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In Kentucky,
a number of Companions of the Royal Arch
in Lexington petitioned the Grand Lodge
for permission to establish a chapter on
November 22, 1814. This permission was
granted and Royal Arch Chapter No. 1 was
established to confer the degrees of
Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent
Master, and Royal Arch.
Then on
October 16,1816, Thomas Smith Webb,
Deputy General Grand High Priest of the
General Grand Chapter, granted 'charters
for chapters at Lexington, Frankfort,
and Shelbyville. That year also the
Grand Lodge gave permission for chapters
working under Warrants 1, 4, and 5
(Lexington, Frankfort and Shelbyville)
to organize a Grand Chapter, with no
further chapters to be permitted except
by recommendation of the Grand Royal
Arch Chapter and the authorization of
the Grand Lodge.
In consequence, a convention of
delegates from the three named chapters
met at Frankfort December 4, 1817, and
resolved that since the constitutional
requirements of the General Grand Royal
Arch Constitution had been met by these
three Royal Arch chapters in Kentucky,
that a Grand Chapter be formed for the
state. The following officers were
elected:
-
James
Moore, Grand High Priest
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John
Willett, Deputy Grand High Priest
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George
M. Bibb, Grand King
-
Wm. G.
Hunt, Grand Scribe
-
Charles
S. Todd, Grand Secretary
-
Wingfield Bullock, Grand Treasurer
-
Caleb W.
Cloud, Grand Chaplain
-
Samuel
Woodson, Grand Marshal
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On January
3, 1818, the Grand Chapter again met at
Frankfort and read letters from Dewitt
Clinton, General Grand High Priest, and
Thomas Smith Webb, Deputy General Grand
High Priest, approving the organization
of the Grand Chapter. At this meeting
charters were issued for chapters at
Danville and Louisville and chapters
were numbered. 123 members were
reported. Since that time Royal Arch
Chapters have been established in most
of the larger and some of the smaller
towns of Kentucky. As of June 30, 1978,
there were seventy-five chapters and
12,743 members. |
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[Taken
from Kentucky Freemasonry 1788-1978, by
Charles Snow Guthrie,32° KCCH, Grand
Lodge of Kentucky, 1981] |
