Section 1

ABRAHAM LINCOLN FREEMASON
AN ADDRESS
Delivered before Harmony Lodge No. 17, F.A.A.M. Washington, D. C, January 28, 1914
By DR. L. D. CARMAN, P. M.
With an Appendix Containing the Actions
taken by the
Masonic Grand Lodges of the United States
on Lincoln's Death
ABRAHAM LINCOLN FREEMASON
AN ADDRESS
Delivered before Harmony Lodge No. 17, F.A.A.M Washington, D. C, January 28, 1914
By DR. L. D. CARMAN, P. M.
With an Appendix Containing the Actions
taken by the
Masonic Grand Lodges of the United States
on Lincoln's Death
PRINTED FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION
1914
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
State of Indiana through the Indiana State Library
http://www.archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnfr3626carm
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, FREEMASON.
Worshipful Master and Brethren:
The subject of my remarks this evening will be Abraham Lincoln, Freemason. It may be regarded as somewhat pre- sumptuous to give this address this title, when Lincoln is not considered as one of the Masonic Presidents of the United States, and while "Abraham Lincoln and Freemasonry" might be deemed by some as a preferable title, Abraham Lincoln, Free- mason, is nevertheless the subject.
It once was facetiously attempted to prove that Lincoln was a Mormon because in one of his early speeches he made a number of references to throat cutting, the penalty of the first Mormon oath, and because in another address shortly before his first in- auguration he stated that sooner than surrender a certain prin- ciple he would have his body burned to ashes and those ashes scattered to the winds of heaven, the peculiar language in the third Mormon oath.
While it has been said that anything can be proved in Masonry, it is not attempted to prove that Lincoln was a member of the secret society called Mormons or of the secret society called Freemasons, but a number of interesting facts concerning Lin- coln and his connection with our Order are presented for con- sideration.
One of Lincoln's most intimate friends in early life was Bowl- ing Green, an earnest Mason, a Past Master and a member of the old Grand Lodge of Illinois, the records of that Lodge show- ing him to have attended the communications of 1836 and 1827.
While Lincoln was never formally received into the Masonic Order, he first saw Masonic light in connection with his friend- ship and close association with Bowling Green. Honor to him who may safely be called the Masonic Preceptor of Abraham Lincoln.
It was not an unusual practice in the early days of Masonry in this country in sparsely settled localities, remote from an active Lodge, for several members of the fraternity to get to- gether, form an emergent or occasional Lodge and make Masons,
with no record being made of the proceedings. If Lincoln was not thus made a Mason, he in some manner obtained consider- able Masonic knowledge and probably from Bowling Green prior to 1837 when Lincoln removed from Menard County, 111., to Springfield.
When in 18^2 Bowling Green died and was buried with Ma- sonic honors it is somewhat significant that Lincoln was selected by the fraternity to make the address at the funeral, an address he was unable to finish, breaking down with emotion during the delivery.
If Lincoln was not a Mason irregularly made, he must have been in sympathy with the known objects of the Order to have been invited to speak at a Masonic funeral.
Clinton Lodge, No. 19, at Petersburg, 111., was granted its dispensation by the Grand Lodge in October, 18-13, and the funeral referred to was evidently under the auspices of the Masons who formed this Lodge.
As a matter of historical interest the list of members of Clin- ton Lodge in 1843 is given, as all the members were acquaint- ances if not friends of the future President. It will be noted that John McNeal, the betrothed of Ann Rutledge, Lincoln's first love, was Junior Warden.
List of Members of Clinton Lodge, No. 19, Petersburg, 111., 1843: John Bennett, W. M., Martin S. Morris, S. W., John McNeal, J. W., Nathan Dresser, Secretary, Jacob West, Treas- urer, David McMurphy, S. D., Wm. B. Kirk, J. D., Aaron B. White, Tyler, M. M. John B. Broadwell, Chas. G. Brooks, Lewis B. Wynne, Chas. B. Waldo, Thos. L. Harris, Benj. Newman, F. C, Ambrose E. Rankin, E. A., Jas. Short.
Prior to 1840 there was a Lodge at Springfield, 111., which at the organization of the existing Grand Lodge of Illinois in that year, became Springfield Lodge, No. 4.
List of Members of Springfield Lodge, 1840: M. Helm, W. M., Alex. Lindsay, S. W., Jas. Adams, J. W., Love S. Cornwall, Secretary, M. Boyle, Treasurer, M. J. Kelly, S. D., J. S. Kil- laly, J. D., James Maxey, Tyler, M. M. Jas. R. Gray, Philo Deers, B. C. Webster, W. Cudmore, Samuel L. Hesser, Joseph Firey, Isaac R. Brancher, Wm. Harvey, Francis Springer, S. A,
Doug-las, Jas. Gevisler, Jr., Alex. Shields, Jas. F. Reed, J. Wickersham, John Uhler, Jas. Briggs, John S. Roberts, L. B. Adams, F. A. McNeill, Jas. Shepherd, Henry Carrigan.
James Shields, later General and U. S. Senator, was J. W. of this Lodge in 1841 and was afterward the first Master of Na- tional Lodge in this city. As Harmony Lodge is an offspring of National Lodge we have an indirect connection with the first Lodge in Springfield, Illinois, whose members were fellow towns- men of Lincoln if nothing more.
Stephen A. Douglas does not appear in list of members of Springfield Lodge after 1843.
In his younger days, Feb. 22, 1842, Lincoln delivered a long lecture on Temperance, one of the Masonic virtues.
On another anniversary of the birth of that distinguished man and Mason, George Washington, Lincoln delivered a speech on Inventions, in the course of which he alluded to the first inven- tion, the fig leaf apron, showing his acquaintance with that ven- erable Masonic claim that Adam was the first Mason as he wore the first apron.
Lincoln also had some knowledge of operative masonry, the hammer, square and compass were familiar to his hands, and in his early occupation as surveyor he laid out squares and calcu- lated horizontals and perpendiculars.
"For not by dainty hands in kid the shackles fell to rust. But warty, horny were the palms that made the nation just."
LINCOLN'S MASONIC WORDS.
References are to Federal Edition of Lincoln's Works.
"They were pillars of the temple of Liberty, and now that they have crumbled away the temple must fall unless we, their descendants' supply their places with other pillars, hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason." 1-160.
In a speech about the Bank, made in 1837, occur the words, "Oath of secrecy," "divulged a secret," "does not every merchant have his secret mark?" "Sound the alarm." 1-139-140.
Another sentence : "Such belong not to the family of the lion or the tribe of the eagle." 1-157.
In the Lost Township letter with the composition of which he probably had something to do, occurs the following: "I defy Daniel Webster, I defy King Solomon." 1-285. As this letter was making sport of James Shields, an officer of Springfield Lodge, this sentence may have had more intended significance than would ordinarily appear.
Here are some more of his Masonic words :
"I wish to stand erect before the country." 3-169.
"Will cling to it with a desperate grip." 3-169.
"The sharp point against him." 3-169.
"If you have ever studied Geometry you remember that by a course of reasoning Euclid proves that all the angles in a tri- angle are equal to two right angles." 4-69.
"The cements which bind together the different parts of the Union." -4-258.
"The circle from which all their propositions radiate." 4-263.
"Charter of freedom." 5-155.
"Marks another step." 5-161.
"Our children and our children's children." 6-151.
The word "spot" has a peculiar place in Masonry and this word affords the basis for the famous so-called Spot resolutions introduced by Lincoln in Congress during the Mexican War, Dec. 22, 1847.
In his speech at Philadelphia before inauguration he said that he "Would rather be assassinated on the spot than surrender," and the words "Fatal blow" though copied, were frequently used in the joint debate with Douglas at Freeport, August 22, 1858.
Several times he used the words "Darkness to light," and in his telegram to General Sherman on his march to the sea, he said :
"It brings those who sat in darkness to see a great light." 7-274.
In a letter to Speed he said, "All will be Harmony," a senti- ment peculiar to this Lodge at least. 2-3.
In speaking of slavery and not of Masonry he once referred to "blue lodges as they call them everywhere doing their secret and deadly work." 2-271.
