Creffield and the Holy Rollers made page one headlines from 1903 to 1907. When I was researching Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon’s Love Cult I spent months transcribing hundreds of articles. I’m not sure why I was so obsessive. Maybe it was my way of immersing my self into a cult without joining one. Anyway, I’m posting them all for those who are really interested in the story, or are interested the history of journalism, or are interested in how a scandalous story played out in the "media" in a by gone era. Since I no doubt made typos and unconsciously corrected papers' typos, these web pages should not be cited in anything serious (e.g. your dissertation). For such projects they should only be used as starting points and you should refer to the original sources. If you want a shorter version of the story, buy my book. Enjoy.
January 25: Holy Rollers’ in Hobo Camp Life
Joe Haege as Edmund Creffield
The Lebanon Advance is
authority for the statement that three male Holy Rollers are stopping in a
cabin in the woods a mile and a half southeast of that town, and living on the
locusts and wild honey that abounds in the forests of Lebanon. Johnny, get your
gun.
Brownsville Times 1/29/1904
Three male Holy Rollers are
stopping in a cabin in the woods a mile and a half southeast of this place.--Lebanon Advance
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 2/1/1904 p8
Holy Rollers’ in Hobo Camp Life
Brooks The “Apostle” Found With Two Followers In
Lonely Fir Forest--Each With A Well Thumbed Bible Was Devout In Worship.
(Journal Special Service.)
Albany. Or., Feb 1.--Sheltered by the spreading boughs of an Oregon fir, warmed by a
campfire of dead limbs and drift wood and subsisting on very crude diet cooked
in as crude a manner, Brooks, once the apostle and prophet of the “Holy
Rollers,” was discovered yesterday by Linn county officers who were searching
for criminals. The law giver of this peculiar and erratic form of worship was
not alone in his isolation, but with him were two followers, Levins and
Campbell, who braved the wintry blasts and defied the seasons inclemencies, that they might be with their teacher and
apostle.
Early Sunday morning it was
reported that a hobo camp had been located about seven miles north of Albany in
a fir thicket and it was surmised by the neighbors that the sojourners were
store robbers who were wanted at Woodburn. Sheriff Huston and Chief of Police
McClain started at once for the place and when they reached the neighborhood
found a posse of perhaps a dozen heavily armed men awaiting them. With due
precaution the camp was surrounded and the officers swooped down on the
supposed desperados. Imagine their disgust when they perceived their prisoners
and realized that they had made a long hard drive for nothing. Lounging
carelessly around their campfire were the three religious fanatics, intensely
interested in perusing the pages of three well worn Bibles and discussing questions of theology. A few dirty blankets and dry
boughs served for beds, while a couple of tin cans comprised the stock of
culinary utensils. Their food was limited to a scanty supply of potatoes, a
small sack of wheat and a little coffee. Here these three eccentric worshipers
had subsisted for a week and they appeared happy and contented with their
meager and uninviting surroundings.
When questioned by the
officers they were reticent, but Brooks, who was the only one of the trio who
would discuss their movements, finally said that they had walked from Lebanon
last week and were seeking a secluded spot where they could study and be
prepared to enter the work when the Lord called them. He recounted their
wanderings since the tar and feather episode at Corvallis had induced them to
seek new fields, but apparently harbored no malice against what they deem their
persecutors. He expressed contempt for the newspapers and correspondents and
when he spoke of the press his latent dislikes evinced themselves and he appeared quite animated. The officers gave the students hurry-up orders
to leave, and in a short time they were wending their way towards the borders
of Marion County, loudly protesting against being compelled to perform labor on
the Sabbath day and praying that the world might be visited
by the spirit of the redeemer. The posse dispersed and the members are
meditating on the devious paths that many poor sinners follow when in pursuit
of the everlasting kingdom.
Albany Democrat 1/29/1904 p4
In the eyes of Corvallis
papers a Holy Roller is the greatest of all enormities.
Chapter of Holy Rollers where these articles are some of the sources:
Chapter 8: Tar and Feathers
***
January 19, 1904: Our Brainy Contemporaries
February 1, 1904: Camp In Linn County Is Broken Up By Officers
***
Newspaper Articles about Creffield & the Holy Rollers
1897-1903: B.C. (Before Creffield)
October to December 1903:Holy Rollers Burn Furniture & Pets
January to March, 1904: Holy Rollers Tarred and Feathered
April to June 1904: Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum
July 1904: Creffield is Found & Arrested
September 1904: Creffield's Trial
April 1906: Men are Gunning For Creffield
May 1906: Creffield is Murdered, Murderer is Considered a Hero
May 1906: Holy Rollers Found Starving Near Heceta Head
June 1906: George Mitchell's Trial Begins
July 1906: Hurt Testifies of Debauched Wife and Debased Sisters
July 1906: Esther Mitchell Kills Her Brother
August to October 1906: Seattle Prepares for another Big Trial
November 1906: Maud Hurt Creffield Commits Suicide
April 1909-August 1914: Esther Leaves the Asylum
1953 Stewart Holbrook's Murder Without Tears
1951Startling Detective Magazine, Nemesis of the Nudist High Priest
***
Chapters from
Holy Rollers: Murder & Madness in Oregon's Love Cult
Part 1: The Seduction
Chapter 1: Trust Me, Brothers And Sisters
(Life Before Creffield [B.C.])
Chapter 2: God, Save Us From Compromising Preachers
(Creffield's Preachings)
Chapter 3: The Flock
(Profiles of the Holy Rollers Were)
Chapter 4: The Holy Rollers
(Things Start to Get Wild on on Kiger Island)
Chapter 5: Housecleaning
(There's a Sacrificial Bonfire)
Chapter 6: Community Concerns
(Officers Visit)
Chapter 7: Esther, The Chosen One
(Creffield Plans to Marry 16-Year- Old)
Chapter 8: Tar and Feathers
(The Men of Corvallis Act)
Chapter 9: Sane People Don’t Go Bareheaded
(Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum)
Chapter 10: More Beast Than Man
( Creffield is Arrested)
Chapter 11: God Will Plead Creffield's Case
(Creffield in Court)
Chapter 12: Scandal
(Shocking Testimony at the Trial)
Chapter 13: Calm Before the Storm
(The Holy Rollers Resume their Lives)
Chapter 14: Giving Up The Ghost
(Men are Gunning for Creffield)
Part Two: The People V. Creffield
Chapter 16: The Widow Creffield
Chapter 19: An Inherited Streak of Insanity
Part Three: The Madness
Chapter 23: Seeking Reconciliation
Chapter 24: Another Holy Roller Page One Murder
Chapter 25: What Can Papa Do For You?
Chapter 26: Human Life is Too Cheap In This Community
Chapter 30: The Final Chapter
(What Happened to Everyone Afterwards)
The Epilogue
(Heaven's Gate)