DOCTOR EDOUARD EMANUEL BLITZ AND THE MARTINIST ORDER IN AMERICA

In the official organ of the Grand College of Rites of the U.S.A., Volume 2, Part 1, are found the rituals of The Martinist order. In the foreword, written by Past Grand Chancellor, J. Raymond Shute, II, mention is made of "an American branch of the rectified Order created by Dr. Edouard Blitz on these shores."

Repeated attempts, for several years past, to secure data or information regarding Dr. Blitz were without result. Inquiries into path and channels directed by those who knew him in the past proved fruitless. In fact not a trace of his activities, Masonic, professional or private, came to light. It always seemed strange to me that in my "pokings" in and out of Masonic and occult historical circles that no contact was made with the name of Blitz. From "stories" that had come to me, Dr. Blitz was philosophically inclined. Maybe, I thought, the Doctor might be the Unknown Philosopher - and this time really unknown - for we have identified many unknown philosophers, so-called, even while still in the flesh. But this possibility has now been shattered through one of those accidental finds, which are a joy in the life of the historian.

Last October one of the Fellows of Grand College, Brother Edward R. Cusick, of New York, called my attention to an old newspaper item he had discovered during an historical research. In running down some clues, which the article suggested, I was led to the Proceedings of the Supreme Council, Northern Jurisdiction, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, for 1902. By the merest accident I noted, on page 120, a copy of a letter to the M. P. Sovereign Grand Commander, expressing the sympathy of the Scottish Rite and Rectified Regime in Switzerland, on the death of President William McKinley signed by "E. Blitz, the Envoy-Extraordinary and Representative for the United States of America " dated Nevada, Mo. October 5, 1901." Could this be the Edouard Blitz whose activities had defied my searching so long? It not only could, but replies from a few letters soon proved that it was.

The path of investigation ultimately led to Dr. Blitz's son, Dr. Julian Paul Blitz, now resident of Lubbock, Texas, without whose assistance this paper would have been but a recital of the Masonic affiliations of our Brother and a bare sketch of the few personal data obtained trough research. Instead, with Dr. Julian Blitz practically a collaborator, aside from the Masonic data, I am able to present a rather full sketch of the physical existence and some rather poignant suggestions of the temporal and esthetic life of the late Doctor. And, on my own, I have added certain facts concerning my unwitting collaborator, whose modesty and sensitivity of temperament, like his father's, would not permit such an inclusion in a sketch of his own preparation. As there are three Doctor Blitz's mentioned In this work, references to Doctor Blitz in the text, unless otherwise specifically mentioned, will be to Dr. Edouard Emanrnuel Blitz, the subject premier.

This investigation has led me into fields of Masonry, music dentistry, medicine, philosophy, patriotism, heroism, martyrdom, Belgium and American history altruism

and methodology. We are fortunate to have at hand, or available for reference, the documentary proofs of the labors of Dr. Blitz in these fields. The investigation has further led me into universities, state schools, denominational colleges, dental schools, Belgian and American conservatories of music, Jesuit colleges and Benedictine Monasteries.I can but mention these phrases in the present instance. I have been made acquainted with three consecutive generations of doctors - each one of them having espoused musicians of importance, to say the least, as will be seen by the following genealogical digest:

BLITZ, JEKUTHIEL BEN ISAAC. Amsterdam, Holland; translator, in 1679, of the Hebrew Bible into Judeo-German.

BLITZ DR. ISAAS S. Amsterdam, Holland; father of Dr. Edouard Emanuel Blitz dentist and flutist; Freemason - Cordon of. Grand Master and two Masonic aprons worn by him well over a hundred years ago in possession of his grandson.

PYN, CLEMENTINE, Belgium; wife of Dr. I. S. Blitz and mother of Dr. Edouard Emanuel Blitz; coloratura soprano, awarded in the year 1858, first prize in an international contest for non-professional singers; a direct descendant of the Belgium patriot, Lievin Pyn, Mayor of Ghent, who was hanged on a lamp-post by Charles V, for refusing to surrender the keys of the city of Ghent.

MILLER, MATTIE LOUISE, United States; wife of Dr. Edouard Emanuel Blitz, born in Mansfield, Ohio in 1865; mother of Dr. Julian Paul Blitz; daughter of Colonel Hiram Miller; married Dr. Blitz September 1, 1884; pianist, artist pupil of Joseph Wieniawski; member of Oceania is Chapter, No. 152, O.E.S. in Pentwater, Michigan - a Bible donated by her to that Chapter being stall in use on the altar by the Chapter and Masonic bodies meeting in that city, first American woman decorated in Belgium for an act of bravery (diploma extant); Directress of music, Cottey College, Nevada, Missouri; deceased Nevada, Missouri, 1904. Remains deposited in Pentwater Michigan, Cemetery.

