Union Lodge No. 5: A History

The Birth of a Lodge – The Birth of a Nation

Compiled and Edited By Ariel Malachi Sirocco, Union Lodge No.5 Historian (2013)

Union Lodge No.5’s history is a long and winding tale.

We begin in the ferment of establishing a new colony, and the need arose for the Masonic Institution to fill the void for a society of Brotherly Love and Affection.

It would be irresponsible and irreverent to frame the Lodge in terms of its own beginnings without bringing to light the myriad of influences, both political and societal, which accompanied its birth. Therefore, let us traverse back over that level of time to the early days of the colony of Connecticut, or as it was referred to in the original public record transcripts as “Connetecott 1.”

A History of Early Connecticut

The Colony of Connecticut was an English settlement located in, what was then, British America.

Originally known as the River Colony, it was established on March 3, 1636 as a haven for exiled Puritan noblemen. After early melees with the Dutch, the English gained control of the colony permanently by the late 1630s.

The colony was later the scene of a bloody war between the English and “Indians,” known as the Pequot War. These armed conflicts occurred from 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were, in turn, aided by Native American allies, namely, the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes. Obviously, the English won.

The Colony of Connecticut had a substantial role in the founding of self-government in the New World typified in its renowned refusal to yield local authority to the then-appointed governor-general Sir Edmund Andros. Andros was given control of the Dominion of New England, which at the time was composed of present-day Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

According to legend, in an event known as the Charter Oak Incident, Connecticut’s Royal Charter of 1662 was hidden within the hollow of the tree to thwart its confiscation by Andros. The oak became a symbol of American independence and is commemorated on the Connecticut State Quarter.

The Charter Oak Incident is reputed to have occurred at Jeremy Adams’ inn & tavern. Jeremy Adams was one of the first settlers of Hartford and principal founder of Colchester, Connecticut. The Charter Oak, itself, was on what the English colonists named Wyllys Hyll, after Samuel Wyllys, located in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Sadly, this magnificent White Oak was blown down during a violent storm around the year 1837.

After the Incident, two other English colonies were merged into the Colony of Connecticut: Saybrook Colony in 1644 and New Haven Colony in 1662. Rev. John Davenport and a merchant named Theophilus Eaton are considered the founders of the New Haven Colony. 100 years later, Abraham Davenport, a descendant of Rev. John Davenport, assisted in housing the growing Union Lodge No. 5 during the years 1806 to 1808.

The colony prospered under strong leadership during the 1700s. Many governors were re-elected yearly until they died: Fitz-John Winthrop, Gurdon Saltonstall (a Puritan clergyman), Deputy Governor Joseph Talcott, Deputy Governor Jonathan Law, and Deputy Governor Roger Wolcott whose son, Oliver Wolcott, was a signer of Declaration of Independence. Thomas Fitch of Norwalk, Wolcott’s successor, guided the colony through the Seven Years’ War, but was eventually voted out of office in 1766 for not being strong enough in his repudiation of the Stamp Act.

It was during the governance of Thomas Fitch that Sylvanus Waterbury received his charter to convene Union Lodge No.5. The Waterbury name was well known by this time.

His ancestor, John Waterbury, was born in Sudbury, England, in December of 1621. He came to New England with his father in 1630 and settled first in Watertown at the Wethersfield Plantation which sponsored the settlement of Stamford. He married Rose Taylor before 1640. He moved his family to Stamford, CT sometime between 1645 and 1650 where he started an Inn.

We know from Colony of Connecticut’s General Assembly Records that his family was one of Stamford’s earliest and most prominent 2. From 1656 to 1658, John Waterbury served as the Magistrate in Stamford by an appointment from the New Haven Colony. From that time, the name Waterbury was involved with local politics and governance of the new colony. David Waterbury and John Waterbury, his grandfather and father, respectively, both served significant military roles in Stamford’s history.

As for Sylvanus Waterbury, little is known of his birth and upbringing; yet, we can find some facts among the chaos of an increasingly disaffected Connecticut Colony in the Public Assembly Records and, from this, other details can be surmised.

Sylvanus was the eighth and last child of John (David) Waterbury and Susannah Newkirk. He was born on September 24th, 1735. We can defer to the public records to examine the society in which he grew up and the day-to-day conditions under which Union Lodge No. 5 was charted.

The population of Stamford grew dramatically during the second half of the 18th century. In 1756 there were 2,768 people. This number rose to 3,563 by 1774, and finally to 4,051 by 1790. Its population continued to be almost entirely of English descent, and overwhelmingly was made up of farmers. Families were interrelated to a great degree due to the predominance of consanguineous marriage. A small number of men accumulated great wealth through trade, primarily in agricultural goods; however, most remained tied to the land which continued to be a good source of wealth. The craft industries continued to flourish, but all on a small scale. While more mills were constructed on Stamford’s rivers during this time, they continued mostly to serve the needs of the local populace 3.

It was in this world that the original charter for Union Lodge No, 5 of F. & A.M., was issued to Sylvanus Waterbury on November 18, 1763, by Most Worshipful Brother George Harrison, Esq., Provincial Grand Master of the Province of New York. This charter marked the coming of Masonry to the southwestern corner of Connecticut.

In a “History of Stamford, Connecticut, from its settlement in 1641, to the present time,” by Huntington, E. B. (Elijah Baldwin), 1816-1877, we can read on page: 435:

Chapter XXV. Union Lodge: This is one of the oldest institutions of the town, and deserves its place in our history. Its charter bears date, Nov. 18, 1763; and was issued by ” Geo. Harrison, Esq., Provincial Grand Master of the most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in the province of New York.” It authorizes Sylvanus Waterbury, “…our worshipful and well beloved brother…to form a lodge, to choose his wardens, and appoint other officers, with the consent of the brethren assembled in due form, to make masons, as also to do all and every such acts and things appertaining to said office, as usually have and ought to be done by other masters.” He is to pay over to the Provincial Grand Lodge at New York, out of the first monies he shall receive, three pounds and three shillings sterling, to be applied to the use of the Grand Charity. This lodge was designed for Stamford and Horseneck (Greenwich), and parts adjacent. The records of the lodge from 1763 to 1780 are lost, the only name of the members for that period, preserved, being that in the charter, Sylvanus Waterbury 4.

According to E.B. Huntington, he writes of Union Lodge No. 5:

“Since then there have been four hundred and sixty names added to the membership. The worshipful masters of the lodge, according to the records preserved have been, Sylvanus Waterbury, John Anderson, Israel Knapp, Jabez Fitch, Wm. Bush, Isaac Reed, Sturges Perry, Samuel Bush, Noyes Mather, Alexander Mills, James Stevens, Isaac Lockwood, Samuel Keeler, Simeon H. Minor, Benj. Huested, Isaac Bishop, Charles Hawley, Erastus Weed, John W. Leds, fourteen years; Peter Browin, Sands Adams 5”

It is noteworthy to the credit of Union Lodge No. 5 that several family names of this list, namely: Israel Knapp, Wm. Bush, Isaac Reed, Isaac Lockwood, Charles Hawley, and Erastus Weed, are, to my knowledge, instrumental not only in the development of this Worshipful Lodge, but also in the development of Stamford; more, their names are also interwoven with deeds supporting the birth of this nation.

By 1763, Stamford and Greenwich were already accepted as “fertile ground” for the fraternity of Masonry. The charter given to Sylvanus Waterbury granted for the establishment of Union Lodge specified that it serve “the towns of Stamford and Horseneck (Greenwich), and parts adjacent in the Colony of Connecticut.” Despite the long tradition of considering the Byram River as the boundary of the Connecticut Colony, the newly formed lodge drew candidates and brothers from Rye and Bedford, which was outside the charter’s jurisdiction.

Today, the towns of Stamford and Greenwich are not served by one lodge, but by four: Acacia Lodge No. 85 in Greenwich, Ivanhoe Lodge No. 107 in Darien, Harmony Lodge No.67 in New Canaan, and Union Lodge No. 5. Beyond these nearby fraternal communities, Worshipful Lodges across the state of Connecticut now number over 90!

1763 was also the last year of the French-Indian Wars, and although skirmishes were primarily fought elsewhere, the two towns were not unaffected. Both communities sent militia to fight on the northwestern frontier of northern New York and western Pennsylvania. There is evidence that, in 1758, residents had been glad to have Colonel Fraser’s Highland Battalion local, so a real danger to the welfare of the area is likely to have existed.

In the midst of Union No. 5’s birth, the people of the Colony of Connecticut were loyal subjects of King George who fought England’s war with the French while they, in turn, fought their own with the Indians to retain the “English colony.” As such, the colonists expected to be treated as Englishmen.

But already in 1764, King George III and the British parliament, in an effort to curb clandestine trade in the West Indies and to raise funds to hold onto England’s widely-expanded empire, were about to disaffect a strong-willed segment of its people by imposing taxes and enforcing lax trade rules on the American colonists for the first time 6. In that year, the Sugar Act stirred up protests. The combined effect of the new duties was to sharply reduce the trade with Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the French West Indies (Guadalupe, Martinique and Santo Domingo {Modern Haiti}), all important destination ports for lumber, flour, cheese, and assorted farm products. This situation disrupted the colonial economy by reducing the markets to which the colonies could sell, and the amount of currency available to them for the purchase of British manufactured goods.

