I know this is a touchy issue with most Freemasons, but I wanted to share with you some information that my friend uncovered during his research about the "murder" of Capt. William Morgan.

For those who don't know the story, the smallest bit of background info:

In western New York, near Rochester, a Masonic lodge was thought to conspire in the murder of a disruptive member. (This was a long time back, mind you.) The man, Capt. William Morgan, disappreaed after threatening to reveal Masonic secrets.

Since the mysterious disappearance happened, the Masons were blamed for murdering this man, and a great deal of anti-Masonic sentiment arose. The upheaval shut down a good number of the lodges in New York State, and the controversy touched nearly every American lodge in some way. Since that time, there has really only been speculation and heresay on both sides.

Most Masons see the case as shut and closed because they know that the concept of a Masonic murder conspiracy is simply ridiculous. However, they haven't been able to convince others very effectively because they didn't have much in the way of hard evidence. It should be noted that many anti-Masonic groups and individuals see the case as shut because they absolutely feel that the Masons were capable of shushing dissenters in order to retain their power.

My friend, Mike Keene, is a filmmaker who set out to cover this disappearance for a film he was making. He was allowed to investigate what had been the temple room in the former lodge. (It's a hotel and pub these days. The Masons now meet just across the street.) During his search, he and the current owner of the building found a hidden safe that apparently hadn't been touched since the Masons left the building.

What he found during his research, including the materials in the safe, very clearly absolves the Masons from the suspicion of wrong-doing. In fact, it brings into question whether the notorious Capt. William Morgan was murdered by anyone. (He seems to have been alive for a good 20 years after his disappearance!)

Mike (the filmmaker from Ad-Hoc Productions) has showed his independent film to groups of Masons to great reception. Most notably the current incarnation of the lodge that was accused of conspiring to murder Morgan has seen and loved the film -- and thanked Mike for producing it!


Check out www.ad-hoc-productions for more info!

Hi Laurelei,
This sounds interesting - I am already familiar with the William Morgan story. If I may ask a question, would I be correct in assuming that your filmaker friend is a mason himself? I notice that his other video productions are advertised as available for sale at thefreemason.com, hence my conclusion.

Personally, I find it interesting that the masons of the Batavia Lodge at the time saw fit not to release the contents of the safe, if these would indeed have exhonerated them from the alleged crime. Obviously, if the evidence existed that proved that Morgan's death was not down to the Batavia Lodge Freemasons, they must have known about it at that time - if the contents of the safe dated considerably prior to his disappearance, they could clearly prove nothing.

So, why would the Freemasons not have come forward with this evidence, which they must have known about at the time? It was clearly in their best interests to do so - given the upsurge in anti-Masonic feeling subsequent to Morgan's disappearance - so I find it extremely strange that it has taken until now for the evidence to surface.

The only other possibility that crosses my mind is that it could well be falsified evidence - deliberately placed and / or doctored well after the event. Of course, I don't know all of the recent ins and outs of the story, and I could certainly be wrong in this, so might it please be possible for you to ask Mike Keene if he'd like to comment on my hypothesis?

Many thanks for your interesting post - it has certainly piqued my curiosity!
Mairi

For anyone unfamiliar with the story, details may be found here on Wikipedia

Laurelei said:

Laurelei, I've no wish to cross swords with you, but I must question your assertion that the "concept of Masonic murder conspiracy is simply ridiculous".

Have you ever heard of Roberto Calvi? How about the P2 lodge? Will Leo Lyon Zagami be next?

Also, please could you explain why masons know it's ridiculous, whereas anti-masons only feel it to be so?

Finally, could you expand on what you meant by "shushing"? I've always associated the word with nice thoughts about babies and children; not a long, proven and inglorious tradition of conspiracy and discrimination against others and occasional cold-blooded murder.

As I've indicated, I have no quarrel with anyone (and I am truly neither pro, nor anti-mason), but I have done a little research over the years and I had to write in order to try to bring some level of balance to your words; which might easily have been misconstrued as an exercise in neuro-linguistic programming.