American Union Lodge No. 1 - Onondaga and Oswego Masonic ...

In memory of Mrs. Anna Lacey, Wife of Josiah Lacey, Esqr., Who departed this life April 7, A. D. 1812, aged 46 years 3 months and
2 days.
History of Bridgeport and vicinity, Volume 1, edited by George Curtis Waldo (Jr.)
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Capt. Josiah Lacey, a house joiner by trade, was commissioned in 1777 by Governor John Hancock to raise a company for the
Continental army. This he did and was its captain for three years. After the war he built a house at 237 State Street.
Josiah Lacey, captain. Born 1746; died October 28, 1812. Served as private in Lexington Alarm; ensign under Colonel Dimon, 1775;
lieutenant under Colonel Waterbury, 1776; captain in Fifth Regiment, 1777-1780.
He was Master of St. John’s Lodge, Bridgeport, CT, in 1802.
St. John's Lodge, No. 3, Free and Accepted Masons, of Bridgeport, was founded under a charter dated February 12, 1762, the
same having been issued by George Harrison, Grand Master of the province of New York, to Eleazer Hubbell of Stratfield. At
this time there was not a grand lodge in Connecticut; in fact, there were only two local lodges, Hiram No. 1 of New Haven, instituted
in 1750, and St. John's No. 2 of Middletown, instituted in 1754.
The first meeting of the St. John's lodge at Stratfield was held at the home of Capt. Samuel Wakeman, on what is now Park Avenue,
a short distance south of State Street, on February 15, 1762. There were just five members present at this time, namely: Arnout
Cannon, of New York, who acted as master pro tern; Joseph Knapp and Isaac Young, of Fairfield; Eleazer Hubbell, of Stratfield; and
J. Anderson, a visiting member of the lodge who acted as secretary. This particular meeting was called for the purpose of initiating
into the order David Wheeler and Wolcott Chauncey.
The first regular meeting was held at the house of Richard Hubbell, on the street later called Clinton Avenue, on February 24, 1762.
On July 14th of the same year occurred the first election of officers and Eleazer Hubbell was chosen the first master.
Until December 8, 1762 the meetings of the lodge were held in Stratfield, but on that date the lodge was moved to the house of c
Young in Fairfield. Two years later it was again moved, this time to the "Sign of the Anchor," presumably an inn at Fairfield.
In January, 1763, it was voted that the lodge should have a seal and parchment and that the secretary should assess the sum of
three shillings for a certificate. Until 1780 the initiation fee was three pounds ten shillings, approximately $17, then it was changed to
three pounds in silver coins.
That the members of the lodge in the early days were not strangers to the sociability and good will of the "flowing bowl" is
abundantly proved by various items in the official records. The lodge room was equipped with a spacious punch-bowl and the the
steward had his orders "to provide necessaries for the lodge room, rum, sugar, pipes and tobacco." These appurtenances, or
"refreshments" as they were officially designated, were considered indispensable to a successful meeting. Needless to say, this
feature has passed with the years.
The two St. John's Days—June 24th and December 27th—were days when a celebration was held, the lodge members inviting their
friends to hear a sermon by some member of the clergy. Rev. Andrew Elliot of Fairfield was a frequent speaker on these occasions,
also Revs. Lamson, Baldwin, Shelton and Sayre. Some present or token of appreciation was usually presented to the obliging
minister, such for instance, as a strip of calico to Reverend Elliot and a pair of silk gloves to Reverend Stebbins. Under date of
February 25, 1793 the record states the following: "Voted unanimously, That Bros. Lacey and Cannon wait on the Rev. Philo
Shelton and present him with the thanks of this lodge, as likewise one guinea, for his excellent discourse on St. John's Day, 27th
December, 1792, at Newfield."
Some of the prominent members of the lodge at this time were Jonathan Bulkley, who served for seventeen years as master; Gen.
Elijah Abel, sheriff of Fairfield County; Lieut. Isaac Jarvis and Capt. Samuel Smedley, who won honors in the Revolutionary war; and
Dr. Francis Forgue, the leading doctor of the village. In connection with the latter a pathetic note appears in the records, when it was
written "That Brother Abel be desired to wait on Brother Forgue and know whether it is his desire that prayers be desired for him at
the Throne of Grace, under his present indisposition of body." A short time later Forgue died.
During the War of the Revolution long intervals occurred when no meetings were held, in fact until 1789 meetings were infrequent.
In 1789 Josiah Lacey, Lambert Lockwood and Daniel Young induced the removal of the order to the village of Newfield where they
were engaged in business. Here the first meeting was held at the house of Daniel Young, on the southwest corner of Union and
Water Streets, on June 24, 1789. Nine members and four visiting members were present. After the election of officers and delegates
to the convention the members walked to the tavern of William Peet, "where they dined and drank in good harmony."
On January 27, 1790 it was decided to meet at the house of William Peet upon the north side of State Street and on December 14,
1791 another removal was made to Josiah Lacey's house, on the south side of State Street, between Main and Water. A year later
the lodge began to meet in the home of Isaac of Hinman, on the southwest corner of Wall and Water streets. From 1800 until 1812
the lodge was compelled, by order of the grand lodge, to meet within one mile of the court house in the Town of Fairfield. In 1812
the members returned to Hinman's house.
Free Masonry suffered severe criticism during the years 1831-2, owing to the alleged abduction of Morgan and in Bridgeport, as
elsewhere, the order was pronounced "injurious to morality and religion." St. John's Lodge strenuously defended themselves and an
article signed by fifty members was published in the local newspapers. Among the prominent signers of this defense were: Hanford
Lyon, Philo Hurd, Wilson Hawley, Gen. Enoch Foote, Charles Foote, William Peete, Rev. H. R. Judah, Dr. William B. Nash, Abijah
Hawley, Ezekiel Hubbell, Eli Thompson, and Gideon Thompson, all representative men of Bridgeport. However, after 1847 Masonry
began to revive and once more St. John's became active. Meetings were held in the old lodge room in the second story of a school
house at 200 State Street, afterwards upon the northwest corner of State and Water streets, at the foot of State, and then over
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