art, portrait, albert pike, illustration

Travis Simpkins: Interview with the Portrait Artist Taking Freemasonry by Storm

Elena Llamas, Director of Public Relations for The Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library. Portrait by Travis Simpkins.

Elena Llamas,
Director of Public Relations for The Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library. Portrait by Travis Simpkins.

If you have a lot of Mason friends and follow various Masonic and related personalities, like I do, you for sure have noticed how profile photos have been shifting to the signature style portrait drawings of artist Travis Simpkins. Phoenixmasonry is pleased to have had the opportunity to interview this prolific artist so we can all learn more about him and his art.

EL (Elena Llamas): Hello, Bro. Travis, thank you for agreeing to this interview. I am honored to have the chance to talk to you about your work, which I have been admiring for quite some time now.

TS (Travis Simpkins): Thank you. It is my pleasure.

EL: Tell us about your training as an artist. When did you know you had an interest and talent for art? Did you study art formally?

TS: I’m sure I must have possessed some innate talent as a child, but I didn’t really pursue many artistic interests until my teen years.

travis_simpkins

Artist Travis Simpkins

My art education was two-fold:

I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Degree from Anna Maria College [in Massachusetts] in 2002. At Anna Maria, the curriculum focused on traditional forms of art rendered through a diverse range of mediums, from painting to sculpture, but an emphasis was placed on working from life. Working from life means that you are looking at actual 3D models in front of you, be it people or objects.

I also undertook additional studies in Arizona with Photorealist artist James Frederick Mueller. Jim had some success in the 1970’s and 80’s, including a portrait commission of a former U.S. President. Along with the detailed logistics of the method, I learned a very valuable skill from Jim… the ability to create convincing portraits while working from photographs.

EL: Well, your portraits are definitely convincing!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Freemason and Composer of Masonic Music, by Travis Simpkins

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Freemason and Composer of Masonic Music, by Travis Simpkins

TS: In my work, I still utilize both disciplines on a regular basis. I work from life while sketching objects in museums. With portraits, however, I work from photographs. Using photos offers greater freedom. I’m not limited by proximity and the internet has allowed the whole world to become an accessible market. I can accept commissions and create portraits of people I’ve never met, many of whom live thousands of miles away.

EL: That is wonderful, yes

TS: In the realm of art, portraiture has always been one of the most difficult subjects to master. It offers both a challenge and a sense of accomplishment. If you can render a human face, and do it well, then you can draw just about anything else. There will always be a demand for well-crafted, quality portraits.

EL: I believe you! You have to be true to what you see. It must be quite difficult.

Albert Pike, 33° Scottish Rite Freemason and Author of "Morals & Dogma" by Travis Simpkins

Albert Pike, 33° Scottish Rite Freemason and Author of “Morals & Dogma” by Travis Simpkins

EL: Many portrait artists switch the background or medium of their work. You have a very unique and consistent signature style which involves a, and please excuse my lack of technical knowledge here, to the untrained eye it seems to involve a discreet pink background with black and white strokes in either pencil or charcoal. How did you develop this style and why have you remained consistent using it?

TS: It’s a classic sketching technique, utilized for hundreds of years, reminiscent of Old Master drawings. I just take that historic sense and extend it to contemporary subjects. The end result has a timeless quality, connecting the past and present in a relatable way.

EL: How interesting.

Benjamin Franklin. Statesman, Printer and Freemason, by Travis Simpkins

Benjamin Franklin. Statesman, Printer and Freemason, by Travis Simpkins

TS: I keep making portraits in that particular style for a few reasons. Firstly, I work on commission and create artwork to order. The charcoal drawings are popular and I keep getting requests for that particular aesthetic. As long as the business demand is there, I’ll keep producing them. Secondly, it’s important for an artist to have a unique style; to have their works be instantly recognizable as being created by their hand. For me, these portraits border on that signature element.

EL: Absolutely

TS: Lastly, I simply enjoy creating them. I work quickly and lack the patience for slow and tedious mediums. Drawing offers a sense of spontaneity, immediacy and expressiveness that other art forms don’t.

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. Freemason, by Travis Simpkins

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. Freemason, by Travis Simpkins

EL: I noticed some of the Freemasons you have drawn portraits for have Masonic pins on their clothes, that is a very nice signature detail of yours.

