Short Talk Bulletin Vol 11 No 07

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SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.XI  July, 1933   No.7 

OUR MASONIC PRESIDENTS 

by: Unknown 

William L. Boyden, P.M., Librarian of the Supreme Council, A.A.S.R.,  
S.J., a Masonic historian of tireless energy and scholarly ability,  
was author of that classic of the Craft, “Masonic Presidents, Vice  
Presidents, and signers of the Declaration of Independence” on which  
this Bulletin has drawn heavily. 
Fifteen Presidents were members of the Fraternity:   
Buchanan, Ford, Garfield, Harding, Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Lyndon B.  
Johnson (A.E. only), McKinley, Monroe, Polk, Franklin D. Roosevelt,  
Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Truman, and Washington.  Jefferson and  
Madison have often been claimed as Masons, but there is no acceptable  
evidence to prove that either was ever a Mason. 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 

George Washington, 1st President (1789-1797), has a Masonic history  
so rich a Short Talk Bulletin (Vol.10, No.2, February 1932) was  
necessary for a bare outline.  Washington was initiated, passed and  
raised in “The Lodge at Fredricksburg, Va.,” (now No.4 on the  
Virginia Register) on November 4, 1752, March 3, and August 4, 1753.   
He was made an honorary member of Alexandria Lodge No.39, June 24,  
1784.  When his Lodge gave up its Charter under the Provincial Grand  
Lodge of Pennsylvania to accept one from the Grand Lodge of Virginia  
and become No.22, April 28, 1788, Washington was named as Charter  
Worshipful Master, and was re-elected Master December 20, 1788. 
He was made and Honorary Member of Holland Lodge No. 8, New York,  
1789. 
His Masonic activities and visits were many; his letters to and about  
Lodges and Masons fills a volume.  He was the only President ever to  
be Master of his Lodge during his incumbency. 
The cornerstone of the United States Capital was laid by Washington,  
with Masonic ceremonies, on September 18, 1793, at the request of  
Maryland’s Grand Master pro tem. 
He died December 14, 1799, and was buried with full Masonic honors by  
Alexandria Lodge No.22, on December 18th.  The Lodge later changed  
its name to Alexandria Washington Lodge No.22.	 
To his memory and fame the Masons of the United States are erecting  
the mightiest stone monument ever raised to honor any man.  Built  
without metal, to endure a long as granite shall last; this memorial  
stands on Shooter’s Hill, just outside the city of Alexandria, Va. 
JAMES MONROE 

James Monroe, 5th President (1817-1824), was born in Westmoreland  
County, Virginia April 28, 1752. 
The original records of Williamsburg Lodge No.6, Williamsburg, Va.,  
show (November 6,1775) that he was “recommended as a fit person to be  
admitted a member of this lodge and the motion recorded.  On November  
9, 1775, he was “preferred, received and balloted for; passed and  
accepted and entered an apprentice.:  The curious reader will note  
that he was not quite seventeen years and six months old at this  
time! 
His dues were paid through October 1780, but no record shows as to  
when he was raised.  Tradition states that he received the Master’s  
Degree in a Military Lodge during the revolution, and also credits  
him membership in Kilwinning Cross Lodge No.2, Port Royal, Va. 
Little is known of his Masonic life.  He visited Cumberland Lodge  
No.8, at a meeting especially called to receive him in Nashville,  
Tennessee, June 8, 1819.  He died in New York, July 4, 1831. 

 

