Edmund Creffield

File:Creffield-Edmund.jpg, circa 1904.]]

Franz Edmund Creffield, commonly known as Edmund Creffield and by the pseudonym Joshua (c. 1870–1906), was a German-American religious leader who founded a movement in Corvallis, Oregon, that became known locally as the "Holy Rollers". The movement, mainly popular among women, was widely regarded as a cult. Creffield, who believed himself the second coming of Jesus, had a number of run-ins with the authorities and the local citizenry over the next several years, often stemming from his relations with his female followers and his increasingly erratic behavior.

In 1906 Creffield was murdered by George Mitchell, whose sister was one of Creffield's followers. After being acquitted of wrongdoing in the killing, Mitchell was himself murdered by his sister in revenge, with another follower's subsequent death by suicide. The story attracted national attention and was major news for a time in the Pacific Northwest.Robert P. Sutton, [https://archive.org/details/modernamericanco00robe/page/37 ''Modern American Communes]. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005; p. 37.{{cite book|last=McCracken|first=T-|title=Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult|year=2002|publisher=Caxton Press|location=Caldwell, Idaho|isbn=0-87004-424-9}}

Early life

Franz Edmund Creffield was originally from Germany; it is unclear how he came to Oregon. He first appeared in Portland in 1903, and he quickly became involved in the Salvation Army. Later that year he was sent on mission to the town of Corvallis. Soon after, he broke with the Salvation Army and formed his own group, which he called the Bride of Christ Church.{{cite news|title=Creffield is Guilty|newspaper=Oregon Daily Journal|date=16 September 1904}} Townspeople regarded the church as a cult and called them "Holy Rollers" because they rolled on the floor for hours during their services.{{cite news|title=Their Queer Acts|newspaper=Corvallis Times|date=31 October 1903}}

Bride of Christ Church

Creffield did not say anything outrageous when he first came to Corvallis in 1903, preaching mostly about "the beauty of the full Gospel."{{cite news|title= Holiness|date= 21 September 1902|newspaper=The War Cry|page=3}} Soon his followers believed he was receiving messages directly from God."Holy Rollers Insane," Brownsville Times (Oregon) 6 May 1904, p. 1. Creffield preached for hours on end and his followers loudly rolled on the floor pleading for God's forgiveness. When their cacophonous meetings began running into the early morning hours, Creffield was barred from holding services within city limits.{{cite news|title=Burn Up Goods|date=31 October 1903|newspaper=Morning Oregonian (Portland)|page=1}}

During the summer he and his followers camped out on Kiger Island in the Willamette River. When the fall rains started Sarah Hurt and her three children, Maud, Frank, and Mae, some of his most ardent followers, invited him and about twenty others to move into their house just outside Corvallis. In October the group burned most of the house’s contents including furniture, utensils, heirlooms, a cat, and a dog."Their Queer Acts," Corvallis Times, 31 October 1903, pg. 2. Reports that a baby had been sacrificed were false.

People soon began to ask if Creffield could really "live in the same locked house with a number of young girls, and do nothing in the world but be religious."{{cite news|title= Their Welcome Departure|date= 9 January 1904|newspaper=Corvallis Times|page= 1}}

In January 1904, twenty vigilantes called the White Caps tarred and feathered Creffield, and told him to leave town and never come back. The next day Creffield and Maud Hurt were married in a room where "the odor of [pine] tar was noticeable."{{cite news|title= Tarred and Feathered |date= 6 January 1904|newspaper=Corvallis Times|page=1}}

In February Creffield was accused of having adulterous relations in Portland with Maud’s aunt, Donna Starr. Adultery was a criminal offense, so a warrant was put out for his arrest. A statewide manhunt went on for months. Meanwhile, many of his followers fasted and spent their days lying flat on the floor praying.{{cite news|title= Holy Rollers Insane|date= 6 May 1904|newspaper=Brownsville Times|page=1}} Most were committed to either the Oregon State Insane Asylum or the Boys and Girls Aid Society in Portland.

In July, one month after Sarah Hurt was committed, Creffield was discovered nude and starving under her house. Creffield said he was innocent, but was found guilty and served seventeen months in the Oregon State Penitentiary. When released, he claimed he was Jesus Christ risen from the dead, his resurrection being his emergence from prison.{{cite news|title= In Benton Again. But Only Passed Through—Creffield, the Monster—More Rollerism |date= 24 April 1906|newspaper=Corvallis Times|page=2}}

Creffield said he was responsible for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and his followers, all of whom had been released from the asylum, believed him.{{cite news|title= Camp Given Up |date= 1 May 1906|newspaper=Corvallis Times|page=2}} "Creffield is Jesus Christ," Cora Hartley said. "He condemned the city of San Francisco and brought the earthquake; he has condemned the city of Corvallis and an earthquake will destroy this place."{{cite news|title= Creffield Poses As Jeremiah |date= 2 May 1906|newspaper= Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) |page=4}} She and the others obeyed his order to evacuate to the coast.

