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Article Title: The Origins of the Prince Hall Mason Grand Lodge of Nebraska

Full Citation: Dennis N Mihelich, “The Origins of the Prince Hall Mason Grand Lodge of Nebraska,” Nebraska History 76 (1995): 20-21.

URL of article: http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH1995Pr_Hall_Origin.pdf Date: 3/9/2011

Article Summary: Prince Hall Masonry is an African American fraternal organization that arose because blacks were excluded from white Masonic lodges. This article presents an early history of black Masons in Nebraska, piecing together limited documentary evidence from the establishment of the first lodge in 1875 through the formation of the Prince Hall Mason Grand Lodge of Nebraska in 1919.

Part of a series: see also, “World War I, the Great Migration, and the Formation of the Grand Bodies of Prince Hall Masonry (Spring 1997), “Boom-Bust: Prince Hall Masonry in Nebraska during the 1920s” (Summer 1998), and “From the Depths: Prince Hall Masonry in Nebraska, 1930 – 1960” ( Spring 2009)

Cataloging Information:

Names: H K Hillon, G F Franklin, M O Ricketts, J H Henderson, C E Coleman, R W Freeman, Joseph Carr, G N Johnson, T P Mahammitt, A W White, William Rosier, S S Westerfield, G W Buxton, Isaac Trice, Ferdinand L Barnett, J H Wakefield, E C Underwood, N Hunter III, Walter L Seals, Mary E Allen, R M Ella Hunter, William Burrell, H Warner, Will N Johnson, Wynn McCulloch, A N Wade, H O Wood, Haywood Hall, W H Washington, Richard Young, John Albert Williams, Nellie Gordon, Lizzie Carpew, Eva M Pickett, Dora Donley, Mrs William Woods, Mrs C R Runyon, Mrs Izella Malone, Mrs Laura Johnson, Maude Hancock, Mrs John Galbraeth, , P L Moore, J W Birdwhistle, C W Wiggington, Moses Dickson, I L Brown, Norris Brown, Gilbert M Hitchcock, James Dahlman

Place Names: Boston, Massachusetts; Lexington, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Lincoln, Nebraska; Fort Robinson, Nebraska

Keywords: Black Masonry; Prince Hall Masonry; Rough Ashler No 74; Excelsior Lodge No 110; Damascus Temple of Mystic Shriners; Ivanhoe Commandery; Knights St John Consistory; Eureka Chapter No 33; Lebanon Lodge No 126; Acacia Lodge No 46; St John’s Lodge No 31; Ninth Cavalry; Tenth Cavalry; The Enterprise; Progress; Missouri Jurisdiction; Trans-Mississippi Exposition; Iowa Grand Lodge; Missouri Grand Lodge; Grand Lodge Annual Communication; Omaha Daily News; Omaha World-Herald; Emancipation Day Celebration; Knights of Pythias Hall; Order of the Eastern Star (OES); Dan Desdunes’s orchestra; Western Star Court No 23; The Monitor

Photographs / Images: Dr Matthew O Ricketts; Ferdinand L Barnett; Inset: News of the Lodges and Fraternities, The Monitor, December 2, 1916; Grand Lodge Officers; Grand Musical Concert ad, The Monitor, January 6, 1917; Dan Desdunes’s orchestra group photo; Rev John Albert Williams of St Phillip Episcopal Church [Omaha]; Will N Johnson as a University of Nebraska football player

The Origi ns of the Prince Halll1ason Grand Lodge of Nebraska

By Dennis N Mihelich

Black Masonry originated in colon ial ma ti c populati on increase of th e I 880s. Ameri ca in 1775 as a res ult of racial dis­ Individual lodge records do not reach crimination. Aft er being rebu ffed by back to th e nineteen th ce ntu ry an d lo­ Boston Masons, Prince Hall , a mulatt o ca l cit y direc tories did not begin to list art isan an d mi nister, rece ived a charter black frat ern al societies until 1913, al­ from th e Grand Lodge of England. Sub­ though th e Omaha Ci ty Direc tory began sequ ently, the black inst itution adopted to identi fy individual "coloreds" with a his name and spread among free blacks "(c)" in 1887 and Li ncoln followed su it in antebellum America. It grew rapid ly in 1891. and moved westward aft er th e Civil War Allholigh the state's first black news­ and the emancipation o f slaves (only paper was established in Omaha in the free born may join Prince Hall Ma­ 1889, ex tant copies of the various publi­ sonry) . It follows a federal structure of ca ti ons date only from 1895, with governan ce, wh ereby each slate even tu­ lengt hy gaps in th e collections until the ally es ta blished an independent grand post-Worl d War f era. Thus, in one of th e lodge, th e supreme governing body for fi rst survi vi ng issues of The Entelprise, a the subord inate or blue lodges of that story procla imed that H. K. Hillon, G. F. state. Prince Hall Masonry ca me to Ne­ Frankl in, and Dr. M. O. Ri ckells at­ braska during the late nineteenth cen· tended th e an nual grand lodge mee ting tury , and the Great Migration of World in Lexington, Missouri. Shortly thereafter War I finally gave it th e numeri ca l the paper ran an an noun ce ment con­ strength to crea te the Prince Hall Grand ce rni ng "a joint meeting" of Rou gh Lodge of Nebraska. The history of that As hi er No. 74 and Excelsior No. 110.' gestation also reveals the lifestyle of "re­ Similarly, th e earl iest ex tant copy of spec table" African Am erica ns (in Victo­ th e Afro-American Sentinel ( 1896) docu­ rian te rmi nology, th ose who displayed mented th e existence of several black publically th e correct manners and mor­ fratern it ies, including th e Odd Fellows als), as we ll as the intrica te, shifting pa­ an d th e Kn ights of Pythias. Th e list in­ rameters of while-b lack ra ce re lati ons in Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts was the first Afri­ cluded th e following Masonic groups: can American to graduate with a medi­ Nebraska. Rough AshIer No_ 74 In 1865 th e Prin ce Hall Masons of cal degree In Nebraska, and the first black person elected to the Nebraska 1. H. Henderson, Worshipful Master Mi sso uri established an independent legislature (1892). Former worshipful mas­ C. E. Coleman, Secretary grand lodge and a decade later it char­ ter of Omaha Excelsior lodge No. 110, tered the first blue lodge for black Ma­ Ricketts was elected grand master of the Excelsior Lodge No_ 110 sons in Nebraska. Oth er than the knowl­ Missouri Grand lodge In 1907. (NSHS-l514) R. W. Freeman, W. M. edge of its fou nding date in 1875 in Joseph Carr, Sec. Oma ha, no records exist in Nebraska to ing stone) Lodge No. 74. ' By th e end of Damascus Temple of Mystic reveal the early history of Rough Ash ier the ce ntury, five blue lodges existed in Shriners , G. N. Johnson, Pote ntate (an unfinished, sq uared block of build- Nebraska, as we ll as several affiliat ed T. P. Mahammitt, Chief Rabin bodies, bu t specific founding dates are Ivanhoe COIDmandery Dennis N. Mihelich is (I professor of histOfY a( not kn own. The new organ izations prob­ G. N. Johnson, Commander Cre ighton Uniuersiry in Omaha. ably originated as a resu ll of th e dra­ 1. H. Hen derson , Recorder

