History and Past Masters
History
The History of Freemasonry and The Philanthropic Lodge F. & A.M.
Philanthropic Lodge F. & A.
M.
62 Pleasant Street
Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
A HISTORY OF PHILANTHROPIC
LODGE
Philanthropic Lodge was originally
chartered as “The Marblehead Lodge” in
1760 by St. John’s Lodge No.1 under the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
As this Marblehead Lodge was
constituted during the reign of King
George III, it was considered an English
provincial lodge and all ritual was
conducted in accord with English Masonic
customs. Thus the Philanthropic Lodge
seal bears the initials “F. & A. M.”
referring to the “Free and Accepted
Masons” traditions of England.
In those early days only 2
degrees were granted to members.
Candidates were made Entered Apprentices
and Fellow Craftsmen and then were voted
members of the lodge. Most of the
business was conducted on the 1st
Degree. For the first few years, as was
the English custom, only the Master was
granted the 3rd Degree of Master Mason.
Within 18 years the 3rd Degree was
granted to all members.
A 1760 candidate was John
Pulling, Jr. (1737-1787), a Marblehead
shipmaster, who lived in Boston in 1775.
Paul Revere said to John Pulling in
April, 1775: “...if the British march by
land or sea tonight, hang a lantern
aloft in the belfry tower in the North
Church Tower, one if by land and two if
by sea, I on the opposite shore will
be.” … and the rest is history. It is
also said that Elbridge Gerry
(1744-1814), later 5th Vice President of
the United States in 1813, became a
member of the Marblehead lodge in 1769.
Its name was changed to
“Philanthropic Lodge” in 1797 during the
tenure of M.W. Paul Revere, Grand Master
of Masons in Massachusetts. The
official seal designed sometime after
1798 consists of a 1-inch diameter
circle, on the outside of which are the
words, “Philanthropic Lodge, F. & A. M.,
Marblehead, Mass.” Inside the circle is
a representation of the Good Samaritan
pouring oil and wine into the wounds of
a stranger, and above the inside edges
of the circle are the words, “This Do
Ye.”
The laying of the cornerstone
and dedication of the Bunker Hill
Monument took place on June 17, 1825
with Grand Lodge Officers and Bro.
Marquis de Lafayette present. A
delegation from Philanthropic Lodge also
attended. Secretary Collyer wrote:
“...it was contemplated that there was
the largest assembly of people that ever
met at one time in the United States of
America.”
Philanthropic Lodge originally met at the home of Bro. (Commodore) Samuel Tucker on what is now Prospect Street, Marblehead. Since then, the Lodge has met in several places, one believed to be Tucker Street opposite the end of Mason Street. For the last 63 years we have called 62 Pleasant Street, home.
On March 21, 2006,
Philanthropic lodge approved its merger
with Wayfarers Lodge of Swampscott by a
unanimous vote. On October 5, 2006, M.W.
Jeffrey Black Hodgdon for Massachusetts
conducted the merger ceremony. With that
ceremony, 146 Masons from Wayfarers were
enrolled in Philanthropic Lodge.
Philanthropic Lodge is the 3rd oldest
Masonic Lodge in Massachusetts and the
19th oldest Masonic Lodge in the United
States. It currently enjoys one of the
largest memberships (546) in
Massachusetts.