masonic matters
Title Unknown
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
"The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know
everything."
Brother Oscar Wilde
I bring you greetings from Most Worshipful Brother, Neil E. Neddermeyer, Grand
Master of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota, and all of the Grand
Lodge officers elected and appointed of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
"When you become senile, you won't know it." Bill Cosby
February is an active month. It is the month when we celebrate the birthdays of
two U.S. Presidents, (Washington & Lincoln,) it is the month for lovers with
Valentines Day; the day when all husbands will get a card for the wife, and do
something nice for her too, and it is also Black History Month here in the U.S.
Being that it is Black History month I would like to relate a couple of items I
came across about blacks and their involvement with George Washington, and the
American Revolutionary War.
When General Washington crossed the Delaware River in December 1776 and had a
successful victory over the enemy forces, there were two black soldiers with
him. The names of these men are Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell. Prince
Whipple is depicted in the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, (he is
sitting in the seat next to where Washington is standing.)
An interesting fact is that General Washington, at the end of the Revolutionary
War, stressed that blacks who fought in the American Colonial Army in place of
their owners, who were assigned to serve, would not return to slavery. Fighting
on the American side established the validity for their freedom from bondage.
"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those
who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled
to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the
foremost nations of justice and liberality." Brother George Washington
It was on December 25, 1776 when Brother Washington had the decisive victory I
alluded to above, but it might not have been possible if it had not been for the
heroic observations and actions of a young girl earlier in the year.
There was a Tavern that has become somewhat famous, because that is where
General Washington gave his farewell address to his men at the end of America's
War for independence. The name of the place was Fraunces Tavern, and it was
established in 1762.ii But it had a different name back then. Its name at that
time was the Queen Charlotte Inn named for the bride of King George III. It was
located at the corner of Pearl and Broad Streets on the southern edge of
Manhattan in New York City and it was owned and operated by Samuel Fraunces,
thus the change in the name to Fraunces Tavern toward the end of America's war
for independence.
Samuel Fraunces owned and operated his business with the help of his daughter
Phoebe for a total of twenty three years. This was a very popular business in
1768; the first New York Chamber of Commerce was created in Fraunces' Tavern. It
was also the place where the Sons of Liberty gathered to mobilize popular
sentiment for the coming revolution against the British Crown. At a meeting of
the Provincial Congress of New York, Samuel Fraunces befriended George
Washington, who often dined at the tavern,
Samuel Fraunces' young daughter, Phoebe, because she helped her father in the
business also became acquainted with the General.
I should point out that according to the book 10,000 Famous Freemasons; Samuel
Fraunces was a free black man of West Indian heritage who lived from 1722 to
1795, and who was a Brother Mason being a member Holland Lodge Number 8 in New
York City.
The history of the then emerging new country would have been quite different had
it not been for Phoebe Fraunces. As the serving girl at George Washington's
headquarters at Richmond Hill, she is credited with foiling an attempt to
assassinate the general with a dish of poisoned peas!
Samuel Fraunces was an ardent patriot and, through his influence, his daughter
Phoebe shared his patriotism for this new country. Phoebe was always aware of
what was going on in the tavern. Depending on how the struggle for independence
was going, the ground where the Queen Charlotte Inn (Fraunces Tavern) was
located was sometimes under British occupation and the Fraunces' were virtually
under house arrest, at other times when the Americans held that ground there
were free, because they supported the Revolution.
During these times there were many men from both sides of the war, who were both
in and out of uniform, frequenting the tavern, and on one particular occasion
Phoebe overheard Thomas Hickey mention his intent to poison General Washington.
One version of the story says that Hickey actually asked Phoebe to put the
poison in the Generals food, the other version is that she overheard him
discussing this with another man, but in any event the plan was for Thomas
Hickey, a member of Washington's personal guard, to mix Paris Green, a poisonous
green powder, with the peas for Washington's personal plate. The British had
bribed Hickey and he was prepared to follow through with the plan, but Phoebe
told her father what she had overheard and together they both told General
Washington and his dinner party about the plot.
One of the men at the table took the peas, went into the backyard and scattered
them to the chickens. Six chickens very quickly died. Hickey was arrested,
tried, found guilty, and a few months later hanged before a crowd in New York
City.
By a special act of Congress a monetary award was given to Brother Samuel
Fraunces, and when our Brother George Washington was inaugurated as President of
the United States on April 13, 1789 the President appointed Brother Fraunces as
the White House Steward.
"In the final days of the struggle, the newly christened Fraunces Tavern served
for ten days as the general's last residence - meaning that Washington did
indeed sleep there! And it was in the Tavern's Long Room that he delivered the
famous and tearful farewell to the officers of the Continental Army on December
4th 1783, before returning to Mount Vernon."iii
So if your Lodge should have a short program about our Brother Washington, and
the Brothers are enjoying some traditional Cherry Pie, maybe there will be a
mention of some Black Americans, two of whom were a Mason and his Daughter, and
how their efforts were of an immense help to our Brother and first President.
"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to
marry me."
Brother Winston Churchill
"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called
conscience."
Brother George Washington
Here in Minnesota we open the Bible in a Masonic Lodge to Psalm 133 when the
Lodge is opened on the First Degree, Amos 7:7&8 when opened on the Second
Degree, and on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 when opened on the Third Degree. These
particular passages I'm told are fairly consistent in the different
jurisdictions in the United States.
In England, Brother Mackey states, the passages are Ruth 4:7 for the First
Degree, Judges 12:6 for the Second Degree, and 1Kings 7:13, 14 for the Third
Degree.
There have been other passages too, used at various times around the world, such
as: Genesis 18 for the First Degree, 1 Kings 6:8 for the Second Degree, and 2
Chronicles 6 for the Third Degree.
The question will come up from time to time about where should the Square and
Compass be placed on the open pages of the Holy Bible, (i.e. on the right side
or the left?) Well I found an answer that for me makes sense, about where to
place the other two great lights. "It is essential that the particular passage
be covered by the Square and Compass."iv So depending on where the scripture
passage is located, when the Great Light arranged, the Square and Compass might
be situated on either the right or the left hand page of the Holy Bible.
Here is just a little bit of an explanation of the Symbolism of the Three Great
Lights of Freemasonry: "The Holy Bible gives us our duty to God; the Square, our
duty to ourselves; and the Compass, our duty to our fellows."
"I, myself being one who was lost and dead, buried here in the rubbish of the
west, in the thickest darkness of sin and ignorance (hoodwinked by the false
teachings of the slave master) am willing to stand upright today, perpendicular,
on the square with my God (Allah) and my own kind, raised from the ignorant
death." El Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz (Malcolm X.)
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