A work in progress--more to follow 1st WM of Cataract Masonic Lodge #2 in Minneapolis Minnesota..
1st Minnesota GLMW
MW Bro Alfred Elisha Ames was a Medical Doctor first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota , more info: http://www.mn-masons.org/
T.F.S.Three, five, and sevenBy Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer.
Number 29 – June 15, 2004 This publication is issued with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F. and A.M. of Minnesota.
Interested in gathering more info about free masonry in your state? contact your states Grand Lodge...in Minnesota its http://www.mn-masons. org/
" Regularly reviewing our rituals will enable us to imprint upon our minds their full meaning. The teachings will become a part of our minds both in and out of Lodge." Brother Burt Prater
The Tiling of a Pioneer Lodge in Minnesota
Who can be the Tyler of a Masonic Lodge? Well the answer is, of course, a Master Mason, but there have been others who have acted as a Tyler , and in particular here in Minnesota there is at least one instance I know of where someone other than a Master Mason has acted as the Tyler for a Lodge.
Recently a Brother Mason told me he remembered someone telling him that at the first Lodge meeting in Minnesota they were short a Tyler so a Catholic Nun was asked to Tile the Lodge and she agreed. His question was, if I knew about that, and if it was true, of course I didn't know about it, but I told him I would check it out.
Well I did check it out and that story while it has some basis of fact is not correct. According to my sources the rumor of a Catholic Nun tiling a Lodge in early Masonic history in Minnesota didn't happen, and it wasn't the first meeting of Masons of Minnesota, but it was the first official meeting of Cataract Lodge U.D. in 1851. I think, however, I might have an answer as to how that rumor might have started, as well as what really happened.
This all has to do with some fairly well known names in Minnesota Masonic History as well as the history of Minnesota , and of the Minneapolis area specifically. In 1851 Brother Alfred Elisha Ames came to Minnesota and settled in St. Anthony Falls , which is now a fine part of the Minneapolis Metro Area. He was made a Mason in Joliet Lodge U.D. in the Jurisdiction of Illinois becoming a Master Mason on March 5, 1840. He was quite a remarkable man, and he was most important in the history of Minnesota Masonry, but that will be a topic for another time.
Brother Ames was a Medical Doctor and he became well established with the settlers in the St. Anthony area. As Masons became known to him in the Village, he would take them to his office and personally examine them about things Masonic, and investigate their good standing so that he could vouch for them. He established the first Lodge in that area, there were at that time nine Masons there. So it was in 1851 that these nine brethren met in Brother Ames' office and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Illinois for a dispensation to have a Lodge at St. Anthony. Since Brother Ames was from Illinois and that he was well known there, (having been a State Legislator and a friend of Steven A. Douglas,) it was natural for him to go to that jurisdiction for the dispensation. The dispensation to form Cataract Lodge was granted, but only after Grand Master Thomas J. Pickett had secured a recommendation from the Master of St. Paul Lodge, (now St. Paul Lodge #3,) to assure himself that the new Lodge would in no way conflict with his its work.
One of the nine Masons who signed the petition for dispensation and who was Cataract's first Treasurer was Ard Godfrey. Brother Godfrey was a Master Millwright who came to Minnesota Territory by way of Maine and Tennessee but was a native of Lower Canada. He was evidently made a U.S. Citizen as he was Quarter Master in the U.S. Army during the Mexican war.
It is to me interesting to learn why some of our ancestors settled here in Minnesota . I especially think about that in the winter time. There's an old joke here in the Northland when someone from out of state asks on the phone what the weather's like in the winter to answer, Clear and Still; clear up to here and still coming down. My Dad particularly liked that joke. But in the case of Brother Ames I've learned his health wasn't the best. One source says, "Although very successful in his public and private life, he failed in health. Hearing of the healthful invigorating climate in Minnesota , he came here and made it his home." In the case of Brother Godfrey that same source says about him, "Failing in health and suffering from a lung condition, he sought the salubrious climate of Minnesota upon the advice of an old friend. He lived here for 51 years and died at the age of 80." So maybe next winter I'll think a little better about my ancestors settling here in so healthful a climate.
The first Formal meeting of Cataract Lodge was held February 14, 1852 in the front parlor of Brother Ard Godfrey's house, and as Brother Alfred Ames, the Master of the Lodge, wished to have all nine members within the "Parlor Lodge Room," in order to read the dispensation, to make appointments and formally institute the Lodge, one source says he secured the services of Brother Ard Godfrey's sister to act as the Tyler. And according to the book Centennium it says, "She discharged the duties of that office in a very commendable manner."
Well this is interesting: A woman Tyler , this I think is where the rumor about a Nun being a Tyler might come from; being Brother Godfrey's sister. However, in the information from the Minnesota Historical Society we get a little different story as regards who acted as the Tyler for that first official communication.
Ard Godfrey and Harriet Newell Burr married at Orono , Maine . They arrived at St. Anthony Falls April 12, 1849 and only a few weeks later on May 30th Mrs. Godfrey gave birth to the first white child born at St Anthony Falls, Harriet R. Godfrey.
It is true that the first official communication of Cataract Lodge was held in the parlor of the Godfrey home. But here is where the story differs, and I like this version better – personally.
Being that the Master of the Lodge wanted all of the nine Brethren in the Lodge Room to read the Dispensation etc. Mrs. Godfrey, Brother Ard's Wife, was asked to act as the Tyler, and young Abner, the Godfrey's son, sat on the stairs to watch for intruders. Mrs. Godfrey died in 1897. I like the story about her acting as Tyler because it is so true to life. Most Wives I have known, which includes mine of course plus my mother & mother in law, my married daughters, and a multitude of the wives of my friends and Brothers, would be most willing to do whatever they could to help out their husband. So believing Mrs. Godfrey would do this when her husband asked her is real believable to me.
Well anyway there you have it, the story of a woman acting as a Tyler for a Masonic Lodge. No matter which version of the story you prefer there is no truth to the rumor about the woman being a Catholic Nun, but the versions we have are interesting enough without that.
Other than that instance, the answer as to who can be a Tyler for a Lodge is that it is to be a Master Mason, (armed with the proper instrument of his office,) but that Master Mason does not need to be a member of that Lodge. The Tyler is the only officer of the Lodge who does not need to be a member of it; he needs to be a member in good standing of a Lodge but not that one. At least that's how it is here in Minnesota .
By the way the First Officers of Cataract Lodge were: Alfred E. Ames, Master, who would in 1853 become the first Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota; William Smith, Senior Warden, who came from Maine and was one of the first settlers to farm land east of St. Anthony; Isaac Brown, Junior Warden, from Maine, the first Sheriff of Hennepin County; Ard Godfrey, Treasurer; Col. John H. Stevens, Secretary. The other members of the Lodge were: J.W.T. Gardner, from Maine, a Captain at Fort Snelling and graduate of West Point; Daniel M. Coolbaugh, from Pennsylvania, and raised in Illinois, a builder who built many of the early stone buildings in St. Anthony; Emmanuel Case, from New York, a merchant, and who in 1853 became the first Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
At that first official communication of Cataract Lodge there were sixteen petitions read; fifteen for degrees and one for affiliation. Some of the first men to be made Masons in Cataract Lodge were: Isaac Atwater, J. G. Lennon, Anson Northrup, J. C. Gairnes, J. H. Murphy and R. W. Cummings.
Today this Lodge is Cataract Lodge #2 in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, and has a charter date of February 24, 1853, which is the date of the formation of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. That date of 1853 is five years before Minnesota became a State, and the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota was the first corporation chartered in Minnesota .
But why is this Lodge named Cataract? Is it because the first Master of the Lodge being a Medical Doctor he was concerned about the health of the eye; being that sight is one of the five senses most revered by Masons? No, that's not the reason.
This Lodge was situated in St. Anthony Falls , which when I was a kid was called St. Anthony Village , (at least by me.) This village was situated on the Mississippi at a waterfall, hence the first name of the village. The word Cataract has a first meaning of: A decent of water over a steeply sloping surface; a waterfall, especially one of considerable size; any furious rush or downpour of water. So now you know why those early settlers and Masons who formed Cataract Lodge selected that name, they used their vocabulary to denote the location of the Lodge. Today when we hear the word we think of the eye, but its primary definition back then had to do with water.
"When Masonry is taught by ritual, symbol, and allegory it is not as easy to follow as the schoolroom method, but it has this advantage; it makes a Mason study and learn for himself, forces him to search out the truth, compels him to take the initiative, so that the very act of learning has increased value." Brother Burt Prate
"When we learn something, we gain knowledge. When we experience this knowledge, we gain understanding. When we teach what we understand, we gain wisdom." Brother Burt Prater
With "Brotherly Love,"
Ed Halpaus Grand Lodge Education Officer
Sources: Cenetnnium 1853-1953 the first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota
Minnesota Territorial Pioneers
R.W. Brother Doug Campbell, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and Secretary of Cataract Lodge #2.
Family Masonic Education Workbook – by Brother Burt Prater
Early Minnesota Masonry..23 February 1853 , Minnesota territories
A.T.C. Pierson introduced a resolution to authorize a meeting for the purpose of exploring creation of a
Grand Lodge in Minnesota.
The meeting took place as planned on February 23, 1853. However, there was no representation from St. John's Lodge. The notification of the meeting had arrived late.
While the special meeting was being held in Stillwater, the convention was proceeding without the St. John's representation. A.E. Ames of Cataract Lodge and A.T.C. Pierson of St. Paul Lodge were elected president and secretary of the convention respectively. Ames then appointed Aaron Goodrich of St. Paul to draft a proposed constitution for them Grand Lodge. Goodrich was at that time a judge in St. Paul. He labored through the night of February 23/24 and produced a brief but very comprehensive constitution. It consisted of four articles, nine rules of order, and three resolutions.
Upon the arrival of two members from St. John's late that day, Ames reconvened the convention and the constitution was presented. By the end of the evening the proposed constitution had been approved unanimously for adoption.
The convention elected A.E. Ames to be the first Grand Master.
Following the installation of officers the Grand Master closed the Constitutional Convention and immediately opened the First Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The only order of business at this first communication was to grant new charters to the three lodges constituting the Grand Lodge. St. John's Lodge became #1, Cataract Lodge became #2, and St. Paul Lodge became #3 in the order of their charter dates.
The Grand Lodge was incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Territory of Minnesota and by an act of the Territorial Assembly under the title "The Grand Lodge of Minnesota." In fact, it was the first corporation to be recorded in the state of Minnesota. From this meager start, Masonry has grown and prospered into its present day. There were eight lodges in Minnesota when A.T.C. Pierson assumed the Grand East in 1856. During his nearly 9-year tenure as Grand Master an additional 41 lodges were chartered.
The growth of the fraternity followed the expansion of the population along the major rivers. Until 1870, when Palestine Lodge No. 79 was chartered in Duluth, the only Lodge north of St. Cloud was Northern Lights No. 68 U.D. at Pembina on the Red River. This was a military Lodge that later moved to Ft. Garry, Manitoba. In 1873 and 1874 Lodges were chartered in Fergus Falls, Brainerd, and Detroit Lakes. Three Lodges were chartered in the Dakota Territory: Yellowstone No. 88, which surrendered its charter after two years; Shiloh No. 105 (in Fargo); and Bismarck No. 120, which transferred their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Dakota at its formation in 1880.
By 1903, our Golden Jubilee year, 255 charters had been granted and there were Lodges in all but the most northern counties. Membership had grown to 18,542 Masons in 239 Lodges (16 lodges had surrendered their charters.) The first step toward building a Masonic Home had been taken in 1902 with the appointment of a committee to collect opinions from the Lodges. In their 1903 report they said: "The committee failed to hear from any of the subordinate Lodges . . ." They recommended that the Grand Master write to each Lodge, directing each to hold a Special Communication to poll the membership and report back to the Grand Master.
The Grand Master's letter must have been effective because the Minnesota Masonic Home was incorporated in 1906, and the Home was opened in 1920.
Read more http://www.mpls19.org/grand_lodge
Lakewood Cem record---follows
Alfred Elisha Ames, M.D., was born at Colchester, Vermont, Dec. 13, 1814. He was the oldest son of Billy and Phebe (Baker) Ames, whose ancestors were early colonists from England.
Alfred E. commenced the study of medicine in 1832. He occasionally taught school and worked at his trade of brickmason. He also varied his labors by publishing an arithmetic. He came West in 1838, locating first at Springfield, Illinois; concluded his medical studies at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1845. Before leaving Illinois he was elected to the state senate. In 1851 he came to St. Anthony Falls, made a claim, and entered into partnership with Dr. J. H. Murphy. In 1852 he served as surgeon at Fort Snelling, and in 1853 was elected to the territorial legislature as a member of the house. In 1854 he was elected probate judge; in 1857 member of the Democratic wing of the constitutional convention, and in 1860 became a member of the state normal board.
During the remainder of his life he devoted himself to the practice of medicine, but also served the public in many positions of trust. *He died Dec. 24, 1874* (incorrect5 date).
Dr. Alfred E. Ames was chairman of the committee on school funds, education, and science in the Democratic wing of the state constitutional convention of 1857.
He was responsible for the incorporation in the constitution of a clause that fixed the location of the university and provided that it receive all past and future grants of land. In one of the debates he said: "It was necessary to incorporate something into the constitution that would secure to the University of Minnesota the liberal donation made by Congress for that purpose."
It is of interest to note that Dr. Ames was a prominent citizen of Minnesota in other respects. He was one of the pioneer physicians in the town of St. Anthony and during part of 1853 held the position of surgeon at Fort Snelling.
In 1854 he was elected to the office of probate judge. On January 4, 1856, he drafted a bill for the incorporation of the village of Minneapolis, which later became law; and in April, 1857, he was appointed postmaster of Minneapolis.Biography*
Graduated in the first class from Rush Medical College. First doctor, First Masonic Grand Master and First Postmaster in Minneaopolis and a founder of the University of Minnesota. First Practicing Physician on the west side of the river..
He used his land liberally for the benefit of the community, presenting the city with two lots for a court house and two for the First Presbyterian church of which he was the first elder.
