Sam Houston Lodge No. 32, operated under a special
dispensation from October, 1846 through December 1848. During this
time the Lodge received many new members, both by the conferring of degrees
and by Affiliation from other Lodges. Beginning with a dozen members in
October, 1846, the Lodge had a total of twenty five Master Masons on its
roster at the close of 1848, the lodge. as well as several who had received
only one or two of the degrees. Many of the petitioners had been
rejected.
Having proved that it was working
according to Masonic customs and regulations, the Lodge was granted a
regular Charter by the Grand Lodge of Texas on January 19, 1849. The
principal officers named in the charter were, Robert Burns, Worshipful
Master, Robert R. Graves, Senior Warden and John E. Myrick, Junior Warden.
The Lodge continued to prosper for a
few years. Among the new members were men who had been identified as
leaders in the old Regulator-Moderator troubles. The Cornerstone of
the new Masonic hall was laid on the second Saturday in March, 1851.
The Lodge had voted on February 8, 1851,, to invite Oran Milo Roberts of San
Augustine, who was later a Governor of Texas, to deliver an oration on the
occasion.
Sam Houston Lodge
No. 32, operated at a time when Masonic buildings were often used for church
purposes as well as school purposes. Benjamin T. Kavanaugh, editor of
Texas Masonic Mirror, stated in an editorial dated April 17, 1782, that it
was common in traveling through Arkansas and Texas to find a two-story
church or school house. The upper story of which was used as a Masonic
Lodge. Many Lodges secured charters from the state legislature to
operate schools of learning.
It is not certain that Sam Houston
Lodge No. 32 was involved in such an undertaking; however, we find that the
Legislature of Texas incorporated Shelby University on December 2, 1850, and
that seventeen of the thirty trustees names in the charter of Shelby
University were known Masons. Included in known Masons were: Nicholas
H. Darnell, Archibald W. O. Hicks, John D. Norton, John L. Bridges, Hiram
Cozart, John T. Booth, Robert McWilliams, James Truitt, Alfred M. Truitt,
Harrison Davis, R. R. Graves, Thomas Carroll, W. P. Landrum, William Hall,
C. T. Hilliard and Samuel Farrar.
The years of apparent tranquility in
the Sam Houston Lodge were few in number. The Grand Lodge in its
annual communication on January 20, 1855, instructed Travis G. Broocks of
San Augustine, District Deputy Grand Master of the Fifth Masonic District, to
collect the dues of Sam Houston Lodge at Shelbyville, and to "inquire into
the reason the said Lodge has not made its annual returns to the present
Annual Communication of this Grand Lodge, and if satisfied that the same
arose from any contempt towards this Grand Lodge, to report the facts
immediately to the Most Worshipful Grand Master for his action."
The District Deputy Grand Master
visited and reported that serious difficulty had arisen over the removal of
the Charter of the Lodge, which had been placed beyond the reach of the
Lodge. Not being able to located the Charter, the District Deputy had
granted a Dispensation for the Lodge to continue work until the next meeting
of the Grand Lodge in January, 1856. Broocks also reported that he had
presided at the Lodge trial of the former Master of the Lodge who had
permitted the Charter to be removed, and against the supposed offenders.
The trouble in Sam Houston Lodge,
which led to the Surreptitious removal of the Charter, began in 1854, when
one of its former Worshipful Masters was brought to trial on the following
Charges:
1. For threatening to take the life of a "worthy
Brother Master Mason."
2. For permitting his son, a minor, to take and carry
away a horse belonging to a Brother Mason, without paying for the same.
3. For writing abusive letters to, and speaking evilly
of, a Brother Master Mason.
The accused Brother was convicted and
unanimously suspended from the Privileges of Freemasonry. Following
the restoration of peace and harmony in the Lodge, in 1857, there was a
lapse of four years before the outbreak of the Civil War. From 1869 to
1892, the old town of Shelbyville was without a Masonic Lodge. Sam
Houston Lodge demised in 1869. Perhaps the factors contributing to the
demise was the Civil War and the friction in the County over the
removal of the courthouse from Shelbyville to Center.
Sam Houston Lodge No. 32, after heated
debate on the floor of the Grand Lodge, a resolution was adopted which
changed Shelby Lodge No.732.
| Adams, Benjamin | E.A. 10/28/1848 - Died 1860 |
| Anderson, Felix | E.A. 1846 -Charter Member from Aberdeen Lodge, Mississippi - Demitted 11/01/1851 |
| Archer, James | 08/25/1851 - Demit, 1853, Affiliated 10/01/1854 |
| Ash, Ira. | 1860 on Roster |
| Ashton, F. N. | 1860 on Roster |
| Ashton, H.C. | E.A. 1851 - F.C. 11/13/1851 - M. M., 11/13/1851 |
| Ashton, Thomas H. | E.A. 07/27/1850 - F.C. 09/09/1850 - M.M. 10/12/1850 |
| Barber. Phineas W. | E.A.1851 - F.C. 1852 - M.M. 1853. |
| Barnes, John | E.A. 04/13/1850 - F.C. 05/11/1850 - M.M. 06/08/1850 - Demitted 06/06/1850 |
| Beck, John | E.A. 11/08/1850 - F.C. 1850 - M.M. 03/08/1851 |
| Beck, William | M.M. 09/08/1949 - Demitted, 12/23/1850 |
| Bell, John S. | E.A., 1847 - F.C. ???? - M M. 1852 |
| Biggar, George W. | 1860 on Roster |
| Biggar, R.T. | 1860 on Roster |
| Blackburn, William | Charter Member, 1846 - Formerly in Redland Lodge No. 3 |
| Booth, John T. | E.A. 03/20/1850 - F.C. 04/20/1850 - M. M. 05/25/1850 |
| Booth R.P. | Affiliated, 04/14/1866 |
| Booth, Zachariah | E.A., 1851 - F.C. 07/28/1851 - M.M. 10/11/1851 |
| Bridges, John L. | 1853 on Roster |
| Brinson, Matthew | F.C. 05/06/1848 - M. M. 06/04/1848 - Demit 12/23/1850 |
| Brittain, Thomas F. | F.C. 1852 - M.M. 1853 |
| Burks, Rev. Napoleon W. | 10/10/1846, Visitor from Redland Lodtge No.3 |
| Burks, Robert, | 1846 Charter Member |
| Carroll, Matthew | E.A. 1849 - F.C., 05/11/1850 - M.M. 12/13/1851 - died 1860 |
| Carroll, Minor D. | E.A. (Truit Lodge No. 149), 02/03/1868 - M. M., 06/08/1868 |
| Carroll, Thomas | E.A. 11/06/1848 - F.C. , No date - M. M. 03/10/1849 Demit 10/01/1851 |
| Childress, Hiram C. | E.A. 10/12/1850 - F.C. 03/08/1851 - M. M. 07/14/1851 |
| Choat, J. J. | Affiliated, 03/10/1866 - Demitted 1868 |
| Collins, William | Affiliated, 04/14/1866 |
| Cooper, S.A. | E.A. 1851 - F.C., 05/11/1851, M. M. 06/14/1851 |
| Cozart, Hiram | Petition 12/18/1846 - on Roster 1848 |
| Crawford, J. M. | Petition 07/1858 - E.A. 08/1858 - F.C. 09/1858 - M.M. 11/1858 |
| Crawford, William H. | E.A. 07/08/1848 - F.C. 09/09/1848 - M.M. 11/06/1848 |
| Cuthbertson, John | Petition 12/18/1846 - on Roster 1848 - Demit 06/10/1849. |
| Daggett, Ephraim M. | E.A., 09/1848 - F.C., No Date- M. M. 02/20/1849 |
| Darnell, Nocholas Henry | Charter Member, 1846 - Formerly in Red Land Lodge. Past Grand Master |
| Davis, Caleb L., | Affiliated, 06/04/1848 from Western Star Lodge, Pulaski, Arkansas; Demit 1851. |
| Davis, Harrison | E.A. 10/28/1848 - F.C., no dates - M. M. 03/10/1849 Demit 1851. |
| Davis, Nathan | Affiliated, 1849 from Western Star Lodge No. 107, Kaskaskia, Illinois. Degrees in 1815 |
| Davis, Nathan, Jr. | E.A. 10/07/1848 - F.C., 12/20/1848 - M.M. 03/10/1849 - Demit 1851 |
| Edwards, Thomas C. | E.A. 01/1858 - F.C. 02/1858 - M. M. 03/1858 |
| Farrar, F. L. | On Roster 1849 |
| Farrar, Samuel B. | E.A. 06/04/1848 - F.C. 04/20/1850 - M.M. 05/25/1850 - Demit 02/14/1857 |
| Farrar, Simon B. | E.A. 08/10/1850 - F.C. 09/08/1850 - M. M. 10/22/1850 |
| Farrar, Thomas J. | On Roster, 1853 |
