Caleb G. Francis: The Connecticut Merchant Who Became Advance Lodge’s First Secretary
Caleb G. Francis, a Connecticut-born merchant raised a Mason in Williamsburgh in 1863, became a charter member and the first Secretary of Advance Lodge No. 635 in Astoria. His story follows the lodge’s founding records and newspaper notices that may trace his life from Broadway to the Connecticut shore.
A Merchant Among the Founders: Caleb G. Francis of Advance Lodge No. 635
Caleb G. Francis, a Connecticut-born merchant raised a Mason in Williamsburgh in 1863, became the first Secretary of Advance Lodge No. 635 in Astoria. His story traces the lodge’s founding, a trade in sewing machine materials, and possible later connections to the Connecticut shore.