The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-09
Some MementOS Of Early Days Of
 St. Johns Lodge
Carefully Guarded Records and Re.icS of First Masonic Or ganizatiOn in This City Shown Farmer Reporter
Beautiful Examples of Chi~Og- raphy of Days of the Goose Quill as Legib,e and Brilliant as Copper Plate

as copper FIaIe
 With the members of St. Johns lodge, No. 3, F. and A. M. about to celebrate the 15Oth anniversary of the founding of their organization it Is fitting at this time that mention De made of the many relics of the early years of the lodge. Still in an excel lent state of preservation and guard ed with zealous care they have been handed down 10 the PresenI to tba ~eItx first meeting of the lodge.
 A Farmer reporter was privileged yesterday to visit the lodge room Tn the Masonic Temple and was shown . some of the ancient relics and records. Among them is the book of bylaws Of the lodge. In it are the names e SIX men who applied for the original charter April F, 1760. The men were 'E eager Hubbell, Isaac Youngs, Vol colt Chauncey, Benjamin Wynkoop' IT, David il Wheeler , and nd EIDgft ritt an 61 1E years ago by Isaac YoungS the nrst secretary. It was written with a quliI pen and though the pages of the book are yellow with age the writing hs as clear and Iegfble as though written yesterday. One may readily and easily read the bylaws as framed by the founders or the lodge 150 years ago. Another pr1z- | ed possession of the lodge is the orig inal charter which bears the seal or ! the first grand lodge and which has | been described at length in the Far mer several days ago This charter is kept in a steel tube in fire proof safe
 Another treasured possession of Ma sorry of early days is the first bible used by the lodge. The ins de of one ! of the covers bears this inscription: shl N. Y money, paid by the treasur- ! CT by order of the lodge, November 1793.'' The book Is of the so-caled King James edition and swas printed ! in diT7bT lSlk 1 the other documents it is yellow with age and shows the effect of much us- ! age It will be carried by the chap lain when the lodge attends divine service at Christ P E. church next There Is also minute book with a ! record of the meetings from the first , communication held on Monday morn | ing. February 15, 1762, at the home or l s'Captain Samuel Wakelee, Stratfield, l down to and through the Revolution | ary war. During 1777 and other years of the Revolutionary war the communications were not he d at regu- lar intervals. Curiously enough the meetings of those days we7e held in the morning instead of in lthe even
 ings as is the custom at present. | On the meeting of Feb. 15, 1762, Da- vid Wheeler and Wolcott Chauncey were raised to Masonry the first men to be raised to Masonry in Bridgeport. | At that meeting the records show that Arnout Cannon acted as Master pro tenn; Joseph Knapp as senior war den; Isaac Youngs as junior warden; EIeazer HubbeIl as treasurer and l. Anderson as secretary. The second
 communication of the lodge was held on the morning of the following day,
 Feb. Is, 1762. All these records were written with quill pens. They are all in the quaint chirography of the time but all are perfectly 1egfble and some of the writing might easily be mista-
 ken for copper plate impressions There is examples of scroll f1ourishing in the boks which would put to blush
 the efforts of many penmen of our
 day although made then with goose
 quill pen.
 With the other relics are the origin
 al jewels of the lodge worn by the fl st
 worshipful master, the first sen|or
 warden and the first junior warden. longer used by the lodge but are pre- . served carefully for the associations connected with them They are worn so thin from use that the inscriptions |. they once carried are no longer legible. An apron and sash worn by master | of the lodge many years ago Is also l preserved among the heirloomS of the
 lodge. The age of these articles IS not knows but they antedate the mem , ory of any living member as do set , | of lambskin aprons formerly used by , members of the lodge. The cd mas
 ter's apron and sash will be worn by
 WorshipfuI Master Andrew V. Bar
 Der when the lodge marches to attend services in Christ church next Sunday
 evening.
 Among the records of the lodge are
 found the names of men whom we
 read of as taking a prominent part in
 the carry history of our city. TEe
 first regular communication of the |, lodge was held Wednesday,, Feb. "A, , 1762 at Richard Hubbelrs in what is
 now Brooklawn avenue. The house
 stood on the Spooner farm and al
 though standing until a few years ago
 has since been torn down. An en- largement by H. J. Seeley from a neg atiVe made by E. S. Philips photo graph of this house hangs in the ante room of the lodge
 pieces of paraphernalia are to be fount.
 in the parlor of St. Johns lodge which
 is on the flight above the blue lodge
 room. Here the lodge has its library.
 There are pictures of Washington, La
 fayette, Benjamin Franklin, Dewitt Clinton and other men famous in Am
 erican history in fu!' Masonic regaha; There are also photographs of all
 past masters of the lodge beginning
 with B. S Smith, 1S1S-1e20 and co1tin-
 uing down to the present day There land, oldest living past master of
 the lodge. An interesting picture
 is that of Samuel Stratton, fath- Ter of Barnum's famous mid get Tom Thumb, who was master
 of the lodge from 1923 to 1927. Tom
 Thumb was a member of St Johns lodge and also of Hamilton Comman-
 dery Knights Templar. The minia-
 ture Templar uniform which he wore
 together with his photograph taken in
 uniform is preserved in the asylum or
 Hamilton cOmmandery.
 A photograph of pr. George E. Ober,
 a member of St. Johns 'odge and the
 first man raised to Masonry in the present Masonic temPle IS among oth-
 CT treasures of St. Johns lodge.
 The observance of the 150th anniver- sary of the lodge brings added inter est to these mementos of days gone
 by