The National Supreme Council
by: Joshua Feliciano

DeBulow did not establish the National Supreme Council. In 1864 he established the Supreme Council of New York.

False Claims from the National Supreme Council
According to them, in 1879-1892 they state that Dr. Peter Ray, former Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York, was their Sovereign Grand Commander. Dr. Peter Ray was a Prince Hall mason that was a part of Stone Square Lodge #6, a lodge a part of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York or United Grand Lodge of NY known at that time. Dr. Peter Ray was the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of New York. This was back in the day before the Supreme Councils had merged. The Supreme Council of New York was supposed to a part of this merger but it didn’t happen. The Supreme Council of New York eventually grew into the Supreme Council of the United States. Dr. Peter Ray signed over the rights of the Supreme Council of New York to the United Supreme Council right before its merger. He was sued by John G. Jones which stopped him from being a part of the merger but members of this Supreme Council still joined the United Supreme Council which is why their membership was so low. Lastly, according to Joseph A. Walks "History of the United Supreme Council" he was only SGC until 1889, not 1892.

This is the first time in history where their lineage to Hugo DeBulow gets severed.

Expelled Mason no. 1
AB Allen, formally of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Georgia, is listed as the Sovereign Grand Commander for 1892-1897. This is important because if you look at the National Grand Lodge website it lists AB Allen as a National Grand Master for the years 1906-1909. But how did AB Allen become a member of the National Grand Lodge when he was a member of PHA and the SCUS? Well, he may have been expelled in 1890 then went to Prince Hall Origin. There is no record of him being Sovereign Grand Commander of Supreme Council of the United States.

Stolen History
There are also NO ARTICLES OF UNION or minutes to state there was a merger. This becomes a big problem because in accordance with masonic law, to claim to have that lineage you need continued existence and you MUST have proof. Since there are no minutes to prove that this was indeed voted on by the craft to merge OR there are no articles of union to prove a merger ever happened like the formation of the National Grand Lodge, United Supreme Council and United Grand Lodge of England for example, one cannot claim the lineage.

Lastly, when we look at the court case that the National Supreme Council lost in 1962, the court of law examined the historical claims of the National Supreme Council, particularly its assertion of being established in 1864 by Baron Auguste Hugo de Bulow. The court found discrepancies in these claims, noting a lack of credible evidence supporting the council's asserted origins. The court concluded that the National Supreme Council's claims about its founding were not substantiated by the evidence presented.

Expelled Mason no. 2
The National Supreme Council was not organized until the National Grand Lodge Session on Oct. 7, 1897 according to their "minutes" and in 1898, Dorsey Seville becomes the Sovereign Grand Commander and absorbs the left overs of the disbanded Supreme Council of United States. Dorsey Seville was John G. Jones right-hand man and was expelled from the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of DC for the same masonic crimes as John G Jones. John G. Jones and Seville have a falling out and he joins Prince Hall Origin. William D. Matthews makes him the Grand Master of Eureka Grand Lodge in DC and instructs him that he wants a Supreme Council for the National Grand Lodge in return.

More Inconsistencies
There's also a conflict here because Seville didn't announce his departure from John G. Jones United Supreme Council until late 1898 in the Washington Bee. This is 1 year after the minutes suggested that Prince Hall Origin formed the National Supreme Council, which also doesn't mention anything about the lineage to Hugo DeBulow or the Supreme Council of the United States that is mentioned above. Lastly, Seville never announced being Sovereign Grand Commander of the National Supreme Council as he was head of his own newspaper article called the Washington Bee. A year before he addressed himself as Inspector General of John G. Jones united Supreme Council.

What makes this situation worse is that the National Grand Lodge had disbanded in 1878 and William D. Matthews illegally reformed it in 1888, with no minutes from 1880-1889, which means those members joined a bogus clandestine body and no continued existence.

Illegal Splits
In 1948, 70 years later, Dr. William H Benderson and a group from the National Grand Lodge split from the National Grand Lodge, taking the name of the National Supreme Council with them. 70 years had passed with a different name, no lineage and they stole another Supreme Councils history.

Expelled Mason no. 3
In 1948, another expelled Prince Hall Mason becomes their Sovereign Grand Commander. Dr. William Fitzpatrick. A former member of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio.