how freemasonry came to kentucky: the...

How Freemasonry Came to Kentucky: The Back-Story

1


Is there more to the story of how Masonry came to Kentucky than what is

published in the few publications, pamphlets and

records in existence today?

Introduction

hat is the difference between the accounts used time and again since the 1930s to tell us about how

Masonry came to Kentucky and the factual accounts driven by events in Kentucky by 1788? What were the historical events that influenced men to petition the Grand Lodge of Virginia for a charter in 1788 to authorize the creation of the first Masonic lodge, and why was Lexington chosen for that site? This back-story cannot be told without examining events occurring in Kentucky prior to 1788. An awareness of those events help fill in many blanks which have existed since the first history of Masonry in Kentucky was written. The full story cannot be gleaned from simply reading the November, 1788 minutes of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, during which a petition for a charter was submitted by Kentuckians. The records of what this newly formed Kentucky lodge did from late November, 1788 to 1794 do not exist, and therefore history cannot provide us an exact account of what occurred during those six years. We know there were meetings, but we don’t know how often, where they met, who was in attendance and what business was discussed or took place. This was not an intended void in record keeping; the minutes and records were lost.

Masonic lodge records, returns and minutes provide considerable information; however, they cannot serve and have never been intended to be the repository of the history of a community or the men who lived there and were members of the lodge. Regardless, they do offer a glimpse of the caliber of men who were Masons and in many cases, offer a mosaic of the times and link numerous members to a medley of historical events, wars, community development and the early evolution of a state. The history of any Masonic lodge is essentially the history of the lives of the men it sends forward into the world. If their lives are worthy and productive, then perhaps the lodge may be credited to some extent. After all, there are natural truths taught in the lodge - truths calculated to make men wiser, better and more capable of not only becoming more responsible for their own actions and behaviors, but also more tolerant of the behavior and actions of others. Masons enjoy the benefit of our fraternity being at the center of many historical figures who influenced not only the building of a great nation, but who led, participated and fought for virtues like freedom, liberty, and justice. Men who were leaders in their respective fields, devoted to their communities and families, were those who worked to create a thriving

W


2

environment for future generations based on: principles to advance and nurture basic family values; firmly enable respect for our various faiths; facilitate education, truth, and freethinking to replace superstition and tyrannical oppression by striving to treat men as equals regardless of their station in life. However, did early successes of our communities, states and nation prompted or caused by many men who were Masons really have anything to do with their membership in the fraternity? Would these men still have been as influential in certain historic events had they not been Masons as well? We know more about these particular Masons because their lives and undertakings are embedded within the history of our communities, respective states and the nation. But, while Masonry was clearly an important facet of their lives, we have no way of knowing for sure the precise amount of inspiration and influence their Masonic membership played unless they specifically wrote about it or unequivocally made claims of such. But we do know they were exposed to the teachings of our fraternity and records do exist which prove their commitment to the Craft and their active participation in it. But, what about the millions of other men who were Masons but are not often or mentioned at all in our histories - men who were as committed or perhaps even more in some cases to the tenets of our Craft than our historically noted brothers? There have indeed been men who labored as hard and integrated the principles of our Craft into their lives to become better men, who strived to keep those principles alive, and are therefore equally important to our Ancient and Honorable Fraternity. There just isn’t as much written about their lives. These men, over the years, were shopkeepers, blacksmiths, teachers, police

officers, firemen, farmers, and merchants among others who were and continue to be the bedrock of our membership; men who actively integrate the principles of Masonry into their lives. The early accounts and evolution of our lodge will likely always be best appreciated when told in terms of the lives of the historically noted men who were part of it. It is impossible to tell the behind the scenes history of a lodge by including a biography of every man who was a member, since no records exist on which to base such an exhaustive account. No, we must rely on the records that have survived, accurate historical accounts and their appropriate interpretation, and a balanced examination in context threading the information together. But we must also fully appreciate that while the accounts which have survived can offer us a well-rounded view of the story, there were many brothers who played various roles not only in the lodge, but our community who will only be remembered as members of our Order: the first Order in Kentucky which led to the expansion of Freemasonry into seven other states while our nation continued to expand westward. This essay is dedicated to those many unnamed brothers who were not specifically noted in our lodge history. These brothers, who labored without leaving behind biographies, deserve recognition for their role as the core of our fraternity; men who were quietly devoted to the Craft; carried and assimilated the Masonic principles they learned into their personal lives as they worked to become better men spreading the tenets of our fraternity into our community and subsequent generations of Freemasons.

John Bizzack, Lexington, Kentucky, 2013

_______________________________________


3

A Re-Examination in Context

The Pioneers sleep in their narrow graves, many unmarked, their names almost

forgotten, while their privations and adventures, steeped in the fiction of

family tradition, have been handed down to us as facts. Kentucky Historian Charles R. Staples, 1939

e understand our history from many sources. Some of those sources are accurate and some are not. Some are in context and consistent with the evidence. Some are not in context at all. Some history is simply myth. By filtering history, we learn that any topic through the eyes of

valid research and in context permits us to examine history as a fact finding journey that can offer us the pleasure of finding things out that are actually true. What was written or passed on by an amateur or professional historian is always open to challenge and examination because their work was based on available information at the time. New information and evidence, or at least new perspectives on old and new information or evidence, should always be welcome. It remains; however, the responsibility of the person learning the new information or perspective not to accept everything at face value, but to demand a responsible and balanced account; one that can be factually examined. Not everything in print or relayed in another format represents reality. Any person who considers themselves a historian in any capacity also has a heavy responsibility. The theory that history should not be written until fifty or a hundred years have passed may be valid, at least for controversial subjects. In their analyses, historians, amateur and professional alike, must accept the facts as they stand, examine them as rationally and unemotionally as possible, and present conclusions. Rarely is that accomplished. One method of examining history is to compare and contrast the historical issues being examined contemporaneously with another event that has been examined and proven correct or incorrect. This comparative account approach can be useful to the reader offering them a framework through which to consider the focus of the historical account offered about a topic. This essay is a comparative account. To examine the question in detail about how and why the first Masonic lodge in Kentucky came about, it is helpful to understand how the city in which it was first established came about and the controversies surrounding the naming of that town: Lexington. By studying the accounts of the founding of the city, one may look at the evidence presented over the last two centuries and see how it evolved and offers today a factual conclusion. Information available today about the years prior to the chartering of the first Masonic lodge in Kentucky was either not considered important by early historians or perhaps, the factors known today were not seen in earlier years as what they clearly represent today – some two and a quarter centuries later.

W


4

Regardless, this paper offers a fresh perspective in context about the reasons that led to and ultimately established Freemasonry in early Kentucky – information heretofore, never considered by the early historians of Masonry in Kentucky.

Founding of Lexington in Context to Masonry

n June, 1775, Captain James Harrod dispatched a hunting party from the settlement he founded in the previous summer of 1774 known as Harrod’s Town and later called, Harrodsburg. 1 What the small hunting party discovered later became the largest settlement in Kentucky in that era spawning

dozens of men who became the pioneer leaders, Indian fighters, soldiers, innovative horse breeders, cattlemen, agriculturists, merchants, land speculators, educators, and politicians who would hold offices at every level of local, state and federal government for the next one-hundred years and beyond. Many of these men were Freemasons and were citizens involved in world affairs politically, economically, and culturally: a history congruent with the founding of the nation. The hunting party Harrod organized consisted of a small group of men, most of who were Masons at the time or were noted as members of the fraternity in historical documents soon thereafter. They were, according to some early historians, Robert Patterson, Simon Kenton, Michael Stoner, John Maxwell, Hugh Shannon, James Masterson, William McConnell, Isaac Greer, Levi Todd and James Dunkin. Historian George W. Ranck described this hunting party as clothed in a pioneer style of buckskin pantaloons, deerskin leggings, linsey hunting-shirt, and peltry cup, and each armed with a flintlock rifle,

a hatchet and scalping-knife. He said the party toiled through the trackless woods and almost impenetrable canebrakes in the direction of the future Lexington, and that on or about the 5th of June, 1775 the approach of night ended one evening of their solitary and dangerous hunt; and the hunters camped on a spot afterward known successively as McConnell Springs. 2 The spring system at the encampment forms what geologists

today call a “karst window,” characterized by a hydrologic system

that flows largely underground and emerges at the surface as a spring.3 Although this hunting party may have indeed been the very first European descendants to have ever seen this particular spring system,

1 Klotter, James C. (1989). History Mysteries: The Cases of James Harrod, Tecumseh, "Honest Dick" Tate, and William Goebel.

Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. 2 George Ranck, The History of Lexington, Biographical Sketches and Personal Reminiscences of the Pioneer Settlers, Notices of

Prominent Citizens, Etc., Etc. Cornell University Library, 1872.

I


5

archaeologists offer evidence that this entire area of Kentucky was occupied some 12,000 years before the arrival of these men dating back to the Paleo- Indian period. 4 Although there is no known existing information indicating this particular spring ever was the site of any extended historic occupation by Native American tribes, it certainly may have been periodically visited, since it represented a reliable water source that attracted game. Early settlers coming into Kentucky in the 1770s found no contemporary occupied Native American sites in the Lexington area, but also found out quickly the land was not considered by Native Americans as “up for grabs”.5 The first military engagement between colonials and the British took place in April 1775. The battles of Lexington and Concord marked the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. According to historical accounts written in the late 1800s, this battle led to the naming of the future city of Lexington. Kentucky historian George Ranck’s 19th century style of writing offered yet another glimpse of how these men named the camp.

While eating their simple meal, they talked with enthusiasm of the beautiful country they had just traveled over, and surprised and delighted with the prospect about them, they determined that their place of settlement should be around the very spot where they were then encamped. And no wonder they were delighted with their new-found home, for of all the broad rich acres they had seen in all “Kan-tuck-ee, “these were the fattest and most fertile.” Never before had their eyes feasted on such an untold wealth of blue grass pasture. The deer, the elk, the bear, and buffalo crowded the woods with juicy food. They forgot the skulking savage and the dangers on every hand, and glowed with the excitement which only a hunter can feel, as they surveyed the virgin glories of the red man's most cherished hunting-grounds, and realized the full truth of the wondrous tales they had heard of a distant El Dorado. The hunters assisted William McConnell to build a rude little cabin on their camping-ground as the foundation for a title, for Virginia as early as the year 1774, had offered four hundred acres of land to each person who cleared a piece of land, built a cabin, and raised a crop of Indian corn. The frail and hastily-built little hut of McConnell gave Lexington her name and that was all, for no settlement was reflected until four years after its erection.

The name of the settlement that was to be, was discussed with animation [that evening]. One suggested “York, “another “Lancaster,” but both were dropped with a shout for “Lexington!" As the conversation turned to the strange news that had slowly crept through the wilderness, and which, after being weeks on the way, they had just heard, of how "King George's troops,” on the 19th of April, had fought the colonial citizens.

3 Nancy O’Malley, McConnell Springs in Historical Perspective, Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, 1996.

4 Ibid

5 Ibid


6

In the latter part of March, 1779, Col. Robert Patterson [since distinguished during his service during the Revolutionary War under the command of George Rogers Clark in the wars against Shawnee] was again ordered from the fort at Harrodsburg, to establish a garrison north of the Kentucky River. At the head of twenty-five men he commenced his march for the beautiful and fertile garden spot he had visited four years before which he had not forgotten.

Ranck completes his early account by saying that it was early the following day after Patterson arrives in April, that “stout pioneers” were at work felling trees and clearing space for a block house surrounding by a stockade; a “rude but powerful defense.” As soon as the block-house was completed, it was occupied by Col. Patterson, John Maxwell, James Masterson, William and Alexander McConnell [William’s brother] and James and Joseph Lindsay, who then proceeded to raise a crop of corn as “all other necessary preparations were made to insure a permanent settlement.” Another purpose of ordering of this settlement was to further encourage the immigration of new settlers into the territory. The controversy about who named Lexington and why continued and surrounded the traditional story recounted by Ranck. In 1872, a review of Ranck’s book appeared in the Cincinnati Daily Gazette on November 20, 1872. No author is listed of the review which takes issue with Ranck’s account. While the review is complimentary overall, it takes Ranck‘s story of the naming and argues that it was impossible for the men at the spring to even know about the Battle of Lexington-Concord in June of 1775. The writer outlines his skepticism about Ranck’s account and makes several points. One, McConnell was not actually a “founder” of Lexington as much as he was simply the man for whom the spring was named after following the hastily built cabin near the spring so he could obtain a title to the land under Virginia law. Second, the structure was not built within the limits of what evolved into the city of Lexington. Ranck stated the hunting party camped on June 5, 1775 and it was that evening they came up with the name Lexington in honor of the battle which had taken place in Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. The third point of contention is that the hunting party would not have known about the battle because the travel routes in 1775 would have required the news to be delivered over a 1,000 miles of two mountain ranges, treacherous territory with no roads, the threat of Indians, and all the way to Fort Harrod where the hunters originated. The review put forth the notion that the city was named in 1779 after Robert Patterson began to build the fort. Lewis and Richard Collins, in their History of Kentucky published in 1874 – two years after Ranck’s work, do not offer accounts as flowery as Ranck about the founding of Lexington at McConnell Springs. While they do not absolutely vouch for Ranck’s account, they do not flatly reject what has become commonly accepted as the story of how Lexington was named. While it is known that early surveyors, John Floyd, Daniel Boone and James Douglas and Michael Stoner all created surveys of what is now parts of Fayette County in 1774, there is no record of them naming any location or referencing what is known as McConnell Springs. 6 Thomas D. Clark, perhaps Kentucky's most notable historian, noted in his 1988, A History of Kentucky, a story that advances the question of how word of the Lexington-Concord battle was known to the men of the hunting party by June 5, 1775 – 47 days after the day the battle was fought. It was not intended by Clark to draw attention to this point, but he provided an example against which to measure the accuracy

6 Samuel Wilson, Old Records Reveal New Phases of Lexington History, the Lexington Herald, Sunday, January 25, 1920, Issue

25.page 8.


7

of the story. On June 27, 1774 Daniel Boone and Michael Stoner were dispatched by Governor Dunmore of Virginia to go to Harrodstown and warn the settlers and surveyors he had sent there of Indian movement and possible impending attacks. They arrived from Castlewood, Virginia about 154 linear miles from Harrodstown. Due to the routes taken, Clark points out that distance was around 400 miles. Boone and Stone made the journey in 12 days, thus traveling about 33 miles a day. When they returned to Virginia even after a slight delay in Kentucky, the surveyors traveled with them. Clark points out the 800 mile round trip with the additional men on the return journey took a total of 47 days. If two men could make the journey from one of the most westward settlements in Virginia to Harrodstown in 12 days, then it follows that news of the battle at Lexington-Concord could easily have reached Harrodstown well before the hunting party was sent out from Harrodstown and subsequently camped at McConnell Springs 47 days after the battle was fought. The issue was not one that should have caused the concern that it has among some historians. In 1775, Carolyn Murray Wooley, resolved the issue in her book, The Founding of Lexington – 1776-1776. Wooley notes that Richard Henderson, who made the failed attempt to create the colony of Transylvania, resided at Boonesborough in May 1775. Henderson noted in his personal journey on May 29, 1775, he received a letter containing the news of the battle. Harrodstown was 30 linear miles from Boonesborough, so it also follows that since this was momentous news to the frontiersmen, who were ardent in their desire for self-government, word would have spread quickly to Harrodstown before the hunting party left the settlement and camped at McConnell Springs. Ironically, it was George W. Ranck who made this information first known 29 years after his 1872 book, The History of Lexington, in a 1901 Filson Club Publication No. 16. Furthermore, while no contemporaneous accounts of the naming of Lexington have been discovered, the first newspaper account was printed in 1809, and in 1811 was another. 7 At the time of the 1811 story, the newspaper recounts a toast that was drank to John Maxell, a member of McConnell’s party in 1775, honoring him for his part in the naming of Lexington. 8 It is safe to presume that Maxwell, who became a town leader, would not have accepted this honor had the event it referred to not have occurred. As historian Richard Collins so noted in 1874:

There is no reasonable ground to doubt that such was the origin of the name of Lexington. It was well understood as such in the life-time of the actors themselves. It was told of them and they assented to its truth. It was related as fact, printed as fact, received and believed as fact, at an early day.

Regardless of the evidence, however, there remain naysayers today who dispute the picturesque and early patriotic story of how and why the area around McConnell Springs was christened Lexington. Failing to look at the evidence and misconstruction of the contextual flow of well-documented events of the era is the only reason a naysayer has to make such misinformed claims.