1st Minnesota GLMW
MW Bro Alfred Elisha Ames was a Medical Doctor first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota , more info: http://www.mn-masons.org/
T.F.S.Three, five, and sevenBy Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer.
Number 29 – June 15, 2004 This publication is issued with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F. and A.M. of Minnesota.
Interested in gathering more info about free masonry in your state? contact your states Grand Lodge...in Minnesota its http://www.mn-masons. org/
" Regularly reviewing our rituals will enable us to imprint upon our minds their full meaning. The teachings will become a part of our minds both in and out of Lodge." Brother Burt Prater
The Tiling of a Pioneer Lodge in Minnesota
Who can be the Tyler of a Masonic Lodge? Well the answer is, of course, a Master Mason, but there have been others who have acted as a Tyler , and in particular here in Minnesota there is at least one instance I know of where someone other than a Master Mason has acted as the Tyler for a Lodge.
Recently a Brother Mason told me he remembered someone telling him that at the first Lodge meeting in Minnesota they were short a Tyler so a Catholic Nun was asked to Tile the Lodge and she agreed. His question was, if I knew about that, and if it was true, of course I didn't know about it, but I told him I would check it out.
Well I did check it out and that story while it has some basis of fact is not correct. According to my sources the rumor of a Catholic Nun tiling a Lodge in early Masonic history in Minnesota didn't happen, and it wasn't the first meeting of Masons of Minnesota, but it was the first official meeting of Cataract Lodge U.D. in 1851. I think, however, I might have an answer as to how that rumor might have started, as well as what really happened.
This all has to do with some fairly well known names in Minnesota Masonic History as well as the history of Minnesota , and of the Minneapolis area specifically. In 1851 Brother Alfred Elisha Ames came to Minnesota and settled in St. Anthony Falls , which is now a fine part of the Minneapolis Metro Area. He was made a Mason in Joliet Lodge U.D. in the Jurisdiction of Illinois becoming a Master Mason on March 5, 1840. He was quite a remarkable man, and he was most important in the history of Minnesota Masonry, but that will be a topic for another time.
Brother Ames was a Medical Doctor and he became well established with the settlers in the St. Anthony area. As Masons became known to him in the Village, he would take them to his office and personally examine them about things Masonic, and investigate their good standing so that he could vouch for them. He established the first Lodge in that area, there were at that time nine Masons there. So it was in 1851 that these nine brethren met in Brother Ames' office and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Illinois for a dispensation to have a Lodge at St. Anthony. Since Brother Ames was from Illinois and that he was well known there, (having been a State Legislator and a friend of Steven A. Douglas,) it was natural for him to go to that jurisdiction for the dispensation. The dispensation to form Cataract Lodge was granted, but only after Grand Master Thomas J. Pickett had secured a recommendation from the Master of St. Paul Lodge, (now St. Paul Lodge #3,) to assure himself that the new Lodge would in no way conflict with his its work.
One of the nine Masons who signed the petition for dispensation and who was Cataract's first Treasurer was Ard Godfrey. Brother Godfrey was a Master Millwright who came to Minnesota Territory by way of Maine and Tennessee but was a native of Lower Canada. He was evidently made a U.S. Citizen as he was Quarter Master in the U.S. Army during the Mexican war.
It is to me interesting to learn why some of our ancestors settled here in Minnesota . I especially think about that in the winter time. There's an old joke here in the Northland when someone from out of state asks on the phone what the weather's like in the winter to answer, Clear and Still; clear up to here and still coming down. My Dad particularly liked that joke. But in the case of Brother Ames I've learned his health wasn't the best. One source says, "Although very successful in his public and private life, he failed in health. Hearing of the healthful invigorating climate in Minnesota , he came here and made it his home." In the case of Brother Godfrey that same source says about him, "Failing in health and suffering from a lung condition, he sought the salubrious climate of Minnesota upon the advice of an old friend. He lived here for 51 years and died at the age of 80." So maybe next winter I'll think a little better about my ancestors settling here in so healthful a climate.
The first Formal meeting of Cataract Lodge was held February 14, 1852 in the front parlor of Brother Ard Godfrey's house, and as Brother Alfred Ames, the Master of the Lodge, wished to have all nine members within the "Parlor Lodge Room," in order to read the dispensation, to make appointments and formally institute the Lodge, one source says he secured the services of Brother Ard Godfrey's sister to act as the Tyler. And according to the book Centennium it says, "She discharged the duties of that office in a very commendable manner."
Well this is interesting: A woman Tyler , this I think is where the rumor about a Nun being a Tyler might come from; being Brother Godfrey's sister. However, in the information from the Minnesota Historical Society we get a little different story as regards who acted as the Tyler for that first official communication.
Ard Godfrey and Harriet Newell Burr married at Orono , Maine . They arrived at St. Anthony Falls April 12, 1849 and only a few weeks later on May 30th Mrs. Godfrey gave birth to the first white child born at St Anthony Falls, Harriet R. Godfrey.
It is true that the first official communication of Cataract Lodge was held in the parlor of the Godfrey home. But here is where the story differs, and I like this version better – personally.
Being that the Master of the Lodge wanted all of the nine Brethren in the Lodge Room to read the Dispensation etc. Mrs. Godfrey, Brother Ard's Wife, was asked to act as the Tyler, and young Abner, the Godfrey's son, sat on the stairs to watch for intruders. Mrs. Godfrey died in 1897. I like the story about her acting as Tyler because it is so true to life. Most Wives I have known, which includes mine of course plus my mother & mother in law, my married daughters, and a multitude of the wives of my friends and Brothers, would be most willing to do whatever they could to help out their husband. So believing Mrs. Godfrey would do this when her husband asked her is real believable to me.
Well anyway there you have it, the story of a woman acting as a Tyler for a Masonic Lodge. No matter which version of the story you prefer there is no truth to the rumor about the woman being a Catholic Nun, but the versions we have are interesting enough without that.
Other than that instance, the answer as to who can be a Tyler for a Lodge is that it is to be a Master Mason, (armed with the proper instrument of his office,) but that Master Mason does not need to be a member of that Lodge. The Tyler is the only officer of the Lodge who does not need to be a member of it; he needs to be a member in good standing of a Lodge but not that one. At least that's how it is here in Minnesota .
By the way the First Officers of Cataract Lodge were: Alfred E. Ames, Master, who would in 1853 become the first Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota; William Smith, Senior Warden, who came from Maine and was one of the first settlers to farm land east of St. Anthony; Isaac Brown, Junior Warden, from Maine, the first Sheriff of Hennepin County; Ard Godfrey, Treasurer; Col. John H. Stevens, Secretary. The other members of the Lodge were: J.W.T. Gardner, from Maine, a Captain at Fort Snelling and graduate of West Point; Daniel M. Coolbaugh, from Pennsylvania, and raised in Illinois, a builder who built many of the early stone buildings in St. Anthony; Emmanuel Case, from New York, a merchant, and who in 1853 became the first Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
At that first official communication of Cataract Lodge there were sixteen petitions read; fifteen for degrees and one for affiliation. Some of the first men to be made Masons in Cataract Lodge were: Isaac Atwater, J. G. Lennon, Anson Northrup, J. C. Gairnes, J. H. Murphy and R. W. Cummings.
Today this Lodge is Cataract Lodge #2 in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, and has a charter date of February 24, 1853, which is the date of the formation of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. That date of 1853 is five years before Minnesota became a State, and the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota was the first corporation chartered in Minnesota .
But why is this Lodge named Cataract? Is it because the first Master of the Lodge being a Medical Doctor he was concerned about the health of the eye; being that sight is one of the five senses most revered by Masons? No, that's not the reason.
This Lodge was situated in St. Anthony Falls , which when I was a kid was called St. Anthony Village , (at least by me.) This village was situated on the Mississippi at a waterfall, hence the first name of the village. The word Cataract has a first meaning of: A decent of water over a steeply sloping surface; a waterfall, especially one of considerable size; any furious rush or downpour of water. So now you know why those early settlers and Masons who formed Cataract Lodge selected that name, they used their vocabulary to denote the location of the Lodge. Today when we hear the word we think of the eye, but its primary definition back then had to do with water.
"When Masonry is taught by ritual, symbol, and allegory it is not as easy to follow as the schoolroom method, but it has this advantage; it makes a Mason study and learn for himself, forces him to search out the truth, compels him to take the initiative, so that the very act of learning has increased value." Brother Burt Prate
"When we learn something, we gain knowledge. When we experience this knowledge, we gain understanding. When we teach what we understand, we gain wisdom." Brother Burt Prater
With "Brotherly Love,"
Ed Halpaus Grand Lodge Education Officer
Sources: Cenetnnium 1853-1953 the first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota
Minnesota Territorial Pioneers
R.W. Brother Doug Campbell, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and Secretary of Cataract Lodge #2.
Family Masonic Education Workbook – by Brother Burt Prater
Early Minnesota Masonry..23 February 1853 , Minnesota territories
A.T.C. Pierson introduced a resolution to authorize a meeting for the purpose of exploring creation of a
Grand Lodge in Minnesota.
The meeting took place as planned on February 23, 1853. However, there was no representation from St. John's Lodge. The notification of the meeting had arrived late.
While the special meeting was being held in Stillwater, the convention was proceeding without the St. John's representation. A.E. Ames of Cataract Lodge and A.T.C. Pierson of St. Paul Lodge were elected president and secretary of the convention respectively. Ames then appointed Aaron Goodrich of St. Paul to draft a proposed constitution for them Grand Lodge. Goodrich was at that time a judge in St. Paul. He labored through the night of February 23/24 and produced a brief but very comprehensive constitution. It consisted of four articles, nine rules of order, and three resolutions.
Upon the arrival of two members from St. John's late that day, Ames reconvened the convention and the constitution was presented. By the end of the evening the proposed constitution had been approved unanimously for adoption.
The convention elected A.E. Ames to be the first Grand Master.
Following the installation of officers the Grand Master closed the Constitutional Convention and immediately opened the First Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The only order of business at this first communication was to grant new charters to the three lodges constituting the Grand Lodge. St. John's Lodge became #1, Cataract Lodge became #2, and St. Paul Lodge became #3 in the order of their charter dates.
The Grand Lodge was incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Territory of Minnesota and by an act of the Territorial Assembly under the title "The Grand Lodge of Minnesota." In fact, it was the first corporation to be recorded in the state of Minnesota. From this meager start, Masonry has grown and prospered into its present day. There were eight lodges in Minnesota when A.T.C. Pierson assumed the Grand East in 1856. During his nearly 9-year tenure as Grand Master an additional 41 lodges were chartered.
The growth of the fraternity followed the expansion of the population along the major rivers. Until 1870, when Palestine Lodge No. 79 was chartered in Duluth, the only Lodge north of St. Cloud was Northern Lights No. 68 U.D. at Pembina on the Red River. This was a military Lodge that later moved to Ft. Garry, Manitoba. In 1873 and 1874 Lodges were chartered in Fergus Falls, Brainerd, and Detroit Lakes. Three Lodges were chartered in the Dakota Territory: Yellowstone No. 88, which surrendered its charter after two years; Shiloh No. 105 (in Fargo); and Bismarck No. 120, which transferred their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Dakota at its formation in 1880.
By 1903, our Golden Jubilee year, 255 charters had been granted and there were Lodges in all but the most northern counties. Membership had grown to 18,542 Masons in 239 Lodges (16 lodges had surrendered their charters.) The first step toward building a Masonic Home had been taken in 1902 with the appointment of a committee to collect opinions from the Lodges. In their 1903 report they said: "The committee failed to hear from any of the subordinate Lodges . . ." They recommended that the Grand Master write to each Lodge, directing each to hold a Special Communication to poll the membership and report back to the Grand Master.
The Grand Master's letter must have been effective because the Minnesota Masonic Home was incorporated in 1906, and the Home was opened in 1920.
Read more http://www.mpls19.org/grand_lodge
Lakewood Cem record---follows
Alfred Elisha Ames, M.D., was born at Colchester, Vermont, Dec. 13, 1814. He was the oldest son of Billy and Phebe (Baker) Ames, whose ancestors were early colonists from England.
Alfred E. commenced the study of medicine in 1832. He occasionally taught school and worked at his trade of brickmason. He also varied his labors by publishing an arithmetic. He came West in 1838, locating first at Springfield, Illinois; concluded his medical studies at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1845. Before leaving Illinois he was elected to the state senate. In 1851 he came to St. Anthony Falls, made a claim, and entered into partnership with Dr. J. H. Murphy. In 1852 he served as surgeon at Fort Snelling, and in 1853 was elected to the territorial legislature as a member of the house. In 1854 he was elected probate judge; in 1857 member of the Democratic wing of the constitutional convention, and in 1860 became a member of the state normal board.
During the remainder of his life he devoted himself to the practice of medicine, but also served the public in many positions of trust. *He died Dec. 24, 1874* (incorrect5 date).
Dr. Alfred E. Ames was chairman of the committee on school funds, education, and science in the Democratic wing of the state constitutional convention of 1857.
He was responsible for the incorporation in the constitution of a clause that fixed the location of the university and provided that it receive all past and future grants of land. In one of the debates he said: "It was necessary to incorporate something into the constitution that would secure to the University of Minnesota the liberal donation made by Congress for that purpose."
It is of interest to note that Dr. Ames was a prominent citizen of Minnesota in other respects. He was one of the pioneer physicians in the town of St. Anthony and during part of 1853 held the position of surgeon at Fort Snelling.
In 1854 he was elected to the office of probate judge. On January 4, 1856, he drafted a bill for the incorporation of the village of Minneapolis, which later became law; and in April, 1857, he was appointed postmaster of Minneapolis.Biography*
Graduated in the first class from Rush Medical College. First doctor, First Masonic Grand Master and First Postmaster in Minneaopolis and a founder of the University of Minnesota. First Practicing Physician on the west side of the river..
He used his land liberally for the benefit of the community, presenting the city with two lots for a court house and two for the First Presbyterian church of which he was the first elder.
