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  • May 26, 1860
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, May 26, 1860: Page 3

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    Article THE MORGAN MYSTERY; ← Page 2 of 3 →
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The Morgan Mystery;

but who were the parties within it was unknown—the only person identified was Eli Bruce , sheriff of the county of Eri , who drove the carriage part of the journey . Bruce was arrested on the charge of having forcibly , and without due in-occss of law , held Wm . Morgan in duresse for some time , ancl having secretly and illegally conveyed him to parts

unknown . Bruce made neither explanations nor defence , ancl as no proofs could be adduced against him , he was discharged , and the grand jury for Muuroe county stated " the grand jury have found it impossible to establish , by competent testimony , the unlawful agency of any citizen in this county in that transaction . "

The circuit court ancl court of oyer and terminer , for county Ontario , commenced its sittings on January 1 st , 1827 , the judges being the Hon . Nathaniel Howell , Judges Younglove , Atwater and Brooks , when Cheseboro , Lawson , Sheldon , and Sawyer- , were arraigned on the aforementioned charges , ancl pleaded not guilty . All the leading counsel were retained

on , each side . The first witness called was Miller , who was subpoenaed b y both parties , but to the surprise of all he was absent . It having been satisfactorily shown that he was at home in good health , attachments were granted and the trials postponed . On Wednesday , 3 rd January , the trials were renewedwhen the prisoners withdrew the ] ilea of not guilt

, y , and pleaded guilty to both indictments , reserving the right to move the court in arrest of judgment upon either . On 5 th January , Lawson was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the county jail ; Cheseboro to one year ; Sheldon three months ; Sawyer one month , imprisonment in the same place . This result was unsatisfactory to all ; nothing was cleared

up , doubt and mystery still enveloped the affair . Miller ' s absenting himself , his apparent indifference , inspired a doubt whether a , mock tragedy might not have been enacted , the denouement of which he was not very anxious to disclose . Why , also , should the prisoners first plead not guilty ancl then , as soon as Miller was not presentlead guilty % Does

, p not this look like a complication—a deep plot to keep up the excitement and thereby profit by it by selling a countless number of worthless books at three or four times their cost % The device succeeded to an extent that coulcl scarcel y have been anticipated by its authors . The fact is the whole thing was a plot b y unscrupulous men , by which they sought to

benefit themselves , obtain revenge , riches , and political agraudisement ; it was a farcical tragedy , in which the several actors certainly maintained their parts with great spirit ancl effect . Morgan , from his bad character , was refused admittance among good Masons ; he wished for revenge to soothe his injured pride ; from his excesses and ill spent life he was

in want of money . Miller was bankrupt in funds and iu political reputation ; they were firm friends and allies ; between them the plot was concocted , ivhich , if worked out successfully , would gratify revenge , avarice , ancl ambition . That such was the case a paper found in Morgan ' s house proves ; it was a bond executed to Morgan bMillerRussell

y , Dyer , and Jno . Davids , his three partners , in the jienal sum of 500 , 000 dollars , conditional for the payment of one fourth part of the money that should be received from the sales of the book . There was also another paper , being a copy of a letter purporting to have been addressed to these partners , by which it appeared they had already had a quarrelin

anti-, cipation of the division of the profits from the sale of the work . And now hear what Stone says : " Aspiring politicians seized upon the opportunity to convert a high aud holy feeling of indignation , to the purposes of their political advancement . The people were stimulated on the one hand to push matters to the extremes of persecutionand persecution in any cause

, begets opposition . The next , ancl a necessary consequence , was to arouse the feelings of the whole fraternity , and , with few exceptions , array the innocent ancl fche guilty in the same ranks . " At a joint meeting of the people of the towns of Batavia , Bethamy , and Stafford , it was resolved "to withhold their support , at elections , from all such men of the Masonic

fraternity as countenanced the outrages against Morgan . At Seneca it was resolved that " they would not vote for Freemasons for any office whatever . " At a meeting of the towns of Pembroke ancl Alexander , the people " pledged themselves to discourage the circulation of any paper , the editor of which so far muzzled his press as to exclude any fact iu relation to these outrages . " Such was the state of

feeling and language of the antimasonic party , of which the result necessarily must be , as it then was , positive evil . Antimasonic magazines , reviews , almanacs , ancl publications of all descriptions , found ready purchasers : the lamentable sight of apostate Masons of all ranks was presented to the public , men as unstable as water who coulcl never excelwho in the

sun-, shine of prosperity boasted of belonging to the Order , but when the storm of persecution arose , ancl the sirocco of calumny assailed the Craft , were the first to desert their colours ancl vituperate the Order of ivhich they were such unworthy members . Many such , calling themselves men , published works in which they openly avowed that they had

solemnly sworn to keep inviolable certain secrets which in the subsequent pages they deliberately jn-ofessed to reveal : they either had never read , or had forgotten that " an honest man is the noblest work of God ; " they p laced themselves on the horns of a dilemma , making themselves , by their own confession , liars , and thus not entitling themselves to be believed by any party .

