Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1902-10-20
MASONIC GRAND
COMMUNICATION
Twenty-Fitth Annual Session..-Histoy Of the
Grand Body--lodge Officers and
Membership.
WORK COMMENCED 10 A. N.
Committee on Credentials Appolnted-AII But Five Of
the Subordinate Lodges Represented Third Degree
to Be Conferred This Evening In Montezuma
Lodge by Grand Lecturer

Lodge by Grand Lecturer.
Organized Masonry took foothold
in New Mexico at the time of the
! American occupation. A military trav.
cling lodge was organized at Santa Fe
as early as 1S47 in an Illinois regiment
under dispensation by the grand
master of the grand lodge of Missouri.
] This travelling lodge was known as
Hardin Military Travelling lodge. Col
onel John Rails, the grand master of
| Missouri, was at that time at Santa Fe
with a regiment of Missouri volunteers.
According to the records still in exist
ence and which are the property of
Montezuma lodge No. 1, this travelling
! lodge worked for two years in this city
until the close of the war with Mexico
| the withdrawal of the United States
volunteers and the establishment of
Fort Marcy as a regular army post.
The grand lodge of Missouri, in re-
sponse to a prayer of several of the
members of Hardin Military Travelling
lodge which had surrendered it's char
ter, and number of citizens of Santa
Fe, on May 12, 1850, granted a charter
to Montezuma lodge No. 109, which af-
terwards became Montezuma lodge No.
l, under the jurisdiction of the grand
lodge of New Mexico.
1t was ten years afterwards, in 1860,
that Bent lodge No 2O4 was chartered
at Taos by the grand lodge of Missouri.
Five years later it surrendered it's
charter Chapman lodge at Las Vegas
received it's charter in 1856 after sew
eral years of effort which on account
of Irregularities in the work had been
denied before and the name of the
lodge ordered stricken from the records
Of the grand lodge. Aztec lodge at Las
Cruces, Kit Carson lodge at Elizabeth
town, Cimarron lodge at Cimarron,
Silver City lodge at Silver City and
Union lodge at Fort Union were the
other New Mexico lodges granted
charters under the jurisdiction of the
grand lodge Of Missouri.
On August 6, 1877, pursuant to CALL
convention Of delegates from several
lodges Of the territory met at the hall
of Montezuma lodge in Santa Fe to Or
ganize a grand lodge of the territory Of
New Mexico, the following lodges be-
ing represented: Aztec No. 10S, Chap
man No. 50, Montezuma No. 109, and
Union No. 4SO. On August Z, 1877, the
convention elected officers of the grand |
lodge, William W. Griffin of Monte
yuma No. /, being chosen grand mas
ter. He was installed and the grand |
lodge of New Mexico was opened in
ample form and declared duly or
ganized
During the session constitution and |
bylaws were prepared and adopted |
and on the night of August TO- the first
communication of the grand lodge Of
New Mexico adjourned.
The first annual communication Of |
the grand lodge Of Ancient, Free and |
Accepted Masons of New Mexico con-
vened at Masonic hall, In this city on |
January 6, 1879, Grand Mas |
Ter William W. Griffin presiding.
Since that date charters have been |
which have surrendered their charters, |
one on account of taking part in the |
organization Of the grand lodge of Ari-
zona, another, owing to consolidation |
with another lodge and the third on ac-
count of the abandonment of a mining |
camp in which 1t was located. This
leaves twenty-one working lodges in
the jurisdiction Of the grand lodge of
New Mexico, with a membership of
100.
The following is a list Of the grand
masters of the grand lodge from its or
yanization in August 1877 to 1902: 1877
to 1879, William W. Griffin; 1880, Will
am L. Rynerson; 1881, S. B. Newcomb;
1881, Henry L. Waldo; 1882, John B.
1888, w. B. Childers; 1884,
Cornelius Bennett; 1885, Macmillan
Frost; 1886, G. N. Blackwell; 1887 to
1888, W. s. Harroun; 1889, A. H. Moore
house; 1890. F. H. Kent; 1891, c. H.
Dane; 1891, Richard English; 1892, J. H.
Kuhn. 1893, c.. Fl. Sporleder; 1894 J j.
Kelly; 1895, James f. Wroth; 1896,
Charles Bowmer; 1897, John w. Poe; |
1893, r. C. Stewart; 1899, E. E. Day;
1900 to 1901, E. s. Stover 1901 to 1902,
A. H. Harllee.
During it's existence the grand lodge
lad but two grand secretaries, one of
hese was David j. Miller, who served
rom the date of organization to 1884
md the other is A. A. Keen, the pres
mt grand secretary. Grand Secretary
David j. Miller retired on account of
II health and died about thirteen years
lgo in sanitarium at st. Louis, Mo.