Clarence Brain: Masonic Scholar

 By T.S. Akers

Clarence Brain

(Courtesy of Cyrus Chapter No. 7, Royal Arch Masons)

Those actively seeking further light in Masonry are likely familiar with the names of Masonic scholars today. These are the men that write prolifically on the topic, ranging from books, to articles, and even blogs. These are the men who travel the Masonic speaking circuit. These are the men who often provide sound bites for the occasional documentary on Freemasonry, even the dubious ones. Oklahoma has been fortunate to claim several of these Masonic scholars as residents. Clarence Brain was one such scholar who was active in the Golden Age of Fraternalism.

Brain was born in Rowan County, Kentucky on 13 June 1875. He made his way to the Indian Territory in the employ of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as a train operator.[i] The M-K-T Railroad, often referred to as the Katy owing to its stock symbol being the letters K-T, was formed in 1870. The Katy operated rail lines west of the Mississippi and crossed the Red River into Texas in 1872, five years before any railroad arrived in San Antonio.[ii] Brain would remain with the Katy until 1920, holding the position of dispatcher at Lehigh, in Coal County, and later chief dispatcher at Oklahoma City. Upon leaving the railroad, Brain entered the insurance profession in Oklahoma City, retiring in 1947.[iii] During that period, he served as a field representative for the Paul Revere Life Insurance Company.[iv]

While working in Lehigh, Brain took the degrees of Freemasonry in Savanna Lodge No. 20 in 1901.[v] Savanna Lodge No. 20 would eventually consolidate with Coalgate Lodge No. 211 in 1925.[vi] Southeastern Oklahoma was, in many regards, the “cradle of life” for early Freemasonry and it was there that Brain began to pursue the higher degrees of Freemasonry. He was exalted to the august degree of the Holy Royal Arch in Savanna Chapter No. 4, also at Lehigh, in 1901.[vii] That particular chapter of Royal Arch Masons was still quite young, having only been chartered in 1886.[viii]

A new Masonic order to the Indian Territory at the time included the degrees of Royal & Select Master. On 5 November 1883, a dispensation to form a Council of Royal & Select Masters was granted to Companions at Atoka.[ix] The driving force behind this was Joseph S. Murrow, who had received the Cryptic degrees in Texas.[x] Oklahoma Council No. 1, as it was styled, was duly chartered in 1886.[xi] For several years the Council of Royal and Select Masters at Atoka was in effect a Grand Body of itself, holding jurisdiction over all of Indian Territory.[xii] It was under the jurisdiction of Oklahoma Council No. 1 that Brain received the degrees of Royal & Select Master in 1902.[xiii]

Brain’s career ultimately took him to Oklahoma City. He was dubbed and created a Knight of the Temple in 1917 in Oklahoma Commandery No. 3.[xiv] Brain would soon transfer his other York Rite memberships to Oklahoma City, joining with Cyrus Chapter No. 7, Royal Arch Masons and Alpha Council No. 18, Royal & Select Masters in 1918.[xv] It was in Oklahoma City that Brain began to enter the circles of Masonic leadership. Brain served as High Priest of Cyrus Chapter No. 7 in 1923.[xvi] He presided over Oklahoma Commandery No. 3 as Eminent Commander in 1924.[xvii] Brain next attained the office of Illustrious Master of Alpha Council No. 18 in 1926 and was installed as Grand Steward at the 32^nd Annual Assembly of the Grand Council of Royal & Select Masters that same year.[xviii] He would go on to serve as Worshipful Master of Oklahoma City Lodge No. 36 in 1928.[xix]

Past Commander Jewel of Clarence Brain

(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

Brain took the degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry at Guthrie on 20 November 1919.[xx] He later affiliated with the Valley of McAlester in 1936.[xxi] Brain was also a member of India Shrine of Oklahoma City, having become a Noble of the Mystic Shrine in 1918.[xxii]

Brain was a collector of Masonic rituals; his entire collection was gifted to the McAlester Scottish Rite Valley. It is noted that among Brain’s collection was a ritual hand written by Albert Pike himself, the location of this manuscript is not presently known.[xxiii] Prior to 1932, the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma was using a ritual prescribed by the General Grand Chapter. One version of the ritual, this from the Brain collection, was the Signet of Royal Arch Masonry published in 1896 by A.J. Hendricks and Frederic Speed. The General Grand Chapter’s ritual was by no means popular in Oklahoma and in 1931 a committee was appointed for the purpose of writing a new ritual, Brain was ultimately made chairman.[xxiv] The committee returned a ritual that was met with approval by the Companions of Oklahoma the following year, a ritual that mostly remains unchanged today. Brain would ultimately spend fifteen years as chairman of the ritual committee for the Grand Chapter of Oklahoma.[xxv]

