Oramel H. Simpson

Simpson was initiated, passed, and raised to Master Mason in the summer of 1894 in the Mount Moriah Lodge No. 59 in New Orleans. He served as Worshipful Master of that lodge from 1902 to 1904. In 1905, Simpson became a charter member of Osiris Lodge No. 300, serving as its first Grand Master and elected Grand Junior Warden. During that time, Simpson established a private law practice in New Orleans, worked as Clerk for the United States Mint, served as Secretary of the Constitutional Convention of 1921, and served as Assistant Secretary and then Secretary of the Louisiana Senate.

In 1924, Simpson was elected Lieutenant Governor, and it was in this position that Simpson became acting governor upon the death of Governor Fuqua on October 11, 1926. One of the greatest challenges Simpson faced as governor was the great flood of 1927, when he made the decision to cut levees and flood lower parishes to prevent the floods from topping the levees and flooding New Orleans, which required compensating displaced residents. His administration was also involved in a long term controversy over free and toll bridges in the New Orleans area, taking strong opposition to the Pontchartrain toll bridge.

When he failed to win reelection in 1928, Simpson was appointed by Governor Huey P. Long as the Special Representative of the Louisiana Tax Commission. In 1932, Governor O.K. Allen appointed him Counsel for the Inheritance Tax Collector for Orleans Parish. Simpson died in New Orleans in 1932.