" On this occasion , " says Bro . Herring , G . Sec . New York , "the whole Masonic fraternity were charged with guilt , the institution ancl its members denounced as dangerous ; churches , families , and friends divided ; the whole social system was for a long time uprooted and dismembered . Every man of eminence in the state known to be a

Freemason was called upon to renounce his connection with the Society , or stand branded as a traitor to the laws of his country . The Grand Loclge was charged with the crime of aiding the guilty to escape from justice by the use of its funds , and no means were neglected to bring the Order to disgrace and ruin , right or wrong . " Listen to the manifesto of the Anti-Masonic State Convention addressed to the

people . " The whole power of public opinion is to bo found in the ballot-boxes ; and these are fche depositories , as we humbly trust , of fche mightiest earthly power which Divine wisdom has ever permitted man to control . If we would effectually destroy Freemasonry , then we have no alternative ; we must call to our aid and persist in the uses of our elective rights . We must unite as a party at the polls . We

must select for all elective officers tho best men opposed to Freemasonry , whether they aro those who have renounced ifc or otherwise , and wc must select them because they aro opposed to it . And these men we must support uniformly , constantly , zealously , always , till Freemasonry , with all its fantastic pageantry , its false pretensions , its unhallowed means , its alarming power , ancl its monstrous crimes , shall be numbered among the past misfortunes of our country . " In the meantime the Freemasons took but little trouble to

counteract the excitement , well knowing that ( he fire of persecution , from the fury with which it raged , must eventually exhaust itself . In one respect , as in all persecutions , ifc was productive of good ; it proved who really were good honest Masons in deed and in truth , and nob in name ancl appearance only ; ifc separated the corn from the worthless chaff ! Thus in 1828 when a motion was made in Congress to bring in a

, bill for the appointment of a committee to make inquiries in relation to the abduction of Morgan , and to prevent extra judicial oaths , the Speaker observed " that this tirading about secret societies and extrajudicial oaths did nofc become sensible men , and they would not pursue it unless they were driven by political fanaticism . He did not care whether

Masonry were put down by legislative enactment or not ; but if it were put up or down by such enactment , it would be acting foolishly . All this cry is to got power or to retain ifc . Some of the members were elected on the antimasonic

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1860-05-26, Page 3” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 6 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_26051860/page/3/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE NEW GRAND OFFICERS. Article 1
THE MORGAN MYSTERY; Article 2
THE LATE SIR C. BARRY, R.A. Article 4
MASONRY IN AMERICA. Article 8
CLANDESTINE MASONRY IN NEW OPLEANS. Article 9
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND ART. Article 10
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 11
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 11
METROPOLITAN. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
ROYAL ARCH. Article 17
COLONIAL. Article 18
AMERICA. Article 19
Obituary. Article 19
THE WEEK. Article 20
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Morgan Mystery;

but who were the parties within it was unknown—the only person identified was Eli Bruce , sheriff of the county of Eri , who drove the carriage part of the journey . Bruce was arrested on the charge of having forcibly , and without due in-occss of law , held Wm . Morgan in duresse for some time , ancl having secretly and illegally conveyed him to parts

unknown . Bruce made neither explanations nor defence , ancl as no proofs could be adduced against him , he was discharged , and the grand jury for Muuroe county stated " the grand jury have found it impossible to establish , by competent testimony , the unlawful agency of any citizen in this county in that transaction . "

The circuit court ancl court of oyer and terminer , for county Ontario , commenced its sittings on January 1 st , 1827 , the judges being the Hon . Nathaniel Howell , Judges Younglove , Atwater and Brooks , when Cheseboro , Lawson , Sheldon , and Sawyer- , were arraigned on the aforementioned charges , ancl pleaded not guilty . All the leading counsel were retained

on , each side . The first witness called was Miller , who was subpoenaed b y both parties , but to the surprise of all he was absent . It having been satisfactorily shown that he was at home in good health , attachments were granted and the trials postponed . On Wednesday , 3 rd January , the trials were renewedwhen the prisoners withdrew the ] ilea of not guilt

, y , and pleaded guilty to both indictments , reserving the right to move the court in arrest of judgment upon either . On 5 th January , Lawson was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the county jail ; Cheseboro to one year ; Sheldon three months ; Sawyer one month , imprisonment in the same place . This result was unsatisfactory to all ; nothing was cleared

up , doubt and mystery still enveloped the affair . Miller ' s absenting himself , his apparent indifference , inspired a doubt whether a , mock tragedy might not have been enacted , the denouement of which he was not very anxious to disclose . Why , also , should the prisoners first plead not guilty ancl then , as soon as Miller was not presentlead guilty % Does

