CHAPTER V - The Personnel
An organization is as great as the sum of the persons who are its members, and Grand Chapter has been eminently successful in attracting to its ranks dedicated, able men from every walk of life. Elsewhere in these pages will be found a list of those who have filled the major offices. To include a biography of each would expand this history to a point where it would no longer be brief, and the reader who desires more information is referred to the annual Proceedings, published without a break since 1869, and distributed to each constituent chapter. Naturally the members of our first Grand Council merit special attention.
ALEXANDER KEITH: Born at Halkirk, Scotland, October 5th, 1795, in 1812 he went to Sunderland, England, to learn the mysteries of brewing and malting. Coming to Halifax in 1817 he entered the employ of Charles Boggs, a brewer, purchasing the establishment in 1820 and continuing the business until his death on December 14th, 1873.
He was initiated in Sunderland in the Lodge of St. John No. 118, E.C., and shortly after his arrival in Halifax affiliated with Virgin Lodge, now No. 3, G.R.N.S. In 1819 he was exalted in Royal Union Chapter, now No. 1, G.R.N.S. After filling many offices with great ability he was appointed by the Supreme Grand Chapter of England as Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masonry for Nova Scotia. As noted before, he became the first Grand High Priest at the formation of the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia in 1869.
Much interested in the chivalric orders, he was appointed by the Grand Conclave of England and Wales as Provincial Grand Commander of the area now known as the Atlantic Provinces.
In 1839 he became Provincial Grand Master under the English jurisdiction, for Nova Scotia, and extended in 1846 to the other Atlantic Provinces. He received a similar appointment for the Maritime Provinces from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1843. He was elected the first Grand Master after the union of the English and Scottish lodges in the province in 1869, serving until his death.
He was elected Mayor of Halifax in 1843, 1853 and 1854, was appointed to the Legislative Council and chosen its President in the year of Confederation, 1867.
STEPHEN ROLAND SIRCOM: The first Grand King was born in Bristol, England, October 17th, 1836. Coming to Halifax at an early age, he became a dry goods merchant, retiring in 1877, moving shortly after to the United States. He died at Melrose, Massachusetts,January 24th, 1906 and is buried there.
He was a member of Scotia Lodge which later amalgamated with St. Johns No. 2, G.R.N.S., and was active in the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1866, being chosen Grand Registrar and Senior Warden. Along with the Grand Master and Grand Secretary his name appears on the document asking for the recognition of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia as a sovereign body by all foreign Grand Lodges. In 1867 he was Deputy Grand Master and Grand Master in 1868, giving way to Keith at the union of the English and Scottish groups. Succeeding Keith as Grand High Priest, he served from 1871 to 1875 inclusive.
He was also a Past Provincial Grand Prior and a 32nd degree member of the Scottish Rite.
JOSEPH CONWAY BROWN: The first Grand Scribe was born at Bryn Glas, Monmouthshire, in 1838 and trained in classics and as a mining engineer. He went as a young man to the United States, later coming to Nova Scotia where he practiced as a mining engineer at Goldenville and Acadia Iron Mines. He received his craft and capitular degrees in the United States. ·He died of tuberculosis at his home in Acadia Mines, now Londonderry, July 25th, 1871. A Lodge of Sorrow was held at Truro with burial in Halifax with full Masonic honours. Later the body was removed to his old home and re-interred beside his five brothers in the parish of Malpas.
The Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia has never followed the ladder system of promotion of its senior officers, and thus on the Grand Secretary has fallen the responsibility of providing a continuity of policy from year to year. He becomes the day to day authority on protocol, and, if the truth were known, he has probably been the unofficial adviser to many a Grand High Priest on such matters as dress, procedure and fraternal relations. The century has been bridged by only eleven occupants of this executive office. Without the devoted labours of our Grand Secretaries it is difficult to see how Grand Chapter could have functioned. At least it would have been a very different sort of body.
Painstaking as they were in their official duties, our Grand Secretaries have all been too modest about themselves to make it easy for the biographer. In life and in death little is said of them in the annual Proceedings, and the card index of the craft, built up over the years by the present Grand Secretary, has been the chief source of information. Even here most of the notes are Masonic rather than personal; to have searched family records for the full stories would have been an impossible task.
JAMES GOSSIP, our first Grand Secretary, and member of the original committee, served from 1869 to 1880, and as Grand High Priest from 1881 to 1883. He was a stationer in Halifax, a member of what is now Virgin Lodge No. 3, and was exalted in Royal Union Chapter in 1864. He was also President of the Order of High Priesthood.
GEORGE THOMAS SMITHERS, another member of the original committee, followed Gossip as Grand Secretary from 1881 to 1886 and again from 1889 to 1891. He was Grand King in 1879-1880. A member first of St. Andrews Lodge No. 1, he was a founding member of The Lodge of St. Mark No. 38 and later its Master. He was exalted in Royal Union Chapter in 1866. He was a· recognized authority on the ritual in the early years of Grand Chapter. Death occurred January 29, 1892, at the age of 54 years.
BENJAMIN CURREN was our Grand Secretary from 1886 to 1888. He is listed as a teacher and carried the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law. He was a member of Virgin Lodge No. 3 and was exalted in Royal Union Chapter in 1860. He was Grand High Priest in 1877. He served as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia from 1871 to 1889. Death came in the latter year.
ALEXANDER ROSS, a gardener, held office as Grand Secretary from 1892 to 1896. He was a member of St. Andrews Chapter No. 2, over which he presided in 1890. He died May 27, 1916.
DAVID HUGH CAMPBELL served from 1897 to 1905. He is listed as a clerk and a member of Athole Lodge No. 15. Exalted in St.Andrews Chapter No. 2 in 1890 at the age of 41, he was its High Priest in 1893. He was Grand High Priest in 1896.
SAMUEL JAMES WADDELL filled the period from 1906 to 1918. He was exalted in Keith Chapter No. 4 in 1883 at the age of 36, and was Grand High Priest in 1903. Death came in 1919.
BRENTON F. PORTER is- the first Grand Secretary whose career is dealt with in detail in the Proceedings at the time of his death. Born at Hebron, N.S., in 1860, most of his life was spent in Truro. A teacher by profession, he was educated at Yarmouth Seminary, Acadia University, and the University of Kings College, holding the degrees of B.A. and M.A. In later life he carried on an accounting, appraisal and insurance business. The last five years of his life were spent with a daughter Elsie, wife of Dr. G. B. Reid of Queens University, Kingston, Ont. He died in 1941.
He was raised in Truro Lodge No. 43 in 1895; was Master in 1899 and Secretary from 1919 to 1936; Deputy Grand Master in 1932; Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma from 1925 until his death; member and Corresponding Secretary for Nova Scotia of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 of London, England; exalted in Keith Chapter No. 4 in 1897; served as High Priest in 1901; as Secretary from 1907 to 1921, and from 1923 to 1936. After a year as Assistant Grand Secretary he filled the position of Grand Secretary with distinction until 1936, in which year he was made an Honorary Past Grand High Priest; he received the degrees of the Cryptic Rite in Yarmouth Council No. 12 in 1923; the Orders of Chivalry in Malta Preceptory in 1927 where he was Presiding Preceptor in 1905; a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason; from 1912 representative of the Grand Chapter of North Carolina. He was author of a sketch of the Life of Joseph Conway Brown and other Masonic articles.
JOHN W. LOGAN was Grand Secretary for the year 1936. He is listed as a bookkeeper and as such was intimately connected with the lumber industry. In later years he was Inspector of Rural Telephones. His local affiliation was with Truro Lodge No. 43, and he was exalted in Keith Chapter No. 4 in 1897 at the age of 21 years. He was Grand High Priest in 1923, later Deputy Grand Master and Grand Lecturer in the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia and enjoyed the unique distinction of possessing a 60-year jewel from Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter and the Sovereign Great Priority. He was also President of the Order of High Priesthood. He died in 1960.
