Nauvoo Masonic Lodge Officers, May–August 1842
, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the York rite of speculative
Freemasonry, granted a dispensation for the organization of a temporary
Freemasonry lodge in in mid-October
1841. In conjunction with this action, Jonas appointed as the lodge’s Worshipful Master, as Senior Warden, and as Junior
Warden. On 29 December 1841, eighteen Freemasons met
and opened the temporary lodge in ’s Nauvoo office.
In addition to confirming the previous appointments made by Jonas, the
congregants elected the other officers listed below, including Hyrum
Smith as Senior Warden pro tempore. On 15 March 1842,
Jonas visited Nauvoo and officially installed the Nauvoo Lodge under
Dispensation. From 7
April until 11 August, members of the lodge met almost every day,
usually twice a day. On 11 August the lodge ceased meeting after Jonas
issued an injunction that suspended the dispensation.
From the beginning, many of the original officers,
including , were often absent from
meetings. On those occasions, other Masons filled their positions pro
tempore. During the summer
of 1842, most of the offices—with the exception of Steward, which
usually went unfilled—were filled by the same individuals on a somewhat
consistent basis. usually acted as Treasurer pro
tempore until 15 June, when took his position in that office. Beginning on 13
July, began to serve as
Worshipful Master pro tempore on a regular basis, requiring others to
fill his office of Junior Warden.
Despite their frequent absences, the original officers were
usually present in meetings dealing with . JS also often attended
those meetings. On 6 May 1842 Bennett recorded meeting minutes for the
last time, and soon after began to
serve as Secretary pro tempore. In a 7 May
meeting, a letter was read from in which he informed
the lodge he had received news that Bennett had been expelled from an
lodge. Bennett, who was
present, denied the charge “in toto,” but the lodge proceeded to
investigate the matter during the next two months. Bennett continued to defend himself until 16
June, after which he seems to have ceased attending the meetings
altogether. On 7 July 1842,
after obtaining more information about Bennett’s character and trying to
learn whether he had in fact been expelled from an Ohio lodge, the
Nauvoo Lodge expelled him as well.
The first column lists the officers who had been appointed
and elected by December 1841. The second column lists those individuals
who most often served in these offices during the period from May
through August 1842.
| December 1841 | 1 May–11 August 1842 | |
| Worshipful Master | (pro tempore) | |
| Senior Warden | (pro tempore) | (pro tempore) |
| Junior Warden | ||
| Secretary | (pro tempore) | |
| (after 20 July) | ||
| Treasurer | (pro tempore) | |
| (pro tempore) | ||
| Senior Deacon | ||
| Junior Deacon | William Felshaw (pro tempore) | |
| Stewards | William Felshaw | |
| Tyler | (pro tempore) |