| Field, R. W. | Affiliated, 05/12/1860 |
| Frederick, G. L. | Visitor, 06/29/1847 |
| Freeland, James B. | E.A. 06/04/1848 - F.C. 08/11/1855 |
| Fuller, J.W. | E.A. 1859 - F.C. 1859 - M.M. 1859 - Demit 01/1867 |
| Graves, Giles N. | E.A. 08/10/1850 - F.C. 05/08/1850 - M. M. 10/12/1850 |
| Graves, Robert R. | E.A. 12/06/1846 - On Roster as M.M. 1849 |
| Haile, John A. | E.A. 1851 - F.C. 05/11/1851 - M.M. 06/14/1951 |
| Hall, G.L. | E.A. 04/17/1857 - F.C. 12/12/1857 - M M. 09/1858 |
| Hall, H.C. | E.A. 1856 - F.C. 03/14/1857 - M. M. 1859 |
| Hamilton, H.B. | Visitor 01/09/1847 - Visitor 06/29/1847 |
| Hamlett, William J. | Charter Member 1846 - Formerly in Red Land Lodge No. 3 |
| Handley, A. E. | E.A. 11/05/1846 - F.C. 12/05/1846 M. M. 1847 |
| Handley, Samuel | Charter Member 1846 - Clergyman from Houston Lodge, Mississippi - Demit 12/20/1848 |
| Hanks, James | E.A. 02/09/1861 - F.C. 04/13/1861 - M. M. 05/10/1861 |
| Harris, Albert G. | Petition 12/18/1946 - M. M. 1848 - Demit 11/20/1849 |
| Harris, Ira | Affiliated as F.C. 02/04/1848, from Society Ridge Lodge, Hinds County Mississippi M.M. 1848 |
| Henderson, John M. | Charter Member 1846 |
| Henderson, Sam C. | M. M. 1852 |
| Hendricks, H. | Affiliated 05/12/1866 |
| Herring, M. P. | E.A. 1852 - M. M. 1853 |
| Hewitt, John W. | E.A. 1853 - F.C. 02/11/1854 - M. M. 04/08/1854 - Demit 05/1866 |
| Hewett, William Sr. | Petition 12/18/1846 - M. M> 10-/13/1849 - Demit, 05/1866 |
| Hewett, E. M., Jr. | On Roster 1853 |
| Hill, J. H. | Visitor 10/03/1846 - from Taladega Lodge, Alabama |
| Holt, Solomon F. | E.A. 12/24/1850 - F.C. 11/10/1855 - M. M. No Date. |
| Irvine, Rev. James T.P. | E.A. 12/24/1850 - F.C. 03/08/1851 M. M. 09/08/1851 - Demit 1853 |
| Johnson, M.T. | Petition 12/18/1846 - M. M. 1848 Demit, 11/19/1848 |
| Jones, Vance | E.A. 09/09/1848 - F.C. No Date 0 M. M. 02/10/1849 Demit 05/11/1850 |
| Jones, W. H. | On Roster 1849 |
| Jordan, Samuel | Charter Member 1846 - Demit 01/08/1848 |
| Kerr, William | Charter Member 1846 - Formerly in Redland Lodge No. 3 - died 09/1850 |
| Landrum, William P. | Petition, 12/18/1846 - on Roster 1850 |
| Lanier, William W. | Petition 12/18/1846 - Listed as E.A. in 1850 - Listed as M.M. in 1853 |
| Lee, Byron B. | On Roster 1853 |
| Lichtenstein, Wolfe | Petition 04/13/1868 - M. M. 05/11/1868 |
| Lindsey, John C. | E.A. 04/07/1848 - F.C. 05/06/1848 - M. M. 06/04/1848 - Demit 01/12/1850 |
| Mahoon, Thomas | E.A. 03/09/1868 - F.C. 08/10/1868 |
| Mather, Samuel | E.A. 12/18/1846 - F.C. 02/09/1847 - M. M. 03/06/1847 - Demit 10/01/1851 - Grand Master 1862 |
| Matthews, M.S. | Affiliated 04/13/1868 |
| Matthews M. D., Thomas M. | E.A. 05/04/1855 - F.C. 05/14/1855 - M M. -5/14/1855 - Demit 10/10/1856 - Grand Master 1881 |
| McBride, P. H. | Affiliated 1853 from Newbern Lodge No. 97 |
| McCann, Edward | On Roster 1848 - died 07/06/1848 |
| McClure, D. F. | F.C. 02/14/1857 - M. M> 06/13/1857 - Demit 02/1858 - Affiliated 10/1859 |
| McGuffey, Rufus M. | Affiliated as E.A. from Holly Springs Lodge Mississippi 1853 - F.C. 01/14/1854 - M.M. 0211/1854 - Died 1860 |
| McKinzie, Daniel | Affliated 07/1868 |
| McWilliams, Robert | E.A. 08/05/1848 - F.C. no date - M. M. 1852 |
