Category: Portland Valley Scottish Rite

BY JOHN MILTON HODSON 33°

To the best of my knowledge the first history of the Oregon Scottish Rite was found in the “Masonic History of the Northwest” History Publishing Company 1902 page 331-336. It is here repeated for your edification. Upcoming additions of the blog will give more information about MWB Hodson and the early Historians of the Oregon Scottish Rite.

CHAPTER XIX .

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the State of Oregon.

THERE appears to have been but two Brethren of the Scottish Rite residing in Oregon prior to 1870. These were Ill. Bro. John C. Ainsworth, 33rd degree, and Bro. H. C. Morrice, 14th degree. We are not informed as to when or where either of these Brethren attained the degrees further than in the proceedings of the Supreme Council at its session held in the city of New Orleans, in April, 1861, Bro. Ainsworth was elected an honorary Inspector -General, and Ill. Bro. A. T. C. Pierson, Active Inspector – General of Minnesota, was authorized to confer the 33rd degree upon him.

There were, however, many among the leading Masons of the State who were desirous of obtaining more light, and believed it was contained in the beautiful rituals of the Scottish Rite. They, after many consultations, concluded to attempt the organization of a Lodge of Perfection, and upon the first of February, 1870, Ill. Bro. E. H. Shaw, 33d degree, Active Inspector – General of California, came to Portland and congregated the Brethren desirous of uniting in the enterprise, and by the authority of the Supreme Council and by his right as Sovereign Grand Inspector – General, conferred by explanation the degrees from the 4th to the 32nd upon 16 Brethren who at once united in forming Oregon Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, of Portland, with officers and members as follows John McCraken, Ven. Master; A. B. Richardson, Sen. Warden; Josiah Myrick, Jr. Warden; W. W. Upton, Orator; S. G. Reed, Treasurer; Le F. A. Shaw, Secretary; Theo. Wygant, Almoner; H. C. Morrice, Master of Ceremonies; R. B. Knapp, Sen. Expert; W. W. Francis, Jr. Expert; J. A. Chapman, Capt. of Guard; J. C. Ainsworth, J. D. W. Biles, Jos. Kellogg, Jos. N. Dolph, A. Zeiber and E. M. Burton.

A code of by-laws was provided and the fees for the degrees from the 4th to the 14th inclusive were fixed at $110, and the Lodge went to work with enthusiasm and success. Bro. John C. Ainsworth, 33d degree, was created an Active Inspector – General and at once went to work with his usual enthusiasm; and at the session of the Supreme Council, held at Louisville, Ky., in May, 1872, made a complete report of his work and. the standing of the bodies he had organized in the State, together with Oregon Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, organized in 1870, which gives the only complete account of the various bodies organized in Oregon ever made to the Supreme Council. This list of bodies, with their presiding officers, at that date were: Oregon Lodge of Perfection, No. 1 Portland, John McCraken, Ven. Master; Albert Pike Lodge of Perfection, No. 2, of Salem, S. F. Chadwick, Ven. Master; Ainsworth Lodge of Perfection, No. 3, of Corvallis, J. R. Bayley, Ven. Master; Albert G. Mackey Council, Princes of Jerusalem, No. 1, Portland, John McCraken, Ill. Tarshatha; B. B. French Council, No. 2, Salem, S. F. Chadwick, Ill. Tarshatha; Ainsworth Chapter, Rose Croix, No. 1, Portland, John McCraken, Wise Master; Giles M. Hillyer Chapter, Rose Croix, No. 2, Salem, S. F. Chadwick, Wise Master; and Multnomah Council, Knights Kadosh, No. 1, Portland, Ill. .John McCraken, Em. Commander. These bodies as charter fees, fees for degrees, and incidentals, paid to the Supreme Council for the years 1870 and 1872 the handsome sum of $3,905.51.

Of the above bodies those of Corvallis and Salem, after several years of earnest endeavor, found their fields of labor too narrow for satisfactory success and surrendered their charters and dissolved, a large number of their members joining the bodies in Portland, and the others drifted into non – affiliation, and many of them have passed the confines of earth life and are with us no more.

With the above mentioned report Ill. Bro. Ainsworth presented his resignation as Active Inspector -General to take effect as soon as his successor could be chosen, and duly qualified, which occurred at the session in 1874, when Ill. Bro. John McCraken was crowned an active member of the Supreme Council, and Bro. Ainsworth elected an emeritus member.

Soon after this above mentioned report, Albert G. Mackey Council, No. 1, Princes of Jerusalem, of Portland, controlling the 15th and 16th degrees was merged into Ainsworth Chapter, Rose Croix, No. 1, of Portland, and a few years subsequent, the Supreme Council ceased to organize councils of the Princes of Jerusalem, hence there are no bodies of these degrees, separate from the Chapters, now in the southern jurisdiction. Ill. Bro. John McCraken served as Active Inspector-General until 1878, when he tendered his resignation and was elected a member emeritus, Ill. Bro. S. F. Chadwick being elected his successor, but it does not appear that he ever accepted the election or performed any of the duties of Active Inspector – General, and in 1883 Ill. Bro. Rockey P. Earhart was crowned Active Inspector – General and served until his death in 1892; he was succeeded by Ill. Irving W. Pratt, in 1892, as Active Inspector – General, the duties of which important position he has continued to discharge up to the present writing, to the complete satisfaction of the Brethren and the great benefit of the Craft.

Ill. Bro. McCraken presided as Venerable Master from organization, until he was appointed Active Inspector – General in 1874, when he transferred the duties of the office to Ill. Bro. Pratt, who was regularly elected Ven. Master in 1876 and continued to serve until 1885, when Ill. Bro. Seth L. Pope was elected his successor, who served until 1891, when our present Ven. Master, Ill. Bro. Philip S. Malcom was chosen, whose industry and Masonic enthusiasm has made decided impressions for good upon the rite in the State. The membership of Oregon Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, of Portland, now reaches the respectable number of 441, good men and true.