ANDREW JACKSON 

Andrew Jackson, 7th President (1829-1836), born at Waxhaw Settlement,  
N.C., March 15, 1767, was unquestionably a Mason, but when and where  
he was raised is not certain. 
At the first meeting of Tennessee Lodge No.2 (originally No.41, N.C.)  
March 24, 1800, in Love’s Tavern, Knoxville, Tennessee, Jackson was  
present as a member of Harmony Lodge No.1, Nashville, Tennessee  
(originally No. 29, N.C.). 
Past Grand Master Comstock of Tennessee, noted historian, believes  
Jackson was made a Mason in Harmony Lodge No.1. 
Federal Lodge No.1, Washington , D.C., elected him an Honorary Member  
January 4, 1839; Jackson Lodge No.1, Tallahassee, Florida, Elected  
him an Honorary Member sat some unknown date; the Grand Lodge of  
Florida elected him an Honorary Member January 15, 1833. 
His chief claim to Masonic fame is that he is the only Grand Master  
to become President.  He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge  
of Tennessee and served from October 7, 1822, to October 4, 1823.  In  
the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge (1822) he is credited with being a  
Past Master but no records substantiate the statement. 
Past Grand Master Comstock also believes that Jackson was a Royal  
Arch Mason, receiving these degrees, as was the custom in early days,  
under the authority of the Blue Lodge Warrant.  He served the Grand  
Chapter of Tennessee as Deputy General Grand High Priest at its  
institution, April 3, 1826, but no record exists of his affiliation  
with any Chapter. 
He acted as Senior Warden at the first meeting of Greenville Lodge  
No.3 (formerly No.43, N.C.), September 5, 1801; contributed thirty- 
five dollars in 1818 to the erection of a Masonic Temple in  
Nashville; requested two Lodges to perform funeral services;  
introduced Lafayette to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee in 1825; while  
President, assisted Washington’s Mother Lodge to lay the cornerstone  
of a monument to Washington’s Mother at Fredricksburg, Va. (May  
6,1833); assisted in the Masonic laying of the cornerstone of Jackson  
City (across the river from Washington, D.C.) January 11, 1836;  
attended the Grand Lodge of Tennessee in 1839, and the same year  
visited Cumberland Chapter No.1 of Nashville, to assist in  
installation of officers.  He died at “The Hermitage” near Nashville,  
Tennessee, June 8, 1845. 
JAMES KNOX POLK 

James Knox Polk, 11th President (1845-1849), was born in Mecklenburg  
County, N.C. November, 1795.  He was initiated in Columbia Lodge No.  
31, Columbia, Tennessee, June 5, Passed August 7, and raised  
September 4, 1820.  In October he was he was elected Junior Deacon,  
and Junior Warden December 3, 1821, but there is no record of his  
having been Master.  In 1825 he received the Royal Arch Degree in  
Lafayette Chapter No. 4, Columbia, Tennessee.  June 24, 1840, he  
attended the feast of St. John the Baptist celebrated by Columbia  
Lodge No.8 and Hiram Lodge No.7 at Nashville, and marched with them  
in procession to a church for Divine Services.  May 1,1847, he  
assisted in the Masonic laying of the cornerstone of the Smithsonian  
Institute, Washington, D.C.  He died at Nashville, Tennessee, June  
15, 1849. 
JAMES BUCHANAN 

James Buchanan, 15th President (1857-1861), was born near  
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791.  When twenty-three years  
of age he petitioned Lodge No.43 (the lodge had no name) of  
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was elected and initiated December 11,  
1816, and both passed and raised on January 24, 1817. 
He was elected Junior Warden December 13, 1920; Master December 23,  
1822, and was installed March 12, 1823.  He was appointed First  
District Deputy Grand Master for Lancaster, Lebonon and York  
Counties, December 27, 1823. 
May 20, 1826, he was exalted in Royal Arch Chapter No.43 (also no  
name) of Lancaster.  Thirty-two years later he was made a Life Member  
by his Lodge.  He delivered the address in the Masonic dedication of  
the statue of Washington, Washington Circle, Washington, D.C.,  
February 22, 1860.  He died June 1, 1868, and was buried Masonically  
by his Lodge. 
ANDREW JOHNSON 

Andrew Johnson, 17th President (1865-1868), was born at Raleigh,  
N.C., December 29, 1808.  He received the degrees in Greenville Lodge  
No.119 at Greenville, Tennessee in 1851; is supposed to have been a  
Chapter Mason but the name of the Chapter and date of exaltation are  
unknown; was Knighted in Nashville Commandery No.1, Nashville,  
Tennessee, July 26, 1859, and, the First President to become a  
Scottish Rite Mason, received those degrees in the White House June  
20, 1867, from Benjamin B. French, 33 Deg. and A.T.C. Pierson, 33  
Deg., both active members of the Supreme Council, S.J. 
He participated in five cornerstone layings; the monument to Bro.  
Stephen a Douglas, Chicago, Illinois, September 6, 1866; Masonic  
Temple, Baltimore, Maryland, November 20, 1866; Masonic Temple  
Boston, Massachusetts, June 24, 1867; National Cemetery, Antietam,  
Maryland, October 17, 1867; and Masonic Temple, Washington, D.C., May  
20, 1868.  To attend this ceremony he gave leave to all Masons in  
government service, and President Johnson marched on foot in the  
parade as a Master Mason. 
At the cornerstone laying of the Baltimore Temple some one suggested  
that a chair be brought to the reviewing platform for him.  Brother  
Johnson refused it, saying: “We all meet on the level.” 
He died July 31, 1875, and was buried with full Masonic Honors by  
Greenville Lodge No.119, R.W.G. C. Connor, Deputy Grand Master of  
Tennessee conducting the services in the presence of four Lodges and  
Coeur de Lion Commandery No.9 of Knoxville, which performed the  
Templar service. 
JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD 

