Cffotnell HnxttBraitg Ethratg 
 
 atlfata, EJew ^ork 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 
 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
" '" Cornell University Llbrarv 
 
 HS511 .C75 
 In me,ra?iri!Sji|i|i| 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030282846 
 
IN MEMORIAM 
 
 GEORGE COOPER CONNOR 
 
 Born, Dubinin, Irei,and, October 9, 1834 
 Died, Chattanooga, Tennessee, March 9, 1894 
 
 1895 
 
 PRESS OF BRANDON PRINTING CO. 
 
 NASHVII<I,E 
 
 2, 
 
 
^ I ^HIS little volume has been prepared by loving hands to, perpetuate the record, 
 as well as we can, of the many kind words and deeds, by valued friends, in 
 honor of him who was so dear to our hearts. He has gone from our sight, but 
 we would keep his memory green ; and so dearly do we prize the words of sympa- 
 thy, of respect and esteem, of consolation and cheer, which, like the flowers that 
 covered his grave, have come unsolicited in such rich profusion, that we have 
 thought it well to place them, like a cluster of precious jewels, in a safe and perma- 
 nent casket. 
 
 Could we, in like manner, preserve the record of the multitude of brief but 
 heartfelt words, the pressure of the hand, the sympathetic tear, and the never fail- 
 ing acts of kindness of some whose goodness and sympathy were boundless, our 
 joy would be full. 
 
 The record of all such is indelible — it is written upon our hearts. 
 
OBSEQUIES. 
 
BEFORE HIS MONITOR. 
 
 MAJOR GEORGE C. CONNOR REPORTS TO THE GRAND MASTER OF AI,L. AN AI<ARM CAME TO 
 
 THE DOOR OF HIS HOME AND THE MESSENGER WAS DEATH. 
 
 From Chattanooga Daily Times, March lo, 1894. 
 
 T^EATH has claimed Major G. C. Connor. In 
 the early hours of yesterday morning his 
 spirit winged its flight. He died at a few 
 moments before 6 o'clock at his residence, No. 
 123 McCallie Avenue. He was conscious to the 
 last. An hour before he died he called his 
 family around him. A few minutes before 6 
 o'clock he asked to be assisted to a sitting pos- 
 ture. The attendants were helping him up 
 when he fell back with a gasp and died without 
 a struggle. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 Up to six months ago the deceased appeared 
 in good general health, his only physical annoy- 
 ance being occasional indisposition. An attack 
 of unusual violence necessitated a physician's 
 care, and it was then the first symptoms of dia- 
 betes was detected. Complications arose, and 
 the end was hurried by the physical disorders 
 which followed. Not until February 15 did his 
 iron will succumb to his illness, but he was then 
 compelled from sheer exhaustion to seek his 
 bed. From that date dissolution set in rapidly, 
 and dread disease made sad havoc of the portly 
 frame. From day to day the sad watchers at 
 his bedside have seen the signs that herald the 
 dread summons, but the proud spirit of the man 
 and his indomitable will fought valiantly. For 
 hotars he would seem revived and strengthened, 
 and his fearlessness of death would inspire hope 
 in the hearts of the watchers. In the forenoon 
 he would appear much improved, while as the 
 evening approached he would grow weaker and 
 weaker. Opiates were administered, but only 
 in limited quantities, and the greater portion of 
 the time his mind was clear and his perception 
 as keen as when in robust health. As late as 
 Thursday afternoon he calmly discussed his 
 condition, and in consciousness of the nearness 
 of the end, remarked: "It's about over; ere 
 sunrise tomorrow I shall have crossed the dark 
 river." As late as midnight he mustered 
 strength sufficient to sit up in bed. At 2 o'clock 
 the crisis came, and four hours later his journey 
 
 of life had ended . The man who had been Grand 
 Commander of men was before the Grandest 
 Commander of all. The relatives present were 
 Mrs. Connor, Miss Connor and Mrs. Connor's 
 brother, John Cress, of Richmond, Va., the lat- 
 ter arriving here yesterday. Peacefully the end 
 came. Quietly he went into eternal sleep. As 
 his brethren will say over his grave, "He was 
 a true and courteous Knight, and has fallen in 
 life's struggle full knightly with his armor on.'' 
 Major Connor died as he lived, satisfied he 
 was a Christian as he believed a Christian 
 should be. "Some believe me a skeptic," he 
 said, in the last days of his life, "but I, myself, 
 do not share the belief. I am strong in my 
 faith of an all-wise Providence and the immor- 
 tality of the soul." 
 
 MAJOR CpNNOR IN LIFE. 
 
 George Cooper Connor was born in Ireland, 
 October 19, 1834, dying in his 6oth year. He 
 came to America in his 14th year, and remained 
 in Canada until 1858, when he removed to the 
 South to take a position as editor on a promi- 
 nent religious journal published at Nashville. 
 At the breaking out of the war he entered the 
 service of the Confederate States, and wore the 
 gray throughout the entire struggle, receiving 
 a parole as major. Following the close of the 
 war, he settled in Atlanta, and engaged in the 
 mercantile business until i87i,when he accepted 
 a position as agent of the Western & Atlantic 
 road, and was assigned to duty at Chattanooga. 
 Since that time this city has been his home, 
 and no man, living or dead, was more active 
 in the social, political and commercial life of 
 Chattanooga. He had always the courage of 
 his convictions, and, right or wrong, naught 
 could swerve him from whatever position he 
 might take, so long as he himself believed he 
 was right. No matter what the controversy, 
 he could always be placed, and he was armed so 
 strong in independence and assertiveuess that 
 opposition only served to strengthen him in his 
 opinion. Along in the seventies, when the city 
 
BEFORE HIS MONITOR. 
 
 of today was tlie liveliest village in the South, 
 Major Connor was in the thickest of every local 
 matter of any importance, and his keen wit and 
 blunt expression, his clear logic and independ- 
 ence of speech commanded attention and con- 
 sideration wherever expressed. Throughout 
 his life he was a fighter, his weapons of warfare 
 his braiu, his tongue and his pen. He had 
 opinions and none could deny them expression. 
 Such a man is sure to have left his impress upon 
 a community, and so he did. By some who 
 were made the targets for his shafts of displeas- 
 ure he may never be forgiven, but by friend and 
 foe alike he will never be forgotten. Big of 
 brain and of commanding presence, his was a 
 personality that attracted in any gathering. 
 Persistency was marked in every feature, and 
 the proud poise of his head told plainly of his 
 independent spirit. He was too plain of speech 
 for politics to flatter him, and too matter of fact 
 to attempt political advancement, but in all 
 other walks of life he could be seen and heard, 
 and to his everlasting credit it can be truthfully 
 added, was always understood. He was fond of 
 the good things in life, and the joUiest and most 
 genial of men with those who were his associ- 
 ates. For years he was the leading spirit in the 
 McRae Fishing Club, which will be recalled as 
 the liveliest of fun-making and enjoyable organi- 
 zations. It was limited in its membership to 
 twelve. The members were Major Connor, 
 Major M. Grant, ex-Mayor John A. Hart, Rob- 
 ert Morrison, T. H. Payne, J. C. GrifiBss, D. J. 
 Chandler, Wm. McRae, Z. C. Patten, H. Clay 
 Evans, H. W. Grant, J. L. McCollum and Major 
 Marshall. (Thirteen names are here mentioned, 
 but one, Mr. McRae, was an honorary member.) 
 
 Major Connor was general agent of the West- 
 ean & Atlantic for many years, and was suc- 
 ceeded by John C. Anderson. After his retire- 
 ment from the road, he for awhile edited the 
 Democrat. The paper thrived editorially, the 
 contributors being Major Connor and the late 
 John J. Littleton, but financially the venture 
 waned, and Major Connor stopped its publica- 
 tion. Later he was elected secretary of the 
 board of trade, then an active commercial body, 
 and even after the dissolution of the organiza- 
 tion, he continued its representative, devoting 
 his energies to preparing Chattanooga's case for 
 presentation before the interstate commerce 
 commission. 
 
 Of recent years Major Connor had devoted 
 himselfto Masonic literature, which has yielded 
 him a handsome income. He found time in his 
 
 literary work to make several trips to Europe, 
 and his European letters have proven interest- 
 ing reading to thousands. 
 
 AS A MASON. 
 
 Masonry was Major Connor's fondest love. 
 In the Masonic literature of America he had 
 written his name in characters that will be 
 cherished in Masonic souls forever. In Masonic 
 literature none have gained more prominence. 
 His ritual of the Illustrious Order of Knights 
 Templar was unanimously adopted by the Grand 
 Encampment at Denver, and is now the text 
 book of that honored Order in the United States. 
 
 His latest book, "The Shibboleth: a Templar 
 Monitor, containing monitorial instructions in 
 Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, the Valiant 
 and Magnanimous Order of the Temple, and 
 the Religious and Military Order of Knights of 
 Malta, together with historical, exegetical and 
 explanatory notes," has proven one of the most 
 popular of Masonic text books. 
 
 At the time of his death he was engaged in 
 revising his ritual for the Knights of Malta, 
 which has already been adopted by the Grand 
 Commandery of Tennessee, and is pending 
 before the Grand Encampment of the United 
 States, which convenes in Boston in 1895. 
 
 Major Connor was made a Mason at Atlanta 
 in 1867, and received the Chapter degrees in the 
 samie year. In 1868 he was dubbed a Knight 
 Templar, and was honored by his companions 
 as one of their brightest and most skillful work- 
 ers. Upon his removal to Chattanooga he lost 
 none of the Masonic zeal for which he was dis- 
 tinguished in Georgia, the first annual election 
 making him Worshipful Master of his lodge. 
 Soon afterwards he organized Lookout Com- 
 mandery, No. 14, Knights Templar, which at 
 once took rank, and still remains, as one of the 
 best disciplined Commanderies in the State. 
 
 In 1873, the deceased first visited the Grand 
 Lodge of Tennessee as Master of Temple Lodge, 
 No. 430, and in 1874 he was elected Deputy 
 Grand Master, receiving 920 votes out of 1,108 
 cast. On November 11, 1878, he was chosen 
 Grand Master, an unusual honor for a Grand 
 Lodge to confer on one so recently removed to 
 its jurisdiction. 
 
 HIS MEMBERSHIP. 
 
 He was a member of the following Bodies : 
 Temple Lodge, No. 430, F. and A. M. 
 Hamilton Chapter, No. 49, R. A. M. 
 Mount Moriah Council, No. 81, R. and S. M. 
 
SPECIAL CONCLAVE, GRAND COMMANDERY OP TENNESvSEE. 
 
 Lookout Commaudery, No. 14, K. T. 
 
 Alhatnbra Temple, Noble Mystic Shriue. 
 
 He was also a member of the Royal Order of 
 Scotland, and of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati 
 of Loudon. 
 
 HIS TITI,ES. 
 
 He was Past Master in Blue Lodge; Past 
 High Priest in Hamilton Chapter; Past Com- 
 mander in Lookout Commandery ; Past Poten- 
 tate of Alhambra Temple ; Past Grand Master, 
 Past Grand High Priest, Past Grand Command- 
 er ; and when he died, was chairman of Board 
 of Custodians of Grand Lodge of the State of 
 Tennessee, chairman of Committee on Juris- 
 prudence of the Grand Lodge, Grand Recorder 
 of Grand Commandery of Tennessee, and Cor- 
 respondent of all the grand bodies of Tennessee. 
 
 He was elected by Supreme Council to thirty- 
 third degree, but could not receive the title until 
 thp next meeting at Boston, in 1895. 
 
 LYING IN STATE. 
 
 In the library of his residence at 123 McCallie 
 Avenue, the body lay in state yesterday, and 
 was visited and viewed by a constant stream of 
 people. Major Connor wore his full Knight 
 Templar uniform, holding his chapeau in 
 hand, and sword under the left arm, and thus he 
 will be buried. 
 
 FUNERAI, CEREMONIES. 
 
 With all the honor and ceremony that Ma- 
 sonic and Knight Templar Orders can make. 
 Major Connor will be buried Sunday afternoon 
 in Forest Hills Cemetery, the funeral services 
 taking place at the residence on McCallie Av- 
 enue at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Rev. Dr. 
 Bachman and Dr. Pettis will officiate, after 
 which the Knights Templar will take the body 
 in charge and conduct it, accompanied by Tem- 
 ple Lodge, No. 430, Chattanooga Lodge, No. 199, 
 and Mountain City Lodge, No. 549. These three 
 lodges will meet at the lodge room, corner 
 Eighth and Market Streets, in full uniform, at 
 I o'clock Sunday, and go in a body to the resi- 
 dence of the deceased. 
 
 At the grave the beautiful and impressive 
 Templar service will be conducted by Grand 
 Prelate Pettis and the other Templar officers. 
 
 Grand Commander W. M. Brooks, of Mem- 
 phis, will have charge of the funeral services, 
 and the following prominent gentlemen of the 
 Grand Commandery of Tennessee will be the 
 pall-bearers : 
 
 W. F. Foster, C. H. Brandon, Nashville; B. 
 F. Price, Memphis; N. S. Woodward, Knox- 
 ville ; J. C. Griffiss, W. F. Fischer, W. W. Simp- 
 son and J. B. Nicklin, Chattanooga. 
 
 * * * 
 
 SPECIAI. CONCIvAVE. 
 
 GRAND COMMANDERY OF TENNESSEE, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. 
 Extract from Proceedings. 
 
 il SPECIAL Conclave of the Grand Command- 
 ery of Tennessee was opened in the Asylum 
 of Lookout Commandery, No. 14, at 11.30 A.M. 
 on Sunday, March 11, 1894. 
 
 There were present: R. E. Sir Willliam M. 
 Brooks, Grand Commander ; V. E. Sir Charles 
 H. Eastman, Deputy Grand Commander; R. 
 E. Sir Thomas O. Morris, as Grand Generalis- 
 simo; R. E. Sir William C. Smith, as Grand 
 Captain-General; Em. Sir William M. Pettis, 
 Grand Prelate ; Em. Sir William L. Shumate, 
 as Grand Senior Warden ; Em. Sir Samuel B. 
 Dow, Grand Junior Warden ; Sir John H. Pee- 
 bles, as Grand Treasurer; R. E. Sir Wilbur F. 
 Foster, as Grand Recorder; Em. Sir Bernard F. 
 Price, Grand Standard Bearer; Sir J. P. Posey, 
 as Grand Sword Bearer; Em. Sir Robert R. 
 
 Freeman, Grand Warder; Em. Sir Charles L. 
 Puller, Grand Captain of the Guard. 
 
 Also the representatives of the following Com- 
 manderies: Nashville Commandery, No. i, 
 Memphis Commandery, No. 4, Coeur de Lion 
 Commandery, No. 9, Lookout Commandery, No. 
 14, LaValette Commandery, No. 17. 
 
 The Grand Commandery having been duly 
 opened, the Right Eminent Grand Commander 
 announced that this Special Conclave had been 
 called and opened for the purpose of conducting 
 the funeral rites of the Order at the burial of 
 Sir George Cooper Connor, Past Grand Com- 
 mander and Grand Recorder of the Grand Com- 
 mandery of Tennessee, in accordance with the 
 expressed wish of the deceased that his funeral 
 services should be conducted by his brethren in 
 
SPECIAL CONCLAVE, GRAND COMMANDERY OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 accordance witli the Ritual of the Order of 
 Knights Templar. 
 
 The lines were formed, and the officers and 
 members of the Grand Commandery were 
 escorted to the residence of the deceased, there 
 being, altogether, about two hundred Knights 
 in line. 
 
 At the house, the ceremonies consisted of the 
 hymns, "Just as I Am" and "One Sweetly Sol- 
 emn Thought," most touchingly and sweetly 
 sung by a quartette ; the reading of the Scrip- 
 tures by Sir and Rev. Wm. M. Pettis, Grand Pre- 
 late, and the following address by Sir and Rev. 
 J. W. Bachman, Past Grand Prelate : 
 
 ' ' The familiar faces of twenty years ago are 
 fast passing out of sight. A few months since, 
 probably no one here dreamed of the scene 
 which presents itself before us now. Major 
 Connor had been so long with us, his frame was 
 seemingly so strong, his brain so active and his 
 vitality so abundant that we rarely, if ever, asso- 
 ciated death with him. Others might die, but 
 he would live on, and mingle with the crowds 
 which had forgotten us. 
 
 "But 'man's thoughts are not as God's 
 thoughts.' All that is mortal of our friend and 
 neighbor and Frater lies before us, and the 
 spirit has gone to God who gave it. But he 
 was not unaware of the approaching dissolu- 
 tion. In a note to me in August last, in regard 
 to some archffiological researches, he said : ' I 
 can not study ; my mind and nerves are unequal 
 to such a task this morning. Until I get this 
 monster (referring to the disease upon him) 
 under control, severe mental labor is impossi- 
 ble. I assure you, it wastes both body and mind 
 and leaves a poor sinner without energy in 
 either. I am a trifle blue, but still hopeful.' 
 But it was a struggle against the inevitable. 
 His days were numbered, and now they are 
 ended; we shall see him no more — we shall 
 hear him no more among men. 
 
 "Major Connor was not an ordinary man. 
 Gifted above many of his kind, his presence was 
 felt in every assemblage, whether for business, 
 study or pleasure. He was positive in his asser- 
 tions, and held with great tenacity to what he 
 said. There was something of a natural antag- 
 onism which, to many, hid the warm and kind 
 nature within. But his friends understood him, 
 and his death will leave a great void among 
 them. He was a tireless and successful worker 
 in every field where he labored. He spared no 
 means to do well what was put in his hands. 
 He loved this city, where he had made his home 
 
 for many years. At home and abroad he was 
 loyal to her interests. He will be missed. 
 
 "But this is not the occasion to speak at 
 J.ength ; it is unnecessary. He is known to you 
 who are here today as his neighbors, and you 
 who come from all the ends of the State to be 
 present at his funeral. I may be permitted to 
 say to you that he was made fully aware of his 
 approaching end. 
 
 "On Monday last I visited him and found him 
 fully aware of his condition. He freely, and of 
 his own accord, said to me : ' Doctor, I am near 
 the end of my days. My physicians say I 
 have only a little while to live. I still have 
 hope ; but may soon go hence. I want to say 
 to you that I have great confidence in my 
 Heavenly Father. He will do right by me. If 
 I deserve punishment he will give it to me.' I 
 said to him : ' Major, we can have mercy through 
 Jesus Christ.' He replied: 'Yes, yes.' I then 
 spoke to him of the reality of Christ as a Re- 
 deemer and friend to me, and mentioned that 
 when we were at Nazareth, Christ seemed to be 
 actually present with us at evening prayer, as 
 with the disciples of old, to comfort us as stran- 
 gers far from home and earthly friends. He 
 said : ' Yes, yes, ' and then added : ' Doctor, after 
 all the wanderings of faith, I do fully trust Him.' 
 He then quoted this stanza from one of Mont- 
 gomery's hymns ; 
 
 " ' Here in this body pent, 
 
 Absent from Thee I roam ; 
 But nightly pitch my moving tent 
 A day's march nearer home.' 
 
 ' ' He then added : ' Tell my brethren I go away 
 looking to God.' In the hands of that God, 
 the Judge of all the earth, who will do right, 
 we leave him. Into the same hands you and I 
 shall go to" give account for all the deeds done 
 in the body. Make ready. Our days are num- 
 bered, and they may be few. ' Be ye also ready. 
 In an hour that ye think not, the Son of Man 
 Cometh.' Let me persuade you that the real 
 world is beyond. Prepare for it. This is the 
 vanishing world. 'The things which are not 
 seen are eternal ; the things which are seen are 
 temporal.' " 
 
 The services at the residence were then closed 
 by the singing df the hymn, "Jesus, Lover of 
 My Soul." 
 
 The following Knights Templar were detailed 
 as pall-bearers, to wit : Sir Wilbur P. Foster, 
 Sir Charles H. Brandon, Sir Bernard F. Price, 
 
 10 
 
DUST TO DUST. 
 
 Sir N. S. Woodward, Sir J. S. Griffiss, Sir W. F. 
 Fischer, Sir W. \V. Simpson and Sir John B. 
 Nicklin. 
 
 The lines were reformed under the command 
 of Right Eminent Sir William C. Smith, as 
 Grand Captain-General, and the funeral proces- 
 sion, preceded by more than two hundred Mas- 
 ter Masons in line, proceeded to the cemetery, 
 where the full Templar service for the dead was 
 performed by the Right Eminent Grand Com- 
 mander, Sir William M. Brooks, assisted by the 
 Eminent Grand Prelate, Sir William M. Pettis. 
 
 With a chosen number of Knights forming an 
 arch of steel above the grave, the hymn, 
 "Nearer My God to Thee," was most sweetly 
 sung. 
 
 Lines were then reformed, and returned to 
 the Asylum of Lookout Commandery, when the 
 Special Conclave of the Grand Commandery of 
 Tennessee was duly closed. 
 
 WirxiAM M. Brook,s, 
 
 Grand Commander. 
 W. F. Foster, 
 
 Acting Grand Recorder. 
 
 * * * 
 
 DUST TO DUST. 
 
 LAST FOND TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GEORGE C. CONNOR. 
 From Chattanooga Daily Times, March 12, 1894. 
 
 TTT'ITH all the ceremonies devised by Masonry 
 to do honor to the dead, all that is mortal 
 of Major G. C. Connor was yesterday lowered 
 into the grave at Forest Hills Cemetery by his 
 brother Knights. Over his corpse were spoken 
 the beautiful words contained in the Ritual, 
 written recently by himself, and for the first 
 time used by Knights Templar in the burial of 
 their dead. 
 
 Up to 1. 15 o'clock yesterday afternoon the 
 remains had lain in state in that library in 
 which the deceased had done much of his extenr 
 sive literary labors. The body had been well 
 embalmed, and as it lay in the beautiful rolled 
 steel casket, with its bright gold trimmings, its 
 naturalness was marked and pleasing to the 
 many who had known the distinguished figure 
 and countenance when in life. Since-his death, 
 Friday morning, the remains had been viewed 
 by hundreds of people, among them Chatta- 
 nooga's leading citizens, the friends and ac- 
 quaintances of the dead man. 
 
 Nearly all the incoming trains yesterday 
 morning brought large numbers of prominent 
 Masons from Knoxville, Nashville, Atlanta and 
 Memphis. Many came through personal friend- 
 ship, while others out of respect to one so high 
 in their beloved Order. There were fully one 
 hundred and fifty Knights Templar from the 
 above places, and their presence at the funeral 
 of their brother was a living testimonial of his 
 prominence and the esteem in which he was 
 held. These also visited the residence yester- 
 
 day morning to look upon the face of the 
 departed. 
 
 At 1. 15 o'clock the body was viewed for the 
 last time by the bereaved family, the coffin was 
 sealed, concealing forever from sight of man the 
 form and features of the eminent Mason. On 
 the lid of the casket was placed a bouquet of large 
 white lilies. The numerous and beautiful floral 
 offerings were arranged in such manner as to 
 give the most room for the large concourse who 
 should attend the services. Many and beauti- 
 ful were the floral designs. One of the prettiest 
 of these was two pillows made of roses and 
 hyacinths ; between them was a pedestal wound 
 about with wild honeysuckle and narcissus, at 
 the top of which was a white dove. The design 
 was the offering of Lookout Commandery, No. 
 14, of this city. Therfe were other designs of 
 crosses, etc., and it may safely be said, that in 
 number and beauty they have rarely been 
 equaled upon any occasion. 
 
 At 1.30 o'clock the friends and acquaintances 
 of the deceased began to arrive. Shortly after 
 this time, one hundred and fifty members of 
 Temple, Chattanooga and Mountain City 
 Lodges, commanded by Paul R. Albert, marched 
 from the corner of Eighth and Market Streets to 
 the residence, near the front of which they 
 formed in line. The Knights Templar, clad in 
 full uniform, their swords and arms bound with 
 crape, next arrived. They broke ranks as soon 
 as they reached the residence, and the white 
 plumes mingling in the vast crowd that had 
 
 II 
 
DUST TO DUST. 
 
 there assembled, lent a martial aspect to the 
 scene. By 2 o'clock the residence was com- 
 pletely filled, while hundreds were outside. 
 With uncovered heads the Knights and others 
 stood within the yard of the home, and in sub- 
 dued tones talked of him who had gone. 
 Shortly after 2 o'clock the services were begun 
 by the choir, consisting of Mrs. Harris, Mrs. 
 Pratt and Messrs. Hyde and Estes, singing the 
 hymn, "Just As I Am." 
 
 Following the reading of a Scripture lesson by 
 Dr. Pettis, the choir rendered, "One Sweetly 
 Solemn Thought." 
 
 THE FUNERAL CORTEGE. 
 
 The services at the residence were completed 
 at a moment when there were lowering clouds, 
 which threatened to potir torrents of rain upon 
 the heads of those assembled there. Despite 
 this fact the Masons and Sir Knights formed in 
 line. Scores of ladies and gentlemen entered 
 carriages, while the electric cars and dummies 
 were carrying hundreds to the cemetery. 
 
 At a few minutes to 3 o'clock, the long cor- 
 tege commenced its march to the silent city of 
 the dead. 
 
 In advance were two hundred Masons, march- 
 ing two abreast. Following them were full two 
 hundred Knights Templar, from this and other 
 cities, in command of William C. Smith. With 
 measured tread they marched to the time of the 
 muffled drums, which enhanced the solemnity 
 of the military -like procession. At the rear of 
 the Templars was the hearse, followed by fifty 
 vehicles. Withal, it was one of the largest fun- 
 eral processions ever seen in Chattanooga. 
 
 The line of march was from McCallie and 
 Georgia Avenues down Eighth Street, thence 
 out Market and Whiteside Streets to the ceme- 
 tery. 
 
 Thousands of people viewed the cortege as it 
 passed through the streets. At several points 
 scores of persons stood together, but such was 
 the impressiveness of the scene that not a mur- 
 mur could be heard as the long procession 
 wended its way. to the cemetery. 
 
 As the head of the procession reached the 
 Central Depot, the threatened rain began to fall, 
 and the Masons on foot sought shelter in the 
 depot until a train of cars was sent to bear them 
 to Forest Hills. 
 
 AT THE GRAVE. 
 
 Never in Chattanooga has there been a more 
 beautiful or impressive ceremony over the dead. 
 
