PDF - Centre on Philanthropy

A History of Giving:
Philanthropy in Bermuda Through the Years
‘Cap-a-Laige’
Charities House
25 Point Finger Road
Paget DV 04
(t) 441.236.7706
(f) 441.236.7693
www.centreonphilanthropy.org
[email protected]
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Research compiled by Michelle St. Jane
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Researcher:
Michelle St. Jane
Writer/Editor: Nadia Mahmood
Layout/Design: The Centre on Philanthropy
Photos/Images:
Brimstone Media—Paul Shapiro
Bermuda National Trust
Bermuda Maritime Museum
Government Archives
Michelle St. Jane
Special thanks from The Centre:
The Centre would especially like to thank Nadia Mahmood, who donated
her time and energy to this project.
FOREWORD
As my study of Philanthropy evolved, I became interested in the history of
philanthropy in Bermuda from 1700 through 1900. This period of giving in Bermuda
began with the British Freemasonry. You have probably heard of the Freemasons,
but did you know that in the early 1800s they were the largest voluntary
organisation in the world? During the 18th century, Freemasons contributed greatly
to all aspects of Bermuda’s governmental, civic, societal, and philanthropic growth.
Throughout the 19th century, the charitable sector in Bermuda continued to thrive.
While Masonic influence remained strong in the development of libraries, schools,
and church societies, other volunteer groups were created, such as the OddFellows,
and Friendly Societies. Interestingly, one of our most important cultural traditions,
Cup Match, can be traced back to The Freemasons, OddFellows, and Friendly
Societies. These groups and other communities, including the Portuguese and
Women, were strategic in addressing the social, economic, and political needs of the
island.
‘A History of Giving’ sets out an overview of voluntary associations and communities
in Bermuda over the centuries, together with intriguing, lesser-known facts about
these groups and the contributions they made to our island home. This booklet is
sure to capture interest in our history, and will be a great read for residents of all
ages.
Bermuda has a long history of innovation. The next level is to inspire social
innovation by supporting individuals and businesses who will create the solutions to
some of the issues plaguing our society, and explore opportunities that will benefit
us all. I hope that this small contribution will encourage further research in Bermuda
in order to grow our legacy in the charitable sector.
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About the Researcher: Michelle St. Jane is a
collaborative barrister and attorney who founded
KAIROS Philanthropy, a social enterprise law firm.
The guiding philosophy of the firm is “doing business
while doing good.” She is a lecturer at the Bermuda
College where she teaches business law and social
entrepreneurship. Since 2004, she has been a
graduate student in the Executive Masters Program
through the Center of Philanthropy, Indiana
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University-Purdue University (Indiana).
THE FUTURE OF GIVING & YOU
FREEMASONRY
Now that you know about Bermuda’s extensive charitable history you must be
wondering how YOU can get involved and be a part of Bermuda’s giving future.
There are many ways to give and The Centre on Philanthropy can help.
Are you a nonprofit?
We can help you be a more effective charity.
• Workshops: Our education and training curriculum includes courses in
financial management, fundraising, governance, and volunteer
management.
Are you a donor?
We can help you to be a more effective giver
• Engage is our programme to help companies involve their employees in
their philanthropic programmes through Community Days and other
initiatives.
Are you someone that wants to make a difference?
We can help you to create your own philanthropic plan
• Online resources, including Volunteer.bm and our Nonprofit Directory,
enable you to proactively search for charities that fit your interests, so you
can donate your time and money to a cause that you really care about.
Everyone can benefit from what we have to offer:
• Resources: In addition to our informative website, our online Knowledge
Centre provides templates, tip sheets, and guides. PLUS our onsite
Resource Centre has the latest books available for checkout.
• One on One Advice: Have a question? Call us and our knowledgeable staff
can help point you in the right direction. Or schedule a time to come meet
with us!
•
So what are you waiting for? Join the Centre. Get started today, and help
ensure Bermuda’s history of giving continues long into the future.
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Freemasonry originated in Scotland and still exists today, but there is no
clear definition for the organisation. A “Freemason” is a member of a
Masonic lodge.
A “mason” is someone who works with stone and/or brick. Over centuries
of improving and then handing on their trade to the next generation,
masons became craftsmen. By medieval times, masons were protecting
the secrets of their work, and thus their livelihood, by sometimes living and
working together in “lodges” at the site of a large project, such as the
construction of a cathedral. So, a “lodge” was a home away from home for
masons, where they could live with others who made a living from the
same craft.
In Scotland, in the 1600s, Freemasonry became less about trade and more
like a gentleman’s club with an organisation based on the lodge, unique
and elaborate symbolic rituals and secrets revolving around the “Mason
Word”, which was a test to see if someone was a Freemason. In the 1700s,
Freemasonry spread as a self-help movement because people who needed
assistance could only turn to a few charities that existed at the time.
Freemasons started to collect money from all members in order to help
other members in need.
Did you know? Freemasonry is part of a hierarchical
organisation. Only Freemasons of high rank are allowed to
move into the Knights Templar organisations. The Masonic
order includes the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the St. John
Hospitaliers (now the Red Cross), the Rose Croix, the Royal Arch,
and others.
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THE PORTUGUESE COMMUNITY
& PHILANTHROPY
How did Freemasonry come to Bermuda?
Freemasonry came to Bermuda in the mid-1700s from Great Britain. In
1738 Governor Alured Popple, an Englishman, arrived in Bermuda and
by 1744 he became the first Provincial Grand Master of Freemasonry in
Bermuda. But it was not until 1761 that the first lodge, Union Lodge
No. 266, was established. Many of the powerful and influential men in
18th century Bermudian society were Freemasons and included
governors, mayors, clergy, members of the Assembly, Governor’s
Council, naval officers, educators, traders, and ordinary citizens.
How did the Portuguese come to Bermuda?
In the 1800s Bermuda’s economy faced a major problem with trade
declining in the middle of the century. Farming could have been a
possible option but both black and white Bermudians considered it
beneath them. To help Bermuda’s economy, the Governor began to
encourage Portuguese farm workers to come to the island because they
were very knowledgeable about the art and science of successful
agriculture production on small islands. As a result, the first Portuguese
immigrants came to Bermuda in 1849.
Did you know? The Irish Military Lodge No. 192 was
created in 1748 and in keeping with the times, it was a
traveling lodge contained within the 47th Regiment. It was
stationed in Bermuda from 1783 to 1801. Captain Durnford of
the 47th Regiment is the first to have called Bermuda “the Rock of
Gibraltar of the West.”
What was the Portuguese community’s contribution to Bermuda?
Through work, marriage, and
community interaction the
Portuguese became a part of
Bermuda. They formed a new
The Portuguese
thriving community in Bermuda
community
that continues today. Bermuda
encouraged access to
benefited by receiving new
customs and culture through the
education for all
Portuguese language, religion,
people in Bermuda.
cuisine, sport, horticulture, and
family traditions.
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Michelle St. Jane
Famous Bermudian: Augusto Paolo came to Bermuda in
1883 after having emigrated to the US from the Azorean
island of Sãn Miguel in 1881. In Bermuda, he was joined
by his brothers, Jose and Joaõ. The brothers led lively debates at
the Paget farm, Tankfield, that were attended by a growing
Portuguese population.
Peppercorn Ceremony 2006
Famous Bermudian: John Van Norden was a
Freemason who came to Bermuda in 1796 and went
on to become the Mayor of St. George’s from 18011818. He began the Peppercorn Ceremony in 1815 when the
capital of Bermuda moved from St. George’s to Hamilton leaving
the State House in St. George’s vacant. He turned it into a meeting
hall for Freemasons. Annually on the day of the Feast of St. John
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the Evangelist in April, Freemasons
pay a rent of one peppercorn to
the government for their use of the State House.
WOMEN & PHILANTHROPY
How were women involved in philanthropy in Bermuda?
Women were major contributors to the community. In the 1800s, the
effort to educate the poor and the black community was largely driven by
church societies that were run by women. Women also organised the very
first Friendly Society in 1831 right before Emancipation. Bermudian
women were instrumental in other important, although perhaps
unexpected, areas. For example, several women worked as mason’s
labourers in building the Cobb’s Hill Methodist Church, such as Samaritan
Samantha Francis Robinson from Paget. She, like many other Cobb’s Hill
women, also worked as labourers during the building of the Cobb’s Hill
Samaritan’s Lodge Hall.
Did you know? In Bermuda, it was not until the Married
Women’s Conveyance Act of 1779 that married women had
the right to dispose of their property without the consent of
their husbands. However, The Wills Act of 1840 took away
a married woman’s right to make her own will. Finally in 1901 this
right was given back to women with the Married Women’s Property
Act. Women could have been much more influential citizens and
important participants if their rights had not been meddled with
in the 1800s.
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1793
1797
1797
1797
1803
1820
1867
Bermuda Lodge No. 507 (in 1801 this became Sussex Lodge No. 411,
and is now known as Prince Alfred Lodge No. 233)
St. George’s Lodge No. 266 (today known as Lodge St. George’s No.
200)
St. George’s Lodge No. 307 (today known as Atlantic Phoenix Lodge
No. 224)
Knights Templar Bermuda Perceptory No. 38
Amphibious Lodge no. 258
Loyalty Lodge No. 358 formed in Ireland Island Bermuda
Hannibal No. 224, the first black lodge, was established to help widows and orphans of soldiers, sailors and marines killed in action or
other casualties.