7 Carolyn Murray Wooley, The Founding of Lexington – 1775-1776, Lexington-Fayette County Historic Commission, Lexington,

Kentucky, 1975. 8 Reporter, Lexington, 29 July 1809, and Kentucky Gazette, 9 July, 1811.


8

When Did Kentucky Become Kentucky?

ew men, except for early surveyors and explorers, had visited present day Kentucky

in the mid-1700s. The territory was truly the West for anyone who resided in the east. Colonial Virginia claimed a defined territory west of Virginia, which at the time included what is now West Virginia as well as Botetourt County, which prior to 1772, was the current state of Kentucky – the westward boundaries of which extended all the way to the Mississippi River. 9

In 1772, Virginia renamed Botetourt County to Fincastle which lasted only four years and was composed of the lands in West Virginia, Kentucky, southwestern Virginia and upper east Tennessee. In 1776, Fincastle County became Kentucky County. In 1780, Kentucky County was divided into the following counties: Fayette, Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson, with lands reserved in the furthermost western part of the state for Indians and

war veterans. Ultimately, Kentucky became a state in 1792 and by 1884 was divided into 120 counties. Only Texas, Georgia and Virginia have more counties than Kentucky.

9 Otto A. Rothert, Fincastle County, Virginia, and Old Kentucky, Filson Club Historical Quarterly 6, January 1932.

F


9

The Men in the 1775 Hunting Party

and the Men who Built the First Fort in Lexington

While early historians Ranck, Collins, and others provided their account

of the men who were in the hunting party from Harrod’s Town in 1775, it was not until 1939 that Charles R. Staples, in his

landmark book, The History of Pioneer Lexington - 1779-1806, offered an account that appears most accurate. Staples account originates from sources not used by earlier historians, such as the Lyman Draper and John D. Shane interviews with pioneers of Kentucky. Among these is a May 1841 interview with Josiah Collins. Collins was one of the twenty-six men who was part of the 1779 group led by Col. Robert Patterson

who were dispatched to establish a garrison north of the Kentucky River which became the settlement

of Lexington.10 Although some confusion exists as to who was actually a part of the original hunting party that camped at McConnell Springs in 1775, Collins is quite specific in accounts from 1779 to 1806, no account has been found that disputes the presence of Robert Patterson in 1775 as being part of that hunting party.

Collins states that he cut down the first tree, which was a burr oak, about two feet across at the butt, which stood near the spring and this log was used on the lower side the blockhouse built in 1779. 11 The men who were either in that 1779 party or who came to Lexington shortly thereafter, became familiar names in local, state and national history. Robert Patterson was clearly one of the early leaders of the settlement along with John Maxwell, Levi Todd, John Fowler, James Morrison, James January, William McConnell, to name only a few. These

10

Charles R. Staples, The History of Pioneer Lexington – 1779-1806, Transylvania Press, Lexington, 1939. 11

Ibid.

Robert Patterson


10

men were followed or served during the times of even later leaders like John and Daniel Bradford, Samuel Postlethwait, Benjamin Dudley, Joseph H. Daviess and in even later, Henry Clay. From this list alone, each man was a Freemason. It was Robert Patterson though, who would later go on and become one of the founders of Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, who built the first cabin. That cabin today remains preserved on the campus Transylvania University.

The Role of Freemasonry in Kentucky’s Struggle

for Statehood

side from the struggles by early pioneers to merely survive the elements, Indians and other dangers, politics of the day underscored the dissention of the twenty-thousand people who resided in Kentucky by the end of the Revolutionary War. By 1786, the population of Kentucky

was noted as nearly 80,000 residents. 12Governed by the laws of Virginia, new immigrants found most of the choice land of Kentucky already taken under land grants from Virginia. Events were clear to Virginia leaders they would soon be obliged to give up Kentucky and as a result, interest was lost in governing and protecting the region, thus increasing Indian attacks, the killing of settlers and the burning of their homes. Under Virginia law at the time, the settlers were denied the right to attack the Indian towns north of the Ohio where their enemies were most vulnerable. As documented by John Caruso, Kentuckians naturally resolved to protect themselves by seeking separation from a State that could not or would not guarantee them security. This was only one of their several grievances. The great distance that separated them from the state capital aggravated the dangers which constantly lurked at their thresholds. Between the Kentucky frontier and Richmond lay hundreds of miles of high mountains, poor roads and perilous wilderness, all of which the early pioneers were forced to travel for a look at a land deed, a word with a lawyer or the scratch of a magistrate's pen. These duties often entailed the ruinous expense of a long delay in Richmond before they could return home. Thus the settlers were obliged to spend much of their time guarding their lawful land titles. Another economic reason that impelled the Kentuckians to seek independence from Virginia was Spain's refusal to permit them to navigate the lower Mississippi where she owned both banks of the river.13 Statehood was the solution so that Kentuckians could govern themselves. Several years passed before an opportunity to take the first steps toward separation from Virginia occurred. In late 1774, Colonel Benjamin Logan learned that the Cherokee planned an attack against the

12

Thomas Speed, The Political Club, Danville, Kentucky, 1786-1790, Filson Club Publications, No.9, 1894. 13

John Caruso, The Appalachian Frontier, America’s First Surge Westward, University of Tennessee Press, 2003.

A


11

Kentucky settlements. The information turned out to be more rumor than truth, but Logan took advantage of the circumstance. 14 Danville was the most important town in Kentucky at the time and Logan convened a number of inhabitants of the region to inform them of the possible Indian attacks. It was agreed the situation demanded an expedition against the Indians, but they had no money for the purchase of ammunition or arms and the existing laws could deem such an expedition as a criminal act. As a result, it was agreed the people would elect delegates to convene again to find some way of preserving their community from what seemed like impending disaster. A second convention took place in May 1775 and by the tenth convention; following years of petitions to Virginia, the delegates met for its last time in April 1792. In June of that year, Kentucky became the fifteenth member of the Union. The struggle for independence over those seven years lead to the development of many political and military leaders who would be most influential in the successful evolution of Kentucky over the next several decades, and many of those men were also Freemasons.

The Mysterious “Political Club”

he story of Freemasonry in Kentucky has its traditional start November 1788, however the back-story of events that began to promote ideas for a lodge began sometime before or by the evening of December 27, 1786, when a small group of “distinguished gentlemen” met at the

Danville home of Samuel McDowell and formed, what later was called, The Political Club. 15 Danville, to all intent and purposes, could have been considered the Capital of Kentucky at the time. 16 More pioneer stations were found within a radius of 20 miles or less of Danville than in any other area of like size in Kentucky. The club was composed of 20 to 25 men, meeting once a week to debate specific subjects, although less than half its known membership were from Danville. Of the membership known, 12 of the men were already Freemasons. 17 Most of the members hailed from Virginia and had fought in the Revolutionary War. The Political Club was clearly the training ground of its members for the roles they played in the creation of the state of Kentucky and the various communities that were struggling to evolve with it. The mystery of the Political Club was that it was not mentioned or even hinted at in or out of print from 1786 to 1878. Whether the silence surrounded the club was intentional or accidental remains one of those tantalizing historical questions. 18 As some historians agree, the former does seem more logical. The very nature of some political debates seem likely at the time to center around the need to succeed from the state of Virginia and the emergence of Spain as being a potential ally or supporter of such

14

Ibid. 15

Ann Price (Mrs. Sydney S.) Combs, Notes on the Political Club of Danville and its Members, The Filson Club Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 4, Louisville, Kentucky, October, 1961. 16

Ibid. 17

A Concise History of Lexington Lodge No. 1, 1788-1913, Lexington Lodge No. 1 booklet, 1913 (J.W. Norwood). 18

Price.

