Past Masters of King Hiram's Lodge
1796 - 1930

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John Young (1766 - 1828)
Master 1796 - 1799
Shipwright
John Young was born in Nova Scotia and chartered Old Colony Lodge Hanover, Massachusetts in 1792. He was their first Master but left Hanover in 1793 after the death of his first wife. Young applied for the dispensation to charter King Hiram's Lodge and was Master until he moved to Wellfleet in 1799 where he attended Adam's Lodge. John Young was paid traveling expenses for each meeting, and if we look back at the situation of the roads in that day, we can well imagine that he deserved whatever he was paid.
Jonathan Cook (1753 - 1835)
Master 1800 - 1801, 1805 - 1807
Ship Owner
Owner of the Polly, the first Boston to Provincetown packet ship. His Past Masters Jewel is in the Collection of the Museum Of Our National Heritage in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Allen Hinckley (1769 - 1861)
Master 1802 - 1803
Carpenter
Built the first Lodge building and Provincetown's first schoolhouse.

Henry Paine (1763 - 1841)
Master 1804
Master Mariner
Born in Truro he demitted in 1808 to join Adams Lodge in Wellfleet. Died in the October Gale of 1841 when fifty seven men from Truro died on seven vessels.

Orasmus Thomas (1771 - 1822)
Master 1807 -1810, 1817 - 1821
Town Clerk
Born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, as Town Clerk in 1808, he drew up and signed a petition to President Thomas Jefferson praying him to lift the shipping embargo. Thomas served as Provincetown's third postmaster in 1816.

Ephraim Blanchard (1778 - 1841)
Master 1810 - 1812
Cabinetmaker
Born in Billerica, Massachusetts he received his Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft degrees in Benevolent Lodge No.7 in Amherst, New Hampshire. Blanchard served as Master of Benevolent Lodge in 1814 and again in 1819 when it moved to Milford, New Hampshire. He was a Selectman of Amherst in 1836. Blanchard was raised in King Hiram's Lodge January 27, 1805.

Daniel Pease (1770 - 1834)
Master 1812 - 1814
Postmaster
Daniel Pease was born in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. He joined the Lodge in 1801 and owned Pease's Tavern. He was appointed Provincetown's first Postmaster on January 1, 1801. Pease and his family died on board ship while en route from New York of cholera in 1834.

Simeon Conant (1770 - 1849)
Master 1814 -1817
Salt Manufacturer Conant joined the Lodge in 1801 and owned many of the salt works that lined Provincetown's waterfront after the War of 1812.

