L. B. charges the entrance fee of Joseph Breintnall.

1734, August 14, Boston. Meeting of the First Lodge. Brothers Hugh Scott and John Young admitted. Bile B.MS. Barons Letter.
CuaptTer VII
THE FIRST PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER OF NORTH AMERICA
1734, August, Boston.
Provincial Grand Master Henry Price’s authority was extended over all North America by the Earl of Craw- furd, Grand Master of England.
1914 Mass. 256-273, et cit., 284. Loo eeADE Vossen: 1734, November 28, infra. 1734/5, February 21, énfra. 1871 Mass. 284 ef seq. 1883 Mass. 150 ef seq. 1888 Mass. 107 ef seq. 1891 Mass. 19 ef¢ seq.
1899 Mass. 50 ef seq.
1903 Mass. 44 e¢ seq.
1906 Mass. 74 ef seq.
1909 Mass. 105 ef seq.
The citations here given refer to many authorities for the statement that Price’s jurisdiction was extended over all North America, as reviewed by Gardner, Nick- erson, myself and others. Much additional evidence keeps coming to light, among which are the following: An original letter has recently been found in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts from Thomas Durant, then Secretary of the Lodge of Ports- mouth, N. H., dated April 5, 1755, under the seal of
the Lodge and directed to “Henry Price, Esq., Grand 115
116 FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA
Master of the Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons in North America.” On the same files is an original sum- mons sent by John Leverett, then Secretary of the Sec- ond Lodge in Boston, dated September 18, 1754, in which he states that he has received orders to summon a Grand Lodge “from our R. W. Brother Mr. Henry Price, Provincial Grand Master of North America which reverts to him by the death of our R. W. Brother Thomas Oxnard, Esq., deceased.’ The original records of the Lodge at Portsmouth, now in its possession, con- tain confirmatory references when recording Price’s visits to that Lodge on February 12, 1756/7; March 24, June 9, 1768; and October 26, 1769.
In line with the methods of keeping, or rather not keeping records in those days, the Grand Lodge of Eng- land had apparently not recorded Price’s Commission as extended, with the result that his first successor (Tomlinson) had his deputation for New England only. Oxnard was commissioned in 1743 for the whole of North America, however, and when Oxnard died the Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston on October 11, 1754, voted that a petition be sent to the Grand Master of England for the appointment of his successor, also to be Grand Master of North America. That petition is recorded in full in the Massachusetts records. (1 Mass. 35.) See page 330. Its last paragraph is as follows:
“And Whereas Masonry Originated Here anno 5733, and in the year following Our then G. M. Price received orders from G. M. Craufurd to Establish Masonry in all North America in Pursuance of which the Several Lodges hereafter mentioned have received Constitutions from us. We therefore Crave due Precedency, & that in order thereunto Our GM Elect, may in his Deputa-
FIRST PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER 117
tion be stiled GM of all North America, and your Peti- tioners as in duty Bound shall ever Pray.” See page 369.
This petition set out also the dates of the constitu- tion of Lodges in other colonies subordinate to Price, including Pennsylvania, as follows:
5734 Philadelphia. 35 New Hampshire & South Carolina. 38 Antigua and Annapolis in Nova Scotia. 46 Newfoundland. 49 Rhode Island. 50 Hallifax in Nova Scotia. 50 Annapolis in Maryland. 53 New London in Connecticut. 54 Middletown in Connecticut. 52 New Haven in Connecticut.
The petition was signed by the following Brethren as a Committee, viz.:
Hugh McDaniel. Benjamin Hallowell. Charles Brockwell. James Forbes. Robert Jenkins. William Coffin. Henry Leddell.
Is it conceivable that this petition did not truly rep- resent the facts? Henry Price was in the chair and not one word of suspicion has ever attached to him. Bro. Benjamin Franklin was present. (1 Mass. 34.) The Brethren at that meeting and those who formed the Committee which drafted the petition were well ac- quainted with the history of Masonry in those times.
118 FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA
Of those who signed it:
McDaniel was made a Mason January 30, 1735 (1 Mass. 398), and rose to D.G.M. in 1737 (1 Mass. 6). He was the accredited representative of Philadelphia to the Grand Lodge in Boston. (1 Mass. 20.)
Hallowell was made a Mason January 23, 1735 (1 Mass. 398), and rose to D. G. M. in 1753. (1 Mass. 27.)
Brockwell was a clergyman, made a Mason January 28, 1746 (1 Mass. 400), and rose to S. G. W. in 1753. (1 Mass. 9, 10, 27, 388.)
Forbes was made a Mason November 20, 1735 (1 Mass. 398), and rose to D. G. M. in 1756. (1 Mass.
Jenkins was made a Mason July 25, 1739 (1 Mass. 399), and rose to D. G. M. in 1757. (1 Mass. 48.)
1923 R.I. 64.
Coffin was made a Mason August 8, 1744 (1 Mass. 399), and rose to S. G. W. in 1758. (1 Mass. 53.)
Leddell was made a Mason October 11, 1749 (1 Mass. 400), and rose to M. of the First Lodge in 1752 (1 Mass. 24), and of the Masters Lodge in 1755. (1 Mass. 36.)
They were all close associates of Henry Price and so constant in attendance upon Masonic functions that their names appear literally hundreds of times in the first volume of the printed Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Among those voting in favor of the resolution was apparently Benjamin Franklin himself. Of the others voting, Rowe was made a Ma- son July 23, 1740 (1 Mass. 399), and had been Mas- ter of the First Lodge in 1748 (1 Mass. 9); Leverett, passed F. C. October 11, 1749 (1 Mass. 400), having
FIRST PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER 119
been made abroad, Junior Warden of the same in 1750 (1 Mass. 11); Williams, made May 29, 1746 (1 Mass. 400), Junior Warden of the Masters Lodge in 1750 (1 Mass. 11); Byard, made May 11, 1748 (1 Mass. 400), Senior Warden of the First Lodge in 1750 (1 Mass. 10); Erving, Junior Warden of the same in 1753 (1 Mass. 25); Pelham, made November 8, 1738 (1 Mass. 399), Junior Warden of the Third Lodge in Boston in 1750 (1 Mass. 10); Tyler, made February 11, 1749 (1 Mass. 401), Junior Warden of the First Lodge in Boston in 1752 (1 Mass. 19); Gridley, made January 22, 1745 (1 Mass. 400), was also present at the Grand Lodge, and while at this meeting was elected for nomination as Provincial Grand Master of North America. Ezekiel Price was Junior Warden of the Third Lodge in Boston in 1752 (1 Mass. 20); Stowe had been present at the Grand Lodge as early as 1753 (1 Mass. 26), though I have not his official Masonic record; and Holbrook was Junior Warden of the Sec- ond Lodge in Boston in 1752 (1 Mass. 22). Many of them rose to exalted Masonic station. It cannot seri- ously be contended that these men did not know the facts about which they were talking.
No court in the world would decline to believe the evidence of the men named, who had first-hand knowl- edge of events of which they were contemporaries and of which indeed they were a part. See further, 1734, November 28, zzfra.
1734, August 19, Boston. Franklin’s Constitutions are advertised in the Weekly Rehearsal.
P-t.
120 FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA
1734, August 15, Philadelphia—Lancaster—Boston— Carolina. The following entries are found in Franklin’s Jour- nals
“Omitted 15s For postage 6 by Reynells to Lancaster For postage of Commission etc. 11s.4d.&
2s.8d. 14 For Constitutions sent to Boston 70, Caro- lina 25 1 ied Wi 6 real IS:L AOE
1734, August 31 “For 3 Constitutions by John Cather- Wood, Lan County For | Do. to Morgan Sexton F.J.
mn CO
Another entry, apparently under August, 1734, is as follows:
= ma =a." 7
CPs;
tha a tae ve
ad Mey nicks teplags LE
“PPD I es sso hx ir cont fa ae
FACSIMILE OF TWO PAGES
OF FRANKLIN’S JOURNAL
1734 121
Brother Sachse says that this refers to Louis Timothee of Charleston, South Carolina, who was sent by Frank- lin to Charleston to take charge of the printing office established there in 1731 by Bro. Thomas Whitemarsh of St. John’s Lodge, who had been equipped with a printer’s outfit and sent out by Franklin.
Our curiosity is greatly excited by these entries. We can demonstrate the presence in Boston of only about thirty Brethren. Why seventy books? Six more were sent “by Brother Peter’ (page 122) and within three months Franklin thought that more might be wanted (page 126). In the improbable event that every brother bought a copy, there must have been more Masons in Boston than we have suspected.
And why were twenty-five or thirty-one books sent to Carolina? I cannot, on known facts, answer. Probably a Lodge “according to the Old Customs.”
1734, September. Above the last two entries from Franklin’s Journal appears the following:
“Lodge of Mason’s at Br. Hubards Dr.
For tickets 5
For tickets 4.3.4
Sept. 1734 For a finely gilded constitution to the Proprietor 5 For one Do. for the Lodge aie
It is a puzzle which I have not been able to solve to account for the entries upon the page in question. The page starts out with a charge to Isaac Brown for a Mason Book on June 11, 1736, and continues with Brown’s account down to September of the following year. Thus the charges against the Lodge of Masons,
122 FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA
which are apparently in 1734, follow entries two years later, while on the same page below the date supposed to be August 15, 1734, are items against one John Fruin dated 1731.
On the opposite page of the Journal are found entries against the Lodge in 1736-7. Upon some date of which I am not certain but which is apparently about this time, there is an entry for 100 catechisms and 6 Mason books, “sent to Broth. James by Brother Peter.” This probably refers to books sent to Boston.
1734, September 4, Boston. Meeting of the First Lodge. Robert Kenton made and Brother John Lyle admitted. lz. B.MS. Barons Letter.
1734, September, Montserrat.
The American Weekly Mercury for December 24, 1734, recites under date of ‘London, October 1,” that “the Earl of Craufurd, Grand Mafter of the Siciety | (séc) of Free-Mafons, hath fign’d an Inftrument for e{tablishing a Lodge of Mafons in the If{land of Mont- Leratsy
P—t.
1734, October 7, Philadelphia. Entries in L. B. indicate a meeting.
1734, October 8, — Philadelphia. On this date Franklin charges Philip Syng for binding a Mason book 1.6. F.J.
1734 123
1734, October 9, Georgia. Lodge meeting at which Sir Patrick Houstoun was made. See page 143, znfra.
1734, October 23, Boston.
The Provincial Grand Lodge at Boston wrote a letter to Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately we have no indi- cation whatever of its contents except that it referred to Price’s recovery from an illness.
1914 Mass. 283.
1734, November, Philadelphia. Franklin’s Journal contains the following entries:
“Mr. Thomas Penn, Proprietor.
For a book of Constitution 6.0 James Bingham for Binding a Mason book 1.6 Mr. Newingham for binding a Mason book gilt 4.0 Edward Evans for a Mason book 0%
FJ.
1734, November 7, Philadelphia.