T


12

succession, which could be construed or interpreted as a treasonous act by Virginia and certainly the United States Congress. Thomas Speed, who was the 18 year old secretary of the club, wrote about its meetings. Had it not been for the grandson of Thomas Speed who discovered a bundle of papers labeled “Political Club papers” while cleaning out his grandfather’s desk in 1878, the existence of the club in Kentucky may have been lost to history. 19 There were two sets of fathers and sons and two sets of brothers, at least one father-in-law, uncle and nephew connections and cousins. 20 They dealt with regulations to expedite “gentlemanly and well-bred discussions” and were “aimed at the mutual protection of one and all of the members, and politeness was required as were orderly meetings where rules of motions were strictly observed. There were also evenings dedicated to the discussion of local problems of social and economic nature.21 Representatives of the Political Club continued to be found in every branch of government of the new state of Kentucky after 1792 – from the governor’s office, to judges, minister to France, state auditors, trustees of Lexington, appellate and federal court positions. Eleven members of the club actively participated in at least one of the ten constitutional conventions that helped separate Kentucky from Virginia. Importantly, the Club promoted the idea of self-responsibility, civic duty and the tolerance of all people in pursuit of improvement to their own lives – a creed remarkably similar to the principles and core ideologies of Freemasonry, which should not be surprising since at least half of the known members were Masons. While the first meeting of the Club took place at McDowell’s home, later meetings took place at Grayson’s Tavern in Danville. The first Masonic lodge in Danville was not dispensated until November 1814, when Franklin Lodge No. 28 was established.

The Kentucky Society for the Promotion

of Useful Knowledge

he Kentucky Society for Promotion of Useful Knowledge was closely associated with the Danville Political Club. Fifteen men were members of both organizations, and some believe

the Society was an adjunct of the Danville Political Club. Both organizations were active at about the same time and frequently debated the same or similar subjects.22 The Virginia Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge was established at Williamsburg, Virginia in 1773. The Society's aims were to study nature using empirical methods and thus to promote science "by

19

Price. 20

Price. 21

Speed. 22

H.E. Everman, Governor James Garrard. Cooper's Run Press, 1981.

T


13

collecting, preserving, and reasoning from Discoveries and Experiments. 23 The ultimate goal was completely practical - to gather scientific knowledge in order to "discover what we may further need and the proper means of supplying our wants." 24 The suggestion of an American Philosophical Society was undoubtedly first made by Benjamin Franklin, and in 1748, the group is known to have formed in New York City and later, in 1780, the Society spread into Massachusetts where John Adams and John Hancock were among the founding members. In a paper, dated May 14th, 1743, and entitled A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge among the British Plantations in America, Franklin explains largely the objects and advantages of such an association. After mentioning the obstacles that existed in the colonies to a free communication of thoughts among men devoted to philosophical inquiries and reflection, in consequence of the extent of the country and the distances they lived apart, by which they were prevented from seeing and conversing with each other, Franklin says;

To remedy this inconvenience for the future, it is proposed, that a society be formed of virtuosi or ingenious men, residing, in the several colonies, to be called The American Philosophical Society, who are to maintain a constant correspondence; and that Philadelphia, being the city nearest the centre of the continent colonies, communicating with all of them northward and southward by post, and with all the islands by sea, and having the advantage of a good growing library, be the centre of the society. 25

As the Society evolved other similar clubs emerged in Pennsylvania and ultimately combined their objectives. Franklin was elected president of the merged Societies, a post he held till his death. 26 The idea of men gathering for the purposes outlined by Franklin would have been appealing to the same like-minded men in Kentucky who formed the Political Club, and others. Many settlers were from Virginia and Pennsylvania and it would follow, because of their continued friendships, family connections and trade who remained in Virginia and Pennsylvania, learned of Franklin’s proposal and of the fact that a Society had already been formed in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Society in Kentucky seems to have closely followed Franklin’s proposal and fundamental outline of the objective of such an organization, and records suggest they often debated and discussed the same or similar subjects in meetings. 27 Sharing the knowledge of the time was a key objective and for men living during the period of the great advances in science, nature and human knowledge that sprang from The Enlightenment, the Society, like the Political Club, began to share the philosophies and principles of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Freemasonry, but there is no indication from records they practiced any rituals similar to the ones practiced in the fraternity. Records do reflect references to the seven liberal arts and sciences (grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, astronomy, music, logic and geometry),

23

Virginia Gazette (P&D), 13 May 1773 and Jellison, Richard M. "Scientific Inquiry in Eighteenth-Century Virginia," The Historian, 25, resourced April 2013. 24

Ibid. 25

Jared Sparks, The Life of Ben Franklin, Appendix IV, http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/biography/app04.htm, accessed, March, 2013. 26

Ibid. 27

Price.

http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/biography/app04.htm


14

an area promoted and an integral part of Freemasonry. The Society in Kentucky spoke frequently of charity and civic involvement, two additional principles of Masonry, as well. In Boston, the Society met for lectures at the Masonic Temple. The appreciation and study of art, literature and music and the cultural expansion of the same became more focused. 28 Many social clubs, societies, libraries, salons and Masonic lodges of this stormy time, became the compendium of shared knowledge, particularly in the lesser settled areas of what were to become part of the United States. Their objectives were similar so it should be no surprise that the influence of one group may have easily fused with the purposes and goals of another.

The Formation of the First Just and Legally Constituted

Masonic Lodge in Kentucky

t was one thing to start a political club or society to advance useful knowledge in the middle of the wilderness of Kentucky in the 1780s, but it was an entirely different matter to start a Masonic lodge that was to

be recognized by other existing lodges in the colonies and lawfully charted by the

overseeing Grand Lodge of Virginia. Starting a group, calling it Masonry and even practicing Masonic principles and ritual do not constitute a legal or recognized Masonic lodge under Masonic law. Lodges must be charted by the Grand Lodge of their jurisdiction and Kentucky was under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia until 1800. The men who were Masons in Kentucky became Masons in legally constituted lodges before they arrived in Kentucky, or were initiated in traveling military lodges during the French and Indian or Revolutionary War. There are no known records that confirm the number of men who were already Freemasons in Kentucky before the 1788 charter. There

28

Harlow G. Unger, Encyclopedia of American Education (Facts on File Library of American History), 2007.

I


15

are scant references, and some historians have projects that five of twelve men were Masons, but it is not known how this number was determined or its reliability. Since Masonry was considered distinguished and preeminent during this period, it follows that there would have been a noteworthy portion of the pioneers who were members as a result of the traveling military lodges during the Revolutionary War and the increase in the number of community lodges in the colonies following the war. The traditional history of the creation of the first Masonic lodge in Kentucky is colorful and steeped in the notion suggesting the singular motive that men missed the fraternal aspects of Masonry and wanted a lodge in their area that did not require them to travel to settled parts of Virginia where lodges existed, after all the closest lodge in Virginia was over 250 miles from Lexington. While this view certainly has foundation, there’s much more to the reasons Lexington became the site of the first Masonic lodge in the area. Three men of the time are historically given full credit for being the founders of the first Masonic lodge in Kentucky. They were indeed the men whose names were on the petition presented in Richmond, Virginia to the Grand Lodge, and the same men sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of Virginia to establish Lexington Lodge No. 25 in Kentucky. In that sense historical credit is not to be shared with other men. However, other men were involved in selecting these three men whose names appeared on the petition, and there were several reasons to seek a just and legally constituted lodge in Kentucky beyond the traditional story that men who were already Masons in Kentucky simply wanted to have their own lodge. The traditional story about this period in November 1788, leads one to believe that three men who were already Masons might have met in a home or tavern, talked about how much they missed attending lodge, and out of those conversations came the idea of taking the necessary steps to pursue the creation of the first lodge in the District of Kentucky. The traditional story then goes on to portray in the mind how these men traveled hundreds of miles across the Appalachian mountain range, struggled through the treacherous terrain, slept in many wooded areas under the threat of Indian assault, carrying with them the necessary petitions to present to the Grand Lodge Officers in Richmond. And then, once at Richmond and upon completion of their business with the Grand Lodge, with granted charter in hand, returned through the same dangerous and unpredictable terrain to present the good news to their brothers in the district. This is without question a great story and parts are true, but there is no actual evidence it occurred exactly in this manner even though it is the one most frequently handed down. The three men who are historically credited are Richard Clough Anderson, Greene Clay and John Fowler. All three were the first officers of Lexington Lodge No. 25 and each served as Master of the lodge as well. We begin to see there is more to the story when we learn that all three men were from three different parts of the state, not neighbors, but had interaction and shared different reasons for seeking a lodge in


16

Lexington aside from being brothers in the fraternity. This is not to say that their reasons were impure at all, but there is much more to this story. Anderson was a well-known military figure from the Revolutionary War and because of the many battles he took part in, was known as a walking history of the Revolutionary War. He spent the winter at Valley Forge and fought with Washington at Trenton where he was wounded. While recovering from his

wound in Princeton, he became life-long friends with Lt. James Madison, who was wounded at Trenton as well and who would become the fourth president of the United States. Anderson was taken prisoner later in the war and while in prison met the Clark brothers, and after his release, met their sister whom he married. The Clarks were siblings of General George Rogers Clark, the highest ranking military officer in the northwest during the Revolution. Anderson was also appointed by Washington as aide to General Marquis De Lafayette, with whom he became a lifelong friend as well. He was promoted to colonel by Washington at Yorktown where he witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis. In 1784, he migrated to Kentucky, where he soon acquired a 500 acre plantation in Jefferson County (Louisville).

His mansion, which he called Soldiers Retreat, became famous for its hospitality. Andrew Jackson, Aaron Burr and James Madison were

among his celebrity guests at the plantation. He accompanied Lafayette throughout Kentucky when the Marquis returned for his triumphant tour of the nation in 1824-5. Anderson County, Kentucky is named in his honor. Among his sons was Major Robert Anderson, who was in command and later surrendered Fort Sumter when the Confederates opened fire on it. Greene Clay was a United States politician and a soldier in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He did not live in Lexington and the majority of his later massive land holdings were in current day Madison County. Following his service in the Continental Army during the Revolution, he moved to Kentucky at age 23 where he became a surveyor. After several shrewd land acquisitions, he became the owner of several distilleries and a tavern, as well as many ferries across the Kentucky River. He was a member of the House of Delegates in Virginia representing the District of Kentucky and later, once Kentucky became a state, he served as Speaker of the House and later in the Senate of the Kentucky General Assembly. Later, during the War of 1812, Clay became a general in the Kentucky militia. In the spring of 1813, he was ordered to the aid of General William Henry Harrison, who was besieged by British forces at Fort Meigs, Ohio. He was able to fight his way into the fort; however, many of his men were taken prisoner by Tecumseh after they had captured a British artillery battery. When the British abandoned the siege, Clay was left in command of the fort. He was still commanding when the British returned in July 1813. In an attempt by Tecumseh to lure Clay and the garrison out of the fort, Tecumseh's warriors staged a mock battle, making it appear they were ambushing a column of American reinforcements. Clay was not fooled since he knew no reinforcements were coming. He was able to hold out until the British again retreated. After the war he returned to his plantation and spent the rest of his life farming and in politics. He is thought to have been the

Richard C. Anderson

Greene Clay


17

wealthiest man in Kentucky of his time. Greene Clay was the father of Brutus J. Clay and Cassius Marcellus Clay. He was a cousin of Henry Clay and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay. Clay County, Kentucky, was named in his honor.

John Fowler studied in the common schools and served as captain in the early Kentucky militia during the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Williamsburg Lodge No. 6. He was part of the Danville, Kentucky convention of 1787. That same year he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He was also a member of the Virginia Convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1788. Fowler began his service in the United States Congress in 1797. He was a member of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth United States Congresses. In 1777, he joined the Colonial Army as a lieutenant under the command of Captain Robert Patterson who had been a member of

the hunting party in 1775 that camped at McConnell Springs with Fowler. After the war he became a highly respected citizen and active civic

leader in the development of Lexington holding various elected and appointed positions ranging from trustee of Lexington to postmaster. He ultimately established Fowler’s Gardens on 300 hundred acres near Lexington as a recreational resort. Anderson, Clay and Fowler were far from being typical pioneers in early Kentucky. Each man was very well-known not only in the District of Kentucky, but commanded respect throughout many social, military and political circles in Virginia. John Fowler was the only man of the three who was a resident of Lexington. All three men, aside from being Freemasons, were members of the Political Club and the Kentucky Society for Promotion of Useful Knowledge. Each man served as a soldier, influential civic leader, entrepreneur, early land holder and played significant roles in the successful settling of Kentucky and took part in the state’s struggle for independence from Virginia. What better representatives of the time could have been selected to petition the Grand Lodge of Virginia to charter the first Masonic Lodge in Kentucky? While these men clearly interacted, the suggestion that establishing a Masonic lodge was theirs alone is unlikely. The events of the time offers the back-story and other factors that logically influenced seeking a charter for a Masonic lodge in Kentucky. First, there would clearly have been a void to fill since many men were Freemasons already, but had no lodge close enough to visit or attend. The developers and large land owners in Kentucky did not farm and utilize the thousands of acres they acquired. Some owned literally thousands of acres spread across the central areas of the district. The intent was to sell the land and to do that the area needed to be safe from Indians, offer at least remnants of a civilized society, commerce, opportunity to also acquire land and many other components to draw more people into the area. Communities, much less states, were developed by only offering land with no assurance of security, order, education, resources, and a social environment. Among the amenities needed to market the opportunities of settling the area was a need for churches, libraries, schools, and yes, clubs and activities and a Masonic lodge that provided men continuity in their practice of Masonry although hundreds of miles from the closest lodges in Virginia at the time. All of

John Fowler


18

these parts could not be provided at one time, and each seemed to evolve with each forward step in settling the central areas of the district. The formation of a Masonic lodge in Lexington, almost at the center of the settled district and certainly the most important settlement in Kentucky at that time was an obvious choice of location; a location where like-minded men committed to the core ideologies of the fraternity which included civic support, encouraged self-responsibility, temperance, justice, fortitude, charity and brotherly love and its fabric of morality was ideal and fit neatly into the labor of developing a large community. Just because Lexington would have a lodge did not necessarily mean men would come to or settle in the area only because of the existence of a Masonic Lodge; however it was indeed one of the critical selling points. Lexington was also the geographical center of what could be classified as the most civilized community in Kentucky at the time. To further enhance the appeal of the petition, Anderson, Clay and Fowler, although living in three distinctly different areas of Kentucky, were also ideal men to make the request. These men were already well-known and had personal relationships with men in Grand Lodge of Virginia, who were also elected officials, office holders, and businessmen and likely had other friends and family in the district. It is not known if these three men ever traveled together from Kentucky to Richmond, Virginia with the petition as the traditional story implies. Events tell us there is no reason to believe the treacherous journey in the winter of 1788 actually took place this way. Clay was already a Virginia Delegate as was Fowler. It is probable they were already in Virginia in November 1778 when the petition was presented; however there is no record that Anderson or Fowler was present in Richmond, Virginia when the petition came before the Grand Lodge. The accounts a “notably bad” winter in late 1778 and early 1779 would suggest there was not a travel party to Virginia exclusively for this purpose. When Clay presented the petition in November 17, 1778, the records of the Grand Lodge of Virginia show that it was made “on behalf of a sundry of Brethren residing in the district of Kentucky.”29 The records also show that Anderson, Clay and Fowler were specifically named as being granted permission, “along with others,” to hold a regular lodge of Freemasons at the town of Lexington, thus designating the lodge No. 25, reflecting that it was the 25th lodge chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia. In 1800, when Kentucky established Grand Lodge of Kentucky, No. 25 was designated and renamed Lexington Lodge No. 1. It would be interesting to know who the “others” were and if there was a count of the number of the men listed as “others,” but they are not known as the earliest records of the lodge were lost and some later destroyed by Union soldiers during the Civil War. 30 It is likely the names of Levi Todd, Robert Patterson, John Jordan, James Morrison, Edmund Bullock, Cuthbert Banks, Notley Conn, James Lemon, Thomas Todd, William Murray (the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky), John Bradford, John and Samuel Postlethwait, who were all leaders, soldiers and businessmen were among the many “others.” It is also likely that other men who were already Freemasons, or perhaps wanted to become Masons, who resided in the early towns of Danville, Harrodsburg, Frankfort, Louisville, Bardstown, Stanford, Georgetown, were also among the “others.”

29

Charles Snow Guthrie, Kentucky Freemasonry – 1788 to 1988, Grand Lodge of Kentucky, 1988. 30

Snow.


