Brother Pullman was present and participated in the proceedings of the convention and assisted in the organization of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. By this action, St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 93, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York, became St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 5, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and from this time forward, the history of this Lodge is a part of the history of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.

On the organization of the Grand Lodge of Michigan at this time, St. Joseph Valley Lodge was honored by its Worshipful Master, Brother Jacob D. Dutton, being elected R. W. Deputy Grand Master, and his first, and as far as can be learned, only official act, seems to have been the installing of the officers of his Lodge on December 27th following.

By this time Masonry in Niles was assuming a prominence that awoke anew the fury of its enemies, and at the Free Will Baptist Convention held there, a certain Rev. Geo. Fellows secured the passage of a resolution condemning the fraternity.

On October 22, 1844, the following item appears in the records of the Lodge:

Voted that a certain resolution which Rev. Geo. Fellows, of Niles, caused to be passed at the Free Will Baptist quarterly meeting recently held in this vicinity, be read.

Voted, that a copy of said resolution he filed in the archives of the Lodge, and that that be the only notice we condescend to take of said Fellows or his resolution.

The year 1845 was a fairly prosperous one for this Lodge. Twenty-two meetings were held; seven petitions were received; eighteen degrees conferred; six were raised and three admitted by affiliation, making a healthy increase of members.

St. Joseph Valley Lodge was not represented at either of the two meetings of Grand Lodge held in 1845.

The members of the Lodge were displeased with the rank accorded them by Grand Lodge and appear to have asked for an investigation of the matter. At the June meeting of Grand Lodge in that year, action was taken which gave to St. Joseph Valley the rank to which it was entitled. The following resolution and action had thereunder will ex plain:

Resolved, unanimously, That in view of the complaints which have been received from the St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 5, and from sundry other Lodges within this jurisdiction, relative to the order which has been taken by this Grand Lodge on the subject of the relative rank of its subordinate Lodges, the entire subject be referred to the committee on grievances.

This committee, after carefully reviewing the subject, reported in favor of making St. Joseph Valley Lodge number four, instead of five, as heretofore, and their recommendation was adopted by Grand Lodge.

Here we drop the detailed history of this particular Lodge, having followed it through all the various steps in its course until we can now leave it in full and harmonious affiliation with our Grand Lodge, under the name and number by which it has been known for more than fifty years. It has grown from a small beginning, to be one of the strong Lodges of Michigan, and was the parent Lodge of all that large number that now dot the whole southwestern part of the state. During the fifty-three years of its existence it has initiated 287, and raised 262 Master Masons. Among its members have been many men that have achieved prominence in civil and military life, as well as the most distinguished preferment in our Masonic Fraternity. In addition to the Brothers heretofore named as having been Grand Officers, two Grand Masters of Masons in Michigan-Henry Chamberlain and W. Irving Babcock-first received Masonic light in this Lodge.

WESTERN STAR LODGE, NO. 10

ST. JOSEPH.

December 10, 1843, Timothy S. Smith, Daniel Olds, Abner P. Stinson, Andrew Murray, John Wittenmyer, R. E. Ward, George R. Mowry, and L. Church petitioned the Grand Master of In liana for a dispensation to organize a Lodge at St. Joseph, Berrien County, Michigan. February 12, 1844, a dispensation was issued, signed by Philip Mason, Grand Master, and Austin W Morris, Grand Secretary, for a Lodge "by the title of Western Star Lodge, U. D. " to be located at said town of St. Joseph, with Daniel Olds as first Worshipful Master, John Wittenmyer, Senior Warden, and Calvin Britain, Junior Warden. At this date the two brothers named as wardens were members of St. Joseph Valley Lodge at Niles, which membership they resigned in the following month and became fully identified with the new Lodge. This Lodge met for organization on April 1, 1844, adopted a code of by-laws and transacted such other business as was necessary to place it in working condition. At the session of the Grand Lodge of Indiana held on May 17, 1844, this dispensation was returned with a request for its renewal, which was granted and the dispensation was continued May 28, 1844. Brother Calvin Britain became one of the most prominent Masons of St. Joseph, and the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons at that place was named Calvin Britain Chapter, in recognition of his services.

The records of this early Lodge have not been preserved, but it continued to work under the authority of the Indiana dispensation until the early part of the year 1845, when, the present Grand Lodge of Michigan having been organized and recognized by the Grand Lodge of Indiana, the dispensation of Western Star Lodge was recalled by the

latter Grand Lodge and is now on file in its archives. Accordingly June 16, 1845, the following petition was made to Grand Master John

Mullett:

To the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Michigan:

The petitioners hereof humbly shew, that they are ancient free and accepted Master Masons. Having the prosperity of the Fraternity at heart, they are willing to exert their best endeavors to promote and dispense the genuine principles of Masonry.

For the convenience of their respective dwellings and for other good reasons, they are desirous of forming a new Lodge in the town of St. Joseph, to be named Western Star Lodge. In consequence of this desire and for the good of the craft they pray for a dispensation to empower them to assemble as a legal Lodge, to discharge the duties of Masonry in the several degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, in a regular and constitutional manner, according to the ancient form of the Fraternity, and the laws and regulations of the Grand Lodge. That they have nominated and do recommend Calvin Britain to be the first Master, Harvey Gould to be the first Senior Warden, and Andrew Murray to be the first Junior Warden of said Lodge. That if the prayer of the petition should be granted, they promise a strict conformity to all the constitutional laws and regulations of the Grand Lodge.

Calvin Britain,
Harvey Gould,

Lovett Church,

Andrew Murray,

R. E. Ward, P. M.

St. Joseph, June 16th, A. L. 5845. A. P. Stinson,

John Wittenmyer,

S. S. Smith,

Lewis Pearl,

G. R. L. Baker.

The dispensation thus asked for was granted June 30, 1845, and the last Lodge working under authority of other jurisdictions transferred its allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Michigan and became a constituent member thereof.

At the annual meeting of Grand Lodge, January 14, 1846, the following action was had relative to this Lodge:

The R. W. Grand Secretary then read a communication from W. M. Calvin Britain, Master of Western Star Lodge, U. D., enclosing twenty-seven dollars, the return of said Lodge, and the dispensation granted to said Lodge on the 30th day of June last, and praying that a warrant might be granted to said Lodge, and the surplus money, if any, might be credited to said Lodge for dues hereafter to accrue, which being read, on motion of Bro. Lee, it was,

Resolved, That a warrant issue to said Lodge under the name and rank of Western Star Lodge, No. 10.

The overpayment was passed to the credit of the Lodge.

Brother Calvin Britain represented this Lodge in Grand Lodge in the year 1846, which was the last time it was represented therein. For some reason, unknown at the present time, interest was allowed to lag and the Lodge died a natural death in the year 1847. Its epitaph could quite appropiately be one that was, a good many years ago, said to have been inscribed upon the tombstone of a little child, and which read,

"Since I was so quickly done for,
I wonder what I was begun for."

JOHN BARNEY.

EARLY MASONIC LECTURER AND TEACHER.
INSTRUCTOR IN THE BARNEY WORK.

The name of Brother John Barney is so closely interwoven with the esoteric work of Michigan Masonry, that this historical work would seem incomplete without a sketch of this distinguished brother. "The Barney Work," concerning which all Michigan Masons have heard so much for fifty years, has naturally created in the minds of the members of this Institution in this state, a desire to know as much as possible concerning the life and labors of this noted brother whose name has become inseparably connected with Michigan Masonry. It is much to be regretted that a complete sketch of his life has not been preserved in any of the jurisdictions where he labored and left his impress upon Masonry, but by gleaning here a little and there a little, we are enabled to get together many of the incidents of his life and masonic work, and present this sketch for the information of the Masons of today.