JAMES McGREGOR RUTHERFORD, a native of Prince Edward Island, served as Grand Secretary from 1937 to 1942. A career with the Royal Bank was interrupted by military service in South Africa during the Boer War. Returning to Canada, he worked for some years as a railway inspector in Western Canada. During the First World War, he was official censor at the cable station in Canso, where he later served as Collector of Customs. Promoted to Senior Excise Clerk in Halifax, he retired in 1937. He was raised in The Lodge of St. Mark No. 38, was Master of Canso Lodge No. 79, and for several years prior to his death he served his mother lodge as secretary. He was exalted in Saint Andrews Chapter No. 2 in 1907 and served as High Priest in 1932. His death occurred at Halifax August 13, 1943, at the age of seventy-two.
HENRY S. THEAKSTON was Grand Secretary from 1942 to 1946. He was born in Halifax in 1867 and was a trusted employee of the Dominion Steel and Coal Company in Sydney from 1899 to 1921. He was District Deputy Grand Master in Cape Breton District in 1917 to 1919. Removing to Halifax, he was Grand High Priest in 1933 and 1934, and Grand Secretary from 1942to1947. He died February 16, 1958.
HAROLD FRITZ SIPPRELL, the present Grand Secretary assumed office in 1947. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, April 4, 1900, he was graduated from the Provincial Normal School at Fredericton, Acadia University (B.A., 1927), and Harvard University (A.M., 1928), and took further work in theater arts both in the United States and England. After teaching experience in New Brunswick and at Bates College, he joined the faculty of Acadia University in 1930, retiring in 1958 as Professor of English. Raised in St. Georges Lodge No. 20 in1931, he was Master in 1940, Senior Grand Warden, 1944, Deputy Grand Master, 1945, and has been Grand Secretary since 1958. He was exalted in The Hiram Chapter No. 3 in 1935, High Priest in 1939, Grand Scribe, 1942, Grand High Priest, 1943 and 1944. Greeted in Chebucto Council in 1938, he was Thrice Illustrious Master in 1943 and Grand Master in 1947. He was consecrated in Antiquity Preceptory No. 5 in 1938 and was Preceptor in 1943, Provincial Prior in 1956. Admitted in Eastern Canada Priory, York Cross of Honour, he was Prior in 1949, and is the present Registrar. He was installed in Royal Edward Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine in 1943, and has served as Sovereign and as Sovereign and as Grand Sovereign. He is a member of the Scottish Rite bodies in Halifax and a Noble of Philae Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S.
ALEXANDER KEITH: Born at Halkirk, Scotland, October 5th, 1795, in 1812 he went to Sunderland, England, to learn the mysteries of brewing and malting. Coming to Halifax in 1817 he entered the employ of Charles Boggs, a brewer, purchasing the establishment in 1820 and continuing the business until his death on December 14th, 1873.
He was initiated in Sunderland in the Lodge of St. John No. 118, E.C., and shortly after his arrival in Halifax affiliated with Virgin Lodge, now No. 3, G.R.N.S. In 1819 he was exalted in Royal Union Chapter, now No. 1, G.R.N.S. After filling many offices with great ability he was appointed by the Supreme Grand Chapter of England as Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masonry for Nova Scotia. As noted before, he became the first Grand High Priest at the formation of the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia in 1869.
Much interested in the chivalric orders, he was appointed by the Grand Conclave of England and Wales as Provincial Grand Commander of the area now known as the Atlantic Provinces.
In 1839 he became Provincial Grand Master under the English jurisdiction, for Nova Scotia, and extended in 1846 to the other Atlantic Provinces. He received a similar appointment for the Maritime Provinces from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1843. He was elected the first Grand Master after the union of the English and Scottish lodges in the province in 1869, serving until his death.
He was elected Mayor of Halifax in 1843, 1853 and 1854, was appointed to the Legislative Council and chosen its President in the year of Confederation, 1867.
STEPHEN ROLAND SIRCOM: The first Grand King was born in Bristol, England, October 17th, 1836. Coming to Halifax at an early age, he became a dry goods merchant, retiring in 1877, moving shortly after to the United States. He died at Melrose, Massachusetts,January 24th, 1906 and is buried there.
He was a member of Scotia Lodge which later amalgamated with St. Johns No. 2, G.R.N.S., and was active in the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1866, being chosen Grand Registrar and Senior Warden. Along with the Grand Master and Grand Secretary his name appears on the document asking for the recognition of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia as a sovereign body by all foreign Grand Lodges. In 1867 he was Deputy Grand Master and Grand Master in 1868, giving way to Keith at the union of the English and Scottish groups. Succeeding Keith as Grand High Priest, he served from 1871 to 1875 inclusive.
He was also a Past Provincial Grand Prior and a 32nd degree member of the Scottish Rite.
JOSEPH CONWAY BROWN: The first Grand Scribe was born at Bryn Glas, Monmouthshire, in 1838 and trained in classics and as a mining engineer. He went as a young man to the United States, later coming to Nova Scotia where he practiced as a mining engineer at Goldenville and Acadia Iron Mines. He received his craft and capitular degrees in the United States. ·He died of tuberculosis at his home in Acadia Mines, now Londonderry, July 25th, 1871. A Lodge of Sorrow was held at Truro with burial in Halifax with full Masonic honours. Later the body was removed to his old home and re-interred beside his five brothers in the parish of Malpas.
The Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia has never followed the ladder system of promotion of its senior officers, and thus on the Grand Secretary has fallen the responsibility of providing a continuity of policy from year to year. He becomes the day to day authority on protocol, and, if the truth were known, he has probably been the unofficial adviser to many a Grand High Priest on such matters as dress, procedure and fraternal relations. The century has been bridged by only eleven occupants of this executive office. Without the devoted labours of our Grand Secretaries it is difficult to see how Grand Chapter could have functioned. At least it would have been a very different sort of body.
Painstaking as they were in their official duties, our Grand Secretaries have all been too modest about themselves to make it easy for the biographer. In life and in death little is said of them in the annual Proceedings, and the card index of the craft, built up over the years by the present Grand Secretary, has been the chief source of information. Even here most of the notes are Masonic rather than personal; to have searched family records for the full stories would have been an impossible task.
JAMES GOSSIP, our first Grand Secretary, and member of the original committee, served from 1869 to 1880, and as Grand High Priest from 1881 to 1883. He was a stationer in Halifax, a member of what is now Virgin Lodge No. 3, and was exalted in Royal Union Chapter in 1864. He was also President of the Order of High Priesthood.
GEORGE THOMAS SMITHERS, another member of the original committee, followed Gossip as Grand Secretary from 1881 to 1886 and again from 1889 to 1891. He was Grand King in 1879-1880. A member first of St. Andrews Lodge No. 1, he was a founding member of The Lodge of St. Mark No. 38 and later its Master. He was exalted in Royal Union Chapter in 1866. He was a· recognized authority on the ritual in the early years of Grand Chapter. Death occurred January 29, 1892, at the age of 54 years.
BENJAMIN CURREN was our Grand Secretary from 1886 to 1888. He is listed as a teacher and carried the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law. He was a member of Virgin Lodge No. 3 and was exalted in Royal Union Chapter in 1860. He was Grand High Priest in 1877. He served as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia from 1871 to 1889. Death came in the latter year.
ALEXANDER ROSS, a gardener, held office as Grand Secretary from 1892 to 1896. He was a member of St. Andrews Chapter No. 2, over which he presided in 1890. He died May 27, 1916.
DAVID HUGH CAMPBELL served from 1897 to 1905. He is listed as a clerk and a member of Athole Lodge No. 15. Exalted in St.Andrews Chapter No. 2 in 1890 at the age of 41, he was its High Priest in 1893. He was Grand High Priest in 1896.
SAMUEL JAMES WADDELL filled the period from 1906 to 1918. He was exalted in Keith Chapter No. 4 in 1883 at the age of 36, and was Grand High Priest in 1903. Death came in 1919.
BRENTON F. PORTER is- the first Grand Secretary whose career is dealt with in detail in the Proceedings at the time of his death. Born at Hebron, N.S., in 1860, most of his life was spent in Truro. A teacher by profession, he was educated at Yarmouth Seminary, Acadia University, and the University of Kings College, holding the degrees of B.A. and M.A. In later life he carried on an accounting, appraisal and insurance business. The last five years of his life were spent with a daughter Elsie, wife of Dr. G. B. Reid of Queens University, Kingston, Ont. He died in 1941.
He was raised in Truro Lodge No. 43 in 1895; was Master in 1899 and Secretary from 1919 to 1936; Deputy Grand Master in 1932; Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma from 1925 until his death; member and Corresponding Secretary for Nova Scotia of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 of London, England; exalted in Keith Chapter No. 4 in 1897; served as High Priest in 1901; as Secretary from 1907 to 1921, and from 1923 to 1936. After a year as Assistant Grand Secretary he filled the position of Grand Secretary with distinction until 1936, in which year he was made an Honorary Past Grand High Priest; he received the degrees of the Cryptic Rite in Yarmouth Council No. 12 in 1923; the Orders of Chivalry in Malta Preceptory in 1927 where he was Presiding Preceptor in 1905; a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason; from 1912 representative of the Grand Chapter of North Carolina. He was author of a sketch of the Life of Joseph Conway Brown and other Masonic articles.
JOHN W. LOGAN was Grand Secretary for the year 1936. He is listed as a bookkeeper and as such was intimately connected with the lumber industry. In later years he was Inspector of Rural Telephones. His local affiliation was with Truro Lodge No. 43, and he was exalted in Keith Chapter No. 4 in 1897 at the age of 21 years. He was Grand High Priest in 1923, later Deputy Grand Master and Grand Lecturer in the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia and enjoyed the unique distinction of possessing a 60-year jewel from Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter and the Sovereign Great Priority. He was also President of the Order of High Priesthood. He died in 1960.
JAMES McGREGOR RUTHERFORD, a native of Prince Edward Island, served as Grand Secretary from 1937 to 1942. A career with the Royal Bank was interrupted by military service in South Africa during the Boer War. Returning to Canada, he worked for some years as a railway inspector in Western Canada. During the First World War, he was official censor at the cable station in Canso, where he later served as Collector of Customs. Promoted to Senior Excise Clerk in Halifax, he retired in 1937. He was raised in The Lodge of St. Mark No. 38, was Master of Canso Lodge No. 79, and for several years prior to his death he served his mother lodge as secretary. He was exalted in Saint Andrews Chapter No. 2 in 1907 and served as High Priest in 1932. His death occurred at Halifax August 13, 1943, at the age of seventy-two.
HENRY S. THEAKSTON was Grand Secretary from 1942 to 1946. He was born in Halifax in 1867 and was a trusted employee of the Dominion Steel and Coal Company in Sydney from 1899 to 1921. He was District Deputy Grand Master in Cape Breton District in 1917 to 1919. Removing to Halifax, he was Grand High Priest in 1933 and 1934, and Grand Secretary from 1942to1947. He died February 16, 1958.
HAROLD FRITZ SIPPRELL, the present Grand Secretary assumed office in 1947. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, April 4, 1900, he was graduated from the Provincial Normal School at Fredericton, Acadia University (B.A., 1927), and Harvard University (A.M., 1928), and took further work in theater arts both in the United States and England. After teaching experience in New Brunswick and at Bates College, he joined the faculty of Acadia University in 1930, retiring in 1958 as Professor of English. Raised in St. Georges Lodge No. 20 in1931, he was Master in 1940, Senior Grand Warden, 1944, Deputy Grand Master, 1945, and has been Grand Secretary since 1958. He was exalted in The Hiram Chapter No. 3 in 1935, High Priest in 1939, Grand Scribe, 1942, Grand High Priest, 1943 and 1944. Greeted in Chebucto Council in 1938, he was Thrice Illustrious Master in 1943 and Grand Master in 1947. He was consecrated in Antiquity Preceptory No. 5 in 1938 and was Preceptor in 1943, Provincial Prior in 1956. Admitted in Eastern Canada Priory, York Cross of Honour, he was Prior in 1949, and is the present Registrar. He was installed in Royal Edward Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine in 1943, and has served as Sovereign and as Sovereign and as Grand Sovereign. He is a member of the Scottish Rite bodies in Halifax and a Noble of Philae Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S.