Letter from Moses Holbrook to John James Joseph Gourgas, 1827 May 14/15

Letter from Moses Holbrook to John James Joseph Gourgas, 1827 May 14/15

Letter from Moses Holbrook to John James Joseph Gourgas. Dated May 14/15, 1827. In this letter, Sovereign Grand Commander Holbrook of the Southern Jurisdiction acknowledges Gourgas’ previous letters and will forward the returns of the Albany Consistory once completed. Holbrook writes that he has found an 1813 letter written in cypher from Irish Freemason John Fowler to Frederick Dalcho. The letter was signed by Fowler, John Bryce, and Thomas Mac Gill and “ratified in the Cathedral of St. Patrick.” At Savannah, Georgia, Holbrook states that a “Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection direct from France” has been formed. Holbrook also informs Gourgas that Joseph Cerneau and his followers have imposed themselves upon the Marquis de Lafayette, leading to a newspaper war in Charleston between Thomas W. Bacot and another Brother. Comments that former Sovereign Grand Commander Frederick Dalcho of the Southern Jurisdiction is “unwilling to do more.” Concludes by stating that he wrote De Grasse on May 31, 1826.

Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Lexington, Massachusetts. SC 300.002

1827 05 15

This image is presented for research and educational purposes only, and may not be distributed or re-published without permission from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.

English and cypher

A2019/178/0038b

1 item (3 pages) ; 32 x 23 cm.

Gift of the Supreme Council of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite