Rob Morris (Freemason)

Infobox Person
name = Rob Morris


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birth_date = birth date|1818|8|31
birth_place = near city|Boston|Massachusetts
death_date = death date and age|1888|7|31|1818|8|31
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resting_place = city|La Grange|Kentucky
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nationality = American
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known_for = Poetry and Freemasonry
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occupation = teacher
title = Poet Laureate of Freemasonry
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predecessor = Robert Burns
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footnotes = Dr. Rob Morris was a prominent American poet and Freemason. He also created the first ritual for what was to become the Order of the Eastern Star.

Early life

Many references state that he was born on August 31, 1818, near city|Boston|Massachusetts.cite web
url= http://www.oescal.org/2005/2005RobMorris.htm
accessdate= 2007-08-01
title= Rob Morris
publisher= Grand Chapter of California, Order of the Eastern Star] However, there is some evidence that he was born Robert Williams Peckham, in New York, and that he adopted the name of his foster parents after the death of his birth parents, later shortening his name to Rob to avoid confusion with another poet named Robert Morris.cite web
url= http://www.masonicsites.org/oes54/morris1.htm
accessdate= 2007-08-01
title= Brother Rob Morris
last= Dotson
first= Raymond
date= 1984-08-27] He grew up in New York, where he (apparently) also went to college.

He worked as a teacher for 10 years before moving to city|Oxford|Mississippicite book
last= Morris
first= Rob
title= Poetry of Freemasonry
publisher= Kessinger Publishing
isbn= 0766100324
url= http://books.google.com/books?id=mAiZdrpp7ysC
accessdate= 2007-08-01
chapter= Biography of Rob Morris, L.L.D.] , where he continued teaching at Mt. Sylvan Academy, a school established by Freemasons. While living in Oxford, he met Charlotte Mendenhall, whom he married on August 26, 1841.

He later served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1858-9.cite web
url= http://www.grandlodgeofkentucky.org/grand_officers/past_grandmasters.htm
accessdate= 2007-08-01
title= Past Grand Masters
publisher= Grand Lodge of Kentucky] Upon given a job as professor of the Masonic University, he moved to La Grange, Kentucky in 1860.

Eastern Star

After he became a Mason on March 5, 1846, he became convinced that there needed to be a way for female relatives of Masons to share in some measure in the benefits of Freemasonry. While teaching at the "The Little Red Brick School Building" in city|Richland|Mississippi in 1849-1850, he wrote Eastern Star's first ritual, titled "The Rosary of the Eastern Star". He organized a "Supreme Constellation" in 1855 to charter Star chapters. In 1866, because of his planned travel abroad, he handed over the organizational authority of Eastern Star to Robert Macoy.

Poetry

Over the years, he wrote over 400 poems, many of which were devoted to Eastern Star and Masonry. While traveling in the Holy Land, he wrote the words to the hymn "O Galilee". In 1854, he wrote "The Level and the Square", which may be his best-known poem.

Poet Laureate

Because of his many works on Masonic subjects, on December 17, 1884, he was crowned the "Poet Laureate of Freemasonry", an honor which had not been granted since the death of Robert Burns in 1796.

Death

His health began to fail in 1887, and in June 1888, he became paralyzed. He died on July 31, 1888, and is buried at city|La Grange|Kentucky. The Rob Morris Home is kept as a shrine to Rob Morris by the Kentucky Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.

References