A work in progress--more to follow 1st WM of Cataract Masonic Lodge #2 in Minneapolis Minnesota..
1st Minnesota GLMW
MW Bro Alfred Elisha Ames was a Medical Doctor first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota , more info: http://www.mn-masons.org/
T.F.S.Three, five, and sevenBy Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer.
Number 29 – June 15, 2004 This publication is issued with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F. and A.M. of Minnesota.
Interested in gathering more info about free masonry in your state? contact your states Grand Lodge...in Minnesota its http://www.mn-masons. org/
" Regularly reviewing our rituals will enable us to imprint upon our minds their full meaning. The teachings will become a part of our minds both in and out of Lodge." Brother Burt Prater
The Tiling of a Pioneer Lodge in Minnesota
Who can be the Tyler of a Masonic Lodge? Well the answer is, of course, a Master Mason, but there have been others who have acted as a Tyler , and in particular here in Minnesota there is at least one instance I know of where someone other than a Master Mason has acted as the Tyler for a Lodge.
Recently a Brother Mason told me he remembered someone telling him that at the first Lodge meeting in Minnesota they were short a Tyler so a Catholic Nun was asked to Tile the Lodge and she agreed. His question was, if I knew about that, and if it was true, of course I didn't know about it, but I told him I would check it out.
Well I did check it out and that story while it has some basis of fact is not correct. According to my sources the rumor of a Catholic Nun tiling a Lodge in early Masonic history in Minnesota didn't happen, and it wasn't the first meeting of Masons of Minnesota, but it was the first official meeting of Cataract Lodge U.D. in 1851. I think, however, I might have an answer as to how that rumor might have started, as well as what really happened.
This all has to do with some fairly well known names in Minnesota Masonic History as well as the history of Minnesota , and of the Minneapolis area specifically. In 1851 Brother Alfred Elisha Ames came to Minnesota and settled in St. Anthony Falls , which is now a fine part of the Minneapolis Metro Area. He was made a Mason in Joliet Lodge U.D. in the Jurisdiction of Illinois becoming a Master Mason on March 5, 1840. He was quite a remarkable man, and he was most important in the history of Minnesota Masonry, but that will be a topic for another time.
Brother Ames was a Medical Doctor and he became well established with the settlers in the St. Anthony area. As Masons became known to him in the Village, he would take them to his office and personally examine them about things Masonic, and investigate their good standing so that he could vouch for them. He established the first Lodge in that area, there were at that time nine Masons there. So it was in 1851 that these nine brethren met in Brother Ames' office and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Illinois for a dispensation to have a Lodge at St. Anthony. Since Brother Ames was from Illinois and that he was well known there, (having been a State Legislator and a friend of Steven A. Douglas,) it was natural for him to go to that jurisdiction for the dispensation. The dispensation to form Cataract Lodge was granted, but only after Grand Master Thomas J. Pickett had secured a recommendation from the Master of St. Paul Lodge, (now St. Paul Lodge #3,) to assure himself that the new Lodge would in no way conflict with his its work.
One of the nine Masons who signed the petition for dispensation and who was Cataract's first Treasurer was Ard Godfrey. Brother Godfrey was a Master Millwright who came to Minnesota Territory by way of Maine and Tennessee but was a native of Lower Canada. He was evidently made a U.S. Citizen as he was Quarter Master in the U.S. Army during the Mexican war.
It is to me interesting to learn why some of our ancestors settled here in Minnesota . I especially think about that in the winter time. There's an old joke here in the Northland when someone from out of state asks on the phone what the weather's like in the winter to answer, Clear and Still; clear up to here and still coming down. My Dad particularly liked that joke. But in the case of Brother Ames I've learned his health wasn't the best. One source says, "Although very successful in his public and private life, he failed in health. Hearing of the healthful invigorating climate in Minnesota , he came here and made it his home." In the case of Brother Godfrey that same source says about him, "Failing in health and suffering from a lung condition, he sought the salubrious climate of Minnesota upon the advice of an old friend. He lived here for 51 years and died at the age of 80." So maybe next winter I'll think a little better about my ancestors settling here in so healthful a climate.
The first Formal meeting of Cataract Lodge was held February 14, 1852 in the front parlor of Brother Ard Godfrey's house, and as Brother Alfred Ames, the Master of the Lodge, wished to have all nine members within the "Parlor Lodge Room," in order to read the dispensation, to make appointments and formally institute the Lodge, one source says he secured the services of Brother Ard Godfrey's sister to act as the Tyler. And according to the book Centennium it says, "She discharged the duties of that office in a very commendable manner."
Well this is interesting: A woman Tyler , this I think is where the rumor about a Nun being a Tyler might come from; being Brother Godfrey's sister. However, in the information from the Minnesota Historical Society we get a little different story as regards who acted as the Tyler for that first official communication.
Ard Godfrey and Harriet Newell Burr married at Orono , Maine . They arrived at St. Anthony Falls April 12, 1849 and only a few weeks later on May 30th Mrs. Godfrey gave birth to the first white child born at St Anthony Falls, Harriet R. Godfrey.
It is true that the first official communication of Cataract Lodge was held in the parlor of the Godfrey home. But here is where the story differs, and I like this version better – personally.
Being that the Master of the Lodge wanted all of the nine Brethren in the Lodge Room to read the Dispensation etc. Mrs. Godfrey, Brother Ard's Wife, was asked to act as the Tyler, and young Abner, the Godfrey's son, sat on the stairs to watch for intruders. Mrs. Godfrey died in 1897. I like the story about her acting as Tyler because it is so true to life. Most Wives I have known, which includes mine of course plus my mother & mother in law, my married daughters, and a multitude of the wives of my friends and Brothers, would be most willing to do whatever they could to help out their husband. So believing Mrs. Godfrey would do this when her husband asked her is real believable to me.
Well anyway there you have it, the story of a woman acting as a Tyler for a Masonic Lodge. No matter which version of the story you prefer there is no truth to the rumor about the woman being a Catholic Nun, but the versions we have are interesting enough without that.
Other than that instance, the answer as to who can be a Tyler for a Lodge is that it is to be a Master Mason, (armed with the proper instrument of his office,) but that Master Mason does not need to be a member of that Lodge. The Tyler is the only officer of the Lodge who does not need to be a member of it; he needs to be a member in good standing of a Lodge but not that one. At least that's how it is here in Minnesota .
By the way the First Officers of Cataract Lodge were: Alfred E. Ames, Master, who would in 1853 become the first Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota; William Smith, Senior Warden, who came from Maine and was one of the first settlers to farm land east of St. Anthony; Isaac Brown, Junior Warden, from Maine, the first Sheriff of Hennepin County; Ard Godfrey, Treasurer; Col. John H. Stevens, Secretary. The other members of the Lodge were: J.W.T. Gardner, from Maine, a Captain at Fort Snelling and graduate of West Point; Daniel M. Coolbaugh, from Pennsylvania, and raised in Illinois, a builder who built many of the early stone buildings in St. Anthony; Emmanuel Case, from New York, a merchant, and who in 1853 became the first Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
At that first official communication of Cataract Lodge there were sixteen petitions read; fifteen for degrees and one for affiliation. Some of the first men to be made Masons in Cataract Lodge were: Isaac Atwater, J. G. Lennon, Anson Northrup, J. C. Gairnes, J. H. Murphy and R. W. Cummings.
