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beyond the northeast corner
A Brief History Of Freemasonry
In Michigan - Early
Michigan Masonry
CHAPTER III
Richard h. sands
FREEMASONRY in Michigan had its genesis on April 27,
1764, when a warrant was issued for the first Masonic lodge in the territory of
Michigan by Provincial Grand Master George Harison of the Provincial Grand Lodge
of New York (English Moderns) to a group of Military Masons of the 60th Foot
Regiment headed by Lieutenant John Christie, Worshipful Master; Samuel Fleming,
Senior Warden and Josias Harper, Junior Warden.
Provincial Grand Master Harison was Deputized by the
Right Worshipful John Probyd, the Grand Master of England, Baron of Carysford,
in the County of Wicklow, in the Kingdom of Ireland. The deputation was dated 9
June, 1753, in London, England.
The meetings of Detroit's first Lodge were held in
the old blockhouse. Our pioneer Brethren improvised such crude, scanty furniture
as was necessary to the proper functioning of the Lodge. The room was poorly
lighted by a few small windows. There were no luxurious seats or richly carpeted
floors, no mural decorations nor expensive organ.
Like so many of the world's old Lodges, the only
items extant today of the existence of Lodge No. 1 are the original Warrant, a
copy of a Masonic certificate and a few old letters, from which we must piece
together the story of the first thirty years of Freemasonry in this vast
wilderness, then known as the Michigan Territories. For example, on 18 August,
1767, a Masonic certificate attesting to the initiation, passing and raising of
Brother Thomas Robinson and recommending him to "any community" was issued by
Union Lodge of Detroit, No. 1, and signed by Samuel Fleming, W.M.; Richard
McNeall and William Edgar, Wardens and sealed by Ben James, Secretary. (Thomas
Robinson was a Captain in the British Navy and carried this certificate to his
death on Mar. 27, 1806.
From
this certificate we learn that the name of the first lodge in Detroit was Union
Lodge and Samuel Fleming succeeded John Christie as W.M. The Irish Influence By
1772, there were at least two other lodges functioning at Detroit, both Irish
Military Lodges:
No. 299 was warranted August 3, 1756, by the Grand
Lodge of Ireland to Richard Withers, Lieutenant John Luke, Sergeant Robert
McCutchin and six others. It was in America from 1767 to 1778 and in Detroit
from 1771 to 1775.
This Lodge registered 54 new members with the Grand
Lodge of Ireland up to 1803. The Warrant was cancelled in 1818. No. 378 received
its Warrant from Ireland November 5, 1761, and the grantees were Thomas Grubb,
John Hutton and Thomas Milligan. Twenty-seven new members were registered up to
1765. The Warrant was cancelled in 1815. As we will see below, the first five
Lodges of our Grand Lodge were given life by the Grand Lodge of New York
which is of Antient origin. The drama of our Master Mason
Degree definitely has an Irish flavor. The Ancients were of Irish origin and we
can only conclude that this coupled with the short visitations of these Irish
Military Lodges left an indelible imprint on our Masonic ceremonies.
Zion Lodge No. 10 (now No. 1)
Zion Lodge No. 10
secured its warrant from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lower Canada (English Antients) on September 7, 1794, at which time Detroit was still an important
British Military Post. It was the Masons of the 4th Battalion, Royal
Artillery, who sought and received this warrant. There is no evidence of any
continuity from the earlier
Lodges - these men had been residents of Detroit only
a few short months and apparently there were no joining members who were ever on
the roster of a former Detroit Lodge. The records of Zion Lodge begin December
19, 1794 and are virtually continuous thereafter. Zion transferred its
allegiance to the independent Grand Lodge of New York (Antients origin) July 7,
1807, and became dormant during the war of 1812, and renewed its charter with
New York on April 9, 1816.
Through the years, Zion Lodge mothered Lodges at
River La Tranche and Amherstburgh across the Detroit River in Lower Canada and
encouraged the establishment of a Royal Arch Chapter, Monroe Chapter No. 1,
R.A.M. which was organized April 21, 1818.