We are all familiar with that now English classic the address at Gettysburg, Masonic in every line. Note the emphasis by
repetition placed upon the word "dedicate." Mark the conclu- sion "Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
The man who wrote the Gettysburg address not a Mason?
Listen to these words : "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty, as we understand it."
"And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts."
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in."
The man who spoke these words not a Mason?
With the tinge of a mystic, the inspiration of a prophet, the man who regarded all men as his brethren, that man not a Mason ?
The man who spoke like a Mason, lived like a Mason and died like a Mason, that man not a Mason?
No ! No ! No ! and a thousand times No ! The true Masonic spirit breathes throughout the life of this remarkable man.
In 1866 the Government published a volume containing the tributes of foreign nations to Abraham Lincoln. In this single volume appear the resolutions and tributes of forty-four foreign Masonic grand lodges and subordinate bodies.
Was Lincoln a Mason to them? Of these forty-four lodges how many called Lincoln brother? Only twenty. Here is doc- umentary evidence of a kind. Twenty contemporaneous docu- ments concerning our illustrious brother, Abraham Lincoln.
As the volume referred to is not a rare work, only the list of lodges is here given with such portion of the resolutions as re- ferred to Lincoln as a Freemason.
FOREIGN MASONIC LODGES ON DEATH OF LINCOLN.
Belgium. Septentrion Masonic Lodge of Ghent.
"Lincoln personified the cause of liberty and human fraternity."
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France. Lodge of La Franche Union, at Choisy-Le-Roy. De- partment of Seine.
"We mourn the loss of a brother whose memory will ever be dear to patriots and Free Masons. He honored Masonry."
"From this date the name of Abraham Lincoln is inscribed on the list of our members, and at each session for three months, a brother will rise at the call of his name and answer: 'Abraham Lincoln died like a Mason to elevate humanity outraged by slav- ery.' At the expiration of three months we will celebrate a Masonic funeral to his memory."
Perfect Union Masonic Lodge, Orient of Confoleus. Charente. New Friendship Lodge of Grasse.
"Sympathy for the glorious death of one who, after having used the hammer, square and compass, those living implements of our immortal society, etc." United Benefactors of Gentilly. To Grand Lodge of N. Y.
"The very illustrious brother, Abraham Lincoln, has given his life for the love of his country, etc., thus setting the most noble example a Masonic brother can give to his brethren. Free Ma- sonry has suffered an irreparable loss." Orion Lodge of St. John, Gaillac Orient. Lodge of Toleration and Progress, Lure.
"Sympathy for the memory of Brother Lincoln." L'Escole de la Morale Lodge of Libourne.
"Lincoln, our illustrious brother." "Lodge will mourn for three months." Lodge of Les Arts Reunis, Orient of Macon.
"The glorious martyr of equality and fraternity." Friends of Truth Lodge, Metz. Lodge of St. John of Jerusalem, Nancy.
"The great Masonic association that gloried in calling Mr. Lin- coln one of its children." Clement Friendship Lodge, Paris.
"We Masons mourn him not only as a brother, but as a friend of the whole human race. Lincoln's first thought was the Ma- son's motto: fraternity." Lodge of Triumphant Friends, Paris.
Chapter of Mars and the Arts, Paris.
"A stronger bond, a more intimate union than the common tie united us particularly to his great heart. Abraham Lincoln was our brother." Sovereign Chapter of the Friends of the Country, Valley of Paris.
"Glory to our brother, Lincoln, who practiced the virtues in- culcated by our order, and who Masonry is proud to number among the number of her children." L'Avenir Lodge, Paris.
"Regret for the death of Brother Abraham Lincoln." Scotch Masonic Lodge La Prevoyance, Paris. St. John's Lodge No. 147, Heroes of Humanity.
"All Free Masonry mourns the death of Abraham Lincoln and this lodge also regrets the loss of a man who was an honor to our order, etc." Ancient Accepted Scotch Rite, Paris.
"Lincoln, whom we had the honor to count among our brothers."
Lodge of Henry the Fourth, Paris. Perseverance Lodge, Paris.
