William Morgan (anti-Mason)
Encyclopedia
William Morgan was a resident of Batavia
, New York
, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States
. After Morgan announced his intention to publish a book exposing Freemasonry
's "secrets", he was arrested, kidnapped by Masons, and believed murdered.
The events sparked a public outcry and inspired Thurlow Weed
, a New York politician, to muster discontent and form the new Anti-Masonic Party
, which was also opposed to President Andrew Jackson
. It ran a presidential candidate in 1828, but by 1835, was nearly defunct.
, in 1774. His birthdate is sometimes listed as August 7, but no source for this is given. He was apprenticed as a bricklayer or stone cutter.
, 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.
, Virginia. They had two children: Lucinda Wesley Morgan and Thomas Jefferson Morgan. Two years after his marriage, Morgan moved his family for unknown reasons to York, Upper Canada
, where he operated a brewery
. When his business was destroyed in a fire, Morgan was reduced to poverty.
He returned with his family to the United States, settling first at Rochester, New York
, and later in Batavia, where he worked in stone quarries. Nineteenth-century local histories described Morgan as a heavy drinker and a gambler.
He said 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 been stopped from advancement by the objection of one or more of the Batavia lodge members. This may have inspired him to support Morgan's work. Morgan had entered into a $500,000 penal bond
with three men: Miller, John Davids (Morgan's landlord) and Russel Dyer.
A few hours later, Morgan was arrested, for a loan which a creditor claimed he had not paid, and for supposedly stealing clothing. He was jailed in Canandaigua
. On the night of September 11, a man claiming to be a friend paid Morgan's debt at the jail, securing his release. The two men went to a waiting carriage, which arrived the next day at Fort Niagara
.
Several accounts have conflicts about what followed. The most common version is that Morgan was taken in a boat to the middle of the Niagara River
and drowned, as he was never seen again. In 1848 Henry L. Valance allegedly confessed to his part in the murder in a deathbed confession, recounted in chapter two of Reverend C. G. Finney
's book The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry (18xx).
In October 1827, a badly decomposed body washed up on the shores of Lake Ontario
. Many presumed it to be Morgan, and the remains were buried under that identification. But the clothing was positively identified as that of Timothy Monroe, a missing Canadian, by his widow. Freemasons deny that Morgan was killed, saying that he was paid $500 to leave the country. Contemporary reports included sighting of Morgan in other countries, but none have been confirmed. Three Masons, Loton Lawon, Nicholas Chesebro and Edward Sawyer, were charged with, convicted and served sentences for the kidnapping of Morgan.
, in Canada, or the Cayman Islands
, where he was said to have been hanged as a pirate. New York governor
DeWitt Clinton
, also a Mason, offered a $1,000 reward for information about Morgan's whereabouts, but it was never claimed.
The circumstances of Morgan's disappearance and the minimal punishment received by his kidnappers caused public outrage. He became a symbol of the rights of free speech and free press. Protests against Freemasons took place in New York and the neighboring states. Masonic officials disavowed the actions of the kidnappers, but all Masons came under a cloud. Thurlow Weed
, a New York politician, formed an anti-Masonic movement, gathering discontented opponents of President Andrew Jackson
, known to be a Mason, into the Anti-Masonic political party. It ran a candidate for the presidency in 1828 and gained the support of such notable politicians as William H. Seward
.
On that campaign, other Jackson rivals, including John Quincy Adams
, joined in denouncing the Masons. In 1832, the Anti-Masonic Party fielded William Wirt
as its presidential candidate, but he received only seven electoral votes. By 1835, the party had become moribund everywhere but Pennsylvania
, as other issues, such as slavery
, became the focus of national attention. In 1847 Adams published a widely distributed book titled Letters on the Masonic Institution, that criticized the Masons' secret society.
In 1830 Morgan's widow Lucinda Pendleton Morgan married George W. Harris of Batavia, a silversmith who was 20 years older. After they moved to the Midwest, they became Mormons
. By 1837, some historians believe that Pendleton Morgan Harris had become one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
. She continued to live with her older husband, George Harris. After Smith was murdered in 1844, she was "sealed" to him for eternity in a rite of the church.
Members of Freemasonry criticized the Mormons for their alleged adoption of Masonic rituals and regalia. In 1841 the Mormons announced their official baptism of William Morgan after his death as one of the first under their new rite to take people into eternal the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
By 1850 the Harrises had separated. When George Harris died in 1860, he had been excommunicated from the Mormons after ceasing to practice with them. That year Lucinda Morgan Harris was reported to have joined the Catholic Sisters of Charity in Memphis, Tennessee
, where she worked at the Leah Asylum. She had been widowed three times.