10 Prince Hall Masons

Knights St. John Consistory The Missouri numbers cause confu­ banded as a result of the disastrous de­ A. W. White sion because the grand lodge frequently cline in the African American popula­ [no title listed; Commander-in-Chief] reused numbers from defunct lodges; af­ tion in Hastings during the depressed Joseph Carr, Sec. ter a certain point the numbers no 1890s. While several blacks operated Eureka Chapter No. 33 longer indicated the order of creation. prosperous businesses or farmed in the [Royal Arch Masons] Further disorder is created because an­ area, the vast majority gained employ­ T. P. Mahammitt, H. P. [High Priest] other lodge, Marvin No. 127 in Hastings, ment as domestics. According to a local J. H. Henderson, Sec.3 was established and apparently dis­ historian, "to have Negro servants was a banded before the first press lis~ing ap­ splendid status symbol," but one easily All the lodges met twice a month at a peared. A Hastings, Nebraska, newspa­ foregone during hard economic times. hall at Fourteenth and Dodge streets. per reported a "colored Masonic ball" in At the beginning of the decade 327 The existence of Prince Hall Masonry June 1891 and the following year the blacks lived in Adams County; the 1900 outside of Omaha went unreported at Hastings Weekly Nebraskan detailed the census counted only 63.8 that time. Certainly Lebanon Lodge No. following: The Ninth and Tenth Cavalry were 126 had been formed in Lincoln. In a Marvin lodge No. 127, colored, will give a stationed at Ft. Robinson, Nebraska, be­ June edition The Enterprise divulged picnic at Cole park on Sept. 9 and in the tween 1885 and 1907. During that pe­ that "a new lodge of the masonic order evening will hold a grand soiree at G. A. riod the black cavalrymen established was instituted at South Omaha Thursday R. hall in this city. Col. A. A. Jones of Lin­ two lodges, Adventure No. 136 and Mili­ coln, has been secured as orator of the night [June 18,1896]." Then in Septem­ tary No. 152.ln 1897 The Enterprise re­ ber, for the first time, the paper's letter­ day and will deliver a speech on the race and political issues of the day at the park ported that "Grand Master Pelham" trav­ head proclaimed it as "The official or­ in the afternoon at 2 o'clock and at the eled to "Ft. Robinson on his annual visi­ gan of the M. W. Grand Lodge of the hall in the evening at 7:30 o'clock. Splen­ tation," confirming the Masonic pres­ did music for the occasion will be fur­ State of Missouri and its Jurisdiction." ence there, without revealing which nished by the Hastings colored glee club. Now the paper's new, more comprehen­ 9 Admission to the ball in the evening, for lodge or lodges were active. Subse­ sive listing also included: the purpose of defraying expenses, has quently, the black infantrymen estab­ Lebanon Lodge No. 126 been placed at the very low sum of 10 lished a lodge in 1906 during their brief cents. Everyone is invited. Come one, William Rosier, W. M. tour at Ft. Niobrara, Nebraska. 10 The come all. A reduced rate has been made S. S. Westerfield, Sec. for the occasion on the railroads between transfer of these units to other posts Acacia Lodge No. 46 Omaha and Hastings. Committee arrange­ prior to World War I removed them ments, Nelson Briley, John Hoff, and from the history of Prince Hall Masonry G. N. Johnson, W. M. Chas. Davide; chairman, J. S. Craig. 6 H. K. Hillon, Sec. in Nebraska. The history of the urban lodges dur­ Despite being the "official organ," St. John's Lodge No. 31 ing the 1890s revealed a variety of activi­ and its editor G. F. Franklin serving as [Grand Island, Nebraska] ties and various forms of competition deputy district grand master for Ne­ G. W. Buxton, W. M. that eventually produced a schism. Ac­ 4 braska, The Enterprise listing in 1896 Isaac Trice, Sec. cording to an oral interview of the aged also did not recognize the existence of William C. Burrell, in 1894-95 the the military lodges. The Missouri Grand Almost a decade later an article Omaha lodges sought to switch jurisdic­ Lodge became "the 'Mother' Grand stated that in June 1909 St. John's No. 31 tions to the Grand Lodge of Iowa, which Lodge of the four black units then au­ celebrated its "15th birthday."S If that had just wrested its independence from thorized by Congress," the Ninth and was not a typographical error, then in the Missouri .Jurisdiction. In recounting Tenth Cavalry and the Twenty-fourth 1894 St. John's became the third or the episode, Burrell, realizing that and Twenty-fifth Infantry. Joseph A. fourth subordinate lodge established in "peace and harmony" must reign in or­ Walkes, Jr., argued that Eureka Lodge Nebraska. However, when Nebraska or­ der that Masonic brotherhood may ex­ No. 135 was the first black military ganized its separate grand lodge and ist, discreetly mentioned that he omitted lodge, chartered among the Tenth Cav­ numbered its blue lodges, traditionally "some situations deemed to be unpleas­ alry sometime before 1888.7 If this is cor­ in order of age, it established Lebanon ant or possibly detrimental to relations in Lincoln as number three and the rect, and if at least the highest numbers in general." II Because he became a assigned by the Missouri Grand Lodge Grand Island lodge as number five. If charter member of Acacia No. 46, estab­ remained in sequence, then Excelsior the institutional memory was correct, lished in 1896, his dates missed the No. 110, Lebanon No. 126, and Marvin that meant that Lebanon came before mark by a year or two, but the com­ No. 127 originated at least as early as and St. John's came after Acacia in ments established the existence of a the mid-I880s. Marvin probably dis­ 1896. smoldering controversy.