By 1821, the influx of new settlers to the Territory
of Michigan created a larger demand for Freemasonry, and Zion Lodge supported petitions from four new Lodges in
rapid succession.
Detroit Lodge No. 337 (now No. 2)
On August 17, 1821, Zion Lodge supported a petition
to the Grand Lodge of New York from Brothers to form a neighboring Lodge in Detroit, and on September 5,
1821, this Grand Lodge granted a warrant to the petitioners under the name of
Detroit Lodge No. 337.
For the subsequent thirty years, these two Lodges
shared Freemasonry in Detroit.
Oakland Lodge No. 343 (now No. 3)
On February 7, 1822, a petition was forwarded
together with support from Zion Lodge from Brothers in Oakland County to receive a warrant for a Lodge in Pontiac.
On March 7, 1822, a warrant was granted by the Grand Lodge of New York to form Oakland Lodge No. 343, and the Lodge
was instituted on July 16, 1822.
The early days of Oakland Lodge were rather difficult
ones since the county was sparsely populated and considerable poverty could be seen on all sides. On several
occasions, the Grand Lodge of New York was moved by several appeals to remit the Lodge's dues, even as late as
1825.
Menomanie Lodge No. 374
First Lodge West of the Great Lakes
On the first Monday of May, 1824, Zion Lodge
cordially supported a petition from several Brothers stationed with
the Army in Green Bay, (now Wisconsin) for a warrant.
Again, this was granted on September 1, 1824, for Menomanie Lodge No. 374 on the roll of the Grand Lodge of New
York. By the close of 1825, twenty-seven new members were reported.
The Lodge was kept alive until 1830, when because of
the removal of the regiment stationed at Fort Howard, whose officers were the main support of the Lodge, it was
compelled to discontinue working and finally disappeared from the Masonic scene.
Monroe Lodge No. 375
On December 4, 1824, the Grand Lodge of New York
issued a warrant, following receipt of a petition and letters of support from both Zion and Detroit Lodges, for Monroe
Lodge No. 375 to operate in the town of Monroe.
This Lodge, which assisted in the formation of the
Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1826, suspended its labors in 1829 during the anti-Masonic period and never again took
up its working tools.
Formation of the First Grand Lodge
Sixty-two years were to pass from the formation of
the first Lodge in Michigan before any action was taken to form a Grand Lodge in the vast Territory of Michigan. (There
simply were not enough Lodges to warrant it.) It was during a meeting of Detroit Lodge No. 337, held on July 26,
1825, that a discussion was had regarding unifying the Lodges then in operation in the Territory. Zion No. 10,
Detroit No. 337, Oakland No. 343, Menomanie No. 374 and Monroe No. 375 (all constituents of the Grand Lodge of New
York) met on June 13, 1826, and the formation convention was held on June 24, 1826; subsequently, the following
Grand Lodge Officers were elected:
Lewis Cass, M.W. Grand Master
Andrew G. Whitney, R.W. Deputy G.M.
Seneca Allen, R.W. Senior Grand Warden
Leonard Weed, R.W. Junior Grand Warden
John L. Whiting, R.W. Grand Secretary
Henry J. Hunt, R.W. Grand Treasurer
Smith Weeks, R.W. Grand Chaplain
John E. Swartz, Grand Pursivant
Samuel Sherwood, Grand Tyler
They were installed on December 27, 1826 (St. John's
Day). Lewis Cass was Territorial Governor of Michigan (1813-1831) and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio
in 1810.
The Lodges of the Northwest Territory were then
renumbered as follows:
Zion No. 10 fi Zion No. 1
Detroit No. 337 fi Detroit No. 2
Oakland No. 343 fi Oakland No. 3
Menomanie No. 374 fi Menomanie No. 4
Monroe No. 375 fi Monroe No. 5
The Grand Lodge met in session in 1826, 1827 and 1829
during which times petitions for other Lodges were received and granted; specifically for Western Star
Lodge No. 6 in Ann Arbor and Stoney Creek Lodge, U.D. in the village of Stoney Creek, County of Oakland. Grand
Master Cass signed the dispensation authorizing Stoney Creek Lodge to meet and
work on January 9, 1828. It is of interest that this is the last known record of
the work of this first Michigan Grand Lodge, although it is well known that
at least one more meeting was held. Thus the last recorded act of the Grand Master of this Grand Lodge was to give
birth to the only Lodge that kept up its meetings during the eleven years of inactivity that followed and formed
the only living link connecting Michigan Masonry of the first
quarter of the nineteenth century to the Freemasonry of
today. This was a providential act which preserved from extinction the Masonic institution in Michigan, as will be noted
below.
Michigan at this time was having an immense
immigration from the eastern states, and especially from New York. These newcomers brought with them the intense and
bitter prejudice against Masonry, which was sweeping over the eastern portions of the country. The so-called
"Morgan Affair" was at its height, and so bitter were the feelings that
it was hardly safe for a man to be known as a Mason. It
entered into all social, business, religious and political life -families were divided, church fellowships rent in
twain, and business interests sacrificed. In the midst of such times,
a meeting of the Grand Lodge was held some time in
1829, the exact date unknown, and it was resolved to suspend all Masonic work until the excitement should be
allayed. The Lodges were asked to suspend labor, and all promptly acceded to the request except plucky Stoney Creek
Lodge, which continued its meetings.
To comprehend the events which led to the suspension
of Masonic work in Michigan in 1829, and the almost absolute silence that prevailed until the Year 1840.
the reader is now transported to Western New York State and given a brief history of the event which shook the
Masonic institution in America to its very foundations.
The Morgan Affair
William Morgan was born in Culpepper County, Virginia
on August 7, 1774, and by trade was a brick and stone mason. Subsequently, he was a trader in Richmond. He
married Lucinda Pendleton, the oldest daughter of Rev. Joseph Pendleton, a Methodist minister and planter in
Washington County, VA in October, 1819. Morgan moved from Virginia in 1821 and apparently became a brewer near
York, Upper Canada. The brewery was destroyed by fire and Morgan moved to Rochester, N.Y., with his wife and
two children, and resumed the business of stone-mason. From thence he went to Batavia, Genesee County, a town of
1,400 inhabitants and from there he disappeared.
In what Lodge, if any, William Morgan received his
degrees in Masonry is not known; but he was a visitor in Wells Lodge, No. 282, in Batavia, established in 1817. He
received the Royal Arch Degree at Le Roy, N.Y., May 31, 1825.
Morgan signed a petition to obtain a charter for a
Royal Arch Chapter in Batavia in 1826, but unbeknownst to him one of the petitioners objected and a revised
application was made without his name.
Rumor has it that when he found out about the switch
that he vowed to publish the secrets of Masonry in his now famous "Illustrations." He was to be aided in this by
his friend, David C. Miller, a local printer and publisher of the Republican Advocate. Rumor further had it that
several Masons vowed to stop him.
On the morning of September 10, 1826, Nicholas G.
Chesebro, Master of the Lodge at Canandaigua, and one of the Coroners of Ontario County, obtained a warrant for
the arrest of William Morgan on a charge of stealing a shirt and cravat from innkeeper Kingsley.
The next morning, Morgan was arrested on the street
and taken to the inn at Stafford, whereupon his friend, D.C. Miller offered to put up bail that he would not leave
the jail limits; but Morgan apparently consented to go to Canandaigua, fifty miles from Batavia, saying that he
could convince Mr. Kingsley, the prosecutor, that he did not intend to steal the shirt and cravat. Morgan was
examined by the magistrate, Loton Lawson appearing for him, and he was discharged.
Morgan was immediately rearrested on a claim against
him for $2.68, due Aaron Ackley, an innkeeper. Morgan admitted the debt, confessed judgment, and offered
his coat as security. This was refused and Morgan locked up. On the following evening, September 12, 1826, Morgan was
released by a person claiming to be from Pennsylvania.
It is assumed from testimony taken later before
officers of the State, that Morgan was carried, willingly or
otherwise, by carriage and relays of horses, through towns and
villages designated Victor, Rochester, Clarkson, Gaines, Wright's Tavern, Molineux Tavern, Lewiston (a thickly
populated country), a distance of over 100 miles in 24 hours, and securely lodged in the magazine of Fort Niagara,
where he was still known to be on September 17, 1826.
