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.
April 6, 1909: Esther
Mitchell Leaves Asylum
Morning Oregonian (Portland) 4/6/1909 p1
Esther Mitchell Leaves Asylum
SEATTLE, Wash., April 5.--(Special.)--Esther Mitchell, central figure in the murder
of “Joshua” Creffield, and the killing of her brother, George Mitchell, who had
shot the “Holy Roller” leader, has been paroled from the Steilacoom Asylum. She was taken to Oregon by O. V. Hurt, who suffered more than any
other man from the Creffield teachings, and whose daughter married the Holy
Roller agitator.
Superintendent A. P.
Calhoun, of the Steilacoom Asylum, granted the parole for Miss Mitchell, with
the approval, he said, of the Prosecuting Attorney of King County and Superior
Court Judge A. W. Frater.
RELEASED SUBJECT TO RECALL
One of the stipulations in
the parole is that Miss Mitchell shall be returned to the Steilacoom Asylum if
she shows any symptoms of a return of her malady. However, the Hurts took her
to their home at Waldport, Oregon, and it is doubted by state officials whether
Miss Mitchell could be compelled to return from that state.
“Apparently the girl has
recovered” said Superintendent Calhoun today. “For some time she has appeared
rational, and we could find no symptoms of any danger of the return of her
affliction.”
WAS FRIEND OF MAUD HURT
(The usual history)
Morning Oregonian (Portland) 4/7/1909 p6
Mitchell Girl Escaped
Paroled After She Had Fled From Asylum. Went for Walk
Week Ago Sunday With Mrs. Hurt, and Has Not Been Seen Since.
SEATTLE. Wash. April 6.--(Special.)-- That Esther Mitchell escaped from the
Steilacoom asylum and that she was paroled after she had escaped is the latest
development today in the case of the girl which attracted attention in
connection with the Holy Roller movement which came to such an inglorious end
in this city three years ago. Further, there is no one even among her relatives
who will say where she is.
The story of her escape came
out today when it was seen that the parole was dated long after she was
supposed to have left the asylum. Dr. Calhoun, of the asylum, stated that the
Mitchell girl was out walking with Mrs. Hurt a week ago Sunday and failed to
show up for dinner. A futile search was made for her. A parole was contemplated
for the girl and had been promised.
Dr. Calhoun therefore
followed up her escape by issuing a parole after consulting with the
Prosecuting Attorney of King County. It is believed that Esther Mitchell is now
in Oregon at the home of her relatives.
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 4/8/1909 p11
Esther Mitchell Did Not Break Parole
(Special Dispatch to The
Journal.)
Tacoma, Wash., April 8.--The story sent from this city to a Portland morning paper
that Esther Mitchell, who shot Holy Roller Creffield, and who has been admitted
to parole from the Steilacoom asylum escaped from the asylum before parole had
been granted, is denied in toto by Superintendent
Calhoun. The story was made of whole cloth.
Weekly Gazette-Times (Corvallis) 8/20/1909 p7
Esther Mitchell Found In A Hut
Girl Is Now Held By Provincial Police at Nanaimo
Drugged in Chinamen’s Den. Central Figure in Seattle’s Holy Roller Craze
Located by British Columbia Authorities at Departure Bay In Horribly Emaciated
Condition.
Some time ago, when it was
reported that Esther Mitchell had escaped from the Western Washington Hospital
for the Insane at Fort Steilacoom, it was supposed that she had sought shelter
with relatives near Waldport in Lincoln County. Though it was then given out
that the Washington authorities were quietly seeking to locate her in order to
bring her back to the asylum no effort seems to have been made in this
direction and a special from Victoria B. C. says that she is now in the hands
of the Provincial Police at Nanaimo, having been found, horribly emaciated and
heavy with opium in a Chinaman’s shack at Departure Bay. She is held for
vagrancy and will probably got to a rescue home.
In Seattle during July 1907
(sic), her brother shot Joshua Creffield, a Holy Roller priest, who he charged
with ruining the girl. Esther, meeting the avenging brother at the Union Depot,
shot him dead, allegedly being inspired thereto by Creffield’s wife. She escaped
punishment on the ground of temporary insanity and has since fallen lower and
lower, consorting wholly with the Chinese of late, and living only to satisfy
her craving for the poppy.
Whether this report is true
or not is not certain as it is impossible to communicate at once with her
relatives over on the coast to find out if she is still there.
Weekly Gazette-Times (Corvallis) 8/27/1909 p6
Mitchell Girl at Waldport
City Press Tory in Regard to
Holy Roller Was False Was Not in Chinese Den. Went to Seattle Fair, but
Returned to Waldport in Due Time and Has Been there Both before and
Since----The Facts.”
The lurid story floating around in the city press to the effect that Esther Mitchell, of Holy Roller fame, had been found in a Chinese den in some Washington coast town, was evidently a deliberate fabrication. It develops that with the exception of time spent on a trip to Seattle to make a report to officials and to see the fair, Esther Mitchell has been at the home of O. V. Hurt at Waldport and is there at this time. The Gazette-Times has no report from Mr. Hurt personally, but has this assurance from various Corvallis campers in the vicinity of Waldport, and this morning corroboration comes from C. R. Evans, water bailiff at the coast resort. Mr. Evans said he had not seen the story referred to, but was confident that it was wholly incorrect as he is familiar with the news of the neighborhood and knows that since her arrival at the Hurt home several months ago, there has been nothing sensational or unpleasant connected with the name of Esther Mitchell. It is possible that some scribbler saw the girl on her trip and because of the wide notoriety attained by her during the Holy Roller crusade and the final killing of her sweetheart and brother saw in her an appearance the basis for a great story. The city press certainly had the Mitchell girl pictured in wonderful colors as a hanger-on in Chinese dens.
Chapter 30: Final Chapter
***


***
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)