Harrisonville’s Man of Medicine and Masonry: Dr. Selim Day

This year Harrisonville Masonic Lodge #411 celebrates 150 years of Freemasonry. This past February, the Grand Lodge of Ohio gathered in Harrisonville for a reconsecration, or re-dedication, ceremony for the lodge. The names of the original members of the lodge were A.B. Dickey, Selim Day, W.A. Race, I.H. Hendry, J.O. Clark, I. Irwin, W.C. Hayes, J.P. Bosworth, A.P. Riggs and John C. Golden. In October of 1868, the Grand Lodge of Ohio appointed A.B. Dickey the first Worshipful Master of the Lodge, Selim Day the first Senior Warden, and W.A. Race the first Junior Warden.

After the second meeting of the Lodge, Dr. Selim Day assumed the position of Worshipful Master. The following year, he was elected to be the master of Harrisonville Masonic Lodge and officially remained in that position from 1869 to 1882. While preparing for this 150th anniversary celebration, I came upon a bit of information about Dr. Selim Day, both as a mason and as a country doctor.

Dr. Selim Day was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is unknown exactly when Dr. Day, and his wife Mary (Graham) Day came to southeastern Ohio, and Meigs County, but it is assumed he is from around Albany, due to the petitioners of Harrisonville Masonic Lodge originally working under approval of Albany Lodge #156. Dr. Day received his medical accreditation from Starling Medical College in Columbus in 1848. By the time the Civil War erupted, Dr. Day and his son, Dr. Howard Day were practicing medicine together in
Harrisonville.

According to The Civil War Guidebook of the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail of Morgan’s Raid Across Ohio, “On July 18th General Morgan sent a flanking force from Wilkesville to Harrisonville. Along this route, many of Morgan’s men forged from the farmlands along the way before reaching Harrisonville. These citizens submitted claims for the expenses suffered from feeding Morgan’s soldiers. Dr. Day submitted the maximum allowed to claim, which was $260.00.” In 2018, that amounts to $5,200.12.

Two days later, when Morgan’s men were making their retreat from Buffington Island to Nelsonville, the confederates made their way back through Harrisonville, looting and stealing provisions and horses. Martin Dye, a local, had been so terrified of the events going on and began to run for safety. Amid his run, his backside struck a post, and Dye insisted he had fallen victim to being shot by a confederate. He ran to Dr. Day’s office only to find out that he would live from his severely minor injuries.

In 1868, as already mentioned Dr. Day and nine others petitioned to charter Harrisonville Masonic Lodge. At the time of its institution, there was no suitable building in Harrisonville for the lodge to meet, so they met in the DeCamp Institute school building (where Day also taught) located in Pageville, known at this time as Pagetown. In May of 1874, the members of Harrisonville Lodge purchased a half acre lot along what is now called New Lima Road, (Rutland Rd. previously) for $100.00. Due to lack of funding, the lodge wasn’t built until1882. It was dedicated on July 12th of that year with Most Worshipful Grand Master S. Stacker Williams of the Grand Lodge of Ohio and Dr. Selim Day, Worshipful Master of Harrisonville #411 presiding over the dedication ceremony. This structure served the Masons of Harrisonville until the current lodge was built in 1974.

During Dr. Selim Day’s 14 year consecutive year tenure as Master of Harrisonville, 177 regular stated meetings and 35 special meetings were held by the lodge. Dr. Day was present and presided over 203 of the 212 total meetings. His son, Dr. Howard Day was Master for 10 years, non-consecutively, serving 5 times as Master with 2 year terms. Within the first 50 years of the lodge’s existence, this father and son combination served as master for half of that time.

Dr. Selim Day died in 1900 and was honored with Masonic services (his son serving as Master during the service) at his funeral. He is buried in Well’s Cemetery. According to The History of Harrisonville Masonic Lodge: The First 100 Years, “His final resting place is said to be ‘on a hill over-looking the countryside which he so loyally served as a doctor and leading citizen and loyal mason for so many years.’”

It has been said that “any successful organization is the lengthened shadow of one man.” If that be true, 150 years later, Harrisonville Masonic Lodge #411 is the “lengthened shadow” of Dr. Selim Day.

As the old Ohio flows….