11 Nebraska History - Spring 1995

Corroborating th e tension, 711 e Enter­ inlraparty bickering among th ree Re­ prise reported that in 1897 "much dis­ publican Masons. He publicly sup­ cussion " ensued concerning the cre­ ported Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts, worsh ip­ ati on of a separate grand lodge fo r Ne­ ful master of Excelsior No. 11 0 and braska. Th e story claimed that many two-t erm represen tati ve in th e Neb raska we re "enthusiastic over th e proposed legislature, wh ile criticizing G. F. ve nture: including "some of the most Franklin, editor of The Ellle,prise and prom inen t masons of Omaha ." Editor G. worshi pful master of Rou gh Ashier No. F. Franklin counted himself among th e 74 . Th e politica l infighting became a "conse rvat ive few" opposed to indepen­ three-co rn ered Mason ic affa ir when F. L. dence. He argued th at although a suffi­ Ba rn ett , a member an d futu re worsh ip­ cien t number of lodges existed, th e ful master of Acac ia Lodge and the edi­ actual number of members cou ld not tor of th e Ihird existin g black weekly, finan ce th e operation of a grand lodge. Progress , openly sided wi th Ri ckelts. Fu rt hermore, the death benefit granted Franklin ed itorially criticized them both to widows an d orphans had reached wilh regularity. " $120, "a figure no loyal mason would The late I890s, with competing black care to see cut down," Th e per capita weeklies and contending African Ameri­ ciu es on th e reduced number o f brot h­ can politicians, was un represe ntative of ers needed to maintain that benefit, he th e longer history of Nebraska black Ma­ argu eci , would be prohibit ive. Despite sonry. Seemingly, less cacophonous his perso nal views, Fran klin promised events dominated even that decade. th at as th e offi cial organ of th e Missouri Ferdinand L. Bornett, a member of Omaha Th e lodges cooperated in performi ng Acacia Lodge No. 46, edited Progress, Jurisd icti on, th e paper's co lumns re­ one of three black weekly newspapers in cornerslone layi ngs and politica l co m­ mained "open to a free and impartial Omaha. He served in the Nebraska House pelitors coul d un ify arou nd racial con­ discussion," and that "the entire body" 01 Representalives in 1927. (NSHS-l51 4) ce rn s. In 1897 activists arranged a mass wou ld benefit if "leading masons" ex­ mee ting to draft a new civil ri gh ts stat­ pressed themselves "fully and freely." caused competition. At th e end of 1896, ule to submit to the legislature to pro­ No res ponses appea red. 12 Cyrus D. Bell, editor of th e Afro-Ameri­ tec t "th e thousands" of blacks expected The "conservative few" prevailed can Sentinel, asked "What are secretar­ to att end th e Trans-M iss issippi Exposi­ temporari ly, but co mpetiti on continued ies for"? He posed th e rhetori ca l ques­ ti on. Franklin and Ricke tts were amo ng to produce tension. This time "th e hotly tion to ch ide fralernal sc ribes into sub­ th e eleven named conveners, plus at cont ested" issue was th e site of the 1898 mitting news stories. Accordin g to Bell, leasl th ree other Masons (th ey could be Misso uri Grand Lodge An nual Commu­ The re is no week ly paper printed in identi fi ed from the only exlant roster, nication, and Franklin led Ihe upstart Omaha that reaches, and is read, by so which listed only one of th e three Omaha delegation. Ci ty boosters had la rge a number of colored people as th e Omaha lodges; other conveners may already devised a "world's fai r," the Afro-American Sentinel. There is no Negro also have been Masons)." pape r printed in Omaha--or ou t of Trans-M iss iss ippi Exposition, as a way Oma ha- that ci rculates so largely among The lodges also sponsored regular of ending the lingering impac t of th e white people of th is comm unity. Why not public entertainments and fu nd ra isers. Depression of 1893. Th e editor believed allow everybody to learn what you are do­ The annual installations of office rs be­ th e Misso uri Grand Lodge should join ing through the columns of th is wide­ came publ ic events th at included fund­ awake paper? The commu nity will take Ihe "hundreds" of other secret an d civic pleasu re in learni ng of th e good work we raising dev ices such as mock cou rts. societi es that would hold th eir annual (African Americans] are doing.'4 Spec ial reve nu e-generat ing lodge clubs meetings in Omaha that year. "That fact also sponso red promenades, musical will bring the lead ing men o f Ameri ca 10 Th e invitation appeared regularly for ente rtainments, dances, and female Omaha. Among th em will be many th e next eight months prompted, per­ populari ty contests (a man paid a prear­ prom inent colored masons from foreign haps, because Bell's compet itor, G. F. ra nged price to cast a ballot for his fa­ [i.e., oth er than Missou ri] ju risd ictions Franklin, had become th e official vo rite woman). For example, The Elller­ wh o can avail themselves [sic] of th e spokesman for the Masons. Th e rivalry prise ran Ih e foll owing advertiseme nt in opportunity to frat ern ize with the craft became more complex with the addi­ ea rly 1897: of Missouri,"13 The Omaha contingen t tion of politics. Bell, a Democrat who Excelsior Club will give a Masoni c Benefit failed in its quest. supported William Jennings Bryan in at Central Ha ll Tuesday evening. February Intrastate business and politics also 1896, nonetheless participated in the 9111 . The Musical program will consist of

12 Prince Hall Masons

attractive numbers rendered by the best sion for his family is as you can readily Williams's practical advice, given local talent, after which dancing will em­ see, inadequate. during a depression era, did not seem to ploy the remaining hours .... The patron­ slow the growth of black Masonry in age of the public is kindly solicited. Ad­ Buying insurance or investing in blue Omaha. Obviously for many, the "invest­ mission 25 cents. 17 chip stocks, Williams argued, would ment" feature of fraternal organizations have produced a far larger estate and A subsequent story disclosed that the was not the primary attraction. Also thus accomplished goal number three variety show included two dramatic many of his ministerial colleagues did far better. The Reverend concluded, readings; bass, violin, and tenor solos; not hold similar concerns. From its in­ vocal and violin and piano duets, as He would like to see more putting their ception Prince Hall Masonry attracted money into life insurance and reatty and well as supper and later refreshments. fewer spending their money merely for a sizeable contingent of ministers, espe­ Following the spectacle a front-page good fellowship and bright colored rega­ cially from the African Methodist Epis­ headline proclaimed it a "grand suc­ lia. If this were done, fewer widows would copal, the Colored Methodist Episcopal, cess," claiming that "never in the history have to work as hard as many do now to and the Baptist denominations. Early of Masonic Benefits, in this city, were earn their daily bread. 19 twentieth-century lodge rosters confirm there so many of Omaha's leading lights that generalization held true for in attendance." In Victorian style, the Nebraska. week-night affair lasted until 3:00 a.m. External criticism had a negligible and the club announced that it planned News of the Lodges impact. The creation of Acacia Lodge to hold monthly events. IS only a few months prior to Williams's Not everyone appreciated the galas. and Fraternities" editorial, however, illuminated internal Rev. John Albert Williams of St. Philip's stress among the existing Omaha lodges Episcopal Church wrote a column for that eventually ended in a rupture of fra­ The Enterprise, the "official organ" of the Muonlc. ternal relations with the Grand Lodge of Masons, which criticized all the secret Roush .uhler Loqe No. '14. A. .,. Missouri. Organization of the new lodge societies. In his feature called "Through • A. M., Omaha Neb. Keel:IDP. &rat began a year earlier when a number of and third Tueeda,. In aach 1DGIlth. the Parson's Spectacles," he claimed his the brothers of No. 74 and No. 110 "with­ J. R. Wakeleld, W. 14.; JD. C. l1ac1tr­ attitude towards the fraternities was drew their membership because of wood, Secretary. "much misunderstood and generally people in them and their conduct, and Excelalor Lodge, A. F. A ~A. 11., misrepresented." Writing in the third the suicidal manner in which they per­ omAha, Neb. MeeUDIB Gnt and third person he explained, ThUJ'l4a,.". -e~cIi IDonth...-...... ---- sisted in conducting lodge affairs. "20 The He is not opposed to these organizations Zaha Temple No. 62, A. :m. .A. o. 11. existing Omaha lodges resisted the se­ because they are secret organizations, but M. S.• n""",.~ 'Neb. MeAtlnp the cessionists' attempt to gain a warrant, upon other grounds, chief of which are fourth We4Delda,. in -.ela JDODtb. N. but the Grand Master of Missouri economic grounds. They are too expen­ granted the group a dispensation to or­ sive a lUxury. In his judgment they do not Hunter, 111. Potentate; Walter L. pay. Seals, Recorder. . ganize as Acacia Lodge No. 46 in the SbaUer Chapter No. 421, O. l!l. 8., suburb of South Omaha, with the right Williams felt that men joined these Omaha, Neb. "MeetJDp tlrat and thJrd to move later to Omaha. societies for three reasons: a social in­ Friday in eaeh month. lin. Mary E. Animosity and bickering continued stinct, the desire for mutual protection, Allen, R. M. Ella Bunter, Secretal'y. for the next two years, culminating with and to provide for their heirs. The orga­ IleIcue LoGee N04 H, A. F. A. A. JL. Acacia's change of jurisdictions. Fate nizations failed to fulfill the third pur­ Omab&. Neb. MeetiDp ant and third denied the I,odge representation at the pose "because we are avery, very poor 'lIom1a, ID each mmitIL-y;oqi-liOmI, annual communication in 1898. They people. Our funds invested in these or­ Tweat,.·fourtl and Charlea Itreeta. could not afford to send any of their ganizations must necessarily be small WW1am BurreD, .W. II.: II. Warner. own members, so they secured the ser­ and the benefits derived commensurate Seeretary. vices of G. F. Franklin, seemingly a Omaha LocIp No. 148, L F. and therewith." By Williams's calculation, brother not resisting the separation, to A. . Ii.. Omaha, Neb. . lleet1qe·-arat· act as their proxy. Franklin, however, A man belongs to one of these societies. and -tblrd JIrIc1a,. of eYfJf7 moath. fell ill in Kansas City enroute to the He pays his dues regularly. He has been a Lodae room 1018 Dougl.. atreeL wm member, say for ten years. It has grand lodge session. With Acacia thus cost him on average say $12.00 a year. N. JObDaOD, W. 11.:" WJ'DD McCUlloch, Secret&r7. unrepresented, unsupportive delegates During the ten years it has cost him some­ from the other Omaha lodges secured thing over $100. He dies. He is given a large funeral. His heirs receive probably The Monitor, December 2, 1916. the passage of a resolution condemning $150. This is a very small sum. The provi­ Acacia's move back to Omaha. All but

