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.”

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]

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[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