19

By the end of 1788, Lexington Lodge No. 25 may have held their inaugural meeting, but no record exists of when that first meeting might have been held or how often the lodge met in those early years. Anderson was named Master in 1788, followed by Clay the next year and Fowler the next. Although Anderson is listed as the first Master in 1788 and considering the charter was issued in November, then he would have been Master for only four to six weeks at best, if the duration of the term was for the 1788 calendar year. Since Greene Clay was noted as Master for 1789 and Fowler for 1790, it stands to reason the terms of the first three Masters were calendar years. The non-Masonic records that did survive in the form of newspaper articles, pamphlets and letters reveal what seems to have ben the core of the men in Central Kentucky who were respected businessmen, educators, politicians and civic leaders were or became members of the fraternity at Lexington Lodge No. 25. As communities surrounding Lexington grew in the following years, Lexington Lodge No.1 played a significant role the process of obtaining charters and participating by plural membership as well, as seen in records that do exist for lodges in Paris, Georgetown, Frankfort and Shelbyville.


20

Conclusions

s seen in the many events circumstances and men surrounding the naming of Lexington summarized

in this paper, sometimes historical accounts fall out of context, are overlooked and or vigorously debated by someone who has less correct information on which to base their positions and beliefs or not enough. It is convincingly clear today that men in that 1775 hunting party could easily have been aware of the battle at Lexington-Concord the night they camped at McConnell Springs where the name Lexington was first discussed. It’s also clear that it perhaps was not formally designated as “Lexington” until 1779, when Robert Patterson and 25 men were dispatched to establish a garrison north of the Kentucky River. The importance and role Freemasonry played in the lives of early colonialist cannot be discounted in the least. As a collective fraternity offering a bond of brotherhood, teaching tolerance, promoting self-governance, and self-responsibility, morality, and centered on civic–mindedness and communal assistance to members and nonmembers alike was hard to find in organizations outside the church. The attractiveness of an organization whose by-laws, rules and philosophical principles encouraged learning, gentlemanly behavior and a ban on discussion of politics and religion inside the lodge room was very welcome to the men of the period as it is today.

The need for such an Order in a burgeoning community as well a community that has blossomed is clear to men who understand and have practiced Masonry. The altruistic reasons for petitioning for a charter to establish a Masonic lodge cannot be understated. The “others” who promoted the idea of a lodge in Kentucky would have had those altruistic reasons, but history, when viewed in context with the times, cannot discount the ancillary motives behind the strategy of enlisting Anderson, Clay and Fowler as the three primary petitioners. All three men clearly represented the entire District of Kentucky at the time in a geographical sense. There was no reason for the Grand Lodge of Virginia not to issue a charter since all rules and formalities were met, so perhaps, the “others” were just hedging their bets to assure that these prominent men listed as the petitioners would assure a smooth authorization and lead quickly to a charter. The fact that only Greene Clay can be historically accounted for in records as actually being present at the Grand Lodge of Virginia on November 17, 1778 also suggests the weight of the names and reputations of Anderson and Fowler and that they did not make the journey as the traditional tale leads one to believe. There are no records of lodge meetings in Lexington where Anderson attended or participated in lodge years after his year as Master in 1788. Although those records are lost to history, there’s no reference later other than the historical account of him being the first Master. Anderson lived in Jefferson County and travel between Lexington and Louisville was still

A


21

a difficult journey in those years. He may of course have chosen to visit or attend the Shelbyville, Kentucky lodge since it was closer to his home, although that lodge was not chartered until years later. The same applies to Greene Clay who, at the time lived 45 mile east of Lexington, however there was no other lodge for Clay to attend in that period. Record reflects however, that Fowler remained quite engaged with Lexington Lodge No. 25 long after his year as Master in 1790. By what accounts survived in newspapers, letters and pamphlets, all indications suggests there were between twenty-nine and as many as fifty members of the lodge in Lexington by 1795, although Masonic records are unable to confirm an exact number. By all comparative membership standards, this heralded a successful lodge. Considering the chartering of four additional lodges in towns near Lexington within a four year period, it was clear there were many men who wished to attend lodge closer to their homes and Freemasonry was indeed attracting new members. This too suggests those four other communities perhaps employed the same community-building ideas as Lexington by seeking a lodge of their own. Historians agree that being a Freemason in that era and years leading up to the Morgan Affair in 1824, offered a particular prestige to its members. Although discouraged, the fraternity became fashionable in the sense of businessmen networking and politicians politicking. Nonetheless, there have been thousands of men since 1788 who did not network or politic. These are the men, too, that should be remembered although their names are not particularly noted in history books. These are the men who served to pass on Masonry and its principles to later generations;

men whose participation in the only labor of this fraternity made them better men, who in turn strove to example Masonry’s teaching to their families, friends, neighbors, and their community. Prior to the Civil War, Lexington was home to six charted Masonic lodges all located within the county of Fayette. Several were created to ease the travel to lodge and some were established to expand membership. Lexington Lodge No. 1 continued to be what has been called the mother-lodge of Masonry in Kentucky by virtue of being the first chartered lodge. Its membership throughout the 1800s and well into the 1900s contains the names of some men who are easily recognized in Kentucky and national history.

In the end when history is examined in context with the times and facts are gathered for a non-romantic examination, it is clear that the Masons in Kentucky without a lodge to attend, the Political Club and the Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge, indeed played a key, albeit behind the scenes role, leading to the chartering of Lexington Lodge No. 25 in 1788. Also conspicuous, was the strategy used by town leaders and those “others” noted in the petition to the Grand lodge of Virginia to bring the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity and all its prestige and teachings to Lexington as one of many spokes on the wheel which was necessary to more firmly establish and advance the characterization of a true community.


22

Postscript New Information – June 2013

While this essay offers new findings altering the long held and widely accepted traditional account of how and why Lexington became the location for the first Masonic lodge in Kentucky, it is still not the end of the full story. History doesn’t change. Facts about what occurred in the past are enduring. How we interpret those facts, however, changes history. When we discover lost information or facts that were overlooked, unknown or misinterpreted when history was written and recorded, we learn more than just a few new facts. We gain insight into how previous historians and writers interpreted our history in context with their times. This essay serves as an example of how history continues to evolve. It is the first in-depth examination since 1950 of the times, men, events, and circumstances that led to the formation of the first Masonic lodge in Kentucky. This study, contrasted to those of the past, offers context. It is context that led to the discovery of additional information since this essay was first written that again alters the history of why and even who was involved in founding Kentucky’s first Masonic lodge. This newly discovered information requires an addendum to this essay to assure future generations of Masons or those who are interest in this topic may continue to view and study the rich history of Freemasonry in Kentucky in even more complete context.

The Enigmatic Life of Major John Belli

nterestingly, while J. W. Norwood wrote a concise history of Lexington Lodge No. 1 in 1913, he did not elaborate in detail on information he began to learn about in 1909 concerning a man

who may have indeed been the true cause of the first Masonic lodge to be established in Kentucky. 31 Only speculation can answer why Norwood did not address that information; one consideration is that he did not clearly see the link and since this man did not remain in Kentucky long, perhaps he considered him little more than a footnote. Regardless, he did write a fifty-four paragraph story about Belli that appeared in a Lexington newspaper in 1913. Major John Belli was certainly more than a footnote to Kentucky Masonic history and certainly more to the history of the state. While there is not much written about Belli, enough exists to determine his

31

Concise history of Lexington Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M., November 17, 1788-1913: showing, without rhetorical fog, the spirit of the work in Lexington for the past century and a quarter, published by order and authority of the Lodge. Author: J.W. Norwood, Chair, Education Committee, 1913.

I


23

prominent role as one of the early builders of Kentucky. Making researching Belli difficult: he lived up to his reputation as a “man of mystery.” 32 His meteoric rise in business and association with influential and powerful men almost immediately upon his arrival in America launches the mystery. The role he played in events leading up to the Battle of Fallen Timbers in in 1794 is well documented today. His contribution to and in early Kentucky politics is clear, but his purpose for doing so suggests more intrigue. The fact that he was a Freemason his membership in the fraternity seems to have played a later role too in not only early state politics, but chartering of the first lodge in Kentucky add to his mysterious reputation. Four years after Kentucky became a state Belli left and settled in Ohio where he lived until his death. Today he is credited as a founder of the Ohio towns of Portsmith and Alexandria in Scioto County. He died in 1809. In 1909, his remains were re-interred during a Masonic funeral. His community also provided what was referred to as a “stately funeral” since he was recognized as the founder of Portsmith. Masonic historian, J. W. Norwood was a speaker at this re-internment and it is likely at this time is when he first became aware of Belli’s role not only in Kentucky’s early development, but learning that Belli was a Mason and member of Kentucky’s first Masonic lodge. Although Norwood wrote that Belli served as a lieutenant in the American Revolution, he did not. He was born in England to French and Dutch parents, but became a Dutch citizen at the behest of his mother. He spent 1781-83 in France. He immigrated to the United States in 1783 and resided in Alexandria, Virginia where he became a successful merchant (specific trade unknown), and he was soon naturalized a citizen. Belli then held the distinction of being a citizen of England by birth, Holland at the request of his parents and the United States by his own choice. 33 Although a foreigner, he became quickly acquainted with George Washington, Henry Knox, one of Washington most trusted war generals and Secretary of War, as well as Founding Father and later Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Jay. History does not tell us precisely how he became acquainted with these prominent Americans, but it is reasonable to accept that his mercantile business may have brought him to their attention; a business that also seemed to suddenly grow despite wartime shortages. When he arrived in America, he brought with him from France letters of introduction written to Washington and others in the Continental Army by other Americans of prominence in Europe which may, of course, opened doors. 34 It is not known for sure when or where Belli first became a Freemason. It is possible he was initiated and raised in Europe. Norwood implies in his writings that since Belli lived in Alexandria, Virginia, he may have been a member of or visited that lodge; the same lodge where Washington was a member and served as Master, perhaps further accounting for his early association with many prominent men in that area. In October 1785, only a few years after Belli’s arrival in America, Washington and Knox enlisted him to undertake what was described as a “confidential mission” to Kentucky and the Northwest Territory. Washington commissioned him Deputy Quartermaster in the newly established army known as “The

32

J.W. Norwood, The Mystery of Major John Belli, Lexington Herald, Sunday, V. 43, Issue 257, Section 4, Page 4,m September 14, 1913 33

The Old Northwest Genealogical Society, Cincinnati History Library and Archives Cincinnati Museum, Center, Columbus, Ohio, 1898. 34

Norwood.


24

Legion” under the command of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne. It is not known what happened to Belli’s thriving mercantile business, but it is known he accepted the confidential mission and left Virginia. In the mid-1780s, the Western Indian Confederacy began a series of raids south of the Ohio into Kentucky, where Belli was headed, to discourage settlement. Leaders in Kentucky, still a county in Virginia, realized that without becoming a state they could not call out militia to engage the Indians without violating Virginia law. Talk had already turned to considering an alliance with Spain, who at the time held lands along the Ohio and Mississippi River, and separating from the colonies altogether. The importance of Kentucky land and the Ohio River and Mississippi to the United States was clear, but Washington was unable to address the problem immediately or without proper forces and supplies.

Washington recalled Wayne from civilian life following his service in the Revolutionary War to plan and lead a military expedition in the Northwest Indian War. Military attention during the revolution largely overlooked, the west leaving disaster for the United States despite the bold efforts of General George Rogers Clark, a Freemason, to defend the frontier while the Revolutionary War was ongoing. Many American Indians in the Northwest Territory had sided with the British in the Revolutionary War, but the 1783 Treaty of Paris the British ceded western lands to the United States. The Indians, however, had not been consulted and resisted annexation of the area by the United States. The Western Indian Confederacy achieved major victories in 1790 and 1791 under the leadership of Blue Jacket of the Shawnees and Little

Turtle of the Miami tribes. They were encouraged and supplied by the British, who also refused to evacuate British fortifications in the region as

called for in the Treaty of Paris. Belli was known not only as a successful merchant in Virginia, but an astute organizer with an ability to amass an inventory of goods in demand – even during wartime. With a cash advance of ten-thousand dollars from General Wayne upon his arrival to Kentucky, he began acquiring large herds of cattle, tents, entrenching tools, hospital ordinance, clothing and other essential supplies from various sources along with remnants of supplies and combining those with remnants from storehouses at partially occupied forts along the route to and in Kentucky. The process seemed to take years since the Wayne’s campaign did not start until the early 1790s, which begs the question of what else was Belli’s confidential mission to accomplish? In the end, his inventory served as the primary supplies provisioning General Wayne’s army on what had is now known to have been a secret plan to train forces for a ten week campaign against the Indians in the Ohio Valley. In essence, Belli had served as a military contractor engaged to, locate, organize, acquire and store provisions, build roads and arrange transportation for the upcoming campaign that was anticipated to end the hostilities and lead to a permanent treaty.


25

In mid-1794, supplied by Belli’s effort to also assure there were a series of forts built to protect supply line, General Wayne, mounted an assault on the Indian confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in modern Maumee, Ohio (just south of present-day Toledo). The battle, a decisive victory for the United States, ended the war. In the time between Belli’s arrival in Kentucky and the Battle of Fallen Timbers, many of the provisions Belli acquisitioned were devoted to supplying Kentucky militia and what few federal forces were in the Northwest to continue to ward off Indian attacks. This interim period of militia being sufficiently provisioned may have also influenced Spain’s decision not the encroach any further than their current positions along the Mississippi, thus preventing larger war the United States could not afford to engage in at that time. Also, those years became the period in which Kentucky politics and many influential men who would later become prominent elected officials in Kentucky, began to take form. Ten conventions were held calling for statehood occurred. The first Masonic lodge was established and in 1788 and Kentucky became the 15th state admitted to the Union. Belli was involved in each of those events, although the true extent and exact nature of his involved is not well documented, which adds to the mystery surrounding his life. The Battle of Fallen Timbers began with an ambush of mounted Kentucky militia by a large confederated force of Indians. The battle, which covered an area of two to four square miles, lasted for approximately two hours involving about 3,000 individuals. Volunteer militias from several states made up a large portion of Wayne’s Legion. Many men of the Kentucky Militia were encouraged to enlist by Belli, who as both the quartermaster for Wayne’s Legion and the paymaster. By the mid-1790s, the threat of Indians diminished significantly as a direct result of Wayne’s campaign. In the years preceding the battle, Belli became one of the founding members of “The Political Club” (see page 12 of this essay). He, along with Judge Harry Innes and John Brown, wrote the club’s constitution and by-laws. As previously noted, most members of the Political Club later became political leaders in Kentucky and many of those members were Freemasons. Belli again appears in records of the “Kentucky Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge,” a group influenced by Freemasonry, which adopted by-laws and standards similar to the Craft. Kentucky’s first governor, Isaac Shelby is credited with founding the group, and Shelby was closely associated with Belli. Both the Political Club and Society proved to be training grounds for many later Kentucky politicians in all branches of government. This ongoing influence of these two groups contributed the political

Battle of Fallen Timbers


26

debates throughout the ten constitutional conventions held in Danville that ultimately led to statehood, forming many long-lasting alliances, both personal and political. Although no records exist of Belli’s affiliation with Freemasonry prior to 1788, Norwood believed Belli was a Freemason before he arrived in Kentucky. When Lexington Lodge No. 25 was chartered in 1788, Norwood discovered that Belli was a “charter member” of that lodge. Documentation supporting this discovery was provided to Norwood by Belli’s family in 1909 when Norwood spoke at Belli’s re-internment. Additional documents from Belli’s family also disclosed that Belli was primarily responsible for initiating the idea of a petition to establish a regular lodge in Lexington, and then coordinating the effort to do make that petition to the Grand Lodge of Virginia. There were numerous men in Kentucky from states where Freemasonry had already been established and where they had become members. With no regularly chartered lodge for these men to attend or through which to initiate petitioners who wished to become Freemasons, it appears “The Political Club” and “Society for the Advancement of Improved Knowledge “served also as surrogates for Masons and non-Masons alike who sought the fraternity that comes when men meet on the level. Both groups had conspicuous Masonic overtones and today might be thought of as forerunners to a regularly chartered Masonic lodge in Kentucky. Norwood implies that while there were several logical reasons to establish a lodge in Kentucky (i.e., travel distance to Virginia to attend lodge) it was also politically advantageous at the time to do all that could be done to continue Kentucky’s link to Virginia and to help keep men loyal to the government at the time. His writing falls short of suggesting that Washington, or other prominent Freemasons in the seat of government in Virginia, encouraged Belli, who remained Washington’s “agent,” to initiate this possible strategy. Freemasonry, being seen then and today as an institution that brings and helps keep men together, may indeed have been a partial motive in those politically perilous times when Spain was a major concern. Belli was not the only man in Kentucky who knew Washington, of course. The first three Masters of Lexington Lodge No. 25 knew Washington. Richard C. Anderson; the first Master fought at Trenton and spent the winter with Washington at Valley Forge. But as Norwood points out, none of the other Kentuckians who knew Washington had been chosen for confidential missions in Kentucky like Belli. So, is Belli, who obviously continued in service as a spy for Washington before and after the Battle of Fallen Timbers, responsible for Lexington becoming the home of the first regularly chartered Masonic lodge? Yes, that could be the case. But without more records of those early days, it is doubt if there will additional evidence of such. Interestingly, Norwood’s research notes and items he received from the Belli family have not been found. But, it took 100 years to rediscover his 1913 history of the lodge and for Belli to even come to light, so perhaps in the future more records will be found to further explain the mysteries surrounding the life of Major Belli. Belli demitted from Lexington Lodge No. 25 in 1796 – the same year he moved to Ohio. Just as he arrived in Kentucky with little fanfare, Belli left Kentucky the same way. The time he spent in the state, however, under confidential orders from Washington and Knox resulted in:


