De Grasse-Tilly and the Early Supreme Council : 1786 – 1802
The ravages of time and several
subsequent fires in Charleston ,
South Carolina in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have clouded our understanding concerning the formation and early years of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
De Grasse-Tilly : The Man and the Mason
Alexandre François Auguste de
Grasse-Tilly was born on February 14 , 1765 at the Palace of
Versailles and was the son of a naval hero of the American Revolution , Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse . Following in the footsteps of his father , he dedicated his professional career to military service , serving in the French Army . He was stationed in Saint Domingue in 1789 and his immediate family soon followed him there to escape the tumult of the French Revolution . There he married Anne-Sophie Delahogue the daughter of Jean-Baptiste Marie Delahogue in 1792 . He acquired a large plantation with some 200 slaves in Cap Français , yet his fortunes reversed after the British Royal Navy defeated the French fleet stationed there in 1793 , and was forced to resign his commission in the French Army and then fled the island with his immediate and extended families to Charleston , South Carolina .
Like his father , he joined the ranks of Freemasonry and was initiated in the Parisian lodge , Le Contract Social , on January 1 , 1783 . 1 It is unknown whether he joined a lodge while stationed in Saint Domingue , as there are scant records extant from Cap Français . It seems probable though , given he married Delahogue ’ s daughter and went on to found the French speaking Charleston Lodge La Candeur with his father-in-law , as the founding officers . 2 Incidentally , there were several brethren from La Vérité in Cap Français who were recognized by La Candeur , not to mention that his father-in-law was
2 July 24 , 1796 . Minute book of La Candeur transcript . Archives of the Supreme Council , Southern Jurisdiction .
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