Operative to Speculative An Evolution of Freemasonry From Ancient to Modern Times Copyright © 2011 by RWB Wesley F Revels

asons, historians and theological critics alike wrestle with the question how Masonry as we know it today came into being. Mackey’s

Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, describes a group called “Culdees”, Christian priests distinguished for their pure and simple apostolic religion. The Culdees trace their traditions and teachings long before Abraham the first Patriarch of Israel, and Pythagoras of Samos, but in the current Age originating when Joseph of Arimathea and the Apostle John traveled to Britain from Israel around A.D. 63, and there introduced Christianity to the Gaelic speaking people. The word Culdee is an Anglicization of the word "Céili Dé" meaning, client/companion of God. To the Céili Dé, the Christ path is rooted in a contemplative search for the Divine Reality Within, with deep reverence for the creations of God, leading toward Christ Consciousness fulfilled in unconditional love. In A.D. 546 St. Columba, an ordained Culdee Priest founded with a college or fraternity of Operative Masons, an abbey at Derry Ireland. Seventeen years later in 563 he with 12 Brethren called the Apostles of Ireland, founded a monastery at the Isle of Iona in Scotland. Both the abbey and monastery exist to this day. The Royal Order of Scotland (ROS), a Masonic order from Iona is its descendant and Freemasonry as we know it today from the Grand Lodge of England descended from the Royal Order of Scotland. The earliest Lodge of which can be found at Edinburgh, Scotland, Edinburgh Masonic Lodge No.1, the oldest surviving Masonic minutes there being recorded in the year July 1st A.D. 1599. The two patron saints of the Culdees are Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Divine. Saint John the Baptist was primarily known as the person who conducted the initiation ceremony of Baptism to new Christians. Saint John the Divine was the person who declared Jesus The Christ, the “Logos” or “Word” which is found in KJVJohn 1:1-9:

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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men

through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” An early account of Hiram Abiff and the building of King Solomon's Temple, the archetype for building the Spiritual Temple of man, is found in the writing of 4th century Christian Mystic, John Cassian. In his 11th book "The Conferences" he writes in detail about symbolism in the 3 Degrees of monks. Throughout the Ages, Masonry has professed two sciences, one being Speculative or Symbolic and the other being Operative. The path here described being Speculative, fore it would not be possible to write at any reasonable length a description of them together although both Operative and Speculative being intertwined throughout history in the "Old Charges" of Operative Freemasonry. Reference to Operative guilds in antiquity are found in the Holy Bible. In Mark 6:3 we find, "Is not this the [Tekton], the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" The English word "carpenter" in Hebrew is Tekton meaning construction worker or stone cutter. Justin Martyr, A.D.165, wrote that Jesus made yokes and ploughs. This verse also clearly refers to the family of Jesus. In 2 Samuel:5-11, "Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys [Masons] to King David to build him a palace." 1 Kings 5:17,18 & 6:1-38. 1 Kings 7:1-51, Also Amos:7-7. "Thus he shewed me. And the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand...". The histories of the old and new charges of Masonry evolve through the teachings that include King Solomon and Prophets of the Old Testament, The Christ Jesus, his family and Disciples, Euclid and Pythagoras, and the ancient philosophies of Egypt, Persia and India. Indeed Masonry spans the entire evolution of human culture. But with the Industrial Age superstructures were now made of iron rather than stone and Operative Masonry fell into decline, and officially came to a close by edict during the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral at London in A.D. 1703 when Christopher Wren, then Grand Master resolved, "That the privileges of Masonry shall no longer be confined to Operative Masons, but be free to men of

all professions, provided they are regularly approved and initiated into the Fraternity." The Edict was instituted four years later in 1721. Manuscripts of Operative Masonic Fraternities are mentioned throughout antiquity. Surviving documents resembling what we recognize today as Speculative

Craft Masonry in Britain include among others the Regius Manuscript dating to not before A.D. 1390 and the Matthew Cooke M.S. dating not later than the fifteenth century current era. Both the Regius and Matthew Cooke Manuscripts are prototypes of Masonic Ritual recognized today. Written in poetic form, they are Codes of Moral Duties, using Euclid and Geometry in symbol, presenting the Points and Articles for the well governed Rule of a Heavenly School in the guise of a Philosophic Trade Guild on Earth. In A.D. 1717, in London, after the suppression of the