The next was the year of the Stamp Act, an act so unreasonable as to require them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship’s papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed 7. After fierce protests claiming the tax was unconstitutional, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but simultaneously issued the Declaratory Act to reiterate its authority to pass any colonial legislation it saw fit 8. Major grievances were added to the colonists’ ledger each subsequent year up to and including 1770 when the list was capped by the controversial outcomes of the Boston Massacre Trials 9.

The towns of Stamford and Greenwich were not isolated from these events. They were, in fact, key points for the dissemination of news traveling between New England and the other colonies. The Sons of Liberty from New York, on their way to deliberate with Boston Patriots, frequently spent the first night of their travels in one of these towns. During the Revolution itself, especially in the early years, General George Washington is known to have traveled through Stamford and Greenwich more than once on his way to or from Boston. With his known affection for the Order, it is likely that he visited Union Lodge or with members during a stopover.

This well-known route of colonial information passing was disrupted during the war during Loyalist land confiscations in Greenwich, Stamford, and Norwalk, and especially in 1779 by British forces under General William Tryon in the Tryon Raids of Norwalk, New Haven, and Fairfield. The British forces set fire to everything they could East and West of the Norwalk River during The Battle of Norwalk 10, 11.

From this perspective, it’s not surprising that we have no official records of Union Lodge No. 5, save its Charter, before the first surviving minutes for meetings held in the year 1780. Against this backdrop, it is actually surprising that even these exist today. It would not be until October 1781, when Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, that some semblance of civil and military peace would begin to embrace the area.

It appears likely that our first Master’s family background would have placed Sylvanus in the thick of the events that swirled around his area in these times. Born September 24, 1735, he was of military age during the French and Indian Wars, and if he returned to Stamford with the Militia, it would account for his being married in 1759. Where upon, he and his wife Sarah had a son, Peter, on August 5, 1760.

If Worshipful Brother Sylvanus Waterbury did serve in the revolutionary militia, it is likely that he was raised to Masonic Light during his military travels to New York. This would have given him the opportunity to apprise members of the fraternity, derive a favorable opinion, and petition for membership.

Or perhaps, he was in Stamford during its use by the Highlanders as winter quarters and was raised in a military Lodge, but on home grounds. This would account for the belief that Scotch Masons played a part in the founding of Union Lodge. In any event, there being no Grand Lodge of Connecticut in 1763, Worshipful Brother Sylvanus Waterbury petitioned the Provincial Grand Lodge of New York for a charter and received it.

The charter of Union Lodge is itself the last record of any kind we have of Worshipful Brother Sylvanus Waterbury. His death is not mentioned in either standard genealogical references or the records of the Town of Stamford. The surviving minutes of Union Lodge, from 1780 on, do not mention him at all. However, we do have record of his death in 1786 in St. John’s, New Brunswick, Canada. It is believed he went to Canada during the Revolutionary War and fought for the British. It is known that most Royalists moved to the area of Nova Scotia and continued fighting for King George.

The very first existing minutes appear to be for an emergency communication in Stamford, January 18, 1780. As our first surviving minutes pick up the activities of Union Lodge No. 5, the Revolution was still being fought in its immediate vicinity. The British headquarters were in New York City; our Masonic Brother, General George Washington, was encamped along the Hudson north of the city. The Stamford-Greenwich area was a sort of no-man’s-land occupied by neither British nor Continentals, but controlled by the new, self-proclaimed United States. As such, frequent alarms were raised by the presence of British. In fact, under General Tryon, the Redcoats ransacked Greenwich in 1779.

The minutes include the notation that “By unanimous consent of the brethren, and members within the district of Union Lodge, the place of meeting is removed to Horse Neck 12.”

An account of Union Lodge’s Stated Communications was written by Brother Charles Harris Scofield (of Union Lodge No. 5) and offers an insight into our colonial brethren as well as information about the sites of the communications themselves.

Numerous locations are mentioned, and as was the custom of our colonial brethren, many of these places were taverns or inns. Occasionally, the members would meet at the home of some brother, choosing a place or time convenient to the candidate rather than to themselves. One such instance is indicated by the minutes of February 12, 1782, when “Dr. Whiting urges that the situation of the Lodge and his situation being such that he can’t attend on regular lodge days and requests that a special lodge be called for the purpose of initiating him as aforesaid 13.”

To continue: “…while it is apparent that just prior to 1780 meetings were held in Stamford, we know nothing of these years for certain. After that date, however, the minutes are quite specific. On removing to Greenwich after the first meeting of which we have minutes, the Lodge’s center of gravity remained in that town for some years. Occasional meetings were held in various places, of course, but it can be seen from the following list of sites in each town where the emphasis lay as time went on:”

1780-84 Israel Knapp’s Tavern, Greenwich
1781 David Webb Tavern, once, Stamford
1782 David Webb Tavern, once, Stamford
1782 Josiah Utter’s, once, Greenwich
1784-96 John Hobby’s Tavern, Greenwich
1788 Moses Husted, Jr.’s, twice, Greenwich
1792 Elias Newman’s, twice, Greenwich
1793-06 Issac Quintard’s, Stamford
1795 Elias Newman’s, once, Greenwich
1796 William Knapp’s, Cos Cob, Greenwich
1796 David Webb Tavern, once, Stamford
1798 Jonathan Finch’s, three times, Greenwich
1798-1802 Peter Quintard’s, Greenwich
1800 Dr. Clark Sanford’s, once, Greenwich
1800 Hoyt’s Hall, once, Stamford 14

The names of members found in the earliest minutes are names that pepper the colonial history of the area. The grandfather, father and brothers of Sylvanus Waterbury are linked many times with Hollys and Hobbys, Meads and Weeds, Hoyts [Hoits] and Fitches. Many of them must have fought the French and Indians side-by-side with the British, and then turned their military experience on the Redcoats to help achieve the birth of a nation.

Jabez Fitch was prominent in the affairs of the Revolution. A colonel, Worshipful Brother Fitch was Master of Union Lodge from 1785-88, from 1792-95 and from 1798-1801. Fitch was a delegate from Connecticut to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Since he was at that time Master of the Lodge, it is possible that he became more than officially acquainted with Brother George Washington, who presided at the Convention.

The Knapp Tavern where the Lodge met was a favorite of soldiers and officers in the Continental Army and was used by General Israel Putnam as his headquarters part of the time. According to Mead’s history of Greenwich, Putnam is supposed to have stopped at the tavern the night before Tryon’s raid in 1779. That evening, he is said to have attended a ball at the house of Moses Husted, and this may be the same house where the Lodge met twice in 1788. The next day, Putnam made his famous escape from the British trap.

The second recorded meeting, held January 25, 1780, provides us with the first mention of presiding officers in the minutes. R.W. John Anderson was Master, pro tem; Israel Knapp, Senior Warden; John Willis, Junior Warden. Present were William Bush, Samuel Lockwood, and visiting brothers Caleb Lawrence, Matthew Alstine and Ralph Isaacs.

Since Brother Lawrence had been proposed, balloted for, accepted and “passed to the ‘first step in Masonry'” at the preceding meeting on January 18, his status as a “visiting brother” is interesting. His home was in Rye, and he may have been thus doomed to be a visitor as long as he resided outside the chartered jurisdiction of Union Lodge, but this is doubtful. As an entered apprentice and not authorized admittance of a Lodge of Master Masons, he may have been considered a visitor to the vicinity of the Lodge. But other circumstances make it seem that the business of the Lodge was not always conducted while open on the Master Mason’s Degree.

As winter became the spring of 1780 and warmth of climate brought its annual hope for better times, the attendance at the Lodge gradually increased, and many membership applications were received. The Lodge became prosperous. But the wartime climate in the community was hot, rather than warm. On June 15, 1780, the “worthy brethren of Stamford” requested the attendance of Union Lodge to celebrate St. John’s Festival. But after discussion, the members agreed that, “In our present critical situation, it would be attended with the greatest inconveniency and perhaps be of bad consequences to our families to be at any distance from this place 15.”

Brothers Phelps and Scofield attribute the brethren’s uneasiness to numerous Indian troubles, and since the British found ready allies in even those Indians who had sided with the French (the Red Men recognized the settlers to be more of a threat than an overseas government), so it may have been. However, trouble with local Indians had not been a problem in Stamford or Greenwich for many years by 1780; more likely sources of hostile activity were British troops and, to a greater degree, militant Tories. Washington’s Continentals were still in the vicinity.

In any event, the Secretary was instructed to write the Stratford brethren an apology, explaining the circumstances of Union Lodge’s inability to participate in the St. John’s Day activities. The Lodge met through the summer of 1780, with Samuel Lockwood raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on July 1, and a Brother Belcher paying his initiation fee of three pounds, four shillings, together with five shillings, four pence, toward his quarterly dues on August 1. In November, Brother John Palmer paid four pounds York money for the same privilege, while Nathaniel Weed was fined for “non-attendance at the house 16.”

Before the year ended, Worshipful Brother John Anderson moved from the limits of Union Lodge and could not attend and perform the duties of his office. A resolution in the minutes for December 19 show that the Lodge was informed of the situation, and that “the Lodge thinks proper to choose a new Master 17.”