Today this Lodge is Cataract Lodge #2 in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, and has a charter date of February 24, 1853, which is the date of the formation of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. That date of 1853 is five years before Minnesota became a State, and the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota was the first corporation chartered in Minnesota .
But why is this Lodge named Cataract? Is it because the first Master of the Lodge being a Medical Doctor he was concerned about the health of the eye; being that sight is one of the five senses most revered by Masons? No, that's not the reason.
This Lodge was situated in St. Anthony Falls , which when I was a kid was called St. Anthony Village , (at least by me.) This village was situated on the Mississippi at a waterfall, hence the first name of the village. The word Cataract has a first meaning of: A decent of water over a steeply sloping surface; a waterfall, especially one of considerable size; any furious rush or downpour of water. So now you know why those early settlers and Masons who formed Cataract Lodge selected that name, they used their vocabulary to denote the location of the Lodge. Today when we hear the word we think of the eye, but its primary definition back then had to do with water.
"When Masonry is taught by ritual, symbol, and allegory it is not as easy to follow as the schoolroom method, but it has this advantage; it makes a Mason study and learn for himself, forces him to search out the truth, compels him to take the initiative, so that the very act of learning has increased value." Brother Burt Prate
"When we learn something, we gain knowledge. When we experience this knowledge, we gain understanding. When we teach what we understand, we gain wisdom." Brother Burt Prater
With "Brotherly Love,"
Ed Halpaus Grand Lodge Education Officer
Sources: Cenetnnium 1853-1953 the first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota
Minnesota Territorial Pioneers
R.W. Brother Doug Campbell, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and Secretary of Cataract Lodge #2.
Family Masonic Education Workbook – by Brother Burt Prater
Early Minnesota Masonry..23 February 1853 , Minnesota territories
A.T.C. Pierson introduced a resolution to authorize a meeting for the purpose of exploring creation of a
Grand Lodge in Minnesota.
The meeting took place as planned on February 23, 1853. However, there was no representation from St. John's Lodge. The notification of the meeting had arrived late.
While the special meeting was being held in Stillwater, the convention was proceeding without the St. John's representation. A.E. Ames of Cataract Lodge and A.T.C. Pierson of St. Paul Lodge were elected president and secretary of the convention respectively. Ames then appointed Aaron Goodrich of St. Paul to draft a proposed constitution for them Grand Lodge. Goodrich was at that time a judge in St. Paul. He labored through the night of February 23/24 and produced a brief but very comprehensive constitution. It consisted of four articles, nine rules of order, and three resolutions.
Upon the arrival of two members from St. John's late that day, Ames reconvened the convention and the constitution was presented. By the end of the evening the proposed constitution had been approved unanimously for adoption.
The convention elected A.E. Ames to be the first Grand Master.
Following the installation of officers the Grand Master closed the Constitutional Convention and immediately opened the First Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The only order of business at this first communication was to grant new charters to the three lodges constituting the Grand Lodge. St. John's Lodge became #1, Cataract Lodge became #2, and St. Paul Lodge became #3 in the order of their charter dates.
The Grand Lodge was incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Territory of Minnesota and by an act of the Territorial Assembly under the title "The Grand Lodge of Minnesota." In fact, it was the first corporation to be recorded in the state of Minnesota. From this meager start, Masonry has grown and prospered into its present day. There were eight lodges in Minnesota when A.T.C. Pierson assumed the Grand East in 1856. During his nearly 9-year tenure as Grand Master an additional 41 lodges were chartered.
The growth of the fraternity followed the expansion of the population along the major rivers. Until 1870, when Palestine Lodge No. 79 was chartered in Duluth, the only Lodge north of St. Cloud was Northern Lights No. 68 U.D. at Pembina on the Red River. This was a military Lodge that later moved to Ft. Garry, Manitoba. In 1873 and 1874 Lodges were chartered in Fergus Falls, Brainerd, and Detroit Lakes. Three Lodges were chartered in the Dakota Territory: Yellowstone No. 88, which surrendered its charter after two years; Shiloh No. 105 (in Fargo); and Bismarck No. 120, which transferred their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Dakota at its formation in 1880.
By 1903, our Golden Jubilee year, 255 charters had been granted and there were Lodges in all but the most northern counties. Membership had grown to 18,542 Masons in 239 Lodges (16 lodges had surrendered their charters.) The first step toward building a Masonic Home had been taken in 1902 with the appointment of a committee to collect opinions from the Lodges. In their 1903 report they said: "The committee failed to hear from any of the subordinate Lodges . . ." They recommended that the Grand Master write to each Lodge, directing each to hold a Special Communication to poll the membership and report back to the Grand Master.
The Grand Master's letter must have been effective because the Minnesota Masonic Home was incorporated in 1906, and the Home was opened in 1920.
Read more http://www.mpls19.org/grand_lodge
Lakewood Cem record---follows
Alfred Elisha Ames, M.D., was born at Colchester, Vermont, Dec. 13, 1814. He was the oldest son of Billy and Phebe (Baker) Ames, whose ancestors were early colonists from England.
Alfred E. commenced the study of medicine in 1832. He occasionally taught school and worked at his trade of brickmason. He also varied his labors by publishing an arithmetic. He came West in 1838, locating first at Springfield, Illinois; concluded his medical studies at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1845. Before leaving Illinois he was elected to the state senate. In 1851 he came to St. Anthony Falls, made a claim, and entered into partnership with Dr. J. H. Murphy. In 1852 he served as surgeon at Fort Snelling, and in 1853 was elected to the territorial legislature as a member of the house. In 1854 he was elected probate judge; in 1857 member of the Democratic wing of the constitutional convention, and in 1860 became a member of the state normal board.
During the remainder of his life he devoted himself to the practice of medicine, but also served the public in many positions of trust. *He died Dec. 24, 1874* (incorrect5 date).
Dr. Alfred E. Ames was chairman of the committee on school funds, education, and science in the Democratic wing of the state constitutional convention of 1857.
He was responsible for the incorporation in the constitution of a clause that fixed the location of the university and provided that it receive all past and future grants of land. In one of the debates he said: "It was necessary to incorporate something into the constitution that would secure to the University of Minnesota the liberal donation made by Congress for that purpose."
It is of interest to note that Dr. Ames was a prominent citizen of Minnesota in other respects. He was one of the pioneer physicians in the town of St. Anthony and during part of 1853 held the position of surgeon at Fort Snelling.
In 1854 he was elected to the office of probate judge. On January 4, 1856, he drafted a bill for the incorporation of the village of Minneapolis, which later became law; and in April, 1857, he was appointed postmaster of Minneapolis.Biography*
Graduated in the first class from Rush Medical College. First doctor, First Masonic Grand Master and First Postmaster in Minneaopolis and a founder of the University of Minnesota. First Practicing Physician on the west side of the river..
He used his land liberally for the benefit of the community, presenting the city with two lots for a court house and two for the First Presbyterian church of which he was the first elder.
