The Morgan Episode
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Book and pictures courtesy Richard Blacher. Comments by Paul Jackson.
The Morgan Episode
In American Free Masonry
by Stanley Upton Mock, 1930
This book measures 8 3/4" x 5 7/8" and
has 153 pages. The binding is cloth over boards.
The book deals with Free Masonry and the anti Masonic sentiment that arose in
1826 after the Masons of the Batavia New York Lodge were accused of murdering
Capt. William A. Morgan for divulging secrets of the society. Jeremiah Brown was
charged with complicity in the abduction of Morgan, went into hiding, was tried
at Lockport and acquitted by Judge William S. Marcy (who went on to serve as
governor 1833-1838). This event catalyzed the Anti-Masonic movement led by
Thurlow Weed. The mysterious disappearance, in
1826, of William Morgan (c.1776-1826), a Freemason of Batavia, New York, who had
become dissatisfied with his Order and had planned to publish its secrets led to
a severe anti masonic movement. When Morgan's purpose became known to the
Masons, Morgan was subjected to frequent annoyances, and finally in September
1826 he was seized and surreptitiously conveyed to Fort Niagara, whence he
disappeared. Though his ultimate fate was never known, it was generally believed
at the time that he had been foully dealt with. The event created great
excitement, and led many to believe that Masonry and good citizenship were
incompatible. Opposition to Masonry was taken up by the churches as a sort of
religious crusade, and it also became a local political issue in western New
York, where early in 1827 the citizens in many mass meetings resolved to support
no Mason for public office. In New York at this time the National Republicans,
or " Adams men," were a very feeble organization, and shrewd political leaders
at once determined to utilize the strong anti-Masonic feeling in creating a new
and vigorous party to oppose the rising Jacksonian Democracy. In this effort
they were aided by the fact that Jackson was a high Mason and frequently spoke
in praise of the Order. In the elections of 1828 the new party proved
unexpectedly strong, and after this year it practically superseded the National
Republican party in New York.