The Daniel M. Hailey Collection

By T.S. Akers

Daniel M. Hailey
(Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society)

Visitors to the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma building or the Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie are met by an assortment of wonders.  The same can be said of the McAlester Scottish Rite Temple, which leads one to believe that these three major collecting institutions have gathered up all of the Masonic treasures related to Oklahoma that exist.  The diligent curator knows this is by no means true, as un-discovered treasures can still be found in the most unlikely corners of the country.  This was just the case recently when a gold and silver dealer in Florida came into possession of an amazing collection relating to Oklahoma Freemasonry.

There are a few family names in Southeastern Oklahoma that really resonate with those that call Little Dixie home.  McAlester, Busby, and Albert are as much household names as Pete’s Place, Isle of Capri, and Roseanna’s.  One of those old names that has remained memorialized is Hailey, Daniel Morris Hailey in particular.  In fact, just a short drive east from McAlester on Highway 270 leads one to Hailey’s very own town, Haileyville.

Daniel Morris Hailey was born on February 9, 1841, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[i]  When war erupted in April of 1861, Hailey enlisted in the Confederate Army the next month.[ii]  He was mustered into service with Company A of the 8^th Louisiana Infantry, known as the Creole Guards.[iii]  The 8^th Louisiana was assigned to Hay’s Brigade of Early’s Division in the Army of Northern Virginia.  Hailey’s corps commander was Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.[iv]  The 8^th Louisiana would see action at engagements that included the First Battle of Bull Run and Rappahannock Station.[v]  

In February of 1863, Hailey was appointed a Hospital Steward; he had studied medicine prior to the war.  That November, he was wounded and captured at Rappahannock Station.[vi]  Hailey was received at the Old Capitol Prison of Washington, DC, and later exchanged at City Point, Virginia, in 1864.[vii]  He returned to his unit and was ultimately wounded four times.[viii]  Hailey very narrowly avoided Sherman’s notorious “March to the Sea” while returning to Louisiana on furlough after again being wounded, this time at Hatcher’s Run in October of 1864.[ix]  Hailey would be actively involved in the United Confederate Veterans later in life, serving as Major General in command of the Oklahoma Division.[x]

Rather than returning to Baton Rouge at the end of the Civil War, Hailey made his way to Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Once there, he applied for a position teaching school in the Choctaw Nation.[xi]  While residing in the home of R.S. McCarty at Scullyville (Oak Lodge), Hailey fell in love with and married McCarty’s daughter Helen in 1868.[xii]  The young couple first took up residence near present day Canadian, where Hailey practiced medicine.[xiii]  They then moved to Perryville in 1871, where Hailey continued to practice medicine in addition to operating a small store.  The completion of the MKT Railroad through the Indian Territory in 1872 would see many take up residence in the new city of McAlester, Hailey included.  In McAlester, Hailey opened the first drug store in the Choctaw Nation, engaged in coal mining with J.J. McAlester, and served as editor of the short lived “Star-Vindicator” newspaper operated by Granville McPherson.[xiv]  

It was in McAlester that Hailey petitioned for the degrees of Freemasonry, being initiated an Entered Apprentice in McAlester Lodge No. 9 on June 15, 1877.  He was passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on July 12 and raised to the degree of Master Mason on September 10.[xv]  

Hailey was then exalted to the degree of Holy Royal Arch in Indian Chapter No. 1 of McAlester on May 15, 1878.  He would serve as High Priest of Indian Chapter in 1897 and 1898.[xvi]  Hailey was elected Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons of Indian Territory in 1908.[xvii]  One of the pieces comprising the newly acquired Daniel M. Hailey Collection is his Past Grand High Priest jewel.  The jewel is of a style that was presented to many early Grand High Priests, including other notable Masons such as Joseph S. Murrow.  The jewel features the breastplate of judgement surrounded by a wreath, indicating the rank of Grand High Priest.