Morgan was never to be seen again. The Masons
involved, claimed that they had given Morgan money, taken him to Canada, and in exchange he agreed never to return.
The anti-Masons claimed that they had exacted the so-called Masonic penalties. No body fitting Morgan's
description was ever found (the body buried under the monument in
his honor in Batavia is not that of William Morgan),
despite a reward of two thousand dollars offered by the Governor of New York State; but sightings of Morgan were reported
nearly everywhere outside of the United States for many years thereafter.
The uproar occasioned by this event spread all over
the country. An anti-Masonic convention of the twelve western counties of New York was held at Le Roy on March 6
and 7, 1827, which was attended by about eighty delegates, many denunciatory speeches were made, anti-Masonic
resolutions approved and a Central Committee of Correspondence and Publication appointed. This
committee succeeded beyond its wildest dreams - on July 4, 1828, a mass meeting
of seceding Masons and others was held and an anti-Masonic declaration was
signed by one hundred and three former Masons. Such scenes as these were
repeated all over the country. Anti-Masonic feelings were being whipped into a frenzy. Small wonder then that
in Michigan where such a large proportion of the people were flocking from western New York, the intense
bitterness and malignant opposition to Masonry should shake the
pillars of the institution and cause its almost total
annihilation!
Stoney Creek Lodge No. 7
Upon receiving their dispensation from M.W. Grand
Master Cass, the members of Stoney Creek Lodge No. 7 repaired to the log school which had been built in
1825-26, and held a public installation of officers.
For a time the Lodge met in the home of Nathaniel
Millerd, but the church of which Brother Millerd was a member, became so outspoken and bitter in its denunciation of
Masonry that, for the sake of peace, he asked the Lodge to remove to the home of another member. This was done
twice in order to keep the Lodge alive and active.
Brother Daniel B. Taylor, the Tiler, was the member
most active and most persistent in keeping the Lodge active through those trying years. The Lodge conferred
degrees in 1833 - 34 and raised at least one Master Mason in 1834. It is alleged that on Lodge nights, as soon as
the stage arrived bringing the mail, Brother Taylor would get his newspaper and wend his way to the Lodge room. On
arriving there, he would place a lighted candle in the window and sit down to read. If no one else came, he waited
the usual time "to close the Lodge." Then he would blow out the candle, lock the door and go home. (The records
of Stoney Creek Lodge have been lost or destroyed, and this story cannot be proved or disproved.) The report
filed by Stony Creek Lodge in 1841 indicates that the Lodge also met in Orionville, probably at the tavern of Jesse
Decker.
The Second Grand Lodge
As the Morgan incident began to die out, a meeting of
Masons was held at Mt Clemens on November 13, 1840, to review the condition of the Craft in the State of
Michigan. (These brethren were totally unaware of the existence of an earlier Grand Lodge.) Several more meetings were
held at Detroit, finally with Stoney Creek No. 7, Oakland No. 5 and Lebanon, U.D. (Martin Davis, the J.G.W. of the
original Grand Lodge had issued a dispensation to the brethren of Mt. Clemens to form Lebanon Lodge) represented, to
discuss the revival of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and Levi Cook, a Past Master of Detroit No. 2 was elected
Grand Master (although Detroit Lodge No. 2 was not active at the beginning of the revival).
On June 21, 1841, the officers of the Grand Lodge
were installed except for Brother Levi Cook, the Grand Master elect, who declined. Brother Leonard Weed, the Deputy
Grand Master elect, served in his stead and installed the remaining officers and was also installed and served
as Deputy (and Acting) Grand Master in 1842. John Mullet was elected Grand Master in 1843, 1844 and
1845.
On January 5,1842, the Grand Lodge met in Detroit.
The doings of the Acting Grand Master in appointing Benjamin C. Howard to represent this Grand Lodge in the
general convention of Grand Lodges in Washington, D.C. in the coming March, were approved.