 As stated in the foregoing, the ritual by which 
 Major Connor was buried was prepared by him- 
 self, and, althoughadoptedgenerally by Masonic 
 orders throughout the country, it had never 
 before been used. Its high merit, judged from 
 a literary standpoint, is unquestioned. While 
 for the purpose for which it was written, it is 
 incomparably beautiful and appropriate. 
 
 Just as the procession reached the grave the 
 rain ceased. Although the inclement weather 
 had driven many who had come to view the 
 ceremony to return, yet there was still a 
 vast concourse at the grave when the funeral 
 cortege arrived. Shortly after 4 o'clock the 
 services were begun. Eminent Grand Com- 
 mander Brooks of Memphis, assisted by Grand 
 Prelate Dr. W. M. Pettis of this city, had charge 
 of the ceremonies. 
 
 \\'ith uncovered heads the Knights stood 
 around the grave. After the singing of "For- 
 ever and Forever," by the choir, the Grand 
 Commander began as follows : 
 
 "Sir Knights, in the solemn rites of our Order 
 we are often reminded of the fact that we were 
 born to die. Mortality has been brought to view 
 that we might more earnestly seek an immor- 
 tality beyond this fleeting life, where death 
 comes no more forever. The sad and mournful 
 knell has betokened that another spirit has 
 winged its flight to a new existence. An alarm 
 has come to the door of our Asylum, and .the 
 messenger was death. None presumed to say 
 to the awful presence: 'Who dares approach?' 
 A pilgrim warrior has been summoned, 'and 
 there is no discharge in that war.' A burning 
 taper of life in our Commandery has been extin- 
 guished, and none save the High and Holy One 
 can relight it. All that remains of our beloved 
 companion lies mute before us, and the light of 
 the eye and the breathing of the lips, in frater- 
 nal greeting, has ceased to us forever on this 
 side of the grave. His sword, vowed to be drawn 
 in the cause of truth, justice and liberty only, 
 reposes in its scabbard, and we can no longer 
 shield him from wrong and oppression. It is 
 meet at such a time, that we should be silent 
 and allow the words of the Infinite and Undy- 
 ing to speak that we may gather consolation 
 from His revelations, and have impressed upon 
 our minds lessons of wisdom, instruction and 
 the meetness of preparation for the last great 
 change which must pass upon us all. 
 
 "Let us be reverently attentive while our 
 Prelate reads unto us a lesson from the holy 
 Scriptures." 
 
 12 
 
DUST TO DUST. 
 
 The reading and responses in unison were as 
 follows : 
 
 Prelate— Help, Lord, for the faithful fail from 
 among the children of men. 
 
 Response — Help us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate— The. righteous cry, and the Lord 
 heareth and delivereth them out of all their 
 troubles. 
 
 Response — Hear us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate— the Lord is nigh unto them that are 
 of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a 
 contrite spirit. 
 
 Response — Be nigh unto us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate — The Lord redeemeth the soul of His 
 servants ; and none of them that trust in Him 
 shall be desolate. 
 
 Response — Redeem us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate — For I will not trust in my bow, 
 neither shall my sword save me. 
 
 Response — Redeem us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate — But God will redeem my soul from 
 the power of the grave, for he shall receive me. 
 
 Response — Redeem us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate — Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead ? 
 Shall the dead arise and praise thee ? Shall thy 
 loving kindness be declared in the grave? Or 
 thy faithfulness in destruction ? 
 
 Response — Save us, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate — We spend our years as a tale that is 
 told. The days of our years are threescore years 
 and ten, and if by reason of strength they be 
 fourscore years, yet is their strength, labor and 
 .sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away. 
 So teach us to number our days, that we may 
 apply our hearts unto wisdom. 
 
 Response — Teach us, (3 Lord. 
 
 Prelate — For He knoweth our frame ; He 
 remembereth that we are dust. As for man, 
 his days are as grass : as a flower of the field, so 
 he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it 
 and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know 
 it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from 
 everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear 
 Him. 
 
 Response — Show mercy, O Lord. 
 
 Prelate — We shall not all sleep, but we shall 
 all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling 
 of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet 
 shall sound and the dead shall be raised incor- 
 ruptible, and -we shall be changed. For this 
 corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal must put on immortality. So when 
 this corruptible shall have put on incorruption 
 and this mortal shall have put on immortality, 
 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is 
 
 written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O 
 death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is 
 thy victory? 
 
 Response — O death, where is thy sting? O 
 grave, where is thy victory? 
 
 Prelate — The sting of death is sin ; and the 
 strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to 
 God, which giveth us the victory through our 
 Lord, Jesus Christ. 
 
 Response — Thanks be unto God. 
 
 The Grand Commander then asked: "Shall 
 the memory of our departed Brother fade from 
 among men?" 
 ^Response — It is cherished in our souls forever. 
 
 Grand Commander — Shall no record be 
 left of his virtues and worth ? 
 
 Response — It is inscribed upon our hearts >-it 
 is written in our archives ; the heart may cease 
 to throb, and the archives may moulder and 
 decay, but the tablets of the Recording Angel 
 on high can never perish. 
 
 Grand Commander — He was a true and 
 courteous Knight, and has fallen in life's strug- 
 gle full knightly with his armor on. 
 
 Prelate — Rest to his ashes and peace to his 
 soul. 
 
 Response — Rest to his ashes and peace to his 
 soul. 
 
 Following this, the hymn, "Rock of Ages," 
 was sung by the choir, after which was a prayer 
 by the Prelate. 
 
 The Prelate then uttered the following beau- 
 tiful speech : 
 
 "Sir Knights, there is one sacred spot upon 
 the earth where the footfalls of our march are 
 unheeded ; our trumpets quicken no pulse and 
 incite no fear ; the rustling of our banners and 
 the gleam of our swords awaken no emotion. 
 It is the silent city of the dead, where we now 
 stand. Awe rests upon every heart, and the 
 stern warrior's eyes are bedewed with feelings 
 which never shame manhood. It needs no siege, 
 nor assault, nor beleaguering host to enter its 
 walls ; we fear no sortie and listen for no battle 
 shout. No warder's challenge greets the ear, 
 nor do we wait awhile for permission to enter. 
 
 "Hither must we all come at last, and the 
 stoutest hearts and the manliest form that sur- 
 rounds me will then be led a captive, without 
 title or rank, in the chains of mortality and the 
 habiliments of slavery to the king of terrors. 
 The sad and solemn scene now before us stirs up 
 recollections with a force and vivid power which 
 we have hitherto unfelt. He who now slum- 
 bers in that last, long unbroken sleep of death 
 
 13 
 
DUST TO DUST. 
 
 was our brother. With him we have walked 
 the pilgrimage of life, and kept ward and watch 
 together in its vicissitudes and trials. He is now 
 removed beyond the effect of our praise or cen- 
 sure. That we loved him our presence here 
 evinces; and we remember him in scenes to 
 which the world was not witness, and where 
 the better feelings of humanity were exhibited 
 without disguise. That he had faults and foibles 
 is but to repeat what his mortality demon- 
 strates — that he had a human nature, not di- 
 vine. 
 
 "The memory of his virtues lingers in our 
 remembrance and reflects its shining luster 
 beyond the portals of the tomb. 
 
 "The earthen vase which has contained pre- 
 cious odors will lose none of its fragrance, 
 though the clay be broken and shattered. So 
 be it with our brother's memory." 
 
 ' ' Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, ' ' 
 were the words of the Prelate as he cast some 
 earth upon the cofiBn. 
 
 The sword, emblematic of fortitude and jus- 
 tice, was then placed upon the coffin, and the 
 cross, "this symbol of faith, the Christian's 
 hope and the Christian's trust," was placed by 
 its side. The white apron, emblematic of mor- 
 tality, and the sprig of evergreen, a symbol of 
 an undying soul, were next thrown into the 
 grave. 
 
 The last ceremony was probably the most 
 effective. Five Sir Knights on each side of 
 the grave crossed swords, while the choir sweet- 
 ly sang, "Nearer, My God, to Thee." 
 
 There was then a prayer, a benediction, and 
 the ceremony was over. 
 
 Sadly the Knights and friends returned to the 
 city, leaving in "the silent city of the dead" a 
 flower covered mound, underneath which rested 
 their departed brother. 
 
 FLOWERS FROM FRIENDS. 
 
 Charleston Commandery, No. i. 
 
 Spartanburg Commandery, No. 3. 
 
 Coeur de Lion Commandery, No. 9, two de- 
 signs. 
 
 Nashville Commandery. 
 
 Lookout Commandery. 
 
 Temple Lodge. 
 
 Hamilton Chapter, Memphis. 
 
 Wm. M. Brooks, B. F. Price, M. H. Price, B. 
 Bingham, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Foster, Mr. and 
 Mrs. W. C. Smith, Nashville. 
 
 Dr. Brabson, Judge and Mrs. Eakin, Mr. and 
 Mrs. A. N. Sloan, Miss Kate Fort, Col. T. Fort, 
 Mr. J. T. Fort, Mrs. Dr. Milton, Mrs. Julius 
 Brown, Mr. and Mrs. H. Clay Evans, Mr. and 
 Mrs. C. E. James, Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Gaines, 
 Mrs. O'Connell, Mr. and Mrs. Hammond Rogers, 
 Mr. and Mrs. L. T. Dickinson, Mrs. W. A. Mar- 
 lin, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Harris, Mr. J. C. 
 Griffiss, Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Read, Mr. and Mrs. 
 S. R. Read, Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Payne. 
 
EULOGIUMS. 
 
GRAND CONCLAVE OF SORROW. 
 
 GRAND COMMANDERY OF TENNESSEE. 
 Extract from Proceedings. 
 
 AT 6.30 P. M. the officers and members of the 
 Graud Comniandery, together with the vis- 
 iting Knights and ladies, left the mountain in a 
 special train and were conveyed to the city of 
 Chattanooga. 
 
 The first Presbyterian Church, which had 
 been arranged for the occasion, was filled to 
 overflowing by those in attendance vipou the 
 Grand Commaudery and by ladies and citizens 
 of Chattanooga. 
 
 The solemn and impressive ceremonies of the 
 Conclave of Sorrow, prepared by Sir G. C. Con- 
 nor, and adopted by the Grand Commandery of 
 Tennessee in 1882, were conducted by the Grand 
 Officers and Sir J. W. Bachman, D. D., Past 
 Grand Prelate. 
 
 The following eulogium was pronounced by 
 Right Eminent Sir Morton B. Howell, Past 
 Grand Commander : 
 
 "In the immediate presence of any great 
 calamity, the weight of woe is hostile to expres- 
 sion. They only can speak their feeling as it is, 
 who feel but little, and lay not trouble much to 
 heart. After some time has passed, the numbed 
 intellect slowly regains its power, and one may 
 then venture the attempt to put in words the 
 thoughts that before had hovered before his 
 mind evading tangible shape. 
 
 "The faculty of memory is God-like, and his 
 large possession of it is man's strongest claim 
 to superiority above the rest of creation. And 
 yet, to possess it in too great measure is to keep 
 open rankling wounds that were better healed. 
 It is, therefore, likewise a blessing that the 
 memory does not for a long time remain green, 
 but, as the days glide away, takes on a mellow 
 hue — hazy, perhaps, like distant fields in aut- 
 umn — softening asperities and smoothing what 
 to close vision was not all pleasing. 
 
 "Since the last Graud Conclave of the Knights 
 of this Jurisdiction, the summons to depart has 
 gone forth to nearly every portion of it. 
 
 * Death is not rare, alas ! nor burials few, 
 And soon the grassy coverlet of God 
 Spreads equal green above their ashes pale.' 
 
 "Memphis Commandery laments the death 
 of Sir R. M. Drake, Past Eminent Commander. 
 
 Nashville mourns Sir Albert W. Downer, late 
 Grand Captain of the Guard. lyookout has lost 
 Sir W. R. Wilson, its Captain General, and Sir 
 George C. Connor. 
 
 ' 'AH these have given their bodies to the earth, 
 and 'their pure souls unto their Captain, Christ, 
 under whose colors they had fought so long. ' 
 
 "Two months have gone by since the sad, but 
 not unexpected, words were uttered: 'Connor 
 is dead.' To those of us who had known him 
 so closely and so long, they brought a pang of 
 sharp regret and keen sorrow, rarely felt and 
 not to be expressed. The vision of his manly 
 form, his mobile face lit up by the radiance of 
 intellect, and the sound of his quick and cheery 
 greeting, all these rose for an instant, and were 
 dashed into vacancy by the knowledge that 
 pallid Death was holding him for her own, and 
 the places that knew him would know him no 
 more forever. We could say only : 'Alas, my 
 brother ! ' and with loving hands consign his 
 mortal part to the great Mother. 
 
 "Having buried our dead out of our sight, and 
 the present poignancy of grief being abated, we 
 are met to look back, with what calmness we may, 
 over the life of our departed friend and brother, 
 and our association with him, that we may honor 
 his memory, and be incited by what we may recall 
 of him, to the better ordering of our own lives. 
 
 "There is nothing so profitable to man as a 
 knowledge of history, which has been defined 
 as philosophy teaching by example. Of histo- 
 ries, the portion called biography comes nearer 
 to man's individual capacity and need. 'There 
 are very few examples of life full and pure,' 
 says Montaigne, 'and we wrong our instruction 
 every day to propose to ourselves those that are 
 weak and imperfect.' 
 
 ' ' Happy are they who themselves have been 
 familiar with the character and merits of a noble 
 life, and can, from their own observation, lay up 
 treasures of example. 
 
 "George Cooper Connor was born in Dublin, 
 Ireland, on October 9, 1834. At the age of 
 fourteen he emigrated with his family to Can- 
 ada, where he continued to reside during the 
 next ten years. 
 
 "The foundation of his education had been 
 
 17 
 
GRAND CONCLAVE OF SORROW. 
 
 laid in his native city. Endowed with a mind 
 capable of grasping quickly anything presented 
 to it, at a very early age he was already well 
 informed. Whether there be anything in the 
 soil or in the air of the Emerald Isle that makes 
 acuteness, or whether the vigor of the race fur- 
 nishes sufficient reason for it, all the world 
 knows that the city in which our friend was 
 born has been the cradle of genius for hundreds 
 of years. While there has come out of it much 
 of bigotry and superstition that has done' no 
 honor to the race, it has produced minds whose 
 superiors have not lived. So profuse has nature 
 been of men in that small space, the world is 
 filled with them, and of them are some of the 
 most renowned and valuable of the citizens of 
 every civilized country. 
 
 "His ten years in Canada were spent in con- 
 cluding the education begun in his native city, 
 and at the age of twenty-four he went out into 
 the world to make his own way. 
 
 "At this period of his life questions of theol- 
 ogy pressed most strongly upon him, and had 
 most influence in determining his career. It is 
 but natural that a young man of brilliant and 
 powerful intellect should be led into the inves- 
 tigation of things so divine, so high, and so 
 transcending all human intelligence, and that 
 one of such disposition should think that there 
 is nothing so noble as to make it the end and 
 aim of all his thoughts and studies to extend and 
 amplify the truth of his belief With this idea 
 uppermost, he was called upon to take a posi- 
 tion on the stafi^ of a religious newspaper pub- 
 lished in Nashville. He accepted it promptly, 
 as being in the line both of pleasure and of duty. 
 
 "In this employment the beginning of the 
 civil war found him, a laborious editor, working 
 with all his might, as his nature was in whatso- 
 ever he undertook. At the call to arms, he was 
 one of the first to offer his services to the cause 
 of the people among whom he had chosen to live. 
 Through that memorable four years of gigantic 
 conflict, he was at the post of duty, and was re- 
 warded by promotion, until, when the end came, 
 he had risen from a private to the rank of major. 
 
 "There is no need to dwell upon this part of 
 his career. He stood by his friends and his 
 principles with unshaken fidelity, and accepted 
 the final issue with thousands of other men of 
 honor and good faith. When the cause he 
 fought for had been found by wager of battle 
 to be wrong, he received the award without 
 murmur or repining. It was a subject about 
 which very few ever heard him speak. He had 
 
 no fault to find with friend or foe, for error of 
 judgment or lack of success. What was done 
 was, with him, settled and ended, and he at 
 once cast behind him whatsoever of bitterness 
 or disappointment there might have been, and 
 gave his whole mind to the future. 
 
 "It must not be implied that our friend was 
 alone in this high and brave conduct. The 
 great mass of his comrades in the war had the 
 same feeling, and took the same course, though 
 this fact in nowise detracts from the honor due 
 to him. He had only larger company than such 
 action is accustomed to have. 
 
 "At the restoration of peace he found himself 
 in Georgia, and began to retrieve his wasted 
 fortunes by engaging in mercantile business, 
 and continued to be thus employed until the 
 year 1871. 
 
 "Meantime, during the years 1867 and i858, 
 he had applied for and had received the degrees 
 in Lodge and Chapter Masonry, and the Orders 
 of Masonic Knighthood. 
 
 "To a man of his wide knowledge and inquis- 
 itive disposition, the mysteries of Masonry pre- 
 sented a delightful field of investigation. They 
 who know how the cultivation of those mys- 
 teries can interest the man of low degree, and 
 at the same time tax the energy of the best 
 informed, had small wonder that he took hold 
 of the work with a force that soon showed that 
 a master had arisen. He early became pro- 
 ficient to a remarkable degree in all the learning 
 of the Craft, and was recognized as easily first 
 in the administration of its rites. 
 
 "But while he dearly loved the lore of the 
 Master Mason, the peculiar characteristics of 
 the Orders of Knighthood were more suited to 
 his nature and modes of thought, and he seized 
 upon them with avidity. The teachings and 
 ritual of the Commandery seemed to furnish 
 the food best adapted to him, and he fed with 
 eagerness upon them. While his skill in the 
 Master's art had been recognized by all his 
 brethren, his devotion to the Temple and its 
 service became almost a passion, and obscured, 
 without his intending it, his unchanged love 
 for Chapter and Lodge. 
 
 "In the year 1871, he was appointed to repre- 
 sent the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Chat- 
 tanooga, and thus became a resident of that 
 city. He continued to be agent of that com- 
 pany for many years, and remained a citizen of 
 Chattanooga during the residue of his life. 
 
 "From this time for twenty-three years the 
 lives of Major Connor and the City of Chatta- 
 
 18 
 
GRAND CONCLAVE OF SORROW. 
 
 nooga ran in parallel lines. To use the lan- 
 guage written on the day of his death, than 
 which no words of mine could be more appro- 
 priate : ' No man, living or dead, was more active 
 in the social, political and commercial life of 
 Chattanooga.' 'Along in the seventies, when 
 the city of today was the liveliest village in the 
 South, Major Connor was in the thickest of 
 every local matter of any importance, and his 
 keen wit and blunt expression, his clear logic 
 and independence of speech, commanded atten- 
 tion and consideration wherever expressed. ' 
 
 "What influence he exerted in making a city 
 of the village he had moved to in 1871, his fel- 
 low citizens best know. That his clear vision 
 and sound common sense laid the foundation 
 to success in matters of importance, which, 
 wrongly directed, might have failed, was recog- 
 nized by his associates, and proved by his being 
 continued in the prominence he took. 
 
 "It is not our purpose to enlarge upon the 
 services rendered by him as a citizen, or to at- 
 tempt to recount the objects attained by his 
 public efforts. On some other occasion may be 
 rehearsed his heroic and effectual exertions 
 during the epidemic of 1878 ; his public-spirited 
 labors in furthering the commercial interests of 
 his city ; his practical and valuable aid to char- 
 itable purposes ; and other services rendered, 
 which won for him respect and esteem. 
 
 "It is only as a Mason and as a man that we 
 are now to think of him. 
 
 "As soon as he was settled in his new home, 
 he became a member of Temple Lodge and of 
 Hamilton Chapter, and at once took high rank 
 in both. There was then no Templar organiza- 
 tion nearer than Kuoxville, and our brother 
 proceeded to take such steps as would enable a 
 Commaudery to be formed. The situation was 
 not favorable, owing to the small quantity of 
 eligible material, and the remoteness and isola- 
 tion, Masonically speaking, of the locality. No 
 obstacles, however, deterred him. Before the 
 end of the next year, he had gathered together 
 good men to a sufficient number, and on Octo- 
 ber 26, 1872, a dispensation was issued to ten 
 Knights Templar to form Lookout Command- 
 ery. Sir G. C. Connor was named as the second 
 officer. On the following February i, 1873, the 
 Eminent Commander resigned. Sir Knight Con- 
 nor was appointed to the vacant place. Sir John 
 B. Nicklin succeeding him as Generalissimo, 
 and, from that day forward, it is no disparage- 
 ment to the Sir Knights of that Commaudery 
 to say that, in the eyes of all the outside world. 
 
 Sir George C. Connor and Lookout Commaud- 
 ery were one. 
 
 ' ' No Knight Templar of the period will fail to 
 remember the pride and pleasure with which 
 that Commaudery received and entertained the 
 Grand Commaudery of Tennessee in May, 1875. 
 Nor will he fail to recall at the same time how 
 our departed brother was in all that was done, 
 and how his earnestness and effectiveness and 
 outpouring hospitality were all-pervading. 
 
 "The honors paid to him in the Grand Lodge, 
 the Grand Chapter, the Grand Commaudery and 
 the Grand Encampment of the United States 
 are well known and public history. 
 
 "As a parliamentarian, his term as Grand 
 Master of Masons in Tennessee furnished con- 
 spicuous evidence. Ready, thoroughly equip- 
 ped, never thrown off his balance, with reason 
 and authority for every ruling, he gave proof of 
 his ability to direct the deliberations of the 
 largest and most representative body of men in 
 the State. His presidency over the other Grand 
 Bodies, in which he was likewise elected to the 
 highest office, furnished similar reason for his 
 being pronounced to be one of the most skill- 
 ful and influential managers of deliberative 
 assemblies of his day. 
 
 "In the esoteric work of the Fraternity, in its 
 several departments, his brethren know his 
 extraordinary proficiency. Endowed with elo- 
 cutionary powers which had been assiduously 
 cultivated, and possessed of an intimate knowl- 
 edge, not only of the language to be used, but 
 of the meaning and force of the lesson to be 
 conveyed, he was impressive and persuasive to 
 an unusual extent. Because he had the spirit 
 of what he was to impart, he was, perhaps, not 
 always so mindful of the letter as a different 
 school of expert ritualists might have demanded. 
 For this reason, his conferring of degrees and 
 orders took hold upon cultivated and intelligent 
 minds, and in every such case produced that 
 desirable result, a favorable first impression. 
 
 "Such was his proficiency in this respect that 
 years ago he prepared the ritual adopted by the 
 Grand Commaudery of Tennessee. Lately, 
 this same ritual has been approved and recog- 
 nized as the standard by the great governing 
 body of the Order. Such features of it as are 
 open to the public he collected into a Monitor, 
 entitled, "The Shibboleth," a work of labor 
 and learning, which, though not yet old enough 
 to be well known, is destined to become the 
 acknowledged authority upon the subject. 
 
 ' ' During the whole of his Masonic 'career, he 
 
 19 
 
GRAND CONCLAVE OF SORROW. 
 
 was an unfailing attendant upon the annual 
 assemblages of the several Grand Bodies. The 
 first characteristic that a stranger would have 
 noticed upon such occasions, was his brightness 
 of spirits, and flow of good humor. For every 
 friend he had a cheerful greeting, and about 
 him was always an atmosphere of pleasant fel- 
 lowship. 
 
 "At these annual meetings he took his position 
 well in front, and no subject presented escaped 
 his observation. On every thing he had an 
 opinion, and this opinion he never hesitated to 
 express. Whether or not it was in harmony 
 with what others thought never seemed to be 
 considered by him. The only question was, Is 
 it right, or wrong? and that having been deter- 
 mined in his own mind, his position was at 
 once announced. He stood by his convictions 
 with unfaltering and continuous persistence, 
 and never yielded or succumbed until overcome 
 by numbers. He was not a partisan in any 
 sense. He could not be induced to favor what 
 he did not approve, and he never took a position 
 because of its popularity. It was his own 
 judgment upon which he acted, and, until this 
 was convinced, he was as firm as a rock. Such 
 a man is commonly called obstinate by those 
 who are of a different opinion, and it often hap- 
 pened that he was thus thought and spoken of 
 by those who could not change him. 
 
 "It was this quality of standing by what he 
 believed to be right, and his unshaken adher- 
 ence to his own conclusions, that occasioned 
 the only asperities of his life. Yet they who 
 thought he was wrong admired the ingenuous 
 and unstudied freedom of his speech. What 
 he thought, he said, and when he had spoken, 
 one could see that there was no double mean- 
 ing, and that there remained behind no lurking 
 idea to deceive or entrap. Indeed, so free was 
 he from intention of wrong in himself, that he 
 had no room for suspicion of duplicity in 
 others. This free and outspoken manner many 
 times became bluntness, and seemed lacking in 
 courtesy, but further knowledge of the man 
 made plain the error. 
 
 ' ' With all his readiness to combat, and though 
 so often engaged in earnest contest, it is a strik- 
 ing feature of the genuine heart of our brother 
 that he never, upon any occasion, lost his tem- 
 per, or gave way to passion. He never uttered 
 an invective, or harshly criticised, or used any 
 personality, whatever might have been his 
 warmth of argument. He treated every antag- 
 onist with fraternal respect, and if he gained 
 
 any victory, it was honestly won by fair and 
 open means. 
 
 "Throughout all the years of his prominence 
 as an official, in all his associations with the 
 brethren of the Fraternity, no one can now 
 recall an offensive expression or unkind word 
 from him. It is not to be concluded from this 
 language of high praise that he was a favorite 
 with all. No man whose voice was so prompt 
 to express whatever his views and feelings were, 
 could fail to antagonize somebody. Whoever 
 has been successful over opposition, and who- 
 ever has offered opposition without success, is 
 sure to incur the enmity of those who are so 
 constituted as that, having taken offense, they 
 can not be appeased. It is not usually compli- 
 mentary to any man to say that, in grave 
 affairs, he pleases everybody. It is apt to be 
 true in such case that the proper subject of this 
 compliment has striven more to please than to 
 be right, and that he is actuated more by 
 policy than by principle. 
 