1st Minnesota GLMW
MW Bro Alfred Elisha Ames was a Medical Doctor first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota , more info: http://www.mn-masons.org/
T.F.S.Three, five, and sevenBy Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer.
Number 29 – June 15, 2004 This publication is issued with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F. and A.M. of Minnesota.
Interested in gathering more info about free masonry in your state? contact your states Grand Lodge...in Minnesota its http://www.mn-masons. org/
" Regularly reviewing our rituals will enable us to imprint upon our minds their full meaning. The teachings will become a part of our minds both in and out of Lodge." Brother Burt Prater
The Tiling of a Pioneer Lodge in Minnesota
Who can be the Tyler of a Masonic Lodge? Well the answer is, of course, a Master Mason, but there have been others who have acted as a Tyler , and in particular here in Minnesota there is at least one instance I know of where someone other than a Master Mason has acted as the Tyler for a Lodge.
Recently a Brother Mason told me he remembered someone telling him that at the first Lodge meeting in Minnesota they were short a Tyler so a Catholic Nun was asked to Tile the Lodge and she agreed. His question was, if I knew about that, and if it was true, of course I didn't know about it, but I told him I would check it out.
Well I did check it out and that story while it has some basis of fact is not correct. According to my sources the rumor of a Catholic Nun tiling a Lodge in early Masonic history in Minnesota didn't happen, and it wasn't the first meeting of Masons of Minnesota, but it was the first official meeting of Cataract Lodge U.D. in 1851. I think, however, I might have an answer as to how that rumor might have started, as well as what really happened.
This all has to do with some fairly well known names in Minnesota Masonic History as well as the history of Minnesota , and of the Minneapolis area specifically. In 1851 Brother Alfred Elisha Ames came to Minnesota and settled in St. Anthony Falls , which is now a fine part of the Minneapolis Metro Area. He was made a Mason in Joliet Lodge U.D. in the Jurisdiction of Illinois becoming a Master Mason on March 5, 1840. He was quite a remarkable man, and he was most important in the history of Minnesota Masonry, but that will be a topic for another time.
Brother Ames was a Medical Doctor and he became well established with the settlers in the St. Anthony area. As Masons became known to him in the Village, he would take them to his office and personally examine them about things Masonic, and investigate their good standing so that he could vouch for them. He established the first Lodge in that area, there were at that time nine Masons there. So it was in 1851 that these nine brethren met in Brother Ames' office and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Illinois for a dispensation to have a Lodge at St. Anthony. Since Brother Ames was from Illinois and that he was well known there, (having been a State Legislator and a friend of Steven A. Douglas,) it was natural for him to go to that jurisdiction for the dispensation. The dispensation to form Cataract Lodge was granted, but only after Grand Master Thomas J. Pickett had secured a recommendation from the Master of St. Paul Lodge, (now St. Paul Lodge #3,) to assure himself that the new Lodge would in no way conflict with his its work.
One of the nine Masons who signed the petition for dispensation and who was Cataract's first Treasurer was Ard Godfrey. Brother Godfrey was a Master Millwright who came to Minnesota Territory by way of Maine and Tennessee but was a native of Lower Canada. He was evidently made a U.S. Citizen as he was Quarter Master in the U.S. Army during the Mexican war.
It is to me interesting to learn why some of our ancestors settled here in Minnesota . I especially think about that in the winter time. There's an old joke here in the Northland when someone from out of state asks on the phone what the weather's like in the winter to answer, Clear and Still; clear up to here and still coming down. My Dad particularly liked that joke. But in the case of Brother Ames I've learned his health wasn't the best. One source says, "Although very successful in his public and private life, he failed in health. Hearing of the healthful invigorating climate in Minnesota , he came here and made it his home." In the case of Brother Godfrey that same source says about him, "Failing in health and suffering from a lung condition, he sought the salubrious climate of Minnesota upon the advice of an old friend. He lived here for 51 years and died at the age of 80." So maybe next winter I'll think a little better about my ancestors settling here in so healthful a climate.
The first Formal meeting of Cataract Lodge was held February 14, 1852 in the front parlor of Brother Ard Godfrey's house, and as Brother Alfred Ames, the Master of the Lodge, wished to have all nine members within the "Parlor Lodge Room," in order to read the dispensation, to make appointments and formally institute the Lodge, one source says he secured the services of Brother Ard Godfrey's sister to act as the Tyler. And according to the book Centennium it says, "She discharged the duties of that office in a very commendable manner."
Well this is interesting: A woman Tyler , this I think is where the rumor about a Nun being a Tyler might come from; being Brother Godfrey's sister. However, in the information from the Minnesota Historical Society we get a little different story as regards who acted as the Tyler for that first official communication.
Ard Godfrey and Harriet Newell Burr married at Orono , Maine . They arrived at St. Anthony Falls April 12, 1849 and only a few weeks later on May 30th Mrs. Godfrey gave birth to the first white child born at St Anthony Falls, Harriet R. Godfrey.
It is true that the first official communication of Cataract Lodge was held in the parlor of the Godfrey home. But here is where the story differs, and I like this version better – personally.
Being that the Master of the Lodge wanted all of the nine Brethren in the Lodge Room to read the Dispensation etc. Mrs. Godfrey, Brother Ard's Wife, was asked to act as the Tyler, and young Abner, the Godfrey's son, sat on the stairs to watch for intruders. Mrs. Godfrey died in 1897. I like the story about her acting as Tyler because it is so true to life. Most Wives I have known, which includes mine of course plus my mother & mother in law, my married daughters, and a multitude of the wives of my friends and Brothers, would be most willing to do whatever they could to help out their husband. So believing Mrs. Godfrey would do this when her husband asked her is real believable to me.
Well anyway there you have it, the story of a woman acting as a Tyler for a Masonic Lodge. No matter which version of the story you prefer there is no truth to the rumor about the woman being a Catholic Nun, but the versions we have are interesting enough without that.
Other than that instance, the answer as to who can be a Tyler for a Lodge is that it is to be a Master Mason, (armed with the proper instrument of his office,) but that Master Mason does not need to be a member of that Lodge. The Tyler is the only officer of the Lodge who does not need to be a member of it; he needs to be a member in good standing of a Lodge but not that one. At least that's how it is here in Minnesota .
By the way the First Officers of Cataract Lodge were: Alfred E. Ames, Master, who would in 1853 become the first Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota; William Smith, Senior Warden, who came from Maine and was one of the first settlers to farm land east of St. Anthony; Isaac Brown, Junior Warden, from Maine, the first Sheriff of Hennepin County; Ard Godfrey, Treasurer; Col. John H. Stevens, Secretary. The other members of the Lodge were: J.W.T. Gardner, from Maine, a Captain at Fort Snelling and graduate of West Point; Daniel M. Coolbaugh, from Pennsylvania, and raised in Illinois, a builder who built many of the early stone buildings in St. Anthony; Emmanuel Case, from New York, a merchant, and who in 1853 became the first Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
At that first official communication of Cataract Lodge there were sixteen petitions read; fifteen for degrees and one for affiliation. Some of the first men to be made Masons in Cataract Lodge were: Isaac Atwater, J. G. Lennon, Anson Northrup, J. C. Gairnes, J. H. Murphy and R. W. Cummings.
