Some New Jersey Freemasons, and many others I’m sure, have visited Brearley Lodge in Bridgeton, New Jersey at one time or another. Some readers may be members of the Lodge. It is touted as the oldest Lodge building in New Jersey, Founded October 28, 1790, and retains the appellation Brearley No. 2. It is an old building, with no central air (I can attest to that having visited a degree in the summer) but with many interesting old Masonic items to admire and ponder over. It’s namesake, of course, is one David Brearley, elected first Grand Master of the newly formed Grand Lodge for the State of New Jersey in December of 1786.
Brearley Lodge No. 2, Constituted October 28, 1790
It’s Mansard roof covers an impressive ceiling made of tin. Upstairs, two cables and turnbuckles are stretched across the main room to hold the walls from spreading outward. A lot of windows and a kitchen in back. A cellar I’ve never been in and wonder what it holds.
A few blocks away, on Broad Street is Matthew Potter’s Tavern, constructed in 1770 and still standing as a museum of sorts. It was the publishing location of the “Plain Dealer”, the first newspaper in the state and a popular gathering spot for liberty minded firebrands prior to the Revolution. An interesting place to visit but call the historical society beforehand. The photograph is from an extant copy, and possibly the only one, courtesy of the Rutgers University Library Rare Book Collection and can be viewed online in its entirety. The editor was a 23 year old named Ebenezer Elmer, and the tract was issued every Tuesday, copied by hand, and its express purpose was to support the often-faltering drive for American liberty.
What initiated my interest in David Brearley was my focus on numismatics and particularly in colonial and continental paper notes among which some from New Jersey, I discovered, have his signature. Many of these notes from the 1700’s have survived and are often found in auctions and coin and currency dealers’ stocks. They were typically hand signed by two or three men, typically judges, sheriffs or people of some political influence. Some of these issues were printed in the tens of thousands in different denominations. Many notes from Colonial Delaware and Pennsylvania were printed by Benjamin Franklin and David Hall but they never signed any. Notes printed after the Continental Conventions and authorized by the Continental Congress are considered Continental Currency. Paul Revere of Boston engraved the plates for the first of them. These depreciated quickly due to unrestricted printing and the Congress forcing the colonies to use them to pay for the war and inflation soared so the colonies wished to continue printing their own as well.
In 1764 Britain placed a ban on the issue of paper money in the colonies, The Currency Act of 1764, a move which contributed to much discontent among the colonists but, it did not stop them from denying the Governor of their state his salary or holding up appropriations until he could convince the King to sign an Act authorizing issuance of new paper money. The strength of that colony’s economy set the value of its currency against others. A good example is Virginia whose economy was strong due to the tobacco crop and other colonies with weaker economies would see their scrip worth less.
To the right is a New Jersey issued note signed by Brearley in red ink. Notice the amount and the date on this note 1781. The war was still alive in the South but for all practical purposes, won by the colonies. Peace would not be signed until September 3, 1783. They are still using the British octal system. The dollar and it’s ten base decimal system does not come into general use until the 1790’s. The date also specified the Act of Legislature date authorizing it’s manufacture, not it’s actual printing. The lower signature, difficult to read is by one Philemon Dickinson. Dickinson was a militia officer who received high praise from General Washington for his actions in the war, served as a delegate from Delaware at the Continental Congress of 1782 and served on the New Jersey Legislature owning property in both states.
To be continued…..
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