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.
July 20, 1906: George
Mitchell’s Attorney Offers Aid to Murderesses
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 7/20/1906 p12
Attorney Morris Offers Aid
Seattle Lawyer Informs Father of Mrs. Creffield That
He Will Defend Woman.
Mysterious Telegram Received At Corvallis.
On Day of Murder of George Mitchell Message Signed
Frank Hurt Imparted News but Young Man Denies Authorship.
(Special Dispatch to The
Journal)
Corvallis, Or., July 20.-- Will H. Morris of Seattle will defend Mrs.
Maud-Hurt Creffield in her trial for complicity in the murder of George H.
Mitchell, unless he can secure the services of some lawyer entirely
satisfactory to himself.
Such is the purport of a
very courteous letter received yesterday noon by O. V. Hurt from Attorney
Morris. Mr. Hurt is highly pleased over the intelligence and shows his
gratification in a brighter case of countenance than he has worn for some days.
He has nothing but the most enthusiastic words of praise for the Seattle
officials and attorneys with whom he has had dealings.
“Those fellows have treated
me splendidly,” he said today with deep feeling, “and I certainly appreciate
their deep kindness.”
Mr. Hurt expresses his
belief that both women will be sent to the asylum, as he is certain they are
mentally deranged. He says that in spite of the fact that Mrs. Creffield
thought he was against her when he came to Seattle to testify in behalf of
George Mitchell and accused him of being so, she still clings to him as her
only friend and refuses to write to or have anything whatever to do with her
mother or sister in this city.
Mr. Hurt says that Maud
always was a very peculiar girl and hard to understand long before the days of
Creffieldism. He states that he has always been open and frank with her and
that he told her when he went to testify for Mitchell that he was not going
against her, but was doing it for her good, as she would live to acknowledge.
Esther Mitchell, too, defers
to and depends upon his judgment in her hour of difficulty, despite the fact
that she shot down the very brother whom Mr. Hurt’s evidence is admitted to
have cleared.
Frank Hurt arrived home
today and expresses a desire to secure employment and remain here. His wife and
child have been here ever since the Creffield camp at Waldport was broken up
and the few faithful followers brought to Corvallis by a farmer of that
vicinity.
In the coming home of Frank
a peculiar fact has been brought out. On the evening that George Mitchell was
shot, L. T. Sandell sent a telegram to Mr. Hurt giving the news. Shortly
afterward as second dispatch came to Mr. Hurt from Seattle signed “Frank Hurt.”
In conversation today Frank Hurt stated that he had never sent a dispatch at
all; that he was working in Victoria at the time and did not even learn of the
shooting until the following day. It is a puzzle to both Mr. Hurt and his son
today as to who used Frank Hurt’s name and what the motive was in the act.
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Corvallis Times 7/20/1906 p1
May Come to Oregon
Seattle Officials Talk Of Shirking Trial Of Holy
Rollers.
Statue Permits It--Insane Persons Residents of Other
States May Be Sent Home--Alienists Are at Work on Slayers.
Corvallis Gazette 7/20/1906 p1
About the Trial
Seattle May Send Esther Mitchell and Maud Creffield
Home.
Seattle, Wash., July 18.-- Esther Mitchell and Mrs. Maud Creffield may be removed
to their Oregon Homes, instead of being tired for murder here, despite the
direct information on a murder charge filed here today. This is a proposition which has been discussed at some length by, and
has met with some favor from influential members of the King county bar. One
object gained by turning over to Oregon her own citizens, say court officials
who have suggested the matter, would be that King county would, at very little
cost, rid itself of an expense bill of about $5,000. Mrs. Creffield’s home,
they claim, is at Corvallis; Esther Mitchell’s in Newberg, Or., or Portland. A Washington law provides that non-resident insane persons may be
taken to their home state. It reads:
Whenever any person shall be
found by the superior court in any county to be insane, and such person has no
legal residence within this state, such person shall be sent, at the expense of
the state, to the place where such person belongs in every case where such
place of residence can be ascertained. And it shall be the duty of the superior
court at the time of the inquest to ascertain the place where such person
belongs, when the same can be conveniently done. The sheriff of the county
shall convey such person to the place where he
belongs.
The trial of George
Mitchell, it is estimated, cost King County about $25,000 (sic). As many Oregon
Witness would probably be required in the case of the women as in that of the
young man against whose life they plotted. The women have the right to be tried
separately, thus costing the state twice as much as did Mitchell. Should an
insanity commission find the women insane and the court sent them to Oregon,
the Oregon officials who were so outspoken in their opinions of the trial of
George Mitchell, claim local court officials, would then have a chance to
handle the case themselves. Probably Esther and Mrs. Creffield would be sent to
the Hospital for the insane at Salem. On the other hand, if alienist experts
should find the prisoners sane, their record would be admissible at the murder
trial here.
Even now insanity experts
are holding an inquiry into the mental condition of the prisoners. Much will
depend on their report. The information to be filed this afternoon names 17 witnesses for the state, including local police officers,
newspaper reporters, physicians, and Perry and Fred Mitchell, Fred Dickmen and Lewis Sandell.
Corvallis Gazette 7/20/1906 p2
Few men have passed through
more sorrowful experiences than O. V. Hurt of this city. Commenting on Mr. Hurt
and his troubles, and the manner in which he has met them, the Oregonian of
Tuesday in and editorial says:
Any dissatisfied and unhappy
citizen who thinks that he has a rough time in his daily life, and that the world doesn’t treat him well, should pause long
enough to consider the case of Mr. O. V. Hurt, of Corvallis. It is not
necessary to enter into details as to the recent history of the Hurt family,
for everyone knows it; and everyone feels that few men have deserved more and
got less from the hands of fortune and providence, than Mr. Hurt. Yet he has
complained not at all, but has met each new vicissitude with remarkable
fortitude and rare devotion to his high conception of his duty. The members of
his family have thought little of Mr. Hurt, but they have received much from
him--far more than many another husband and father in
like circumstances could or would have given. Now he is going to see that his
misguided daughter, who abandoned and reviled him, has proper legal defense in
her trial at Seattle. It is a fine thing for him to do--just as his entire
conduct throughout his terrible trouble, or series of troubles, has been
something really beautiful and noble.
Corvallis Gazette 7/20/1906 p1
Murder the Charge
Against Esther Mitchell and Mrs. Maud Creffield.
Murder in the first degree
is the charge that hangs over Esther Mitchell and Mrs. Maud Creffield in the
court of King County, Washington.
While O. V. Hurt has offered
to mortgage his home in this city for $500 in order to defend his daughter at
the proper time, she declares that he shall not spend his money for that
purpose and both she and Esther Mitchell affirm that they will not allow any
plea of insanity to be entered for them.
An Oregonian dispatch from
Seattle, Wednesday had the following to say:
Attorney Speckert today
received a telegram from Judge Upton, of Walla Walla,
to the effect that the latter could not possible assist in the defense of
Esther Mitchell. Upton created a sensation by the following message sent the
night that Esther Mitchell shot down her brother George:
Wall Wall,
Wash., July 12, 1906.-- Miss Esther Mitchell, County
Jail, Seattle, Wash.--Accept thanks, congratulations and assistance if needed.
Talk to your lawyer only.
“William H. Upton.”
Attorney Will H. Morris this
morning wrote a long letter to O. V. Hurt, Mrs. Creffield’s father advising him
that he could not defend the two women, owing to urgent business. Morris stated
that the defense of the two women would probably be placed in the hands of a
young attorney in this city, at the request of Hurt.
Esther Mitchell and Mrs.
Creffield were jointly charged with murder in the first degree today by
information filed direct in the Superior Court. John F. Miller, assistant prosecuting
attorney, stated that the trial of the two women would probably be concluded
before Chester Thompson is brought to trial.
The prisoners are being
examined daily by Dr. J. B. Loughary, who calls in one or more consulting
physicians to act as advisers in an effort to determine the mental condition of
the women who are responsible for the death of George Mitchell. These
examinations are being made at the request of Prosecuting Attorney Mackintosh,
and the reports made by the physicians are being kept a secret. It is said,
however, by Mackintosh that no complete report has been made so far, and it is
probable that the examinations will be kept up for some little time.
The women so conduct
themselves as to make the determination of their mental condition very
baffling.
Oregon City Enterprise 7/20/1906
Will Sacrifice His Home
In all the dirty mess and
muss of the Holy Rollers, killing of Creffield, trial of Mitchell and finally
the killing of Mitchell by his sister Esther, the conduct of one person has
shown out like a beacon in a storm. O. V. Hurt of Corvallis, the father of Mrs.
Creffield, has been an example of a true man who has remained true and manly
under the worst load of trouble conceivable.
His home was broken up by
the infamous Creffield, his daughter has reviled him, but now when her need is
greatest, when she has hardly a friend, he offers to sacrifice his little home
at Corvallis to provide money for her defense.
He despised Creffield and
fought against his infamous doctrines and influence; his testimony went
farthest toward clearing Mitchell; he knows his daughter was an accomplice to
Mitchell’s murder, but sees the great heart of the man in writing to Mrs.
Creffield’s attorneys:
I am greatly upset by the
shock,” states the letter, but there is nothing in vies of the circumstances
that I can do but offer assistance to my deluded daughter. My little home here
will only bring about $500 on a mortgage, but I am willing to sacrifice it for
my daughter’s sake. If the two women are tried together, I am willing to back
both of them.
The following just tribute
to Mr. Hurt appeared editorially in the Oregonian:
Any
dissatisfied and unhappy citizen who
thinks that he has a rough time in his daily life, and that the world doesn’t
treat him well, should pause long enough to consider the case of Mr. O. V.
Hurt, of Corvallis. It is not necessary to enter into details as to the recent
history of the Hurt family, for everyone knows it; and everyone feels that few
men have deserved more and got less from the hands of fortune and providence,
than Mr. Hurt. Yet he has complained not at all, but has met each new
vicissitude with remarkable fortitude and rare devotion to his high conception
of his duty. The members of his family have thought little of Mr. Hurt, but
they have received much from him--far more than many another husband and father in like circumstances could or would have given. Now he is going to
see that his misguided daughter, who abandoned and reviled him, has proper
legal defense in her trial at Seattle. It is a fine thing for him to do--just
as his entire conduct throughout his terrible trouble, or series of troubles,
has been something really beautiful and noble.
Corvallis Times 7/20/1906 p3
Perry Mitchell
He was in Corvallis--Plans that his sister’s Revolver
Disarranged.
Perry Mitchell, brother of
the slayer of Creffield was a Corvallis visitor Wednesday. He came in on the
Westside from Newberg at noon and left for Portland on the 6:30 C & E
yesterday morning. His errand in town was to consult with O. V. Hurt. He was by
the side of George Mitchell at the Seattle depot when the
latter was shot down by Esther Mitchell. He says that what makes the
affair the more terrible is that both Esther and George Mitchell were favorites
in the Mitchell family. Both were extremely beloved by all other members of the
family.
In appearance Perry Mitchell
so much resembles his dead brother that he was recognized on
the street by strangers as likely to be a Mitchell from pictures of
George published in the newspapers recently. He is of medium height, rather
slight build, with brown hair, and a smoothly shaven pleasant face. He is 21
years of age. He expects to be a witness at the trial of his sister, but does
not want her convicted. At the time of the shooting, he was almost prostrated
with grief, and signs of sadness were plainly visible on his face when in
Corvallis. He became for a time in a measure embittered toward his sister, but
according to all accounts it has largely passed away, and though likely to be
called as a witness for the prosecution, he will only be in the witness box
against his will and as far as he can, will shield his sister. He went from
Corvallis to Portland, where he expects to obtain employment. He was to have
worked at the same establishment side by side with his brother, George, who was
to assist him in learning the business, but the sister’s revolver at the
Seattle depot disarranged that plan.
Corvallis Times 7/20/1906
-- Mrs. James Berry and
child went to Salem yesterday morning.
-- Frank Hurt arrived
yesterday from Seattle, and is seeking employment.
Corvallis Gazette 7/20/1906 p2
--Frank Hurt arrived
yesterday from Seattle and will remain in Corvallis
-- A letter received
yesterday afternoon by O. V. Hurt from Attorney Will H. Morris, of Seattle,
stated that the latter has decided to take up the defense of Maud Hurt
Creffield, in spite of published reports to the contrary.
Oregon City Enterprise 7/20/1906 p5
Esther Mitchell Worked Here
Esther Mitchell, who
murdered her brother at Seattle, worked for a number of months at the woolen
mills in this city before she rejoined the Holy Roller colony in Waldport,
Lincoln County, following the release of Creffield from the state penitentiary.
The girl was employed in the tailoring department and is said to have been
quite reserved in manner and industrious. She left her place at the mills one
noon and never returned. She afterwards wrote from Waldport, asking that a
check covering what wages that were due her be sent to
her at that place.
Seattle Post Intelligencer 7/20/1906 p5
To Arraign Esther Mitchell Monday
It is probable that Esther
Mitchell and Mrs. Maud Creffield will be arraigned before Judge A. W. Frater on
the charge of murder in the first degree Monday morning. Prosecuting Attorney
Kenneth Mackintosh stated yesterday that he would bring the prisoners into
court as soon as possible and Judge Frater has announced that he will hold
court on that date.
The women have stated they
will plead not guilty. The women will elect to be tried separately.
Daily Oregon Statesman (Salem) 7/20/1906 p2
--The Corvallis Times says
the name of Creffield will be found up towards the head of the list of the
damned in the next world.--Albany Democrat. This is
taking an unfair advantage of Creffield, who is dead and can’t reply.
--Will Purdy of Newberg
makes a statement regarding the Mitchell case which cannot be
gain said. If Mitchell was insane, then so is his sister, or if his act
was justifiable, so was hers. If he had not committed murder, neither would the
girl have committed murder. If the jury had done its duty by Mitchell, the girl
would not have murdered him. In truth in neither case does there seem to be
absolute justification apparent.
--Mrs. Creffield now admits
that Holy Rollerism is dead. Pity she did not find it out sooner.
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 7/20/1906 p1
To Sacrifice Oldest Child
Holy Rollers at Monrovia Preparing to Cleanse by Fire
Using Offspring as Paschal Lambs of Slaughter.
(Journal Special Service)
Seattle Daily Times 7/22/1906 p11
Holy Rollers in California
Sacrifice by Fire Is the Latest Symptom of Fanaticism Which Has Manifested Itself In the Town of
Monrovia.
Repeated Rumors Arise That Children Will Be Thus
Disposed of Unless Authorities Put a Stop to It.
(Special by The Times
Private Pacific Coast Leased Wire.)
Los Angeles, July 20.-- Sacrifice by fire is the latest symptom of fanaticism ,
of which the Holy Rollers have given evidence. Immolation of the oldest
children is the program, unless the authorities interfere. This extreme manifestation
of religious frenzy has aroused the little town of Monrovia to a degree that
Marshal Miller has made it his business to attend the meetings of the sect
every afternoon and evening, not knowing in what form the frenzy will break out
next.
Neighborhood gossip has
stirred the townspeople because of the rumors that the eldest children of
certain families of the faithful are being segregated to go through an ordeal
of purity later to be Paschal lambs of slaughter.
A wave of Holy Rollerism has
swept along the Pacific Coast, but it remained for Monrovia to reach the
radical stage. Two of the best-known adherents of the faith are known to have
kept their oldest children locked up at the home for some time, and out of this
has grown the story that a sacrifice of children will happen if the authorities
do not stop the fanatic element.
Last night the sermon of Evangelist Cook advocated self-immolation by fire. He said that it was a Christian’s noblest fate to die by fire, to make himself a living sacrifice to God.
Chapter 25: What Can Papa Do For You?
Chapter 26: Human Life is Too Cheap In This Community
Chapter 27: Grief
***
July 19, 1906: Mrs. Creffield Weeps in Jail
July 21, 1906: Mitchell Boys to Stand by Esther
***
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)