13 Nebraska History - Spring 1995 two of the approximately forty members by 1899 and The Enterprise took a hiatus The reappearance of a black weekly of No. 46 lived in Omaha and forcing from 1897 to 1908. Before it ceased towards the end of the decade helps to the group to meet in the southern sub­ printing, John Albert Williams in document, albeit episodically, the vital­ urb caused a serious inconvenience. "Through the Parson's Spectacles" ity of black Masonry in Nebraska. In The club immediately sent a delega­ praised the Omaha white press for treat­ 1908 H. K. Hillon, representing Rescue tion to petition the Iowa Grand Lodge ing African Americans favorably in sto­ Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Iowa, for "protection" (Le., admittance to its ries and editorials. When the paper re­ and T. P. Mahammitt, representing the jurisdiction). Iowa Grand Master I. L. sumed publication, however, its new Omaha lodges affiliated with the Mis­ Brown issued a dispensation permitting editor, T. P. Mahammitt, began com­ souri Grand Lodge, attended the cente­ Acacia to change jurisdictions and plaining about news coverage from the nary in Boston celebrating the establish­ asked the opinion of the grand secretary white press: ment of the first Prince Hall grand of the white Grand Lodge of Iowa, who The daily papers of Omaha are ever eager lodge. The Enterprise instituted the confirmed the validity of his action: to publish the things which show weak­ "Masonic Column," edited by Joe E. "The rights of Grand Lodges in states or nesses and shortcomings of the race while Herriford of Kansas City, Missouri, territories where there is no Grand they seldom mention the good things that which gave Missouri Grand Lodge news members of it do.... So eager are they to Lodge is too well established to allow find something degrading in Negro life such as the resolution establishing De­ one Grand Lodge to exclude all others. that the history of the Negro of the city of cember 26, the Sunday nearest to St. You have done right in granting a Omaha is being written very largely from John the Baptist day, as the date for the 23 dispensation."21 the records of the police court. annual sermon. The correspondence revealed a dis­ Herriford "hoped that the observance Given this outlook, it is not surprising tinct informal relationship between of this day will be fully appreciated by that the white papers did not cover the white and black Masons in Iowa during the subordinate lodges and that proper activities of the Iowa Grand Lodge An­ the late nineteenth century. It did not showings of Christian religious devotion nual Communication held in Omaha last; hostility from white, southern grand will be made everywhere. n The editors July 12-14,1904. The Omaha Bee wrote lodges stifled attempts by some white of the paper and the column pleaded about the white Elks departing for a western lodges to establish amicable re­ for local news, but little came forth, in­ meeting in California, the Omaha Daily lations with their African American cluding information concerning the an­ News reported on a group of white brethren. Intraracially, the relations be­ nual sermons in Omaha. The column Shriners riding a train through town on tween black Masons in Iowa and Mis­ appeared sporadically and then ceased the way to their national convention, souri entered a brief period of hostility. after about one year.2S and the Omaha World-Herald recounted The Missouri Grand Lodge officially sev­ In 1909 individual Masons played a the events at that national convention, ered fraternal relations with the Iowa significant role in the success of the but none printed a single word concern­ Grand Lodge for six years. Finally, with Emancipation Day Celebration, a gala ing the hometown Prince Hall Mason new leadership on both sides, Iowa initi­ held at the Omaha City Auditorium. Or­ event. Rescue Lodge hosted the session ated a healing of the rupture in 1905. ganized similarly to a fair, many clubs, at the hall where it rented space to hold The Missouri Grand Lodge gave demits churches, and societies staffed booths its regular bi-monthly meetings. Enter­ [certificates of honorable resignation] that told their story. Dan Desdunes, a tainment included a trolley ride to free of charge to individuals who were Mason and the preeminent Omaha Riverview Park for a picnic.24 members of Acacia at the time it surren­ black band leader of the era, supplied Although Omaha contained only one dered its warrant. Thus the grand master music for the dance that "attracted 300 of the dozens of lodges comprising the of Missouri gave legal Masonic sanction colored people." Promoters claimed Iowa Grand Lodge, its position as the to the jurisdictional shift and "here that an ongoing strike by streetcar work­ twentieth most populous city in the 26 ended the controversy. n Acacia, re­ ers kept the crowd down. Attorney H. United States, according to the census named Rescue Lodge No. 25, was now J. Pinkett, also a Mason, served as the of 1900, enabled it to attract many major ensconced in the Iowa Grand Lodge master of ceremonies for the grand regional, and on occasion, even na­ and the competing grand lodges re­ opening, which included speeches by tional conventions. That stature, and the sumed formal, but not necessarily cor­ United States Senator Norris Brown, talents of individual members of Rescue dial, relations.22 Congressman Gilbert M. Hitchcock, Lodge, ensured a steady presence in the The paucity of records pertaining to Mayor James Dahlman, and grand mas­ officer ranks of the Iowa Grand Lodge. the first decade of the twentieth century ter of the Missouri Grand Lodge, Dr. Mat­ In the much larger Missouri Grand creates a gap in the story. Exacerbating thew O. Ricketts. Lodge, Nebraska Prince Hall Masons did the quandary, Progress and the Afro­ Senator Brown argued that no race not make quite as impressive a contribu­ American Sentinel ceased publication problem existed in America. "The eman­ tion (see Fig. 1).