 
Joseph Sawtelle (1778 - 1834)
Master 1821 - 1827
Master Mariner
Sawtelle was born in Phillipston, Massachusetts. He was lost at sea with all hands in 1832 while commanding the brigantine Ocean.
Henry Willard (1802 - 1855)
Master 1828 - 1829
Physician
Henry Willard was born in Holden, Massachusetts joining the Lodge in 1825. He was Warden of the old Christian Union Church of Provincetown.
Jonathan Cook, Jr. (1780 - 1862)
Master 1829 - 1830
Master Mariner / Shipowner
The son of second Master Jonathan Cook, he joined the Lodge in 1801. Portraits of Cook and his wife Sabra are on display at the Provincetown Pilgrim Monument Museum. Resolutions adopted by the Lodge on his death in 1862 were published in the Provincetown Banner newspaper. A framed copy of these resolutions is in the Lodge's Collection along with his Past Masters apron.
Barzallai Higgins ( - 1852)
Master 1831 - 1834, 1847 - 1848
Master Mariner
Served as Master during the troubled times during the Morgan Affair and again when the Lodge resumed its resolve and measured up to the continuing challenge of Masonic traditions. Son of Zachariah Higgins of Provincetown. Higgins commanded the whaling schooner Council in 1850. He was lost at sea with four other men when the steamship William Penn collided and sank his ship, the Belle Isle, in 1852. The Lodge voted Jan. 3, 1853 to have the Past Masters emblem engraved on his tomb stone in the Hamilton Cemetery, Provincetown.
Waterman Crocker ( 1804 - 1866)
Master 1835 - 1847
Carpenter Crocker was probably solely responsible for holding the Lodge together during the Morgan Affair. Lodge meetings were held secretly in members homes and he is said to have carried the Lodge's charter in his pocket. He was born in Barnstable, joined the Lodge in 1826 and was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Provincetown District in 1848. His portrait, Master Mason's certificate and District Deputies commission hang in the Lodge's Collection.
Godfrey Ryder ( 1797 - 1876)
Master 1849 - 1850
Notary Public
A particularly dynamic individual in the Lodge's and Provincetown's history he was motivating force in building the current Lodge building. He was also responsible for District Deputy Grand Master Jeremiah Stones' commission being revoked by Grand Lodge. Ryder was one of the citizens of Provincetown that donated High Pole Hill to the town. It was the site of the old Town Hall which mysteriously burned in 1877 and became the site of the Pilgrim Memorial Monument in 1907. The current Provincetown Town Hall stands on the site of the Ryder Homestead which was donated to the town by his son Rev. William Henry Ryder in 1885. Godfrey Ryder's grave is marked in the old section of Provincetown Cemetery by the Masonic symbol of a broken column.

Joseph Prosper Johnson ( 1814 - 1891 )
Master 1851 - 1854, 1859 - 1864
Auctioneer
The Hon. Joseph P. Johnson was an outstanding business and civic leader in Provincetown. He was born in Essex, CT. and came to Provincetown at age 17 to apprentice himself to his brother Timothy P. Johnson to learn the sail making business. At 21 he went into business for himself and formed Hilliard, Johnson and Co., General Grocers and Ship Chandlers and later Johnson and Cook, Vessel Outfitters and Packers. He joined the Lodge in 1848 and served three years as District Deputy Grand Master. Johnson was a director of Provincetown's first bank, Town Moderator for twenty years, Selectman for eight years, the House of Representatives for seven terms and a State Senator for two terms. He purchased the town's first fire engine in 1836 and donated the clock in the Town Hall tower in 1885. Johnson was a member of Marine Lodge I.O.O.F., a Knights Templar and a Royal and Select Master. He was the first Past Master to serve as High Priest of the Joseph Warren Royal Arch Chapter which began meeting at the Lodge in 1870. He formed the Cape Cod Wrecking and Salvage Company with Isaiah Gifford of Provincetown and went to South Carolina to salvage shipwrecks after the Civil War. The Lodge archives are filled with Johnson's accounts of early Provincetown. When he arrived in Provincetown he said there were only three trees, which were willows. He said that they were propagated from slips brought back by Lodge member Stephen Atkins from Napoleon Bonaparte's grave at St. Helena. Before the wharves were built, the Grand Bankers, after discharging their catch, would be hauled into holes dug on shore, to remain until the following spring. There is also an account containing the astonishment of the builders of the town's first fire engine when he ordered wheels with six inch wide rims to keep them from burying in the sand. A portrait of Johnson wearing his Past Master's jewel is in the Lodge room. His Past Master's jewel, apron and his gold headed cane are in the Lodge's collection.

Peter F. Dolliver ( 1816 - 1887 )
Master 1854 - 1855
Boston Harbor Pilot
Dolliver was a charter member of Zetland Lodge in Boston before joining King Hiram's. He demitted from the Lodge in 1868.

 
Lewis Lombard Sellew ( 1822 - 1897 )
Master 1855 - 1856
Builder
Sellew was born in Truro and joined the Lodge in 1848. His Past Masters apron and jewel were recovered by the Lodge in 1994.

Reuben Frank Cook ( 1828 - 1896 )
Master 1857 - 1858
Dentist
Cook joined the Lodge in 1853. He retired to Cleveland, Ohio after his term and died in 1896.

 

Elijah Smith ( 1816 - 1867 )
Master 1865 - 1866
Master Mariner
Elijah Smith was born in Barnstable. A retired whaling captain, he joined the Lodge in 1857. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank of Provincetown in 1854. That bank later became the First National Bank of Cape Cod.

 
John W. Atwood ( 1841 - 1913 )
Master 1867 - 1870
Merchant
During Atwood's term as Master the Lodge moved to its present location. He joined the Lodge in 1863 and served as District Deputy Grand Master of the Provincetown district from 1873 - 1875. His Master Masons certificate and District Deputies commission are in the Lodge's Collection.

Joseph S. Atwood ( 1833 - 1909 )
Master 1871 - 1872
Lumber Dealer / Tax Collector
Atwood was born in Orrington, Maine. He joined the Lodge in 1863.

 
Ephraim Parker Cook ( 1828 - 1895 )
Master 1873 - 1874
Master Mariner / Wellfleet Board of Selectmen
Cook was born in Cohasset and joined the Lodge in 1865. A part of the Cook family's whaling dynasty in Provincetown he commanded the whaling bark Parker Cook in 1850. During this voyage a sperm whale nearly sank his ship and seriously injured the boat steerer.

John M. Crocker ( 1845 - 1917
Master 1875 - 1876
Physician
Crocker purchased the Barnstable Patriot and founded the Provincetown Advocate Newspapers in 1869. His editorials in support of the Old Colony Railroad contributed to its extension to Provincetown in 1871. He demitted from the Lodge in 1887 to join Mizpah Lodge in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

Artemus Paine Hannum ( 1847 - 1921 )
Master 1877 - 1878
Sail maker, Union Wharf, Provincetown
Artemus P. Hannum was born in Provincetown and joined the Lodge in 1872. He was the son of Charles A. Hannum, an active member of King Hiram's who served as Marshal and Chaplain for several terms. Artemus Hannum proved to be a dynamic personality in the Lodge as well as the community. He married J. Ella Farwell, the widow of Lodge member Joseph M. Farwell who was lost at sea while in command of the schooner Mary G. Curran. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Provincetown district in 1886 and was the author of several Resolutions adopted by the Lodge that are contained in the records. Hannum was also instrumental in merging the Pilgrim Club of Brewster into what became the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Monument Association. He was the toastmaster to two United States Presidents on the occasions of the laying of the cornerstone of the Pilgrim Memorial Monument and again at its dedication on August 5, 1910. During the cornerstone ceremonies on August 20, 1907 Hannum, President Theodore Roosevelt, Governor Curtis Guild of Massachusetts and M.W. J. Albert Blake, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts were handed the trowel used to spread the cement on the foundation beneath the cornerstone. Hannum was presented this trowel after the dedication of the monument and it is in the Lodge's collection. During the dedication of the Monument in 1910, Hannum sat at the right side of President William H. Taft and acted as toastmaster at a banquet for six hundred people held at Provincetown Town Hall. He also gave one of the addresses given at the Lodge's Centennial. His speech was reprinted in its entirety in the Boston Traveler Newspaper on May 26, 1896. Active in civic affairs he was appointed clerk of Franklin Engine No. 2 in 1890 and was on the School Committee for several years. During the 300'th Anniversary of the Pilgrims landfall at Provincetown in 1920 Hannum was on the Tercentenary Committee. He was one of the first proponents of a stairway from the top of Monument Hill leading to the harbor. The concept that was submitted is on a mural that can be seen in the Provincetown Town Hall. His 26 foot sailboat the Omar, purchased in 1907, can still be seem sailing in Provincetown harbor. The boat was restored by Joe Andrews and Flyer Santos in 1940 and renamed the Ranger, after the 1937 America's Cup winner. Following his death on October 11, 1921 his daughter Elizabeth presented the Lodge his Past Masters Apron and Jewel.

Moses Nickerson Gifford ( 1848 - 1918 )
Master 1879 - 1880
President, First National Bank, Provincetown
Moses Nickerson was born in Provincetown and succeeded Past Master Elijah Smith as cashier of the First National Bank and was appointed its president in 1888. He joined the Lodge in 1872 and was the author of several Resolutions contained in the archives. Nickerson was an organizer of the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Monument Association and was elected its first President. When the Provincetown Art Association was formed in the Nautilus Club Room on August 22, 1914 Gifford was elected Corresponding Secretary. The Art Association's minutes state that when Mr. Gifford gave one dollar to the Treasurer he became the first dues paying member, in fact his name heads the membership list. Gifford arranged to have many of the monthly meetings of the association held in the Lodge where lectures were given. These lectures with lantern slides came ready made from the American Federation of Arts and various members would read them. Lodge member Irving J. Small gave a lecture on "Contemporary Art Movements in America" and in 1916 Lodge members Irving T. McDonald and George Elmer Browne read lectures entitled "Art of the Mode" and "The Spanish Painter Sorolla." The Masonic Hall was also a proposed site for the Association's 1915 exhibit.
Frederick Augustus Hodson Gifford ( 1846 - 1900 )
Master 1881
Pharmacist
F.A.H. Gifford was born in Provincetown and joined the Lodge in 1873. He operated his business in the Gifford Block in Provincetown until his death on May 15, 1900. He served as High Priest of the Joseph Warren Royal Arch Chapter for 11 years and was a member of the Bay State Commandry in Brockton. His Past Masters jewel is in the Lodge's collection.

Joseph Hersey Dyer ( 1851 - 1919 )
Master 1882
Secretary / Treasurer, Seaman's Savings Bank, Provincetown
J. Hersey Dyer served as Secretary and Treasurer of Seaman's Savings Bank for 17 years when he took the position of Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank of Provincetown following the death of Rueben Swift in 1889. Dyer also replaced Swift as Secretary o f the Lodge in 1887, a position he held until 1898. He joined the Lodge in 1873 and presented them a setting maul in June, 1875. Zetland Lodge of Boston presented him a engraved silver water pitcher which is in the Lodge's collection.

 
Harvey Osborne Sparrow 1831 - 1919 )
Master 1883
Stone Cutter
Sparrow was born in Orleans and joined the Lodge in 1864. In 1876 he presented the Lodge a tin box to hold its Charter. At the Dedication of the Cornerstone of the Pilgrim Memorial Monument in 1907 he provided the copper box that was placed inside the corner stone. The box had the Masonic Square and Compasses engraved on it with the words "DEO PATIBUSQUE." He died in Provincetown May 2, 1919.
Thomas Lowe ( 1831 - 1897 )
Master 1883 - 1884
Lifesaving Service
Thomas Lowe was born in Nova Scotia August 26, 1831. He joined the Union Army in 1862 and was discharged as a Quartermaster Sergeant in 1865. Lowe was the keeper at Wood End Light when he joined the Lodge in 1875.
Hezekiah Paine Hughes ( 1839 - 1919 )
Master 1885 - 1885
Merchant
H.P. Hughes was born in North Truro and enlisted in the Union Army in 1862. He was assigned to Company A, thirty-third Regular Mass. Infantry, then transferred to Company I, Third Cavalry where he was promoted to second Lieutenant. Hughes was discharged in 1865 and operated a dry goods business in Provincetown. He joined the Lodge in 1877. In March of 1883 Hughes opened his dry goods and fancy goods store in one of the two stores located on the first floor of the Lodge . Known as the Masonic Block the store had formerly been occupied by member J.F. Tobey until he relocated to Harwich. The second store was occupied by A.Louis Putnam, Jeweler and Watchmaker, who served as Treasurer of the Lodge.
Lewis Higgins Baker ( 1841 - 1905 )
Master 1886
Artist / Ferrotypist
Lewis Baker was born in Truro and joined the Lodge in 1881. Trained as an artist he specialized in "tin type" photography, a popular process in the late 19'th century, where a photograph was made directly on an iron plate then varnished with a thin sensitized film. He had an office located in the Gifford Block. He died in Provincetown January 8, 1905.
James Atkins Small ( 1840 - 1906 )
Master 1886 - 1888
Ship's Chandler
James A. Small was born in North Truro February 14, 1840. He commanded Lodge member Charles A. Hannum's 71 ton schooner Elbridge G. Berry on a whaling voyage in 1862 before he joined the Union Army. After the war he operated a ships chandlery and outfitted fishing and whaling vessels from Union Wharf in Provincetown. He joined the Lodge in 1874 and died April 24, 1906. His Past Master's Jewel is in the Lodge's collection.

Andrew Thomas Williams ( 1836 - 1920 )
Master 1889
Ship Owner / Outfitter
A.T. Williams was born in Provincetown March 18, 1836. He was the son of Lodge member Andrew Williams , Captain of the schooner James Porter, who was lost with all hands in the gale of October 23, 1858 during a voyage on the Grand Banks. In 1879 Williams purchased Union Wharf built and formerly owned by Lodge members Jonathan, Thomas and Stephen Nickerson and Samuel Soper. The wharf had been built in 1831 and was extended in 1855. A self contained community the wharf had stores to outfit vessels for fishing and whaling voyages, a blacksmith shop, and stores providing fruits, confections and tobaccos. Following the Civil War and into the 1890's Williams owned several whaling and Grand Banks fishing schooners including the Cetacean, G.R. Lanfair, Golden Eagle, Kit Carson and Waldron Holmes. He joined the Lodge in 1882 and on the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays made sure that dinner was sent to all the widows of Lodge members and to the families of those members who were away at sea. He served as High Priest of the Joseph Warren Royal Arch Chapter and died in Provincetown January 29, 1920.

 

Jerome Sands Smith ( 1850 - 1922 )
Master 1890 -1891
Butcher
Jerome Smith was born in Provincetown November 19, 1850 the son of Samuel Sands Smith who became the proprietor of the Pilgrim House hotel in Provincetown in 1873. He joined the Lodge in 1882. During his term as Master he officiated at the funeral of Past Master Joseph P. Johnson, established a library in the Lodge and organized a fund to be used for the Lodge's One Hundredth Anniversary in 1895. Resolutions were also adopted by the Lodge, and approved by the Grand Lodge, in 1891 establishing that the Lodge actually held Regular Communications during the anti-masonic excitement ; that 957 communications had been held since the date of the Lodge's charter and that in the future the communications were to be dated and numbered. Jerome Smith died in Provincetown November 6, 1922.

 
George W. Holbrook ( 1842 - 1922 )
Master 1892 - 1894
Old Colony Railroad Conductor
George Holbrook arrived in Provincetown with the advent of the Old Colony Railroad. He had been raised in Massachusetts Lodge in Boston and joined King Hiram's in 1887. Holbrook served in the Union Army in Company C, Massachusetts Infantry. He re-enlisted and was discharged a sergeant. As a conductor on the Old Colony Railroad he made the trip from Provincetown to Boston every day, sometimes returning late in the evening. He was remembered in the Lodge as being well liked and good looking, living in a large home on Carver Street. Holbrook demitted from the Lodge in 1919 and died March 23, 1922.
William Wallace Johnson ( 1857 - 1916 )
Master 1894 - 1896
Old Colony Railroad Mail Clerk
William W. Johnson was the son of Hon. Joseph P. Johnson and was born in Provincetown May 18, 1857. He joined the Lodge the year after his father died in 1892. A skilled orator and prolific speech writer he was well chosen to preside as Lodge Historian and M aster during the events observing the Centennial Anniversary of the Lodge in 1895 and 1896. Copies of the addresses he made on these occasions are contained in the Lodge archives as well as the library of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in Boston. Johnson lived in his fathers home on Masonic Place until his occupation with the Old Colony Railroad relocated him to Taunton, Massachusetts. He died there on February 15, 1916. His Past Master's jewel as well as several other pieces relating to the Lodge's Centennial Celebration are in the Lodge's collection.