 "In all the career of our departed brother, 
 there was nothing further from his mind than 
 the pursuit of any object merely from motives 
 of policy. It was the end to be attained that 
 he aimed at, and to this he strove. Nor did 
 any one who heard him ever mistake what that 
 end was, or have any doubt that our brother 
 honestly and conscientiously believed it to be 
 right. 
 
 "It has been said of him, and by some be- 
 lieved, that he was so far an alien to orthodoxy 
 that li£ was an atheist, or an infidel, an agnostic 
 or a heretic, as the varying views of the critics 
 chose to characterize him. The subject is one 
 of delicacy, and there is danger that in speak- 
 ing of it some sensibility may be wounded ; and 
 yet the position held by him in the ranks of 
 Christian Knighthood demands that it be 
 alluded to. 
 
 "Orthodoxy is a relative word. To under- 
 stand what is meant by the use of it, one must 
 know the standpoint of the speaker. There are 
 people calling themselves Christians, who assert 
 that Masonry is a league with the powers of 
 darkness, and that no man who holds to it can 
 escape damnation. There are others who hon- 
 estly believe that their special dogma is the 
 only truth, and who make no allowance for 
 difference of opinion. While to some of these 
 it may be possible to admit sincerity, and that 
 they believe themselves to be doing God service 
 in denouncing the views of the rest of man- 
 kind, there is a large proportion who hold their 
 
GRAND CONCLAVE OF SORROW. 
 
 doctrines by heredity, or by association, or by 
 some other accident. They have never given 
 the subject enough thought to know certainly 
 what their real faith is, but are quite ready to 
 condemn what is not consonant with their own 
 verbal profession. And there is still another 
 class who openly profess, or tacitly are under- 
 stood to believe, what, in their secret hearts, 
 they do not believe. 
 
 "To neither of these did our departed brother 
 belong. No one who had acquaintance with 
 him could be left in doubt as to his opinions 
 and convictions, if any occasion called for 
 utterance. He made no vain profession and he 
 did not hide his beliefs. 
 
 "In an address delivered by him on June 14, 
 1882, at Monteagle, he said: 'Today, as we 
 stand upon this lofty peak, do we recall the 
 high mountain of Galilee, where the Prince 
 of Darkness tempted our great Captain, but 
 tempted him in vain ? Not even the gift of all 
 the kingdoms of the earth could seduce his 
 eternal fidelity. Surely neither prejudice nor 
 habit can betray us into the irreverent use of 
 His holy name, or induce us to cherish feelings 
 or indulge practices that would cause our great 
 Commander to turn away in sorrow from the 
 gathering of His professed friends. On the 
 right hand of the Eternal, receiving the adora- 
 tion of Cherubim and Seraphim, while the 
 myriads surrounding chant the loud anthem of 
 Redemption, the divine Grand Master of the 
 Templars, the crucified occupant of that sepul- 
 chre once the aim of the life of a true Christian 
 to see and die, sits, beholding this gathering of 
 his "fellow soldiers." Are we striving to show 
 ourselves worthy of this "high calling?" ' 
 
 "These are not words of unbelief, nor half- 
 way expressions of Christian loyalty. If as to 
 some small matter that only the formalist con- 
 siders, which has no possible bearing on the 
 great truths of our religion, he expressed doubt, 
 surely that spot can not dim the brightness of 
 his Christian life. 
 
 ' Let uot this weak, unknowing hand 
 
 Presume Thy bolts to throw, 
 And deal damnation 'round the land 
 On each I judge Thy foe. 
 
 ' If I am right, Thy grace impart 
 
 Still in the right to stay ; 
 If I am wrong, O teach my heart 
 To find that better way.' 
 
 "This was his prayer, and the habits of his 
 daily life showed how the sentiments therein 
 expressed had wrought into his being. As the 
 
 very meaning of the word denotes, one's belief 
 is shown by his living, and no man can pass 
 back and forth daily amongst his people with- 
 out his true character becoming known to them. 
 "If there were minor things he could not 
 accept, what mattered it? He said in his last 
 days, 'Some believe me to be a skeptic, but I, 
 myself, do not share the belief I am strong in 
 my faith of an all-wise Providence, and in the 
 immortality of the soul.' What more can one 
 with truth say? 
 
 ' Behold, we know not anything ! 
 I can but trust that good shall fall, 
 At last — far off — at last, to all, 
 And every winter change to spring. 
 
 So runs my dream ; but what am I ? 
 
 An infant crying in the night. 
 
 An infant crying for the light, 
 And with no language but a cry. ' 
 
 "The literary ability and cultivation of 
 Brother Connor were well known, not only 
 amongst the Fraternity, but to the general 
 public. He prepared the annual reports on 
 Foreign Correspondence to the Grand Com- 
 mandery of Tennessee, from the time of his 
 election as Grand Recorder, in 1887, and took 
 high rank with the brethren of that guild. It 
 is through these reports, more than by any 
 other means, that the whole body of Masons at 
 large is instructed. During many years he was 
 accustomed to be a welcome contributor to 
 various periodicals, and his letters, signed 
 'Manitou,' gave him deserved fame. 
 
 "In common with almost every man of ex- 
 tended reading and wide learning, he took great 
 pleasure in travel. While in this modern day 
 of books and literature and facility of communi- 
 cation, it is not true as when Shakespeare said 
 it, that— 
 
 ' Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits,' 
 
 yet travel is a part of education. Our brother 
 followed the precept of old Thomas Fuller, 
 and 'knew most of the rooms of his own coun- 
 try before he went over the threshold thereof. ' 
 He made tours in almost every State in the 
 Union, and from Maine, Colorado, California, 
 and from Mexico, he sent home charming ac- 
 counts of what he had seen. Afterwards, he 
 made the circuit of Europe, and many of us 
 recall with what loving delight he dwelt upon 
 the beauties of the scenery of his native island. 
 "His friends often wondered how he found 
 time to put on paper such a mass of correspond- 
 ence as flowed from his pen. The secret lay 
 
GRAND CONCLAVE OF SORROW. 
 
 in his apt readiness, and in his indefatigable 
 labor. Long practice, combined with native 
 quickness, had given him facility of expression, 
 and his capacity for work seemed uuliniitetl. 
 Of stalwart, almost gigantic frame, he seemed 
 to have been susceptible of attaining to an 
 immensity of physical strength, and capable of 
 endurance to a very great degree. This very 
 quality, imposed upon by an intellect that ap- 
 peared to never require rest, may have been 
 the occasion of the malady which preyed upon 
 him, and at last destroyed his life. 
 
 ' .So the struck eagle, .stretched upon the plaiu, 
 No more through rolling clouds to soar agaiu, 
 Viewed his own feather on the fatal dart, 
 And winged the shaft that quivered in his heart.' 
 
 Broad as was his learning, and expanded his 
 views, his attention to details was equally 
 marked. It was a defect in his character that he 
 seemed to think that everything must be done 
 with his own hand. In everything in which 
 he was engaged, he multiplied himself as far 
 as was possible, and rarely delegated to others 
 what he could do himself. While this was not 
 occasioned by egotism, or love of praise, or 
 lack of faith in others, yet with more regard to 
 division of labor he might have caused more to 
 be accomplished. But it was his way, and it 
 was useless to try to change it. 
 
 "In the latter part of the year 1893, an attack 
 of unusually virulent illness developed the cer- 
 tainty that he had been stricken by mortal dis- 
 ease. The fact was not concealed from him, 
 and he accepted the inevitable with courage 
 and calmness. With Christian resignation and 
 knightly courage he submitted himself to the 
 will of God. At the annual session of the 
 Grand Lodge, in January, 1894, he said to his 
 friends that he would not long be with them. 
 A few days after his return he became too ill to 
 leave his bed, and on the morning of the 9th 
 of March the end came. As the sun rose on 
 that day, and with its first beams gilded the 
 cliffs of old Lookout, 'furrowing all the Orient 
 into gold, ' surrounded by his family, he peace- 
 fully yielded up his soul to God. 
 
 "If Cicero, as he declares in his treatise on 
 Old Age, was firmly convinced that the soul 
 was immortal, and was transported with eager- 
 ness to see, not only those whom he had loved, 
 but many others of whom he had heard and 
 read, who had gone before, and looked forward 
 to his departure from this life as a glorious day 
 iu which he should make one of that divine 
 
 company and assemblage of spirits, how should 
 we feel, who are assured by divine revelation of 
 the certainty of a blissful eternity. The philos- 
 ophers of antiquity contemned death as the 
 end of all evil. How much greater reason have 
 we, who are enlightened, to welcome it as the 
 beginning of all good. 
 
 "Yet even the Christian's hope and belief do 
 not prevent our sorrow and regret, when a 
 friend and companion is, in this world, forever 
 taken from us. We may derive some consola- 
 tion from the thought of his gain, but the 
 burden of our loss is heavy. 
 
 "A good man is gone. The warfare of a 
 Christian knight is ended : — 
 
 ' His voice is silent iu your council hall 
 Forever ; and, whatever tempests lower. 
 Forever sileut ; even if they broke 
 In thunder, silent '; yet remember all 
 He spoke among you, and the man who spoke ; 
 Who never sold the truth to serve the hour. 
 Nor paltered with Eternal God for power.' 
 
 "We know, as Tacitus did not, that there is 
 a habitation for the shades of the virtuous, and 
 that the great Captain of our salvation has 
 gone to prepare a place for us. We know that 
 exalted souls do not perish with the body. 
 May our departed brother repose in peace ; and 
 may the contemplation of his virtues call us 
 from vain regret and feeble lamentation to the 
 adornment of his memory by an imitation of 
 his example. Whatever in him was the object 
 of our admiration and of our love, remains and 
 will remain, transmitted in our records to our 
 successors, and consigned to future ages." 
 
 AN INCIDENT. 
 
 The special train which conveyed the Knights 
 and ladies from the Lookout Inn, after the close 
 of the Grand Commandery, was halted at the 
 foot of Lookout Mountain at the gate of Forest 
 Hills Cemetery. A few minutes walk brought 
 us all to the grave of our beloved frater. Sir 
 George C. Connor. Flowers were placed by 
 loving hands, and a young magnolia was 
 planted at the foot of the grave. 
 
 Sir H. A. Chambers, Grand Master of Masons 
 of Tennessee, made the following remarks, in 
 the presence of the members of the Grand 
 Commandery and other visitors : 
 
 "Sir Knights and Friends — George C. 
 Connor was so original — so impatient of verbal 
 and mental restraint — that, now that we are 
 here at his grave, I incline to throw aside the 
 
 22 
 
SIR H. A. CHAMBERS— AT THE GRAVE. 
 
 formal words I had thought to say, as being 
 uiisuited to the time and place and the charac- 
 ter of the man, and offer a few thoughts sug- 
 gested by the occasion. 
 
 "At the very best it is pitiful — pathetically 
 pitiful — to see our fruitless efforts to thwart 
 the power of death and cling to the friends it 
 has robbed us of Around us here in this ceme- 
 tery, and in all the burial places in the land, 
 the resting places of the dead are marked by 
 monuments, varying from the plainest, simplest 
 and cheapest to the most ornate, imposing and 
 costly. Some of them, no doubt, have been 
 placed there by human pride — some, it may be, 
 from no higher motive than that it was the 
 customary thing to do ; but, I am persuaded, 
 most of them have been erected out of loyal 
 affection of the living for their dead. 
 
 "But our efforts do not stop with monuments. 
 This, as you see, is a new cemetery. It lies on 
 the outskirts of a young city, which, though of 
 phenomenal growth, has a small population 
 when measured with many others, and has 
 within its limits and immediate vicinity a num- 
 ber of other burial grounds. And yet, though 
 comparatively few have been buried here, it 
 would be a rare thing for a visitor not to find 
 somewhere in these grounds persons perform- 
 ing loving offices for the dead. Most of them 
 are loving women — mothers, widows, sisters, 
 daughters — true and tender to the dead as they 
 had been to the living. I have also seen here, 
 rugged, gray-haired men carrying little bunches 
 of flowers to lay as offerings of affection on the 
 graves of members of their families. Only a 
 day or two ago, near where we now stand, I 
 saw a young man, in the prime and vigor of 
 manhood — when men are little inclined to 
 linger around the melancholy precincts of the 
 grave — watering and caring for the flowers and 
 feward at his young brother's grave with almost 
 womanly tenderness. 
 
 "And thus it is, that in all Christian and civil- 
 ized communities many persons of all classes — 
 men and women, young and old, rich and 
 poor alike — render loving service to their dead. 
 It is one of the most ennobling and elevating 
 traits of human character. It is a pathetic, 
 though powerless, protest against death's ruth- 
 less robbery. Yet, if we keep the flowers 
 bright and blooming, the grass green and grow- 
 ing, and the surroundings beautiful, where our 
 dead lie sleeping, we will also keep fresh in 
 mind and warm in heart the endearing qualities 
 that made us love them while they lived. This 
 
 constant thought of them, this yearning of the 
 heart to renew the fond companionships, not 
 only makes us want to live better lives, that we 
 may be more sure to rejoin them in the better 
 land, but also dissipates the fear of death, and 
 gives us courage to meet its icy touch without 
 a shrinking dread. By the constant exercise 
 of these high qualities we grow at last into the 
 consciousness that, after all, the spirits of the 
 blessed dead are not so very far away — just be- 
 3'Ond the narrow stream of death which they 
 have crossed before us, and through which we 
 must soon follow — so near that we sometimes 
 fancy we can almost hear their happy voices in 
 the glad acclaim. And as, with our mortal eyes, 
 we can, from this point, look across that rolling 
 river to the mountain heights beyond, and 
 often, in the heat and dust of our daily toil, 
 yearn to rest upon their cool and shady tops ; 
 so, by this loving service to the memory of our 
 dead, we lose our fear of death, and, almost 
 ignoring its existence, with our spiritual vision 
 look across its rolling flood to the shining shore 
 beyond, and sometimes hunger to join our 
 loved ones there, who wait to give us hearty 
 greeting when we come. 
 
 "It seems proper, therefore, Sir Knights, that 
 we — the survivors of the Templar family — 
 should turn aside from our line of march to 
 visit this sacred place, stand reverently around 
 the resting place of our deceased frater — the 
 father of our local Commandery — and place 
 upon his grave tributes of our fond remem- 
 brance. 
 
 "It is eminently appropriate, too, that we 
 should plant here this evergreen. These natural 
 trees around us, beautiful though they are, are 
 too much like our mortal life. In the spring 
 time they bud and put forth their tender leaves ; 
 in summer they reach the full measure of their 
 foliage ; but when autumn comes, then comes, 
 also, 'the sere and yellow leaf,' and the blasts 
 of winter make them bare and brown and ugly. 
 So man passes through callow youth to vigorous 
 manhood, and then through declining years to 
 the shadowy portals of the tomb. 
 
 ' ' But if this evergreen shall take root and grow 
 and flourish — as we hope and trust it will — it 
 will bear the bright hue of life in winter as well 
 as in summer time, and, to those who shall visit 
 here, will be the symbol of that unending 
 spring-time in the celestial clime which, we 
 trust, is the happy portion, in large and ever- 
 increasing measure, of the bright and buoyant 
 spirit that once animated the body that lies 
 
 23 
 
EULOGIUM BY HON. H. M. WILTSE. 
 
 resting here. Peace to his noble ashes ; ever- 
 lasting happiness to his ransomed soul ! ' ' 
 
 After the above remarks, so appropriate to 
 the occasion, all returned to the train and were 
 
 sped av^ay to the busy realities of life, having 
 paid an affectionate parting adieu to the quiet 
 resting place of our brother — dead, but not 
 forgotten. 
 
 * * * 
 
 EULOGIUM BY HON. H. M. WILTSE. 
 
 'pHE following, from the pen of Hon. H. M. 
 Wiltse, will be read with interest by rela- 
 tives and friends of the late Major G. C. Connor, 
 and will be interesting to all who admire the 
 purity of English and the merit of candid ex- 
 pression. 
 
 MAJOR GEORGE COOPER CONNOR. 
 
 In no place, at no time, is language so pain- 
 fully impotent as when death has laid his icy 
 hand upon a person of worth. How gladly then 
 would friends present to the world as true a 
 likeness of the character and traits of the one 
 gone before as the artist presents of the feat- 
 ures. But how absolutely impossible it is. 
 Human character is the most complex thing 
 that has ever been created. 
 
 Neither spoken or written words can give any 
 adequate idea of it, and the human mind can 
 not compass its simplest, most common phases 
 and workings. The stronger the character, the 
 wider its divergence from the ordinary, the 
 more difficult the task of portrayal. 
 
 Very few men in private life have been able 
 to make so great an impress upon the public 
 mind and the public character as did Major G. 
 C. Connor. Few men are so widely mourned 
 and so greatly missed as he will be. 
 
 His characteristics were not such as to render 
 him "popular" in the ordinary acceptation of 
 that term. This none understood better than 
 he, and none regretted less. 
 
 A statesman of mark he might have been ;. a 
 politician of the kind which is in these days 
 most successful, if success is to be measured by 
 offices won and acclamations secured by the art 
 of pleasing the mere fancy of the masses, he 
 never could have been . 
 
 His friendship was not a mere ornament, 
 worn upon his sleeve, to be freely enjoyed by 
 all who saw fit to throng around him. It was 
 something to be won. It followed, naturally, 
 logically, that it was something to be prized 
 when won. Further, it was of the quality that 
 once won it was won forever, and there was 
 
 nothing in his power which he would not do, 
 or dare, or suffer for his friend when his friend 
 was right. While it was sometimes difficult to 
 appreciate at the time, one of the noblest quali- 
 ties of his friendship was that he always dared 
 to rebuke, severely, terribly if need be, the 
 wrong doing of his friends. 
 
 It is remarkable that in these days when the 
 mere externals of friendship are so cheap, when 
 almost perfect imitations of the genuine article 
 may be had for the mere asking, that a man of 
 his blunt and rugged characteristics should have 
 had so wide a circle of warm and loyal friends. 
 
 That quality which we commonly call per- 
 sonal magnetism is said to be the simple influ- 
 ence of stronger over weaker wills. While 
 Major Connor was a man of very strong will, 
 the wide range of his friendships is not to be 
 explained upon this theory alone. The secret 
 of it was the genuineness of his own friendship 
 for others. 
 
 In order to thoroughly understand, and es- 
 pecially to thoroughly like the man, people had 
 to learn to brush aside a few mere harmless, 
 personal foibles and look for, then at, the genu- 
 ine character underneath them. 
 
 Those who would not do so never enjoyed his 
 friendship, and generally did not like him. 
 Once this process had been gone through, there 
 were whole mines of gems, moral and intellect- 
 ual, which no good man could behold and not 
 admire with intense admiration. There was a 
 heart as warm as ever throbbed. There was a 
 soul as true as was ever created. There was a 
 man capable of all the brightest and best emo- 
 tions, the most generous impulses, the warmest 
 sympathies, and there was a simplicity of char- 
 acter which was a study to every person who 
 had ever seen the man when aught served to 
 arouse the combative elements of his nature. 
 
 Imperious as Ctesar at times, he was, in re- 
 pose, among his friends, undisturbed, as tender 
 and sympathetic as a sister of charity. For 
 sham and hypocrisy in all forms he had the 
 most profound contempt, and always the rugged 
 
 24 
 
EULOGIUM BY HON. H. M. WILTSE. 
 
 courage to express it opeiily, at all times, any- 
 where and everywhere. 
 
 With congenial people he was one of the most 
 companionable and interesting men I ever knew. 
 He was always a leader upon convivial occa- 
 sions ; always entered into them with heart and 
 soul, but he was always moderate, never un- 
 seemly. A jovialist of jovialists, he was always 
 dignified to a degree, and never caused a com- 
 pany to feel even a suggestion of conviction 
 that the border line between the proprieties 
 and improprieties had been crossed. And yet 
 he never seemed to worry about the mere ex- 
 ternals which often pass for proprieties. Just 
 as he despised sham and hypocrisy he despised 
 prudishuess. He never paid tribute to mere 
 form. He was the very iconoclast of the lesser 
 as well as the greater gods of over-nice custom. 
 These had often to bow before his masterly 
 will, and if they did not bow they often went 
 down before him to the very ground and were 
 dashed to pieces. 
 
 Whether it is fortunate to possess the intel- 
 lectual qualities which are known as genius is 
 matter of some doubt ; but these qualities were 
 possessed by him in no inconsiderable degree. 
 His genius, however, was nothing akin to the 
 errant type, and with this type he had not the 
 slighest sympathy or patience. In his organism 
 was the most harmonious blending of the sys- 
 tematic, prudent, competent man of affairs, and 
 the devoted man of the world, that I ever ob- 
 served. He could preside at a banquet where 
 the "feast of reason and the flow of soul" 
 were exemplified in the most approved form, 
 and at a meeting of a commercial body, where 
 the most vital interests of city, State or nation 
 were under discussion by grave business men, 
 with equal ease and dignity and ability. He 
 could pen a tender romance and manage the 
 affairs of a great railway with equal facility. 
 He could present a clear cut outline of the misty 
 history of the Aztecs and figure out the complex 
 problems of interstate commerce with the same 
 masterful hand. 
 
 Probably Major Connor was at no time, at no 
 place, so thoroughly enjoyable to his friends as 
 at home. There his seemingly restless spirit 
 was at rest. There the simplicity of his char- 
 acter, that simplicity of genuineness which was 
 its brightest charm, was shown in delightful, 
 refreshing relief Whether in his library, in his 
 parlor, or among his interesting art collections, 
 he was the same unaffected, simple, jolly friend 
 and host. No one who has seen him there has 
 
 failed to feel what thousands have said, "What 
 a splendid, jolly, altogether good fellow Con- 
 nor is." 
 
 At his ease in his library, he was a study to 
 the observer. I have often thought, when see- 
 ing him among his books, "I wonder whether 
 he regards them chiefly as utensils or as 
 friends?" 
 
 He knew well how to treat them as both. 
 
 Of his value to this community something 
 has already been said, much more will be said, 
 and much more than will be said might be, and 
 still the half not be told. 
 
 Communities never stop to thoroughly con- 
 sider their obligations to their prominent bene- 
 factors, their most enthusiastic and loyal friends, 
 until those benefactors and friends have some- 
 how become lost to them. 
 
 This community has been, no doubt, in a 
 great degree, careless and unmindful of much 
 that Major Connor has done for it. It will now 
 pause and think of these things. Then it will 
 remember that few enterprises calculated to 
 upbuild its natural interests have been carried 
 out in many years without his handiwork promi- 
 nently appearing in them ; that few undertak- 
 ings in behalf of charity have progressed far 
 without material and valuable aid from him in 
 some form. Society will realize that part of its 
 best life has gone out with his life. Every fra- 
 ternal organization, whether it counted him in 
 its membership or not, will realize that a great 
 master, a true friend, a valiant brother has been 
 snatched away from the great body of all 
 brotherhoods upon the earth. 
 
 Many, many friends upon two continents will 
 mourn his loss. His loss is iudeed a loss to 
 mankind. A writer has said that even the flut- 
 tering of a bat's wing makes its impress upon 
 the universe and the future, for all time and 
 eternity, as certain as does the mightiest vol- 
 canic upheaval. Every death affects all life in 
 some measure, but ordinarily the effect, the im- 
 pression, is seen and realized in extremely nar- 
 row circles only. 
 
 The death of Major Connor will widely affect 
 mankind and its affairs. The influence of his 
 life will last, visibly, through generations. 
 
 There is no need that effort should be made 
 to give verbal expression of sympathy for those 
 most bereaved. The warm hands that will be 
 extended to them, warm with sympathy borne 
 by every heart beat, will attest the feelings of 
 the community. 
 
 The Christian world may take note that in 
 
 25 
 
EUI.OGIUM BY SIR ISAAC A. McSWAIN. 
 
 his death a Christian passed from earth to dwell 
 within the kingdom of the author of its philoso- 
 phy ; a man who was so deeply, so consciously 
 a Christian that he could afford to pass along 
 the great highway without paying much heed 
 to the by-paths, and lanes, and alleys to which 
 some feel their feet must confine themselves 
 lest they be lost; a man who witnessed the ap- 
 
 proach of death with no tremor of fear, no 
 pang of doubt, uo wish to undo that which was 
 done, to unseal that which was sealed, to recall 
 that which had been said, but who, "sustained 
 and soothed by an unfaltering trust, " approached 
 his grave — 
 
 " I^ike oue who draws the drapery of his couch 
 About him, and lies dowu to pleasant dreams." 
 
 * * * 
 
 EUIvOGIUM BY SIR ISAAC A. McSWAIN. 
 
 RBAD before; an INFORMAI, meeting of the MASON.S of PARIS, TENN., MARCH I3, 1894. 
 
 GEORGE COOPER CONNOR, P. G. M. 
 
 A LL over this land, wherever Masonry has 
 "^^ shed its rays of moral light and benign 
 and chastening influence, this name is a house- 
 hold word, honored and loved. Those among 
 his brethren who never saw that manly form 
 towering in the beauty of its strength, nor 
 heard the voice of matchless eloquence as that 
 of a great leader calling the hosts to battle for 
 truth and right, have at least read the glitter- 
 ing pages pregnant with thought, imagery, wit 
 and pathos that flashed from his pen ; dispens- 
 ing Masonic light and knowledge, the force 
 and influence of which were felt not in our 
 State only, but throughout the constellation of 
 States forming the galaxy of this great nation, 
 and echoed from the countries beyond the sea. 
 
 Among the Masons from one end of this 
 country to the other, the designs on the Trestle- 
 board of this Master Workman have been con- 
 sulted as an oracle, no less famous than that of 
 the ancient Delphi among the inhabitants of 
 classic Greece. 
 
 Prominent in all the grand bodies of the 
 State, his presence added dignity, inspired con- 
 fidence and infused life in any undertaking in 
 which he took an interest. His motto was 
 "onward." His watchword was "action." 
 Nothing was too hard for him. He dug deep 
 in the rich mines of Masonic lore and tradition ; 
 reveled in the mysteries and allegories of the 
 Ancient Craft ; saw at a glance the hidden sig- 
 nificance in the beautiful symbolism of the 
 Order, and from the treasure houses of both 
 the Orient and Occident, "brought forth things 
 new and old" for the edification of his breth- 
 ren. In the pursuit and dissemination of 
 
 Masonic truth and light, he exhibited "the 
 courage of the lion, the patience of the ox, 
 the intelligence of the man, and the swiftness 
 of the eagle." "Historian, bard, philosopher 
 combined. He multiplied himself with all man- 
 kind. The Proteus of their talent." 
 