When the chair degree of Thrice Illustrious Master was established for those who had presided over a Council of Royal & Select Masters, Brain was instrumental in bringing the degree to Oklahoma.[xxvi] Brain’s dedication to Freemasonry in Oklahoma was first rewarded by the Grand Council of Royal & Select Masters. He was elected Illustrious Grand Master of that order in 1930.[xxvii] Brain took office following the Crash of 1929 and the gravity of the situation was not lost on him. In his remarks to the Craft he stated:

It is unnecessary to call your attention to the unusual and unprecedented depression which has hung over our country and state during the greater part of the year. Many of you come from localities where it has been apparent to the must unobserving. For these reasons, I have hesitated to spend the funds of the Grand Council without seeing the hope of benefit or permanent results.

Brain went on to recommend that the Grand Council consider reducing or remitting the dues owed by the constituent Councils so that they might survive.[xxviii]

The first part of the Twentieth Century saw the proliferation of numerous invitational Masonic orders. Brain’s love for ritual would lead him to achieve membership in most. The Grand College of America of Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests was formed in 1933 in North Carolina.[xxix] This highly selective order, limited to thirty-three members in each tabernacle, soon spread across the United States. Brain would become one of the charter members of Joseph of Arimathea Tabernacle No. 4 in Oklahoma.[xxx] He would in time serve as Grand Preceptor of the Grand College of America in 1940.[xxxi]

The Grand College of Rites was formed in 1932 for the purpose of publishing rituals of long defunct Masonic orders. It was the Egyptian Masonic Rite of Memphis which surrendered its sovereignty to form the Grand College of Rites, Brain had become a member of the Egyptian Rite sometime prior.[xxxii] Brain’s membership in the newly formed College of Rites fit quite well with his prolific ritual collecting. The Grand College of Rites would eventually honor Brain by electing him Grand Chancellor in 1946.[xxxiii]

Other orders in which Brain became involved included the whimsical Order of the Bath, which he joined in 1940.[xxxiv] He was also a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, an invitational body associated with the Scottish Rite.[xxxv] A number of these Masonic orders began meeting together in Washington, DC, officially in 1938, but had loosely convened together as early as 1932. The weeklong series of meetings, dubbed Masonic Week is convened annually in February.[xxxvi]

The 1940s were a very busy period for Brain. While he was serving the Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests as their national presiding officer, he was also progressing through the offices of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma. In 1941, Brain was elected Grand High Priest of Oklahoma.[xxxvii] Brain’s tenure as Illustrious Grand Master of Royal & Select Masters was beset with a depression. His tenure as Grand High Priest would see the United States enter into the Second World War. Brain’s remarks upon being elected to office where almost prophetic. He noted:

If adversity or misfortune should befall us, let us never be discouraged but rest secure in the knowledge that we are, in fact, triumphant. Let us subscribe to the idea that there is a mutual dependence between ourselves and all of our branches and agree, wholeheartedly, with a Grand Master of England who said a century ago: “The great power of Masonry is example and the chain extends from the highest to the lowest, and if one link shall break, the whole is endangered. Equity is our Principle, Honor our guide, and my recommendation always is Order, Regularity, and Observance of Masonic duties.”[xxxviii]

Past High Priest Jewel of Clarence Brain

(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

Brain’s national Masonic career would continue to grow. It is interesting to consider that while Oklahoma rejected the adopted ritual of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Brain found himself serving on the Ritual Committee of the General Grand Chapter, becoming chairman in 1944.[xxxix] He would go on to serve the General Grand Council of Royal & Select Masters as General Grand Steward from 1945-1948.[xl] While Brain was serving as Grand Chancellor of the College of Rites, he would receive one of the highest honors in Masonry. The Society of Blue Friars was formed in 1932 to honor Masonic authors. With membership being limited to twenty individuals, it is one of the most exclusive Masonic groups.[xli] Only three Oklahoman’s have been inducted into the Society of Blue Friars, Brain would become the first in 1946.[xlii] The following year, Brain, who was quite ill, was invested with the Knight Commander of the Court of Honor designation in the Scottish Rite at his home in Oklahoma City.[xliii]

In his time, Clarence Brain was known throughout the Masonic world. He laid down his working tools on 3 March 1951. He was survived in death by his wife Emma Carolyn Tennent, the two had married in 1903.[xliv] Mrs. Brain herself was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution and had helped organize the Social Order of the Beauceant in Oklahoma, an organization for the wives of Knights Templar.[xlv] Brain was laid to rest in Memorial Park Cemetery of Oklahoma City.[xlvi]

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[i]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[ii]  Hugh Hemphill, “Missouri Kansas Texas,” Texas Transportation Museum, accessed January 22, 2017, http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/history-rr-missouri-kansas-texas.php.

[iii]  “Clarence Brain is Dead at 76; Rites Pending,” The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), March 4, 1951.

[iv]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[v]  Norman E. Angel, Kenneth S. Adams, and William A. Hensley, History of the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma (Oklahoma: 1964), 131.

[vi]  Robert G. Davis and James T. Tresner II, Indians, Cowboys, Cornerstones and Charities: A Centennial Celebration of Freemasonry in Oklahoma (Oklahoma: 2009), 170.

[vii] The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 37^th Annual Assembly (Oklahoma: 1931).

[viii] Angel, 23.

[ix]  Charles E. Creager, History of Freemasonry in Oklahoma (Muskogee, Oklahoma: Muskogee Print Shop, 1935), 115.

[x]  Charles E. Creager, A History of the Cryptic Rite of Freemasonry in Oklahoma (Muskogee, Oklahoma: Hoffman-Speed, 1925).

[xi]  Creager, History of Freemasonry in Oklahoma, 115-117.

[xii] Ibid., 115.

[xiii] Angel, 131.

[xiv] The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 37^th Annual Assembly.

[xv]  The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the Fifty-third Annual Convocation (Oklahoma: 1942).

[xvi]  The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth Annual Convocation (Oklahoma: 1923).

[xvii]  “Brain, Clarence” (special collection, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[xviii]  The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 32^nd Annual Assembly (Oklahoma: 1926).

[xix]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma AF&AM).

[xx]  The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 37^th Annual Assembly.

[xxi]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[xxii]  The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 37^th Annual Assembly.

[xxiii]  “Clarence Brain Rites Are Today,” The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), March 5, 1951.

[xxiv]  The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the Forty-first Annual Convocation (Oklahoma: 1930).

[xxv]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[xxvi] Angel, 131.

[xxvii]  The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 37^th Annual Assembly.

[xxviii]  Ibid., 12-14.

[xxix] “History,” The Grand College of America Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests, accessed January 22, 2017, http://www.hraktp.org/history.html.

[xxx] Angel, 131.

[xxxi]  Harold V.B. Voorhis, Masonic Organizations and Allied Orders and Degrees: A Cyclopaedic Handbook (New Jersey: Press of Henry Emmerson, 1952), 67.

[xxxii] “G.C.R. Historical Summary,” Grand College of Rites of the United States of America, accessed January 22, 2017, http://grandcollegeofrites.org/history/.

[xxxiii]  “Past Grand Chancellors,” Grand College of Rites of the United States of America, accessed January 22, 2017, http://grandcollegeofrites.org/pgc/.

[xxxiv]  “Membership Roster,” The Masonic Order of the Bath in the United States of America, accessed January 22, 2017, http://bath.albertpikedemolay.org/.

[xxxv]  “Clarence Brain Rites Are Today.”

[xxxvi]  James Hodgkins, “Masonic Week for the Uninitiated,” The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, last modified August 2011, https://scottishrite.org/about/media-publications/journal/article/masonic-week-for-the-uninitiated/.

[xxxvii]  The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the Fifty-second Annual Convocation (Oklahoma: 1941), 37.

[xxxviii]  The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the Fifty-second Annual Convocation, 38-39.

[xxxix]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[xl]  The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of the State of New York, Proceedings of the 124^th Annual Assembly (New York: 1947), 73.

[xli]  Wallace McLeod, “The Society of Blue Friars (Masonic Authors),” The Society of Blue Friars, accessed January 22, 2017, http://www.societyofbluefriars.org/information.html.

[xlii]  “Former Blue Friars,” The Society of Blue Friars, accessed January 22, 2017, http://www.societyofbluefriars.org/fbf.html.

[xliii]  “Brain, Clarence” (member profile, McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[xliv]  The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the Fifty-third Annual Convocation.

[xlv]  “Carolyn Brain is Dead at 83; Rites Pending,” The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), January 14, 1957.

[xlvi]  “Clarence Brain Rites Are Today.”