TS: Good portraits display some attribute, prop or element to convey the subject’s personal interests and passions. Small visual details can help to tell a person’s unique story. Over the course of their Masonic journey, many Masons are deservedly honored for their achievements, and I’ve found that Masonic jewels make great portrait accessories.

EL: Besides drawing a lot of esoteric, personal, and Masonic portraits, you also have a series of archeological drawings, is this another interest of yours?

TS: I work with several museums and cultural institutions, and those sketches are based on works of art displayed in museum collections. I am usually assigned to draw certain objects, but others are chosen for my own enjoyment. Those sketches are interesting in that they offer an interpretive connection with history, with ancient works of art being filtered through my viewpoint as an artist in the present.

Worcester Art Museum: Pre-Columbian Seated Male Figure, 900-1200 AD, by Travis Simpkins

Worcester Art Museum: Pre-Columbian Seated Male Figure, 900-1200 AD, by Travis Simpkins

TS: In my work with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, I create artwork for an ongoing HR program. I am tasked with creating sketches of works in the museum’s collection, which the museum then frames and presents as gifts to noteworthy recipients.

EL: That is awesome!

TS: I greatly enjoy the job, but more than that, I’m truly honored that the Gardner Museum recognizes the quality of my work and has chosen my art to represent their world-renowned collection.

Worcester Art Museum: Ancient Greek Corinthian Helmets, 550-450 BC, by Travis Simpkins

Worcester Art Museum: Ancient Greek Corinthian Helmets, 550-450 BC, by Travis Simpkins

TS: Earlier this year, I began working as an Art Advisor with the Massachusetts Senate. One of our State Senators wanted to have college student artwork from his constituency represented in his office at the State House in Boston, and I helped draft an initiative and offered logistical advice for the project. It is quite rewarding, personally, to see the proud expressions on the faces of the students and their parents as the artwork is put on display at the state capitol.

TS: Last year, I was hired by the Worcester Historical Museum to create portraits of three generations of the Salisbury Family (17th-18th Century benefactors of the city). My artwork was put on display in the circa 1772 Salisbury Mansion, placed alongside paintings by colonial-era portraitist Gilbert Stuart. Gilbert Stuart painted the famous portrait of George Washington (used on the dollar bill) and is one of my artistic heroes, so that was quite an honor.

EL: Wow! That is fantastic!

George Washington Masonic Memorial. Cornerstone. Alexandria, Virginia, by Travis Simpkins

George Washington Masonic Memorial. Cornerstone. Alexandria, Virginia, by Travis Simpkins

TS: I also work at the Worcester Art Museum, having taken on various roles from assisting in art classes to monitoring the safety and security of the artwork on display. I have also referred collectors I know to the Worcester Art Museum, and my efforts and connections in that regard have culminated in the addition of more than 300 works of art to WAM’s permanent collection, including 97 woodblock prints by Japanese artist Yoshida Toshi.

Art Security is a major concern of mine as well, both personally and professionally. I hold a certification from the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection. I am a contributor to various art security forums, conducting research into art theft, preservation and archaeological ethics.

EL: How interesting. Keeping art safe is a challenge! Your wife is also a talented artist.

TS: My wife, Janet, is an amazing artist. She has a wonderful eye for detail. Currently, she is working on a series of miniature paintings, which have been on display in three gallery shows so far this year. We share a mutual love and respect, and I credit all of my success (artistic and otherwise) to her encouragement and support.

EL: Wonderful! How sweet! She does have an eye for detail as can be seen in the miniature painting below.

Janet Simpkins, 2x3 inch mini-painting

Janet Simpkins, 2×3 inch mini-painting

EL: Can anyone contact you for a portrait? If so, how and where?

TS: Portrait commissions can be made through my website: http://www.artcrimeillustrated.com

I can be emailed directly at: artcrimeillustrated@hotmail.com

Find my page on Facebook as “Travis Simpkins: Artist & Museum Professional”

Affordable prints of my portraits of historical Freemasons can be purchased through Cornerstone Book Publishers at: www.cornerstonepublishers.com

EL: Your work has rightfully earned a vibrant place in the hearts and minds of Freemasons. Is there anything I did not ask that you would like to talk about?

TS: I’m glad to hear others describe my Masonic portraits as a contribution to the fraternity, it’s meaningful to be able to play some part in my own way. It is a wonderful organization and being raised a Master Mason will always be a defining moment in my life. Since joining earlier this year, I feel that I’ve already made many lasting friendships and associations. I have experienced the start of an incredible journey and am open-minded to future opportunities in Freemasonry. All of the brethren at Morning Star Lodge in Worcester and the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in Boston have been very welcoming and helpful. I am looking forward to joining the Scottish Rite Valley of Worcester and the Boston Consistory later this year. I hope to do a lot of traveling over the coming years and experience the Masonic art, architecture and fellowship in other areas as well.

Mark Twain, Author and Freemason. Mark Twain House & Museum. Hartford, CT, by Travis Simpkins

Mark Twain, Author and Freemason. Mark Twain House & Museum. Hartford, CT, by Travis Simpkins

EL: Your work is an outstanding contribution to Freemasonry and the Fraternity is most fortunate to have had you join. Thank you again, for this interview. Bro. Travis’ portraits cost about $200 (for an 8×10 inch drawing) if you would like to get your own or get one as a gift. Phoenixmasonry will certainty keep an eye on your work to let our friends and fans know what you are up to in the future. Thank you everyone for reading!

David Lettelier. Founder of Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library, by Travis Simpkins

David Lettelier. Founder of Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library, by Travis Simpkins

John Hancock, Freemason. St. Andrew's Lodge. Boston, MA, by Travis Simpkins

John Hancock, Freemason. St. Andrew’s Lodge. Boston, MA, by Travis Simpkins

Charles Lindbergh. Aviator, Author and Explorer. 1st Solo Flight Across Atlantic, by Travis Simpkins

Charles Lindbergh. Aviator, Author and Explorer. 1st Solo Flight Across Atlantic, by Travis Simpkins

post

Thank You for the Declaration of Independence

Thank you for the Declaration of Independence.

Thank you for the strength, bravery, and dedication to fight so that I may have the opportunities I have today. I hope that I may live up to a fraction of the standard you set before me. I am in awe of your courage and your forethought for our freedom.

Happy 4th of July.

Should you need a little something to talk about over the holiday BBQ’s and the Firework celebrations, I wanted to share with you the role of Freemasonry and our Freedoms today.

Freemasonry may not have created the Declaration of Independence, but its principals of equality, brotherly love, and democracy influenced its very essence.

In the words of a few of our Founding Fathers:

Thomas_Paine

Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others.
Thomas Paine – Common Sense, February, 1776

“Gentlemen, All though it is not possible to foresee the consequences of human actions, yet it is nevertheless a duty we owe ourselves and posterity in all our public councils to decide in the best manner we are able and to trust the event to That Being who governs both causes and events, so as to bring about his own determinations.

Impressed with this sentiment, and at the same time fully convinced that our affairs will take a more favorable turn, The Congress have judged it necessary to dissolve all connection between Great Britain and the American Colonies, and to declare them free and independent States as you will perceive by the enclosed Declaration, which I am directed to transmit to you.”
John Hancock – Cover letter to the Declaration of Independence
Philadelphia, July 6, 1776

congress

In Masonic terms, only 9 of the 56 men who signed it were Freemasons.

They were:

William Ellery Rhode Island
Oct. 12 and/or Oct. 25 of 1748 St. John’s Lodge of Boston -First Lodge of Boston, 1748

Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania
St. John’s Lodge of Philadelphia, 1731 – Grand Master of Pennsylvania, 1734

John Hancock Massachusetts
July 4, 1776 & Aug 2, 1776 became a Mason in Merchants Lodge No. 277 in Quebec, affiliated with Saint Andrew’s Lodge in Boston, 1762

Joseph Hewes or Howes North Carolina
Aug 2, 1776? Unanimity Lodge No. 7, visited in 1776, and buried with Masonic funeral honors

William Hooper North Carolina
Aug 2, 1776? Member of Hanover Lodge in Masonborough, N.C.

Thomas McKean Delaware
1781 listed as visitor to Perseverance Lodge in Harrisburg, PA

Robert Treat Paine Massachusetts
Aug 2, 1776? Attended Massachusetts Grand Lodge in 1759

Richard Stockton New Jersey
Aug 2, 1776? Charter Master of St. John’s Lodge in Princeton, 1765

George Walton Georgia
Aug 2, 1776? Solomon’s Lodge No. 1, in Savannah

William Whipple New Hampshire
Aug 2, 1776? St. John’s Lodge, Portsmouth, N.H., 1752

33 of the 74 men commissioned as Generals in the U.S. Continental Army were Freemasons, most notable:
Marquis de LaFayette, , Nathanael Greene, Israel Putnam, George Washington, and the turn coat Benedict Arnold.

And, 3 (of 13) Freemasons who were true patriots who risked everything for our nation’s freedom.  They are less known than most, but they contributed greatly to the creation and preservation of our country.

Bro. Samuel Nicholas: Commissioned by Congress to organize and train five companies of marine forces, skilled in the use of small and large firearms, to protect America’s ships at sea.  During the winter of 1776–77, his units provided for Washington’s small army, crossing the Delaware River at Trenton, fighting in the Battle of Princeton.  He is considered the first Commandant of the Marine Corps, exemplifying the Marine motto Semper Fidelis.

Bro. John Glover: Head the Marblehead Regiment, he successfully engaged the British at sea and, later, triumphed over severe odds to evacuate the desperate remnants of Washington’s army from Long Island to Manhattan.

Bro. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenburg: The Episcopal priest and ardent patriot who is quoted as saying int he closing of a sermon “There is a time for all things—a time to preach and a time to pray; but there is also a time to fight, and that time has now come.”  Then removing his clerical robes, revealing his Colonel’s uniform.

How we achieved our independence?

The final battle in the Revolutionary War was in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia.

Washington learned that a French fleet was sailing toward North America and decided to plan a combined French and colonial attack against the British forces in Yorktown. The attack captured the British Army. The British could not get supplies by sea because of the French fleet and they could not retreat by land because of the French and colonial troops.

On October 17, 1781 the British Army surrendered. King George did not want it to be the last battle of the war, but Parliament decided that the loss was too costly. U.S. and British leaders signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783 which ended the war.

The full text reads:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Thank you to Paul M. Bessel’s website for the Masonic information.

Read about Masonic Presidents, or about other Notable Freemasons.

May the Great Architect of the Universe bless us all.

Reverend Brother John Marrant & Birchtown, Nova Scotia

This year I made a family vacation trip back to Nova Scotia where I summered every year as a child. We visited many historical sites while there, among them was Shelburne, Nova Scotia. When I drove down the main street of Shelburne there were British flags everywhere and the word “Loyalist” was prominently used on signs, businesses and all things written.

So I was to relearn that a large contingent of White Americans, who wanted to remain loyal to the British Crown after the American Patriots defeated the British in the Revolutionary War, sailed to Nova Scotia in 1783 and settled in what is now the town of Shelburne. All this I guess I knew as a child but it was 51 years since I last set foot on Nova Scotia soil.

The town of Shelburne reports:

“In the spring of 1783, 5,000 settlers arrived on the shores of Shelburne Harbour from New York and the middle colonies of America. Assurance of living under the British flag, and promises of free land, tools, and provisions lured many to the British Colonies at that time. Four hundred families associated to form a town at Port Roseway, which Governor Parr renamed Shelburne later that year. This group became known as the Port Roseway Associates. In the fall of 1783, a second wave of settlers arrived in Shelburne. By 1784, the population of this new community is estimated to have been at least 10,000; the fourth largest in North America, much larger than either Halifax or Montreal.” (1)

Certificate of Freedom signed by British Brigadier General Samuel Birch

Certificate of Freedom signed by British Brigadier General Samuel Birch

What I didn’t know was that less than 10 miles down the road was a town settled by Black Loyalists in the same year. The town was named Birchtown in honor of British Brigadier General Samuel Birch who signed the majority of the Certificates of Freedom held by Black Loyalists most of whom had fought for the British during the Revolutionary War.

Here is how that came about:

“When Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, lost control of that colony to the rebels in the summer of 1775, the economy of Virginia was based on slave labor. Lord Dunmore issued a proclamation that any slave or indentured person would be given their freedom if they took up arms with the British against the rebels. As a result, 2,000 slaves and indentured persons joined his forces. Later, other British supporters in the colonies issued similar proclamations.

Then the British Commander-in-chief at New York, Sir Henry Clinton, issued the Philipsburg proclamation when the British realized they were losing the war. It stated that any Negro to desert the rebel cause would receive full protection, freedom, and land. It is estimated that many thousands of people of African descent joined the British and became British supporters.” (2)

“When the end came, the top British commanders kept their word to the King’s Black soldiers.

In November 1782, Britain and America signed a provisional treaty granting the former colonies their independence. As the British prepared for their final evacuation, the Americans demanded the return of American property, including runaway slaves, under the terms of the peace treaty. Sir Guy Carleton, the acting commander of British forces, refused to abandon black Loyalists to their fate as slaves. With thousands of apprehensive blacks seeking to document their service to the Crown, Brigadier General Samuel Birch, British commandant of the city of New York, created a list of claimants known as The Book of Negroes.” (3)

Some interesting behind the scenes bargaining led to this conclusion:

In April 1783 the first evacuation fleet left for Nova Scotia. A week later  the British Commander, Sir Guy Carleton, sailed up the Hudson River to Orangetown for a conference with General Washington to discuss the evacuation. As the victorious commander, Washington opened the meeting by reiterating the resolution of Congress regarding “the delivery of all Negroes and other property.” In response, the defeated Carleton indicated that in his desire for a speedy evacuation he had already sent off some 6000 refugees, including “a number of Negroes.” Observers from both sides noted the general’s consternation as he remonstrated with Carleton that the action was against the express stipulation of the treaty. Calmly, Carleton offered an unapologetic explanation, saying that in his interpretation, the term property meant property owned by Americans at the time the treaty was signed, so did not include those who had responded to British proclamations years before. Never would the British government have agreed “to reduce themselves to the necessity of violating their faith to the Negroes,” he told Washington. Warming to his subject, he further insisted “delivering up Negroes to their former masters … would be a dishonourable violation of the public faith.” In the unlikely event that the British government put a different construction on the treaty, he promised compensation would be paid to the owners and to this end he had directed “a register be kept of all the Negroes who were sent off.” Protesting as he was bound to do, Washington understood the depth of feeling behind the words “dishonourable violation of the public faith.” By the time the meeting came to its inconclusive end, he had privately conceded defeat.

 Carleton wrote in icy prose; “the Negroes in question, I have already said, I found free when I arrived at New York, I had therefore no right, as I thought, to prevent their going to any part of the world they thought proper.” Should Washington fail to comprehend his intransigence on this point, he added a thinly veiled warning: “I must confess the mere supposition that the King’s minister could deliberately stipulate in a treaty, an engagement to be guilty of the notorious breach of public faith towards people of any complexion, seems to denote a less friendly disposition than I would wish, and, I think, less friendly than we might expect.” (4)

Replica of the Book of Negroes at the Black Loyalist Heritage Museum, Birchtown, Nova Scotia

Replica of the Book of Negroes at the Black Loyalist Heritage Museum, Birchtown, Nova Scotia

The “Book of Negroes” was a record of every Black that got on a ship bound for Nova Scotia and left New York. What was recorded was ship, Captain, name, where bound, person’s name, age, description and free or non-free (claimant). Some 114 ships were gathered for the deportation and 3000 Blacks headed for various parts of Nova Scotia with another 2000 electing to go elsewhere (Other Canadian ports, England, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Germany and Belgium).  Here is how it is reported by The Nova Scotia Museum:

The British-American Commission identified the Black people in New York who had joined the British before the surrender, and issued “certificates of freedom” signed by General Birch or General Musgrave. Those who chose to emigrate were evacuated by ship. To make sure no one attempted to leave who did not have a certificate of freedom, the name of any Black person on board a vessel, whether slave, indentured servant, or free, was recorded, along with the details of enslavement, escape, and military service, in a document called the Book of Negroes (2)

Unfortunately the Nova Scotia experience proved to be a tough go for emigrating Blacks. The winters were harsh, much of the land unarable and along with broken promises life became unbearable. While almost all Blacks in Birchtown received town lots only about one third of them received farmland. Of 649 Black men who applied for Beaver Dam land grants only 187 received them. The Whites had settled first and grabbed the best of what good farm land there was. Consequently many Blacks became indentured servants or share croppers. (5)

Into these struggles for existence came Reverend John Marrant in 1785  to minister to the Black Loyalists, poor Whites,  and the Micmac Indians.

Marrant a free Black born in New York moved to the South at an early age upon the death of his father. His family moved from Florida to Georgia to Charleston, South Carolina. Instead of learning a trade, Marrant became an accomplished musician and it is this talent that took him to a church where George Whitefield was preaching. Converted on the spot to Christianity and still a teenager he headed for the forests when he had difficulty getting along with his family. There he lived with and preached to Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Catawars, and Howsaws Indians for a

Black Loyalist Heritage Museum, Birchtown, Nova Scotia

Black Loyalist Heritage Museum, Birchtown, Nova Scotia

number of years before returning home. At home he started preaching to the slaves on the Jenkins Plantation.  When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Marrant served in the British Navy as a cannoneer. After the war he retired to London working for a cotton merchant. He also preached at the Spa-Fields Chapel where he attracted the attention of the Chapel’s benefactor, the Countess of Huntingdon. She arranged Marrant’s ordination and subsequent  service to Birchtown, Nova Scotia.

Marrant along with George Whitefield were members of the Huntingdon Connection that held to a strict doctrine of predestination as distinguished from Charles and John Wesley who held to a salvation by faith alone.

I visited the Black Loyalist Heritage Museum in Nova Scotia and took the  11/2 hour guided tour. The tour consisted of three locations, the Museum itself, St. Paul Anglican Church and the Black burying grounds. All were grouped together in one big parcel of land. I viewed the Book of Negroes at the Museum, watched a film at the church and stood where unmarked graves were below my feet.

Because of hard times and a withdrawal of support from the Huntingdon Connection, Marrant left Birchtown, Nova Scotia in 1788 and headed for Boston.

“By 1789, all of North America was in the grip of a serious famine. The winters had been long and cold for the past several years, and the settlers’ dreams of establishing farms were dashed by poor land and a desperate scarcity of farming’s necessities. Land grants had taken far too long to arrive, and when they did, most had wasted their savings simply keeping themselves alive.”

“Famine struck everybody, white and black alike. Ships from Montreal arrived in Halifax and were desperately seeking rations to relieve them.” “Since Halifax was no better off, they were sent away. Nova Scotia’s population was tripled in a few short years by Loyalist refugees. When the British stopped supporting them, the entire province plunged into poverty. Nova Scotia had truly earned it’s nickname of Nova Scarcity.”

“However, most of the whites had a better option available to them. They could return to the United States, where tensions had cooled considerably and most of them had family. Most of them did exactly that. Shelburne was hardly the New York of the North, which was what they had hoped for. Even wealthy merchants had largely been reduced to poverty. Farming was nearly an impossibility. Merchants had nobody worth trading with due to restrictions on trade with the US and various mercantile laws. Even the whaling industry had collapsed. Only fishing offered a opportunity to earn a decent living.”

“Former slaves had no such options. For them the choice was a brutal one: misery or death. The people who had employed them, albeit under exploitative conditions, departed for the United States. A bad situation got much worse. Without farmland or anybody to employ them, most of the free blacks became dependent on charity.” (6)

After too many years of misery, in 1792 one third of the Black population of Birchtown along with Blacks from other Nova Scotia settlements boarded ships for Sierra Leone where they were promised supplies and land. They founded the city of Freetown and to this day relatives from the same family are divided. Some live in Nova Scotia still and others in Freetown, Africa.

Meanwhile Marrant landed in Boston and in March 1789 was introduced to Prince Hall. He ended staying with Hall a short time at Hall’s home. No one knows where Marrant was made a Freemason, whether he was initiated in London or by Prince Hall. But what we do know that Prince Hall became smitten with Marrant and quickly appointed him as chaplain of African Lodge #459.

Not only that but a scant few months later Prince Hall charged Marrant to give the address to African Lodge #459 on St. John the Baptist’s Day, June 24, 1789. And Joanna Brooks tells us that Hall even recruited two White Masons to print and distribute Marrant’s sermon address. (7) This was the first printed formal address before the first African Lodge and among the first printed works by an African American in Western Civilization in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. (8)

“Marrant preached that day a message of the equality of all men and the African roots of Christianity and Freemasonry. However, Marrant was also advancing some new theological ideas dangerous to established authority in his Connection as well as generally. Marrant’s ideas were egalitarian in nature: They promoted the dismissal of scholastic pietism and established the importance of the individual’s reading of scripture. Marrant preached that the New Testament was the sole authority and arbiter between the individual and salvation, and that Christians should incorporate their own experiences in readings of the Bible. He also advanced extemporaneous or “inspired” preaching and prayer as indicators of genuine Christian development and of godly connection. Marrant is clearly disdainful of “learned,” scholastic Christianity, and he suggests individuals–independent of traditional hierarchical authorities–are capable of inspired readings of the Scriptures, and this practice is the center of Christian theology and worship. Most Congregational Christians, particularly the ministers of established churches in a cosmopolitan community like Boston, would have shunned such ideas because they undermined the authority that they had spent so much time and effort in school attaining. This direct attack rejects established doctrines. It implies that common folk could glean the meaning of Scripture, independent of established church authorities. (9)

Reverend John Marrant was on the best seller list of books of his day. His three publications were enormous hits in England as well as the United States.

His published works were:

  • A Narrative of the Lord’s Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant, A Black, 1785
  • A Sermon Preached on the 24th Day of June 1789…at the Request of the Right Worshipful the Grand Master Prince Hall, and the Rest of the Brethren of the African Lodge of the Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in Boston, 1789
  • A Journal of the Rev. John Marrant, from August the 18th, 1785, to the 16th of March, 1790

The first was reprinted 17 times.

It is said that Marrant had a profound influence on Prince Hall and Hall’s theology. This is really only half the story. But the second half has already been written by our own Honorable Gregory S. Kearse in an article from the Phylaxis Magazine, Third Quarter 2014 titled “The Influence Of The Reverend John Marrant’s Sermon On Prince Hall’s Charges Of 1792 & 1797.” It is here you need to go to complete the story.

The Reverend John Marrant was a lot like Martin Luther King. He had an enormous influence in a short period of time and died too soon. Marrant was not assassinated but he did go back to England after only two short years in Boston in 1790. The following year, 1791, he died at the age of 35.

He left a legacy of profound influence on the Black community and throughout Christendom.

“Although his knowledge and use of orthodox Calvinism was the means by which he was able to secure initial funding for his ministry, it was a progressive Calvinism he taught to his congregations. The discourse of his ministry is rooted in the discourse of freedom and egalitarianism that the Black revolutionaries and Black Loyalists shared with one another. As a veteran Loyalist who fought in the Revolutionary War, who then returned to North American to preach to Loyalist immigrants and become chaplain of African Lodge 459 in Boston, Marrant reveals a faith that Christian community, particularly among Black people, far outweighed the nationalist and sectarian interests of his day. His Narrative illuminates the roots of Black theology that engaged in progressive social action in both principle and practice. With these progressive religious roots, the principles he promoted would flourish in African American culture and yield fruit in some part of virtually every major religious, and often secular, Black institution developed since.” (9)

Let us remember these words he delivered to African Lodge #459.

“Let all my brethren Masons consider what they are called to – May God grant you an humble heart to fear God and love his commandment; then and only then you will in sincerity love your brethren: And you will be enabled…to be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love in honour preferring one another…This we profess to believe as Christians and as Masons.” (10)

 

(1) Town of Shelburne, Nova Scotia – http://www.town.shelburne.ns.ca/history.html.

(2) Remembering Black Loyalists – Who were Black Loyalists? – Nova Scotia Museum –  http://novascotia.ca/museum/blackloyalists/who.htm

(3) The Black Commentator –  http://www.blackcommentator.com/washingtons_slaves.html

(4)  Black Loyalist Heritage society, Evacuation of New York

http://www.blackloyalist.info/event/display/9

(5) Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People: Suffering: Still Landless http://blackloyalist.com/cdc/story/suffering/landless.htm

(6) Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People: Suffering: Famine In Nova Scarcity – http://blackloyalist.com/cdc/story/suffering/scarcity.htm

(7) Prince Hall, Freemasonry, and Genealogy , Joanna Brooks, The Free Library – http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Prince+Hall%2c+Freemasonry%2c+and+Genealogy.-a064397587

(8) John Marrant and the Meaning of Early Black Freemasonry, Peter P. Hinks http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4491600?uid=3739920&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104574131191

(9) John Marrant and the narrative construction of an early black Methodist evangelical, Cedrick May, The Free Library –http://www.thefreelibrary.com/John+Marrant+and+the+narrative+construction+of+an+early+black…-a0132866627

(10)  A Sermon Preached on the 24th Day of June 1789…at the Request of the Right Worshipful the Grand Master Prince Hall, and the Rest of the Brethren of the African Lodge of the Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in Boston, 1789 – John Marrant.

Brother George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

George WashingtonWhereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Masonic Founding Fathers.