Good-Latimer Two Dallas Pioneers and Masons

2018 marks the 170th year since Tannehill Masonic Lodge was established in what is now Dallas, Texas. As we continue our series highlighting the Masonic and civic pioneers of this great City, we turn the spotlight to Brothers John J. Good and James Latimer.

Brother John Jay Good was born in Mississippi where he studied and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He moved and settled in Dallas in 1852. After the Civil War Brother Good was elected judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District in Dallas. He practiced law in Dallas with two fellow Masons at the firm of Good, Bower, and Coombes. In 1880 he was elected as Mayor of Dallas. He served as Master of Tannehill Masonic Lodge No. 52 from 1873 – 1874. He was active in the Odd Fellows and Dallas Commandery No. 6 Knights Templar. Brother Good is buried in the Tannehill Masonic Lodge Cemetery (Pioneer Cemetery) in Downtown Dallas.

Brother James W. Latimer was the co founder, editor, and co publisher of the first Newspaper in Dallas, Texas which became the Dallas Times Herald. He served as Justice of the Peace in 1851 and later served as Chief Justice of Dallas County from 1852 to 1854. Brother Latimer served as Master of Tannehill Masonic Lodge No. 52 from 1855 - 1856. He served as Grand Orator for the Grand Lodge of Texas in 1858, and his oration was so well received that it filled 13 pages in the published proceedings of the Grand Lodge for that year. He died unexpectedly from a fall at the age of 32 in 1859. The city shut down and all the citizens turned out to pay their respects to Judge Latimer. Brother Latimer is buried in the Tannehill Masonic Lodge Cemetery (Pioneer Cemetery) in Downtown Dallas.

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