William Morgan (anti-Mason)
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William Morgan (1774 – 1826?) was a resident of Batavia, New York whose disappearance ignited a powerful anti-Freemason movement in the United States in the early 19th century. After stating his intention to write a book exposing Freemasonry's "secrets", Morgan was arrested, kidnapped, and then apparently killed. His disappearance sparked a public outcry and launched the formation of a new Anti-Masonic Party.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Morgan was born in Culpeper, Virginia in 1774. His birthdate is sometimes listed as August 7, but no source for this is given. He was apprenticed as a bricklayer[2] or stone cutter, then briefly was a brewer in Canada, before returning to quarry work in Rochester, New York.
In October 1819, when he was 44, Morgan married 16-year old Lucinda Pendleton in Richmond. They had two children, Lucinda Wesley Morgan and Thomas Jefferson Morgan.[3] Two years after his marriage, he moved for unknown reasons to York, Upper Canada, where he operated a brewery. He has been described as a heavy drinker and a gambler.[4]
When his business was destroyed in a fire, Morgan was reduced to poverty. He returned to the United States, settling first at Rochester, New York, and later in Batavia. Morgan claimed to have served with distinction as a captain during the War of 1812, though there is no evidence that he did so. Several men named William Morgan appear in the Virginia militia rolls, but none held the rank of captain.
[edit] Association with Freemasonry
Morgan attempted to join the Masonic lodge in Batavia, but was denied admission.[5] He is known to have received the York Rite Royal Arch degree at Leroy, New York, in 1825, and when a new chapter was being formed in Batavia, Morgan's name was on the list of petitioners for a charter. Allegedly, some Masons objected and a new petition was drawn up without Morgan on it.
Angered by his rejection, Morgan declared that it was his intention to publish a book entitled “Illustrations of Masonry”,[6] critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret degree work in great detail.
Morgan announced that a local newspaper publisher, David Cade Miller, had given him a sizable advance for the work. Miller is said to have received the entered apprentice degree (the first degree of Freemasonry), but had then been stopped from advancement by the objection of one or more of the Batavia lodge members.[4] This would have given him motivation to join with Morgan. In fact, it appears that Morgan had entered into a $500,000 penal bond with three men: Miller, John Davids (Morgan's landlord) and one Russel Dyer.[5]
[edit] The Morgan affair
If the local Masons had simply ignored Morgan's actions, that would have been the end of the matter. But some members of the Batavia lodge responded to Morgan's “betrayal” by publishing an advertisement denouncing Morgan, and several attempts were made by unknown individuals to set fire to Miller's newspaper office.[5]
When these efforts failed, a group of Masons gathered at Morgan's house claiming that he owed them money. On 11 September 1826, Morgan was arrested; according to the law, he could be held in debtor's prison until the debt was paid. Learning of this, Miller went to the jail to pay the debt. After several failed attempts, he finally secured Morgan's release.
A few hours later, Morgan was arrested again, now for another apparent loan he had not paid back and for supposedly stealing clothing. He was jailed again, this time in Canandaigua. On the night of 11 September, someone appeared, claiming to be a friend of Morgan's and offering to pay his debt and have him released. Morgan was taken to a carriage that was waiting for him outside the prison. The next day, the carriage arrived at Fort Niagara.[4]
There are several tales of what happened next. The most common one is that Morgan was taken in a boat to the middle of the Niagara River and drowned.[7] A man named Henry L. Valance allegedly confessed to his part in the murder in 1848 and his deathbed confession is recounted in chapter two of Reverend C. G. Finney's book The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry.[8] About a month after Morgan left the jail, in October, 1827, a badly decomposed body that washed up on the shores of Lake Ontario was presumed by many to be Morgan, and was buried as such, but the clothing was positively identified as that of a Canadian, Timothy Monroe, by his widow.[9][10] Freemasons deny that Morgan was killed, saying instead that he was paid $500 to leave the country. There have been numerous reports of Morgan being seen in other countries, but none has been confirmed. Three Masons, Loton Lawon, Nicholas Chesebro and Edward Sawyer, were charged with, convicted and served sentences for kidnapping Morgan.[11]
[edit] The aftermath: the anti-Masonic movement
Soon after Morgan disappeared, Miller published Morgan's book. It became a bestseller and some people have speculated that the disappearance was an elaborate publicity stunt, especially since Miller made no claim that Morgan had been murdered, saying simply he had been "carried away". According to them, Morgan assumed a new identity and settled in Albany, in Canada, or the Cayman Islands, or even was hanged as a pirate. New York governor De Witt Clinton, himself a Mason, offered a $2,000 reward for information about Morgan's whereabouts, but no one ever claimed it.