first Jacobite uprising, with the resolution declared by Christopher Wren, four Old Lodges met to reestablish Freemasonry under new Charters. The Goose and Gridiron Ale-house, Crown Ale-house in Parker's Lane, Apple Tree Tavern and Rummer and Grapes Tavern, with Lodges meeting at the Apple Tree Tavern forming a Grand Lodge. "Some old Brothers met at the Apple-Tree, and having put into the Chair the oldest Master Mason, constituted themselves a Grand Lodge pro Tempore and forthwith revived the Quarterly Communication of the Officers of Grand Lodges, resolved to hold the Annual Assembly and Feast, and then to choose a Grand Master from among themselves, till they should have the Honor of a Noble Brother at their Head." In 1721, George Payne, being the current Grand Master, compiled from ancient charter documents a series of charges and regulations based on the "Charter of York", a constitution written previously in A.D. 926 by Edwin, the grandson of Alfred the Great, and Grand Master of the fraternity prefaced with a history saved from the fires and pillage of the invading Danes of Scandinavia. Payne submitted his document to a committee of 14 containing the body of law and doctrine for use in Lodges of England. Dr. James Anderson a Presbyterian, (at right) born in Aberdeen, having a Master's in the liberal Arts at Marischal College, under the direction of the committee wrote "Anderson's Constitutions", and included a telling of the legendary history of the Old Charges of Masonry.

It is important to note that Operative Masonry developed over the globe throughout the millennia of time, separating Itself from religion and politics. The New Charges making Freemasonry more accessible to the masses however brought new challenges to the fraternity. As with any human endeavor to exemplify the supreme perfection of our Creator, there also is the corruption of humanity's failing when individuals or groups develop oligarchies to elevate their egos or control humanity under the cover of politics and religion. May we ever remember that Freemasonry's Moral Tenets have always been Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. "It may be said that Truth is the Column of Wisdom, whose rays penetrate and enlighten the inmost recesses of the Lodge of society; Brotherly Love, the column of strength, which binds us as one family in fraternal affection in the world; and Relief, the column of Beauty, whose ornaments, more precious than the lilies or pomegranates that adorn the pillars of the porch, are the widows tear of joy and the orphan's prayer of gratitude." It is the interior and not the exterior quality that is important to Freemasons.

St. Joseph Lodge No.78, Chartered October 14th 1846

An Artist's view of St. Joseph in 1858 looking across St. Michael's Meadow Northwest toward Wyeth Hill, the Missouri River and site of the Court House built in 1871.

By the late 1720s in the newly formed colonies of America several Masonic gatherings were reported in newspapers at Boston Massachusetts. And Ben

Franklin's newspaper "The Pennsylvania Gazette" he not yet being a Freemason, reported meetings of St. John's Lodge, meeting at the Tun Tavern whose records begin in 1731. On July 30th 1733, after Viscount Montague, issued a deputation appointing Brother Henry Price, Provincial Grand Master of New England, a Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston Massachusetts was formed thus beginning the building of Free and Accepted Masonic Lodges in Colonial America. The Constitution of the United States was only 58 years of age and the Missouri Territory was only 44 years of age when a petition for the Dispensation to create the first Masonic Lodge in Buchanan County was applied through Liberty Lodge No.31, Missouri, issued May 11th 1841 by R.W.B. Joseph Foster Deputy Grand Master, Secretary Protem, Grand Lodge of Missouri U.S.A., named Katzell Lodge located in the village of Sparta. Eli Hubbel was elected to be the first Worshipful Master of Katzell Lodge with John Browning, Senior Warden; Simeon Kemper, Junior Warden; R. Duncan, Treasurer; Frederick Waymore, Secretary; and J. Selsil, Tiler. James Highly was also a charter member . Eli Hubbel was originally a member of Wisdom Lodge located in Massachusetts, John Browning from Liberty Lodge No.31 Missouri, Simeon Kemper from Montgomery Lodge No.23 Kentucky, Frederick Waymore from Lipton Lodge No.33 Indiana. Also chartered with this first Dispensation were John Edgar from Liberty Lodge No.31, Cornelius Gilliam from the Lodge at Jefferson City, Missouri and S.K. Waymore from Lipton Lodge No.33 in Indiana. Katzell Lodge, met in regular stated communications until a Charter was issued as Sparta Lodge No.46 by the next annual Grand Lodge proceedings October 8th 1842. The following account can be found in the book "Old Saint Jo, Gateway To The West" by Sheridan A. Logan, ©1979 John Sublett Logan Foundation: In 1827, there was a Trading Post along the Missouri River at the mouth of Blacksnake Creek, owned and operated by Joseph Robidoux, who traded with most all Native Americans in the region including the Pottawatomi, Musquakee, Kickapoo, Iowa and Otto. Robidoux made an arrangement with the American Fur Company a few years before to operate a business called Blacksnake Hills, and for many years Robidoux was the only evidence of European settlement as far North as Council Bluffs, Iowa and South to Independence, Missouri. With a large log house surrounded by a stockade built by Robidoux himself he conducted his business. The journal of Richard Hayes McDonald from Kentucky wrote a description at the time. The journal is now deposited in the Library of the Commonwealth of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia: "From his cousin's, Richard went to where the city of St. Joseph is now located, and where the only occupant