| Moore, C.C. | E.A. 1852 - On Roster 1853 |
| Moore, John L. | E.A. 1851 - F.C. 1852 - M. M. 11/13/1851 |
| Mumford, Zadock | Visitor 01/09/1847 |
| Myrick, John E. | Petition 02/19/1847 - On Roster 1849 |
| Nethery, William | E.A. 09/09/1854 - F.C. 02/14/1857 - M. M. 03/14/1857 |
| Norton, John D. | E.A. 1852 |
| Ochiltree, Hugh | Charter Member 1846 - Formerly in Redland Lodge No. 3 |
| Payne, John C. | E.A. 1859 |
| Potts, John T. | E.A. 05/14/1855 - F.C. 07/14/1855 - M. M. 08/11/1855 |
| Powell, B. F. | On Roster 1857 |
| Price, James | M. M. 03/10/1866 |
| Price John | E.A. 1859 - F.C. 02/10/1866 |
| Pursley, J. H. | F.C. 06/28/1851 |
| Ragland M. D., William J. | E.A. 1852 - F.C. 04/08/1854 - M. M.06/10/1854 |
| Read, B. F. | On Roster 1860 |
| Renfro, Peter | Visister 06/29/1847 |
| Reynolds, W.B. | E.A. 1851 - F.C. 08/23/1851 - M. M. 11/14/1851 |
| Richardson, I.O.B. | Listed as F.C. 1853 - M. M. 02/11/1854 |
| Roberts, Franklin F. | Petition 02/06/1847 - M. M. 01/08/1848 |
| Roberts, O.E. | Petition 02/06/1847 - F.C. 01/08/1848 - M. M. 01/08/1848 - Demit 01/08/1848 |
| Samford, Elkanah | Petition 12/18/1846 - F.C. 01/08/1848 - M. M. 06/04/1848 |
| Samford, George | E.A. 11/04/1848 - F. C. 02/20/1849 - M. M. 02/20/1949 |
| Samford, Joab | Affiliated 1858 from Newbern Lodge No. 97. |
| Samford, Samuel | E.A. no date - F.C. 05/13/1849 - M. M. 1949 |
| Samford, Simon Zerah | E.A. 1847 - F.C. 03/20/1850 - M. M. 06/08/1850 |
| Sherod, G.W. | E.A. 1852 - Listed as F.C. 1853 |
| Shofner, Martin L. | On Roster 1853 |
| Shyrock, M.D., M. H. | Charter Member 1846 - Formerly in Redland Loge No. 3 |
| Sinclair, Leland A. | E.A. 03/11/1854 - F.C. 04/08/1854 M. M. 09/09/1854 - Died 1900 |
| Smith, B.E. | E.A. 07/09/1859 - F.C. 1859 - M. M. 1859 |
| Smith, J. M. | Petition 04/06/1847 - E.A. 1850 - F.C. 11/04/1851 - M.M. 11/24/1951 |
| Smith, W.D. | Grand Lecturer, Visited 06/29/1847 |
| Snider, Gilderoy | Minister - Received three Blue Lodge degrees, as emergency on 06/29/1847 - Demit 01/08/1848 |
| Standefer, J. M. | Charter Member 1846 - Demit 04/07/1849 |
| Stanley, C.W. L. | On Roster 1861 |
| Springfellow, M. D. William | Affiliated 1852 |
| Tamplin H. H. | E.A. 1849 - F.C. 1850 - M. M. 1850 |
| Tamplin, James V. | On Roster 1860 |
| Tamplin, Z. | E.A. 1850 - F.C. 1851 - M.M. 1851 |
| Thacker, W.H. | Petition 07/14/1866 - E.A. 08/11/1866 |
| Thompson, B.J. | Charter Member 1846 - Formerly Redland No. 3 |
| Thompson, J. H. | Affiliated first meeting, Under Dispensation 10/03/1846 from Greensboro Lodge, Mississippi |
| Truitt, A. M. | Petition 12/18/1846 - On Roster 1848 |
| Truitt, James | Petition 10/10/1846 - On Roster 1848 |
| Tucker, William H. | M.M. 1852 |
| Turner, Charles | E.A. 12/18/1846 - F.C. no date - M. M. 01/08/1848 |
| Uptegraff, Sam | E.A. 09/09/1848 - F.c. No date - M. M. 1849 |
| Wiggins, R.R. | E.A. 1853 - F. C. 1854 |
| Williams, Felix G. | E.A. 08/10/1850 - F.c. 09/08/1850 - M. M. 10/12/1850 |
| Willis B.A. J. | Suspended for Un-Masonic Conduct 1860 - This was first time for him to appear on records |
| Wisley, Joe F. | E.A. 1849 - F.C. 02/23/1850 - M. M. 1850 Demit 05/11/1850 |