 Wherever an innovation was attempted, or a 
 violation of Masonic law or usage suggested, 
 his quick eye saw the danger and his emphatic 
 protest was usually sufficient to cause the arrest 
 of irregular action. In debate he had the 
 courage of his convictions, and dared to oppose 
 any measure, however popular, if in his judg- 
 ment it was contrary to the genius and spirit of 
 the institution. 
 
 To the superficial reader his correspondence 
 reports often had the appearance of hyper- 
 criticism and sometimes of withering sarcasm. 
 But those who understood the great heart and 
 noble impulses of the man, knew full well 
 the intent was not to offend or abuse, but to 
 strengthen and correct. 
 
 He thoroughly mastered the art of contro- 
 versy, and when there was found "a foeman 
 worthy of his steel ' ' hesitated not to measure 
 lances ; but when he conquered knew well how 
 to extend charity to his foe. He despised 
 stagnation. Had no patience with obsolete- 
 ness or redundancy, even though sanctioned by 
 time-honored observance. He discharged as a 
 nuisance a rite, form or phrase that meant 
 nothing and held to no dogma that was im- 
 practical. That he had extreme or strange 
 views on some subjects may be admitted, but 
 these only prove the strength and originality of 
 his character, for whatever they may have been 
 they were not borrowed. 
 
 Faults he had, else he had not been man. 
 
 26 
 
EULOGIUM BY SIR ISAAC A, McSWAIN. 
 
 Aud while human faults may not be gloried in, 
 indeed must not, yet from a conscious knowl- 
 edge of them springs repentance, then forgive- 
 ness, then the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
 Our estimate of human character should not 
 be formed from the erring and faulty side of 
 our being, but must be based on the nobler and 
 higher responses of the soul, viz., the spirit of 
 reconciliation, simulating the Divine nature. 
 
 Humanity sincerely asks, "shall I forgive 
 my brother seven times?" Divinity lovingly 
 replies "yea, seventy times seven." So then, 
 it is "human to err — to forgive is divine." And 
 what says Masonry? Drape a brother's faults 
 in the ample folds of charity's mantle, and 
 pray that his virtues may descend to others. 
 Allow the apologies of humanity to plead for 
 him, whose tongue being silenced in the grave 
 can no longer vindicate himself, for many of us 
 would have cause for self-esteem had we a tithe 
 of the virtues of the departed. There being 
 sufficient evil remaining in the world, let man's 
 faults be buried with him, but let the good be 
 reproduced and perpetuated, and thus will the 
 world be made better. 
 
 Many mouths ago the congener of the de- 
 stroyer laid seige to the noble physique and 
 strong heart and brain of our brother, and to 
 his quick perception "coming events cast their 
 shadows before." But with a heroism born of 
 a sense of duty and obligation, and an abiding 
 love for Masonry, he rallied his latent forces, 
 and in much pain and foreboding pursued his 
 work. In closing up his report on Templar 
 Correspondence in May, 1893, he said, "Much 
 of this was written while enduring tortures 
 well designed to crush intellect and amiability, 
 but we have tried to write as a Templar, a gen- 
 tleman and Christian ; and while treading the 
 boundary of the valley and shadow of death, 
 by faith have been able to hear the footfalls of 
 loved ones beyond the boundaries of the other 
 world. ' ' 
 
 In these protracted afflictions no doubt he 
 realized more and more the hand of the loving 
 Father, and, as a little child, because of its help- 
 lessness clings for safety and repose to its 
 mother's breast, so he feeling the insidious and 
 subtle encroachment of disease undermining 
 
 his bodily strength, sought refuge more closely 
 under that shelter that "tempers the wind to 
 the .shorn lamb," of whom an ancient prophet 
 exclaimed, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect 
 peace whose mind is stayed on thee, for he 
 trusteth in thee." 
 
 On the 9th inst., the keepers of the house 
 were made to tremble by the approach of the 
 King of Terrors. But in this instance, faith in 
 Emmanuel having enthroned spiritual life, the 
 "terrors" that come with death to the wicked 
 were shorn from the darkened visage of the 
 King, and were transformed on the brow of the 
 dying pilgrim into a halo of peace, and even in 
 the throes of dissolving nature, mocked the 
 dread monarch with the query, "O death, 
 where is thy sting?" Thus was victory 
 wrenched from the very gores of defeat, and — 
 
 " The soul is safe. 
 The man emerges, niouuts above the wreck 
 As towering flame from nature's funeral pyre 
 O'er devastation as a victor smiles." 
 
 Brethren, it is somewhat stereotyped to say 
 that he will be missed and that his place can't 
 be filled. Sometimes, in the economy of Di- 
 vine arrangement, great gaps in human affairs 
 are speedily closed, and our personality is soon 
 forgotten. Some 'one, whether he catches the 
 mantle of the departed or not, will do his work, 
 not as he did it, — 
 
 " For methods, varied are as men, 
 We ne'er shall see his like again." 
 
 He is gone, but has left his impress and 
 erected his own monument in the hearts of his 
 fellows. 
 
 Cast a pebble on the bosom of the placid lake, 
 it sinks to the depths below, but it has caused 
 vibrations that extend farther and farther until 
 they break on the shore. So with human deeds 
 and influence. Men touch the world, they sink 
 beneath the waves of time, but the impulse thus 
 projected breaks only against the shores of the 
 eternal. 
 
 The touching lament of David over Saul and 
 Jonathan may appropriately close this imperfect 
 tribute : ' ' How are the mighty fallen in the 
 midst of the battle!" 
 
 27 
 
MKMORIAL BY JUDGE H. H. INGERSOLL. 
 
 TUDGE H. H. INGERSOIvL, Past Grand Mas- 
 J ter, having been appointed by Grand Master 
 H. A. Chambers as a Committee for the purpose, 
 prepared and read the following Memorial before 
 the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, F. & A. M., 
 January 31, 1895. 
 
 The Grand I^odge adopted the memorial by a 
 rising vote. 
 
 GEORGE COOPER CONNOR. 
 
 "Man that is born of a woman is of few 
 days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like 
 a flower, and is cut down ; he fleeth also as a 
 shadow, aud continueth not. . . . There is 
 hope of a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout 
 again, and that the tender branch thereof will 
 not cease. . . . But man dieth and wasteth 
 away ; yea, man giveth up the ghost and where 
 is he?" 
 
 What a pregnant question to this annual as- 
 semblage of Tennessee Masons, from which 
 George C. Connor has gone never to return ! 
 Where is he ? Hath he lain down, never to rise 
 till the heavens shall be no more? Has he 
 gone to oblivion and utter nothingness? Shall 
 we know him no more forever? 
 
 Old Rip Van Winkle, roused from his long 
 sleep in the mountains, returning to his native 
 \-illage and finding there no one who knew him, 
 as his old dog Snyder would if he were there, but 
 convinced at last that the recollection of himself 
 aud those dearest to him had faded from the 
 memory of men, and sunk into the waters of 
 oblivion, in pathetic anguish cried : ' 'And are we 
 so soon forgot when we are gone ? ' ' 
 
 It is our blessed privilege to recall the faces 
 aud forms, the words and acts of our brethren 
 whom we have loved and lost a while, aud to 
 place upon enduring record our appreciation of 
 their Masonic worth and service, that they may 
 not be forgot when gone, but treasured by us 
 who knew them, for ourselves who have eujoyed 
 — are now enjoying — the fruitful harvest of 
 their Masonic sowing, and for our successors 
 who shall, in the decades to come, partake of it 
 as part of the common heritage of Masonry. 
 
 George Cooper Connor was born in Dublin, 
 Ireland, October 9, 1834. He received his early 
 training in the schools of that cultured Irish 
 city, 'within the English pale,' while yet the 
 service aud sacrifice of the martyred Emmett 
 
 and his heroic compatriots was fresh in the 
 memory of men. At fourteen, he came with an 
 uncle to Toronto, Canada, where his education, 
 chiefly by his own efforts, was thoroughly com- 
 pleted, and at the age of twenty-four he started 
 upon his career well equipped for the active and 
 varied duties of his busy life. 
 
 His warm Hibernian nature felt keenly the 
 repression of cold British manners, laws and 
 customs in the chilly Northland. He longed 
 for freedom and opportunity under the liberal 
 institutions and hospitable influences of the 
 Araericau Union. And so, crossing the lakes, he 
 came to the States in 1858, and first made his 
 home in the warm, social atmosphere of Nash- 
 ville, 'midst the Belle Meades and green pas- 
 tures of the blue grass portion of Tennessee. 
 From thenceforth, though always proud of his 
 Irish parentage and nativity, he was a thorough 
 American patriot, as became one who had expe- 
 rienced the joys of the new birth of Liberty in 
 the land of the free. In i860 he removed to 
 Thomasville, Ga., where he pursued the voca- 
 tion of teacher and preacher until the civil war. 
 
 His generous, exuberant nature found fit ex- 
 pression in the lines : 
 
 " I live for those who love me. 
 
 For those who know me true, 
 For the heaveu that smiles above me, 
 
 And awaits my spirit, too ; 
 For the cause that lacks assistance, 
 For the wrong that needs resistance, 
 For the future in the distance, 
 
 Aud the good that I can do." 
 
 And so, when the civil war came, he was 
 quick to catch the infection that drew men from 
 business and home, from ingle and fireside, and 
 led them away, in serried ranks, to camp and 
 battle. He went with his new friends into the 
 Southern army, aud for four years, under the 
 bonny blue flag, kept soldier steps to the tune 
 of Dixie. To us who recall those days of civil 
 war — whether we wore the blue or gray — aud 
 whose days in mercy are lengthened out till now 
 when bright-eyed peace smiles o'er the land, 
 and foes of other days are friends again — those 
 years of warfare, that soldier service of our de- 
 parted friend has no Masonic interest to us, 
 save that by faithful, devoted service he fairly 
 won the title of Major, which he wore to his 
 death. The war was over when Connor made 
 
 28 
 
MEMORIAL BY JUDGE H. H. INGERSOIvL. 
 
 his Masonic confession of faith, first saw the 
 symbol of Masonic hope, and received the first 
 token of Masonic charity. 
 
 In 1864 he married Miss Cress, of Augusta, 
 Ga., and the widow and a daughter, bereft and 
 lonely, survive him. After the surrender he 
 resided for several years in Atlanta, where, in 
 1867, he was made a Mason ; and, interesting 
 himself in our sacred symbolism, laid broad and 
 deep the foundations of his future Masonic 
 career. 
 
 In 1872 he moved with his family back to 
 the State of his adoption, and made his home 
 in Chattanooga, where, for twenty-three years, 
 he led an active life as citizen and Mason. He 
 was a charter member of Temple Lodge, over 
 which he was soon chosen to preside, and in 
 which he retained his active membership until 
 death. 
 
 His official connection with this Grand Body 
 extended through twenty-one years, and fur- 
 nishes a record of activity and usefulness which 
 ma}' here be only sketched : 
 
 1873. Represented Temple Lodge, and under 
 appointment of Grand Master Grafton acted as 
 Chairman of Committee on Accounts. At the 
 close, he was appointed by Grand Master Rich- 
 ardson member of Committee on Appeals for 
 ensuing year. 
 
 1874. Represented Temple Lodge, served on 
 Committee on Appeals, svibmitted Rules of 
 Order, which were adopted, and was chosen 
 Deputy Grand Master. 
 
 1875. Presided as Deputy Grand Master dur- 
 ing a portion of Communication, and Grand 
 Lodge expressed thanks "for his courtesy and 
 efficiency while presiding over its deliberations. ' ' 
 He also acted as Grand Master at installation. 
 
 1876. Acted as Chairman of Committee on 
 Ways and Means, and at the close was appointed 
 alternate member of Committee on Masonic 
 Jurisprudence. 
 
 1877. Chairman of Committee on Ways and 
 Means. 
 
 1878. Connor's Digest of Masonic Law 
 adopted, and he elected Grand Master. 
 
 1879. Presided as Grand Master. 
 
 1880-83. Served on Committee on Masonic 
 Jurisprudence. 
 
 1884. Absent. 
 
 1885. Served on Committee on Jurisprudence, 
 and at close appointed as one of the select Com- 
 mittee of five thereon. 
 
 1886. Served on Committee on Jurispru- 
 dence. 
 
 1887. Absent. 
 
 1888. Served on Committee on Jurispru- 
 dence, and by resolution commended to the 
 Brotherhood in foreign countries, where he 
 soon expected to travel. 
 
 1889. Served on Committee on Jurispru- 
 dence. 
 
 1890. Same. Also appointed Chairman Com- 
 mittee on Correspondence, and at a Grand 
 Lodge of Sorrow delivered eulogy upon Past 
 Grand Master Grafton. 
 
 1891. Served on Committee on Jurisprudence ; 
 submitted Report on Correspondence. 
 
 1892. Appointed Chairman Board of Custo- 
 dians, and also. Committee to revise Digest. 
 
 1893. Served on Committee on Jurisprudence ; 
 submitted Report on Correspondence, and also 
 on revision of Digest 
 
 1894. Served on Jurisprudence Committee, 
 submitted his last Correspondence Report, and 
 said good-bye ! 
 
 Of his service, honors and distinction in 
 other Masonic bodies, special mention is not 
 proper here. Memorial tributes from worthy 
 hands have therein given fitting record and 
 praise to the work and words of this tireless 
 laborer in all the fields of Masonry. Be it ours 
 to tell, briefly, of the character, culture, learn- 
 ing and works in Blue Lodge of the most gifted, 
 versatile and brilliant Masonic genius that has 
 shone in Tennessee since the civil war. 
 
 The heroic figure of the physical man was 
 but an index of his intellectual greatness ; while 
 the freedom and celerity of his muscular move- 
 ments, unusual in one of such gigantic stature, 
 gave token of the restless activity and lively 
 play of the mental faculties. Steadiness and 
 regularity, reason and logic — these were not 
 the qualities of his mind ; but overflowing with 
 exuberant vitality and dancing with sparkling 
 brilliancy, it seemed to set all laws at defiance, 
 all rules at fault ; and instead of pursuing the 
 sure and steady process of reason or Ipgic, it 
 seized an idea and jumped to a conclusion with 
 the swiftness of feminine intuition. His imagi- 
 nation was active ; his intelligence creative. 
 He could not brook restraint; and though we 
 could not always approve, and often, indeed, 
 must antagonize his positions, we could never 
 fail to admire the unhesitating quickness with 
 which he chose them, and the zeal and earnest- 
 ness, skill and pertinacity of his defense. The 
 inconsistencies of such a character often aston- 
 ish friend and foe, but the quick perception, 
 vivid imagination and flashing wit of such a 
 
 29 
 
MEMORIAL BY JUDGE H. H. INGERSOIvL. 
 
 man in eager pursuit of a favored object, over- 
 flows memory and baffles reason ; and with vol- 
 uble speech he throws out today the thoughts 
 that breathe in words that burn — forgetful of 
 yesterday, regardless of tomorrow, and rejoic- 
 ing only in the glory of present achievements. 
 
 Experienced in affairs, versed in all learn- 
 ing, ancient and modern, widely traveled, and 
 with strong desires, fluent of speech, full of 
 magnetism and bubbling over with Milesian 
 wit — such a man, with full command of all his 
 great faculties in any cause he espoused, in any 
 object he sought to accomplish, was almost 
 irresistible. 
 
 Appealing to our sentiments, stirring our 
 emotions, exciting our passions, ridiculing our 
 foibles, laughing at our errors, how often has 
 he compelled us to yield our judgment and 
 forego our choice to the blandishment of his 
 persuasive speech, so that at times it seemed as 
 though he had brought a chip of the Blarney 
 stone with him from the Emerald Isle, and 
 pressed it daily to his lips for unction to his 
 speech, for inspiration in his cause. 
 
 And in this Grand Lodge, how masterful 
 was he ! When measures which excited his in- 
 terest and aroused his energies were before us 
 for consideration, how readil}', naturally and 
 thoroughly he took complete possession of the 
 body, assuming at one moment the function of 
 author, at the next of director, then of objector, 
 and at times even of master, eagerly, and per- 
 haps unconsciovisly, taking complete control of 
 the entire Lodge, as though these various func- 
 tions all belonged of right to him. And this he 
 often did, too, without objection or question 
 until the point was carried and the battle won. 
 Such was his enthusiasm, his eagerness, his 
 power of persuasion, his ability to lead, that 
 until the end had come and it was too late, all 
 protests were unheard. New members, unac- 
 quainted with the man, his manners and his 
 power, would look on with open-eyed wonder 
 and open-mouthed astonishment; older mem- 
 bers, sometimes with amusement, sometimes 
 with misgiving, but all with admiration at the 
 amazing power, fertile resources and boundless 
 versatility of the man. What would have been 
 presumption and excited resentment from others, 
 was accepted and allowed as a matter of course 
 to him ; and some, who had little sympathy 
 with his measure or plan, enjoyed the radiant 
 triumph of the man as his mobile face beamed 
 with the consciousness of his success attained. 
 
 That he aroused antagonism and provoked 
 
 criticism, stirred up jealousy and excited envy, 
 was inevitable. Such a positive force in active 
 motion among so many strong men could not 
 do otherwise. Sometimes he lost, and submit- 
 ted gracefully ; usually he won, and enjoyed it 
 amazingly. A man of great ambition, quick 
 impulses, warm emotions and strong passions, 
 he was, of course, not always right nor wise; 
 but his massive strength, his Titanic power, his 
 eager activity and creative force, never failed to 
 command admiration. He was the pillar of 
 strength in this Grand Lodge ; and when, with 
 sympathies enlisted, enthusiasm aroused, and 
 faculties all alive, he threw his soul into earnest 
 speech, the fire kindled in his eye, and his 
 mobile face grew all aglow reflecting the'ghang- 
 ing current of his thought, his presence became 
 fairly majestic, and he was then indeed our 
 "Royal George.'' 
 
 Nor was he less interesting, amusing or en- 
 tertaining in the social circle. Whether in 
 male or mixed companies, he was the chief at- 
 traction. Whether discoursing seriously, argu- 
 ing earnestly, conversing flippantly or jesting 
 boisterously, the same wonderful versatility 
 shone out with striking brilliancy. In pointed 
 epigram, in witty retort, in humorous jest or 
 lively narration, he seemed equally at home. 
 He enamored all by his social gifts, and was 
 ever the attractive center of the social circle. 
 
 The Masonic record above given shows our 
 recognition of Brother Connor's powers in all 
 Masonic fields. He presided as Grand Master, 
 prepared our rules of order, made a legal digest, 
 presided over Custodians of the Work, was 
 Chairman of Jurisprudence, and wrote the re- 
 ports of Foreign Correspondence. Not that he 
 equally excelled in all these places, or was 
 always to be followed in word or judgment — 
 far from it ! For while he was a brilliant ritual- 
 ist, and no one could confer a degree more im- 
 pressively than he, such was the activity of his 
 imagination, the force of his creative energy, 
 the wealth of his diction, and the variety of his 
 vocabulary that it seemed impossible for him to 
 follow the Ritual and confer any degree twice 
 in the same way. He was no parrot Mason ! 
 No road seemed broad enough for him, but he 
 must fain delight himself and his hearers by 
 his excursions through green fields, over laugh- 
 ing hills, and beside still waters. And yet, not 
 only in the Blue Lodge Ritual and in the 
 Chapter of Tennessee did he make his mark 
 and will his work be remembered, but upon the 
 great body of Knights Templar of America, and 
 
 3° 
 
MEMORIAL BY JUDGE H. H. INGERSOLL. 
 
 in Grand Encampment, he has left the impress 
 of his genius that will endure through genera- 
 tions. 
 
 But the versatility of his genius shone forth 
 with greatest luster in his Masonic writings. 
 Here, as elsewhere, he enjoyed and used the 
 freedom which was allowed to none other. As 
 Chairman of Committee on Correspondence for 
 the Grand Bodies of Tennessee, he did not hesi- 
 tate to write and publish as concluding papers 
 discussions on live questions agitating the Grand 
 Jurisdictions, but even learned disquisitions on 
 the esoteric parts of Masonry, which have re- 
 ceived the approbation and commanded the 
 admiration of the Craft throughout the length 
 and breadth of the land. 
 
 From Alabama comes the testimonial that 
 "though au acute and searching critic, and un- 
 sparing as to faults and foibles, yet his work is 
 always most courteously done, and brotherly 
 love shines throughout; and we have learned 
 to love him for the true Masonic love pervading 
 his reports." 
 
 And from Georgia comes this regret: "But 
 our words of censure are turned into sighs of 
 deep and sincere regret that his voice is stilled 
 and his hand palsied, Alas, poor George, we 
 will all miss you, sadly miss you." 
 
 In Illinois he was thus esteemed: "It has 
 been the lot of a few men to reach the distinc- 
 tion in our Craft attained by this man. His 
 wonderful versatility, his broad and comprehen- 
 sive learning, his untiring industry, his charm- 
 ing literary style, and his genial social qualities 
 were well known to his brethren." 
 
 And Indiana says: "He was an excellent 
 ritualist, a brilliant writer, an eloquent and 
 majestic speaker — a combination of qualities 
 that gave him great popularity." 
 
 From the old Granite State comes a testi- 
 monial in these well chosen words: "He was 
 without question one of the most learned Masons 
 of his time, and leaves a reputation second to 
 that enjoyed by no Mason of our day for bril- 
 liancy of Masonic erudition or profoundness of 
 thought. ' ' 
 
 In North Carolina he is spoken of as "that 
 facile and erudite Masonic writer who has for 
 many years enlightened and encouraged the 
 Masons of Tennessee." 
 
 And this comes from the shores of the peace- 
 ful sea, where rolls the Oregon : "The memory 
 of this kindly companion, able Masonic writer 
 and eminent Mason, is deeply graven upon the 
 hearts of the Craft he served and loved so well." 
 
 Tennessee welcomes from foreign brethren 
 these testimonials to departed worth. 
 
 For the last two years of his life our worthy 
 brother seems to have been conscious that a 
 mortal disease had seized upon him, and from 
 his intimate friends he did not conceal his 
 apprehensions. 
 
 ' ' The sunset of life gave hini mystical lore, 
 And coming events cast their shadows before." 
 
 And even to the public, through one of his 
 correspondence reports, he makes this frank 
 confession : 
 
 "The future has for us little hope of health 
 or life, and the nearer the end the dearer are the 
 friends who are good and true. Yes, the days 
 grow shorter, and the beyond grows nearer. 
 
 " Earth's hold on us grows slighter, 
 And the heavy burden lighter. 
 And the dawn immortal brighter, 
 Every year." 
 
 With what regretful remembrances we recall 
 the singular manifestations of alternate strength 
 and weakness at our last Communication ; how 
 at times he seemed his old self, born to com- 
 mand, fit to govern, and bound to lead his 
 brethren; and again, alas, how the nervous 
 force was weakened, the vital energy depressed, 
 and the giant became as a little child ! 
 
 But he has gone ; he has departed ; he will 
 never come again to us ; but we shall go to him. 
 He was unique, unrivalled, immense ! We shall 
 never have another Connor ; and, take him all 
 in all, we ne'er shall look upon his like again ! 
 
 The most brilliant infidel of our time has 
 said : " Life is a narrow vale between the cold 
 and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive 
 in vain to look beyond the heights ; we cry 
 aloud, and the only answer is the echo of our 
 wailing cry. From voiceless lips of the unreply- 
 ing dead there comes no word ; liut in the night 
 of death hope sees a star, and the listening love 
 can hear the rustle of a wing." 
 
 To this unconscious confession of faith, this 
 intuitive tribute to immortality which Death 
 draws from Agnosticism, let us add : Thai hope 
 is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, that star is 
 the star of Bethlehem, that love is the passion 
 of the Redeemer, and those rustling wings are 
 the wings of the blessed angels that come to 
 bear our spirits home to the bosom of God. 
 
 We have consigned the body of bur departed 
 brother to the earth ; we have commended his 
 soul to God who gave it ; we will cherish his 
 memory in our hearts till the end shall come ! 
 
 31 
 
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
 
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
 
 Headquarters Grand Commandery 
 
 OF Tennessee, Knights Templar. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., March 12, 1894. 
 
 General Order) 
 No. 3. ; 
 
 With profound sorrow the Right Eminent 
 Grand Commander announces the death of 
 Right Eminent Sir GEORGE Cooper Connor, 
 Past Grand Commander of Knights Templar of 
 Tennessee, Grand Recorder of the Grand Com- 
 mandery of Tennessee, and Grand Sword Bearer 
 of the Grand Encampment of the United States. 
 
 Our brother was born in Ireland, October 9, 
 1834, and died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 
 March 9, 1894. 
 
 It is not within the brief limits of this formal 
 announcement that an attempt can be made to 
 express the great loss we have sustained, or to 
 set forth the matchless qualities of mind and 
 heart that distinguished our beloved brother in 
 every walk of life. His wonderful versatility, 
 his broad and comprehensive learning, his un- 
 tiring industry, his eloquence and magnetism 
 "before an audience, his charming style in lit- 
 erary work, and his genial and attractive social 
 qualities, are well known to all who knew him. 
 But especially do we remember his great, warm, 
 generous heart, true as steel to every friend, 
 and throbbing with unfeigned sympathy with 
 all who were in trouble or distress. 
 
 It is ordered that standards and jewels be 
 draped, and that the usual badge of mourning 
 be worn for thirty days by all Sir Knights in 
 this Jurisdiction. 
 
 This order to be read at the head of the lines 
 and spread upon the minutes of Subordinate 
 Commanderies. 
 
 By the Grand Commander. 
 
 WiivMAM M. Brooks, 
 
 Grand Commander. 
 w. F. Foster, 
 
 Acting Grand Recorder. 
 
 Grand Encampment Knights Templar, 
 United States of America. 
 Corunna, Michigan, March 12, 1894. 
 To all Sir Knights of Our Obedience: 
 
 With sad heart and bowed head we announce 
 the death of Sir Knight GEORGE CoOPER 
 Connor, our Grand Sword Bearer, who died at 
 
 his home, after a brief illness, in the city of 
 Chattanooga, Tennessee, March 9, 1894, in the 
 sixtieth year of his age, surrounded by his 
 friends and family, and while engaged in the 
 active duties of life. 
 
