WHO IS PRINCE HALL ?
Prince Hall is recognized as the Father of Black Masonry in the United States. Historically, he made it possible for Negroes to be recognized and enjoy all privileges of free and accepted masonry.
Many rumors of the birth of Prince Hall have arisen. A few records and papers have been found of him in Barbados where it was rumored that he was born in 1748, but no record of birth by church or by state, has been found there, and none in Boston. All 11 countries were searched and churches with baptismal records were examined without finding the name of Prince Hall.
One widely circulated rumor states that "Prince Hall was free born in British West Indies. His father, Thomas Prince Hall, was an Englishman and his mother a free colored woman of French extraction. In 1765 he worked his passage on a ship to Boston, where he worked as a leather worker, a trade learned from his father. During this time he married Sarah Ritchery. Shortly after their marriage, she died at the age of 24. Eight years later he had acquired real estate and was qualified to vote. Prince Hall also pressed John Hancock to be allowed to join the Continental Army and was one of a few blacks who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. Religiously inclined, he later became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church with a charge in Cambridge and fought for the abolition of slavery." Some accounts are paraphrased from the generally discredited Grimshaw book of 1903.
Free Masonry among Black men began during the War of Independence, when Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men were initiated into Lodge # 441, Irish Constitution, attached to the 38th Regiment of Foot, British Army Garrisoned at Castle Williams (now Fort Independence) Boston Harbor on March 6, 1775. The Master of the Lodge was Sergeant John Batt. Along with Prince Hall, the other newly made masons were Cyrus Johnson, Bueston Slinger, Prince Rees, John Canton, Peter Freeman, Benjamin Tiler, Duff Ruform, Thomas Santerson, Prince Rayden, Cato Spain, Boston Smith, Peter Best, Forten Howard and Richard Titley.
When the British Army left Boston, this Lodge, # 441, granted Prince Hall and his brethren authority to meet as a lodge, to go in procession on Saints John Day, and as a Lodge to bury their dead; but they could not confer degrees nor perform any other Masonic "work".
Moreover, Frederick Douglass never ever in his entire life did he get to see his White father. Well he only knew that his father was but, nothing else. But he believed that’s his White father was his master. His master’s name was Aaron Anthony. So when Frederick Douglass was left abounded he had to leave with his grandmother to a plantation in Maryland. When Douglass the age of seven he started to witness slavery and racism. He witnessed firsthand brutal painful whippings to his fellow friends.
"David D. Hall; The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court at Newton" (1637) in Jacobson, Fran, Tim Konhaus and Scott Wade, eds. The Nortion Mix: American Voices. 1st Edition. Nortion, 2008. Print 55-64
Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be "young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service." (Emilio 1990) Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaw's father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Mass...
When South Carolina organized its forces in 1775 to battle the British, Pinckney joined the First South Carolina Regiment as a captain. He soon rose to the rank of colonel and fought in the South in defence of Charleston and in the North at the Battles of Brandywine, PA, and Germantown, PA. When Charleston fell in 1780, he was taken prisoner and held until 1782. The following year, he was discharged as a brevet brigadier general.Pinckney was one of the leaders at the Constitutional Convention.
Portchester Castle Portchster Castle is a concentric castle, dating from Roman times situated at the top of Portsmouth harbour. It has a 9-acre site and was built from flint and stone. The castle had bastions and a tidal moat, at the centre of the castle would have been accommodation. Portchester Castle was originally built by the Romans to protect the South coast of England from invasion by the Saxons. Portchester was one of a series of forts built around the country and was typical of Roman forts.
After his time studying in England he headed back to his hometown of Charleston. When he established his homestead John Rutledge is said to be a former slave owner. It is also to be said that he owned one of the
The Sons of Liberty was a group of men fighting for their independence. They were fighting before the continental congress or the beginning of the Revolutionary War. They were called out as being disobedient. They were believed to be political radicals at the time; doing what they felt was right for their town and their colonies. The Sons of Liberty were everyday men that expanded from New England all the way down the thirteen colonies. However, the high activity political gang started to appear with aggressiveness in Boston, Massachusetts. This paper will demonstrate the origins of the Sons of Liberty in Boston, their manifest, leading actions, and development within their first year.
Goldman, Hal. 1997. "Black Citizenship and Military Self-Presentation in Antebellum Massachusetts." Historical Journal Of Massachusetts 26, no. 2: 157-183.
"In Royal Footsteps: for Those Who Love the Mystery and the Magic." British Heritage Nov. 2013: 12+. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Another African American, Salem Poor, also made a hero of himself at Bunker Hill. Several office...
An Ode to the Inauguration of the American Crystal Palace. The nations meet, not in war, but in peace, beneath this dome. They meet to bring glory to God on high and goodwill to men. The Crystal Palace is a symbol of the might of man.
William Penn moved his family to Chigwell, Essex County upon his arrival in England. William received a decent education as a child; learning Latin, Greek, English grammar, spelling and catechism. He was also familiarized with Quakerism when his father hosted Thomas Loe, a Quaker preacher, at their home. Penn attended Christ Church College in Oxford in 1660, where he was later expelled for his bad behavior. After being expelled, William attended Huguenot Academy of Saumur in 1662 to study divinity (William Penn, America's First Great Champion for Liberty and Peace). When England declared war against Holland for the second time in 1665, Sir William Penn removed ...
In all of American history, there are many men who stand out and emphasize the history ofour country. This man, John Hancock, is one of those extraordinary men that stand out.John’s life began on January 16, 1736 in Braintree, Massachuchetts.John was the middle child of three. He was the son of (Rev.) John Hancock, born on June 1, 1702 in Lexington, Massachuchetts and son of Mary Hawke, born on October 13, 1711 in Hingham, Massachuchetts. Mary was once married before she married John Hancock Sr. Her previous marriage ended in her former husband’s death.(Rev.) John Hancock was well-liked by his parish, was paid well, and was provided a very comfortable home. In return of their generosity, he was a "faithful shepard." He kept an attentive watch over the morals and religious well-being of all members of the parish.
Pike, Albert. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Washington: House of the Temple, 1966.
During the 1800’s Great Britain’s empire stretched around the world, and with raw materials easily available to them this way, they inevitably began refining and manufacturing all stages of many new machines and other goods, distributing locally and globally. However, despite being the central ‘workshop of the world,’ Britain was not producing the highest quality of merchandise. When comparing factory-made products made in England to surrounding countries, most notably France, those products could not compare as far as craftsmanship and sometimes, simply innovation. It was suggested by Prince Albert that England host a sort of free-for-all technological exposition to bring in outside crafts into the country and also show their national pride.