author
William Morgan
b. 1774
A bricklayer from Batavia, New York, he became famous after planning to publish an exposé of Freemasonry and then vanishing in 1826. His disappearance helped spark the Anti-Masonic movement, one of the first major third-party waves in American politics.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Little is known for certain about William Morgan’s early life, but reliable sources describe him as born in 1774 and working as a bricklayer or stonecutter before settling in Batavia, New York. He is remembered less for a long writing career than for the explosive controversy tied to a single book.
In 1826, Morgan announced plans to publish Illustrations of Masonry, a work revealing Masonic rituals and practices. Before the book’s release, he was arrested on questionable charges and then taken away by a group of men; after that, he was never seen again. His presumed kidnapping and murder caused public outrage.
That outrage quickly grew into the Anti-Masonic movement, which became a powerful political force in the United States for a time. Because of that, Morgan remains an unusual figure in American history: an obscure workingman whose disappearance had a lasting effect on public life and political culture.