James Abram Garfield, 20th President (1881), was born in Orange,  
Ohio, November 19, 1831.  He was initiated November 19, 1861, in  
Magnolia Lodge No.20, Columbus, Ohio.  Passed two weeks later, he  
waited almost three years (due to military service) for his raising,  
November 22, 1864, in Columbus Lodge No.30, Columbus, Ohio, by  
request of his mother Lodge. 
He dimitted August 1, 1865, and joined Garrettsville Lodge No.246,  
Garrettsville, Ohio, October 10, 1866, serving as Chaplain in 1868  
and 69.  On May 4, 1869, he became a Charter Member of Pentalpha  
Lodge No.23, D.C..  In Washington he was exalted in Columbia Chapter  
No.1, April 18, 1866; received the Templar degrees, May 18, 1866, in  
Columbia Commandery No.2, and the 14th degree, Scottish Rite, January  
2, 1872.  The degrees from the 6th to the 13th were communicated to  
him by Albert Pike, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Rite for the  
Southern Jurisdiction. 
Hanselmann Commandery No.16, Cincinnati, Ohio, made him an Honorary  
Member July 19, 1881; after he was assassinated on July 2.  He died  
September 19, 1881.  Columbia Commandery No.2, D.C., escorted his  
remains to Cleveland, where he was buried in the presence of a large  
number of Cementers and other Masonic Bodies. 
WILLIAM McKINLEY 

William McKinley, t President (1897-1901), was born at Niles, Ohio,  
January 29, 1843.  He was made a Mason in Hiram Lodge No.21, of  
Winchester, Virginia.  Prior to being elected and initiated May 1st,  
passed May 2nd, and raised May 3 rd, 1865; as a Lieutenant he was  
making a round in a hospital for Confederate wounded.  Noticing that  
the regimental surgeon distributed gifts of tobacco and money to  
certain patients, he was told that these particular wounded  
Southerners were brother Masons.  McKinley then expressed his desire  
to become a member of the Fraternity that promoted such sentiments  
between opposing armies. 
He dimitted the same day he was raised, affiliating with Canton Lodge  
No.60, of Canton, Ohio, August 21, 1867, Only to become a Charter  
member on June 2, 1869, of Eagle Lodge No.431, of the same city,  
which afterwards changed its name to William McKinley Lodge No.431. 
He received the Royal Arch Degree in Canton Chapter No.84, December  
28, 1883; was made a Knight Templar in Canton Commandery No.38,  
December 23, 1884; elected a Life Member of Washington Comandry No.1,  
D.C. December 23, 1896, and became an Honorary Member of the Illinois  
Masonic Veteran Association, October 26, 1898. 
His Masonic activities include reviewing a parade of Knights Templar  
from the White House, May 6, 1897; a visit to his Mother Lodge in  
Winchester, Virginia, May 19, 1899; participation in the Masonic  
centennial observance of the death of George Washington, December 14,  
1899; again reviewing a Knights Templar parade from the White House,  
October 11, 1900, and attending a reception of California Commandery  
No.1, in San Francisco, May 22, 1901.  He dies in Buffalo, N.Y.  
September 14, 1901, following his assassination September 6,1901. 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT 

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President (1901-1909), was born in New York  
City, October 27, 1858.   He was initiated January 2nd, passed March  
27th and raised April 24, 1901, in Matinecock Lodge No.806, Oyster  
Bay, New York.  Pentalpha Lodge No. 23, D.C., made him an Honorary  
Member April 4, 1904, as did the Illinois Masonic Veterans  
Association in 1903. 
Roosevelt’s interest in the Fraternity was often expressed and his  
visits to Lodges were not only in this country, also abroad.   
November 5, 1902, he attended the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania  
celebration of Washington’s initiation in Philadelphia; in  
Washington, D.C., February 21, 1903, he honored the Masonic  
ceremonies of laying the cornerstone of the army War College with his  
presence; May 26, 1903, he broke ground for a Masonic Temple at  
Spokane, Washington; April 14, 1906, he attended the Masonic  
cornerstone laying of the House of Representative’s Building in  
Washington, D.C., where he delivered the address, presenting a bound  
copy of it to the Grand Master, inscribed:  
“To Walter A. Brown, Esq., Grand Master of Masons, from Brother  
Theodore Roosevelt,” and June 8, 1907, he wore Masonic Regalia and  
delivered an address at the laying of the cornerstone of the New  
Masonic Temple, Washington, D.C.  He died in Oyster Bay New York,  
January 6, 1919. 
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 