In June 1881 in Pembroke, New York
, a grave was discovered in a quarry two miles south of the Indian reservation. In it was a metal box containing a crumpled paper; its few legible words were interpreted to suggest that the remains might have been Morgan's.
, commissioned and erected a statue in memoriam to Morgan in the Batavia Cemetery
. The ceremony was witnessed by 1,000 people, including representatives from local Masonic lodges.
The monument reads:
based part of the background story of his popular scientific allegorical novel Etidorhpa
(1895), on the kidnapping of William Morgan and the start of the Anti-Masonry movement. In the novel, the speaker is kidnapped by members of a secret society, because he and a publication are suspected to threaten the society's secrecy. Identifying as "I-Am-The-Man," he is taken to a cave in Kentucky. He is led on a long, subterranean journey, an inner journey of the spirit as well as a physical one.
In his novel The Craft: Freemasons, Secret Agents, and William Morgan (2010), the author Thomas Talbot presents a fictional version of the William Morgan kidnapping. He portrays him as a British spy, includes rogue British Masons, and has presidential agents thwart an assassination plot.
Batavia (city), New York
Batavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. After Morgan announced his intention to publish a book exposing Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
's "secrets", he was arrested, kidnapped by Masons, and believed murdered.
The events sparked a public outcry and inspired Thurlow Weed
Thurlow Weed
Thurlow Weed was a New York newspaper publisher, politician, and party boss. He was the principal political advisor to the prominent New York politician William H...
, a New York politician, to muster discontent and form the new Anti-Masonic Party
Anti-Masonic Party
The Anti-Masonic Party was the first "third party" in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry and was founded as a single-issue party aspiring to become a major party....
, which was also opposed to President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
. It ran a presidential candidate in 1828, but by 1835, was nearly defunct.
Early life and education
Morgan was born in Culpeper, VirginiaCulpeper, Virginia
Culpeper is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County. Culpeper is part of the Culpeper Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Culpeper County. Both the Town of Culpeper and...
, in 1774. His birthdate is sometimes listed as August 7, but no source for this is given. He was apprenticed as a bricklayer or stone cutter.
Military service
Morgan claimed to have served with distinction as a captain during the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, 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.
Marriage and family
In October 1819, when he was in his mid 40s, Morgan married 16-year old Lucinda Pendleton in RichmondRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia. They had two children: Lucinda Wesley Morgan and Thomas Jefferson Morgan. Two years after his marriage, Morgan moved his family for unknown reasons to York, Upper Canada
York, Ontario
York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
, where he operated a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
. When his business was destroyed in a fire, Morgan was reduced to poverty.
He returned with his family to the United States, settling first at Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, and later in Batavia, where he worked in stone quarries. Nineteenth-century local histories described Morgan as a heavy drinker and a gambler.
Association with Freemasonry
Morgan attempted to join the Masonic lodge in Batavia but was denied admission. Angered by the rejection, Morgan said he was going to publish a book entitled Illustrations of Masonry, critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret degree work in great detail.He said 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 been stopped from advancement by the objection of one or more of the Batavia lodge members. This may have inspired him to support Morgan's work. Morgan had entered into a $500,000 penal bond
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
with three men: Miller, John Davids (Morgan's landlord) and Russel Dyer.
The Morgan affair
Some members of the Batavia lodge published an advertisement denouncing Morgan. Unknown individuals were reported to have tried to set fire to Miller's newspaper office. A group of Masons gathered at Morgan's house claiming that he owed them money. On September 11 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 and finally secured Morgan's release.A few hours later, Morgan was arrested, for a loan which a creditor claimed he had not paid, and for supposedly stealing clothing. He was jailed in Canandaigua
Canandaigua (city), New York
Canandaigua is a city in Ontario County, New York, USA, of which it is the county seat. The population was 11,264 at the 2000 census...
. On the night of September 11, a man claiming to be a friend paid Morgan's debt at the jail, securing his release. The two men went to a waiting carriage, which arrived the next day at Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
.
Several accounts have conflicts about what followed. The most common version is that Morgan was taken in a boat to the middle of the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
and drowned, as he was never seen again. In 1848 Henry L. Valance allegedly confessed to his part in the murder in a deathbed confession, recounted in chapter two of Reverend C. G. Finney
Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor...
's book The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry (18xx).
In October 1827, a badly decomposed body washed up on the shores of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. Many presumed it to be Morgan, and the remains were buried under that identification. But the clothing was positively identified as that of Timothy Monroe, a missing Canadian, by his widow. Freemasons deny that Morgan was killed, saying that he was paid $500 to leave the country. Contemporary reports included sighting of Morgan in other countries, but none have been confirmed. Three Masons, Loton Lawon, Nicholas Chesebro and Edward Sawyer, were charged with, convicted and served sentences for the kidnapping of Morgan.
Aftermath: the anti-Masonic movement
Soon after Morgan disappeared, Miller published his book, which became a bestseller because of the notoriety of the events. Miller did not say that Morgan had been murdered but "carried away". Accounts circulated of Morgan's having assumed a new identity and settled in AlbanyAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, in Canada, or the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
, where he was said to have been hanged as a pirate. New York governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...
, also a Mason, offered a $1,000 reward for information about Morgan's whereabouts, but it was never claimed.
The circumstances of Morgan's disappearance and the minimal punishment received by his kidnappers caused public outrage. He became a symbol of the rights of free speech and free press. Protests against Freemasons took place in New York and the neighboring states. Masonic officials disavowed the actions of the kidnappers, but all Masons came under a cloud. Thurlow Weed
Thurlow Weed
Thurlow Weed was a New York newspaper publisher, politician, and party boss. He was the principal political advisor to the prominent New York politician William H...
, a New York politician, formed an anti-Masonic movement, gathering discontented opponents of President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, known to be a Mason, into the Anti-Masonic political party. It ran a candidate for the presidency in 1828 and gained the support of such notable politicians as William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
.
On that campaign, other Jackson rivals, including John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
, joined in denouncing the Masons. In 1832, the Anti-Masonic Party fielded William Wirt
William Wirt (Attorney General)
William Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
as its presidential candidate, but he received only seven electoral votes. By 1835, the party had become moribund everywhere but Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, as other issues, such as slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, became the focus of national attention. In 1847 Adams published a widely distributed book titled Letters on the Masonic Institution, that criticized the Masons' secret society.
In 1830 Morgan's widow Lucinda Pendleton Morgan married George W. Harris of Batavia, a silversmith who was 20 years older. After they moved to the Midwest, they became Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
. By 1837, some historians believe that Pendleton Morgan Harris had become one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. She continued to live with her older husband, George Harris. After Smith was murdered in 1844, she was "sealed" to him for eternity in a rite of the church.
Members of Freemasonry criticized the Mormons for their alleged adoption of Masonic rituals and regalia. In 1841 the Mormons announced their official baptism of William Morgan after his death as one of the first under their new rite to take people into eternal the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
By 1850 the Harrises had separated. When George Harris died in 1860, he had been excommunicated from the Mormons after ceasing to practice with them. That year Lucinda Morgan Harris was reported to have joined the Catholic Sisters of Charity in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where she worked at the Leah Asylum. She had been widowed three times.
In June 1881 in Pembroke, New York
Pembroke, New York
Pembroke is a town in Genesee County, Western New York, United States. The population was 4,530 at the 2000 census. The town is named for a town in west Wales.The town of Pembroke lies on the west border of Genesee County, west of Batavia, NY.- History :...
, a grave was discovered in a quarry two miles south of the Indian reservation. In it was a metal box containing a crumpled paper; its few legible words were interpreted to suggest that the remains might have been Morgan's.
Monument to Morgan
On September 13 1882, the National Christian Association, a group opposed to secret societiesSecret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
, commissioned and erected a statue in memoriam to Morgan in the Batavia Cemetery
Batavia Cemetery
Batavia Cemetery is located on Harvester Avenue in Batavia, New York, United States. It opened in 1823 and contains over 8,000 graves, mostly from the 19th century...
. The ceremony was witnessed by 1,000 people, including representatives from local Masonic lodges.
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 martyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
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 CountyGenesee County, New YorkGenesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
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.
Representation in other media
The pharmacist John Uri LloydJohn Uri Lloyd
John Uri Lloyd was an American pharmacist influential to the development of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, economic botany, and herbalism.He also wrote novels set in northern Kentucky...
based part of the background story of his popular scientific allegorical novel Etidorhpa
Etidorhpa
Etidorhpa, or, the end of the earth: the strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey is the title of a scientific allegory or science fiction novel by John Uri Lloyd, a pharmacognocist and pharmaceutical manufacturer of Cincinnati, Ohio...
(1895), on the kidnapping of William Morgan and the start of the Anti-Masonry movement. In the novel, the speaker is kidnapped by members of a secret society, because he and a publication are suspected to threaten the society's secrecy. Identifying as "I-Am-The-Man," he is taken to a cave in Kentucky. He is led on a long, subterranean journey, an inner journey of the spirit as well as a physical one.
In his novel The Craft: Freemasons, Secret Agents, and William Morgan (2010), the author Thomas Talbot presents a fictional version of the William Morgan kidnapping. He portrays him as a British spy, includes rogue British Masons, and has presidential agents thwart an assassination plot.