Chapter for the two or three years after the organization of the latter, has been condemned without stint, yet it must be remembered that the Detroit of 1857 was not the Detroit of to-day. Then a small city, the members of Monroe Chapter naturally thought there was no room for a second Chapter, and they battled courageously for what they then thought was the right, but when the General Grand Chapter had sustained the action of the Grand Chapter of Michigan and had pronounced the legitimacy of Peninsular Chapter, Monroe was prompt to bury the hatchet and extend a fraternal welcome to the companions of Peninsular, and ever since then there has been the most cordial fraternizing between the members of "Mother Monroe," and those of Peninsular, and later of the young King Cyrus Chapter.

ST. JOSEPH VALLEY CHAPTER, NO. 2, NILES.

February 16th, 1844, a petition was prepared and forwarded to the General Grand High Priest, asking for a dispensation to open a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in Niles. This petition was signed by Caleb J. Ingersol, Jonathan Brown, Philemon Sampson, John G. Bond, John F. Porter, of Niles; Jacob Silver and Sterling A. Turner, of Cassopolis; Calvin Britain and Leverett Church, of St. Joseph; Abal Silver, of Edwardsburg; Jonathan Wells, of Cass County; Jacob D. Dutton, Robert Foster, and John Wittenmeyer, of Berrien County; John Knapp and John Sample, of South Bend, Indiana; W. A. Langworthy, John Holdridge and Richmond Tuttle, of Mishawaka, Indiana.

This petition was recommended by Monroe Chapter, No. 1, at Detroit, on the 28th of March, 1844, and on April 16th it was forwarded to Vincent L. Bradford, at Philadelphia, to be presented to the General Grand High Priest. One hundred and ten dollars was sent with the petition, of which ninety dollars was for the dispensation fee, ten dollars to the General Grand Secretary for engrossing the dispensation, and the other ten dollars, presumably, to pay Companion Bradford for expenses and trouble. The postage on the letter and petition was fifty cents.

The dispensation was promptly granted on May 16th, and forwarded, together with the following letter from the General Grand Secretary: SIR & COMPANION:

I herewith send you the dispensation asked for by our Michigan Companions. The name of one of the petitioners was omitted for the reason that I could not decypher it. You will see that their authority to act under the dispensation ceases after the 2nd Tuesday in September. The General Grand Chapter meet at New Haven, Ct., on that day, when some one should be there to act for them, to present their dispensation, a copy of their By-Laws and of their proceedings, and to ask for a perpetual charter. This will be granted without further expense, if their acts shall be approved.

In the meantime, there is neither installation of officers or consecration of the Chapter, but the officers named will open a Chapter, supply the vacant offices and proceed to business. I shall forward to Companion Silver per mail a copy of the Constitution, and also a copy of the minutes of the proceedings of the General Grand Chapter at the last meeting. They should make their regular return to me some time prior to the second Tuesday in September.

I am fraternally yours,

CHARLES GILMAN.

To V. L. BRADFORD, Esq.,

Philadelphia.

The dispensation accompanied the above letter to the companions at Niles, and was signed by Joseph K. Stapleton, Deputy General Grand High Priest. The first three officers named in the dispensation were Jacob Silver, High Priest; John Knapp, King; and Calvin Britain, Scribe. These resided, one in Cassopolis, one in St. Joseph, and one in South Bend, Ind., none of them in Niles, where the Chapter was located. This did not dampen their ardor in the least, nor render them less loyal to Niles as their Chapter home.

The first meeting held under this dispensation was on June 14th, when the remaining officers were appointed and all the preliminaries arranged for work. Ten petitions were received at this meeting, two of them being William H. McOmber and Rufus W. Landon, both of whom served for many years as Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge and also of the Grand Chapter.

By-Laws were prepared, adopted, and signed by the first members, and these By-Laws have been signed by three hundred and fifteen, up to January 1, 1895.

The work of this new Chapter proved to be satisfactory and at the meeting of the General Grand Chapter in September, 1844, a charter was granted, which was made out and dated October 16th, 1844.

Companion John Barney, masonic lecturer and instructor, then living in Chicago, was given a proxy to consecrate the Chapter and install its officers, at such time as would best suit his convenience. Companion Barney was at this time suffering from an affliction, which he mentions in the following letter:

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER:

CHICAGO, DEC. 11th, 1844.

With a hand which has almost been under sentence of amputation, I must inform you that your favor of the 2d instant has this day come to hand. I have had a long and tedious confinement with a kind of tumor or swelling on my right wrist, and this is the first attempt I have made to write with it, and as soon as it is consistent with prudence in the Doctor's opinion, I intend to set off for Niles. I should advise you, as it is, to commence work as soon as you see fit, in anticipation, so far as to confer the intermediate degrees, viz: the 4th, 5th, and 6th. It is what others have done without being censured for it, in like cases, as I shall not, I fear, be able to get there by your next regular.

