Four Large Brown Dusty Binders

Jim Williams

Illustrious Brother James Williams was a Masonic Scholar. Missouri's representative to the renowned Quatuor Coronati Research Lodge, he maintained one of the finest private Masonic Literary collections anywhere.  Upon his passing in 2011, he left that collection to his Brothers in Missouri.  Sorting through the volumes, Brothers found four large brown dusty binders bulging with typewritten pages. Upon inspecting the material in them, the Brothers realized they had discovered a Masonic treasure.

Ray V. Denslow was arguably the most prolific Masonic author of the 20th century. Among his books were Territorial Masonry – the Story of Freemasonry and the Louisiana Purchase 1804-21; Civil War and Masonry in Missouri; History of Cryptic Masonry; The Masonic Fraternity, Its Aims and Goals; The Masonic Conservators; the History of Cryptic Masonry and on, and on. Not only does that list not scratch the surface, but it also does not include any of the dozens of pamphlets he authored.

Most Worshipful Brother Denslow served as Missouri's Grand Master in 1931-32, was a founding member and Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research, had a close friendship with President Harry Truman and served as Truman's emissary on Masonic missions around the world.  From 1942-1945 he served as General Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, International.

 To that impressive Masonic resume we can add what he considered his crowning achievement — the founding of the Royal Arch Mason magazine in 1943. You may have heard of it. You might, in fact, have a copy of it sitting in your living room.

He passed his passion for writing on to his son, William R. Denslow,  best known for his iconic work, 10,000 Famous Freemasons.  He also passed something else along to his son: those four large, brown binders bulging with typewritten pages.

Brother Denslow, it seems, was a compulsive man.  At home, he lived at his typewriter and pounded out every minute of his Masonic journey — the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly. He left those binders with his son and his son, in turn, handed them to Jim Williams with the strict caveat that they were not to be published until everyone mentioned in them had passed away; and for good reason — Ray Denslow pulled no punches. 

The pages in this memoir record in detail his experiences as an author, a leader and Truman's personal representative as he operated at the zenith of the craft.  It is a study in Masonic politics at the highest level. It is a rewarding story of how Denslow made friends across the globe and worked to unify Masonry at the close of World War II. It is also a record of how he crossed swords with a few of the most powerful and influential Masons of his time.

Work on compiling and editing this material has been in process for over a year.  Now, over a half-century after his death, the Fraternity is about to see a new book — not about, but by this great Masonic author.

The Missouri Lodge of Research did not strictly adhere to the stipulation that everyone mentioned in the book must have passed away prior to its publication.  His granddaughter, Judith Denslow Ericson, and his grandson, William R. Denslow, Jr., are not only still around, but each contributed to the book.  His grandson Bill, in fact, helped with the editing process and is the Executive Editor of the manuscript, bringing the Denslow name to a third generation of significant Masonic works.

The first volume of this two-volume set, Ray V. Denslow's Masonic Journey, is now hot off the presses. The Missouri Lodge of Research will distribute a hardbound copy, free of charge, to each of its members at the Grand Lodge of Missouri's annual communication in September. Frankly, the best way to ensure getting a copy will be to join the Missouri Lodge of Research. Volume 2, as well as softcover and Kindle editions, will follow in 2019. It's a must-read for serious students of Masonic history.

Impostors

A fraternity that performs so many charitable acts is bound to be the target of fraud. Those impersonating Masons for financial gain and those appealing to Masonic charities under false pretenses have been around almost as long as the order itself. Today, with the Internet and mass media, word can spread quickly when a charlatan surfaces. In times past, such communication was slower and more difficult. In 1859, Rob Morris, founder of the Eastern Star, published "The Prudence Book." Updated annually, it was an attempt to publish information about impostors, but was discontinued after a short run. It was found easier to print and distribute "broadsides" as Lodges discovered impostors. Here is an example of one notice warning Lodges of an impostor from the 19th century. It reads (sic):

CAUTION! MASONIC Lodge OF RELIEF, MASONIC TEMPLE, Baltimore, July 24, 1877. A man calling himself "HERBERT SYDNEY," professing to hail from Langthorne Lodge, Stratford, Essex, England is an IMPOSTER. Information has been received from Langthorne Lodge that no such person is known there. DESCRIPTION. Height about 5 feet 6 or 7 inches: complexion dark: black hair and eyes: bald patch on top of head; hair somewhat thin: black mustache. Professes to be a portrait painter, and ruined by the fire at St. John's, Canada, in June 1876. Reports from Masonic Lodge at St. John's, say that no portrait painter of that name ever lived there, but there had been one named Sydney Herbert Gadsen. The Fraternity is hereby warned against this person, and is furthermore advised to have him arrested, if possible, for obtaining, or attempting to obtain money under false pretenses. He was in Baltimore about a month ago, and succeeded in swindling the Fraternity to a small extent. He then went to Washington, DC. He is believed to be now tramping about, victimizing Masonic Lodges, and the St. Georges Societies. ALBERT LYMAN., M. D., Secretary.

Even with the instant communication we have today, we can still encounter such deception. And I might add, that can work both ways — the Internet isn't exactly a fraud-free zone. I haven't heard many cases of men running around posing as Freemasons. There are, however other forms of deception. How many times have I heard the Almoner in my Scottish Rite valley say, "I denied the request for assistance. I'm certain it was fraudulent." Keep on your toes, Brothers, and guard the gates.

A Life-Saving Gift From The Freemasons

The port closest to London, Clacton-on-Sea, served as a major shipping channel in 19th century England. Weather, rocks and shifting conditions made it an especially treacherous place to navigate and, as might be expected, the waters there claimed many ships and human lives. In 1875, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England and later King Edward VII (1901-10), voyaged to India. Thankful for his safe return eight months later at Clacton-on-Sea, the Grand Lodge of England decided to make the port safer by donating a lifeboat in his name. With more than 4,000 spectators in attendance, they dedicated and launched the Albert Edward Lifeboat on July 10, 1878, amidst pomp and circumstance fit for the future King. An unknown poet immortalized the event with an official poem which said, in part:

Built from henceforth life to save,

Manned by crew so strong and brave-

Launch the boat with ringing cheer!

Honour the name to all now dear!

Honour the dead in the living son!

Honour the love so justly won!

“ALBERT EDWARD," aye to be

The sailor’s friend on this Eastern Sea!

Honour “the Craft,” whose generous thought

So much of sterling good has wrought!

Honour the gift that they have given,

To save man’s life, if willed by Heaven!

Honour the true hearts ever found,

When storms and tempests rage around,

To leave their homes, where loved ones weep,

And brave the perils of the deep!

By the day of the dedication, the Albert Edward had already proven its worth. Delivered to Clacton prior to the official launching, the lifeboat saw its first action on May 23, when the ship Garland, on a voyage from Shields to London, ran aground and broke up. The crew rowed for three grueling hours to reach the stranded vessel and saved the lives of six men and three boys on board.

No one will ever know how many crewmen, most of whom were likely Freemasons, lost their lives in this dangerous service. However, the 1884 proceedings of the United Grand Lodge of England made note of the following:

"That the sum of 50 guineas (about $5,000 today) be granted to the family of the late James Cross and a similar sum to the family of Thomas Cattermole, two of the crew of the Albert Edward lifeboat at Clacton-on-Sea, which boat was presented to the National Life Boat Institution by Grand Lodge.

These two men, after having assisted, the first in saving 116 and the second 33 lives, having lost their own in the discharge of their duty on the night of the 23rd January last, whilst in their boat endeavouring to rescue the crew of a vessel in distress, leaving their families consisting of a widow and six children and a widow and three children entirely destitute."

For over a half century, from 1878-1929, the Albert Edward and its two successors of the same name, guarded the port of Clacton-on-Sea and saved countless lives. Today, Freemasons still take part in rescues there and at other ports. In addition the Fraternity regularly donates funds to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which oversees the lifesaving operations throughout Great Britain.