Hyman Isaac Long was an American physician in New York City by 1786. He was an immigrant from the British colony of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in the West Indies and is listed in the first city directory of 1786. He is known for his leadership in developing

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

organizations in New York,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Freemasonry

Hyman Isaac Long was born to a Jewish family in

, a British colony in the West Indies. They were likely of

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jewish ancestry, as this community had been active in London. A number had emigrated to the British colonies in the New World along with other English colonists. In Jamaica, Long studied medicine and qualified as a physician. By 1786 Long had emigrated to New York City in the recently independent United States. He was listed that year in the first city directory, as a physician. He also became involved in Freemasonry, and returned to Jamaica for some events and rites, where the organization was more developed. At Kingston, Jamaica, on 11 January 1795, Long was appointed as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Grand Consistory of the twenty-five degree "Rite of the Royal Secret," a governing body of high ''"Écossais"'' degrees of Freemasonry, and a predecessor of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

. This appointment was made by Moses Cohen. Cohen had received a similar appointment by American Barend M. Spitzer the previous year at Charleston, South Carolina. Spitzer was DIG for Georgia. After returning to the United States, Long continued to work on developing membership in the Masons. On 12 November 1796 in Charleston, South Carolina, Long elevated eight French Masons of the city to the rank of Deputy Inspector General. These men were colonial refugees from the slave rebellion in the French colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

(now Haiti). Among them were

Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse, known as Auguste de Grasse and Comte de Grasse-Tilly (February 14, 1765 – June 10, 1845), was a French career army officer. He was assigned to the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1789, where he married ...

, known as Comte de Grasse-Tilly, and his father-in-law, Jean-Baptiste de La Hogue. Together, these eight organized a Consistory of the 25th Degree, or "Princes of the Royal Secret." It later became the first Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite.Jackson, A.C.F. (1980). ''Rose Croix: A History of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales'' (rev. ed. 1987) pp. 66-68. London: Lewis Masonic Publ.

Notes

18th-century American physicians Year of death unknown American Freemasons Year of birth unknown {{US-physician-stub