The Beginning

The Beginning

Present at the First Regular Communication of Mississippi Lodge of A. F. & A. Masons at Almonte on 24th May, 1861 were:

Bro. William Mostyn, M. D., W. M.
Bro. M. Anderson, S. W.
Bro. I Menzies, J. W.
Bro W. McIntosh, Treas.

Bro. W. Tennant, Sect.
Bro. W. A. Bagsley, S. D.
Bro. I Lang, J. D.
Bro. I. B. Shipman, In. G.
Bro. Thos. Coulter, Tyler

While nothing is mentioned about the background of these gentlemen, we can assume that most of them, like Dr. Mostyn, had had some prior exposure to Masonry, perhaps through association with St. John's Lodge in nearby Carleton Place. We can also assume that most of the men were from the area, since travel in 1861 was not something to be lightly undertaken. And, as will be mentioned below, most of the men were well-to-do.

The new Lodge had the usual organizational details to attend to, many of which present members take for granted. For example, this first meeting set up a committee to draft the by-laws for Mississippi Lodge (to be done by the next regular communication). Whether the brethren at that time would simply have adopted by-laws similar to that of another lodge, or whether they would have felt the necessity to establish their own, is unknown. However, if the by-laws were to be original, it seems to be a great undertaking to have them prepared by the next meeting, which was held on June 7, 1861. In fact, no mention of the committee's report about the by- laws appears in the Minutes of that next meeting.

In the Minutes of the Emergent Meeting of June 15, 1861, Bro. Campbell is appointed to pursue "the Books of the Lodge". Whatever this is a reference to (the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Constitution, instruction booklets, etc.) is irrelevant, except to illustrate that these fundamental details also necessitated enquiry during this early growth stage.

And as might be expected, Grand Lodge was quick to get involved with the young Mississippi Lodge by forwarding various blank forms, proxies, etc.

The Initiation Fee is stated in the Minutes of June 21, 1861 to be $20. Assuming costs double about every ten years, this was a staggering amount, and one wonders whether it was indicative of the means of the members or the needs of the Lodge or both. The Minutes of July 19, 1861 indicate that the fee sent to the Grand Lodge Secretary for ten of the brethren was $10, which by comparison to the current levy is high. By way of comparison, Initiation Fees in 1924 were $40 (March 7, 1924) and in 1994 were $100.

By August 16, 1861, the Lodge had not yet received its Charter from Grand Lodge, as is apparent from the following entry:

Moved by Bro. Menzies and Seconded by Bro. Anderson that a Communication be sent to the Secretary of Grand Lodge requesting to omit Bro. Brown's name in the Charter, as he does not wish to join our Lodge at present.

At the Meeting of December 15, 1861, the Secretary was directed to write to the Grand Secretary to ascertain the cause of the detention of the Lodge Warrant.

An Emergent Meeting was held on February 5, 1862 "for the special purpose of formally opening and recognizing Mississippi Lodge No. 147, A. F. & A. M. (a Warrant being granted to the same) and also installing the Worshipful Master and subordinate officers". At the meeting of March 6, 1868 it was moved and carried that "Bro. McDougall get the Charter from Grand Lodge framed at the expense of the Lodge". This was a rather surprising delay for attendance to this matter, since the Warrant (or Charter) is something which one would expect to be found displayed in open Lodge, particularly for reference in connection with Installation ceremonies, which appeared to have been quite frequent in the early stages of the Lodge's growth.

On September 11, 1861 an Application for Initiation was received from Peter Cram, a local gentleman who owned extensive property in the area. His Initiation Fee was $20.