On December 27, 1780 Israel Knapp, to whose Inn the Lodge room was situated, was chosen Worshipful Master. Worshipful Brother Knapp was to preside over the Lodge for four years, during which time the lodge increased in strength of fraternity and in members.

And it is here that we draw a conclusion to our natal history. It would be another 14 years that our fledgling country, in the hold of a Congressional Presidency, would grow in resolution to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty. The birth of Union Lodge No. 5 and the birth of our nation, each well on its way to self-discovery and self-fulfillment as all brotherly endeavors must be.

Footnotes:

1 Colonial Record of April 26, 1636.
2 “Descendants of John Waterbury, Generation No. 1” B Campbell,
Genealogy.com. Web. 2003 http://genforum.genealogy.com/babbitt/messages/561.html
3 The Stamford Historical Society, Davenport Exhibit, Edited
4 “History of Stamford, Connecticut, from its settlement in 1641, to
the present time,” Huntington, E. B., 1816-1877, pp 435
5 Ibid.
6 “Sugar Act”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/571948/Sugar-Act
7 The statutes at large … [from 1225 to 1867] by Danby Pickering, Cambridge : Printed by Benthem, for C. Bathhurst; London, 1762-1869
8 “The American Revolution, 1763-1783”. The Gilder Lehrman In stitute of American History Online. Web 2009 http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/road-revolution/ timelineterms/stamp-act-repealed-declaratory-act-passed
9 “The Boston Massacre Trials: An Account”. Douglas Linder, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Online. Web. (c) 2001 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/ bostonaccount.html
10 Chapter Sketches, Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution: Patron Saints, Connecticut Chapters Daughters of the American Revolution, 1901, pp. 428-29
11 Norwalk After Two Hundred & Fifty Years, Norwalk Historical and Memorial Library Association C.A. Freeman, 1901, pp 29091
12 Union Lodge No. 5 minutes, 1780
13 Ibid.
14 Historical Sketch of Union Lodge No. 5, F. & A. Authors, I. Newton Phelps, C. Harris Scofield, Alfred Grant Walton. Publisher, R.H. Cunningham, 1924, pp. 77.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.

Union Lodge No. 5 Grand Masters and District Deputies

The drudge may fret and tinker
Or labor with lusty blows,
But back of him stands the Thinker,
The clear-eyed man who knows;
For into each plow and saber,
Each piece and part and whole,
Must go the brains of labor,
Which gives the work a soul.

(from “The Thinker” by Berton Braley)

Past Grand Masters of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Connecticut from date of organization, July 8, 1789, who were Brothers of Union Lodge No. 5.

1884 Dwight Waugh (1831-1908)
1889 John H. Swartwout (1849-1925)
1934 James E. Brinckerhoff (1883-1958)

Past District Deputies who were Brothers of Union Lodge No. 5 (with Year of First Appointment)

Carl J. Del Vecchio District 1 1957
Kenneth D. Hamilton District 1A 1971
Ralph L Weed, Sr. District 1A 1983
Michael A. Macri District 1A 1993
George J. Cronk District 1A 2004

