Page 310 - Cornelius Hedges Story

297 The Cornelius Hedges Story

Judge Knowles is of New England stock, first removed to Iowa and
then to the Rocky Mountains. His first residence here and for many
years was Deer Lodge but at present Missoula. During the greater
part of his residence in Montana he has occupied a judicial position,
first as Territorial District Judge and later and at present United
States District Judge, for which position he is eminently qualified
by taste, study and long experience. His independence of mind and
stern integrity inspire universal respect. He is a family man, tender-
hearted and true, and among his friends of which he has hosts,
very companionable. His judicial habit and spirit is apparent in his
address and his treatment of every matter requiring his decision.
He confesses himself unfamiliar with Masonic usage, which as Bro.
Drummond says is a law unto itself, discarding the technicalities of
the civil law and lodging more power in the head of the craft.
The administration was wise and conservative and Masonry was
prosperous beyond that of several former years. Three new lodges
were organized, and received charters, one at Glendale, near the
Hecla Mine in the southern part of the State; a second one at Butte,
which took the name of Mount Moriah, and a third at Fort Benton, at
the head of navigation on the Missouri River, all permanent Lodges.
The membership increased fifty-seven. Expense kept close pace
with revenue and the Grand Treasurer could only report a balance
of $35.78. Bro. Monroe of Bozeman was chosen Grand Master and
Helena selected as the next place of meeting.
Seventeenth Annual Conclave was held in Helena, commencing
October 4, 1881, Grand Master George W. Monroe presiding. Bro.
Monroe is a physician, and the first of that profession to attain the
Grand Mastership. Our Brother is a native of Alabama, with all the
companionable traits of a Southerner. He is a skillful and successful
physician. He has always been active in politics as a staunch Demo-
crat and has held the office of Land Register. He is now a resident of
Butte and active in the practice of his profession. The year had been
quietly prosperous. One new Lodge had been granted a dispensa-
tion at Miles City, 386 miles east of Helena on the Northern Pacific
Railroad, at the junction of Tongue River with the Yellowstone. The
difficulty of finding a suitable place of meeting postponed the work
so that it was not ready to apply for a charter. But the membership
in the 21 chartered Lodges had increased 77 and stood at the
opening of this communication at 839. No very important matters
characterized the year’s administration or appeared in the address
save the assassination of President Garfield.