This is my first attempt to write, and there is some mortified flesh to be taken out of my wrist before it can heal. I have suffered much pain with it, and taking cold in it might cause me to lose my right hand if not my life.

You will hear from me again soon if the Lord will.

Yours cordially,

JOHN BARNEY.

J. BROWN, Esq.

February 11th, 1845, Companion Barney visited this Chapter and performed the work which he had been commissioned to do. He also instructed the officers in the work and lectures and gave them that system which afterwards became the standard work in this state.

For the next three years this Chapter worked under its charter from the General Grand Chapter. In the fall of 1847, the third Chapter having been established in Jackson, this Chapter agreed to join with the other two in forming a Grand Chapter, a resolution to that effect being adopted October 21st, 1847. On the organization of the Grand Chapter, St. Joseph Valley Chapter transferred her allegiance thereto, and has ever since been one of the prominent constituents of that Grand Body.

JACKSON CHAPTER.

Under the authority of a warrant from the General Grand Chapter, a meeting of the Royal Arch Masons residing in Jackson, and vicinity, was held in the Odd Fellows' Hall in Jackson, on the thirty-first day of March, 1847, for the purpose of organizing a Chapter in that place. There were ten Royal Arch Masons present, viz: Czar Jones, Paul B. Ring, Benjamin Porter, Samuel Selden, Peter Brown, I. D. Davis, James Vidito, D. G. McCluer, James A. Dyer and H. Bronson. Czar Jones, being named as High Priest, presided over the meeting, and a Chapter was formally organized and commenced work. Thirteen petitions were received at this first meeting and everything promised the best of success for the new Chapter.

At this time Companion E. Smith Lee was High Priest of Monroe Chapter in Detroit, and at the second meeting of Jackson Chapter he was present, and by request he presided over the Chapter and conferred the Mark Master's degree on five candidates, the first work done in the new Chapter; several other Detroit companions also rendered efficient service in getting Jackson Chapter started aright with its work. Among them was William M. Lister, afterwards Grand Secretary.

At a regular convocation held on the second day of December, 1847, a resolution was adopted, declaring that in the opinion of the members of this Chapter, it was expedient and proper to form a Grand Chapter for the state of Michigan, and it was further resolved, that if the other two Chapters concurred in the action, a request should be made to the proper officers of the General Grand Chapter for permission to organize a Grand Chapter.

Two months later Jackson Chapter took action upon and approved the draft of constitution for the proposed Grand Chapter, which had been submitted for its approval.

Jackson Chapter wielded a strong influence in the Grand Chapter during the early years of that Grand Body and has always maintained its standing as one of the strong masonic bodies of Michigan. She has given to capitular Masonry in this state some of its brightest lights, and has made a record of which she may well be proud.

THE GRAND CHAPTER.

1848-9

The three Chapters now working in this state determined upon the organization of a Grand Chapter, believing that thereby Capitular Masonry would be assured of a more rapid and permanent growth. In this new movement we naturally find those who had been the most active and enthusiastic workers in connection with the Grand Lodge. Among them we find E. Smith Lee, Jeremiah Moors, John Mullett and Levi Cook, all of Detroit, and each of whom, as we have already seen, became Grand Master.

A constitution for the purposed Grand Chapter was prepared and submitted to the three Chapters, and being approved by them, a convention was called to meet in Jackson on the ninth day of March, 1848. At this meeting only two of the Chapters seem to have been represented. For some reason St. Joseph Valley Chapter, at Niles, had no delegates in attendance at this convention, although fully committed to the project of organizing a Grand Chapter. In those days it was a long distance from Niles to Jackson, and this doubtless, had much to do with the non-representation of that Chapter.

There were in all fifteen persons who were entitled to seats and votes in this convention; of this number, only six appear to have taken part in the proceedings of the convention, viz: E. Smith Lee, Czar Jones, John Mullett, William M. Lister, N. B. Carpenter and Jeremiah Moors; but these six could look into the future and had no doubt of the success which was to follow their work, and accordingly they proceeded, with stout hearts, to the work for which they had met, which was to elect officers and prepare the way for completing the organization of the Grand Chapter.

E. Smith Lee was the foremost worker in this new movement, and naturally he was made President of the covention, and Czar Jones, of Jackson, was made Secretary, when the six companions proceeded to elect officers for the Grand Chapter, and the following were chosen: