The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 9 - Masonic and Anti-Masonic Literature 735
The whole uproar was caused by a Captain William A. Morgan, a Virginian
by birth and - curiously - a stone-mason by trade, who made known that he
intended to publish a book about the secrets of Masonry. When and how he was
made a Mason cannot be verified, and the idea is expressed 1818 that he was
"book-made," having read certain exposés that were in circulation at his times
and gleaned enough of Masonry to be accepted in a lodge in Batavia. He was
even exalted to the Royal Arch degree. However, the local Masons excluded him
from participation when a new Chapter was founded, which may have motivated
him to the plan to expose their ritual work. The publisher and editor of a local
newspaper, David C. Miller, encouraged his design. However, the announcement
of their intention caused rumor in the village, much of Morgan's manuscript was
taken away, and Miller's print shop was set afire. What some hotheaded Masonic
individuals, in their eagerness to protect their order, did not know was that
Morgan's book was not worth the whole trouble, since it was based on an English
exposé. 1819 This counter-action lost its effect for Miller used this attack for
publicity purpose. A chance to get rid of Morgan occurred when he was sent to
jail in Canandaigua, New York, due to some trifling unpaid debts. On the
following day, a man named Lawson asked for his release. Morgan left the jail
with him and another man, was pushed into a carriage and disappeared forever.
The abductors were arrested. The interest of the population in this scandal
was extremely high: "During what have been called the Morgan trials, and other
civil cases which owe their origin to his abduction and subsequent fate, the
people have crowded the courts of justice to overflowing." 1820 The citizens lost
their belief in justice for they began to think that if the judge were a Mason, an
accused Mason might just give the "Grand Hailing Sign of Distress" and be
freed. Many strange ideas about the Craft gained a foothold in the population.
The persons who abducted Morgan (among them the Master of a neighboring
lodge), however, did not murder him. They took him one hundred miles away to
Fort Niagara, from where he was to be taken to Canada in order to start a new
life there. Allegedly, Morgan had even agreed to this and had received money to
get along until his family would be sent after him. 1821 Unluckily, the Canadian
Masons refused to take him, which made his stay in the Fort longer than it was
planned. A very un-Masonic toast at a Knight Templar banquet may have
suggested to some of Morgan's jailors that they murder their prisoner: "To the
enemies of our Order, - may they find a grave six feet deep, six feet long, and six
feet due east and west." 1822
Nobody knows exactly what happened, but it was generally thought that
Morgan was taken in a boat on the Niagara and plunged into the water. Many
investigations were led, the governor promised a reward for finding Morgan,
1818 Lang, p. 110.
1819 Cf. ibid, p. 112.
1820 Ratner, p. 28.
1821 Cf. Lang, p. 119.
1822 Cited in ibid, p. 114, from the autobiography of Thurlow Weed.