About

Past Masters

The brethren who have served Johnson City Lodge No. 561 in the East since our charter was granted on December 16, 1882.

We honor those who have gone before us in the East. The list below is maintained by the lodge secretary — corrections and additions are gratefully received. The early roster is still being reconstructed from minute books and Blanco County records; brethren whose terms we have confirmed are listed by year, while those known only to a decade are noted accordingly.

For fuller accounts of two of our most consequential past masters, see the biographies of William McCarty (1827–1889) and Samuel B. Lambert (1847–1904) — eight times in the East on our History page.

From the East Wall

Portraits, Past and Present

C.T. Russell, the lodge's first Worshipful Master, photographed in 1882 holding a pistol. — C. T. Russell · 1882

Samuel B. Lambert, who served as Worshipful Master eight times between 1883 and 1896. — S. B. Lambert · 1883–96

Composite of four founding-era Worshipful Masters: James P. Johnson, S.B. Lambert, William McCarty, and W.B. Summy. — Founders · Johnson, Lambert, McCarty, Summy

Paul D. Underwood — Past Worshipful Master of Johnson City Lodge No. 561 and 185th Grand Master of Masons in Texas, 2020–2021. — Paul D. Underwood · 185th Grand Master of Texas

The Roster

Confirmed Past Masters

2020 Right Worshipful Paul D. Underwood Past Worshipful Master of Johnson City Lodge No. 561 and 185th Grand Master of Masons in Texas (Grand Lodge of Texas, 2020–2021). Fourth alumnus of the Masonic Home and School of Texas ever to be elected Grand Master. See his biography on the History page.
1888 W. B. Summy Founding-era brother. Served as Worshipful Master in the 1880s (exact term to be confirmed from minute books).
1886 William McCarty (1827–1889) Pioneer rancher, founding brother of Lodge No. 561, served as Worshipful Master in the 1880s (exact term uncertain). Killed by cattle rustlers at Crow Springs, NM, on April 15, 1889.
1885 James P. Johnson Founding-era brother. Served as Worshipful Master in the 1880s (exact term to be confirmed from minute books).
1883 Samuel B. Lambert (1847–1904) Founding member. Served as Worshipful Master eight times: 1883, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1893, 1895, 1896 — a record unmatched in the lodge's first half-century.
1882 C. T. Russell Charter year Worshipful Master. The lodge's portrait shows him holding a pistol — the founding spirit of Johnson City Lodge No. 561.