Past Grand High Priest Jewel of Daniel M. Hailey
(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

Hailey was dubbed and created a Knight of the Temple in Coeur de Leon Commandery No. 17 of Parsons, Kansas, on October 5, 1886.[xviii]  It was in Coeur de Leon Commandery that Joseph S. Murrow, affectionately called the Father of Freemasonry in Oklahoma, received the orders of Templary in 1880.[xix]  Hailey ultimately served as Commander of McAlester Commandery No. 3 in 1895 and became Grand Commander of Knights Templar of Indian Territory in 1902.[xx]

The degrees of Cryptic Masonry arrived in Indian Territory in 1883 at Atoka with the chartering of Oklahoma Council No. 1.  This council held jurisdiction over all of Indian Territory until 1894 when Muskogee Council No. 2 and Union Council No. 3 at McAlester were chartered.[xxi]  It was in Oklahoma Council No. 1 at Atoka that Hailey received the degrees of Royal and Select Master on June 20, 1888.[xxii]  Hailey would serve as Grand Illustrious Master of Royal and Select Masters of Indian Territory in 1901.[xxiii]  Another piece comprising the Daniel M. Hailey Collection is his Past Grand Illustrious Master jewel.  The jewel features the secret vault and nine arches central to the ritual of Cryptic Masonry.  

Past Grand Illustrious Master Jewel of Daniel M. Hailey
(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

The degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry were communicated to Hailey by Robert W. Hill at Muskogee on October 26, 1889.  Hill was at that time serving as Deputy of the Supreme Council.  Hailey was elected a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in 1897 and coroneted a 33^rd Degree on October 24, 1899.[xxiv]  Hailey himself was made Deputy of the Supreme Council in 1913, ultimately becoming Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Scottish Rite in Oklahoma.[xxv]

Hailey left a lot of marks on Southeastern Oklahoma and had a hand in a great many enterprises.  In addition to operating stores and practicing medicine, he helped organize the South McAlester and Eufaula Telephone Company.  Hailey served as a bank vice president for many years.  He was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Confederate Home in Ardmore, serving on the board of trustees.  Hailey was also a member of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Library of McAlester.[xxvi]  His most profitable endeavor was probably the Hailey Coal and Mining Company, which operated some of the largest coal mines in Pittsburg County.[xxvii]  

It was coal mining that led Hailey to purchase a tract of land and establish the company town of Haileyville in 1898.[xxviii]  Of course a town associated with a prominent Freemason would come to have a Masonic Lodge.  Haileyville Lodge No. 245 was chartered on August 10, 1904.[xxix]  The Brethren of Haileyville Lodge presented Hailey with a beautiful sterling silver Past Master’s jewel, which is now part of the Daniel M. Hailey Collection.  The jewel features the Worshipful Master’s square, quadrant, and a blazing sun in gold tone.

Past Master Jewel of Daniel M. Hailey
(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite) 

One of the last Masonic offices that Hailey held was that of Grand Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star in Oklahoma in 1916.[xxx]  It was during the Fall Reunion of the McAlester Scottish Rite Valley in 1919 that Hailey passed from this world to the next at his home on October 14, just six days before the biennial meeting of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite in Washington, DC.[xxxi]  Oklahoma had lost its third Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Scottish Rite, but he left behind quite a legacy.  Hailey was honored one last time when a DeMolay chapter was established in McAlester.  The chapter was chartered on August 17, 1922, and styled Daniel M. Hailey Chapter.[xxxii]

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[i]  Robert L. Williams, “Dr. Daniel Morris Hailey: 1841-1919,” Chronicles of Oklahoma 18, no. 3 (1940): 215-218.

[ii]  “Gen. D.M. Hailey, U.C.V.,” Confederate Veteran 28 (1920): 26-27.

[iii]  N. Wayne Cosby, “8th Louisiana: Company A ‘The Creole Guards,” Hardtack Journal, accessed June 21, 2016, https://sites.google.com/site/hardtackjournal/home/8th-louisiana/company-a.

[iv]  Daniel M. Hailey, Confederate Veterans of the State of Oklahoma (United Confederate Veterans, Oklahoma Division, 1913), 21.

[v]  “Gen. D.M. Hailey, U.C.V.,” 26-27.

[vi]  Williams, 215-218.

[vii]  Hailey, 21.

[viii]  Williams, 215-218.

[ix]  “Gen. D.M. Hailey, U.C.V.,” 26-27.

[x]  Hailey, 21.

[xi]  Williams, 215-218.

[xii]  Ibid., 215-218.

[xiii]  Robert G. Davis, The Honored Men of Oklahoma Scottish Rite Masonry (Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1997), 32.

[xiv]  Williams, 215-218.

[xv]  Davis, 34.

[xvi]  Ibid., 34.

[xvii]  Kenneth S. Adams, William A. Hensley, and Norman E. Angel, History of the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma (Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma, 1964), 102.

[xviii]  Davis, 34.

[xix]  Raymond L. Holcomb, Father Murrow: The Life and Times of Joseph Samuel Murrow, Baptist Missionary, Confederate Indian Agent, Indian Educator, and the Father of Freemasonry in Indian Territory (Atoka County Historical Society, 1994), 105.

[xx]  Davis, 34.

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

[xxii]  Davis, 34.

[xxiii]  "Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Oklahoma: Past Grand Illustrious Masters," Oklahoma York Rite, accessed June 21, 2016, http://okyorkrite.org/council/GrandIM.aspx.

[xxiv]  Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Transactions of the Supreme Council of the 33rd and Last Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America (Washington, DC: House of the Temple, 1917), 84-86.

[xxv]  Davis, 35.

[xxvi]  Williams, 215-218.

[xxvii]  Davis, 33.

[xxviii]  Stephanie L. Shafer, "Haileyville," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed June 21, 2016, http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=HA001.

[xxix]  Masonic Centennial Lodges (Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1974), 207.

[xxx]  Davis, 35.

[xxxi]  Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, 84-86.

[xxxii]  Ron Minshall, e-mail message to author, April 12, 2016.

Historic Oklahoma Masonic Photo Archive

 

T.S. Akers surveys historic Templar photos

When I was conducting research for my book Knights on the Prairie: A History of Templary in Oklahoma in 2012, I made a startling discovery.  I quickly learned that the state of our Masonic photo archives across the state was actually quite poor.  Upon being appointed Curator of Collections at the McAlester Valley of the Ancient and Accept Scottish Rite in 2014, the reality of the condition of our Masonic photo archives was only further cemented.  I immediately knew that something had to be done to rectify this before our historic photos were lost.

It was in 2013 that the worst case scenario struck the Masonic bodies of Okmulgee.  After 87 years on the top floor of the McCullough Building, a fire considerably damaged the meeting hall of Gethsemane Commandery No. 25.  That particular Commandery of Knights Templar had a long history of award winning drill teams and possessed numerous photos of those famed drill teams.  Fortunately, the fire was reasonably contained and those historic photos were not lost.  Unfortunately, the fire forced Gethsemane Commandery No. 25 to consolidate with Muskogee Commandery No. 2 in 2014. 

Knowing that we were just one fire, tornado, or flood away from losing a great deal of our state’s Masonic history, I began to explore a partnership with the Oklahoma Historical Society in 2015.  As Grand Captain General of Knights Templar of Oklahoma, I initially only sought to preserve historic Oklahoma Templar photos.  Our Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons, Clyde Schoolfield, also saw the benefit of this initiative; which expanded the project to preserve all historic York Rite photos.

To date, the partnership with the Oklahoma Historical Society has resulted in over 30 historic Masonic photos being preserved.  The photos are actually donated to the Oklahoma Historical Society, where they will be stored in perpetuity, who in turn scans the images.  The photos will be available to researchers through the Oklahoma Historical Society of course, but copies are also provided to the Grand York Rite bodies at no charge. 

To view the online archive please follow the link:  Oklahoma Masonic Photos

 

 1925 Templar Parade Marshals, Tulsa

Bohumil Makovsky: Masonic Bandsman

By T.S. Akers

 Bohumil Makovsky

Freemasons are directed to study the Liberal Arts and Sciences in the Fellowcraft degree.  Masonic teachings tell us that those include grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.  In Oklahoma, one Brother was particularly adept at music.  Born in Frantisky Bohemia, on September 23, 1878, Bohumil “Boh” Makovsky arrived in the United States at age seventeen.[i]  He made his way to Nebraska to join his Sister’s family where he took an apprenticeship with a cigar maker.  Unable to speak English, Makovsky was skilled with his Albert System Clarinet.[ii]  It was Makovsky’s Uncle who taught him to play the clarinet, as Makovsky had little formal education.[iii]

An accomplished musician, Makovsky soon began leading a band in Nebraska.  It was in 1903 that his band was booked to play in Davis, Oklahoma Territory.  Upon arrival, the band learned there was no gig, so Makovsky paid the band members and made his way to Oklahoma City.  There he gave music lessons and played the State Fair on a regular basis.  Oklahoma also happened to be home to an Eastern European community, which allowed for Makovsky to lead polka bands in Woodward, Yukon, and Prague.[iv]

Makovsky settled in Woodward in time and there found himself knocking on the doors of Freemasonry.  On May 21, 1908, he was initiated an Entered Apprentice in Woodward Lodge No. 189 AF&AM.  Makovsky would then be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on July 2 and raised to the degree of Master Mason on August 6.[v]  During the Reunion of October 6-8, 1908, at Guthrie, he took the degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.[vi]  It was by becoming a Masonic ritualist and committing large portions of degree work to memory that Makovsky was able to master the English language.[vii]

In 1915, Makovsky was asked to become the Band Director at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University).  With that title, he also became the Director of Music.[viii]  Makovsky then made his home in Stillwater, affiliating with Frontier Lodge No. 48 AF&AM in 1918; he was Worshipful Master of the lodge in 1922.[ix]  Makovsky would serve at Oklahoma A&M until 1943.[x]  A bit eccentric, one colleague described Makovsky as the most unforgettable characters he had ever known.  For example, Makovsky liked to refer to rare instruments owned by the school as “his pets.”[xi]

Makovsky in his Oklahoma A&M band uniform, c. 1923

An active Scottish Rite Mason, Makovsky long served as Organist at the Guthrie Temple.  He was elected a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in 1921 and coroneted a 33^rd Degree in 1927.[xii]  Makovsky was also a York Rite Mason and served as Commander of St. John’s Commandery No. 8, Knights Templar, stationed at Stillwater, in 1928.  He additionally served as High Priest of Stillwater Chapter No. 14, Royal Arch Masons in 1921.  Makovsky was the first Illustrious Master of Stillwater Council No. 50, Royal and Select Masters in 1949.

 Makovsky's Knight Templar Sword

(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite Temple)

Makovsky earned numerous honors throughout his lifetime.  He received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Tulsa and was the first honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi, a music fraternity.  Kappa Kappa Psi would come to call Makovsky their “Guiding Spirit.”  He was also bestowed the title of “The Great Father of Oklahoma Music” by the Kiowa Tribe.[xiii]  Makovsky would be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1938.[xiv]  His trademark crushed velvet bowtie and saxophone shaped pipe were long remembered in Stillwater[xv].  Makovsky died on June 12, 1950, and was laid to rest in Fairlawn Cemetery of Cushing, Oklahoma.[xvi]

---

[i]  “Facts About Boh,” Kappa Kappa Psi Alpha Chapter, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.okstate.edu/osu_orgs/kkp/Boh.html.

[ii]  “Bohumil Makovsky,” Kappa Kappa Psi Alpha Chapter, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.orgs.okstate.edu/kkp/boh.html.

[iii]  “Facts About Boh.”

[iv]  “Bohumil Makovsky.”

[v]  “Makovsky, Bohumil” (member profile, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma AF&AM).

[vi]  “Makovsky, Bohumil” (member profile, Guthrie Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[vii]  “Bohumil Makovsky.”

[viii]  Ibid.

[ix]  “Makovsky, Bohumil” (member profile, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma AF&AM).