At the General Masonic Convention, Brother Howard,
who had been chosen to represent Michigan, was denied such representation. The report of the Committee on
credentials indicated their reasons for denial had to do with the fact that the Brothers who instituted the new Grand
Lodge were not representing lawful subordinate Lodges at the time and they proceeded to issue warrants for new
Lodges contrary to the fundamental Statutes and Landmarks of the Masonic Fraternity, and that the Grand Lodge so
organized is an irregular body, which ought not and cannot be recognized by the Fraternity in the United States.
This report seems to have been taken as a guide for the action of other Grand Lodges, because no other Grand Lodge
recognized this second Grand Lodge with the single exception of the Grand Lodge of Ohio.
A Third Grand Lodge
While the Brethren of eastern Michigan were laboring
to build up the recently organized Grand Lodge, those in the southwestern part were working on a different
direction, for what appear to be good reasons. The Brethren near the village of Niles made application to the Grand Lodge
of New York for a dispensation to meet and work, and on June 8, 1842, the exact day when the new Grand Lodge of
Michigan was holding its second meeting, the dispensation was granted.
On December 10, 1843, a dispensation was requested of
the Grand Lodge of Indiana by the Brethren near St. Joseph in Berrien County. The dispensation was
granted on February 12, 1844, for Western Star Lodge, U.D. to be formed.
Meanwhile a committee of the new Grand Lodge of
Michigan wrote a letter to the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of New York requesting recognition once again.
On February 15, 1844, the executive officers of the Grand Lodge of New York
replied, declining the recognition and offering a suggestion as to how the Grand
Lodge of Michigan could be legally constituted with their help; namely, the
Grand Lodge of New York would be willing to revive the warrants of
their five earlier offspring and thereby provide a nucleus of legally
constituted Lodges to form a new Grand Lodge in
Michigan.
Detroit Lodge No. 2 led the way, followed by Zion
Lodge No. 1 and Oakland Lodge No.3 who became No. 100, 99 and 101, respectively, on the rolls of the Grand
Lodge of New York.
On September 17, 1844, it was agreed to dissolve the
revived Grand Lodge of Michigan and reorganize the Grand Lodge in order to be recognized by sister Grand
Jurisdictions. Together with St. Joseph Lodge, these four legally constituted Lodges elected Grand Lodge officers and
voted to adopt the original 1826 Constitution in forming a third Grand Lodge.Worshipful Brother John Mullet was
installed as Grand Master in November (exact date unknown) by PGM Lewis Cass and Grand Master Mullet then installed
the other officers.
At the first meeting on December 17, 1844, a
resolution was adopted to include the remaining Michigan Lodges in order of their original Charters and in June of 1845,
the Lodges were:
Zion Lodge No. 1
Detroit Lodge No. 2
Oakland Lodge No. 3
St. Joseph Lodge No. 4
Stony Creek Lodge No. 5
Lebanon Lodge No. 6
Napoleon Lodge No. 7
Jackson Lodge No. 8
Evergreen Lodge No. 9
There is a difference of opinion as to the continuity
of the three Grand Lodges.You are as competent to judge as anyone - what do you think? It should be noted;
however, that the present Grand Lodge of Michigan celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th year ) in 1976. It clearly
believes that it has been continuous since 1826, and bases that continuity on Stoney Creek Lodge despite the Grand
Lodge itself being dark.
John Barney
No man has had a greater or longer lasting influence
on Masonry in Michigan than has John Barney, yet today his name is rarely known within the state. Who was this
man, what was his contribution and how can we rank him among such well-known Masons as Lewis Cass, Augustus
Woodward, Henry Schoolcraft and Daniel B. Taylor?
Freemasonry was brought to this continent by the
settlers and various soldiers, and lodges were chartered by a
variety of Grand Lodges: The "Antient," "Modern" and later
the "United" Grand Lodges of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of Ireland and by
dispensations from a multitude of individual lodges. The popularity
of Masonry and these multiple and diverse origins gave
rise to "degree peddling," and a great diversity of ritual.
As the various Grand Lodges formed in this country,
there was a desire on their part to impart some uniformity upon the ritual within a given jurisdiction and to make
that work as near the original as possible. Fortunately, there
existed a group of talented ritualists such as Thomas Smith
Webb, Jeremy Cross, Benjamin Gleason, John Barney, Samuel Wilson and many others who were dedicated to
preserving and propagating the early craft ritual with minimal changes. These men introduced some innovations, but
they were relatively few.
The original Grand Lodge of England commissioned
William Preston to go into the countryside and record the work as it was being performed by the lodges in England
who constituted the Grand Lodge. Preston subsequently organized and expanded these workings and published his first
"Illustrations of Masonry" in 1772. A disciple of Preston's, whose name has been lost, came to the colonies in
late 1799 or early 1800 to teach this ritual; and Thomas Smith Webb enthusiastically received these teachings and
began to further propagate them, printing what became known as the "Preston-Webb" or subsequently the "Webb"
ritual in this country, officially titled the Freemason's Monitor.
Webb formed a school to train others, and the demand
upon his time became so great that he enlisted former pupils to take over the instructions, saving for himself the
task of examining the "graduates" and attesting to their
proficiency.
It was to this school that John Barney came in 1817
to receive instruction. He was taught by Benjamin Gleason, a former pupil of Webb himself.
Evolutions of the original Preston-Webb ritual as
taught by these itinerant lecturers were subsequently adopted by every Grand Jurisdiction in these United States with
the singular exception of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, but this story is somewhat ahead of itself.
Michigan History
Let us return to the history of Freemasonry in
Michigan. Subsequent to the warranting of our early lodges, wars and treaties alternately changed the jurisdiction over
these territories so that lodges had to petition first the Grand
Lodge of Canada at Quebec and then the Grand Lodge of New
York for warrants. It is of interest that Zion Lodge never
surrendered its original warrant (the Grand Lodge of Canada at
Quebec never asked for it). When Detroit #2 petitioned the Grand Lodge of New York to renew its charter it
invited John Barney, a recent Grand Lecturer of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, to install its new officers and
instruct the Brethren in the ritual (the original ritual having been long
forgotten).
He did just that and at the invitation of the new
Grand Lodge, spent the last six months of 1844 and the first eight months of 1845 visiting the Michigan Lodges and
instructing them in the "Barney work" as it was loosely known.
The Life of John Barney
He was born in October, 1780, near the town of Canaan
in Litchfield County, Connecticut. His father was a tailor, and the family lived in humble circumstances. John
was crippled and unable to walk without a cane, even as a youth.
Nothing is known of his education or his early
life;however, he had great determination as will be evident below.
About 1802, he left Connecticut to settle in
Weatherfield, Vermont. He had learned his father's trade and was so employed when he could find work, but often he had to
take whatever work he could get on local farms. It was here that he met and married Lucy Ann Hubbard. Shortly
after the marraige, in 1808 or 1809, they moved to Charlotte, Vermont, near Lake Champlain, where they lived in
humble but honest poverty and where their first four children were born.
John petitioned Friendship Lodge #20 in Charlotte and
became a member of that lodge in 1810.
We are left to guess how John Barney learn-ed that it
was possible to become a qualified professional lecturer by attending the school run by Thomas Smith Webb in
Boston; however, it is known that Jeremy Cross spent considerable time in the Champlain area of Vermont between 1814
and 1817. In any event, John Barney resolved to go to Boston and learn those lectures; however, he had no
money for the trip nor to care for his family in his absence. His Brothers in Friendship Lodge collected funds to
enable him to go. Barney arrived in Boston in August, 1817. As was indicated, Webb arranged for Benjamin Gleason, one of
his earlier star pupils, to give Barney the necessary instruction.
After completing the course and recording all the
details in a private key, Barney was examined by Webb, declared proficient and given a certificate of
proficiency.
Upon his return to Vermont, Barney attend-ed the
Grand Lodge of Vermont for the purpose of obtaining official standing as a "Lecturing Master." Barney then taught
several of the Brothers of Friendship Lodge (presumably to repay them for putting up the funds to send him to
school). His first official work was in Dorchester Lodge at Vergennes, where he stayed some ten days.
