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| Prince Hall was born at Bridgetown, Barbados, British West Indies, about September 12, 1748. He was free born. His father Thomas Prince Hall, was an Englishman and his mother a free colored woman of French Extraction. In 1765, at the age of 17, he worked passage on a ship to Boston, where he worked as a leather worker, the trade learned from his father. Eight years later he acquired real estate and was qualified to vote. He was religiously inclined and later became a preacher in the Methodist Church with a charge of Cambridge. On March 6, 1775, Prince Hall and fouteen other free negroes (Peter Best, Cuff Bufform, John Carter, Peter Freeman, Fortune Howard, Cyrus Jonbus, Prince Rees, Thomas Sanderson, Boston Singer, Boston Singer, Boston Smith, Cato Spean, Prince Taylar, Benjamin Tiber and Richard Tilley) of Boston were made Master Masons in an Army Lodge attached to one of General Cage's regiments, then stationed near Boston. This Lodge granted Prince Hall and his brethren authority to meet as a Lodge, to go in procession on St. John's Day, and as a Lodge to bury their dead; however, they could not confer degrees nor perform any other Masonic "work". For nineteen years these brethren, together with others who had received their degrees elsewhere, assembled and enjoyed their limited privileges as Masons. Finally, in March 1784, Prince Hall Petitioned to the Grand Lodge of England, through a Worshipful Master of a subordinate Lodge in London for a Warrant or Charter. On September 29, 1784, the Warrant was issued. However, it was not delivered until three years later, owing to the fact that the brother to whom the matter was entrusted failed to call for it. It was, however, delivered on April 29, 1787 by Captain James Scott, a sea-faring man and incidentally, a brother-in-law of John Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration fo Independence. On May 6, 1787, by virtue of the authority of this Charter, African Lodge No. 459 was established and began work as a regular Masonic body. In accordance with Masonic usage at that time, a General Assembly of the Colored Masons met in Mason's Hall, Water Street, Boston Massachusetts, on June 24, 1791 and formed African Grand Lodge with Prince Hall as its first Grand Master; which office he held until his deathe in December, 1807. To learn more about Prince Hall Click Here!!! NOTE: This is an external link, you must back click on your browser to return to this page. |
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