Freemasonry in the United States
It appears reasonable to assume that there were many Masons among the early settlers of this country. There is no reason to doubt that they did meet, hold meetings, and initiate candidates under the "prescriptive right" meaning that they formed Lodges without Warrants, acting upon their "right from time immemorial."
There is evidence that a deputation dated June 5, 1730, was granted to Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, by the Duke of Norfolk, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Moreover, there is evidence that Brethren meeting in Philadelphia applied to him in 1730 and received authority to continue to meet as a regular Lodge.
However, no records of such a Lodge are available to indicate that it continued or was even ever established.
The earliest authentic records of such a Lodge available to indicate that it continued on was from "The First Lodge of Boston" in 1733. This was warranted under a Provincial Grand Master.
On April 30, 1733, this Provincial Grand Master Henry Price, who had received his appointment a short time before from Viscount Montague, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England convened a number of Brethren into a Provincial Grand Lodge, and then form and constituted a subordinate Lodge on Boston. This Lodge, later consolidated with two others, still functions in that city.
On the following year Bro. Henry Price's commission was extended to cover all of North America.
Many of Patriots of the American Revolution were Masons including George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Hamilton, and even the Marquis de Lafayette to name just a few. There were enough Masons in the Continental Army to establish traveling military Lodges, which allowed them to continue to enjoy the warmth of fraternal fellowship. American Union was just such a Lodge and was attached to the Connecticut Line of the Army. The minute books of this Lodge show that General Washington attended meetings of the Lodge on several occasions.
By the year 1800 there were Lodges established in nearly all of the states east of the Mississippi except in Illinois and Wisconsin, and Grand Lodges had been formed in most of them. As an example, Kentucky formed her Grand Lodge in 1792 and was instrumental in forming Lodges in Indiana and the other states around her.
By 1892 there were fifty Grand Lodges in the United States, including one in the Indian Territory which later became the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma. There are now fifty one Grand Lodges in the United States. The Grand Lodge of Alaska even helped to establish the Grand Lodge of Russia after the fall of communism.
Freemasonry in Wisconsin
By petitioning for membership in a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons at this time, you will be associating with a Wisconsin fraternal order that was organized in 1843 and in operation several years before our State was admitted to the Union. Freemasonry, however, dates its formal beginnings to the 17th century. Thus you will become, upon acceptance, a member of not only the oldest fraternity in Wisconsin, but in the world.
The history of Masonry in Wisconsin begins with Menomonee Lodge in the Green Bay area, which at that time was the territory of Michigan. Although this lodge never became part of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, it is part of the Masonic history of our State. Seven members of the military and three civilians, all Master Masons, met on December 27, 1823, to form a lodge. A petition was sent to New York and on September 2, 1824, the first regular meeting was opened at Fort Howard. A charter was granted dated December 3, 1824, as Menomonee Lodge No. 374 on the rolls of the Grand Lodge of New York. Records of the Lodge were kept until 1827, and some time during 1830 the lodge ceased to exist.
According to Lodge records, a dispensation was granted, dated October 17, 1838, from the Grand Lodge of Missouri to a group of Masons to form a lodge in the Mineral Point area. A charter was granted on October 31, 1841, but the lodge was not fully organized until February 15, 1843, when it was consecrated as Mineral Point Lodge No. 49.
Melody Lodge of Platteville received its dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Missouri on January 10, 1843. The charter, dated October 31, 1843, was granted to Melody Lodge No. 65. In the coming months 35 Masons signed the by-laws.
On June 12, 1843, a petition was sent to Illinois to form a lodge in Milwaukee. On July 5, 1843, the lodge held its first meeting and was constituted under dispensation. A charter was granted dated October 3, 1843, with the designation as Milwaukee Lodge No. 22. The lodge records show there were 23 charter members.
At a meeting of Milwaukee Lodge No. 22, as a result of a communication received from Melody Lodge at Platteville concerning establishing a Grand Lodge in the Territory of Wisconsin, a committee was appointed to correspond with Melody and Mineral Point Lodges. A Masonic Convention with seven members representing the three lodges was held on December 18, 1843, in Madison. During the course of the meetings a constitution was drafted and adopted and the Grand Lodge of the Territory of Wisconsin came into being on Monday, December 18, 1843. M.W. Benjamin T. Kavanaugh was elected the first Grand Master.
The First called Communication of the Grand Lodge was held in the city of Madison on January 17, 1844, for the purpose of granting charters to the subordinate lodges within the Territory. The three present lodges were now numbered according to the date of their dispensation or charter. Thus Mineral Point No. 49 was numbered No.1, Melody Lodge No. 45 of Platteville became Melody Lodge No.2, and Milwaukee Lodge No. 22 became No.3. During the first year of the Grand Lodge, three new lodges were organized under dispensation: Warren Lodge No.4, Potosi; Madison Lodge No.5 and Olive Branch No.6, New Diggings.