Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

1828-1830.1 ACTIVE POLITICAL CAREER BEGINS.

107

I have reached the year in which my father's active political life began. It was during the canvass of 1828. Andrew
Jackson and John C. Calhoun were candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency. General Jackson was supported
by those who opposed the re-election of Mr. Adams. In Otsego County a Republican committee was formed, of which
my father was chairman. In maintaining the cause of General Jackson he was also obliged to resist one of the most remarkable political movements that ever agitated the people of
the State of New York.
In the summer of 1826, while Major Dix was in Europe on
his mission to the Danish Court, a great sensation was caused
in the neighborhood of Buffalo by the disappearance of one
William Morgan. This man, a member of the Order of
Free and Accepted Masons, suddenly vanished from the sight
of his friends; nor, to this hour, is it certainly known what
was his fate. But he had betrayed the secret of the Order,,
and there is little doubt that he was murdered by members of
that society. Investigation disclosed the fact of the nocturnal
journey of a coach, drawn by relays of swift horses, and the
conveyance of a mysterious victim to the borders of Lake
Erie; and there were rumors of the launching of a boat on
the gloomy waters at midnight, and its return with one man
less than it bore away. The whole western part of the State
became excited over the crime; that excitement became in,
tense as time passed on, and it was found impossible either to
detect the perpetrators of the outrage or ascertain the fate of
studying the movements of that day. Whatever helps us to discover
the motives and comprehend the thoughts of men in high position is of
general benefit; and no one can fail to observe, in reading the following paper, how keen was the sense of honor of the public men of that
day, to whom it was matter of grave concern that the shadow of a suspicion of their motives should fall upon the record of their lives. The
subject referred to, as will be seen, is the attitude of Mr. Calhoun before
the country in connection with the Presidential canvass of the year 1824.
(See Appendix, No. I.)