It’s been difficult for historians to accurately piece together Prince Hall’s early life. There were numerous men named Prince Hall in Massachusetts in the 1700s, and one of Hall’s biographers, William Grimshaw, has had some of his work on Hall’s life discredited.
According to the Phylaxis Society, an international Masonic organization dedicated to the life of Prince Hall and Prince Hall Freemasonry, Prince Hall was an African born around 1738. He was taken into slavery and ended up in New England. He was freed by William Hall, and may have taken his last name from William’s family. Other historians argue that Prince Hall was a servant, and that William Hall documented Prince’s status as a free man.
Prince Hall and Masonic Lodges
On March 6, 1775, Hall and fourteen other African-Americans were made Master Masons by Master John Batt of Irish Lodge no. 441. Hall became Master of African Lodge No. 1 (known as African Lodge No. 459 after being authorized as a formal lodge by the Grand Lodge of England).
Hall served as the master of African Lodge no. 459 until his death. He also authorized the formation of new African-American Masonic lodges in Philadelphia, Providence and New York. In 1847, the African Grand Lodge replaced the name “African” in its title with “Prince Hall” in tribute. Today many of the Masonic lodges of the Prince Hall tradition are called “Prince Hall”.
Prince Hall and Civil Rights
Hall’s correspondence shows him to have been a well-read man who knew the works of early Church writers such as Tertullian and Cyprian. He was a strong education advocate for the African-American community as well. “After the organization of African Lodge #1, it didn't take Prince Hall very long to launch a meaningful attack on the slave trade, slavery, and the non-education of Black children,” writes Prince Hall Grand Lodge Historian R.W. Raymond T. Coleman.
Hall petitioned the legislature to free slaves, allow Blacks to enlist in the army, protect Black seamen from kidnapping and provide education to Black children. Hall created his own school after becoming frustrated with the lackluster response from the government. He also offered the peace-keeping services of African Lodge to the legislature during the Shays’ Rebellion.
The Legacy of Prince Hall
Prince Hall’s most enduring legacy can be seen in the many lodges that bear his name across the world. Closer to home, in October 2008 the city of Cambridge acknowledged Prince Hall as a founding father. The Boston Globe reported in November 2008 that Cambridge will build a monument to Hall on the Cambridge Common.
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