Union Lodge No. 5 Past Masters, 1763 to 2013

List Includes Past Masters of Commonwealth-Roosevelt No. 129

Nov. 18, 1763 Sylvanus Waterbury
June 24, 1780 Jno. Anderson
Dec. 27, 1780 Israel Knapp
June 25, 1781 Israel Knapp
June 24, 1782 Israel Knapp
June 24, 1783 Israel Knapp
June 24, 1784 Israel Knapp
June 24, 1785 Jabez Fitch
June 24, 1786 Jabez Fitch
April 03, 1787 Wm. Bush
June 03, 1788 Wm. Bush
June 01, 1790 Wm. Bush
Dec. 06, 1791 Jabez Fitch
June 12, 1792 Jabez Fitch
June 18, 1793 Jabez Fitch
June 03, 1794 Jabez Fitch
June 02, 1795 Isaac Reed
June 07, 1796 Sturgess Perry
June 06, 1797 Samuel Bush
June 05, 1798 Jabez Fitch
June 04, 1799 Jabez Fitch
June 03, 1800 Jabez Fitch
June 02, 1801 Noyes Mather
June 09, 1802 Alex. Mills
June 01, 1803 James Stevens
June 20, 1804 James Stevens
June 13, 1805 Isaac Lockwood Jr.
May 28, 1806 Isaac Lockwood Jr.
June 17, 1807 Samuel Keeler
June 08, 1808 Samuel Keeler
June 21, 1809 Simeon H. Minor
June 13, 1810 Simeon H. Minor
June 05, 1811 Isaac Lockwood
May 20, 1812 Isaac Lockwood
June 09, 1813 Benj. Husted
June 01, 1814 Isaac Lockwood
June 21, 1815 Isaac Bishop
June 05, 1816 Isaac Lockwood
May 28, 1817 Chas. Hawley
June 17, 1818 Chas. Hawley
June 24, 1819 Chas. Hawley
June 22, 1820 Erastus H. Weed
June 13, 1821 John W. Leeds
May 29, 1822 John W. Leeds
June 18, 1823 Peter Brown
June 09, 1824 Sands Adams
June 01, 1825 John W. Leeds
June 14, 1826 John W. Leeds
June 06, 1827 John W. Leeds
May 28, 1828 Alfred A. Holly
June 17, 1829 Alfred A. Holly
June 02, 1830 Alfred A. Holly
June 22, 1831 Wm. H. Holly
June 13, 1832 Roswell Hoyt
June 26, 1833 Roswell Hoyt
June 18, 1834 Roswell Hoyt
June 12, 1835 Alfred A. Holly
May 06, 1839 Alfred A. Holly
Mar. 10, 1847 Wm. H. Holly
June 09, 1847 John W. Leeds
June 14, 1848 John W. Leeds
Aug. 06, 1851 John W. Leeds
June 16, 1852 John W. Leeds
June 01, 1853 John W. Leeds
June 07, 1854 John W. Leeds
June 06, 1855 John W. Leeds
June 04, 1856 Alfred A. Holly
June 03, 1857 Alfred A. Holly
June 02, 1858 Hezekiah Bulkley
June 01, 1859 Phillip L. Hoyt
June 06, 1860 Theo. J. Daskam
July 03, 1861 John A. Scofield
June 03, 1863 Wm. H. Holly
June 01, 1864 Alfred A. Holly
June 07, 1865 Jas. H. Olmstead
June 06, 1866 Dwight Waugh
June 05, 1867 Dwight Waugh
June 03, 1868 Chas. E. Holly
Dec. 16, 1868 Chas. E. Holly
Dec. 15, 1869 Chas. E. Holly
Dec. 21, 1870 Chas. E. Holly
Dec. 20, 1871 Dwight Waugh
Dec. 18, 1872 Dwight Waugh
Dec. 17, 1873 Dwight Waugh
Dec. 16, 1874 Edwin S. Holly
Dec. 15, 1875 Edwin S. Holly
Dec. 20, 1876 Chas. M. Holly
Dec. 19, 1877 Chas. M. Holly
Dec. 18, 1878 J.H. Swartwout
Dec. 17, 1879 J.H. Swartwout
Dec. 15, 1880 J.H. Swartwout
Dec. 21, 1881 J.H. Swartwout
Dec. 20, 1882 J.H. Swartwout
Dec. 19, 1883 Chas. E. Nichols
Dec. 17, 1884 Chas. E. Nichols
Dec. 16, 1885 Jos. H. Knapp
Dec. 15, 1886 Edwin S. Holly
Dec. 21, 1887 Edwin S. Holly
Dec. 19, 1888 Edw. F. Morris
Dec. 18, 1889 Edw. F. Morris
Dec. 17, 1890 H. S. McConkey
Dec. 16, 1891 Sipsco Stevens
Dec. 21, 1892 Geo. R. Fawcett
Dec. 20, 1893 Jos. H. Knapp
Dec. 19, 1894 Edw. J. Tupper
Dec. 18, 1895 Edw. J. Tupper
Dec. 16, 1896 Edw. J. Tupper
Dec. 15, 1897 Chas. H. Peck
Dec. 29, 1898 Chas. H. Peck
Dec. 20, 1899 J.K. Lawrence
Dec. 19, 1900 J.K. Lawrence
Dec. 18, 1901 Chas. W. Hendrie
Dec. 17, 1902 Fred’k T. Beehler
Dec. 16, 1903 H.G. Waterbury
Dec. 21, 1904 H.G. Waterbury
Dec. 20, 1905 Thos. O. Tiger
Dec. 19, 1906 A.W. Davenport
Dec. 18, 1907 A.W. Davenport
Dec. 16, 1908 Jos. H. Provost
Dec. 15, 1909 Geo. E. Jones
Dec. 21, 1910 Stuart B. Avery
Dec. 20, 1911 Leonard Blondell
Dec. 18, 1912 John D. Hertz
Dec. 17, 1913 Edwin J. Ball
Dec. 16, 1914 Benj. I. Knapp
1963 William T. Mackie
1964 Kenneth D. Hamilton 1965 Alan F. Grant
1966 Walter L. Tyrer
1967 James Wright
1968 Kurt Raillard
1969 John Tenca
1970 Harold I. Fransen
1971 Jesse R. Kough
1972 Walter C. Seely
1973 Edwin C. Koester
1974 K. Donald Hamilton
1975 A. George Hautekiet
1976 Donald W. Ryan
1977 Fred J. Serricchio Jr.
1978 A. George Hautekiet
1979 Ralph E. Kraft
1980 Ralph L. Weed Sr
1981 Wesley S. Ritch
1982 Wesley S. Ritch
1983 Ralph L. Weed Sr.
1984 Walter C. Seely
1985 Robert D. Kelly, Sr.
1986 Roger A. Petrone Sr.
1987 Fiorenzio Corbo
1988 Judd R. Harding
1989 C. Thomas Del Vecchio
1990 Stacey E. Hoyt
1991 Michael A. Macri
1992 George S. Moschos Sr.
1993 R. Bruce Redfield
1994 Henry M. Hull III
1995 Michael D. Macri
1996 Salvatore Florio Jr.
1997 Michael L. Frischkorn
1998 Kevin R. Freitag
1999 Richard E. Odell
2000 Robert M. Decarlo
2001 Louis C. David
2002 Medi V. Abadi
2003 Whitney P. McNulty
2004 Richard Mark Odell
2005 Douglas S. Burchard
2006 Robert B. Stack
2007 Ronald W. Sala
2008 Domenic F.V. Corbo
2009 Kenneth H. Robertson
2010 Stephen W. Petri
2011 Jonathan H. Ringel
2012 Thomas A. Burke