William Henry Young ( 1871 - 1942 )
Master 1897 - 1898
President / Trustee Seamen's Savings Bank, Provincetown
William H. Young was born in Provincetown January 18, 1871 the son of Lodge member Paron C. Young. He was the cousin of William W. Johnson and served as Senior Warden of the Lodge during the Centennial Celebration in 1895. Young served as President and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Seamen's Savings Bank for 50 years and founded the William H. Young Insurance Company in Provincetown in 1901. Along with Past Master Moses N. Gifford he is referred to by artist Ross Moffett, in his book "Art In Narrow Streets" as one of the fathers of the Provincetown Art Association. He was elected President at the Associations first meeting in 1914 and served until 1936. During this period Young saw the Association through building its current exhibition space and provided the skill and political sense required for the Association to overcome the convulsions leading to division between the modern and conservative schools of art in the late 1920's and early 30's. Among his friends were the artists Charles W. Hawthorne, Gerrit A. Beneker, William and Marguerite Zorach, Ethel Mars and Blanche Lazzell. He also had a close association with Lodge members Harry Noel Campbell and E. Ambrose Webster who directed two schools of art in Provincetown. The socials and benefits for artists and the Association at his home in Truro were lavish events, well looked forward to and well remembered in Provincetown. Young joined the Lodge in 1n 1892 and was appointed District Deputy Grand Master in 1905. He presented the Lodge the Rough and Perfect Ashler s in the East of the Lodge.In 1929 on the occasion of Young's 40'th year in the banking business the New Bedford Standard Times printed the following;

  • "No one man has done more to promote the life of the village in its various relations to banking, business, art, religion, lodge activities, the fishing industry and the growing tourist business of recent years. Seldom has one Provincetown citizen done so much so well."

William Young died after a long illness on August 20, 1942. In 1995 on behalf of his daughter Josephine Young McKenna, who is 92 years old, Lodge member Reggie Cabral presented his District Deputies Jewel to the Lodge. The Lewis A. Young Post V.F.W. and Lewis A. Young Square in Provincetown are named for his son William who died of influenza in France during World War I.

Irving Leopold Rosenthal ( 1869 - 1933 )
Master 1899 - 1900
Photographer
Irving Rosenthal joined the Lodge in 1892 and was the second of three generations represented in King Hiram's Lodge. His father John Rosenthal was a Civil War veteran and served as the Lodge Tyler for 15 years. His son John Fisher Rosenthal joined the Lodge in 1922 and is remembered in Provincetown as the founder and operator of the Corner Gift Shop and was active in Civil Defense and the Red Cross Organization. Irving Rosenthal was a brilliant Provincetown photographer. At one time he was partners with William Nickerson in the building next to the Post Office. His turn of the century portraits and street scenes of Provincetown are contained in nearly every book published on the history of Provincetown and Cape Cod. His photographs of the whaling industry , whaling ships and ship wrecks on the Cape have been published in Ross Moffett's "Art in Narrow Streets" and in works by Cape Cod authors Frank Shea, Henry Kittredge, Dr. Leona Egan, Howard Mitcham and J. Dalton. At one time several of these scenes were available as post cards printed in Germany and distributed by the Provincetown Advocate. The Lodge is fortunate to have a number of original Rosenthal photographs taken from glass plate negatives. The Heritage Museum of Provincetown has a collection of 500 glass plate negatives of Rosenthal photographs some of which have never been seen publicly. Irving Rosenthal died in Provincetown November 11, 1933.

