Edward Asa Raymond

Edward Asa Raymond (1791-1864) also, Asa Raymond, Junior^[1] was a Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Massachusetts from 1849-1851.^[2]

Raymond was born in Worcester, Massachusetts^[3] as "Asa" and inserted the name "Edward", officially changed his name on or around February 24, 1825.^[1] He was a member of the Amicable Lodge of Masons in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, he served as Grand Treasurer^[4] and later Grand Sovereign Commander (1851-1860). The end of his tenure as Grand Commander created a schism in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction which resulted in two competing organizations that both claimed legitimacy.

In 1860, at a meeting of the Supreme Council, Raymond "refused to act on a motion, blocked a motion to adjourn, and then declared the Council closed.  The next day, immediately after the opening and the reading of the minutes, he closed the Council 'sine die,'  or indefinitely, and walked out."^[5] Killian Henry Van Rensselaer was elected as Lieutenant Grand Commander in his absence, who then served as acting Grand Commander. In 1862, Van Rensselaer expelled Raymond from the Scottish Rite.^[6]

This schism was eventually resolved in 1867, three years after Raymond's 1864 death in Brookline, Massachusetts.^[2][7]

Notes

1. Walcott, Samuel B., ed. (1837). Private and Special Statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, From May 1822, To March 1830. "... that Asa Raymond, Junior, may take the name of Edward Asa Raymond."
2. Woodland, William Nilsson. "Some Ordo, Some Chao: A Brief History of Boston-Lafayette Lodge of Perfection". "Edward Asa Raymond, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, 1849-51, was named Sovereign Grand Commander ... In a Supreme Council meeting in Boston in August 1860 ... The following day, the Council met without the Grand Commander ... adopted a resolution that the Council should elect a new Sovereign Grand Commander. ... Raymond continued to claim the title ... As Hays and Raymond were now both dead, emotions were cooler. In May 1867, the “Union of 1867” was signed formally uniting both organizations..."
3. "Edward Asa Raymond". geni_family_tree. 1791-02-06. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
4. "Scottish Rite, NMJ | History of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction". Scottish Rite, NMJ. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
5. "Scottish Rite Boston". www.scottishriteboston.net. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
6. "Supreme Council expulsion certificate for Edward A. Raymond and Simon W. Robinson, 1862 May 22 · digitalVGW". digitalvgw.omeka.net. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
7. "About Amicable Lodge". 2012. "During its 205 year history, Amicable Lodge [has had many prominent members] ... M.W. Edward Asa Raymond served as Grand Master from 1849-51, and as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, N.M.J. from 1851 until 1861."