Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia

The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. It is one of the oldest Grand Lodges in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, having been established on 26 September 1786 by delegates from the thirteen lodges holding warrants (or charters) from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, a provincial grand lodge of the Ancients' Grand Lodge of England.

The Rise and Fall of the Moderns

Two English grand lodges erected lodges in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 during the 18th century, the Premier Grand Lodge of England
Premier Grand Lodge of England
The Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster and it existed until 1813 when it united with the Ancient Grand Lodge of England to create the United Grand Lodge of England. It was the first Masonic Grand Lodge to be created...

 (known as the Moderns), established in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1717, and the Ancient Grand Lodge of England, established in London in 1751. The first of these, the Moderns' Grand Lodge, was first to establish lodges and provincial grand lodges in the American colonies. But in Pennsylvania, by 1785, the Moderns and their lodges had ceased to exist. The present day Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania descends from the Ancient Grand Lodge of England.

The Tun Tavern Lodge

The earliest records of any Masonic lodge on the North American continent are the records for the Lodge at the Tun Tavern
Tun Tavern
Tun Tavern was a tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which served as a founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where the United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive...

 in Philadelphia, officially known as the St. John's No. 1 Lodge. The Tun Tavern was the first "brew house" in the city, being built in 1685, and was located on the waterfront at the corner of Water Street and Tun Alley. The extant records of the Lodge begin on 24 June 1731, but the lodge may have been older than that. It was reported by Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

, in his Gazette for 8 December 1730, that there were "several Lodges of Free Masons erected in this Province...." The Tun Tavern, being a popular meeting place in Philadelphia, was undoubtedly the first location of a lodge in Philadelphia. Other organizations were formed there, including the St. George's Society in 1720, and the St. Andrew's Society in 1747. Even the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 was founded there on 10 November 1775 by Samuel Nicholas
Samuel Nicholas
Samuel Nicholas was the first officer commissioned in the United States Continental Marines and by tradition is considered to be the first Commandant of the Marine Corps.-Early life:...

, grandson of a member of the Tun Tavern Lodge. The Tun Tavern Lodge, which was never warranted or issued a charter, being an "immemorial rights lodge," died out about 1738 due to an anti-Masonic fever that swept the colony at that time.

The Moderns' Provincial Grand Master

The first official act of the Moderns' Grand Lodge regarding the American colonies was the creation of a Provincial Grand Master for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and Pennsylvania, naming one Daniel Coxe
Daniel Coxe
Dr. Daniel Coxe was a governor of West Jersey from 1687-1688 and 1689-1692.-Biography:The Coxe family traced their lineage to a Daniel Coxe who lived in Somersetshire, England in the 13th century and obtained a doctor of medicine degree from Salerno University. Daniel Coxe's father was also called...

, Esq., to that office. This deputation, issued on 5 June 1730, was made by the Grand Master, the Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...

, and was to remain in effect for two years from 24 June 1731 to 24 June 1733, at which time, according to the deputation, the members were empowered to elect a Provincial Grand Master. Coxe, who had not yet left for the colonies, attended Grand Lodge in London on 29 January 1731 where he was toasted as the Provincial Grand Master "of North America." As expected, Coxe did not arrive in the colonies from London until the summer of 1731, locating in Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....

, about 20 miles from Philadelphia, where he had been awarded a colonial judgeship.

Daniel Coxe

However, it does not appear that Daniel Coxe ever organized a Provincial Grand Lodge, nor to have erected any lodges, nor ever exercised his authority in any way as Provincial Grand Master prior to his death on 25 April 1739. In fact, his death which was reported in the Pennsylvania Gazette
Pennsylvania Gazette
The Pennsylvania Gazette was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728, before the time period of the American Revolution, until 1815...

 by Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

, a member of the Tun Tavern Lodge in Philadelphia, does not even mention that Coxe was a Freemason, indicating that Franklin and the other members of the Craft in Philadelphia were unaware of his affiliation.

Provincial Grand Masters at Boston

On 30 April 1733, Henry Price
Henry Price
Henry Price may refer to:*Henry Bertram Price, Governor of Guam*Henry Price , British architect*Henry Price *Henry Price , British company director and politician*Henry Price...

of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 was appointed Provincial Grand Master "of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

" by the Viscount Montagu
Viscount Montagu
Viscount Montagu was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 September 1554 for Anthony Browne. It became extinct in 1797.The title Viscount Montagu was chosen from line of descent from John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu. His daughter Lucy Neville was the mother of Anthony Browne...

