Prince Hall

From Masonic Wiki

Prince Hall (c. 1735 - 1807) is an important figure in early American Freemasonry and the namesake of Prince Hall Freemasonry.

Little is known of Hall's early life. He is believed to have been born in the 1730s in either Barbados or Massachusetts. It is known that by 1775 Hall was living in Boston as a freedman, property owner and registered voter.

In March 1775 Hall was raised along with 14 other African-American freedmen in Military Lodge #441, a Lodge affiliated with the British Army. Despite this Hall is widely believed to have sympathized with and fought for the patriot side in the American Revolution.

After the British Army left Boston in 1776, Hall and other African-American Freemasons were granted a dispensation to organize as African Lodge, but with several restrictions including not being able to confer degrees. The Lodge was denied a charter from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, but in 1784 secured a charter directly from the Grand Lodge of England as African Lodge #459.

By 1791, enough African-American Lodges had been established to form the African Grand Lodge of North America. Hall was elected as the Grand Lodge's first Grand Master and served in that capacity until his death. In 1827 the Grand Lodge was renamed in Hall's honor. All modern Prince Hall Grand Lodges are direct descendants of this organization.