 Sir Connor had not passed on life's highway 
 the stone that marks the highest point, but 
 being weary he lay down by the wayside, using 
 his burden for a pillow, fell into a dreamless 
 sleep that kissed down his eyelids still ; and 
 while yet in love with life, and raptured with 
 the world, he passed to silent and pathetic dust. 
 
 In announcing so great a loss, I can not ex- 
 press the grief which has thrilled our Order 
 with profound sorrow, and called for tears in all 
 portions of our Jurisdiction. 
 
 A Sir Knight has fallen with talents of no 
 common order — true in his friendships, faithful 
 in the discharge of his duty, kind and generou.'s, 
 upright in every act, devoted and beloved by 
 all who knew him. Earnest and honest in 
 every thought, warm in his attachments, and 
 conscientious in the discharge of his duties. 
 
 Our Frater was Past Grand Master of the 
 Grand L,odge of Tennessee and Past Grand 
 Commander, and at the time of his death was 
 the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
 Correspondence for both the Grand I/odge and 
 the Grand Commandery ; and is the author of 
 several Masonic works, his "Shibboleth" being 
 his last one. 
 
 As a citizen he exerted himself for the public 
 good, and in all places of honor and responsi- 
 bility to which he had been elevated he won 
 the confidence and esteem of the community 
 in which he moved, and commanded the respect 
 of all. 
 
 Let us ever cherish the memories of his many 
 manly and noble virtues, and emulate his exam- 
 ple of loyal devotion to our Order. 
 
 " Cold in the dust this perished heart may lie. 
 But that which warmed it once shall never die." 
 
 All Commanderies of our Jurisdiction are 
 earnestly requested to read this tribute at the 
 head of the lines, next after its receipt, in 
 memory of our beloved departed Sir Knight. 
 Hugh McCurdy, 
 
 Grand Master. 
 Attest: Wii^LiAM B. Isaacs, 
 
 Grand Recorder. 
 
 35 
 
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
 
 Office of the Grand Master 
 
 OF Masons in Tennessee, 
 Chattanooga, Tenn., March 12, 1894. 
 
 To the Subordinate Lodges of Free and Accepted 
 
 Masons in Tennessee: 
 
 Brethren —George C. Comior died at his 
 home in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a 
 few minutes before six o'clock on the morning 
 of Friday, March 9, 1894. 
 
 This announcement is made in sorrow, and in 
 sorrow will it be received by the Masonic Fra- 
 ternity. 
 
 Brother Connor was an illustrious Mason. 
 He had the natural gifts of a fine personal pres- 
 ence and of splendid mental powers. He had, 
 by careful study, extensive travel and industri- 
 ous research improved and expanded his natural 
 talents, thoroughly mastered the history of the 
 Masonic Order, and made himself one of the 
 ablest and most scholarly interpreters of its 
 mystic ceremonies. In these respects it is con- 
 fidently believed that, at least in the United 
 States, he had no superior, and it is doubted 
 whether he had an equal. He had been long, 
 intimately and prominently connected with 
 legitimate Masonry in nearly all its degrees. 
 He had held the highest offices in all the Ma- 
 sonic Bodies in this State, and also prominent 
 places in National organizations. 
 
 At the time of his death Brother Connor was 
 a Past Grand Master of Tennessee, Chairman of 
 the Committee of Correspondence of the Grand 
 Lodge, Chairman of the Committee to Codify 
 the Edicts and Decisions of the Grand Lodge, 
 Chairman of the Board of Custodians of the 
 Work and Lectures, and one of the most active, 
 able and useful members, and, at times, Chair- 
 man of the Committee on Masonic Jurispru- 
 dence of the Grand Lodge, composed of all the 
 living Past Grand Masters of the State. 
 
 He filled every position to which he had been 
 called with eminent, often unequaled, ability. 
 He was in constant demand in both the public 
 and private ceremonies of Masonry. He has, 
 through his writings and addresses, embellished 
 and enriched the literature of the Order, and 
 made for himself a permanent and enviable 
 place therein. 
 
 In view of all this it is deemed appropriate to 
 make this official announcement of his death. 
 
 A committee of Past Grand Masters will.be 
 appointed to prepare a suitable memorial to his 
 memory, to be presented for the consideration 
 of the Grand Lodge at its next Annual Com- 
 munication, 
 
 And while Brother Connor often held high 
 official position, he was, nevertheless, always in 
 most intimate, cordial and extremely useful 
 relations with the masses of the Masons of Ten- 
 nessee. Few, if any, men were ever more wide- 
 ly and favorably known as Masons than was he. 
 
 It is, therefore, suggested that the Subordi- 
 nate Lodges each, severally, take some appro- 
 priate action and make some appropriate record 
 in his memory. 
 
 He was laid to rest in the beautiful Forest 
 Hills Cemetery at Chattanooga on Sunday, 
 March 11, 1894. It may be of interest to the 
 brethren, especially those who knew him per- 
 sonally, to be told that the high esteem in which 
 our brother was held was evidenced by the vast 
 concourse of people, including Masons and 
 many who were not, numbers of whom came 
 long distances for the purpose, who, in spite of 
 the stormy day, attended the funeral exercises 
 both at the residence and at the grave. 
 
 He lived in the Christian faith, he died in the 
 Christian hope, and he was buried while sur- 
 rounded by a multitude of sorrowing friends 
 who, without regard to sect or creed, save the 
 universal brotherhood of man and Fatherhood 
 of God, united in the last sad rites to show their 
 respect for this excellent man and eminent- 
 Mason. 
 
 " Death is the road onr dearest frieuds have gode ; 
 Why, with such leaders, fear to say, ' Lead ou ' ? 
 Its gate repels, lest it too soou he tried. 
 But turus to balm ou the immortal side. 
 Mothers have passed it, fathers, children, men 
 Whose like wc look nol to behold again ; 
 Wouieu that smiled awaj' their loving breath ; 
 ,Soft is the traveling on the road of death ' ' 
 
 Fraternally, 
 
 H. A. Chambers, 
 
 Grand blaster. 
 Attest : John Frizzell, 
 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 [seal.] 
 
 Grand Commandery of the State of Iowa, 
 Apartments of Grand Commander, 
 
 Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, March 19, 1894. 
 
 Gknkral Order) 
 NO. 5. I 
 
 To the Eminent Commanders and all Knights 
 
 Templar of Iowa : 
 
 A great heart, kind, loving and true, has 
 
 ceased to beat; a great and brilliant brain, 
 
 enriched by wide and extensive study, research 
 
 and travel, has ceased its work ; a great and 
 
 lofty spirit, which seemed born to rule and lead, 
 
 36 
 
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. 
 
 has winged its flight to God who gave it, and 
 it becomes our sad duty to announce to the 
 Templars of Iowa the death of Very Eminent 
 Sir George Cooper Connor, the Grand Sword 
 Bearer of the Grand Encampment, and our Rep- 
 resentative near the Grand Commaudery of 
 Tennessee. 
 
 After an active and busy life, covering nearly 
 sixty years, he died at his home at Chattanooga, 
 Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 
 While he was active in the business world, 
 yet his fondest love and greatest delight was 
 found in Masonry. The Masonic literature of 
 America has been greatly enriched by his able 
 and brilliant pen. He had filled the highest 
 offices in all the Masonic Grand Bodies of his 
 State, and at the time of his death was the 
 Grand Recorder of the Grand Commaudery, 
 and the Correspondent of all the Grand Bodies. 
 
 As Secretary of the Ritual Committee in the 
 Grand Encampment, he was active in formulat- 
 ing the new Ritual, and soon after its promul- 
 gation he prepared the new Monitor — "Shib- 
 boleth"— which is nowin general use. At the 
 time of his death he was busy in the prepara- 
 tion of a new Ritual for the Order of Malta, 
 which he intended to offer for adoption at the 
 next Triennial Conclave. 
 
 "His death was untimely, and his brethren 
 mourn." L,ike a true Christian knight he was 
 ready when the time came, and with perfect 
 trust in the Grand Master above he welcomed 
 death — 
 
 " Like one who draws the drapery of his couch 
 About him aud lies dowu to pleasant dreams." 
 
 As we lay our tribute of love upon his newly- 
 made grave we extend to our fratres in Tennes- 
 see the warmest sympathy of Iowa Templars. 
 
 This order will be read at the head of the 
 lines at the next meeting after its reception. 
 
 W. S. Babb, 
 [seal.] Grand Comtnander. 
 
 Attest: Alf. Wingate, 
 
 Grand Recorder. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS GRAND COMMANDERY 
 
 OF Tennessee, Knights Templar, 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1894. 
 General Order! 
 
 NO. 4. ; 
 
 The Right Eminent Grand Commander makes 
 the following announcement : 
 
 The Thirty-second Annual Conclave of the 
 Grand Commaudery of Teunesseee will be held 
 at Lookout Inn, on Lookout Mountain, near 
 Chattanooga, beginning May 9, 1894, at which 
 time the following programme will be observed, 
 to wit : 
 
 1. Divine service will be held at 10 A. M. in 
 the large hall at Lookout Inn, conducted by 
 the Grand Prelate. Knights will be equipped 
 with full Templar costume except the sword. 
 The public will be admitted. 
 
 2. At the conclusion of Divine Service, the 
 Grand Commaudery will be opened in the Hall 
 provided for the purpose at Lookout Inn. 
 
 3. At 8 o'clock P.M., May 9, a Conclave of 
 Sorrow will be held in the large hall at Lookout 
 Inn, in memory of Right Eminent Sir George 
 Cooper Connor, one of those Knights of our 
 Jurisdiction who have been called during the 
 year to eternal rest. The public will be ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 4. The Grand Commaudery will resume its 
 Session on May 10, at such hour as shall be 
 designated, and will continue until business is 
 completed. 
 
 It will be seen that this Grand Conclave will 
 be devoted exclusively to the business proceed- 
 ings, and appropriate devotional and memorial 
 services of the Grand Commaudery. 
 
 The shadow of a great sorrow rests upon us, 
 and, in full view of the newly-made grave of 
 our beloved brother, excursions, entertainments 
 and parade would be unseemly. 
 
 By the Grand Commander, 
 
 William M. Brooks, 
 [seal.] Grand Commander. 
 
 W. F. Foster, 
 
 Acting Grand Recorder. 
 
 37 
 
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
RESOI.UTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOIvENCE. 
 
 Temple Lodge, No. 430, P. & A. M. 
 
 Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
 
 At a Stated Communication of Temple Lodge 
 No. 430, Free and Accepted Masons, held at 
 Masonic Hall, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jan- 
 uary 22, 1894, the following preamble and reso- 
 lution was unanimously adopted ; 
 
 Whereas, Our worthy brother, George 
 Cooper Connor, Past Grand Master of the State 
 of Tennessee, was the prime mover and founder 
 of this Lodge, and with untiring zeal and unsel- 
 fish devotion, has ever labored for its best inter- 
 ests as well as that of the order in general, not 
 even faltering when afflictions incident to ad- 
 vancing years were upon him. Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That as a slight evidence of the 
 esteem in which he is held by his brethren of 
 this Lodge, and in acknowledgment of his • 
 worth as a man and Mason, we hereby elect him 
 a life member of this Lodge. 
 
 In testimony of the above we hereunto sub- 
 scribe our names and affix the seal of the Lodge 
 this January 26, 1894, A L. 5894. 
 
 Frank Steffner, 
 fsEAi. 1 Worshipful Master. 
 
 A. N. Sloan, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Whereas, For a period of more than a score 
 of years he has, with unsullied honor, unwearied 
 zeal, and unequaled ability, given it his foster- 
 ing care ; and 
 
 Whereas, The Order of Knights Templar 
 throughout the United States of America is 
 under lasting and inestimable obligations to 
 him, whereby his name has become the syno- 
 nym of Masonic learning throughout the Juris- 
 diction of the Grand Encampment of the United 
 States. Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That we, his brethren, hereby again 
 acknowledge his valuable self-sacrificing devo- 
 tion to the interest of our Order, and as a slight 
 token of our esteem, respect and love, we hereby 
 create him a life member of this Commandery. 
 
 A. N. Sloan, 
 [seal.] H. a. Chambers, 
 
 W. F. Hope, 
 Committee on Resolutions. 
 
 In testimony of the above we hereunto sub- 
 scribe our names as Eminent Commander of 
 Lookout Commandery No. 14, Knights Templar, 
 this February 14, 1894. 
 
 A. N. Sloan, 
 J. B. NiCKLiN, Em-inent Cominander. 
 
 Recorder. 
 
 Asylum op Lookout Commandery, 
 No. 14, Knights Templar. 
 
 Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
 
 At a stated Conclave of Lookout Command- 
 ery, No. 14, held at their Asylum in -the city of 
 Chattanooga, Tennessee, January 18, 1894, the 
 following preamble and resolutions were unani- 
 mously adopted : 
 
 Whereas, The members of Lookout Com- 
 mandery, No. 14, Knights Templar, recognize 
 the debt of gratitude this Commandery, not 
 only as an organization, but as individual mem- 
 bers, owes to our brother, Sir Knight George 
 Cooper Connor, Past Commander of this Com- 
 mandery, and Past Grand Commander of the 
 State of Tennessee, in that twenty-one years ago, 
 through his personal efforts, more than those 
 of any other man, the organization of the Com- 
 mandery was successfully consummated ; and 
 
 GREENEVILLE LODGE, NO. 1 19, F. & A. M. 
 
 The grim monster, Death, has again invaded 
 the ranks of our Ancient and Honorable Frater- 
 nity. Our illustrious brother. Past Grand Mas- 
 ter G. C. Connor, has passed the portals of the 
 Celestial Lodge above and stands resplendent 
 before the Great Grand Master. We bow in 
 humble submission to the Divine mandate, 
 believing that our beloved brother has been 
 called from labor on earth to refreshment in 
 heaven. His light has gone out; his place 
 among us is vacant; his brethren have con- 
 signed his body to the grave, but the heart of 
 Masonry will cherish his memory forever. Our 
 brotherhood has lost a bright and shining light ; 
 one whose life was a living exponent of the 
 beautiful tenets of our Order. Be it therefore 
 
 Resolved, That Greeneville Lodge, No. 119, 
 F. & A. M., be draped in mourning for thirty 
 
 41 
 
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 days ; that a page of our record book be set 
 apart to his memory, -with his name, rank and 
 date of his death suitably inscribed thereon. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender his bereaved wife 
 and daughter our heartfelt and brotherly sym- 
 pathy in the loss of husband and father. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
 furnished his family, and to the Tennessee Ma- 
 son for publication. Clarence Boggs, 
 C. H. MiLUGAN, 
 W. D. Good, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Adopted by unanimous vote at stated meeting 
 of Lodge, March 19, 16 
 
 [seal.] 
 S. B. La Rue, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 W. H. O'Keefe, 
 Worshipful Master. 
 
 DECATURVILLE LODGE, NO. 2l8, F. & A. M. 
 
 DecaturvillE, Tenn., May 21, 1894. 
 
 A short time since, the sad news reached us 
 with the painful announcement of the death of 
 our esteemed and fraternally loved brother, 
 George C. Connor, P. G. M. As a token of our 
 respect and esteem for his memory personally 
 while living, and giving an assurance of our 
 esteem for him in Masonry, a committee was 
 appointed consisting of Brothers R. Smith, P. W. 
 Miller and J. E. Aydelott, to draft resolutions in 
 regard to his death. In obedience to the be- 
 hests of the Lodge, we submit the following : 
 
 The hand of the final destiny of man in the 
 form of death has again visited the file of our 
 ancient and mystic Order, and has taken from 
 among us Brother George C. Connor, P. G. M., 
 and we, in the assurance given by the fruits of 
 his past life, feel assured he has with an avail- 
 able password, passed the pearly portals of the 
 Celestial Lodge above, and stands justified before 
 the Author of the Universe. 
 
 We humbly bow and submit to His divine 
 will and mandate, believing that our most 
 worthy and esteemed Brother was called from 
 labor on earth to refreshment in heaven. His 
 light on earth is extinct, and his noble exam- 
 ple lasts to his brethren. His seat is vacant and 
 his brethren mourn, but we feel an abiding 
 assurance that he can, where he has gone, occupy 
 one more brilliant than earth ever afforded or 
 could give. Yet, while he has gone from our 
 gaze and we lose the elevating influence of his 
 presence, his noble example and moral impress 
 
 are fresh in the memory, and live in the heart 
 of every Mason who knew him. We feel that one 
 of the supports of our Masonic and moral edifice 
 has fallen. We feel thankful that his noble 
 deeds and good works will live long after him. 
 While we fear that we can not equal his exem- 
 plary life, we are glad that we can, in a great 
 measure, imitate his many virtues. Therefore, 
 be it 
 
 Resolved, That Decaturville Lodge, No. 218, 
 F. & A. M., be draped in mourning for thirty 
 days, emblematical of our sorrow. 
 
 Resolved, That a page on the record of our 
 minutes of proceedings be set apart and dedi- 
 cated to his memory, with his name, position 
 in the Lodge, and date of his death plainly and 
 neatly inscribed, in token of our memory of him. 
 
 Resolved, That this preamble and these reso- 
 lutions be spread upon the minutes of the Lodge. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender to the bereaved 
 wife and daughter of our deceased brother, our 
 entire sympathy in the loss they have sustained 
 in the death of husband and father. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
 transmitted to his family, and to the Tennessee 
 Mason for publication. R. Smith, 
 
 P. w. Miller, 
 J. P. Aydelott, 
 Coinmittee. 
 
 FARMINGTON LODGE, NO. 287, F. & A. M. 
 
 Our illustrious Brother George Cooper Con- 
 nor, Past Grand Master, has passed the portals 
 of the Celestial Lodge above, and stands re- 
 splendent before the Great Grand Master above. 
 
 There is another vacant chair around our 
 altar, for his light (in a sense) has gone out, 
 but the Fraternity of Tennessee will cherish 
 his memory forever. Our brotherhood has lost 
 a bright and shining light ; therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, i. That a page on the record book 
 of Farmington Lodge, No. 287, Ancient Free 
 and Accepted Masons, be set apart to his mem- 
 ory, giving his name, rank, lodge, and date of 
 his death suitably inscribed thereon. 
 
 2. That we tender his bereaved wife and 
 daughter our heartfelt and brotherly sympathy 
 in the loss of husband and father. 
 
 3. That a copy of these resolutions be fur- 
 nished his family, and one to Grand Master 
 H. A. Chambers. 
 
 By order of the Lodge. W. C. Ransom, 
 [seal.] W. S. Gambill, 
 
 R. T. Long, 
 June 14, A. D. 1894. Committee. 
 
 42 
 
RESOI.UTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 WISDOM LODGE, NO. 3OO, P. & A. M. 
 
 Erin, Tenn. April 28, 1894. 
 To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Breth- 
 ren of Wisdom Lodge, No. joo, F. &A. M. . 
 
 Your undersigned committee beg leave to re- 
 port the followiug : 
 
 We are called upon to mourn the loss of a 
 great aud good man, and a bright, useful and 
 honored Mason whose place will be hard to 
 fill. 
 
 On March 9, 1894, at Chattanooga, Tenn., in 
 the 60th year of his age, our illustrious Brother 
 George C. Connor was called from his labor 
 among, men to the refreshment in heaven pre- 
 pared for the saints in the presence of angels. 
 
 Brother Connor was made a Mason in 1866, 
 was Knighted in 1867, and had received the 
 Scottish Rite degrees. He had received all the 
 Grand honors, was a Past Grand Master, aud 
 was at the time of his death Grand Recorder, 
 Chairman of the Committee on Correspondence 
 of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, Chairman of 
 the Board of Custodians of the Work and Lec- 
 tures, and Chairman of the Committee on Per- 
 manent Endowment of Widows aud Orphans' 
 Home. Thus it will be seen that in the high 
 noon of his usefulness and activity, Brother 
 Connor's bright light was suddenly extin- 
 guished and his place among us left vacant. 
 
 Our fraternity has suffered an irreparable loss, 
 his body has been consigned to the tomb, his 
 spirit to God who gave it, and his memory will 
 be cherished by Masons forever. 
 
 We bow submissively to the will of God who 
 doeth all things well, realizing that our great 
 loss has been Brother Connor's eternal gain ; be 
 it therefore 
 
 Resolved, That the Great Lights of Wisdom 
 Lodge, No. 300, F. & A. M., be draped in mourn- 
 ing for thirty days, and that a page of our rec- 
 ord book be set apart, suitably inscribed, to his 
 memory. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender his bereaved family 
 our heartfelt sympathy and condolence, and 
 that a copy of these resolutions be furnished 
 the family of Brother Connor, and a copy be 
 sent the Tennessee Mason and the Houston 
 County News for publication. 
 
 H. H. Buouo, 
 [SEAI^.J D. L. Wii<lp-;tt, 
 
 H. B. Cowan, 
 
 A true copy. Committee. 
 
 D. L. WltLETT, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 THO.S. A. HAMIWON lodge, NO. 317, F. & A. M. 
 
 Resolutions adopted May 12, 1894, to the 
 memory of Brother G. C. Connor : 
 
 Whereas, Our beloved brother, G. C. Connor, 
 lias been called from labor to refreshment, and 
 
 Whereas, He was held in the highest esteem 
 as a man and Mason by the Fraternity, and his 
 superior qualities and influence have been 
 known and felt at home and abroad. There- 
 fore, be it 
 
 Resolved, By Thomas A. Hamilton Lodge, 
 No. 317, that in the death of Brother Connor 
 we, with Masons everywhere, are deeply be- 
 reaved ; that his loss falls heavily upon us to- 
 gether with the many who have been benefited 
 by his clear head, his generous nature and 
 warm heart ; and that to his family and friends 
 we offer our sincere sympathies. 
 
 Resolved, That we bow in humble submission 
 to the divine will of Him who doeth all things 
 well. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy these resolutions be 
 sent to the family of the deceased, and that a 
 copy be furnished the Tennessee Mason for 
 publication, and that a page be set apart on our 
 records to his memory. 
 
 H. M. Rice, 
 W. T. Roberts, 
 G. R. Pearce, Jr. 
 
 Committee . 
 
 CHARITY LODGE, NO. 370, F. & A. M. 
 
 To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Breth- 
 ren of Charity Lodge, No. j'jo, F. & A. M.: 
 The committee appointed to draft preamble 
 
 and resolutions on the death of Past Grand 
 
 Master, George C. Connor, beg leave to present 
 
 the following report : 
 
 Whereas, The hand of final destiny of man 
 in the form of death has again visited our mystic 
 Order and has taken from us our brother, Geo. 
 C. Connor, P. G. M., and we, in the assurance 
 given us by the fruits of his past life and labors, 
 feel assured that he has been enabled to pass 
 through the pearly gates of the Celestial Lodge 
 above, and has received his reward from the 
 Great Grand Master above ; and 
 
 Whereas, We recognized in him while liv- 
 ing a ripe Masonic scholar, a Mason whose life 
 and acts are worthy of imitation, and that while 
 one more strong support of Masonry is gone, 
 we are certain that his good deeds will live to 
 
 43 
 
RESOI.UTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOIyENCE. 
 
 animate our noble Order, and that we will en- 
 deavor to imitate his virtues. Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That Charity Lodge, No. 370, F. & 
 A. M., be draped in mourning for thirty days as 
 emblematical of our sorrow. 
 
 Resolved, That a page on the record of our 
 minutes of proceedings be set apart and dedi- 
 cated to his memory, with his name and official 
 rank. 
 
 Resolved, That this preamble and resolutions 
 be spread upon the minutes of the Lodge. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender to the bereaved wife 
 and daughter of our deceased brother our sym- 
 pathy in the loss they have sustained in the loss 
 of husband and father. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
 transmitted to his family, also to the Tennessee 
 Mason for publication. 
 
 R. E. Thomas, 
 W. L. Jackson, 
 W. T. Thomas, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 EAST NASHVir,I<E I,ODGE, NO. 560, F. & A. M. 
 
 Whereas, East Nashville Lodge, No. 560, 
 has heard the sad news of the death of Brother 
 George C. Connor, Past Grand Master of the 
 Grand Lodge of Tennessee, F. & A. M. There- 
 fore, be it 
 
 Resolved, By East Nashville Lodge, No. 560, 
 F. & A. M., that in the death of Brother Con- 
 nor, the Grand Lodge has lost one of its wisest 
 members and most devout constituents. 
 
 Resolved, That this Lodge extends to the 
 bereaved family of our deceased brother its pro- 
 found sympathy, and commend them for con- 
 solation to that all-wise and merciful Being who 
 controls the destinies of all men. 
 
 Resolved, That a page be set apart in the 
 record book for these resolutions. 
 
 S. M. Price, 
 W. A. Sharps, 
 J. L. Hai,es, 
 Clarence R. Jackson, Committee. 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 DAYTON I,ODGE, NO. 5 1 2, F. & A. M. 
 
 Dayton, Tbnn., May 23, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. . 
 
 Dear Madam — Enclosed please find resolu- 
 tions adopted by Dayton Lodge, No. 512, F. & 
 A. M., pertaining to the death of your dear 
 husband. Please accept the same as a token of 
 the high esteem in which we held Brother Con- 
 nor as a Mason, and the deep sympathy we feel 
 for his bereaved family. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 John R. Cunningham, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Resolved, i. That we have heard with deep 
 regret of the death of Brother G. C. Connor, 
 which occurred at his home in Chattanooga, on 
 March 9, after a short illness. 
 
 2. That in the death of Brother G. C. Connor 
 the Fraternity has lost a valued teacher, the 
 community a good citizen, and the family a 
 loving and affectionate father ; and that we ex- 
 tend to them our sympathy in this sad hour of 
 bereavement. 
 
 3. That a page in the record be set apart to 
 the memory of the deceased, and that a copy 
 of these resolutions be furnished the bereaved 
 family. 
 
 W. H. Gibson, 
 G. C. Mckenzie, 
 
 Comtnittee. 
 
