New book investigates Batavia's famous cold case, the William Morgan Affair
The William Morgan Affair: Masonic Mystery in Upstate New York, by Ann Webster Bunch, was released this month by The History Press. Dr. Bunch uses her background as a forensic anthropologist to analyze the extreme cold case of what happened to William Morgan after he was last seen in Batavia in 1826.
She takes particular care to comb over the evidence, or lack thereof, surrounding the mysterious circumstances of Morgan’s last days, and the many legends that surround what became of him. The author’s focus is to delve deeply into the scientific and investigative methods that were employed during the various investigations conducted following Morgan’s vanishing in September 1826.
The story of William Morgan is one steeped in so much speculation and hearsay that very little is known about the man himself. This has led to many theories on what happened to him, and has left many heroes and villains surrounding the ordeal.
Dr. Bunch focuses on the case as a cold case, not necessarily a murder case. This flies in the face of the inscription of the Morgan Monument located in the Historic Batavia Cemetery, put in place by the National Christian Association in 1882, which paints him as a martyr and makes it confusing as to whether he is actually buried in the plot, which he is not.
In looking at Morgan’s case from an evidential perspective, there are so many unknowns when it comes to Morgan; even the life of William Morgan is steeped in a lack of solid evidence. It is not even clear what Morgan really looks like or when he was born. The same can be said for the events surrounding his disappearance, which are only clear to his holding at Fort Niagara, and then the sure evidence dries up. Bunch also notes the political atmosphere, factors that came to surround the case, and the severe influence that played a part in it.
Dr. Bunch focused on the inconsistencies of the early 19th century when it came to evidence and investigation by taking each coroner’s inquests relating to Morgan into deep analysis.
The three inquests in question all revolved around a seminal moment in the Morgan saga, when a body washed up on the Lake Ontario shoreline in Orleans County on October 7, 1827, more than a year after Morgan’s disappearance. The first, Slater, inquest follows the standard procedures for the day but does not lead to an identity of the victim, though it being Morgan is not a consideration. The second, Brown, inquest is just the opposite, as Thurlow Weed, a newspaperman and local politician from Rochester, inserts himself to gain traction that the body is that of Morgan’s. Bunch points out that this attempt to make a “good enough Morgan” flew in the face of the evidence based on Morgan’s last known appearance on top of substantial decay. It signified how the evidence can be influenced to a great deal by outside political forces, especially when one wishes it to be the evidence they seek. The third, Hurlburt, inquest reverses the second’s findings when new evidence comes to light in the form of the family of a fisherman in lower Canada, Timothy Munro, who had gone missing in a storm.
Dr. Bunch then goes a step further in looking into the second inquest led by Weed and what factors at the time can make people look past distinct evidence to come to another conclusion. The most obvious is political pressures and orientations. Weed and his followers were against the Freemasons and were looking for anything to help put more public opinion against the Brotherhood. This went all the way to Albany, as the opponents of the Erie Canal and its supporter, Governor DeWitt Clinton, sought to work against anyone associated with the Masonic Order. This would eventually lead to the first third party in the United States, the Anti-Masonic Party. The age-old contest between the “haves” and “have-nots” also played its role.
The author then turns to other important pieces of evidence, the several confessions by individuals who claim to know the outcome of Morgan’s ordeal with the Freemasons. She focuses on seven confessions that came about from the 1830s through the 1860s. Each is analyzed in comparison to the evidence available to determine some level of validity, though many are lacking in key areas.
The confessions range from the 1830s to the 1860s, with varying degrees of involvement. In some cases, confessing to be the killer, in others to be an accomplice, and in others to be there at the time of his disappearance. In her analysis, Dr. Bunch concludes that most of the confessions lack much in corroborating evidence, with Whitney’s having the most merit but not without its questions. The point was that confessions were taken with more facts than what evidence could support them, at least for a time, and in some cases, the confessor's background or character was a severe influence.
The next chapter of the Morgan mystery is the issue of the Pembroke Skeleton found in a quarry in 1881. This discovery brought William Morgan back to the forefront of everyone’s thoughts.
This again brought up the issue of integral evidence. There were items recovered with the skeletal remains that led the discoverers to unofficially connect it to Morgan, but the remains were never compared to Morgan. This discovery very well has led to the National Christian Association taking advantage of the newfound public sentiment and building the monument to Morgan monument being built the following year.
Therefore, the question is “What became of William Morgan?”
There are 17 hypotheses that are explored and have been put forward since 1826. They are gathered from two sources, particularly from H.V. Voorhis in 1946 and Robert Morris in 1884. They range across the spectrum and place Morgan all around the world if he survived at all. They are grouped into five categories by the author: “Morgan Becomes a Hermit,” “Morgan Returns to Life at Sea,” “Morgan Reinvents Himself,” “Morgan is Murdered,” and a more specific tale, “Morgan Returns to Sea and Reinvents Himself, Dies in 1864.” The author then associates any corroborating evidence through the confessions or other information available to each hypothesis. Some even connect to modern-day descendants of Morgan. Everyone has their holes, some with more than others do.
In summation, Dr. Bunch focuses on the need to implement the scientific method even in this very old cold case, though it is always important to remember the human and those outside aspects that can influence it. She lays out five steps of an empirical-skeptical approach to any case, using Morgan as an example. In simple terms, collect background information; compile the scientific data and evidence; understand the political context and prior work; factor counter-information to the evidence; use all of the factors together to form a conclusion. Each of the chapters within the book focuses upon one or more of these steps.
The purpose is to take all of the evidence available and to expose others that have less merit. Dr. Bunch does not intend to solve the mystery, so if looking for the final answer, the reader will be disappointed in that regard. However, the strong historical and scientific research will show just how murky the whole event his, from Morgan himself to the various investigations. The work does lay out all of the possibilities with the supporting evidence or lack thereof. It is a very interesting read, especially for those who may be of a more skeptical nature and those who like the mystery-solving procedure.
Ryan Duffy is the executive director of the Holland Land Office Museum.