14 Prince Hall Masons

Figure 1. Grand Lodge Officers a very real "race problem." In Booker T. Iowa Grand Lodge (all from Rescue #25) Washington fashion, however, he stipu­ Appointed: lated that "we do not contend for social Grand Senior Steward H. K. Hillon 1900 equality, but we do contend for civil 28 Haywood Hall 1901-02 rights." Grand Lecturer H. K. Hillon 1902 During that era "social equality" was Grand Junior Deacon William Burrell 1903 a code phrase used by white Americans Grand Tyler A. N. Wade 1903 who feared that it entailed "the prospect Grand Chaplain H.O. Wood 1904 of Negroes becoming members of white Grand Pursuivant William Burrell 1906, 1908 cliques, churches, and voluntary asso­ Grand Marshal William Burrell 1907 ciations, or marrying into their families." Grand Custodian W.P. Wade 1908-09 Civil rights, on the other hand, meant Grand Standard Bearer William Burrell 1913 "equal access to public facilities, oppo­ Grand Junior Steward William Burrell 1913-14 sition to segregation in public places, Grand Senior Deacon William Burrell 1914-15 and defense of the right to compete on Deputy District Grand Master H. K. Hillon 1900-01 the open market for houses. "29 Haywood Hall 1902'()6 The availability of and access to W. H. Washington 1907 quality housing, in particular, received A. N. Wade 1908 special attention in the local black William Burrell 1909-10 press. T. P. Mahammitt, worshipful mas­ Elected: ter of Excelsior No. 110 and publisher of Grand Secretary H. K. Hillon 1905-06 the rejuvenated Enterprise, frequently Grand Treasurer H. K. Hillon 1907-11 editorialized about the necessity for Grand Junior Warden W. P. Wade 1919 blacks to become property owners. In Missouri Grand Lodge 1909 he saw his former competitors, the Appointed: members of Rescue No. 25, put his phi­ losophy into practice. The splinter Grand Junior Warden M. O. Ricketts #110 1887 T. P. Mahammitt #110 1901 group, now under the Iowa Jurisdiction, purchased a vacant lot at Twenty-fourth Deputy District Grand Master M. O. Ricketts 1888 T. P. Mahammitt 1903 and Erskine streets valued at $1500 and Grand Senior Warden T. P. Mahammitt 1902 announced plans to construct a build­ Richard Young#126 1912 ing. Seemingly, at that date the lodge Elected: stood in sound financial condition. Si­ None in Grand Lodge multaneously, The Enterprise reported Grand Treasurer, United Grand that Rescue held an "imposing affair" at Commandery, Knights Templar T. P. Mahammitt 1908-09 which it presented "a handsome and ap­ propriate jewel" to each of eight past masters. Probably indicating that the ri­ cipation proclamation," he exclaimed, to his eulogizer, "his practice was neces­ valry had subsided, Mahammitt allowed "brought freedom to one race and sarily limited"; therefore, he entered the lodge to boast, as the story pro­ honor to another." Dr. Ricketts dis­ politics. He served two terms in the Ne­ claimed that it was "the first time in the agreed. He had been born in 1853 to braska House of Representatives and history of Omaha colored Masons when slave parents in Louisville, Kentucky. then worked for the election of John M. such high honors have been conferred Newly free, he migrated with his parents Thurston to the U. S. Senate. Thurston, [sic] upon past officers." Possibly to Booneville, Missouri, and subse­ however, was unable to provide a gov­ Mahammitt used the Rescue announce­ quently graduated from the Lincoln In­ ernment job; at the end of the century ment to prod the Omaha lodges within stitute in 1876. He taught school for two Ricketts returned to the practice of the Missouri Jurisdiction. Three months years and in 1880 moved to Omaha. medicine in St. Joseph, Missouri. The later Rough Ashier and Excelsior estab­ There he worked his way through the former worshipful master of Excelsior lished a building committee to raise Omaha Medical College, serving as the No. 110 was elected grand master of the funds to erect "a temple. "30 school's janitor and becoming the first Missouri Grand Lodge in 1907.27 Ricketts By comparison, 1909 was a water­ African American to graduate with a challenged Senator Brown, asserting shed year in Lincoln. In June, Missouri medical degree in Nebraska. According that discrimination by whites produced Grand Master Ricketts reorganized Leba­

15 Nebraska History - Spring 1995

non No. 126. He credited William R. til 1868. To an extent he modeled the nineteenth-century women. "By the Rozier and John L. Wright for "keeping ritual on Masonry, thus the terminol­ 1860s and 1870s," according to Mark C. the lodge ... together amid years of ogy-"adoptive rite." Initiates had to Carnes, "most orders [in the United struggle and hardship." Probably the lin­ have a bloodline to a Mason-mother, States] followed the lead of the Odd Fel­ gering effects of the Depression of 1893, wife, sister, daughter-that then allowed lows [Degree of Rebekah, 1851] in de­ accompanied by a significant decline in them to be "adopted into Freemasonry." vising some form of auxiliary organiza­ the black population in Lancaster In Bell's words, "the Order of the East­ tions or ladies degrees. Masonic grand County and reinforced by the impact of ern Star was [sic] the result of a desire lodges did not formally recognize the the Panic of 1907, caused the disrup­ on the part of Masons to afford the Order of Eastern Star (1869), but indi­ tion. Ricketts admitted ten me!fi by women of their families as far as pos­ vidual Masons sponsored and sup­ demits, initiated fifteen new appren­ sible the benefits and privileges of Free­ ported its activities. "34 tices, and claimed that adding them to masonry, and also to secure the help One Prince Hall Mason historian ar­ the existing membership made Lebanon and co-operation of the women in their gued that one could not establish "the "stronger than it has been in its history." benevolent projects. "33 date of the earliest Eastern Star Chapter" At the end of the year it held a "grand Another historian interpreted the among "colored people. "35 Mrs. S. Joe reception" at the Knights of Pythias hall cause-effect differently, claiming that Brown, matron of the International Con­ attended by 150 guests. In 1910 it held the OES resulted from women's protest. ference of Grand Chapters of OES other fundraisers and inducted at least The secrecy and gender exclusivity of (Prince Hall Affiliation), however, con­ a dozen new members. Thus the new most of the fraternities angered many tended that Thorton A. Jackson re­ leadership steered the lodge out of the doldrums at the dawn of the new .1. 111.1 •••••• , ••••• 111." ,'1111 III".' ••••••••• decade.31 At the same time, female Prince Hall Look' Who~s Here! affiliates made their first press appear­ ance in Nebraska. The black papers of Omaha during the 1890s made no refer­ ence to the several varieties of women's Shaffer Chapter, -No. 42 organizations associated with Prince Hall Masonry. When The Enterprise re­ -st- sumed publication in 1908, however, it soon ran the following announcement: ALAMO HALL' Keep in mind Shaffer Chapter No. 42 Holi­ day Dance at Washington Hall Monday o Tuesday Eve., Jan. 9th . evening Dec. 28th. Desdunes full orches­ tra. Dancing until 1 a. m. Admission 50 cents. ..-••MUSICAL CONCERT · The chapter also purchased weekly --... IIader.lIanal'-lIut--oJ , ...... ijzzje o~ard . advertisements for the month, which made the affair "largely attended" and "a splendid financial success. "32 -- DESDUIE'S .-fULL ORCHESTRA The announcement, of course, re­ ferred to a chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star (OES). According to F. A. Bell the order originated in the seven­ teenth century among noble ladies in COME ONE! COME ALL! England and also appeared in the eigh­ ADMISSION 2'Sc- teenth century in Russia and France. Eventually many different organizations ELLA HUNTER sprouted and disappeared in the United MARY ·E. ALLEN, States, but none succeeded as well as Chairman Matron the OES. A Mason, Robert Morris, cre­ ated the society in Mississippi before the The Monitor, January 6,1917. Civil War, but interest remained low un­

16 Prince Hall Masons ceived several degrees of the Rite of Seemingly, Iowa did not contribute to Ka nsas Grand Court held its annual ses­ Adoption on August 10, 1874, from C. B. the growth of the order in Nebraska, sion in Lincoln, Nebraska. Meetings Case, a deputy and agent of Robert but Kansas and Misso uri did; therefore , were held at Bullard's Hall at 1130 N Macoy, the supreme patron of the Rite the women followed the men's pattern Street and they included an opening­ of Adopt ion of the World, to establ ish and split their chapters between two night public fllndraising entertainment OES among African Americans. Rap idly, ju risd ictions. (admission, $.15) and a closing "grand Jackson establ ished two chapters in the David Vin ton, an ea rly nin etee nth­ drill" (admission, $.25). Whil e no mem­ nation 's capital. one in Alexandria, Vir­ century Masonic lecturer, inven ted th e bership numbers fjgured in the news gi nia, three in Baltimore, and three in Heroines of Jericho, another women's cove rage, "'le £nle,prise later revealed Philadelphia-a total of nine in eigh­ allied group. "From what sou rce th e Ne­ that in th e neighboring jurisdiction , the teen months. Then in 1880 Bishop J. W. gro brethren obtained the degree is not Heroines constituted the oldest and Hood organ ized the first grand chapter knowll,Mbut the historic ritual for Prince largest women 's Mason ic organization at Washington, D. C. That same yea r Hall affiliated cou rts was wrillen by in Missouri with 2,600 members distrib­ North Carolina established the first state Moses Dickson in 1895 and distributed uted among eighty-one courts. That grand chapter, followed by Tennessee by his Regal ia and Supply Company, story failed to mention if any of those ( 188 1), Ca lifornia ( 1882) , and Kansas headquartered in Kansas City, Mis­ we re in the stat e of Neb raska, but a sub­ ( 1883) . The first of two grand chapters sQ uri .37Some time thereaft er, the Hero­ sequent article alluded to the existence in Missouri formed in 1890 and Iowa in es ent ered Nebraska from Misso uri of Western Star COll rt No. 23. 38 constituted its grand chapter in 1907. 36 and Ka nsas. On June 8- 10, 1909, the Complicating the ability even simply

Dan Desdunes's orchestra (at rear) played for many Masonic and non-Masonic functions in the Omaha area. Desdunes (in the white cap) was a Prince Hall Mason. (NSHS-K90-445)

17 Nebraska History - Spring 1995 to chronicle the continuation of the it ascribed to Amaranth th e number the chapter on proper behavior. After group, in 1913 the Omaha City Directory three. Another chapter also existed in Royal Matron Lulu Rountree "read a pa­ listed two OES chapters bu t no Heroines Lin coln, however, when th e grand chap­ per on th e history and deve lopment of of Jeri cho courts: ter began. No records establish its for­ the Order of th e Eastern Star" an d Royal Shaffer Chapter No. 42 mation date, nor even its jurisdiction, Patron Fred L. Smith gave an "appropri­ but th e Nebraska Grand Chapter as­ ate" address, the Reverend Dyetl of St. Meets 1st & 3rd Fridays@202S. 13 signed Princess Hattipha Chapter the John's AME Church took th e women to Nellie Gordon, Royal Matron number eight. task. Accord ing to The Enterprise, he Li zzie Carpew, Sec. Of th e three identifiab le chapters ex· "very properly emphasized the need o f Hiawatha Chapter No. 57 tant during the first decade of the twen- th e members of the chapter putting an Meets 2nd & 4th Fridays en d to their internecine strife which is @ 1425 N. 24th so prevalent, and urged th em to prac· Eva M. Pickett, Royal Matron tice c harity.~ Grand Master Ricketts con­ Dora Donley, Sec. tributed similar advice and T. P. Missouri claimed both OES chapters Mahammitt editorialized, in its jurisdiction. Two years later, the May this advice, which is so so rely last time the Omaha City Directory listed needed , be appreciated by the members black societies prior to Worl d War II , of the chapter, and may they learn as Dr. Ricketts so well said, that the strength of Margaret Ransom served as royal rna· masonic institutions does not depend tron and Elmira Obee as secretary at upon numbers , but upon the character of Shaffer and their counterparts at th e men and women who com pose Hiawatha were Eln ora Jones and Willie them.~ o Watso n. In 1914 th e Lincoln City Direc­ tory catal oged two women's masonic The presence of th e grand master groups: and th e public upbraiding may have been deemed necessary because th e Magnolia Court No. 10, H. O. J. Misso uri Grand Chapter Annual Session [Kansas Ju risd iction and host of th e was scheduled to convene in Omaha in Grand Cou rt in 1909] Meets one month. The previous year Fred L. @ 145S.llth Smith had been elected associate grand M. A. M. Mrs. William Woods patron and had extended an invitation S. M. Mrs . C. R. Run yon from Shaffer to host the grand sess ion. Sec. Mrs. lzella Malone The success ful bid may have unleas hed Amaranth No. 54, OES some un-Masonic competition for posi­ Mee ts@ 145 S. 11th tions in the limelight, and T. P. R. M. Mrs. Laura Johnson Rev. John Albert Williams of Omaha's St. Mahammitt opined that now th allhe S. W. [sic] Maude Hancock Philip Episcopal Church was critical of se­ cret societies such as the Masons. In July meeting had become a reality th e nine­ [probably Associate Matron ] 1915 he became publisher of The Monitor. teenth annual sess ion would "cure the Sec . Mrs. John Ga lbraeth The Monitor, February 19, 1916 'sore heads' and 'malconten ts' that lin­ Apparently the Lincoln OES chapter ger [sic] on th e vital shores of life 10 ori ginated only a few yea rs earlier. tieth cen tury, Shaffer in Omaha gar­ cause canker and de ca y.~ The Ente1prise Royal Grand Matron Mrs. Mary E. nered all of th e press because of its altered its printing and distribution Herriford and Royal Grand Associate Pa­ fund raising activities and its volatility. In schedule to give priority to making th e tron T. P. Mahammitt crea ted an OES February 1909 Mrs. Jennie Lawrie gave a annual sess ion a s u ccess.~1 chapter in the state capital in July 1909 musical benefit and in May th e chapter Outwardly, a smooth sess ion ensued. shortly after the Missouri Grand Chapter sponsored a "Hard Times Dance"; the Festivities began with an "Allstar Con­ Annual Sess ion in Omaha, J9 The new title probably signified th e lingering ef­ cert and Prominade" on Wednesday chapter also came in the wake of the re­ fects of th e Pan ic of 1907 on blacks in evening and Mayor Jam es Dah lman wel­ organization of Lebanon Lodge one th e local economy. Ironically, however, comed th e attendees at a public open­ month earlier. The Lincoln City Direc­ th e titl e also could have referred to wid­ ing ceremony Thursday morning. I-I e tory seems to indicate th at chapter was ening fi ssures in th e spi rit of Masonic sis­ "ass ured th e visitors that th ey were en­ Amarant h No. 54 , and when Nebraska terhood. Th e annual sermon in 1909 tirely welcome to the city" and "turned created an independent grand chapter turned into a public platform 10 lecture the key over to th em." The mayor al so

18 "congratulated th e Negroes of th e West upon the lett er to th e ed itor of The Monilor praising th e good recep­ fact th at th ey [sic] had in this brief period been ti on received in Omaha by th e delegates to a grand mee t­ able to organize such splendid moral and intel­ ing of an allied body'" The above examples, and th e may­ lec tu al energy that through th em th e ra ce, the oral welcome to the OES delegates, attest to the rela­ state, and the nation might grow stronger an d ti ve civility that remained in pre-Wo rl d War I better. " Grand Master Ri cketts accepted th e race relations in Nebraska. re marks "as a just tribute to the very high­ New leadership in th e Misso uri and est exce ll ence with in th e race.~ Iowa jurisdictions moved for a co mplete Mahammitt continued the uplift theme "healing" of th eir ruptured relations. In so central to th e thinking of whites and 1913 Iowa ex tended, and Misso uri blacks of th e era, proclaiming, Grand Master R. T. Coles accepted, an Few bodies an)'\vhe re in th e land ca n invitation to speak at th e Iowa Annual boast a higher ave rage of intelligence than Co mmunication . The fo llowing yea r obtains in the Ord er of Eastern Star, and Coles accorded Iowa Gran d Master none can boast a higher average charac­ John L. Thompson th e sa me honor. ter. In these and kindred movements the voi ce of true prog ress speaks aloud and the Thompson report ed, light of racial uplift dawns. H II was indeed a great love feast of eloquence of Masonic love. Grand Master Coles did ev­ Th e official meetings began Thurs­ erything to roya lly ent ertain us th e two days day afternoon, followed by a that we were th ere and th ey did show us. predinner trolley ri de through th e city, They presen ted me with a Grand Lodge badge of honor. J sh all never forget those tru e Mi ssou ri an evening business sess ion and a full Masons. I be lieve that [hose two Gran d Jurisdic­ day's work on Friday. Throughout th e ti ons are now bonded [sic] together in stro nge r event Shaffer Chapter provided th e brothe rly relations than ever before . ~ s 150 delegates with two meals per day. The sess ion closed with the elec­ Nebraska's desi re for independence, how­ tion of officers. While no Nebraska ever, eventually doomed the "love feast" for a woman garnered an elective or appoint­ second time. Moreover, Resc ue Lodge pre­ ive pos ition, former Omahan Dr. M. O. sen ted Thompson with another grave problem. Ri ckett s secured th e pos t of grand pa­ In 1913 former grand secretary, grand trea­ tron and th e delega tes chose T. P. surer, and long-serving sec retary of No. 25. H. Mahammitt as associate grand pa tron .43 K. Hi ll on, was tried, convicted, an d expelled As the new decade opened Th e Enter­ for unM asonic conduct. He adm it ted usin g prise ceased publication and wi th itthe lodge funds for a rea l es tate deal an d when it jou rn alisti c insigh t into th e workings of fail ed he could not repay th e treasury. Th e Prince Hall Masonry in Nebraska disap­ bonding company insisted the lodge sue pea red. In July 1915 Rev. John Albert him for embezzlement, but "through a le­ Williams began publishing The Moni- gal techn ical ity .. . th e Justice of the lor, but given his views on secret Peace quashed the indictment." Eventu­ societi es, his coverage of Ma- ally the bonding company repaid Rescue, so nic ac ti vities was limited and but the unfortunate incident obviously perfunctory. During th e hiatus, • contributed t6 th e inability of the once fi­ on ly a bri ef article in th e whi te nancially sound Rescue Lodge to con- press record ed the ac ti viti es of stru ct its building before th e goal be­ th e 1912 Missouri Grand Lodge An- came moot with th e form ation of nual Communication in Lin coln. It the Grand Lodge of Neb ras ka. met at the state capitol and opening-day The refederation of the Omaha events included a parade and a picn ic at lodges shifted th e outl ook to- Epworth Lake. The reporter noted that wards a grand lodge hea dquarters th e delegates stated their appreciation Will N. Johnson, shown here as a UnIver­ shared by all Prince Hall Masons. The sity of Nebraska football player, was for th e fi ne treatm en t accorded them in situ ati on at Rescue , however, improved elected worshipful master of Omaha steadily over th e next few years. Thus , Lincoln. Similarly, in 1915 Missouri lodge No. 146 In 1915. (NSHS-U58-2380/ Grand Master Nelson C. Crews wrote a W393-48M) unable to afford to send represe ntatives to th e 1916 Annual Commun ication,

19 Nebraska History - Spring 1995 the Iowa grand master reported in their Ricketts Commandery No. 14 K.T. state patriotism, and the prospect of stead. He stated that on his annual visit [Knights TemplarJ titles, prestige, and power for local offic­ to the lodge he witnessed a resurgence; Meets at 145 S. 11th ers prompted the formation of the he noted that "the outlook is good for a P. L. Moore, Gen. [eralissimo] Prince Hall Mason Grand Lodge of Ne­ splendid year" and "they are getting out J. W. Birdwhistle, Capt. braska in 1919. The half-century gesta­ of their financial embarrassment. "46 The absence of records veils the rea­ tion of black Masonry in Nebraska came While the Iowa Jurisdiction experi­ son for apparent name changes for two to a foreshortened and rapid conclusion enced problems in Nebraska, the Mis­ higher-degree societies; possibly they during the tumultuous events of World souri Jurisdiction expanded and pros­ disbanded and were subsequently re­ War I. pered. In October 1915 The Monitor formed with new designations. What­ Notes registered for the first time Omaha ever the circumstances, the Omaha City Lodge No. 146 (it had not been listed in Directory of 1913 no longer listed the I Attempts to gain access to records of the Mis­ the 1913 city directory nor on the roll Knights of St. John Consistory and the souri Grand Lodge failed. printed by The Monitor July 3, 1915) Damascus Temple. Instead there 2 The Enterprise, Nov. 16, 1895. making it the fourth lodge in the city. It appeared: 3 Afro-American Sentinel, Febr. 2, 1896. secured a meeting room at 1018 Dou­ glas and elected Will N. Johnson wor­ Joshua David [sic] 4 The Enterprise, June 20, Sept. 5, Oct. 10, 31, 1896. shipful master and Wynn McCulloch Kelly Consistory No. 27 secretary.47 The address of the meeting Meets at 202 S. 13th 5 Ibid, June 25, 1909. room, as well as those of the other C. W. Wiggington, I.P. 6 Weekly Nebraskan (Hastings), Sept. IS, 1892; lodges, chapters, and allied bodies, and [sic, CornmAn-Chief] Dorothy Weyer Creigh, Adams County: The Story W. W. Peebles, Rec. [sic, Sec.] (Hastings, Nebr.: Adams County - Hastings Centen­ the places where they held their enter­ nial Commission, 1972),330-31. tainments signified the continued mini­ Zaha Temple No. 52 7 Joseph A. Walkes, Jr., Black Square & Compass: mal nature of segregation in Omaha Meets at 202 S. 13th 200 Years ofPrince Hall Freemasonry (Richmond, prior to World War I. In just a few years C. W. Wiggington, I.P. Va.: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc., following the Great Migration, however, [Imperial Potentate] 1979),69. all such activity was confined to an W. W. Peebles, Rec. 8 Creigh, Adams County, 330-31. emerging ghetto adjacent to the down­ 9 The Enterprise, July 3, 1897. town, the Near North Side in local Following the formation of their first 10 Walkes, Black Square, 70. parlance. lodge in 1875, Nebraska's African World War I unleashed significant Americans supported a vigorous and II William Burrell Oral Interview, Prince Hall Ma­ son Manuscripts (hereafter cited as PHM MSS, varied Masonic establishment. Both the and long-lasting historical forces. They with reference to the appropriate file). Microfilm eventually altered the nature of Prince men's lodges and the women's auxilia­ is located at the Nebraska State Historical Society Hall Masonry in Nebraska. Through ries were divided by affiliation to two and at the Historical Society of Douglas County. forty years of growth black Masonry in separate jurisdictions, which, in some These interviews must be used carefully because the state experienced the short-lived cases, jealously tried to prevent separa­ they contain many factual errors. The above inter­ views should be distinguished from the separate participation of several military lodges tion. The Great Migration of World War interviews conducted by the author and deposited and established at least six subordinate I, however, rapidly produced a new his­ at the same archives under the designation, Prince lodges in four cities. Women's auxilia­ torical context that overwhelmed all re­ Hall Mason Oral History Project. ries appeared in Lincoln and Omaha in sistance to an independent grand lodge 12 The Enterprise, Apr. 2, 1897. the form of the Order of the Eastern Star for Nebraska. The black population of 13 Ibid., May I, 1897. and the Heroines of Jericho. Both the Omaha doubled between the 1910 and 14 Afro-American Sentinel, Dec. 19, 1896. York and the Scottish Rite higher-degree 1920 census and other towns also expe­ societies had also established a pres­ rienced a significant increase. War pro­ 15 The Nebraska State Historical Society newspa­ per collection does not include copies of Progress. ence in the state's two most populous duction produced temporary prosperity The political tussle can be examined only through cities. In addition to earlier registers the in the black communities, which en­ the eyes of the editors of the Afro-American Senti­ Lincoln City Directory in 1914 identified: couraged individuals to join Prince Hall nel and The Enterprise, 1896-97. Bell died before Masonry in record numbers. Rosters of the earliest extant rosters of Omaha lodges; thus if he were a Mason, it cannot be confirmed through Hiram Chapter No. 59 R.A.M. existing lodges expanded significantly the Nebraska collection of PHM MSS. [Royal Arch Masons] and three new lodges, one each in 16 The Enterprise, Jan. 23, 26, 1897~ Meets at 145 S. 11th Hastings, Alliance, and Scottsbluff, R. H. Young, H.P. [High Priest] joined the Nebraska contingent. By 17 Ibid., Jan. 27, 1897. Wm. Rosier, [sic] Scribe war's end the sizeable membership, IS Ibid., Febr. 6, 13, 1897. See Apr. 17 and May 29,

20 Prince Hall Masons

1897, issues for examples of the women's contests. 27 Proceedings ofthe Fifty-first Annual Communi­ 36 Mrs. S. Joe Brown, The History ofthe Order of cation, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofMissouri, 1917, the Eastern Star Among Colored People 19 Ibid., Oct. 10, 1896. (Des 5-6. Copy in author's possession. Ricketts died in Moines: The Bystander Press, 1925). 15,37. 76; 20 Proceedings ofthe Seventeenth Annual Com­ St. Joseph in 1917 at age sixty. Voorhis. Negro Masonry, 68-69. munication, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofIowa, 1904, 12. Copy in author's possession. 28 The Enterprise, Oct. I, 1909 37 Voorhis. Negro Masonry. 69. 29 Black Me­ 38 21 Ibid., 19. St. Clair Drake and Horace Cayton, The Enterprise, June 4, July 30. 1909; Apr. 22. tropolis: A Study ofNegro Life in a Northern City 1910; 22 Proceedings ofthe Nineteenth Annual Commu­ (New York: l-Iarper&Row. Rev. Ed .• 1962), 117, 39 Ibid .• July 30. 1909. nication, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofIowa, 1906, 121. 22-23. Copy in author's possession. 40 Ibid .• Febr. 19. Apr. 30. June II. 1909. 30 The Enterprise. Aug. 21. 1908; May 28, Aug. 27, 23 The Enterprise, Sept. 26, 1896; Jan. 14, 1910. 1909; Proceedings ofthe Twenty-ninth Annual Com­ 41 Ibid .. Mar. 12, July 16,30, 1909. Seventy-five years later, these same sentiments led munication, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofIowa. 42 Ibid .• July 30, 1909. the Prince Hall Masons of Nebraska to ask me to 1916. Copy in author's possession. write a history of the Nebraska Grand Lodge. 43 Ibid. 31 The Enterprise. June II, Dec. 31. 1909; Mar. II. 24 Proceedings ofthe Seventeenth Annual Com­ Oct. 14, Dec. 9. 1910. 44 Lincoln Daily Star, Aug. 16, 1912; The Monitor, munication, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofIowa, Aug. 28. 1915. 1904; Burrell interviews, PHM MSS. Neither 32 Ibid., Dec. 4. 1908; Jan. I, 1909. 45 Proceedings ofthe Twenty-seventh Annual source identified the hall. In 1896 the AfrrrAmeri­ 33 F. A. Bell. Order ofthe Eastern Star (Chicago: Communication, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofIowa, can Sentinel listing stated Acacia met at Crounse Ezra A. Cook, 1948). 12-18. 1914. 14-15. Copy in author's possession. Hall at Sixteenth and Capitol. In 1909 The Enter­ 34 Mark C. Carnes, Secret Ritual and Manhood in prise listed Rescue's meeting place at Twenty­ 46 Proceedings ofthe Twenty-sixth Annual Com­ fourth and Charles. Victorian Amen'ca (New Haven: Yale University munication, Prince Hall Grand Lodge ofIowa, Press. 1989),85, 198 n89. 1913,21,53. Copy in author's possession. Proceed­ 2S The Enterprise, Sept. 4, Oct. 16, 1908; Dec. 17, 1909. 3S Harold Van Buren Voorhis, Negro Masonry in ings ofthe Twenty-ninth Annual Communication, the United States (New York: Henry Emerson. quoted in Burrell interview, PHM MSS. 26 Ibid., Oct. I. 1909. 1945).66. 47 The Monilor, Oct. 23, 1915.

21