Where are they now? The Freemason’s Fund for Bermuda is a
fund set up and supported by all the Bermuda Lodges. The
purpose of the Fund is “to raise funds…and assist the
community of Bermuda by making donations…” Although
individual Lodges have always supported the community, the
Fund was formalized in 1981, and since then has donated over
$200,000 to various charities and
organisations.
Famous Bermudian: The
Tucker Family, one of the
first families of Bermuda, was
influential in early Freemasonry.
Colonel Henry Tucker of the Grove who
served in the British Army, his son St.
George, and his son-in-law Henry
Tucker of Bridge House were all
prominent Freemasons.
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Bermuda Maritime Museum
How did women impact the newspaper industry in Bermuda’s past?
For 19 years, Frances, Priscilla, and Sarah Stockdale ran a printing press
(the first women in the New World to do so) and took over the publication
of The Bermuda Gazette when their father died in 1803. Similarly at the
end of the 1800s Amelia Parker and her sisters were left to run the first
black newspaper, The Bermuda Times & Advocate, when their father,
Samuel Parker, the newspaper’s publisher, died.
Bermudian Masonic Lodges
Bermuda has a long list of lodges in its Masonic history, some that are still
active today, and others that were only in existence for a short while. Below
is a list of some lodges that you can find on the island today and the year they
were created:
TEMPERANCE SOCIETY
The Temperance Society came about during a time of anti-slavery
sentiment when people were demanding an increased access to public
education.
Famous Bermudian: John Gilbert Allen was one of the
accomplished black educators after Emancipation. He was an
early pioneer in education for blacks and in 1848 he
opened a school for blacks in St. George’s at the
Temperance Hamilton Parish Hall.
The school was
supported by the Hamilton Parish Temperance Society. Students
were taught vocal music, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography,
grammar, scripture, and history.
Michelle St. Jane
In the past, drinking too much alcohol had been socially acceptable, but
this changed in the 1800s when people wanted society to reform and
improve itself. The Temperance Society opposed the over-consumption
of alcohol and provided a supportive framework where people could
learn appropriate behaviour aimed towards the fulfillment of social,
economic, and religious obligations. In short, the goal of the Temperance
Society was to teach people how to behave appropriately in society.
Before Emancipation, Church Societies were first established by the
Anglicans in response to Methodism and its success in addressing the
needs of the black community. Both the Anglican Church and the
Methodist Church stressed the importance of good membership in
society and acceptable conduct. Church Societies led by the Anglican
Church in the early 1800s provided a Christian education focused on
Biblical studies to the poor and the slaves in the community. These
Church Societies were set up to pay religious teachers’ salaries and to
provide Bibles for schools. For example, in the late 1820s, the Anglican
Church’s Archdeacon (later Bishop) Aubrey Spencer opened one school
for poor whites, three
schools for blacks, and
several Sunday Schools. In
1837, the Society for the
Promotion of Christian
Knowledge was formed.
Slave school in Warwick built by the Anglican Church
Church Societies
provided a Christian
education focused on
Biblical studies to the
poor and the slaves in
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the community.
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FRIENDLY SOCIETIES
Bermuda’s black community formed Friendly Societies (or Unions as some
were called) shortly before Emancipation, to be a lobbyist and social
safety net for slaves who were about to become free. Their common
objective was to “promote Industry, Honesty, and Frugality” among their
members. Before Emancipation there were only two Friendly Societies.
The first Friendly Society was formed in 1831 by the women’s branch of
the Coloured Friendly Union Society and in 1832 the Young Men’s
Friendly Institution formed in Pembroke to raise money for members in
need of help.
Department of Communication and Information
Did you know? In 1835 the Friendly Societies came together to free
78 slaves who were on board the American ship Enterprise
that had been forced to stop in Bermuda because of bad
weather. When the weather cleared the captain was refused
permission to leave because the slaves needed to be informed
that they were in a country where slavery had been abolished. Each
slave was taken to the Chief Justice and asked if they wanted to stay
on the ship and continue a life of slavery or stay in Bermuda as a
free person. All of the slaves except one family chose freedom. People
who were present collected $70 to cover the freed slaves’ immediate
needs and shelter was found for them. Black Bermudians offered to
raise unaccompanied children as their own.
Bermuda Maritime Museum
Emancipation March by the Bermuda Friendly Societies 2001
Where are they now? Friendly Societies still exist in
Bermuda, however, they now have an aging membership.
They continue to hold various events and functions
throughout the year and support widows, sick members, and
those trying to further their education.
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Friendly Society women on parade
Did you know? The Bermuda Mechanics Beneficial
Association was originally formed as a Masonic lodge in 1849,
but in 1888 it became a Friendly Society. Today the Bermuda
Mechanics Beneficial Association building can be found at the corner
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of Church and Queen Streets.