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By Yancey Russell, Devine Lodge No. 590 Free and Accepted Masons At the stated meeting on April 3, 1860, it was record ed that Ivy H. Cox of Castro ville was in attendance. The U.S. Census of 1860 lists Cox as a clergyman of the Metho dist Episcopal Church, a na tive of Alabama. The petition of John Redus of Castroville for affiliation was read. This apparently was a mere formality, since he was listed as secretary of the Hondo lodge under dispen sation. However he still was officially a member of Alamo Lodge No. 44 where he was made a Master Mason on Oc tober 31, 1859, and was grant ed a demit on April 7, 1860. Redus was born in Athens, Ala, on December 25, 1833, went with his family to Aber deen, Miss, when about 10 years old. When he was 22 the condition of his health caused his physician to ad vise him to go to West Texas. In 1855 he arrived in Texas, visited Austin, then went to San Antonio after having met some old friends from Aber deen who had settled in Me dina county. He bought ranch land and on December 11, 1859 mar ried Sallie McLemore, daugh ter of Daniel McLemore, who came from Mississippi. The petition of Redus for affiliation was granted on May 5, 1860, McOmber and Adams, having passed, were made Master Masons at the meeting. The Reverend Cox peti tioned for affiliation and Hamilton G. Horton for the degrees on June 3. A com mittee was appointed to con fer with the trustees of the church with regard to the joint indebtedness on the house and determine the pro portionate amount thereof justly due from the lodge. (Note: This indicates the ex pense of the building was be ing shared by the Zions Meth odist Episcopal Church, South, and the lodge. The Rev. Cox probably was the pastor), Ken nedy received the degree of Fellow Craft at this meeting. First report of the lodge on the Honda was in the Proceed ings of the twenty-fourth An nual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Texas in the hall of Lafayette Lodge No. 34 in LaGrange on June 11, 1860, Report Published A report of the Committee on Lodges Under Dispensation on June 12 said: Hondo Lodge, held at Hondo Valley, Medina County. Their work is all correct and their re turns have been corrected. Hondo Lodge No. 252 was the last lodge listed in the Proceedings of 1860. Below the name is: Held at lodge room in Hondo Valley in the County of Medina on the first Saturday of each month, G. W, Robbins, W.M.; G. W, Harper, S.W.; S. Boone, Treasurer; J. Redus, Secreta ry; N.M.C, Patterson, 5, D. ; William H. Burrows, J. D.; Gibson E. Tilley, Tiler, Mas ter Masons, T. J. Haile, 0. H. McOmber, M. W. Adams, “ Tilley is listed in the U.S. Census from Castroville, a farmer by occupation, and a native of Georgia. Returns of the lodge usual ly give the date of the chart er as June 14, 1860, indicat ing it was approved at the communication at LaGrange. At the close of 1860, re turns listed the same officers and the following Master Max ons: Haile, McOmber, Ad ams, Kennedy, Cox, Fellow Crafts: James H, Reed, H. G. Horton, Entered Apprentices, Henry C, Adams, C. A, Mc Donald, McOmber signed the returns as secretary ... he was listed in Commissioners Court minutes Nov. 18, 1861 as a school teacher in Dis trict No. 2, several charter members of the lodge were prominent in governmental affairs of the county. Harper was chief justice from September, 1858 to August, 1862. He also was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Zions Metho dist Episcopal church, Robbins was a county commissioner from September, 1858 to Au gust 1862, Patterson perhaps had to travel further to attend lodge meetings than any of the oth ers, he staked his home stead claim seven miles South of Sabinal in 1654 when it was said that there were on ly nine houses in the county outside of Fort Inge. He par ticipated in the organization of Uvalde county in 1856, served as county commission er and justice of the peace, later two terms as sheriff, and later as chief justice. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Zions Metho dist Episcopal Church, South. It is likely that he came to lodge meetings on Saturday, stayed over that night to at tend church services next day. Samuel A. Long led the lodge as Master during 1861. Redus was S.W.; Smith, J. W.; Harper, Treasurer; James B. Davenport, Secretary; George Redus, S.D.; Boone, J. D.; and Kennedy, Tiler. The only new Master Mason listed was Irvin Jones, E. A. 's listed were B. J. Brice, Chris tian Stiegler and Frank Schus ter. George Redus, a younger brother of John, was born in Alabama and went to Aber deen, Miss. with the family as a child. When John re turned there to attend the fu neral of the father, not only George but two other brothers, William and James, decided to migrate to Texas, and to Medina county. Christian Stiegler of New Fountain, age 28, farmer, was a native of Wurttemburg, Germany, according to the U.S. Census, Frank Schus ter of New Fountain, age 33, was a merchant, a native of Hanover, Germany. Com missioners Court records show that he was naturalized on Ju ly 29, 1858, having lived in the U.S. five years, the last year in Texas. Brothers go to War The opening guns of the Civil War at the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 echoed but faintly in Medina county, and it was not until the returns of De cember 27, 1862 that the ef fect of the war upon the lodge was officially recorded. Long continued to be W.M.; John Redus, S.W.; Smith, J. W.; Harper, Treasurer; Dav enport, Secretary; George Re dus, S. D.; Christian Stieg ler, J.D.; Kennedy, Tiler. The lodge continued to grow during the year and a total membership of 20 Master Masons was reported, along with the following E, As: W. H. Davenport, George Mey ers, and Peter T. Adams. New members included B. F. Biggs and E. M. Downs. The lat ter was a physician, a native of Vermont, according to the U.S. Census of 1860, and lived in or near New Foun tain. George Meyer was list ed in the Census as a stone mason, a native of Bavaria, resident of the New Fountain community. Under the heading Re marks, the secretary wrote: “John Redus in the Army, Oth ers in the Army: George Re dus, John Kennedy, J, H, Reed, M. V. Adams, W, H. Bur rows, E, M. Downs, T, J, Haile, G, E. Tilley. The returns of December 27, 1863 revealed further de tails about the brethren who went to war. The same offi cers guided the lodge through the year. Members listed as serving in military units of the Confederate States of A merica included: M. V. Ad ams, private, and J. H. Reed, captain, in Pyron's Regiment; George Redus and B. F. Biggs, privates in Duff's Regiment (this was the 33rd Texas Cav alry); G. E. Tilley, private in Wood's Regiment; P. T. Adams, lieutenant, and WwW, D. C. Burney, J. W. Cooper, and Thomas M. Pafford, pri vates in Frontier Regiment, Dr. E, M. Downs was List ed as a surgeon, C,S, A, serv ice, John Redus, who served as a private in Co, A, 33rd Texas Cavalry, Frontier Regi ment, Was honorably dis charged. Others honorably discharged whose military u nits were not identified were: W. H. Burrows, J. B. McLe more, O. H. McOmber, and L. C. Davenport. T. J. Haile was reported killed in Boston Mount, but the report of his death was false, for he re turned and was active in the lodge until 1869. To be continued
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Hondo Anvil Herald
Hondo, Texas, US
Thu, Feb 25, 1971
Page 10
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NA, 05 Jul 2026
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