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.
October 1, 1906: Holy Roller Woman Dies While in Trance
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 10/1/1906 p2
Holy Roller Woman Dies While in Trance
Religious Fanatic Is Killed by Neglect of Disciples
of Her Faith.
(Journal Special Service.)
Whittier, Cal., Oct. 1--
Mrs. See, a member of the Holy Rollers congregation, who lay in an unconscious
condition since last Sunday, while engaged in one of the Holy Roller fanatic
meetings, died last night. Shortly after Mrs. See was discovered by members of
her family she was surrounded by a number of Holy Roller disciples, who
declared she was about to receive divine dispensation which would enable her to
speak in unknown tongues. Not until her sister, Mrs. May, interfered was a
physician called and he pronounced her dangerously ill.
Seattle Daily Times 10/2/1906 p1
Murder Epidemic as Result of ‘Insanity’ Folly
Predicted by Times
“Emotional Insanity” has
placed in jeopardy the life of another man in Seattle this morning. The price
of human life has fallen so low that King County now seems to enjoy a perpetual
bargain day. It is an old police adage that crime runs in sets of threes, but
in the case of murders in this county it seems to be running by dozens, and the
men who have to deal with them shake their heads and wonder what the end will
be. The epidemic of murder predicted by The Times seems at hand.
George Mitchell killed
“Joshua” Creffield last May, perhaps with as much justification as an unmarried
man can have. His defense was insanity. He was acquitted.
Esther Mitchell killed her
brother with a revolver purchased by Mrs. Creffield. A judge appointed a
commission which declared the two women to be insane and ordered them taken to
the boundary of the state where they must be released unless Oregon is willing
to receive them and try them for their sanity.
Chester Thompson killed
Judge G. Meade Emory in his own house because of a boyish infatuation. It has
been repeatedly stated that the defense in his case will be insanity.
WORKS ON WEAKER MINDS
There has been much talk of
these cases and especially of the methods employed in the defense which are
practically new to this community. The result has been an insidious planting of
the impression in weaker minds that murder may be committed with immunity.
Chester Thompson had read the accounts of the George Mitchell trial and had
talked of it. It is not probable that he expected to be hanged when he ran into
Judge Emory’s home with a revolver in his hand. In fact, he called for his
father to protect him from being lynched, which is probably only a trifle more
painful than legal execution.
It is more than probable
that when William Constantine Shot his son--law this morning, he had in view
the insanity plea and liberty after a few weeks of fancied martyrdom. It is
practically certain that in the mind of this man this idea had found lodgement.
Men sometimes commit murder
in the sudden heat of passion without thought of what the consequences may be,
but the law rates such crimes lower than the deeds of those who deliberately go
about taking the lives of their chosen victims. It is not probable that any man
or woman will deliberately kill another with the certainty of death by hanging
as the penalty. Scarcely any grievance is great enough to demand redress at
such a cost. Yet these four crimes have all been committed with the utmost
deliberation. The law terms them murders in the first degree and prescribes
hanging as the penalty. did any one of these expect to hang?
HANGING OUT OF FASHION
It would seem that the
impression has been allowed to go abroad that hanging has gone out of fashion
and that the worst thing a murderer has to fear is a few months or a year in
the insane asylum to recover his sanity.
It cannot be said that the
prosecuting attorney’s office is responsible for the existence of this
impression. Mr. Mackintosh and Mr. Miller have worked day and night,
determinedly and aggressively. They have worked with the firm belief that these
prisoners were guilty of cowardly, cold-blooded murder, that likely they were
sane and that life imprisonment would be a merciful punishment for them.
In the Mitchell case they
failed, as they knew in their hearts they would, because in that defense there
was introduced a class of evidence which would impress the minds of any twelve
men who would be accepted by attorneys for a defense.
In the case of the two
women, they have now been forced to fight for the very right to try them for
their crime and to appeal to the Supreme Court for the very privilege of
presenting the evidence against them for judgment.
In the Thompson case, they
have been met with vexatious delays and will probably find it necessary to take
the case to some other county for trial.
MANY HOMICIDES
Aside from these four
unusual cases, there has been a flood of simpler homicides. There was the
murder of little Elsie Milhuff, near Reston--a mystery which has never been
solved. There was the Corcoran shooting which was settled practically out of
court yesterday. There was the shooting by a trap gun of Mrs. Dailey, for which
Julius Marfaudilli will be placed on trial next week. Two men were killed on
board ships in the harbor. One case resulted in an acquittal, the other in a
penitentiary sentence. Both of these were crimes committed in the progress of
fights. And there have been other shooting affairs of a minor nature.
Even the number of these
ordinary crimes is remarkable, but when capped with the quartet of unusual
homicides it becomes stupendous. What is the cause of it, is asked. Is there
not some psychological reason underlying it?
COURTS ARE LENIENT
The courts have been
lenient. The plea of insanity has not only been toward (rest of the article cut
off.)
Corvallis Times 10/19/1906 p3
-- A week from tomorrow, in
Seattle, occurs the hearing of the case in which the proposed deportation of
Esther Mitchell and Maud Hurt Creffield is involved. The women were ordered by
the superior court of Seattle to be released from jail and be sent to Oregon.
The action was taken after a sanity hearing had pronounced both of them as
affected with a species of insanity. After Judge Frater had ordered them
deported the district attorney carried the matter to the Supreme Court, where a
stay of proceedings was ordered and Judge Frater cited to appear and show why
he appointed an insanity commission and why he had ordered the women deported.
Several big legal firms will participate in the proceedings. It is the guess
generally that the action of Judge Frater will be sustained, and that the women
will be sent to Oregon.
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Seattle Post Intelligencer
10/21/1906 p5
Monday Was Time For Creffield
Daily Life of Woman Without Religious Demonstration
of Any Kind
Corvallis Times Fri 10/26/1906 p1
Had it not been for the
appointment of an insanity commission to investigate the mental condition of
Maud Creffield and Esther Mitchell, the older woman would have been tomorrow
called into court to answer to a charge of murder. As is it, on October 26, Judge
Frater and the defendants’ attorneys will appear in the Supreme Court to uphold
their positions and the legality of the action of the commission in regard to
Mrs. Creffield and Esther Mitchell, at whose hands George Mitchell was killed.
After the examination of the
women had been made and the report filed to the effect that they were insane,
Prosecuting Attorney Mackintosh stated that he would ask the Supreme Court to
declare the action illegal on the ground that the commission was not properly
conducted, and on other grounds. The matter is set for hearing in the Supreme
Court this week. The attorneys for the state, as well as those for the defense
are satisfied that their positions are right. Until the settlement of the
controversy in the higher court, no action will be taken towards the trial of
the women, as Judge Frater has ordered the cases stricken from the calendar.
Should the commission be upheld, the women will be sent to Oregon, where they
hold residence. If the state’s attorney is upheld in his contention, they may
be tried or another commission may be appointed to examine into their sanity.
The daily life of the two
women in the county jail is very ordinary. They are neat and clean and spend
considerable of their time in caring for the two dingy cells which they have
called their homes for so many weeks. They spend much time reading, and often
devote some hours to playing cards with the other women prisoners in the
women’s ward. Since their incarceration the jailers declare no evidence of any religious
exercises participated in by the women confined in the jail, assert that they
are never bothered by religious talks or lectures.
Aside from the physical
condition of the two prisoners, there is little or no change in their bearing.
They appear to be just as they have said they are, perfectly satisfied with
what they have done and unmindful of the future. They refuse to discuss their
cases and receive little company except an occasional visit from their
attorneys. If visitors make application for admission to their apartments they
are given a welcome which is neither cold nor cordial and sympathy or kindness
are not well received. Gifts are welcome and deeds more than words are
appreciated.
Corvallis Times 10/23/1906 p3
-- The Seattle judge who ordered
Esther Mitchell and Maud Creffield deported to Oregon, and whose order to that
effect was countermanded by the Supreme Court of the state of Washington, has
hired a lawyer to present his interests before the latter court. The matter
comes up for hearing at Olympia Friday, and will be a legal battle with lots of
big guns in it. One firm representing Esther Mitchell, another representing
Maud Creffield, as well as the firm representing Judge Frater, will take part
on one side of the case, while the district attorney’s office will do the
fighting on the other side. The district attorney’s office holds that the women
ought to be tried in Washington for the murder of Geo. Mitchell without the
intervention of the sanity commission which pronounced them both insane and
irresponsible for the murder of Miss Mitchell’s brother.
Corvallis Times 9/23/1906 p4
-- The house and residence
property of O. V. Hurt was purchased Saturday by A. E. Wilkins. The property
comprises a house and two acres of ground and is desirable. Possession is not
to be given until later on.
Seattle Post Intelligencer 10/26/1906 p13
Insanity Matter In Supreme Court
May Be Referred Back for Decision on Statement of
Facts.
The attorneys interested in
the case of Maud Creffield and Esther Mitchell will appear in the Supreme Court
today to argue for a decision as to the legality of the action of the commission
which declared the two women insane. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney F. Miller said
yesterday that no agreed statement of facts has been signed by the contestants
and no stipulation made, and for this reason holds that it is very probable the
case will be referred back to the lower court for a decision as to the facts in
the matter.
“I am bound that those women
shall be tried for murder if there is any law on earth that will permit it,”
said Mr. Miller yesterday. “If the Supreme Court refuses the petition made by
the state to set aside the findings of the insanity commission I will institute
new proceedings just as soon as I can find a stenographer to make the necessary
notes.”
the matter went to the Supreme
Court on petition made by the state’s attorney asking that the findings of the
insanity commission be set aside and declared irregular. The reasons given for
the action desired were many and included statements to the effect that since
the investigation was not conducted in the presence of the court it was not
legal; that the attorneys for the prosecution or defense of the women were
allowed no hand in the proceedings; that the board acted arbitrarily and that
the entire proceedings were irregular and illegal.
After the women were
arrested for the murder of George Mitchell, a brother of Esther Mitchell, and
the dates for their trials had been set, attorneys for the defense asked for
the appointment of a commission to examine into the sanity of the prisoners. This
was granted by the court and the examination was conducted with the result that
the women were found insane.
It was anticipated that if
such a finding resulted the court would order the women sent to Oregon, where
they hold legal residence, and to prevent this the state’s attorney secured an
order restraining the court from taking this action until the petition filed
could be heard. When the prosecutor stated that he intended to file such a
petition, Judge Frater declared he would give the state plenty of time to take
action.
The point at issue is a new
one and should it be decided that all examinations made by insanity commissions
must be made in the presence of the court, a new precedent will be established.
At this time it is the custom to conduct many of these examinations in the
jailer’s quarters in the county jail in such cases the findings of the
commission are presented to the court for his signature.
Seattle Post Intelligencer 10/27/1906 p8
Creffield-Mitchell Case is Submitted
Supreme Court Assigns a Justice to Write and Opinion
Special to the
Post-Intelligencer.
OLYMPIA, Oct. 26.-- The
constitutionality of the law of 1905 providing for the deportation of
nonresident insane promises to be one of the chief points considered by the Supreme
Court in reaching a decision on the application for a writ of prohibition
directed against Superior Judge Frater to prevent further action looking to the
deportation of Mrs. Maud Creffield and Esther Mitchell as the next step
following the insanity proceedings against them. Arguments on the writ were
heard by the Supreme Court today. At the conclusion of the hearing the court
retired for consultation and the case was assigned for a written opinion by one
of the justices.
Before the attorneys left
the city, notice was served upon them by the clerk of the court that the court
desired briefs from both parties on the constitutionality of Chapter 138, laws
of 1905, which provides for the deportation to the state or place where they
belong of persons found insane in this state.
JUDGE MILLER’S ARGUMENTS
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
John F. Miller appeared in support of the application for the writ, while
George H. Walker appeared for the relater, having been requested to do so by
Judge Frater. William A. Holzheimer, attorney for the women, was also present.
The arguments of Mr. Miller
were based on his contention that the court in appointing a commission to take
the testimony and pass upon the insanity of the two women, delegated a judicial
function which, under the constitution, he could not do. Although the practice
has been followed throughout the state, the point raised is a new one and Mr.
Miller presented authorities and largely confined his argument to this feature
of the case.
A motion to quash the writ
was made by Mr. Walker on the ground that the application was instituted by
petition instead of an affidavit. He also moved to strike from the files two
affidavits of physicians attending the women, which affidavits were filed after
the proceedings were begun. He also interposed a demurrer.
ARGUES AGAINST JURISDICTION
In his opening argument Mr.
Miller contended that Judge Frater was without jurisdiction or in excess of his
jurisdiction, as the statute under which the insanity proceedings were brought
specifies that the affidavit must contain the statement that the person charged
with insanity is “unsafe to be at large.” The Creffield women being in custody,
that blank in the form of the affidavit had been marked out.
The arguments were begun at
11:30 and continued over the noon hour, being finished shortly after 2 o’clock.
Corvallis Gazette 11/6/1906 p3
-- Mrs. Warren Hartley of Cottage Grove left yesterday for home after a few days visit with Corvallis relatives.
Chapter of Holy Rollers where these articles are some of the sources:
Chapter 28: Insanity?
***
September 28, 1906: Insanity Board Not Paid
November 9, 1906: Mrs. Creffield Said to Be in Very Nervous State
***
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)