, Grand Master of the Moderns' Grand Lodge in London. Clearly, this appointment would not have included Pennsylvania, except for Price's repeated, but disputed, claims that the Grand Master had "ordered him to extend Freemasonry over all North America." Price held this office until December 1736, when he was succeeded by Robert Tomlinson
Robert Tomlinson
Robert Tomlinson was an Irish medical missionary for the Church of England, known for his work with the indigenous peoples of British Columbia....

, also of Boston, who held the office until his death in 1740. Tomlinson was succeeded by Thomas Oxnard, who was deputized Provincial Grand Master "for North America" on 23 Sept. 1743. He remained in office until his death in 1754. Whether Price's office gave him jurisdiction over Pennsylvania Masonry has always been disputed, but the question became moot for a brief period with Oxnard's appointment over all of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Historians who argue in favor of Boston's primacy over Philadelphia also point to an appointment of Benjamin Franklin as Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania on 10 July 1749. However, Provincial Grand Masters had no authority to appoint other Provincial Grand Masters and Franklin's appointment was void. This was acknowledged by Franklin the following year when the Grand Master appointed William Allen
William Allen (loyalist)
William Allen was a wealthy merchant, Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, and mayor of Philadelphia. At the time of the American Revolution, Allen was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Philadelphia...

 Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania.

A Provincial Grand Lodge for Pennsylvania

On 13 March 1750, William Byron, 5th Baron Byron
William Byron, 5th Baron Byron
William Byron, 5th Baron Byron , also known as "the Wicked Lord" and "the Devil Byron", was the poet George Gordon Byron's great uncle. He was the son of William Byron, 4th Baron Byron and his wife Hon...

, Grand Master of the Moderns' Grand Lodge at London, deputized William Allen Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania, and he erected the first Provincial Grand Lodge in Pennsylvania. By 1755, new lodges had been formed, and a Masonic Hall erected.

The Demise of the Moderns in Pennsylvania

The Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 of the Moderns Grand Lodge and its daughter lodges in Pennsylvania was eclipsed during the latter half of the 18th century by the rise of the Ancients Grand Lodge and its lodges. The American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 took a great toll on Pennsylvania Freemasonry, and especially the Moderns' lodges. By the end of the Revolution nearly all the lodges in Pennsylvania were of the Ancients strain. It is impossible to determine precisely when the Moderns' Provincial Grand Lodge finally demised, but it was gone by 1785. The Masonic Hall, built by the Moderns in 1755 was sold, and the proceeds were placed in a charitable trust and became the "Freemason's Fuel Fund."

The Rise of the Ancients

The Ancient Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania: On 15 July 1761, the Ancient Grand Lodge of England issued a warrant for a Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, which appeared as Lodge No. 89 on the Grand Lodge roster. Three years before, the Ancient Grand Lodge had issued a warrant for Lodge No. 69 to a lodge in Philadelphia (later Lodge No. 2 of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania), which had been the first warrant issued to a lodge in North America by that Grand Lodge.

The Grand Lodge is Formed

By 1785, Pennsylvania Freemasonry was entirely Ancient, the Moderns having become extinct in that state. On 25 September 1786, the Ancient Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania declared itself to be independent of the mother Grand Lodge
Grand Lodge
A Grand Lodge, or "Grand Orient", is the usual governing body of "Craft", or "Blue Lodge", Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Premier Grand Lodge of England....

 and closed itself permanently. The following day, 26 September, the representatives of 13 Ancient lodges met together and formed the present Grand Lodge, headquartered in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. As a result, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is entirely of the Ancients' tradition, and is not an amalgam, or a union, of the two traditions. Its sole "ancestor" Grand Lodge is that of the Ancients Grand Lodge of England, founded in 1751, and does not descend from the Moderns Grand Lodge of 1717. Since its inception, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has moved its headquarters from building to building over the last two centuries, and on one occasion even conducted their meetings in Independence Hall.

The Masonic Temple

The headquarters of the Grand Lodge is in the Masonic Temple
Masonic Temple (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The Masonic Temple, built in 1873, is a historic Masonic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Located at One North Broad Street, directly across from Philadelphia City Hall, it serves as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Free and Accepted Masons...

 at One North Broad Street, directly across from Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...

 The current Grand Master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....

is Thomas K. Sturgeon.

External links

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