 (From the Iruii City Enterprise.) 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 Resolutions in respect to the memory of Past 
 Grand Master George C. Connor, adopted by 
 Stainless Lodge, No. 580, of Iron Citj', Teuu., 
 at their stated meeting in April, 1894 : 
 
 Whereas, The Great Architect of the uni- 
 verse, in His infinite wisdom, has seen proper to 
 remove from our Masonic edifice one of its most 
 perfect ashlars ; to dim one of the brightest 
 stars in the Masonic firmament ; to call from 
 labor to rest one of the most zealous and inde- 
 fatigable co-workers in the Masonic vineyard ; 
 and 
 
 Whereas, In the death of our dear brother 
 and Past Grand Master, George C. Connor, 
 Masonry in Tennessee and the whole world at 
 large has sustained an irreparable loss. Espe- 
 cially does this great affliction fall heavily upon 
 our Grand Lodge and other Grand Bodies of 
 our Jurisdiction over which our deceased 
 brother has presided with such eminent satis- 
 faction and superior Masonic intelligence ; there- 
 fore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That while we deeply deplore and 
 mourn the loss of our dear departed brother, 
 we recognize Divine power, and bow in humble 
 submission to His will, believing He doeth all 
 things for the best. Be it further 
 
 Resolved, That the sympathy of Stainless 
 
 44 
 
RESOI^UTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 Lodge, No. 580, be extended to the family of 
 the deceased brother in their deep afiiictiou. 
 May they be comforted by the promise of a 
 happy reunion beyond the grave. 
 
 Resolved, That this Lodge room be draped 
 in mourning for thirty days, in memory of him 
 we loved in life and honor in death. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of this tribute be 
 spread upon our minutes, and that the Iron City 
 Enterprise be requested to publish the same, 
 and our Secretary be instructed to forward a 
 copy to the family of the deceased brother. 
 J. H. McKey, 
 H. P. MOFFETT, 
 H. H. Seavy, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 J. W. Lendrum, W. M. 
 
 West Point I^odge, 
 
 H. P. Seavy, W. M. 
 stainless Lodge, 
 Honorary Cominittee. 
 
 ( From Memphis Commercial-Appeal, April 22, 1S94.) 
 
 The following resolutions, complimentary to 
 the memory of Past Grand Master Connor, were 
 adopted by Park Avenue Lodge, No. 362, at 
 their stated communication held on Tuesday, 
 April 17, and a copy of same ordered to be fur- 
 nished the Commercial for publication in its 
 Masonic department : 
 
 A great Masonic light has gone out, and our 
 Lodges are left in gloom. Past Grand Master 
 George Cooper Connor is dead. A leader among 
 men, a master of masters among Masons, a 
 warm heart among friends, and, above all, a 
 faithful brother in the midst of brethren, he 
 has left an ineffaceable impress upon our mem- 
 ories. Distinguished alike by a physique which 
 towered above his fellows, and by an intellect 
 and education which gave him the authority 
 and power of a teacher, yet he was genial and 
 affable, tender hearted even to weakness, and 
 always ready to travel the full length of the 
 cable tow to relieve distress or to comfort the 
 afflicted. 
 
 The death of such a man as George Cooper 
 Connor is more than a mere lodge loss. He 
 made his influence to be felt not only through 
 the length and width of the Grand Jurisdiction 
 of Tennessee, but he had gained a reputation 
 as a Masonic scholar which was even mpre than 
 measured by the frontiers of our country. 
 
 Modestly cornered in the western division of 
 
 Tennessee, a mere, humble, hard-working 
 couiitry lodge — Park Avenue Lodge, No. 362, 
 of Shelby County — has felt the pervading 
 wealth of Brother Connor's lessons within its 
 own square, and feels that it must testify, in its 
 own way, the obligations under which it rests 
 to the grand man whose body now rests in the 
 bo.som of Mother Earth. Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That Park Avenue Lodge, in testi- 
 mony of her sorrow at the fiat of the Great 
 Architect, which has lost to us our Brother 
 Connor, orders her book of records to be in- 
 scribed with this tribute. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions 
 be forwarded to his beloved family as a token 
 of affectionate remembrance and sympathy in 
 
 this their hour of dis,tress. 
 
 W. D. Jenkins, 
 S. B. REES, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 LA VALETTE COMMANDERV, NO, 17. 
 
 Expressions of love and affection for the 
 memory of Sir Knight George C. Connor, Grand 
 Recorder of the Grand Commandery of Tennes- 
 see, Knights Templar : 
 
 La Valette Commandery, No. 17, Knights 
 Templar, has learned with profound sorrow and 
 deep regret of the death of Sir Knight George 
 C. Connor, an active member of Lookout Com- 
 mandery, No. 14, and honorary member of La 
 Valette, No. 17, who in every relation of life, 
 whether on the rostrum or in the arena, demon- 
 strated an ability seldom equaled and never ex- 
 celled. 
 
 His fame as a wise and accomplished Free 
 Mason was coextensive with the United States. 
 Many of the most beautiful ornaments and ex- 
 pressive sentiments that now adorn the Templar 
 ritual, are the productions of his noble heart 
 and fertile brain. He was a man of ideas, with 
 words ever at his command to express them so 
 beautifully that they never failed to elucidate 
 the wisdom contained in the thought, and con- 
 vince the audience of the soundness of his doc- 
 trine. Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, By La Valette Commandery, No. 
 17, Knights Templar, that in the death of Sir 
 Knight George Cooper Connor, one of the most 
 brilliant lights of Free Masonry has been extin- 
 guished, and a most ardent and capable expo- 
 nent of Templarism is no more. 
 
 Resolved, That this Commandery extends to 
 the family of our distinguished and worthy Fra- 
 
 45 
 
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOIyENCE. 
 
 ter, that sincere and affectionate sympathy 
 which alone can emanate from hearts pure with 
 devotion. 
 
 Resolved, further, That a copy hereof be pre- 
 pared and furnished the family of our deceased 
 friend and brother, as a testimony of our love 
 and respect for him, and as a token of the pro- 
 found sympathy we feel for them in this hour 
 of their sad bereavement. 
 
 A. S. Williams, 
 [seal. J J. W. Eastman, 
 
 W. M. Cassexty, 
 
 Committee. 
 Nashville, Tenn., April 20, a. d. 1S94. 
 
 Headquarters of N. B. Forrest Camp, 
 No. 3, United Confederate Veterans, 
 Chattanooga, Tenn., April 19, 1894. 
 My Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 Permit me, herewith, to present to you reso- 
 lutions of respect passed by N. B. Forrest Camp 
 upon the death of your distinguished husband. 
 To which let me add my personal sympathies 
 for yourself and Miss Mamie. The memory of 
 Major Connor will always have a warm place in 
 ray heart, and in the hearts of my family. 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 L. T. Dickinson. 
 
 re.solotions. 
 
 Whereas, On the 9th day of March, 1894, 
 by the will of Almighty God, George Cooper 
 Connor passed from earth into the realms of 
 the great unknown. 
 
 Major Connor was not a member of this Camp, 
 but he had served, with ability, in the military 
 service of the Confederate States, on the stafif 
 of General E. Kirby-Smith. On more than one 
 occasion he rendered this Camp kindly and 
 efficient service, notably during our great Con- 
 federate Reunion in July, 1890. He was always 
 ready to extend material aid to any ex-Confed- 
 erate soldier in distress ; therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, That N. B. Forrest Camp hears with 
 regret of the death of our distinguished fellow 
 citizen. Major George C. Connor. In his death 
 the ex-Confederate soldier has lost a friend, 
 Chattanooga a useful citizen, and his family an 
 affectionate and kind husband and father. 
 
 Resolved, That these resolutions be spread 
 upon our record book and a copy be sent to his 
 sorrowing family, with sympathies of this Camp 
 for them in their grief. 
 
 L,. T. Dickinson, 
 
 Commander. 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND HOPE. 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND HOPE. 
 
 Office of American Tyler, 
 
 Detroit, Mich., March 8, 1894. 
 
 Miss M. T. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. : 
 
 My Dear Friend — Am in receipt of your 
 note conveying the painful information of your 
 honored father's illness, and also requesting the 
 prayers of Tyler readers for his recovery. I do 
 not remember of having had so much of the 
 pathetic and pitiful conveyed in so few words, 
 and I assure you I earnestly sympathize with 
 you in your affliction. I am but one in thou- 
 sands whose anxiety can not be assuaged in 
 regard to your father until the good news goes 
 forth that a merciful God will prolong his valu- 
 able life. He is universally loved and admired 
 as a gentleman, scholar and Mason. Our sincere 
 prayers are for his recovery, and that this great 
 bereavement may be averted from his home and 
 loved ones. Will you convey to your dear ones 
 the unfeigned solicitude I realize in respect to 
 the present affliction resting upon them . ' ' Many 
 are the aflfiictions of the righteous, but the 
 Lord delivereth him out of them all." Place 
 your trust in one who afflicteth alone in love 
 and that from your hearts can stay the threat- 
 ened chastisement. 
 
 That my beloved Brother, your father, may 
 be restored to full measure of health is my 
 'most earnest prayer. Please express to him the 
 very deep solicitude I feel in his remaining a 
 little longer on this side of the river where his 
 fellowmen need his work so much. 
 
 Believe me, my dear friend and sister, to be 
 yours in deep sympathy, 
 
 John H. Browneli,. 
 
 Nashville, Tenn.,. March 5, 1894. 
 My Dear Miss Mamie: 
 
 I am distressed, more than I can tell, at the 
 news in your kind note of yesterday. 
 
 Will you please telegraph me at once, on 
 receipt of this letter, whether or not your papa 
 is in a condition to be benefited, or to understand 
 a visit from some of his friends here. 
 
 If he would know us, and we can be admitted 
 to see him, Mr. Morris and myself will spend 
 Sunday in Chattanooga. 
 
 I thank you sincerely for writing to me, and 
 beg you and your mother to be assured of my 
 great sympathy with you, and my earnest desire 
 to do anything in my power to serve you. 
 
 Please telegraph at once. 
 
 Very truly, your friend, 
 
 W. F. Foster. 
 
 Oasis of Memphis, Tenn., March 5, 1894. 
 To George C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. : 
 
 My Dear Brother — It is with regret I learn 
 that you are sick and confined to your bed, and 
 the Nobles of Alchymia Temple have requested 
 me to express their great sympathy in the afflic- 
 tion that has come upon you. If friendship or 
 popularity or human hopes or love could amelior- 
 ate your suffering, I feel that there is so much 
 of it in this world for you that you would be 
 well and young again this instant. Still, my 
 dear Brother, each of us has much to be thank- 
 ful for, especially yourself, for the measure of 
 your life has been full of usefulness and good, 
 and the world is better for having had your life 
 and example. This certainly should be a con- 
 solation to you at all times, and particularly 
 whenever you are sick or suffering, and let me 
 assure you that every Noble in Alchymia Tem- 
 ple sincerely prays from the innermost recesses 
 of his heart for }Our speedy return to health and 
 vigor, and that we may soon have the pleasure 
 of your presence in our midst, and, as ever, teas- 
 ing somebody, or correcting some fellow's quo- 
 tations, or in some other mischief, like that big 
 boy you have ever been to all your Memphis 
 friends. May God bless and spare you to your 
 wife, daughter and many friends for very many 
 years to come, is the earnest wish of all the 
 Nobles of our Temple, and all your Memphis 
 friends, but most especially of the writer, who 
 is proud to write himself 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 T.J. Graham, 
 
 Potentate. 
 
 49 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
I.ETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOIvENCE. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., March 17, 1894, 
 My Dear Friend: 
 
 With a heavy heart weighted with sympathy 
 for you and your dear daughter, I pen these 
 lines. I do not know what to say to cheer you 
 in your loneliness and grief, except to point 
 you to Him who "doeth all things well." Our 
 entire family is cast down, and we are grieving 
 as though he was one of tis, because we all 
 loved him, and Mr. Price was never so happy 
 as when the Major was with us. He will never 
 get over not being able to see him before he 
 passed away'. He and my whole family, Mrs. 
 Ward included, join me in expressions of warm- 
 est love and sympathy for you both, and pray 
 that He will take you under His fatherly, lov- 
 ing care, and give you that peace of miud and 
 resignation which a perfect confidence in Him 
 assures. 
 
 With love for you and your dear Miss Mary, 
 I am. 
 
 Sincerely your friend, 
 
 Mrs. Bun Price. 
 
 Nashvihe, Tenn., March 11, 1894. 
 My Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 Allow me, with your many friends, to express 
 my love and heartfelt sympathy in your great 
 trouble. "May He who tempers the wind to 
 the shorn lamb" comfort and sustain you and 
 Mamie in your sorrow, is the earnest prayer of 
 Your friend, 
 
 Carrie E. Duncan. 
 
 was to admire him. I knew him when sorrow 
 was over us in the early part of this dreadful 
 war. He was ever kind and good to my chil- 
 dren and myself. My daughter has now a neat 
 bracelet which he gave her, and which she wore 
 for years, never taking it oif after he put it on 
 her arm until it broke. I feel for your dear 
 child in this loss. Give her my love ; and will 
 you also accept a share from me, and believe 
 me, sincerely and affectionately. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 M. A. Bower. 
 
 SewanEE, March 11, 1894. 
 My Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 Saturday's paper brings me the sad tidings of 
 the dear Major's death — a great shock to me. 
 I had not heard of his illness. Just a year ago, 
 he sat at my bedside, trying to comfort me with 
 the kindest words in my dark hour of sorrow. 
 And now it is my painful duty to reecho those 
 words of sincere and deep sympathy to his wife 
 and daughter. Yes, dear Mrs. Connor, my heart 
 goes out to you in the deepest feeling. I know 
 it all ; know and appreciate this sorrow of our 
 lives ; and loving words of friends fail to solace 
 us. Our help comes only in God's mercy and 
 love. The Major was my husband's true friend, 
 so ready to help him in trouble, and so kind and 
 generous to me in my sorrow. Were it possible 
 I would be present with other friends to pay the 
 last respect to his memory. With love and sin- 
 cere sympathy. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 Capie S. Kirby-Smith. 
 
 PiNEY Woods Hotel, 
 ThomasvillE, Ga., March 14, 1894. 
 Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 The paper containing the sad news and ac- 
 count of your dear husband's death and funeral 
 was received last night. On hearing of his 
 extreme illness I telegraphed my sympathies to 
 you. Would that I could say one word to ease 
 your aching heart. But they are empty sym- 
 bols in such sorrows as this. Time alone can 
 heal and soothe your hearts. Mr. Connor had 
 many friends here who regret his death. I 
 have always felt he was one of the brightest 
 and kindest men I ever knew — to know him 
 
 Memphis, March 14, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. : 
 
 My Dear Madam — Accept my sincere and 
 heartfelt sympathy in this your great sorrow. 
 Words can not express what the heart feels. 
 Your husband will live in the hearts of the 
 Templars and Masons of this country for ages 
 after we all have passed away. He was an ear- 
 nest, useful and good man, and his mission in 
 life was for the betterment of mankind. He 
 had the satisfaction of knowing, when his last 
 hours had come, that he had fully done his duty. 
 How I appreciated what Dr. Bachman and 
 
 S3 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 Brother Griffiss said : "He died happy, at peace 
 with the world and his Savior." 
 
 Let us not repine, but bend to His will. He 
 only knows what is best for us all. He was my 
 kind friend, whose name will never be erased 
 from my heart. Do not give up ; we must all 
 have heavy burdens to bear. It was the will of 
 the high and Holy One that he'was taken from 
 us, for "He giveth his beloved sleep." With 
 kind and heartfelt wishes for yourself and be- 
 loved daughter, believe me. 
 
 Sincerely thine, 
 
 W. M. Brooks, 
 Grand Commander of Tennessee. 
 
 Office of the Grand Master op 
 
 Masons in Tennessee, 
 Chattanooga, Tenn., March lo, 1894. 
 Mrs. Connor: 
 
 I have hesitated since your husband's death 
 yesterday morning whether or not to say or 
 write anything to you in your distress. I have 
 not the gift of condolence, of expressing in act 
 and word the sympathy I feel, and therefore 
 seldom attempt to do so. 
 
 But even if I had this gift, death comes 
 among us so often and takes our best away, and 
 we must so often use our words of sympathy, 
 they sometimes seem commonplace and fre- 
 quently fail to bear any special meaning to the 
 bereaved. And then, at the very best, how lit- 
 tle we can say or do for each other at such a 
 tiine ! The Great Ruler has placed the burden 
 — onlj' those on whom He has placed it can and 
 must bear it, and He only can give strength for 
 the trying task. 
 
 For these reasons I have hesitated, as I said, 
 to give or send you any message. And yet, I 
 remember how grateful to me were any words 
 showing appreciation for my dead wife, when a 
 little over two years ago I was passing through 
 the same sad ordeal now upon you. And I re- 
 member, too, that among the first to send me 
 words of sympathy was Major Connor. My 
 wish, therefore, is so strong to try to do now 
 for his what he then did for me, that I suppress 
 my reluctance to obtrude upon your grief and 
 venture to write you this. I want to assure you 
 that, although, because of diffidence and only 
 slight acquaintance, I have not visited and 
 spoken with you — as many others of your hus- 
 band's almost countless friends have done — 
 yet, you have had my .sincere sympathy, and I 
 
 have been, and still am, keenly conscious of 
 the great loss Major Connor's death is to your- 
 self and daughter, the community and the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity. 
 
 Just here I was interrupted and have not been 
 able to resume until Monday evening. 
 
 I have little to add. I trust, however, that 
 you found some comfort in the solemn exercises 
 of yesterday. It was something to be made 
 aware of the high esteem, and even affection, 
 in which your husband was held, as evidenced 
 by the vast concourse of people — Masons and 
 other friends, many coming from great dis- 
 tances — who, despite the inclement weather, 
 attended the funeral ceremonies. These things 
 can not bring back the dead, but they are help- 
 ful and comforting to the living, nevertheless. 
 
 At the recent meeting of the Grand Lodge of 
 Tennessee I was congratulated by others, and 
 I congratulated myself, that in the administra- 
 tion of the high office to which I had been 
 elected, and in which Brother Connor was one 
 of my most illustrious predecessors, I would 
 have his convenient, ready and efficient help 
 on all difficult Masonic questions that might 
 arise. As you may be aware, I had already had 
 occasion to consult him. The fact that I can 
 do this no more adds to my sense of great per- 
 sonal loss in his death. But we are never ready 
 for our useful friends, or those we love, to be 
 taken from us. Death is seldom a welcome 
 comer. And yet death is as natural and as 
 universal as life. The same Great Being holds 
 the issues of both in His hand. And, in the 
 language of our ritual, "through our belief in 
 the mercy of God we may confidently hope that 
 our souls will bloom in eternal spring." This 
 hope you can entertain for your husband, and 
 we for our brother. 
 
 Respectfully and sincerely, 
 
 H. A. Chambers, 
 Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee. 
 
 Committee on Printing, House of Repre- 
 sentatives, 
 Washington, D. C, March 11, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor^ Chattanooga, Tenn.: 
 
 DEAR Mrs. Connor — I received the tele- 
 grams and letters from Chattanooga announc- 
 ing the death of your husband, I was about to 
 say the best friend I ever had in my life, and I 
 would not be far from the truth in saying it. 
 From the time we first met, in 1S73, this friend- 
 
 54 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 ship has been unbroken. I am sorely distressed 
 that I can not get away from public duties here 
 to attend the funeral services, but it is not pos- 
 sible. On tomorrow I have charge of a most 
 important bill which will be considered by the 
 House of Representatives, and this will neces- 
 sarily detain me here. 
 
 I beg to say, what I said brieiiy in my tele- 
 gram to you, that in your deep bereavement 
 you have my profoundest sympathy. I wish I 
 could say more, but feel that it is useless, as 
 time, and time alone, can heal such troubles. 
 
 With kind regards to Miss Mamie, and best 
 wishes for you both, I am 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 James D. Richardson. 
 
 House of Representatives, 
 
 Washington, March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. . 
 
 My Dear Madam — I heard with deep regret 
 of the death of your good husband, whom I 
 was proud to call my friend. I write to express 
 my sincere and earnest sympathy with you in 
 your bereavement. Few men of Chattanooga 
 were more highly esteemed, and there are few 
 whose loss will be so widely felt as that of your 
 distinguished husband. 
 With high regards, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Jos. Wheeler. 
 
 Law Office of James H. Hopkins, 
 No. 1407 F Street, 
 Washington, D. C, March 19, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn.. 
 
 My Dear Madam — I was greatly shocked 
 and grieved to hear of the death of my very 
 dear and true friend. Major Connor. I did not 
 know until this morning that he had left a 
 widow to mourn his loss, or I would more 
 promptly have tendered my sincere and heart- 
 felt sympathy in your bereavement. 
 
 In afflictions such as yours no words can alle- 
 viate the anguish, but it may be a gratification 
 to know that others admired and loved him. 
 
 I feel an intense personal sorrow that your 
 noble, chivalrous and brilliant husband has 
 been called home, and to you and your children 
 tender my profoundest sympathy. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 James H. Hopkins. 
 
 Grand Encampment Knights Templar, 
 Office Grand Treasurer, 
 
 Meriden, Conn., April 3, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn.: 
 
 Dear Madam — I wish to express my sincere 
 sympathy and sorrow for you at this time of 
 your great affliction. I was not intimately ac- 
 quainted with Brother and Sir Knight Connor, 
 having had the fortune but three times to meet 
 him, but those who did know him well testify 
 in the strongest terms to his manly and knightly 
 virtues, and in the circle of my acquaintance 
 are very many who esteemed him highly and 
 who mourn him as a brother lost, and so we all 
 unite in tenderest and sincerest sympathy for 
 you and your family, whose affliction is saddest 
 and whose loss is greatest. 
 
 With kindest regards, I am, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 H. Wales Lines. 
 
 Iowa Masonic Library, 
 
 Cedar Rapids, April 21, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Te?in. : 
 
 Dear Madam — While upon the Pacific coast, 
 whither my wife and self had gone with the 
 view of recruiting, and to visit the Midwinter 
 Fair, I saw a brief notice in the papers of 
 the death of your distinguished husband, my 
 old friend, with whom my wife also became 
 quite well acquainted during our sojourn in 
 Colorado and visit to various places in which 
 we were fellow companions during the Tri- 
 ennial of 1892. 
 
 I last had the pleasure of meeting the Major 
 at St. Louis in October, and little did I then 
 dream that so soon should I be called upon to 
 unite with his family and many friends through- 
 out the country in mourning his untimely death. 
 
 It was my privilege upon both of those, as 
 also upon several other occasions of the gather- 
 ing of members of our great fraternity, to wit- 
 ness the exemplification of his many manly 
 traits in his friendly intercourse with those who 
 met him. He was one of those companionable 
 men that immediately won the regard and es- 
 teem of all with whom he came in contact. 
 His great services to the Order of the Temple, 
 his many genial qualities of heart and mind, 
 had so won the public regard that he will be 
 greatly missed whenever we get together in the 
 assemblies of the fraternity. 
 
 My wife and son-in-law, who was with us 
 
 55 
 
LETTERS OP SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 during our sojourn in Colorado, have often 
 spoken of your husband and had great regard 
 for him, and I am sure it must be a matter of 
 satisfaction to you to know that he had so 
 many good and warm friends wherever he was 
 known. 
 
 No words of mine, however eloquently ex- 
 pressed, could assuage your grief, and yet it 
 may not come amiss that I, who had known 
 him so long and so well, should venture upon 
 an expression of sorrow and of my interest in 
 the welfare of his family. You have learned 
 that there is "One who sticketh closer than a 
 brother," and upon His strong arm you may 
 confidently rely for that succor and support 
 which you need in so trying an hour. 
 
 My wife, like myself, a stranger to you, 
 although not to him whom you mourn, unites 
 with me in kindly expressions of regard ; and 
 trusting that you and family may enjoy good 
 health, and that the benedictions of heaven 
 may follow you through coming years, I remain. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 T. S. Parvin, 
 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 Hotel Cosmopolita, 
 Gdaymas, Sonora, March 28, 1894. 
 
 Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 Just before I left home I learned of Mr. Con- 
 nor's death through a paper sent me from Chat- 
 tanooga. 
 
 I intended to write you at once, but did not 
 find an opportunity. As I am detained away 
 longer than I expected, I write from here. 
 
 Allow me to express my deep feeling of sor- 
 row at this sad news and to extend my sincere 
 sympathy in your time of sorrow. I feel very 
 deeply his loss as a friend and brother, and yet 
 I know how much more deeply you must feel 
 the loss of a life-long companion. I can not 
 help you ; I can only extend my sympathy and 
 ask that God may support and console you. 
 Very truly, 
 
 H. M. Orahood. 
 
 Grand Commanderv Knights Templar, 
 State oe Vermont, 
 
 Windsor, March 20, 1894. 
 Mrs. Geo. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. : 
 
 My Dear Madam — Permit a stranger to you 
 to intrude upon your sorrow in the days following 
 the death of your honored husband, of which 
 
 the first intimation was received through the 
 paper so kindly forwarded me. Although I had 
 never met the deceased, I feel as if he was a 
 personal friend, through our acquaintanceship 
 born of correspondence and labor in the same 
 common Masonic field of reports for the different 
 grand bodies. Our relations had been especially 
 pleasant, and the intelligence of his departure 
 is received with the profoundest regret. Please 
 accept for yourself, and the members of your 
 household, an expression — sincere and heart- 
 felt — of sympathy, not only personal, but 
 through me from the Knights Templar of Ver- 
 mont, whom I represent. He was a valiant 
 soldier of the cross, a valiant and magnanimous 
 Knight, and a loved and honored brother. His 
 life was an inspiration to others; his memory 
 will long be treasured by friends and brethren 
 alike. He has fought the good fight, and his 
 bright example .of unswerving fidelity, unques- 
 tioned integrity and unsullied honor will shine 
 forth as a reassuring beacon light to many a 
 weary sojourner in the' various walks of life in 
 the future. 
 
 With the earnest hope that you and yours 
 may be sustained in these dark days of sorrow 
 by the loving hand of an all-wise Father, I am, 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 Marsh O. Perkins, 
 
 Grand Commavder Knights Templar of Ver-inotU, and 
 Correspondence Committee for Grand Lodge and Grand 
 Chapter. 
 
 Grand Commandery Knights Templar, 
 State of Wyoming, 
 
 Cheyenne, March 21, 1894. 
 Mrs. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn. . 
 
