William Wright Billing

William Wright Billing was a native Washingtonian initiated at New Jerusalem Lodge No. 9 in October 1826. He held several fraternal positions, including secretary, treasurer, junior warden, senior warden, master, and grand secretary. Billing served as grand master for three consecutive terms, from 1835-1837. In 1836, accompanied by President Andrew Jackson, a fellow Freemason and former Grand Master of Tennessee, Billing officiated the cornerstone-laying ceremony for Jackson City, a now-defunct area of Arlington County. He was once the District’s collector of taxes, and served in the DC Militia. At the time of his death, he worked as a clerk in the Paymaster-General’s Office in the War Department.