William Howard Taft, 27th President (1909-1913), was born in  
Cincinnati, Ohio, September 15,1857.  Unique among Masonic  
Presidents, he was made a Mason “at sight,” at Cincinnati, Ohio,  
February 18, 1909, in an Emergent Lodge called together for the  
purpose.  At five O’clock in the afternoon Grand Mast Charles S  
Hoskinson personally administered the obligations and esoteric  
instructions.  That evening Taft witnessed the Master’s degree  
conferred by Kilwinning Lodge No.356, of Cincinnati, which elected  
him to membership April 14, 1909. 
Crescent Lodge No.25, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, elected him an Honorary  
Member June 5, 1918.  On April 22, 1909, he visited Temple-Noyes  
Lodge No.32, at Washington, D.C., of which his close friend and aide,  
Major Archie Butt, was a member and for whom, after the Titanic  
disaster, Temple-Noyes Lodge held an elaborate Memorial Service which  
Brother Taft attended as one of the Chief Mourners.  He visited the  
famous American Union Lodge No.1, at Marietta, Ohio, June 15, 1910;  
Alexan-dria Washington Lodge No.22, on Washington’s birthday, 1911;  
May 9th of the same year he posed for a picture in Washington’s  
Masonic regalia at the White House; May 13th he visited St John’s  
Lodge No.1, Newark, N.J., to help celebrate its 150th anniversary; on  
December 27, 1914, he addressed the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and  
on June 5, 1918, he spoke to Crescent Lodge No.25 of Cedar Rapids,  
Iowa.  He dies March 8, 1930. 
WARREN GAMALIEL HARDING 

Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th President (1921--1923), was born in  
Morrow County, Ohio, November 2, 1865.  His interest in the Order was  
of his mature years.  He was initiated in Marion Lodge No.70, Marion,  
Ohio, June 28,1901, when thirty-six years of age, but was not passed  
until August 13, 1920, nineteen years later.  He was raised August  
27, 1920. 
His three years as a Master Mason were short but crowded.  Albert  
Pike Lodge No.36, Washington, D.C., made him an Honorary Member and  
presented him with a Gold Membership Card at the White House May 4,  
1921; Marion Chapter No.62, Marion, Ohio, exalted him January 13,  
1921; Marion Council No.22, elected him to the Cryptic Rite but he  
died before receiving it; March 1, 1921, Marion Commandery No.36,  
conferred upon him the Red Cross, Malta and Temple Degrees;  
January 5, 1921, he received the Scottish Rite Degrees from the 4th  
through 32nd in Columbus, Ohio.  The Supreme Council of the Northern  
Jurisdiction elected him to receive the 33 deg. September 22, 1921.   
The degree was to be given him a year later, but he could not attend  
on account of Mrs.  Harding’s illness.  He died before the session of  
1923.  Aladdin Temple of the Shrine, Columbus, Ohio, created him a  
Noble (the first President to receive the Red Fez) January 7, 1921;  
Almas Temple, Washington, D.C. elected him an Honorary Member March  
21, 1921; the Imperial Council of the Shrine elected him an Honorary  
Member June 1923; Kallipolis Grotto, Washington, D.C. made him a  
Prophet at the White House May 11,1921, presenting him with a Gold  
Life Membership Card;  
Evergreen Forest No.49, Milford, Delaware, made him a Tall Cedar,  
June 9, 1923, and Washington Chapter No. 3, National Sojourners,  
presented him with a Gold Badge of Membership at the White House, May  
28, 1923. 
By letters and personal conversations, he evidenced much interest in  
his new relationships.  He had agreed to review the Ascension Day  
Parade of Knights Templar in Washington, D.C. in 1921, but weather  
prevented it.  May 9,1921, he reviewed a parade of Shriners and in  
the evening made an address at a ceremonial of Almas Temple,  
Washington, D.C.  In 1923 he visited the Scottish Rite Bodies in St.  
Augustine, Florida; June 5, of the same year he delivered an address  
before the Imperial Council of the Shrine, Washington, D.C.; later,  
wearing his Fez, he reviewed the parade, declaring it:”  “The  
greatest spectacle I ever witnessed.:  In July, 1923, he officiated  
at the laying of the cornerstone for the Masonic Temple of Ketchikan  
Lodge No. 159, Alaska. 
He died in San Francisco, California, August 2, 1923; and after  
laying in state in the National Capital, was buried in Marion, Ohio,  
August 10th. 
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President (1933-1945, was born at  
Hyde Park, New York, January 30, 1882.  He was initiated in Holland  
Lodge No.8, New York City, October 10th, passed November 14th and  
raised November 28, 1911.  He received the Scottish Rite degrees in  
Albany, New York, February 28, 1929.  He was a member of the Grotto  
(Poughkeepsie, New York) and Tall Cedars (Warwick, New York.  He was  
“Right Worshipful”  having been accredited the representative of the  
Grand Lodge of Georgia near the Grand Lodge of New York September 22,  
1930. 
Stansbury Lodge No.24, Washington, D.C. made him an Honorary Member  
November 21, 1919, when he officiated at the Masonic laying of the  
cornerstone of its Temple. 
He attended Architect Lodge No.519, of New York City, February  
17,1933, where he raised his son Elliott to the Sublime Degree and  
made an address in which he stressed the importance of Masonic  
principles to this Nation, and his faith in the Americanism of the  
Ancient Craft, 
He died at Warm Spring, Georgia, April 12, 1945, and was buried at  
Hyde Park, New York. 
HARRY S. TRUMAN 