and owner of a business house was a Frenchman named Robadoux [sic], (pictured below) who had lived there a number of years as an Indian trader, and who was at that time still engaged in the occupation. He was moving around dressed in an old, red flannel shirt, his trousers strapped around his waist, on his head a slouched hat, and so tanned and weather-beaten that is was difficult to tell whether he was a white man, a mulatto, or an Indian. His establishment consisted of three log-cabins, one or more of which were filled with furs of otter, beaver, buffalo, deer,

bear, and other skins; in the other buildings were stored provisions, trinkets, and supplies for the Indians, the latter chiefly in whiskey, tobacco, and liquors. The old man seemed to be a very energetic, enterprising, shrewd business manager. He was familiar with several dialects of Indian language, and was highly respected by all the natives who dealt with him...', 'From this trading outpost grew the city of St. Joseph, in many respects, perhaps, the most promising city west of St. Louis and this side of the Rocky Mountains." In 1843 Robidoux contracted two surveyors to create plats for a town he had proposed to build next to his

outpost in the area named Saint Michael's Meadow. This area was mentioned by Meriwether Louis, in his journal on July 7th in the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804. Brothers Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper, both members of Sparta Lodge No.46 surveyed plats for the settlement. Brother Frederick W. Smith named his plat Saint Joseph after Mr. Robidoux's Patron Saint and Simeon Kemper named his plat Robidoux. Frederick Smith's plat was selected and was

recorded at St. Louis, Missouri in July 1843. The population at that time was about 200. By 1845 St. Joseph was called “Queen of the Riverboat Towns” North of St. Louis and a Dispensation was created the same year for a new Lodge to be built on ground donated by Robidoux called DeWitt Lodge. The Dispensation was recommended by Savannah Lodge No.71, located North in Andrew County that is still active today. In 1846 the County Seat for Buchanan County was relocated from Sparta to Saint Joseph and a Charter was

granted at the Grand Lodge Annual Communication for St. Joseph Lodge No.78 October 14th 1846. Sinclair K. Miller (at left) its first Worshipful Master; Simeon Kemper, Senior Warden and James Highley, Junior Warden. Within the first year Samuel E. Love would be the Lodge's first Secretary. Although Joseph

Robidoux was not known to be a Freemason, one of his six sons Felix was a charter member of St. Joseph's first Masonic Lodge. William R. Penick, (shown at left) Worshipful Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.78 in 1858, was the 21st Grand Master of Missouri in 1861. 1861 is known as the year of the “Rebellion”, and the beginning of the Civil War. From the first Post Office, the Pony Express carried President Lincoln’s Inaugural Address west to Sacramento, CA., and Confederate and Union men,

some of whom were Masonic brethren, battled in the streets of St. Joseph and citizens watched as the American Flag was torn from the Post Office flag pole by an angry mob. R.W.B. Penick entered the Union Army in 1862 as a Colonel in the 2nd Regiment, Missouri Militia and wrote his address to the Annual Grand Lodge Communication from the field. Such is a history of Masonry and its travel to the town of St. Joseph, Missouri in the United States of America. Freemasons, some

being from the same Lodges separated to both sides of the fence during the American Civil War. One such Brother was RWB William H. Carpenter. Brother Carpenter enlisted in the Confederate army at the outbreak of the war and enlisted in Company H. First Missouri Cavalry under Col. Elijah Gates. Carpenter participated in the battle of Pea Ridge, Ark. and after returning the next year

engaged in battle at Baker's Creek, Champion Hill and Black River, and was engaged in the siege of Vicksburg and the battle of Kenesaw Mountain where General Polk was killed. At the battle of Franklin he was wounded with grapeshot and recovered in a hospital as a prisoner for six months. His regiment surrendered in April 1865. William H. Carpenter At left, served as Worshipful Master at St. Joseph Lodge No.78 in 1886. In 1891 he was a member of a Knights Templar excursion party which visited important places in Germany, Australia, Italy, Switzerland,

France, England and Wales. Upon his passing in March 1916, WB Carpenter was permanently interred at Mount Mora cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri.