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 22, 1906: Hurt
Thinks Both Women Are Insane
Seattle Sunday Times 7/22/1906 p44
Hurt Thinks Both Women Are Insane
Mrs. Creffield’s Father Believes She and Esther
Mitchell Will Go to Asylum.
CORVALLIS, Ore., Saturday,
July 21.-- O. V. Hurt is very much pleased at the news
that Will H. Morris, of Seattle, will defend Mrs. Maud Hurt Creffield in her
trial for the murder of George Mitchell. He has nothing but the most
enthusiastic words of praise for the Seattle officials and attorneys with whom
he has had dealings. He said:
Seattle people have treated
me splendidly, and I certainly appreciate their deep kindness.
“I think both women will be
sent to the asylum. There is no doubt that they are both mentally deranged.
“Maud writes to me alone,
and will have nothing to do with her mother or her sister in this city. Maud
was always a very peculiar girl and hard to understand long before the days of
Creffieldism. she has always been open and frank with
me, even when I told her in Seattle that I was going to testify for Mitchell.
“Esther Mitchell also looks
upon me as a friend in her hour of difficulty, although my evidence helped to
clear the brother that she shot down.”
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 7/22/1906 p20
Esther Mitchell Sheds Tears
Kindness of Brothers in Promising Aid Touches Heart
of Young Murderess.
Is Willing To Hang, But Is Not Repentant.
Girl Says Her Conscience Does Not Trouble Her for
Killing Brother George, But Law Looks at It as Crime.
(Special Dispatch to The
Journal)
Seattle, Wash., July 21.--Esther Mitchell shed the first tears today that she has since
she has been incarcerated in the county jail for the killing of her brother
George Mitchell. The tears came when she was told that her brothers, Fred and
Perry, were going to aid her in her trial. She said:
I am glad of it. Fred and
Perry were always good friends of mine. I always liked them.
“I knew that they would help
me as much as they could.
“I would like to have seen
them before they went away, but they would not come to see me. I asked the
jailers to send for them and I knew they did because they have treated me well
since I have been here.
“I am glad my brothers think
well of me still, but I do not want their help.
“I am willing to hang. I
killed my brother.
“I did right, but I know the
law does not think that I did right. I might as well hang.
“My brother George ruined my
reputation. When a girl’s reputation is gone she has nothing to live for.
“I never could get away from
the stories he told after he shot Creffield.
“Creffield never did me any
wrong and my brother had no right to say he did.
“He knew that I was not
going back to Creffield when he shot him. That was a lie as was his story that
he was insane.
“I never will lie and say I
am insane. I never have been insane.
“When Mr. Gardner says I was
insane in his place in Portland, he did not tell the truth. He told me the last
time he saw me at the police matron’s house that I had been insane, but I told
him that I never had been.
“I am willing to hang. I
guess that is what they will do with me anyway, and really, I don’t care.
“I did right and I have no
regret whatsoever. My conscience does not trouble me in the least.”
Mrs. Creffield takes her
plight also calmly. She said today:
I am willing to go to the
penitentiary for life. I am as happy here as I have been since my husband died.
He’s dead and it does not make much difference what they do with me or where
they send me.
“I am tired of living any
more.
“My husband and I would have
proved that we were all right if Mitchell had not killed him.”
Seattle Post Intelligencer 7/22/1906 p14
Says Creffield Was ‘Good Godly Man
Salvation Army Leader Writes Letter of Condolence to
“Holy Roller’s Widow.
“Your husband was such a
good and godly man,” is an extract from a sympathizing letter received
yesterday by Mrs. Maud Creffield from Mrs. E. Plumstead, wife of the adjutant
in command of the Salvation Army at Los Angeles, Cal. Mrs. Plumstead and her
husband were formerly stationed at Portland, Or., and
had there met Franz Edmund Creffield, the future holy roller. It appears from
the letter, also, that she was personally acquainted with Maud Hurt, the future
Mrs. Creffield, and with her father, O. V. Hurt of Corvallis.
Esther Mitchell, too,
received a letter yesterday from an Oregon sympathizer, Viola Burr of Damascus,
near Clackamas, Or. This woman sent Esther a check for
$1, drawn on the First National bank, of Portland, to “help pay your expenses
when you get ready to go home.”
Creffield, immediately after
his release from the Oregon penitentiary, went to Los Angeles, but of that visit
Mrs. Plumstead does not say anything in her letter. Mrs. Creffield did not say
much when she received the letter, but simply tore it to pieces, with a smile.
Miss Burr, Esther Mitchell
says, worked with Esther in the Oregon Woolen Mills at Portland. She will get
the money back. The letters follow:
Los Angeles, Cal, July 15,
1906.
“Mrs. Creffield, Seattle,
Wash.-- My Dear Maud: I really do not know what to say to you after reading in
the papers what has happened. I feel that I must write you. We cannot tell how
sad we feel for we do not forget you, and do not forget what a happy home yours
was when you were there as a girl. And dear Esther. I
knew her so well and four or five years ago when we were in Portland. Such a
good girl! It seems impossible that the events of the past few weeks could ever
take place. We knew your husband well, and he was such a good, godly boy. It
was too bad that he was induced to take the step that he did. but God forbid that we should judge him, or you, or anyone
else. If we could only keep our spiritual eyes open and see the danger signals
on every hand, which oft times warn us of the side path of duty. God has called
us and chosen us, and he is not going to keep us in darkness for a number of
years; but as soon as he calls and we obey that call he will show us the path
that he wants us to walk in. But with some it takes them so long to find their
place in life that their usefulness is destroyed before they find it. Dear
Maud, forgive me if there is anything I have said in this letter that seems to
be harsh at this time, for if ever there was a time in your life that you
needed spiritual help and guidance, it is now. Oh! that I could be by your side and have a heart-to-heart talk with you.
“We thank God for the
blessed experience he has given us during the past fourteen years. We found our
place then, and I trust that we shall always stick to the path that God has
chosen for us. We have been tempted many times, but God has always come to our
aid and given us the victory. bless his name.
“May God bless you, dear Maud. Yours in Christ, yet sorrowing for
you.
“Mrs. E. PLUMSTEAD.”
P. S. --Write to me if you
have the opportunity. I do so want to hear from you.”
The letter to Esther
Mitchell is as follows:
“Damascus, Or., July 19, 1906.
“Miss Esther Mitchell:
Enclosed is a check for $1 to help pay your expenses when you get ready to go
home.
“I don’t belong to your
church. I was going to send you $2, but thought I
better keep the other one. The Bible says ‘know thyself.’ What you going to do
with such fools. With regards.
“Viola Burr.
Seattle Daily Times 7/22/1906 p8
Esther Mitchell Receives $1
Friend From Oregon Writes to Her, and Mrs. Creffield
Gets Letter From Salvation Army Women at Los Angeles.
Esther Mitchell and Mrs.
Maud Creffield had the gloomy hours of their confinement in the county jail,
where they are awaiting trial for the murder of George Mitchell, illuminated
yesterday by the receipt of letters from people, who, while not relatives, nevertheless
sympathize with the women in their hour of trouble. The
letters were handed to the women by Deputy Sheriff Tom Smith, and the
recipients seemed much cheered at the evidences of the fact that they are not
forsaken entirely by those who knew them in former days.
The letter to Esther
Mitchell was signed Viola Burr, of Damascus, Oregon, and the writer evidently
is unaware of the fact that the girl is charged with the murder of her brother,
for the letter, while dated July 19, had enclosed a check for $1, which was
said to be for the purpose of assisting the girl in reaching home. The writer
states that it was the original intention to send $2, but says: “I thought I
had better keep the other one.
After reading the letter,
Esther Mitchell asked Deputy Sheriff Smith to return the money to the writer.
She said she knew who it was who sent it, but offered
no further information concerning the matter. Her request will be complied
with.
The letter to Mrs. Creffield
was from Mrs. E. Plumstead, wife of the adjutant in charge of the Salvation
Army at Los Angeles. The writer started by saying that she hardly knew what to
say in view of what she had read in the papers about the killing of George
Mitchell. She then referred to the time when, at Portland, she had known both
Mrs. Creffield and Esther Mitchell, and also the husband of the former, who is
referred to as a “Godlike boy.” The writer regrets the conditions leading up to
the present trouble, in which Mrs. Creffield finds herself, and closes with
words of sympathy and religious consolation.
Mrs. Creffield read the
letter carefully and then tore it up. She made no comments.
It is the intention of
Prosecuting Attorney Mackintosh to have both women arraigned tomorrow if
Superior Judge Frater is present.
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 7/22/1906 p13
End to Troubles of Holy Roller Family
Corvallis Gazette 7/24/1906 p3
End to Troubles of Holy Roller Family
(Special dispatch to The
Journal)
Corvallis, Or., July 21.-- A deed filed at the recorder’s office Saturday
afternoon conveys the handsome residence property of the Hartleys, in this
city, from the mother, Mrs. Lewis Hartley to the daughter, Miss Sophia. A bill
of sale of the household effects is also given the daughter, thus making her
sole possessor of the premises. Lewis Hartley is in town today, having been
absent for several weeks. The report is on the street that the family is
reconciled and will again settle down. They are former Holy Rollers and it has
been suspected for the past week that the women were going to Washington to
join the Holy Rollers there.
Daily Oregon Statesman (Salem) 7/22/1906 p10
Churches, Where One May Go and Worship This Morning
and Evening
Pentecostal Mission--Fifteenth and Mill streets. Sunday school at 9:30. Preaching at 11 and 8. Fraternity meeting at 7. Prayer meeting on Friday evening. You will be welcomed.
Chapter 25: What Can Papa Do For You?
Chapter 26: Human Life is Too Cheap In This Community
Chapter 27: Grief
***
July 21, 1906: Mitchell Boys to Stand by Esther
July 23, 1906: Frater Favors a Commission of Alienists
***
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)