Reproduction reprint: A Masonic Address Delivered Before The Worshipful Master and Brethren of the Kennebeck Lodge in the New Meeting House, Hallowell, Massachusetts, June 24, Anno Lucis, 5797.

This is a reproduction of an oration given by Brother Amos Stoddard, a founding member of the Masonic Lodge at Hallowell, Massachusetts, on June 24, 1797 at Hallowell, Massachusetts (today, Maine) on St. John’s Day in 1797. His oratory notes were then printed, published and sold by Brother Howard S. Robinson. The subject matter of Amos Stoddard’s oratory is about the history and virtues of Freemasonry principles.

This reproduction was laboriously created by an ancestral relative of Amos Stoddard from a copy of the original with the intent of honoring Amos Stoddard’s efforts, words and thoughts. Every effort was made in the process of recreating this publication to duplicate the original work and to respect authenticity. Grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting are as original. This is a reproduction and not a modern copy.

Amos Stoddard was a veteran of the American Revolution. His name was submitted to the U.S. Senate for confirmation as a captain in the 2nd U.S. Corp of Artillerists and Engineers by President John Adams in May 1798. Capt. Amos Stoddard served honorably as a military officer from May 28, 1798 until his death on May 11,1813. He died during the Siege of Fort Meigs (Ohio) during the War of 1812.

The story of the life of Amos Stoddard, as part autobiography and part biography, is told in the book, The Autobiography Manuscript of Major Amos Stoddard, Edited and with an Introduction by Robert A. Stoddard.