The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-11
FUNERAL OF H. W. PALMER.
Buried in BOnaventure Cemetery
With Masonic HOnOrs.


The funeral of the late Henry w
Palmer took place from the residence OF
! his brother, Mr.. H. A. Palmer. No. Il
Jones street, west, at o'clock yesterday
| afternoon. 1t was largely attended.
The parlors and hallway Of Mr.. H. a.
! Palmer's residence were thronged with
| the friends of his brother when DR.. John
! D. Jordan. pastor of the First Baptist
| Church, commenced the service with a
prayer for the dead man and those sor-
rowing loved ones whom he had left be-
| mind 1t had been the expressed wish of
Mr.. Palmer that the services at his fun
eral should be those of Masonry alone,
and DR.. Jordan, who is himself a master
mason, in his prayer kept strictly within
the terms and spirit Of this request
Mr. Palmer trod his path in life, as has
been said of another jovial and charitable
and kindly spirit, with a faith too strong
by creed" So Dr. Jordans eloquent
prayer was free from the terms of any
particular religion. save those which are
common to them all. breathing only the
trusting faith and confidence in the good
ness of the Supreme Architect of the Uni
verse, which is a cardinal tenet of the
Masonic fraternity.
Following Dr.. Jordan's prayer. the choir
Of Zerubbabel Lodge, Messrs. King, Dem
mond Snow and Cargiu, sang the Masonic
funeral chant, Death Is Like an Ever
Flowing Stream" The words of the chant
convey solemn sense of the majesty Of
death and the air is a sad and solemn
one. Under its rhythmically mournful in
iuence there was many a tear-dimmed
eye in that gathering of Mr. Palmer s
relatives and friends. At the conclusion
Of the chant, DR.. Jordan announced that
the funeral services would be concluded
at the grave in Bonaventure.
Zerubbabel Lodge of Masons attended
the funeral in body The membership
of Zerubbabel was augmented by the at
tendance in line of members of every
other Masonic Lodge in the city, and
there were at least $50 Masons who march
ed from the temple to the house and from
the house proceeded to the grave in
Bonaventure. to evidence their brotheriy
love for Mr.. Palmer and to commit his
body to earth in accordance with their
funeral rites. Many other Masons attend
ed the services, both at the house and the
grave. who were not in line, and a con-
sentative estimate places the total Ma
sonic attendance at 200
No other of the many societies and
organizations with which Mr.. Palmer had
been affiliated in life, attended his funeral
in body, his request having been that
the Masons alone should perform the
last rites, but there were unofficial del
egations from all of them. A long line
of carriages followed the hearse to Bon
aventure.
While the services at the grave were
in progress four or five hundred people
listened reverently. The pail bearers
were members of the clerical force OF
the Palmer Hardware Company, OF
which Mr. Palmer had been treasurer.
At the grave the solemn and impressive
Masonic funeral rites were conducted by
Worshipful Master Isaiah A Solomons
| of Zerubbabel Lodge, assisted by thu
! present officers of the lodge and it's pas
masters. Into the open grave Worshipfu
Master Solomons dropped gently tn,
white apron, signifying purity, the glove
| signifyng fraternity. and the sprig o
evergreen, typifying the Masonic faith il
| Immortality. A trio, consisting of Messrs
| Coburn, Upper and McCardel sang tn
| hymn, Nearer, My God to Thee" an
| DR.. Jordan concluded the services with
| brief prayer.
| The flowers and floral designs, including
number of very elaborate and handsom
ones, covered the grave completely, con
| cealing its grim and raw outlines beneath
a mass of white purity and beauty. TIL
! flowers came from the organizations il
| which Mr. Palmer had taken so close al
| interest. as well as from the very man,
warm and loving friends he had made il
| life