Pierpont Edwards Award

The Grand Lodge of Connecticut meeting in its 151st, Annual Communication on February 1939 authorized the appointment of a committee, empowered to design, procure, and award a “Medal of Honor of Masonic Service,” to be initially conferred during its Sesquicentennial.

The Committee, after long consideration, deemed it fitting that this Medal of Honor should derive its name from the distinguished citizen, patriot and Mason who was the first Grand Master of Masons in Connecticut, Pierpont Edwards.

The Pierpont Edwards Medal was first conferred upon ten outstanding Masons at the Special Communication of Grand Lodge in New Haven, on Saturday, October 14, 1939, the culmination of the 150th Anniversary observation of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M. of Connecticut.

Brothers We Celebrate

James E. Brinckeroff, Union 5, 1943
William B. Brant, Commonwealth 129, 1946
Thomas W. Howells, Union 5, 1977
Samuel Rubin, Roosevelt 130, 1955
Robert D. Kelly, Sr., Commonwealth 129, 1984

We list our Brothers from Commonwealth 129 and Roosevelt 130 with respect and fraternal love. Commonwealth 129 and Roosevelt 130 merged on April 14th, 1975 to become Commonwealth-Roosevelt 129. On October 24th, 1988, Commonwealth-Roosevelt 129 merged into Union Lodge No. 5.

Union Lodge No. 5 – “50 in 50”

The presented list is a retrospective of the last fifty years of those Brothers who, through long years of dedication, have been awarded a 50 Year Gold Pin in commemoration of their service to our beloved Fraternity.