Harry S. Truman, 33rd President (1945-1953).  For the second time in  
the 169 year history of the United States of America, a Past Grand  
Master of Masons was elevated to the office of President.  Harry S.  
Truman became the 33rd Chief Executive, Thursday, April 12, 1945,  
when he was sworn in by Chief Justice Harlan Stone, two and a half  
hours after the untimely death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 
He was born May 8, 1884, a LaMar, Barton County, Missouri. 
He was made a Mason in Belton Lodge No.450, of Missouri, March 9,  
1909, and served as Junior Warden in 1910.  In 1911, he organized  
Grandview Lodge No.618 and served as its first Worshipful Master.   
Later, he was its Secretary, and again, in 1917, its Master. 
From 1925 to 1930, he served the Grand Lodge as District Deputy Grand  
Master and District Deputy Grand Lecturer, and in 1930 was appointed  
Grand Pursuivant, and progressed regularly until his elevation as  
Grand Master in 1940. 
On November 15, 1919, he was exalted in Orient Chapter No.102, Kansas  
City, Missouri; greeted in Shekinah Council No.24, Kansas City,  
Missouri, December 8, 1919; Knighted by Palestine Commandery No.17,  
of Independence, Missouri, June 15,1923, receiving the 32 deg in  
Western Missouri Consistery, Kansas City, Missouri.  On November 21,  
1941, he received from Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson, 33 deg, of  
the Northern Supreme Council, the Gourgas Medal for distinguished  
service to Masonry.  Humanity and Country. 
In 1945, he was crowned a 33 deg by the Supreme Council, Southern  
Jurisdiction. 
LYNDON B. JOHNSON 

Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President, was born on August 27, 1908, on a  
farm near Stonewall, Texas.  He was sworn in as the Chief Executive  
on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated  
in Dallas, Texas.  A year later, running against the Republican  
nominee, Senator and Brother Barry Goldwater of Arizona, he won a  
landslide victory, to serve as President for the four-year term,  
January, 1965; January ,1969.  He declined to run for re-election in  
1968. 
On October 30, 1937, he was initiated an Entered Apprentice in  
Johnson City, Texas.  He never advanced.  A week after his initiation  
he won an election for Representative in Congress and began a very  
busy political career in Washington which lasted until his retirement  
from the Presidency in January of 1969. 
The opinion among Masons is divided as to whether he should be  
regarded as a Masonic President, since he never achieved the status  
of Master Mason.  Masonic law in Texas declares that “Entered  
Apprentices and Fellowcrafts are Masons,” although denied certain  
rights and privileges, Lyndon B. Johnson was accepted and initiated  
in a Masonic Lodge, and at that time was addressed as “Brother.” 
GERALD RUDOLPH FORD, JR. 

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., 38th President, was born in Omaha,  
Nebraska, on July 14, 1913, but has lived most of his life in Grand  
Rapids, Michigan.  He represented the 5th Michigan district in  
Congress from 1948 till 1973, when he was appointed Vice President by  
President Richard M. Nixon.  When Nixon was forced to resign, Brother  
Ford became President on August 9, 1974. 
With three brothers, he was initiated into Masonry in Malta Lodge  
No.465, Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 30, 1949.  Columbia  
Lodge No.3 of the District of Columbia conferred the Fellowcraft and  
Master Mason degrees as a courtesy to Malta Lodge No.465.  He became  
a Master Mason on May 18, 1951.  He became a member of the Scottish  
Rite in the Valley of Grand Rapids, A.A.S.R., Northern Jurisdiction,  
in 1957, and was coronetted an Honorary 33 deg S.G.I.G. in  
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 26, 1962.  He is also a  
Shriner, Saladin Temple, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and an Honorary  
Member of DeMolay Legion of Honor.