Morgan's disappearance — and the minimal punishment received by his kidnappers — sparked a series of protests against the Freemasons throughout New York and the neighboring states. Despite the prompt disavowal of the actions of the kidnappers by the Masonic hierarchy, all Masons found themselves being criticized. Under the leadership of a New York politician named Thurlow Weed, an anti-Masonic and anti-Andrew Jackson (Jackson was a Mason) movement was formed, the Anti-Masonic political party, which ran a candidate for the presidency in 1828, gaining the support of such politicians as William H. Seward.
Its influence was such that other Jackson rivals, including John Quincy Adams, joined in denouncing the Masons. Adams in 1847 wrote a widely distributed book titled Letters on the Masonic Institution that was also highly critical of the Masons. In 1832, the party fielded William Wirt as its presidential candidate, though the party only received seven electoral votes. Three years later, the party had become moribund everywhere but Pennsylvania, as other issues, such as slavery, became the focus of national attention.
Note: Morgan's widow Lucinda Pendleton later became one of the plural wives of Mormon church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. Subsequent confrontations between Freemasonry and the Mormon church, including over the church’s adoption of Masonic rituals and regalia, gives rise to speculation that Mormonism may have been a factor in Morgan’s fate. William Morgan was given one of the first official baptisms for the dead into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3]
[edit] Monument to Morgan
On 13 September 1882 a large monument [12] praising Morgan was unveiled in the Batavia cemetery by the National Christian Association, a group opposed to secret societies. The ceremony was witnessed by 1000 people, including representatives from local Masonic lodges.[13][14] The monument reads:
- Sacred to the memory of Wm. Morgan, a native of Virginia, a Capt. in the War of 1812, a respectable citizen of Batavia, and a martyr to the freedom of writing, printing and speaking the truth. He was abducted from near this spot in the year 1826, by Freemasons and murdered for revealing the secrets of their order. The court records of Genesee County, and the files of the Batavia Advocate, kept in the Recorders office contain the history of the events that caused the erection of this monument.
However in June 1881 in Pembroke, New York, a grave was discovered in a quarry two miles south of the Indian reservation, and in it a metal box containing a crumpled paper with a few suggestive words but mostly illegible. An article about this in the New York Times for Wednesday, June 22, 1881[10] uncritically recapitulates the popular history, but does not consider why murderers would include incriminating evidence in a carefully concealed grave, nor the possibility of a connection to those planning to erect a monument, but at that time lacking a body to bury under it.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The History Channel, Mysteries of the Freemasons: America, video documentary, 1 August 2006, written by Noah Nicholas and Molly Bedell
- ^ The Proceedings of the United Stares Antimasonic Convention, Held at Philadelphia, September 11, 1830. Embracing the Journal of Proceedings, the reports, the Debates, and the Address to the People, Published by I. P. Trimble, Philadelphia et al. 1830. 164 pp.
- ^ a b Thompson, John E.; “The Mormon Baptism of William Morgan”, The Philalethes, February, 1985; 38(1): p. 8.
- ^ a b c Tillotson, Leo F.; Ancient Craft Masonry in Vermont Online version
- ^ a b c anonymous; “The Morgan Affair”, The Short Talk Bulletin, Vol. XI, March 1933; No. 3. Online version
- ^ Morgan, William (1827), written at Batavia, N.Y., Illustrations of Masonry by One of the Fraternity Who has devoted Thirty Years to the Subject: "God said, Let there be Light, and there was light", David C. Miller, <http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/captmorgansfreemasonrycontents.htm>
- ^ Captain William M. Morgan of Batavia New York Christian Martyrs
- ^ Finney, Charles Grandison; The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry.
- ^ Clyde R. Forsberg, Jr., Equal Rites: The Book of Mormon, Masonry, Gender, and American Culture, New York: Columbia University Press, Preface xv.
- ^ a b [1] “William Morgan's Bones; A Skeleton Found in a Quarry in Genesee County”
- ^ Ridley, Jasper;The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society, pp. 180-181 (Arcade Publishing 1999).
- ^ Monument
- ^ “An Old Tragedy Revived; Erection Of A Memorial To Morgan, Who Divulged The Secrets Of Masonry”, New York Times, 14 September 1882, p. 1.
- ^ “The Unveiling Ceremonies Witnessed by a Large Crowd Who Listen to Able and Interesting Addresses Substance of the Speeches Proceedings at the Convention A Letter from Thurlow Weed”, The Daily News, Batavia, 14 September 1882.