BLITZ, DR. JULIEN PAUL son of Dr. Edouard Emanuel Blitz and Mattie Louise Miller Blitz; born in Ghent, Belgium, 1885; Doctor of music; Laureate cum Laude, Royal Conservatory, Ghent, 1905; founder of the Houston, Texas, Symphony; director of the San Antonio, Texas, Symphony last native descendant of aforementioned Lievin Pin; author of ELEMENTARY MUSIC ON A FRENCH BASIS, a monograph published by Edwards Brothers, Inc. Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1940, which is prerequisite to the study of THE LADDER OF THE FIFTHS which left the press in 1941. From the first work we quote "The first public demonstration of this system given in the United States was in June, 1903, at a session of the Missouri state Music Teacher's Association where a paper entitled HOW T0 TEACH SOLFEGGIO was read by Dr. Edouard Blitz, who in the early 80's had introduced this same system in certain schools end colleges." Dr. Paul Blitz's specific musical instrument is the violoncello. A comment on his personal ability on this instrument by Dr. Maude Powell, famous violinist, says "A talent and a personality of real force. He has a gift, training and those painstaking qualities that a musical conscience gives." For the last nine years, Head of "The Music Department of Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas under the Presidency of Dr. Clifford B. Jones.

BRIGGS, FLORA, direct descendant of Hannah Dustin, heroine in Pre- Revolutionary Wars; wife of Dr. Julien Paul Blitz; pianist, Cincinnati Conservatory, San Antonio, Texas, College of music; at present teacher of piano at Texas Technological College. We Quote from the Southwestern Musician January 1939, dealing with the activities of Dr. and Mrs. Julien Paul Blitz in Texas, and referring to the Blitz Papers presented to the library of the University of Texas; article written by Dr. Lota M. Spell: "Shortly before this date (1922), he married Flora Briggs, a young piano virtuoso of San Antonio, and from that time the records of the two become inseparable so close was the artistic collaboration. In that same year they were the first professional instrumentalists in Texas to go on the air.”

BLITZ EDOUARD MARQUIS, son of Dr. Julien Paul Blitz and Flora. Briggs; violoncello virtuoso; age, twenty; volunteered for service in the United States Army at the age of nineteen preferring this to the offer of Robert Hollingshed of California, Concert Manager, to tour the United States as artist cellist. He is at present Pfc. in the 328th Air Force Band, one of the finest bands in the United States, under the direction of the youngest band director in The Army, W. O. George P. Attridge, under the command of Col. T. L. Gilbert.

This covers five generations of Blitz male descent. We will now return to Dr.Edouard Blitz:

Born, Ghent, Belgium, May 31, 1860; entered Royal Conservatory of Music of Ghent, at a very early age; as an adolescent he was schooled in the Jesuit College in Ghent but the Society of Jesus did not yet appeal to him then nor did it in later years. He did, however, greatly admire the Benedictine Order.

He studied medicine at the Sorbonne University in Paris but never practiced it as a profession. He was also a dentist, practicing in the United States, in Belgium and in Paris, France. While a student in Paris he studied Egyptology and Hinduism. He had a working knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

He was, for a while, a follower of the late Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, better known as "H.P.B.," the Russian Sphinx, third person of the bewildering triad -- St. Germain, Cagliostro and Blavatsky -- who was thirty years old when Dr. Blitz was born (H.P.B, was born at Ekaterinoslaw, Russia on July 30,1831). This following was not of long duration. In 1880, Dr. Blitz comes to the United States on a tour, which was abruptly halted in Eureka Illinois in 1882, when he met Mattie Louise Miller. It was in 1883 that he became a Freemason and he remained faithful to the teachings of the Fraternity the remainder of his life. It was in 1894, when he was chief consultant at the Louvre Dental Clinic in Paris, that ha took an active interest in Martinism, He was authorized by the late Dr. Gerard Encausse (sometime known as Papus), who died in 1916, to establish the Martinist Order in the United States. “L 'Ordre Martiniste" brought prosperity and a large membership to the group. But a day came when Papus was refused Initiation in Freemasonry no matter where he knocked at Lodge doors in Paris, whether they were under the Grand Orient of France or the Grand Lodge. In a spirit of revenge perverted his Rite of Martinism and it figured as a bogus medium for Masonic revelations. ***** Dr. Blitz naturally became acquainted with the revolutionary change and took the only course open to him. He suspended all communication between The Martinist Order in America and the Supreme Council in France, The greater portion of the membership followed their American can leader, "but, as always occurs in such cases there were a few who clung to L'ancien regime, and they continued as a little group under the leadership of Margaret B. Peeke, author of a somewhat remarkable occult novel, entitled ZENIA, The VESTAL," However, the Order had been dwelt a blow from which it could not recover. It gradually declined as the original members moved from place to place and the time of Dr. Blitz was more and more taken up with him musical activities.