It was the practice of these lecturers to move on
when Lodges in their local areas were satisfied. He gave lectures for a fee in Connecticut and visited Harpersfield,
Ohio, in 1826; however William Fielding was then serving as the Grand Lecturer. He returned to Connecticut in 1828,
but the anti-Masonic movement had seriously affected Masonry in Connecticut and Barney had to seek another
avocation. He went to Washington to apply for a job as a lighthouse keeper, but was told that he had to be a resident of
the area. While in Washington, he accepted lecture engagements over the next two months, but then took sick in
February of 1830. After the sickness, he was in serious financial straits and decided to return to Harpersfield, Ohio,
where he hoped to collect some old debts and something from the estate of his father. The anticipated estate
had dwindled to nearly nothing, and his old debtors had no funds either. He obtained the rights from a patent holder
to go into the patent pail business and sent for his family to join him. Before he could get started in the patent pail
business, he caught an inflammation in his eyes, a disease common in the area at the time, and he was incapable of
transacting any kind of business for several months and nearly lost the sight in one eye. Fever swept the land in
the summer, fall and early winter of 1830-31 and many died from the plague. Six of his children suffered severely -
only one little girl escaped the plague. The Barney home was a hospital. Concomitantly, their only cow became sick
and died, the crops were few and the family could no longer find either potatoes or salt, the food they had been
forced to depend upon to carry them over. The situation was further compounded by the anti-Masonic fervor - Barney found
that he could not write to Masonic bodies for help for fear the letters would be intercepted by some anti-Masonic
postmaster. He did write to individuals and one brother in Stanford, Connecticut, sent him $10, which Barney
stated saved his family from starvation.
In 1832, he assisted in establishing a Royal Arch
Chapter in Cleveland and was appointed as Grand Lecturer in the Grand Chapter and Grand Council in Ohio, and one year
later he was elected as Grand Lecturer of the Grand Lodge.
During the period from 1826 to 1837, the anti-Masonic
movement caused many lodges and their officers to become inactive and the officers forgot their work. When the
revival started about 1838, there was much work for Barney as Grand Lecturer. In 1842 he was appointed as the
representative of the Grand Lodge of Ohio to the convention of Grand Lodges to
be held in Baltimore in May of 1843. The main purpose of the convention was to
prepare a uniform ritual to be adopted by all the Grand Lodges. Grand
Masters and Grand Lecturers from all jurisdictions were urged to be present.
Barney was elected to be a member of the most
important committee, "On the Works and Lectures in Conferring Degrees"' and proved to be its strongest personality.
He led the fight for the Webb work against the advocates of other systems, and the result was that the Webb work,
which he had been teaching in Ohio, was adopted by the Convention with only minor changes.
The Michigan Ritual
As was indicated above, Barney was invited to teach
this work to the Michigan lodges and by Edict #1 in January of 1845, this agreed upon work of the Baltimore
convention of 1843, loosely called the "Barney work," was adopted
for use in all Michigan lodges and was used virtually
unchanged for the next 50 years. This is remarkable because Barney left Michigan after only 8 months in 1845 to
become Grand Lecturer of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He died two years later in 1847 in Peoria, Illinois, enroute
back to Chicago from a lecture tour in Missouri. The Grand Lodge of Illinois paid his funeral expenses and later
erected a monument over his grave. Unfortunately, heavy rains and flooding since destroyed the cemetery.
In 1848, the Grand Lodge of Michigan officially
adopted the "Barney work." In 1864 and in 1948, the Grand Lodge of Michigan voted to continue to use the Barney work as
adopted in 1848, with only minor changes.
By virtue of this outstanding record of service and
achievement, the Masons of Michigan are bound closely to those of Vermont, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Missouri and New York.
Selected References
Smith, James Fairbairn and Fey, Charles, Freemasonry
in Michigan, Vol. I, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Free and
Accepted Masons of Michigan 1963.
Smith, James Fairbairn, Dateline 1764, Michigan
Masonry, Vol. 2, Grand Lodge of F. & A. M. of Michigan 1979.
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