Today this Lodge is Cataract Lodge #2 in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, and has a charter date of February 24, 1853, which is the date of the formation of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. That date of 1853 is five years before Minnesota became a State, and the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota was the first corporation chartered in Minnesota .
But why is this Lodge named Cataract? Is it because the first Master of the Lodge being a Medical Doctor he was concerned about the health of the eye; being that sight is one of the five senses most revered by Masons? No, that's not the reason.
This Lodge was situated in St. Anthony Falls , which when I was a kid was called St. Anthony Village , (at least by me.) This village was situated on the Mississippi at a waterfall, hence the first name of the village. The word Cataract has a first meaning of: A decent of water over a steeply sloping surface; a waterfall, especially one of considerable size; any furious rush or downpour of water. So now you know why those early settlers and Masons who formed Cataract Lodge selected that name, they used their vocabulary to denote the location of the Lodge. Today when we hear the word we think of the eye, but its primary definition back then had to do with water.
"When Masonry is taught by ritual, symbol, and allegory it is not as easy to follow as the schoolroom method, but it has this advantage; it makes a Mason study and learn for himself, forces him to search out the truth, compels him to take the initiative, so that the very act of learning has increased value." Brother Burt Prate
"When we learn something, we gain knowledge. When we experience this knowledge, we gain understanding. When we teach what we understand, we gain wisdom." Brother Burt Prater
With "Brotherly Love,"
Ed Halpaus Grand Lodge Education Officer
Sources: Cenetnnium 1853-1953 the first 100 years of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota
Minnesota Territorial Pioneers
R.W. Brother Doug Campbell, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and Secretary of Cataract Lodge #2.
Family Masonic Education Workbook – by Brother Burt Prater
Early Minnesota Masonry..23 February 1853 , Minnesota territories
A.T.C. Pierson introduced a resolution to authorize a meeting for the purpose of exploring creation of a
Grand Lodge in Minnesota.
The meeting took place as planned on February 23, 1853. However, there was no representation from St. John's Lodge. The notification of the meeting had arrived late.
While the special meeting was being held in Stillwater, the convention was proceeding without the St. John's representation. A.E. Ames of Cataract Lodge and A.T.C. Pierson of St. Paul Lodge were elected president and secretary of the convention respectively. Ames then appointed Aaron Goodrich of St. Paul to draft a proposed constitution for them Grand Lodge. Goodrich was at that time a judge in St. Paul. He labored through the night of February 23/24 and produced a brief but very comprehensive constitution. It consisted of four articles, nine rules of order, and three resolutions.
Upon the arrival of two members from St. John's late that day, Ames reconvened the convention and the constitution was presented. By the end of the evening the proposed constitution had been approved unanimously for adoption.
The convention elected A.E. Ames to be the first Grand Master.
Following the installation of officers the Grand Master closed the Constitutional Convention and immediately opened the First Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The only order of business at this first communication was to grant new charters to the three lodges constituting the Grand Lodge. St. John's Lodge became #1, Cataract Lodge became #2, and St. Paul Lodge became #3 in the order of their charter dates.
The Grand Lodge was incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Territory of Minnesota and by an act of the Territorial Assembly under the title "The Grand Lodge of Minnesota." In fact, it was the first corporation to be recorded in the state of Minnesota. From this meager start, Masonry has grown and prospered into its present day. There were eight lodges in Minnesota when A.T.C. Pierson assumed the Grand East in 1856. During his nearly 9-year tenure as Grand Master an additional 41 lodges were chartered.
The growth of the fraternity followed the expansion of the population along the major rivers. Until 1870, when Palestine Lodge No. 79 was chartered in Duluth, the only Lodge north of St. Cloud was Northern Lights No. 68 U.D. at Pembina on the Red River. This was a military Lodge that later moved to Ft. Garry, Manitoba. In 1873 and 1874 Lodges were chartered in Fergus Falls, Brainerd, and Detroit Lakes. Three Lodges were chartered in the Dakota Territory: Yellowstone No. 88, which surrendered its charter after two years; Shiloh No. 105 (in Fargo); and Bismarck No. 120, which transferred their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Dakota at its formation in 1880.
By 1903, our Golden Jubilee year, 255 charters had been granted and there were Lodges in all but the most northern counties. Membership had grown to 18,542 Masons in 239 Lodges (16 lodges had surrendered their charters.) The first step toward building a Masonic Home had been taken in 1902 with the appointment of a committee to collect opinions from the Lodges. In their 1903 report they said: "The committee failed to hear from any of the subordinate Lodges . . ." They recommended that the Grand Master write to each Lodge, directing each to hold a Special Communication to poll the membership and report back to the Grand Master.
The Grand Master's letter must have been effective because the Minnesota Masonic Home was incorporated in 1906, and the Home was opened in 1920.
Read more http://www.mpls19.org/grand_lodge
Lakewood Cem record---follows
Alfred Elisha Ames, M.D., was born at Colchester, Vermont, Dec. 13, 1814. He was the oldest son of Billy and Phebe (Baker) Ames, whose ancestors were early colonists from England.
Alfred E. commenced the study of medicine in 1832. He occasionally taught school and worked at his trade of brickmason. He also varied his labors by publishing an arithmetic. He came West in 1838, locating first at Springfield, Illinois; concluded his medical studies at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1845. Before leaving Illinois he was elected to the state senate. In 1851 he came to St. Anthony Falls, made a claim, and entered into partnership with Dr. J. H. Murphy. In 1852 he served as surgeon at Fort Snelling, and in 1853 was elected to the territorial legislature as a member of the house. In 1854 he was elected probate judge; in 1857 member of the Democratic wing of the constitutional convention, and in 1860 became a member of the state normal board.
During the remainder of his life he devoted himself to the practice of medicine, but also served the public in many positions of trust. *He died Dec. 24, 1874* (incorrect5 date).
Dr. Alfred E. Ames was chairman of the committee on school funds, education, and science in the Democratic wing of the state constitutional convention of 1857.
He was responsible for the incorporation in the constitution of a clause that fixed the location of the university and provided that it receive all past and future grants of land. In one of the debates he said: "It was necessary to incorporate something into the constitution that would secure to the University of Minnesota the liberal donation made by Congress for that purpose."
It is of interest to note that Dr. Ames was a prominent citizen of Minnesota in other respects. He was one of the pioneer physicians in the town of St. Anthony and during part of 1853 held the position of surgeon at Fort Snelling.
In 1854 he was elected to the office of probate judge. On January 4, 1856, he drafted a bill for the incorporation of the village of Minneapolis, which later became law; and in April, 1857, he was appointed postmaster of Minneapolis.Biography*
Graduated in the first class from Rush Medical College. First doctor, First Masonic Grand Master and First Postmaster in Minneaopolis and a founder of the University of Minnesota. First Practicing Physician on the west side of the river..
He used his land liberally for the benefit of the community, presenting the city with two lots for a court house and two for the First Presbyterian church of which he was the first elder.
Family Members
Siblings
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