The words of Grand Commander Albert Pike in his Allocution of 1882 seem most appropriate to such moments: "As a man grows old, he may always make it in some manner profitable unto himself to look back along the way he has journeyed, and commune with the thronging memories, welcome and unwelcome, of the past. It is well for us sometimes to cast up and balance our accounts with time and opportunity."

As we begin planning for the year 2001 and develop ways to observe the 200th Anniversary of the beginning of the Mother Supreme Council, 33°, these words become very important. When did it all begin? Why did it begin? Where did it begin? And who were the important figures in creating the Mother Supreme Council?

It is fairly easy to answer most of these questions by reading the several written histories relating to our Order. But what about the men, the eleven who met in Shepherd's Tavern and laid the framework for this great fraternal institution? A wonderful book written many years ago, titled The Eleven Gentlemen from Charleston, provides some insight into the lives of these men. It is doubtful, however, that these Brethren in their wildest imagination ever could have conceived the vastness of the organization they were creating. The considerable differences in their personalities, religious backgrounds, professional careers, and special talents provided the stimulus which was attractive to other men prompting our phenomenal growth.

As initial plans for the 2001 Biennial Session and celebration began to take form, the question arose: Where were these men buried? Most of the historical data did not elaborate on burial sites, listing only dates and places of their demise; therefore, the Subcommittee on the Bicentennial of the Supreme Council, 33°, began a search for the final resting place of the Eleven Gentlemen from Charleston.

The first grave to be located was that of Frederick Dalcho. This proved to be rather easy as it was known that Brother Dalcho had given up his medical practice to become the assistant rector of Saint Michael's Church in Charleston. His grave was located in the church cemetery. The headstone over his final resting place noted Dalcho's involvement with the founding of the Supreme Council, 33°, on May 31, 1801.

Four of the original founders were known to be Jewish, and their graves are in the Jewish Cemetery on Comings Street in Charleston. The graves of Abraham Alexander, first Grand Secretary General; Emanuel De La Motta, first Grand Treasurer General; and Israel De Lieben, first Sovereign Grand Inspector General, are marked with bronze plaques denoting their involvement with the founding of the Supreme Council, 33°. The grave of Dr. Moses Clava Levey, who served as Treasurer General, could not be found, though it is known he was buried in the cemetery. Many of the older tombstones, made of marble, had suffered the effects of acid rain and were unintelligible. Following some research in a book titled The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A.S.R., Southern Jurisdiction printed in 1931, a local Rabbi noticed one of the markers engraved in Hebrew was yielding to the elements, and he translated into English the information from the obelisk. It was found to be the one erected to the memory of Dr. Levy.

The graves of both Alexander F. A. De Grasse, a Grand Inspector General, and Jean Baptiste Marie Delahogue, Inspector General and Lt. Grand Commander of the French West Indies, are both located in Paris, France. Through the efforts of Most Worshipful Nat Granstein, Past Grand Master of the Grande Lodge Nationale Francaise (French National Grand Lodge), the cemeteries were located. Brother De Grasse is interred in the Cemetery Montparnasse and Brother Delahogue in the Cemetery Pere Lachaise. Both Brethren are interred in communal graves, and there are no visible markers, only the paper trail of records noting the dates of their interments. It is hoped the Supreme Council will be permitted to establish some type of stone or plaque identifying the final resting places of these special Masonic Brethren.

Dr. James Moultrie, who served as Sovereign Grand Inspector General, Grand Secretary General and Lt. Grand Commander, was interred in an unmarked grave in St. Phillips Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charleston. With the assistance of personnel at the church, his grave was found, and a marker has been placed in his memory.

The burial sites of Colonel John Mitchell, first Grand Commander, Major Thomas B. Bowen, Grand Master of Ceremonies, and Dr. Isaac Auld, third Grand Commander, are still unlocated. It is thought Dr. Auld was interred in the cemetery of the Presbyterian Church located on Edisto Island, South Carolina, in an unmarked grave next to his daughter, and that Colonel Mitchell and Major Bowen are interred in a private family cemetery on the Linnen Plantation on an island in the Ashley River in Charleston. Many private cemeteries suffered desecration during the Revolutionary and Civil War years, and further exploration is necessary to locate their graves.

Locating and properly marking the graves of all eleven founders of the Supreme Council are only two of the special Bicentennial events planned for 2001 to honor the memories of these distinguished Brethren who gave so much during their lifetimes to establish the Mother Supreme Council, 33°. 

H. Wallace Reid  has been a member of the Supreme Council since 1985, was Grand Master in South Carolina 1974–76, and is a member of Hejaz Shrine Temple in Greenville. He serves as vice-chairman of the Board of Governors Shrine Hospital, Greenville Unit. He is retired as Superintendent of Schools in Anderson, S.C. A Ruling Elder and Adult Sunday School Teacher at Central Presbyterian Church, he serves as Vice President of the Scottish Rite Research Society.