Daniel Murdock MacKay ( 1858 - 1924 )
Master 1901 - 1902
Merchant
Daniel Mackay was born in Goodrich, Ontario, Canada on September 4, 1858 and joined the Lodge in 1893. He raised his son, Leslie Murdoch MacKay, to Master Mason on April 3, 1916. Leslie MacKay traveled widely in the service of the United States government, ultimately becoming director of the finance division of the Atomic Energy Commission. He was awarded a veterans medal by the Lodge in 1966. Daniel MacKay died in Provincetown September 30, 1924.

 
Simeon Conant Smith
( 1845 - 1921 )
Master 1903 - 1904
Merchant
Simeon C. Smith was born in Provincetown August 10, 1845 and joined the Lodge in 1866. He was in the grocery and provision business. In 1876 he occupied a building on Commercial Street that had at one time been the school house at the foot of Town Hill and would later be occupied by John D. Adams the founder of Adams Pharmacy. In 1879 during the Butler campaign Smith leased out part of his building for use as a reading room and Butler headquarters. He died in Provincetown March 24, 1921. His portrait and Past Master's Jewel are in the Lodge's collection.
John Wells Small ( 1850 - 1929 )
Master 1905 - 1906
Master Mariner
John W. Small was born in Provincetown July 12, 1850 and joined the Lodge in 1874. Formerly engaged in the whaling industry he commanded vessels in the Grand Banks and West Indies trade. On October 19, 1925 R.W. John Kendrick presented Small the Henry Price medal. He died in Provincetown June 15, 1929.
Henry Anthony Wippich ( 1868 - 1918 )
Master 1907 - 1909
Jeweler
Henry A.Wippich was born in Salem, Massachusetts May 10, 1868 and joined the Lodge in 1901. A respected jewel er and watchmaker in Provincetown he replaced A.L. Putnam as a tenant in one of the stores located in the first floor of the Lodge building. He died in Provincetown September 19, 1918.
George William Cashman ( 1853 - 1933 )
Master 1910 - 1911
Master Mariner
George Cashman was born in Provincetown August 4, 1853 and joined the Lodge in 1879. He commanded vessels for Lodge member William Matheson in the West Indies trade. He died in Provincetown January 27, 1933.
William John MacIntyre ( 1869 - 1914 )
Master 1912 - 1913
Steamboat Clerk
William MacIntyre was born in Provincetown July 11, 1869 and joined the Lodge in 1898. He was a Steamboat clerk for the Boston to Provincetown passenger ship Steel Pier. He was the author of a moving Resolution adopted by the Lodge in May of 1912 dedicated to the memory of the passengers and reflecting on the loss of life when the R.M.S. Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic on April 14, 1912. He died February 20, 1914.

William Wilson Taylor ( 1874 - 1954 )
Master 1914
Master Mariner
William Taylor was born in Provincetown August 14, 1874 and joined the Lodge in 1899. He was the son of Lodge member, Captain and ship owner Thomas S. Taylor. He was a master mariner in his father's employ at the end of whaling in Provincetown. With the exception of vessels owned by Lodge members George O. Knowles and John A. Cook his whaling schooner Rising Sun was one of the last to leave Provincetown. A Rosenthal photograph of the Rising Sun under sail is one of the more dramatic pieces in the collection of the Heritage Museum in Provincetown. The Lodge presented Taylor a veterans medal in 1949. He died July 27, 1954.

Emmanuel Aloyisius DeWager ( 1878 - 1953 )
Master 1915 - 1916
Dentist
Emmanuel DeWager was born at Graciosa, Azores on September 6, 1878 and was the first Master of the Lodge to be born outside of North America. This was possibly a reflection of the residential and cultural profile of Provincetown where whaling and fishing vessels once commanded by old Yankee captains were now owned and complimented with crews of Portuguese citizens. They had been arriving aboard whaling ships and settling in Provincetown since the 1850's enriching the town with a distinctly European flair. De Wager married Gertrude Lancey Snow. He graduated Tufts Dental school and joined the Lodge in 1910. De Wager was enormously popular in Provincetown and was a local dentist for many years. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Provincetown district in 1926. He died July 13, 1953 and was buried in one of the crypts in the old section of Provincetown cemetery. His Past Master's and District Deputies jewels are in the Lodge's collection.
Fred Harvey Dearborn ( 1876 - 1950 )
Master 1917 - 1918
Newsdealer
Fred Dearborn was born in Provincetown March 7, 1876 and joined the Lodge in 1911. He presented the Lodge a gavel in 1922 which is in the Lodge's collection. He died in Provincetown October 15, 1950.
Charles Nickerson Rogers ( 1880 - 1945 )
Master 1918 - 1919
Postal Carrier
Charles Rogers was born in Provincetown March 1, 1880 and joined the Lodge in 1912. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Provincetown district in 1922 - 1923. He died August 23, 1945.
John Peter Silva ( 1872 - 1947 )
Master 1920 - 1921
Fish Dealer
John Silva was born in Provincetown August 24, 1872 and joined the Lodge in 1913. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Provincetown District in 1944 and was awarded the Joseph Warren Distinguished Service Medal. He served as Master of the Fifteenth Lodge of Instruction after it was organized in 1935 through 1937. His occupation as an agent for a fish company enabled him on occasion to send large quantities of fish to the residents at the newly opened Masonic Home in Charlton, Massachusetts. He died June 5, 1947. The Lodge has a large collection of his jewels and certificates.
Lloyd Hale Higgins ( 1892 - 1953 )
Master 1922 - 1923
Merchant
Lloyd Higgins was born in Wellfleet on February 22, 1892 and joined the Lodge in 1916. He and his brother Merle founded the Higgins Lumber Company in Provincetown. He served as Secretary of the Lodge from 1942 until his death on November 15, 1953 during a particularly difficult period in the Lodge's history when membership fell to its lowest point.

Charles Harold Scudder ( 1887 - 1970 )
Master 1924
Merchant
Charles Scudder was born in Brockton, Mass. on September 28, 1887, joined the Lodge in 1919 and died December 29, 1970 at age 83. He held the Veterans medal which was presented to him in 1969.

 
Lawrence Norman MacKenzie
( 1879 - 1955 )
Master 1925 - 1926
Manager, L. Pickert & Son Fish Company, Provincetown
Lawrence MacKenzie was born in Provincetown July 13, 1879, joined the Lodge in 1918 and died January 2, 1955.
George Fillmore Miller ( 1861 - 1946 )
Master 1927 - 1928
Merchant
George F. Miller was born in Provincetown December 14, 1861 and joined the Lodge in 1912. He was a hardware merchant and worked for Lodge member Benjamin H. Dyer who had already established a paint and hardware store. In 1887 he married Ada Dyer, Benjamin's daughter. Together with his brother Francis S. Miller he formed the present B.H. Dyer & Company. Miller was a 32'nd degree Mason. He was Town Moderator for 20 years, President of Seamen's Savings Bank for 34 years and served on the Tercentenary Committee commemorating the Pilgrims landfall in 1920. A prominent member of the Centenary Methodist Church he remained on the Board of Trustees until his death on May 26, 1946.
Ephraim Pandt Rivard ( 1888 - 1950 )
Master 1929 - 1930
Electrician
Ephraim Rivard was born in Fall River, Mass. on March 8, 1888. He joined the Lodge in 1921 and died October 5, 1950.

Past Masters - 1931 to Present

All the historical content in these pages researched and compiled by Wor. James J. Theriault, curator of King Hiram's Museum and lodge historian. Any comments concerning content may be sent to James J. Theriault, 541A Main Street, Hyannis, MA. 02601

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