, p not this look like a complication—a deep plot to keep up the excitement and thereby profit by it by selling a countless number of worthless books at three or four times their cost % The device succeeded to an extent that coulcl scarcel y have been anticipated by its authors . The fact is the whole thing was a plot b y unscrupulous men , by which they sought to

benefit themselves , obtain revenge , riches , and political agraudisement ; it was a farcical tragedy , in which the several actors certainly maintained their parts with great spirit ancl effect . Morgan , from his bad character , was refused admittance among good Masons ; he wished for revenge to soothe his injured pride ; from his excesses and ill spent life he was

in want of money . Miller was bankrupt in funds and iu political reputation ; they were firm friends and allies ; between them the plot was concocted , ivhich , if worked out successfully , would gratify revenge , avarice , ancl ambition . That such was the case a paper found in Morgan ' s house proves ; it was a bond executed to Morgan bMillerRussell

y , Dyer , and Jno . Davids , his three partners , in the jienal sum of 500 , 000 dollars , conditional for the payment of one fourth part of the money that should be received from the sales of the book . There was also another paper , being a copy of a letter purporting to have been addressed to these partners , by which it appeared they had already had a quarrelin

anti-, cipation of the division of the profits from the sale of the work . And now hear what Stone says : " Aspiring politicians seized upon the opportunity to convert a high aud holy feeling of indignation , to the purposes of their political advancement . The people were stimulated on the one hand to push matters to the extremes of persecutionand persecution in any cause

, begets opposition . The next , ancl a necessary consequence , was to arouse the feelings of the whole fraternity , and , with few exceptions , array the innocent ancl fche guilty in the same ranks . " At a joint meeting of the people of the towns of Batavia , Bethamy , and Stafford , it was resolved "to withhold their support , at elections , from all such men of the Masonic

fraternity as countenanced the outrages against Morgan . At Seneca it was resolved that " they would not vote for Freemasons for any office whatever . " At a meeting of the towns of Pembroke ancl Alexander , the people " pledged themselves to discourage the circulation of any paper , the editor of which so far muzzled his press as to exclude any fact iu relation to these outrages . " Such was the state of

feeling and language of the antimasonic party , of which the result necessarily must be , as it then was , positive evil . Antimasonic magazines , reviews , almanacs , ancl publications of all descriptions , found ready purchasers : the lamentable sight of apostate Masons of all ranks was presented to the public , men as unstable as water who coulcl never excelwho in the

sun-, shine of prosperity boasted of belonging to the Order , but when the storm of persecution arose , ancl the sirocco of calumny assailed the Craft , were the first to desert their colours ancl vituperate the Order of ivhich they were such unworthy members . Many such , calling themselves men , published works in which they openly avowed that they had

solemnly sworn to keep inviolable certain secrets which in the subsequent pages they deliberately jn-ofessed to reveal : they either had never read , or had forgotten that " an honest man is the noblest work of God ; " they p laced themselves on the horns of a dilemma , making themselves , by their own confession , liars , and thus not entitling themselves to be believed by any party .

" On this occasion , " says Bro . Herring , G . Sec . New York , "the whole Masonic fraternity were charged with guilt , the institution ancl its members denounced as dangerous ; churches , families , and friends divided ; the whole social system was for a long time uprooted and dismembered . Every man of eminence in the state known to be a

Freemason was called upon to renounce his connection with the Society , or stand branded as a traitor to the laws of his country . The Grand Loclge was charged with the crime of aiding the guilty to escape from justice by the use of its funds , and no means were neglected to bring the Order to disgrace and ruin , right or wrong . " Listen to the manifesto of the Anti-Masonic State Convention addressed to the

people . " The whole power of public opinion is to bo found in the ballot-boxes ; and these are fche depositories , as we humbly trust , of fche mightiest earthly power which Divine wisdom has ever permitted man to control . If we would effectually destroy Freemasonry , then we have no alternative ; we must call to our aid and persist in the uses of our elective rights . We must unite as a party at the polls . We

must select for all elective officers tho best men opposed to Freemasonry , whether they aro those who have renounced ifc or otherwise , and wc must select them because they aro opposed to it . And these men we must support uniformly , constantly , zealously , always , till Freemasonry , with all its fantastic pageantry , its false pretensions , its unhallowed means , its alarming power , ancl its monstrous crimes , shall be numbered among the past misfortunes of our country . " In the meantime the Freemasons took but little trouble to

counteract the excitement , well knowing that ( he fire of persecution , from the fury with which it raged , must eventually exhaust itself . In one respect , as in all persecutions , ifc was productive of good ; it proved who really were good honest Masons in deed and in truth , and nob in name ancl appearance only ; ifc separated the corn from the worthless chaff ! Thus in 1828 when a motion was made in Congress to bring in a

, bill for the appointment of a committee to make inquiries in relation to the abduction of Morgan , and to prevent extra judicial oaths , the Speaker observed " that this tirading about secret societies and extrajudicial oaths did nofc become sensible men , and they would not pursue it unless they were driven by political fanaticism . He did not care whether

Masonry were put down by legislative enactment or not ; but if it were put up or down by such enactment , it would be acting foolishly . All this cry is to got power or to retain ifc . Some of the members were elected on the antimasonic

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