsay . The African Lodge Record before me indicates age and hard usage ; it is a folio , half bound , with paper covers . Tho pasteboard of the rovers peeps tbrongh its leather corners , and tho colonr of its covers is almost effaced by friction ; tho paper is very coarse , and fclio lines or rulings aro nearly faded away . The Record embracos the period between 1 S 07 and 184 fi , bnt I saw at a glanco that up to 182 ( 5 it is a

mere transcript . After which , I am satisfied that its minutes are all original . Up to 1827 , the minutes are preceded with "Tho African Lodge No . 459 . " In tho lntter year the Lodse declared its independence , when the minutes began to be hinder ! with "Tho African Grand Lodge . " On the pa h ,

A . L . 5825 . " This itself imnlles that , t ' : e book was nut obtained l > ef TO the a ^ ove date ; but I am inclined » o think that , the above i-sc rintion was 1 ^ -t written before 1827 , or after the independence of the Lodge was declared . Tho minutes of 1 st May 1810 state , that , " it wa 3 agreed that tho Secretary shall receive three dollars to pnrrhase books for tho Lodge . " This probably refers to one of the two Records

which Bro . Heard examined in 18 G 9 . Tho minntes of Jannary 28 th , 1822 , say , " Thev found also the books much out of order , and Brothers Lew , Moody and Hay wero chosen as a committee to revise tho Books , and to purchase a Book of Records to keep the proceedings of the Lodge . " Tho committee evidently did not attend to it , for under date of 21 st November 1825 ( that is , three days previous to tho ditto

mentioned on the first page ) , I find that Bro . John T . Hilton recoiled three dollars to buy a book with , and " to revise the original Records . " And under date of 7 th July 1826 , it is stated that Hilton wns paid for revising the Record . After the above date , the original Record begins . The second paragraph in the Record merely states , " October 7 th

1807 , Bro . Prince Hall , to whom the charter was granted , Anno Domini 1783 , is the presiding officer . " After a blank of a few inches , we have as follows : — "November 7 th 1807 . This day deceased W . Master Prince Hall , and is no more with us . " December 28 th 1807 , tho names of the newly-elected officers are recorded , Nero Prince W . M ., & c . The remainder of the page was left blank . As the next minntes

are dated 14 th June 1808 , I am inclined to believe that the minutes between the above dates were torn out of the original Record , and henco the blank was left for the purpose of Ming it up should tho lost sheet be recovered ; thia supposition was suggested by tho fact that the Record of 1784 , before referred to , is very much mutilated . The sheets are loose , some of them torn out , and some

move or less destroyed . Between the 14 th June and the 22 nd October we have another blank . At the last named meeting George Middleton was elected W . M ., James Nickson and Peter Lew Wardens , & c . After this the minutes continue regular . Tho first work mentioned is 22 nd October 1808 , when Eri Low , Walter Martin , and John Shorters , wero ordered to attend the noxt meeting , to bo raised ,

and dnring the period embraced by the transcript about SO initiations took place in tho African Lodge , including threo clergymen . In some places the reviser crowded two or threo snecessive meetings into one paragraph . Under date of 5 th August 1817 is recorded the death of the W . M . Peter Lew ; bis funeral cost the Lodge 30 dollars 98 cents . My friend , the city registrar of deaths , births , and

marriages , ab my request , searched his City Records , which he found to corroborate the date in the African Lodgo Record , about the demiso of Peter Lew . And I may here add that tho said city registrar , who is a P . M ., and is Secretary of a Chapter , has carefully examined tho African Lodge Record now in my possession , and he fully concurs with my conclusions as above stated .

Again , the brother who procured the Record for my inspection , and who has been a member of the African Lodge over thirty years , assnred me of having , somo years ago , sorted out a triinkfVill of Lodge documents , such as letters , receipts , & c , and bundled and labelled each package , viz ., from such to such date ; that a large number of those documents were written during the period between

1807 and 1821 . And since my second article on the Coloured Qne =-tion was mailed , Bro . J . T . Heard admitted to me that he saw , in 1869 , the African Lodge Records , and that he was sorry to learn about their destruction . He also added , that they wero very badl y written , and in great confusion , and that Hayden furnished him with a synopsis of the Records , and as the Records were burned , ho

regretted having returned , afterwards , the synopsis to Hayden . But I have still other important evidence to disprove the alleged dormancy of tho African Lodge . A fortnight ago I heard that Thomas Dalton , who , as S . W ., signed the Declaration of tho African Lodge Independence in 1827 , which document gave rise to the misconstruction of the dormancy theory , was residing in Bunker Hill

Street , Charlestown , now part of the City of Boston , and I took tho liberty to interview him . Bro . Dnlton was born near Boston , bnt he did not settle here before 1809 . Three brothers of the name of Lew , all Masons , were Dalton's cousins . Bro . Dalton was intimate with Moody , Howard , and ? nany other names I found in the Record , that were initiated during tho alleged dormancy period , many years before

his own initiation , which , according to my Record , took placo 11 th April 1825 . The earliest recollection Bro . Dalton has of the African Lodge was the Masonic funeral of one of its members , within fliree or four years after his settling in Boston . The minutes of my Record , under date 14-th June 1813 , mentions the death of Bro . John Wilson , and tho funeral cost the Lodgo 19 dollars and 92 cents . This is probably the very fnneral he referred to . Ho related other

reminiscences of conversations abont tho Lodge among his Masonic friends before his own initiation , and as he had never heard about the dormancy of the Lodge , either before or after he joined it , ho naturally declared his utter disbelief in the dormancy theory . At my request , Bro . Dalton visited Bro . David Pulsifer , a white brother , a gentleman well known and hr-hlv esteemed in Boston . Bro . Pnlsifer also inlerroraf-d Br > . D : il : ' im . the result of ; , U which the following affidavit will make more clear : — " Whereas , I was recently informed , that in the Proceedings of