ORIGIN OF THE MOST WORSHIPFUL PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA James R. Morgan III Corinthian Lodge No. 18 - PHA Worshipful Grand Historian & Archivist, MWPHGLDC
WB James Morgan, III
T
he history of our Grand Jurisdiction is truly a venerable one, for the tap roots of its origin reach deeply into the virgin soil of the very nation in which it has existed and influenced the lives of its devotees for more than two centuries. All who have been the recipients of its benefits and those who now enjoy the privileges of the great heritage willed to them by the renowned Founder of Prince Hall Masonry, owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude not only to our illustrious Patron and Progenitor of our great Fraternity but, also, to those illustrious Brethren who planted the seed which germinated and gave birth to the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.
The origin of our Prince Hall Masonry may be traced back to the period of the American Revolution. The organization and establishment of the first Lodge of African American Freemasons took place in Boston, Massachusetts when Prince Hall and fourteen other Africans were initiated into the Craft by John Batt, a soldier affiliated with Military Lodge No. 441 under the Grand Lodge of Ireland. This Lodge was attached to the Army of General Gage during the Revolutionary War in 1776, and these stalwart pioneers made numerous and unsuccessful attempts to obtain permission to organize a Lodge of Black Masons from White Masons of the Colony of Massachusetts; undaunted, however, by the repeated refusals, Prince Hall petitioned the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) for a warrant to establish a Lodge of Free Negroes.
the foundation upon which was built the African Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churches. Richard Allen was ordained by Bishop Francis Asbury. Absalom Jones was the first ordained Episcopal priest in the United States. Later, in 1797 Prince Hall journeyed from Boston to install Absalom Jones as the first Grand Master of Masons in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Richard Allen the first Grand Treasurer. Prince Hall was an active abolitionist, educator, orator, and business owner. Prince Hall authored several petitions to end slavery to the Massachusetts State Legislature and even petitioned for his people to be allowed to return to their native Africa. African Lodge members became early advocates for education, equal justice, and abolition. Following his
His prayer was granted, and on September 29, 1784, African Lodge No. 459 was established under a charter issued by the Grand Lodge of England. Due to difficulties resulting from the recent war, this same charter did not arrive physically into the Lodge’s possession until the year 1787. The year 1787 was momentous for Black Americans. In that year, the Free African Society was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Richard Allen and Absolom Jones lead the exodus of Blacks from the Saint George Methodist Episcopal Church (after being pulled from their knees during prayer) and laid Prince Hall’s original petition (Museum of Freemasonry in London)
20 | THE VOICE OF FREEMASONRY ISSUE 1, 2022
