Light on Masonry: A Collection of All the Most Important Documents on the Subject of Speculative Free Masonry: Embracing the Reports of the Western Committees in Relation to the Abduction of William Morgan, Proceedings of Conventions, Orations, Essays, &c, &c..

first edition Leather Bound

1829 · Utica

by Bernard, Elder David; [Morgan Affair]

Utica: William Williams, 1829. First edition, third state. Leather Bound. Very Good. x; [2]; [13]-552; xxxvi pp. Duodecimo [18.5 cm] Original full leather with a red leather spine label. Two frontispiece illustrations. Moderate rubbing to the extremities. Several small cracks along the joints. Name in pencil on title page. Light foxing to the pages, with the foxing occasionally a bit more pronounced. ***Missing pp. 473-476. Walgren 3051. A work which reveals the inner workings of Freemasonry by David Bernard, a Baptist minister and Freemason from Utica, NY. In addition, Bernard's book also addresses certain controversies and criticisms surrounding Freemasonry, (truncated) in particular the controversial Morgan Affair.

"Institutionalized Anti-Masonry began after the 1826 Morgan Affair. William Morgan, a feisty fifty-two-year-old stonemason and recent immigrant to Batavia in western New York, quarreled repeatedly with other Masons. He decided to get even with his adversaries by publishing a book, Illustrations of Freemasonry, that revealed the secrets of the first three degrees. This betrayal outraged other Masons, and they appealed to Morgan to cease his 'madness,' but he persisted. David C. Miller, editor of the Batavia Republican Advocate, agreed to publish and sell Morgan’s book. Some lodge members seized the page proofs and set fire to Miller’s printing establishment. On September 10 the head of the Masonic Lodge in Canandaigua brought charges of theft against Morgan, which led to his arrest. On the twelfth, Morgan was abducted from the Canandaigua jail by members of the fraternity and was never seen again. According to most sources, he was taken west and drowned in the Niagara River. His exact fate has always remained a mystery.

"News of Morgan’s abduction and alleged murder spread rapidly throughout western New York, stirring up angry sentiment against Masonry and individual Masons. Hundreds of Masons repudiated their membership, throwing the lodges into turmoil. By the fall of 1827, a new movement was in full swing with the name Anti-Masons. The movement gradually evolved from a mere moral crusade to a political faction through a series of town meetings and conventions. By year’s end, Anti-Masons were publishing newspapers and pamphlets. Also by the end of 1827, many Masonic lodges in western New York were forced to shut down. The Anti-Masonic movement moved eastward through the center of the state, on to New England, and down to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio."

Citation: Bruce A. Van Orden, "Anti-Masonic Partisan And Newspaper Editor," in We'll Sing and We'll Shout: The Life and Times of W. W. Phelps (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018), 21–30. (Inventory #: 68954)

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