Roy C. Abbott, 1970
Charles H. Allard, 1971
Edwin Anderson, 1971
William Maynard Aubrey, 1965
Lawrence R. Babcock, 1978
Arthur C. Baribault, 1981
Charles A. Bates, 1975
Elias H. Beeghly, 1995
Wood D. Beeghly, 1995
Harold Biggar, 2003
Carl Bjork, 2003
Allan R. Blackman, 2008
Stuart H. Bowman, 1970
George Brabner, 1974
John Brown, 1965
Samuel J. Brown Jr., 2007
Floyd H. Bruton, 1997
George H. Buckbee, Jr., 1978
Richard C. Burke, 2004
Frederick S. Camp, Jr., 1970
Sven W. Carlson, 1977
Donald H. Case, 1998
Ralph H. Chavelle, 1980
Frederick H. Chillington, 1987
Albert Chumbook, 2005
George Everett Close, 1990
Russell A. Conwell, 1972
Henry E. Coulimore, 1972
Ralph W. Crane Jr., 2005
Henry W. Crosby, 1997
Albert D. Davis, 1989
Albert Knox Dawson, 1965
Francis Day, 1997
Carl J. DelVecchio, 1992
Fred L. Dewitt, 1995
Henry M. Dreher, 1970
Ernest G. Eaton, 1999
Paul Mac Fadden, 1971
Henry Falk, 1999
Justus J. Fennel, 1974
James B. Ferguson, 1974
William Fletcher, 1989
Harold I. Fransen, 2003
Frank Gaarde, 2005
Peter J. Gianokos, 2000
Bruce Gillies, 1999
Robert Wesley Green, 1965
Frederic S. Greene Jr., 1999
Fred L. Griffin, 1978
Malcolm L. Grogins, 2011
Charles F. Guinas, 1970
Andrew Hagymasi Jr., 1998
Kenneth D. Hamilton, 1997
Elmer J. Hanson, 1973
Percy H. Hartwright, 1975
Birger Haswig, 1993
William F. Haughs, 1971
Frederic Tapley Hawes, 1984
Everett W. Higgins, 1971
John H. Hill, 1970
George S. Homes, 1981
Samuel L. Hook, 1974
Arthur J. Howard, 1970
Thomas W. Howells, 1971
Charles E. Hoyt, 2009
William R. Hoyt, 1970
John H, Kewer, 2011
Ralph R. Kitchen, 1993
Petrus Koopman, 1975
Louis Korsonsky, 2007
Jesse R. Kough, 2006
Ralph E. Kraft, 1995
John Kurz, 1983
Robert C. Lampe, 1999
Joseph Lewis, Jr., 1992
Leland L. Liggett, 1972
George T. Light, 1972
Ernest M. Lofgren, 1979
Samuel McKee Lougeay Jr., 1991
Carl F. Lueders, 1997
Reinhold Marschall, 1981
Paul Mazik, 2008
James W. McCallum, 2009
Charles McGregor, 1970
Benjamin H. Mead, 1970
Johannes E. Von Mecklenburg, 2005
Thomas A. Menzel, 1970
Joseph L. Milton, 1981
Boyd H. Minckler, 1972
George Molowitz, 1998
William Monos, 1997
William L. Moon, 1974
Ira Moshier, 2008
Romer J. Myers, 1979
Adolph H. Nelson, 1972
Oscar W. Nelson, 1974
Charles Nichols, 1997
Louis Norden, 1973
Frank A. Olsson, 1998
James M. Pappas, 2004
Voyle A. Paul, 1970
George M. Phillips, 2008
Edward Plander, 1998
Kurt Raillard, 2012
Douglas A. Reid, 2008
Frank P. Richards, 1970
Henry C. Richards, 1970
Samuel J. Roumeles, 1998
Earle P. Rowe, 2004
Donald W. Ryan, 2003
Martin Saltzman, 1997
George H. Sawyer, 1971
Harry R. Schanck, 2007
Walter C. Seely, 1998
Robert H. Sherwood, 1998
Joseph W. Siladi, 1972
Milton H. Sioles, 1998
James C. Smith, Jr., 1989
Bertram Spelke, 1981
Albert G. Spiers, 1971
William H. Staples, 1998
Robert Kenneth Stevens, 1993
James Scott Stewart, 1990
Everett E. Stratton, 2004
Donald B. Studley, 2004
Herluf A. Svenningsen, 1997
Bruce L. Taylor, 1974
Morris Teig, 2000
William S. Tiffney,
1995 Frank A. Tippman, 1979
Weldon E. Tollinger, 1972
Leon E. Tuttle, 1971
William M. Vaughn, Jr.,
1977 George W. Veit, 1974
Richard S. Vezina, 1999
Brice E. Vickery, 2000
Joseph E. Voska, 1970
James A. Weir, 1972
Walter E. Westcott Sr, 2000
Henry Whitehead, 1978
Harold E. Whiting, 1980
Milton H. Wilk, 1997
Allen Williams, 1977
William Marvin Wilson, 1965
Sylvester J. Wolf, 1979
George P. Woodward, 1977

In Memory of The Honored Departed Brothers
Of our own and Brother Lodges

“We pause a moment to look within the portals of our Celestial Lodge, the eternal hope of all Masons, and pay a loving tribute to our Brothers who have answered the final summons of the Grand Master of all masons to meet with him in the ‘temple not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.’
Though we see them no more we know that their life of loving deeds and friendship is not ended: death is but a continuation of life in larger fields of opportunity and service. Sometimes we will hear the tiny hammering of their working tools, “up in the heavens,” as they work with the Great Architect of the Universe to make the Eternal and Celestial Lodge more spacious and beautiful a welcome home to all souls.” – Bro. Joseph G. Peters

Message from “Gabe”

Cry not tears of salt for me,
In kindly grief.
For I am a son of light
From Earthly cares set free.

But if perchance some tears there be,
Wrap each with care, in web of memory,
Of the while I was with thee,
Brethren of Masonry.

For with thee I served the Lodge
With thee I labored long,
With thee I passed the sign
And shared the tenets old yet strong.

Masonic Brotherhood indeed was mine
And this I cherished!
Cry not tears of salt for me,
I am a Brother of light – to light set free.