The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 49, July 1945 - April, 1946 Page: 374
717 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Jtasoury in tie Early Days
of ;eas
JOSEPH W. HALE
T HE PURPOSE of this article is to sketch in broad outline a
brief summary of the origin, development, and influence
of Masonry in the early days of Texas, with particular refer-
ence to its notable contribution in the field of public education.
The facts here assembled have been gathered primarily from
Masonic records and data now on file in the office of the Grand
Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Texas Masons at Waco, from
official records in the archives of state at Austin, and from
the Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and
Congresses.
The Beginning of Masonry in Texas
The first concerted effort to institute a Masonic lodge on
Texas soil was begun by Stephen F. Austin, Ira Ingram, H. H.
League, and four other Masons. On February 11, 1828, they
prepared a petition addressed to the York Grand Lodge of
Mexico, asking for a dispensation to form a lodge at San Felipe
de Austin, to be known as the "Lodge of Union," with the
above named men as its principal officers. The York Masonic
Lodge, however, was expelled from Mexico by a decree of the
general government, and this first effort of Texas Masons was
futile.
The second attempt to establish Masonry in Texas was in-
itiated in the winter of 1834 by Anson Jones, John H. Wharton,
Asa Brigham, James A. E. Phelps, and Alexander Russell. In
the spring of 1835 these five Masons, joined by J. P. Caldwell,
met in a secluded spot on the west bank of the Brazos River,
near the town of Brazoria, under a large live oak tree and
decided to apply to the Grand Lodge of Louisiana Masons for
a dispensation to form a subordinate lodge in Texas to be
known as Holland Lodge, in honor of J. H. Holland, the then
Grand Master of Louisiana. The principal officers of the new
lodge were to be Jones, Brigham, and Caldwell. In due time
the petition was granted, the dispensation was issued, and on
December 27, 1835, Holland Lodge No. 36, under dispensation,
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 49, July 1945 - April, 1946, periodical, 1946; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146056/m1/429/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.