The star. (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1874-1875, 1875-03-08
The Cot0red Masons.

The c0lored Masons vest erday cele.
brated the centennial of the admission
of colored men to membership in the So
ciety. The procession formed early in
the afternoon at the hall on the north
west corner OF Sixth and Main; and
| thence proceeded east on Sixth TO Broad
way. south to Fourth, west to Centra
avenue, north to Seventh, and east tt
Union Chapel.
| Elder Suires opened the celebration
| exercises by an able and appropriate
| sermon-the Chaplain of ST. Johns
Lodge, Rufus Conrad, delivering the
prayer. II. w. Peter Ii. Clark, z. D. G
NJ, then delivered the anniversary ad.
dress.
On the 9th of March, 1775, Prince Hall
and thirteen other oOlored men received
the three symbolic degrees of Masonry
in ''traveling Lodge" attached to one
of the regiments OF General Cages army,
then stationed at Boston, Massachusetts. s.
General Joseph Warren, at that time
Provincial Grand Master, took sufficient
interest in Prince Hall and his associates
to lead them to hope he would organize
them into regular warranted Lodge.
Unfortunately, the death OF that officer
at Bunker Hill, June II, 1775, destroyed
their hopes in that direction, and com.
PEELED them to look elsewhere for a char.
ter.
Immediately after the close ofthe Rev.
olution application was made to England
for one. After due trial and strict eX.
animation the Grand Lodge of England
granted their prayer (llS4), but the doc
ument tailed to reach them until 1857.
BY its provisions Prince Hall and his as.
sociates were organized into AFRICAN
Lodge No. 1907
In the South 1t was customary for
whites and blacks to meet together in
the same Lodges upon the common level
of the equal brotherhood Of man, and at
one Time the three Supreme Grand Mas
ters of the Sublime Grand Council OF
Charleston, s. C.,were Andrew jackson,
President of theUnited States; eWitt
Clinton, Governor of New York, and
Gaudaloupe. Wright met with them
regularly until 1928, when DR.. Mackey
protested against colored Masonry, and
stringent orders were issued to make no
more colored men Masons.
NeZey's conspiracy occurring about
this lime caused considerable excite
ment in the south. Numbers of colored
men were hung, those VINO were Masons
receiving the assistance OF their white
brethren escaped into the North. Since
then TO colored men have been initiated
by the white Lodges of the United
States, save in the State of New Jersey.
In 1865 the colored Masons determined
to withdraw from the anomalous posi-
tion in which they were placed and es-
tablish an "Independent Grand Lodge
Tor the State OF Ohio."
The representatives met at Urbana, on
June %, 1868, and entered into q formal
covenant with each other.
Eighteen Lodges were represented at
that meeting, and the numbers Of Corin-
THAN, True American, and St. Johns
Lodges were renumbered l, 2 and 3 re-
spectively. Since then the Grand Lodge
OF Ohio numbers nearly fifty Lodges. A
Grand Chaper and Grand Commandery
Tor this jurisdiction have been instituted
since then and are in a prosperous con.
dition.
Mr.. VIM. Boyd, of Cleveland, deliv-
cred stirring address, and was iol-
lowed by uperlutendent Parham in an
interesting address upon the future OF
African Freemas0nry.