 My Dear Madam — Will you kindly permit 
 me to lay one immortelle on the memory of the 
 late R. E. Sir Knight George C. Connor? He 
 was my friend, and the friendship of such a 
 splendid man is indeed a proud boast. I shall 
 treasure his memory amoag the brightest and 
 best recollections of my life. Although I was 
 absent from the Triennial Encampment in Den- 
 ver in 1892, because of illness, I learned with 
 much pleasure of his fond inquiries forme, and 
 I had hoped for a meeting in Boston next year, 
 when I could thank him personally for his 
 kindly interest. 
 
 Among Knights Templar all over the West 
 he was known and revered as he was at home. 
 His name was as a household word. His fame 
 is widespread and lasting. Whatever sorrow 
 
 56 
 
IvETTERS OP vSYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 and sympathy may count in assuaging your 
 grief, yours is the knowledge that the death of 
 your noble husband is everywhere mourned. 
 Very courteously yours, 
 
 J. C. Baird, p. G. C. 
 
 Masonic Veteran Association, 
 State oe Minnesota, 
 
 St. PauIv, March 19, 1894. 
 My Dear Miss Connor: 
 
 I have just learned, through the American 
 Tyler, the great sorrow that has come upon you, 
 and the loss Masonry throughout the Union has 
 sustained by the death of your dear father. 
 
 I first met him in Washington, in 1890, and 
 learned to love him and admire him, and subse- 
 quent interviews have strengthened the tie that 
 bound me to him. 
 
 Be pleased to accept the heartfelt sympathy of 
 myself and numerous brethren in the Northwest 
 in this, your hour of affliction. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 George R. Metcai,f, 33°- 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 A. N. Sloan, Esq., Chattanooga, Tenn.: 
 
 My Dear Prater — It is with profound re- 
 gret and sadness I learn of "our" Connor's 
 death. Not being acquainted with the family, 
 I take this method of expressing to you, and 
 through you to the family, my sympathy in this, 
 their sad hour. None loved dear Connor more 
 than I, although I am a poor one to show my 
 appreciation and esteem for the living ; but with 
 all that, I loved him, not only for his many good 
 qualities, but because he was my friend. I 
 shall show my appreciation for him by attend- 
 ing his funeral, and will leave Saturday night 
 for Chattanooga to represent my Commandery, 
 and to show the appreciation and love I had for 
 him. He was a good man, and he is now enjoy- 
 ing the blessing of heaven, which he so richly 
 deserves. With my purest love and respect for 
 
 the family, I am, 
 
 Yours courteously, 
 
 M. H. Price. 
 
 Spartanburg, S. C, March 10, 1894. 
 
 Mr. John B. Nicklin : 
 
 DEAR Sir and Brother — I was deeply 
 pained on hearing of the death of our eminent 
 frater, although expected. It still casts a gloom 
 
 over our Commandery, for to him, more than 
 anyone else, we owe our knowledge of the Tem- 
 ple work. Please express my sympathy to his 
 bereaved family, and also please send me a copy 
 of the paper giving an account of his funeral. 
 Yours, 
 
 H. H. Anderson. 
 
 Spartanburg, S. C, March 9, 1894. 
 My Dear Mr. Nicklin : 
 
 Your telegram read, giving me the sad, sad 
 news of our friend's death. I was greatly 
 attached to Major Connor, though having 
 only been thrown with him for a few days. 
 Noble, generous, frank, true and good man 
 he was. What a bereavement is this to his 
 State and brethren, and above all, to the sor- 
 rowing loved ones of his home, whose hearts 
 this day are bleeding! He said to me when 
 here that he was not a member of the church, 
 but I felt that he was nevertheless a true Chris- 
 tian, and said so to him. I feel now that he is 
 with the blessed Savior, whom, I know from 
 what I saw of him, he adored, and endeavored, 
 so far as we poor mortals can do, to take as his 
 great exemplar and guide. Major Connor im- 
 pressed his brethren Knights Templar, as he 
 did me, that he was endeavoring to follow as a 
 disciple the guileless Son of God. I had fondly 
 hoped that I would see him again and enjoy his 
 company, and intended to stop a day in Chatta- 
 nooga to see him, the first Wednesday in May, 
 on my way to Memphis to attend, as a delegate, 
 the General Conference of our Church, which 
 meets at that time. It would have been a great 
 pleasure to me to have seen him at his home, 
 and to have known his loved ones. Of the 
 very many whom I have met in life, very few 
 impressed me more than Major Connor as one of 
 nature's noblemen. The announcement of your 
 telegram brought sadness to the hearts of the 
 brethren, and many warm and sympathetic ex- 
 pressions were made in regard to him and those 
 bereaved. I would go to his burial tonight but 
 for the fact that I have a railroad case of im- 
 portance set for trial at Union Court at 10 o'clock 
 Monday morning. If it was such a case as I 
 could either continue or get leave of absence 
 from court, I would be with you on Sunday to 
 join in paying my humble respects to the mem- 
 ory of my departed friend. Mr. Henneman or 
 Mr. Cannon will go to the funeral if it is possi- 
 ble for them to get off. I am thankful to you 
 for notifying me so promptly of our dear friend's 
 
 57 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 departure. I am sure his contact with some of 
 our young men here during the few days he 
 spent with us, was one of great value and gave 
 to them new impulses, and he certainly set us 
 all on a higher plajie in reference to our privi- 
 leges, duties and opportunities as Masons. His 
 bereaved wife and child have my deepest sym- 
 pathy ; though unknown to me, I feel that I 
 know them. You also have my warmest sym- 
 pathy in the loss, to you, of a true, noble and 
 generous and devoted friend. Please send me 
 the papers which will contain the account of 
 his funeral. I do regret so much that my en- 
 gagements prohibit my being with you. 
 I am, your friend, 
 
 D. R. Duncan. 
 
 Coi,DMBUS, Miss., April 6, 1894. 
 Mrs. and Miss Connor : 
 
 The news of Major Connor's death brought 
 sorrow into my household. His influence over 
 our grandchildren was so intelligent, beneficial 
 and ennobling that we could not but feel that 
 they have suffered an irreparable loss. The im- 
 press of his open, manly, grand character has 
 been indelibly stamped on them. In social in- 
 tercourse few men ever charmed me as he did. 
 He was a man of wonderful gifts. In intellect 
 he was the peer of senators. Chattanooga has 
 honored itself in its marked demonstration of 
 respect and veneration for his memory. He; 
 always traveled the road of right, and generally 
 at the head of the column. The majority follow 
 idea; follow people; follow public sentiment. 
 His companionship with the majority depended 
 upon his decision between right and wrong. 
 
 A brilliant orator said of Roscoe Conkling: 
 "He walked a highway of his own, and kept 
 the company of his self-respect." Major Con- 
 nor did that, and did it more peacefully and 
 genially than the great man of whom it was 
 spoken. 
 
 In this greatest of earth's bereavements, please 
 accept the tender condolence of your sympa- 
 thizing friend, J. A. Orr. 
 
 Chari,esTon, S. C, March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. and Miss Connor: 
 
 Dear Ladies — The sad news has reached us. 
 From the depths of our hearts we sympathize 
 with you in your affliction, and our heartfelt 
 prayer goes to the Great Captain of our salva- 
 tion that you and yours may be sustained in 
 your present troubles, until bye and bye we may 
 
 all be permitted to fraternize in that better land 
 where sorrow and trouble can never enter. A 
 good and true man has passed away. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Theo. Mei,chers. 
 
 Supreme Council, 33°, A. and A. S. Rite, 
 
 southern jurisdiction u. s. 
 Office of Inspector-General for Missouri, 
 
 Orient of St. Louis, March 21, 1894. 
 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor, Chattanooga, Tenn.. 
 
 My Dear Madam — It but partly expresses 
 the fact to say that I was surprised and deeply 
 grieved to learn, by paper received this morn- 
 ing, of the death of your dear husband and my 
 bright and beloved brother. I hope it may not 
 be deemed an intrusion upon the sacred privacy 
 of your bereavement for me to extend to you 
 this expression of my warmest sympathy. Re- 
 membering him as I last saw him, in the full 
 flush and force of hearty and earnest manhood, 
 brilliant in wit, warm of heart and strong in 
 loving friendship, he will always hold a very 
 high place in my memory and affection. To 
 think that I shall never again meet the kind 
 glance of his eye, hear his voice, feel the friendly 
 grasp of his hand, gives me a sense of want that 
 can not be satisfied. 
 
 All earthly ties must be severed ; that change 
 that we call the end must pass upon all human- 
 ly, but may you, my dear madam, be comforted 
 not only by the assurance of the love of his host 
 of friends, but by the far better and brighter 
 assurance of hope of restoration to each other 
 in that happy life that knows no parting and 
 shall never end. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 Martin Coi,i,ins. 
 
 Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand In- 
 spectors General, 33°, A. and A. s. Rite, 
 
 NORTHERN MASONIC JURISDICTION U. S. A. 
 
 Valley of Chicago, March 11, 1894. 
 My Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 Father desires me to extend to you his deep- 
 est sympathy in this sad hour of affliction. In 
 your loss of a loving and affectionate husband 
 the society of Freemasons has lost an earnest 
 and faithful brother, and the city of Chatta- 
 nooga one of its best citizens. May God bless 
 and protect you. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 John C. Smith, Jr. 
 
 58 
 
IvETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 Cyrene Commandery, No. io, K. T. 
 Birmingham, Ai<a., March 20, 1894. 
 
 IV. L. Shumate, E. C. Lookout Commandery : 
 
 Dear Sir Knight — Present to the family of 
 our beloved Sir Knight Connor, and to the Sir 
 Knights of yovir Commandery, from Cyrene 
 Commandery, the expression of our sincere 
 sympathy for this great loss to Templar Ma- 
 sonry. Fraternally yours, 
 
 M. D. Montague, 
 Recorder. 
 
 Chicago Great Western Railway Co. 
 Office Commercial Agent, 
 
 St. Paul, Minn., March 31, 1894. 
 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 My Dear Madam — I was much shocked at 
 hearing of the death of my lamented friend, 
 your husband. His memory is very dear to me, 
 as our associations were always the most pleas- 
 ant. I wish to express to you my heartfelt 
 sympathies, for near and dear as he was to me 
 as a friend, how much nearer and dearer was he 
 to the one to whom he had pledged his hand 
 and love in the heyday of his youth ! I remem- 
 bef so well his bright, cheery greeting when we 
 met up in the country, he, who fought on the 
 side of my native State, because he thought it 
 right — I, because it was my home. May this 
 find you and Miss Connor feeling that the sepa- 
 ration is only for a short time, and in the grand 
 reunion we will be Confederates indeed. I 
 have the honor to be. 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 Richard T. Flournay. 
 
 IvOdge Quatuor Coronati, No. 2076, London, 
 Office of Secretary, 
 
 London, March 10, 1894. 
 
 My Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 Your telegram reached me last night at a 
 quarter to six. It was very good of you, in the 
 'midst of all your own sorrow, to remember me 
 in this manner. 
 
 How terrible it all is. To think that that fine, 
 sturdy man whom I met so few months ago, 
 and who then seemed the picture of strength, 
 should, by the time this reaches you, be in his 
 grave. I can hardly realize it, although his last 
 letter to me, kind, genial, full of his fun as usual, 
 
 had somewhat prepared me, by mentioning the 
 serious nature of his illness. 
 
 And what an awful blow to you and Miss Con- 
 nor. What can I say in any way to lighten the 
 weary load of your sorrow? I fear nothing to 
 any purpose. You need not be told by me, I 
 am sure, where to seek consolation in your dis- 
 tress ; neither need I point out that according 
 to the belief which we both hold, and which 
 your husband must have held, or he could not 
 be a Mason, your separation is but for a season. 
 I feel that such reflections are needless. But I 
 can not refrain from assuring you and your 
 daughter that you are not alone in your sorrow. 
 My grief may not be so deep as yours, but it is 
 equally sincere. I learned to love your hus- 
 band in the all too short time which was given 
 me to know him, and I mourn him deeply as a 
 friend and brother. It is barely a week ago that 
 I read his last letter to me before our Lodge 
 brethren ; and though we all laughed heartily 
 at his quaint sayings in the first part of it, a 
 visible shadow came over us all as I read the 
 last lines referring to his illness. They had not 
 had my opportunities of learning the gentle and 
 lovable nature of our dear brother, but they had 
 sat with him around the same table, and many 
 as are. our visitors, he was such an exceptional 
 man, that not one had forgotten him or failed to 
 cherish his memory in his heart. My dear Mrs. 
 Connor, in all your sorrow remember this : 
 There was not a man, so far as my knowledge 
 goes, who ever met your husband, but learned 
 to appreciate him, and was the better man for 
 so doing. Death comes to us all sooner or later, 
 but it is not given to every woman to have been 
 the partner of such a man, and though your 
 grief be great, and trial sore, surely there must 
 be some consolation in the thought of having 
 shared the life of such an one ; surely there will, 
 later on, come to you a laudable pride in the 
 knowledge that every one is speaking well of 
 him, and regretfully of his loss. 
 
 May I ask a great favor of you? I much de- 
 sire to have a good photograph of your husband. 
 In the first place, I want it for my own album, 
 a, memento of a dear friend whom I loved and 
 admired ; and secondly, I would like to repro- 
 duce it in our "Transactions," for the purposes 
 of our obituary ; also, I would like any one of 
 your local papers which gives a good account of 
 his life and career. Will you send me these? 
 Please believe me, my dear Mrs. Connor, 
 Yours in the truest sympathy, 
 
 G. Wm. Speth. 
 
 59 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 40 STANFORD Avenue, 
 Brighton, Engi,and, April 9, 1894. 
 
 Dear Miss Connor: 
 
 I was very grieved on reading your letter of 
 the 2ist ult., containing the sad news of the 
 death of your father. I did not receive the 
 paper about his death you were good enough to 
 send to the care of Mr. Speth, and the mourn- 
 ful intelligence came on me with a great shock. 
 If you can, without much trouble or painful 
 feelings, inform me of any particulars, I should 
 feel much obliged to you. 
 
 You are quite right in thinking I should like 
 the New Year's card, which was returned by 
 postoffice in consequence of incorrect address. 
 It bears in his own handwriting his last mes- 
 sage and expression of good will to Mrs. Tink- 
 ler and myself, and has, therefore, a peculiar 
 interest in our eyes. 
 
 I do not know any one of my friends to whom, 
 in so short a time, I became so attached as I did 
 your father. There must have been some affin- 
 ity between us, and I shall ever cherish his 
 memory and regard with satisfaction the happy 
 circumstances which led to our friendship. 
 
 Mrs. Tinkler desires to join with me in ex- 
 pressing to Mrs. Connor and yourself our deep 
 sympathy in your bereavement. With kindest 
 regards, I remain. 
 
 Yours siucerely, 
 
 Wm. Tinkler. 
 
 AcoMB House, York, April 8, 1894. 
 Mrs. Connor; 
 
 Dear Madam — It was with infinite sorrow 
 for the Masonic world and the greatest sympa- 
 thy for yourself and your daughter that I read 
 in the Chattanooga Times the account of the 
 death of your worthy husband, whose visit to 
 York has been vivid in my memory ever since 
 I had the pleasure of meeting him here. I am 
 quite sure that his loss will create great void 
 amongst the brethren, and one that will be hard 
 to fill after such a presence. I trust that you 
 will accept this assurance of my true sorrow. 
 If you have a photograph of my late brother I 
 would be greatly indebted to j'ou if you will let 
 me have a copy to place in my collection of 
 Masonic Worthies. 
 
 With kind regards to Miss Connor, I am, dear 
 madam, Yours sincerely, 
 
 T. B. Whytehead. 
 
 18 Goodi,ett Road, East DuIvURCH, 
 
 London, J. E., May 12, 1894. 
 My Dear Madam : 
 
 It was with feelings of the most profound 
 regret that I learned of the decease of your 
 dear husband, and I must ask you to accept 
 from me the expressions of my sincere sympa- 
 thy with your daughter and yourself in respect 
 to the heavy loss you have sustained. 
 
 May "He who tempers the wind to the shorn 
 lamb" grant you strength and fortitude to bear 
 with resignation the vacant space which was 
 so well and worthily filled for so many years by 
 my dear brother. 
 
 It has never been my privilege to meet another 
 who, to my mind, .so fully portrayed the idea 
 of a lofty, high minded Christian gentleman as 
 did Brother G. C. Connor. 
 
 I am glad to be fully aware that I am not 
 alone on this side in mourning a brother who 
 was too little known here, but sufiicieutly known 
 to be deeply appreciated and much beloved. 
 
 Again expressing my deep sympathy, in which 
 my dear wife requests permission to join, I 
 remain, my dear madam. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Geo. R. Langley. 
 
 Kansas City, Mo., March 16, 1894. 
 Mrs. George C. Connor : 
 
 Dear Madam — We saw in the dispatches 
 the other day a notice of the death of your 
 husband. Major Geo. C. Connor. Our family 
 extend to you and your daughter our sincere 
 sympathy. Just a year ago lacking three days 
 of Mr. Connor's decease, my father died. The 
 two old friends were not far apart. For years 
 my father has talked to us of Major Connor, 
 and when he visited at our house about two 
 years ago we had a most delightful time with 
 him. He said he was at home, and by his genial, 
 cordial nature won all our hearts. When he 
 left us, for home, he promised that when he went 
 to the mountains again he would visit us, and 
 we had looked forward to the time with mauy 
 anticipations of pleasure. His presence was' 
 sunshine, and it was a delight to see him and 
 my father together. We deeply feel his death 
 as a personal loss to us. 
 
 We would be pleased if you would furnish vis 
 copies of the papers referring to Mr. Connor's 
 demise. I wish you would enclose two copies, 
 as I would like to give one to J. G. Williams, a 
 
 6q 
 
IvETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 former employe of Mr. Connor's when he was 
 connected with the railroad. 
 
 Very sincerely and truly yours, 
 Edward A. Brown, Jr. 
 Mrs. John H. Brown and Famii,y. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., March, 1894. 
 My Dear Brother Sloan : 
 
 I have just learned of the great loss we have 
 all sustained in the death of Brother Connor, 
 and would be with you to do what I could to 
 assist in the funeral ceremonies were it not for 
 my present state of health. I have been suffer- 
 ing with a deep-seated cold for several days, and 
 am afraid to risk any exposure. Should I feel 
 better tomorrow, however, will come on. Should 
 I not be able to come, please consider Brother 
 M. H. Price, 32° K. G. C. H., as our representa- 
 tive of the A. and A. S. R. of the Valley of 
 Memphis. 
 
 With best regards to you personally, and to 
 other friends at Chattanooga, I am. 
 Fraternally, 
 
 John M. Sears, 33°. 
 
 AsYi^uM OE Paris Commandery, No. 16, K. T. 
 
 Paris, Tenn., March 10, 1894. 
 Dear Brothers Sloan and Nicklin : 
 
 I am grieved beyond expression over the death 
 of our good friend and brother, Connor. His 
 death is a serious loss to all our Masonic bodies, 
 especially the Grand Commandery. I have 
 never met any member of his family, still I wish 
 you to convey to them my deepest sympathy. 
 Brother Connor was held in very high esteem 
 by the members of our Commandery, and we 
 are called to meet Monday next to give expres- 
 sion to our love for him, and grief over his loss. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Jos. H. Bdi,i<ock. 
 
 March 17, 1894. 
 Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 While you sit under the shadow of a great 
 grief, I desire to express my sincere sympathy 
 and condolence in this, your sad bereavement. 
 
 I, too, feel deeply and keenly a sense of per- 
 sonal loss. It has brought sadness and sorrow 
 into my' own home, and another woman's heart 
 beats responsively to your own. I know at a 
 time like this words are powerless to cheer or 
 comfort. 
 
 We seem to live but to utter the sad refrain : 
 
 " Oh for the touch of a vanished hand, 
 And the sound of a voice that is still." 
 
 But we are not without hope, for we can feel 
 assured that beyond life's golden mountains 
 there is not a single place of tombs. 
 
 That you may have that hope which brings 
 with it strength, faith, resignation, comfort and 
 consolation, I shall devoutly pray. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 W. T. Hope. 
 
 KNOXvitLE, Tenn., March 12, 1894. 
 Dear Mrs. Connor: 
 
 My letter would seem almost an intrusion on 
 your grief, and would be, was not your loss mine 
 also. 
 
 When in the course of events my time comes 
 to go, it would make death easier if I could 
 know that I left behind staunch, loyal friends, 
 who would mourn me. Major Connor knew 
 that he left many, and proud to be among them 
 is your sorrowing friend, 
 
 F. J. MlI,I,IGAN. 
 
 Kingston, Tenn., March 10, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor and Family : 
 
 Dear Friends — Today I read the sad news 
 of our beloved Brother G. C. Connor's departure 
 hence. Accept my heartfelt sympathies in this, 
 your sad hour of bereavement. Lean on the 
 strong arm of the Almighty ! He alone can sus- 
 tain when we follow our loved ones to the riv- 
 er's brink. This is a very heavy stroke to me, 
 since to him I looked for assistance in building 
 my spiritual temple for the indwelling of the 
 Great I Am. While this stroke from the hand 
 of death has stricken you of a loved father and 
 husband, it has also stricken the Fraternity very 
 sorely, and removed a shining light from our 
 midst ; we are bereft ! Though personally un- 
 known to you, yet the close ties which bound 
 me to the departed send this, and may you be 
 able to feel your sorrow not alone. May our 
 Father guide you and yours through the chang- 
 ing scenes of time ; and when the cold waters 
 of the Jordan of death splash round your feet, 
 may you turn your eyes on the beautiful scenes 
 of eternity! For awhile the tired body must 
 enjoy its longed-for rest, waiting for the glad 
 and brightest Easter morn. 
 
 Yours fraternally, 
 
 James G. D'Armond. 
 
 61 
 
TELEGRAMS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
TELEGRAMS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 ATI,ANTA, Ga., March 9, 1894. 
 
 Sir A. N. Sloan, E. C. Lookout Commandery : 
 
 Sir Connor's loss is irreparable. I sincerely 
 
 mourn with the Craft and the bereaved family. 
 
 John P. Steffner. 
 
 Bristol, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 Sir A . N. Sloan : 
 
 Kindly express to Brother Connor's family 
 the deep sense of bereavement felt by St. Omer. 
 
 H. W. Naff, 
 
 Commander. 
 
 San Francisco, Cai,., March 10, 1894. 
 Mrs. George Connor: 
 
 Please accept our sympathy and condolence 
 in your great affliction. 
 
 William O. Gould. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 10, 1894. 
 Mrs. George C. Connor : 
 
 Accept the sympathy of the entire family. 
 
 Mary Cuthbert Brown. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 I sympathize with you deeply in your sorrow. 
 V. D. A. Allen. 
 
 Quitman, Ga., March 10, 1894. 
 
 Mrs. George C. Connor: 
 
 Accept heartfelt sympathy for yourself and 
 
 Miss Mamie. 
 
 C. A. Wethers. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. George C. Connor: 
 
 My heart is with you. Your sorrow is my 
 sorrow. 
 
 W. D. A. Walker. 
 
 ThomaSvillE, Ga., March 6, ii'94. 
 Dlrs. George C Connor, Chattanooga: 
 
 My heart's sympathy for you ; love and bless- 
 ing to him. 
 
 M. A. Bowers. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 My deepest sympathy to you and Mamie. 
 
 L. B. MorehEAD. 
 
 Knoxvillk, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 Accept sincerest sympathy in your sad be- 
 reavement. 
 
 B. D. Brabson. 
 
 Jackson, Miss., March 10, 1894. 
 Mrs. Geo. C. Connor: 
 
 Accept my hearty sympathy. The death of 
 George C. Connor will be mourned by Masons 
 in many lands. A great light has faded from 
 the Masonic firmament. 
 
 J. L. Power, 
 
 Grand Recorder. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G . C. Connor: 
 
 Have just learned of the death of your hus- 
 band and my greatly esteemed friend. Please 
 accept my profound and heartfelt sympathy. 
 
 J. L. McCOLLUM. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., March 9, 1894. 
 
 Miss /I/. T. Connor: 
 
 I grieve with you both in your overwhelming 
 
 sorrow. 
 
 C. I/. Withers. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., March 10, 1894. Charleston, S. C, March 9, 1894. 
 
 Mrs. Geo. C. Connor: Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 Our hearts are with you. Please accept our The Fratres of South Carolina beg to express 
 
 deepest sympathy. their heartfelt sympathy in your affliction. 
 
 H. H. AND M. A. DanTtgnac. Theo. MELCHERS. 
 
 65 
 
TELEGRAMS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor : 
 
 I beg to tender my sincerest and profoundest 
 sympathy to yourself and Miss Mamie in your 
 great bereavement. 
 
 JAS. D. Richardson. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 Miss M. T. Connor: 
 
 Letter j ust received. Accept deepest sympa- 
 thy. Can I serve you? God bless you and 
 your mother. Bun F. Price. 
 
 Jackson, Tenn,, March 10, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 The Masons of Jackson feel deep sorrow at 
 your husband's death. Regret circumstances 
 prevent my attendance tomorrow. 
 
 Robert W. Haynes, 
 Grand Captain-General. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor: 
 
 ' ' Whom the Lord loveth he chastiseth. ' ' Ac- 
 cept our heartfelt sympathy in this hour of your 
 deep affliction. W. M. Brooks, 
 
 B. F. Price. 
 
 Nashvii,i,e, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. George C. Connor: 
 
 Accept sincere sympathy. Another link 
 broken in my chain of friendship. 
 
 John Frizzei<i,. 
 
 Knoxvii,i,E, Tenn., March 9, 1894. 
 Mrs. G. C. Connor and Daughter : 
 
 We sympathize with you in your sad bereave- 
 ment. J. C. Cawood, 
 
 N. S. Woodward, 
 H. M. Aiken, 
 
 H. H. lNGERSOI<I„ 
 
 Wm. S. Smith, 
 Past Grand Masters, F. and A. M. 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 
 
 OUR HONORED DEAD. 
 From Memphis Commercial-Appeal.'March li, 1894, 
 
 Never before, in our Masonic career, has it 
 become our duty to record a death that will 
 be so universally regretted by the Masons 
 throughout this country, and certain parts of 
 Europe, as that of Brother George Cooper Con- 
 nor, which occurred at his home in Chattanooga, 
 surrounded by his family and friends, on Fri- 
 day morning last. For the past year Brother 
 Connor has been gradually failing in health, 
 but so valiant was the fight he waged against 
 the disease that his most intimate friends 
 thought he would finally conquer it and be re- 
 stored to his former health. But this could not 
 be, and since his attendance at Grand Lodge in 
 January last he grew worse so rapidly that his 
 death was expected at most any time. His 
 malady was diabetes, and he fondly cherished 
 the hope that his iron will and perfect consti- 
 tution would overcome it, and not until a few 
 days before his death did he lose hope. To say 
 that he was resigned is but to state that he 
 made the fullest preparation, and marked out 
 the fullest details for the completion of every- 
 thing left unfinished by him, and closed the 
 ledger of his life by directing a perfect arrange- 
 ment for his funeral, which will be carried out 
 to the letter. 
 
