By T.S. Akers
Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Cushing, 1925
(Courtesy of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma)
Votaries of Freemasonry are well versed in the Landmarks of
the Fraternity. As compiled in 1858 by
Albert Mackey, the Landmarks serve as a set of principles that loosely govern
the Craft.[i] It is in the Second Landmark that one finds "Pure
Ancient Freemasonry consists of but three degrees, viz., that of Entered
Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the
Holy Royal Arch."[ii] As what has become known as Craft Masonry
spread throughout the world, so did Royal Arch Masonry. The degree of Holy Royal Arch was conferred
in lodges in America
as early as 1753 and Chapters of Royal Arch Masons began forming in the 1780s.[iii] As Freemasonry arrived in what is today Oklahoma,
Royal Arch Masonry followed closely behind.
The Masonic Fraternity first arrived in Indian
Territory in 1848 at Tahlequah.[iv] From there the spirit of Brotherly Love spread
across the Territory like a wildfire.
The American Civil War would prove to be set back for Masonic activity
not only in the region, but the Nation.
When hostilities ceased, Masonic activity in the Indian
Territory once again resumed.
In 1874 the Brethren successfully organized the Grand Lodge of Indian
Territory at Caddo and with that same pioneer spirit turned their attentions toward
another area of the Fraternity.[v] A number of these early Masons had been
exalted to the Degree of Holy Royal Arch prior to the Civil War. Among them were the likes of Chief Peter P.
Pitchlyn of the Choctaw Nation and Chief William P. Ross of the Cherokee Nation.[vi] Granville McPherson, first Grand Master,
belonged to a Royal Arch Chapter in Little Rock,
Arkansas, before coming to the
Territory. Joseph S. Murrow, known as the
“Father of Freemasonry in Oklahoma,”
had received the Royal Arch in Texas.[vii]
In February of 1878, Companions residing at McAlester,
I.T., addressed a letter to the Most Excellent Grand High Priest of the General
Grand Chapter, John Frizell, requesting a dispensation to form a Chapter of
Royal Arch Masons. The letter was
accompanied by a Resolution of Bellevue Chapter in Fort
Smith, Arkansas, consenting to
the organization of a Chapter in her jurisdiction. The request for dispensation was signed by
yet more noteworthy Masons such as Murrow and McPherson, but also George W.
Stidham, Chief Justice of the Creek Nation, and James J. McAlester, a
territorial merchant and namesake of the City of McAlester. Within a week, the Companions at McAlester
had received their dispensation to work as Indian Chapter and work they did. They quickly exalted twenty-three new
Companions to the degree of Holy Royal Arch, including a 28 year old physician
named Daniel M. Hailey.[viii]
Hailey would go on to serve as Grand
High Priest in addition to holding several other esteemed offices.[ix]
Indian Chapter No. 1 would become a “Mother Chapter” from
which Royal Arch Masonry would emanate in the Indian Territory. The Territory was a rough and rugged place
and though it was not unusual for a Mason to leave his home and work for three
days at a time to attend a Communication of the Lodge, convenience was
essential for the survival of not only Craft Masonry but Royal Arch Masonry as
well.[x] A year after the formation of Indian Chapter,
Joseph S. Murrow submitted a request for dispensation to form a Chapter at Atoka
to be known as Ok-la-ho-ma Chapter No. 2.
Upon receipt of the dispensation, seven Companions were welcomed into
the Holy Royal Arch in March of 1880.[xi] The third Chapter was formed at Burneyville in
the Chickasaw Nation but interest soon waned and their dispensation to work was
returned to the General Grand Chapter. Savanna
Chapter No. 4 was instituted by Joseph S. Murrow in November of 1886. The Companions at Savanna faced immense
hardships within a year of their chartering in the form of explosions in the
coal mines that were the life blood of the community. This forced the membership of Savanna Chapter
to request permission to move their charter to Lehigh, were many of the members
now resided. Though Murrow protested
this move due to the closeness of Lehigh to Atoka, the General Grand High
Priest ultimately consented.[xii] While Chapters of Royal Arch Masons had been
established in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, with members residing in the
Creek Nation, the Masons of the Cherokee Nation were not unfamiliar with the Royal
Craft. Those Companions residing at
Tahlequah, for the most part, held membership at Cincinnati,
Arkansas.
It would not be until 1888 that Tahlequah Chapter No. 5 was organized.[xiii]
When the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory convened in 1889, a
conference was held by those Companions of the Royal Arch in attendance to
discuss the formation of a Grand Chapter.
All were in favor of such and a petition was drawn up to be sent to Most
Excellent Grand High Priest Noble D. Larner.
It was just a few short years earlier that Murrow himself had protested
a decision by Larner concerning Savanna Chapter and with this likely on his
mind, Larner rejected the petition.[xiv] Murrow would ultimately be assigned the task
of journeying to Atlanta, Georgia,
in 1889 to state the case for a Grand Chapter and “… see the thing through.”[xv] Upon arrival in Atlanta,
Murrow was denied an audience with the Committee on Charters and
Dispensations. He then took his case to
the convention floor and argued for Indian Territory
with an unbridled passion. Murrow
finished his plea to the deafening roar of applause and once the crowd had
calmed, John H. Brown of Kansas
arose and moved that the recommendation of the Charters and Dispensations
Committee be disregarded. When the vote
was called, the only nay came from the Chairman of said Committee. The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of
Indian Territory would be officially instituted on February 15, 1890, with Joseph S. Murrow serving
as the first Grand High Priest.[xvi]
Past Grand High Priests of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma
L to R: Joseph Murrow, Napoleon Maxey, Edmond Doyle, William Essex, Leo Bennett, James Scott, Zachary Walrond
(Courtesy of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma)
In its first year of existence, the newly formed Grand
Chapter of Indian Territory would charter three new Chapters: Muskogee No. 3 (which took the number vacated
by Burneyville), Guthrie No. 6, and Cyrus No. 7 at Oklahoma
City. The
following year Sequoyah No. 8 was chartered at Muldrow.[xvii]
The first decade of the Grand Chapter
would see a total of twenty-one constituent Chapters chartered with the Grand
Chapter of Indian Territory holding jurisdiction over both Indian and Oklahoma
Territories.[xviii]
Though the number of active Chapters has
never matched the “charter numbers” of those Chapters in existence, there have
been a total of 103 Chapters chartered in what is today Oklahoma.[xix]
Royal Arch Masonry is again thriving in Oklahoma
with renewed interest in many corners of the State. A number of chapters have been
re-invigorated, others have been re-instituted altogether, and a new charter
was issued within the last three years.[xx] Today many Masons are again following the
Second Landmark and capping the Master Mason Degree with the Degree of Holy
Royal Arch.
[i] “Landmarks of Freemasonry,” Grand Lodge of
British Columbia and Yukon, <http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/grandlodge/landmarks.html>,
Accessed 28 January 2013.
[ii] “The Holy Royal Arch,” Grand Chapter of Royal
Arch Masons of California, <http://www.yorkriteofcalifornia.org/royalarch/whatisra.html>,
Accessed 28 January 2013.
[iii] Frederick G. Speidel, The York
Rite of Freemasonry: A History and
Handbook (Mitchell-Fleming Printing Inc., 1978), 31.
[iv] Charles E. Creager, History of Freemasonry
in Oklahoma (Muskogee,
Oklahoma: Muskogee Print Shop, 1935),
20.
[v] “A Historical Snapshot,” The Grand Lodge of
the State of Oklahoma, <http://www.gloklahoma.com/GrandLodge/history.html>,
Accessed 28 January 2013.
[vi] Norman E. Angel, Kenneth S. Adams, and
William A. Hensley, History of the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of
Oklahoma (Oklahoma: 1964), 2.
[vii] Creager, 61.
[viii] Ibid., 62-63.
[ix] Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma,
Proceedings of the 122nd Annual Convocation (Oklahoma: 2011).
[x] Creager, 64.
[xi] Ibid., 65
[xii] Angel, 6-7.
[xiii] Creager, 69.
[xiv] Angel, 8-9.
[xv] Creager, 72.
[xvi] Ibid., 72-75
[xvii] Ibid., 76-77
[xviii] Angel, 23.
[xix] Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma.
[xx] Ibid.
