The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-10-26
NEGRO MASONRY
English Lord Gave Masonic Patent to
Boston Black.

Walton in The World.
The ancestry of negro Freemas-
onry in the United States, generally
termed prince Hall Masonry" an
tedates by sixteen months the adcp-
ton of the Declaration of Indepen-
.dence
On March 6, 1775, in British
Army Lodge holding warrant under
the Grand Lodge Of England, and
attached to one of the regiments
stationed in or near Boston, COM
manded by Gen. Gage, Prince Hall
and fourteen other negroes were duly
Initiated and admitted as members OF
good standing in the Masonic frater-
nifty.
Nine years later the fifteen negro
Masons, all of whom resided in Bos-
ton, applied to the Grand Lodge OF
ENGLAND for permission to be set
apart as a regular lodge. The ap-
plication was granted and warrant
issued them on September 20, 1884,
authorizing the setting up CT re-
gular lodge to be known as African
lodge. No. 459, with Prince Hall as
master.
It was not until about April 29,
1887, that the warrant from the
Mother Grand Lodge of the World
was received, the delay in delivery
being primarily due to chaotic con-
ditions superinduced by strained re-
lations existing between the Colonies
and Great Britain. Four days after
the warrant had been turned over to
Prince Hall and his colleagues, the
African lodge was organized and en-
tered on the English Registry with
other Colonial Masonic bodies.
The original warrant issued by the
Grand Lodge of England to the tlf-
teen negroes is to this day kept in
vault in Boston by the Prince Hall
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts,. The
document reads as follows:
WARRANT OF CONSTITUTION
To All and Every:
Our Right Worshipful and Loving
Brethren: We, Thomas Howard, Earl
of Efingham, Lord Howard &C., Act
ing Grand Master, under the author
ity of His Royal Highness, Henry
Frederick. Duke Of Cumberland, c.,
Grand Master of the Most Ancient
and Honorable Society Of Free and
Accepted Masons, send gTeeting
Know We that we, at the humble
petition of our Right Trusty and
well-beloved brethren, Prince Hail.
Boston Smith, Thomas Sanderson,
and several brethren residing in Bos-
ton. New England, in North America,
do hereby constitute tbs said breth-
rem into a regular Lodge of Free and
Accepted Masons, under the title or
denomination of African Lodge, to
be opened in Boston, aforesaid, ana
do further, as their petition and
of the great trust and confidence re-
posed in every of the said above
named brethren, hereby appoint the
said Prince Hall to be Master; Bos-
ton Smith, Senior Warden; and
Thomas Sanderson, Junior, and for
such further time only as shall be |
thought by the brethren thereof, 1t
being our will that this, our appoint
ment Of the above officers, shall in no
wise affect any further election OF
officers of said Lodge, but that such
election shall be regulated, agreeable
to such bylaws of the said lodge as
shall be consistent with the Grand
Laws of the society, contained in the
Book of Constitution; and we hereby
will, and require of you, the said
Prince Hall Lodge, to take special
care that all and every, the said
brethren, are to have been regularly
made Masons, and that they do OBJ
serve, perform, and keep all the rules
and orders contained in the Book of
Constitutions; and further, that you
do from time to time cause to be en-
tered, in a book kept for that pur-
pose, an account of your proceedings
in the Lodge, together with all such
rules, Orders and Regulations as
shall be made for the good govern
ment of the same, that in no wise
you omit in every year to send to US,
or our successors, Grand Masters, or
Rowland Holt, Esq, our Deputy
Grand Master, for the time being, an
account of your said proceedings, and
copies of all such Rules, Orders and
Regulations as shall be made as
aforesaid, together with the list OF
-. ~,o,,bore oF tho ToSoo and raaS-t