Horace Harmon Burbank, Thirty-fifth Grand Master
Horace H. Burbank was born in Limerick, Maine, October 27, 1837. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in the class of 1860, of which Hon. Thomas B. Reed and many other men, afterward prominent, were members. At the outbreak of the Civil War Brother Burbank, heeding the call of his Country, enlisted as a private in the Twenty-Seventh Maine Regiment, fought in several battles, and attained the rank of Captain. He was taken a prisoner at the Battle of the Crater, and served ten months in Rebel prisons. After returning from the war he studied law, was admitted to the bar in York County, and practiced his profession in Saco. During the latter years of his life he served as Judge of the Municipal Court of his City. He was made a Mason in Freedom Lodge, Limerick, February 17, 1864, and served as Master of the lodge in 1869 and 1870. He was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in 1893 and 1894. He had also served as Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter in 1873 and 1874; as Grand Master of the Grand Council in 1884 and 1885; and as Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery in 1893. He was Senior Vice President of Maine Council of High Priesthood at the time of his death. Brother Burbank was stricken with a shock of paralysis, and died at his home in Saco, January 8, 1905.
Augustus Bowman Farnham, Thirty-sixth Grand Master
Augustus B. Farnham was born in Bangor, March 10, 1839, and died in that city on January 14, 1918. In early life he choose the profession of civil engineering, and had advanced to the point where he had accomplished a considerable amount of field work, when at the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the Second Maine Regiment, and left Bangor as First Lieutenant of Company H. A little later he was made Captain. He saw much active service and on May 8, 1863, was promoted to General and Chief of Staff of the Third Division. In the battle of Five Forks, Va., on April 1, 1865, he received a bullet in his left lung, fell and lay all night on the field, and carried the bullet to his death. After the war he returned to Bangor and entered into the wholesale grocery business. He served as Postmaster of Bangor for twenty years. Brother Farnham was raised in St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 83, Bangor, April 11, 1862; served as Master in 1879 and 1880; and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in 1893 and 1894. He was a past presiding officer of all the Bangor bodies, and served as Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Maine in 1877. He was active in the work of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and was made an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council, Thirty-third Degree, in 1888.
Joseph Alvah Locke, Thirty-seventh Grand Master
Most Worshipful Brother Locke was born in Hollis, Maine, December 25, 1843. In his childhood his parents moved to Biddeford where his early life was spent. He came to Portland after graduating from Bowdoin College, in 1865, to take up the study of law, teaching meanwhile for two years in Portland High School. He was Senior Grand Warden in 1893, Deputy Grand Master in 1895 and 1896, and Grand Master in 1897 and 1898. In Grand Chapter he was appointed Grand Master of the First Vail in 1871, and was elected Grand High Priest in 1881 and 1882. In Grand Commandery he was Deputy Grand Commander in 1887, and Grand Commander in 1888 and 1889. In the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite he was T. P. Master of Yates Lodge of Perfection for eleven years from 1875 to 1886, and was Commander-in-Chief of Maine Consistory from 1886 to 1892. He received the Honorary Thirty-third Degree in the Supreme Council in 1884, and afterward became an Active Member for Maine, which place he occupied until his death. In the Grand Encampment of the United States, Knights Templar, he was elected Junior Grand Warden in 1898, Senior Grand Warden in 1901, which office he held at the time of his death. He was also a member of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Royal Order of Scotland. His service in the various bodies was of great value, being a thorough lover of Masonry. In political life he was Representative to the State Legislature for two terms; was State State Senator for two terms, in both of which he received election as President, and afterward he served for four years on the Governor's Council. He died in Portland, April 24, 1904, and his funeral service was held on Sunday, April 27th, in the Chestnut Street Methodist Church.
Winfield Scott Choate, Thirty-eighth Grand Master
Winfield S. Choate, coming from old Massachusetts colonial stock, was born on a farm in Whitefield, Maine, April 15, 1850. He was a student, even as a boy, and at sixteen years of age taught school in his native town, and continued to teach there and surrounding towns until, at twenty years of age he entered the law office of the late Judge Artemus Libby, as a law student. Later he followed a course in the Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in June, 1872. He had previously been admitted to the Kennebec County bar, and upon graduation he began the practice of his profession in Augusta. He served as Mayor of his City for two terms, and was at the time of death, Clerk of Courts for Kennebec County, a position he had filled with honor and credit for several years. Brother Choate was made a Mason in Bethlehem Lodge, No. 35, at Augusta, May 5, 1888, and was Master of the lodge in 1890 and 1891. He was exalted in Cushnoc R. A. Chapter, December 22, 1892, and was elected High Priest in 1898. He was knighted in Trinity Commandery on June 9, 1893, and served his Commandery as Eminent Commander in 1901. He received the degrees on the Scottish Rite up to the thirty-second, and served for several years as presiding officer of Augusta Council of Princes of Jerusalem. He served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maine in 1899 and 1900. While still young in years, Most Worshipful Brother Choate was seized with disease of the kidneys, and after a painful illness of several months, died at his home in Augusta on June 27, 1903. At his request his funeral service was conducted by the simple and beautiful ritual of the Episcopal Church, of which he had long been a most active member and working official.
Alfred S. Kimball Thirty-ninth Grand Master
Most Worshipful Brother Kimball was born in Waterford, Maine. December 20, 1842. With only a common school education he began the study of law, was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his chosen profession in his native town, in 1864. In 1882, he removed to Norway and opened an office where he continued a successful practice until his death. He received the symbolic degrees in Oxford Lodge at Norway, in 1865, and very soon after took a demit to become a charter member of Mount Tir'em Lodge, No. 132, at Waterford, in which body he served as its Master. He was elected Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge in 1897; Deputy Grand Master in 1899 and 1900, and Grand Master in 1901 and 1902. He was for many years chairman of the Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence, and his best work for the fraternity was done on that important committee. He was the first High Priest of Oriental Royal Arch Chapter at Bridgton, and served the Grand Chapter of Maine as Grand Scribe in 1909. He was a charter member of Oxford Council at Norway, serving as its T. I. Master in 1893, and was Most Illustrious Grand Master of the Grand Council of Maine in 1907. He received the orders of knighthood in Portland Commandery, No. 2, at Portland, in 1872. Upon the death of the lamented Companion Josiah H. Drummond, Brother Kimball was elected President of the Order of High Priesthood for Maine, and held that office until the last summons came. He received the degrees of the Scottish Rite, and was made an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council, Thirty-third Degree, in 1906. He was elected Grand Master, Ad Vitam, of the Sovereign College of Allied and Christian Degrees for America, in 1901.
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