JAMES LESLIE MICHIE
PAST GRAND MASTER
GRAND LODGE
The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of South Carolina
Elected: Grand Master 1907-09; Deputy Grand Master 1905-07; Senior Grand Warden 1903-1905; Junior Grand Warden 1901-1903
Appointed: Senior Grand Deacon 1899; Junior Grand Deacon 1898; Grand Steward 1896
CRAFT MEMBERSHIP
Initiated, Passed, and Raised in Lodge Scoon & Perth No. 3, A.F.&A.M. (Perth, Scotland) 1886
Worshipful Master, St. David's Lodge No. 72, A.F.M. 1897-01, 1915-17
Dual Member, Hampton Lodge No. 204, A.F.M.
The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of South Carolina
Elected: Grand Master 1907-09; Deputy Grand Master 1905-07; Senior Grand Warden 1903-1905; Junior Grand Warden 1901-1903
Appointed: Senior Grand Deacon 1899; Junior Grand Deacon 1898; Grand Steward 1896
CRAFT MEMBERSHIP
Initiated, Passed, and Raised in Lodge Scoon & Perth No. 3, A.F.&A.M. (Perth, Scotland) 1886
Worshipful Master, St. David's Lodge No. 72, A.F.M. 1897-01, 1915-17
Dual Member, Hampton Lodge No. 204, A.F.M.
OTHER MASONIC MEMBERSHIPS
Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction 32° Master of the Royal Secret Grand Royal Arch Chapter of South Carolina Grand High Priest 1911-12 Grand Council of the Order of High Priesthood of South Carolina Past Most Excellent President 1913-14, 1918-28 |
Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of South Carolina Most Illustrious Grand Master 1910-11 Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of South Carolina Grand Commander 1922 Member, Shriners International Member, Order of the Eastern Star Member, Red Cross of Constantine |
IN MEMORIAM
JAMES LESLIE MICHIE, PGM
1860-1928
"I cannot say, and I will not say That he is dead—he is just away.
With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand He wandered into an Unknown Land
And left us dreaming how very fair
It needs must be, since he lingers there.
And you—Oh you who the wildest yearn For the old time step, and the glad return
Think of him still as the same, I say He is not dead : he is just away."
HIS EARLY LIFE
The son of Dr. Alexander Michie, a surgeon who practiced at Elgin, James L. Michie was born in Lossiemouth, Drainie Parish, Morayshire, Scotland, March 9, 1860. His boyhood days were spent on his native heath, and it was in the land of his birth that he learned of the legends of ancient glory of the Scottish race, reflected in song and story. It was in Old Scotland that he first read the novels of "the good Sir Walter," and the writings of Robbie Burns, the first poet-laureate of Freemasonry. After he had attained his University degree, he chose the legal profession, and entered upon his novitiate in the City of Glasgow. After being called to the bar, he became Solicitor for the District of Aberfeldy. He emigrated to America in 1887, settling in the City of Darlington, South Carolina, where he lived until the time of his death. He did not engage in the practice of law in the land of his adoption, preferring to be a businessman rather than go through a second legal apprenticeship. His professional training was not wasted, however, for he was called upon to serve his County as Judge of the Probate Court for some years. Afterward and for many years, he was Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Darlington, a position which he continued to hold until the end came, on May 16, 1928.
HIS HOME LIFE
On October 16, 1889, James L. Michie was happily married to Miss Annie Davis Ervin, whom he survived for some fourteen years. Their four surviving children are Mrs. J. Douglas Mackintosh, Mrs. Walter B. Bechman, Mrs. Frank Folsom, and Donald Ervin Michie. The son, a graduate of The Citadel, is now preparing himself to follow the professional footsteps of his grandfather.
Loyal to their Scottish lineage and inheritance, the Michie family were staunch Presbyterians, and the Sabbath morning always found them in their accustomed pew. The husband and father was always a patriotic, public-spirited man, active in his leadership of every movement for the good of his community. He served for a time as the Secretary of the Darlington Chamber of Commerce, and during the World War was the Secretary of the Local County Board which handled the induction of soldiers into the military service of the country. Always inclined to social and fraternal association, he was active in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the Order of Knights of Pythias, and in the Kiwanis Club.
Loyal to their Scottish lineage and inheritance, the Michie family were staunch Presbyterians, and the Sabbath morning always found them in their accustomed pew. The husband and father was always a patriotic, public-spirited man, active in his leadership of every movement for the good of his community. He served for a time as the Secretary of the Darlington Chamber of Commerce, and during the World War was the Secretary of the Local County Board which handled the induction of soldiers into the military service of the country. Always inclined to social and fraternal association, he was active in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the Order of Knights of Pythias, and in the Kiwanis Club.
HIS MASONIC LIFE
It was as a Freemason that James L. Michie will be remembered; so long as the Grand Lodge of South Carolina shall have an existence his name will be enshrined in the hearts of a grateful Brotherhood. Other men have striven loyally and zealously for the Great Cause, but perhaps we have not known any other Craftsman who gave so generously of his time, talent, energy and devotion to the service of God and humanity through the channels of Freemasonry.
Brother Michie was made a Mason in the Lodge Scoon and Perth, in Scotland. Upon arriving in Darlington, he became a member of St. David's Lodge No. 72, at whose regular and special communications, he was a steady and punctual attendant from the date of his affiliation until he was promoted to the Celestial Lodge above.
We find him in Grand Lodge for the first time in 1892, and for several successive years, representing his Lodge. His promotion in the Grand Lodge was meteoric, but no more rapid than he deserved. On December 9, 1896, he was appointed Grand Steward; December 14, 1898, he was appointed Junior Grand Deacon; December 13, 1899, he was appointed Senior Grand Deacon. He was elected Junior Grand Warden December 11, 1901, Senior Grand Warden December 9, 1903, and Deputy Grand Master December 13, 1905. On December 11, 1907, he reached the summit of the ladder that leads to fame in our mystic circle, and was elected Grand Master of Masons. Re-elected the following year, he guided the destinies of our Grand Lodge during the years 1908 and 1909.
How well and how faithfully he administered the affairs of the Grand Body during those two busy years is fresh in the minds of the older members of the Grand Lodge. He was invested with the exalted office just as he had reached the noon-tide of life, and therefore was able to lend to the Fraternity the best and most effective use of his remarkable powers. It will be interesting to the younger Brethren to read again his final word as Grand Master, from the conclusion of his official address of twenty years ago:
"And now, brethren, in a few short hours my term as Grand Master will expire, and though other hands than mine will old the tiller ropes or pull the stroke oar of the Masonic Craft, i shall always be found one of the crew, ready and willing to obey the orders of my captain."
"As I told you two years ago, 'No higher ambition has ever been mine than to be Grand Master of Masons in South Carolina.' I esteem the honor you have twice conferred on me as the highest this world can ever bestow upon me. I would rather be Grand Master of Masons of South Carolina than Governor of the State. And now that the ambition of my life has been realized, I am ready and willing to assume my place in the ranks of our Order, where I shall always be found, while life lasts, working for the good of the fraternity that has bestowed on me the highest honor it had in its power to confer. Words fail me when I try to express, in appropriate and fitting terms, my appreciation of the honor you have done me. From the depths of a grateful heart I give you my sincerest thanks."
"My heart will not allow me to tell you 'Goodbye,' for that would imply that I may never meet you again. I do not like that word, and seldom, very seldom, use it. The French have a form of salutation that expresses exactly my feelings on such occasions, 'Au revoir,' which, freely translated means, 'Farewell, till we meet again.' And this I say to each and every one of you. May heaven's richest blessings descend upon you all, and may He whose eye never slumbers nor sleeps, guide, direct and prosper you in all your undertakings. And as, one by one, we lay down the working tools of life, may we all, in the fullness of time, meet around our sacred altar in the Celestial Grand Lodge above, where at last we shall come in to the full sunshine of that LIGHT we have been struggling for so long.
" 'Hands round, ye faithful Craftsmen, in bright fraternal chain,
We'll part upon the square below to meet in Heaven again,
Each link that has been severed here shall be cemented there,
And no one lost around the Throne who parts here on the Square.' "
Brother Michie was made a Mason in the Lodge Scoon and Perth, in Scotland. Upon arriving in Darlington, he became a member of St. David's Lodge No. 72, at whose regular and special communications, he was a steady and punctual attendant from the date of his affiliation until he was promoted to the Celestial Lodge above.
We find him in Grand Lodge for the first time in 1892, and for several successive years, representing his Lodge. His promotion in the Grand Lodge was meteoric, but no more rapid than he deserved. On December 9, 1896, he was appointed Grand Steward; December 14, 1898, he was appointed Junior Grand Deacon; December 13, 1899, he was appointed Senior Grand Deacon. He was elected Junior Grand Warden December 11, 1901, Senior Grand Warden December 9, 1903, and Deputy Grand Master December 13, 1905. On December 11, 1907, he reached the summit of the ladder that leads to fame in our mystic circle, and was elected Grand Master of Masons. Re-elected the following year, he guided the destinies of our Grand Lodge during the years 1908 and 1909.
How well and how faithfully he administered the affairs of the Grand Body during those two busy years is fresh in the minds of the older members of the Grand Lodge. He was invested with the exalted office just as he had reached the noon-tide of life, and therefore was able to lend to the Fraternity the best and most effective use of his remarkable powers. It will be interesting to the younger Brethren to read again his final word as Grand Master, from the conclusion of his official address of twenty years ago:
"And now, brethren, in a few short hours my term as Grand Master will expire, and though other hands than mine will old the tiller ropes or pull the stroke oar of the Masonic Craft, i shall always be found one of the crew, ready and willing to obey the orders of my captain."
"As I told you two years ago, 'No higher ambition has ever been mine than to be Grand Master of Masons in South Carolina.' I esteem the honor you have twice conferred on me as the highest this world can ever bestow upon me. I would rather be Grand Master of Masons of South Carolina than Governor of the State. And now that the ambition of my life has been realized, I am ready and willing to assume my place in the ranks of our Order, where I shall always be found, while life lasts, working for the good of the fraternity that has bestowed on me the highest honor it had in its power to confer. Words fail me when I try to express, in appropriate and fitting terms, my appreciation of the honor you have done me. From the depths of a grateful heart I give you my sincerest thanks."
"My heart will not allow me to tell you 'Goodbye,' for that would imply that I may never meet you again. I do not like that word, and seldom, very seldom, use it. The French have a form of salutation that expresses exactly my feelings on such occasions, 'Au revoir,' which, freely translated means, 'Farewell, till we meet again.' And this I say to each and every one of you. May heaven's richest blessings descend upon you all, and may He whose eye never slumbers nor sleeps, guide, direct and prosper you in all your undertakings. And as, one by one, we lay down the working tools of life, may we all, in the fullness of time, meet around our sacred altar in the Celestial Grand Lodge above, where at last we shall come in to the full sunshine of that LIGHT we have been struggling for so long.
" 'Hands round, ye faithful Craftsmen, in bright fraternal chain,
We'll part upon the square below to meet in Heaven again,
Each link that has been severed here shall be cemented there,
And no one lost around the Throne who parts here on the Square.' "
THE PRINCE OF THE ROUND TABLE
But there was an even greater service in store for him. He had not yet ended his labors in the Lodge below; for a score of years after he had laid down the gavel, he was to render distinguished and conspicuous service as the Foreign Correspondent and Reviewer. He wrote the Correspondence report for our Grand Lodge for 1910, and for each succeeding year through 1928. He brought so much talent for this particular work to the task before him; he showed such particular aptitude for the arduous and exacting duties of "Foreign Correspondent" that it might almost be said that he created that office in the Grand Lodge of South Carolina. He has been called, we think not inappropriately, the "Prince of the Round Table."
Who, other than Michie, has ever been able to say so many bright and clever things, in so kindly a spirit? Who else, reading the proceedings of a Sister Grand Lodge, could cull from the volume, for the delight of the busy reader, all of the interesting facts and features and compress them within the limits of a few pages? Who, like Michie, when recording the doings of a Sister Grand Lodge, could give from memory the facts and manners and customs of almost any other Grand Lodge upon similar questions? And who could write and speak and act in a manner so gracious, delightful and charming? "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly," and James L. Michie showed it in very glance of his eye, in every spoken or written word, and in every act of his life. We can almost hear him say, with Abou Ben Adhem "Write me as one who loves his fellow men."
Why did Michie win the hearts and hold the abiding affection of so many of the Brethren, not only throughout the length and breadth of the Palmetto State, but also in every other English-speaking Grand Lodge in the wide world? Of course it was because Nature had so generously endowed him with amiable disposition, charming manner and fascinating mind. But we think it was also because he was so richly endowed with the capacity to love other men, to see their potentialities for good, and to inspire them with a desire to be better, purer, nobler.
Who, other than Michie, has ever been able to say so many bright and clever things, in so kindly a spirit? Who else, reading the proceedings of a Sister Grand Lodge, could cull from the volume, for the delight of the busy reader, all of the interesting facts and features and compress them within the limits of a few pages? Who, like Michie, when recording the doings of a Sister Grand Lodge, could give from memory the facts and manners and customs of almost any other Grand Lodge upon similar questions? And who could write and speak and act in a manner so gracious, delightful and charming? "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly," and James L. Michie showed it in very glance of his eye, in every spoken or written word, and in every act of his life. We can almost hear him say, with Abou Ben Adhem "Write me as one who loves his fellow men."
Why did Michie win the hearts and hold the abiding affection of so many of the Brethren, not only throughout the length and breadth of the Palmetto State, but also in every other English-speaking Grand Lodge in the wide world? Of course it was because Nature had so generously endowed him with amiable disposition, charming manner and fascinating mind. But we think it was also because he was so richly endowed with the capacity to love other men, to see their potentialities for good, and to inspire them with a desire to be better, purer, nobler.
SERVICE IN OTHER MASONIC BODIES
Time and space will not permit the recital of the leading events of Michie's Masonic career, except in the barest outline.
He served the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of South Carolina as its Grand High Priest from February 14, 1911, until April 8, 1913.
He was the President and the guiding spirit of the Grand Convention of Anointed High Priests from April 8, 1913, until his removal by death.
He served the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters as Most Illustrious Grand Master from February 8, 1910, until February 13, 1912.
He was elected Grand Commander of Knights Templar for South Carolina on April 12, 1922, and served for one year in this capacity.
He had attained the thirty-second degree in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and held membership in the Eastern Star, the Mystic Shrine, and the Red Cross of Constantine.
He was the Foreign Correspondent of both the Grand Royal Arch Chapter and the Grand Council of R. & S. M. for many years, from which position he was removed only by death.
He served the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of South Carolina as its Grand High Priest from February 14, 1911, until April 8, 1913.
He was the President and the guiding spirit of the Grand Convention of Anointed High Priests from April 8, 1913, until his removal by death.
He served the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters as Most Illustrious Grand Master from February 8, 1910, until February 13, 1912.
He was elected Grand Commander of Knights Templar for South Carolina on April 12, 1922, and served for one year in this capacity.
He had attained the thirty-second degree in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and held membership in the Eastern Star, the Mystic Shrine, and the Red Cross of Constantine.
He was the Foreign Correspondent of both the Grand Royal Arch Chapter and the Grand Council of R. & S. M. for many years, from which position he was removed only by death.
HIS CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
During all of our knowledge of this wise and accomplished Freemason, this versatile writer and graceful ritualist, we bear personal testimony ( as must everyone else who knew him ) that he was a stainless Christian gentleman. Obedient to honor and duty, he was faithful to every trust reposed in him.
If there is a Calm, beyond Life's fitful fever; if it is true that "there remaineth therefore a Rest for the People of God"; if purity of heart and sincerity of purpose are to be rewarded; if the gallant solder of the Cross is finally to join the Main Command, under the Great Captain of our Salvation (and Masonry unhesitatingly answers all of these questions in the affirmative); then we may know that our late brother is now in the Realm of Sunshine and Happiness, of Life and Light Eternal.
Two of Michie's friends happened to be together one day last May, when the distressing news of his death was flashed over the wires. A tear sprang unbidden to the eye of one of them, as he involuntarily exclaimed "Poor Michie" !
"Not so," said the other. "Let me give you a better thought about this dear old Scot, who has gone to reap his abundant reward. It reminds me of nothing so much as of one of the closing scenese of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress." And then that other one found the passage from the immortal allegory, which seemed to be entirely appropriate, and with it we close this modest tribute:
"After this it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant-for-truth was taken with a summons by the same post as the other, and had this for a token that the Summons was true, That his pitcher was broken at the fountain. When he understood it he called for his friends, and told them of it. Then said he, I am going to my Father's; and though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles who now will be my rewarder. When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the river side, into which as he went he said, Death, where is thy sting? And as he went down deeper, he said, Grave, where is thy victory? So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."
Fraternally submitted,
Samuel T. Lanham
If there is a Calm, beyond Life's fitful fever; if it is true that "there remaineth therefore a Rest for the People of God"; if purity of heart and sincerity of purpose are to be rewarded; if the gallant solder of the Cross is finally to join the Main Command, under the Great Captain of our Salvation (and Masonry unhesitatingly answers all of these questions in the affirmative); then we may know that our late brother is now in the Realm of Sunshine and Happiness, of Life and Light Eternal.
Two of Michie's friends happened to be together one day last May, when the distressing news of his death was flashed over the wires. A tear sprang unbidden to the eye of one of them, as he involuntarily exclaimed "Poor Michie" !
"Not so," said the other. "Let me give you a better thought about this dear old Scot, who has gone to reap his abundant reward. It reminds me of nothing so much as of one of the closing scenese of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress." And then that other one found the passage from the immortal allegory, which seemed to be entirely appropriate, and with it we close this modest tribute:
"After this it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant-for-truth was taken with a summons by the same post as the other, and had this for a token that the Summons was true, That his pitcher was broken at the fountain. When he understood it he called for his friends, and told them of it. Then said he, I am going to my Father's; and though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles who now will be my rewarder. When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the river side, into which as he went he said, Death, where is thy sting? And as he went down deeper, he said, Grave, where is thy victory? So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."
Fraternally submitted,
Samuel T. Lanham