[x] “Facts About Boh.”

[xi]  Ibid.

[xii]  “Makovsky, Bohumil” (member profile, Guthrie Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite).

[xiii]  “Facts About Boh.”

[xiv]  “Inductees,” Oklahoma Hall of Fame, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.oklahomahof.com/Inductees/SearchbyDate.aspx.

[xv]  “Facts About Boh.”

[xvi]  “Bohumil Makovsky,” Find A Grave, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7210498.

General Roy V. Hoffman, Soldier and Freemason

An excerpt from Masonic Generals of the Oklahoma National Guard: 1894-1965

By T.S. Akers

Major General Hoffman, c. 1918

(Courtesy of the Library of Congress) 

General Hoffman was born in Neosho County, Kansas, on June 13, 1869.  Of German ancestry, several of Hoffman’s ancestors held positions in the court of Imperial Germany.  His father Peter was a rancher and Hoffman became a cowboy at a young age.  Hoffman attended public school infrequently and the majority of his education was obtained at home.  He studied at the Kansas Normal College at Fort Scott, Kansas, for two years.  In addition to teaching in Fort Scott, Hoffman also read the law under an attorney by the name of Colonel Harris. 

When the Oklahoma Territory was opened, Hoffman made the Run of 1889.  Upon arriving in Guthrie, he found employment in the United States Land Office.  Hoffman would also found a newspaper, the Guthrie Leader, serving as editor.  He continued to study the law in Guthrie as well, in the firm of Speed & Hackney; being admitted to the bar in 1892.  Hoffman would also make his way into public service that year, as he became private secretary to Governor William C. Renfrow.  One of his tasks in this post was laying out the county lines for Oklahoma Territory. 

While residing at Chandler, Hoffman took the degrees of Freemasonry in Chandler Lodge No. 58.  He was made an Entered Apprentice on July 2, 1898, and passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on July 5.  Hoffman was raised to the degree of Master Mason that same day.  This was likely due to the fact that Hoffman had enlisted as a private in the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry, as war had erupted with Spain, and he would soon be leaving for the army.  During the Reunion of August 4-5, 1898, Hoffman took the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite at Guthrie.  His degrees were conferred by Harper S. Cunningham, first Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Oklahoma.

Hoffman helped to raise Company K of the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry from the counties of Pottawatomie, Osage, Lincoln, and Oklahoma.  He would ultimately serve as captain of Company K.  Unfortunately, the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry never saw action and spent the duration of the war in camp in Georgia.  Hoffman secured leave while stationed in Georgia to return to the Oklahoma Territory to marry Estelle Conklin on October 5, 1898.  When the Oklahoma contingent of the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry returned home, Hoffman continued in military service.  He became lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Oklahoma Infantry Regiment in 1900 and when the commander was killed in 1901 at Kingfisher, Hoffman was made colonel of the regiment.

When statehood arrived for Oklahoma in 1907, Hoffman had been serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney since 1903.  It was under the direction of Frank M. Canton, who was appointed Adjutant General in 1907, that Hoffman would author the National Guard Maintenance Bill.  The bill allowed for the creation of a 945 man regiment with one company of engineers, one hospital unit, and one signals unit, along with a reserve militia.  In the faithful hands of Canton, the billed passed the legislature by two votes on May 22, 1908.  The year 1907 also saw Hoffman make a bid for the United States Senate, though he lost election by a very narrow margin.  In 1908, he became District Judge of the Tenth District, serving until 1912.  Additionally, Hoffman was appointed to the Board of Affairs in 1909 by Governor Charles N. Haskell and elected chairman.

It was Hoffman who went into the field to bring in Chitto Harjo, the leader known as Crazy Snake, when rebellion erupted at the Hickory Ground near Henryetta in 1909.  On March 28, Hoffman arrived in the area with five companies.  Military telephone lines were built and the Guardsmen hiked into the mountainous region, traversing twenty-one miles on the first day’s march to Pierce, near the home of Harjo.  About 150 followers of Harjo were arrested during the operation, which concluded on April 1.  Though Harjo managed to escape capture, this first test of the new National Guard of the State of Oklahoma was a success as not one man was injured.

Hoffman, an active votary of Freemasonry, was made a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in the Guthrie Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in 1907 and coroneted a 33rd Degree in 1909.  He moved to Oklahoma City in 1915 and there entered into the firm of Burford, Robertson, and Hoffman.  John H. Burford was a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory.  In time, the firm would become Burford, Miley, Hoffman, and Burford.  J.H. Miley and Frank Burford both served on the Supreme Court as well.  Hoffman was also a stockholder in seven banks and an investor in several businesses.  He was particularly interested in land and oil.

When Pancho Villa became a problem on the Mexican Border in 1916, Hoffman was again at the helm of the Oklahoma National Guard.  Called into active service on June 19, 1916, the 1st Oklahoma Infantry Regiment was stationed at San Benito in the Brownsville District.  The regiment would be mustered out of federal service on March 2, 1917, at Fort Sill, only to be federalized again on March 31, for service in Europe.  At that time, Hoffman was the most senior colonel in the National Guard.  For this reason, and his experience, he was made a brigadier general on August 6, 1917.  Hoffman, along with Adjutant General Ancel S. Earp, was tasked with recruiting men to meet Oklahoma’s quota for soldiers.  This was no easy task as Hoffman penned in 1922:

…after more than four months of efforts in calling for volunteers we were still short more than fifty percent of the number necessary to fill the organization.   Let this be the answer when any one says we could have raised an army without the draft.

The Oklahoma National Guard would be combined with the Texas National Guard to form the 36th Infantry Division.  Hoffman went to Europe commanding the 93rd Infantry Division, an African American unit attached to the 157th French Division.  He served in the Toul Sector, was with the 1st Division at the battle of Cantigny, was part of the defense of the Picardy Sector, and fought at the battle of St. Mihiel.  The 93rd Infantry Division would be awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm for its service to France and Hoffman himself was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor by Marshall Foch, Generalissimo of the Allied Armies. 

General Hoffman and aides at Division headquarters, Maffrecourt, France

(Courtesy of Critical Past)

Incapacitated by injuries suffered from gas attacks, Hoffman returned to the United States.  Upon his return, Hoffman was posted at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where he began the organization of the 101st Infantry Division before being discharged in March of 1919.  He assumed command of the 190th Infantry Brigade of the 95th Infantry Division, an element of the organized reserves, when that unit was re-organized in 1921.  In 1931, Hoffman was made commander of the 45th Infantry Division with the rank of major general.  He remained in that position until his retirement in June of 1933.

General Hoffman with Governor Robertson, 1919

(Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society)

Hoffman served as a civilian aide to the Secretary of War immediately following World War I in addition to being an advocate for veterans.  He helped to organize the American Legion, serving as commander of Oklahoma, and also served as President of the Reserve Officers Association.  Hoffman’s legal career would see him represent Phillips Petroleum, Standard of Indiana, and the Prairie Oil Company, which became the Sinclair Oil Company.  He once quipped about his business experiences, “[I] have been into nearly everything except train robbing.”  Hoffman died on June 18, 1953, and was laid to rest in Oak Park Cemetery of Chandler.

General Hoffman visiting the 120th Observation Squadron at Fort Sill, 1932

(Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society)

Masonic Generals of the Oklahoma National Guard: 1894-1965

This book is a collection of biographical sketches of the Adjutants General of the Oklahoma National Guard and Commanding Generals of the 45th Infantry Division who also held membership in the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma.

Chocked full of photos, the book chronicles the lives and careers of the nine Adjutants General and six Commanding Generals of the 45th from 1894 to 1965 who were Freemasons.

Proceeds benefit the museum of the McAlester Scottish Rite Valley.

Available here from Amazon.

The general officers considered:

The Adjutant General
Philip C. Rosenbaum
Alva J. Niles
Frank M. Canton
Ancel S. Earp
Ennis H. Gipson
Charles F. Barrett
Baird H. Markham
Louis A. Ledbetter
Roy W. Kenny

The 45th Infantry Division
Baird H. Markham
Roy V. Hoffman
William S. Key
James C. Styron
Hal L. Muldrow, Jr.
Frederick A. Daugherty

James J. McAlester: Pioneer Freemason

By. T.S. Akers

Oklahoma has two great Masonic cities.  One had dreams of being the state capital and it would ultimately serve in a similar capacity as it became home to the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma.  The vestiges of Freemasonry are still very evident in Guthrie, ranging from the old Masonic Children’s Home to the imposing Scottish Rite Temple perched atop what was to be Capitol Hill at the end of Oklahoma Avenue.  The other city was born of a Freemason and though many of her Masonic halls are now fading memories, such as Mount Moriah, McAlester is still one of the great Masonic cities of Oklahoma.

McAlester is named for the famed merchant of Indian Territory James J. McAlester, who was immortalized by Charles Portis in his novel True Grit.[i]  McAlester was born in Sebastian County, Arkansas on October 1, 1842.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, McAlester volunteered for service in the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of Captain.[ii]  McAlester was present at the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862 and escorted the body of the Late General Benjamin McCulloch to Fort Smith.[iii]

 James J. McAlester
(Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society) 

McAlester took up residence in Fort Smith after the Civil War, boarding with an engineer by the name of Oliver Weldon who had surveyed the Indian Territory.  Armed with Weldon’s memorandum book that noted the coal outcrops at the crossroads of the Texas and California Roads, McAlester set out for Indian Territory.[iv]  Serving as a teamster, McAlester was helping transport a saw-mill to Fort Sill.  In about 1868, McAlester became a salesman for the firm of Reynolds and Hannaford; ultimately buying out his partners.[v]  It was in 1869 that McAlester opened his general store, in a tent, at “The Crossroads.”[vi]  

A few years later in 1872, McAlester married Rebecca Burney, sister of future Chickasaw Governor Ben Burney, which gave McAlester full citizenship in the Chickasaw Nation as well as rights in the Choctaw Nation.[vii]  This allowed McAlester to stake a claim in the coal deposits at “The Crossroads.”[viii]  Owing to the quality of the coal in the area, which McAlester had a controlling interest in, the MKT Railroad established a line through what was then Tobucksy County.  This would help the city of McAlester to flourish.[ix]  Officials of the MKT Railroad gave the railway stop at the “The Crossroads” the name McAlester.[x]

McAlester accepted his first political appointment as a Democrat in 1893 as United States Marshal having jurisdiction over matters with the Choctaw Nation, a post he would hold until 1897.[xi]  McAlester sold his mercantile to another area Mason, William Busby, in 1904.[xii]  It was during this period that McAlester was engaged in banking.  In 1901, McAlester appeared in the City Directory of Denison, Texas, as Vice President of the National Bank of Denison.[xiii]  By 1905, McAlester was serving as President of the Bank of McAlester.[xiv]  McAlester’s banking interests secured him a seat on the Corporation Commission after Statehood for a term from 1907 to 1911.[xv]  McAlester left the Corporation Commission to serve as the second Lieutenant Governor under Governor Lee Cruce.  McAlester was acting Governor in the absence of Cruce on at least one occasion, as evidenced by his issuing a pardon in 1915 in the case of Sibenaler v State.[xvi]

For all that McAlester did to see that the city that bore his name flourished; he was an equal proponent of Freemasonry.  Records indicate that McAlester affiliated with Muscogee (Eufaula) Lodge No. 1 in December of 1876, serving as Junior Warden of that Lodge in 1877.[xvii]  McAlester Lodge No. 9 was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory on September 5, 1877.[xviii]  McAlester then affiliated with Lodge No. 9 in 1878.[xix]

McAlester would go on to be a charter member of two Masonic bodies in Southeastern Oklahoma.  In 1878, McAlester along with a number of other Companions petitioned for a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and a charter was granted to Indian Chapter No. 1 in August of 1880.[xx]  McAlester was also one of the Sir Knights who petitioned for a Commandery of Knights Templar in 1894.[xxi]  

When the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Indian Territory was formed in 1890, McAlester was elected the first Grand Treasurer.[xxii]  McAlester also served as first Grand Treasurer of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Indian Territory in 1895.[xxiii]  As further evidence of his financial prowess, McAlester also saw service as Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory from 1878 to 1879 and 1889 to 1899.[xxiv]

J.J. McAlester in Templar uniform with Frank Smith, Past Grand Commander of Indian Territory
(Unknown Source)

James J. McAlester laid down the working tools of life on September 21, 1920, in the city that bore his name.[xxv]  As a testament to his life, the Oklahoman noted the following on McAlester’s death:

Followed probably by the largest concourse of mourners ever witnessed in this city, the remains of Col. J.J. McAlester were buried today in the Masonic cemetery here. Funeral services were conducted at the residence and were heard by nearly 2,000 people.
Out of respect for the memory of Colonel McAlester and the fact that he was the founder of this city, business and industrial life of the city was at a standstill from 2 until 4 o'clock this afternoon.
Preceding the funeral at the home, the Kadosh funeral rites were exemplified at the Masonic temple at midnight. In the procession behind the funeral bier on its way to the cemetery were the allied Masonic bodies, in which Colonel McAlester had been active, the confederate veterans in uniform, the allied civic organizations, 200 members of the chamber of commerce, the United Daughters of the Confederacy and other women's organizations.[xxvi]

The hand of James J. McAlester can still be seen across the city of McAlester today, from the buildings that bore his name to the Masonic halls he once graced, McAlester lives on in the city he helped establish.

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[i]  “History of McAlester.” McAlester, OK, accessed May 7, 2014, http://www.cityofmcalester.com/index.aspx?nid=130.

[ii]  LaRadius Allen, “McAlester, James Jackson (1842-1920),” Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed May 7, 2014, http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/M/MC003.html.

[iii]  Clyde Wooldridge, McAlester: The Capital of Little Dixie : A History of McAlester, Krebs and South McAlester (Rich Hill, MO: Bell Books, 2001), 8-9.

[iv]  Allen.

[v]  Wooldridge, 8-9.

[vi]  Jeanne LeFlore, “McAlester History,” McAlester News-Capital, last modified July 23, 2013, http://www.mcalesternews.com/local/x1724758902/McAlester-History.

[vii]  Allen.

[viii]  Ibid.

[ix]  Wooldridge, 8-9.

[x]  Paul Nesbitt, “J.J. McAlester,” Chronicles of Oklahoma 11, no. 2 (1933): 758-764.

[xi]  “Necrology,” Chronicles of Oklahoma 5, no. 3 (1927): 352.

[xii]  Wooldridge, 69.

[xiii]  “James Jackson McAlester,” Grayson County TXGenWeb, accessed May 7, 2014, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgrayso/Ethnic/Native%20American/Choctaw/Choctaw_JamesMcAlester.html.

[xiv]  Wooldridge, 80.

[xv]  “Necrology.”

[xvi]  “James Jackson McAlester,” Grayson County TXGenWeb.

[xvii]  “McAlester, James Jackson” (member profile, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma AF&AM).

[xviii]  Oklahoma Masonic Centennial Lodges 1874-1974 (Oklahoma: Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1974), 9.

[xix]  “McAlester, James Jackson” (member profile).

[xx]  Norman E. Angel, Kenneth S. Adams, and William A. Hensley, History of the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma (Oklahoma: 1964), 2-3.

[xxi]  “McAlester Commandery No. 3” (charter, Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America, August 29, 1895).

[xxii]  Angel, 12.

[xxiii]  Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Oklahoma, Proceedings of the 118^th Annual Conclave (Oklahoma:  2013).

[xxiv]  “McAlester, James Jackson” (member profile).

[xxv]  Allen.

[xxvi]  “Capt. James Jackson McAlester,” Find A Grave, accessed May 7, 2014, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13398592.