27

A supply of provisions to support militia in Kentucky before Wayne’s successful campaign in 1794;

a well-provisioned army with dependable supply lines required by Wayne to defeat the Indian Confederacy;

a mustering of a large militia force from Kentucky to join General Wayne’s Legion;

an immersion in the foundation and thinking of Kentucky political groups that would lead to statehood; and,

the formation of the first regular Masonic lodge in Kentucky.

Belli’s Continued Stay in Kentucky: Another Back-Story

s if Belli’s known involvement in the preceding events was not enough to merit more than a footnote in history, one has to consider yet another role he may have played in his confidential service to Washington and Knox. Belli did not resign his commission from Washington given to

him by Washington and leave the army until almost two years after Kentucky gained statehood 1792. His original confidential mission was long over, so the question arises as to whether or not there was a specific reason why Belli remained in Kentucky and if so, was it at the direction of Washington and/or Knox?

To explore that question it is necessary to understand the context in which Belli may have been useful to Washington and Knox to remain in Kentucky before and after the Battle of Fallen Timbers. One clear reason may have been General James Wilkinson and the concerns he presented to Washington, and others. Washington’s concern was not about Kentucky becoming a state, but the fact that Wilkinson was influential in Kentucky at the time and his reputation with Washington and others was already tenuous. Commissioned a captain in the early days of the Continental Army, James Wilkinson served in the siege of Boston and then with Benedict Arnold in Montreal. In early 1776, he was an aide to General Horatio Gates and later became involved in the failed

Conway cabal, an attempt to have Congress replace Washington during the Revolutionary War with General Gates. He later served as clothier general of the Army until minor scandals forced his resignation. In 1782 he joined the Pennsylvania militia as a brigadier general, and then moved to Kentucky and urging separation from Virginia. Wilkinson returned to active duty in the army as a lieutenant colonel in 1791 and rose to the rank of brigadier general serving under Major General Anthony Wayne at the battle of Fallen Timbers. His service under Wayne brought him into contact and association with John Belli. Wilkinson, always a controversial figure, was vain, flamboyant, and widely criticized for his selfishness and his lack of moral character. Throughout most of his army career he remained a paid secret agent of the Spanish government, a devious, untrustworthy, and corrupt man who, far from endeavoring to

A

General James Wilkinson


28

preserve the Union, threatened several times to break it up.35 Once in Kentucky he owned and operated a clothier business in Frankfort, and soon became involved in continuous and deepening controversy as he engaged in a series of intrigues with the Spanish authorities in New Orleans. His scheming was motivated mostly by his never-ending quest for financial gain and his compulsion to fashion roles of importance for himself.36 One account that offers an example of Wilkinson’s skill in facing controversy and still coming out ahead was his several hour long heated confrontation with a man to whom he was in debt in the amount of $500. At the end of the confrontation, the man loaned Wilkinson yet another $500. Wilkinson’s entire career seemed to bear the similar results, as he was often named in scandals and shadowy deals. He was not convicted in the one court martial during his career or brought down by his involvement 1807 Aaron Burr conspiracy or even the later discovery that he had actually been a paid secret agent, known as “Agent 13,” of the Spanish government during and the years following the Revolutionary War. In the midst of all the intrigue, Wilkinson publically supported the call for independence of Kentucky from Virginia. Although Washington allowed Wilkinson to continue his service in the army, it was more likely for the purpose of keeping a close eye on his activities than for his quality as a soldier.37 Wilkinson was an active participant in the third and fourth conventions in Danville calling for statehood, but in 1787 he openly called for an alliance with Spain and separation from the United States. By the seventh convention, Wilkinson’s position had been well received by frustrated Kentuckians, he was elected chair of the convention. In search of support for his potion, he proposed that Kentucky draft a constitution, declare independence from Virginia, and organize a government. If terms were satisfactory, Kentucky “might” join the Union, and if not, then Spain awaited. 38 Wilkinson’s proposal, at least partially, would open river trade on the Mississippi, but would also grant him a personal monopoly in that trade due to his behind-the-scenes dealings with the Spanish government. Wilkinson’s plan failed at the seventh convention and ultimately brought the demise of the Spanish faction he created. One reason for the loss of support was the leadership of John Brown, a highly respected lawyer, businessman, member of the Virginia legislature (later a U.S. Senator from Kentucky) who strongly opposed Wilkinson’s plan. John Belli and John Brown were close allies and associates as well and had shared membership and early duties in “The Political Club” and the “Society for the Advancement of Useful Knowledge.” During that period it was unclear where Belli stood in the controversies since he did not participate in later conventions for unknown reasons. It is clear, however, that while quietly associating with Wilkinson, his complete loyalty was with Brown in support of his efforts to defeat Wilkinson’s proposal and assure Kentucky would become a state with no ties to Spain. Although no firm evidence exists that Belli was ordered by Washington or Know to spy on Wilkinson it is quite doubtful if there would be such evidence if that had, in fact, occurred. The circumstances of Belli’s secretive arrival in Kentucky, his behind-the-scenes role in mustering troops and supplies and then, instead of returning to his lucrative Virginia business, remained in Kentucky through its early formative years to statehood, does suggest more. His almost immediate close association with prominent

35

Andro Linklater, An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., 2010. 36

Thomas R. Hay and M. R. Werner, The Admirable Trumpeter: A Biography of General James Wilkinson, Collins, New York, 1941. 37

Ibid. 38

Lowell H. Harrison, Kentucky's Road to Statehood, Lexington, The University Press of Kentucky, 1992.


29

Freemasons, members of the Danville Conventions and various other political leaders of the time (a flair he seemed to practice successfully since his arrival in America) today paints a likely portrait of a man who was, indeed, an effective emissary for Washington. Around 1796, the lure of available land in the Ohio Valley area led Belli to move from Lexington become founder of two towns in Scioto County and later serving as a magistrate in that county. As might be imagined, Belli quickly became closely associated with many prominent Ohio leaders and politicians of the era. Never returning to Kentucky, he died in 1809 on his thousand acre estate near Portsmith. History may fall short of directly identifying Belli as a spy for Washington or Knox beyond his original confidential mission to Kentucky; although the circumstance surrounding all that occurred during Belli’s time in Kentucky suggests this to be the case.

__________________________

EPILOGUE

nowing only that events occurred in history is like being a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.

There are no short answers to questions about events in history if one strives to better understand the ‘big picture.” Knowing, for example, that wars were fought, public scandals took place, great inventions were made or new territories were explored is merely possessing an awareness of events and have little to do with understanding the reasons why or even how they these events came about. History is never uncomplicated. This is perhaps a reason so much of it is either misunderstood, frequently misinterpreted and often revised by those who are aware of only events and do not take the time to explore how events as well as those which occurred both previously and

subsequently, affected the history of those events. There’s always more to any story no matter how complete it may seem at any specific time. Norwood’s 1913 history of Masonry in Kentucky, along with Coleman’s and Guthrie’s accounts, serve as examples. This essay is an example too; there are still many questions to be asked and explored. The history of everything, not just how Freemasonry came to Kentucky, should continuously evolve. New information surfaces from time to time and our ability to connect new information to the old helps us recalibrate facts and historical details into perspective and context. Doing so advances our understanding of why many events may have turned as they did, and how they affected the present.

K

how freemasonry came to kentucky: the...

Documents