"Has any living man practiced so well the humane principles inculcated by Free Masonry? And who is more deserving of the regrets of their brethren ?" Lodge ordered a triple mourning salute in memory of Brother Lincoln. Lodge of Admirers of the Universe, Paris.
"The memory of Brother Abraham Lincoln." Scotch Plive Lodge, Paris.
"Free Masonry is moved with just indignation at the atrocious crime that has deprived it of one of its most illustrious represen- tatives." "Condolence for the loss of the zealous Mason who has proclaimed the great Masonic principles of liberty, equality and fraternity." "Memory of the very illustrious brother, Abra- ham Lincoln."
Lodge of St. John of Jerusalem, Paris, to Grand Lodge of New York :
"The glorious death of one who had handled the hammer, square and compass." Harmony Lodge of Paris.
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Lodge Saint Pierre des Acacias, Paris.
"Brother Abraham Lincoln, member of the Grand Lodge of New York."
"Death of their brother, Abraham Lincoln." Lodge of the Fraternity of the People, Paris.
"The horrible outrage to which Brother Lincoln has fallen a victim." Scotch Lodge, No. 146, the Right Line.
"The crime, etc., deprives Masonry of a brother." Rite of Mizraim. Supreme Grand Council. Loge Renaissance.
"All the virtues possessed by Lincoln are Masonic virtues, sym- bolized in our degrees of initiation.
"When an apprentice, he purged his mind of all the subversive passions, which was an indispensable preparation for the good conduct of life.
"As a companion he had learned to live orderly by labor, and a scrupulous observance of right and justice, a course which was marked out by rule, square and compasses.
"Finally, like Plirani, he succumbed to the blows of an out- rageous pride for having remained inflexible in the discharge of his duty."
Lodge of St. Augustus the Beneficent, to Grand Lodge of New York:
"First, the son of a laboring man, he was an apprentice, then he became a journeyman, and last, a master, thus realizing our Masonic symbols."
Cradle of Henry the Fourth Lodge, Pau. Friends of Perfect Union Lodge, Perpignan.
"An illustrious Mason, the very dear brother, Abraham Lin- coln."
"Our very illustrious brother, Abraham Lincoln." Royal Scotch Lodge the Elect of St. Stephen. Lodge of Good Faith, St. Germain en Laye.
The Gazette de France, May 5, 1865, spoke of Abraham Lin- coln as of the Grand Lodge of New York. P. 124. Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland. Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Scotland.
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England. Lodge of Gymnosophists, London.
"Abraham Lincoln, member of the Grand Lodge of New York."
Italy. Social Progress Lodge, Florence. Lodge Anziani Virtuosi, Leghorn. Lodge le Lume e la Verita, Messina. Italian Una Lodge, Parma. Grand Orient of Masonry in Italy, Turin. Italian Masonic Lodge, Carthage and Utica, Tunis. Germania of the Golden Horn Masonic Lodge, Constantinople.
"Have lost a brother in the person of the illustrious deceased and have seen but few like him since the foundation of the order."
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It will be noted that there are several references in these reso- lutions to Abraham Lincoln, member of the Grand Lodge of New York. It is possible that this error arose from the fact that this Grand Lodge participated in the fmieral ceremonies in New York City, as the Grand Lodge and other Masonic bodies in the several States through which Lincoln's body was carried on its way from Washington to Springfield took part in the cere- monies in their States.
The Grand Lodge of New York, however, was unaware that Lincoln was a member of that Lodge or any other, as the D. G. M. of that jurisdiction on April 19, 1865, the day of mourning, addressed a letter to Bro. B. B. French of Washington, which was answered as follows:
From Masonic Monthly, May, 1865, p. 351.
Office of the G. M. of Knights Templar of the U. S. A.
City of Washington, April 21, 1865. R. W. Rob't. D. Holmes, D. G. Master, G. L. of N. Y. My Dear Sir and R. W. Brother: Yours of the 19th is just received. President Lincoln was not a Freemason. He once told me in the presence of M. W. Bro. J. W. Simons, that he had at one time made up his mind to apply for admission to our Fraternity but that he feared he was too lazy to attend to his duty as a Mason, as he should like to do, and that he had not carried out his intentions.