Bro. Le F. A. Shaw was first Secretary at organization in 1870, and served until January 1, 1871, when Bro. W. W. Francis was chosen to succeed him, who was in turn succeeded by Bro. H. C. Morrice, March 3, 1874, who served until October 5, 1875, when Bro. Francis again resumed the keeping of the minutes of the work, until February 29, 1876. Ill. Bro. B. G. Whitehouse was elected, who faithfully kept the records until February, 1888, when Bro. E. H. Miller was chosen, serving until March 1, 1891, when Bro. Gustaf Wilson was elected who served until March 1, 1902, when, on account of increasing age and infirmity he resigned and Bro. Brydon H. Nicoll was elected Secretary, which position he satisfactorily fills.

We find that in the main the history of the Lodge of Perfection was virtually the history of the other bodies, as the charters for Oregon Lodge of Perfection, No. 1, Ainsworth Chapter, Rose Croix, No. 1, and Multnomah Council of Kadosh, No. 1, were issued by the Supreme Council upon the same date, to wit: December 13, 1871. By the authority of Ill. John C. Ainsworth, S.G.I.G., the Brethren were convened, the Chapter and council organized and officers installed upon the 16th day of January, 1872, with almost exactly the same Brethren occupying corresponding positions through all the bodies; this condition was maintained until in 1883 Bro. Philip S. Malcolm was elected Wise Master of the Chapter and through his energetic efforts an increased interest was soon manifested.

In the early part of 1891 the subject of organizing a Consistory was discussed and the matter soon took definite shape, and a petition for a charter was forwarded to the Supreme Council, which was granted under date of March 20, 1891, as Oregon Consistory, No. 1, of Portland; and the organization was completed May 13th, following. The officers elected and installed were: Philip Schuyler Malcolm, 33rd degree, Grand Cross Master of Kadosh; David S. Tuthill, 33rd degree, Prior; Louis G. Clark, 33d degree, Preceptor; Andrew Roberts, 33d degree, Chancellor; George H. Chance, 33d degree, Orator; John R. Foster, 33d degree, Treasurer and Almoner; and S. B. Riggen, Registrar. Ill. F Bro. Malcolm was at the same time elected presiding officer of each of the other bodies, and infusing his own enthusiasm into the other Brethren they went to work with renewed energy and soon the attention of the Fraternity in general was directed to the beautiful features of the rite and many sought to participate in its light. The hall in the Masonic Temple soon became insufficient to accommodate the growing numbers, and new quarters were engaged in the Marquam block at an annual rental of $1,800, and fitted up at an expense of several thousand dollars with all the paraphernalia for conferring the degrees and accommodation of the Brethren in the best style. For some years it has been the practice, in addition to the regular meetings of the rite, to hold semi-annual reunions to which the country members were especially invited. These reunions were held in January and June, the latter during Grand Lodge week, prior to its opening, and has resulted in large additions from the ranks of the most earnest thinking Masons of the State. No contention or rivalry between the rites has ever been engendered but all working together in the most complete harmony; in fact a very large percentage of the members of the Scottish Rite belong to all departments of the York Rite; and very few of the Brethren who have joined the Lodge of Perfection have, on any account, failed to become Masters of the Royal Secret.

As a result of this prosperity of the Scottish Rite, their quarters in the Marquam are too small, and now, after an occupancy of ten years, the Scottish Rite is engaged in the erection of a magnificent cathedral, on the corner of Morrison and Lownsdale Streets, in the city of Portland, that, when completed, will be sufficient to accommodate not only themselves but all the Grand Bodies of the State for many years to come. The grounds are owned by Oregon Consistory, No. 1, incorporated, which issued bonds for $55,000, which, in addition to the sums already expended and in the Treasury, will be sufficient to complete and furnish the cathedral at a total cost of $100,000 without any indebtedness except the bonds issued. The cathedral will be furnished with a magnificent Aeolian organ which was built for the Pan – American Exposition, at Buffalo, and when completed the cathedral and its furnishings will be a source of honor, pleasure and instruction to the fraternity for all the coming years.

The following Oregon brethren have served as Sovereign Grand Inspectors General and Active members of the Supreme Council, 33d degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry: John C. Ainsworth, John McCraken, Rockey Preston Earhart, and Irving W. Pratt.

The following brethren have received the 33d degree and elected Honorary Members of the Supreme Council: *Stephen F. Chadwick, *Joseph N. Dolph, John R. Foster, Ferdinand N. Shurtleff, Philip Schuyler Malcolm, Seth L. Pope, *Andrew Roberts, Benjamin G. Whitehouse, *David S. Tuthill, *George E. Withington, Louis Gaylord Clarke, Jacob Mayer, *Henry L. Hoyt, James W. Cook, George H. Chance, Douglas W. Taylor, Joseph Simon, Donald Mackay, John B. Cleland, Francis Asbury Moore, and John Milton Hodson.  * Deceased.

 

About the editor of this essay:

 

Michael D. Robinson 32° KSA, was the second Master Mason Raised in Esoterika Lodge #227, and the first member Raised in that Lodge to serve as Worshipful Master. He was elected Master in 2013 and 2014, and currently serves as Chaplin for that Lodge. Brother Robinson was appointed Historian for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Orient of Oregon in December of 2014, and Secretary of the Eugene Valley in March of 2015. He also serves as Historian for Research Lodge #198 and Eugene Lodge #11. He is the recipient of the “Novus Astorum” from the Scottish Rite in 2010, and the Hiram Award from Esoterika Lodge in 2012.

Brother Robinson has a degree in History from Colorado State University, class of 1982,