It would take a biography to cover the activities of Dr. Blitz in the fields of dentistry, music, philosophy, Freemasonry, etc. in the United Sates and abroad. He made several trips to Europe and engaged in some of these fields there. From 1904 until just prior to his passing, he was active in music in New York City, having studios (808) in Carnegie Hall. In 1887 he had founded the Kansas City, Missouri, Symphony Orchestra, which he subsequently turned over to Sir Carl Busch, a bosom friend still living in Kansas City.

The Doctor was very diligent in securing funds for the families of Frenchmen conscripted in World War I; President from 1911 to the time of his death of The Cercle Franco-American in New York. A program at hand for one of the dramatic entertainments and dance held at the Hotel Plaza December 11, 1911, shows the high character of the entertainment provided. We also have a 1913-1914-membership card of the group. He was also a member of the Bohemian Club of New York, and his competency in music must have been as great as his competency in Masonry. On a series of articles on the subject of music methodology in the MUSICAL COURIER, of New York, we have at hand an editorial statement which is extremely powerful, we quote: "This paper could not exist if Dr. Blitz's arguments were false - editor of the MUSICAL COURIER," November 13, 1907.

In dentistry, those interested are referred to the records of the Odontologique Society of France, pertaining to the French origin of "bridge-work" and upon which American patents have been obtained.

His death occurred in Nevada, Missouri, on February 10, 1915, being the result of a dose of photographic developing solution, accidentally taken in New York. His remains are deposited in Deepwood Cemetery, near Nevada. Dr. Blitz married a second time, just a few months before his death - a Miss Mabel Schriver, one of his students in New York, but has been unable to trace her.

I could critique at great length on various phases of the life of Dr. Blitz. A full exposition of his activities would be interesting and informative as he was on ardent and enthusiastic lover of the arts and sciences and an active Freemason - a formidable example of the finer and nobler things of human endeavor. But this is in no sense a biography at all - on the contrary, just a sketch preliminary to the following Masonic statistics:

Malta & Knight Templar December 19, 1895 O'Sullivan Commander #15, Nevada, Missouri

A. & A.S. Rite, 32 November 21, 1901 Western Mo. Consistory, Kansas City, Missouri

THE MARTINIST ORDER IN AMERICA

Through the kindness of Dr. Julien Paul Blitz, we now have in the Archives of; and College, the following items:

Seal impression "GRAND COUNCIL MARTINIST ORDER” - "The president" on piece of notepaper.

Masonic card of "Edouard Blitz, Nevada, Missouri, “ embossed with K.T. and A. & A.S.R. emblems and names of Lodge, Chapter, Council, Commandery and Consistory in which he held membership. Also his Envoy title.

Pamphlet (16 pages) "SOCIAL SCIENCE AS TAUGHT BY FREE MASONRY” by Edouard Blitz, K.T., S.I., printed by S.C. & L.M. Gould, Manchester, New Hampshire.” Issued under the auspices of "Union Idealiste Universelle.”

Printed item from MUSICAL COURIER of September 18, 1907, entitled, “Sight Singing in the Public Schools."

Circular listing officers of the Order of Saint Catherine of Melusine (16 names and titles) including Dr. E. E. Blitz. The Grand Master was Prince Guy de Lusignan.

Publication (40 pages) ELEMENTARY MUSIC ON A FRENCH BASIS by Julien Paul Blitz Doc. Mus., containing references to Dr. Edouard Emanuel Blitz, his father. 1940.

Publication (43 pages) LESSONS ON THE LADDER OF FIFTHS by Julien Paul Blitz, Doc. Mus., containing references to Dr. Edouard Emanuel Blitz, his father. 1941.

*Book (255 pages) "TREATISE ON THE GREAT ART, A System of Physics According to Hermetic Philosophy and Theory and Practice of. the Magisterium. Edited by Edouard Blitz M.D.” (and no doubt translated by him). Boston. Occult Publishing Company. 1898. (loaned)***

Manuscript (38 pages) BACCALAUREATE IN K.S. sub-title Part I - Organization of the Art of Teaching in Pagan Antiquity.

*Ritual and Monitor of the MARTINIST ORDER by Edouard Blitz, K.T. First Edition, Copyright 1896 by Dr. Edouard Blitz. 94 pages. (Loaned by a former member of Osiris Lodge, no. 37).***

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Mr. A. H. Autinrieth, Secretary and R Recorder of Nevada Chapter, No. 56 and O'Sullivan Commandery, No. 15.

Mr. Ray 'T. Denalow, Grand Secretary, Grand Chapter of Missouri, R.A.M. and General Grand Master of the General Grand Chapter of the U.S.A.

Mr. R. Baker Harris, Librarian, Supreme Council, A. & A.S. Rite, Washington, D.C.

Note: This paper was delivered at Annual Heating of the Grand College of Rites, Washington, D.C. February 20, 1943, H.V.B.V. wearing the Cordon and Jewel of the Martinist Order never worn by anyone but Dr. Blitz (loaned by his son).