Assassination

In April, Louis Hartley, a wealthy mine owner, followed his wife, Cora, and daughter, Sophie, when they went to Newport to meet up with Creffield and the others. As the group boarded a ferry, Hartley fired a revolver four times at Creffield. The gun snapped harmlessly because the centerfire cartridges were wrong for the rimfire gun.Circuit Court State of I Oregon for Benton County, Lewis Hartley (Plaintiff) vs. Cora A. Hartley (Defendant), No. 4377, Complaint, Filed 11 May 1906.

Others were also gunning for Creffield, so he fled to Seattle with Maud. There, George Mitchell, Esther's brother, found him and, in front of witnesses, killed him.{{cite news|title= I Got My Man|date= 7 May 1906|newspaper=Seattle Star|page=1}}

Multnomah County’s district attorney, John Manning, sent King County’s prosecuting attorney, Kenneth Mackintosh, a letter saying, "I investigated many, many charges against him [Creffield] while he was on his Holy Rolling tour in Oregon, the character of which were perfectly awful, in so far as being low, degenerate and brutal, and if permitted, I would like an opportunity to testify before the grand jury, before Mitchell is indicted … I think the taking of the law in one’s own hands, under such circumstances, to mete out summary justice is almost excusable.".Manning Upholds Him," Morning Oregonian (Portland), 10 May 10, 1906, p. 6 Mackintosh was appalled by Manning’s suggestion.

O.V. Hurt, Creffield's father-in-law, hired one of the best law firms in Seattle to defend George. Numerous witnesses testified to telling George that "free love"Editorial Comment," Corvallis Gazette, 12 January 1904, p. 2. took place in 1903. They said they told George that Creffield preached that Christ would be reborn and one of the Brides of Christ would be the new Mary and that he needed to lay his hands upon them and purify them."Creffield’s Slayer To Escape, Disciples Disband," Oregon Daily Journal (Portland), 8 May 1906, p. 1. They said they told George that mothers were debauched in front of their daughters, including Sarah and her then sixteen-year-old daughter, Mae."Mitchell Trial Advances Slowly," Seattle Post Intelligencer, 27 June 1906, p. 1. They said they told George that finally Creffield announced that the new Mary was Esther Mitchell, the then sixteen-year-old sister of George."Mrs. Creffield on Stand," Seattle Star, 17 September 1906, p. 1.

Many believe that much of the testimony was perjury, a tactic to avoid hearsay and put Creffield on trial. George was found not guilty by reason of insanity and released. Two days later, Esther shot and killed him using a gun Maud bought using their witness fees."Mrs. Creffield Bought Gun," Seattle Star, 13 July 1906, p. 7.

O.V. was devastated, but still loved his daughter so he hired the same lawyers who had defended George, to defend her."Hurt Will Come to Aid of His Daughter," Seattle Sunday Times, 15 July 1906, p. 1. Before the case went to trial, Maud died by suicide.Crefield, Ida M. Death Certificate. King County, Washington. Volume No: 1906, Register No: 17252. 16 November 1906. Esther was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Western State Hospital, an asylum in Steilacoom, Washington."Esther Mitchell Goes to Asylum," Seattle Post Intelligencer, February 21, 1907, p. 4.

Esther was released from the asylum in 1909."Esther Mitchell Leaves Asylum." Morning Oregonian (Portland) 6 April 1909. p1. She died by suicide in 1914."Esther Mitchell is Dead By Own Hand." Evening Telegram (Portland). 3 August 1914. p2.

Footnotes

External links

[http://edmundcreffield.com edmundcreffield.com]
Theresa McCracken, [http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/creffield_edmund_and_the_brides_of_christ_church/#.VUoxLtpViko "Edmund Creffield and the Brides of Christ Church,"] The Oregon Encyclopedia, Oregon Historical Society.
[http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=4263 Seattle Holy Rollers Killings: The Spectacular End To An Oregon Love Cult] from HistoryLink Washington state history
[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~orbenton/wpa/HolyRoll.html WPA Historical Records of Benton County, OR]

Category:1870 births

Category:1906 deaths

Category:People from Corvallis, Oregon

Category:History of Portland, Oregon

Category:History of Seattle

Category:History of San Francisco

Category:Salvation Army officers

Category:American murder victims

Category:Prophets

Category:Self-declared messiahs

Category:Tarring and feathering in the United States

Category:People murdered in 1906