Entry/Object ID
GLP.1.13Description
Visual depictions of Benjamin Russell, Grand Master of Massachusetts, 1814-16.
Benjamin Russell, born in Boston on September 13, 1761, belonged to Rising States Lodge under the pre-union Massachusetts Independent Grand Lodge and rose through Junior Grand Warden (1811–12), Senior Grand Warden (1813), and fifteen years as Grand Marshal under five Grand Masters before his own election. As a young man he apprenticed under printer Isaiah Thomas in Worcester alongside future Grand Master Timothy Bigelow, served as a Continental Army clerk and soldier during the Revolution (witnessing both Major André's execution and a Masonic lodge meeting attended by George Washington that shaped his later devotion to the Craft), and went on to found and edit the influential Columbian Centinel newspaper from 1784 until his death. As Grand Master he helped complete the 1792 union of Massachusetts's rival Grand Lodges, established the Grand Lodge Library in 1815, and created a charity fund for prisoners during the War of 1812. He died January 4, 1845.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Benjamin Russell, Rising States LodgeName/Title
Benjamin Russell, Grand Master of Massachusetts (1814-16)