MASONIC LODGE

Masonic token; Photo courtesy: Joe Jacobsmeier

Dubuque Keystone Royal Arch Mason token Dubuque Chapter No. 3 organized July 18, 1842 prior to Iowa becoming a state.

Masonic token; Photo courtesy: Joe Jacobsmeier

Masonic token; Photo courtesy: Joe Jacobsmeier

125 year commemorative token (obserse).

Masonic token (reverse)

MASONIC LODGE. The first meeting to consider organizing a Masonic Lodge in Dubuque was held on July 18, 1842 in the SHAKESPEARE HALL. Those in attendance were James Smith, a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire; Timothy Fanning; Narcissus Nadeau, George W. Cummings; Timothy MASON; Samuel Biggen; Benjamin F. Davis; and Elisha Deville. These men prepared and signed a petition to organize a Masonic Lodge and forwarded the document to Most Worshipful J.H. McBride, Grand Master of Freemasons in Missouri. (1)

On October 10, 1842 the request for the first Masonic Lodge in Dubuque was granted by the Grand Lodge of Missouri. Timothy Fanning was named the first Worshipful Master. (2)

The newly organized Dubuque Lodge made their temporary quarters at the Shakespeare Hall (512 Main Street) and then took up a more permanent location over the drug store of Timothy Mason, a member of the order (between 3rd and 4th STREETS on the west side of Main. The lodge then moved to a new building erected by Emerson and Shields on the northwest corner of 4th and Main.

The Dubuque Lodge received its charter on October 10, 1843. It was named Dubuque Lodge, No. 62, Grand Lodge of Missouri. Officers were installed on November 16, 1843 at the Jefferson Hotel.

On November 21, 1843 a communication was read from Iowa Lodge No. 42 announcing a convention in Iowa City on January 2, 1844 to organize a Grand Lodge for the Territory of Iowa. Timothy Fanning, George W. Cummins, and Thomas S. WILSON were appointed delegates. The Grand Lodge was established at this meeting by the first four Masonic Lodges in the Territory of Iowa--Burlington, Bloomington (later Muscatine), Dubuque, and Iowa City. With the formation of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, the Dubuque Lodge No. 62 became Dubuque Lodge No. 3 A.F.& A.M., the name it continued to carry.

Masonic Penny

Dubuque Lodge No. 3 had many distinctions. It was the first and oldest Masonic Lodge in Dubuque. It was also the first to make a foreigner to be naturalized west of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER and north of the Missouri River a Mason. Alexander LEVI was a member for over fifty years.

In 1848 Dubuque hosted the Grand Lodge of Iowa comprising sixteen lodges. The meetings were held in the CENTENARY CHURCH. (3)

Metropolitan Lodge No. 49, the second oldest Lodge in Dubuque, petitioned for its charter on June 1, 1854 and was organized as Metropolitan Lodge No. 49 on October 23, 1854. Thomas S. NAIRN was the first Worshipful Master. Two of the members of this Lodge, William P. Allen and Charles W. Walton, served as Grand Masters in Iowa.

Mosiac Lodge No. 125, the third Masonic Lodge organized in Dubuque, held its first meeting on March 25, 1858. The first Worshipful Master was William H. Gaines. Joseph Chapman of this Lodge served as a Grand Master of Iowa from 1866-1867. With the start of the CIVIL WAR in 1861, several members of the Lodge joined the ranks of the Union Army. One member, Francis J. HERRON rose to the rank of major general and was awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR for gallantry during the battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas. The Lodge also had a German nobleman as a member during this period. (4)

The years of the CIVIL WAR the lodges had a difficult time collecting dues and membership dropped. In 1863 with many of the members at war, the Dubuque Lodge on October 15th invited all Masons in the city to mass meeting. The purpose was to consider the possibility of consolidating the various lodges in the city into one, the Dubuque Lodge No. 3, then in its twenty-five years of existence. The joint committee was unanimous in favor of the idea, however when referred back the Metropolitan and Mosaic lodges refused. Key City Lodge 161 unanimously voted to consolidate which occurred on February 1, 1864. (5)

Members of Mosaic Lodge have been prominent in national and local governmental affairs. William Boyd ALLISON, a charter member of the Lodge, served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1871 and then as a member of the U.S. Senate from 1873 to 1908. Another member, David B. HENDERSON, served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1883 to 1903 and was Speaker of the House from 1899 to 1903. ALLISON-HENDERSON PARK in Dubuque was named in recognition of their service to the nation. Charles KINTZINGER was elected to the Dubuque City Council and was chosen by its members to be the city’s mayor in 1955 and 1957. (6)

Several members of Mosaic Lodge have served as officers of the Grand Lodge of Iowa including three who were elected to the office of Grand Master of Masons in Iowa – the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a brother within this Grand Jurisdiction. Joseph Chapman was Grand Master in 1873-74, R. Harry Muellich in 1977-78, and Edwin D. Blinks in 1992-93. In addition, D. Keith Robertson was Grand Treasurer in 1995-96 while Melvin A. Reynolds and Brian P. Carroll were Senior Grand Stewards in 1984-85 and 2013-2014 respectively. (7)

In 1932 the Grand Lodge of Iowa assessed each member in Iowa one quarter to complete the library building being constructed in Cedar Rapids. The assessment was to be for only one year, but it was later made permanent. (8)

In 2003 Mosaic Lodge learned it was a beneficiary of the will of the late Brother Warren A. Schenck. The will left $655,000 to the Lodge stipulating that these funds could only be used for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes. The Lodge created an endowment fund from which only investment income could be used to award grants to qualified non-profit organizations and scholarships to graduating seniors from DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL and STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL. Since the beginning of the grant and scholarship programs in 2004 and 2005 respectively, the Lodge as of December 31, 2014 had awarded 134 grants to non-profit organizations totaling $162,386 and a total of $63,000 in scholarships to 41 graduates. (9)

This document was to indicate 'good standing' when a member traveled or was transferred.

The bottom card from 1889 regards the Siloam Drill Corps. The top card from 1892 is from the National Masonic Accident Association.

See: MASONIC TEMPLE

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Source:

1."1842-1892," Dubuque Daily Herald, October 11, 1892, p. 4

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. "Our History," Mosiac Lodge #127. Online: http://www.mosaiclodge125.com/our-history/

5. "Complete History of Masonry," Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal, March 13, 1932, p. 19

6. "Our History..."

7. Ibid.

8. "Complete History..."

9. "Our History..."