Historian - August 2007

It was just after noon on June 24, 1807 and the medals and coins that were recently purchased by St. John’s Lodge were sealed in glass bottles by the Grand Secretary, Brother Lyman Spalding, and deposited beneath the cornerstone of St. John’s Church.

The Grand Chaplain, Reverend Brother George Richards, delivered an elegant and eloquent oration that was well received and very highly regarded. The musicians of the Exeter Band entertained the group by performing three odes, and then the Grand Treasurer placed upon the cornerstone a purse containing a contribution for the operative masons present.

Following the ceremony, the large procession returned downtown to the Court House where the Masons and their gentlemen guests were refreshed by the Grand Master. The Masons then repaired to Davenport Hall where an elegant dinner was served. In fine Masonic tradition, several toasts were offered during the dinner, as follows:

To the memory of Holy St. John [on his birthday], may we imitate his virtues and follow his examples.

To all the Fraternity around the globe.

To the prosperity of all Lodges in the state of New Hampshire.

To the speedy relief of all distressed Masons.

To universal benevolence to all mankind.

To prosperity, peace and harmony to St. John’s Church.

To the truly affectionate wife and the dutiful daughter of all Free and Accepted Masons.

To the orator of the day, Brother George Richards.

To His Excellency John Langdon, Esq., Governor of the State.

To all fellow citizens both civil and military who have honored us with their company this day.

The laying of a cornerstone has been a Masonic tradition since the mid 1700’s. While the Grand Master and the officers of the Grand Lodge perform the ceremony, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you that the principal participants of St. John’s Sunday in 1807, that is, Grand Master Thomas Thompson, Grand Secretary Lyman Spalding, Grand Chaplain George Richards, and Worshipful Master Benjamin Brierly were all members of our St. John’s Lodge.

What a fine day the Masons of St. John’s Lodge, St. Andrew’s Lodge, and the brethren from around the Seacoast had this year celebrating the birth of the Holy Saint, John (5 B.C.), the birth of our Lodge (1736), and the bicentennial of the laying of the Church cornerstone (1807). With church bells ringing, The Reverend Robert E. Stevens, Jr. and the parishioners of St. John’s Church once again welcomed our Lodge into their Sanctuary as they have for more than 250 years.

As the Portsmouth Observer reported in its pages following the cornerstone laying ceremony in 1807, “it must have been gratifying to our fellow citizens to reflect on the good order and perfect unanimity which prevailed, and that the cornerstone of a building sacred to the promulgation of the benevolent doctrines of Christianity has been thus laid in the genuine spirit of the first, most sacred principle, ‘Peace on earth, and good will towards men’.”

Indeed, may St. John’s Church endure for many more ages as a monument to the benevolence of its founders; and may St. John’s Lodge endure as the cornerstone of Freemasonry in New Hampshire, providing light in the darkness, and faith, hope and charity to all mankind. So mote it be.

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