 It was our good fortune to be intimately ac- 
 quainted with Brother Connor, and we are 
 thankful for it, as we feel that no one could be 
 close to him without being benefited thereby. 
 In our opinion. Brother Connor was one of the 
 brightest Masonic lights in this country; and 
 now that his "light has gone out," we know 
 no one who can take his place. He was one of 
 the most widely known Masonic writers in this 
 country, and the effusions of his gifted pen were 
 sought after by Masonic journals throughout 
 the world. He was among the most fluent 
 speakers of the land, and his powers of persua- 
 sion never failed to convince his hearers of the 
 justice of his cause. Single-handed and alone 
 he attacked the ritual promulgated by the Grand 
 Encampment of the United States, at its trien- 
 nial sitting in Washington, D. C, several years 
 ago, and saw his efforts crowned with success 
 at Denver, Col , three years thereafter, when 
 the same body adopted the "Connor ritual," 
 
 and caused it to be observed by all subordinate 
 commanderies. This was the greatest victorj' 
 of his life, and as a recognition of his ability, 
 he was complimented with a position in that 
 Grand Body. It was but a matter of time when 
 he would have occupied the highest position in 
 their gift — that of Grand Master of the Grand 
 Encampment of the United States. 
 
 Brother Connor was born in Ireland, October 
 9, 1S34, and was fifty-nine years and five months 
 old when he died. He was married, and his 
 widow and a grown daughter survive him. 
 
 Brother Connor received all the degrees of 
 Ancient York Masonry in the city of Atlanta, 
 Ga., in the year 1867, and was "knighted" in 
 the same city in the following year. He pre- 
 sided over every subordinate body with which 
 he affiliated. He is a Past Grand Master and 
 Past M. E. Grand Commander of Tennessee, and 
 at the time of his death was Grand Recorder of 
 the Grand Command ery. Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Foreign Correspondence for both the 
 Grand Lodge and Grand Commandery of this , 
 State, and also Chairman of the Custodians. 
 As a Scottish Rite Mason, he attained the 
 thirty-second degree, and was Deputy for his 
 district. He is the author of several Masonic 
 works, but his last and best effort was "Shib- 
 boleth," a monitor devoted exclusively to use 
 of commanderies, and by the beautiful burial 
 service contained therein, compiled by himself, 
 at his request, he will be buried. 
 
 His remains will be interred in the beautiful 
 cemetery of Forest Hills, in the city of Chatta- 
 nooga, today, by Lookout Commandery, of 
 which he was Past Eminent Commander, at two 
 o'clock this afternoon. The Most Eminent Grand 
 Commander, Sir W. M. Brooks, has been re- 
 quested to be present and perform the service, 
 and for that purpose he left last night. He was 
 accompanied by Sir M. H. Price, Eminent Com- 
 mander of Memphis Commandery, No. 4, and 
 Sir Bun F. Price, Past Grand Master. It is ex- 
 pected that all Past Grand Masters of the State 
 will be present, as is their usual custom, and 
 assist in the obsequies. The pall-bearers will 
 be Past Grand Masters Wilbur F. Foster, of 
 Nashville; Bun F. Price, of Memphis, and N. 
 S. Woodward, of Knoxville. C. H. Brandon, 
 of Nashville, will also act in this capacity. 
 The remaining four. Sirs J. B. Nicklin, Past Em- 
 
 69 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICIvES. 
 
 inent Grand Commander; W. W. Simpson, Past 
 Eminent Commander, and Messrs. J. C. Griffiss 
 and W. F. Fischer, are residents of Chattanooga. 
 All of the above were his life-long personal 
 friends, and were selected by him previous to 
 his death. 
 
 To his bereaved wife and daughter we voice- 
 the sentiment of the Fraternity of this city in 
 extending to them heartfelt sympathy, and 
 who will ever cherish his memory with love, 
 respect and honor. 
 
 A PRINCE IN ISRAEI/ HAS FAI,I,KN. 
 From The American Tyler (Detroit). 
 
 The Tyler, with unfeigned regret, is called 
 upon to announce to the Craft at large the 
 death of Sir Knight George C. Connor, Grand 
 Recorder of Tennessee Grand Commandery, 
 and a frater beloved wherever the name of Free- 
 masonry is mentioned. The beloved frater died 
 after an illness of over two months at his home 
 in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Friday, gth inst., sur- 
 rounded by loving friends and relatives, whose 
 affection could not restrain the imperative mes- 
 sage in its demands for his presence in the 
 assemblage of soldiers of the Cross with their 
 Grand Commander in the Asylum of Glory on 
 High. The demise of Sir George C. Connor 
 will be felt as a personal calamity by every Sir 
 Knight in America ; and in the lands be3'ond the 
 seas his memory will be a sweet savor to the 
 multitude of Masons to whom his writings have 
 served to make his name a familiar word. 
 
 Brother George C. Connor was born in Ireland 
 in 1834, and removed to America when but four- 
 teen years of age, and has passed the greater 
 portion of his life in Atlanta, Ga., and Chatta- 
 nooga, Tenn., to which latter place he removed 
 in 1871. He was made a Master Mason, Royal 
 Arch Mason and Knight Templar in Atlanta, 
 Ga., in 1866-67, and received the Scottish Rite 
 degrees, including 33°, in the Supreme Council, 
 Southern Jurisdiction. He has filled the sev- 
 eral chairs of Master, High Priest and Eminent 
 Commander, Venerable Master and Deputy 
 Sovereign Inspector-General. He has also held 
 the office of Grand Master and Grand Com- 
 mander in Tennessee, and at the time of his 
 death was Grand Recorder. As a writer upon 
 Masonic topics, Brother Connor was the peer of 
 any contemporary, and his ritual for Knights 
 
 Templarism is a magnificent production. He 
 was also the author of a Masonic Digest, a 
 Manual of Parliamentary Practice. Among the 
 Masonic correspondents his annual report was 
 always a choice review of the several Templar 
 Jurisdictions, and usually concluded with an 
 able paper on Chapter Masonry. His scholar- 
 ship was varied, and his observations upon men 
 and matters, especially appertaining to Masonry, 
 were logically critical. While the civil war 
 raged. Brother Connor was actively engaged in 
 the Confederate army, where he rose to the 
 rank of Major, but was one of the first to ex- 
 tend the hand-clasp of peace and amity to the 
 society of the Army of the Cumberland, having 
 organized a society of ex-Confederates to wel- 
 come the Northern soldiers on their first visit to 
 the old battlefields of Tennessee. He was a 
 true Mason, a true friend and brother, who 
 wrought his allotted hours, and after life's fitful 
 fever he sleeps well. 
 
 DEATH OF GBORGE C. CONNOR. 
 
 From The American Tyler ( Chicago ). 
 
 The news of the death of Major George C. 
 Connor, P. G. M. of Masons of Tennessee, at 
 Chattanooga on Friday last, prompts Brother 
 Barnard to recall the circumstances of his first 
 meeting with Brother Connor. It was on the 
 eve of a meeting of the Grand Lodge of Illinois, 
 in Chicago, about twelve years ago. Brother 
 Barnard and Brother John C. Smith were to- 
 gether at the Grand Pacific, when they noted, 
 in the lobby, a gentleman of striking appear- 
 ance and clearly of Southern stock. They 
 came together a little later and made them- 
 selves known, each to the other, and were 
 equally delighted to begin an acquaintance that 
 ripened into a lasting friendship. Brother Bar- 
 nard remembers Brother Connor as a typical 
 Celt, abounding in genuine wit and abundant 
 good nature, genial, whole-souled and compan- 
 ionable. Brother Barnard recalls the fact that 
 during the Southern itinerary of St. Bernard 
 Drill Corps, last year, the Knights halted at 
 Chattanooga and were accorded a sample of 
 genuine Southern hospitality at the hands of 
 Brother Connor, who gave them an excursion 
 to Ivookout Mountain, which they highly en- 
 joyed. Had Brother Connor lived, he would 
 have been crowned a 33d at Washington in 1895, 
 and not at Boston as published in the press dis- 
 patches. 
 
 70 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 
 
 GEORGE COOPER CONNOR. 
 From the Voice of Masoury, April, 1894 
 
 Brother, Companion and Sir Knight George 
 Cooper Connor of Chattanooga, Tenu., died 
 at his home in that city, March 9, 1894. The 
 cause of his decease was diabetes, with its re- 
 sultant complications. In the afternoon of the 
 day preceding his demise he said, "It's about 
 over ; ere sunrise tomorrow I shall have crossed 
 the dark river." His premonition proved true. 
 He expressed strong faith in an all-wise Provi- 
 dence and in the immortality of the soul. 
 
 He was born in Ireland, October 9, 1S34. In 
 his fourteenth year he went to Canada, and 
 there remained until 1858, when he removed to 
 Nashville, Tennessee, and took a position as 
 editor of a prominent religious journal. Dur- 
 ing the war of 1861-65 ^^ served in the Confed- 
 erate States Army, and was paroled as Major. 
 He settled in Atlanta in 1865, and engaged in 
 mercantile business. In 1871 he accepted a 
 position as agent of the Western & Atlantic 
 Railway, and was assigned to duty at Chatta- 
 nooga, where he became very active in social, 
 political and commercial life. For some time 
 he was editor of the Democrat, and Secretary 
 of the Board of Trade. According to his best 
 judgment he zealously worked for the improve- 
 ment of the city. 
 
 Mr. Connor was made a Mason and a Royal 
 Arch Mason in Atlanta in 1867. He was created 
 a Knight Templar in 1868. In Chattanooga he 
 was a member of Temple Lodge, No. 430, F. & 
 A. M. ; Hamilton Chapter, No. 49, Royal Arch 
 Masons; Mount Moriah Council, No. 81, Royal 
 and Select Masters ; Lookout Commandery, No. 
 14, Knights Templar, and Alhambra Temple of 
 the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In the Lodge, 
 the Chapter, the Commandery and the Temple, 
 he attained and filled the highest oifice. He 
 was a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, 
 and of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati, of London. 
 
 In 1874 Brother Connor was elected Deputy 
 Grand Master, and in 1878 Grand Master of 
 Masons in Tennessee . He also served as Grand 
 High Priest of the Royal Arch Masons, Grand 
 Commander and Grand Recorder of Knights 
 Templar, Chairman of the Committee on Juris- 
 prudence and of the Board of Custodians for 
 the Grand Lodge, Correspondent for each of 
 the Grand Bodies of the State, and as a Ritual 
 committeeman of the Grand Encampment of 
 Knights Templar of the United States. Up to 
 the time of his fital illness he was engaged in 
 
 revising the Ritual of the Knights of Malta, 
 which is to be acted on by the Grand Encamp- 
 ment at Boston in 1895. His latest book is 
 "The Shibboleth: a Templar Monitor." The 
 Masonic Institution was his favorite, next to 
 his religion, and as a Masonic writer he was 
 very conspicuous. His native characteristics 
 constantly cropped out in his literature and 
 often caused him to be misunderstood. Others 
 will take up his unfinished work, but can not 
 carry it on as he would have done, because 
 their individuality can not be like his was. His 
 Masonic mark is the ideal of his life in practice, 
 and it can not be duplicated nor even fairly im- 
 itated. Earth has had but one Washington, 
 but one Lafayette, and but one George Cooper 
 Connor, and it never will have another. His 
 last request of us was that we ask the readers 
 of this magazine to pray for him, but it came 
 too late to be complied with, and instead we 
 sent him a letter of sympathy. He prayed for 
 himself and died a Mason and Christian. 
 
 BROTHER GEORGE C. CONNOR. 
 From the Masonic Review, Ciucinnati, March, 1894. 
 
 We regret the necessity for the foUovnng an- 
 nouncement from the family of Brother George 
 C. Connor of Chattanooga, Tenn. His con- 
 nection with the revised Ritual of Knights 
 Templar has imposed upon him a vast amount 
 of correspondence. Of the nature of his disease 
 we are not informed, but trust that the G. A. O. 
 T. U. will spare him for many years of useful- 
 ness to the Masonic Bodies and humanity : 
 
 Chattanooga, Tenn., March 2. 
 Editor Masonic Review, Cincinnati, O. . 
 
 Dear Sir — Please say to the readers of your 
 extensively read Masonic journal that my father 
 has been unable to answer correspondence be- 
 cause of a dangerous illness through which he 
 is passing. He has been confined to his apart- 
 ments over one month, but his physicians now 
 pronounce him better. 
 
 He begs his brethren to remember him at the 
 throne of God. 
 
 Very truly, 
 
 M. T. Connor. 
 
 Since the above was received and prepared, 
 we learn of the passing away of Brother Connor. 
 He was a man among men, — a true Mason, and 
 a gentleman and a scholar. What a world this 
 would be if all men were such as he was ! 
 
 71 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 
 
 DEATH OF GEORGE COOPER CONNOR. 
 From the Masonic Token, Portlaud, Me., May 15, 1894. 
 
 George Cooper Connor, Grand Recorder of 
 Tennessee, died of diabetes, at Chattanooga, 
 March 9. He was born in Ireland, October 
 9, 1834, and was consequently in his sixtieth 
 year. He came to America in his fourteenth 
 year, and remained in Canada until 185S, when 
 he removed to Nashville, where he edited a 
 religious paper. At the beginning of the war 
 he entered the Confederate service, and came 
 out at the close a major. After the war he 
 was agent for the Western & Atlantic Railroad, 
 at Chattanoo;4a, for many years, and was very 
 active in all good works as a citizen. He had 
 been Grand Master, Grand Commander, and for 
 some years. Grand Recorder, and was Corres- 
 pondent in Grand Commandery, Grand Chapter 
 and Grand Lodge. He was Secretary of the 
 Ritual Committee of the Grand Encampment, 
 and aithor of the Shibboleth, the Monitor of 
 the Denver ritual. In the summer of 1887, 
 Brother Connor came to Portland, where we had 
 the pleasure of making his personal acquain- 
 tance after long knowing him by correspondence. 
 His genial waj's made him many friends here 
 who will hear with regret of his early death. 
 
 He was Grand Sword Bearer of the Grand 
 Encampment U. S., and Grand Master McCurdy 
 issued a mourning circular. 
 
 GEORGE COOPER CONNOR. 
 
 From The Trestle Board, San Francisco, April, 1894. 
 
 One of the chiefs in Masonic literature in 
 this country of recent years, whose name ap- 
 pears at the head of this sketch, has passed to 
 the fathomless future. Few among his com- 
 peers will be more deeply and sincerely mourned. 
 His unselfish love for the Institution, his ac- 
 quirements, his genial and magnetic disposition 
 and manners, all conspired to endear him in the 
 hearts of all who came in personal contact. 
 His literary productions were the tokens of the 
 warm and genial spirit which pervaded and in- 
 fluenced his life. His peculiar characteristics 
 were most prominently manifested in his Re- 
 ports on Correspondence to the Grand Bodies 
 of Tennessee, which were in his usual happy- 
 vein, while the sharp rapier of truth was hidden 
 so skillfully in his witty encounters with his 
 opponents as to be shorn of rancor or bitter- 
 ness. Perhaps no writer on Correspondence 
 presented so peculiar a Report as those from his 
 
 pen. His sallies of wit and good humor mixed 
 with sound logic "always attracted one to its 
 pages from commencement to close. But the 
 crowning work of his^life was the'part he took 
 as Chairman of the Committee on the Ritual of 
 the Knights Templar, which was adopted and 
 has become the uniform work of that great 
 body in this country. Much of its phraseology 
 and arrangement may be due to the labor be- 
 stowed upon it by his associates on the commit- 
 tee, all able and zealous workers, but to the un- 
 paralleled and magnificent rendition of the 
 work before the Grand Encampment by its 
 Chairman is due the approval and unanimous 
 acceptance of the report without amendment, 
 after a series of years of disagreement. None 
 present on that occasion will forget the splen- 
 did physique of the speaker, his grand, power- 
 ful and flexible voice, his intense dramatic pre- 
 sentation, nor the acceptance which crowned 
 his effort. 
 
 Brother Connor was born in Ireland, October 
 9, 1834, and departed this life March 9, 1894, 
 being in the 6oth year of his age. He came to 
 Canada at the age of 14, and resided there until 
 1858, when he removed to Nashville, Tennessee, 
 to take the position of editor of a religious 
 paper. At the breaking out of the civil war he 
 entered the Confederate service, receiving a 
 parole as Major. At the close of the war he 
 settled in Atlanta, Georgia, and engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits until 1871, when he accepted 
 a position as agent of the Western & Atlantic 
 Railroad, and located at Chattanooga, since 
 which time his home has been in that place. 
 He was active in local affairs, and being a good 
 speaker, of positive opinions and a tireless 
 worker, he was always among the foremost in 
 all local as well as fraternal affairs. He was 
 made a Mason at Atlanta in 1867, and a Knight 
 Templar in 1868. In 1873 he was first a mem- 
 ber of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee as Master 
 of Temple Lodge, No. 430, was elected Deputy 
 Grand Master in 1874, and Grand Master in 
 1878. He was also a Past High Priest, Past 
 Grand Commander, Past Potentate of Alhambra 
 Temple, Chairman of the Board of Custodians 
 and Chairman of the Committee of Jurispru- 
 dence of Grand Lodge, Grand Recorder of 
 Grand Commandery and Reporter on Corre- 
 spondence of all the Grand Bodies of Tennes- 
 see. He was elected to receive the 33° by the 
 Supreme Council, A. & A. Scottish Rite. 
 
 The funeral took place at Chattanooga on 
 March nth, at which about two hundred 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 
 
 Knights Templar attended, escorted by about 
 two hundred Masons, who performed the sol- 
 emn Templar service which he was so instru- 
 mental in having adopted. A very large con- 
 course of citizens were also present. 
 
 BROTHER GEORGE C. CONNOR. 
 From the Masonic Record, St. Paul, April i, 1894. 
 
 In the death of Brother George C. Connor, 
 Grand Recorder of Tennessee, the craft in that 
 Jurisdiction loses one of its widest known 
 and most active members, the Masonic press 
 one of its brightest correspondents, and the 
 Fraternity at large a whole-souled, ardent, true 
 and tried friend and brother. After an illness 
 of several months' duration, Brother Connor 
 died at his home in Chattanooga on March 9th. 
 He was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1832. Ma- 
 sonically, as well as otherwise. Brother Connor's 
 career has been a bright one. In addition to 
 other important offices, he has held the position 
 of Grand Master and Grand Commander of Ten- 
 nessee. Brother Connor's death will leave a 
 void in Masonic ranks that will not be readily 
 filled. 
 
 generous and sympathetic in the expression of 
 a bountiful nature. He was an ardent Mason 
 — made such at Atlanta in 1867. He passed as 
 rapidly as possible through other departments 
 of legitimate Freemasonry, and soon acquired 
 a deserved prominence. He was Past Grand 
 Master of Masons in Tennessee, Past Grand 
 High Priest, and Past Grand Commander of the 
 same Jurisdiction. He had been elected to 
 receive the 33°. As a writer of fraternal 
 Correspondence he had acquired extended 
 fame. At Denver, in 1892, at the Triennial 
 Conclave of the Grand Encampment, Sir Knight 
 Connor read the Ritual of the Red Cross and 
 Templar Orders, with the preparation of which 
 he had been prominently identified, and at- 
 tracted to himself much attention by his elo- 
 quence in presenting the new Ritual. Last 
 year he prepared and published "The Shibbo- 
 leth," a Templar Monitor designed to accom- 
 pany and explain the new work adopted at 
 Denver. 
 
 Sir Knight Connor's death will cause deep 
 and widespread sorrow, for he had hosts of 
 friends. He will be mourned as an accom- 
 plished Mason and a loyal, loving Sir Knight. 
 
 DEATH OF GEORGE C. CONNOR. 
 
 From The Freemason's Repository, Providence, R. I., 
 April, 1894. 
 
 George Cooper Connor died at his residence 
 in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Friday, March 9, 
 1894. He was born in Ireland, October 9, 
 1834. He came to America in his early youth, 
 residing for a number of years in Canada. In 
 1858 he settled at Nashville, Tenn., where he 
 was employed in business and literary pursuits 
 at the breaking out of the civil war. His sym- 
 pathies were with the South, and he enlisted as 
 a soldier in the Confederate service, retiring at 
 the close of the war with the rank of Major. A 
 few years later he became an agent of the West- 
 ern & Atlantic Railroad, and was assigned to 
 duty at Chattanooga where he has since resided. 
 He quickly identified himself with the public 
 interests of that city and soon made his influ- 
 ence felt in its social, political and commercial 
 activities. He was a man of brains, with an 
 immense will power. He was aggressive, but 
 from no malice. His was a strong individuality, 
 in which various elements were joined together 
 to make a remarkable character. He was genial 
 and mirth-loving, fond of congenial society. 
 
 THE DEATH ROLL. 
 From The Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., March 10, 1S94. 
 
 George Cooper Connor, perhaps the most 
 eminent Mason in the South, died at his home 
 this morning, of Bright's disease. 
 
 Major Connor was born in Ireland, October 
 9, 1834, but came to Chattanooga from Atlanta, 
 in 1871. In Atlanta he was a Baptist minister, 
 but was placed in charge of the Western and 
 Atlantic freight depot here by Governor Joe 
 Brown, then lessee of the road. Always prom- 
 inent in Masonic circles, he has held every po- 
 sition of trust in their gift, and was Custodian 
 of the Work in Tennessee and Grand Sword 
 Bearer of the National Encampment at the 
 time of his death. He was an author of several 
 Masonic works. A voluminous writer, he had 
 made numerous newspaper ventures. He 
 wielded a facile and trenchant pen, and this, 
 most of all, prevented him from succeeding 
 financially as a journalist, although fair and 
 honorable toward opponents. He has traveled 
 the whole globe, and when on the Continent 
 and in the Western States, contributed to vari- 
 ous papers under the nom de plume of ' ' Man- 
 itou." 
 
 73 
 
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 
 
 Major Connor was assistant, in 1881, to Pres- 
 ident Scott, of the Cincinnati Southern Rail- 
 road, and has since edited and controlled several 
 papers, among them The Evening Democrat, 
 in this city. He entered the Confederate ser- 
 vice while living at Thomasville, Ga., and served 
 on the staff of General E. Kirby-Smith, and as 
 assistant quartermaster of Georgia. His wife 
 was Miss I,. Gertrude Cress, of Augusta, Ga. 
 He has, for twenty-five years, been a conspicu- 
 ous, public-spirited citizen. While secretary of 
 the Board of Trade he scored a great victory in 
 Eastern freight rates to the city before the In- 
 terstate Commission. The funeral will be held 
 Sundaj' afternoon. 
 
 STOOD HIGH IN THE ORDER. 
 From Atlanta Journal, March g, 1894. 
 
 News has been received in Atlanta of the 
 death of George Cooper Connor, in Chatta- 
 nooga. 
 
 Mr. Connor was the brightest light of the 
 Western Masonic world since the death of Gen- 
 eral Albert Pike. He was elected a thirty-third 
 of the Scottish Rite; Past Grand Master and 
 Past Grand High Priest and Past Grand Com- 
 
 mander of Tennessee ; at present a grand officer 
 in the Grand Encampment of Knights Tem- 
 plar; was the author of the recently revised 
 ritual of the Templars ; is the author of several 
 works on the subject of Masonry, to which he 
 devoted his life, all of which are accepted as 
 highest authority. 
 
 He was made a Mason in this city nearly 
 forty years ago, and has many friends here to 
 whom his death will be sad news. 
 
 He was for many years connected with the 
 Western & Atlantic Railroad at Chattanooga. 
 He spent some time on the Continent two years 
 ago, and collected much rare and valuable Ma- 
 sonic information, with which he has since been 
 regaling the Ancient Craft. 
 
 The Masonic world is in mourning, and the 
 lodges are draped in mourning. The loss is a 
 national one, not only in the Masonic, but in 
 the civic and religious world as well, for all his 
 paths through life were adorned by his genius. 
 
 The funeral will be held on Sunday at two 
 o' clock, and a large delegation will attend from 
 this city. Many of the Grand Bodies of the 
 different States, and representatives of the su- 
 preme councils will attend, and it will be the 
 largest Masonic funeral ever witnessed in the 
 South. 
 
FAREWELL. 
 
FAREWEIvIv. 
 
 The following is the language used by G. C. Connor in closiug his last Report on Correspondence to the 
 Grand Lodge, F. & A. M., January, 1894. 
 
 AYE, it may be forever; the Father alone 
 knoweth. But if we meet no more here, 
 may we meet beyond the river where the waves 
 of sorrow surge no more. Yes, the Pearly Gate 
 comes nearer, and the light from its wicket 
 streams down to us along the highway. The 
 burden remains, but it grows lighter every year. 
 Here we see the faults of each other magni- 
 fied, entirely because we do not know each 
 other ; but we will know each other there ; yea, 
 in that bright and shining land where the weary 
 and the misunderstood are at rest forever. Here 
 we lay up both earthly and spiritual treasures ; 
 the former to discharge our obligations, the lat- 
 ter that we may honor God and elevate man- 
 kind. Such living, laying up and trustfulness 
 make up the life of a true Freemason. 
 
 Many of the beloved have crossed over the 
 river since last we reported. They are not ab- 
 sorbed in the fountain of Nirvana, as the Bud- 
 dhist dreams ; they have gone home to the bosom 
 of their God. They live because God lives, and 
 through the mercy of God we shall meet them 
 there. Ah! how precious the thought — 
 
 So star by star declines, 
 
 Till all are passed away. 
 
 Nor sink those stars in empty night, 
 
 But hide themselves in heaven's own light. 
 
 In the bonds of the Brotherhood, 
 
 Chairman.