Past Masters of Wayne 25
PAST MASTERS of WAYNE 25
Prior to 1851 elections occurred semiannually in June and December. An (a) denotes the first half of the year and a (b) the latter half.
1823 (a) * Alexander Ewing
1823 (b) * Alexander Ewing
1824 (a) º* John Tipton
1824 (b) º* John Tipton
1825 (a) º* John Tipton
1825 (b) º* John Tipton
1826 (a) º* John Tipton
1826 (b) º* John Tipton
1827 (a) º* John Tipton
1827 (b) º* John Tipton
1828 (a) º* John Tipton (demit Apr. 7, 1828)
1828 (b) * Joseph Holman
1829 (a) * Lewis G. Thompson
1829 (b) * Anthony Litsey Davis
1830 (a) º* Hugh Hanna
1830 (b) * Absolom Holcomb
1831 (a) * Allen Hamilton
1831 (b) * Samuel Hanna
1832 (a) * Anthony Litsey Davis
1832 (b) * James Hudson
1833 (a) * Henry Wolff Rudisill
1833 (b) * Samuel Edsall
1834 (a) * William Rockhill
There is no record of the election or installation of William Rockhill in the minutes. Even in the earliest compilation of Wayne’s history by Bro. John W. Dawson with the aid of Sol D. Bayless in the 1850s he was not credited with having been such. However, in 1866 Sol D. Bayless recorded in a tribute to Samuel Hanna at his death that William Rockhill was elected Worshipful Master of Wayne Lodge on December 10, 1833. In addition, the committee that assembled the photo frame of Past Masters in 1917 included his photo but their source is unknown.
In the early 1830s, the meetings were few and far between but recorded. No written records remain to detail any activity between June 1833 and March 1840, but rumors persist to this day of meetings continuing in secret due to the anti-Masonic climate at the time. In 1840, Wayne 25 continued its labors, but little is known about the era from 1840 up to 1848 due primarily to the minute book disappearing. In 1849, a committee appointed to find it was unsuccessful in that endeavor.
1840 (a) * Henry Wolff Rudisill
1840 (b) * Henry Wolff Rudisill
1841 (a) * Charles Edwin Sturgis
1841 (b) * History Forgot
1842 (a) * History Forgot
1842 (b) * History Forgot
1843 (a) * History Forgot
1843 (b) º* Jacob Hull
1844 (a) * History Forgot
1844 (b) * History Forgot
1845 (a) * Charles Edwin Sturgis
1845 (b) * History Forgot
1846 (a) * History Forgot
1846 (b) * History Forgot
1847 (a) * History Forgot
1847 (b) * History Forgot
Smallwood Noel is credited with being a past master of the Lodge and Charles E. Sturgis and Jacob Hull are both said to have served multiple terms during this decade. There is a distinct possibility that Samuel H. Shoaff was master during these years too. The hope is that someday that which is lost to time will be found completing this list.
1849 (a) * Henry Wolff Rudisill
1849 (b) * Henry Wolff Rudisill
1850 (a) * Charles Edwin Sturgis
1850 (b) * Samuel H. Shoaff
1851 (b) * Solomon Doty Bayless
In 1851, at the annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, the annual election of officers was changed from the existing semiannual format to an annual format held in June each year.
1851-52 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1852-53 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1853-54 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1854-55 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1855-56 * Joseph Johnson
1856-57 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1857-58 * Joseph Johnson
1858-59 * Joseph Johnson
1859-60 * Joseph Johnson
1860-61 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1861-62 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1862-63 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1863-64 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1864-65 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1865-66 * Samuel H. Shoaff
1866-67 * Samuel H. Shoaff
1867-68 * Samuel H. Shoaff
1868-69 º* Andrew Holman Hamilton
1869-70 º* Andrew Holman Hamilton
At the annual communication in 1865, a resolution passed giving the option of electing annual officers in either June or December. Wayne Lodge continued with June elections. Then at the annual communication in 1870, a resolution required the annual elections of officers to be held in December. Consequently, Andrew H. Hamilton served an 18-month term, as there were no elections held until December 1870.
1871 º* Everett G. Pierce
1872 º* Everett G. Pierce
1873 * Solomon Doty Bayless
1874 º* Andrew Holman Hamilton
1875 * Daniel L. Harding
1876 * Charles D. Law
1877 * Thomas Johnson Rodabaugh
1878 * Daniel L. Harding
1879 º* Smith Richard Mudge
1880 º* Andrew Holman Hamilton
1881 º* Andrew Holman Hamilton
1882 º* David A. Robison
1883 º* Everett G. Pierce
1884 º* Andrew Holman Hamilton (demit Oct. 28, 1884)
1885 * Thomas Johnson Rodabaugh
1886 * Thomas Johnson Rodabaugh
1887 * James Harvey Brokaw
1888 * James Harvey Brokaw
1889 * Edward O'Rourke
1890 * Edward O'Rourke
1891 * James C. Craig
1892 º* Aaron E. Van Buskirk
1893 º* Herman W. Tapp
1894 §* John R. Kretsinger
1895 * James C. Craig
1896 * Charles B. Fitch
1897 * James Harvey Brokaw
1898 º* Edwin D. Jump
1899 º* Edwin J. Hollister
1900 * Harry William Pierce
1901 º* Isadore I. Pottlitzer
1902 º* Isadore I. Pottlitzer
1903 º* Edwin D. Jump
1904 * Henry Cohen
1905 * Jacob A. Duerr
1906 * Charles Alexander
1907 * Charles Alexander
1908 º* Loren Pearce Sanders
1909 * Abraham West Beaber
1910 * Benjamin Braton Sanders
1911 * Raymond Floyd Castle
1912 * Albert Edward Thomas
1913 * Robert James Gaskill
1914 * Warren Victor Sweet
1915 §* Franklin Henry Gaylord
1916 * Clarence Arthur Comincavish
1917 * Arthur Paul Bitner
1918 * Christian Gustav Hessert
1919 * Erich Benno Kuckein
1920 º* Ralph Henry Noll
1921 * Harry Frederick Starke
1922 º* Scott Earl Claudy
1923 * William Karbach
1924 * Frederick Edmond Murry
1925 º* Elmer E. Cook
1926 º* Henry William Haesert
1927 * Ralph Sites
1928 * Orval Braner
1929 * Manuel K. King
1930 * Edwin Christian Weiler
1931 * Chalmer Henry Hamilton
1932 * Romney Leslie Wass
1933 * Rudolph Harold Zehner
1934 * Charles Archer
1935 * Walter Henry Kruse
1936 §* John Walter Whitacre
1937 * Vernon Roy Robinson
1938 * Walter Albert Shady Sr.
1939 * Elmer Louis Buck
1940 º* Willard Allen Briant
1941 * Morris Schuster (resigned in January)
1941 * George Arthur Triplett
1942 º* Otto Kurt Keuneke
1943 º* Robert Calvin Ruhl
1944 * Homer Richhart
1945 * Daniel Irving Weikel
1946 * Conrad William Scott
1947 * Carroll Howard Weaver
1948 * Virgil Leroy Stafford
1949 * Eugene A. Roush
1950 * Raymond Franklin Overmyer
1951 * Monroe William Brosius
1952 * Paul William Elzay
1953 * Nile William Hake
1954 * Kenneth E. Goller
1955 §* Edward Henry Kronmiller
1956 * Bernard Leroy Smith
1957 * Ned Laverne Neuman
1958 º* Ronald Lawrence Meeks
1959 * Harold Wilson Garrison
1960 * Joseph M. McDowell
1961 * Charles Russell Bandy
1962 * Eugene Frederick Goshorn
1963 * Simon Henry Hartsing
1964 º* Forest Raymond Finnell
1965 * Daniel D Dale
1966 * Robert Joseph Bogenschuetz
1967 * Robert Harry Witchey
1968 * Wayde O. Cleckner
1969 * Ivan Albert Planck
1970 * Donald Ray Marvel
1971 * William Richard Doctor, Jr.
1972 * Frederick Nathan Roembke
1973 William John Allan
1974 §* David Allan Lorentzen
1975 * James Stewart DeMond
1976 º John Albert Bleich, Sr.
1977 William Lee Doctor
1978 * Robert Whyte
1979 * George Robert Diemond
1980 * Jarvis Simpson Doan, Jr.
1981 * William Theodore Schauer
1982 * George Elza Rey
1983 * Albert Carl Winkler
1984 Terry Richard Webb
1985 Terry Richard Webb
1986 * Albert Carl Winkler
1987 * Norbert O. Parrot
1988 * Tanis Nickolas Gouloff
1989 Bob Fred Jesse, Jr.
1990 William Crandall Kerley
1991 * Albert Herbert Bojrab
1992 Steven Eugene Bahr
1993 * Joe William Armstrong
1994 William Lee Doctor
1995 Jeffrey James Daughtry
1996 Jeffrey James Daughtry
1997 * Daniel D Dale
1998 * Daniel D Dale
1999 * Daniel D Dale
2000 º John Albert Bleich, Sr.
2001 º John Albert Bleich, Sr.
2002 * James Stewart DeMond
2003 * James Stewart DeMond
2004 * James Stewart DeMond
2005 º John Albert Bleich, Sr.
2006 Richard Allen Messinger
2007 Malhon De Whitaker
2008 John Albert Bleich, Jr.
2009 Bryan Nathaniel Baggett
2010 º Kent Philip Halloran
2011 Robert Andrew Adams
2012 Lawrence Albert Davis, Jr.
2013 David Paul Trindel
2014 Michael Todd James
2015 Braxton Layne Shirar
2016 Anthony Michael Russell
2017 David Le Edward Williams
2018 Jonathan Michael Mort
2019 Jerry Alan Mort
2020 Antonio Gonzales, Jr.
2021 Thomas Parker Hansen
2022 Cory Dewitt Lemons
2023 Wiliam Walter Pond
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2020
* Deceased
º Demitted
§ Suspended/Expelled
Members of Wayne Lodge who have served as the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the State of Indiana are:
John Tipton served as the third Grand Master of Indiana in 1820-21 while a member of Pisgah Lodge No. 5 in Corydon, IN. He was the first non-charter member of the Wayne Lodge joining on demit 18 September 1823 and was later granted a demit 7 April 1828 when he was relocating the Office of Indiana Affairs from Fort Wayne to Logansport. He then served a second term in 1828-29 while a member of Tipton Lodge No. 33 in Logansport, IN.
Solomon Doty Bayless served back-to-back terms from 1857-59 as the twenty-second Grand Master of Indiana. After being elected for the 1859-60 term he declined to serve.
Edward O’Rourke served from 1895-96 as the forty-sixth Grand Master of Indiana.
As we read over this list of the past, we are reminded of the words
“One by one the roses fall.
Drop by drop the streams run dry.
So, one by one the members die.”